Michael Scollon is a senior correspondent in RFE/RL's Central Newsroom in Prague.
The Taliban will import gasoline, diesel fuel, and wheat, making Russia one of the few countries willing to trade with Afghanistan's new rulers. While small, analysts say it fits with Russia's efforts to find new customers and could give it an inside track on access to Afghanistan's mineral wealth.
The mass exodus of Afghan professionals since the Taliban takoever has depleted the skilled workforce that Afghanistan had steadily built up over two decades as it recovered from its last major "brain drain" brought on by war and insecurity.
The Taliban continues to to crack down on domestic and foreign media through harassment, beatings, and the enforcement of haphazard rules imposed on journalists.
Thousands of influential Afghans have assembled in Kabul to discuss pressing national issues. But the "grand gathering of Islamic scholars” leaves out women and ethnic and religious minorities, falling far short of the inclusivity Afghans have been promised by the Taliban.
Tehran has homed in on its drone technology as it looks to keep the security situation in Afghanistan in check and gain regional influence.
Tolo's sister television networks made their mark on the Afghan media scene with a diverse line-up of hard-hitting news and cutting-edge entertainment options. But as Afghans tune in on World Press Freedom Day, they won't be getting the full picture.
More than 80,000 at-risk Afghans were evacuated by the United States when the Taliban returned to power in Kabul, but roughly the same number have been left behind. With the world's attention turning to war in Europe, volunteer groups of U.S. veterans are working to get their Afghan partners out.
This week’s Gandhara Briefing takes a look at how the Taliban is further destroying Afghanistan’s cultural heritage, an online school that helps Afghan girls continue their studies, and Islamabad’s cease-fire with Pakistani militants.
The Taliban wants to turn back the clock on girls' education but failed to study up on modern technology. Hundreds of school-age Afghan girls are circumventing the ban on them attending school by going online, learning everything from computer programming to sculpting.
Afghanistan's health-care system is on the brink of collapse following the Taliban's seizure of power and the sudden withdrawal of both foreign forces and the international funding that came with them.
The Taliban has attempted to craft an image of transparency since returning to power in Afghanistan, but photographs of acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani at work have muddied the effort.
The rising number of executions of former army and police in Afghanistan is being taken as clear evidence that the Taliban is not living up to its pledges of a general amnesty for all members of the ousted Afghan government's security forces.
When U.S. air strikes targeted terrorist training camps in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, it signaled the beginning of a nearly 20-year war that quickly toppled the Taliban, only to see the extremist group ultimately return to power in Kabul.
The CSTO is scrambling to respond to the regional security void left by the sudden U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. But while the loose-knit, Russian-led defense grouping is busy holding military exercises and high-level meetings, its strength as an alliance is in doubt.
The departure of U.S.-led troops from Afghanistan has given Russia a chance to showcase its diplomatic and military influence on the world stage. But experts say Moscow's initial moves have revealed that the Kremlin has no long-term strategy in place.
When Islamic State militants announced their arrival in Afghanistan, skeptics questioned whether they could gain a foothold in a crowded militant scene. But recent moves show that Kabul is beginning to take the threat very seriously.
