World News Updates: 6.4-magnitude earthquake strikes Northern Sumatra, Indonesia

Taliban rulers and other officials gathered at Afghanistan's traditional Loya Jirga assembly hall on Saturday to celebrate the fifth anniversary of their return to power, touting what they described as restored stability and an end to decades of conflict.

A top United Nations official, however, warned of a grave human rights crisis in Afghanistan, where girls over age 12 are barred from attending school.

The Taliban seized power on Aug. 15, 2021, as the US and other NATO troops withdrew following a costly two-decade war. The US withdrawal led to chaos at Kabul airport as crowds of people tried to flee the country in desperation.

Soon after taking power, the Taliban administration imposed a ban on girls' education beyond the sixth grade and later banned higher education for women, despite having pledged before the takeover that women would be allowed access to education, employment and public participation.

Women have also been banned from public spaces such as gyms and parks, from taking part in sports and travelling to distant locations without a male guardian. AP

President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns over the prolonged deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln, saying its more than eight-month mission at sea was “not nearly long enough”, even as CNN reported the concerns among sailors and their families over conditions aboard the US aircraft carrier.

According to the CNN report, sailors aboard the Lincoln, which has been deployed continuously for more than 240 days, have complained about low morale, shortages of food and hygiene supplies, and problems with water and sanitation systems.

Read full report here

Five people were shot outside Virginia State University residence halls early Saturday, and one person was in a critical condition, ⁠according ​to Chesterfield County Police.

* Police responded to a report of a ​shooting at ​1:28 a.m. ⁠ET (0528 GMT) outside the school's residence halls ‌and found five people suffering from gunshot wounds, the department said in a post on X.

* All five were ⁠transported to ⁠area hospitals. Four of them sustained non-life-threatening ⁠injuries.

* ‌The university ​lifted a lockdown ‌but a significant law enforcement presence remains on ‌campus as ​the ​investigation continues, ​police said.

* VSU is a historically ​Black university founded ⁠in 1882. The campus is less than 25 miles ‌south ⁠of Richmond. Reuters

A large-scale Ukrainian attack struck industrial infrastructure in Russia’s southwestern Samara region Saturday, a Russian official said.Ivan Noskov, head of the region's capital, Samara, said air defense forces had repelled a “massive” missile attack, with “localized damage” to the city’s industrial sites. He also said that medical assistance has been provided to those injured in the attack, but did not give further details.Ukraine has stepped up its long-range aerial attacks on Russian military industries and energy facilities, aiming to cut Moscow’s revenue for the war and make Russians feel the consequences of the invasion, now in its fifth year.Zelenskyy says need for peace has to be felt in RussiaWriting on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv’s forces had carried out a strike against Samara’s Progress Center, which operates under Russian space agency Roscosmos and is involved in producing rocket technology and electronics.He said that the strike used Ukraine’s domestically produced Flamingo missiles to hit the site, which is approximately 900 kilometers (560 miles) from the Ukrainian border.Zelenskyy also said Russia's Savasleyka air base, some 700 kilometers (430 miles) from the front line, had also been hit.“Peace is needed, and this must be evident in Russia — through concrete damage to specific facilities,” Zelenskyy wrote. AP

Iran's Armed Forces General Staff said in a letter published by the semi-official Fars ⁠news ​agency on Saturday that it had appealed ​to the ​International Committee ⁠of the Red Cross to ‌help secure the release of three Iranian pilots it says are being ⁠held ⁠by Qatar.

It said the ⁠pilots were ‌held ​after their ‌aircraft were hit during a ‌March mission ​against ​what ​Tehran described as "an enemy military ​base" in ⁠Qatar.

There was no immediate confirmation from ‌Qatari ⁠authorities. Reuters

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake ⁠struck ​near the north ​coast ​of Papua ⁠New Guinea ‌on Saturday, German ⁠Research Centre ⁠for ⁠Geosciences ‌said.

The quake ​was ‌at a ‌depth ​of ​10 ​km (6.21 ​miles), GFZ ⁠said. Reuters

Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed at least nine people Saturday, in some of the deadliest attacks since a precarious truce between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect on June 20.Lebanon's Health Ministry and state news agency said one of the airstrikes that targeted a home on the edge of the village of Ansar killed seven people, including three children, and wounded two. The second, on the village of Deir al-Zahrani, killed two and wounded nine.Israel and the Lebanese government announced a “framework agreement” on June 26, laying out a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon, in exchange for the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. It also envisions steps toward an eventual peace agreement between the two countries — which technically remain in a state of war nearly 80 years after Israel’s establishment.Hezbollah has refused direct talks and wasn’t party to the deal.Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam criticized Israel's airstrikes on southern Lebanon, saying they intimidate “residents in their homes" and undermine efforts to stabilize the situation in the south. AP

The US aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, is set to return to the United States after an extended deployment of more than 250 days, Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao said, as reports of low morale and mental health concerns among sailors aboard the aircraft carrier have drawn scrutiny from US Congress and families of the sailors.

Cao, in a statement on Friday, said the carrier had "crushed their deployment" and would return home soon as part of a planned rotation, while stressing that the safety and security of sailors and Marines remained the Navy's priority.

"The USS Abraham Lincoln crushed their deployment and will return home soon as part of a planned rotation. Details will come, but let me be clear: the safety and security of our Sailors and Marines always comes first. Mission accomplishment. Troop Welfare. This is how we lead," Cao said in the statement.

The carrier's prolonged deployment has come under scrutiny amid reports concerning the conditions faced by sailors aboard the ship. ANI