In exchange, the Biden administration released an Afghan man convicted on narcotics charges in 2008.

The order “risks abandoning thousands of Afghan wartime allies” who worked with Americans before the Taliban takeover, the head of a resettlement group said.

In a deal with Islamist parties, Pakistan is abandoning a requirement that religious seminaries, long seen by Western officials as a potential threat, register with the government.

With the war now over, the Taliban are welcoming foreign travelers, even as governments advise their citizens to stay away.

Here’s what he found.

American officials are wary as they try to persuade the rebels now in control in Syria to govern with an inclusive and moderate hand.