On Friday evening, a group of gunmen isolated a vehicle at a market by the narrow motorway snaking from the Afghan capital of Kabul to Parwan, a neighbouring province, and opened fire on the women inside. One of the women was Fawzia Koofi, one of only four female members of the 21-person team appointed by the Afghan government to negotiate with the Taliban. Ms Koofi survived, escaping with a bullet wound in her arm. But on the same day, 300 kilometres up the motorway in Kunduz province, a policewoman was dragged out of her house and shot dead in front of her family.
A passage from Ms Koofi’s memoirs describes how, as a newborn, she spent the first day of her life outside and alone; her parents had abandoned her to die because she was born into a family with too many daughters. Fortunately for Afghanistan, they changed their mind. Forty-five years later, Ms Koofi bears the distinction of having served two terms as a Member of Parliament, during which she was instrumental in the passage of a 2009 law to eliminate violence against women – a mission that Friday’s attacks demonstrate is far from accomplished.
They also show how difficult the peace negotiations undertaken by Ms Koofi's colleagues and the Taliban will be. Those negotiations are meant to begin this week, though there had already been talk of delaying them before the attempt on Ms Koofi's life. Although the Taliban has denied any involvement in that attack (its involvement in the killing of the policewoman in Kunduz is unclear), Afghan and international observers will pay close attention to the militant group's handling of the aftermath.
The Taliban's denials have not yet been followed by any strenuous condemnation of the gunmen, any vows to help the government identify and arrest them nor any sympathy extended to Ms Koofi and other women targeted by such violence. Since February, when the Taliban reached an agreement with the US to reduce violence across the country, it has hidden behind aggression from ISIS and other extremist outfits by allowing violence to escalate in areas it controls while denying responsibility. It also does not help that Taliban militants have attempted to kill Ms Koofi several times in the past.
Taliban militants have attempted to kill Ms Koofi several times in the past
But the Taliban now claim to want to move towards peace, and seek a permanent stake in Afghan governance. To do so meaningfully, it will have to show that they understand what governance within the modern framework of universal human rights looks like. Women, as Ms Koofi frequently points out, comprise 55 per cent of Afghanistan's population. The ultimate success of any peace talks will depend upon both sides not only recognising that fact, but embracing it.
Afghanistan is a very different place today from the one it was on the day that Ms Koofi's parents tried to abandon her in the sun. The country's daughters outnumber its sons, but that must be seen as an asset. As the peace process moves forward, anyone who believes otherwise will be a liability.
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Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
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- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
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Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
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Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
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- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
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- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The biog
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Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
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Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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