The raid began at dawn. Dozens of armed men in black hoods stormed Kinda Al Khatib’s family home, arresting her and her brother, and starting a year-long ordeal for the 25-year-old Hezbollah critic. “I couldn’t see their faces. They had guns, as if they were coming to take a terrorist,” …

With Herat now in the hands of the Taliban as the militant group consolidates power over the last outposts of government-held territory, protecting Afghanistan’s heritage has become a grave concern for many. Last month Unesco, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, accepted a request by the Afghan government …

Two decades after the 11 September terrorist attacks in New York, terror networks Al-Qaida and Islamic State – also known as Da’esh – continue to pose a grave threat to peace and security, adapting to new technologies and moving into some of the world’s most fragile regions, the top UN …