Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Report: Facebook bans all content supporting Taliban

SOCIAL MEDIA giant Facebook has banned the Taliban and all content supporting it from its platforms, according to a BBC report.

The US firm labels the group as a terrorist organisation.


The company has said that it has a dedicated team of Afghan experts to monitor and remove content linked to the insurgent group.

Interestingly, the Taliban has used social media to spread its messages for years now.

"The Taliban is sanctioned as a terrorist organisation under US law and we have banned them from our services under our Dangerous Organisation policies. This means we remove accounts maintained by or on behalf of the Taliban and prohibit praise, support, and representation of them," a Facebook spokesperson told the BBC.

"We also have a dedicated team of Afghanistan experts, who are native Dari and Pashto speakers and have knowledge of local context, helping to identify and alert us to emerging issues on the platform."

The company added that it does not make decisions about the recognition of national governments but instead follows the "authority of the international community".

Facebook highlighted that the policy applies to all of its platforms, including its flagship social media network, Instagram and WhatsApp.

However, there are reports that the Taliban is using WhatsApp to communicate.

Facebook told the BBC that it would take action if it found accounts on the app are linked to the group.

The brutal war in Afghanistan reached a watershed moment on Sunday (15) when the Taliban insurgents closed in on Kabul before entering the city and took over the presidential palace, forcing embattled President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country.

More For You

protest-uk-getty

Protesters calling for the closure of the The Bell Hotel, believed to be housing asylum seekers, gather outside the council offices in Epping, on August 8, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Farage urges protests after Essex hotel ruling on asylum seekers

Highlights:

  • High Court blocks asylum seekers from being housed in Essex hotel
  • Nigel Farage calls for peaceful protests outside “migrant hotels”
  • Government considering appeal against injunction ruling
  • Debate grows over housing asylum seekers in hotels across Britain

NIGEL FARAGE has called for protests after a court ruling blocked the use of an Essex hotel to house asylum seekers.

Keep ReadingShow less
India, China to resume flights, trade ties after 2020 border clash

India's prime minister Narendra Modi shakes hand with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi during their meeting in New Delhi, India August 19, 2025. India's Press Information Bureau/Handout via REUTERS

India, China to resume flights, trade ties after 2020 border clash

INDIA and China agreed to resume direct flights and step up trade and investment flows as the neighbours rebuild ties damaged by a 2020 border clash.

The Asian giants are cautiously strengthening ties against the backdrop of US president Donald Trump's unpredictable foreign policy, staging a series of high-level bilateral visits.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mumbai train services resume

Passengers being rescued after a Monorail train came to a halt between Mysore Colony and Bhakti Park stations due to apparent power failure during rainfall, in Mumbai, on Aug. 19, 2025. (PTI Photo)

PTI Photo

Relief for Mumbai as train services resume after rain havoc

INTERMITTENT showers continued overnight in Mumbai, but the intensity reduced on Wednesday (20) morning, offering much-needed relief after heavy rains battered the city the previous day.

Local train services on the Central Railway’s Harbour Line resumed early morning on Wednesday after a 15-hour disruption, easing the commute for thousands. Schools and colleges also reopened following a rain-enforced closure.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hurricane Erin

The bank holiday weekend is approaching for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland

iStock

Hurricane Erin keeps bank holiday weather on a knife-edge

Highlights:

  • England, Wales, and Northern Ireland set for mostly dry conditions at the start of the long weekend
  • Temperatures climbing back into the low to mid-20s, though cooler along North Sea coasts
  • Bank holiday Monday outlook remains uncertain, with risk of rain in southern and western areas
  • Remnants of Hurricane Erin could influence unsettled weather after the weekend

A mixed outlook for the long weekend

The bank holiday weekend is approaching for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but the weather forecast carries a degree of uncertainty. While high pressure looks likely to dominate at first, unsettled conditions could follow, depending on the path of Hurricane Erin currently tracking through the Atlantic.

Saturday and Sunday: mostly settled

High pressure is expected to bring largely dry weather across much of the UK at the start of the long weekend. There should be some sunshine, with only isolated showers possible. After a cooler spell, temperatures will recover, climbing into the low to mid-20s Celsius. However, coastal areas along the North Sea are likely to stay cooler, with more cloud cover and a fresh onshore breeze.

Keep ReadingShow less
Epping council wins bid to remove asylum seekers from protest-hit hotel

Protesters hold signs as they attend an anti-immigration demonstration, in Epping, Britain, August 8, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

Epping council wins bid to remove asylum seekers from protest-hit hotel

A BRITISH district council on Tuesday (19) won its bid to have asylum seekers temporarily removed from a hotel that has become the focal point for protests after a resident was charged with sexual assault.

Epping Forest District Council took legal action to stop asylum seekers from being housed in the Bell Hotel in Epping, in the county of Essex, about 20 miles (32.19 km) north of London.

Keep ReadingShow less