Six female students from war-torn Afghanistan who had hoped to participate in an international robotics competition in the US this month will have to watch via video link after their visa applications were denied — not once, but twice. The girls wanted to show the world that Afghans can also construct a hand-made robot. But of 162 teams who planned to participate, the Afghan girls are the only nation’s team to be denied visas by the US and must participate from afar, watching from their hometown in western Afghanistan. Members of the team from Gambia were granted visas after initially being denied. Although the Afghan girls were denied entry into the country, the team’s robot was not.

Source: Egypt Independent July 10, 2017 06:11 UTC