Ukraine’s occupation of Russian territory in the Kursk region is a propaganda victory that is good for morale on the home front. But how much military sense does it make?  

• Venezuelan opposition candidate flees: Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain.
• U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan: Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee publish a scathing report that blames the chaotic end of America’s longest war on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
• Congressional DEI recommendations: The Congressional Black Caucus has issued new guidelines for corporations to use in advancing their diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
• Los Angeles wildfire: A wildfire in the foothills of a national forest east of Los Angeles is threatening more than 35,000 structures.

Read these news briefs.

The Harris-Trump debate, hosted by ABC News, comes as polls show a neck-and-neck race in pivotal states. Many undecided voters may form opinions based on what breaks through in clips and headlines afterward.

The end of the Olympics also closed out the feel-good limbo that had frozen French politics. Now President Emmanuel Macron and his newly chosen prime minister will have to figure out how to govern a France that looks on the verge of ungovernability.

East African countries have a long track record of tackling fear, shame, and misinformation during disease outbreaks. Now they are bringing that knowledge to the fight against mpox. 

Demand for air conditioning is growing in the U.S., even as energy prices rise in some places. We made charts to track AC usage and costs in each state — and found tips for how to use AC effectively. 

Amid all the repression of women in Afghanistan, something joyful can be heard. It is the voice of women singing.

Since returning to power three years ago, Taliban leaders have banned girls from attending school beyond the age of 12 and required women to be covered from head to toe in public. Last month, they imposed laws ordering women and girls not to speak in public nor be heard singing or reading aloud within their homes.

Yet the decrees have only led to more Afghan women breaking out in song on social media. Many appear without a head covering. A commonly used slogan – “My voice is not forbidden” – echoes one used during recent protests in Iran: “Women, life, freedom.”

In one set of videos on Instagram, a young Afghan woman lifts her blue burqa and sings, “Not afraid of hope, love, and tomorrow / Not afraid of kissing you among the Taliban.”

Another woman stands before a mirror, fixing her hair. “I am not that weak willow that trembles in every wind / I am an Afghan woman,” she sings. “I will break free of this cage, to escape from this solitude and sing with abandon.”

These voices, Afghan journalist Hamina Adam told the France Culture radio channel, are “like the sign of life.”

The cheerful assurance of the women is nothing new. An all-female broadcasting service called Radio Begum has continued to connect women in much of Afghanistan semi-clandestinely. Its programs enable women to talk to each other on topics of health, family, and “religious issues from a female perspective.” A sister TV channel launched in March helps girls continue their education from home through the 12th grade.

These connections via broadcasts along with the social media posts affirm equality, compassion, and individual dignity – values largely missing in Taliban decrees. One possible effect is that over 70% of Afghan fathers whose eldest child is female said human rights must be a national priority, according to a survey by the University of Massachusetts conducted after the Taliban took over.

As Afghan women have turned to electronic media to avoid repression, this is echoed in lyrics from one popular song on social media: “Their boots might be on my neck. Or their fists to my face. But with our deep light inside, I will fight through this night.”