Taliban advances in Afghanistan: Soldiers guarding the Salma Dam have surrendered to the Taliban; this $300 million Indian project in Afghanistan is in Taliban control now; the Taliban is making a sweep of the country as the U.S. forces have retreated; they have taken over 3 more cities

Sharks under threat: The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) estimated that until 2018, of the 26 shark fishing nations in the world, India ranked second in the volume of sharks caught annually; In 2019, India was the third-largest shark catching nation in the world

Getting rid of polluting vehicles: National Automobile Scrappage Policy launched; The policy calls for private and commercial vehicles that are more than 20 and 15 years old to undergo ‘fitness tests’, failing which the registration of such vehicles will be cancelled

Renewable energy: India’s renewable power generation capacity reaches 100GW (26% of the total), still far away from 2022 target

Child trafficking: Child trafficking has seen a spurt in Odisha — especially in tribal-dominated districts of the state — following the resumption of train services amid the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic