Taliban seize Afghanistan's second largest city

The Taliban have captured Afghanistan's second-largest city, Kandahar, in what is a crushing blow for the government and a major win for the militants.

Taliban take 10th provincial capital in a week

The Taliban have taken the strategically important city of Ghazni, the 10th provincial capital to fall to the militants in less than a week.

Canadian jailed for 11 years in China for spying

A court in China has convicted a Canadian businessman of espionage and sentenced him to 11 years in prison. Michael Spavor has been detained since 2018, after being arrested with fellow Canadian ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig.

Covid vaccine: Fertility and miscarriage claims fact-checked

Doctors are extremely cautious about what they recommend during pregnancy, so the original advice was to avoid the jab. But now, so much safety data has become available that this advice has changed and the vaccine is now actively encouraged (as getting Covid can put a pregnancy at risk).

TikTok named as the most downloaded app of 2020

TikTok was the world's most downloaded app in 2020 as it took the top spot from Facebook Messenger, according to digital analytics company App Annie.

US job vacancies hit a record 10.1 million

Job vacancies jumped by 590,000 to 10.1 million on the last day of the month, according to figures from the Labor Department. That was up from a record 9.5 million openings in May and well above economists' expectations.

Malaysian singer dies of Covid days after giving birth

A popular Malaysian singer has died from Covid-19, just days after giving birth to a baby boy - her fourth child. Eight-month pregnant Siti Sarah Raisuddin, who had experienced low oxygen levels, was put into an induced coma so her baby could be delivered via surgery.

'Smallest baby at birth' goes home after a year

A baby thought to be the world's smallest at birth has been discharged from a Singapore hospital after 13 months of intensive treatment.

Quarantine-free travel from France to UK resumes

Fully vaccinated people can now visit France without quarantining on their return to the UK, after travel rule changes came into force at 04:00 BST.

Messi in PSG talks after Barcelona exit

Paris St-Germain are in talks with Lionel Messi's representatives about Argentina forward joining the Ligue 1 club following his Barcelona exit.