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Shah Muhammad Rais was devastated when Taliban destroyed his shop, but now he is sending books to Afghanistan via the internetShah Muhammad Rais first opened his bookshop in the Afghan capital in 1974. By 2003, when his story was made famous by the bestselling book The Bookseller of Kabul, the business had collected about 100,000 books, in different languages, about literature, history and politics....

Afghan regime’s return to public stoning and flogging is because there is ‘no one to hold them accountable’ for abuses, say activistsThe Taliban’s announcement that it is resuming publicly stoning women to death has been enabled by the international community’s silence, human rights groups have said.Safia Arefi, a lawyer and head of the Afghan human rights organisation Women’s Window of Hope, said the announcement...

Johnny Mercer given 10 days to reveal source of claims British troops engaged in war crimesThe minister for veterans’ affairs, Johnny Mercer, has been given 10 days to reveal the source of allegations British troops engaged in war crimes in Afghanistan, or face a potential prison sentence.Mercer in effect admitted last month in front of the public inquiry into the claims that he believed...

The ISKP regional affiliate has a haven in Afghanistan and carried out recent bombings in Iran, suggesting it has capacity for major atrocitiesMoscow concert hall attack: latest updatesAt least 40 killed and more than 140 wounded in Moscow concert hall attackSpeculation about who carried out the shooting at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow has quickly indicated that the terror attack will have outsized...

After no reported cases of wild polio for 19 weeks, vaccination efforts boosted at last endemic spots in Pakistan and AfghanistanThe world is “tantalisingly close” to eradicating polio – with no confirmed cases of wild polio anywhere so far this year. But experts warn that vaccination efforts – and funding – must not falter if the world is to rid itself of a human...

Unnamed militant group drove vehicle laden with explosives into post and detonated suicide bombsMilitants have attacked a military post in Pakistan near Afghanistan using a vehicle laden with explosives, killing five security force members, Pakistan’s military said.The incident in north-west Pakistan was carried out by six attackers, the military’s media wing said in a statement, without naming the militant group responsible for the attack....

Johnny Mercer tells UK inquiry of reports SAS had killed civilians between 2010 and 2013The UK’s minister for veterans, Johnny Mercer, has effectively admitted in front of a public inquiry that he believed members of the SAS had engaged in dozens of unlawful killings of Afghan civilians between 2010 and 2013.Mercer told the inquiry on Tuesday that at one point, shortly after first becoming...

MoD conducts review but stands accused of conflict of interest while public inquiry investigates conduct of SAS in AfghanistanElite Afghan commandos who fought alongside the British military have had their applications to relocate blocked by UK special forces despite evidence that they had served alongside them in dangerous missions against the Taliban.Documents leaked and shared with BBC Panorama show that Britain’s secretive special forces...

Rescue teams find charter ambulance flight from Thailand to Moscow after it disappeared from radar screens Four people are reported to have survived after a private jet carrying out a medical evacuation from Thailand to Russia disappeared from radar screens and crashed in a remote and mountainous area of north-eastern Afghanistan on Saturday.Russian aviation authorities said two passengers and four crew members were onboard...

Girls as young as 16 arrested in shops, classes and markets in Kabul by the Taliban, who labelled them ‘infidels’ for wearing ‘bad hijab’Girls as young as 16 have been arrested across the Afghan capital, Kabul, in the past week for violating the Taliban’s hijab rules.The girls – who were detained in shopping centres, classes and street markets – were accused of “spreading and...