Christina Goldbaum

Afghanistan’s commercial hub, Mazar-i-Sharif, falls to the insurgents.  The New York Times

The Taliban seized nine cities over six days in a major escalation of their military offensive. Here’s what you need to know.

Early Edition: August 12, 2021 A curated guide to major national security news and developments over  Just Security

Relentless waves of the virus, combined with crises caused by conflict and climate change, have left tens of millions of people around the world on the brink of famine.

With the Taliban sweeping across much of the country, at least 30,000 Afghans are leaving each week. Many more have been displaced within Afghanistan’s borders.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer was killed in a clash between Afghan forces and the Taliban.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is testifying about graft during his predecessor’s tenure, in what analysts have characterized as a battle for the soul of the governing African National Congress.

“He is now running out of legal runway,” one law expert says, as the country’s highest court will decide whether the former president can be jailed for contempt.

Hackers with suspected ties to China penetrated the New York transit agency’s computer systems in April, an M.T.A. document shows. Transit officials say the intrusion did not pose a risk to riders.

Films about South Africa once focused on apartheid, but a new generation of directors and producers is making hits about modern life and love for global audiences.

After a difficult 10 days, another piece of good news for the maker of a single-shot Covid-19 vaccine.

The fire, which began Sunday and is still being fought, ravaged a library that housed first-edition books, films, photographs and other primary sources documenting Southern African history.

The change comes after concerns of rare blood clots that emerged in a handful of people in the United States who had received the shot.

Violence by Islamist extremists in Africa reached a record high last year. Now, the Islamic State is using those attacks to project an image of strength.

An agonizing choice for nearly 200 people holed up in a hotel as gunmen roamed unchecked: Wait overnight for rescue? Or make a run for it?

Billions of dollars in federal aid have pulled New York’s transit agency from the depths of its fiscal crisis. But a growing consensus that its ridership may never return entirely threatens its future.

President Biden’s sweeping stimulus package includes the largest single infusion of federal aid that public transportation has ever received, allowing agencies to scrap plans for draconian cuts.

Transit officials announced on Thursday that they will not slash bus or subway service through 2022.

N.Y.C.'s Subway Will Run Longer Into Night Next Week  The New York Times

New York’s transportation agency is expected to pass a stopgap budget that omits the draconian cuts transit officials have threatened in recent months.