Five Afghan women arrived in France on Monday, after receiving threats from the Taliban.
A presidential order was issued to evacuate the five women, French immigration authority chief Didier Leschi said.
“Special attention is being paid to women who are primarily threatened by the Taliban because they have held important positions in Afghan society … or have close contacts with westerners,” he said.
“This is the case for five women who will arrive today.”
The group includes a former university director, a former consultant for a non-governmental organisation, a TV presenter and a teacher at a secret school in Kabul.
One of the women is accompanied by three children.
The women were unable to leave Afghanistan on evacuation flights organised by western countries as the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
They fled to neighbouring Pakistan, where they sought temporary refuge. The French authorities organised their evacuation from there, Mr Leschi said.
They will be registered as asylum seekers in France and receive housing while their applications for refugee status are processed, he said.
He said such flights were “likely to be repeated” for other Afghan women.
Afghan women visit Band-e-Amir national park despite Taliban ban – in pictures
Delphine Rouilleault, head of the France Terre D'Asile NGO working for refugees, said the evacuations were “not the fruit of a political decision” but gained “after a hard fight” to obtain visas for them.
The women will be initially housed in a centre run by her organisation, which has also been campaigning for the evacuation of other Afghan women facing a similar situation.
Ms Rouilleault said hundreds of Afghan women were “hiding” in Pakistan.
In 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged that his country would be “by the side of Afghans”.
French authorities say about 16,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan to France since then.
Accueillir les Afghanes, an NGO working for Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, in April said women – especially single women – had been largely abandoned.
It urged Paris to put in place an emergency programme to take them in.
Gender apartheid
Since returning to power in August 2021, Taliban authorities have imposed a strict interpretation of Islam, with women bearing the brunt of laws the UN has described “gender apartheid”.
Women and girls have been barred from attending secondary school and university, as well as being prevented from visiting parks, fairs and gyms.
They have also mostly been blocked from working for UN agencies and NGOs, with thousands sacked from government jobs or paid to stay at home.
The Taliban's discrimination against women was described as a crime against humanity by UN's special envoy for global education, Gordon Brown, who recently urged the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute Afghanistan's leaders.
Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now
There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:
1. Rising US interest rates
The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.
Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”
At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.
2. Stronger dollar
High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”
3. Global trade war
Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”
4. Eurozone uncertainty
Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”
The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Results
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
SPECS
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Mane 51', Salah 53'
Chelsea 0
Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Brief scores:
Arsenal 4
Xhaka 25', Lacazette 55', Ramsey 79', Aubameyang 83'
Fulham 1
Kamara 69'
