Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One app.

Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles. One news app.

The Latest Breaking News from Afghanistan

Taliban Introduces New Penal Code in Afghanistan, Intensifying Restrictions on Women and Children

The Taliban has formalised some of its most hardline policies through a newly introduced 90-page criminal code, raising serious concerns among human rights organisations about the impact on women and children. Signed by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, the law permits husbands to physically discipline their wives and children as long…

Whats Hot

Break the spine, but spare the bones: How Taliban is crushing women, one rule at a time

The Taliban has introduced a new penal code in Afghanistan that formalises some of its most hardline policies, prompting concern among human rights groups about the consequences for women and children. Signed by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, the 90-page criminal code allows husbands to physically discipline their wives and children…

The Times of India

Jonathan Trott explains stance on England role after ending stint as Afghanistan coach

The former England batter has concluded his time with the Asian nation after the T20 World Cup

The Independent UK

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

How the Mahabharata War Reshaped the Political Map of Bharat

The Mahabharata war, traditionally placed between 1500 BCE and 900 BCE depending on scholarly interpretation, marks a turning point in early Indian civilization. While historians debate its exact dating and scale, the epic and Puranic traditions preserve a memory of large-scale dynastic destruction, territorial shifts, and ecological change. The political…

Times Life

Taliban’s New Penal Code Sparks Global Outrage Over Women’s Rights in Afghanistan

The Taliban has introduced a sweeping new penal code in Afghanistan, formalizing some of its most restrictive and controversial practices. The 90-page criminal code, signed by Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, has raised serious concerns among international human rights groups over its implications for women and children.

Whats Hot

Now, domestic violence legal in Taliban-led Afghanistan — as long as no ‘broken bones, open wounds’

Afghanistan's new penal code, signed by the Taliban's supreme leader, permits husbands to physically abuse wives and children without causing severe injury. It formalizes inequality, with different penalties for 'free' individuals and 'slaves.' Psychological and sexual violence against women are not explicitly prohibited, leaving them vulnerable and without adequate legal…

The Times of India

The secret Afghan women’s book club defying the Taliban to read Orwell

Banned from education, a clandestine reading circle meets every week to pore over novels by Abbas Maroufi, Zoya Pirzad and Ernest Hemingway

The Guardian - UK

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

Afghanistan faces catastrophic hunger crisis as aid cuts force the WFP to turn away 3 in 4 children

Afghanistan is facing a surging child malnutrition crisis as aid cuts leave most families without food or treatment

The Independent UK

Ghosts of the past: Why Pakistan is in perpetual crisis

Pakistan’s crises rarely come as surprises anymore. A bombing, political upheaval, economic scare or diplomatic rupture, each seems sudden, yet for many Pakistanis, the sequence felt uncomfortably routine.

The Times of India

7 Places Outside India Mentioned in the Mahabharata That Will Surprise You

“यदिहास्ति तदन्यत्र, यन्नेहास्ति न तत् क्वचित्।” Whatever is found here may be found elsewhere. What is not found here is nowhere else. When most of us think about the Mahabharata, we imagine Hastinapur, Kurukshetra, and the banks of the Ganga. We picture royal courts, forest exile, and the great war…

Times Life

Progress on family planning in Afghanistan is still possible

Letter: George Papachristou and Gigih Yudhistira offer some hope in response to a report on how the Taliban’s ban on birth control is affecting Afghan women

The Guardian - UK

New Taliban penal code puts husbands on par with ‘slave masters’ and legalises domestic violence

A Kabul-based legal adviser says it is now ‘impossible for women to get any justice’ in the Taliban-run courts. Arpan Rai reports

The Independent UK

The return of millions of Afghans from Pakistan and Iran pushes Afghanistan to the brink, UN warns

The U.N. refugee agency says the return of millions of Afghans from neighboring Pakistan and Iran is pushing Afghanistan to the brink

The Independent UK

Virginia Supreme Court rules US Marine's adoption of an Afghan war orphan will stand

The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that a U.S. Marine and his wife will keep an Afghan orphan they brought home in defiance of the U.S. government’s decision to reunite her with her Afghan family

The Independent UK

Get all your
news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One news app.

The Independent UK

Love is found in unexpected places at the Berlin Film Festival

Two films at the Berlin Film Festival use romance to show life beyond war and politics

The Independent UK

One Extraordinary Photo: Golden moment as Italy celebrates luge win

With more than three decades at The Associated Press, Aijaz Rahi is a Bangalore-based photojournalist and photo editor whose work has documented conflict in his native Kashmir and Afghanistan, alongside major news events across South Asia and beyond

The Guardian - UK

‘A love letter to all the good men I know’: Shahrbanoo Sadat on making Afghanistan’s first romcom

Opening the Berlin film festival, No Good Men blends romance and rebellion, capturing love, humour and female agency in Kabul on the eve of the Taliban’s return

The Independent UK

South Africa pip Afghanistan to remarkable victory as second super over settles T20 World Cup thriller

The two teams had been unable to be separated after their innings and the first super over in Ahmedabad

Get all your
news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One news app.

Whats Hot

Pakistan Defence Minister Says Country Was ‘Used Like Toilet Paper’ by US in Afghan Wars

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has delivered a blistering critique of the country’s past alliances with the United States, telling the National Assembly that Islamabad had been “used like toilet paper and then discarded” after serving American interests in Afghanistan.

The Times of India

'Used & threw us like toilet paper, we didn't learn': Pakistan's Khwaja Asif's big remark on US

Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif lambasted past alliances with Washington, stating Islamabad was "used like toilet paper" after serving US interests in Afghanistan. He described terrorism as "blowback" from dictators' past mistakes, lamenting Pakistan's failure to learn from history and its shifting allegiances for short-term gains. The remarks followed a…

The Guardian - UK

Norway defence chief says Russia could invade to protect nuclear assets

Exclusive: Eirik Kristoffersen, who served in Afghanistan, rejects Trump’s claim that Nato troops stayed off frontlines

The Times of India

'Pomegranate can't enter but terrorists do': Pakistan leader's caustic jab at own military over rising cases of terror

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman sharply criticized Pakistan's handling of militancy and its Afghanistan policy, questioning how terrorists cross the border while trade is blocked. He also lambasted broader foreign and economic policies as failures, leading to national isolation and declining trust from China regarding CPEC.

The Independent UK

Pakistan says Afghanistan has created conditions ‘similar to or worse than’ pre-9/11 attacks

Pakistan’s president warns that the Taliban's government in Afghanistan has created conditions “similar to or worse than” those before the 9/11 attacks in 2001

The Times of India

Minerals, militants, US-made guns: Why Donald Trump’s bet on Asim Munir is set to fail

A recent mosque bombing in Islamabad highlights Pakistan's security challenges, even as its generals offer Washington access to vast mineral wealth. Insurgents, armed with US-made weapons left in Afghanistan, threaten critical mining projects in Balochistan, complicating Pakistan's strategic mineral diplomacy and its balancing act between China and the US.

Evening Standard

Trump deports more ‘worst of the worst’ illegal immigrants back to UK than Afghanistan or Iraq as 35 Brits kicked out

Trump’s ‘worst of the worst’ database lists a number of Brits among those facing deportation

1 2 3 4 5

People

Hibatullah Akhundzada

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

Organisations

the Justice Department

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

Topics

Places

Fourteen days free

Download the app

One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.