About 60,000 in Afghan evacuation brought to U.S.
The Hindu
17% of those arrivals are U.S. citizens and permanent residents who were in Afghanistan when the government there fell to the Taliban, says U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says about 60,000 people have arrived in the country since August 17 from Afghanistan as part of the evacuation formally known as Operation Allies Welcome. DHS said in the latest updated released on Wednesday that 17% of those arrivals are U.S. citizens and permanent residents who were in Afghanistan when the government there fell to the Taliban. The remaining 83% are a mix of people. They include those with Special Immigrant Visas, for people who worked as interpreters or in some other capacity for the U.S. or NATO. There are also other visa holders as well as applicants for visas who have not yet completed their processing. The remainder are various types of “vulnerable” Afghans who would be threatened under the Taliban, such as women and human rights advocates.Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi founder and Chidambaram M.P., Thol. Thirumavalavan, on Friday recalled the arduous journey of steering the party through the transition from being a radical organisation whose slogan was ‘Adanga Maru, Aththu Meeru, Thimiri Ezhu, Thiruppi Adi’ (Don’t bow down, disobey, rise up and hit back) to become an important cog in the wheel of electoral politics in Tamil Nadu today as VCK, with four MLAs and two MPs, is set to be recognised by the Election Commission of India as a ‘state party’.
Amid strike by some Loco Pilots, Railways is trying to ensure undisrupted service: Palakkad Division
The Palakkad Division of Southern Railway on Friday, said it was making all efforts to keep trains running in time amid a section of Loco Pilots continuing to strike from work with a demand for a 46-hour periodical rest.
After completing her Class XII a few years ago, Lakshmi Priya from Sivakasi faced financial constraints that prevented her from pursuing higher education. Despite her circumstances, she persevered by folding matchboxes to earn a meagre income. “I have always done this work – folding matchboxes. Many families in Sivakasi and surrounding areas do this work, from home,” said Ms.Priya who is now 19 years old. “I always wanted to learn something related to Computer Science. We did not have a proper teacher for this particular subject at school. But I managed to score 95%,” she said.
Ahead of the southwest monsoon, the officials from multiple departments were directed to carry out the standard operating procedure and ensure that all the parameters were adhered to as per the guidelines issued by the Disaster Management Plan of the Tamil Nadu government, said Theni Collector R.V. Shajeevana here on Friday.