Afghanistan

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#Afghanistan

A collection of news, opinion and analysis relating to Afghanistan

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p>An Afghan woman uses a smartphone to record videos during celebrations to mark the fifth anniversary of the Taliban governments's return to power, in Kandahar on August 15, 2026. Picture: Sanaullah Seiam / AFP via Getty Images</p>

comment-analysis

We must stand with the Afghan women resisting the Taliban

Roshana Dadgar, an Afghan woman living in exile in Pakistan, from where she highlights the brutality of the Taliban regime and its treatment of woman, tells Clodagh Finn about the danger she faces daily

<p>Soldiers of the anti-Taliban alliance infantry of northern ethnic Uzbek warlord general Abdul Rashid Dostum launch an assault on Kabul in 1996. Pictures: Getty Images</p>

spotlight

Thirty years, two invasions and one unanswered question: How are the Taliban still there?

Clodagh Finn: A window into life of an Afghan woman who set up a secret school for girls and now lives in hiding

An Afghanistan fan before the game 7/8/2026

news

Cricket Ireland defends stance on Afghanistan

Five years after the fall of Kabul, Mahbooba Faiz on Afghanistan’s silenced women

spotlight

Five years after the fall of Kabul, Mahbooba Faiz on Afghanistan’s silenced women

TOPSHOT-AFGHANISTAN-ECONOMY

comment-analysis

Five years under the Taliban: What Afghanistan has lost

Saving and pension planning

Irish Examiner view: Shameful behaviour on pensions

Some large employers sought to undermine auto-enrolment

Thu, 13 Aug, 2026

Avengers Assemble: Meet Cork's robot-makers who are helping make the world a safer place

Avengers Assemble: Meet Cork's robot-makers who are helping make the world a safer place

Robots designed and manufactured in Kilbrittain, Co Cork, are being shipped worldwide to places that are not safe for humans to help dispose of bombs and save the lives of first responders

Sun, 06 Apr, 2025

Learning goes both ways at Cork's Welcome English Language Centre

Learning goes both ways at Cork's Welcome English Language Centre

From tea-breaks and chats to jobs, weddings and christenings — the language centre has become a social hub for the students and the tutors

Tue, 01 Apr, 2025

Afghan women have been robbed of healthcare, education and their voices. But they won’t remain silent

Afghan women have been robbed of healthcare, education and their voices. But they won’t remain silent

The international community must follow through on its commitments to protect Afghan women’s rights defenders, writes Susan Hutchinson

Sun, 22 Sep, 2024

Ireland to accept 100 refugees from 'humanitarian crisis' in Afghanistan

Ireland to accept 100 refugees from 'humanitarian crisis' in Afghanistan

Women and girls have suffered greatly since the Taliban took back control following the US exit from the country

Wed, 14 Aug, 2024

Donald Trump

Trump's victory speech offers grim visions of an American apocalypse

Rather than bask in his Republican primary victories, the ex-president asserted that the state of the union is bleak, writes David Smith

Wed, 06 Mar, 2024

‘The world must not forget Afghanistan’, say Irish medics

‘The world must not forget Afghanistan’, say Irish medics

An emergency department sees an average of 1,000 patients daily, with only 340 beds on offer and where an average of 10 babies and children die each day.

Wed, 03 Jan, 2024

Anja Murray: Losing our lakes is a poor exchange for short-term economic gain

Anja Murray: Losing our lakes is a poor exchange for short-term economic gain

We have health warnings against lake swimming in dozens of locations across Ireland because of contamination with harmful algal blooms and the presence of toxic blue-green algae in the water — all boosted by artificially elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorous in the water

Wed, 18 Oct, 2023

US Defence Force Assists In Ongoing Evacuations From Afghanistan Following Taliban Takeover

State brings in almost 600 people fleeing Taliban's 2021 takeover of Afghanistan

The emergency Afghan Admissions Programme prioritises the most vulnerable, particularly focusing on the elderly, women, girls and people with disabilities.

Mon, 16 Oct, 2023

Afghanistan shaken by fresh earthquake

Afghanistan shaken by fresh earthquake

The fresh earthquake on Wednesday morning injured at least 80 people and a landslide had blocked the main Herat-Torghondi road

Wed, 11 Oct, 2023

Death toll from Afghanistan earthquakes rises to 2,000, Taliban says

Death toll from Afghanistan earthquakes rises to 2,000, Taliban says

A powerful magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck Herat, destroying six villages and leaving hundreds of civilians buried under debris

Sun, 08 Oct, 2023

Letters to the Editor: Sudan is latest chapter in sorry saga of human rights abuse

Letters to the Editor: Sudan is latest chapter in sorry saga of human rights abuse

The conflict in Sudan again demonstrates the abject failure of the UN and the international community to prevent or stop conflicts in Africa that have amounted to genocide and widespread human rights abuses.

Sat, 06 May, 2023

Maeve Higgins: Grateful to have sanctuary in US but her heart still beats for Ukraine

Maeve Higgins: Grateful to have sanctuary in US but her heart still beats for Ukraine

‘IT WAS one day, just a few seconds, on February 24, when President Zelenskyy said a war would change all our lives. ” Liudmyla Holovko recalls the fateful day one year ago when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Sat, 25 Feb, 2023

‘Thought we’d made it’: New Biden rule leaves asylum seekers in limbo

‘Thought we’d made it’: New Biden rule leaves asylum seekers in limbo

Those migrating from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela dumped back in Mexico after being expelled at US border, writes Nina Lakhani in Mexico City

Tue, 31 Jan, 2023

Fergus Finlay: Davos is a talking shop that does nothing to help people in dire need

Fergus Finlay: Davos is a talking shop that does nothing to help people in dire need

They arrive in private jets to bleat about climate change or 'co-operation' — then they go home and nothing changes

Tue, 24 Jan, 2023

Lebanon Iran

Sarah Harte: Time for a new beginning after another year of violence against women

We're on the countdown to a new year. In theory, this is a chance for a new beginning. The National Women’s Council of Ireland has described 2022 as “a difficult year for women”.

Wed, 28 Dec, 2022

Ireland 'deeply frustrated' at UN Security Council’s failure to act on Russia and climate

Ireland 'deeply frustrated' at UN Security Council’s failure to act on Russia and climate

Taoiseach Micheál Martin also accused Israel of deliberately undermining the two-state solution by continuing to build illegal settlements.

Fri, 23 Sep, 2022

Finger Pain - Medical X-ray

Natural health: I'm perimenopausal and have started to get joint pain in my hands

Cinnamon sticks brewed with ginger can help to reduce pain and swelling in your joints

Sun, 11 Sep, 2022

Afghanistan's powerless Hazara community still facing persecution

Afghanistan's powerless Hazara community still facing persecution

In spite of its promises, the Taliban has taken no steps to create an inclusive government in which all ethnic groups and political parties play a role

Mon, 22 Aug, 2022

A year in ignorance: Afghanistan's girls have lost hope

A year in ignorance: Afghanistan's girls have lost hope

A year on from the fall of Kabul, the lives of women under the Taliban have shrunk to exclude opportunities for education, work and leisure

Tue, 16 Aug, 2022

Family who fled Taliban to live in Cork on the verge of homelessness

Family who fled Taliban to live in Cork on the verge of homelessness

They have been told they have to leave their current accommodation on July 31 because students will be returning to the property in August

Wed, 13 Jul, 2022

Afghanistan Girls Education

Surprise Taliban U-turn sees schools remain shut for girls beyond year seven

The latest setback for girls’ education is certain to receive widespread condemnation from the international community that has been urging the Taliban leaders to open schools and give women their right to public space.

Wed, 23 Mar, 2022

AFGHANISTAN Social

Three steps necessary to help save Afghanistan from further misery

The current meltdown in Afghanistan is a nightmare. The international community must act, and there are three things in particular that it can do without rewarding the Taliban, writes Gordon Brown and Martin Griffiths

Tue, 11 Jan, 2022

Afghanistan Ghani

Former Afghan president: I had minutes to decide whether to leave Kabul

Ghani’s sudden and secret departure August 15 left the city rudderless as US and Nato forces were in the final stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the country after 20 years

Thu, 30 Dec, 2021

China Afghanistan

'The Taliban say they’ll kill me if they find me' - A female reporter on the run speaks out

This journalist fled as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in August. Unable to return home without putting at risk everyone she loves and hounded by threatening calls, she remains in hiding in the country four months on

Wed, 15 Dec, 2021

Young Afghan family in hiding seek safety in Ireland as 'people are disappearing'

Young Afghan family in hiding seek safety in Ireland as 'people are disappearing'

The Afghan Women’s Network said the family "are terrified that the Taliban will discover them in their hiding place and that they will all be killed"

Tue, 14 Dec, 2021

AFGHANISTAN Poverty

Programme to allow 500 more Afghans to settle in Ireland

The Afghan Admission Programme will open for applications this Thursday and has up to 500 places available

Tue, 14 Dec, 2021

Migrant Channel crossing incidents

Dinghy deaths tragedy brings home hostility to the world’s desperate

Closing off all safer options forces abject refugees to approach shores by the most perilous means, writes Diane Taylor and Angelique Chrisafis

Thu, 25 Nov, 2021

Taliban ‘will not work with US to contain Islamic State’

Taliban ‘will not work with US to contain Islamic State’

Officials from both sides have said issues to be tackled include reining in extremist groups and the evacuation of foreign citizens and Afghans from the country

Sat, 09 Oct, 2021

Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan

UK officials hold talks with senior members of the Taliban in Afghanistan

UK officials have held talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan in part to prevent the country from becoming “an incubator for terrorism”.

Tue, 05 Oct, 2021

Ireland to accept an additional 500 Afghan refugees

Ireland to accept an additional 500 Afghan refugees

Scheme will allow current or former Afghan nationals living in Ireland to apply to bring their close family members who are vulnerable

Tue, 28 Sep, 2021

Ministers visit Afghanistan

UK government paid compensation for 289 civilian deaths in Afghanistan, analysis shows

The UK Government paid out compensation for the deaths of 289 civilians in Afghanistan, including at least 16 children, according to analysis of official figures.

Thu, 23 Sep, 2021

Afghanistan

Joyce Fegan: We can't let Afghan women's rights go out of fashion

"As supermodels and millionaires, reality stars and actors walked the red carpet in New York this week, Afghan women were protesting a Taliban diktat one photo at a time"

Sun, 19 Sep, 2021

China Afghanistan

What will return of the Taliban mean for the rest of the region?

China will see the US departure along with its liberal democratic notions as an opportunity to extend its influence in the region

Tue, 07 Sep, 2021

Afghanistan

Taliban special forces bring Afghan women’s protest to abrupt end

Taliban special forces have brought a protest march by Afghan women demanding equal rights to an abrupt and frightening end in Kabul by firing shots into the air.

Sat, 04 Sep, 2021

Afghanistan

Irish Examiner view: A week of setbacks for women’s rights

Texas and the Taliban have more in common than their citizens might acknowledge

Sat, 04 Sep, 2021

Government accused of 'hypocrisy' for praising Army Ranger Wing while denying allowance increases

Government accused of 'hypocrisy' for praising Army Ranger Wing while denying allowance increases

The elite troops – lauded for their role in the airlift of Irish citizens from Afghanistan – have been denied tens of thousands of euro in allowance increases recommended 11 years ago

Fri, 03 Sep, 2021

'There's no hope any more in Afghanistan' - Mother and son flee Kabul to return to Limerick

'There's no hope any more in Afghanistan' - Mother and son flee Kabul to return to Limerick

In order to get back to Ireland, the family flew via Georgia, Finland and the Netherlands

Thu, 02 Sep, 2021

Afghanistan

UN: Without funding, food stocks in Afghanistan 'will run out at end of the month'

About a third of the country’s population of 38 million were facing 'emergency' or 'crisis' levels of food insecurity, according to Ramiz Alakbarov, the local UN humanitarian co-ordinator

Wed, 01 Sep, 2021

Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan

Taliban and UK officials in talks over how to secure 'safe passage' out of Afghanistan

UK officials and the Taliban are in talks over how to secure “safe passage” out of Afghanistan for British nationals and Afghan allies.

Wed, 01 Sep, 2021

Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan

What a story to tell the world: Britain values dogs more than Afghan people

The rescue mission may become a useful distraction for the UK government who are rightly on the rack over this fumbled, catastrophic evacuation from Afghanistan, but military circles are angry and frustrated at having to help a planeload of cats and dogs leave the country.

Tue, 31 Aug, 2021

From The Archives: Twenty years in Afghanistan

As Afghanistan adjusts to Taliban rule, the music goes silent

'There is no warning about music, but people themselves have stopped'

Tue, 31 Aug, 2021

Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan

British forces prepared to launch air strikes to target Islamic State terrorists in Afghanistan

Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston indicated the RAF could strike Isis-K targets in Afghanistan

Tue, 31 Aug, 2021

AFGHANISTAN-CONFLICT

Last US troops exit Afghanistan to end America’s longest war

The United States has completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war and closing a chapter in military history likely to be remembered for colossal failures, unfulfilled promises and a frantic final exit.

Mon, 30 Aug, 2021