Two-year timeline of events in Afghanistan since 2021 Taliban takeover
Aug 14, 2023
The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021, as U
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Here is a look at key dates since
the Taliban
came back to power two years ago, as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew from the country:Aug. 15, 2021 — The Taliban march into Kabul as internationally backed President Ashraf Ghani flees the country.
Aug. 26, 2021 — Islamic State group suicide bombers and gunmen
kill over 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops
in an attack on the crowds trying to be evacuated at Kabul’s airport.March 23, 2022 — On the day high schools are opening, the Taliban suddenly
reverse a promise to allow girls
above the sixth grade to attend schools. Girls who showed up for the first day of classes are told to go home.May 7, 2022 — The Taliban Virtue and Vice Ministry issues orders that women in public must wear all-encompassing robes and cover their faces
except for their eyes.
It advises them to stay home unless they have important work outside the house.June 22, 2022 — A
powerful earthquake
hits a remote region of eastern Afghanistan, killing more than 1,100 people. The Taliban struggle with rescue efforts, underscoring a lack of resources and a reliance on aid groups.July 31, 2022 — The U.S.
kills al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri
in a drone strike on a safehouse in Kabul where he has been staying for months. U.S. officials accuse the Taliban of sheltering him in violation of the Doha Agreement.Sept. 5, 2022 - An IS suicide bombing
kills two diplomats
at the Russian Embassy in Kabul, a rare assault on a foreign diplomatic mission. Russia is among the handful of countries with a working embassy in Afghanistan, and the only European one.Sept. 30, 2022 - A
suicide bomber strikes an education center
in a Shiite area of the capital, killing dozens of people, including teenagers taking university entrance exams.Nov. 10, 2022 - A
nationwide ban on women using gyms and parks
comes into force. The Taliban they they imposed the ban because women allegedly disobeyed gender segregation rules or didn't wear hijabs, or Islamic headscarves, properly.Nov. 20, 2022 - The
Taliban lash 19 people
, including alleged adulterers, in the first public flogging since the return to Taliban rule.Dec. 8, 2022 - The Taliban execute a convicted killer before hundreds of spectators in the
first public execution
since the takeover.Dec. 21, 2022 - The
Taliban bar female students from attending university
, having already banned girls from middle school and high school.Dec. 24, 2022 - The Taliban bar Afghan women from working with
national and international nongovernmental groups
, after already excluding them from most jobs.March 9, 2023 - The U.N. says Afghanistan has become
the most repressive
country in the world for women and girls, depriving them of virtually all their basic rights.April 6, 2023 - The Taliban’s chief spokesman
relocates his office from Kabul to Kandahar
, the spiritual birthplace of the movement and the base of the supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. It’s the clearest sign yet of a power shift to the south.April 10, 2023 - The U.N. warns that its Afghan operations remain
severely under-funded
. It previously said that Afghanistan is its lowest-funded operation globally, despite being the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis.July 4, 2023 - The Taliban
order beauty salons to shut
down for offeringun-Islamic services
like eyebrow shaping. The decision affects as many as 60,000 female entrepreneurs and further restricts meeting places for women outside the home.July 19, 2023 - The Taliban
use stun guns
on women protesting a ban on beauty salons, spraying the demonstrators with water and firing into the air to break up the crowd.MORE NEWS
Beijing drills water cannons and drones near disputed South China Sea shoals
China’s coastguard has carried out an exercise featuring water cannons and drones near two disputed reefs at the centre of its simmering South China Sea contention with the Philippines to prepare for “foreign infringement”, according to state media. A China Coast Guard flotilla “recently” conducted “comprehensive maritime law-enforcement training” in the waters around Second Thomas Shoal and Sabina Shoal, according to state broadcaster CCTV, which did not specify dates. The official television...
Asian scientists are looking to South Korea as it becomes harder to stay in the US
As tightening US visa restrictions and geopolitics lock out Asian researchers from Western institutions, South Korea is emerging as a new academic sanctuary for top talent. According to Yoo Ji-beom, president of Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in Seoul, that reflects a broader trend that has seen the West giving way to Asia after decades of dominance – particularly in the field of applied technology in China, Japan and South Korea. “Technological competition and global talent mobility are...
Hyrox Beijing athlete who soiled herself ‘super excited’ about returning to competition
More than a month after sparking public outrage by soiling herself during Hyrox Beijing, Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk has announced she is “super excited” about returning to competition. In a new video posted on her social media, the 24-year-old said the past several weeks gave her an opportunity to re-examine the incident and learn from it. “So I’ve had some time to reflect over the past six to eight weeks of everything that happened in Beijing,” she said, offering another apology. “I...
China carries out GJ-21 drone take-off, landing from first Type 076 warship: state media
China successfully conducted take-off and landing operations of the GJ-21 drone from its first Type 076 warship this month, state media said on Friday. In late October, the Sichuan conducted consecutive sea trials, according to Xinhua. “The [People’s Liberation Army’s] first shipborne reconnaissance-strike stealth UAV, the GJ-21, has successfully completed its maiden take-off and landing on the amphibious assault ship Sichuan,” Xinhua said. “It represents another breakthrough in the development...
Politburo promotion, Lula victory, US midterm elections
Chinese President Xi Jinping renewed a years-long anti-corruption drive at a major Communist Party meeting, while the general who led a military anti-graft purge was promoted to the Politburo. The party must “ensure that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity, or desire to commit corruption”, read a communique passed at the fifth plenum of the party’s Central Committee. The document also highlighted “unwritten rules” as a key issue to address. Zhang Shengmin, Xi’s vice-chairman on the...
Economist Stephen Roach warns the US and China are in a ‘conflicted co-dependency’
A leading economist warned on Thursday that the United States and China are in a “conflicted co-dependency” that this year’s two bilateral summits failed to address. “I think there’s a good chance that we’re in a temporarily more stable place. But to say that has solved the deep-rooted problems between us, I think is a real stretch,” said Stephen Roach, a veteran China-watcher and the former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, at the China Institute of America. “You mentioned the two summits that...
Trump’s days of running US-China relations on personal ties are numbered
Amid attempts this year to impress each other with splendour, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping appear to have decided that the relationship between their two countries should primarily run through their personal relationship. This has been a hallmark of the Trump years. The American executive branch has always held near-unilateral authority over foreign policy, but Trump has concentrated that in himself. Dozens of ambassadors and senior national security advisers have...
China widens PLA anti-corruption campaign, expels corporate chiefs, 16 generals from party
Beijing has provided new details on the scale of its anti-corruption drive across the People’s Liberation Army and defence sector, confirming that a fresh batch of senior figures is under formal investigation. They include top generals who once oversaw theatre commands, heads of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) General Office and executives in key defence companies. The names were included in a communique released on Thursday at the close of the fifth plenum of the Communist...
Bihar MLC polls: RJD's Anil Jha declared elected, party's overall tally climbs to 17
The Election Commission has declared RJD candidate Anil Jha elected from the Darbhanga Graduates constituency in the Bihar Legislative Council elections. Jha defeated sitting BJP MLC Sarvesh Kumar by securing 25,406 votes against his rival's 21,396. The RJD has now won two of the eight seats contested, improving its tally in the Upper House to 17.
My broken office printer has more job security than me: Corporate employee's rant on why a machine can't be disposed unlike humans goes viral
A corporate employee's account of a printer that has been broken since 2021 but cannot be disposed of because of company policies has sparked online reactions. After repeated rejections from Finance and Facilities, the employee was eventually made the machine's official custodian, joking that it had more job security than he did.
eMudhra appoints KPMG to conduct independent review of TLS certificate incident
Digital trust provider eMudhra appointed KPMG to conduct an independent review of a recent TLS certificate incident. This appointment follows a commitment made by the company to ensure clarity regarding the incident. The incident involved weak private keys associated with several certificate authorities, which remained undetected for a significant period. As a result, eMudhra has withdrawn from its global SSL/TLS certificate business due to security concerns.
Nepalese NGO plans to set up India-Nepal joint tourism council
The proposed council will bring together tourism experts, travel and tour operators, hotel and resort managers, hospitality professionals and other stakeholders from both countries