- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
Taliban row back comments saying Afghans barred from leaving
The Taliban's chief spokesman on Tuesday rowed back comments he made suggesting Afghans would be barred from leaving the country, saying he had been misunderstood.
Zabihullah Mujahid sparked alarm at the weekend when he told a press conference that Afghans would need "an excuse" to travel abroad, and confirmed Afghanistan's new rulers had put a stop to any more evacuation flights.
After seizing power in August, the Taliban promised Afghan citizens would be allowed to come and go as they pleased -- as long as they had passports and visas for their destinations.
But on Sunday he told a press conference: "I have to say clearly that persons who leave the country along with their families and have no excuse... we are preventing them."
On Tuesday he tweeted that his "meaning" was: "Our compatriots who have legal documents and invitations can travel outside the country and can return to the country confidently."
The Taliban's deputy minister for refugees and repatriations, however, said Tuesday it was "not appropriate" for Western nations to invite Afghans abroad, or facilitate their departure.
"To a larger extent, the international community is interfering in Afghanistan's affairs and are inviting people promising asylum," Mohammad Arsala Kharutai told a press conference.
"This is interference and against international law and we condemn it."
Mujahid's Sunday announcement alarmed many Afghans who have been promised asylum abroad after working with US-led foreign forces or other Western organisations during the Taliban's 20-year insurgency.
More than 120,000 Afghans and dual nationals were evacuated up to August 31 when the last US-led troops withdrew, two weeks after the hardline Islamists seized Kabul.
Thousands with similar links are still in Afghanistan, however, desperate to leave and fearful they may be targeted by the Taliban as "collaborators".
The last official evacuation by air was on December 1, although organised road convoys to Pakistan have taken place as recently as last week.
Hugo Shorter, Britain's top envoy to Afghanistan, but based outside the country, said barring Afghans from leaving amounted to "unacceptable restrictions on freedom of movement".
"I call on the Taliban to clarify their remarks urgently," he tweeted.
"The world is still watching the Taliban's behaviour."
L.E.Campos--PC