After BAFTA win, ’13th’ looks to Oscar gold

Speaking to DW from her basement, a female Afghan football player describes her horror at the return of the Taliban and begs for help. While aid efforts continue behind the scenes, here is her story.

Members of the women's national football team were among a group of female athletes successfully evacuated from Afghanistan. The news was confirmed by FIFAPRO, the association for professional footballers, on Monday.

When the Taliban swept back into power in Afghanistan on August 16, Kabul-based artist and curator Rada Akbar felt she had no other option than to leave. Last week, she managed to escape to France, where she is now in quarantine. In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24’s culture editor Eve Jackson, Akbar describes the Taliban’s bloody crackdown on female artists. “They would either put me in prison or kill me,” she said.

When the Taliban swept back into power in Afghanistan on August 16, Kabul-based artist and curator Rada Akbar felt she had no other option than to leave. Last week, she managed to escape to France, where she is now in quarantine. In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24’s culture editor Eve Jackson, Akbar describes the Taliban’s bloody crackdown on female artists. “They would either put me in prison or kill me,” she said.

Just days ago, Beheshta Arghand made history by becoming the first female Afghan journalist to interview a Taliban official live on television -- now she's a refugee overcome by emotion appealing for help.

Farida Shenga is one of Mombasa's few female rickshaw drivers. While necessity initially forced her into the profession, she now relishes it and doesn't put up with any nonsense.

Director Denis Villeneuve and actress Rebecca Ferguson walk the red carpet at the IMAX premiere of the ambitious sci-fi film 'Dune' at the Toronto International Film Festival. Boasting giant sandworms, warring interstellar tribes and an A-list cast spanning Timothee Chalamet, Javier Bardem and Zendaya, the long-delayed epic based on a beloved novel has already drawn strong reviews. On speculation of a sequel, Villeneuve says, "If ever it happened, it will be fantastic."

Dr. Habiba Sarabi is one of four women who took part in the negotiations with the Taliban in Doha at the end of 2020. She is also the first woman to have ruled an Afghan province, that of Bamiyan. Sarabi, who was in Doha when the Taliban took power, spoke to us from the Turkish city of Izmir, where she now lives. She called the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan "a big mistake", branding the US pullout "irresponsible".

Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan caused a stir after she appointed Stergomena Tax as defense minister. She becomes the first woman to hold the critical portfolio since the country's independence.

The SPD's Franziska Giffey won 21.4% of the vote, beating the Greens' Bettina Jarasch, who got 18.9%. Besides the national election, Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were also electing local legislatures.

Two months after firing her predecessor and suspending parliament, President Saied tapped the engineering researcher to form a government.

Thirty-one-year-old Lina Fayyad jabs and sprawls with a male Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter as she prepares for her upcoming match in the UAE Warriors Arabia Championship. As the only professional female MMA fighter in Jordan, Fayyad is a member of an all-men's team, 'Gladiators', with whom she trains and competes in regional and international championships as she has no local counterparts. The young fighter, dubbed as the "fierce savage" has been engaging in combat sports since 2012 thanks to the support of her father - a former boxer - who encouraged her to pursue it.