Archive

Zulala Hashemi, a well-known Afghan singer, has been missing for 15 days and is believed to have been abducted in Kabul, according to her family.

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Afghanistan’s Hezb-e Islami party, has warned that the United States risks a collapse similar to that of the Soviet Union if it enters a war with Iran in support of Israel and fails to achieve its objectives.

The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry held a high-level meeting on Thursday to assess the regional implications of the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel, with a particular focus on potential effects on Afghanistan.

Residents of Shahran, the centre of Khash district in Badakhshan province, have staged an armed protest against the Taliban following the destruction of their poppy fields, local sources told Afghanistan International.

The Taliban’s Supreme Court has announced that a man and a woman were flogged in Badakhshan province on charges of “running away from home” and “assisting escape.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to attend the 51st extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers, scheduled to begin on Saturday in Istanbul.

Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has said the group is prepared to cooperate with the people of Iran “based on Islamic and humanitarian principles,” expressing concern over the current regional situation.

Israeli forces launched airstrikes on Iran’s heavy water nuclear facilities in Arak and Khondab on Thursday, 19 June, according to reports from Iranian state media.

An 18-year-old Afghan national was killed and five others injured during Israeli airstrikes in the Tehranpars district of the Iranian capital on Monday night, sources told Afghanistan International.

The Taliban have publicly flogged nine people, including one woman, in Kabul and Samangan provinces on charges including drug trafficking, “running away from home,” and engaging in extramarital sexual relations, the group’s judiciary announced.

The European Union has pledged €161 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, warning that nearly four years after the Taliban’s return to power, the country remains mired in a deep socio-economic and humanitarian crisis.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that two centrifuge production facilities in Iran, located in Karaj and Tehran, have come under attack.

The US Embassy in Jerusalem has announced its temporary closure from Wednesday to Friday, 18–20 June, citing security concerns amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel.

The Taliban have officially renamed the former American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) as the Afghan International Islamic University and announced plans to relocate and expand the institution in Kabul.

The Taliban’s Minister of Justice, Abdul Hakim Sharei, announced on Tuesday that 95 percent of the group’s law-drafting process has been completed, with legislation based on Islamic principles and Hanafi jurisprudence.

Afghanistan now has the second-largest gender gap in the world, with eight in ten women denied access to education and employment, according to the 2024 Afghanistan Gender Index.

At least 452 people have been killed and 646 others injured in Iran since the start of Israeli military strikes, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which is affiliated with the Human Rights in Iran Organisation.

More than 600 foreign nationals have fled Iran for Azerbaijan since Israel launched strikes on Iranian territory last Friday, according to an Azerbaijani government official quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Iranian media have confirmed a major cyberattack on Bank Sepah, one of the country’s largest state-owned banks, causing widespread service disruptions and raising concerns over potential national infrastructure impacts.

The European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations agency has warned that Afghanistan remains in a state of crisis, with more than 23 million people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

The Taliban has annulled its first major oil agreement, a 25-year contract with the Chinese oil and gas firm Afchin, citing the company’s repeated failure to meet its contractual obligations.