Nasir Ahmad Faiq, acting head of Afghanistan’s mission to the United Nations, has said that the rise in mysterious killings, sexual violence, kidnappings, extrajudicial executions and forced marriages in Afghanistan is the result of the absence of rule of law and the spread of a culture of impunity under Taliban rule.

The Independent Coalition of Afghanistan Women’s Protest Movements, in response to the announcement of Kankor results without the participation of girls, has said the exam has no “academic legitimacy” and is a sign of the systematic exclusion of women and girls from education and Afghanistan’s future.

Alexander De Croo, head of the United Nations Development Programme, and Barham Salih, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, have called for the protection of the basic rights of women and girls in Afghanistan during a meeting with Taliban officials.

Shapoor Zadran, former bowler for Afghanistan’s national cricket team and one of the pioneering figures of the sport’s golden generation, died on Tuesday (7 July) in New Delhi, India, at the age of 38. He died one day before his 39th birthday after a long battle with a rare immune system disease, HLH.