The predictable Taliban takeover on Afghanistan is continuing apace, and for people on the ground, panic has set in. NBC News: Panic grips Afghanistan as civilians flee Taliban’s relentless advance. “Diyana Sharifi left her hometown of Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan this week as rumors swirled that the Taliban were poised to take the city and fighters were looking to find young girls to marry, and young boys to join the fight.”

+ “Deep in the concrete wall maze of central Kabul, the seniors of the all-girl Zarghoona High School keep one eye on their homework — and the other on the Taliban’s growing territory.” WaPo: Seniors at a girls-only high school in Afghanistan face an uncertain future.