Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Leaves Country As Taliban Forces Enter Kabul

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken). (SOUNDBITE OF AMBULANCE SIREN BLARING) DIAA HADID, BYLINE: In footage shared on social media, ambulances wail as they rush to a mosque rocked by a powerful bombing. (CROSSTALK) HADID: One eyewitness, speaking to local media outlet The Khorasan Diary, says prayers had just begun...

A photo on social media shows people standing inside a mosque in Pakistan. You see rubble on the floor. You see dust in the air, and you see a massive opening where the outside wall used to be. A suicide bomber struck that mosque and killed at least 95 people by the latest count. NPR's Diaa Hadid is in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Hey there, Diaa.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden displayed another instance of questionable behavior. A reporter asked him a question about the end of the U.S. state of emergency, which is set for May 11th.

This help line is a growing effort to give Ukraine vital advice on repairs and maintenance as it pushes weapons to their limits.

As we’ve begun to show in our groundbreaking exclusive 4-part series comparing and contrasting the two scenarios, Joe Biden is facing some very serious consequences. As we prepare to close out the first month of 2023, Biden has found the spotlight shining on him after classified documents were found at his Wilmington, Delaware, home and a Washington, DC, office he used after serving as vice president.

"There is no other way to talk to these fools," State Duma member and former military commander Andrey Gurulyov said.

The video sparked discussions on social media about what kind of weapon could be responsible for the attack.

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Russia told the United States on Monday that the last remaining pillar of bilateral nuclear arms control could expire in 2026 without a replacement due to what it said were U.S. efforts to inflict "strategic defeat" on Moscow in Ukraine.

Three months after it got wrecked trying and failing to punch through Ukrainian defenses, the Russian navy’s unhappiest marine brigade is back in action. And apparently getting beaten, again. The bewildering and tragic plight of the 155th Marine Brigade is a reminder of one of the fundamental flaws in...

Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine — The city of Bakhmut was home to around 70,000 people before it found itself on the front line of Russian President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked war to seize Ukrainian territory. Almost 12 months of war have left Bakhmut barely recognizable.          Once renowned for sparkling wine, the small city has been reduced to a hollowed-out shell of its former self. But Bakhmut, and the Ukrainian forces defending it, have hung on. "Bakhmut holds" has even become a battle cry for the nation as it fights back against the Russian invaders. But it's only just holding...

The U.S. secretary of state calls for calm on a trip to Jerusalem, which is seeing an escalation in Israeli-Palestinian violence. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Jerusalem today as violence continues between Israelis and Palestinians. Blinken's trip was long-planned to see the leaders of the new far-right government in Israel, and they had other issues on the agenda, like Iran. But the focus has shifted to what Blinken can do to prevent a deadly escalation in the long-running conflict right where he is.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Israel and the West Bank comes against a backdrop of violence, including deadly attacks in Jerusalem and a Palestinian refugee camp. A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting Jerusalem this week. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:. The original plan was to...

Last Monday, a cold, wintry day in Pakistan, there was a nationwide blackout. It lasted all day, leaving factories idle, businesses closed and parents scrambling to collect their kids from classrooms that went dark by early afternoon. As NPR's Diaa Hadid reports from Islamabad, it's part of an escalating crisis.

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Ambassador Julianne Smith, U.S. permanent representative to NATO, about anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine. More than a dozen top Ukrainian officials were removed from their posts this past week. It took place as part of a wave of anti-corruption actions taken by the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That's a big deal because one key aspect of Ukraine's attempts to join NATO - the defense alliance between the U.S. and a number of European countries - will be the kinds of anti-corruption efforts they have in place and whether they'll be able to maintain them. We wanted to know what these ousters could mean for Ukraine's efforts to join NATO and if they could affect the kind of aid and support Ukraine is receiving from the West. To help us better understand this issue and NATO's broader role in Ukraine's self-defense, we've called Ambassador Julianne Smith. She is the United States permanent representative to NATO, and she's with us now from Brussels. Ambassador Smith, thank you so much for joining us once again.

Amid rising tensions, Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Tuesday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He met with Israel's prime minister on Monday. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the Israeli prime minister yesterday and met today with the Palestinian leader,...

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with former Middle East envoy Dennis Ross about the visit to Israel by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Ambassador Dennis Ross has been tracking the latest Mideast violence. He's been a Middle East envoy for the administrations of President George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, has followed these matters for a long time. Ambassador, welcome back.

French unions have called for a second day of nationwide strikes today. They're pressuring the government of Emmanuel Macron to drop its planned changes to retirement, especially the plan to raise the minimum retirement age, which allows a full pension, from 62 to 64. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports the proposed change is especially unpopular outside of big cities.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is on a mission to reassure a jittery ally - South Korea. Seoul wants stronger support from the U.S. as it faces a growing North Korean nuclear threat. And as NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul, this comes as the U.S.' decades-old system of alliances in Asia is under increasing stress.

The U.S. secretary of state is trying to address a round of violence in the Middle East. Antony Blinken met with Israel's prime minister yesterday. Today, he crosses an Israeli checkpoint into the occupied West Bank and meets Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The West Bank is where the Israeli military has been conducting raids, and it's where some Palestinians cheered after they saw news of a gunman's attack on Israelis outside a synagogue.

The White House is planning to end the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency on May 11. The declarations have been extended multiple times since enacted by the Trump administration in 2020. Ending the emergency declaration could have implications for funding for tests and vaccines as well as impact...