Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Friday.

Russia's military struggling – DW speaks to security analyst

Heads of states, scientists and campaigners head to Dakar for the World Water Forum as the UN warns that water security across the continent is dangerously low. And high seas protection talks fail to reach a deal.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has expedited the "Strategic Compass" security strategy, which allows the European Union to form a rapid reaction force. Germany has offered to provide the "military core."

"Levels of water security in Africa overall are unacceptably low. Not a single country or sub-region has yet achieved the highest level of the model or even the reasonably high effective stages of national water security," the report said.

Water security in Africa 'unacceptably low' (UN) In tonight's edition: Heads of states, scientists and campaigners head to Dakar for the World Water Forum as the UN warns that water security across the continent is dangerously low. And high seas protection talks fail to reach a deal.

A leaked document suggests the Chinese military could establish a presence on the Solomon Islands under a new security pact. Australia and New Zealand have reacted to the plan with unease.

As a recent poll shows that six in 10 Swedish people support joining NATO alongside neighbour Finland, leading Swedish MEP Tomas Tobé tells FRANCE 24 why he backs ending two centuries of military neutrality in Sweden. "It is clear that Sweden needs to build security together with others.

Ukraine's president spoke to the UN Security Council by video link on Tuesday. In his first speech to the body since Russia's invasion, Volodymyr Zelensky called for accountability. His plea followed the discoveries of civilian victims in the town of Bucha, killings that Zelensky says are tantamount to attempted genocide and war crimes committed by Russia. We take a closer look.

The EU will wind down some operations due to continued cooperation between Russian mercenaries and Mali's junta. But the EU says it remains committed to the region.

The Solomon Islands in the South Pacific is planning a security agreement with China. But the prospect of Chinese warships based less than 2,000 kilometers off the Australian coast has set alarm bells ringing in the region.

The ongoing war in Ukraine not only caused the disruption of Russian gas and oil supplies, forcing a sharp spike in energy prices, but also cut off all Ukrainian grain exports, 95% of which pass through the ports of the Black Sea. The same is true of Russian exports of grain from the Sea of Azov.