BRUSSELS — History is repeating itself in the corridors of Western diplomacy, this time under a European banner. The European Union’s decision to invite five-member Taliban delegation to Brussels marks a profound diplomatic shift that mirrors the controversial architecture of the 2020 US-Taliban Doha talks. While separated by six years and different primary agendas, both…
KABUL — Residents in the capital city reported hearing the sound of a large explosion on Monday afternoon, June 29, 2026. Initial visual reports, including video footage surfaced by Afghanistan International, show a thick column of dark smoke and fire rising from an undisclosed urban section of the city. The exact location, the nature of…
BRUSSELS — The European Union has crossed a major diplomatic threshold by quietly hosting a five-member delegation of Taliban officials at its headquarters in Brussels. This marks the first time since the August 2021 takeover that representatives of the unrecognized fundamentalist regime have been received directly on EU soil. The secret talks have sparked intense…
BRUSSELS — The European Union hosted a five-member Taliban delegation in Brussels on Tuesday, marking the first time the de facto Afghan authorities have been received for official talks at the EU headquarters since seizing power in 2021. The high-stakes meeting has ignited a fierce backlash from human rights groups and international activists who warn…
BERLIN — The German government has reportedly agreed to allow six additional Taliban diplomats into the country following a multi-day confidential meeting with representatives of the de facto Afghan authorities in Istanbul. The development was first uncovered by the German public broadcaster NDR, indicating a significant practical shift in Berlin’s engagement with Kabul. According to…
KABUL, The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has issued a renewed call emphasizing that widespread vaccination remains the single most effective mechanism to safeguard children against poliomyelitis in Afghanistan. In a public statement released on its official X platform on Monday, June 22, the international children’s agency underscored that while polio has no cure, it…
KABUL — The Taliban leadership has issued a series of sweeping decrees strictly banning the use of smartphones by all government employees and members of their own security apparatus, introducing severe penalties including device destruction and court-martial for violators. The strict directive, attributed to Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, officially went into effect this week following…
GENEVA — Bektash Siawash, a prominent former member of the Parliament of Afghanistan, has officially launched his second protest sit-in outside the United Nations Office in Geneva. The demonstration tent was erected on Thursday, June 18 (28 Jawza). The sit-in aims to seek justice for Afghan women and push an explicit demand to the international…
KABUL — Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the Taliban’s Minister for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, has strongly rejected international criticism of the regime’s domestic policies, stating that the global community has no right to interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs. Speaking at an official gathering with the ministry’s ombudsmen (muhtasibs), Hanafi defended the enforcement…
MOSCOW — Russia was targeted overnight by one of the largest coordinated Ukrainian aerial assaults since the beginning of the conflict. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that its air defense systems intercepted and downed as many as 555 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) across multiple regions. The extensive drone swarm triggered widespread disruption to…
