Here’s a selection of news stories from The Associated Press to start the week.

• The U.S. military struggled to manage a chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan as the Taliban patrolled the capital and tried to project calm after toppling the Western-backed government.
• The pace of the Taliban’s nearly complete takeover of Afghanistan has stunned President Joe Biden and other top U.S. officials.
• Now America’s top general says the United States could face a rise in terrorist threats from a Taliban-run Afghanistan.
• Meanwhile, a young Chinese woman says she was held for eight days at a Chinese-run secret detention facility in Dubai along with at least two Uyghurs, the only testimony known indicting that Beijing has set up a so-called “black site” in another country. 

Also,

• As the death toll rises from the earthquake in Haiti, AP explains why the country is prone to devastating earthquakes
• After the UN climate report, individuals seek to do their part
• U.S. officials to declare first-ever water shortage from a river that serves 40 million people in the West

VANESSA GERA

Warsaw, Poland

The Associated Press

The Rundown

Taliban seek to project calm as US speeds chaotic evacuation

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. military took over Afghanistan’s airspace on Monday as it struggled to manage a chaotic evacuation after the Taliban rolled into the capital, as the militants tried to project calm amid widespread fears of unrest….Read More

‘Game over’: Westerners rush to leave Kabul, rescue Afghans

The chop of U.S. military helicopters whisking American diplomats to Kabul’s airport punctuated a frantic rush by thousands of other foreigners and Afghans to flee to safety as well, as a stunningly swift Taliban takeover entered the heart of Afgh…Read More

Biden team surprised by rapid Taliban gains in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and other top U.S. officials were stunned on Sunday by the pace of the Taliban’s nearly complete takeover of Afghanistan, as the planned withdrawal of American forces urgently became a mission to ensure a safe …Read More

Detainee says China has secret jail in Dubai, holds Uyghurs

A young Chinese woman says she was held for eight days at a Chinese-run secret detention facility in Dubai along with at least two Uyghurs, in what may be the first evidence that China is operating a so-called “black site” beyond its borders. …Read More

Concerns over US terror threats rising as Taliban hold grows

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s top general said the United States could now face a rise in terrorist threats from a Taliban-run Afghanistan. That warning comes as intelligence agencies charged with anticipating those threats face new questions after t…Read More

OTHER TOP STORIES

EXPLAINER: Western states face first federal water cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials on Monday are expected to declare the first-ever water shortage from a river that serves 40 million people in the West, triggering cut…Read More

EXPLAINER: Why Haiti is prone to devastating earthquakes

Earthquakes have been wreaking havoc in Haiti since at least the 18th century, when the city of Port-au-Prince was destroyed twice in 19 years. The 21st century has be…Read More

Afghan president was isolated before slipping into exile

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani slipped out of his country Sunday in the same way he had led it in recent years — a lonely and isolated figure. Ghani quietly left the sp…Read More

After UN climate report, individuals seek to do their part

HOBOKEN, Belgium (AP) — Young urban shepherd Lukas Janssens guides his flock among the graves in Schoonselhof, one of Belgium’s iconic cemeteries, knowing sheep are ki…Read More