Afghan women ‘most repressed in the world’, says UN mission

AFGHANISTAN under the Taliban government is the “most repressive country in the world” for women’s rights, with authorities effectively trapping women and girls in their homes, the United Nations said today. About 20 women held a rare demonstration in a Kabul street today, calling on the international community to protect Afghans, AFP journalists witnessed.

UN ‘alarmed’ at West Bank violence day after Israeli raid

THE United Nations Middle East peace envoy urged Israel and the Palestinians today to calm surging violence in the occupied West Bank, a day after the latest Israeli raid killed six people. “We are in the midst of a cycle of violence that must be stopped immediately,” Tor Wennesland said in a statement.