WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s called the loneliest job in the world for a reason. Surrounded by everything a superpower can offer and watched by all, President Joe Biden wore the weight of a lonely man as he came to grips in recent days with the deadly end of the American effort in Afghanistan and tried to keep the focus on what, to him, is the bottom line.

The troop departures signaled a tumultuous end to a 20-year war that has left the country awash in grief and desperation, with many Afghans fearing for their lives under Taliban rule and struggling with cash shortages and rising food prices.

The NEC’s population is projected to grow by more than 12 million residents by 2040, yet the region is straining under antiquated transportation systems.