Taliban

Afghanistan's new rulers have asked for United Nations recognition so they can address the current General Assembly session. But the U.N. credentials committee is unlikely to move that quickly.

At least four planes chartered to evacuate several hundred people seeking to escape the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan have been unable to leave the country for days, officials said Sunday.

Ali Nazary, the National Resistance Front's head of foreign relations, denies that the last holdout against the Taliban has fallen, calling such reports part of the "Taliban propaganda machine."

Many Afghans who worked with the American military are desperately trying to flee. One of them is Mohammed, a colonel in the Afghan army who's now in hiding with a group of more than a dozen families.

The talks between CIA Director William Burns and Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar come as an Aug. 31 deadline looms for the end of the U.S. airlift and withdrawal of U.S. forces.

NPR's A Martínez talks to Afghan American novelist Khaled Hosseini about his reflections on Afghanistan, which has been shattered by decades of war, tribal feuds and corruption.

"I am not safe," a former high-ranking Afghan official texts from a hidden location, saying the Taliban have sent killers after them.

A journalist based in Afghanistan's capital said Tuesday is better than the day before, with some signs of normalcy, even as the future of the country and many of its citizens is in limbo.

The militant group terrorized Afghans and was shunned by the world for its harsh rule from 1996 to 2001. The Taliban are more image conscious now but haven't changed any fundamental principles.

The Taliban have waged attacks across the country, prompting a call to reduce the violence from Gen. Mark Milley. In Kabul, the public worries about the Taliban's return.