Women allowed to attend university under Taliban rule: acting minister

New Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces many economic challenges, not least the impact of the pandemic. However, major policy changes are not expected, at least in the short term.

Ashish Mishra is accused of running his car into demonstrators, killing four of them. India's Supreme Court had initially criticized the investigation and lack of arrest.

Iraqi forces claim to have captured a high-ranking IS leader in an international operation.

Britain's Brexit Minister David Frost has reacted to proposed EU concessions to ease bottlenecks affecting the trade in goods to Northern Ireland from the UK mainland.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki tells MEPs in the European Parliament that Poland rejects EU "blackmail" on legal matters, saying the Constitution remains "the supreme law" for his country.

October 9th, 2021 was the 40th anniversary of France’s abolition of the death penalty. To mark the occasion, President Emmanuel Macron announced the organisation of a “high-level meeting” at the United Nations starting in early 2022. The meeting’s goal? To “convince” leaders of countries that still use the death penalty of the “urgency of abolishing it”. Robert Badinter, who served as France’s justice minister 40 years ago when the death penalty was abolished, continues to fight for the universal abolition of capital punishment. He speaks to FRANCE 24.

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

The residence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi was hit in an apparent drone attack, Iraqi officials said. The military has described the strike as an assassination attempt.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis' Cabinet met on Thursday to tender their resignation. The move follows the coalition agreement between center-right parties after last month's elections.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, said talks with Iran would continue and that an additional round of negotiations between the regional rivals was expected soon.

Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama told FRANCE 24 that recent coups in West Africa are undermining democracy and that events have reached a crucial juncture for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc. “Clearly it is a threat, it is an unfortunate precedent,” he said.

Riyad Al-Maliki, the Palestinian Authority's foreign minister, granted an interview to FRANCE 24. The top Palestinian diplomat regretted that the idea of a Palestinian state is "shrinking". Al-Maliki, who believes an Israeli annexation of the West Bank is "not off the table", called for the urgent resumption of negotiations with Israel.