LONGEST WAR ENDS

The last plane carrying US forces left Afghanistan on Monday around midnight, a day ahead of schedule, ending a 20-year war that left nearly 2,500 American troops dead and spanned four presidencies. Major Chris Donahue, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, was the last American soldier to step off Afghan soil as the C-17 Globemaster III left Kabul airport.

Also, in the first formal and publicly acknowledged contact, Indian Ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal met senior Taliban leader Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai on Tuesday and conveyed India’s concerns that Afghanistan’s soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism.