Lynne O'Donnell

When the Taliban shut off the internet In an attempt to control the flow of information, the rulers of Afghanistan plunged the country into darkness. That decision has backfired

In an attempt to control the flow of information, the rulers of Afghanistan plunged the country into darkness. That decision has backfired

✏️ @lynneodonnell.bsky.social

Taliban Severes Afghanistan’s Digital Lifelines Fiber-optic internet, smartphone bans disrupt essential services across multiple provinces

Taliban Severs Afghanistan’s Digital Lifelines
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UN Breaks Silence on Taliban Blocking Afghan Women From Work Statement comes four days after Taliban deployed gunmen to UN, ADB, World Bank to enforce ban on women working

Four days after the Taliban deployed gunmen to prevent local women gaining entry to UN, ADB & World Bank offices, UN has released a statement. The UN has been in denial about the true nature of the Taliban for decades. Will this finally be the wake up call? Read on: open.substack.com/pub/lynneodo...

Beware a London short-term letting company called Home At Heart. Things get broken, go missing, payment never turns up. Lesson learned. Be warned.

Bashir Noorzai, the Taliban’s godfather Drug tycoon Bashir Noorzai was seized and jailed for life by the US. Yet somehow he is free - and has reinvented himself as gatekeeper to Afghanistan’s trillion-dollar rare earth treasure trove

"In Noorzai, Trump may meet his deal-making match. Noorzai is not a man who gives without taking. In the battle for the future, he knows exactly what his country, and his cut, are worth." www.thenewworld.co.uk/lynne-odonne...

From Nation-Building to Courtroom Drama: The Bayat Family Feud A story of legacy, ambition & a disputed $2.6 million sale in New York real estate

One of #Afghanistan's most famous names, Ehsan Bayat, hailed as a nation builder, is being sued by his brother, accused of fraudulently selling the air rights of a Manhattan building. It's not Ehsan's first legal rodeo. Read on: open.substack.com/pub/lynneodo...

Trump Wanders Around White House Roof and Shouts at Press in Bizarre Moment I watched Trump shout nonsense from the roof, lie on CNBC, and push racist garbage...and I’m supposed to pretend this is normal?

Ladies & gentlemen, the Leader of the Free World: www.meidasplus.com/p/trump-wand...

Peter York's Culture Wars House Party News Podcast · “PETER YORK’S CULTURE WARS HOUSE PARTY” podcast is all about Peter’s cultural preoccupations which range from how political Culture Wars are waged, to the reputational currency of cleve...

Peter York's Culture Wars House Party season finale with Katherine Stewart @katherinestewart.bsky.social is well worth your time podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...

UN Warns that the Taliban are Enabling Terrorists in Afghanistan Brevity Daily News Digest summarises the latest report of the UNSC's Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team

UN Warns that the Taliban are Enabling Terrorists in Afghanistan
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Trump’s own Afghan scandal -- the threat of deportation hangs over #Afghanistan's "freedom pilots" www.thenewworld.co.uk/lynne-odonne...

Afghan data leak: one part of a great betrayal The Afghans who served with western forces have been let down by ignorant politicians with no idea who the Taliban truly are

The Afghans who served with western forces have been let down by ignorant politicians with no idea who the Taliban truly are

✏️ @lynneodonnell.bsky.social

Afghan data leak: one part of a great betrayal The Afghans who served with western forces have been let down by ignorant politicians with no idea who the Taliban truly are

"Taliban death squads have been hunting down #Afghanistan’s former soldiers, Special Forces & police since the day they came back to power four years ago. Anyone who thinks otherwise hasn’t been paying attention."
www.thenewworld.co.uk/lynne-odonne...

Afghan data leak: one part of a great betrayal The Afghans who served with western forces have been let down by ignorant politicians with no idea who the Taliban truly are

Afghan data leak: one part of a great betrayal www.thenewworld.co.uk/lynne-odonne...
From thenewworld.co.uk

Afghanistan's Bagram Air Base is on the front line of a war for influence Abandoned military base has become a symbol of regional competition between America, China & Russia

#Afghanistan's Bagram Air Base is on the front line of a war for influence, amid Trump's claims that #China has moved in. But has it? Read on: open.substack.com/pub/lynneodo...

Afghanistan's Bagram Air Base is on the front line of a war for influence Abandoned military base has become a symbol of regional competition between America, China & Russia

#Afghanistan's Bagram Air Base is on the front line of a war for influence, amid Trump's claims that #China has moved in. But has it? Read on: open.substack.com/pub/lynneodo...

Does Donald Trump deserve a Nobel Peace Prize? - Monocle Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks continue following Netanyahu’s trip to Washington. Then: Ukraine and Russia’s neighbours withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty banning...

Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @lynneodonnell.bsky.social and @pburtsoff.bsky.social on Trump's Nobel Peace Prize prospects and other matters, plus Ali Watkins on her new book "The Next One Is For You", about 70s-era IRA gun-runners the Philadelphia Five. monocle.com/radio/shows/...

The US and ICC put Taliban crimes on trial, the criminals remain free Symbolism is powerful but global impunity is unlikely to end any time soon

Within a day, the International Criminal Court & the United States condemned the Taliban's brutal rule. Will it make any difference?
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Guest post: A war-torn region of Pakistan gets a dangerous ultimatum Mohsin Dawar is a political activist & former MP in North Waziristan, where the Taliban's war is getting hotter, and the State has run out of ideas

Guest post: A war-torn region of #Pakistan gets a dangerous ultimatum by Mohsin Dawar open.substack.com/pub/lynneodo...

Guest post: A war-torn region of Pakistan gets a dangerous ultimatum Mohsin Dawar is a political activist & former MP in North Waziristan, where the Taliban's war is getting hotter, and the State has run out of ideas

Guest post: A war-torn region of #Pakistan gets a dangerous ultimatum by Mohsin Dawar open.substack.com/pub/lynneodo...

Russian deputy foreign minister accepts copies of credentials from new Afghan ambassador The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the official recognition of the Afghan authorities will give an impetus to the development of productive bilateral cooperation

#Russia recognises the legitimacy of the #Taliban regime: tass.com/politics/198... #StateCapture #Afghanistan #Syria #AlQaeda #Terrorism #Racism #Misogyny

China rolls over $3.4 billion of commercial loans to Pakistan, says source China has rolled over $3.4 billion in loans to Islamabad, which together with other recent commercial and multilateral lending will boost Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves to $14 billion, a finance ministry source said on Sunday.

#China rolls over $3.4 billion of commercial loans to #Pakistan, says source reut.rs/445AIYG

In the battle for future technologies, Afghanistan is relevant once more A drugs lord has become the gatekeeper for critical minerals & rare earths, as America tells the Taliban to cease business with China

In the battle for future technologies, #Afghanistan is relevant once more. My latest column on the US- #China - Afghanistan dynamic as change rumbles across the region open.substack.com/pub/lynneodo...

Venice is still in peril — this time from the Bezos wedding Angry locals who say he is treating the city as a private playground have succeeded in getting the ceremony moved

"#Bezos is especially unwelcome in #Venice because of Amazon's model of online commerce which has gutted towns across the world of small businesses. Locals still grieve for the demise of beloved emporiums including ironmongers & bookshops" www.ft.com/content/4ea5... #PayMoreTax

Taliban Silence Is Golden — Especially When Washington Is Listening As Iran reels from US strikes, the Taliban shift focus from old friends to new opportunities -- & the lure of American investment.

Have you noticed how quiet the Taliban have been lately? They're talking to America. And they like the idea of US money & tacit recognition. Friends are friends, but in the pragmatic world of Trump and the Taliban, business is business. Read on: open.substack.com/pub/lynneodo...

Taliban Silence Is Golden — Especially When Washington Is Listening As Iran reels from US strikes, the Taliban shift focus from old friends to new opportunities -- & the lure of American investment.

Have you noticed how quiet the Taliban have been lately? They're talking to America. And they like the idea of US money & tacit recognition. Friends are friends, but in the pragmatic world of Trump and the Taliban, business is business. Read on: open.substack.com/pub/lynneodo...

In the battle for future technologies, Afghanistan is relevant once more A drugs lord has become the gatekeeper for critical minerals & rare earths, as America tells the Taliban to cease business with China

In the battle for future technologies, #Afghanistan is relevant once more. My latest column on the US- #China - Afghanistan dynamic as change rumbles across the region open.substack.com/pub/lynneodo...

Quietly, Pakistan Wages a Deadly Drone Campaign Inside Its Own Borders

Quietly, Pakistan Wages a Deadly Drone Campaign Inside Its Own Borders
Zia ur-Rehman is the best reporter on Pakistan, by a mile www.nytimes.com/2025/06/19/w...

Voices of the Resistance: Lynne O'Donnell Lynne O'Donnell joins and discusses the future of Afghanistan and how the Taliban controls the media narrative, leading to misconceptions about the country.

Voices of the Resistance:
Lynne O'Donnell joins and discusses the future of #Afghanistan and how the #Taliban controls the media narrative, leading to misconceptions about the country.
www.gcvfriends.com/p/voices-of-...

Is Afghanistan the unhappiest place on earth? A new study says yes. Research by Science Advances finds "the lowest well-being in recorded history" since the war ended and the Taliban seized power

Is #Afghanistan the unhappiest place on earth? A new study says yes. open.substack.com/pub/lynneodo...

Afghanistan's Top Gun Pilots Struggle for New Flight Paths The Kindness of Strangers; the Nightmare of Red Tape; the Dream of Getting Back in the Air (Photos by Massoud Hossaini)

Afghanistan's Top Gun Pilots Struggle for New Flight Paths
open.substack.com/pub/lynneodo...