Afghanistan's ultra-conservative authorities have ordered that women should no longer be allowed to enter amusement parks. The decree comes after a wider announcement restricting access to public spaces.

The UN has said it is "concerned" after five activists, including a woman, were detained and subjected to body searches in the Afghan capital during the launch of a women's rights organization.

A deadly attack on a school van in Pakistan's Swat Valley has sparked fears of a resurgence in Taliban activity in the region. Thousands have protested against the possible return of a militant presence to Swat.

A chief in the Swat valley who fought against Taliban militants has been killed by a roadside bomb. Recent attacks have marked a return to the the decades of violence that has left 80,000 dead.

When the Taliban returned to power a year ago, life changed dramatically for the people of Afghanistan, and for women first and foremost. Our reporters travelled there to find out what life is like under militant Islamist rule.

Thirteen Taliban leaders were permitted to travel despite sanctions so that they could meet foreign officials abroad. Russia and China had argued this should be allowed to continue, but other countries disagreed.

A small group of women rallied in the Afghan capital for the first time in months, demanding a return of their freedoms, after the Taliban reneged on promises to maintain the marginal gains women made in recent years.

A year ago, the Taliban retook Kabul. In their first press conference after seizing power in Afghanistan, they surprised the world with the announcement of moderate policies. A key pledge was to address women's rights.

Around 5,000 people every day are crossing the border from Afghanistan into Iran. While Tehran is deporting thousands every week, many are still setting out on the perilous journey that often begins in the city of Herat.

Women who protested against Taliban rules were threatened, detained, and tortured, human rights watchdog Amnesty International said in a new report.

The powerful tremor has killed more than 1,000 people, and the death toll is likely to rise manifold. People need aid urgently, but with the Taliban in power, international help for quake victims is a complicated affair.

For more than nine months, Afghan girls over the age of 11 have been prohibited from going to high school. The Taliban have not reneged on the ban they imposed on taking power last August, despite their initial promise to do so. In the western city of Herat, FRANCE 24's reporters followed one teacher who hopes that her former students will be able to continue their education. They also met a teacher who is defying the ban by giving clandestine lessons. Meanwhile, some fathers are trying to convince the authorities to reopen girls' schools for their daughters.