“This was more than a bird count. It was a reconnection of Afghanistan to the global flyway.” Powerful report from #Afghanistan documents disappearing wetlands, migratory birds and fragile ecosystems across - and the urgent fight to protect what remains. #Conservation #Afghanistan bit.ly/4uL2KTP

Afghanistan’s courts have been transformed & defence lawyers are being pushed to the margins. In our new report, we hear from lawyers about what this means for fair trials and access to justice. #Afghanistan bit.ly/4ukcDYb

Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @clarkkate.bsky.social and @charleshecker.bsky.social on Moscow's lo-fi plans for Victory Day, the James Comey indictment and other stories, plus Charlotte McDonald-Gibson on diplomatic dining etiquette. monocle.com/radio/shows/...

Today’s @mortenmorland.bsky.social

A young woman in #Afghanistan lost her education, her job & her future in 2021. After her family arranged a marriage to a man in Europe she had never met, she found herself trapped with abusive in-laws. Her story is one of many. #Afghanistan #Women #HumanRights bit.ly/4w8zcRF

11 judges and prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have been sanctioned by the US government. Some have come public about how it's deeply affected their daily life. And it’s unclear what protection they may enjoy. www.justiceinfo.net/en/156847-li... #InternationalCriminalCourt

Sultan Ali Keshtmand (1935–2026), #Afghanistan’s former prime minister during the Soviet era, has died. A key figure of PDPA’s Parcham faction, he later became a vocal advocate for Hazara rights and ethnic inclusion. @thomasruttig.bsky.social reflects on his life and complex legacy. bit.ly/4uK6OnV

We had the privilege of knowing Nicholas (Fink) Haysom in Afghanistan, his compassion and wisdom were a constant inspiration, and his steadfast commitment to peace left lasting mark on all who worked with him or knew him. He will be remembered with great warmth and respect, and deeply missed.

Sick of war destroying us, our beautiful planet and our future… The world needs more peace movements, anti-militarism groups, green & feminist movements and less unhinged, greedy rich men killing children and destroying our shared home

What’s behind the UN Security Council’s decision to renew the UNAMA's mandate for only three months? AAN’s @jb_AAN unpacks the diplomacy behind the move — from US pressure for a “technical rollover” to wider debates about the future of international engagement with #Afghanistan. bit.ly/4uwNlXJ

Among other more obvious horrors, this war is closing our window to mitigate climate breakdown

I no longer live in war, but war lives in me forever. I put the kids to sleep and am shaking with a cocktail of emotions, as if I am not hearing the distant sound of birds but rockets overhead.

Also very difficult to effectively conduct dynamic targeting without boots on the ground Which means this is likely a 1-2 week heavy bombing campaign followed by a short period of strat comms bravado, some months of wishful thinking, and a long slog of diplomatic repairs with our allies & partners

In our new report, @clarkkate.bsky.social examines the implications of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's new penal code for human rights and the rule of law, including concerns about discrimination, confession-based convictions and the concentration of authority. bit.ly/4cgPro1

Ramadan Mubarak to all friends fasting this month.

Kabul’s smog is only part of the story. Across Afghanistan, air pollution, contaminated groundwater, open dumping and persistent noise reflect deeper governance and infrastructure gaps. Read the full report: bit.ly/4am5Vsj

In #Afghanistan, marriage is rarely a personal choice. In Panjshir, some girls refuse forced marriages by turning up at a man’s door and asking to marry him. It’s called shingari. This is the story of a young woman who said no and claimed her own future. 🔗 bit.ly/4agaTrQ

We begin the year with a review of Shabnam, a newly translated novel by Bengali author Mujtaba Ali - a lyrical novel set in the tumultuous period of the reign and overthrow of King Amanullah & rooted in Persian literary traditions of mysticism and epic love. #Afghanistan #Literature bit.ly/451wH7H

In 2025, the Emirate ordered books removed from bookstores and libraries in Afghanistan and set up a committee to ban texts deemed “incompatible” with official beliefs. bit.ly/4q2Zst2

Very sad to see that the Two Wheels Good bike shop in London N4 has closed. They've been helping me out since the mid-1990s, Jon and Paddy. Brilliant people: friendly, helpful and always had great music playing.

A single gunshot can change a life. In one part of #Afghanistan, the firing of a rifle outside a girl’s home became the public claim of her as someone’s wife—regardless of her wishes. @HamidPakte69477 hears her story. bit.ly/4ri3YEY

'Only' #14 in the rankings of most dangerous junction for cyclists in London, but Seven Sisters Rd-Blackstock Rd-Stroud Green Rd is so nasty, even at night, I cycle through Finsbury Park at night to avoid it, dangerous men being less of a threat. @londoncycling.bsky.social lcc.org.uk/campaigns/da...

So difficult to write a positive review, that doesn't gush but this is beautiful. Some lovely turns of phrase from @eleanorknight.bsky.social #Glyndebourne www.gramophone.co.uk/opera-now/re...

Please understand both that this is natural extension of the crimes committed at Gitmo for two decades, and also wildly, wildly illegal. This is not “complex” or “difficult” or related to security or defensible in any way.

bachtrack.com/22/296/view/28 I spent a dark and stormy night in Holland Park for @bachtrack.com

Deliberate starvation is a war crime. No one can say they were not told so. www.unocha.org/news/un-reli...

Eid Mubarak to all friends who've been fasting this last month.

Christians in #Syria are not being massacred. #Israel bombed churches in Gaza. Assad bombed synagogues, churches and mosques in Syria. Don't fall for propaganda like below.

On International Women's Day, we present a new dossier which brings together all our reports on women since just before the fall of the Republic and rise of the Emirate: education, work, dress, inheritance, child marriage... bit.ly/4bw3jIB

Given ICC charges on deliberate starvation of the civilian population, one would have to guess that international criminal law is not getting much traction with the lawyers giving advice. apnews.com/article/isra...

This is horrible. Medical staff is #NotATarget. #Israel #Palestine www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

'Polio Cases on the Increase in Afghanistan: How is the Emirate handling immunisation?' Available in English: www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/e... And Dari: www.afghanistan-analysts.org/dari-pashto/...

The IEA may have banned poppy cultivation, but #Afghan farmers have moved their cultivation to Pakistani Balochistan. They speak candidly farmers of dangerous journeys, bribes, spiralling land prices, and finding soil is variable and water scarce. www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/e...

After the Emirate banned #opium poppy cultivation in April 2022, some farmers moved to neighbouring Balochistan in #Pakistan to grow poppy there. AAN's @jb_AAN looks into how things have been going for them. bit.ly/4kmYsO6

“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” — George Orwell

We want immigrants but not immigration. Interesting analysis from Peter Kellner www.bestforbritain.org/immigration_...

In March, we introduced new 50% concessions for Santander Cycles targeting seven groups of Londoners including veterans, apprentices, disabled people and people on income support. And we've seen over 20,000 new cyclists using this great offer. 🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲

🍉JEWISH BLOC TOMORROW🍉 Whilst our leaders refuse to openly condemn Trump's proposal for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, Israeli state & settler violence continues to escalate in the West Bank. It's more important than ever to make our voices heard: end arms sales, end the occupation, end apartheid.

Trump has form on negotiating bad deals to end conflicts. After caving into Taleban demands to exclude the Afghan government from negotiations, he agreed the swift, virtually unconditional withdrawal of troops from #Afghanistan. #Ukraine www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/w...

"In one NGO director's bulk email, there was acknowledgement of colleagues’ past dedication, heartfelt thanks, recognition of the hardship they now faced, but the overall message was, of necessity, brutal: Most of you no longer have a job, nor a salary." bit.ly/4gBzzLs

One list of the initial impact of the USAID freeze on some UN agencies and larger NGOs mentions "the mass closure of healthcare facilities and cuts or closures to programmes helping IDPs, children and women-led organisations and de-mining..." bit.ly/4gBzzLs

US aid to Afghanistan is so large that Trump's order will have macroeconomic effects. It supports the afghani, lowering the price of imported goods – food, fuel medicine; funds wages, taxes, government revenues and spending, and ultimately, GDP. bit.ly/4gBzzLs

This from the man that has such a dislike of illegal immigrants…..fascist hypocrite?

The Emirate's reaction to the stop to USAID? Little said officially. The economic hit will be a problem: layoffs, downward pressure on GDP and tax, deepening poverty. But the weakening of #Afghan media, women’s and human rights groups will surely be welcome. bit.ly/4gBzzLs

US Secretary of State could have asked: Does stopping aid, triggering skyrocketing poverty and desperation in an already unstable part of the world, make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous? #Afghanistan bit.ly/4gBzzLs

Are you affected by the US foreign assistance suspension? We're writing a report - let us know what's happening to you. #USAID #ForeignAid #Afghanistan

Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @clarkkate.bsky.social and @terrystiastny.bsky.social on the day's stuff, plus we meet the founder of the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme. monocle.com/radio/shows/...

We’re two weeks in, facing global trade wars and superpower sanctioned genocide in Palestine.

The Guantanamo Bay military commission is deciding the question of whether confessions obtained by torture and incommunicado detention are admissible

Is the Emirate ban on door-to-door polio vaccinations now pushing up case numbers? We hear from parents and experts desperately unhappy with the ban. Our new report: 'Polio Cases on the Increase in Afghanistan: How is the Emirate handling immunisation?' #Afghanistan bit.ly/4jJTE4K