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."

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.

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.

There has been global outrage over the Taliban's announcement to ban women from universities. In our first edition for 2023, we meet the Afghan women who are bravely protesting against the decree.

Aid groups are warning of a dire situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban's banning of female NGO workers. Many major international aid groups have suspended their operations, including the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). We spoke to the NRC's Afghanistan director, Neil Turner, who said that organisations like his need female employees in order to access the women they serve.

The Taliban claimed to have killed members of the so-called "Islamic State" (IS), who were tied to an attack on a Chinese hotel in Kabul last month. Afghanistan is facing a significant security crisis under Taliban rule.

The Security Council has called for the "full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan," after the Taliban barred women from working in NGOs and attending universities.

The Taliban said they were suspending university classes for women until further notice, once more restricting women's access to formal education. The decision was announced after a meeting of the Taliban government.

After talks broke down, Pakistani security forces stormed a counter-terrorism center to free officials held hostage by Taliban militants.

Afghanistan's ultra-conservative Taliban leadership has announced what it says is the first public execution that has taken place since its return to power.

When the Taliban seized power in 2021, many people, including some Western diplomats, expected the fundamentalist group to rule differently this time around. A year later, Afghanistan's rulers have proven them wrong.