A small group of women wearing veils gathered in western Afghanistan's Herat province on Thursday to demand that the Taliban's new regime protect their rights.
Over 50 women and young girls gathered in front of the governor's house in Herat city, holding placards with slogans concerning women's rights. Some of the placards read, "Don't be afraid, we're all in this together," and "Women's right is humanity's right."
Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on Aug. 15, forcing the majority of Ashraf Ghani's government officials to flee the country, the Afghan women's population has been concerned about restrictions on women's education and active involvement in social and economic life.
In his first news conference in Kabul on Aug. 17, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid assured Afghan women that their rights would be protected within the confines of Islamic law, and that they would be able to participate actively in society and pursue education at their free will in complete security.
Farzana Karami, one of the participants, claimed that women have been absent from public and private offices, universities, schools, and social venues in recent weeks.
Women have always desired the right to education, employment, freedom, and presence in public forums, social activities, and politics, she told reporters.
Women in Afghanistan are educated and capable of contributing to society. "It is unacceptable for us if these women are marginalized and ignored," she continued.
Their presence is not limited to schools, universities and health centers; rather, women make up half of Afghanistan's population and their participation in public spheres such as economic, cultural and social activities is essential, according to Karimi, who added that "nothing else is acceptable to us."
-We will never accept restrictions or limitations. We will not accept a system that ignores our rights and excludes us- she stressed.
The Taliban are in the process of forming an Afghan government, which they are expected to formally announce on Friday.
After the Taliban took control of Kabul last month, several of their leaders appeared on TV shows hosted by women anchors in what was seen to be an effort to debunk anti-women perceptions.

Over 50 women gather in front of governor’s house in Herat, saying 'marginalization of women unacceptable'

A group of women holding banners gather to stage a demonstration for their rights in Herat, Afghanistan on September 02, 2021.

Women in western Afghanistan demand their rights be protected

The US on Wednesday did not rule out working with the Taliban against Daesh/ISIS's Afghanistan affiliate after withdrawing from the war-torn nation.

Joint Chiefs chairman Mark Milley, the top American military official, succinctly said: "It's possible," when asked at a news conference if the US would cooperate with the Taliban against the Daesh/ISIS-K terror group.
The acknowledgment is a major development for the US, which had been at war with the Taliban for two decades in what marks Washington's longest conflict. Daesh/ISIS-K claimed responsibility for an Aug. 23 suicide bombings outside of Kabul's international airport that claimed the lives of nearly 170 Afghans and 13 US service members.
The horrific attack took place as Afghans flocked to the Hamid Karzai Airport en masse in the final days of the US extraction effort that saw more than 124,000 people ferried out of Afghanistan.
Also asked about collaboration with the Taliban against Daesh/ISIS-K, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he "would not want to make any predictions."
The US is "going to do everything we can to make sure we remain focused on ISIS-K, understand that network," he said.
-And at the time of our choosing in the future, hold them accountable for what they’ve done- said Austin. -It’s hard to predict where this will go with respect to the Taliban.-Austin is slated to travel to the Gulf next week and he said the trip will focus on thanking regional partners "who have done so much to help save and shelter Afghan civilians."
-We're not going to take our eye off the ball. And that means relentless counterterrorism efforts against any threat to the American people from any place- he added.

Mark Milley, US' top military official, says 'it's possible' Washington would collaborate against Daesh/ISIS-K

US does not rule out cooperation with Taliban against ISIS-K

The US is housing 20,000 Afghan evacuees at military installations in five states, while another 40,000 remain at bases overseas awaiting processing, according to a report.

Internal federal data reviewed by CBS News showed eight military sites in Virginia, Wisconsin, New Mexico, New Jersey and Indiana have been tasked with temporarily housing the refugees, as well as those who assisted the US military.
These sites can house nearly 32,000 people and officials were told to increase that capacity to 50,000 by mid-September.
Some 124,000 people have been airlifted from Kabul in the past few weeks and those are part of the number.
The evacuees have been taken to US and NATO bases in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Spain and Italy before making their way to the US, according to CBS News. These bases can currently accommodate just under 61,000 people.
The bases in Qatar and Germany were housing the most Afghans early Wednesday, hosting approximately 11,600 and 15,700 refugees, respectively.
Canada, the UK, Albania, South Korea and Colombia have also pledged to take Afghans who fled the Taliban takeover in mid-August, according to the news outlet.

8 military sites in Virginia, Wisconsin, New Mexico, New Jersey, Indiana tasked with temporarily housing refugees

Afghan refugees evacuated from Kabul, arrive in Washington Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC, United States on August 27, 2021.

20,000 Afghan evacuees housed in US, 40,000 others in overseas

Russia said Thursday that Google and Apple's refusal to remove jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's app ahead of elections could be seen as interference in the country's domestic affairs.

The country is holding parliamentary elections later this month, with nearly all vocal Kremlin critics including Navalny's allies barred from running.
Last month Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor demanded that Google and Apple remove Navalny's app from their stores. 
On Thursday, Roskomnadzor ramped up pressure on the Western tech giants by saying they could be held criminally liable if they continue to refuse to comply with Russian law.
-Criminal liability is foreseen for organising as well as taking part in the work of extremist organisations banned in Russia- the media watchdog said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.
Failure to block the app "can be considered interference" in Russian elections and will lead to hefty fines, the watchdog added.
Roskomnadzor did not immediately provide a comment when contacted by AFP.
Earlier this year, opposition leader Navalny saw his organisations declared "extremist" and banned in the country, while all of his top aides have fled.
The media regulator then barred dozens of websites linked to Navalny including his main website navalny.com. 
In a message from prison, Navalny has urged supporters to download an app that aims to help Russians to vote out candidates from the ruling United Russia party in the upcoming polls.
The "Smart Voting" tactic has seen the increasingly unpopular United Russia party lose a number of seats in recent local elections.
"If something can be called 'interference in Russian elections', it is the attempts of Roskomnadzor to block the Smart Voting app," Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on Twitter. "Download them asap."

The country is holding parliamentary elections later this month, with nearly all vocal Kremlin critics including Navalny's allies barred from running

Last month Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor demanded that Google and Apple remove Navalny's app from their stores

Russia accuses Google, Apple of election interference

Israel said Wednesday it will expand Gaza's fishing zone, increase its water supply and allow more Palestinian traders and goods to enter Israel, even though violence has persisted on the border.

-It has been decided to expand the fishing zone in the Gaza Strip to 15 nautical miles, as well as to completely open the Kerem Shalom crossing for the passage of equipment and goods- read a statement from COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for civilian affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
-In addition, the water supply to the Gaza Strip will be increased by an additional 5 million cubic metres, or 175 million cubic feet- it said.
COGAT said the number of Gazan merchants with permits to pass through the Erez crossing on a daily basis would be increased from 2,000 to 7,000.
Israel, which withdrew from Gaza in 2005, has maintained a tight blockade on the territory since 2007, the year Hamas Islamists took power in the Palestinian enclave.
Speaking to foreign media in Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said the government's "only goal in Gaza is to maintain peace".
-We are not interested in going back to Gaza. We are not interested in choking Gaza in sieges- Lapid said. 
-We just want to make sure nobody is firing rockets and missiles on us and if Hamas will guarantee peace and quiet they can guarantee also a functioning economy and humanitarian aid to people in Gaza.-In May, Israel and Hamas reached a truce following 11 days of the deadliest fighting in years.
But incendiary balloons have continued to be launched from the Palestinian territory towards Israel in the months since, with Israel blaming Hamas and often retaliating with air strikes.
Israel nonetheless began expanding the fishing zone off Gaza in July, with COGAT letting traders and goods from Gaza into the country for the first time in over a year beginning August 15.
Less than a week later, on August 21, clashes accompanying a demonstration on the Gaza border wounded around 40 people, according to Hamas, including a 12-year-old Palestinian boy.
An Israeli sniper was also shot dead during the incident.
The border incident was a return to the marches of 2018, when Gazans began a protest movement demanding an end to Israel's blockade and the right of Palestinians to return to lands they fled or were expelled from when the Jewish state was founded.
Near-nightly clashes have taken place since.
The Israeli army said that on Tuesday night, "hundreds of rioters and demonstrators" gathered at the fence where "rioters" threw "explosive devices and burning tyres" and the army responded with live rounds.
COGAT stressed that the "civilian measures" were "conditional upon the continued preservation of the region's security stability for the long term".&nbsp;

COGAT said the number of Gazan merchants with permits to pass through the Erez crossing on a daily basis would be increased from 2,000 to 7,000

A truck carrying supplies for Palestinians arrives at Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip

Israel further eases Gaza restrictions despite unrest

The United Nations said its humanitarian funds have allocated Lebanon $10 million to help the cash-strapped nation buy vital fuel to power hospitals and water stations.

-Lebanon faces profound uncertainty. The humanitarian community, though, is resolved to assist all vulnerable populations, whether Lebanese, refugees or migrants- UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths tweeted Wednesday during a visit to Beirut.
The UN's humanitarian agency OCHA said Tuesday a $6 million allocation from the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund was planned to help 65 hospitals, primary healthcare centres, dispensaries and medical cold storage facilities.
Another $4 million would be set aside for health centres as well as water stations and four water facilities that serve more than two thirds of Lebanon's population, it said in a statement. 
-The allocation will help 2.3 million people across Lebanon by making sure there is enough fuel to keep water stations functioning- said OCHA.
-The fuel shortage, a result of the ongoing socioeconomic and political crises, is jeopardising the availability of health care and drinking water for nearly everyone in Lebanon- it added.
Lebanon's economic collapse has stripped the national currency of most of its value and left four out of five inhabitants below the poverty line.
The crisis deepened when central bank started removing subsidies in order to shore up its dwindling foreign currency reserves, making the cost of fuel imports more expensive.
That has led to shortages of almost everything, with power cuts lasting up to 22 hours a day and fuel for private generators increasingly scarce.
Many hospitals have been forced to scale back operations because of the shortages.
The UN children's agency UNICEF has repeatedly warned that a near total shutdown of the water supply in Lebanon could threaten more than four million people.

Lebanon's economic collapse has stripped the national currency of most of its value and left four out of five inhabitants below the poverty line

A medic assists a patient as others wait in a hallway at the Rafic Hariri University Hospital (RHUH) in Lebanon's capital Beirut on July 23, 2021.

UN allocates $10 mn to ensure fuel for Lebanon hospitals

Taliban fighters stood aboard captured Humvees as they prepared for a parade Wednesday of plundered US military hardware, including possibly a Black Hawk helicopter, in their southern Afghan spiritual heartland.

A long line of green vehicles sat in single file on a highway outside Afghanistan's second-biggest city of Kandahar, many with white-and-black Taliban flags attached to aerials, according to an AFP journalist.
Fighters manned the controls of the multi-purpose trucks -- used by US, NATO and Afghan forces during Afghanistan's 20 years of war -- while others clambered over the vehicles at Ayno Maina, a town on the outskirts of the city.
Pick-up trucks laden with supporters rolled past the convoy of military vehicles, some armed with heavy weapons and machine guns.
At least one Black Hawk helicopter has been seen flying over Kandahar in recent days, suggesting someone from the former Afghan army was at the controls as the Taliban lack qualified pilots.
Kandahar is the ethnic Pashtun heartland of the Taliban where the hardline group was founded and from where it rose to power in 1996. By 2001, when US-led forces invaded, the Taliban had seized control of most of the country.
At Kandahar Cricket Ground, white-bearded Taliban leaders waited in the shade in the players' dugout, reclining on armchairs behind wooden coffee tables as they waited for the parade to start.
Others sat crossed-legged on the grass, while hundreds more gathered in the terrace stand to watch.
The Taliban's secretive supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is living in Kandahar, the group said Sunday, after years in the shadows.
Word had spread that he would make an appearance Wednesday, but he did not show up, leaving the city's new governor to address the crowd.
In footage posted online of the build-up to the event, another helicopter flew overhead trailing a Taliban flag as fighters in headscarves waved beneath.
A day earlier thousands of Taliban faithful had poured onto the streets of Kandahar, waving flags and shouting "God is greatest" in celebration at the final US withdrawal.

A long line of green vehicles sat in single file on a highway outside Afghanistan's second-biggest city of Kandahar, many with white-and-black Taliban flags attached to aerials

At least one Black Hawk helicopter has been seen flying over Kandahar in recent days

Taliban parade to show off plundered US hardware

A drone attack on Saudi Arabia's Abha airport wounded eight people on Tuesday, said the Saudi-led coalition battling Huthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen.

Following an earlier reported attack, "a second drone attempting to attack Abha International Airport was intercepted and shot down", the coalition said in a statement carried by the kingdom's official Al-Ekhbariya television channel.
-Eight people were wounded and a civilian aircraft was damaged, according to initial information- it added.
The coalition said that the second attack on the airport "constitutes a war crime" after it intercepted a booby-trapped drone earlier in the day. 
According to El-Ekhbariya, after the coalition intercepted the first attack, shrapnel hit parts of the airport near the runway. 
It added that flights had been temporarily halted "to ensure the safety of incoming and departing aircraft, as well as civilians at the airport". 
The rebels have yet to comment on the incident. 
Saudi Arabia intervened in the Yemen war on behalf of the internationally recognised government in 2015, shortly after the Huthis seized the capital Sanaa. 
The Iran-allied insurgents have repeatedly targeted the kingdom in cross-border attacks.
In August, the rebels escalated those operations, using drones and missiles. 
Yemen's grinding conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions, resulting in what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
While the UN is pushing for an end to the war, the Huthis have demanded the re-opening of Sanaa airport, closed under a Saudi blockade since 2016, before any ceasefire or negotiations.
The incoming UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, will officially assume his duties on September 5.

A civilian aircraft was damaged, according to initial information

Aug. 22, 2019, Saudi passengers enter the departure terminal of Abha airport, in southwestern Saudi Arabia

Drone attack on southern Saudi airport wounds 8: coalition

Eleven children aged nine to 17, including five girls, have been kidnapped by presumed Islamist rebels in northeastern DR Congo, a local official told AFP on Tuesday.

The rebels, thought to be members of the Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), abducted the group in a village in Ituri province on Sunday evening, according to Dieudonne Malangayi, acting chairman of the chiefdom of Walese Vonkutu.
The rebels erupted into the Bundingili area where the village is located, and kidnapped "all the civilians who were there, men, women and children," he told AFP by phone.
More than three kilometres (two miles) away in the bush, the militants "freed the men, women and some young children," but kept the 11 other children.
-We don't know what happened to them- said Malangayi, who is also a representative of civil society.
The ADF, historically a Ugandan Islamist group, have been accused of killing thousands of civilians in Ituri and neighbouring North Kivu province.
No fatalities occurred in the latest raid, but "according to our analysis and the testimony of the freed civilians, they abducted these children to train them to become fighters," Malangayi said.
Since May, the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri have been under a state of siege, replacing civilian authorities with army and police officers to fight armed groups.
The ADF, which the United States has deemed a terrorist group, is considered the deadliest of scores of armed militias that roam the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
On August 18, a contingent of US special operations forces arrived in the area to help the Congolese army in their fight against the ADF, US and Congolese sources said at the time.
In a separate incident in eastern DR Congo, one person was killed and seven were injured late Monday by "armed bandits" in Karisimbi, a district in North Kivu province, local mayor Jean-Paul Elongi Wandikia told AFP.
The local hospital said it had admitted eight people with gunshot wounds, one of whom later died.
Karisimbi lies in the Goma area, which is notorious for murders and armed robbery.

Aged nine to 17, including five girls, have been kidnapped

Congolese troops patrolling the village of Mwenda earlier this year. The village lies in an area that is notorious for attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF)

11 children abducted by presumed Islamist militants in DR Congo

A Bangladesh court on Tuesday sentenced to death six Islamist extremists for the brutal murders of two gay rights activists, prosecutors said.

Xulhaz Mannan, editor of a magazine for Bangladesh's gay and lesbian community, and fellow activist Mahbub Tonoy were hacked to death in a Dhaka apartment by machete and gun wielding attackers in April 2016.
A special anti-terrorism tribunal ordered the death penalty for six members of militant Islamist group Ansar Al-Islam, prosecutor Golam Sarwar Khan said.
Four of the six found guilty are still on the run. Two other suspects in the case were acquitted.
Nazrul Islam, one of the defence lawyers, said appeals would be made. 
-My clients are completely innocent. They are not linked with these murders. They were framed unjustly- he said.
The sentencing is the first time a Bangladeshi court has acted on violence against gay rights activists.
Homosexuality is illegal in the Muslim-majority nation and security was tightened around the court for the sentencing.
Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent claimed responsibility for the murders, saying the duo were "promoting homosexuality". Police however blamed homegrown extremists.
Police originally pressed charges against eight Ansar Al-Islam members and arrested four. Those on the run were tried in absentia.
Five of those convicted had already been sentenced to death in February for the 2015 murders of a blogger and a publisher who were hacked to death in separate incidents. 
Roopbaan, Mannan's magazine, was only published for two years but became a platform for promoting LGBT rights in Bangladesh.
Mannan's group had planned to stage a "Rainbow Rally" in April 2016 but police would not allow the event to go ahead, citing security concerns. 
Three months after the killings, Islamist militants stormed a Dhaka cafe and killed 22 people, most of them foreigners, before army commandos killed the attackers.
Islamic State claimed that attack as well as several murders of atheist bloggers, publishers and writers between 2013 and 2016.
The government has blamed domestic militants for the violence and launched a crackdown on suspected extremists in which scores of people have been killed by security agencies.

Xulhaz Mannan, editor of a magazine for Bangladesh's gay and lesbian community, and fellow activist Mahbub Tonoy were hacked to death in a Dhaka apartment by machete and gun wielding attackers in April 2016.

Relatives and friends at the funeral prayer of Bangladeshi activist Xulhaz Mannan in Dhaka in 2016

Six Islamists sentenced in Bangladesh over killing of gay activists

Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov has signed a decree setting the date for elections of deputies to the country’s parliament on Nov. 28, the Presidency Press Center said Sunday in a statement.

The president has the authority to determine the date of parliamentary elections under a constitutional referendum passed in April, it said.
Under the constitution and the new election law, the number of seats in the Jogorku Kenesh (Supreme Council), which constitutes the legislative body of Kyrgyzstan, and the conditions for being elected deputies were revised.
At a meeting in July, the Kyrgyz parliament approved a bill which calls for the reduction of parliamentarians from 120 to 90, with 54 to be elected on the basis of proportional representation (political party candidate list), and 36 on the basis of a majority (independent candidates).
The deputies will be elected for a term of five years.
-What happened?
Following parliamentary elections on Oct. 4 last year, demonstrators stormed the parliament and other buildings and clashed with police, demanding new elections.
In response, the election authority annulled the election results, and President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, who had been ruling the country for three years, resigned.
While parliament’s mandate was extended, presidential elections and a constitutional referendum were held.
The people of Kyrgyzstan elected Sadyr Japarov as president, and in the constitutional referendum, they gave up the parliamentary system and preferred the presidential system.

President Sadyr Japarov sets Nov. 28 as date for elections of deputies, says Presidency Press Center

Kyrgyzstan to hold parliamentary elections in November

Rioting broke out Sunday in the Zambian mining town of Luanshya after police removed around 1,000 illegal miners that invaded a Chinese copper mining unit.

Police in Copperbelt province arrived around 1 AM and initially asked the illegal miners to peacefully leave the mine premises.
-However, they mobilized outside the mine and began blocking access roads, burning tires and throwing stones, causing a threat to the public- police spokeswoman Esther Katongo said in a statement.
She said they went on a rampage and looted three betting machines at a nearby market.
-Police dispersed the riotous mob using tear gas and five suspected ringleaders were arrested and are in custody- she added.
Katongo said police had brought the situation under control and were keeping increased vigilance in the affected area.

Illegal miners go on rampage, blocking roads and looting

Police in Copperbelt province arrived around 1 AM and initially asked the illegal miners to peacefully leave the mine premises

Riot erupts in Zambian town after police disperse 1,000 illegal miners

China on Monday announced a drastic cut to children's online gaming time to just three hours a week during term time, the latest move in a broad crackdown on tech giants in the world's biggest gaming market.

Gamers under 18 will only be allowed to play online between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, state news agency Xinhua said, in what it described as a bid to curb addiction in the gaming-crazy nation.
Gamers are required to use their ID cards when registering to play online, to ensure minors don't lie about their age.
On school holidays, children will be allowed to play a little longer, with the allocated time set at 60 minutes per day.
-Gaming addiction has affected studies and normal life... and many parents have become miserable- the National Press and Publication Administration said in a statement. 
Companies are prohibited from offering gaming services outside the stipulated hours, although the statement did not make it clear how rule-breakers would be punished.
An earlier restriction in place since late 2019 banned late-night games and restricted players to just 90 minutes of playtime on weekdays and three hours on weekends and holidays.
China's Communist rulers have been reining in big tech and other powerful sectors that draw hundreds of millions of consumers.
Gaming seems to be the latest target for regulators, hit by a raft of rules introduced in recent months to weed out the excesses of the culture among Chinese youth, from worsening eyesight to online addiction.
The industry -- which made revenue of 130 billion yuan ($20 billion) in the first half of this year according to the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association -- has been slammed in menacing state media reports in recent days, with one article labelling games as "spiritual opium".
In July Chinese tech giant Tencent rolled out a facial recognition "midnight patrol" function to root out children masquerading as adults to get around a government curfew on underage gamers.

Gamers under 18 will only be allowed to play online between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, state news agency Xinhua said

Gamers in China are required to use their ID cards to register to play games online

China limits children's online gaming to three hours a week

Malaysia's new prime minister missed the inauguration of his own cabinet Monday after coming into contact with someone infected with the coronavirus and being forced to self-isolate, his office said.

Ismail Sabri Yaakob's ministers headed to the national palace for a swearing-in ceremony before the king, two weeks after the previous government collapsed during infighting.
But Ismail Sabri -- himself inaugurated earlier this month -- had to skip the occasion after the virus contact, his office said in a statement, without giving further details. 
He will also have to virtually join celebrations Tuesday to mark Malaysia's National Day.
The new cabinet mainly compromises ministers from the previous government, prompting concerns they will be no better at combatting a fierce Covid-19 wave than their widely criticised predecessors.
Ismail Sabri was appointed by the king after Muhyiddin Yassin quit when he lost his parliamentary majority, and during growing public anger at the government's pandemic response.
He has reclaimed the premiership for scandal-plagued party the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), three years after they lost it at landmark elections.
Malaysia has been hit hard by the highly contagious Delta variant, reporting around 20,000 cases a day in recent weeks as well as hundreds of deaths.

Ismail Sabri Yaakob will also have to virtually join celebrations Tuesday to mark Malaysia's National Day

This handout photo from Malaysia’s Department of Information taken and released on August 21, 2021 shows Malaysia’s incoming Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob waving as he leaves his house on the way to taking the oath of office to become the country’s new leader in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian PM misses cabinet swearing-in after Covid contact

Israel's defence minister has met Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas for a rare high-level meeting, but a source close to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett insisted Monday his government had no plans to reboot peace talks.

Defence Minister Benny Gantz met Abbas in Ramallah for what were reportedly the first direct talks between an Israeli cabinet member and the 86-year-old Palestinian leader in several years. 
The meeting, which Gantz's office said focused on "security policy, civilian and economic issues", came just hours after Bennett returned from Washington where he met US President Joe Biden.
Biden said he would urge Bennett to find ways "to advance peace and security and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians."
According to a defence ministry statement, Gantz told Abbas that Israel "seeks to take measures that will strengthen the PA's economy." 
-They also discussed shaping the security and economic situations in the West Bank and in Gaza- and agreed to "continue communicating further," it added. 
A source close to Bennett said the meeting that he had approved focused on "issues between the defence establishment and the Palestinian Authority." 
-There is no peace process with the Palestinians nor will there be- under Bennett's leadership, said the source who requested anonymity. 
The Gantz-Abbas meeting included the head of the Israeli military branch responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, Ghasan Alyan, senior PA official Hussein Al Sheikh and Palestinian intelligence chief Majid Faraj. 
Gantz's office said he and Abbas had held "a one-on-one meeting" after the broader talks.
Al Sheikh confirmed the meeting on Twitter but the PA was not immediately available to comment on its substance.

Bennett, 49, took office in June as head of an eclectic coalition in which his hawkish party holds only a handful of seats. 

He is a long-standing opponent of Palestinian statehood and the former head of a council that lobbies for Jewish settlers in the West Bank, a territory occupied by Israel since 1967. 
Jewish settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law. 
But despite Bennett's personal views, his government has sought to warm ties with the PA, which had effectively collapsed under former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in power from 2009 until June this year. 
Netanyahu, also a pro-settlement right-winger long reviled by Palestinians, further alienated Abbas through his tight embrace of former US president Donald Trump, accused of extreme pro-Israel bias.&nbsp;

Bennett's government has indicated a desire to boost the PA amid concern over a fresh conflict with Hamas Islamists who control Israeli-blockaded Gaza and are rivals of Abbas's Fatah secular Fatah movement. 

An 11-day conflict in May between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza marked the worst hostilities in the area since 2014 and unrest has persisted despite an Egypt-brokered ceasefire. 
Hamas condemned the Abbas-Gantz meeting, charging that it "deepens Palestinian political division". 
Abbas has tightened his hold over the PA since his election in 2006. 
He cancelled elections set for May and July that would have been the first Palestinian polls in 15 years. 
The veteran leader cited Israel's refusal to allow voting in annexed east Jerusalem, which Palestinians as their future capital. 
But some Palestinian experts said Abbas balked when it seemed clear Hamas was poised to rout Fatah at the polls. 
Abbas's PA has also come under mounting global criticism over an alleged crackdown on internal opposition following the death in Palestinian custody of a prominent activist. 
The United Nations and European Union last week expressed alarm over a spate of arrests targeting leading critics of Abbas and the PA.&nbsp;

Defence Minister Benny Gantz met Abbas in Ramallah for what were reportedly the first direct talks between an Israeli cabinet member and the 86-year-old Palestinian leader in several years

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (L) has held a rare meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz

Palestinian president, Israeli defence minister hold rare talks

Teachers and school staff should be among the groups prioritised for Covid-19 vaccinations so that schools in Europe and Central Asia can stay open, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Unicef said on Monday.

Measures to ensure that schools can stay open throughout the pandemic "include offering teachers and other school staff the Covid-19 vaccine as part of target population groups in national vaccination plans," the UN agencies wrote in a statement.
The recommendation, already made by a group of WHO experts in November 2020 before the vaccination roll-out, should be done "while ensuring vaccination of vulnerable populations," the statement said.
As schools reopen after the summer holidays, the agencies said it was "vital that classroom-based learning continue uninterrupted," despite the spread of the more contagious Delta variant of the virus.
-This is of paramount importance for children's education, mental health and social skills, for schools to help equip our children to be happy and productive members of society- the director of the WHO European region, Hans Kluge, said in the statement.
-The pandemic has caused the most catastrophic disruption to education in history- he added.
The agencies urged countries to vaccinate children over the age of 12 who have underlying medical conditions that put them at greater risk of severe Covid-19 disease.
It also recalled the importance of measures to improve the school environment during the pandemic, including better ventilation, smaller class sizes, social distancing and regular Covid testing for children and staff.
According to the WHO's recommendations published in early July, testing of children in risk groups who display Covid-19 symptoms should be a priority.

Measures to ensure that schools can stay open throughout the pandemic "include offering teachers and other school staff the Covid-19 vaccine as part of target population groups in national vaccination plans"

Teacher Faseega Solomon from Manenberg High in Cape Town gets a jab

Women in western Afghanistan demand their rights be protected

US does not rule out cooperation with Taliban against ISIS-K

20,000 Afghan evacuees housed in US, 40,000 others in overseas

Russia accuses Google, Apple of election interference

Israel further eases Gaza restrictions despite unrest

UN allocates $10 mn to ensure fuel for Lebanon hospitals

Taliban parade to show off plundered US hardware

Drone attack on southern Saudi airport wounds 8: coalition

11 children abducted by presumed Islamist militants in DR Congo

Six Islamists sentenced in Bangladesh over killing of gay activists

Kyrgyzstan to hold parliamentary elections in November

Riot erupts in Zambian town after police disperse 1,000 illegal miners

China limits children's online gaming to three hours a week

Malaysian PM misses cabinet swearing-in after Covid contact

Palestinian president, Israeli defence minister hold rare talks

Teachers should be priority group for Covid jabs

World

Women in western Afghanistan demand their rights be protected

US does not rule out cooperation with Taliban against ISIS-K

20,000 Afghan evacuees housed in US, 40,000 others in overseas

Russia accuses Google, Apple of election interference

Israel further eases Gaza restrictions despite unrest

UN allocates $10 mn to ensure fuel for Lebanon hospitals

Taliban parade to show off plundered US hardware

Drone attack on southern Saudi airport wounds 8: coalition

11 children abducted by presumed Islamist militants in DR Congo

Six Islamists sentenced in Bangladesh over killing of gay activists

Kyrgyzstan to hold parliamentary elections in November

Riot erupts in Zambian town after police disperse 1,000 illegal miners

China limits children's online gaming to three hours a week

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Palestinian president, Israeli defence minister hold rare talks

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