In the first signals of what Taliban rule in Afghanistan could look like in the twenty-first century, a member of the group’s cultural commission promised amnesty (AP) for those who opposed the Taliban and said women will still be allowed to work and study. But many Afghans doubted those assurances and continued to try to leave the country as evacuation flights recommenced at Kabul’s airport today. 

President Joe Biden defended the United States’ military drawdown in an address at the White House, acknowledging that the withdrawal was “messy” but saying that he stood by the decision to end U.S. involvement in the war. Biden also said Afghan troops had shown a lack of willingness to fight despite years of U.S. support. A Pentagon official said the United States is making plans to evacuate some twenty-two thousand applicants (CQ Roll Call) for special visas for Afghans who aided the U.S. war effort. Meanwhile, checkpoints set up by the Taliban have blocked many people (WSJ) trying to reach Kabul’s airport.

Rainfall from Tropical Storm Grace has hampered relief efforts in Haiti (NYT) after an earthquake struck over the weekend. The earthquake killed at least 1,400 people.

Venezuela: Authorities released politician Freddy Guevara (BBC) from jail after talks began in Mexico between envoys of President Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan opposition. Guevara is expected to join the opposition’s negotiating team.

New Zealand will enter a three-day national lockdown (ABC) after a man in the city of Auckland tested positive for COVID-19. The case appeared to be the country’s first instance of community spread in six months. 

For Foreign Affairs, Niall Ferguson argues that hypervigilance is a necessary part of pandemic preparedness.

China: The Chinese military staged air and sea exercises (SCMP) near Taiwan in response to what a spokesperson called “provocations” and “wrong signals” from the island and the United States. Last week, Taipei and Washington agreed to hold regular talks between their coast guards.

India introduced an emergency e-visa (Indian Express) for Afghans who wish to enter the country, an Indian federal official announced. Those who apply will be subject to a security screening.

Iran has made progress in its efforts to enrich uranium metal (Reuters), the UN nuclear watchdog reported, despite warnings from the United States and other countries that such a step would threaten efforts to reinstate the 2015 nuclear deal.
 
This Backgrounder looks at the Iran nuclear deal.
 
Israel/Palestinian territories: Israel’s air-defense system intercepted a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip (Al Jazeera), the first rocket fire since the May conflict between Israel and Hamas. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which came after four Palestinians were killed in clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians in the West Bank.

Authorities in the Ivory Coast are vaccinating (AFP) health workers as well as the contacts and relatives of a Guinean woman who was found to have the Ivory Coast’s first case of Ebola since 1994. Guinea sent the country five thousand vaccine doses.
 
DRC: U.S. special operations forces traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) to weigh the possibility of establishing a local antiterrorism unit, U.S. and DRC officials said.  

Poland recalled its ambassador to Israel (AP) two days after Israel downgraded diplomatic ties with the country over a new law that limits Holocaust survivors’ ability to reclaim property seized by Poland’s former communist government.
 
France: Wildfires in southern France, the latest blazes caused by high temperatures in the Mediterranean Basin, forced thousands of people to evacuate (AFP). President Emmanuel Macron is set to visit the area today.

The rate of U.S. adults aged 30–39 who are being hospitalized with COVID-19 reached around 2.5 per 100,000 people (WSJ) last week, up from a previous peak of 2 per 100,000 people in January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported. Health experts blamed the spread of the coronavirus’s Delta variant.
 
This In Brief looks at the threat posed by the Delta variant.