Left, Right & Centre

The horror in Afghanistan continues, journalists are brutally whipped by the Taliban, even as the world comes to terms with the fact that as many as 17 leaders, including the Prime Minister, in the list of the Taliban's council of Ministers are terrorists sanctioned by the United States. Should India now veer towards Russia in dealing with our Afghanistan policy? It's been an interesting day with the Russian National Security Advisor coming to India on the same day that the CIA Chief was also present in the country.

It was another day of massive farmer protests, this time in Haryana's Karnal, where just a few days ago an IAS officer allegedly told police to deal with farmers by breaking their heads. This is also the constituency of Chief Minister ML Khattar. While the farmers say their primary demand remains the repeal of three farmer laws, which they have been protesting against for more than a year, some say that there is little coincidence about the timing of these protests -- they come before the UP assembly elections. On Left, Right and Centre, we ask: are farmers now the main opposition to the government?

It seems pretty much all over for the Afghan resistance. What are the implications of this for India which has historically supported the Afghan resistance? And with the role of Pakistan absolutely clear in Afghanistan now, perhaps the biggest question is: Is Afghanistan essentially a proxy state of Pakistan and its all weather ally China?

Renowned economist Jean Dreze speaks on the horrific impact of Covid curbs on schoolchildren in rural areas in India. A new report called, School Children's Online and Offline Learning (SCHOOL) Survey, is out and looks at the impact of school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A massive farmer panchayat rally took place in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh which farmer leaders claim was attended by over 10 lakh farmers from across the country. The message from the mahapanchayat is clear -- farmer leaders say that they will fight the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. With farmers now gathering in massive numbers and stating their political objectives, will their support decide the outcome of the key Uttar Pradesh polls?

An RSS-linked journal's "personalised attack" on not only Infosys Ltd but also "some of its esteemed founders" over glitches in handling India's tax portals is "absolutely condemnable", Congress leader Jairam Ramesh told NDTV today.

Fresh fighting has been reported in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley, the final pocket of territory which remains out of the hands of the Taliban. While the Taliban claimed control of Panjshir, this has been denied by leaders of the National Resistance Front. This comes at a time the Taliban postponed the announcement of their new government.

India reported over 47,000 new cases for the first time in two months. Nearly 70 percent of the cases are from Kerala. This despite record vaccinations in the month of August. So, what should be India's next strategy?

Actor and model Sidharth Shukla, best known for his role in the TV show 'Balika Vadhu', died of a heart attack aged 40. Sidharth Shukla's sudden death has left the TV fraternity "shocked and sad", with tributes pouring in from colleagues and well-wishers. NDTV spoke with some of his friends and author and columnist, Shobhaa De.

NDTV spoke to author and columnist Shobhaa De about the sudden death of another young actor, Sidharth Shukla. "This is an extremely high-stress profession, the entertainment industry is competitive and cut-throat. Production houses should have therapists for those participating especially in reality shows," she said.