Since returning to power in Afghanistan, the Taliban have steadily eroded the rights and opportunities of women and girls, particularly their access to education. But Afghans are not taking the regime's draconian policies lying down – and nor should the rest of the world. By Gordon Brown & Yasmine SherifMore

For years, Qatar has pursued a "soft" foreign policy that helped make international friends and influence the powerful. It includes spending billions on everything from fashion, art and sport, to charities and industry. By Cathrin SchaerMore

Alexandria, Egypt's fabled second city and its biggest port, is in danger of disappearing below the waves within decades.More

Egypt hopes to jump-start the action needed to face a warming world when it takes the presidency of major UN climate talks in November, but warns that countries need a "reality check" as progress stallsMore

Beneath what remains of the 12th-century Al-Hadba minaret, builders work on a project to revive Mosul's Old City, reduced to rubble during Iraq's battle to retake the city from jihadists. Mosques, churches and century-old houses are being brought back to life in the northern metropolis, which the Islamic State group seized as its stronghold before being pushed out in mid-2017.More

Ankara staged its third Turkey-Africa summit on 17 December, a sign of growing economic partnership under President Erdogan. Military co-operation is also a hot topic. Martina Schwikowski, Daniel Bellut and Pelin Unker have the detailsMore

One prominent narrative relating to the defeat of the western-led military intervention in Afghanistan is that it was a mistake to try to build a modern democracy in a society steeped in "mediaeval traditions" and "tribal attitudes". Hans Dembowski condemns this self-serving and condescending standpoint, which persists in ignoring the serious flaws in the West's engagement, while blaming the victims for its failureMore