Former presidentHamid Karzai says in a series of tweets that the announcement of a caretaker government by the Taliban was "necessary" and urges the Taliban to include women in the government in order to address "shortcomings of the new caretaker-announced cabinet". (India Today)
Shell declares force majeure legal defense in order to forestall liabilities on some oil deliveries due to damage from Hurricane Ida. Damage discovered shortly after the storm to Shell's West Delta-143 shallow water platform, which serves as a hub for numerous offshore production pipelines, is still being assessed. The damage has caused significant issues with deliveries from the Mars, Olympus, and Ursa platforms. (Argus)(Reuters)
The Philippines reports a record 22,820 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,161,892. (Rappler)
Singapore reports 450 new locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of new cases since August 2020. (The Straits Times)
The Scottish Parliament approves a requirement for people who want to attend nightclubs and large events to show an immunity passport declaring that they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, despite opposition from businesses leaders and opposition parties. The requirement will take effect on October 1. (The Guardian)
PresidentJoe Biden announces new wide-ranging requirements for federal employees and employees of companies with more than 100 workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or undergo regular testing at least once a week, with no option of testing for unvaccinated federal employees. These mandates apply to over 100 million people, which represents two-thirds of all U.S. employees. (AP)
Frenchhealth ministerOlivier Veran announces that the country will offer free birth control to all women under the age of 25, which will also include free contraception-related medical visits, starting in 2022. This measure will cost the government about 21 million euros (US$24,828,552) per year. (AP via NPR)