India fears that a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan would benefit Pakistan. The government is trying to protect its strategic interests.

The military alliance has urged Russia to be "transparent about its military capabilities" on its border with Ukraine. Meanwhile, Germany has called on Moscow to exercise "restraint."

Amid a mounting economic crisis, the Taliban has pledged to pay three months' worth of lost wages to public employees. The group boasted of new revenue, but did not specify where it came from.

A Taliban ministry has asked TV networks to stop broadcasting programs that the ultra-conservative group deems immoral. They have said that the directives are not obligatory, but rather "a religious guideline."

Humanitarian workers are racing against time to deliver aid as winter looms in Afghanistan, UN officials told DW. The situation on the ground is already desperate and "looks like it's going to get worse."

At least one person has been killed in an explosion in Kabul. The largely Shiite neighborhood has previously been targeted by attacks by the Islamic State-Khorasan group.

By imposing new restrictions on the media and female actors, the Taliban have once again reaffirmed their misogynistic ideology, rights advocates have said.

Can NATO strike the right balance of force and diplomatic fortitude to make the Kremlin back off? Aboard the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, Teri Schultz tees up a key meeting of foreign ministers in Riga.

NATO said there would be "consequences" for Russia if it launches an invasion of Ukraine. Russia, meanwhile, warned the West to stear clear of Moscow's "red lines."

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.

Would Russia really invade Ukraine? Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin are speaking by video link after more than a month of escalation in eastern Ukraine and across the Russian border, where a troop build-up has got NATO allies warning of red lines and harsh sanctions if those troops cross over. We debrief the virtual summit and Washington's threat to send more troops to Eastern Europe in case of attack.

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."