Journalism was a Marvel superhero last week.

Happy Valentine's Day. You know you're also supposed to celebrate all of your friendships today, right? Good. Today, I want you to read about:

• What the U.S. military really did on August 26, 2021 in Afghanistan
• The U.S. trade embargo against Cuba 'turned' 60 years old
• Anti-Muslim hate in India is big again
• Plus: Huge venture capital investment in Africa, new archeological findings in France, a legal victory for environmental defenders in Spain,the assassination attempt on Libya's Prime Minister, and much more.

Now without further ado, here's what happened last week:

what happened last week

We investigated why so many people died at Kabul International Airport on August 26, 2021 -- 'the U.S. military is also to blame'

Refresher:
Last August, the Taliban took control over Afghanistan (again). Thousands of people rushed to the airport, hoping to leave the country; you probably remember some of the super-dramatic pictures and videos that went viral.

On August 26, 2021, at least 180 people (mostly Afghan civilians, 13 members of the U.S. military) died at Kabul International Airport. Up until now, it was reported that all deaths were linked to the massive bomb blast, which ISIS-K took responsibility for.

Now, CNN, Pro Publica and Alive in Afghanistan have all released reports, (I paraphrase) 'we found out that U.S. military also shot a number of Afghan civilians right after the blast. Even though they claimed nobody was hit by them firing shots.' The United States, specifically the Department of Defense (short DoD), is now facing some tough questions.

• Good to know: Alive in Afghanistan is a news agency that was launched in the days after the fall of Kabul, aimed at bringing the perspective of the most marginalized Afghans to the world.

Wait. How did CNN find this out?
By compiling hospital records of gunshot wounds, video evidence and 19 eyewitness accounts by Afghan civilians. The latter was something that the DoD apparently didn't need to come to a conclusion.

Why did CNN do its own investigation?
Democracy Now! spoke to Nick Paton Walsh, an investigative reporter and one of the co-authors of the CNN report. He spent four months trying to find out what happened outside the airport, interviewing more than 100 people. 'Something just didn't add up,' people kept telling him.

Why this matters:
This is why journalism is important. Fact-checking everything that everyone (including your own government) says has happened.

What are the August 26 survivors calling for?
"They'd just like the truth of what occurred, I think, to be recognized. Many of them are still scared. Many of them were reluctant initially to speak about this. Many of them are still living with the fear of the Taliban in the society that is now Afghanistan. And so I think they simply wanted the recognition of the truth of how the people, often close to them, who they saw die, died, and also for recognition to what they say they witnessed themselves," Nick Paton Walsh told Democracy Now!.

• Good to know: Speaking of August, Sangar Paykhar of the Afghan Eye Podcast shared a video on Twitter that went viral, showing a lot of the Afghan civilians that were evacuated by the U.S. military protesting that they have been stuck at detention camps in the United Arab Emirates. There's so much of what happened during those weeks last August that we still need to unpack.

We should talk about ending the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba -- this time for real
On February 3, 1962 -- 60 years ago -- the United States banned American businesses from conducting trade or business in or with Cuba,"as long as the Cuban government refuses to move toward democratization and greater respect for human rights."

Let's take a quick look at (the consequences of) this historic decision.

Why this matters:
The United States embargo against Cuba is the most enduring trade embargo in modern history. And it has got a lot of critics. Rightly so as the decision impacts a lot of people. Cuba is the second-most populous country in the Caribbean after Haiti, with over 11 million inhabitants.

Wait. The economic sanctions are still in place?
Yes. And a lot of people are saying, 'they shouldn't tbh.' The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution every year...