Over three years have passed since the Taliban’s takeover, and heart-wrenching scenes of farewell among girls graduating from sixth grade have widely circulated on social media. These children have shared deeply emotional moments during their goodbyes, stirring the emotions of those who believe in education and gender equality. The Taliban’s closure of girls’ schools beyond the sixth grade has had a profound negative impact on the mental and emotional well-being of female students. By closing these schools, the Taliban have deepened grief and despair among girls, women, and their families. This group has not only jeopardized the future of these children but also the collective future of society. Every year, as the academic year ends, thousands of girls leave school in tears, expressing their frustration and disillusionment with this unjust situation in Afghan society. Moreover, after the closure of medical institutes for girls and women, depression and suicidal thoughts have been on the rise. In the most recent case, a girl from the Khair Khana area in Kabul took her own life. As the academic year ends in Afghanistan, the painful scenes of farewell among sixth-grade graduates add to the endless sorrow of the mothers and fathers of these children and others who support women’s education. Instead of celebrating the winter holidays, these children embrace their classmates in tears, as if they are forever deprived of education. Anbarin, a sixth-grade student from Badakhshan province, speaking with the Hasht-e Subh Daily , says she completed six years with excellent grades and had big dreams and plans for her future. Now, she considers those dreams impossible due to the continued closure of educational institutions. With deep regret and sorrow, she says, “I am one of the girls who graduated from sixth grade. I completed six years with excellent grades and had dreams and plans for my future. Now, I see them as impossible to achieve because the doors to knowledge are closed to us, and there is no hope for schools to reopen.” Anbarin continues, “I see my destiny as dark and hopeless, thinking I am a useless being who is of no benefit to my family and society, as change and transformation in society can only happen through education. I do not know what the future holds for me and all my peers. Sometimes, I lose hope, and my family’s efforts to encourage me do not comfort me. May God have mercy on the girls of this land and save us from the pit of ignorance and illiteracy.” Saliha, a student from Baghlan Province, says that when she became a sixth-grade student, she was constantly worried and anxious about the end of the academic year. She adds, “Every day, I went to school with excitement, but when the academic year ended, I thought about what I would do at home if I couldn’t go to school. The thought of it was very hard for me. I always wanted to become a doctor, but now I think I will never become one, and that will remain one of my unfulfilled dreams.” Maryam, a student who says she graduated from sixth grade two years ago, recalls feeling a pain in her heart, fearing she might never return to school. She remembers that her only comfort came from her teachers, who promised they would return to school the following year. This student, deprived of education, says she had just realized the importance of studying and had eagerly learned English and mathematics. She adds, “I was so eager to study that I didn’t realize they would close the schools and make us stay at home. My dream was to finish school and university and help myself and my family. I was deeply disappointed when the schools were closed.” Meanwhile, videos have circulated on social media showing young girls crying as they say goodbye to their classmates. These sixth-grade girls had planned their free time, but now they are confronted with the painful truth that they can no longer return to their class. They cry with their hopes and regrets, saddened by the fact that they can no longer continue their education in the coming academic year. Additionally, a video from a student, shared with the Hasht-e Subh Daily but not made public due to fear of the Taliban, shows the child remembering school and lessons with longing. She fears she may never see her teachers and classmates again. She says, “How sorry I am that I have been deprived of education just because I am a girl. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to go to school. There is so much pain in my heart, and sadly, there is no hope for schools to reopen anytime soon.” At the same time, an audio clip has circulated on social media in which a student, during a farewell moment from her sixth-grade class, cries and says, “Let this be my last farewell with my classmates at this desk and chair. God, what is our crime?” Meanwhile, a source speaking with the Hasht-e Subh Daily says that on Sunday, a 19-year-old midwifery student in the Khair Khana area of Kabul committed suicide due to depression and despair from the closure of educational institutes. The source states, “On Sunday, a 19-year-old girl, a midwifery student, hanged herself in the bathroom of her house in the 500 Family area, District 15 of Kabul. Before her death, she asked her father for 50 Afghanis, which she used to purchase a rope for the act.” In contrast, some girls and their families have secretly tried to continue their education. In certain areas, families have worked to rescue their daughters from educational deprivation through homeschooling and informal classes. As sixth-grade girls cry and mourn their graduation, a report by the Hasht-e Subh Daily reveals that the Taliban have intensified their efforts to recruit girls into religious schools. According to the report, girls and women are being taught a Taliban-centric curriculum, inciting them against human rights values and Western societies, and spreading misinformation. The findings indicate that the Taliban tell girls that men who allow their women to work are “shameless” and that civilization and humanity are tools of the West to oppress Muslims. You can read the Persian version of this daily report here: فراغت از صنف ششم؛ دختران با حسرت و اشک به خانه برمیگردند | روزنامه ۸صبحWASHINGTON — The FBI should have done more to gather intelligence before the Capitol riot, according to a watchdog report Thursday that also said no undercover FBI employees were on the scene on Jan. 6, 2021, and that none of the bureau's informants was authorized to participate. The report from the Justice Department inspector general's office knocks down a fringe conspiracy theory advanced by some Republicans in Congress that the FBI played a role in instigating the events that day, when rioters determined to overturn Republican Donald Trump's 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden stormed the building in a violent clash with police. The review, released nearly four years after a dark chapter in history that shook the bedrock of American democracy, was narrow in scope, but aimed to shed light on gnawing questions that have dominated public discourse, including whether major intelligence failures preceded the riot and whether the FBI in some way provoked the violence. Rioters loyal to Donald Trump gather Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The report offers a mixed assessment of the FBI's performance in the run-up to the riot, crediting the bureau for preparing for the possibility of violence and for trying to identify known "domestic terrorism subjects" who planned to come to Washington that day. But it said the FBI, in an action the now-deputy director described as a "basic step that was missed," failed to canvass informants across all 56 of its field offices for any relevant intelligence. That was a step, the report concluded, "that could have helped the FBI and its law enforcement partners with their preparations in advance of January 6." The report found 26 FBI informants were in Washington for election-related protests on Jan. 6, including three who were tasked with traveling to the city to report on others who were potentially planning to attend the day's events. While four informants entered the Capitol, none were authorized to do so by the bureau or to break the law, the report said. Rioters storm the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Many of the 26 informants provided the FBI with information before the riot, but it "was no more specific than, and was consistent with, other sources of information" that the FBI acquired. The FBI said in a letter responding to the report that it accepts the inspection general's recommendation "regarding potential process improvements for future events." The lengthy review was launched days after the riot as the FBI faced questions over whether it had missed warning signs or adequately disseminated intelligence it received, including a Jan. 5, 2021, bulletin prepared by the FBI's Norfolk, Virginia, field office that warned of the potential for "war" at the Capitol. The inspector general found the information in that bulletin was broadly shared. FBI Director Chris Wray, who announced this week his plans to resign at the end of Biden's term in January, defended his agency's handing of the intelligence report. He told lawmakers in 2021 that the report was disseminated though the joint terrorism task force, discussed at a command post in Washington and posted on an internet portal available to other law enforcement agencies. "We did communicate that information in a timely fashion to the Capitol Police and (Metropolitan Police Department) in not one, not two, but three different ways," Wray said at the time. FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks March 11 during a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Separately, the report said the FBI's New Orleans field office was told by a source between November 2020 and early January 2021 that protesters were planning to station a "quick reaction force" in northern Virginia "to be armed and prepared to respond to violence that day in DC, if necessary." That information was shared with the FBI's Washington Field Office, members of intelligence agencies and some federal law enforcement agencies the day before the riot, the inspector general found. But there was no indication the FBI told northern Virginia police about the information, the report said. An FBI official told the inspector general there was "nothing actionable or immediately concerning about it." A cache of weapons at a Virginia hotel as part of a "quick reaction force" was a central piece of the Justice Department's seditious conspiracy case against Oath Keeper leader Stewart Rhodes and other members of the far-right extremist group. Trump supporters, including Douglas Jensen, center, confront U.S. Capitol Police on Jan. 6, 2021, in the hallway outside of the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Washington. The conspiracy theory that federal law enforcement officers entrapped members of the mob has been spread in conservative circles, including by some Republican lawmakers. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., recently suggested on a podcast that agents pretending to be Trump supporters were responsible for instigating the violence. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who withdrew as Trump's pick as attorney general amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations, sent a letter to Wray in 2021 asking how many undercover agents or informants were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and if they were "merely passive informants or active instigators." Wray said the "notion that somehow the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and agents is ludicrous." Rioters scale a wall at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Supporters loyal to then-President Donald Trump attend a rally on the Ellipse near the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Trump supporters participate in a rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Trump supporters participate in a rally Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Then-President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives to speak at a rally in Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) People listen as then-President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Supporters of then-President Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) A supporter of then-President Donald Trump is injured during clashes with police at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. A rioter pours water on herself at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) A Trump supporter holds a Bible as he gathers with others outside the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) A demonstrator supporting then-President Donald Trump, is sprayed by police, Jan. 6, 2021, during a day of rioting at the Capitol.(AP Photo/John Minchillo) Rioters try to enter the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) U.S. Capitol Police try to hold back rioters outside the east doors to the House side of the U.S. Capitol, Jan 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Rioters gather outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Jan 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Protesters gather outside the U.S. Capitol, Jan 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Jacob Anthony Chansley, center, with other insurrectionists who supported then-President Donald Trump, are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police in the hallway outside of the Senate chamber in the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Chansley, was among the first group of insurrectionists who entered the hallway outside the Senate chamber. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) U.S. Capitol Police hold rioters at gun-point near the House Chamber inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Lawmakers evacuate the floor as rioters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Police with guns drawn watch as rioters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Congressmen shelter in the House gallery as rioters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Members of Congress wear emergency gas masks as they are evacuated from the House gallery as rioters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) The House gallery is empty after it was evacuated as rioters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of Jan. 7, 2021, after rioters stormed the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Members of the DC National Guard surround the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., read the final certification of Electoral College votes cast in November's presidential election during a joint session of Congress after working through the night, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool) A flag hangs between broken windows after then-President Donald Trump supporters tried to break through police barriers outside the U.S. Capitol, Jan 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) A flag that reads "Treason" is visible on the ground in the early morning hours of Jan. 7, 2021, after rioters stormed the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) An ATF police officer cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of Jan. 7, 2021, after rioters stormed the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
Vancouver fans will enjoy 5G network upgrades at BC PlaceLionel Sangio, the talented forward for the national team, has been making headlines recently for his dedication to improving his far-post finishing skills. In a recent interview, Sangio revealed that his coach has been urging him to be more selfish in front of the goal, a strategy that seems to be paying off on the field.
Drug policy and harm reduction organizations are celebrating a small victory after the province repealed Bill 34 last week. Bill 34, the Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act, would have rolled back the freedoms granted under British Columbia’s decriminalization pilot project. Decriminalization lets people 18 and older carry a combined total of 2.5 grams of opioids, crack and powder cocaine, meth and MDMA for personal use. The pilot project does not allow people to use drugs near children, for example schools or child-care facilities, or in airports or cars. Following public outcry to a perceived increase in public drug use, the province introduced Bill 34 in November 2023, which further limited where people could publicly use drugs and gave police additional powers to police people using drugs, or who they suspected of having done so in the past. But the bill was never implemented. The non-profit Harm Reduction Nurses Association fought Bill 34, arguing it would push people to use drugs alone thereby increasing their risk of dying of overdose. Unregulated drug toxicity is the leading cause of death in B.C. for people aged 10 to 59, with more people dying from drug poisoning than from homicide, suicide, accidents and natural disease combined. In late December 2023 a Supreme Court of BC justice granted an injunction, agreeing with the Harm Reduction Nurses Association that the bill would cause “irreparable harms,” by isolating people who use drugs and saying it needed to assess whether the bill violated Charter rights. Before the Supreme Court of BC could complete its assessment, the province repealed the bill. The Tyee reached out to the province for comment about the court case, the repeal of the bill, and to respond to criticism from advocates late Friday, but did not hear back by press time Monday, given holiday hours and the tight turnaround. In an April press release, then-minister of public safety and solicitor general Mike Farnworth said the province was balancing the rolling back of decriminalization of public drug use with expanding access to treatment. In a Dec. 19 press release, the new Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Garry Begg said, “Decriminalizing the possession of a small amount of certain illegal drugs for personal use is a life-saving measure and one action the province is taking to address the toxic-drug crisis. This must be balanced with the needs of people who want to enjoy community spaces, parks and local businesses without encountering open drug use.” Only a small victory Repealing the legislation is only a “small” victory because the province found another way to introduce some its policies, says DJ Larkin, executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition. Larkin says these polices are harmful to people who use drugs. In April 2024 the B.C. government asked Health Canada to amend the decriminalization pilot project, banning public drug use so that the only places it is allowed is overdose prevention sites, private residences and legal tenting spaces for unhoused folks. Sarah Lovegrove, vice-president of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association, dubs this “recriminalization.” The only difference between the decriminalization amendment and Bill 34 is that it didn’t give police enhanced powers to arrest people for drug use or suspected drug use, she said. “It represents a small victory over laws and policies that are disproportionately harming people and targeting specific communities at risk of toxic drug poisoning,” she added. Lovegrove characterizes the amendment as an “egregious side stepping of court proceedings.” The province was able to take the drug policies the courts said would cause irreparable harm and ask Health Canada to implement them instead of doing it through its own legislation, she said. “From a public policy perspective, it is very concerning that government would avoid [the courts] by recreating those harms through another means,” said Larkin. Larkin, who is also a lawyer, says this move by the province was “quite unique” and compared it to enacting the notwithstanding clause. “Going around a court decision like this is a real sign the government is acting in a way that is not respectful of the court’s decision and not respectful of the evidence of the harms this policy creates,” they said. “When a court says this law could do irreparable harm, that is not an activist statement. It is merely the court saying, ‘this is what the evidence shows me,’” they said. “Governments need to take heed of that.” Pop-up OPS returning to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital It’s good that discretionary police powers weren’t expanded further because people who use drugs already have to navigate widely varying responses between police officers or police forces, said Dr. Ryan Herriot, a spokesperson for Doctors for Safer Drug Policy and a family and addictions medicine doctor in Victoria. In November the organization set up two unsanctioned overdose prevention sites near Nanaimo Regional General Hospital and Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria. The responses to these two unsanctioned sites are illustrative in terms of the varying responses between police forces. While an unsanctioned overdose prevention site was able to run as planned in Nanaimo, it hit a snag in Victoria, where volunteers were told to take down a tent and said people were not allowed to use drugs in the area. Ultimately what is driving toxic drug deaths is a toxic drug supply, stigma and isolation, Lovegrove said. “None of these factors are solved by criminalization and the emergency is being made infinitely worse by these colliding housing and affordability crises.” “We need real solutions that are driven by evidence and not politics,” she added. Lovegrove says that a group of 13 non-profits, including the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and the Western Aboriginal Harm Reduction Society, have applied for a judicial review on the province’s decision to amend its decriminalization project. Herriot says Doctors for Safer Drug Policy will also be back with more pop-up overdose prevention sites near the Nanaimo Hospital on Dec. 28, and from Jan. 4 to 7. More pop-up overdose prevention sites might be coming to other hospitals across B.C. and Canada. Herriot says they’ve had around 20 groups reach out and ask how they could set up their own local overdose prevention site.
CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals took care of business and won three straight games for the first time this season. Cincinnati is playing its best football, but it might be too late to sneak into the playoffs, with five teams battling for the two remaining AFC postseason spots. At 7-8, the Bengals are on the bubble along with two other teams that have the same record, the Colts and Dolphins. To have a chance, the Bengals will need to beat the visiting Denver Broncos (9-6) on Saturday, then try to take down the Steelers (10-5) at Pittsburgh in the regular-season finale. They'll need some help from other teams, too. The rub for the Bengals is that they have yet to beat a team with a winning record this season. Now with some momentum for the first time, the Bengals will have to clear that hurdle. “It’s just what it’s supposed to feel like for us. This is our expectation," coach Zac Taylor said after the Bengals beat the Cleveland Browns 24-6 on Sunday. “We just put ourselves in a position to now play some real meaningful games. ... We found a way to get the win and now we can turn our focus to a short week and the Denver Broncos.” What's working Joe Burrow became the first player in NFL history to throw for at least 250 yards and three or more touchdowns in seven consecutive games. One of his TD passes, to Tee Higgins, came as he was falling down. He finished 23 for 30 for 252 yards. ... Ja'Marr Chase continues to build his resume as he strives to win the receiving “triple crown.” He had six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown against the Browns and leads the league in receptions, yards and TDs. ... K Cade York tied a franchise record with a 59-yard field goal. “The guys have responded this way all season,” Taylor said. “We lost some heartbreakers to be quite frank, and games that just came down to the end. It doesn’t mean that we’ve had a bad football team and we weren’t in it. We’ve been in this, and now — I don’t want to say getting our confidence back, because we’ve had confidence — but we’re just making the plays necessary at the critical points of the game to take control of these games. That’s really what’s happened the last three weeks, and we’ve got to continue that.” What needs help Burrow has fumbled 10 times this season. Against the Browns, he lost a fumble on a strip-sack with the Bengals on the Cleveland 2-yard-line. Stock up Last week, S Jordan Battle scooped a fumble and ran it all the way back, only to fumble as he crossed the goal line, leading to a touchback. Against the Browns, he intercepted a second-half pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the end zone. The Bengals' defense has nine takeaways in the past two games. Stock down Cincinnati's depleted offensive line allowed four sacks. Injuries The offensive line took a hit when tackle Amarius Mims went out with an ankle injury and didn't return. Key number 5.1 — Yards per carry by RB Chase Brown, who seems to get better every week. He had 18 carries for 91 yards. Next steps The Bengals continue their improbable effort to slip into the playoffs when they host the Broncos in their home finale on Saturday. They finish the season the following week at Pittsburgh. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL Mitch Stacy, The Associated Press