Criticising President Joe Bident’s hasty military withdrawal from Afghanistan, former US national security advisor John Bolton has said that the Taliban may obtain nuclear weapons from Pakistan. Bolton, who served under the then-president Donald Trump, said the abrupt US troops withdrawal allowed the Taliban to rapidly take over and bring the country once again under their control. In recent times, Bolton has been a vocal critic of American foreign policy. In other news, the White House faced a backlash from a section of US media over Biden’s remark that ‘Indian media is better behaved than the US’. Pacifying the riled scribes, Press Secretary Jen Psaki sought to clarify that Biden’s words weren’t meant as a ‘hard cut’ on them. In Covid related news, infection rate seems to be ebbing in India after it registered only 18,795 cases, its lowest in six months.

Taliban may obtain nuclear weapons from Pakistan, says former US national security advisor John Bolton

Bolton added it was possible that nuclear weapons could be obtained from Pakistan should Islamist insurgents get hold of them. However, he also complimented Biden for the nuclear submarine deal with Australia. He says the deal is a way to counter China threat. US is only giving nuclear submarines. “These are what we call hunter-killer submarines,” Bolton explained.  

‘Indian media is ‘better behaved’ than the US’: White House defends Biden’s statement

Joe Biden lauded the Indian media, calling it “better behaved” than the US media, during his first in-person bilateral meeting with PM Modi at the White House, criticising American reporters for asking questions that are not “on topic” in front of a foreign head of government/state.

Failed TikTok deal ‘strangest thing I’ve worked on’, says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

Microsoft tried to acquire TikTok in 2020 after then US President Donald Trump ordered TikTok to separate its US version from its Chinese paraent over data security concerns. The talks failed and the deal could not go through. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke about this at Code Conference in Beverly Hills, California.

UK Royal Mint launches gold bar featuring Lakshmi, Hindu Goddess of wealth

 UK Royal Mint says that the gold bar with Goddess Lakshmi is ‘an auspicious gift which unites British minting excellence and time-honoured traditions’. Indians in UK are likely to buy the gold bar during traditional gold purchase done during Diwali. The gold bar weighs 20 g and is made up of 999.9 fine gold. It will be presented to customers in a specially designed henna patterned sleeve.

India records 18,795 fresh COVID-19 cases, lowest in six months

 The number of active cases has declined to 2,92,206, accounting for 0.87 per cent of the total number of cases — the lowest since March 2020 — while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.81 per cent, the highest since March last year, the ministry said.

Myanmar did not make a request to speak, UNGA president Abdulla Shahid clarifies to WION

There were reports that China, Russia and the United States had reached an understanding to prevent Myanmar’s ambassador to UN Kyaw Moe Tun from addressing the general assembly. Shahid said a committee will meet in November to decide whether Myanmar’s current UN Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun will be allowed to retain his seat.

19-year-old Pakistani terrorist, Ali Babar Patra, surrendered in J&K

Ali Babar Patra, a 19-year-old LeT terrorist from Pakistan’s Punjab province, is a native of Okhara. In an operation in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, he was apprehended by security forces. Two infiltrators crossed the border, while four more terrorists were on the Pakistani side, according to Major Vats.

‘Naya Pakistan’: 1.5 million unemployed Pakistanis apply for a peon’s post

The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics has highlighted a grim picture of the rising rate of unemployment and said that at least 24 per cent of educated people are jobless at the moment in the country, according to Dawn. Meanwhile, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics’ Labour Force Survey (LFS), unemployment in Pakistan has increased from 5.8% in 2017-18 to 6.9% in 2018-19. (PBS).

Pakistan court sentences woman school principal to death for committing blasphemy

Additional districts and sessions Judge Mansoor Ahmad observed in the verdict that Tanvir committed blasphemy by denying that Prophet Muhammad was not the last prophet of Islam. Lahore police in 2013 registered a blasphemy case against Tanvir on the complaint of a local cleric.

Astronaut posts breathtaking photo of aurora taken from above Earth

Aurora is formed due to interaction between solar particles and particles of Earth’s atmosphere. When particles from the Sun interact with Earth’s magnetic field, they get channelled to the poles and there they interact with the atmosphere.