Afghanistan

Security was tight in the capital on Tuesday, which was declared a holiday, with soldiers stepping up checks.

Afghan women have pushed back, taking to the streets to oppose the Taliban, and moving their protests indoors and online amid arrests and violent crackdowns.

Twenty-nine Afghan prosecutors have been killed by the Taliban in the last two years.

Afghan Taliban rebuff United Nations report on pervasive human rights violations in the country, asserting the respect of rights under Islamic laws.

This issue extends beyond Iran’s borders and carries the potential for escalating tensions with its neighbors, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Taliban met with a US Special Representative to discuss the lifting of travel and other restrictions along with the return of Afghan central bank assets.

According to experts, the majority of the signatories are members of the previous corrupt regime that dominated the country for two decades.

The TTP aims to overthrow the government and install its own brand of strict Islamic law in the predominantly Muslim nation of 220 million.

Foreign governments and UN officials have condemned growing restrictions on women since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

A recent UN report said that the link between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda "remains strong and symbiotic.”