Chukwuka Monye: Life of a people builder

In Iraq's vast western desert, some 200 families live in a hamlet largely cut off from the rest of the world, their only neighbour one of the country's biggest military bases. Lost in rocky ochre hills and surrounded by humble palm groves, Al-Sahl’s only education facility is a primary school, and residents rely on livestock and farming to survive.

Since the end of the 18th century, the French-style gardens of the Château de Chambord, in France's Loire Valley, had disappeared. But months of hard work have brought these 6.5 hectares back to life. From lawns to flowerbeds and rows of trees, FRANCE 24 takes you behind the scenes of a model of perfection where there is no room for approximation.

Before the Taliban swept to power in Afghanistan, Kabul was a city with a vibrant nightlife and arts scene. But since then, there has been a radical transformation. Thousands of longtime Taliban fighters have poured into the capital, now working in round-the-clock security patrols. Meanwhile, financial disputes and quarrels between neighbours are being settled by Islamic judges. FRANCE 24's Catherine Norris-Trent and Roméo Langlois report from Kabul.

Every year in France, thousands of heritage sites are put up for sale and get a second life thanks to slightly eccentric owners. We meet some of the people who have decided to make these monuments their home, from an abandoned lighthouse to a deconsecrated chapel.

The Catholic Church imposes drastic restrictions on those who serve it. Unlike monks, priests do not take a vow of chastity but are bound to celibacy and therefore total abstinence. Yet many priests have active sex lives and are in loving heterosexual or homosexual relationships. For this special full-length documentary, French priests and their partners agreed to speak out about their double lives.

Legendary Nigerian comic actor, Babatunde Omidina, fondly called Baba Suwe, passed on at age of 63. His death was confirmed by his son, Adesola Omidina, who took to his Instagram page to announce his father's demise.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

Every two-and-a-half days a woman in Germany dies at the hands of her partner or former partner, according to figures presented on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

The Turkish lira is in free fall — with devastating consequences for people in the Syrian region of Idlib. 46-year-old Khadija needs two jobs to provide for her family.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Thursday⁣ ⁣

It began as one of Hitler's craziest ideas: to construct 4,000 kilometres of defences along the entire coastline of mainland Europe. Some 76 years later, local governments, private individuals and companies are trying to give a second life to sections of the infamous Atlantic Wall. In the Finistère department of Brittany in western France, a half-buried bunker now houses a museum featuring the voices of those who lived under German occupation. Meanwhile, an abandoned bunker on Brittany's Cap Fréhel peninsula is now home to a group of bats. FRANCE 24 takes a closer look at these sites and more.

What's it really like inside the new Afghanistan? Four months after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, FRANCE 24 went to the capital and beyond to speak to citizens from all walks of life. What they heard was a mix: relief that the guns have gone quiet but worry over the prospect of a bleak winter, with more than half the population facing acute food shortages. Meanwhile, Afghanistan remains isolated on the world stage and its new rulers have yet to let women return to school and work. The Taliban also still have to prove that they can run a country.

As tensions simmer and troops amass along on both sides of the border, DW's Nick Connolly visited eastern Ukraine. Close to the Russian border, in the town of Milove, he spoke with locals about what it's like to live there.