The "Maghreb-Orient des livres" book festival takes place in Paris this weekend, focusing on literature from north Africa and the Middle East. One of those taking part is Jérémie Dres, the author of the graphic novel "The day I met bin Laden". It features the story of two young French men who travelled from France to Afghanistan in the spring of 2001, just months before the 9/11 terror attacks. The pair then found themselves trapped in Afghanistan and were later sent to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. The author joined us for Perspective to tell us more.

Former Somali leader Hassan Sheikh Mohamud won the presidency again on Sunday in a vote by parliamentarians behind blast walls in an airport hangar as a popular election remains impossible in the conflict-wracked nation.

Bombs and weapons used in Afghanistan by militants and US forces are making their way into India-administered Kashmir, raising fears that they could bolster an Islamist insurgency in the area.

The Taliban has made face veils mandatory for all Afghan women appearing in public, including those on television. This edict was ignored by presenters on Saturday, but they relented a day later.

Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan last year, international aid for the country has dried up. The pandemic and the ongoing food crisis have complicated an already dire economic situation. Unicef says that as more families are pushed deeper into poverty, they are forced to make desperate choices, such as putting children to work and marrying girls off at a young age. Our France 2 colleagues report.

Mohammed Yasin Malik told the court that the charges of terrorism against him were "concocted, fabricated and politically motivated."

Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has canceled the state of emergency imposed since last year's military coup, the ruling sovereign council said. Security forces are accused of killing two protesters over the weekend.

Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has canceled the state of emergency imposed since last year's military coup, the ruling sovereign council said. Security forces are accused of killing two protesters over the weekend.

Afghanistan is heading back to the pre-2001 dark days of the Taliban, and Western powers were naive if they ever thought this wouldn't be the case. That's the view of Heather Barr, associate women's rights director at Human Rights Watch. As women are told to cover their faces in public again and female television presenters are told to do the same, she spoke to us on Perspective about the how the Taliban are rolling back women's rights and what, if anything, the West can do about it. "Life has become a prison for most women and girls," she told us.

Nasson Joaquin Garcia, the head of the evangelical church La Luz del Mundo, pleaded guilty to three charges stemming from the abuse of three underage victims.

For over 100 days, the Ukrainian politician has been sending his country's wartime message out to the world, via all channels and by expressing all kinds of emotion and argument.

For more than nine months, Afghan girls over the age of 11 have been prohibited from going to high school. The Taliban have not reneged on the ban they imposed on taking power last August, despite their initial promise to do so. In the western city of Herat, FRANCE 24's reporters followed one teacher who hopes that her former students will be able to continue their education. They also met a teacher who is defying the ban by giving clandestine lessons. Meanwhile, some fathers are trying to convince the authorities to reopen girls' schools for their daughters.