New Delhi, Sept 19: The Taliban government has ordered the removal of hundreds of books from Afghanistan’s university system, including more than 140 written by women, and imposed a ban on 18 academic subjects, citing conflicts with Sharia law and state policy, reports BBC. Among the blacklisted titles are works such as Safety in the Chemical Laboratory.

Officials said the restrictions target materials deemed “anti-Sharia and against Taliban policies.” At least six of the prohibited subjects focus on women, including Gender and Development, The Role of Women in Communication, and Women’s Sociology.

The decree, issued in late August and circulated to universities, was signed by Ziaur Rahman Aryubi, deputy academic director of the Taliban-run Ministry of Higher Education, reports BBC. He said the decisions followed recommendations by a panel of “religious scholars and experts.”

The order also bans books by Iranian authors or publishers, with 310 of the 679 proscribed titles falling into this category. A member of the review committee told BBC Afghan the measure aimed to curb the “infiltration of Iranian content” into the curriculum.

The move adds to a growing list of restrictions since the Taliban regained power in 2021. Women and girls have borne the brunt: barred from schooling beyond the sixth grade and, since late 2024, excluded from midwifery training programs. This week, the group also banned fibre-optic internet in at least ten provinces, reportedly to curb “immorality.”

Zakia Adeli, former deputy justice minister and one of the affected authors, said the new ban was predictable. “When women themselves are not allowed to study, their views, ideas and writings are also suppressed,” she remarked.

The Taliban maintain that women’s rights are respected “in accordance with Afghan culture and Islamic law.”

Moscow, Sep 19: A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake has struck near the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka region, the US Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake’s epicenter was 127 km east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and it struck at 6:58 am Friday local time, according to the USGS. It had a depth of 19.5 km.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning System briefly issued a tsunami threat but later lifted it.

The initial quake was followed by a series of aftershocks of up to magnitude 5.8.

The remote Kamchatka region has been hit by a series of powerful earthquakes over the past two months, including ones of magnitude 8.8, and two of magnitude 7.4.

United Nations, Sep 19: The United States once again vetoed a UN Security Council resolution Thursday that had demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, saying that the effort did not go far enough in condemning Hamas.

The 14 other members of the United Nations’ most powerful body voted in favor of the resolution, which described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” and called on Israel to lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians in the territory.

“US opposition to this resolution will come as no surprise,” Morgan Ortagus, a senior US policy adviser, said before the vote. “It fails to condemn Hamas or recognise Israel’s right to defend itself, and it wrongly legitimises the false narratives benefiting Hamas, which have sadly found currency in this council.”

She added that other council members “ignored” US warnings about the “unacceptable” language and instead adopted “performative action designed to draw a veto.”

The outcome further highlights US and Israeli isolation on the world stage over the nearly two-year war in Gaza. The vote came just days before the annual gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly, where Gaza will be a major topic and major US allies are expected to recognise an independent Palestinian state. It is a largely symbolic move vehemently opposed by Israel and the US, dividing the Trump administration from allies including the UK and France.

The resolution, drafted by the council’s 10 elected members who serve two-year terms, goes further than previous drafts to highlight what it calls the “deepening of suffering” of Palestinian civilians.

“I can understand the anger and frustration and disappointment of the Palestinian people who might be watching this session of the Security Council, hoping that there is some help in the pipeline, and this nightmare could be brought to an end,” said Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN “I can imagine the anger and frustration that it did not happen.”

Algeria, one of the leaders of the resolution, also expressed dismay at another failed council action for Gaza, apologising to Palestinians for not doing enough to save civilians’ lives.

Despite the effort failing to pass, Algeria’s UN ambassador, Amar Bendjama, said: “14 courageous members of this Security Council raised their voice. They have acted with conscience and in the cause of the international public opinion.”

Pakistan’s ambassador called the vote, which took place during the 10,000th meeting of the Security Council, “a dark moment.”

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, blasted the new effort, saying it would “not release the hostages and will not bring security to the region.”

“Israel will continue to fight Hamas and protect its citizens, even if the Security Council prefers to turn a blind eye to terrorism,” he said in a statement.

The effort reiterated demands from previous versions, including the release of all hostages held by Hamas and other militant groups following their October 7, 2023, surprise attack in southern Israel that launched the war in Gaza.

In opposing similar resolutions since November, the US had complained that the demands, including a ceasefire, were not directly linked to the unconditional release of hostages and would only embolden Hamas militants.

The new resolution expressed “deep alarm” after a report released last month by the world’s leading authority on food crises said Gaza City has become gripped by famine, and that it’s likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.

Israeli forces have pressed on with a new ground offensive in Gaza City. The latest Israeli operation, which started Tuesday, further escalates a conflict that has roiled the Middle East and likely pushes any ceasefire further out of reach.

The Israeli military, which says it wants to “destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure,” hasn’t given a timeline for the offensive, but there were indications it could take months.

That same day, a team of independent experts commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, issuing a report that called on the international community to end it and take steps to punish those responsible for it.

Last week, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to support a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and urged Israel to commit to a Palestinian state.

The US veto of the resolution comes as about half of Americans say the Israeli military response in the Gaza Strip has “gone too far,” according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That’s up from November 2023, when 40 per cent said Israel’s military action had gone too far.

But at the same time, Americans overall, particularly Republicans, are less likely to say that negotiating a ceasefire should be a high priority for the US government than they were just a few months ago when the US was holding ceasefire talks with Hamas.