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--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Wednesday, August 18th. I'm Shamita Basu. And I'm Duarte Giraldino. This is Apple News Today. Each morning, hear about some of the most fascinating stories in the news and how the world's best journalists are covering them.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The return of the Taliban in Afghanistan has nearby countries watching and trying to decide how to position themselves. Over the past few months, diplomats from Pakistan, India, and China upped their communications with the Taliban, anticipating the group's return to power. This particular moment is forcing these three countries to reconsider their relationships with Afghanistan and also each other.
--:-- Jerry Shi: I'm Jerry Shi, the Washington Post-India bureau chief. He's based in New Delhi. We started our conversation focusing on Afghanistan's southern neighbor.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The Pakistanis for many years have always more or less been playing both sides of the game. So they have supported the U.S. in its objectives in Afghanistan of beating back the Taliban. But they have also, since the 1980s and 1990s, have been supporting the Taliban, which they have always wanted as a counterweight to India.
--:-- Jerry Shi: Because these two countries, Pakistan and India, have been competing for influence in Afghanistan for many decades. And each country accuses the other of training their own sort of militias that would attack the other country.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: So Pakistan, when they see the Taliban sweeping back into Kabul, for them, it's pretty good news, I would say, on the whole. However, however, there's always a but. The Taliban is not the most reliable ally, right? And they are closely affiliated with all kinds of extremist groups, many of whom would love to see the overthrow of the Pakistani government.
--:-- Jerry Shi: What about China? How are its leaders looking at the Taliban takeover? China is Pakistan's ally. They worry a lot about instability in Central Asia that could spill over to the region of Xinjiang, which they have said for many decades is home to sort of militant separatists, mostly ethnic Uyghurs.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: A very small number of them used to be affiliated with the Taliban and were based in Afghanistan. And so China, of course, feels concern that, you know, this is something that could come back to bite them if the Taliban is again offering safe haven to these groups.
--:-- Jerry Shi: And then for India, it's an outright disaster. They are no longer a player in Afghan politics for the first time in several decades. Their arch-rival Pakistan has the best relationship of any of these countries with the Taliban. And so there a lot of concern that some of these militant attacks against India might see a resurgence.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: If we could focus for a second on China's tone toward the Taliban, has it shifted now?
--:-- Jerry Shi: Absolutely. I mean, if you remember when President George W. Bush declared the war on terror back in the 2000s. One of the most vocal supporters was Beijing, right? The Chinese said, yes, quote-unquote Islamic extremism, this is a force that threatens all of us, including our western region of Xinjiang.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: As we all know, in the recent years, China has launched one of the biggest surveillance and mass detention programs in the world, in Xinjiang, precisely to counter what they say is this looming threat of extremism in the region.
--:-- Jerry Shi: So you've got the situation where they've been carrying out this massive campaign in Xinjiang. And now you've sort of got this other picture of their diplomats meeting the Taliban and declaring that the Taliban is no longer a extremist organization. They should be respected, even if privately they might express some concerns that this thing could really backfire and go south.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Jerry, thank you so much for being on Apple News today.
--:-- Jerry Shi: Thank you, Duarte.
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--:-- Shamita Basu: Schools are opening across the country, and some parents are finding themselves in a tough situation. COVID cases are rising just as schools are reopening classrooms. At this point, the big question is, If moms and dads don't agree with coronavirus rules at school, what options do they have?
--:-- Nicole Carr: I'm Nicole Carr, a reporter for ProPublica. She lives in Cobb County, Georgia. That's the state's second-largest school district. She told us before cases spiked, her district gave her and her husband a choice. Send your kids to in-person classes for the next school year or continue with virtual learning.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: They chose the classroom. We said, look, it's time. We're moving forward. Things are feeling better. And the school system still had a mask mandate. So it just seemed like a reasonable thing to do, considering the data, considering where we stood and considering the need that these children have to be back in school.
--:-- Nicole Carr: But later, Cobb County reversed the school's mask mandate. The Delta variant drove a spike in cases. And at this point, she was getting concerned. She asked the district if her daughters could switch back to virtual learning. But the school said it was too late.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: And when she went to the school open house, she got even more worried. So as soon as we walk in and this is how the story opens up, we'll be walking in with our youngest girl in school. And she's the second grader. And immediately we see the principal is unmasked. And she's greeting all the families coming through.
--:-- Nicole Carr: Most of the front office staff was unmasked. It was a toss-up between the children and the families. We walk into the classroom and we're told, look, there will be no bullying one way or another about someone's personal choice. I'm not going to ask your child about wearing a mask. You're not going to ask me about wearing a mask.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: And that's how it goes. And, you know, all of this combined. And I walked out of there and I knew this this isn't going to be for our children this year. Not at this time.
--:-- Nicole Carr: Carr immediately started weighing other options. Private school was expensive. Homeschooling would be a challenge. She even considered moving to another district. In the end, she entered her daughters in a lottery for a virtual-only charter school, and they got in.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: During the first week of school, COVID-19 cases among school-aged kids in the county increased 60%. Carr told us, It's frustrating to hear the issue of masks being framed as a matter of personal choice. She says, It's only a choice if you have other options.
--:-- Nicole Carr: She was lucky to find a path for her kids, but many parents cannot.
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--:-- Duarte Giraldino: America's universities missed out on nearly $10 billion last year. The reason? The number of international students fell sharply. The Chronicle of Higher Education and APM Reports teamed up to look into why foreign students are turning away from American schools.
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--:-- Duarte Giraldino: This is having a big impact on the finances of U.S. colleges, and it could hurt the U.S. economy more broadly. It's more than just COVID, though that is a big factor. Travel restrictions make it a burden to get to America or to visit family during school breaks.
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--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The rise in anti-Asian hate crimes here also has prospective students thinking twice. 70% of international students on U.S. campuses, they are from Asia. And some who started studying here have decided to transfer away.
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--:-- Duarte Giraldino: But international students were taking a pass on America before the pandemic. Foreign enrollment in U.S. schools peaked in the 2018-2019 academic year. Since then, Australia, Canada, and the U.K. have been picking up more of those students.
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--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Some of the shift was driven by concerns about rising gun violence in America and hostility toward foreigners during the Trump years. Publicly, universities say they want international students for their diverse perspectives. Privately, there's another reason: money.
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--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Foreign students are much more likely to pay the full sticker price of tuition. Colleges often have to lure American students with scholarships. Beyond the financial damage to universities, losing international students could also damage America's economy.
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--:-- Duarte Giraldino: One out of every five startup founders in the U.S. is an immigrant. And the vast majority first came to America as students. Losing them means losing future innovations and future jobs they could create.
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--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The problem is at a point where the Biden administration is taking notice. It recently said keeping America the top destination for international students is a foreign policy imperative.
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--:-- Duarte Giraldino: This story is an unusual mix of politics, sports, and international affairs. And it all culminates in a Vegas boxing match that's happening on Saturday.
--:-- Bill Dwyer: I'm Bill Dwyer, a sports writer for the LA Times. He writes about Manny Pacquiao in the LA Times. The legendary boxer is now a senator in the Philippines. He's also a potential contender for the country's presidency next year. But first, he's getting back in the ring.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: He's 42 years old, and that's not old for a politician, but for a boxer, it's ancient. And at this age, it's unusual to keep lacing up your gloves. But this article goes into how he's beaten the odds ever since he was a teenager.
--:-- Bill Dwyer: Pacquiao started out in one of the lightest weight classes. At the time, he was too poor to afford to eat much. But he had the skill and the drive. He went on to win 12 titles in eight divisions. That was unprecedented.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: So why is Pacquiao putting himself out there again? Some in the Philippines think it's a stunt. He's doing this just to boost his campaign. Polls put him in the middle of the pack. He was a longtime ally of current president Rodrigo Duterte, whose term is coming to an end. But their relationship turned sour when Pacquiao criticized the administration's COVID response.
--:-- Bill Dwyer: Boxing at his age carries personal and political risk. But Pacquiao's strategist and corner man says he has a plan. He wants two more fights, the one this weekend, and then just one more bout as president of the Philippines.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And while you're in the app, keep listening to hear narrated articles from our News Plus partners.
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--:-- Duarte Giraldino: We'll talk with you again tomorrow.
