BBC News with David Austin

Thousands of Israelis have been taking part in a rally to condemn the behaviour of ultra-Orthodox Jews who want to enforce segregation between men and women. The Israeli President Shimon Peres said a minority in Israel was acting

outrageously

. Jon Donnison was at the rally in Beit Shemesh.

By early evening, thousands of demonstrators had gathered in Beit Shemesh. There was anger at the growing influence of Israel's conservative ultra-Orthodox Jews and, in particular, their treatment of women. Local girls, some as young as eight, have been harassed supposedly for dressing

immodestly

. At tonight's rally, there was something of a party atmosphere, but many Israelis believe the country's character is

at stake

. The Israeli government - so often critical of religious extremism in Islamic countries - has ordered a crackdown on

intolerance

at home.

The President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, says he will allow the Taliban to open a

liaison

office in Qatar to try to help the peace process. However, Mr Karzai's office said there should be restrictions preventing any foreign intervention in peace talks. From Kabul, here's Caroline Wyatt.

This is the first time that President Karzai has personally backed in public the idea of an office for the Taliban in the Gulf state of Qatar. It was a move he

ruled out

only a few weeks ago, infuriated that the US and Germany had been conducting negotiations over the location without consulting him. Early this month, Afghanistan withdrew its ambassador to Qatar in a signal of Kabul's displeasure. However, a statement from the presidential palace tonight said that if the Americans wanted to locate the office there, the Afghan government would agree in order to help the peace process.