Taliban faces security challenge from ‘Islamic State’

As a recent poll shows that six in 10 Swedish people support joining NATO alongside neighbour Finland, leading Swedish MEP Tomas Tobé tells FRANCE 24 why he backs ending two centuries of military neutrality in Sweden. "It is clear that Sweden needs to build security together with others.

The Taliban are taking steps to halt Afghanistan's opium trade even as the country's economy crumbles. It is unclear how the Taliban government plans to replace this illicit source of income for millions of farmers.

Ukraine's president spoke to the UN Security Council by video link on Tuesday. In his first speech to the body since Russia's invasion, Volodymyr Zelensky called for accountability. His plea followed the discoveries of civilian victims in the town of Bucha, killings that Zelensky says are tantamount to attempted genocide and war crimes committed by Russia. We take a closer look.

The EU will wind down some operations due to continued cooperation between Russian mercenaries and Mali's junta. But the EU says it remains committed to the region.

Islamabad has issued a warning to Afghanistan's Taliban leadership, accusing it of giving shelter to militants. In turn, the Taliban claim Pakistani bombings recently killed dozens of civilians on Afghan soil.

The Solomon Islands in the South Pacific is planning a security agreement with China. But the prospect of Chinese warships based less than 2,000 kilometers off the Australian coast has set alarm bells ringing in the region.

The ongoing war in Ukraine not only caused the disruption of Russian gas and oil supplies, forcing a sharp spike in energy prices, but also cut off all Ukrainian grain exports, 95% of which pass through the ports of the Black Sea. The same is true of Russian exports of grain from the Sea of Azov.

Capitol Police told staff to evacuate on Wednesday evening, citing an "aircraft that poses a probable threat." The flight, it later transpired, was routine. Politicians were quick to lambast the communication breakdown.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has pushed food insecurity onto the table. Could an overlooked cereal help steady the situation and feed the global population in an era of climate crisis?

The hard-line Islamist group has told Afghan women to cover their faces in public — the latest backslide on promises to retain women's rights after the Taliban seized power last August.

An election committee composed largely of pro-Beijing figures voted for John Lee, a former security official, to be the new leader of Hong Kong. Lee, the only candidate in the vote, replaces Carrie Lam in July.

The Taliban have further curbed women's rights with their latest veil compulsion decree. Afghanistan's civil society faces an uphill task to challenge the group without adequate support from the international community.