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Taliban closing in on Kabul, India again asks its nationals to leave Afghanistan
As the Afghan military resistance is crumbling, and southern and western Afghanistan having fallen into their hands, the advancing Taliban fighters are preparing for a final assault on Kabul, the Capital city, and seize power from President Ashraf Ghani, who is scheduled to address the nation later today and that is expected to seal the fate of his Government. Meanwhile, refugees from the provinces seized by Taliban are flooding the streets of Kabul. A massive 'humanitarian catastrophe' is in the offing! India has again called upon its nationals in the country to leave immediately.

NEW DELHI, Aug 14: Even as the fierce fighting in Afghanistan has entered a decisive stage and Taliban's takeover of Kabul is imminent, India has again called upon all its nationals to return immediately as the security situation is very grave and commercial air services are likely to come to a halt very soon. There are about 1,500 Indians left in Afghanistan currently, according to official sources. They include those working in Indian projects and with other foreign employers.

However, the embassy in Kabul will remain open. In its advisory, the mission said, “A recent case that required emergency air rescue of three Indian engineers who remained at a dam project site, in an area not under the control of government forces, has brought to light that Indian nationals receiving this embassy’s advisories are not heeding its advice and continue to put themselves in mortal danger.”

The embassy also advised members of the Indian media to take “additional security measures for their stay and movements inside Afghanistan." Illustrating the risks involved, it drew attention to the recent killing of Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui.

India had on Tuesday evacuated its nationals in and around the city of Mazar-i-Sharif and the consulate staff there in an IAF aircraft as the Taliban fighters had advanced into the city and people were fleeing the place. Indians in Kandahar were evacuated earlier. However, the consulates will function. India had been asking its citizens to leave the country since June last.

Meanwhile, India has joined the talks being held by representatives of the US, the UK, China, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Russia, the UN and the European Union in the Qatari Capital, Doha, to find a solution to the Afghan problem.

In its march ahead, Taliban has captured Kandahar, Herat, Lashkar Gah in south, Qala-e-Naw in the northwest and Firuz Koh, capital of central Ghor province as the Afghan forces are in a disarray and unable to put up any resistance. The militants have taken control of 18 of Afghanistan's 34 provincial Capitals since August 6. The militants have taken control of almost whole of Afghanistan, with just Kabul remaining to be captured. The NATO and the United Nations are assessing the situation on "an hour-by-hour basis."

The provinces seized by the Taliban are:- Zaranj (August 6), Sheberghan (August 7), Sar-e-Pul (August 8), Kunduz (August 8), Taluqan (August 8), Aybak (August 9), Farah (August 10), Pul-e- Khumri (August 10), Faizabad (August 11), Ghazni (August 12), Herat (August 12), Kandahar (August 12), Lashkar Gah (August 13), Qala-e Naw (August 13), Feruz Koh (August 13), Pul-e Alam (August 13), Terakot (August 13), Qalat (August 13). \

President Joe Biden said he does not regret his decision to pull back the troops from Afghanistan. But criticism of his policy is mounting in the US. Biden has defended his stand saying, the US has already spent more than $1 trillion in its longest war and lost thousands of troops. The US is set to officially end its two- decade war.

Herat looks 'like a ghost town,' reported Reuters. The US and Britain are sending troops to help their diplomatic staff leave the country safely even as the UN World Food Programme warned of a massive 'humanitarian catastrophe.' The US is sending 3,000 troops and the UK is sending 600.

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The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.

The irony lies in her illustration of her experiences in the country she has been living in for the last four years. What it really is!

ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!

The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.

Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition, making identification difficult. Three hundred nineteen body parts have been sent for DNA matching with relatives to determine the identities.

  • The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line provides Kashmir with all-weather connectivity and integrates the Valley with the rest of India.
  • The saying 'Kashmir to Kanyakumari' is now a dream come true.
  • The Chenab bridge on the line, an engineering marvel, is the world's highest railway bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower. (Video: File)

A comment on social media on Kanimozhi's answer on the question of national language read: "Daughter of Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi. Delivered the Birthday Present to her Father!!" (Karunanidhi was born on June 3, 1924) (Today's headlines )

Trump said, "Elon is not really leaving" and will be "back and forth" to the White House because DOGE is his "baby." "I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”

Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.

PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.

Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people. (Today's headlines )

"Coming from a system like in England, empowering," she says she never had an idea of this sort of experience... being asked to “socialise with middle-aged men” who financed the event...humiliating...

Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.

Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.

As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.

The committee headed by justice Kurian Joseph will study Centre-State relations and make proposals to ensure foolproof separation of powers.

"It's a big victory not just for Tamil Nadu but for all Indian States. DMK will continue to struggle for and win State autonomy and Federal polity," Chief Minister MK Stalin said.

Of 2.08 km in length, it features 99 spans and a 72.5-metre vertical lift span that rises up to a height of 17 metres, facilitating smooth movement of ships while ensuring seamless train services to the holy town of Rameswaram on Pamban island.

ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!

What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America! (Today's headlines )

PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).

In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.

THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.

The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.

Suddenly these colonial clerks feel this effortless, little rule will tremendously enhance security and convenience for the railway passengers manifold. More stations will be covered in the next 77 years! (Also See: New Delhi station stampede... What went wrong?)

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