Mohammed Yasin Malik told the court that the charges of terrorism against him were "concocted, fabricated and politically motivated."

Afghanistan is heading back to the pre-2001 dark days of the Taliban, and Western powers were naive if they ever thought this wouldn't be the case. That's the view of Heather Barr, associate women's rights director at Human Rights Watch. As women are told to cover their faces in public again and female television presenters are told to do the same, she spoke to us on Perspective about the how the Taliban are rolling back women's rights and what, if anything, the West can do about it. "Life has become a prison for most women and girls," she told us.

Popular Punjabi rapper and politician Sidhu Moose Wala was gunned down over the weekend after his security was reduced. Police said gang feuds might be behind the killing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party has come under fire for incendiary comments about the Prophet Muhammad. Muslim countries have lodged protests amid calls for a boycott of Indian goods.

As many as 54 couples with disabilities tied the knot at a mass wedding ceremony in India's western Vadodara city on Tuesday.

India's government is renewing a plan to create a uniform legal system that would replace a patchwork of religious codes. However, there is concern the UCC will be used to further entrench policies favoring Hindus.

Two protesters died of gunshot wounds in the eastern city of Ranchi, where rallies against remarks by BJP officials on Prophet Muhammad turned violent Friday evening. Several people were also arrested nationwide.

According to the United Nations, some 23 million people are suffering from acute hunger n Afghanistan, including 10 million children who urgently need help in order to survive. Since the start of the year, humanitarian organisations have been able to help 8.2 million people by providing food assistance, including emergency food rations and supplements for breastfeeding mothers and their infants. But this aid is dwindling fast and the situation, which has continually worsened since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, is reaching a critical stage. Our team reports from Herat, in north-western Afghanistan.

In India, derogatory comments about the Prophet Mohammed made two officials from India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have sparked a mixture of deadly protests and diplomatic spats. Countries like Oman, Qatar, Malaysia and Indonesia have lodged complaints with India's ambassadors. We take a closer look and get analysis from Subir Sinha, a lecturer in development studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.

Authorities in New Delhi are being criticized for a heavy-handed response to violent protests by Indian Muslims after senior government officials made remarks allegedly insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Protesters set train coaches and vehicles on fire, and clashed with the police. The new military policy, aimed at creating a younger and fitter force, has angered many aspirants.

Markus Potzel will be the United Nations' new deputy representative to Afghanistan. Between 2014 and 2016 he was Germany's ambassador to Kabul.