A Taliban spokesperson has condemned the US for not informing them beforehand of the drone airstrike that US officials had previously said they carried out in “self-defence” against an Afghan member of the Islamic State group in Nangarhar province. Spokesperson of Taliban claims that the attack has resulted in civilian casualties.

In other news, South Africa has identified a new potential COVID-19 variant of interest (VOI). The strain was first spotted in May 2021 during the third wave of Covid in the country and study results indicate that the strain named ‘C.1.2’ develops 41.8 mutations per year. This is an increase of roughly 1.7 fold over the current global rate as well as an increase of approximately 1.8 fold over the original estimate for SARS-CoV-2 evolution.

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‘Should have informed us’: Taliban condemn ‘arbitrary’ US drone strike, claim civilians killed

A Taliban spokesperson has accused the United States of not informing them beforehand of the drone strike, claiming that civilians were killed in the attack.

New potential COVID-19 variant of concern identified in South Africa

The discovery of a new variant of interest (VOI) for COVID-19 has been made in South Africa. It is believed that the variant evolved from C.1, which was predominant during the first outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in South Africa.

Europe may see 236,000 COVID-19 deaths by December, WHO fears

Concern was expressed by the World Health Organization (WHO) over the increasing transmission rates of the Coronavirus in Europe.

‘Quentin Quarantino’: US Instagram star helps Afghans to reach safe places, raises $7 million

As the US withdrew from Kabul on Tuesday, dozens of Afghans who had been attempting to flee the Taliban received help from an unexpected source: Instagram influencer Quentin Quarantino.

These 40 fighters to stay in Afghanistan to avenge the deaths of 13 US troops

A team of SAS fighters has volunteered to avenge the deaths of 13 US troops killed in an airport suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Alibaba fires 10 employees for leaking sexual assault accusations

According to Bloomberg News, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has fired ten employees for reporting a female colleague’s sexual assault allegation against a former manager.

Leaded petrol use eradicated globally, will prevent 1.2 million premature deaths: UN

UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced Monday that leaded petrol use has been eliminated from the globe, a milestone that will prevent 1.2 million premature deaths and save the world economy over $2.4 trillion annually.

Tokyo Paralympics: Sumit Antil wins gold in javelin throw, creates world record

At the Tokyo Paralympic Games 2020, Sumit Antil wins the gold medal in the men’s javelin throw (F64) final event, with a world record throw of 68.55 meters.

How US-built ‘Ninja bomb’ with ‘halo of long blades’ destroyed ISIS-K target in Afghanistan

The US reportedly deployed the deadly R9X variant of the AGM-114 Hellfire missile from its  MQ-9 Reaper drone as it killed two militants in Afghanistan.

Watch | ‘Money Heist in real life?’: Hostages tied to cars in bank robbery in Brazil as human shields

An armed robbery in Brazil left at least three people dead after bank robbers strapped civilian hostages to the outside of their car as a human shield.