PARUN — Torrential monsoon-driven flash floods swept through eastern Afghanistan’s Nuristan province on Monday, July 20, 2026, leaving at least 23 people dead, more than 80 injured, and around 100 individuals unaccounted for. The sudden deluge wiped out entire neighborhoods, markets, and municipal infrastructure across the mountainous province. The worst-hit area was Parun, the provincial…
HERAT — The Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has intensified its domestic campaign against civilian independence in western Afghanistan, detaining at least five women in the city of Herat over a 48-hour period. According to verified reports from local eye-witnesses and independent regional monitors, the arbitrary detentions occurred…
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 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…
A powerful wave of global solidarity has mobilized across the world following recent public demonstrations in the Jabrail neighborhood of Herat, Afghanistan. Afghans and international civil activists have staged coordinated rallies in at least 14 major global cities to protest the Taliban’s escalating restrictions and recent arbitrary arrests of women and girls. The international rallies…
