*) Taliban in control of Afghanistan

The Taliban has taken over Afghanistan's capital Kabul and now controls almost all of the country after President Ashraf Ghani conceded the group had won the 20-year war.

The astonishingly quick collapse of the government, with the Taliban taking over the presidential palace on Sunday night, triggered fear and panic in the capital.

Thousands of civilians desperate to flee the country flooded Kabul airport, where at least five people were reported killed in gunfire amid the chaos.

*) Powerful earthquake kills over 1,200 people in Haiti

The death toll in Haiti from a 7.2-magnitude earthquake has climbed past twelve hundred, as crews desperately dig through collapsed buildings for survivors.

Neighbouring countries sent rescue teams, food, and medicine to Haiti where hospitals are overwhelmed by quake victims.

Officials said some 13,600 buildings were destroyed and over 13,700 damaged, trapping hundreds of people under rubble and leaving more than 5,700 injured.

*) Japan calls for massive evacuation amid heavy rains

Now to Japan, where almost two million people have been urged to evacuate their homes after torrential rain triggered floods across the country.

At least three people are presumed dead as heavy rains continue to flood streets and residences in the southern part of Japan.

Southwestern Japan has been swamped with rain since last week and the weather agency says the downpour is likely to continue in the coming days.

*) Zambia opposition leader wins presidential election

Business tycoon and opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema is the winner of the hotly contested presidential election in Zambia.

Official results showed Hichilema captured a landslide of more than 2.8 million votes against around 1.8 million for President Edgar Lungu.

Lungu, who has been in office for six years, tried to retain his mandate despite growing resentment about rising living costs and a crackdown on dissent.

And finally ...

*) ‘Suicidal reproducer’ mammal survives Australia fire

A rare, shrew-like Australian marsupial, whose males die en masse from stress after a ‘frenetic’ mating season, has survived devastating wildfires that scorched their habitat.

That’s according to scientists who feared for the future of a key population of silver-headed marsupials that were only formally identified eight years ago.

The animal lives a precarious life, dying before age one from the effects of an intense two-week mating season. Females rarely survive a third breeding season.