TRUMP ENDORSES GENDER APARTHEID

Taliban say they met US diplomats, talked 'bilateral' ties

Emmy Sasipornkarn with AP, Reuters

16 hours ago16 hours ago

The US did not immediately react to the claims made by the Afghan regime that American representatives were discussing ways to develop relations with the Taliban.

The Taliban has released photographs from the talks between its foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi (left) and US special envoy for hostage response, Adam Boehler (right)    DRESSED AS A CIA OP

Image: Foreign Ministry Press Service/AP Photo/picture alliance

The top diplomat of the Taliban regime, Amir Khan Muttaqi, met with Washington's special envoy for hostage response, Adam Boehler, and former US special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad on Saturday, according to the Islamist faction.

"Comprehensive discussions were held on ways to develop bilateral relations between the two countries, issues related to citizens, and investment opportunities in Afghanistan," the Afghan Foreign Ministry said in a statement on X.
While the Taliban published photos of Boehler and Khalilzad meeting Muttaqi, the US did not immediately corroborate the Taliban claims. It was also not clear where the meeting took place.

The US does not officially recognize the Taliban government. While multiple nations maintain some level of contact with the Kabul regime, Russia is so far the only country that has full diplomatic ties with the extremist group.

Russia recognizes Afghanistan's Taliban government  

 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Afghanistan

@MoFA_Afg

د ا.ا.ا. د بهرنیو چارو وزیر محترم مولوي امیر خان متقي سره نن د بندیانو په چارو کې د امریکا متحده ایالتونو د ولسمشر ډونلډ ټرمپ ځانګړي استازي اډم بولر په مشرۍ پلاوي، چې د افغان سولې لپاره د متحده ایالتونو پخوانی ځانګړی استازی ډاکټر زلمی خلیلزاد هم په کې و، وکتل.

The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, was met today by a delegation led by Adam Boehler, the Special Representative of the United States President Donald Trump for Detainee Affairs, and which included former US Special Representative for Afghan Peace Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad.

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What else did the Taliban say about the talks with US diplomats?

The meeting came after the release of US citizen George Glezmann, who was abducted by the Taliban's intelligence services while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist in December 2022. The Taliban had retaken power in Afghanistan in August 2021, following decades of US and NATO occupation.

He was the third detainee freed by the Taliban since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House for a second term in January.

The Taliban statement says talks would continue in the future, "particularly regarding citizens imprisoned in each other's countries."

At least one US citizen, Mahmood Habibi, is believed to be detained in Afghanistan, but the Taliban deny holding him.

Trump has made securing the freedom of US citizens held prisoner overseas a top priority.

The US president signed an executive order this month to designate countries a "state sponsor of wrongful detention" and impose sanctions on countries that illegally detain US citizens.

Kenya's only breastmilk bank, life-line for premature babies

Nairobi (AFP) – Surrounded by incubators, a red tube snaking into her tiny nose, four-day-old Grace-Ella is being fed donated breastmilk at the only facility in Kenya that offers the life-giving service.

Issued on: 14/09/2025 -

Margaret Adhiambo benefits from the breastmilk bank after giving birth at just 30 weeks 

© Tony KARUMBA / AFP

The breastmilk bank at Pumwani Maternity Hospital is one of very few across sub-Saharan Africa, and is especially helpful for premature babies, of which roughly 134,000 are born each year in Kenya.

Mothers who give birth prematurely are often unable to produce breastmilk and must rely on formula, which can be less nutritious and increases the risk of infection, especially since water is often contaminated.

The breastmilk caters to mothers and babies on the ward in Nairobi but they would love to do more © Tony KARUMBA / AFP

The milk bank in Nairobi, established in 2019 with the support of British aid money and PATH, an NGO, allows babies like Grace-Ella to benefit from the generosity of others.

"It was super-exciting," her mother Margaret Adhiambo, 28, told AFP, adding she had not heard of the programme before she delivered prematurely at 30 weeks.

"Before I accepted, I was a bit sceptical because it gave me some feeling of guilt like I could not give my daughter my own breastmilk."

But "it helped me because my daughter didn't starve, at least she got some food," she added.

'Good to help'

Underweight babies face a daunting array of risks and breastmilk can, quite literally, tip the scales in their favour.

"When we feed them human milk we find they are growing faster compared to a baby who is getting formula," said Muthoni Ogola, the doctor heading the programme.

Yet the World Health Organization (WHO) says fewer than half of all infants worldwide are exclusively breastfed.

A key advantage of breastmilk is the antibodies passed to the infant, said Pumwani nurse Hannah Wangeci Maina.

Some 134,000 babies are born prematurely every year in Kenya 

© Tony KARUMBA / AFP

She moves with the efficiency needed for a maternity ward that cares for at least 90 mothers and babies at a time.

"We usually have many mothers lining up to receive the expressed breastmilk," she said.

On a recent visit by AFP, she helped first-time mother Esther Wanjiru, 22, through the process of donating.

Wanjiru was given counselling and tests for diseases including HIV and hepatitis before sitting to pump.

The milk was then tested, both pre- and post-pasteurisation, and then frozen, allowing it to be stored for up to a year.

"It feels good to help... It sort of feels like a massage," Wanjiru told AFP with a shy grin.
Funding shortfall

For the hospital team, it is frustrating that they only have enough equipment to provide milk to hospitalised children on the ward, as well as occasional donations to two other hospitals.

It is a much cheaper option than formula, but the equipment is expensive, said hospital CEO Christine Kiteshuo.

"Some of this equipment can only be found in Europe (or) the US, so it becomes a problem for us to procure," Kiteshuo told AFP.

The hospital would love to help mothers out in the community, especially since many live in informal settlements without fridges or clean running water.

"That becomes one of the challenges that we experience right now -- that we cannot help the mothers outside the facility," said Kiteshuo.

© 2025 AFP

From 8-bit to 3D: Nintendo's iconic 'Mario' games turn 40


Issued on: 13/09/2025 - 


Surrounded by thousands of objects bearing the likeness of Nintendo's moustachioed plumber, 40-year-old Kikai reflects that his "life would be totally different without Mario" who also marks four decades this week. The colourful "Super Mario Bros.", released for Nintendo's home consoles in Japan on September 13, 1985, was a landmark of early video gaming.

Video by: FRANCE 24