The United States attacked an Islamic State "planner" in Afghanistan in retaliation for a deadly bombing outside Kabul airport and said there was a high risk of further blasts as it winds up its mission to evacuate civilians and withdraw troops.

The Taliban will shut down Afghanistan's media and are fooling the West by promising to let journalists operate freely, an award-winning Afghan photographer said after fleeing Kabul over threats by the group.

The United States urged its citizens Friday to "immediately" leave the gates around Kabul's airport, where a suicide bomber this week targeted crowds trying to flee Taliban rule.

The US military said Friday it had carried out a drone strike against a "planner" of the Islamic State-Khorasan, the group which claimed credit for the deadly suicide bombing at Kabul airport.

U.S. forces helping to evacuate Afghans desperate to flee Taliban rule were on alert for more attacks on Friday after an Islamic State suicide bombing killed at least 92 people, including 13 U.S. service members, just outside Kabul airport.

At least three Indian states are denying passports and government jobs to people because of their social media posts or participation in protests, human rights activists said.

At least 16 workers died and more were missing after a factory fire in Pakistan’s commercial capital Karachi yesterday, police said.

United States: President Joe Biden vowed to hunt down those behind the suicide bombings that killed American troops in the worst single-day loss for the Pentagon in Afghanistan since 2011. “We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay,” Biden, visibly shaken, said in a White House address during which he said evacuations of vulnerable people would continue until August 31.

Hundreds of Afghan families who have been camping in searing heat at a Kabul park after the Taliban overran their provinces begged for food and shelter on Thursday, the most visible face of a humanitarian crisis unfolding in the war-torn country.

US forces helping to evacuate Afghans desperate to flee Taliban rule were on alert for more attacks yesterday after an Islamic State suicide bombing killed around 100 people, including 13 US service members, just outside Kabul airport. 

The evacuation of 15 Bangladeshis from Afghanistan remained uncertain till yesterday as the chartered flight that was supposed to carry them home on Thursday got cancelled following the blast at Kabul airport.

India has asked the states of Kerala and Maharashtra to consider night curfews in areas with high Covid-19 case numbers as the country reported more than 40,000 new infections for two days in a row yesterday.

NATO allies are struggling to ensure that Afghanistan's main gateway, Kabul airport, remains open for urgently needed humanitarian aid flights next week when they end their evacuation airlifts and turn it over to the Taliban.

At least 16 people were killed in a factory fire on Friday in Pakistan’s largest city and financial hub, Karachi, raising questions about the industrial safety in a country not new to such accidents.

UN officials appealed for $800 million to fill a chronic funding gap for Afghanistan on Friday, with a senior aid official describing the situation as "catastrophic" with at least one third of people expected to be facing hunger.

Changi Airport will reopen Terminals 1 and 3 to the public from next Wednesday (Sept 1), following a three-month closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Against all odds, the Taliban need to prove their credentials as Afghan nationalists and shun the global jihadist movement along with delivering promises to the international community if they want to be successful in governing Afghanistan, a panel of experts said Thursday.

India has administered at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to half its eligible adult population of 94 crore, as it crossed 61.10 crore cumulative vaccinations across the country.

Evacuation flights from Afghanistan resumed with new urgency on Friday, a day after two suicide bombings targeted the thousands of desperate people fleeing the Taliban takeover. The U.S. says further attempted attacks are expected ahead of the Tuesday deadline for foreign troops to leave, ending America’s longest war.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for a deadly attack outside Kabul airport on Thursday, the group's Amaq News Agency said on its Telegram channel.