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Afghanistan's Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA) has advised commercial air traffic to reroute and avoid transiting the country's airspace after the military was given sole access to departures and arrivals as countries scramble to evacuate their citizens from Kabul.

U.S. President Joe Biden has decried as "gut wrenching" the chaotic scenes under way in Afghanistan and the events around the Taliban's lightning-fast seizure of power in the war-torn country, but reiterated that he stands behind his decision to withdraw American troops as Washington had given the Afghan military "every chance" to succeed against the militants.

The Kabul airport reopened early on August 17 after flights were paused the day before due to a breakdown in security on the tarmac that interrupted evacuation operations, the Pentagon said.

Thousands of Taliban militants encircled Kabul as fear and panic swept through the capital, its residents bracing for a bloody takeover of the city and a return to an oppressive life under the militant Islamist group.

Abdul Ghani Baradar, known as Mullah Baradar, is a co-founder of the Taliban and senior leader of the militant Islamist group who is expected to hold a top role in governing Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban's takeover of the country.

Uzbekistan said August 16 that it "forced" the landing of 46 Afghan aircraft carrying 585 troops that illegally crossed its border fleeing the Taliban blitz that saw Kabul fall to the militants on August 15.

As supporters of US military operations in Afghanistan scramble to board America's planes to leave Kabul as Afghan Taliban quickly took control of the capital, US troops opened fire to Afghan civilians to clear the runway for the taking off of its planes.

China hopes that the Taliban can implement its previous commitments and ensure a smooth transition of power in Afghanistan, said spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying at a Monday news conference.

China will respect the choice and will of the Afghan people, spokesperson Hua Chunying from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said Monday in a daily press conference in response to the situation in Afghanistan.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday that Iran will help restore stability in Afghanistan and invites all groups to reach a national agreement as a neighboring and brotherly country.

China's special envoy for Afghanistan affairs meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran on Monday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held a meeting with Chinese Special Envoy for Afghanistan Affairs Yue Xiaoyong in Tehran on Monday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reacted to the latest developments in Afghanistan, stressing that Tehran hopes former president of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai's initiative on formation of a Coordination Council by Afghan leaders will lead to dialogue and a peaceful transition of power in the country.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman says the country has drawn down personnel at its political missions in Afghanistan amid fresh developments on the ground in the country.

Afghan acting Interior Minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal said here on Sunday that "power will be peacefully transferred to a transitional government", local media reported.

The UN nuclear agency says Iran has made progress in its work on enriched uranium metal, as Tehran and the remaining signatories to a 2015 agreement on Iran's nuclear program are making efforts to revive the deal, which was abandoned by the US in 2018.

Myanmar's junta is targeting members of the deposed National League for Democracy (NLD), including its leader Aung San Suu Kyi and dozens of lawmakers, in a bid to disband the party and secure its tenuous hold on power six months after overthrowing the government, ousted lawmakers and analysts said Monday.

The US troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan has led to the rapid demise of the Kabul government. The world has witnessed how the US evacuated its diplomats by helicopter while Taliban soldiers crowded into the presidential palace in Kabul. This has dealt a heavy blow to the credibility and reliability of the US.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin filed a lawsuit against the US government over NASA's decision to award the $2.9 billion lunar landing contract to Elon Musk's SpaceX, a spokesperson said in a statement to Sputnik on Monday.

Just weeks before the United States was set to complete its military withdrawal from Afghanistan, military commanders surged hundreds more troops to Kabul to protect U.S. diplomats and Afghan allies, following a swift takeover of the capital by Taliban insurgents.