World

KABUL—Nabila, a 31-year-old Afghan judge, used to grant divorces to the wives of militants while their husbands languished in prison. Two days after the Taliban captured Kabul on Aug. 15 and emptied prisons across the country, she received threatening calls from several of these men. She broke her SIM card, packed light and went into hiding.

SEOUL—North Korea dismissed a proposal by South Korea’s president for a peace declaration, calling the proposition premature as Pyongyang sees what it calls continuing aggression from Washington and Seoul. During a speech Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly, South Korean President Moon Jae-in suggested the adoption of a peace deal that would replace the armistice that halted hostilities in the 1950-1953 Korean War. He proposed that the U.S., along with the two Koreas and possibly China, agree to declare the war over.

The U.S. special envoy for Haiti, Ambassador Daniel Foote, has resigned his post in protest over the Biden administration’s decision to conduct large-scale deportations in response to a surge of Haitian migrants. In a letter dated Wednesday, two months from the date of his appointment, Mr. Foote wrote: “I will not be associated with the United States’ inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti,” calling attention to rampant gang violence in the country.

MEXICO CITY—The unprecedented wave of Haitian migrants at the U.S. southern border is causing a crisis in Mexico, which now must contend with thousands of asylum seekers turned back by the U.S. The migrants have been streaming back into Mexico from Del Rio, Texas, where as many as 16,000 had gathered in recent days under a bridge on the U.S. side. As American officials this week began rounding up hundreds of the Haitians and deporting them to Haiti on aircraft, many who remained returned to the Mexican side to avoid being sent back to their impoverished and chaotic nation.

BERLIN—More German Turks will run for election this year than at any time in the past two decades, but candidates from Germany’s largest ethnic minority say they often face racism, underlining the difficulties the country faces in integrating its diverse migrant communities. “I had 400 campaign posters, and I think 250 of them are already destroyed with racist slurs,” said Orkan Özdemir, a center-left candidate for the Berlin House of Representatives, which elects its members Sunday, the same day as the country’s general election.

MOSCOW—Russia’s ruling party appeared on course to maintain its majority in parliament, early results showed, in an outcome that would cement President Vladimir Putin’s control over his country’s main levers of power. The preliminary tally showed pro-Kremlin United Russia won 45% of votes cast, followed by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation with 22% and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia with around 8%, according to early results from Russia’s electoral commission based on 30% of the ballots counted.

France stepped up its opposition to a security agreement the U.S. crafted with Australia and the U.K., criticizing the Biden administration’s failure to keep its allies apprised of sweeping foreign policy initiatives after the pact led to the loss of a lucrative French submarine deal. On Sunday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian discussed “the strategic consequences of the current crisis” with its ambassadors from the U.S. and Australia who were recalled for consultations. French President Emmanuel Macron is also expected to speak in the coming days with President Biden, officials from both countries say, in a sign of the depth of France’s frustration over the security pact. Mr. Le Drian likened French anger over the security pact to the blowback from American allies over the Bid...

DEL RIO, Texas and CIUDAD ACUÑA, Mexico—Jorge Rios stood watch at his family’s property on the Mexican side of the border between these two cities Saturday while a stream of migrants trudged back-and-forth across the Rio Grande. Many held boxes or bags above their heads as they waded through the murky, thigh-high water. Some carried frightened-looking children. “It’s like a road. Just people, people, people,” said Mr. Rios, 28.

WASHINGTON—World leaders gathering this week for an annual United Nations meeting will confront persisting global problems such as Covid-19 and climate change, while grappling with new tensions and conflicts dividing U.N. members. Diplomats and leaders attending the U.N. General Assembly in New York will also contend with the return to power of the Taliban and the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, as well as the challenge posed by Iran under a new, hard-line president, Ebrahim Raisi.

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—After fleeing Afghanistan, Muhammad and his six children landed in their new hometown on the day the capital city of Kabul fell to the Taliban. The family’s fortuitous escape marked the start of another difficult journey. Muhammad had spent his first night in America in the emergency room of a Virginia hospital, struggling to breathe. He was overcome with worry about his wife, Aliya, who was stopped from boarding their flight from Kabul because of a visa problem. With only minutes to set their course, she and Muhammad agreed to separate. He would take the children to the U.S. alone.