As U.S. leaves Afghanistan, emboldened extremists lash out at the softest targets
CBSN
Kabul — The recent attack on a school for girls in the Afghan capital left dozens of innocent children and teenagers dead. They were murdered in an act of unimaginable cruelty, simply for daring to pursue an education. Afghanistan's government blamed the Taliban, which denied any involvement in the attack. The part of Kabul where the attack happened, home to many ethnic Hazara Shiite Muslims, has been targeted frequently by the ISIS branch in Afghanistan, including other attacks on schools. The massacre underlined the instability in the country as the U.S. and its international partners withdraw, and Afghanistan's own security forces struggle to both contain militants on the battlefield and keep safe civilians in the cities.
Afghan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib told CBS News that his country would have preferred the U.S. withdrawal to come after a few more years, "when our air force would have all the capabilities that we needed and then everything else would be in line for us to take over completely." But President Joe Biden only delayed the withdrawal put into motion by his predecessor by a matter of months. The lack of U.S. air support will be sorely missed as the Afghans battle a resurgent Taliban, which continues to claim new ground every day.Tokyo — In North Korea, the release of Taylor Swift's new double album was completely eclipsed by the surprise drop of another brand-new song, complete with an elaborately produced music video. There were no tortured poets in sight for the release of "Friendly Father," an energetic pop-style piece of state propaganda praising North Korea's dictatorial leader Kim Jong Un.
Berlin — German authorities say they have arrested two people suspected of spying for Russia. The suspects, identified as German-Russian nationals, are accused of scouting targets for potential attacks, including U.S. military facilities in Germany, the Federal Public Prosecutor General for Karlsruhe said in a statement released Thursday.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Heavy rains lashed the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, flooding portions of major highways, leaving vehicles abandoned on roadways across Dubai and grinding traffic at the city-state's huge international airport briefly to a complete halt. Meanwhile, the death toll from separate heavy flooding in neighboring Oman rose to 18, with others still missing as the sultanate prepared for the storm.
Paris — Five years have passed since Notre Dame cathedral in Paris was engulfed in flames. The iconic spire and timber roof were destroyed in the blaze. People around the world were shocked at the scale of the fire and the damage it caused, but work to restore the iconic landmark to its former glory continues.