The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking arrest warrants for Taliban officials for alleged gender-based crimes, as the group continues to crack down on women’s rights in Afghanistan.

In the very last hours of President Joe Biden’s time in office, a prisoner exchange years in the making was finally struck: the Taliban agreed to swap two Americans being held in Afghanistan for one Taliban member serving a life sentence in a US prison.

Afghans who fled after the Taliban seized power have appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to exempt them from an order suspending the relocation of refugees to the United States, some saying they risked their lives to support U.

Afghans who fled after the Taliban seized power have appealed to President Donald Trump to exempt them from an order suspending the relocation of refugees to the United States, some saying they risked their lives to support U.

The family thanked both the Biden and Trump administrations for "countless hours of negotiations, unwavering support, and determination."

The International Criminal Court prosecutor on Thursday said he had applied for arrest warrants for Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of crimes against humanity for widespread discrimination against women and girls.

- Taliban authorities have said Afghan women will no longer be allowed into public and amusement parks. - Gyms and fitness centres for women have been banned across the country. - The Taliban ordered the closing down of hundreds of beauty salons meant for women.

The requested warrants target Hibatullah Akhundzada, the reclusive Kandahar-based leader of the Taliban, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the group’s chief justice.

The International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders, including Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of gender-based persecution in Afghanistan. This marks a significant step in addressing alleged war crimes and human rights abuses by the Taliban against women,

Akhundzada took over when his predecessor, Akhtar Mansour, was killed in a U.S. drone strike near the Afghan-Pakistan border in 2016. For 15 years, until his sudden disappearance in May 2016, Akhundzada taught and preached at a mosque in Kuchlak, a town in southwestern Pakistan, associates and students have told Reuters.