Afghanistan

Magnitude 5.6 earthquake strikes Western Afghanistan – EMSC

Jan 17 (Reuters) - An earthquake of 5.6 magnitude struck Western Afghanistan on Monday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake was at a depth of 30 km…

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Taliban rule marked by killings, denial of women’s rights – U.N.

More than 100 former Afghan national security forces and others have been killed since the Taliban takeover in August, most at the hands of the hardline Islamist group which is recruiting boy…

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UK Afghan evacuation chaotic and dysfunctional -whistleblower

Britain's handling of the evacuation of vulnerable Afghans from Kabul after the Taliban seized power in August was dysfunctional and chaotic, a Foreign Office whistleblower said in evidence disputed by former…

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France, Europeans working to open joint mission in Afghanistan – Macron

DOHA, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Several European countries are working on opening up a joint diplomatic mission in Afghanistan that would enable their ambassadors to return to the country, French…

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Taliban release decree saying women must consent to marriage

ISLAMABAD, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban government on Friday released a decree on women's rights which said women should not be considered "property" and must consent to marriage but…

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World Bank works to redirect frozen funds to Afghanistan for humanitarian aid only

The World Bank is finalizing a proposal to deliver up to $500 million from a frozen Afghanistan aid fund to humanitarian agencies, people familiar with the plans told Reuters, but it leaves out…

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Italy takes in National Geographic’s green-eyed ‘Afghan Girl’

Italy has given safe haven to Sharbat Gula, the green-eyed "Afghan Girl" whose 1985 photo in National Geographic became a symbol of her country's wars, Prime Minister Mario Draghi's office…

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Detained Afghan pilots preparing to fly out of Tajikistan on U.S.-brokered flight

More than 150 U.S.-trained Afghan pilots and other personnel, held in neighboring Tajikistan for nearly three months since escaping with their planes as the Taliban seized their country, were preparing to depart…

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At least 15 killed as blasts, gunfire hit Kabul hospital, official says

At least 15 people were killed and 34 wounded when two explosions followed by gunfire hit Afghanistan's biggest military hospital in Kabul, a Taliban security official said on Tuesday. The explosions…

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Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader appears, belying rumours of his death

KABUL, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Taliban's reclusive supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, made a rare public appearance in the southern city of Kandahar, Taliban sources said on Sunday, belying widespread rumours…

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Blast at Shi’ite mosque in Afghan city of Kandahar kills dozens

KABUL (Reuters) -Suicide bombers attacked a Shi'ite mosque in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, killing at least 35 people, the second week in a row that militants bombed Friday…

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At least 30 killed in Afghanistan mosque blast

A bomb blast hit a Shia mosque in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province during Friday prayers, killing at least 30 people, an official confirmed. Murtaza Zarifi, a security officer at the mosque, claimed…

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Unicef warns 3.2 million children at risk of malnutrition in Afghanistan

Afghan children who were displaced from other parts of the country live in temporary shelters at a camp in Kabul, Afghanistan, 09 October 2021. Some 3.2 million children under the…

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Afghanistan to start issuing passports again after months of delays

Afghanistan will start issuing passports to its citizens again on Tuesday, a senior official said, following months of delays that hampered attempts by those trying to flee the country after the Taliban…

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Taliban say forces destroy Islamic State cell hours after Kabul blast

Taliban government forces destroyed an Islamic State cell in the north of Kabul late on Sunday in a prolonged assault that broke the calm of a normally quiet area of the…

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Greece says will not allow ‘uncontrolled’ migrant flows from Afghanistan

SAMOS, Greece, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Greece will not allow a repeat of the 2015 migration crisis to unfold on its borders following the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, Prime Minister…

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Afghan army collapse ‘took us all by surprise,’ U.S. defense secretary

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Congress on Tuesday that the Afghan army's sudden collapse caught the Pentagon off-guard as he acknowledged miscalculations in America's longest war including corruption and damaged morale…

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Taliban ask airlines to resume international flights to Afghanistan

The Taliban government in Afghanistan appealed for international flights to be resumed, promising full cooperation with airlines and saying that problems at Kabul airport had been resolved. The statement from…

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Russia’s Lavrov says Taliban recognition ‘not on the table’

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that international recognition of the Taliban was not currently under consideration. Lavrov was speaking on the sidelines of…

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Taliban hang up bodies of alleged kidnappers in Afghan city

Taliban authorities in the western Afghan city of Herat killed four alleged kidnappers and hung their bodies up in public to deter others, a local government official said on Saturday.…

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Photo Story – Poverty in Kabul

An Afghan woman begs for alms in Kabul, Afghanistan, 23 September 2021. The Taliban has sought to address the ongoing session of the United Nations General Assembly as part of…

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Taliban to resume executions and amputations as punishment

One of the founders of the Taliban has said that the group will resume executions and amputations as punishment. Mullah Nooruddin Turabi warned the world against interfering in the plans,…

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Malala pleads with world to protect Afghan girls’ education

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by a Taliban gunman in Pakistan as she left school in 2012, pleaded with the world not to compromise on the…

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Photo Story – Taliban replaced Women Affairs Ministry with Ministry of Vice and Virtue

EPA - An Afghan woman passes by the building of former Ministry of Women Affairs which is now replaced with the conservative Ministry of Vice and Virtue, which will oversee…

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Three killed in blasts in Afghan city of Jalalabad, sources say

(Reuters) - At least three people were killed and about 20 wounded in a series of blasts in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Saturday, two sources in the…

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U.S. says Kabul drone strike killed 10 civilians, including children, in ‘tragic mistake’

WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - A drone strike in Kabul last month killed as many as 10 civilians, including seven children, the U.S. military said on Friday, apologizing for what…

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MEPs call for protection of vulnerable people in Afghanistan

The European Parliament has deplored the violent takeover of Afghanistan, calls for more humanitarian aid and a coordinated response to protect those most vulnerable. MEPs are appalled by reports of…

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Putin says Russia needs to work with the Taliban

Russia needs to work with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday at a meeting of a China- and Russia-led security bloc, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation…

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Dutch Foreign Minister Kaag quits over Afghan refugee crisis

Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag resigned, after a majority of parliament said she had mishandled the evacuation of refugees from Afghanistan last month. Members of parliament from across the political…

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Russia’s Central Asian allies say won’t host Afghan refugees

MOSCOW, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Members of a Russia-led security bloc that includes some countries adjacent or close to Afghanistan have no plans to host Afghan refugees amid the political…

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U.S. Ex-presidents Bush, Clinton, Obama band together to aid Afghan refugees

Three former U.S. presidents - Republican George W. Bush and Democrats Bill Clinton and Barack Obama - have banded together behind a new group aimed at supporting refugees from Afghanistan…

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EU says it has no option but to talk to Taliban

The European Union has no option but to talk to the Taliban in Afghanistan, the bloc's top diplomat said on Tuesday, adding that Brussels would seek to coordinate with EU governments to organise a…

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Taliban deny their deputy prime minister, Mullah Baradar, is dead

The Taliban have denied that one of their top leaders has been killed in a shootout with rivals, following rumours about internal splits in the movement nearly a month after its lightning…

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Afghanistan blame game shifts to U.S. Congress as Blinken testifies

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will testify twice to Congress this week about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, as lawmakers kick off what could be a long series of high-intensity hearings…

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EU joining discussions organised by the United Nations on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan

Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič participated on behalf of the European Commission, at the High-level Ministerial Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan. The meeting, convened by the United Nations Secretary-General António…

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