ISML 2021: Mikoto Misaka Continues Prime Form

ISML 2021: Mikoto Misaka Continues Prime Form

By Jo-Ryan Salazar

The Bedlam on Baltic Avenue

August 16, 2021

Match Day 2 of the 2021 International Saimoe League Aquamarine Period is history. In the Female Division, Mikoto Misaka thumped Aqua 2372-1423, Shouko Makinohara eased past Krul Tepes 2116-1070, Isla defeated Chitoge Kirisaki 1881-1113, Elaina routed Origami Tobiichi 2473-1131, Yui Yuigahama hammered Yui Hirasawa 2028-1388 and Ichigo took down Saya 2134-1511.

Zero Two crushed Ginko Sora 2391-1471, Kuroko Shirai slaughtered Index Prohibitorum 2087-1227, Hina Amano defeated Nagisa Furukawa 1784-1362, Mai Sakurajima leveled Shinoa Hiiragi 2624-953, Mitsuha Miyamizu prevailed over Schwi Dola 1861-1621 and Ruiko Saten dominated Chiyo Sakura 1907-1272.

Emilia annihilated Saber 2197-1240, Kanade Tachibana flew past Shinka Nibutani 1858-1373, Kaede Azusagawa rolled past Sumi Sakurasawa 2126-1042, Kaguya Shinomiya flattened Taiga Aisaka 2343-1178, Kamui Kanna exploded past Megumin 1787-1618 and Shiro powered past Kaori Miyazono 2006-1261.

Asuna Yuuki slashed past Kazari Uiharu 2174-1305, Chizuru Ichinose defeated Tamako Kitashirakawa 1747-1446, Takagi won a 1672-1566 snoozer over Shinobu Kochou, Rikka Takanashi stonewalled Yoshino 2300-1177, Tsukasa Yuzaki soared past Kei Shirogane in the 1904-1497 Upset of the Round and Rin Tohsaka bounced back with a 1710-1351 statement win over Kurisu Makise.

Kurumi Tokisaki shot down Azusa Nakano 2243-1225, Ai Hayasaka burned Suzune Horikita 2111-1226, Rio Futaba defeated Shino Asada 1810-1319, Nao Tomori destryoed Meiko Honma 2118-1086, Tooru roared past Umaru Doma 1911-1415 and Misaki Shokuhou dismantled Mirai Kuriyama 2112-1271.

Wrapping up Female Division action, Shouko Nishimiya defeated Beatrice 2081-1336, Sagiri Izumi slammed Sora Kasugano 1845-1377, Iroha Isshiki battered Tohka Yatogami 1714-1319, Mashiro Shiina smashed Eriri Spencer Sawamura 2248-1020, Chika Fujiwara boomed past Mio Akiyama 2113-1349 and Utaka Kasumigaoka got past Nanami Aoyama 1631-1398.

In the Male Division, Sakuta Azusagawa made it a Aobuta sweep with a 2510-773 rout of Hodaka Morishima, Sorata Kanda defeated Kusuo Saiki 1768-1176, Shouya Ishida droved past Naofumi Iwatani 1834-1132, Yuuta Togashi thundered past Osamu Dazai 2092-995, Saika Totsuka toated Madara Uchiha 1837-1101 and Ken Kaneki suplexed Joseph Joestar 1538-1182.

Hiro crushed Isaac Foster 2191-1152, Yuuji Itadori defeated Dio Brando 1554-1149, Shidou Itsuka pummeled Mochizou Ouji 1652-1129, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji burned Masamune Izumi 1894-1082, Goro made it a Darlifra sweep with a 1756-1485 pasting of Shinnosuke Nohara and Rintarou Okabe won a 1541-1411 barnburner over Haruka Kasugano.

Yuu Ishigami impaled Gilgamesh 2058-1076, Shiro Emiya defeated Lelouch Lamperouge 1440-1299, Tomoya Okazaki eased past Sesshoumaru 1501-1135, Subaru Natsuki drove past Fuutarou Uesugi 2119-939, Kazuma Satou crushed Ainz Ooal Gown 1943-918 and Yuzuru Otonashi throttled Tomoya Aki 1582-1185

Kaito Kuroba flew past Yato 1604-1298, Kiritsugu Emiya defeated Joutarou Kuujou 1479-1258, Nasa Yuzaki made it a husband and wife sweep with a 1634-1404 victory over Eren Yeager, Nagisa Shiota shot past Edward Elric 1350-1283, Touma Kamijou broke Toge Inumaki 2029-1233 and Giyuu Tomioka tomahawked Megumi Fushiguro 1705-1052.

Mikaela Hyakuya slashed past Tatsuya Shiba 1324-1173, Kazuto Kirigaya blasted Eugeo 2130-669, Yuu Otosaka dominated Archer 1631-1218, Inosuke Hashibara dusted off Yuuichirou Hyakuya 1599-1108, Levi leveled L Lawliet 1846-1058 and Taki Tachibana took down Karma Akabane 2098-1009.

Wrapping up Male Division play, Saitama punched Satoshi 2016-986, Kyoujurou Rengoku stormed past Rudeus Greyrat 1664-1279, Kousei Arima defeated Ryuunosuke Akasaka 1495-1331, Itachi Uchiha defeated Gintoki Sakata 1454-1262, Riku Dola docked Ryuuji Takasu 1736-1240 and Satoshi Fukube dismissed Obito Uchiha 1632-1209.

Match Day 3 of the 2021 Internationla Saimoe League Aquamarine Period is scheduled for 18 August 2021. Vote for your favorite characters at InternationalSaimoe.com and join the ongoing debate.

Panic at Kabul Airport as Afghans Rush to Flee Taliban After U.S. Evacuates Staff

Panic at Kabul Airport as Afghans Rush to Flee Taliban After U.S. Evacuates Staff

BY AHMAD SEIR, RAHIM FAIEZ, TAMEEM AKHGAR AND JON GAMBRELL/AP UPDATED: AUGUST 16, 2021 4:20 AM EDT | ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: AUGUST 15, 2021 9:33 PM EDT

(KABUL, Afghanistan) — The U.S. military struggled to manage a chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan on Monday as the Taliban patrolled the capital and tried to project calm after toppling the Western-backed government.

The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing a stunning end to a two-decade campaign in which the U.S. and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan. The country’s Western-trained security forces collapsed in a matter of days, even before the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops.

Thousands of Afghans fearing a return to Taliban rule are trying to flee the country through Kabul’s international airport. Videos circulating on social media showed hundreds of people racing across the tarmac as U.S. soldiers fired warning shots in the air. Another showed a crowd pushing and shoving its way up a staircase, trying to board a plane, with some people hanging off the railings.

Massouma Tajik, a 22-year-old data analyst, described scenes of panic at the airport, where she was among hundreds of Afghans hoping to board an evacuation flight.

After waiting six hours, she heard shots from outside, where a crowd of men and women were trying to climb aboard a plane. She said U.S. troops sprayed gas and fired into the air to disperse them. Gunfire could be heard in the voice notes she sent to The Associated Press.

The U.S. Embassy has been evacuated and the American flag lowered, with diplomats relocating to the airport to aid with the evacuation. Other Western countries have also closed their missions and are flying out staff and civilians.

By morning, Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority issued an advisory saying the “civilian side” of the airport had been “closed until further notice” and that the military controlled the airspace.

Afghanistan’s airspace is often used by long-haul carriers moving between the Far East and the West. Early Monday morning, flight-tracking data showed no immediate commercial flights over the country.

In the capital itself a tense calm set in, with most people hiding in their homes. There were scattered reports of looting and armed men knocking on doors and gates. The Taliban freed thousands of prisoners as they swept across the country and the police melted away.

The Taliban deployed fighters at major intersections and sought to project calm, circulating videos showing quiet city streets.

“There were a few Taliban fighters on each and every road and intersection in the city,” Shah Mohammad, a 55-year-old gardener, said after coming to work in the diplomatic quarter. He said there was less traffic than usual and fewer people out on the streets.

Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, tweeted that fighters had been instructed not to enter any home without permission and to protect “life, property and honor.” The Taliban have also said they will stay out of the upscale diplomatic quarter housing the U.S. Embassy complex “so as not to create any confusion or problems.” The neighborhood also includes the posh villas of U.S.-allied former warlords who have fled the country or gone into hiding.

The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 with a harsh form of Islamic law. Women were largely confined to their homes and suspected criminals faced amputation or public execution. The Taliban have sought to project greater moderation in recent years, but many Afghans remain skeptical and fear a rollback of individual rights.

The Taliban had also harbored Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida in the years before they carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. That sparked a U.S.-led invasion that rapidly scattered al-Qaida and drove the Taliban from power.

But the U.S. lost focus during the Iraq war and the Taliban eventually regrouped. The militants captured much of the Afghan countryside in recent years and then swept into cities as U.S. forces prepared to withdraw ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline.

When the Taliban last seized Kabul in 1996 it had been heavily damaged in the civil war that broke out among rival warlords after the Soviet withdrawal seven years earlier. The city was then home to around a million people, most traveling on dusty roads by bicycle or aging taxi.

Today Kabul is a built-up city home to 5 million people where luxury vehicles and SUVs struggle to push through endemic traffic jams. Many of the younger Taliban fighters hail from rural areas without electricity or running water, and are getting their first glimpse of a modern city they had only previously heard stories about.

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Faiez reported from Istanbul, Krauss from Jerusalem and Gannon from Guelph, Canada. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Samya Kullab in Baghdad contributed.