Live updates: Taliban fighters head to resistance stronghold, seeking to seize ‘control’ Anti-Taliban leaders and troops have gathered in Panjshir Valley and a resistance movement is once again forming there.
Biden's special envoy urges North Korea to return to talks U.S. President Joe Biden’s special envoy for North Korea has said he’s ready to meet his North Korean counterparts “anywhere and at anytime” as he held discussions with South Korean officials over stalled nuclear talks with the North
Cyprus rescinds passports of Turkish-Cypriot officials in ‘breakaway cabinet’ or linked to Varosha revival The government of Cyprus has said it will strip the passports of a number of Turkish-Cypriot officials serving in “the cabinet of the breakaway state”, as well as those involved in attempts to reopen the abandoned town of Varosha.
The Daily 202: Biden predicts history will validate his Afghanistan withdrawal President defends the pull-out, says ‘heartbreaking’ images unavoidable
Children beaten at checkpoints as Afghan government staff ordered to pledge allegiance A family of four with documentation to leave Afghanistan were stopped at the final checkpoint before Kabul airport and beaten, as Taliban violence against citizens continues
New US sanctions target Eritrea over Ethiopia's Tigray war The United States has imposed new sanctions over Ethiopia’s deadly Tigray conflict
Child soldiers are OK if they’re anti-Taliban? AFP takes flak over photos of ‘armed’ Afghan kids waving flag of local resistance Paris-based news agency AFP has been accused of romanticizing child soldiers after photographing an Afghan children’s ‘militia’ in Panjshir province, where locals have taken up arms against the Taliban.
An Artificial Intelligence Helped Write This Play. It May Contain Racism In a rehearsal room at London’s Young Vic theater last week, three dramatists were arguing with an artificial intelligence about how to write a play. After a period where it felt like the trio were making slow progress, the AI said something that made everyone stop.
New Delhi opens first ‘smog tower’ to combat air pollution, which regularly exceeds safe levels in the capital New Delhi’s chief minister celebrated a “big day” in the “fight for clean air” on Monday, as India’s capital city opened its first ‘smog tower’, seeking to cut harmful particles in the air around the installation.
Taliban insists it will not shelter al-Qaeda in Afghanistan this time around The militants that harbored al-Qaeda are back in power two decades since the United States invaded Afghanistan to snuff them out.
Pfizer becomes first Covid vaccine to gain full FDA approval It is the first Covid jab to receive federal approval, and opens the door to new vaccine mandates.
Afghan woman gives birth aboard U.S. evacuation plane U.S. airmen helped deliver the baby after it landed at a German air base.
Pfizer-BioNTech’s Vaccine Is the First COVID-19 Shot to Get Full Approval From the U.S. FDA On Aug. 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first COVID-19 vaccine, one made by Pfizer-BioNTech, for anyone 16 years and older. The vaccine requires two doses and according to company studies, is 91% effective in protecting people from COVID-19 disease, including from severe illness.
Israeli strikes on Gaza high-rises may be war crimes - Human Rights Watch Four tower blocks were destroyed by Israeli forces during May's conflict with Palestinian militants.
Rotten ruling: UK judge rules against Sex Pistols singer A British judge has ruled that songs by punk trailblazers the Sex Pistols can be used in a forthcoming TV series despite the opposition of former frontman John Lydon
Poland to build Belarus border fence after migrant influx Poland and its EU allies have accused Belarus of weaponising migrants in response to sanctions.
U.S. beefs up Afghan airlift as Taliban warns deadline is firm Biden's "hope" is to have the frantic evacuation effort complete and U.S. troops out by August 31, and the Taliban says any delay will have "consequences."
FIRE reported at Kabul airport amid frantic evacuation, VIDEOS show billowing smoke A fire has apparently broken out at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, amid ongoing evacuation efforts. Video footage shows a cloud of smoke rising from the airport.
U.S. donates 880,460 vaccine doses to Kenya This is the first of two shipments, which will total 1.76 million doses of the Moderna shot.
Putin launches construction of new warships amid tensions Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched the construction of new nuclear submarines and other warships, part of a sweeping military modernization effort amid tensions with the West
Afghanistan Withdrawal Mess Risks Second Wave of Problems The chaos undermines core Biden administration messages about competent government and the superiority of democracies over autocracies, as well as relations with U.S. allies.
Israel to open schools on September 1 despite Covid-19 surge, students to get vaccinated between classes The school year in Israel will begin as scheduled on September 1, the government has decided after much heated debate. Students will be vaccinated on campus and ‘green passes’ will be mandatory for teachers and staff.