United States officials warn that Kabul could be isolated and could fall under Taliban control in one to three months. (Asian News International)
Pakistani Prime MinisterImran Khan says that the Taliban "will not negotiate with the Afghan government as long as Ghani is the president". Khan further states that he "tried to persuade the Taliban" months ago but that they remained firm on their stance. (Reuters)
An investigation by the BBC into the involvement of the RussianWagner Group in the war reveals that the group committed several war crimes, including the intentional killing of prisoners of war and civilians and the leaving of unmarked mines in civilian areas. The investigation also finds that Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman with close ties to Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, was involved in the group's operations, and that the group likely received weapons and supplies from the Russian military. (BBC News)
Poland's Sejm votes 226–218 to pass a bill to strengthen the country's ban on non-European Economic Area entities from owning a majority stake in its broadcast networks. The opposition, American politicians, and TVN24, whose ownership by American media company Discovery, Inc. is being targeted by the bill, criticize it as a restriction on free speech. It goes to the Senate for a final vote. (Reuters)
The death toll from the wildfires in northern Algeria increases to 65, as the country battles a total of 69 fires for the fourth consecutive day. PresidentAbdelmadjid Tebboune declares three days of national mourning for the wildfire victims. (BBC News)
Two more people are killed by wildfires in Calabria, Italy, bringing the death toll from the fires there to four. Meanwhile, a man is killed by wildfires in Sicily. (The Guardian)
Iran reports a record 42,541 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 4.28 million. (Tasnim News Agency)
South Korea reports a record 2,223 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 216,206. (The Straits Times)
The number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Turkey surpasses 80 million, with 50% of people over the age of 18 being fully vaccinated. (Daily Sabah)
Chile begins to administer booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 55 who have already received two doses of the Coronavac vaccine. (Reuters)
Vanuatu's health authorities warn citizens about the transmission of dengue fever after 18 cases are reported in Port Vila. Authorities urge all residents to take precautionary measures. (RNZ International)
A court in Russia opens a criminal investigation into Alexei Navalny, who is already serving a two and a half year sentence for parole violations. The move comes one day after another court opened a criminal investigation into Navalny's allies Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov. (Reuters)