Afghanistan

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9 Months Later, Case of Lina Sardar Khil Still Baffles

The 'New York Times' digs in

(Newser) - Lina Sardar Khil is still missing nine months after vanishing from a San Antonio playground . The 3-year-old's story has received wide coverage, but the New York Times goes deeper, filling in some backstory on the family, the specifics of the day she disappeared, and where things stand today. Edgar...

Biden: US Prisoner Swap Required 'Difficult Decisions'

US frees Afghan drug lord in exchange for American Mark Frerichs

(Newser) - Update: The White House acknowledged and hailed the release of American hostage Mark Frerichs from Afghanistan on Monday. "Bringing the negotiations that led to Mark’s freedom to a successful resolution required difficult decisions, which I did not take lightly," said President Biden in a statement, per USA ...

This Is the World's Unhappiest Country

Afghanistan displaces Iraq at top of Gallup list

(Newser) - Last year was a tough year for many countries—but in Afghanistan and Lebanon, things were so bad that the countries displaced Iraq at the top of the list of countries with the worst emotional health. Gallup says the two countries topped its "composite measure of people's daily...

Russia Denounces Bombing of Its Embassy in Kabul

Islamic State ally opposed to Taliban has been suspected in series of attacks

(Newser) - A suicide bombing outside the Russian Embassy in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Monday killed two members of the embassy staff and at least one Afghan civilian in a rare attack on a foreign diplomatic mission in Afghanistan. The blast went off at the entrance to the embassy's...

Blast Kills Cleric, 20 Others During Evening Prayers

Witnesses say suicide bomber attacked Kabul mosque

(Newser) - A bombing at a mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul during evening prayers killed at least 21 people, including a prominent cleric, and wounded at least 33 others, eyewitnesses and police said Thursday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack Wednesday night, the latest to strike...

Americans, Afghans Assess Withdrawal a Year Later
Afghanistan Is Back
Where It Was: US General
the rundown
Aug 14, 2022 5:05 PM CDT

Afghanistan Is Back Where It Was: US General

A year after withdrawal, assessments of the fallout differ

(Newser) - One year ago, the Taliban took control of the government in Afghanistan. The anniversary has sparked assessments and reassessments of the fallout from the withdrawal of US troops, from Afghans as well as Americans. And the Biden administration is preparing to answer them. The latest are from:

Afghan Cleric Killed by Bomb Concealed in Prosthetic Leg

It's a 'very huge loss' for the country, Taliban official says of death claimed by ISIS

(Newser) - An Afghan cleric who supported the Taliban and went up against the Islamic State has been killed in a suicide bombing claimed by that same group. Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani died at an Islamic seminary in Kabul when a man detonated a bomb hidden in his prosthetic leg, reports Reuters . In...

Taliban: We Didn't Know Where al-Zawahri Was

US government claims otherwise

(Newser) - The Taliban broke its silence Thursday, days after a US drone strike killed al-Qaeda's top leader in Afghanistan's capital, acknowledging his slaying and pledging to launch an investigation. The killing of Ayman al-Zawahri on the balcony of a Kabul safehouse Sunday has further strained relations between the Taliban...

After Kabul Strike, Aid Worker Recognizes Former Home

'It was a nice balcony,' he says after strike that killed Ayman al-Zawahri

(Newser) - When news reports showed the Kabul villa where al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a US drone strike Sunday, American aid worker Dan Smock was startled. He recognized the distinctive home he shared with several colleagues while working on a US government-funded project. "Reports said the CIA had...

Al-Zawahri's Killing Reveals a Worrisome Alliance

Al-Qaeda leader must have been hiding in Kabul with Taliban's blessing: Fred Kaplan

(Newser) - For journalist Fred Kaplan, the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri stands out not so much for the event itself. Al-Qaeda "is far from the potent global force that it was a decade ago," writes Kaplan at Slate , and while al-Zawahri certainly had a key role in planning...

The Wedding May Save a Family. But the Bride Is 8

Experts warn of child marriage, for some an alternative to starvation, amid catastrophe

(Newser) - Nyekuoth Manyuan dreamed of becoming a doctor. Instead, at 14, she was taken from her village of Kueryiek in South Sudan and wed to a 25-year-old man in exchange for 60 cattle. "I know I'm young," Nyekuoth told CBS News foreign correspondent Debora Patta. "But the...

Clerics, Elders Ask Nations to Recognize Taliban Rule
All-Male Meeting Backs Taliban
Jul 2, 2022 1:40 PM CDT

All-Male Meeting Backs Taliban

Clerics, elders ask nations to recognize Afghan government

(Newser) - A three-day assembly of Islamic clerics and tribal elders in the Afghan capital concluded Saturday with pledges of support for the Taliban and calls on the international community to recognize the country's Taliban-led government. The meeting in Kabul was tailored along the lines of Afghanistan's traditional Loya Jirgas—...

At Least 255 Dead in Afghanistan Earthquake
At Least 1K Dead in
Afghanistan Earthquake
UPDATED
Jun 22, 2022 6:40 AM CDT

At Least 1K Dead in Afghanistan Earthquake

Magnitude 6.1 temblor the deadliest in the country since 2002

(Newser) - Update: This file has been updated throughout with new details on the death toll. A powerful earthquake struck a rural, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more, according to a state-run news agency. Officials warned that the already grim toll would...

Taliban Launch Campaign to Wipe Out Poppy Crop

They plan to eradicate opium, heroin production

(Newser) - Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have begun a campaign to eradicate poppy cultivation, aiming to wipe out the country’s massive production of opium and heroin, even as farmers fear their livelihoods will be ruined at a time of growing poverty. On a recent day in Washir district in southern Helmand...

Female Anchors Cover Faces Under New Taliban Order

Male colleagues in Afghanistan wear masks in solidarity

(Newser) - Afghanistan's Taliban rulers on Sunday began enforcing an order requiring all female TV news anchors in the country to cover their faces while on the air. The move is part of a hard-line shift drawing condemnation from rights activists. After the order was announced Thursday, only a handful of...

A Plant Is Turning Afghanistan Into a Meth Producer

'Washington Post' says the country is experiencing a meth boom

(Newser) - Afghanistan's poppy fields have helped make it a leader when it comes to opium production. Now another plant is transforming the country into a leading meth producer, report Susannah George and Joby Warrick for the Washington Post . The native plant is locally known as oman, but it's also...

Women Challenge Taliban Rule: 'This Isn't About Hijab'

Some Taliban leaders look for workarounds on the restrictions in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Arooza was furious and afraid, keeping her eyes open for Taliban on patrol as she and a friend shopped Sunday in Kabul's Macroyan neighborhood. The math teacher was fearful her large shawl, wrapped tight around her head, and sweeping pale brown coat would not satisfy the latest decree by...

Taliban Just Resurrected a Hard-Line Mandate

Women once more have to wear face-covering burkas in public

(Newser) - Afghanistan's Taliban leadership ordered all Afghan women to wear the all-covering burka in public, the ministry of vice and virtue said Saturday. The move evoked similar restrictions on women during the Taliban's previous hard-line rule between 1996 and 2001. "We want our sisters to live with dignity...

No More TikTok, PUBG in Afghanistan
Taliban: No More TikTok
Apr 22, 2022 2:50 PM CDT

Taliban: No More TikTok

Afghanistan's rulers say young people are being led astray

(Newser) - The Taliban has been outlawing various products and activities since taking power in Afghanistan. TV shows with women in them were banned last fall, per CNN . Wine fell out of favor earlier this month. The latest prohibition reaches young people, the BBC reports: The use of TikTok and PUBG is...

Taliban Just Banned Afghanistan's Biggest Cash Crop

After decades of financing the leaders, opium, other drugs get the boot

(Newser) - The Taliban was in the restricting mood Sunday, banning opium poppy—which accounts for 80% of the world's supply of opium—along with wine, heroin, and other drugs. The Taliban has had an interesting relationship with opium, having repeatedly tried to ban the narcotic before using the crop to...

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