The global community has so far refrained from recognizing the Taliban government in Afghanistan. But Kabul is attempting to expand its regional links, focusing on economic cooperation and the fight against terrorism.

An 84-year-old who had been held in a prison in Afghanistan has been released. Austrian media has reported the man as being a co-founder of a far-right party that was banned in 1988.

Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021, woman's rights have been subject to far-reaching suppression, including a ban on female participation in sport. While some female athletes continue to bravely practice their sport inside the country, many others have fled.

Women and girls are facing an increasingly dire situation in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai and Afghan activists slam the global community for merely paying lip service to women's rights.

The United States has imposed sanctions on two Taliban ministers, Sheikh Mohammad Khalid Hanafi and Sheikh Fariduddin Mahmood, over their stance on girls' education. But will they make any difference?

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday likened restrictions the Taliban had placed on women in Afghanistan to the treatment of Black people under apartheid in a lecture in South Africa organised by Nelson Mandela's foundation.

The Taliban have released Matiullah Wesa, who had been imprisoned for advocating for girls' rights to education. However, the militants are expanding the oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan.

Recent earthquakes have killed and displaced thousands in western Afghanistan, exposing the Taliban's inability to function effectively as a government.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, the son of slain Afghan resistance hero Ahmad Shah Massoud warned that the international community "should not recognise" the Taliban, two years after their return to power. Ahmad Massoud said that without "internal legitimacy, the international community should stop themselves from giving recognition to any group.

North-western Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan, is home to a secluded tribe: the Kalash people. The pagan tribe are Pakistan's last polytheistic community, who have avoided mass Islamisation. But lately they have become the target of attacks from the Pakistani Taliban, who are now based in Afghanistan.

The International Assistance Mission said 18 staff members, including an international team member who local media reported as being a US national, were taken from their office on two separate occasions in a month.

Iran and Afghanistan have reportedly extended the cooperation between their intelligence services. Repeated terrorist attacks in Iran have exposed shortcomings in Iran's security agencies.