Taliban official pushes for Afghan girls to be able to return to school

A senior member of the Taliban-run government in Afghanistan on Tuesday called on Afghanistan's new rulers to reopen schools for girls beyond the sixth grade, saying there is no valid reason in Islam for the ban.

The appeal from Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban deputy foreign minister, came during a top Taliban gathering in Kabul. It was a rare moderate voice amid the harsh measures imposed by the Taliban since they overran the country and seized power in August 2021.

The measures include banning girls from middle school and high school despite initial promises to the contrary. Women are required to cover themselves from head to toe in public, with only their eyes showing.

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The Taliban have said they are working on a plan to open secondary schools for girls but have not given a timeframe.

The United Nations has called the ban "shameful" and the international community has been wary of officially recognizing the Taliban, fearing a return to the same harsh rule the Taliban imposed when they were last in power in the late 1990s.

"It is very important that education must be provided to all, without any discrimination," Stanikzai said. "Women must get education, there is no Islamic prohibition for girls' education."

"Let’s not provide opportunities for others to create a gap between the government and people," he added. "If there are technical issues, that needs to be resolved, and schools for girls must be opened."

Still, it was unclear if and how much Stanikzai could sway hard-liners, who appear to hold the reins in the Taliban administration.

Stanikzai was once head of the Taliban team in talks that led to the 2020 agreement in Qatar between the Taliban and the United States that included the complete withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan.

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His remarks follow the Taliban appointment of a new education minister, days after the U.N. called on them to reopen schools for girls. The U.N. estimates that more than 1 million girls have been barred from attending most of middle school and high school over the past year.

A year after the Taliban took over the country as the Western-backed government and military crumbled, the U.N. says it is increasingly concerned that restrictions on girls’ education, as well as other measures curtailing basic freedoms, would deepen Afghanistan’s economic crisis and lead to greater insecurity, poverty, and isolation.

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Russian citizenship provides 'a little stability' for him and his family, Snowden says

Edward Snowden said Russian citizenship will give his family stability nearly a decade after the former National Security Agency contractor leaked files on U.S. surveillance operations and fled to Moscow. 

"After two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile, a little stability will make a difference for my family. I pray for privacy for them—and for us all," Snowden tweeted on Monday in his first public comments since Russian President Vladimir Putin's decree granting him citizenship. 

Snowden said two years ago that he would apply for dual U.S.-Russian citizenship after he was granted permanent residence in Russia. 

State Department spokesperson Ned Price reiterated the United States' position on Monday that Snowden should return to face trial on espionage charges. 

"I am familiar with the fact that he has in some ways denounced his American citizenship," Price said. "I don't know that he's renounced it." 

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Snowden's wife, American Lindsay Mills, will also apply for Russian citizenship, his lawyer told state-owned new outlet RIA Novosti. Snowden tweeted a photo on Monday of Mills and the couple's two sons. 

The U.S. whistleblower's revelations in 2013 about the NSA's surveillance operations drew praise from privacy advocates and sharp condemnation from U.S. officials who accused him of damaging national security. 

His newly-acquired Russian citizenship comes amid escalating tensions between Moscow and Washington, D.C. 

Putin's invasion of Ukraine is entering its eighth month, with the Kremlin ordering a partial mobilization to conscript 300,000 Russian men into the military. 

Price suggested on Monday that Snowden could be conscripted and sent to Ukraine, but his lawyer told Russian media that won't happen. 

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Vladimir Putin grants full Russian citizenship to Edward Snowden

Russian President Vladimir Putin granted full Russian citizenship to U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden on Monday.

Snowden, 39, fled the United States to Russia after revealing information about extensive surveillance operations being conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA). He is now a Russian citizen by presidential decree, Reuters reported Monday.

The announcement comes roughly two years after Russia granted Snowden permanent residency in the country.

The country first granted Snowden asylum in 2014 and has since resisted calls to extradite him to the U.S. Snowden faces espionage charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years in the U.S.

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Strategic intelligence expert and author of "Putin’s Playbook" Rebekah Koffler says the move likely signals Snowden working more closely with the Russian government.

"While before, Snowden was willingly providing help to Russian intelligence, as of today, he will be directed to do exactly what the Russian government and military want him to do," Koffler told Fox News Digital in an email.

"Snowden has more than likely been debriefed by Russian spy agencies, and has provided highly sensitive information to the Russians that could harm Americans, including US military personnel," she added.

Snowden stated in 2019 that he would be willing to return to the U.S. on the condition that he got a fair trial.

"That is the ultimate goal, but if I’m going to spend the rest of my life in prison then my one, bottom-line demand that we all have to agree to is that at least I get a fair trial," Snowden told "CBS This Morning" at the time.

Former President Donald Trump had stated he was considering Snowden's case for a potential pardon in 2020, but never took action.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, has been one of Snowden's major allies in the U.S., saying the whistleblower unveiled schemes by the U.S. government to surveil American citizens both here and abroad.

This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.

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Pakistan journalist arrested for allegedly aiding his son in wife's death

Pakistani police arrested a veteran journalist for his alleged involvement in his son's beating death of his new wife at their suburban home, police said Sunday.

Police officer Mohammad Faizan said Ayaz Amir, a well-known columnist and TV political analyst in Pakistan, appeared in court in the capital of Islamabad on Sunday accused of aiding his son.

Police were to interrogate him for his role in the death of Sara Inam, 37, who married Amir's son Shahnawaz four months ago.

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Inam was allegedly killed Friday by Shahnawaz at the couple's home after a row over a family issue. Shahnawaz was arrested and police say he confessed to hitting his wife repeatedly with a dumbbell and then later tried to hide her body in a bathtub.

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Pakistan has a bad track record regarding freedom of expression and several journalists have been assaulted and detained by police in recent months.

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Dozens dead, over 1,200 arrested in Iran as regime warns of 'decisive' crackdown

At least 41 people have been killed and more than 1,200 people have been arrested as Iranians protest against the in-custody death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini as of Monday.

Protesters are demanding an end to the compulsory wearing of the Hijab and other violations of women's rights in Iran. Exact statistics for casualties and arrests are available only to the Iranian government, but state media has offered a glimpse at the fallout of more than 10 days of unrest.

The regime sought to quell the protests by cutting off access to social media in more than a dozen cities in recent days, a move that has precluded the widespread killing of protesters in previous instances of unrest.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has warned protesters that his regime will act "decisively" to end the violence.

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Not all of those injured or killed have been protesters, however. At least five members of Iran's Basij paramilitary group have also been killed, according to state media. The group is connected to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and has been acting as enforcers.

The unrest has been most severe in Iran's northeastern region, where much of the nation's Kurdish minority group resides. Amini was herself Kurdish.

Protests erupted after morality police arrested the young woman for not wearing a Hijab correctly while visiting Tehran. She suffered severe injuries while in custody and later died in a hospital after falling into a coma.

Iranian authorities have allegedly rejected responsibility for Amini's death, claiming that she simply collapsed while in custody. Amini's family says they found evidence of beatings on her body when they arrived at the hospital, however.

Amini's death has led thousands of women to cast off their Hijabs during protest events, with some even burning them in the street.

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US pushes UN rights council to debate China's 'serious human rights violations'

The U.S., U.K. and other Western countries are pushing for the United Nations to debate China's ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, according to a Monday filing.

The call for a debate comes more than a month after the U.N. published a report stating that China is committing "serious human rights violations" in Xinjiang. If agreed to, the U.N. Human Rights Council would debate the issue at its upcoming session in February, Reuters reported.

China's abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang has been widely documented in recent years. The Muslim minority group has been subjected to forced labor, sterilizations and abortions as part of China's so-called push to address "extremism" in the region.

The U.S. has accused the Chinese Communist Party of carrying out a genocide against Uyghurs. Internal CCP documents leaked in May revealed the grim reality, with one high-level CCP official issuing a shoot-to-kill order for anyone attempting to escape in 2017.

CHINA IMPOSES SANCTIONS ON US OFFICIALS OVER XINJIANG

"If we all fulfill our duty, Xinjiang will be stabilized," former Xinjiang secretary Chen Quanguo said in a 2017 speech, according to a translated copy provided by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC). "If they run, just kill them. There will be no problem, because we have already authorized this a long time ago."

The leaked documents came just as then-United Nations human rights high commissioner Michelle Bachelet embarked on her fact-finding trip to Xinjiang. 

Bachelet faced heavy criticism at the time for agreeing to China's strict limitations on her visit, forcing her to stay within a closed loop of pre-approved individuals throughout the trip.

Bachelet resigned her post soon after returning from the trip and publishing the U.N.'s August report.

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China's U.N. ambassador, Zhang Jun, slammed the report hours before its release, reiterating that Beijing remained "firmly opposed" to the report.

"We haven't seen this report yet, but we are completely opposed to such a report, we do not think it will produce any good to anyone," Zhang told reporters outside the Security Council. "We have made it very clear to the high commissioner and in a number of other occasions that we are firmly opposed to such a report."

China has long denied any wrongdoing in Xinjiang, arguing it is an internal Chinese matter.

Fox News' Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

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VP Kamala Harris visits Japan to discuss Taiwanese security situation: official

Vice President Kamala Harris landed in Japan on Monday on her way to discuss Taiwan's security issues amid increased aggression from China.

A senior administration official confirmed that Harris and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will discuss a partnership approach to Taiwan's security situation. 

The official also said that Japan's military strength and partnership would be "welcomed" by Washington, according to Reuters. 

The visit comes as many Taiwanese citizens worry that their country could be invaded by China in the coming months. Supporters of Taiwan hope that President Biden provide military aid to defend Taiwan from China.

BIDEN SAYS US WOULD DEFEND TAIWAN IF CHINA LAUNCHES AN 'UNPRECEDENTED ATTACK'

Taiwan Consul General James J.K. Lee recently gave an exclusive interview to Fox News, warning about China's approach to the geopolitical situation.

Lee, who is the director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, criticized China for not renouncing its use of force against Taiwan

"The Chinese aggressive, coercive approach measure only strengthens our people's will to safeguard our democracy and freedom," Lee said.

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"While Taiwan will do whatever it can to deescalate the tension, we will never surrender our freedom," he added. 

Harris is also planning on attending the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday. Abe was shot and killed this summer while campaigning in the Nara prefecture. 

The trip marks Vice President Harris's second visit to Asia since taking office in 2021. 

Reuters contributed to this report. 

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