- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
- China economy hopes boost global equities
- Ubisoft shares sink after 'Assassin's Creed' delay
- German economy to shrink again in 2024: think tanks
- Hong Kong's New World Development replaces CEO Adrian Cheng
- Swiss central bank cuts rate again amid strong franc worries
- Germany's BASF to focus on 'core units' in major overhaul
- China admits economy facing new 'problems', vows to fix property sector
- Stock markets boosted by China hopes, tech rally
- Bangladesh revolution sparks new hopes among Rohingya
Taliban free Afghan educator who protested women's university ban: aide
Afghanistan's Taliban authorities have freed a detained academic, his aide told AFP on Monday, months after he used a television appearance to protest the ban on women's university education.
In December, veteran journalism lecturer Ismail Mashal tore up his degree certificates on live TV and denounced the Taliban's treatment of women in a clip that went viral in Afghanistan.
He was detained in February after domestic channels showed him carting books around Kabul and offering them to passersby.
Mashal was released on Sunday after more than a month in detention, aide Farid Fazli said.
"I can confirm that he was released yesterday. He is fine and in good health," Fazli told AFP.
"However, he is not in a condition to talk at the moment."
Mashal's release comes as universities across Afghanistan reopened on Monday after a winter break, but only for men as women remained barred from attending class.
The university ban is one of several restrictions imposed on women since the Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021, and has sparked global outrage -- including across the Muslim world.
Mashal, a lecturer for more than a decade, was in February "mercilessly beaten and taken away in a very disrespectful manner by members of the Islamic Emirate," referring to the Taliban government, according to Fazli.
The detention of activists like Mashal "instils fears in the community and has a chilling effect on the overall enjoyment of fundamental freedoms," the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.
Footage of Mashal destroying his certificates on private channel TOLOnews was shared widely on social media.
While it is rare in Afghanistan to see a man protest in support of women's rights, Mashal, who ran a coeducational institute, said he had to stand up.
"As a man and as a teacher, I was unable to do anything else for them, and I felt that my certificates had become useless. So, I tore them," he told AFP at the time.
"I'm raising my voice. I'm standing with my sisters... My protest will continue even if it costs my life."
Taliban authorities have effectively squeezed women out of public life since retaking power.
Secondary schools for girls have been closed for more than a year, while many women have lost jobs in government sectors.
They have also been barred from going to parks, gyms and public baths.
M.García--CPN