The Taliban announced a caretaker cabinet (NYT) that includes many hard-line figures who held authority when the group last ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s. The cabinet did not appear to include many members of minority communities nor former Afghan government officials, contradicting the Taliban’s pledges (TOLOnews) that their rule will be inclusive.

Most members of the new cabinet come from the Pashtun ethnic group (AP), and several are designated global terrorists by the United States and United Nations. Some are members of the Haqqani militant network (WaPo), which has perpetrated deadly attacks and kidnappings in Afghanistan over the past twenty years. On the heels of the announcement, a group of Western officials chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is set to discuss the terms of possible international engagement (Guardian) with the Taliban government. The United Nations has warned that humanitarian access to Afghanistan needs to be maintained as the country’s economy threatens to collapse.

Authorities in Hong Kong arrested four members (Straits Times) of the group that plans annual vigils marking the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. The arrests came after the group refused to deliver information on its members that authorities requested.
 
This Backgrounder looks at how Beijing is cracking down on Hong Kong.
 
Philippines: The country’s ruling party holds its preelection convention (Rappler) today and is expected to name (AP) President Rodrigo Duterte as its vice presidential candidate in elections next year.   

Authorities in Mumbai announced curbs on processions (TNN) at a major religious festival set to start on Friday. The mayor encouraged people to stay home, saying a third wave of COVID-19 is already present (Indian Express) in the city.

Morocco holds parliamentary elections (AFP, France 24) today, with some 64 percent of voters expected to abstain, according to a recent poll. The moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party, which has governed since 2011, hopes to win a third term. However, many of the country’s most important political decisions are made by the king.
 
Egypt: Between 2015 and 2020, Egyptian security forces repeatedly conducted extrajudicial executions of detainees, falsely classifying them as deaths from shootouts with suspected terrorists, according to a Human Rights Watch report. The U.S. Congress is expected to announce soon whether it will override a hold on $300 million (Guardian) in security assistance to Egypt that was imposed due to human rights concerns.
 
For Foreign Affairs, Sarah Leah Whitson argues that the United States should stop underwriting Egypt’s human rights abuses.

A Cape Verde court ruled that it will not block the extradition (FT) of Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman wanted in the United States for allegedly helping Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro engage in fraud and avoid U.S. sanctions.
 
Mali: The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced that it is concerned by Mali’s lack of preparation (AFP) for a February 2022 election meant to restore civilian rule following a coup last year.

The trial of participants in the November 2015 terrorist attacks on Paris’s Bataclan theater began today (WaPo) and is set to continue for at least eight months. Twenty suspects have been charged, but only one of the alleged direct perpetrators is due to be physically present in court. 
 
Italy: Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping (Reuters) yesterday, Draghi’s office said. They discussed the crisis in Afghanistan and bilateral cooperation ahead of an upcoming Group of Twenty (G20) summit.

Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional (AP) to regard abortion as a crime. The ruling immediately applies only to the northern border state of Coahuila but could set a precedent for the broader decriminalization of abortion in Mexico.
 
Argentina: The country hosts a regional dialogue on climate change today that is aimed at raising Latin American nations’ ambitions toward emissions reductions ahead of November’s UN climate summit. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry is scheduled to appear virtually (State Dept.).

While visiting sites in New York and New Jersey that were hit by Hurricane Ida, U.S. President Joe Biden said that Americans’ vulnerability to extreme weather events amounts to a “code red” on climate change (NYT). He called for support for an infrastructure bill that includes protections against future storm damage.
 
This Backgrounder examines the state of U.S. infrastructure.