The African continent has recorded a spike in military coups in the last year. The latest hijack of power happened on Monday, January 24th, 2022 when some military officers in the West African nation of Burkina Faso unseated President Roch Kabore. Here are the four coups that have taken place in Africa over the past year.

Monday's meeting between the Russian and French presidents in Moscow gave rise to a lot of photoshopped content on social media - mostly sufficiently far-fetched so as not to be believable. We take a closer look. We also take a look at some convincing fake news stories that have been doing the rounds about Russia's current tensions with Ukraine and NATO.

Monday's meeting between the Russian and French presidents in Moscow gave rise to a lot of photoshopped content on social media, most of it sufficiently far-fetched so as not to be believable. We take a closer look. But first, we explore some fake news stories that have been doing the rounds about Russia's current tensions with Ukraine and NATO.

Western powers are reassessing their mission to Mali amid deteriorating relations with the country's military junta. European and African Union leaders are set to meet later this week for talks.

In this edition of Tech 24, we compare the two militaries of Russia and Ukraine, as fears of an invasion remain high. It's no surprise that the Russian arsenal far outstrips Ukraine's in terms of numbers, but Moscow has also come a long way in modernising its weaponry and support equipment. It now boasts long-range precision missiles, a huge fleet of tanks, as well as modern, high-manoeuvrability aircraft. So what can Ukraine do to defend itself? Peter O'Brien takes a look.

As Russian military movements close to the Ukrainian border continue to be a major global concern, the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola tells FRANCE 24 she is doubtful about Moscow's claims that its troops are moving away from the frontier. The top EU lawmaker reaffirms that "if the escalation occurs, the European Parliament would align with other institutions to ensure concrete, swift and effective action".

After French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France and its European partners are to begin a military withdrawal from Mali after more than nine years fighting a jihadist insurgency, FRANCE 24 speaks to Belgium's prime minister. Alexander De Croo calls the French-led pullout "unfortunate" and insists it is "important to not break any ties with Mali. We are very concerned about the political developments, but the moment you break ties, we don't have any influence anymore. It's important for the Sahel region to get stabilised."

Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw military exercises involving Russian "strategic forces." The drills included ballistic and cruise missile launches.

Russian and Belarusian troops will continue their joint exercises near Ukraine, which were expected to end on Sunday, due to the "escalating situation" in Donbas.

Has war been declared? Following a day during which the Kremlin ratcheted up its rhetoric, François Picard’s panel weighs the consequences of the call in Moscow to recognise Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. They also discuss Vladimir Putin’s ultimate goal.

During his first year in office, former president Donald Trump banned most transgender Americans from joining the US military. Shortly after taking office, his predecessor Joe Biden reversed the policy, prohibiting discrimination against transgender troops. On that very same day, Lieutenant Colonel Bree Fram came out publicly as transgender while in a command position. She is now one of the highest ranking, openly transgender officers in the US military. She joined us on Perspective.

Women are playing key roles resisting Myanmar's military rulers a year after the coup. DW spoke with two regime opponents who were forced to flee to neighboring Thailand. One asked that we conceal her identity for her safety.