From Afghanistan to Simcoe County: A soldier’s journey home

Chris Middleton recently retired from the Canadian Armed Forces after serving his country for more than three decades For the first time in more than three decades, Lt.-Col. (ret.) Chris Middleton doesn’t have to be ready to move at a moment’s...

Taliban internet crackdown deepens crisis for Afghan universities

Afghanistan’s higher education system faces what academics have called an “intellectual blockade” after the Taliban imposed a nationwide internet shutdown alongside sweeping new restrictions on university life. On 30 September, fibre and Wi-Fi...

Don’t Restart the Afghanistan War

No one ever accused President Donald Trump of being a systematic thinker. Were not the potential consequences so great, the obvious response to his demand on Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban to “return” Bagram air base would be uproarious laughter....

Taliban tight-lipped after internet services restored in Afghanistan

Just before nightfall on Wednesday, local time, the near-deserted streets of Afghanistan's capital Kabul suddenly filled with people. Mobile phones everywhere had pinged back to life. With phones pressed to their ears or tightly gripped in their...

Security and sovereignty

The recent wave of terrorist attacks targeting Pakistani security forces, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, has once again underscored a hard truth: terrorism remains the single biggest threat to Pakistan’s security, sovereignty,...

Over 11 Million Students Enrolled in Afghan Schools, Says Ministry

The Ministry of Education has announced that more than 11.17 million students across the country are currently engaged in learning at schools and educational centers. Mansoor Ahmad Hamza, the spokesperson for the Ministry, stated that over 18,600...

Don’t mention the old World Wars

The “appeasement” stick is an oft-used weapon, wielded by partisans to beat up their opponents. Only last week, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk tweeted that putting pressure on Kyiv to make a deal with Moscow is tantamount to “appeasement”. And...

A Democratic Senate Candidate Has A Nazi Tattoo. And They’re Fine With It.

Democrats are in a tough position in the Senate races in 2026, as there are few vulnerable seats for Republicans. One of those vulnerable seats was supposed to be in Maine, where Susan Collins, who is a Republican senator from a very purple to...

'I'm Breathing Again': Afghans Relieved After Internet Restored

Just before nightfall on Wednesday, the near-deserted streets of Afghanistan's capital Kabul suddenly filled with people -- mobile phones everywhere had pinged back to life. With phones pressed to their ears or tightly gripped in their hands,...

‘It felt like we had gone back centuries’: Afghans express relief after internet restored

Just before nightfall on Wednesday, the near-deserted streets of Afghanistan’s capital suddenly filled with people – mobile phones everywhere had pinged back to life. With phones pressed to their ears or tightly gripped in their hands, Afghans...

VIDEO: The Study of Internal Conflict | GNSI Research Initiative

Streamed live on Sep 25, 2025 In this second installment in the Future of Warfare series, Robert S. Burrell, PhD, a Senior Research Fellow at the Global and National Security Institute, sits down with a retired U.S. Army War College professor,...

UPSC Essentials | Daily subject-wise quiz : Science and Technology MCQs on Uranium, Hydrogen as fuel and more (Week 130)

UPSC Essentials brings to you its initiative of subject-wise quizzes. These quizzes are designed to help you revise some of the most important topics from the static part of the syllabus. Attempt today’s subject quiz on Science and Technology to...

Taliban blame internet blackout on ‘decaying infrastructure’ as NGOs say ordinary Afghans suffering

Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our...

Stepping up our collective action on gender equality

Audrey Lesperres How can we unite, act and resist together in order to defend gender equality and the rights of women and girls? This is the guiding question of the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy, which France is hosting...

'Absolute control': Human rights groups slam telecom blackout in Afghanistan

Afghanistan's Taliban authorities have cut telecommunications nationwide, paralysing services crucial to women's education, information access, business and entertainment. The blackout, which the Taliban government says will be in place "until...

From Afghanistan to Orillia: A soldier’s journey home

Chris Middleton recently retired from the Canadian Armed Forces after serving his country for more than three decades For the first time in more than three decades, Lt.-Col. (ret’d) Chris Middleton doesn’t have to be ready to move at a moment’s...

When the Taliban switches off the internet, Afghanistan disappears

In the age of artificial intelligence and digital everything, it is astonishing to see a “total internet blackout”. On Monday, internet watchdog groups Telecomtalk and NetBlocks reported that “connectivity in Afghanistan has now collapsed to 14%...

Taliban turn off internet for all of Afghanistan to ‘prevent immoral behaviour’

Afghan media reported that the restriction was in line with the Taliban leadership’s decree from earlier this month to tackle online “immorality”. The ban blocked mobile and broadband internet services, disrupted satellite television, and even...

‘We Are Blind’: The Impact Of Afghanistan’s Telecoms Blackout

Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have cut telecommunications nationwide, paralysing services crucial to women’s education, information access and entertainment. The blackout, which the Taliban government says will be in place “until further...

UN Envoy: Afghanistan Internet Blackout Endangers Rights and Economy

Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan, speaks during a press conference in Kabul on May 26, 2022. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)UN human rights envoy Richard Bennett warned Afghanistan’s internet...