Help us play again: Afghanistan’s female cricketers plead with sport’s world governing body 

Afghan women play cricket at the grounds of the stadium in Herat on December 9, 2015. (AFP/File)
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Updated 01 September 2023
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Help us play again: Afghanistan’s female cricketers plead with sport’s world governing body 

  • The men’s team of Afghanistan travels the world and plays cricket at the elite level 
  • Woman players say no one from Afghanistan Cricket Board or ICC has contacted them 

BRISBANE: Just over two years ago, Firooza Amiri was an 18-year-old batter for the Afghanistan women’s cricket team, ready to take on the world if given the chance. 

But just like that, her world and that of millions of others in her country changed forever. 

Forced to flee with her family when the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021, Amiri and her family first traveled to Pakistan and then were evacuated to Australia. She still lives in Australia, along with most of her 25 teammates. 

Now, looking for their place in international competition, they are pleading with the International Cricket Council and the Afghanistan cricket authorities to give them a place to play, despite the Taliban’s ban on women in sport and education. 

“Yeah, unfortunately two weeks ago was the two-year anniversary of the Taliban and our BLACK DAY,” Amiri said in a message to The Associated Press, accentuating two words in capital letters. 

Amiri and her family were from the oasis city of Herat, then the third-largest city in Afghanistan with an estimated population of about 500,000. 

“It was a black day for me and all the girls of Afghanistan, the day our dreams were destroyed and all the efforts of many years of each of us were destroyed,” Amiri told the AP. “When Herat fell, we decided to go to Kabul and reach one of the foreign embassies. When we arrived in Kabul, we saw that Afghanistan had fallen completely to the Taliban and all the people were going to the airport to be able to leave the country, we did the same.” 

From that point, the situation deteriorated. 

“It was very painful for me when I saw that all the girls, journalists, and politicians of Afghanistan were going to the airport and were leaving their country,” Amiri said. “For me, the most terrifying moment of my life was when I saw that there was shooting everywhere, people were screaming and crying, and even a young man had been shot five times . . . that was the moment when we stopped going to the airport and I and my teammates went to a safe house.” 

Another of Amiri’s teammates in Australia, Friba Hotack, was afraid her family would be targeted. 

“Because my life was in danger, I separated from my family. I was in Pakistan for a month. I was afraid. I was very scared,” she told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio earlier this year. 

“Our dreams were shattered from the day the Taliban came. Everything — bat, cricket equipment, we burned everything because of the fear. The day we came to Australia, those dreams became alive again. We started to want to play again. We wanted to have a team here, to play cricket here.” 

Amiri and some of her former teammates are doing just that, playing in a suburban league in Melbourne. But that’s a long way from the level they’re determined to be competing on. The Afghan men’s team travels the world and plays at the elite level. The women’s team wants a chance to do the same. 

So Amiri and her teammates sent an email to the sport’s world governing body in December. 

“Could you please advise what the official stance is on our national playing contracts and future playing opportunities, noting that we are no longer living in Afghanistan?” they wrote. 

“The funding provided by the ICC to the ACB for the women’s program — where has this money gone? And can it be redirected to an organization in Australia to invest in our development ... so we can still represent our country on the international stage?” 

Amiri added “we mentioned that we had been safely moved to Australia and that we know the situation in Afghanistan but with your help and support . . . our hopes of representing our country remains alive. We are waiting for your leadership and your right decision.” 

Amiri says no one from the Afghanistan Cricket Board or ICC has contacted them. 

“We did not receive any help or even any hope from them, even though since 2017 they used the budget of men and women only for men and never supported the women’s team,” Amiri said. 

The ICC, in an emailed statement to the AP, said the Afghanistan Cricket Board operates autonomously and it cannot interfere. 

“The ICC board remains committed to supporting the Afghanistan Cricket Board and are not penalizing the ACB, or their players for abiding by the laws set by the government of their country,” the ICC said. 

“The relationship with players in any of the ICC’s member countries is managed by the board in that country, the ICC does not get involved. Similarly, the authority to field men’s and women’s national teams lies solely with the member board in any country, not with the ICC.” 

Amiri said the Afghan women’s team took heart from Australia’s decision in January to cancel a limited-overs series against Afghanistan scheduled to be played in the United Arab Emirates, where the men’s team is based. Cricket Australia cited recent heavier restrictions on women’s rights by the Taliban government for not playing the three games in March. 

The cancelation was evidence, Amiri said, that some countries were serious about the rights of women to represent Afghanistan in the international sports arena. 

But she and some of her teammates don’t want the Afghan men’s team, which will play in the Cricket World Cup in India next month, to be banned from international cricket. 

“In my opinion, banning the men’s team is not a good way to create a team for us,” Amiri said. “Because the people of Afghanistan are fans of cricket, and by banning the men’s team, in addition to the fact that the people of Afghanistan will be saddened by the women’s team, our effort is to be able to get the support of the Afghan people.” 

Unfortunately, she said, players on the national men’s team have “refused to stand with us.” 

“Their only answer to us was that we are endangering our families by doing this,” Amiri said. “The Afghanistan Cricket Board has not done anything for the development of women’s cricket for years.” 

With a second anniversary of the Taliban takeover just passed, Amiri can’t forget the turmoil. 

“For me, every year this day is a reminder of all the moments that I experienced when I was 18, the age when we all (should) study and pursue our dreams,” she said. The entire world can see, she added, “That the girls in Afghanistan don’t have the basic right of society, which is education. 

“It’s painful for me to imagine that if I was in Afghanistan, would I be alive or not?” 

Afghanistan’s female athletes are receiving support from one of the country’s first female Olympians — Friba Rezayee, a judo competitor at the 2004 Athens Games. Rezayee has started a petition asking the International Olympic Committee to “recognize the Afghan female athletes independently, not the Taliban NOC (National Olympic Committee).” 

The Afghan women’s team hasn’t had a chance to play international cricket, yet. Amiri remains optimistic. 

“I would like to say thanks to Australia and all the people who have helped us to live safely,” she says. “We believe that magic will happen one day and we will represent our country on an international ground in the world.” 

To further illustrate her point, the slogan on one of Amiri’s messaging apps says: “Gonna take more than a human to stop me from where I am meant to be,” and includes a muscle-flexing arm, a cricket bat and ball, and a flag of Afghanistan. 
 


UN denounces army attacks in Myanmar despite post-quake truce

Updated 4 sec ago
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UN denounces army attacks in Myanmar despite post-quake truce

  • Following reports of sporadic clashes even after the March 28 quake that so far is known to have killed at least 3,645 people
  • The military air strikes on Pazi Gyi village on April 11 2023 killed at least 155 people, including many children
GENEVA: The United Nations rights office decried Friday attacks by Myanmar’s military despite a ceasefire declared following last month’s devastating earthquake, which killed more than 3,600 people.
“At a moment when the sole focus should be on ensuring humanitarian aid gets to disaster zones, the military is instead launching attacks,” spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement.
UN rights chief Volker Turk, she said, “calls on the military to remove any and all obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian assistance and to cease military operations.”
A multi-sided conflict has engulfed Myanmar since 2021, when Min Aung Hlaing’s military wrested power from the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Following reports of sporadic clashes even after the March 28 quake that so far is known to have killed at least 3,645 people, the junta joined its opponents last week in calling a temporary halt to hostilities for relief to be delivered.
But Shamdasani highlighted that since the earthquake, “military forces have reportedly carried out over 120 attacks.”
“More than half of them (were) after their declared ceasefire was due to have gone into effect on 2 April,” she said.
The UN rights office had determined that most of these involved aerial and artillery strikes, she said, “including in areas impacted by the earthquake.”
“Numerous strikes have been reported in populated areas, many of them appearing to amount to indiscriminate attacks and to breach the principle of proportionality in international humanitarian law.”
Shamdasani pointed out that areas at the epicenter of the quake in Sagaing, particularly those controlled by opponents of the military, “have had to rely on local community responses for search and rescue, and to meet basic needs.”
“Clearly these valiant efforts need to be further supported,” she said, calling for “common efforts to assist those in greatest need.”
“In this spirit we call on the military to announce a full amnesty for detainees it has incarcerated since February 2021, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint.”
The UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) also decried the attacks.
“Even as rescue workers searched for survivors during the devastating earthquake last month, the military continued its air attacks in Mandalay, Sagaing and other regions, killing and injuring civilians,” it said in a statement.
Nicholas Koumjian, head of the investigative team, slammed “the systematic and escalating use of air strikes by the Myanmar military across the country,” which “caused widespread death, destruction and displacement, and has terrorized communities.”
He said Friday marked the two-year anniversary of military strikes in the now quake-hit Sagaing region, which constituted the deadliest single attack in Myanmar since the coup.
The military air strikes on Pazi Gyi village on April 11 2023 killed at least 155 people, including many children.
“Aerial bombardments, including the use of drones and alleged use of chemical weapons, are a grim hallmark of the Myanmar conflict and have increased in frequency since the Pazi Gyi attack,” the IIMM statement said.

Ousted South Korean President Yoon embraces supporters after leaving presidential residence

Updated 19 min 30 sec ago
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Ousted South Korean President Yoon embraces supporters after leaving presidential residence

  • Constitutional Court removed him from office over his ill-fated imposition of martial law in December
  • Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, returned to their private apartment in affluent southern Seoul

SEOUL: Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol left the presidential residence in Seoul on Friday for his private home, a week after the Constitutional Court removed him from office over his ill-fated imposition of martial law in December.
In recent days, moving trucks were seen driving in and out of the walled presidential compound in the Hannam-dong district, the site of a massive law enforcement operation in January that led to Yoon’s detainment. Yoon, who is facing a criminal trial on rebellion charges, was released from custody in March after a Seoul court canceled his arrest.
Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, along with their 11 dogs and cats, returned to their private apartment in affluent southern Seoul. As his black van arrived at the gate of the presidential compound, Yoon stepped out, smiling and waving to his supporters, shaking hands and embracing dozens of them, before getting back into the vehicle and leaving the site.
Arriving at the apartment complex where his private residence is located, Yoon stepped out of the van again and walked slowly through a crowd of supporters, shaking their hands as they chanted his name, as his wife closely followed.
Dozens of both supporters and critics of Yoon rallied in nearby streets amid a heavy police presence, holding signs that ran from “Your excellency Yoon, we will carry on with your spirit” to “Give Yoon Suk Yeol the death penalty!”
In a separate public message, Yoon expressed gratitude to his supporters who had protested for months calling for his reinstatement, and stressed that he will “continue to do my utmost” to build the “free and prosperous Republic of Korea that we have dreamed of together,” invoking South Korea’s formal name.
Yoon, a conservative who narrowly won the 2022 election, declared martial law on late-night television on Dec. 3, vowing to eradicate “anti-state” liberals whom he accused of abusing their legislative majority to obstruct his agenda. Yoon also declared a suspension of legislative activities and sent hundreds of troops to surround the National Assembly, but lawmakers still managed to form a quorum and voted to lift martial law just hours after it was imposed.
Yoon’s powers were suspended after the Assembly impeached him on Dec. 14. The Constitutional Court upheld impeachment and formally removed him from office last week, triggering a presidential election the government set for June 3.
Despite his self-inflicted downfall, it’s unlikely that Yoon will fade into the background, experts say. With the country entering election mode, he may try to rally his supporters while seeking to tighten his grip on the conservative People Power Party, whose leadership is stacked with loyalists.
Facing a separate criminal trial on rebellion charges, which are punishable by death or life in prison, Yoon would strongly prefer a conservative president who could pardon him if convicted and is likely to push to ensure the party’s primaries are won by a candidate he supports, experts say.


China hits back at Trump tariff hike, turmoil rings recession alarm

Updated 25 min 51 sec ago
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China hits back at Trump tariff hike, turmoil rings recession alarm

  • Donald Trump has now imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods of 145 percent since taking office
  • Beijing indicated that this would be the last time it matched the US tariff hike

BEIJING/WARSAW/WASHINGTON: Beijing on Friday increased its tariffs on US imports to 125 percent, hitting back against US President Donald Trump’s decision to hike duties on Chinese goods to 145 percent and raising the stakes in a trade war that threatens to up-end global supply chains.
China’s retaliation intensified the economic turmoil unleashed by Trump’s tariffs, with markets tumbling further and foreign leaders puzzling how to respond to the biggest disruption to the world trade order in decades.
The brief reprieve for battered stocks seen after Trump decided to pause duties for dozens of countries for 90 days quickly dissipated, as attention returned to the escalating trade conflict between the US and China that has fueled global recession fears.
Global stocks fell, the dollar slid and a sell-off in US government bonds picked up pace on Friday, reigniting fears of fragility in the world’s biggest bond market. Gold, a safe haven for investors in times of crisis, scaled a record high.
“Recession risk is much, much higher now than it was a couple weeks ago,” said Adam Hetts, global head of multi-asset at Janus Henderson.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shrugged off the renewed market turmoil on Thursday and said striking deals with other countries would bring certainty.
The US and Vietnam have agreed to begin formal trade talks, the White House said. The Southeast Asian manufacturing hub is prepared to crack down on Chinese goods being shipped to the United States via its territory in the hope of avoiding tariffs, Reuters exclusively reported.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, meanwhile, has set up a trade task force that hopes to visit Washington next week.
Trade war with China
As Trump suddenly paused his ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on other countries hours after they came into effect earlier this week, he ratcheted up duties on Chinese imports as punishment for Beijing’s initial move to retaliate.
He has now imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods of 145 percent since taking office.
China hit back with new tariffs on Friday, although Beijing indicated that this would be the last time it matched the US, should Trump take his duties any higher.
“Even if the US continues to impose even higher tariffs, it would no longer have any economic significance and would go down as a joke in the history of world economics,” the finance ministry statement added.
“If the US continues to play a numbers game with tariffs, China will not respond,” it added, however, leaving the door open for Beijing to turn to other types of retaliation, and reiterating that China would fight the US to the end.
Trump had told reporters at the White House on Thursday that he thought the United States could make a deal with China and said he respected Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“In a true sense he’s been a friend of mine for a long period of time, and I think that we’ll end up working out something that’s very good for both countries,” he said.
Xi, in his first public remarks on Trump’s tariffs, told Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez during a meeting in Beijing on Friday that China and the European Union should “jointly oppose unilateral acts of bullying,” in a clear swipe at Trump’s tariff policies.
“There are no winners in a trade war,” the Chinese leader told his guest, adding that by acting together, the world’s second-largest economy and the 27-strong European trade bloc could defend their interests and help uphold “the global rules-based order,” China’s state news agency Xinhua reported.


Taliban publicly execute a third person for murder: Afghan Supreme Court

Updated 11 April 2025
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Taliban publicly execute a third person for murder: Afghan Supreme Court

  • Afghanistan’s Supreme Court said Taliban authorities executed three convicted murderers on Friday, bringing to nine the number of men publicly put to death since their return to power

KABUL: Afghanistan’s Supreme Court said Taliban authorities executed three convicted murderers on Friday, bringing to nine the number of men publicly put to death since their return to power, according to an AFP tally.
Two men were executed in front of spectators in Qala I Naw, the center of Badghis province, while a third was killed in Zaranj in Nimroz province, the Supreme Court said in a statement.


Court to rule on Danish arms sales to Israel case

Updated 11 April 2025
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Court to rule on Danish arms sales to Israel case

  • Danish media outlets Danwatch and Information revealed in 2023 that Israel’s F-35s were equipped with parts made by the Danish group Terma

COPENHAGEN: A Copenhagen court is to rule Friday whether a lawsuit filed by four humanitarian organizations accusing Denmark of violating international law by exporting weapons to Israel is admissible in court.
The Palestinian human rights association Al-Haq, Amnesty International, Oxfam and Action Aid Denmark filed the lawsuit against the Danish foreign ministry and national police last year.
They said in a statement there was a risk that “Danish military materiel was being used to commit serious crimes against civilians in Gaza.”
The associations targeted the foreign ministry in their lawsuit since it “determines whether there is a risk that weapons and weapons components could be used to violate human rights” and the police because it was the authority responsible for issuing export licenses.
Denmark’s Eastern High Court is expected to announce its decision around 10:00 am (0800 GMT).
“We are the biggest human rights organization in the world and our mandate is clearly to protect human rights,” the secretary general of the Danish branch of Amnesty International, Vibe Klarup, said in a statement.
Danish media outlets Danwatch and Information revealed in 2023 that Israel’s F-35s were equipped with parts made by the Danish group Terma.
“Amnesty International has been working for several years to rally support for the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to ensure that states’ arms trading is not used to commit human rights violations,” said Klarup.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen argued in October that Denmark’s participation in the F-35 program was “crucial for our security and our relations with our main allies.”
Last year, Amnesty International accused Israel of “committing genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza.
The Danish lawsuit was filed in March 2024, on the heels of a similar suit filed in the Netherlands by a coalition of humanitarian organizations.
A Dutch court in December rejected demands by pro-Palestinian groups for a total ban on exporting goods that can be used for military means to Israel.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the overall death toll has reached 50,846 since the war with Israel began on October 7, 2023, a figure the UN has deemed reliable.
Hamas’ unprecedented assault on Israel resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.