The Taliban on Wednesday claimed responsibility for an attack in Afghanistan's capital that killed at least eight people, the New York Times reports.
Why it matters: The withdrawal of U.S. troops has propelled fears that the terrorist group could organize another takeover. The raid, waged near the heavily fortified green zone in a neighborhood with many high-ranking Afghan officials, is the Taliban's largest assault in Kabul in nearly a year, per the Times.
President Biden pledged nearly $100 million in humanitarian assistance to Lebanon on Wednesday, the first anniversary of a port explosion that killed more than 200 people and injured thousands of others in the country's capital of Beirut.
Why it matters: Biden urged Lebanon's leaders to reform the country's economy and crack down on corruption after more than a year of economic and political instability.
The Mexican government said it plans to sue a number of U.S.-based gun makers, alleging that the makers' loose controls allow for the weapons to be illegally trafficked into Mexico, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: Mexican officials believe the flow from the U.S. has helped contribute to the high rates of gun violence in parts of the country, per the Post.
The World Health Organization on Wednesday called for a moratorium of coronavirus vaccine booster shots through at least September to allow for poorer countries to have access to doses.
What they're saying: "We cannot and should not accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it while the world’s most vulnerable people remain unprotected," said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press conference.
Over 500 firefighters have been leading efforts to control wildfires near Athens, with Greece’s fire service saying on Wednesday that it hopes to bring the flames under control "in the coming hours," AFP reports.
The big picture: More than 75 wildfires broke out in Greece on Tuesday and Wednesday as the country faces its most intense heat wave in decades — temperatures in Athens have reached 43°C (109.4°F), according to Meteo France meteorologist Etienne Kapikian.
John Kerry said the Biden administration is still grappling with ripple effects from former President Donald Trump’s rejection of the Paris Agreement and eschewing of multilateralism writ large.
Driving the news: In an interview with The New Yorker’s David Remnick, Kerry, the special envoy for climate change, said Trump "did a whopper of a job putting America’s credibility in a terrible place, destroying it fundamentally."
Fluctuating between feelings of sadness, grief and anger, Beirut residents on Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the port explosion that killed more than 200 people and injured thousands of others.
The big picture: No senior official has been held accountable for the blast, which was caused by a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely at the port for years, per Reuters.
Day 12 of the Tokyo Olympic Games saw American Sydney McLaughlin break her own world record to win gold in the women's 400-meter hurdles final on Wednesday.
Of note: Japan won a third Olympic skateboarding gold, as two teenagers and a 12-year-old swept the podium for the inaugural women's park skateboarding event.
American Tamyra Mensah-Stock told reporters after beating Nigeria's Blessing Oborududu 4-1 to win the women's freestyle 68kg gold medal Tuesday it's "awesome" that a Black woman has for the first time won the sport's top prize.
What she's saying: "Look at us representing," said the 28-year-old Texan, who is the second U.S. woman to win Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling, per the New York Times.
Greece's entire 12-woman artistic swimming team is out of the Tokyo Olympic Games due to an outbreak of COVID-19 among the group.
Driving the news: Tokyo Games organizers confirmed Wednesday that five members of the Greek team had tested positive for the virus and that their teammates were considered close contacts.
Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya left Japan on Wednesday, aboard a plane bound for Vienna after refusing national team orders to fly home amid concerns for her safety.
Driving the news: The 24-year-old Olympian had sought refuge at the Polish embassy in Tokyo, where she was granted a humanitarian visa. But she changed flights at the last minute and boarded an Austrian Airlines flight for Vienna, an airport official told reporters.
