The Latest Breaking News from Kabul

The government data breach of about 18,900 Afghans who had worked for Britain and British interests, and the attempts to conceal much of the detail under a legal superinjunction, are bewildering, convoluted and shameful. In all, the lives of some 80,000 Afghans and their families may have been put at…

Thousands of Afghans who worked with the UK and their families were brought to Britain in a secret programme after a 2022 data breach put their lives at risk, the British government revealed on Tuesday.

After a leak at the Ministry of Defence, officials faced a race to keep up to 100,000 Afghans from the Taliban’s clutches – with two years of court fights and rescue plans projected to cost billions, all hidden from MPs and the public. Now, after the lifting of an unprecedented…

The winter season of 2024-25 marked a resurgence of fur clothing – both faux and real – in fashion across Europe and North America. Shearling jackets and embroidered “Penny Lane coats” featured widely in reports on the latest fashion trends. Vintage fur coats are also back in vogue.

The city of six million people could soon run out water, amid climate change, sanctions and governance failures.

But they were the terrorists.

From China to Iran, several countries have already been engaging with the Taliban. Experts say they could be next.

Experts monitoring the Taliban’s new diplomacy push in Asia say China could follow suit, paving the way for wider recognition of the militant group and ending its pariah status on the world stage. Arpan Rai reports

Germany does not recognise the Taliban government, which took control of Afghanistan in 2021, and maintains no official diplomatic ties with Kabul.

Afghanistan's government said on Thursday that Russia had become the first country to officially recognise its rule, calling it a "brave decision".

When a cockfight begins in Kabul, the noise is immediate. Roars of “Hit!” and “Kill!” erupt among spectators as two birds lunge at each other, feathers and blood flying.