Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said that the US and France have not responded to his call for a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon, that reports of a reduction in attacks in the north are not true, and that he has ‘instructed the Israeli army to continue its attacks in the north with full force’.

In a written statement, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office denied reports that Netanyahu had agreed to discuss a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon.

The statement said: “The news about the ceasefire is not true. Netanyahu did not respond to the US-French proposal. Reports that Israel will reduce its attacks in the north are not true. Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli army to continue its full-scale offensive in the north according to the plans presented to him. The attacks in Gaza will also continue until all the objectives of the war are achieved”.

Following Netanyahu’s denial of the ceasefire claims, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said: “There will be no ceasefire in the north”. Katz said: “We will continue to fight the Hezbollah terrorist organisation with all our might until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes”.

Israeli press reports claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had agreed to negotiate a temporary three-week ceasefire in Lebanon on the initiative of the US and France, and had appointed a minister to do so.

On the other hand, the Israeli Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, announced yesterday that the goal is to return the residents of northern Israel to their homes and that they are ‘preparing for a land attack manoeuvre’ in Lebanon.

Afghanistan is now considered as one of the worst countries for journalists and free flow of information. The Taliban since their return in 2021, has imposed several restrictions against media independence, freedom of expression and self-censorship.

In the latest move, the Taliban have banned live media coverage and ordered the media outlets to share their analytical and political programs with the Taliban officials before publication and publish them after their approval.

However, the decision has raised the concerns of media and journalists supporting institutions inside and outside Afghanistan. They have emphasized that with such a situation, the activities of the media, which continued for the past three years despite restrictions, for freedom of expression and people’s access to information, have been practically dismantled.

However, some journalists working covertly inside the country say that the Taliban see journalists as spies and want a tougher crackdown and wider restrictions on the media and journalists.

According to them, even the media that have been completely at the service of the Taliban’s propaganda are also suspected by the Taliban.

In an official meeting, the Taliban ordered the owners and top officials of the private media outlets in Kabul that they can no longer broadcast political programs live. According to this order, political programs must be recorded and published after the approval of the Taliban.

According to the sources, the Taliban have warned the domestic media that no media is allowed to broadcast content critical of the group’s policies and laws.

Also, the Organization Supporting Afghan Journalists confirmed this issue and released a statement, saying that Taliban have banned the live broadcasting of political programs in the media in a new move.

Taliban introduced their trusted people as experts in the analytical and political tv programs

The Taliban have introduced their trusted people as experts in the analytical and political programs of the media, according to the statement. It also said that the Taliban destroyed freedom of expression in the country by imposing severe censorship against the media.

“The Taliban hold frequent meetings with media managers in the center and provinces, and in these meetings, the decisions and restrictions of the Taliban are mainly communicated orally,” an Afghan journalist said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he told Harici that in these meetings, the media are instructed on what to publish and what not to publish. “In the latest case, the selection of guests in programs and the recording of political programs that used to be broadcast live and its publication after the approval of the Taliban, is another blow to freedom of expression,” he added.

Meanwhile, a female journalist said access to information has become very difficult for journalists, especially female journalists, and said that it is challenging to be a journalist.

She said that female reporters cannot work independently on any subject because they do not have access to information and it is difficult for them to obtain the necessary information to prepare reports and news.

Taliban called the critics as destructive tool, considered them “rebellious”

In the current situation, local journalists across provinces can only cover topics that are compatible with the spirit and accepted by the Taliban.

According to him, the Taliban have repeatedly warned that they will not accept journalists from media operating from outside the country. “Being a journalist under the rule of the Taliban is considered a crime and this group considers journalists as spies,” she said, wishing anonymity due to security reasons.

She added that if the Taliban find out that a local journalist is cooperating with the media in exile, the journalist’s life will lead to prison or death.

These concerns are raised while Taliban officials have previously prohibited criticizing and asking questions about the activities of this group and even considered the critic to be killed.

Taliban’s head of ministry of higher education, Mohammad Nadeem had recently said that the critics should stop and called them a destructive toll and should be killed. Those who destroy the Taliban regime with their tongue or pen are “rebellious and liable to be killed”, he added.

In the latest move, the Taliban’s Prime Minister’s Office has issued a declaration to further suppress freedom of expression and ban critical thinking, which has led to stricter control over the public intellectual and religious space in the country.

In this statement, the Taliban have prevented “controversial and contentious discussions and debates” and have emphasized that debates and discussions through the media should be avoided.

This is despite the fact that banning discussions and debates, instead of providing a logical solution to prevent conflict, will lead to the elimination of diversity and the continuation of stagnation and intellectual stagnation in the society.

Reporters Sans Frontier said that Taliban targeted journalists on a wider scale and multiplied the number of pretrial detentions.

According to the report on freedom of expression in the world in 2024, the situation of freedom of expression in Afghanistan has reached a state of crisis and Afghanistan has become one of the worst countries in this field. The Global Expression organization has announced that Afghanistan is in 155th place among 161 countries. The findings of this organization show that in the last five years, from 2018 to 2023, Afghanistan has fallen 47 places in the ranking of freedom of expression.

Reporters Without Borders has also announced that the Taliban have arrested 141 journalists in the last three years. According to this organization, the Taliban have targeted journalists on a wider scale and have multiplied the number of pre-trial detentions. Reporters Without Borders added that the Taliban treat journalists like criminals and imprison them under various pretexts.

In the past three years, the Taliban have imposed many restrictions against journalists, especially female journalists. According to the orders of the Taliban, women are prohibited from appearing in television shows and hosting programs without covering their faces. Also, the Taliban have banned women’s voices in the media in many provinces and ordered local radio stations not to broadcast women’s voices.

The Afghan Journalists Association has previously said that the Taliban have issued 17 media directives against the media law in the past three years, which include a wide range of media-related issues.

According to this organization, banning the coverage of civil protests, banning women from working on national radio and television, banning the music, covering women’s faces, banning women from appearing in plays, separating the positions of women and men in the media, banning women from interviewing men, and the media refraining from speaking, are the main opponents and critics of the Taliban.

The UK has sent 700 troops to Cyprus to prepare for an emergency evacuation of its citizens in Lebanon, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer urging those still in the country to leave immediately.

The government has announced that military teams are being mobilised to provide further support to British citizens in Lebanon as Israel bombs the south of the country.

The Royal Air Force is also keeping planes and helicopters on standby to provide support if needed.

The new British troops add to the significant military presence of British forces based at RAF Akrotiri (Agrotur) in Cyprus and the Royal Navy ships RFA Mounts Bay and HMS Duncan.

Defence Secretary John Healey left the Labour Party conference early and held a meeting with ministers, intelligence chiefs and diplomats on Tuesday afternoon to test the government’s planning.

This is seen as the first phase of contingency plans for Lebanon, as the government tries to avoid the chaos of evacuating British citizens from Afghanistan in 2021.

The military teams will be supported by Border Force and Foreign Office officials.

Keir Starmer urged Israel and Lebanon to ‘step back from the brink’ and said the government was ‘accelerating contingency plans’ to rescue British citizens.

Starmer, in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said he would discuss Lebanon with world leaders.

‘The main message I will be giving tonight will be to British citizens in Lebanon to leave the country immediately and I want to reiterate that,” the Guardian quoted Starmer as saying on the plane.

The British leader said he was ‘concerned’ about the situation and argued that there was a need for de-escalation, a ceasefire and a step back from the brink.