Afghan president calls on Taliban to join in peace talks

Human Rights Watch says that more than 100 former Afghan security personnel have disappeared or been killed by the Taliban since they came to power in August. The actual number could be much higher than that.

Chinese private investment in Uganda is growing while Westerners are losing appetite to put money to work in the country, President Yoweri Museveni told Reuters, pledging to step up efforts to tackle corruption which has made slow progress. Museveni, in power since 1986 and one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, said Uganda was working to sign a number of deals with Chinese private sector lenders in sectors from agro- and fertilizer-processing, minerals processing or textiles.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Foreign Affairs Committee that the previous presidency left Joe Biden little choice but to complete the withdrawal. Republicans called it "an unmitigated disaster."

For almost a decade, international forces in Mali have been trying to help fight Islamist groups that threatened to take over the country in 2012. But today, the government still only controls the capital and a small area around it. DW's Fred Muvunyi reports.

More Afghans facing extreme poverty are turning to opium production as a means of survival. Despite promises to the contrary, the Taliban are unlikely to oppose cultivation of the narcotic cash crop.

A new report by Amnesty international has documented war crimes and atrocities committed during the fall of the internationally backed Afghan government in August.

Will Jacob Zuma return to prison? South Africa's highest court orders the former president to be re-incarcerated after setting aside an earlier decision to release him on medical parole. Meanwhile, the country records close to 27,000 new Covid-19 cases, an all-time record. Plus, European football clubs say they may not release their African players to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations, amid fears surrounding the tournament's Covid-19 health protocol.

It's been four months since the Taliban swept to power in Afghanistan, something they did faster than anyone anticipated. Since August, they have had to make a rapid transition to running the day-to-day business of a struggling state. From Kabul to the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar and the mountainous Wardak province, our team have witnessed the grim reality of Taliban rule. FRANCE 24's senior reporters Catherine Norris Trent and Roméo Langlois bring us this exclusive full-length documentary.

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.

Ahead of Chile's presidential run-off on Sunday, FRANCE 24's Cole Stangler takes a closer look at the country's economy and the contrasting visions of far-right candidate José Antonio Kast and left-wing contender Gabriel Boric.

A video has been widely shared in pro-Bolsonaro circles on Brazilian social media. It claims to show Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva being insulted by Parisian students during a Batucada performance, while on the French leg of his European tour. We explore how the performance was hijacked and twisted by rival political supporters.

Pakistan hosted a conference of Muslim countries pledging financial assistance to stave off "chaos" in Afghanistan. They vowed to unlock frozen aid funds and set up a humanitarian trust.