Afghanistan

The disaster inflicted by the quake heaps more misery on a country where millions face increasing hunger and poverty and the health system has been crumbling since the Taliban retook power last year.

The hardest hit areas were remote farming villages in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika. "All the village completely is destroyed," said one man, showing collapsed homes on a cell phone video.

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After the group retook power in the country in 2021, it banned poppy cultivation. Now it's tearing the plants out, field by field. But farmers and workers worry there's no money in other crops.

Male anchors in Afghanistan are wearing masks on air in solidarity with their female colleagues. This is the latest Taliban order to threaten the freedoms and careers of Afghan women.

The decree, which calls for women in Afghanistan to show only their eyes and recommends they wear the burqa, evoked similar restrictions during the Taliban's previous rule.

For 9 months, teen girls have been pretty much unable to go to school. Protests have been shut down. Now clerics — including some affiliated with the Taliban – are urging an end to the school ban.

After the Taliban takeover, family members — even spouses — were sometimes separated during U.S. evacuation efforts. Now a global network of volunteers are trying to bring out those left behind.

Taliban officials say schools will remain closed until a plan is drawn up that allows reopening consistent with Islamic law.

The rulers' decision — reneging on a previous promise — came at the start of the new school year in Afghanistan and risks further alienating the international community.