| The United Arab Emirates confirmed that it had welcomed former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country "on humanitarian grounds" after the leader resigned and fled Afghanistan this week. Inside Afghanistan, Ghani has been widely condemned by even his staunchest supporters for abandoning the country as the Taliban took control. In a Facebook post on Monday, Ghani defended his actions, insisting that he left Afghanistan in order to prevent "bloodshed." He described his departure as "a hard choice" and said that the Taliban had "won with the judgment of their swords and guns." | 
