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1 month ago | 
rferl.org | Farangis Najibullah |Abubakar Siddique |Ray Furlong |Giovana Faria
Every two hours. That’s how often a woman dies during childbirth in Afghanistan. The staggering maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world. And under the repressive rule of the Taliban, the situation is only getting worse. Among the victims was a young woman who died during childbirth in her village in the northwestern province of Badghis in December. “Both my sister and her unborn child died,” said Fereshta, the woman’s sister.
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1 month ago | 
rferl.org | Abubakar Siddique |Ray Furlong |Giovana Faria |USAID Spending
Pakistan ordered Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders and “all illegal foreigners" to leave the country, either voluntarily or through deportation starting on April 1, raising fears among the Afghan community of repressionshould they return to their homeland. “The Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Program has been implemented since November 1, 2023.
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Nov 5, 2024 | 
rferl.org | Kian Sharifi |Parisa Sohbati |Giovana Faria |Kaisa Alliksaar
Iran's judiciary says a dual German-Iranian national sentenced to death on terror charges died while in prison and was not executed, as previously reported by local media. Reports from state media that Jamshid Sharmahd was executed surfaced on October 28, sparking a diplomatic row with Berlin that saw Germany shut all three of Iran's consulates in the European nation.
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Nov 4, 2024 | 
rferl.org | Kian Sharifi |Parisa Sohbati |Giovana Faria |Kaisa Alliksaar
Iran, at a time of rising tensions with Israel, has executed a Jewish man who was convicted of murder, a charge his family rejected saying he acted in self- defense after being attacked. The Mizan news agency, which is affiliated with Iran's judiciary, quoted Hamidreza Karimi, the prosecutor of the western Iranian city of Kermanshah, as saying Arvin Ghahremani, 23, was executed on November 4.
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Nov 4, 2024 | 
rferl.org | Kian Sharifi |Parisa Sohbati |Giovana Faria |Kaisa Alliksaar
The U.S. presidential election on November 5 will probably have a major bearing on Washington’s policy toward Iran. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, is likely to continue President Joe Biden’s diplomacy-focused policies, experts say. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, adopted a policy of “maximum pressure” during his first stint in office and is more likely to embrace a hawkish position, analysts say. Harris's Calculated Toughness?
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Nov 3, 2024 | 
rferl.org | Parisa Sohbati |Kian Sharifi |Giovana Faria |Kaisa Alliksaar
The United States says it is gathering information about the case of former Radio Farda journalist Reza Valizadeh, a dual citizen, who has been in prison in Iran for the past weeks. Valizadeh was arrested in late September in Tehran, a source close to the family told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda last month. Valizadeh left his job as a staff member at Radio Farda in November 2022. In his last post on X on August 13, Valizadeh said he had traveled to Tehran on March 16.
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Nov 3, 2024 | 
rferl.org | Parisa Sohbati |Kian Sharifi |Steve Gutterman |Giovana Faria
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian said that if a cease-fire were reached by Israel and Tehran-allied groups in the region, the action "could affect the intensity" of any retaliatory strike by Iran’s military, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintained his tough stance during a visit to the Lebanese border on November 3, saying the Hezbollah extremist group must be pushed back beyond the Litani River and be prevented from rearming.
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Nov 3, 2024 | 
rferl.org | Parisa Sohbati |Giovana Faria |Kaisa Alliksaar
Link has been copied to clipboard U.S. experts say Iran is running a preelection disinformation campaign, using websites partially written by ChatGPT to sow discord in society. So what do these websites look like? ShareHow Iran Is Trying To Interfere In The U.S. Election (Video)Iran is trying to interfere in the U.S. election, using fake news websites to influence voters' opinions.
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Oct 11, 2024 | 
rferl.org | Abubakar Siddique |Michael Scollon |Frud Bezhan |Giovana Faria
The European Union will move ahead early next week with new sanctions against individuals and entities linked to Iran, sources told RFE/RL on October 11. According to three European sources who spoke with RFE/RL on condition of anonymity, the sanctions are expected to be agreed on October 14 and likely will include Iran Air. One source noted that EU ambassadors had already given the package a preliminary green light on October 9.
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Oct 9, 2024 | 
rferl.org | Abubakar Siddique |Michael Scollon |Frud Bezhan |Giovana Faria
The prospect of an all-out war in the Middle East increased after Iran launched a massive missile attack on Israel on October 1. Israel has threatened retaliation, fueling concerns of a disruption to the flow of oil and gas from the energy-rich region. Global oil prices have already soared 9 percent since Iran's attack, which came amid Israel's yearlong war in the Gaza Strip and its invasion of southern Lebanon earlier this month.
