11 h. ago UN urges Pakistan and Afghanistan to end hostilities to protect civilians

The United Nations is calling on Afghanistan and Pakistan to bring a lasting end to hostilities

Politics

31 h. ago Hero Afghan commando sent back to Taliban after being failed by Britain

When Aziz was promised a new life in Britain in return for serving alongside UK forces, he hoped for a fresh start. Months later, he and his family were rounded up by police and deported back to Afghanistan — despite being under the care of Britain. He is now in hiding — and fears he’ll never be safe. Holly Bancroft, Fahim Abed, May Bulman and Jessica Purkiss report

Events

33 h. ago They fought with Britain and US in Afghanistan – now Taliban are taking their revenge

After the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021, Britain pledged sanctuary to Afghans who faced reprisals for working with UK forces – but thousands are still waiting. Now, as Britain drags its heels, we have verified the killings of more than 100 ex-Afghan forces in the country since 2023 – with one executed in front of his children. Holly Bancroft, Jessica Purkiss, Fahim Abed and May Bulman report

Politics

35 h. ago They fought with Britain and US in Afghanistan – now Taliban is taking its revenge

After the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021, Britain pledged sanctuary to Afghans who faced reprisals for working with UK forces – but thousands are still waiting. Now, as Britain drags its heels, we have verified the killings of more than 100 ex-Afghan forces in the country since 2023 – with one executed in front of his children. Holly Bancroft, Jessica Purkiss, Fahim Abed and May Bulman report

Politics

4 d. ago Taliban minister confronted over women’s rights during rare press conference for female journalists

Taliban foreign minister on week-long visit to India says

Politics

4 d. ago Pakistan closes border with Afghanistan as Taliban claims 58 soldiers killed in major attack

Pakistan shuts its border crossings with Afghanistan as it promises ‘befitting reply like India’

Events

6 d. ago India says it will reopen embassy in Kabul as it hosts Taliban foreign minister for controversial visit

Amir Khan Muttaqi is one of a number of Taliban leaders facing UN sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes

Politics

2 w. ago My calls and emails to family in Afghanistan go unanswered. The Taliban’s internet shutdown has left us all helpless | Shadi Khan Saif

From the safety of Australia, I watch in despair as my loved ones in Kabul navigate this digital darkness – a calculated effort to silence dissent The internet was my lifeline, a slender thread connecting me from Australia to my family in Afghanistan, bridging continents and time zones.But that bridge has crumbled. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Afghanistan ‘blind without phones and internet’ on second day of telecoms blackout

Taliban authorities cut fibre-optic network in nationwide shutdown of communications to prevent ‘vice’Afghanistan faced a second day without internet and mobile phone service on Tuesday after Taliban authorities cut the fibre-optic network.The government began shutting down high-speed internet connections to some provinces earlier in the month to prevent “vice”, on the orders of the supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. Continue reading...

Technology

2 w. ago Taliban cut internet for whole country as Afghanistan ‘dragged into abyss’

Ban blocks mobile and broadband internet services, disrupts satellite television, and affects flight operations

Politics

2 w. ago Taliban cut internet for whole of Afghanistan amid crackdown on online ‘immorality’

Ban blocks mobile and broadband internet services, disrupts satellite television, and affects flight operations

Politics

2 w. ago Elderly couple who nearly died in Taliban prison hell could return to Afghanistan

British couple Peter and Barbie Reynolds were released from Taliban prison last week after being detained for almost eight months - however, they're not ruling out returning

Events

3 w. ago Britain joins the illustrious ranks of North Korea, China and Taliban

The 'Brit card' is a fresh attempt by Sir Keir Starmer to clamp down on illegal immigration, allowing the government to clearly verify a citizen's right to live and work in the UK.

Politics

3 w. ago ‘It kept our spirits alive’: Taliban’s internet blackout leaves girls in despair

Many Afghan women and girls can no longer communicate or study online after the internet is cut off in 12 provincesLast week, 17-year-old Marjaneh* sat at her computer, waiting for her nightly online English lessons to begin. At 7pm, the scheduled start time, her laptop screen stayed black. The family’s wifi, like the wireless internet across her neighbourhood, had gone and with it, her only chance to continue her education.“These online classes were my only source of hope,” says Marjaneh, speaking from Afghanistan through a crackling phone connection. “I thought, when they [Taliban] closed schools at least they wouldn’t cut the internet, but now that has been taken away too.” Continue reading...

Society

3 w. ago British couple held in Afghanistan call their release by Taliban ‘a mystery’

After almost two decades living in Afghanistan and running education programmes for women and girls, Peter and Barbie Reynolds were arrested by the Taliban and spent more than seven months in prison. Finally free, they reveal how they were chained up in grim conditions and feared they would die – either from ill health or at the hands of their captors. Arpan Rai reports

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Send your daughters or you get no aid’: the Taliban are making religious schools girls’ only option

Food handouts and employment are increasingly tied to Afghan families’ agreement to strict Islamic educationWhen the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Nahid, 24, was midway through an economics degree. She had hoped to work in a university after she graduated.Instead, Nahid now spends her mornings at a religious school in the basement of a mosque in the western city of Herat, sitting on the floor and reciting scripture with 50 other women and girls, all dressed in black from head to toe. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago British couple released after detention in Afghanistan say they feared being executed

Barbie Reynolds, 76, and husband Peter, 80, said it was never explained to them why they were imprisonedA British couple who were reunited with their family in the UK after being released from almost eight months in detention in Afghanistan, said they feared being executed by the Taliban.Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbie, 76, who arrived at Heathrow on Saturday, said it was never explained to them why they were imprisoned in Afghanistan since their arrest in February. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘We thought we would be executed’: Elderly British couple detained by Taliban say they feared for their lives in jail

Peter and Barbie Reynolds arrived back in the UK after they were freed by the Taliban on Friday

Events

3 w. ago Elderly woman detained by Taliban for months ‘taught fellow female prisoners’

Barbie Reynolds and her husband Peter have told of their ordeal and how they feared they would never be released.

Events

3 w. ago Elderly British couple detained by Taliban for months arrive in UK

Barbie and Peter Reynolds were freed on Friday and landed in the UK on Saturday.

Politics