U.S. working to add $300 million in civilian aid to Afghanistan, says Blinken
The Hindu
Top U.S. military commanders are also seeking Pentagon approval to deploy an aircraft carrier near landlocked Afghanistan to help protect troops during their withdrawal from the country .
The Biden administration is working with Congress to provide nearly $300 million in civilian aid to Afghanistan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, funds the Trump administration conditioned on progress in peace talks. The announcement follows President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw the remaining U.S. troops from America’s longest war before the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that led to the U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban.
The municipal bus stand auditorium in Malappuram was packed. But nobody quite knew what to expect. After all, a new event was making its debut at the State School Arts Festival. The moment V.G. Harikrishnan started his rendition of Pyar bhare do sharmile nain..., everyone was convinced that Ghazal was here to stay. The student from GVHSS, Atholi (Kozhikode), was applauded loudly for his rendering of the timeless ghazal sung originally by Mehdi Hassan.

For the last few weeks, several wards in Madurai city have been getting piped drinking water through a new drinking water scheme. The sweetness of the generously supplied water has led to loss of business to several suppliers of canned drinking water in the city. But, not many know that the water supplied to the houses in Madurai is directly drawn from Lower Dam of Mullaperiyar Dam in Idukki district of Kerala.











