Tag Archives: Taliban

News: Top 5 Stories For August 17, 2021 (Reuters)

August 17, 2021: Afghanistan, central bank chief flees Kabul, Storm Fred, Robert Durst, Haiti quake

1. Military flights evacuating diplomats and civilians from Afghanistan resumed after the runway at Kabul airport was cleared of thousands of people desperate to flee after the Taliban seized the capital.

2. The head of Afghanistan’s central bank has fled Kabul, questioned the loyalty of Afghan security forces and blamed President Ashraf Ghani and his inexperienced advisors for the country’s swift and chaotic fall to the Taliban.

3. Tropical Storm Fred slammed the Florida Panhandle, making landfall with a wet slap of heavy rain and blasting winds.

4. Real estate heir Robert Durst testified to chopping up the body of a Texas neighbor he killed in self-defense and to abandoning the body of his best friend after discovering her dead in her Beverly Hills home during his Los Angeles murder trial.

5. Heavy rains lashed Haiti, complicating rescue efforts and drenching thousands left homeless by a devastating earthquake that killed at least 1,419 people.

Analysis: With Takeover By Taliban, What Is Future Of Afghanistan? (WSJ Video)

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, with fighters entering the presidential palace, and gunshots broke out at Kabul’s airport as thousands tried to flee the country. The collapse of the Afghan government creates an uncertain future for civilians and challenges for the U.S. Photo: Stringer/Reuters

Morning News: Taliban Capture Kabul, Capital Punishment, Uruguay

The fall of Kabul, the capital, sealed the country’s fate: after 20 years, the Taliban are back in charge—a fearsome outcome for its people and for the Biden administration. 

As capital punishment fades, life sentences proliferate; that comes with its own costs and iniquities. And visiting an enclave in Uruguay that is in many ways more Russian than Russia.

Political Analysis: Taliban In Afghanistan, Climate Change, Vaccinations

Washington Post columnists Jonathan Capehart and Michael Gerson join William Brangham to discuss the politics of the week including the Taliban’s march across Afghanistan, the latest startling report on climate change and how to convince all Americans to get vaccinated.

Morning News: Fires In Greece, Taliban Advance On Kabul, Astrology

As Greece’s wildfires show no sign of abating, we speak to a correspondent on the ground. We also check in with Lynne O’Donnell in Kabul for the latest on the rapid Taliban advance. Plus: astrology in print.

Morning News: Taliban In Afghanistan, Iran Hijacks Vessels, Italy’s Far Right

We get the latest from Lynne O’Donnell on the front line in Afghanistan and ask whether recent hijackings in the Persian Gulf are part of a concerted effort of Iranian foreign policy. Plus: is the far right on the rise in Italy?

Morning News: Taliban Surge In Afghanistan, Singapore & Chewing Gum

Sweeping rural gains made as American forces have slipped out are now giving way to bids for urban areas; an enormous, symbolic victory for the insurgents looms. 

Singapore has enjoyed relative racial harmony for decades, but shocking recent events have revealed persistent inequalities. And why chewing gum has lost its cool.

Morning News: U.S.-India Relations, Russia And Afghanistan, Tokyo 2021

We discuss what’s on the agenda as US secretary of state Antony Blinken arrives in India. We then get the lowdown on Russia’s recent talks with the Taliban and assess the Kremlin’s intentions in the region. 

Plus: the latest action from Tokyo 2020.

Morning News: America’s Afghanistan Exit, Media Companies & Race Horses

Passport queues are lengthening; ad-hoc civilian militias are strengthening. As foreign powers bow out, Taliban militants take district after district—and the fear of the people is palpable. 

The pandemic drove a boom in the attention economy, and media companies happily obliged. Now, it seems, an “attention recession” looms. And a look at the thoroughly inbred nature of thoroughbred horses.