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Afghan girls protest school closure in eastern city
Afghan girls protest school closure in eastern city
World
by  AFP

Dozens of girls protested in an eastern Afghan city on Saturday after Taliban authorities shut their secondary schools just days after classes resumed, an activist and residents said. Last week, five government secondary schools in the eastern province of Paktia restarted classes after hundreds of girls and tribal leaders demanded they reopen.

Belgium's biggest trial opens, six years after worst bombing
Belgium's biggest trial opens, six years after worst bombing
World
by  AFP

Six years after Belgium's deadliest peacetime attack, a Brussels court will this week host a landmark trial that survivors hope will mark a step forward in their recovery and that of their nation. On Monday he will be in court, hoping that the trial will mark the start of a new stage in his recovery.

Kyiv claims 'astonishing' advances in east Ukraine
Kyiv claims 'astonishing' advances in east Ukraine
World
by  AFP

Kyiv said Saturday its forces were making lightning gains in the east of the country in a shock counter-offensive to recapture territory that fell to Russia shortly after Moscow's February invasion. "It was frightening," said 61-year-old Anatoli Vasiliev recalling the battle earlier this week that saw Ukrainian forces recapture the village from the Russians.

'Explosions everywhere' as Ukraine forces recapture village
'Explosions everywhere' as Ukraine forces recapture village
World
by  AFP

Electric pylons toppled, cables strewn across the ground; gutted houses and roads dotted with craters -- the village of Grakove in eastern Ukraine bears the scars of Ukraine's bitter counter-offensive. The road leading to Grakove from Ukraine's second city Kharkiv, a regional hub, is lined with the skeletons of cars destroyed in explosions or crushed by tanks.

Hong Kong jails five for sedition over children's books
Hong Kong jails five for sedition over children's books
World
by  AFP

Hong Kong jailed five speech therapists for sedition on Saturday over a series of illustrated children's books that portrayed the city's democracy supporters as sheep defending their village from wolves. In one book, a village of sheep fights off invading wolves, while another portrays the canines as spreading disease in the ovine hamlet.