Zalmay Khalilzad was tasked by two U.S. presidents with negotiating an orderly U.S. exit from Afghanistan. Instead, one year ago, Kabul collapsed, the U.S. mounted a frantic evacuation, and the Taliban took total control.
What he's saying: "It's very unfortunate that we couldn't get a political agreement before the Taliban moved in," Khalilzad tells Axios in a phone interview.
The Iranian government on Monday denied any involvement in the stabbing of author Salman Rushdie that took place on Friday, but placed the blame for the attack on Rushdie and his supporters.
Why it matters: The comments are the first official reaction by Iran to the stabbing of Rushdie on stage at an event in New York last week.
Scotland on Monday became the first country in the world to require that public facilities provide period products free of charge to anyone.
Why it matters: The law is meant to end period poverty, a phrase used to describe the struggle of low-income people to afford menstrual products like pads and tampons. The law became effective nearly two years after it first passed.
More than 40 countries and the European Union called on Russia on Sunday to withdraw its military personnel and weaponry from Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, saying its presence there is "unacceptable."
Why it matters: Russia has maintained military activity at or near the plant since seizing it in March. Ukraine and Russia have recently accused each other of shelling areas near the facility, which is Europe's largest nuclear power plant.
William Ruto has defeated Raila Odinga by a margin of 50.5% to 48.9% to win Kenya's presidential election, the chair of Kenya's electoral commission announced Monday.
Driving the news: The announcement was contentious. A scuffle broke out in ahead of the ceremony, and four members of the electoral commission declined to attend because they said the vote counting process was opaque and they could not associate themselves with the results.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said on Monday he has been placed in solitary confinement in the Russian prison where he's being held.
Driving the news: One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's sharpest critics, Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison on counts of fraud and contempt of court in March.
A Myanmar court sentenced the country's ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to an additional six years in prison on Monday after convicting her on four more corruption charges.
Why it matters: Suu Kyi had previously been sentenced on various other counts at earlier trials and was already serving an 11-year sentence.
Brittney Griner's legal team has filed an appeal against the verdict reached this month by a Russian court, which sentenced the WNBA star to nine years in prison, CNN reports.
Driving the news: The grounds of the appeal, which could take up to three months to be adjudicated, were not immediately clear, the New York Times reports.
The big picture: The Afghan people have borne the brunt of a collapsed economy, deepening humanitarian crisis and deteriorating human rights situation.
Another U.S. congressional delegation met with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei Monday, AP reports — less than two weeks after House Nancy Pelosi's visit there ratcheted up tensions with China's government.
Driving the news: Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is leading a five-member delegation to the self-governing island as part of a larger trip to the Indo-Pacific region, according to a statement from the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. embassy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday any Russian soldier who shoots at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station or fires from it will become a "special target" for Ukrainian forces.
Driving the news: Days of heavy shelling in the area around Europe's largest nuclear power station intensified Sunday — as Russian and Ukrainian officials continue to blame each other for the strikes that have forced hundreds of civilians to flee in the past week.
