Here are the top updates from Tuesday:

  1. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that the group was no longer allowing Afghans to go to the Kabul airport due to the “chaotic situation” there due to the evacuations, BBC reported. Mujahid also said that the United States should not encourage Afghans to leave the country as the Taliban needs them.
  2. Mujahid claimed that women in the country would not be permanently prevented from going to work. He also said that media outlets in Afghanistan, including the National Radio Television had resumed their activities “without any fear or hesitation”, TOLO News reported.
  3. The chief of US’ Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, met top Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar on Monday, AP reported. Details of the talks were not made public, but the meeting was significant as it occurred amid a dispute between the Taliban and the US on the timeline of the exit of American troops from Afghanistan. The Taliban has warned of “consequences” if foreign countries delay their pullout beyond the deadline of August 31.
  4. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the country along with China, the US, and Pakistan wanted to serve as mediators in resolving the crisis in Afghanistan, Reuters reported. Lavrov also objected to the idea of allowing Afghan refugees enter Central Asia, which lies between Russia and Afghanistan. He also opposed the idea of deployment of US troops in Central Asia.
  5. India urged “all the parties concerned” in Afghanistan to allow unhindered access to international assistance for all those who need it. At a special UN Human Rights Council meeting, New Delhi also said that the rights to free speech, education, and healthcare had been hampered because of the current situation in Afghanistan.