Regional powers Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan express their interest in working with Afghanistan's new leaders. / Newsweek

An all-girls Afghan robotics team inspired the world. "Now they're trapped, waiting to be rescued." / The Washington Post

Remembering the civilian planes that airlifted refugees out of Da Nang in 1975. / Historynet

A remarkable photo from inside a US Air Force flight with 640 Afghans hoping to escape the Taliban. / DefenseOne

See also: Photographs and paintings of rooms where grand acts of diplomacy took place. / The Wilson Quarterly

Thousands are evacuated in the French Riviera due to wildfire. / The Associated Press

The US declares a water shortage on the Colorado River, triggering mandatory water consumption cuts in the Southwest. / CNN

Australia's Mount Wingen, the longest-burning fire in the world, has been burning for 6,000 years. / Futility Closet

Has Covid-19 gone from pandemic to endemic? We're certainly at the end of herd immunity hopes. / Quartz

Helen Branswell asks public health experts about their summer plans. Meanwhile, a few opinions on the ethics of lying to get booster shots. / STAT, NPR

Choire Sicha covers the Herman Cain Award, given to people who've made anti-vax or -mask statements and then died from Covid. / New York Magazine

See also: The "I never thought leopards would eat MY face" subreddit. / Reddit

Thirty million people live in Ghana. And 30 million garments arrive every fortnight from the UK, Europe, US, and Australia. / ABC News

A singer from Mozambique writes "gossip songs" for clients about anything from cheating spouses to family disputes. / Rest of World

Authors report being extorted on Goodreads by scammers and trolls who threaten "review bombing." / TIME

An interview with TMN's Rosecrans Baldwin on "what makes L.A. unlike any other city on Earth." If you haven't yet, check out Baldwin's new creative nonfiction, Everything Now: Lessons From the City-State of Los Angeles! / GQ, Bookshop

A noise guitarist explains the pleasures of making very loud, distorted sounds. / Lit Hub

An interview with Billie Jean King about money, eating disorders, and the difference between mental and emotional strength. / The New Yorker