Russian elections: How democratic are they?

The advance of the Taliban across Afghanistan represents a betrayal and catastrophic failure by the US, UK and Nato, says Rory Stewart, a former UK International Development Secretary. He told BBC World News that Western involvement in Afghanistan had involved around 2,500 troops supporting Afghan forces and air support. That support had confined the Taliban…

From a smart sock which monitors a baby’s oxygen and heart rate to data-tracking devices which could help with breast feeding, Lara Lewington looks at some of the latest gadgets and asks if they can help new parents feel less stressed. See more at Click’s website and @BBCClick

Several European countries have paused the use of a coronavirus vaccine over the safety concerns, but delays to the rollout of coronavirus vaccine programmes will have an economic fallout, a professor of economics at Koç University, has said. When there is a slowdown in vaccination programmes people who are not immunised will need to minimise…

With some parts of the world lifting lockdown restrictions employers are looking at where their employees should be based. While some are demanding their workforce return to the office others are paving the way for permanent home-based employment or hybrid working. So what are the challenges facing employers and employees? BBC World News spoke to…

The former UK foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind has condemned the sentencing of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai to 14 months in prison after being found guilty of unauthorised assembly. Sir Malcolm told BBC World News: “It can best be described as rule by law, not rule of law. This is essentially Beijing justice. Not…

Free and and fair trade is in the European Union’s DNA, but the EU will have to take measures if AstraZeneca does not deliver the agreed quantities of Covid-19 vaccinations, an Austrian MEP says. Export controls or even export bans should be considered if that does not work, Angelika Winzig told BBC World News. The…