President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan (Economist) yesterday as Taliban leaders broadcast a victory message from the presidential palace in Kabul. Ghani’s departure solidified the Taliban’s swift takeover of the country, which stunned Washington and triggered chaotic evacuation efforts at the Kabul airport. As panicked crowds swarmed planes (NYT) on the tarmac, Western countries pledged to support the exit of Afghans who aided the nearly twenty-year North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) mission in Afghanistan.

Ghani released a message yesterday acknowledging the Taliban’s military victory, while the interior minister said an agreement had been made for a peaceful transfer of power (NYT). Still, many Afghans said they remain fearful of reprisals under a Taliban government. The speed of the Taliban’s sweep across the country over the past two weeks surprised top U.S. officials, as many Afghan fighters apparently surrendered without resisting (WaPo). The United States has deployed thousands of troops to assist with securing the Kabul airport (ABC) as evacuations continue over the coming days.

At least 1,297 people died (WSJ) after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Saturday. The earthquake’s epicenter was seventy-eight miles from the capital, Port-au-Prince. Relief workers are now bracing for a tropical depression that is expected to make landfall today. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) deployed sixty-five relief workers (Axios).
 
Canada: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau triggered a snap election (CBC) for September 20, saying Canadians deserve to decide who should guide them through the rest of the pandemic.

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced his resignation (Straits Times) after months of political turmoil, but he will stay on as interim prime minister until a new leader is determined. The king, who can appoint a new prime minister, said holding elections in the near future “is not the best option.”
 
Thailand: The country’s legislature determined that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha will face his third no-confidence vote (Bloomberg) since 2019 amid protests calling for his ouster. Protesters are seeking democratic reforms and condemning the government’s COVID-19 response.  

In a speech marking India’s independence day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the federal government plans to invest $1.35 trillion (Indian Express) in infrastructure and that he aims for India to become energy independent (Bloomberg) in the next twenty-five years. The infrastructure plan includes ramping up investments in green hydrogen and making India’s railroads net-zero carbon emitters by 2030.

At least twenty-eight people died (FT) in Lebanon’s northern Akkar region after a fuel tank exploded during military-led fuel-distribution efforts, authorities said. Fuel shortages in the country have caused widespread electricity outages (Reuters) in recent days, putting health-care and other services at risk.
 
Iran: Authorities banned all nonessential travel and work (Al Jazeera) until Saturday in an attempt to stem soaring COVID-19 cases. The coronavirus’s toll in Iran is thought to be one of the worst in the Middle East and has prompted criticism of the government for the country’s low vaccination rate. 

Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema won Zambia’s presidential election (News24), receiving about one million more votes than incumbent President Edgar Lungu. Lungu said the election was “not free and fair,” citing alleged voter intimidation. Foreign observers did not confirm the allegations.
 
Ivory Coast: A case of Ebola virus was confirmed (WaPo) in the country for the first time in twenty-five years. Health officials said they are working to trace the contacts of the patient, who entered the country by road from Guinea.
 
This Backgrounder looks at the Ebola virus.

A weekly poll found that support for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union of Germany party fell for the second consecutive week (Bloomberg), while support for the Social Democratic Party of Germany surpassed support for the Greens party for the first time in a year. Germany holds elections in six weeks.
 
This Backgrounder looks at how green-party success is reshaping global politics.
 
Turkey: More than seventy people have died (Anadolu) in flooding in the country’s Black Sea region that began with heavy rains last week, authorities said. Rescue efforts are still underway. 

Due to record-low water levels at Lake Mead, U.S. officials are expected to announce a water shortage, which will trigger cuts to central Arizona, the Associated Press reports. Farmers are expected to be hit hardest by the restrictions.
 
This episode of the Why It Matters podcast looks at water scarcity.