Robot waitress serves up smiles in war-torn Afghanistan

After taking power in August, the Taliban now need to put in place a functioning state in Afghanistan. Official declarations and policies are scarce for now, but no doubt the most tangible sign of the Taliban takeover are the security patrols of thousands of former fighters who have poured into the capital. They're now police officers who are enforcing a strict interpretation of Sharia law. Our reporters Catherine Norris-Trent and Roméo Langlois were able to follow Taliban fighters on patrol in Kabul and also gain access to a hearing of an Islamic court.

The Taliban's reclusive supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has been seen in public for the first time since he took control of the group in 2016, officials have said. His appearance may ease rumors of his death.

Local traders and residents reacted to the Taliban ban of foreign currencies for trade, at the Sarai Shahzada market in Kabul on Wednesday after the Taliban made the announcement on Tuesday. The US dollar has been used widely in Afghanistan’s markets before the ban.

Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed on Friday (November 5) it has postponed the Afghanistan test in Hobart scheduled for Nov. 27 until the situation regarding the women's game in the South Asian nation becomes clearer. CA had said in September it would scrap the test if the Taliban government, which took power in August, did not allow women and girls to play the sport.

The drive is the first to take place against the disease in three years. The Taliban had banned previous campaigns, leaving millions of children unvaccinated.

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

The UN's World Food Program has warned that half of Afghanistan's population is facing an acute hunger crisis, with millions forced to choose between "migration or starvation" amid drought and economic collapse.

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.