Unlocking dead capital in Nigeria

Afghan forces clash with Taliban fighters in a provincial capital about 120 kilometres (75 miles) from Kabul.

The former ruling party in Tigray said it has taken back control of the regional capital Mekele. The city had been under the control of Ethiopia's federal government for eight months.

One day after Zambians went to the polls, the capital of Lusaka sees sporadic fires and roadblocks in the Chibolya district. Police and military personnel have been patrolling the streets as the nation awaits for the results of a tightly contested election between President Edgar Lungu and long-time rival Hakainde Hichilema.

Every idea needs money to become a reality and it is every founder's dream to raise the right capital to get their ideas off the ground, in this episode, Chimezie Emewulu, MD/CEO, Seamfix Ltd, and Chibuzor Onwurah, Co-Founder, Seamfix Ltd open up about the early days; the kind of moves and sacrifice they made to be able to build Seamfix from ground zero to a global brand that it is today.

In the northern Senegalese city of Saint-Louis, excavators are ripping up the beach to lay giant blocks of basalt, to keep the sea at bay. Dire warnings about the risk of rising sea levels due to climate change are already a grim reality in Saint-Louis, where seafront residents in the historic fishing quarter are abandoning their homes to the encroaching Atlantic Ocean.

Heavy fighting claimed at least six lives and left dozens wounded in Lebanon's capital as an escalation of tensions around last year's massive portside explosion turned parts of Beirut into a war-zone. The army deployed tanks and troops to quell street battles that sparked memories of the 1975-1990 civil war for a city already traumatised by last year's blast disaster and Lebanon's worst-ever economic crisis.

Separatists accused the government of killing civilians in the strike that Adis Ababa said was targeting arms depots. Amid the turmoil, the UN announced withdrawing half of its staff from the country.

Animal welfare advocates, conservationists and scientists have carried out a three-year effort to count every cat in the US capital and provide an accurate estimate of the size of Washington's indoor, outdoor and shelter population, as well as the health of the city's cats. As part of the DC Cat Count, researchers set up wildlife cameras in more than 1,500 spots across the city.

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.

FRANCE 24 spoke to Jerry Tardieu, national coordinator of Haiti's "En Avant" (Forwards) political movement and a former opposition MP. Haiti is still reeling from the July assassination of the president, as well as recent kidnappings of missionaries and a deadly earthquake. Tardieu told us that the widespread chaos in the country can be explained by "a collusive relationship" between the authorities and all-powerful armed gangs. Gangs now control "most neighbourhoods of the capital" Port-au-Prince, Tardieu said.

At least 74 people were killed and dozens more were injured on Sunday after bombs ripped through two restaurants in the Ugandan capital of Kampala. Police said the bombs were targeting football fans who had gathered to watch the World Cup final.

In Afghanistan, women have now been waiting for three months for their fate to be decided by the Taliban government. One key question is whether older schoolgirls will be able to return to high school. With winter school holidays coming up, women in Kabul fear that the Taliban will simply play for time and postpone any decision on the issue. In the meantime, some Afghan provinces have been able to reopen their schools, but not others. Our team on the ground reports from Kabul.