AFGHANISTAN

While most of the world treats Afghanistan's Taliban government as a pariah, China is growing diplomatic and economic links -- and Kabul is happy for the attention.

Afghanistan maintains its unfortunate position as the least peaceful country globally for the eighth consecutive year.

There are no diplomats from the Afghan Republic remaining in India. Ambassador Farid Mamundzay and others who served at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan have safely "reached third countries," the embassy said in a statement Friday.

Poppy cultivation and opium production have plunged 95 percent in Afghanistan since Taliban authorities banned the crop, according to a UN report published Sunday.

An Afghan activist who campaigned for girls' education was released after seven months in detention on Thursday, his family said, the latest high-profile detainee to be released by Taliban authorities this month.

Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott believes the "sky's the limit" for his young stars who shone and then shattered mighty Pakistan at the Cricket World Cup on Monday.

China has signed oil and mining deals with the Taliban and also included Afghanistan in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is part of the BRI project.

China is due to host representatives from around 130 countries for the two-day conference, held on Oct. 17-18, to mark the 10th anniversary of BRI.

Two years have passed since the Taliban regime in Afghanistan stopped girls from receiving education beyond the sixth grade because it did not comply with their interpretation of Sharia, the guidelines from which Islam's legal system is derived.

More than 50 decrees have been introduced by the Taliban. It has become increasingly common for women to face harassment, intimidation and violence on the streets for allegedly defying them.

A young woman recalled the alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of her Taliban husband and her time in detention after the fall of Kabul in 2021.

The new claims were included in a document submitted by law firm Leigh Day to a new public inquiry. Lawyers also alleged that special forces commanders in the U.K. destroyed computer data that could have been evidence of the killings of unarmed Afghan civilians.

The Taliban released the four Afghan journalists from detention after they were accused of violating Islamic policy prohibiting airing music publicly.

The large-scale railway network is expected to connect East Asia with Iran, Turkey and Europe through Afghanistan.

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Donald Trump claimed the U.S. left billions of dollars' worth of military equipment when its troops pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021.

The United States, despite poor relations with the Taliban rulers, has worked quietly to assist US citizens who wish to leave.

More than a year after the Taliban banned Afghan girls from secondary education, some members hinted at their opposition to the controversial policy.

"My body was overwhelmed from the trauma of the blast. My abdomen had been ripped open. Every inch of my exposed body took ball bearings and shrapnel," the Marine said.

"My words are not dangerous, but the spin of my words [is] very dangerous," Prince Harry said.

An Afghan activist said Taliban fighters searched them after joining the protest condemning the ban on women from attending universities.