Nava Jamshidi/BBC By Yogita Limaye Afghanistan correspondent “We are going to allow women to study and work within our framework. Women are going to be very active in our society,” the Taliban announced in their first press conference shortly after seizing power on 15 August 2021. Two years on, these assurances have been firmly demolished…

Reuters By Christy Cooney BBC News At least 12 people have been killed in an explosion at a petrol station in south Russian region of Dagestan, according to local officials. The incident occurred in the city of Makhachkala, which sits on the coast of the Caspian Sea, on Monday evening. A further 50 people were…

Getty Images By Michelle Fleury North America Business correspondent, New York Fans of DJ Khaled recently stopped traffic on the streets of Miami. The crowd weren’t there for a new album drop. They had come to check out the recording artist’s new concept store, a massive space full of “athleisure wear” and sneakers that is…

The term “quiet quitting” may have faded from the zeitgeist, but employees still aren’t overextending themselves. When Hunter Ka’imi appeared on the US talk show Dr. Phil in autumn 2022, producers didn’t even use his surname. Instead, they just identified him as a “quiet quitter”. “I believe quiet quitting is a protest for workers’ rights,”…

Getty Images By Samantha Granville in Montana & Chloe Kim in New York BBC News A Montana judge has sided with 16 young activists finding that the state violated their right to a “clean and healthful environment”, which the state constitution guarantees. The plaintiffs, between ages five and 22, alleged the state’s pro-fossil fuel policies…

EPA By Shayan Sardarizadeh and Mike Wendling BBC Verify and BBC News False claims about the deadly wildfires in Hawaii – including that shadowy forces orchestrated the disaster with a laser beam – have gained traction online. The misleading posts come from a variety of sources and accounts, but generally imply that “elites” or government…

By Raja Lumbanrau and Lorna Hankin BBC World Service Indonesia has more mangrove trees than any other country but there’s growing concern about the “dangerous” rate they are being cut down, turned into charcoal and exported to places such as Europe, China and Japan. People involved in the work know the trees are important for…

Varsha Shwarma By Priti Gupta Mumbai Varsha Sharma has been through some turbulent years on her small farm in the mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh, in northern India. For more than a century her family have been rice farmers, but erratic rainfall and water being diverted for industry have made cultivating rice more difficult. Seven…

Simon Williams By Clara Bullock BBC News A photographer has used a 100-year-old camera to take pictures of the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. Simon Williams, who is from the city, used a Kodak Panoram to take photos of the Clifton Suspension Bridge as balloons flew over during Friday morning’s mass ascent. The panoramic camera was…

Getty Images Swiss bank UBS has agreed to pay $1.4bn (£1.1bn) to resolve fraud claims in the US stemming from the 2008 financial crisis. It brings to a close the last case brought by US prosecutors investigating banks’ conduct in the run-up to the crash, which sparked a global downturn. Prosecutors said the bank had…