Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi says relations between Afghanistan and Russia are "historic" and in 1919, after Moscow recognized the independence of Afghanistan, the ties between the two countries became "better".

In an interview with a Russian channel, Muttaqi said that ties between the Islamic Emirate and Russia had been good over the past twenty years, during the rule of the former government.

He stated that delegations of the IEA used to travel to Moscow and participate in conferences during the 20 years of the previous regime.

He added that the relations between the two countries are currently "good".

He said that economically, Afghanistan's trade with Russia was about $55 million in 2020 and reached $359 million in 2023 and it’s increasing.

Muttaqi added that the mentioned points indicate the improvement of relations between Kabul and Moscow.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has erased women from Afghanistan’s self-portrait, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Wong said that “effectively imprisoning half their society’s population immediately halves their country’s potential.”

“Any country that wants to develop fully must encourage the full participation of all its people,” she said.

The top Australian diplomat reminded that Australia has taken legal action with Canada, Germany and the Netherlands which could see all four countries take the IEA to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The Islamic Emirate has rejected the violation of women's rights in the country and has emphasized that it respects the rights of all citizens, especially women, in accordance with the Sharia laws and is committed to ensuring it.

The Islamic Emirate also considers women’s rights to be an internal issue of the country.

The Israeli military said on Saturday it had killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on the group's central headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut a day earlier.

Reuters said it could not immediately reach Hezbollah officials for comment on the Israeli army statement. The Iran-backed Hezbollah has yet to issue any statement on the status of Nasrallah, who has led the group for 32 years.

During Nasrallah's decades in charge, Hezbollah has grown into a regional force that has projected Tehran's influence across the Middle East.

His death would not only mark an enormous blow to Hezbollah, but also to Iran, whose Revolutionary Guards founded the group in 1982. The Israeli military "eliminated ... Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization," Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote in a statement on X.

Another top Hezbollah leader - Ali Karaki - was also killed, he added.

"Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world," the Israeli military said in a separate post.

Friday's attack on Hezbollah's command centre, followed by further airstrikes on Saturday, have escalated the conflict between Israel and the heavily armed group, adding to concerns the region could be sucked into a broader war.

Adraee's statement, posted in Arabic, said Israel had struck Hezbollah's underground headquarters while its leadership were "coordinating terrorist activities against the citizens of Israel".

Late on Friday, a source close to Hezbollah told Reuters that Nasrallah was not reachable.

In the first hours after Friday's strike, a source close to Hezbollah told Reuters that Nasrallah was alive. Iran's Tasnim news agency also reported he was safe. A senior Iranian security official told Reuters that Tehran was checking his status.

Israel followed up on Friday's attack with a new wave of airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs and other areas of Lebanon on Saturday.