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
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif vows to punish attackers after bomb attack
Death toll rises to at least 45 after assault claimed by Islamic State terror group
Transition: A trans film-maker living alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan after the fall captures a nation and a person in flux
Australian Jordan Bryon was determined to stay on and continue making films despite the grave danger he was placing himself in
Afghan police attack women protesting against Taliban edict to shut beauty parlours
Hair salons and beauty parlours are last refuge for women otherwise confined to their homes by regime
Taliban order beauty salons in Afghanistan to close within a month
Move is latest of growing restrictions imposed on women since Taliban returned to power in 2021
Afghanistan evacuation review critical of decisions made by Biden and Trump
Decisions made by presidents had ‘serious consequences for the viability of the Afghan government’
Over 60 schoolgirls poisoned in Afghanistan, police say
No arrests made as the children were taken to hospital and are in ‘good condition’
Taliban may end ban on women working for aid agencies in Afghanistan
Leadership is finalising guidelines on reversing the prohibition, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council
Taliban kill head of Islamic State cell that bombed Kabul airport
Bombing killed 170 civilians and 13 US troops in August 2021
UN warns of ‘appalling choice’ after Taliban bans female staff
UN agencies provide basic health, shelter and food aid to 28.3 million Afghans, more than half the population
‘It was hard at first. It can be very difficult to get a job when you are a refugee’
New to the Parish: Safora Mohammadi came to Ireland from Afghanistan in 2021
Afghan asylum seeker takes High Court case after being left homeless
Man seeks urgent injunction forcing State to provide him with accommodation
Pakistan mosque blast reflects ‘security lapses’, say officials
Death toll rises to 100 as rescue teams continue to search for people said to be trapped inside
Three leading aid agencies resume work in Afghanistan
Taliban’s ban on employment of female workers by non-governmental organisations had led four agencies to suspend operations
Former Afghan MP shot dead at her home in Kabul
Mursal Nabizada and her guard were killed and her brother was injured in Sunday’s attack
Eight militants killed in Taliban raids targeting key Islamic State figures
Targets were involved in attacks on Kabul’s Longan Hotel, Pakistan’s embassy and the military airport
Afghan women refused entry to universities as Taliban ban comes into force
Since retaking power in August 2021, the Taliban has systematically cancelled the rights gained by girls and women
‘Ireland is a nice country, and people are friendly, but the accommodation problem is huge’
New to the Parish: Shakeeba Hamdam is originally from Afghanistan but lived in Pakistan for most of her life
Bomb attack at mosque and school in Afghanistan kills dozens
Since taking power last August, Taliban have battled with terror group Isis-K
Daily and nightly they come: hungry children crowd Afghanistan’s hospital wards
Acute malnutrition among a cascade of maladies threatening to topple fragile health system
Desperately short of staff, the Taliban go recruiting in Pakistan
Militant group grapple with challenge of governance after exodus of skilled labour
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