THE situation is ‘extremely fluid and unpredictable’ on the ground after Taliban took control of Afghanistan, Indian officials said.
While Britain's defence secretary said on Monday (16) that British and NATO forces will not be returning to fight the Taliban.
"I acknowledge that the Taliban are in control of the country," Ben Wallace told Sky News.
"I mean, you don't have to be a political scientist to spot that's where we're at."
Asked if Britain and NATO would return to Afghanistan, Wallace said: "That's not on the cards that we're going to go back"
Members of British Forces from 16 Air Assault Brigade upon arrival in Kabul to provide support to British nationals leaving the country. (RAF/UK Ministry of Defence 2021/Handout via REUTERS)
Wallace said the military side of Kabul airport was secure and that Britain was doing everything it could to evacuate British citizens and Afghans with links to Britain.
"Our target is ... about 1200 to 1500 exit a day in the capacity of our aeroplanes, and we'll keep that flow," he said.
Britain has relocated its embassy to Kabul airport from the city. Asked what he would feel to see the Taliban flag flying over the former British embassy building in Kabul, Wallace said: "It's not the embassy anymore, we have left that location ... so it's now just a building.
"Symbolically, it's not what any of us wanted."
Wallace said it was not yet the right time to decide on whether to recognise the Taliban as the Afghan government.
"I think there is a lot of more to come before those decisions are made," he said.
Evacuation of Indians
An Air India on Sunday (15) evacuated 129 passengers. However, the commercial aircraft, AI 243, faced difficulty while landing and had to circle over Kabul for some time as countries raced against time to evacuate their citizens with Taliban taking control.
NDTV reports more than 200 Indians including Foreign Ministry staff and paramilitary personnel are yet to be evacuated from the Afghan capital.
A scheduled flight failed to leave for India following chaos at the airport when desperate people overran the tarmac this morning trying to flee the country, now in control of the Taliban.
The Afghanistan airspace on Monday (16) was declared "uncontrolled" by the Kabul airport and transit flights have been asked to avoid it. A big concern for India would be to safely transport the staff from the Indian mission compound to the airport.
People try to get inside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Reuters Photo)
Air India has been asked by the Government of India to keep two aircraft on standby for the Kabul evacuation.
"Two aircraft with a proper set of the flight crew are on standby for Kabul evacuation. The government is monitoring the situation very closely," the government official told ANI.
Johnson intervenes over visas for Afghan students
Meanwhile, the British prime minister Boris Johnson has promised the government will try to help 35 Afghan students get visas to travel to the UK, after they were blocked by the Foreign Office from taking up British scholarships this year, The Guardian reported.
Johnson intervened to say efforts would be made to accelerate their visas amid fears among the students that their scholarships could make them targets of the Taliban, the report added.
First trailer for Anemone shows Daniel Day-Lewis returning to screen after eight years
The family drama is directed by his son Ronan Day-Lewis and co-stars Sean Bean and Samantha Morton
The film premieres at the New York Film Festival in September before releasing in cinemas on 3 October
Produced by Brad Pitt’s Plan B and Focus Features, the film explores fractured family ties and past trauma
Daniel Day-Lewis has officially ended his eight-year retirement with the release of the Anemone trailer, marking his long-awaited screen comeback. The three-time Oscar winner last appeared in Phantom Thread (2017), after which he announced he would no longer act. With Anemone, directed by his son Ronan Day-Lewis, he returns in a brooding family drama set in Northern England that also features Sean Bean and Samantha Morton.
Daniel Day-Lewis returns to the big screen in Anemone after eight years Getty Images/Instagram/anemonemovie
What is Daniel Day-Lewis’s Anemone about?
Anemone tells the story of two estranged brothers haunted by their past. Sean Bean plays Jem Stoker, a suburban man who ventures into the woods to reconnect with his reclusive sibling Ray, portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis. The official synopsis describes their bond as “fraught, if occasionally tender,” shaped by shattering events decades earlier.
The trailer teases bleak landscapes, stormy coastlines and shadowy interiors, hinting at deeper conflict rooted in political and personal violence. Irish flags flash across the screen, suggesting the brothers’ involvement in British paramilitary activity during Northern Ireland’s Troubles.
The project is especially personal for the actor as it is directed by his 27-year-old son Ronan Day-Lewis. Father and son co-wrote the screenplay, making it the younger Day-Lewis’s feature debut after previously working as a painter and short filmmaker.
Anemone has been produced by Brad Pitt’s production house Plan B and distributed by Focus Features. The supporting cast includes Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley and Safia Oakley-Green, with cinematography by Ben Fordesman.
The father–son collaboration of Daniel and Ronan Day-Lewis in AnemoneGetty Images
Why is Anemone being called a “nepo baby film”?
Some commentators online have dubbed Anemone the “ultimate nepo baby film” because it marks Ronan Day-Lewis’s directorial debut with his father in the lead role. The term has become a buzzword in Hollywood for children of celebrities working in the industry. However, early reactions to the trailer suggest Ronan’s feature debut is more than just a family connection, with its sombre tone and layered storytelling drawing attention in its own right.
Anemone will premiere at the New York Film Festival, which runs from 26 September to 13 October 2025. Focus Features has confirmed the drama will open in select US cinemas on 3 October, before expanding nationwide on 10 October. UK and European release dates are expected to follow.
Given Daniel Day-Lewis’s reputation as one of the greatest screen actors of his generation, the film is already generating major awards season buzz.
Day-Lewis shocked Hollywood in 2017 when he declared he would quit acting after completing Phantom Thread, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. At the time, he issued a statement saying he felt “overwhelmed by a sense of sadness” during filming and wanted to step away from the profession for good.
It was not his first hiatus. After starring in The Boxer in 1997, Day-Lewis temporarily left cinema to train as a shoemaker in Italy before returning in 2002 with Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. His decision to appear in Anemone raises the question of whether this is a one-time return or a full re-entry into acting.
Daniel Day-Lewis stars in son’s directorial debut Anemone premiering in New YorkGetty Images
What makes Daniel Day-Lewis’s comeback significant?
Regarded as one of the finest performers in film history, Daniel Day-Lewis has won three Academy Awards for Best Actor, for My Left Foot (1989), There Will Be Blood (2007) and Lincoln (2012). His meticulous method acting and selective filmography have given each of his roles a sense of event cinema.
The fact that his return comes through a collaboration with his son adds another layer of intrigue. While some have jokingly labelled it the “ultimate nepo baby film,” early reactions to the trailer suggest a serious, atmospheric piece focused on grief, reconciliation and redemption.
After eight years, Daniel Day-Lewis makes acting comeback in AnemoneGetty Images
With Anemone, audiences will see whether Daniel Day-Lewis, now 68, still commands the screen with the same intensity that made him a legend.
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Members of the public outside Whitechapel Underground Station on February 12, 2025 in London. (Photo: Getty Images)
LONDON Underground staff will stage a series of rolling strikes for seven days next month in a dispute over pay and working conditions, the RMT union said on Thursday.
The walkouts will begin on September 5 and involve different groups of staff taking action at different times. The dispute covers pay, shift patterns, fatigue management and plans for a shorter working week, according to the RMT.
Separately, workers on the Docklands Light Railway will also strike in the week beginning September 7. The DLR connects Canary Wharf and the City of London.
RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said, "Our members ... are not after a King's ransom, but fatigue and extreme shift rotations are serious issues impacting on our members health and wellbeing."
He added that the union would keep engaging with London Underground in an effort to reach a negotiated agreement.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Sydney Sweeney says her bathwater soap faced harsher criticism than Jacob Elordi’s Saltburn candle
Sydney Sweeney defended her controversial bathwater soap, Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss, in a new interview.
The Euphoria star compared criticism she faced to the praise Jacob Elordi’s bathwater candle received.
The limited-edition soap sold out in seconds despite online backlash.
Sweeney also addressed the outrage over her American Eagle “great jeans” campaign.
Sydney Sweeney has spoken out about the backlash she faced for her bathwater soap, saying that criticism mostly came from women. The Euphoria actor launched Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss in collaboration with men’s grooming brand Dr. Squatch earlier this year, but the product sparked a wave of online debate. In a new interview, she said it was “really interesting” that while her soap was mocked, fans had loved the idea of Jacob Elordi’s bathwater candle inspired by his Saltburn role.
Sydney Sweeney says her bathwater soap faced harsher criticism than Jacob Elordi’s Saltburn candle Instagram/ SydneySweeney/ Getty Images
What was Sydney Sweeney’s bathwater soap?
In May, Sydney Sweeney released a limited-edition bar soap called Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss. The quirky product was marketed as being made with water she had bathed in, along with ingredients such as pine bark and sand extracts. Each bar retailed at £6.30 (₹660) and sold out almost instantly, with just 5,000 units available.
The campaign followed her earlier partnership with Dr. Squatch on a suggestive men’s body wash advert. While some fans saw the bathwater soap as a playful stunt, others labelled it unhygienic and gimmicky.
Why did Sydney Sweeney compare it to Jacob Elordi’s bathwater?
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Sweeney revealed she had noticed a gender divide in the reactions. “It was mainly the girls making comments about it, which I thought was really interesting,” she said. “They all loved the idea of Jacob Elordi’s bathwater.”
Elordi, her Euphoria co-star, became a social media obsession after the release of Saltburn in 2023. A now infamous scene showed Barry Keoghan’s character drinking his bathwater, sparking countless memes and inspiring novelty products like a “Jacob Elordi’s Bathwater” candle. Unlike Sweeney’s soap, the candle was celebrated online as a cult pop culture joke.
Reactions on social media were divided. Some joked that the bar might at least “get men to shower,” while others questioned whether marketing real bathwater crossed a line. Despite the debate, the soap’s limited stock selling out in seconds proved its commercial appeal.
In her interview, Sweeney said she does not regret the idea, calling it “weird in the best way.” She explained, “When your fans start asking for your bathwater, you can either ignore it or turn it into a bar of soap. It’s unforgettable, and it actually smells incredible.”
Sydney Sweeney calls out women for mocking her controversial Bathwater Bliss product.Getty Images
What about Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ‘great jeans’ ad?
The soap was not Sweeney’s only controversial campaign this year. In July, she became the face of American Eagle’s new ad slogan, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.” The wordplay on “genes” sparked outrage online, with some critics accusing the brand of promoting eugenics and unrealistic beauty ideals.
American Eagle defended the campaign, insisting the message was simply about denim and individual style. Donald Trump’s team also weighed in, with his communications manager calling the backlash “cancel culture run amok.”
Sweeney herself has avoided directly commenting on the jeans controversy but said she closely monitors public response to her projects: “Everything is a conversation with the audience.”
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Protesters from the group Save Our Future & Our Kids Future demonstrate against uncontrolled immigration outside the Cladhan Hotel on August 16, 2025 in Falkirk, Scotland. (Photo: Getty Images)
MINISTERS will appeal a court decision earlier this week that barred the UK government from accommodating asylum seekers in a hotel, security minister Dan Jarvis said on Friday (22).
The high court on Tuesday (19) granted a temporary injunction to stop migrants from staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping, northeast of London, following several weeks of protests outside the hotel, some of them violent.
There were protests after a resident was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Jarvis said on Friday, "We've made a commitment that we will close all of the asylum hotels by the end of this parliament, but we need to do that in a managed and ordered way.
"And that's why we'll appeal this decision."
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025 - the highest number ever.
Latest official data showed there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March.
It was under the previous Conservative government that migrants were accommodated in hotels.
Jarvis said, "This government will close all asylum hotels and we will clear up the mess that we inherited from the previous government.”
Since Tuesday's injunction, a number of councils across the country controlled by Labour, the Conservatives and Reform UK have also said they are mulling legal challenges to block the use of hotels in their areas.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to end the costly practice of housing the thousands of asylum seekers arriving in small boats in hotels around the country, but has said it will be done in a gradual manner.
Immigration has overtaken the economy as the number one issue for the British public, according to at least two regular trackers of voters' concerns.
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OpenAI is facing legal challenges in India, with publishers and news outlets accusing it of using their content without permission to train ChatGPT. (Photo: Reuters)
OPENAI, the company behind ChatGPT, will open its first India office in New Delhi later this year as it expands in its second-largest market by user numbers.
The Microsoft-backed firm has been registered as a legal entity in India and has started hiring for a local team, the company said in a statement shared with Reuters on Friday.
India is a key market for ChatGPT, which launched its lowest-priced monthly plan at $4.60 earlier this week. The move aims at reaching nearly one billion internet users in the country.
OpenAI is facing legal challenges in India, with publishers and news outlets accusing it of using their content without permission to train ChatGPT. The company has denied these claims.
"Opening our first office and building a local team is an important first step in our commitment to make advanced AI more accessible across the country and to build AI for India, and with India," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in the statement.
Competition in India is intensifying, with Google’s Gemini and AI startup Perplexity offering plans that give many users free access to advanced features.
India has the largest student user base for ChatGPT, and weekly active users have quadrupled in the past year, according to market data shared by OpenAI on Friday.