This week marks 25 years since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, the beginning of what would become the longest war in U.S. history. After installing a pro-Western government in Kabul in December 2001, U.S. and other NATO troops would remain in the country for the next two decades battling a stubborn insurgency — until a chaotic U.S. withdrawal in August 2021 that saw the Taliban return to power. “During the 20 years of America’s longest war in Afghanistan, we could clearly see that failure was coming,” says journalist Emran Feroz, just back from a month of reporting in Afghanistan. He says the relative economic and political gains under the Western-backed government were undercut by widespread corruption and violence, […]

As the development of artificial intelligence accelerates, more voices inside and outside the industry are warning that the technology poses major risks to humanity. The new film, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, features interviews with leading AI executives, researchers, as well as critics, who all voice similar concerns. Since the film’s release earlier this year, a number of AI-driven hacks and other incidents have further alarmed people studying this topic. “I’m really scared, and I’m struggling in my own life to sort of compartmentalize what I learned, what I know, what I understand, what I see happening around me,” says filmmaker Daniel Roher. He began work on The AI Doc as he was about to become a father and […]

The 87-year-old pensioner in Spain whose eviction from her lifelong home sparked nationwide protests has died. María del Carmen Abascal, better known as Maricarmen, died on Wednesday just hours before she was set to sign a new rental agreement. She was forcibly removed from her Madrid apartment last month on a stretcher after the private investment company that owns the building hiked her rent. After massive public outcry, the landlord had agreed to allow her back into her apartment. Independent Spanish journalist María Carrión says that although Maricarmen’s story galvanized much of the country, evictions like hers are “a daily occurrence” in Spain. “Rents have gone up 80% in the last 10 years, while salaries have not kept […]

“Maricarmen,” Whose Eviction from Lifelong Home Sparked Housing Protests Across Spain, Dies at 87, France’s Education Minister Meets Student Leaders as Mass Protests Demand Education Reforms, WHO Demands Answers as Russia Denies Reports of Second Case of Plague, Protesters Repeatedly Interrupt Trump at Rally for Texas GOP Senate Candidate Ken Paxton, DHS Conducts Massive “Election Fraud” Operation as ICE Ramps Up Pace of Arrests Ahead of Midterms, Yemen’s Displaced Population Tops 200,000 as Saudi-Backed Forces Battle Houthis, Russian Missile Strike Kills 22 in Ukraine, Tanker Struck North of Qatar After Iran Warns Ships Against Bypassing Strait of Hormuz Blockade, Venezuela’s Second-Largest Refinery Idles as Natural Gas Line […]

In Gaza, October 7, 2023, is viewed as the beginning of the genocide. Over the past three years, Israel killed over 74,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, but many believe that number is a vast undercount. The killing continues despite a so-called ceasefire that took effect about a year ago. “Every single aspect of the life of the people of Gaza has changed once and forever,” since October 7, says Akram al-Satarri, a Gaza-based journalist. He points out that a large majority of structures in the Gaza Strip have been reduced to rubble and that Israel controls around 70% of Gaza. “The Israeli Air Force is still hovering all around different parts of the Gaza Strip, and the IDF is still hunting Gazans, disturbing the […]