Afghanistan hopes for lasting peace as ‘reduction in violence’ takes hold

The Taliban blocked journalists from accessing the blast site in Kabul. It's still unclear who is responsible for the attack, but the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) has ramped up its activities in recent months.

Following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-i-Taliban, or TTP) have retaken their positions in areas along the border. With the return of Taliban fighters, the picturesque Swat Valley has once again descended into violence and fear.

The killing of the young former politician comes as women's rights across Afghanistan are chipped away by the Taliban. Police have not yet been able to name a suspect or a motive.

The UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed led a delegation to Afghanistan this week and met Taliban rulers to convey a clear message — restore women's rights.

Most doctors working in the region say they have experienced violence in the workplace. Since the pandemic began in 2020, reports of aggression have increased — and so have the numbers of physicians leaving their homes.

This week, the US state of California was rocked by two mass shootings just two days apart. The massacres are just the latest in a long line of shootings that have made the US the world's number one country in gun ownership and gun deaths. The carnage pushed President Joe Biden to renew calls for Congress to act quickly on a ban on assault weapons.

Afghanistan is seeing its coldest winter in 15 years, with temperatures as low as -33 degrees Celsius. The country is also dealing with a major hunger crisis.

The Taliban have banned women from universities in Afghanistan, sparking international condemnation and despair among young people in the country. The higher education minister announced the regression on Tuesday, saying it would take immediate effect.

Protests in the South American country against President Boluarte are growing. The conflict threatens to drag Peru back into poverty, with tourism among the sectors that have been hardest hit.

A suicide bomber killed dozens of police officers at a mosque in northwestern Pakistan. It is the country's worst terrorist attack in years as a wave of Taliban-fueled militancy targets the state.

In East Jerusalem, locals are still coming to terms with the trauma of the attack that left seven people dead as they gathered to pray at a synagogue on January 27. That attack was followed by a second incident the following day, which injured two Israelis.

Ismail Mashalm, the man who tore up his academic records on television to protest the ban on the education of women and girls, was detained for "provocative actions."