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. 
 


Amnesty International urges Belgium to end violations of asylum-seekers’ rights

Updated 16 sec ago
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Amnesty International urges Belgium to end violations of asylum-seekers’ rights

  • ‘Belgium is actively manufacturing a homelessness crisis. Without urgent intervention, this crisis will deepen’
  • Organization interviewed people, including Palestinians, navigating country’s asylum system

LONDON: Amnesty International on Thursday condemned Belgium for denying asylum applications from thousands of people, “forcing them into homelessness.”

Amnesty accused the EU member of “discrimination against racialized single men,” which has “impacted the lives, dignity and human rights of people seeking asylum.”

It added: “To date, national and international courts have ordered the authorities in Belgium to provide reception more than 12,000 times.

“Belgium has consistently refused to fully comply with the judgments, despite these being final and legally binding.”

Amnesty interviewed people who have experienced homelessness while navigating Belgium’s asylum system since 2021. Many said as well as being denied accommodation, access to healthcare is a major problem.

Sayed, who traveled from Afghanistan, spent time in a squat in Brussels with other homeless migrants from October 2022 to 2023.

“In the beginning it was good enough, there were toilets and showers, and some people brought food in the afternoon,” he told Amnesty.

“But slowly it was turned completely into a graveyard. Showers and toilets were broken, with the passage of time … Pee was coming up to the place where you were sleeping.”

He said ordinary Belgians and local charities had been welcoming, but the state had not been. “People were feeling our pain, but not the authorities,” he added.

Palestinian refugees Ahmet and Baraa, who fled the war Gaza last year, were also forced to live in a squat.

“It was cold … You can be starving, and no one will know about it. No one will help you,” Ahmet said. “I lost a lot of relatives and friends (in Gaza). My mother is severely wounded, my brothers and sister as well. I was thinking in their shoes: I just need to survive.”

Baraa said he just wants a “simple life, basic rights, a job, food in (my) stomach and just to live like a normal person. We had a life back in Gaza, but we just lacked the security and the safety there and that is why we left. That is why we came here: to find a safe place.”

Amnesty said it fears that Belgium will continue to exacerbate the problem after its new government pledged to adopt “the strictest migration policy possible.”

Amnesty urged the government “to immediately provide sufficient reception places and ensure that all people seeking asylum are given adequate housing.

“They must ensure people have access to adequate healthcare services, including specialized psychological support, regardless of their housing situation.”

It also called on the EU to “ensure that Belgium restores compliance” with its legal obligations to asylum-seekers, “including by launching infringement procedures if necessary.”

Eva Davidova, spokeswoman for Amnesty International Belgium, said the country’s “failure to provide reception is not due to a lack of resources but a lack of political will.”

She added: “The previous government had ample time to resolve the homelessness situation and failed to do so.

“The current government is more concerned with reducing the number of people who receive asylum rather than addressing the very real harm inflicted on people seeking asylum currently in the country. 

“The scale and duration of Belgium’s persistent disregard for court orders raises questions as to how rights holders can have any hope of holding the Belgian government accountable, especially marginalized and racialized persons like those affected by this situation.”

Davidova continued: “Belgium is actively manufacturing a homelessness crisis which is bound to have a lasting adverse impact on people’s lives and dignity, while civil society is left to pick up the pieces.

“Without urgent intervention, this crisis will deepen, further violating asylum-seekers’ rights and eroding both the country’s and the EU’s commitment to human rights.”


Family of British aid worker killed by Israel slam UK govt ‘silence’

Updated 36 min 27 sec ago
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Family of British aid worker killed by Israel slam UK govt ‘silence’

  • James Kirby, 47, was killed last year alongside 6 other aid staff in Gaza
  • ‘The government’s response has been nothing but empty apologies, which are, and will never be, sufficient’

London: The UK government has given “nothing but empty apologies” over Israel’s killing of a British aid worker in Gaza, the BBC reported his family as saying.

James Kirby, 47, was killed last April along with six other World Central Kitchen aid workers in an Israeli drone attack.

They were traveling in a convoy of marked vehicles, with the Israeli military having prior knowledge of their planned route. Three Britons, including Kirby, were killed in the attack.

The matter was raised in Parliament on Tuesday as MP Hamish Falconer told colleagues that he had met the victims’ families in November last year together with the foreign secretary.

Israel must “quickly and thoroughly conclude” its investigation into the attack, Falconer said, describing it as an “appalling tragedy,” and adding that the victims’ families “are determined to see justice.”

Yet the “lack of justice and accountability” has been as “equally devastating” as Kirby’s death, his cousin Louise Kirby said.

His family have been “met with silence” from the government “despite repeated calls for answers” over the killings, she added.

“It is disheartening to note that after all this time, we still have no concrete proof of accountability from any responsible party,” she said.

“The government’s response has been nothing but empty apologies, which are, and will never be, sufficient.”

The family thanked the Muslim community in Bristol for their “ongoing solidarity” and supporting them in “our quest for justice.” They also received letters of condolence from the king and queen, who they thanked.

A lack of British investigation into the drone attack has left the family “deeply concerned that breach of policy or laws” might have taken place, Louise Kirby said.

“We want justice for James and the truth to be known, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable that may be.”

Israel’s attack also killed Britons John Chapman, 57, and James Henderson, 33. Four others were killed: Australian Lalzawmi Frankcom, 43, American-Canadian Jacob Flickinger, 33, Polish national Damian Sobol, 35, and Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, 25.

The Israeli Embassy in the UK last year attributed the attack to a “serious failure” that was “made due to mistaken identification.”

The Israel Defense Forces dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others over the attack.


US tariffs take aim everywhere, including uninhabited islands

Updated 58 min 42 sec ago
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US tariffs take aim everywhere, including uninhabited islands

  • The Australian territory in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean was slapped with 10% tariffs on all its exports

WASHINGTON: The world’s remotest corners couldn’t hide from US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs onslaught Wednesday — even the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands.
The Australian territory in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean was slapped with 10 percent tariffs on all its exports, despite the icy archipelago having zero residents — other than many seals, penguins and other birds.
Strings of ocean specks around the globe, including Australia’s Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the Comoros off the coast of Africa, were likewise subjected to 10 percent new tariffs.
Another eye-catching inclusion in the tariffs list was Myanmar, which is digging out from an earthquake that left nearly 3,000 people dead, and whose exports to the United States will now face 44 percent in new levies.
Britain’s Falkland Islands — population 3,200 people and around one million penguins — got particular punishment.
The South Atlantic territory — mostly famous for a 1982 war fought by Britain to expel an Argentinian invasion — was walloped with tariffs of 41 percent on exports to the United States.
The Falklands’ would-be ruler Argentina only faces 10 percent new tariffs.
According to the Falklands Chamber of Commerce, the territory is ranked 173 in the world in terms of global exports, with only $306 million of products exported in 2019. This included $255 million in exports of mollusks and $30 million of frozen fish.


What the world said about Trump’s tariffs

Updated 03 April 2025
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What the world said about Trump’s tariffs

  • Tariffs could disrupt trade and increase costs for firms

Paris: US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs on imports to the United States from countries right across the globe drew a wave of condemnation.
Here are international reactions so far:
China
Beijing said it “firmly opposes” the new tariffs on its exports, and vowed “countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests.”
Trump unveiled particularly stinging tariffs of 34 percent on China, one of its largest trading partners, while a 10 percent base tariff on all countries also applies. That comes on top of a 20 percent rate imposed last month.
The tariffs “do not comply with international trade rules,” China’s Commerce Ministry said.
It urged Washington to “immediately cancel” them, warning they “endanger global economic development.”
European Union
The tariffs are a “major blow to the world economy,” warned EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
“There seems to be no order in the disorder. No clear path through the complexity and chaos that is being created as all US trading partners are hit,” she said.
After the 20 percent tariffs on EU exports to the United States, she said Brussels was “preparing for further countermeasures” but added it was “not too late to address concerns through negotiations.”
Germany
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz slammed the tariffs as “fundamentally wrong” as Berlin warned that the European Union could retaliate by targeting American tech titans.
“This is an attack on a trade order that has created prosperity all over the globe, a trade order that is essentially the result of American efforts,” Scholz said.
Japan
Trade minister Yoji Muto said the 24 percent tariffs on Japanese exports to the United States were “extremely regrettable, and I have again strongly urged (Washington) not to apply them to Japan.”
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters the tariffs may contravene World Trade Organization rules and the pair’s trade treaty.
UK
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “there would be an economic impact” from a 10 percent tariff imposed on British exports to the United States.
“Today, I will act in Britain’s interests with mine,” said Starmer, adding that trade negotiations would continue with Donald Trump’s administration and that “we will fight for the best deal for Britain.”
The UK will “remain calm, and committed” to sealing a trade deal with the United States which could help “mitigate” the tarriff rise, business minister Jonathan Reynolds said.
France
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said the hikes were a “catastrophe” all round.
“This decision is a catastrophe for the economic world,” Bayrou said. “It is an immense difficulty for Europe. I believe that it is also a catastrophe for the United States and for American citizens.”
Italy
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized the new US tariffs on imports from the EU and urged a deal, warning a trade war would “inevitably weaken the West.”
“The introduction by the US of tariffs toward the EU is a measure that I consider wrong and that does not suit either party,” she said.
Canada
Prime Minister Mark Carney warned the tariffs will “fundamentally change the global trading system.”
“We are going to fight these tariffs with countermeasures. We are going to protect our workers,” he said.
Spain
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the tariffs a “unilateral attack” against Europe.
This measure marks a return to “19th century protectionism, which in my opinion, is not an intelligent way to meet the challenges of the 21st century,” he said.
Australia
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia would not retaliate but said: “This is not the act of a friend.”
Australia, where one in four jobs depends on trade, charges nothing on US imports, Albanese said, calling the tariffs “unwarranted” and saying they undermine “our free and fair trading relationship.”
Brazil
Brazil’s Congress approved a so-called “Economic Reciprocity Law” allowing the executive to respond to the 10 percent tariffs on exports from Latin America’s biggest economy, which is the second-largest exporter of steel to the United States after Canada.
South Korea
“A global tariff war has become a reality,” said acting president Han Duck-soo following Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on imports from South Korea.
Han convened an emergency task force and vowed to mobilize “all government resources” to overcome the “trade crisis,” urging ministers to minimize the damage through aggressive negotiations with Washington.
Switzerland
After Switzerland was hit with 31 percent tariffs, President Karin Keller-Sutter said the government would quickly decide on the next steps.
“The country’s long-term economic interests are the priority. Respect for international law and free trade are fundamental,” she said.
Poland
“Friendship means partnership. Partnership means really and truly reciprocal tariffs,” said Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Taiwan
The Taiwanese government found the 32 percent levy “highly unreasonable and deeply regretted it” said cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee.
She said Taiwan would “initiate serious negotiations with the United States.”
Thailand
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said he had a “strong plan” on how to respond, believing that there remained room to negotiate.
Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said Thailand would “negotiate with understanding, not aggressive talk. But we have to talk which products they feel are unfair and we have to see whether we can adjust.”
India
India’s commerce ministry reacted cautiously, saying it is “carefully examining the implications of the various measures” after the US slapped a flat 26 percent on exports imposed on the fifth-largest economy .
It also said it was “studying the opportunities that may arise due to this new development,” a likely reference to regional competitors being hit harder.
Bangladesh
Bangladeshi textile industry leaders said the tariffs posed a “massive blow” to the world’s second-largest garment manufacturer, which accounts for some 80 percent of the South Asian nation’s exports.
“Buyers will go to other cost-competitive markets — this is going to be a massive blow for our industry,” said Rakibul Alam Chowdhury, chairman of RDM Group, a major manufacturer with an estimated $25 million turnover. “We will lose buyers.”
South Africa
The new 30 percent tariffs on South African imports are a concern and underscore the urgent need for a new bilateral trade agreement, President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
“The tariffs affirm the urgency to negotiate a new bilateral and mutually beneficial trade agreement with the US as an essential step to secure long-term trade certainty,” he said. The United States is South Africa’s second-biggest trading partner.


China arrests three Filipinos suspected of spying

Updated 03 April 2025
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China arrests three Filipinos suspected of spying

  • Announcement comes as the two countries continue to confront each other over disputed territory in the South China Sea
  • At least five Chinese nationals were arrested on suspicion of espionage in January and another two in February by Philippine authorities

BEIJING: China on Thursday said it had “destroyed” an intelligence network set up by the Philippine espionage agency and arrested three spies from the country.
The announcement comes as the two countries continue to confront each other over disputed territory in the South China Sea and tensions mount over the Philippines’ security ties with ally the United States.
At least five Chinese nationals were arrested on suspicion of espionage in January and another two in February by Philippine authorities.
And the latest arrests in China come two days after Beijing’s embassy in Manila issued a travel warning to its citizens about frequent “harassment” from Philippine law enforcement agencies.
On Thursday, state broadcaster CCTV reported that authorities had identified one of the suspected spies as a Philippine national who had lived and worked in China long-term and had been found conducting espionage near military facilities.
The CCTV report included a video of his arrest and what appeared to be a recorded confession.
He was recruited by Philippine intelligence services to “take advantage of his long-term residence in China to conduct espionage activities in China and collect sensitive information, especially on military deployment,” state media said.
He came close to military facilities multiple times and “conducted close observation and secret photography,” CCTV added.
The three individuals had been recruited by the same Philippine spy since 2021 and received regular payment for their work, CCTV said.
They were also tasked with “assisting the Philippine spy intelligence agency in selecting and developing personnel, and expanding its intelligence network in China.”
They had provided “a large amount of military-related and confidential video materials” to Philippine agents, “causing serious harm to China’s national security and interests,” CCTV quoted a Chinese national security officer as saying.
Manila’s National Security Council spokesman Jonathan Malaya told AFP the country’s foreign ministry was “currently confirming these reports and the involvement of any Philippine national, if any.”
“We have no further comment as of this time until we are able to verify these new reports,” he added.
Asked about the charges, Beijing’s foreign ministry said it would “handle the cases in accordance with the law and will also safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the relevant personnel.”
But spokesman Guo Jiakun also accused Manila of having “fabricated several so-called Chinese espionage cases.”
“China urges the Philippines to stop chasing shadows and pinning labels on people,” Guo said.