This undated photo provided to The AP shows Mark Frerichs, a U.S. veteran and civilian contractor held more than 2 years in Afghanistan by the Taliban. Frerichs family says he has been freed by the Taliban. (Charlene Cakora via AP)

American contractor Mark Frerichs, who was held hostage in Afghanistan for more than two years, has been released in exchange for a convicted Taliban drug lord jailed in the United States, the White House said Monday

Taliban fighters celebrate one year since they seized the Afghan capital, Kabul, in front of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 15, 2022. (AP Photo / Ebrahim Noroozi)

A year after the dramatic day, much has changed in Afghanistan. The former insurgents struggle to govern and remain internationally isolated. The economic downturn has driven millions more Afghans into poverty and even hunger, as the flow of foreign aid slowed to a trickle.

(WTTW News)

Northeastern Illinois University has provided 17 Afghan refugees with one-year scholarships to study at the school. 

In this Nov. 21, 2013, file photo reviewed by the U.S. military, a soldier closes the gate at the now abandoned Camp X-Ray, which was used as the first detention facility for al-Qaida and Taliban militants who were captured after the Sept. 11 attacks at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo / Charles Dharapak, File)

Advocates for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center were optimistic when President Joe Biden took office. Many are now increasingly impatient.

(Free-Photos / Pixabay)

Two U.S. service members were killed and two others injured Saturday when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, the Pentagon said in a statement.

A Foreign Perspective

Our international exchange journalist from Pakistan, Mansoor Ali Khan, joins us with an update on Malala Yousafzai, a teenager who was shot by the Taliban, and the impact she is having on reform in Pakistan.