TUESDAY NEWS IN A RUSH: Top headlines in today’s NewsMinute video

Title: TUESDAY'S GLOBAL HEADLINES: Climate Crisis Protests, Taliban Takeover, and Vaccine Distribution

1. Climate Crisis Protests: Thousands of people took to the streets across Europe and North America yesterday to demand urgent action against climate change. The "Fridays for Future" movement, inspired by Greta Thunberg, organized the global protests. In Berlin, Germany, an estimated 50,000 people gathered, while in London, over 15,000 joined the demonstration. The protesters called for governments to take more decisive steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to renewable energy sources.

2. Taliban Takeover: The Taliban have taken control of the Afghan city of Herat, marking a significant gain for the militant group as they continue their offensive against the Afghan government forces. Herat is the third-largest city in Afghanistan and a strategic location along the border with Iran. The Taliban have been gaining territory since the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan began earlier this year. The United Nations and various world leaders have urged the Taliban to respect human rights and form an inclusive government.

3. Vaccine Distribution: The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that over 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered globally as of August 2nd. The milestone was reached just over six months after the first vaccines were rolled out. The WHO also expressed concern over the unequal distribution of vaccines, with high-income countries administering the majority of doses while low-income countries lag behind. The organization urged wealthy nations to share their vaccine supplies to help accelerate the global vaccination effort.

4. Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced his resignation yesterday after facing criticism over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his unpopularity ratings. Suga will step down as Liberal Democratic Party leader and prime minister on September 27th. The decision came after a series of defeats for his party in local elections and growing calls for his resignation from within his own party.

5. In other news, a powerful earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale struck Haiti, causing widespread damage and triggering landslides and building collapses. The earthquake occurred near the town of Petit-Trou-de-Nippes and killed at least 1,297 people and injured over 5,700. The United Nations and various aid organizations have pledged support for relief efforts in the disaster-stricken country.

6. In sports news, Simone Biles withdrew from several events at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics due to mental health concerns. The American gymnast, who is considered one of the greatest athletes of all time, cited the "twisties," a condition where gymnasts lose their sense of spatial awareness during mid-air twists, as a reason for her withdrawal. Biles has been open about her struggles with mental health and has been a vocal advocate for mental health awareness.

7. Lastly, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, announced that his companies had developed a new technology called "Starship Hopper," which could revolutionize space travel by making it more affordable and accessible to private companies and individuals. The Starship Hopper is a reusable spacecraft designed to carry humans and cargo to Mars and other destinations in our solar system. Musk unveiled a prototype of the spacecraft at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas and plans to conduct its first test flight soon.