Indian Sub-continent

Aug 25 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban have appointed senior veterans to the posts of finance minister and defence minister, two members of the group said, as it switches focus from a stunning military conquest to how to run a country in crisis.

The movement's unexpectedly swift victory has left it struggling to govern, and alongside established Taliban names at the top, it has turned to several lower-level administrators to keep Kabul running.

25 Aug 2021; MEMO: Afghanistan's Taliban movement has appointed a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir, as acting defence minister, Al Jazeera reported yesterday.

Zakir, born in 1973, was arrested by US forces after their invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

After his release, Zakir is said to have directed military operations in Helmand Province, north of the country, before assuming the position of the movement's general military commander.

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) The Supreme Court Wednesday asked the Delhi High Court to decide within two weeks the plea pending before it challenging the appointment of senior IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as the Delhi Police Commissioner.

The 1984-batch IPS officer, who had shifted to Union cadre from Gujarat and was earlier serving as the director general of Border Security Force, was appointed Delhi Police Commissioner on July 27, four days before his superannuation on July 31.

He will have a tenure of one year as the police chief of the national capital.

Kanpur: Cricketing within the precincts of the multi-storeyed buildings cause much unbearable noise. As the resident's children play cricket there remains none to object to.

The continuous howl by the children either to catch the ball or run for the score raises the sound of noise. Their intemperate clatter goes up above to the height of five storeys. This disturbs inmates living in the flats. One inmate said: "It becomes hard to bear the disturbance all the time." 

Jaipur, Aug 25 (PTI) Congress leader Sachin Pilot lashed out at the Centre on Wednesday over its asset monetisation programme, saying the central government should help the poor and the middle class instead of giving away the assets created in the past 70 years to the private sector at throwaway prices.

The former Rajasthan deputy chief minister also accused the BJP of misleading people and doing divisive politics.

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) The Union home ministry on Wednesday announced that all Afghan nationals henceforth must travel to India only on e-Visa in view of the prevailing situation in Afghanistan.

The decision comes days after the government introduced a new category of visa called "e-Emergency X-Misc visa" for the Afghan nationals after the Taliban captured power in that country.

Kendrapara, Aug 24 (PTI) Angry over lack of steps to protect their crops from damage by herds of stray cattle, farmers on Tuesday let loose livestock in Rajnagar block and subdivision offices in Odisha's Kendrapara district.

Work in both the offices came to a standstill for about three hours as stray cattle invaded office rooms, officials said.

Ballia (UP), Aug 25 (PTI) A 17-year-old girl has alleged that she was raped by six men in a village in Sikandarpur area, police said on Wednesday, adding that an FIR has been registered against the men.

In her complaint, the woman alleged that she was sexually assaulted by the accused two months ago but police turned her away when she tried to get the FIR registered earlier. It was registered only she approached the superintendent of police.

Kanpur: The Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre at IIT Kanpur have achieved a landmark by erecting an indigenous oxygen manufacturing infrastructure.

The startup cell has set up 10 oxygen generating plants across Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar. Each of the plants has the capacity to generate up to 500 to more LPM of oxygen.

IIT expertise uses technique & technology to beat COVID-19.

Kanpur: Over the past few days the cases of respiratory virus are coming at Hallett Hospital here. This complication is rising  owing to the monsoon season.

Detailing about the cases, Dr Vishal Kumar Gupta, Associate Professor, Medicine Department, Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital, said the majority of patients have been suffering from flu. Such patients were advised to  pursue treatment from home.
Due to monsoon season, we can see the increase in respiratory virus cases which have symptoms like high fever, cough, sore throat, cold, etc., he added.