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REVEALED: 3 | Vintage Vibes

Afghan Taliban to meet EU officials in rare meeting behind closed doors

Afghans make up one of the largest groups of migrants seeking asylum in the European Union

The Independent UK

Afghan Taliban set for EU migration talks slammed by rights groups

The EU is expected to hold talks on returning failed Afghan asylum-seekers with a Taliban delegation in Brussels Tuesday after Belgium issued one-day visas for the team, overriding criticisms from human rights groups. The 27-member bloc does not recognise the Taliban administration, but the European Commission invited a team from…

France 24

Newsletter: Brexit at 10 — the divorce that still defines Britain

Also in this newsletter: What happens now to the upcoming EU-UK Summit, who pays for Europe's return hubs, and a Commissioner's travel plans finally revealed.

Euronews

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

EU faces fierce criticism over plans to host Taliban in Brussels

Rights campaigners and MEPs say meeting would normalise regime that erases women from public life

The Guardian - UK

Belgium issues visas to Taliban delegation for EU migration talks

The EU is preparing to host Taliban representatives for the first time since the group's return to power in Afghanistan.

Euronews

'I was blacklisted by the Taliban, now I have made Newcastle my home'

The Hunter has celebrated its diverse community with Refugee Week.

Newcastle Herald

At least seven killed in twin roadside bombings in northwest Pakistan

Five people were killed in the first blast and two in the second

The Independent UK

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Afghanistan claims strikes on militant hideouts inside Pakistan

Afghanistan's Taliban government claims its forces conducted airstrikes on militant hideouts in Pakistan's Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. Islamabad vehemently denies this, stating only a drone entered its airspace and was intercepted. This latest exchange escalates tensions, with both nations blaming each other for cross-border militancy and recent deadly incidents,…

The Times of India

The U.S. and Iran Are Exchanging Nuclear Concessions for Economic Relief. That's Compromise, Not Surrender.

Hawks don’t understand what diplomacy is: Both sides give something up and both sides get something in return.

Reason

The Afghan family who are safe at last and full of hope, thanks to an Australia Pauline Hanson will never know

In International Refugee Week, two speeches paint starkly different visions of the country

The Guardian - AU

‘Women and girls left vulnerable to abuse’: UN calls for Taliban's new marriage decree to be reversed

UN experts voice grave concerns over a new Taliban decree on spousal separation in Afghanistan. The ruling, issued in April 2026, is feared to legitimize child marriage and hinder women escaping abusive relationships. Provisions are seen as discriminatory, potentially impacting religious minorities and leaving girls vulnerable to harm for years…

The Times of India

How Refugee Week film festival brings migrants’ experience home

From one hostile environment to another, the documentaries and dramas ranging from Nigeria and Syria to British immigration give vivid life to an experience that can feel very remote

The Guardian - UK

Trump struggles to clasp Medal of Honor at awkward White House ceremony

The president was unable to attach the medal, so ended up tying the blue-ribboned military honor tightly around the veteran’s neck

The Independent UK

Ex-Taliban Su**ide Bomber Credits UK Asylum for Giving Him a Second Chance To Escape Extremism

Maiwand Banayee, once a Taliban recruit, credits education and UK asylum for his transformation from extremism to becoming a physiotherapist, as detailed in his new book.

International Business Times UK

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The Guardian - UK

Taliban order ban on smartphones as officials shown destroying devices

Directive aimed at government workers, but reports of wider implementation spark warnings of future Afghanistan-wide prohibition

The Times of India

Taliban’s new diktat: No smartphones for Afghan government employees

Government employees across Afghanistan began powering down their smartphones on Wednesday following an order attributed to Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

Euronews

Afghan government staff told to abandon smartphones or face prison sentence

How widely the rule is being implemented across Afghanistan and the scale of its impact were not entirely clear.

The Independent UK

Russian teenager fined £100 for social media post insulting Taliban, report says

Court rules comment amounts to incitement of ethnic hatred

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The Independent UK

UN calls on Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to reverse crackdown on women

The U.N. Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution calling on Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to swiftly reverse their crackdown on women

The Guardian - US

Kidnapped US journalist faces Taliban captor in court as 42-year sentence caps long saga

Haji Najibullah imprisoned for role in capture of David Rohde, New York Times journalist held for months in 2008

The Guardian - UK

‘We can’t give up on Afghans’: Lyse Doucet on the remarkable ‘people’s history’ that won her the Women’s prize

The BBC’s chief international correspondent was awarded the prestigious nonfiction prize for The Finest Hotel in Kabul – which she hopes will bring more attention to the Taliban’s draconian treatment of women

The Independent UK

MSF says one of its staff was among women detained in Afghanistan for violating dress code rules

Doctors Without Borders has said that one of its paramedic was among women arrested in Afghanistan for alleged dress code violations

International Business Times UK

UN Confirms Child Killed After Taliban Open Fire on Rare Women's Rights Rally

A child was killed in Herat, Afghanistan, as Taliban forces fired on protesters demanding the release of women arrested for hijab violations. The crackdown highlights ongoing repression under Taliban rule.

The Conversation

Women’s prize for non-fiction winner, The Finest Hotel in Kabul, gives voice to the people of Afghanistan

The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan is about an institution tasked with the job of housing strangers – Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel. Through this hotel, which sits high on a hill, and the people within it, seasoned BBC journalist and current foreign affairs editor, Lyse Doucet, attempts…

France 24

Escaping Kabul: The secret operation to exfiltrate the Afghan women's cycling team

Nearly five years ago, the Taliban seized control of Kabul and imposed Sharia law in Afghanistan. The women's cycling team, which was due to take part in international competitions, found itself more threatened than ever before. An unprecedented plan was put in place to smuggle the professional cyclists out of…

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Hibatullah Akhundzada

Katherine Polk Failla

14 stories

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Doctors Without Borders

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The Pakistani Taliban

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