United Nations Development Programme Administrator Alexander De Croo has warned the international community against turning its back on Afghanistan, pointing to a sharp fall in opium production while raising serious concerns about restrictions on women and girls.
Regional powers gathered in Moscow on Monday for talks on Afghanistan, focusing on security, economic cooperation and Kabul’s relations with its neighbours.
More than 1.2 million Afghans have returned to Afghanistan from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan so far in 2026, with more than 500,000 deported, according to data from the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Afghanistan and Tajikistan have discussed boosting electricity supplies to Afghanistan and plans for a high-voltage power line through the country to Iran, as Kabul seeks greater access to imported energy.
Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan’s Kunar and Helmand provinces killed nine civilians, including women and children, and injured 11 others, Afghanistan’s government said, as tensions between the neighbours deepen.
Afghanistan says its forces have killed 41 fighters and captured 62 others after several days of fighting in eastern Nuristan, accusing Pakistan’s military of helping armed groups cross into Afghan territory.
Afghanistan and Belarus have agreed to expand health cooperation, with a focus on medicines, medical equipment and training healthcare workers, following talks between the two countries’ health ministers in Minsk on Tuesday (29 September).
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence says its forces killed 28 fighters and captured 32 others in Nuristan after armed groups, including alleged Islamic State members, crossed the border from Pakistan on Saturday.
Afghanistan is building new trade and transit links across Asia, but the Taliban government will again be absent from the country’s seat as world leaders gather in New York for the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
An Afghan national linked to an Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in connection with the 2021 Kabul airport suicide bombing that happened during a chaotic scene as the Taliban retook the country.
Afghanistan is seeking direct access to Azerbaijani fuel suppliers, increased exports and greater investment as Kabul and Baku move to strengthen economic and private-sector ties.
The European Union and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have launched a $5.7 million initiative in Afghanistan to help farmers reach markets, strengthen agribusinesses and withstand climate and economic shocks.
Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks drew the U.S. into Afghanistan, the Taliban is seeking a new relationship with Washington built on diplomacy, investment and trade, despite deep divisions between the former enemies.
Kabul could become the first modern city in the world to run out of water by 2029, the UK head of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has warned following a week-long visit to Afghanistan.
Saudi Arabia’s Delta Energy International has signed a 25-year, $200 million oil and gas contract with Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, launching exploration and extraction work in the country’s western Kushk-Tirpul basin.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and UN refugee agency representative Arafat Jamal discussed closer coordination on refugee returns on Sunday, with more than six million Afghans returning to the country since 2023.
Japan and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime have launched a $9.4 million, two-year project across five Afghan provinces to help former poppy-growing families and expand drug prevention and treatment services.
The European Union has added $17.4 million to its ongoing partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Afghanistan, extending support for climate-resilient livelihoods, school feeding and agribusiness as drought and food insecurity continue to strain rural communities.
Qatar has discussed potential investment in Afghanistan’s oil and gas sectors and the construction of a crude oil refinery, during talks in Kabul as Gulf businesses show growing interest in the Afghan market.
Groundwater has fallen by as much as 150 to 200 metres in some parts of Kabul, according to a senior water official, as families in Afghanistan’s capital struggle with dry wells and increasingly unreliable supplies.
Afghanistan’s western Herat province could begin receiving natural gas through the long-delayed TAPI pipeline within two months, Governor Noor Ahmad Islamjar said on Thursday. It would give local factories a new fuel source and move a decades-old regional energy plan forward.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says 3.7 million children across Afghanistan are suffering from acute wasting, a dangerous form of malnutrition, including around one million with severe acute malnutrition, as hospitals and aid services face rising demand and funding shortages.
Kuwait’s Al-Sayer Group plans to export fresh and dried Afghan fruit to Kuwait and other markets while exploring broader trade and investment opportunities in Afghanistan, according to Afghan government statements following talks in Kabul on Tuesday.
Qatar has pledged to bring professors from Qatar and other Islamic countries to Afghanistan and help equip a cancer treatment centre, as the two countries seek closer academic cooperation.
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