<b>In A Closer Look, </b><i><b>The National </b></i><b>provides an in-depth take on one of the biggest stories of the week.</b> After two years of Taliban rule, Afghanistan is in economic ruin. Shunned by the international community for its laws against women and freedoms, the regime has no clear path to getting the country back on its feet. The streets of Kabul may be safer. But that's because the Taliban were behind the bombings and killings that plagued the fallen republic, critics say. This week, Sulaiman Hakemy, who worked on this week's special report on the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/2023/08/15/taliban-takeover-afghanistan-refugees/" target="_blank"><b>Taliban takeover: two years on</b></a>, discusses the future of the country and its people with presenter Anjana Sankar. <b>Read more</b> <b>Exclusive: </b><a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2023/08/17/taliban-opium-ban-fuelling-migration-of-destitute-afghan-farmers-to-europe-says-expert/" target="_blank"><b>Taliban opium ban 'fuelling Afghan migration to Europe'</b></a> <b>Podcast: </b><a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/podcasts/2023/08/15/beyond-the-headlines-how-sanctions-against-the-taliban-crippled-the-whole-of-afghanistan/" target="_blank"><b>How sanctions crippled all of Afghanistan</b></a>