August 2022
How the Taliban have turned back the clock in Afghanistan
A year after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, schools and jobs are restricted for women, music is banned and morality police are out in full force. But the fighting has stopped.
November 2021
Under pressure, Taliban allow girls to return to some high schools
In some provinces, girls are back at school but they are a lucky few. Teachers and parents have doubts about what this means for life under Taliban rule.
September 2021
‘Virtue police’ back in Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s rulers have reinstated a ministry for the ‘propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice’, in another sign women’s rights are being wound back.
US apology for deadly Afghan drone strike ‘not enough’
The family of a three-year-old girl and other civilians killed by a US missile in Kabul want an investigation, and financial reparations, after the military apologised.
UN envoy meets new Afghan interior minister
The meeting between Deborah Lyons, head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, and Sirajuddin Haqqani, one of the FBI’s most wanted men, focused on humanitarian assistance.
Foreigners take first commercial flight out of Kabul
The commercial flight, arranged in co-operation with the Taliban, was the first such large-scale departure since US forces withdrew more than a week ago.
Taliban name all-male Afghan government of old guard members
Drawn mostly from Afghanistan’s dominant Pashtun ethnic group, the cabinet’s lack of representation from other ethnic groups also seems certain to hobble its support from abroad.
Curtain divides male, female students as Afghan universities reopen
Teachers and students at universities in the country’s largest cities say female students are being segregated in class, taught separately or restricted to certain parts of the campus.
Defence chief ‘surprised’ by Taliban’s rapid return to power
Chief of the Defence Force says Afghan president’s decision to flee and some questionable decisions over troop deployment contributed to the Taliban’s victory.
Taliban break up women’s protest with tear gas, rifle butts, clubs
Beatings meted out to women marching for their rights were among the first evidence against the Taliban’s promises not to return to its harsh rule of the past.
Taliban prepare to reveal new Afghan government amid economic turmoil
The legitimacy of the new government in the eyes of international donors and investors will be crucial for the economy.
The dead terrorist with a long shadow
Every Islamic extremist is claiming a win from the Taliban victory in Afghanistan, with renewed speculation about Islamic State activity in south-east Asia.
US sets up Afghan-focused foreign post to help stranded
Diplomats will work from Doha, Qatar, to help evacuate Afghans who worked with the US and around100 Americans who wanted to leave but were left behind.
Don’t abandon Afghanistan’s economy too
It may be the only lever left to the West but playing politics with the external funding on which life in Afghanistan has been built over the last 20 years would be disastrous.
Biden claims Afghan exit a success, ‘couldn’t have been more orderly’
Amid criticism from his own party, US President Joe Biden has portrayed America’s chaotic exit from Afghanistan as a ‘success’.
August 2021
Gunfire heralds Taliban control in Afghanistan
‘The last US soldier has left Kabul airport and our country gained complete independence,’ a Taliban spokesman said.
‘We have to try’: Frantic Afghan rescue efforts cross US divide
There is bipartisan anger at the Biden administration for the way it planned for evacuations and for holding to the President’s August 31 withdrawal date.
Blinken’s peace ambitions rely on the Taliban
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has declared the Afghanistan War over, but he is relying on a lot to achieve peace.
Amazing escape: How six schoolmates got their friend out of Kabul
The youngest is 17, the oldest is 20, and together they managed to spirit their pal and her family away from the Taliban.
Rockets intercepted as US rushes to complete Kabul withdrawal
President Joe Biden paid his respects to US service members killed in last week’s suicide attack, hours after America carried out a second strike against an Islamic State target.