We cover the Taliban’s attempts to allay global fears and US plans for Covid booster shots.
The Taliban are trying to reassure the world
Taliban leaders took to Twitter, appeared on international cable networks and held a press conference to assure they would not commit reprisal killings or seize property after their takeover in Afghanistan. At their first press conference, a spokesperson said they would allow women to work and study – but “within the bounds of Islamic law”.
Yet the Taliban’s track record raises concerns about a violent and repressive future. Here are the latest updates and scenes from Kabul.
Afghan women remained locked up at home in Kabul, fearing for their lives and for their future. When the Taliban was in power from 1996 to 2001, they banned women and girls from taking most jobs or attending school.
In Washington, the Pentagon said evacuation operations at the Kabul airport were accelerating, deploying additional US troops and leaving hundreds of passengers.
India, Canada and Great Britain increased aid or expanded admissions for refugees. Sweden said it would divert aid to Afghanistan so that it would not contribute to the Taliban rule.
What happened? President Biden’s government appears ill-prepared for the latest Taliban attack in Kabul. Still, intelligence assessments in July warned of a Taliban takeover, even as Biden and his advisers said publicly it was unlikely to happen so soon, according to current and former government officials.
Who are the Taliban? Here’s a look at the insurgent group’s origins and how they managed to take over Afghanistan not once, but twice. There are concerns that the country will once again become a breeding ground for Islamist radicalism and terrorism, aided by new technologies and social media.
Analysis: With the Taliban regaining control of the country that served as the base for the September 11 attacks, a full-circle debacle for the US will painfully engrave Afghanistan in the national memory, writes Roger Cohen, our Paris bureau chief.
US plans for third Covid recordings
President Biden’s administration has decided that most Americans should receive a third shot of the Covid-19 vaccine eight months after receiving their second dose.
The rollout, which could begin as early as mid-September, would target people with immune deficiencies and older populations first. Officials are expected to reveal more details this week. Canada, Israel, Germany and France have similar programs.
Health workers hope the boosters will help ease the pressure on their overstretched Covid wards – one in five ICUs in the US has almost every bed occupied.
But the move also underscores the disparity in the global vaccination campaign. Many countries have managed to fully vaccinate only a small fraction of their populations, and they are scrambling to get the supplies to inoculate on a large scale. The boosters take that stock away.
Maki Kaji, the ‘Godfather of Sudoku’, died at his home in Tokyo. A school dropout, he turned a numbers game into one of the world’s most popular logic puzzles.
ART AND IDEAS
American student association floods TikTok
Last week, videos about sorority recruitment at the University of Alabama were all over TikTok under the hashtag #bamarush. Many women were in the middle of the process, known as “rushing,” as they documented their outfits. TikTok’s algorithm turned the videos into a phenomenon, inspiring parodies and a fandom. So far, the hashtag #bamarush has more than 260 million views.
As Kalhan Rosenblatt wrote for NBC News, rush videos have done well on social media platforms like YouTube before. But the For You page, where TikTok controls which videos users see next, introduced the genre to an audience that hadn’t been involved with Greek student life before.
The fascinating thing about the videos is that they immerse people in an experience that is probably unknown. “You can follow an account and basically watch your own reality show,” one TikTok user told NBC News. “Southern sororities are so niche and so specific to a specific area in America, everyone finds it fascinating.”
