This is the first post in World News. I hope you enjoy it!
· The new Taliban mayor of Afghanistan's capital Kabul has told female municipal employees to stay home unless their jobs cannot be filled by a man. New leadership in Afghanistan has imposed Sharia Law on Women in the country forcing women not to work. Within schools that have now recently opened, only male students and teachers have been allowed back. Protests against the Taliban interim government have been met with violence.
The Women’s Affairs Ministry has been shut down until further notice by the Taliban. In a separate development, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said it had been unable to fulfill its duties since the Taliban's takeover. All their vehicles, computer systems, and assets have been taken over by the Taliban.
· Israel’s new government is focused on shrinking the Palestinian conflict, not to solve it. The new Israeli government is composed of an even split of leftists, right-wingers, and centrists which is a unique situation that hasn’t been seen before. To carry out their newly organized mission, Israel has adopted new measures to make Palestinian relations better. These measures include issuing 15,000 new work permits inside Israel for Palestinians, floating the Palestinian Authority a $500 million loan, re-establishing Joint Economic Committees to discuss future projects, allowing reunification (i.e. legal status) for Palestinian spouses in the West Bank, and tentatively approving 2,000 new housing units for Palestinians in the part of the West Bank under full Israeli control.
· The United States, Britain, and Australia have entered into a security agreement surrounding the possibility of conflict in the Indo-Pacific. The agreement has allowed Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines and more collaboration regarding cyber capabilities and artificial intelligence. However, this deal was met with scrutiny by many nations around the world.
France and China are among those that were most appalled with the new alliance. China has responded by initiating a trade war with its trade partner Australia (China being their largest trade partner) where relations seem far from fixable now. French leaders have said that the choice to leave France out of these negotiations was ill-advised due to shared interests in the Indo-Pacific. Though the deal has been met with large amounts of scrutiny Australian leaders believe that this deal was too good to pass up. With the looming threat of the militarization of China in the Indo Pacific, Australian leaders believe the new nuclear submarines will give their citizens the best chance at safety.
Sources:
Afghanistan: Stay home, female Kabul government workers told - BBC News
China, France furious at new U.S. security alliance with Australia, Britain (nbcnews.com)