LEAD

Claiming that the economy is facing a “catastrophic failure”, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the government is “in panic mode”, and adopting a scattershot approach based on random suggestions in the name of correctives.

Rahul said falling GDP (growth) and rising GDP (Gas Diesel Petrol prices) are symptoms of the crisis that is “structural and not cyclical”, but the government is clueless about the solution. He said Congress knows that a “new vision” is required to set the situation right, but PM Narendra Modi and his core ministers are not able to think of it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed a high-level group comprising of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and senior officials to focus on the immediate priorities of India in Afghanistan, following the drawdown of American forces from the country after 20 years of presence.

Official sources, as quoted by a news agency, said that the group has been meeting regularly over the last few days following a direction from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India's immediate priorities have been the safe return of the Indians still in Afghanistan, bringing back the Afghan nationals who stood by New Delhi, and ensuring that Afghan soil is not used for terrorism directed at India.

"In view of the evolving situation in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently directed that a high-level group comprising of External Affairs Minister, the National Security Adviser and senior officials focus on the immediate priorities of India," said a source.

A scientist involved in the mathematical modelling of India’s COVID-19 pandemic on Monday claimed that the country is likely to see the third wave peaking between October and November if a more virulent mutant than the existing ones emerges by September.

He, however, said that the infection’s intensity would be much lower than the second wave,

Manindra Agrawal, an IIT-Kanpur scientist who is part of the three-member team of experts that have been tasked with predicting any surge in infections, said if no new virulent emerges, then the situation is unlikely to change.

He said if the third wave peaks, the country may see only 1 lakh (100,000) daily cases as against more than 4 lakh (400,000) when the devastating second wave was at its peak in May.

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More than 90 countries, including the US and a host of major European nations, issued a joint statement on assurances given by the Taliban over the ongoing evacuation of foreign and Afghan nationals.

In the joint statement, the countries informed that they have been assured by the Taliban that all foreign nationals and any Afghan citizen with travel authorization from their countries will be allowed to safely move out of Afghanistan.

"We are all committed to ensuring that our citizens, nationals and residents, employees, Afghans who have worked with us and those who are at risk can continue to travel freely to destinations outside Afghanistan," the joint statement said.

New Delhi: The US has conducted a drone strike against an Islamic State "planner" in Afghanistan, striking back at the terror outfit in less than 48 hours after a suicide bombing claimed by the group killed 169 Afghans and 13 American soldiers at the Kabul airport.

"US military forces conducted an over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation today against an ISIS-K planner. The unmanned airstrike occurred in the Nangahar province of Afghanistan. Initial indications are that we killed the target, Capt Bill Urban, spokesperson of US Central Command, said on Friday. We know of no civilian casualties," he said.

Earlier in the day, the White House said President Joe Biden does not want the terrorists, who planned the attack at the Kabul airport, to live any longer. I think he made it clear yesterday that he does not want them to live on the Earth anymore, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.