Aug 15 Taliban sweep into Afghan capital after government collapses By Associated Press Afghanistan’s embattled president left the country Sunday, joining his fellow citizens and foreigners in a stampede fleeing the advancing Taliban and signaling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan. Continue reading
Aug 14 Watch 7:06 Taliban captures more territory as U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan continues By PBS NewsHour More U.S. reinforcements are arriving in Kabul today to help evacuate U.S. and Afghan personnel and protect the embassy as the Taliban advances through the country, capturing several key areas and calling for President Ghani to resign. The Taliban’s advance… Continue watching
Aug 14 Watch 7:36 Afghanistan: As Taliban gains ground, female judges fear for their safety By Christopher Booker, Laura Fong As the Taliban advances steadily and gains control over most of Afghanistan, many Afghans, afraid of their future, are trying to leave. The U.S. withdrawal is expected to undo much of the progress made in Afghan society over the last… Continue watching
Aug 14 Russia’s Putin urges stronger response to Siberian wildfires By Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday urged authorities to strengthen their efforts to fight wildfires across northeastern Siberia, calling the situation “unprecedented” as fires threatened people’s homes. Continue reading
Aug 14 At nearly 117 F, Spain clocks provisional heat record By Associated Press Spain set a new provisional heat record of 47.2 degrees Celsius (116.96 Fahrenheit) on Saturday as Southern Europe sweltered under a relentless summer sun. Italy put 16 cities on red alert for health risks and Portugal warned 75% of its… Continue reading
Aug 14 Turkish flood deaths hit 55; dispute arises over the missing By Zeynep Bilginsoy, Associated Press Torrential rains that pounded the Black Sea provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu and Sinop on Wednesday caused flooding that demolished homes, severed at least five bridges, swept away cars and rendered numerous roads unpassable. Turkish disaster agency AFAD said 46 people… Continue reading
Aug 14 Taliban capture major northern city, approach Afghan capital By Associated Press The fall of Mazar-e-Sharif, the country's fourth largest city, which Afghan forces and two powerful former warlords had pledged to defend, hands the insurgents control over all of northern Afghanistan, confining the Western-backed government to the center and east. Continue reading
Aug 14 Death toll of powerful eathquake in Haiti soars to 1,297 By Associated Press The death toll from a powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Haiti climbed sharply on Sunday, with at least 724 dead and a minimum of 2,800 injured. Continue reading
Aug 13 Watch 4:50 Taliban closes in on Afghan capital as U.S. forces arrive to speed withdrawal UN leaders warn Afghanistan faces a humanitarian tragedy as Taliban forces race across the country. Meanwhile thousands of U.S. troops arrived to help speed up efforts to withdraw from the war-ravaged nation. Continue watching
Aug 13 Watch 8:23 ‘It’s an abandonment.’ Afghanistan’s ambassador on her nation’s view of the U.S. withdrawal The Afghan government is prioritizing protecting its largest cities, like Kabul, against the Taliban’s advance to protect its most dense populations and civil services, says Afghanistan's ambassador to the U.S. Adela Raz. The U.S. withdrawal? “It’s an abandonment,” she says. Continue watching