Tokyo 2020 Gold For Neeraj Chopra To Taliban Takeover: Top 5 August 2021 News As Eventful Month Ends

Let's have a look at five major developments in India and abroad in the month of August.

(File Photos/Getty)

New Delhi: A very eventful August has come to an end, with the US completing the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan after a 20-year war that ended in the Taliban taking full control of the country.

However, though Afghanistan dominated the news cycle, August saw a lot of action elsewhere too as Japan successfully organised the Tokyo Olympics 2020 that was delayed by a year due to the pandemic and India’s vaccination campaign got a boost with two more vaccines getting emergency use authorisation.

On the political front, BJP veteran and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, under whose watch the Babri Masjid fell in December 1992, died on August 21.  

Here is a list of 5 major incidents that made headlines in August 2021.      

1. Taliban Take Afghanistan

On July 2, 2021, the US military left Bagram Airfield, its key base in Afghanistan, in the dead of night and without notifying the Afghans, effectively ending its 20-year war ahead of the official end date of 11 September, which was announced by President Joe Biden earlier this year.

The Taliban started advancing rapidly in Afghanistan and soon had several parts of the country under its control.

By August 14, they had taken Jalaladad and Mazar-e-Sharif, the largest city in north Afghanistan, without any resistance and were inching closer to capital Kabul.  

On August 15, as the Afghan security forces geared up to fight the Taliban, news came that President Ashraf Ghani had fled. After that, it was a matter of time for the Taliban forces to enter the presidential palace. Kabul fell and the Taliban takeover was complete.

All action shifted to the kabul international airport then as the US and several other countries carried out evacuation operations marked by panic, chaos, deaths and more deaths as at least four explosions killed nearly 200, including US troops. 

On August 31, the US said it has ended its evacuation mission, and that its withdrawal from Afghanistan was complete. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US suspended its diplomatic presence in Kabul and transferred its operations to Doha in Qatar.

The Taliban rejoiced with celebratory firing.

Find the full coverage on ABP here.

2. India’s Neeraj Chopra wins javelin gold at Tokyo 2020

August has shown brighter than ever, as javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal at Tokyo Olympics, his first-ever Olympic appearance, to give India its golden moment at the quadrennial event and win the nation's heart.

The 23-year-old farmers' son from Haryana's Panipat threw the javelin to a distance of 87.58m to secure India's maiden track-and-field gold medal at the Olympic Games.

India finished 48th on the medal tally in Tokyo, with its highest medal count of seven medals. India's previous best performance in the Olympics was in the London Olympics in 2012, in which they had won six medals. 

Mirabai Chanu (Silver medal in Weightlifting), PV Sindhu (Bronze medal in Badminton), Bajrang Punia (Silver medal in Wrestling) and Ravi Kumar Dahiya (Silver medal in Wrestling), India's men Hockey team (Bronze medal), Lovlina Borgohain (Bronze medal in Boxing) and Neeraj Chopra (Gold medal in Javelin Throw) were India's medal winners in Games 2020.

3. Nod to J&J Single-Dose Vaccine and Cadila DNA Shot

The month of August also saw two Covid vaccines - Johnson and Johnson single dose jab and Cadila DNA Shot ZyCoV-D - getting emergency use approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). 

US pharma giant Johnson and Johnson single dose Covid-19 vaccine Janssen became the fifth vaccine to gets Emergency Use Approval (EUA) by the government of India after Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik V and Moderna.

Later in the month, Indian drug regulator also gave emergency use approval to Zydus Cadila's three-dose COVID-19 vaccine - ZyCoV-D. The vaccine will be administered to people 12 years and above.

4. Kalyan Singh passes away

The month of August witnessed the tragic demise of veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh. Singh died at the age of 89 following a prolonged illness on August 21 in Lucknow. Kalyan Singh's last right rituals were performed by the late leader's son Rajvir Singh and grandson Sandeep Singh in Bulandshahr on August 23.

5. Lionel Messi Joins PSG and Rolando back with ManU

When it comes to transfers, fans can expect the unexpected in the world of football and so two seemingly impossible deals happened in the month of August.

Ending his association with the club he joined as a 13-year-old, Argentina's legend footballer and star forward Lionel Messi left Barcelona to join French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a two-year-old deal till 2024, with an option to extend. There are reports of Messi being paid a salary between €35m - €40m.

One of the greatest football players of all time, Messi made his debut in 2004 and has been playing for Barcelona all through his senior career of 18 years. The Argentine forward scored a record 672 goals in 778 games for Barcelona. He won a record 35 trophies with the club.

This was not the only big signing that took place in August as Manchester United stunned the world by signing five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. The legendary striker completed a stunning return to the Premier League club on a two-year contract with the option to extend after telling Juventus that he wants to leave. Ronaldo reportedly had agreed on a transfer fee in the region of €15 million, plus €8 million in add-ons with Juventus.