| Last US military flight departs Afghanistan, ending America's longest war |
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| | | In a tweet, the US Department of Defense shared - in the green tint of a night-vision camera - a photo of the last American soldier leaving Kabul airport. Officials said the final C17 aircraft took off with the US ambassador on board just after midnight, ending the 20-year presence in Afghanistan. It departed to the sound of celebratory gunfire from the Taliban, back in charge having been deposed when Nato-backed American troops entered the country in 2001. It marks the end of an evacuation that has seen more than 123,000 civilians flown out by coalition aircraft since 14 August, according to the US military. "The military mission is over. A new diplomatic mission has begun," says US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The UN Security Council is urging the Taliban to allow people to leave the country. However, our chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet says: "Even after 40 years of war, I don't think Afghans have lived through a transition that is so uncertain, that is so shrouded in darkness and that is so overcast in fear." The international community will "push as one voice" for the safe passage of Afghans who want to leave, Prime Minister Boris Johnson says. The Taliban has promised just that to those with authorisation. Many have already fled. We hear from some of those who poured into Pakistan. "Where can I go? What can I do?" asks one despairing woman. Follow all the developments via our live page The Taliban is back: What next for Afghanistan? US investigates civilian deaths in Kabul strike | |
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| Use of leaded petrol finally ends - UN |
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| For six decades from the 1920s, leaded petrol was used as standard in cars and lorries. It contaminated air, soil and water, causing heart disease, cancer and strokes and has been linked to problems with brain development in children. While most high-income countries banned its use in the 1980s, globally it has only now finally been eradicated, according to the UN. Algeria - the last country to use it - ran out of supplies last July. "Ending the use of leaded petrol will prevent more than one million premature deaths each year," says UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Environmental group Greenpeace says it should be taken as an example of how use of fossil fuels could be ended. | |
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| Taste for takeaways outlasts lockdowns |
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| Covid has changed the way we dine, it seems, with increased demand for delivery "here to stay", according to Neil Manhas, of Pizza Hut UK. It's launching 125 new locations over three years to serve home delivery. Nearly a quarter of people spend more on takeaways and food deliveries now than before the pandemic, according to market researcher Mintel. Accountant KPMG says the average spend is up from £38 to £53 a month. As Carol Deeney, who runs a Scottish street food cafe in east London, puts it: "We have loyal customers that haven't even graced our doors." With delivery riders and dine-in customers sharing restaurant space, Tampopo co-founder David Fox says deliveries must be factored in when fitting out restaurants so as not to disrupt the dining experience. | |
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| 16th Paralympic gold ties record for Storey |
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| | | | | She was "the world's youngest self-made female billionaire", trumpeted Forbes. The "next Steve Jobs", said Inc., another business magazine that put her on the cover. In 2014, Elizabeth Holmes, then 30, was on top of the world. A Stanford University drop-out, she had founded a company valued at $9bn (£6.5bn) for supposedly bringing about a revolution in diagnosing disease. With a few drops of blood, her company ,Theranos, promised its Edison test could detect conditions such as cancer and diabetes quickly, without the hassle of needles. Bigwigs from Henry Kissinger to Rupert Murdoch invested. But the technology she touted didn't work and by 2018 the company had collapsed. Ms Holmes, now 37, faces up to 20 years in prison, if found guilty of the 12 charges of fraud against her. | |
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| | Daniel Thomas | Business reporter, New York |
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| | | | Most papers lead on the last US military flight leaving Kabul, with the Metro saying: "US finally pulls out of Afghanistan after 20-year campaign." There is an atmosphere of "fury and fear", with tens of thousands of people who worked for the West left behind, says the i. It says the US is considering drone strikes to destroy military hardware now in Taliban hands. The Telegraph says the RAF is prepared to use drones against the Islamic State group in the country. Meanwhile, the Guardian says the US is investigating reports of civilian casualties - including seven children - from a drone strike targeting a suicide bomber in Kabul. | |
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| | | Hurricane Ida leaves one million without power |
| | | | Rugby Study suggests brain affected in one season |
| | | | Business Optimism jumps on recovery hopes |
| | | | Brazil Bank robbers tie hostages to getaway cars |
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| If you watch one thing today |
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| If you listen to one thing today |
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| If you read one thing today |
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| Need something different? |
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| | | 1997 Diana, Princess of Wales, dies after a car crash, in Paris, which also killed her companion, Dodi Al Fayed, and the driver Henri Paul. |
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