The World

As the US continues to execute its exit from Afghanistan while trying to secure the Kabul airport — experts are warning that the threat of terrorism is rising. And on Wednesday, the first group of evacuees from Kabul arrived in Uganda, in East Africa. Uganda is one of several countries that agreed to assist the US in temporarily hosting at-risk Afghans and other nationals fleeing Afghanistan. Plus, Cuban guitarist Kiki Valera tells us about how building a shortwave radio out of spare parts opened his ears to a new world of sounds.

In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro has been public about his anti-vaccine position on COVID-19. Brazilians, on the other hand, have embraced it. According to a recent poll, 90% of Brazilians say they plan on getting vaccinated. Also, Afghans fleeing Taliban rule are starting to arrive in the US. Many are starting a new chapter of life in apartments, often arranged by refugee resettlement agencies. And, Vice President Kamala Harris is in midst of her Southeast Asia trip to reassure allies that the US remains committed to the region. Plus, the 2020 Paralympic Games have kicked off in Tokyo, with more than 4,000 athletes competing across 22 sports.

For months, advocacy groups have urged the Canadian government to evacuate Afghan staff and interpreters for the Canadian military. Now, Canada lacks the personnel in Afghanistan to help these former employees leave. Also, the Taliban may now possess US-made planes, helicopters, howitzers and small arms left behind by the retreating Afghan forces. How much of the Afghan arsenal will the Taliban use — and what would they need to maintain it? And US-born Josephine Baker became one of France’s all-time greatest music-hall stars. Baker becomes the first Black woman interred in Paris’ Panthéon mausoleum, joining other French legendary icons.

Hamid Karzai International Airport has been in the global spotlight for the past week. This relatively small airport has become the only hope for many people stuck in the country to leave. And, as the US scrambles to secure the Kabul airport in the waning days before its final exit from Afghanistan, European allies are following events closely. The Biden administration says it's working closely with Germany and other NATO allies during this transition period. Also, for the first time in recorded history, rain was monitored on the summit of Greenland, a place that rarely sees above-freezing temperatures. Seven billion tons of water fell on the ice sheet causing massive ice loss.

Taliban spokesmen have said they'll be more accommodating toward journalists than in previous years, but Ayesha Tanzeem, the Afghanistan Pakistan bureau chief for Voice of America, is wary. And, Khalida Popal says she founded the Afghan women's football team in 2007 as an act of defiance against the Taliban. Now in exile, she is fielding calls from her former teammates who fear for their lives. Also, Olympic athletes may have left the Games, but the athletes’ village in Tokyo is back in use, currently filling up with 4,000 Paralympian athletes, ready to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Since 2014, at least 300 Afghan interpreters, or their relatives, have been killed. Now, many of these Afghans fear being left behind as the Taliban takes control of Afghanistan. And, in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover, the ripple effects are reverberating across borders. Some Afghans are looking to Central Asia as a potential safe haven. Also, Pakistan welcomes Chinese investments in infrastructure projects, but extremist groups, including the Pakistani Taliban, want China to leave.

Following the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, European countries, including France, Italy, Spain and Poland, are scrambling to evacuate their citizens, and Afghans who worked with them, from the country. US President Joe Biden says he stands “squarely behind” his decision to exit Afghanistan. Ryan Crocker, former US Ambassador to Afghanistan, says he’s shocked by the way the Biden administration pulled the plug. Also, the final Khmer Rouge tribunal began hearings this week. A former leader seeks to overturn his genocide conviction as part of the last chapter in the quest for justice for the more than a million people who died under the brutal regime in the late 1970s.

Afghanistan is now under control of the Taliban. Host Marco Werman talks to a US government interpreter who says the Taliban has hounded him with death threats. Plus, the latest on the airlift at the Kabul airport, and what the first days of life under Taliban rule have been like for women. Also, Zambia is setting a good example for peaceful transitions of power, with President Edgar Lungu accepting the election results that he lost last week's election there. And, we have a story about dogs being trained as lifeguards — and they’re saving lives on Italian beaches.

The Taliban continues to take over provincial capitals in the north with stunning speed. The US is preparing for a rapid evacuation of personnel, and the Biden administration is dispatching 3,000 troops to help. US officials warn that Kabul could fall within 30 days. And a Hazara family tries to flee Afghanistan. Also, the US may soon open up to more foreign travelers, but require proof of vaccination. Here's a thorny question, though: Which vaccines will count? And in Algeria, wildfires that have been raging this week remain largely out of control.

Taliban fighters are in the streets of Afghanistan's third-largest city. Also, the new climate report from the UN calls for rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. We get a reality check on the massive effort needed to meet climate goals. And, an Olympic gold medalist from Jamaica thanks the volunteer who helped him get to his competition on time.