WORLD
US judge narrows subpoena seeking Trump's financial records
On Wednesday, Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in his 53-page decision that the objectives identified in the House Oversight and Reform Committee's subpoena, first issued in April 2019 and renewed by Chair Carolyn Maloney in March this year after the previous one expired, "present only a limited need for President Trump's financial records".
Afghanistan replaces Army chief after Taliban surge
The fired army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai, had only been appointed by Ghani in June. Since then, much of Afghanistan's regular military surrendered to the Taliban or melted away, allowing the insurgents to seize nine of the country's 34 provincial capitals and most of the countryside.
Afghanistan: First Army corps falls to Taliban in two decades
The fighters in broadcasted video claim to have taken a chopper of Afghan army which seems to be out of work, media reports said. Video clips from Kunduz province show that tens of Afghan forces also surrendered to the Taliban along with rangers and Humvees. Meanwhile, the fighters have also taken control of another airport in Sheberghan city of Jawzjan province.
Kabul could fall to Taliban as early as a month: US intelligence
The officials on the condition of anonymity told The Washington Post that they had predicted the collapse of Kabul from six to 12 months after the foreign troops' withdrawal but everything has changed and the time has come to be three months now, as per Afghan media reports. The pace at which the Taliban are gaining territories is surprising and some predict that the capital could even by collapsed in a span of one month.
Speed of Taliban advance revives worries about value of US commitments
India closed a consulate and sent a plane to retrieve its citizens this week. The US military and State Department this week accelerated plans to evacuate the well-staffed American embassy if the situation in Kabul dictates it, US officials said. The latest US intelligence assessment said, Kabul could fall to militants in as soon as a month.
More countries, territories report Covid variants: WHO
In its latest weekly update on the pandemic issued on Wednesday, the WHO said that globally, cases of the Alpha variant have been reported in 185 countries, territories or areas (hereafter CTAs), 136 CTAs have reported cases of the Beta variant, 81 CTAs have reported cases of the Gamma variant, and 142 CTAs have reported cases of the Delta variant, reports Xinhua news agency.
Tens of thousands of people flee violence in Afghanistan: UN
The office said that they are part of the nearly 390,000 people displaced by hostilities this year, with a massive spike since May. Many of the displaced fled to Kabul and other large cities, the Xinhua news agency reported. Most of the displaced in the capital city are staying with families and friends, with a growing number camping in the open, facing increased vulnerability, it said.
Half the Afghan population is at risk
The last few days have seen deadly escalation in fighting in Helmand, Kandahar, Herat, Kunduz and Nimroz provinces, adding untold sufferings to the people in a country where over 5 million people have already been displaced internally, IOM said. In an earlier report, IOM had said that more than half of children aged 5-7 in Afghanistan are engaged in work of some kind.
Pakistan should cut land access to Taliban: Afghan govt
Qureshi said that while efforts are being made to hold Pakistan responsible for the situation in Afghanistan, he believed some faction outside Afghanistan is spoiling the peace process. As per media reports, the Afghan Foreign Ministry in its statement said that the terrorists are benefiting from safe havens, which are being used to make Afghanistan insecure.
Afghan envoy asks Pak to stop providing safe haven to Taliban
The newly-appointed ambassador of Afghanistan to the UN has called on the international community to be mindful and press the Taliban's centres in Pakistan, media reports said. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had earlier asked Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army, Qamar Javed Bajwa, to eliminate the safe havens of terrorists along its border with Afghanistan.
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