Read the latest news from regional and global sources, presenting different voices and perspectives.

Russia returns to Afghanistan
EDITORIAL: The irony could not be more exquisite. Russia has become the first country to formally recognise the Taliban regime in Afghanistan — three decades after the Soviet Union was bled out of the same country by the Taliban’s ideological...

Afghans divided on Russia’s Taliban recognition
Russia's decision to formally recognise the Taliban government has been seen as an opening for a stronger economy by some Afghans, while others were sceptical that it would improve their lot. Russia became the first country to acknowledge the...

Digging Deeper: Kazakhmys Barlau’s Plan for Exploration, Talent, and Afghanistan’s Geology
ASTANA — President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has set an ambitious national goal: to bring the level of Kazakhstan’s subsoil exploration to 2.2 million square kilometers. To put that in perspective, this is larger than the entire area of Saudi Arabia....

Afghan man, 45, 'marries girl aged SIX before Taliban intervene... and say he must wait until she is NINE'
A six-year-old girl has allegedly been forced to marry a 45-year-old man in Afghanistan after she was given away for money. The haunting photo of an older man and a little girl standing together horrified even the Taliban, who intervened with the...

Afghanistan: Russia recognizes the Taliban government
"This brave decision will be an example for others." With these words, Amir Khan Muttaqi, foreign minister in Afghanistan's Taliban government, welcomed the announcement by Russia that it was officially recognizing the Taliban as the legitimate...

Bizarre tourism video invites Americans to visit Afghanistan
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our...

Bradford NHS team supports health research in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust has played a key role in the international project, aimed supporting mental and physical health in the two countries. The initiative is part of a wider programme funded by the National Institute for...

San Diego contestant on 'The Great American Recipe' shares his Afghan food and roots
"The Great American Recipe" season 4 premieres this weekend — you can begin streaming it Friday on the PBS app, or watch Mondays at 9 p.m. on KPBS-TV beginning July 14. The PBS show "The Great American Recipe" follows a group of home cooks as they...

In ‘Cinema Jazireh,’ a Woman Dresses up as a Man in Taliban Afghanistan in Search of Her Son, Hope
Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban is the setting of Cinema Jazireh, Turkish filmmaker Gözde Kural’s second feature. She wrote, directed and also edited, together with Bünyamin Bayansal, the film, which is world premiering in the Crystal...

Humanitarian Corridors enables the arrival of over 100 Afghan refugees
As part of the Humanitarian Corridors initiative, a group of 119 Afghan refugees have arrived in Rome from Pakistan. By Kielce Gussie A flight from Islamabad, Pakistan, carrying 119 Afghan refugees arrived at Rome’s Fiumicino airport on 10 July....

The Taliban’s Slow Dismantling of Afghan Media
In November 2024, people in Afghanistan’s northern Takhar province were met with a surprise when they tuned on the nightly television news: a blank screen. Instead of an anchor sitting at the usual desk, all they saw was Mah-e-Now channel’s logo...

No AC, No Worry: Afghanistan Taxi Drivers Use 'Desi Jugaad' To Beat The Heat | Watch
Last Updated:July 10, 2025, 19:27 IST Taxi drivers in Kandahar, Afghanistan, use handmade cooling systems to combat 40°C heat. These systems, costing 3,000 Afghanis, connect to the taxi's battery and solar panels. An Afghan taxi driver installs a...
Governor Polis Appoints Rory N. Devlin to the Elbert County
Colorado Governor Jared Polis has appointed Rory N. Devlin to the Elbert County Court in the 23rd Judicial District. The appointment fills the vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Palmer L. Boyette and is effective July 2, 2025....

Taliban launches warped Afghan TOURISM campaign with spoof vid of brutes posing beside ‘hostage’ in ISIS-style execution
A BIZARRE campaign has been launched to lure tourists to terrorist-infested Afghanistan - featuring a sick spoof hostage video. The slick, professionally produced 50-second promotional film starts with footage of a hooded man surrounded by armed...

Afghan refugees stuck in Pak as Germany halts entry plan
In a cramped guesthouse in Pakistan’s capital, 25-year-old Kimia spends her days sketching women — dancing, playing, resisting —in a notebook that holds what’s left of her hopes. A visual artist and women’s rights advocate, she fled Afghanistan in...
Trump slams Afghanistan exit as ‘most embarrassing moment’ in US history
US President Donald Trump has once again strongly criticised the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, calling it “the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country,” TOLO News reported. Speaking during a cabinet meeting, Trump...

Wal-What? Taliban arrests 45-year-old Afghan man for marrying 6-year-old girl because he didn't wait till she was 9!
In a horrific development from Afghanistan, a 45-year-old man, already married twice, wed a six-year-old in the Helmand province. When the Taliban administration came to know about this, there were repercussions, and the groom and the father of...

Post-Kremlin recognition, Afghanistan hopes Central Asian countries wi...
New Delhi, July 11 (IANS): Earlier this month, Russia became the first country to give recognition to Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) and embrace the de facto Taliban administration in Kabul as a legitimate partner. No other country has till...

Iranian envoy: Afghan repatriation plan is long-term, not abrupt
Speaking to TOLOnews, Alireza Bikdeli emphasized that over six million Afghans currently reside in Iran, with only a small fraction, estimated at 300,000, having recently returned through border crossings such as Eslam Qala and Milak. He stated...

Post-Kremlin Recognition, Afghanistan Hopes Central Asian Countries Will Follow Suit
New Delhi: Earlier this month, Russia became the first country to give recognition to Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) and embrace the de facto Taliban administration in Kabul as a legitimate partner. No other country has till now recognized...