The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that following the Taliban’s ban on female employees, eight service centers for returnees in Afghanistan have been closed.

The Taliban government has announced a ban on the activities of visual media in Panjshir province, an action that Nai in Exile has described as another sign of the “weakening of freedom of expression” in Afghanistan.

An American woman who was detained by the Taliban for a period has described the condition of “Peter,” 80, and “Barbie Reynolds,” 76, the British couple imprisoned by the Taliban, as “horrific.”

In a controversial and restrictive move, the Taliban’s head of court in Balkh province has issued a decree banning the publication of images of living beings, including humans and animals, in the media; a decision that has sparked a wave of concern and anger among journalists, media organizations, and freedom of expression activists.