Amid reports of the alleged abduction of around 150 Indians from outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Saturday, local Afghan journalist Zaki Daryabi said that the kidnapped persons were released and they were on the way to the airport. ....

Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has appointed former Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob as new Prime Minister of the country, the national palace announced. ....

As the situation in Afghanistan remains uncertain following the Taliban's swift takeover of most parts of the country on August 15, the international community has warned against potential humanitarian challenges and expressed a willingness to help the country establish peace and stability. ....

Five people were killed and two injured after a five-floor building collapsed on Friday in downtown Damanhur city in Egypt's Beheira Province, state-run Ahram Online reported. ....

President Joe Biden said on Friday he could not guarantee the final outcome of the emergency evacuation from Kabul’s airport, calling it one of the most “difficult” airlift operations ever. “This is one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history,” Biden said in a televised address from the White House. ....

The Covid-19 hospitalisation rates for children in the US hit its highest levels ever, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday. ....

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Western countries should not interfere in Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul, saying they "must stop the irresponsible policy of imposing foreign values from abroad". ....

A magisterial court here on Friday granted post-arrest bail to the individual who reportedly vandalised a statue of Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh at the Lahore Fort earlier this week, Express Tribune reported. ....

Military personnel fired tear gas to control the crowds of Afghans trying to gain access to Kabul airport on Friday, a day after the Pentagon said that order was being restored at the site and evacuation flights from Afghanistan would be accelerating, the Wall Street Journal reported. ....

Afghan families do not know the whereabouts of their sons since earlier this week after they went to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul in an attempt to leave the country following the Taliban takeover. ....