Somali hotel attack claimed by Al-Shabaab leaves eleven victims dead

Taliban fighters pose for selfies and take video at Paghman Hill Castle, a scenic site in northeast of Kabul days after taking power in Afghanistan. The Islamist hardliners are back in power after being ousted in a US-led invasion nearly 20 years ago.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Thursday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.⁣⁣

Women from a taekwondo team in Herat call for the Taliban not to 'obstruct the path of girls' as they display their medals in the city in western Afghanistan. The Taliban's all-male government has shut down the ministry of women's affairs and replaced it with one that earned notoriety for enforcing religious doctrine during the hardliners' 1996-2001 stint in power. The Taliban's all-male government has shut down the ministry of women's affairs and replaced it with one that earned notoriety for enforcing religious doctrine during the hardliners' 1996-2001 stint in power.

Every weekend, fighters from around Afghanistan gather on a public field in the capital to pit their skills against each other in a sport that is a mix of judo and wrestling.

Taliban fighters laugh and whoop onboard a pirate ship ride at an amusement park in the west of Afghanistan's capital Kabul. An incongruous scene, and one that might have been unimaginable during the group's brutally oppressive reign in the 1990s. But while the Islamist hardliners have promised a more moderate rule this time, many Afghans have already seen their freedoms curbed.

Women interviewed by Amnesty International said they were raped and thrashed, in some cases, in front of their children. A new report says many of them were unable to get medical help after the assault.

Tigrayan forces have claimed that dozens of civilians in a camp for internally displaced people were killed in a government airstrike — indicating conflict is still ongoing despite recent reconciliation efforts.

Nigeria, Senegal and Algeria have criticized Ukraine's effort to recruit international fighters for its war with Russia. Analysts say those who have responded to the call need to reconsider.

Nigeria is striving to reintegrate former Boko Haram terrorists who have voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered to the authorities. But in many communities, resentment towards the ex-fighters is still strong.

Who are the 'Wagner Group' fighters?

Following several interviews pleading for help from the West, photos of the wife of an Azov regiment fighter in Ukraine's Mariupol are linking her to neo-Nazi ideology, but a reverse image search gives different results. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake with Vedika Bahl.

Some Russian lawmakers have urged the death penalty for Ukraine's captured Azov steel plant fighters. But what consequences could Russia face?