This could be a crazy week. Here’s one way to stay sane
The best way to stay sane this week is, as Marcus Aurelius recommended, to extend more generosity to other people’s crazy
Taliban
Islamic fundamentalist group
Afghanistan to be taken to International Court of Justice over approach to women’s rights
Women are prohibited from speaking in public or showing their faces outside their home
‘Ghosts in our own country’: Afghan women voice horror at Taliban law banning them from speaking outside the home
Women and girls are now forbidden even from calling out for a taxi, and they feel abandoned by the outside world
‘I love Ireland. Ireland is 100% different to back home. It’s peace, calm’
Qareeb Urrahman came to Ireland from Afghanistan in 2021
Netanyahu has distracted the world’s attention from countless other warmongering thugs
What kind of global mindset allows preposterous, insecure leaders in Sudan, Israel, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia and elsewhere to cock their legs on their own populations and the wider world?
Taliban ban on hearing women’s voices gives ‘distressing vision’ for Afghanistan, says UN official
Taliban’s first formal legislation since returning to power three years ago covers every aspect of Afghan life
Three years ago Afghanistan fell to the Taliban and we had to flee the country we loved
It’s been a particularly dark time for Afghan media with more than 80 per cent of women journalists stopping work by the end of last year
Three years on: ‘I am impatiently waiting for the Taliban to be destroyed, I want to return to my homeland’
To mark three years since the Islamist group regained control of Afghanistan, women who have fled the country are highlighting the continued oppression and violence against women
Hundreds of cases of femicide recorded in Afghanistan since Taliban takeover
Figures just ‘the tip of the iceberg’, new data suggests
‘It was like breathing again’: Afghans find new life in Ireland, three years on from Taliban’s takeover
The Afghan Admission Programme allows Afghan nationals residing in Ireland since before September 1st, 2021, to apply for residency on behalf of up to four close family members. As of July this year, the programme has benefitted 896 individuals
‘Eight times we have changed the place and times of the school’: Afghan women defying the Taliban education ban
Despite three years of severe restrictions on women, education activists remain dedicated to providing covert educational opportunities for girls across the country
Why synthetic heroin could cause a deadly opioid crisis in Ireland
In the News podcast with Bernice Harrison
Ireland joins international criticism of exclusion of Afghan women from UN-Taliban talks
‘Silent diplomacy will only embolden the Taliban’, says Dublin-based Afghan journalist and film-maker
Britain should not fear ‘an honest approach’ to past sins, says historian
Mistakes in dealing with terrorism in Northern Ireland are being repeated elsewhere, argues Prof Richard English in a new book
Taliban’s return has made Afghanistan a hub for global jihadis
Analysts say Isis-K — a group blamed for the recent Moscow concert hall attack — gained strength after the US withdrawal
Taliban says Afghanistan the ‘best place for tourists now’
Many countries, including Ireland, advise against travel to the impoverished region
Afghan women and girls use online resources to evade government ban on female education
The Taliban say the restrictions are justified by their conservative interpretation of Islamic law. Unicef, the UN children’s fund, estimates the ban has affected more than 1mn girls
Myanmar is now world’s largest source of opium, UN says
Cultivation in Afghanistan dropped 95% after ban by Taliban in 2022
Pakistan steps up Afghan expulsions despite international criticism
Order to expand border facilities could double flow of migrants being forced to return to Taliban-ruled neighbour
Pakistan starts rounding up undocumented foreigners, mostly Afghans, ahead of deadline
Deadline passes for undocumented immigrants to leave Pakistan
Afghans return to Taliban rule as Pakistan moves to expel 1.7m
Islamabad’s threat has torn families apart and pushed even Afghans with valid papers to leave
Another earthquake hits western Afghanistan as official warns of ‘huge losses’
Disaster follows a series of deadly quakes over the weekend which left more than 2,000 dead and entire villages flattened
Afghanistan earthquake: Rescue efforts scaled back as villagers bury their dead
At least 2,400 dead and 2,000 injured following powerful quakes, says Taliban government, with chances of finding survivors diminished
Afghanistan: Rescuers search for survivors as Taliban says quake toll at 2,400
Aftershocks continue to shake affected areas, forcing people out of their homes, say officials
Afghanistan earthquakes kill more than 2,000 with 9,000 injured
Country’s ministry of disasters reports 1,320 houses damaged or destroyed after 6.3 magnitude quake
Blast kills 52 at celebration rally in southwest Pakistan
Pakistani Taliban distance themselves from attack as those responsible yet to come forward
Tobias Ellwood quits as chair of UK defence select committee over Taliban remarks
Conservative MP made comments praising the Taliban after a visit to Afghanistan in July
The Donegal woman who talked to the Taliban: ‘There was one leader with only one eye. He made me move so I would be out of the line of sight’
From Afghanistan to South Sudan and Nairobi, the practical and dauntless Mary Ellen McGrogarty of the World Food Programme focuses on respecting the dignity and individuality of people in desperate need
UN food agency cuts rations to two million Afghans as funds dry up
AFGHANISTAN-CONFLICT/WFP (TV, PIX):UN food agency cuts rations to 2 million Afghans as funds dry up
My friend phoned from the airport saying ‘the Taliban is on its way. Pack your bags, life has ended for us’
New to the Parish: Manizha Khan came to Ireland from Afghanistan in 2021
Afghan women set up secret businesses to escape Taliban bans
Widows and divorcees among hardest-hit by strict restrictions
Róisín Ingle: Welcome to Taliban Farm where the pigs are in charge
Róisín Ingle: The weight on my daughters’ schoolbooks has nothing on the burden placed on women and girls in Afghanistan
‘Staying at home and doing nothing is like gradually dying’: Shut out of jobs, Afghan women retrain as nurses
Afghanistan’s health system under huge strain and school ban will hit future health training
US envoys meet Taliban officials for the first time in two years
State department says US open to technical talks with the regime on stabilising the Afghanistan economy and tackling jihadi groups in the country
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE...
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Election 2024
Full general election coverage including analysis and results for all 43 constituencies
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
Family NoticesOpens in new window
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices