Hong Kong: A new space to build great ideas

Alex Jiang made the bold decision to leave his home on the Mainland and move to Hong Kong alone last year to work as an engineer for the Nano & Advanced Materials Institute at the Science Park.

When he arrived in Hong Kong, Mr Jiang had to live in a hotel which cost him about $9,000 a month. After the Science Park opened InnoCell this year, he chose to rent a single room there for about $7,000 per month.

He stays at InnoCell with his colleagues and credits the co-working and co-living space with helping him adapt to his new life in Hong Kong.

At the beginning, I decided to stay in a hotel along with most of my colleagues. Then I found out InnoCell offered a cheaper monthly rent and is much closer to our office. So my colleagues and I decided to move in.

The bonus is since I do not have many friends in Hong Kong, I am able to ask my colleagues for help and we can support each other. Now, on the weekends, we cook together as well as exercise in the gym.

Affordable accommodation

The 17-storey InnoCell provides over 500 beds. Apart from the Science Park's company founders, Mainland or overseas employees, it is also open to visiting academics, scientists and technology talent.

InnoCells monthly rent is set at around 60% of the market price of a similar property in the neighbourhood. There are four types of units: single, twin, family and THE POWERHUB.

THE POWERHUB, with eight individual studios plus a private working area, is an ideal space for a project team to assemble and brainstorm.

Collaborative community

It is not all work and no play at InnoCell. There is a 30,000 sq ft public area that includes meeting rooms, a library, and a gym and fitness centre, offering tailored communal facilities for the tenants.

Henry Adenusi travelled all the way from the UK and is working as a researcher for a Science Park company. He also rents an InnoCell unit.

He believes the design of the living spaces provides like-minded innovation and technology (I&T) talent with the chance to mingle and develop a collaborative community.

This helps to spark creativity. And in terms of other interactions I have had, it is meeting other people, whether it is cooking in the kitchen or while reading or in the gym.

So it is interesting to meet other people from different backgrounds, who work in different companies. I think this is a good chance also for networking.

Innovation culture

InnoCell represents a major step forward in the Science Parks ambition to build a vibrant I&T ecosystem for Hong Kong which brings together talent, culture and infrastructure in an environment geared for innovation which can generate wider economic benefits to the city, explained Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation Chief Project Development Officer Simon Wong.

At InnoCell, we try to create a lot of co-creation space to bring the tenants together. In this space, they can foster collaboration and networking through working together, living together, Mr Wong added.

The InnoCell project is Hong Kongs first high-rise building to adopt modular integrated construction or MiC technology, which enables off-site manufacturing in a prefabrication factory, followed by on-site installation, thereby speeding up construction.

Through this method, 418 MiC modules with high-performance materials were installed, serving as a blueprint and modernisation path for Hong Kongs construction industry.

This story has been published on: 2021-08-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
RTHK: Blair blasts US over 'imbecilic' Afghanistan policy

Former UK prime minister Tony Blair, who in 2001 took Britain into war in Afghanistan alongside the United States, on Saturday condemned their "abandonment" of the country as "dangerous" and "unnecessary".

In his first public comments on the crisis since the Afghan government collapsed last weekend, Blair criticised the US motives for the withdrawal as "imbecilic" and "driven not by grand strategy but by politics".

"The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours," Blair wrote in a wide-ranging article published on his institute's website.

"We didn't need to do it. We chose to do it.

"We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending 'the forever wars', as if our engagement in 2021 was remotely comparable to our commitment 20 or even 10 years ago."

The comments will be widely seen as a direct attack on US President Joe Biden, who used the "forever wars" phrase repeatedly during campaigning last year.

Blair, a controversial figure both in Britain and abroad over his strong support for US-led military action in both Afghanistan and then Iraq, argued the withdrawal left "every Jihadist group round the world cheering".

"Russia, China and Iran will see and take advantage. Anyone given commitments by Western Leaders will understandably regard them as unstable currency," he added.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has faced sustained criticism for being on holiday when Kabul fell, conceded late on Saturday that Moscow and Beijing would now play a bigger role in Afghanistan.

"We're going to have to bring in countries with a potentially moderating influence like Russia and China, however uncomfortable that is," he told the Sunday Telegragh.

"It will give us a group to exercise greater influence and better convey our messages to the Taliban."

One of Britain's longest-serving leaders, in power for a decade from 1997, Blair forged a close alliance with former US President George W. Bush during the latter's so-called war on terror.

His steadfast support for the increasingly unpopular military interventions in the Middle East were seen as a key factor in him standing down and handing power to his successor Gordon Brown in 2007.

In his lengthy article, Blair insisted the West must "give tangible demonstration" that it is not "in epoch-changing retreat", while decrying waning US global leadership.

"The absence of across the aisle consensus and collaboration and the deep politicisation of foreign policy and security issues is visibly atrophying American power," he wrote.

He argued Britain had received "little or no consultation" from Washington over the Afghan withdrawal, and that London was "at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers".

His comments come amid growing discontent at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's handling of the crisis, including within his ruling Conservative party, with criticism Britain has been far too ineffectual.

In the latest embarrassing revelations, the Sunday Times reported senior government officials had advised Raab to return from a luxury holiday in Crete days before Kabul fell, only for Johnson to tell him he could delay. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2021-08-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Hong Kong: Policy Address consultation held

Chief Executive Carrie Lam today attended a public consultation session to listen to views and suggestions on the 2021 Policy Address set to be delivered on October 6.

The activity, broadcast live by Radio Television Hong Kong, was attended by more than 100 people in person or online. The views expressed covered land and housing, arts and culture, district development and transport, national education and arrangements for cross-boundary students.

Participants also proposed ways to enhance support for women, children, youth, the elderly, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. Mrs Lam thanked them for taking the time on a holiday to take part in the consultation session to give their views.

With the implementation of the National Security Law and improvements to the electoral system, Hong Kong's developments have been put back on the right track with the support of the central authorities and people are full of hope for the future.

I encourage members of the public to continue to give their views to help me formulate the upcoming Policy Address to map out the future of Hong Kong and rebuild hope and confidence of the people."

Since the consultation exercise for the upcoming Policy Address was launched on July 6, the Chief Executive has hosted 25 sessions. The stakeholders she met included legislators, chambers of commerce, professional and non-government bodies as well as the public.

Mrs Lam will host about 10 more consultation sessions in the coming weeks to meet with different sectors and groups.

This story has been published on: 2021-08-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
RTHK: Taliban fighters "head to holdout Panjshir Valley"

The Taliban said on Sunday that "hundreds" of its fighters were heading to the Panjshir Valley, one of the few parts of Afghanistan not yet controlled by the group.

Since the Taliban overran Afghanistan, flickers of resistance have begun to emerge with some ex-government troops gathering in the Panjshir, north of Kabul, long known as an anti-Taliban bastion.

"Hundreds of Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate are heading towards the state of Panjshir to control it, after local state officials refused to hand it over peacefully," the group wrote on its Arabic Twitter account.

Since the Taliban took control of the country following a lightning charge into the capital Kabul, thousands of people have made their way to Panjshir according to a spokesman for anti-Taliban forces.

In Panjshir, Ahmad Massoud, the son of legendary mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud who was assassinated by Al-Qaeda two days before the September 11, 2001 attacks, has sought to assemble a force of around 9,000 people to counter the militants, the spokesman, Ali Maisam Nazary, said.

Pictures taken during training exercises show dozens of recruits performing fitness routines, and a handful of armoured humvees driving across the valley northeast of Kabul.

Nazary said the group wants to push for a new system of government, but is prepared to fight if needed.

"Government forces came to Panjshir from several Afghan provinces," Massoud told Saudi Arabia's Al-Arabiya broadcaster Sunday.

"The Taliban will not last long if it continues on this path. We are ready to defend Afghanistan and we warn of a bloodshed." (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2021-08-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
RTHK: Israel hails success of third vaccine dose

A third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has significantly improved protection from infection and serious illness among people aged 60 and older in Israel compared with those who received two shots, findings published by the Health Ministry showed on Sunday.

The data were presented at a meeting of a ministry panel of vaccination experts on Thursday and uploaded to its website on Sunday, though the full details of the study were not released.

The findings were on par with separate statistics reported last week by Israel's Maccabi healthcare provider, one of several organisations administering booster shots to try to curb the Delta coronavirus variant.

Breaking down statistics from Israel's Gertner Institute and KI Institute, ministry officials said that among people aged 60 and over, the protection against infection provided from 10 days after a third dose was four times higher than after two doses.

A third jab for over 60-year-olds offered five to six times greater protection after 10 days with regard to serious illness and hospital admission.

That age group is particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 and in Israel was the first to be inoculated when the vaccine drive began in late December.

In recent weeks, the health ministry has said immunity has diminished over time for seniors and younger people as well. Most vaccinated people who fell severely ill in Israel were over 60 and with underlying health conditions.

Israel started administering third jabs to over 60-year-olds on July 30. On Thursday it dropped the age of eligibility for a booster to 40, and included pregnant women, teachers and health care workers below that age. Third doses are given only to those who received their second shot at least five months ago.

The United States has announced plans to offer booster shots to all Americans, citing data showing diminishing protection. Canada, France and Germany have announced booster campaigns. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2021-08-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
RTHK: Harris kicks off SE Asia tour with Singapore talks

US Vice President Kamala Harris will meet Singapore's leaders on Monday on the first working day of a trip to Southeast Asia aimed at bolstering ties as part of Washington's efforts to counter China's growing influence.

Harris will meet Singapore's President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and later visit the Changi Naval Base and tour the USS Tulsa  a combat ship of the US Navy.

Singapore is not a US treaty ally, but remains one of its strongest security partners in the region with deep trade ties. However, it also seeks to balance its relationships with the United States and China by not taking sides.

The country is home to the biggest port in Southeast Asia, and supports continued free navigation in the area, where China is growing increasingly assertive.

Harris arrived in Singapore on Sunday at the start of a seven-day visit to the region, which will also include a trip to Vietnam. During the visits US officials will aim to address Washington's concerns about China's claims to disputed parts of the South China Sea.

"Singapore has encouraged greater US engagement in Asia, but warned that efforts to 'contain' China's rise are counterproductive," according to a report released in April by the Congressional Research Service, which conducts research and analysis for the US Congress.

"Singapore has maintained generally good relations with China, at least partly as a hedge against possible US retrenchment," the report said.

In a recent interview with Reuters, Singapore's foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan, welcomed the role the United States and China play in the region  reflecting the delicate diplomacy it has succeeded at and one Harris has to navigate.

He said the United States and Singapore will discuss topics such as the pandemic, the digital economy and cybersecurity. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2021-08-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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Hang Be Market in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem District was one of the most popular markets as it encapsulated the tradition and culture of Hanoi people.
Why stay put? Answered by three foreign residents in Hong Kong

Xinhua) 08:58, August 22, 2021

-- "I think much of the sanctions are done for political reasons. But it has no effect, and it's just a waste of time. And as far as businesses are concerned, it means nothing to us, absolutely nothing," says U.S. businessman Jim Thompson.

-- "It (the national security law) has some long-term, very positive effects, in my view, in order to maintain stability," says Richard Cullen, a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong.

-- "The work environment in Hong Kong is still great, especially for young people who want to do finance. I like to see myself in Hong Kong for a long period," said Stefano Dell'Erba, a project manager in an investment firm.

HONG KONG, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong has regained peace and order with a landmark national security law enacted over a year ago.

Xinhua recently interviewed three foreign residents. While differing in age, profession and background, they are unanimous that no matter what happened over the past years, including the social unrest and COVID-19, Hong Kong's charm has not been diminished and the city is still attractive to dream chasers looking for an opportunity to spread their wings.

HONG KONG, MY HOME

"I will stay here. I am not going anywhere. This is my home," said U.S. businessman Jim Thompson, who has operated a business in Hong Kong for more than 50 years.

Thompson, chairman of logistics company Crown Worldwide Group, set up his company in Japan in 1965. Thirteen years later, he moved the group's headquarters to Hong Kong and has remained committed to the city ever since.

"We haven't found any place that's better to operate in than Hong Kong," he said.

U.S. businessman Jim Thompson is seen during an interview with Xinhua in Hong Kong, south China, Aug. 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

Thanks to Hong Kong's extensive business network, Thompson's company is able to expand more easily into the rest of Asia, especially the Chinese mainland.

"Hong Kong is so much more attractive for many reasons, particularly because it is part of China. And the opportunities in China are just going to be enormous for international companies," he said.

Over the last decades, Thompson has witnessed how the city has always survived and thrived.

"I've seen lots of ups and downs, the Asian financial crisis, the SARS epidemic, the global financial crisis and some political disturbances. But in every case, Hong Kong adapts very quickly to whatever the new issue is, and always comes back and got stronger and stronger each time," he said.

Knowing the place longer and better than many, Thompson is a believer in Hong Kong's future.

Responding to the so-called U.S. sanctions on Hong Kong and the latest warning about doing business here, Thompson said such moves are ridiculous. "I think much of the sanctions are done for political reasons. But it has no effect, and it's just a waste of time. And as far as businesses are concerned, it means nothing to us, absolutely nothing."

CORNERSTONE FOR PROSPERITY

Foreigners used to come to Hong Kong for a three to five-year stint but decades later many are still here. Richard Cullen is one of them.

Cullen, 73, is a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong. He moved here 30 years ago and has since spent most of his time in Hong Kong, apart from brief returns to Australia.

"I originally came like for two years. Here I am about 30 years later, still here," he said.

Richard Cullen, a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Hong Kong, south China, Aug. 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

During his stay, Cullen has experienced a number of major events in Hong Kong, but none shocked him as much as the 2019 chaos.

"If I look back to 2019, it is the most frightening period in my life on a continuing basis that I have ever experienced in Hong Kong or anyway," he said, recalling the dark time when the rule of law and freedom were in jeopardy. His work and life were also adversely affected.

"We had to end Friday night classes, because the fear was the students would not be able to get home," he said. Eventually, all teaching ceased on campus.

Nearly two years have passed, Cullen still thinks of those tumultuous days from time to time. But the national security law has ended the chaos and violence and people have regained their peaceful lives.

"It (the national security law) has some long-term, very positive effects, in my view, in order to maintain stability," he said.

The law professor disagrees with those who allege freedom and human rights are eroded. "In terms of actual freedom, there is much more now than there was in 2019," he said.

In the eyes of Cullen, the rule of law is one of the cornerstones of Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, which is now respected and practiced again.

"I will continue to live here. Now that stability and safety are being restored," he said.

THE REAL HONG KONG

Seven years ago, with a longing for the mysterious East, 26-year-old Stefano Dell'Erba came to China.

Dell'Erba grew up in Italy, but also studied and worked in the United States. "I saw Europe and also I went to the United States. I think life there is a little bit flat, especially if you're young," he said. "I was very curious about Asia and China. So that's why I decided to come here."

After living in Shenzhen for one year, Dell'Erba came to Hong Kong and immediately fell in love with the international metropolis.

Stefano Dell'Erba takes a walk in Hong Kong, south China, Aug. 11, 2021. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

"My first impression of Hong Kong was the city is really great. Especially it's great for young people as it's very dynamic," said Dell'Erba, adding that the passion and energy of Hong Kong are particularly intriguing to dreamers. He loves to make new friends from all over the world and comes up with better business ideas.

Dell'Erba now works as a project manager in a small investment firm and part of his job is to look for global investors. "When we invite the investors to come over to Hong Kong, they always have a positive opinion because some of them basically don't expect to see such a development, such a very dynamic and international city," he said.

The stay in Hong Kong has introduced the young Italian to the Chinese culture and made him more aware of the West's ignorance, misunderstanding and even misinterpretation of Hong Kong affairs.

"I think in the Western societies or in the Western countries, people don't really have a knowledge or information about how is life in Hong Kong or in China," he said.

Referring to views on the national security law, Dell'Erba said every country has a national security law, so why some people are worried about such a law in China's Hong Kong?

In order to show the real Hong Kong to the outside world, Dell'Erba has hosted several shows on the Internet, inviting opinion leaders in Hong Kong to talk about a variety of issues, from "yellow" and "blue" political ecology to COVID-19 and the digital renminbi.

Photo taken on July 8, 2021 shows a view of a ferris wheel and the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center in Hong Kong, south China. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

Hong Kong has become the place where Dell'Erba has lived for the longest time except his hometown in Italy.

"The work environment in Hong Kong is still great, especially for young people who want to do finance. I like to see myself in Hong Kong for a long period," he said.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
Interview: BRI fulfills UN Charter spirit, says expert

Xinhua) 09:00, August 22, 2021

Richard A. Black, the Schiller Institute's representative at the United Nations in New York, speaks during an interview in South Hackensack, New Jersey, the United States, on Aug. 20, 2021. There is a fulfillment of the United Nations (UN) Charter spirit in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said the long-time member of the Schiller Institute, a Germany-based political and economic think tank. (Xinhua/Zhang Mocheng)

NEW YORK, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- There is a fulfillment of the United Nations (UN) Charter spirit in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said a long-time member of the Schiller Institute, a Germany-based political and economic think tank.

The UN Charter affirms the equal rights of all nations, no matter big or small, said Richard A. Black, the Schiller Institute's representative at the United Nations.

The BRI is an exemplar of the way in which a big nation like China can cooperate with "nations across Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, and treat them as equal partners, because the process is win-win," Black told Xinhua in an interview on Friday.

Black also sees the BRI as the great up-lifter of nations out of poverty in the 21st century while the Article 55 of UN Charter outlines that the "conditions of stability and well-being" among nations demand "higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development."

China's complete victory against absolute poverty is an astounding achievement for mankind and "it is one that I think is not appreciated enough at the UN organization," said Black.

Black noted that the Maritime Silk Road, one of the two arms of the BRI, is extremely important for world peace.

In the last weeks of tremendous turmoil and transition in Afghanistan, fertilizer has been coming into the port of Gwadar of Pakistan along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and making its way safely to farmers in Afghanistan, said Black.

"When we look at the Maritime Silk Road, it is a way of connecting the world land bridge through all the continents, a key component, and it is functioning quite well," Black said.

Chinese rebound in exports from the hit of the COVID-19 pandemic benefits from China's foresight in taking the long term approach embodied in BRI, according to Black.

The ability of China to bounce back so quickly after the horrendous pandemic, said Black, "was not only its very wise and strict public health measures applied universally to the population, but (also) that the basis of the BRI is very, very wise," said Black.

China's goods trade with countries and regions along the Belt and Road surged by 37.9 percent in the first half of 2021 year on year to reach 824.55 billion U.S. dollars, according to data issued by China's National Development and Reform Commission.

China has understood that the key to continued prosperity is advanced, energy-intense infrastructure, which transforms the entire economic process, added Black.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
Low carbon development diversifies China-Arab energy cooperation

Xinhua) 09:02, August 22, 2021

Photo taken on Aug. 19, 2021 shows the clean energy and new materials exhibition area of the fifth China-Arab States Expo in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Feng Kaihua)

YINCHUAN, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- While China pledges to achieve a peak in carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060, Arab countries are also actively seeking energy transformation to avoid overreliance on fossil fuels.

As the two sides face similar tasks including ensuring energy security, energy cooperation has been highlighted at the ongoing fifth China-Arab States Expo in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

In 2020, Arab countries' crude oil exports to China accounted for 51.3 percent of China's total crude oil imports, making them China's most important source of crude oil imports, said Zhang Jianhua, head of China's National Energy Administration.

Chinese energy companies are also actively participating in power infrastructure construction in Arab countries. The State Grid Corporation of China has participated in a renovation project of Egypt's main power grid. Shanghai Electric took part in constructing a photovoltaic and photothermal hybrid power station in Dubai, he said.

"Over the past two decades we have seen China become the biggest trade partner and strategic external investor for many Arab and Gulf countries, especially in the energy sector," said Awaidha Murshed Ali Murshed Almarar, director of Energy Authority of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.

"Now, with the international consensus that we must act to mitigate climate change, scaling up renewable energy adoption has become a global trend," he said.

Official data shows China ranks first globally in newly installed wind-power capacity and is also a global leader in the production and use of solar energy and hydropower.

By the end of 2020, more than 40 percent of China's installed power generation capacity came from renewable resources, supporting nearly one-third of the country's electricity consumption, data from the National Energy Administration showed.

Mohammad Abunayyan, chairman of ACWA POWER, an electricity and water company in Saudi Arabia said their relationship with China started in 2008. "It has been on investment, on Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) and on equipment supply and services focused at that time in the conventional power. Then we have been able to go to the renewable (energy)."

"China is willing to help Arab states speed up transformation toward low-carbon energy. We will help them develop and utilize wind and solar energy resources based on local conditions," Zhang Jianhua said.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
Chinese ambassador delivers birthday message to giant panda in Washington zoo

Xinhua) 09:04, August 22, 2021

Photo taken on May 20, 2021 shows the giant panda cub "Xiao Qi Ji" (little miracle) during a media preview at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

"You came into the world last year during the pandemic. At such a difficult time, your arrival and every bit of your growth have given us joy and hope. For us, you are a miracle," said Chinese Ambassador Qin Gang in a birthday message to giant panda Xiao Qi Ji.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang on Saturday expressed his birthday wishes to giant panda Xiao Qi Ji at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and sent him a birthday gift via video.

"Hello Xiao Qi Ji, as you turn one today, let me wish you a very happy and fabulous birthday," said Qin in a video message posted on his Twitter account.

Xiao Qi Ji, which literally means "little miracle," was born on Aug. 21, 2020 to giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian.

"You came into the world last year during the pandemic. At such a difficult time, your arrival and every bit of your growth have given us joy and hope. For us, you are a miracle," said Qin.

Over the past year, with care and support from both Chinese and Americans, Xiao Qi Ji has grown from a tiny cub to an energetic and curious panda, said the ambassador.

"You also made your public debut not long ago. People have been watching and sharing every step of your life journey and got excited about it. You have truly added a splash of color to the exchanges between Chinese and American peoples," said Qin.

The ambassador also shared a piece of good news: The number of pandas in the wild in China is increasing. Forty years ago, there were only 1,100 pandas in the wild, but now there are 1,800. They are not "endangered" anymore, yet they will continue to be protected, Qin added.

The cooperation between China and the United States on the protection of giant pandas started in 1972. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian arrived in the United States in 2000.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
Taliban vows to have ties with all countries, denies kidnapping of foreigners at Kabul airport

Xinhua) 09:22, August 22, 2021

Afghan Taliban members are seen at a security checkpoint in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 20, 2021. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

-- The Taliban said it intended to have diplomatic and trade ties with all countries around the world, including the United States.

-- A Taliban official denied reports that foreign nationals were kidnapped near the Kabul airport, where people still crowded amid U.S.-led evacuation efforts.

-- U.S. President Joe Biden once again defended his decision for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

KABUL, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Taliban said on Saturday that it intended to have diplomatic and trade ties with all countries around the world, including the United States, while its political chief had reportedly arrived in Kabul to discuss the formation of a new government.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wants diplomatic and trade ties with all countries, particularly with the United States of America," Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, political chief of Afghanistan's Taliban, wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

Baradar denied media reports that the Taliban had not intended to have diplomatic and trade ties with the United States.

"We never talk about cutting trade ties with any countries. Rumor about this news has been a propaganda. It is not true," he said.

Earlier in the day, Baradar reportedly arrived in Kabul from southern Kandahar for consultations with Afghan leaders about the formation of a broad-based new government. He returned to Kandahar from Doha, capital of the Gulf state of Qatar on Tuesday.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has said they intended to form an inclusive government and did not want to have any internal or external enemies.

A Taliban member stands guard in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Aug. 21, 2021. (Str/Xinhua)

In another development, a Taliban official denied reports that foreign nationals were kidnapped near the Kabul airport, where people still crowded amid U.S.-led evacuation efforts.

"The report about kidnapping is a rumor. The Taliban members are helping all foreign nationals to get access to the airport. We are determined to provide safe passage to all foreigners to get to the airport," Ahmadullah Waseq, a Taliban spokesperson, told local media Eitlalatroz.

He said Taliban forces were escorting about 150 Indian citizens to safely enter the airport.

Following the Taliban's takeover of the Afghan capital on Sunday, thousands of Afghans flocked to the Kabul airport to try to leave the country.

The evacuation flights were continuing as three flights took off on Saturday morning, Kabul resident Farhad Mohammadi said. Nearly 6,000 U.S. troops have been deployed at the airport to help with the civilian departure.

At least 12 people have been killed in gun shootings and stampedes in the airport since Sunday.

People work at a bakery in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Aug. 21, 2021. (Str/Xinhua)

The situation in Afghanistan remains uncertain after the Taliban's swift takeover of most parts of the country. However, normalcy has been seemingly returning to Kabul.

"Security situation is better than the past, but fluctuation in the prices of food items in market is a matter of concerns for people and the Taliban has to check the prices as the people are poor and can't afford," Kabul resident Mukhtar Hayat told Xinhua.

He expressed delight over the improvement of situation as few crimes such as theft and robbery had been reported and there had been no bomb blast or suicide attack recently.

Meanwhile, Western nations have been scrambling to speed up evacuations from Afghanistan.

U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States has made "significant progress" and evacuated from Afghanistan over 18,000 people since July and 13,000 since Aug. 14.

Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on Aug. 20, 2021 shows a screen displaying U.S. President Joe Biden (C) delivering remarks on Afghanistan at the White House in Washington, D.C. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The U.S. president once again defended his decision for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

"Let's put this thing in perspective here. What interest do we have in Afghanistan at this point with al-Qaida gone? We went to Afghanistan for the express purpose of getting rid of al-Qaida in Afghanistan as well as getting Osama bin Laden, and we did," Biden said in a televised speech from the White House on Friday.

Biden, who has been widely criticized on the botched pullout, said he has "seen no question of our credibility from our allies around the world."

"And all our allies have agreed with that ... everyone of them knew and agreed with the decision I made to end - jointly end - our involvement in Afghanistan," he said.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
China-Arab e-commerce trade booms along "online Silk Road"

Xinhua) 10:14, August 22, 2021

YINCHUAN, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- At an exhibition booth at the ongoing fifth China-Arab States Expo, Yang Wanlong has been attracting a lot of domestic and foreign customers for his two products on display: nutritious Morchella fungi and high-quality activated carbon.

Yang, 27, runs a cross-border e-commerce company, and this exhibition, which opened Thursday in the city of Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is his first experience of such an event.

His booth is in the cross-border e-commerce exhibition area, and he has made the most of the opportunity by making meticulous preparations, designing a merchandise webpage and displaying his goods offline.

"I hope to take this opportunity to access the market in Arab countries, so that I can promote more high-quality local products and earn more through increased overseas orders," said the young man, clearly excited at the possibilities.

Last year, China-Arab trade volume reached nearly 240 billion U.S. dollars, with Arab states' imports from China rising by 2.1 percent year on year, despite the impact of the pandemic.

As an important platform for China-Arab economic ties, the fifth edition of the expo is being held both online and offline. The offline event at the Yinchuan International Convention and Exhibition Center allows customers to peruse the exhibitors' products in person. Meanwhile, thanks to technologies such as 5G, AI and big data, buyers and sellers are able to trade with each other in the virtual shop.

In ancient times, Arab and Chinese merchants made deals along the Silk Road. Today, China is pushing forward an "online Silk Road" by promoting the cross-border e-commerce industry, to further deepen the economic cooperation with Arab countries.

Data shows that in the first half of this year, China built good momentum in cross-border e-commerce trade, with the total trade value growing 28.6 percent year on year to reach 886.7 billion yuan (about 136.4 billion U.S. dollars).

"Cross-border e-commerce has been developing rapidly, and I think it can be a very efficient way for Lebanese products to be sold in China," said Joseph Tannous, economic attache of the Lebanese embassy in Beijing.

A total of 15 Lebanese companies attended the expo online, displaying products such as red wine and olive oil.

"At the moment, we are working to create the first Lebanese online cross-border e-commerce shop in China. We hope this boutique will regroup many of Lebanon's high-quality products in China," he said. "I hope in the near future more and more Lebanese products will find their way to Chinese consumers."

Ningxia, as the permanent host of the China-Arab States Expo, has been working to build the "online Silk Road," introducing and cultivating more than 180 cross-border e-commerce companies.

Yang started his cross-border e-commerce business three years ago, retailing electronic products and daily necessities. Now he does business in more than 100 countries and regions across the world, including Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.

"We receive online orders from around the world and deliver the products to customers no matter where they are," Yang said.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
Israel launches airstrikes on Gaza following clashes

Xinhua) 10:20, August 22, 2021

People carry an injured man during a protest to mark 52nd anniversary of burning Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, on the Gaza-Israel border in east of southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Aug. 21, 2021. Dozens of Palestinian protesters were injured on Saturday in clashes with Israeli soldiers near the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, Palestinian medics said. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

GAZA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Israeli fighter jets late on Saturday attacked posts and facilities of the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) here, Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses said.

The airstrikes were launched in response to clashes earlier in the day between dozens of Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers on the borders between Israel and the besieged coastal enclave, in which an Israeli sniper was seriously wounded.

Several explosions were heard in central and western Gaza Strip, causing damage to Hamas' posts and facilities, while no casualties have been reported, according to the sources.

The airstrikes also attacked weapons caches and other posts that produce weapons, said an Israeli army spokesman in a press statement.

The spokesman held the Hamas movement, which rules and controls the Gaza Strip, fully responsible for the clashes on Israel and for exploiting civilians to get involved in attacks against Israel.

Earlier on Saturday, 41 Palestinian demonstrators were injured by Israeli soldiers' fire, including 22 children, with two of them in critical condition, according to Gaza hospital officials.

On Friday, the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, including Hamas, called on people to demonstrate near the borderline area with Israel to mark the 52nd anniversary for burning al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem.

Khalil al-Hayyah, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, told reporters that his movement will continue the efforts to defend al-Aqsa Mosque and the struggle to end the Israeli blockade that has been imposed on the Gaza Strip for 15 years.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
Meng's fate hangs in air as hearings come to end

China Daily) 11:15, August 22, 2021

Meng Wanzhou. Photo: courtesy of Huawei

With the extradition hearings of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou completed and a decision now up to the judge, Canadian observers shared their views on the potential outcome.

Richard Kurland, a lawyer and editor-in-chief of Lexbase, explained that an extradition involves a judicial phase and a political one. He said the law in Canada permits the political minister to shut down an extradition case at any time.

"In Canada, the political and judicial systems are separate. While you cannot go into a criminal case and shut it down, you can do that in extradition," Kurland told China Daily.

The ruling on the extradition now rests with Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes, who reserved her decision on Wednesday and adjourned proceedings until Oct 21, adding that she would not have a verdict at that point.

Even if the judge commits Meng for surrender, the final decision on extradition is up to Canada's justice minister.

Meng, the 49-year-old chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, was arrested by Canadian authorities at the request of the United States at the Vancouver International Airport on Dec 1, 2018. She is accused of misrepresenting the Chinese telecom company's relationship with Skycom in a PowerPoint presentation to HSBC in 2013 and putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions against Iran. Meng and Huawei have repeatedly denied the accusations.

Gary Botting, a Vancouver extradition lawyer, predicted that Holmes would ultimately approve the extradition, opening a path for the justice minister to "do what he should have done in the first place, which is free Madam Meng", reported the South China Morning Post.

Meng's arrest has had a negative effect on Sino-Canadian relations, and her lawyers have claimed that she has been used as a "bargaining chip" in a trade war between the US and China.

Victor Gao, vice-president of think tank Center for China and Globalization, said Canada has been thrown under the bus by the US as far as this extradition case is concerned.

"The extradition of Meng, whose strategic value for the US, if any, has long since evaporated, may become a bargaining chip that Washington is eager to use in its overall dealings with China," wrote Gao in a commentary for journal China-US Focus.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
Aussie PM backs reopening plan amid record COVID-19 infections

Xinhua) 13:12, August 22, 2021

CANBERRA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged state and territory governments to stick with the pathway out of the coronavirus pandemic amid record case numbers.

Australia reported a record 914 new locally-acquired cases of COVID-19 on Sunday morning, a second day in a row with a new record number.

Despite widespread outbreaks of the virus, Morrison on Sunday pushed the states and territories to start easing restrictions when 70 percent of their adult populations are fully vaccinated.

The National Cabinet, which is made up of the prime minister and state and territory leaders, in July signed off on a four-phase pathway out of the pandemic that will see lockdowns used more sparingly when 70 percent of adults are inoculated.

"The point is that we need to suppress the virus as best as we can in phase A of the national plan," Morrison told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

"The national plan then transfers our focus from case numbers to issues of hospitalisation, serious illness, ICU and things of that nature."

"At 70 percent vaccination rates and 80 percent vaccination rates, then Australia is able to move out of what is really an unsustainable situation."

As many as 830 of Sunday's new cases were in New South Wales (NSW), Australia's most populous state with Sydney as the capital city.

Victoria, the second-most populous state with Melbourne as the capital city, reported a further 65 new cases, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) recorded another 19, taking the number of active cases in the ACT to 121 linked to an outbreak in Canberra as the nation's capital entered its second week of lockdown.

About half the Australian population in NSW, Victoria and ACT was still in lockdown on Sunday.

The ACT government on Saturday announced that the Floriade and Nightfest, the territory's biggest spring time event and one of its major tourism draw-cards, has been cancelled for the second straight year due to the outbreak.

"Operating large-scale events in any capacity in these circumstances is just not safe," ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said in a statement.

"There will be bulbs in bloom in Commonwealth Park through spring but the government is discouraging large scale gatherings at this time."

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
Uzbekistan approves registration of locally produced Chinese, Russian COVID-19 vaccines

Xinhua) 15:12, August 22, 2021

TASHKENT, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan has approved the registration of Chinese and Russian COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by a local pharmaceutical company, the Uzbek government announced Saturday.

Uzbek pharma Jurabek Laboratories has agreed with China's Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical and Russian pharmaceutical company Human Vaccine on the local production of the ZF-UZ-VAC2001 vaccine and the Sputnik V vaccine, according to a decree signed by Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov on Friday.

Health authorities will examine the results of laboratory tests and registration documents of the corresponding vaccines produced by Jurabek Laboratories within five days.

Earlier, Uzbek officials said that the local manufacturer intends to produce 2 million doses of Sputnik V and 10 million doses of the ZF-UZ-VAC2001 vaccine per year.

According to data by the country's health ministry, over 9 million vaccine doses have been administered so far and nearly 1.3 million people have been fully vaccinated.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
Greece has erected a 25-mile fence and installed a new surveillance system on its border with Turkey as fears mount of a surge in Afghan refugees trying to reach Europe. Greece has faced recurring refugee crises since 2015, when more than a million mainly Syrian refugees swarmed through its land and sea borders to escape conflict in their homeland.

Speaking from Checkpoint One, Greece's key border post along the country's rugged land frontiers with Turkey, Public Order Minister Michalis Chryssochoidis sounded what he called a clear and fair warning. "Our borders," he said, "will remain safe and inviolable. And we will not allow any indiscriminate inflow of refugees."

The minister's warning sounded as he toured the checkpoint and a soaring, 25-mile, steel fence completed in recent days amid fears of a deluge of Afghan refugees fleeing for their lives after the Taliban takeover.

Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said the Greek fence along the shallow Evros river that separates the country from Turkey is just part of a bigger plan pieced together by authorities to further shield the country against a new migration crisis. "We are on alert, but Greece," he said, "will continue to protect itself from any threat."

The defense minister said special surveillance systems, including a fleet of drones and night cameras, had been installed across the new fence to watch for illegal crossings. Army bulldozers were also seen plowing across stretches of the country's northern frontier with Bulgaria, where military trucks were unloading barbed wired to erect more fences.
Press Release

August 22, 2021 De Lima urges Congress to investigate contract awarded for 2022 elections equipment to Duterte-linked firm Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima urged the Congress to investigate the Commission on Elections' (COMELEC) awarding of logistics contract for the 2022 presidential elections to F2 Logistics Philippines, a firm which is largely controlled by noted Duterte campaign donor and Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy. In filing Senate Resolution No. 855, De Lima stressed the need to ensure that the election processes are free from even suspicions of cheating, manipulation, and irregularities by disqualifying suppliers with known links to identified political parties and possible candidates. "There is a need to avoid any semblance of conflict of interest and ensure that no supplier that participated in partisan political activities should be awarded with contracts connected to the conduct of our national and local elections," she said. "Any transaction or contract that would erode public trust in government, and in the objectivity of civil service, must be put under the strictest scrutiny," she added. Last July 27, the COMELEC special bids and awards committee (SBAC) declared F2 Logistics Philippines, Inc. as the bidder with the lowest calculated bid for the 1.61 billion project for the procurement and deployment of election equipment, peripherals, forms, supplies, paraphernalia and warehousing for 2022 elections. F2 supposedly bested three other firms that qualified out of eight participating companies. As the winning bidder, the firm is expected to deliver equipment and supplies such as vote-counting machines, external batteries and accessories, consolidation or canvassing system machines, transmission equipment and devices, and ballots. Uy, who was previously awarded a government contract and was investigated for his alleged links with the administration, has reportedly sat as chairman of F2 Logistics Philippines since 2006. De Lima, a former election lawyer, said the Senate should ensure that the awarding of government contracts is compliant with the provisions of the Government Procurement Reform Act and other relevant laws. "There is a need to revisit and review existing rules and regulations regarding the bidding out of government contracts to ensure competitiveness and fair play in public bidding processes," she said. Should conflict of interest be found to surround the subject contract, De Lima pointed out that those who are found to have taken part in it must be brought before the public to answer for the decisions they have made and choices they have taken that could potentially endanger public interest. "Even a whiff of cronyism and the slightest accusation of possible corruption must warrant public concern for these threaten the people's right of suffrage," she said. "This issue should not be taken lightly especially when an apparent majority control over many industries that affect the lives and rights of Filipinos are concentrated in the same hands and within the same circle of those who are closely connected to the President," she added.
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An early morning barn fire at Ellis Park has caused the cancellation of Sunday's training and racing card at the Kentucky racecourse.

In a press conference this morning, Ellis Park Racing General Manger Jeffery Inman reported that the fire occurred in the receiving barn after 4 a.m. on Sunday morning.

Dispatchers received the call at 4:21 a.m., with a total of seven county fire departments responding on site to extinguish the fire, which fully engulfed the 25-year-old barn.

All people and horses were accounted for, with no human injuries and one minor equine injury.

"We're very grateful here at Ellis Park that everybody here is safe," said Inman. "The horses and our people are our family and that's our biggest concern."

Officials with the track and Henderson County praised the quick response by the fire departments, track management, the maintenance crew and security.

"Ellis Park appreciates the support it gets from the Tri-State areas -- not just Henderson, who is our home, but from Evansville and our surrounding areas," said Inman. "Everybody came to help us and we greatly appreciate the assistance."

While the investigation is still ongoing into the cause of the fire, officials reported that the cause appears to be electrical in nature and no criminal activity is suspected.

Training is expected to resume tomorrow, with the next live race card scheduled for Friday, Aug. 27.
World Economic Forums annual Sustainable Development Impact Summit will take place next month under the theme 'Shaping an Equitable, Inclusive and Sustainable Recovery'.

Taking place in the context of the United Nations General Assembly, the summit, from September 20 to 23, will welcome leaders from government, business and civil society who will work together to drive action and build momentum for a more sustainable and inclusive future.

The meeting will examine four interdependent areas and bring together communities of purpose to advance ongoing project work. Impact sessions, and briefings will focus on revitalising economies, advancing an inclusive recovery, scaling up climate action and shaping future food system.

Leaders from civil society are crucial stakeholders at Forum events - they bring unique perspectives and expertise to drive changes. Cultural influencers, philosophers, artists, scientists, and academics will participate throughout the week.

Cross-disciplinary leaders from the Forums Global Future Councils, the worlds foremost knowledge network, as well as youth voices from the Global Shapers, Young Global Leaders, Technology Pioneers and UpLink communities will also play active roles.

Meanwhile, media sign-up is now open for the summit. Members of the media who sign up as reporting press will have access to issue briefings and media sessions, networking opportunities with senior executives and global innovators, and embargoed reports and company announcements. Closer to the meeting dates, registered media will receive a confirmation package with meeting related updates and embargoed materials.

Here are some of the sessions and issues that will be advanced at the summit:

*Global Implications of the European Green Recovery;

*Tackling Inequality in a Decade of Action;

*Women's Leadership in Times of Crisis;

*Trade for Tomorrow;

*Financing the Net-Zero Future;

*The Future of Manufacturing by 2030;

*Scaling Africa's Digital Transformation; and

*Breaking Silos to Achieve Food and Climate Security.-- TradeArabia News Service
Schneider Electric has become the latest member of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG), the capitals leading initiative to champion sustainability issues for both government and the private sector.

Schneider Electric and the ADSG will share knowledge on the latest research and solutions for topics such as carbon emissions reduction, energy efficiency and renewable energy. Schneider Electric will also support the ADSG in key focus areas including youth engagement and sustainability reporting. Both entities will work side by side to promote a greener future for the UAEs capital.

Established by the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) in 2008, the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG) is an exclusive public private partnership initiative that brings together UAE-based organisations with global thought leaders to discuss both global and local sustainability trends and drive co-operation and co-responsibility on sustainability issues.

The ADSGs goals include capability building, knowledge sharing and advocacy for issues such as energy efficiency, sustainability reporting and the circular economy. The ADSGs membership growth, from 14 organisations in 2008 to over 50 members as of today, reflects the growing importance and interest in sustainable-related topics in Abu Dhabi.

Named the worlds most sustainable company by Corporate Knights, Schneider Electrics core mission is to help customers around the world become more energy efficient and sustainable. 70% of the companys revenues are from solutions that are classed as green, as they help reduce energy usage and carbon emissions. The company has committed itself to delivering 800 million tonnes of saved and avoided CO2 emissions to customers throughout the world, including Abu Dhabi and the UAE, by 2025.

Huda Al Houqani, Director, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group, Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi commented: I am delighted to welcome Schneider Electric into the Groups membership which is definitely an added value towards promoting sustainability management in Abu Dhabi and achieving the common goal of creating a sustainable future.

Were seeing growth in the adoption of best sustainability management and framework among our members and the wider community at large, and theres much we can do to jointly promote and learn from each other, when it comes to reducing our ecological footprint and improving our resource efficiency. Schneider Electric has much to contribute in terms of lessons learned and new ideas.

Earlier this year, Schneider Electric announced the launch of its sustainability consultancy in the Gulf, with services tailored to the identification of energy efficiency savings, carbon offset programs, offsite renewable energy sourcing, electric mobility advising, and supply chain and logistics optimisation. The company believes that the Gulf can lead the wider region on a range of sustainability issues, thanks to bodies such as the ADSG.

Abu Dhabi has long been at the forefront of areas like renewable energy, and were seeing an increasing interest in issues such as energy efficiency, sustainability planning, and carbon emission reduction, said Natalja Kissina, Sustainability Leader and Human Resources VP for the Gulf at Schneider Electric. Much of the awareness around these issues is due to groups like the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group, who have spoken publicly for over a decade on how Abu Dhabis businesses and organisations can become greener. We are proud to be able to contribute to ADSGs good work and become its partner in pushing for a greener future for the Emirate and the wider region.-- TradeArabia News Service
Dubai is seeing a strong revival in wooden dhow trade due to the establishment of the Marine Agency for Wooden Dhows, with wooden dhow exports reaching 365,632 tonnes and imports reaching 260,001 tonnes in the first half of 2021.



Established by the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC) in July 2020 to streamline and regulate the activity of the traditional vessels in the emirates waters, the Agency facilitated the entry of more than 5,383 wooden ships into the ports of the emirate during H1, reported state news agency Wam.



Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, said the Marine Agency for Wooden Dhows, which is exclusively responsible for regulating the activity of wooden dhow ships in Dubai waters, has simplified and expedited various procedures related to the docking, departure, and clearance of merchandise of the vessels in Dubai.



It also coordinates with government agencies to manage all aspects of maritime safety of wooden ships and safeguard the rights and interests of seafarers working on them.



The Agency also provides several commercial options for the vessels such as facilitating long-term contracts for their services, in addition to protecting their merchandise from damage during loading and unloading operations at Dubai ports.



A major historical commercial destination, the Dubai Creek has been the centre of the dhow trade in the Gulf and beyond for several centuries. Traditional dhows, now powered by modern engines, continue to ply routes between ports across the Mena region trading goods ranging from foodstuff to furniture. Merchandise carried by the traditional vessels are a major source of supply for traditional souqs located along Dubai Creek as well as the emirates fruit and vegetable and livestock markets.



The dhow trade plying through Dubai has also seen a digital transformation with DP Worlds introduction of the NAU digital marketplace. Launched officially in February 2020, NAU connects dhow owners with traders allowing them to search, negotiate and book shipments.



The app uses the latest AI technologies to connect traders with the boat captains. Dhow Captains (locally called Naukhda) have the facility to view business requests from traders that match their planned trade routes and available dhow space.



Accordingly, the app helps Naukhdas to effectively plan their trips, optimise efficiency in dhow space utilisation and ultimately generate higher revenues. Traders, on the other hand, can search for availability of cargo dhows in Dubai, based on their requirements.
Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker Co (Shaker), Saudi Arabias leading importer, manufacturer and distributor of air conditioners and home appliances, has posted first-half (H1) net profit of SR15.3 million ($4.08 million). This is a remarkable improvement compared to SR2.8 million made in H1 2020.

The performance was supported by robust sales for the fourth consecutive quarter as a result of Shakers portfolio expansion and improvement across its distribution channels in line with its strategy.

Shaker achieved revenue of SR577.8 million, growing by 18.2% compared to H1 2020. Gross profit of SR119.0 million increased by 17.2% year-on-year.

Mohammed Ibrahim Abunayyan, Chief Executive Officer at Shaker, said: Shaker maintained robust sales growth during the first half of the year, marking four sequential financial quarters of sustained improvements in profitability and earnings for the business. This performance is underpinned by the continued expansion of our portfolio and enhancements to our distribution channels in line with our 2021-2023 strategy.

Shaker has succeeded in growing market share in the Home Appliance segment and steadily growing the AC segment. Business segment sales continue to grow, demonstrating healthy market appetite for Shakers products and services.

At present, we believe that the current portfolio mix is optimal to achieve our medium-term targets, however we remain agile in our approach to strategic acquisitions should they complement our existing revenue streams, predominantly in the Home Appliances segment. Government projects continue to provide a healthy pipeline of opportunities to help increase our leading market share in the AC segment.

Whilst the second quarter was marked by some challenges, Shaker was successful in mitigating those, including the impact on sales due to shorter working days In Ramadan and the Eid break. This was achieved by ensuring smooth coordination across all departments and the majority of teams across Shaker achieved record sales targets in the second quarter, especially in the Home Appliances segment.

OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

*Employee costs reduced by 9.0% from H1 2020;

*Ongoing implementation of new strategy to diversify brand portfolio and optimise supply chain;

*B2B sales restructuring to solidify operations in preparation for H2 2021; and

Robotics and AI technology successfully integrated at LG-Shaker factory in Riyadh, enhancing existing manufacturing capabilities.

OUTLOOK AND STRATEGY

The company continues to execute on its new strategy that will take the business through to 2023. The diversification of the brand portfolio will be prioritised with the aim to become the preferred choice for partners and customers in the Saudi consumer electronics and home appliances sector, while continuing to maintain its market leadership in the Saudi AC market.

Opportunities continue to emerge as a result of government projects and real estate initiatives and Shaker is well positioned to capture a healthy share of these contracts. Mega projects, including Neom, Amaala and Red Sea Development, remain a steady and important source of opportunities for Shakers AC business in tandem with energy efficiency programmes by the government, including Saudi Energy Efficiency Centres (SEEC) high-efficiency AC initiative, and Tarsheed, the Saudi governments National Energy Services Company.

Improving market share across the segments in which Shaker operates remains a priority for the management team.

Shaker remains agile in its approach towards brand acquisitions, seeking first to complement the strong line-up of brands already on offer. Consumer demand for energy efficient Home Appliances continues to increase as the market recovers and retail stores re-open, along with the recovery of consumer purchasing power.

Shaker, which is listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Saudi Exchange) (symbol: SHAKER), is a leader in the Saudi market as both a distributor for international electrical brands and a local manufacturer of LG Air Conditioners. The companys portfolio brands include LG Air Conditioners, as well as Indesit, Ariston, Maytag, Midea, Bompani and Panasonic. The company took an important strategic step towards diversifying operations and revenue streams by establishing ESCO, as a business unit of Shaker.-- TradeArabia News Service
Pinsanity, the Italian pinsa - a delicacy of hand-pressed pizza - brand, is expanding its portfolio in the Middle East region with the introduction of its first international operational outlets in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The home-grown brands primary location in the kingdom had opened on August 19 at Laban. The brand will be strengthened with two more branches opening in the financial district of Olaya, and the central neighbourhood of Qurtubah.

Set up as cloud kitchens in partnership with Kitopi KSA, the outlets will focus on delivery to local areas making it accessible for more residents and new customers.

Pinsanity Founder Alessandro Dubaldo said: Opening in Saudi Arabia was really only a matter of time, and we wanted to ensure we had the perfect locations for our branches.

"Pinsanity saw great success in the UAE and the Saudi Arabian market is a great expansion step, leading the way for future openings in the country and beyond.

Director of Growth at Kitopi Manuel Oliveira said: The brand has made a mark in the UAE and continues to grow within the region and we are glad to be their partner in such success.

All outlets will be following government-advised rules and regulations in regards to Covid-19 as well as all other required safety protocols to ensure the wellbeing and safety of customers, apart from introducing digital menus.

The line up of new openings of Pinsanity will be available in Saudi Arabia through Hunger Station.-TradeArabia News Service
by Giorgio Bernardelli

The family landed today in Rome after an airlift from Kabul organised by Italy. Starting with Ali Ehsani's appeal published by AsiaNews, the Fondazione Meet Human took charge of the case of this group of hidden believers whose father disappeared a few days ago. The rescue might be a drop in the ocean, but the ocean is made up of drops.

Rome (AsiaNews)  A little over a week ago, when no one thought that Kabul would fall so quickly into the hands of the Taliban, AsiaNews reported the story of Ali Ehsani, an Afghan exile and writer, who spoke about the violence against hidden Christians.

[T]hey move from area to area. They want to leave the country but have no one to help them. I am looking for a humanitarian channel that can help them, lamented Ehsani, as the Taliban push became ever more real.

At the time, Ehsani spoke of the tragedy of those underground Afghan Christians who, among a thousand difficulties, lived their faith in Jesus, in a country where, even before the latest tragic turn of events, Christianity was only accepted as a religion of foreigners.

As a Christian, Ehsani had fled Afghanistan in the 1990s at the tender age of eight with his brother after he saw his parents killed and their home razed to the ground. Now, as he kept in touch with the family in Kabul with whom he had been in contact for months, he relived his own story.

A week ago, They had not heard from their father for two days. Even his wife and five children are in danger, they must have discovered them.

If we mention this story, it is because, amid Afghanistans tragedy, we can say that at least P.G., the children and some other close relatives are now safe. They landed in Romes Fiumicino airport today, brought out on an airlift organised by the Italian government to rescue Italian nationals and Afghans at risk.

They bring with them all the pain they left behind, Ehsani explained. They have not had any further news about their father for the past ten days. It would have been too dangerous for them to stay in Kabul.

What made their evacuation possible was the commitment of those who read the AsiaNews article and decided not to remain indifferent.

A few hours after publication, we were contacted by the Fondazione Meet Human, the youngest branch of the Bergamo-based Fondazione San Michele Arcangelo, which is dedicated to solidarity in developing countries through education and work.

We heard the story. It will be very difficult, but if you want, we can try to do something for them, President Daniele Nembrini told AsiaNews.

AsiaNews immediately put him in touch with Ali Ehsani, who continued to knock on every door on behalf of these people with whom he was constantly in contact in Afghanistan, sharing their anguish.

Thanks to the Fondazione Meet Human, which accepted responsibility for this group of people once in Italy, Italian authorities included the Christian family of Kabul, which includes eight minors, in the lists of people to be rescued.

However, the problem remained of getting them to the Kabul airport, an operation that was successful on Thursday thanks to the information provided by Ali and the work of the Italian military.

Today they arrived in Rome and will be placed in quarantine at a military facility, before they start their journey with the Fondazione Meet Human.

We are grateful to Italian civilian and military authorities for this complicated and demanding rescue operation, Nembrini said, not to mention the many people who worked for its success. It might be a drop in the ocean, but the ocean is made up of drops.

As for us at AsiaNews, this story has once again reminded us of the importance of being the voice of the voiceless, but also of how extraordinary our readers are, aware that the tragedy of Kabul's "hidden Christians" will not end with this family.

Now they will have to try to overcome the fear and suffering they went through, Ali Ehsani told us today. But there are certainly many more families like theirs still in Kabul.

Now it is up to us not to forget them.
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A Pakistan Army captain was killed and two soldiers suffered injuries after their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by terrorists in Balochistan's Gichik area.

The injured soldiers were shifted to a medical facility in Khuzdae, the Pakistan military's media affairs wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Sunday.

Balochistan has witnessed an uptick in violence in restive Balochistan.

Earlier this week, two children were killed and four others, including a Chinese national, were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up targeting a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals in Gwadar.

Recently, fighting between the Pakistan security forces and Baloch insurgents intensified in the region.

Balochistan is a resource-rich but least developed province of Pakistan where a movement for freedom has been ongoing for the past several decades.

Many Balochs believe that the region was independent before 1947 and was forcibly occupied by Pakistan.

In its 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights, the US State Department has highlighted significant human rights issues in Pakistan, including unlawful or arbitrary killings by the government and forced disappearance of Pashtun, Sindhi and Baloch human rights activists.

(ANI)

Also Read: Afghanistan: 7 killed at Kabul Airport as people try to flee country
Hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from one of the worst droughts in the south of Madagascar in 40 years, the most senior UN official in the country has said, warning that the population is facing a severe humanitarian crisis.

Issa Sanogo, the UN Resident Coordinator in Madagascar, visited the area recently and spoke to UN News about how climate change is making life increasingly difficult for the people who live there and how the UN is helping those in need.

The southern part of Madagascar is facing drought for the last three years. The drought has wiped out harvests and hampered people access to food and COVID-19 compounded their suffering

"We started the visit in Betroka, an area known for its insecurity because of the presence of 'Dahalo,' the local name for cattle rustlers, which is now faced with food insecurity due to drought resulting from low rainfall.

"We then moved further south to Amboasary and Ambovombe, two areas located in arid lands, where we encountered populations dealing with crop failures. Here, almost three million people are suffering the consequences of two consecutive extreme droughts. In the town of Amboasary Atsimo, about 75 per cent of the population is facing severe hunger and 14,000 people are on the brink of famine," Sanogo said.

In the village of Marovato, located only eight kilometers from Ambovombe, the people have not been targeted for help, as they are considered part of the urban population and therefore do not meet the criteria for support, UN News reported.

However, these people have been significantly affected by sandstorms; all of their croplands are silted up, and they cannot produce anything.

"Most areas in the south are already in a nutritional emergency, so it is inevitable that women and children will be even more affected if we don't intervene," Sanogo added.

(ANI)

Also Read: US: Tennessee flooding leaves at least eight people dead, about 40 still missing, say reports
The Taliban have pledged amnesty to those who worked with the U.S., NATO and the toppled Afghan government, but many Afghans still fear revenge attacks. There have been reports in recent days of the Taliban hunting down their former enemies. Its unclear if Taliban leaders are saying one thing and doing another, or if fighters are taking matters into their own hands.
Were gonna try our very best to get everybody, every American citizen who wants to get out, out, Austin said in the interview. And weve got -- we continue to look at different ways to -- in creative ways -- to reach out and contact American citizens and help them get into the airfield. He later said this included non-Americans who qualify for evacuation, including Afghans who have applied for Special Immigrant Visas.
The driver, 29, was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries after being struck by gunfire, Korando wrote in an email. The driver was pronounced dead at 3:15 a.m. Sunday, according to information from the Cook County medical examiners office. The agency had not identified him Monday.
The man and two small children were being towed on a water tube behind a pontoon boat when it flipped over. The children were wearing life vests and were helped back into the boat by their mother. The man was not wearing a life vest and struggled to stay afloat before going under, officials said.
Jesse Jackson, a Chicago civil rights leader, is vaccinated against the virus and received his first dose in January during a publicized event as he urged others to receive the inoculation as soon as possible. The vaccination status of his, wife, who is also an activist, was unclear. Family members said she has an unspecified underlying health condition that triggered concerns in recent days.
The Chicago Fire Department took two men, 39 and 40, to the University of Chicago Medical Center. The younger man was in fair condition after being shot in the ankle; the older man was in critical condition after being shot in the lower backside and leg. Three other people took themselves to hospitals with gunshot wounds to their limbs. A man, 32, was in good condition at Advocate Trinity Hospital. Two women, 44 and 25, were in fair condition at the University of Chicago Medical Center and good condition at Advocate Trinity Hospital, respectively.
We helped people down off the toll road and took them in, he said. A lot of the truck drivers we housed at the fire station  we had something like 100 drivers there. And the couples who were up in cars, we got them stationed with different families in town. There were a lot of families taking in people off the Tollway. It was three days before they got that road finally cleared off.
The number of land-sea freight trains in China's western regions surged 96 percent year on year, totaling 3,154 in the first seven months of 2021, according to China State Railway Group Co. Ltd. (China Railway).

During the period, the freight trains carried approximately 314,000 20-foot equivalent unit containers of goods, growing 287 percent from the same period in 2020, on the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

The corridor is a trade and logistics passage jointly built by Singapore and provincial-level regions of western China. Chongqing Municipality is the center of operation for the corridor.

Over the past four years, the land-sea freight train services have expanded their destinations to more than 300 ports in over 100 countries and regions, with more than 500 categories of goods transported.

The train services of the corridor have been connected with those on China-Europe freight train routes, according to China Railway.
 Flash

Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang on Saturday expressed his birthday wishes to giant panda Xiao Qi Ji at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and sent him a birthday gift via video.



"Hello Xiao Qi Ji, as you turn one today, let me wish you a very happy and fabulous birthday," said Qin in a video message posted on his Twitter account.

Xiao Qi Ji, which literally means "little miracle," was born on Aug. 21, 2020 to giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian.

"You came into the world last year during the pandemic. At such a difficult time, your arrival and every bit of your growth have given us joy and hope. For us, you are a miracle," said Qin.

Over the past year, with care and support from both Chinese and Americans, Xiao Qi Ji has grown from a tiny cub to an energetic and curious panda, said the ambassador.

"You also made your public debut not long ago. People have been watching and sharing every step of your life journey and got excited about it. You have truly added a splash of color to the exchanges between Chinese and American peoples," said Qin.

The ambassador also shared a piece of good news: The number of pandas in the wild in China is increasing. Forty years ago, there were only 1,100 pandas in the wild, but now there are 1,800. They are not "endangered" anymore, yet they will continue to be protected, Qin added.

The cooperation between China and the United States on the protection of giant pandas started in 1972. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian arrived in the United States in 2000.
Franklin Graham is asking Christians around the world to join him in a day of prayer for the people of Afghanistan on Sunday.

The Samaritan's Purse CEO called the situation in Afghanistan "desperate" and a "life or death situation" for the country's Christians.

With large crowds still swarming around Kabul airport desperate for an evacuation flight, Graham said it would take a "miracle from the hand of God" to get everyone out safely.

"Thousands of people who know they will be targeted by the Taliban are trying to get out of the country and can't, with the Taliban blocking access to the airport and other exit routes," he said.

"This is a life or death situation for Christians and other religious minorities, for Afghans who worked with or for America, and for Americans who are left in Afghanistan.

"The Islamic extremists who have taken Afghanistan by force have a history of brutality, including beheadings and public executions. We know what they are capable of. There is no hope for these people to get out safelyapart from a miracle from the hand of Godand that's what we need to pray for."

Earlier this week, Graham hit out at Biden's handling of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the "little thought" given to rescuing the tens of thousands of Afghans who worked for America during its 20-year war on terror in the country.

"What's unfolding in Afghanistan is tragic," he said.

"Today, President Biden tried to defend his Afghanistan policy, but there is no way to defend this catastrophe. The more than $2 trillion spent; the 2,448 American lives lost; the 20,000+ American military wounded; and the promises made by both Democrat and Republican administrations that we would stay the course until they had freedom and democracyall for nothing. The Taliban who took over the country are Islamic extremists who have no mercy and no respect for human life.

"This ill-thought-out decision of the Biden/Harris administration means a death sentence for many freedom-loving Afghans."

He added, "The blood of this nation will be on the hands of the Biden/Harris administration."



Reposted with permission from Christian Today
GVMC deputy educational officer D. Srinivas said that the government has renovated 50 of the 147 schools in GVMC limits under the Nadu-Nedu scheme by spending Rs.13 crore in the first phase. Representational Image. (PTI)

Vishakhapatanam: Our school is so beautiful now. We like to spend more time here than at home, was the orchestrated reaction of a large number of smartly-attired students from KDPM High School at Chinna Waltair in Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) limits when Deccan Chronicle asked them How is your school?

Like the students, even teachers said We were surprised to see our school after the Covid-induced lockdown. We feel like the good old days have returned to government schools.

One Galaavilli Harika, IX standard student, said "I did not expect that I would be studying in such a wonderful school, which looks better than corporate institutions."

Anakapalli GVMC girls high school headmistress B. Hemalatha said that the government selected heads of best performing schools for special acclaim. "I was one of the proud teachers to be felicitated by the Chief Minister during the Nadu-Nedu programme in East Godavari," Hemalatha said.

GVMC deputy educational officer D. Srinivas said that the government has renovated 50 of the 147 schools in GVMC limits under the Nadu-Nedu scheme by spending `13 crore in the first phase. Forty more schools have been selected for the second phase, he added.

We have received nearly 15 per cent more admissions compared to the previous year. It could go up by another five per cent in the next few weeks. An increase in the number of new admissions can directly be attributed to the scheme," Srinivas told this correspondent.

He said that the strength of all government schools could touch 30,000 while last academic year saw only 21,000 students. This year schools will report houseful strength, he said.

Nearly 70 new teachers would be required against the existing 985 teachers, said a teachers' union leader.

Meanwhile, former minister KS Jawahar on Saturday accused the Jagan Mohan Reddy government of bringing the Nadu-Nedu programme only to give contracts to YSRC leaders, who will loot public wealth.

Jawahar demanded a detailed probe into the huge corruption that exists as many ruling party leaders are claiming bills without doing any work under the scheme in some schools. In other schools, they did poor quality work but claimed exorbitant bills. In some instances, they collected money for more works than they actually carried out.
It is not immediately clear when the multi-agency team was deployed at the Kabul airport. (AFP Photo)

New Delhi: A small group of Indian officials is coordinating the country's evacuation missions at the Kabul international airport amid continuing chaos and a challenging ground situation, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The multi-agency group has been coordinating with the American officials handling security at the airport as well as other relevant authorities, they said.

India evacuated 200 people, including the Indian envoy and other staffers of its embassy in Kabul, in two C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft of the IAF by Tuesday in view of the deteriorating security situation in the Afghan capital city. Kabul fell to the Taliban last Sunday.

It is not immediately clear when the multi-agency team was deployed at the Kabul airport.

On Monday last, the Ministry of External Affairs set up a special Afghanistan cell to coordinate repatriation of Indians and handle related matters.

Sources said the cell received more than 2,000 phone calls and answered over 6,000 WhatsApp queries during the first five days of its operation. It replied to more than 1,200 e-mails during the period.

India on Sunday brought back 392 people, including two Afghan lawmakers, in three different flights as part of its mission to evacuate Indians and Afghan partners from Kabul.

A total of 168 people, including 107 Indians and 23 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, were flown from Kabul to the Hindon airbase near Delhi in a C-17 heavy-lift military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Another group of 87 Indians and two Nepalese nationals was brought back in a special Air India flight from Dushanbe, a day after they were evacuated to the Tajikistan capital in an IAF 130J transport aircraft, officials said.

Separately, 135 Indians, who were earlier evacuated from Kabul to Doha in the last few days by the US and NATO aircraft, were flown back from the Qatari capital city to Delhi in a special flight, they said.
Police said false news was being spread that the High Court of Telangana had ordered that the traffic police have no powers to seize the vehicles for non-payment of challans. (Representational Photo:DC)

HYDERABAD: The Cyberabad police on Sunday said false information was being spread on social media platforms over the powers of the police to detain or seize vehicles being driven by drunk drivers. In a statement, the Cyberabad police said they indeed had powers to detain such vehicles which could be released only after the due process, as laid down by the law.

The police said false news was being spread that the High Court of Telangana had ordered that the traffic police have no powers to seize the vehicles for non-payment of challans. The police said there was no such blanket order and that some persons, for reasons best known to them, were issuing misleading statements in the media and social media creating confusion among the public. Legal action was being considered against those spreading this false information, the police said.

The statement said the High Court, in its order on August 11, this year, disposing a writ petition directed the petitioner to submit a fresh application to the police seeking release of his vehicle as per the law within two weeks from the date of the order and that the police had to consider the same and pass an appropriate order in another eight weeks thereafter. Following this, the Cyberabad police said, the person who had filed the writ petition, on August 19 paid the pending challan against the seized vehicle and got the vehicle released.

The police can detain a vehicle with pending traffic violation challans that are more than 90 days old about which the vehicle owner has been intimated by the police at least once either electronically or over a call. It is the vehicle owners duty to regularly check whether their vehicle is driven in contravention of any traffic rules and if any traffic violation challans have been issued against their vehicles, following which they should pay the penalty. Any discrepancies in the challans can be reported to the authorities online for verification and rectification as needed, the Cyberabad police said.
Bengaluru: With schools for class nine and ten and pre-university colleges in Karnataka opening from Monday, Chief Minister of the State Basavaraj Bommai asked his Cabinet colleagues to visit the campuses to encourage teachers and students.

In a set of tweets, Bommai asked the students to review the precautionary measures for COVID-19.

"Children of classes 9, 10 and PUC get back to their schools & colleges from tomorrow. I urge my Cabinet colleagues to visit the campuses in their districts, encourage students, teachers and review the precautionary measures taken for the safe conduct of physical classes," Bommai tweeted.

He said the State government has decided to reopen schools and colleges considering the future of the children.

Stating that all safety measures have been taken as suggested by experts, Bommai said, "I appeal to parents to encourage their children to attend physical classes and follow COVID-appropriate behaviour."

The schools and colleges were shut following the fear of the third wave of COVID-19 hitting children.

Karnataka conducted the 10th class examination this year defying the COVID scare.
HYDERABAD: Malkajgiri police, who are investigating a reported attack on BJP Malkajgiri corporator Vurapalli Sravan Kumar, said that they had not found any evidence to substantiate the allegations levelled by the corporator.

Kumar had lodged a complaint alleging that he was stabbed with a beer bottle by TRS activists in GHMC premises on August 15.

"TRS Malkajgiri MLA Mynampally Hanumanth Rao, along with corporators Prem Kumar, Ramu Yadav, former corporator Jagadish Goud, Sathish Kumar, Gunda Niranjan, Naka Prabhakar Goud and 50 others started abusing and attacked me with beer bottles and other sharp-edged items with an intention to eliminate me," Kumar said in the FIR copy.

On the progress of investigations into the incident, which was followed by days of protests by BJP cadre, a Malkajgiri police officer said We have analysed several hours of CCTV footage in the premises of GHMC office. We have not found any beer bottles as claimed by the complainant. We did not find any concrete evidence to substantiate the allegations. Subsequently, we issued a notice under 91 CrPC to submit any credible evidence to augment their version."

Confirming the same, Kumar told Deccan Chronicle "I have received a notice from Malkajgiri police. Accordingly, I have submitted 10 videos and names of 20 eyewitnesses. There is more evidence than has been listed in the reply."

The copy of Kumar's reply to the police notice is in the possession of this correspondent.

"I have approached GHMC officials to get the CCTV footage. However, police have already collected the footage. I fear that evidence would be tampered," said Kumar, adding that there has been no arrest so far.

It is pertinent to note that Malkajgiri police booked cases against the opposite parties. In one, they booked a case against Hanumanth Rao's associates in connection with the attack on Kumar on Sunday. Further, based on complaints from TRS members, they booked a case against Sravan Kumar and his associates.

Both cases have been booked under sections 307, 323, 324, 354, 143, 147, 149 and also under Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act-1971.
The Narendra Modi government has not said much officially about the way in which the United States has handled the retreat from Afghanistan and its consequences for India, but most foreign policy commentators and the media have been extremely critical.

Its a Russian proverb, doveryai no proveryai (trust, but verify), that was made famous by Americas 1980s President Ronald Reagan. That was his reply when asked if he could trust Mikhail Gorbachev and the Soviet Union when he was making the deals he made. Its a thought that India has been forced to remember by the recent events in Afghanistan.

There is a dramatic decline in the publicly expressed Indian trust in the commitment of the United States to its security. The Narendra Modi government has not said much officially about the way in which the United States has handled the retreat from Afghanistan and its consequences for India, but most foreign policy commentators and the media have been extremely critical.

Starting with former President Donald Trumps decision to negotiate the American exit with the Taliban and ending with President Joe Bidens decision to set a date and fly out, there was little prior consultation with India. Indian government sources have been left satisfying themselves with the fact that the US facilitated the return of Indians from Kabul. A media report even quotes Indian diplomatic sources claiming that the US governments cooperation was the key to the evacuation of Indian diplomats and civilians  a testament to the close strategic partnership between the two countries.

For years now Indian diplomacy has diluted the concept of strategic partnership by allowing the political leadership to sign all manner of joint statements with all and sundry. India has signed 30 strategic partnerships, and one recently even with Rwanda! My understanding of the India-US strategic partnership has always been that the US would keep India in the loop on such decisions as Mr Trumps infamous Doha deal and Mr Bidens catastrophic exit plan before these were hatched, given their security implications for India. Arranging safe transit out is about tactics, not strategy.

A report on public opinion about Indian foreign policy, conducted towards the end of December 2020 and published earlier this month by the New Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation, showed that an overwhelming 77 per cent of those surveyed said that they would trust the United States  32 per cent said completely while 45 per cent said somewhat. The survey, conducted in 14 languages, was served to a random sample of urban youth in the age group of 18-35 across 14 cities. A similar poll taken today would perhaps throw up a vastly different number. Whatever the governments media spin now, the fact is that the ignominious retreat of the United States from Kabul ought to dent Indian, indeed global, trust in US leadership of the so-called free world.

Whatever the global and regional consequences and learnings from the United States retreat from Kabul, it will take some effort on the part of the Biden administration to regain this level of Indian trust in Americas commitment to our national security.

Assiduously built over two decades from the time when President Bill Clinton tilted away from Pakistan and towards India in the midst of the 1999 Kargil war and through the historic India-US civil nuclear deal heralded by President George W. Bush, Indian public trust in the US weathered challenges to arrive at the point where it did in late 2020.

By once again exposing India to the renewed challenges of jihadi terrorism, that many believe will be an inevitable consequence of the US retreat and the dramatic victory of the Taliban, President Biden has dealt a blow to Indian national security and to the India-US partnership. To be sure, there has been consistency in US approach to the Af-Pak problem through the presidencies of Barack Obama and Donald Trump, despite all the Indian reservations. President Biden has only bitten the bullet.

This brings one to the question of what the nature of the US-India defence and strategic partnership is exactly? Is it only about confronting China to the east while leaving Indias western flank exposed to the resurgence of jihadi terrorism? Are the two challenges independent of one another? Was there consultation with the Indian authorities on the retreat from Kabul? When US secretary of state Anthony Blinken visited New Delhi and had meetings with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, national security adviser Ajit Doval and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, did he share the United States withdrawal plans with them? If so, what apprehensions did India convey and what was the US response? The answers to these questions will determine what level of trust India must have in the partnership with the US going forward.

This is important as the ORF opinion poll also shows overwhelming public confidence in the US being a leading partner over the next 10 years. A total of 44 per cent of those surveyed believe the US will be Indias leading partner, while only 21 per cent think it will be Japan and 20 per cent see Russia remaining one. Britain and France get 18 per cent of the vote. In other words, as of the end of December 2020, the US not only garnered the highest votes for trust today but for trust over the next decade. What will the Kabul retreat and the likely fallout of that for India do to those numbers?

Interestingly, the ORF survey places terrorism as a secondary concern overtaken by global pandemics and a secondary priority next to strengthening the economy. This was in December 2020. The Talibans victory and the likely resurgence of radical Islam across the region could once again bring jihadi terrorism into focus.

That would be the price India would pay for the recent turn of events. To deal with the likely challenge of renewed jihadi radicalism and terror, India also needs a domestic policy that helps to unite the country rather than to divide it. The politics of majoritarianism and divisiveness have hurt the country as much as any externally inspired extremism. While remaining focused on the latter, one must also secure control over the former.

As for strategic partnerships, India should make it clear to all its partner countries that one can only be a strategic partner if ones national security concerns are factored into their actions in our neighbourhood. Be it the United States, Russia, Japan or any one of the 30 other countries with whom we have signed such agreements. How can one be regarded as a strategic partner if one is the victim of their strategy and tactics?
Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul. (Representational Photo:AFP)

LONDON: Britain said Sunday that seven Afghans have died in the chaos near Kabul airport as the British defence secretary expressed support for extending Washington's end-of-the-month deadline to permit the evacuation of so many people.

The United States and its allies have been struggling to cope with the thousands of foreign nationals and Afghans trying to flee Afghanistan in the week since the Taliban retook power.

"Our sincere thoughts are with the families of the seven Afghan civilians who have sadly died in crowds in Kabul," a defence ministry spokesman said without giving the circumstances.

Britain's Sky News had on Saturday aired footage of at least three dead bodies covered in white tarpaulins outside the airport.

Sky reporter Stuart Ramsay, who was at the airport, said that people at the front of one part of the crowd were being "crushed", while others were "dehydrated and terrified".

The defence ministry spokesman said: "Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible."

The ministry said separately that the UK had now evacuated nearly 4,000 people from Afghanistan since August 13.

Meanwhile Defence Secretary Ben Wallace issued what could be read as a plea to Washington for more flexibility over US President Joe Biden's August 31 target date to complete the rescue missions.

"If the US timetable remains, we have no time to lose to get the majority of the people waiting out," he wrote in the Mail on Sunday.

"Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer, and they will have our complete support if they do."

US President Joe Biden has said the deadline could be extended for the airlifts. "I think we can get it done by then, but we're going to make that judgment as we go," he said Friday

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is seeking to speak to his US counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss extending the August 31 deadline, according to the Sunday Times.
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
As the COVID-19 Delta variant spreads across the country, many people in need of financial assistance wonder if they'll get a fourth stimulus check anytime soon.

Progressive Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation on July 30 that would provide adults and children with recurring stimulus checks, or guaranteed income, with monthly payments. According to a press release, the Sending Unconditional Payments to People Overcoming Resistances to Triumph (SUPPORT) Act and the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) Act are two pieces of legislation aimed at creating a 21st-century economy that reflects Americans' everyday needs.

What stimulus payment will come in 2021?

There was no indication of when or if the bills would be debated, or how long it would take to implement the new programs if they were passed. The United States Congress is on recess until the middle of September. When senators return, they'll likely work on a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package as well as a $3.5 trillion budget proposal to boost family services, health care, and environmental programs.

Apart from online petitions and letters from lawmakers to President Joe Biden, the White House and congressional leaders have offered no indication that a fourth stimulus payment will be granted. Over 2.8 million people have signed a change.org petition begun by a restaurant owner more than a year ago, pushing for targeted stimulus funding. Per FOX8, the petition seeks payments of $2,000 for each adult and $1,000 for each kid until the pandemic is finished.

The IRS is sending monthly cash payments to millions of families under the enhanced child tax credit, with the most recent check being sent out last week, on August 13. In addition, the IRS continues to send out "plus-up" refunds for overdue stimulus payments. Teachers and school workers in several states are receiving $1,000 "thank you" bonuses, and California residents will receive another batch of Golden State Stimulus checks for $600 (or up to $1,100) next month.

Meanwhile, a growing petition is demanding an extra $2,000 each month, and the White House has discussed the notion of delivering $100 to newly vaccinated people, as per CNET via MSN. In other financial news, the enhanced child tax credit allows parents to choose between receiving advance monthly checks for more cash this year or a lump sum payment of up to $3,600 per child in 2022.

Read Also: More $1,600 Unemployment Tax Refunds Expected to Hit Bank Accounts This Month; Here's The Payment Schedule

Will petitions help the fourth stimulus check come true?

Five minor petitions on Change.org have also gotten a lot of attention since they're asking for a fourth stimulus check. Regardless of the size of the petition, Congress is unlikely to take action.

In the current context, the White House has been tight-lipped about any plans to issue another stimulus payment, which may be directly attributable to the economy's constant progress. It has also been noted that the Biden administration has not approved any legislative legislation concerning the stimulus payment, Digital Market News reported.

Several American people will place a fourth stimulus check at the top of their priority list this year. This has resulted in various bogus reports circulating on the internet regarding the federal government disbursing a $7,500 stimulus payment this week. Prior to this, the federal government had already distributed nearly three rounds of stimulus money.

Related Article: There's No Fourth Stimulus Check Amid Delta Variant Surge; Here's What You Can Get Instead If You Are a Parent or Essential Worker



@YouTube

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After the Afghan debacle, it surfaced that Joe Biden denies a classified State Department memo was important and consequently ignored it. The revelation came after the memo was mentioned by the press last Friday. Instead, the bungling Potus said it was unclear when Kabul would fall was the flippant answer.

The White House president gets many cables about many concerns, and the cable was only one of many.

The current admission downplayed its importance even though it was a diplomatic memo that concerned the status of the Jihadis movement.

Biden, Blinken ignores classified memo

The memo contents warned that Kabul would not hold out as Biden said and headed to a train wreck. As a testament to the lousy decision-making highlighted in the fall of just five days, it was at its worst in the Afghan crisis, reported the Express UK.

In the Press brief, Justin Sink, Bloomberg correspondent, told in the past 24-hours a dissent originating from the state department said the Taliban would go faster through Afghanistan, cited Eminetra.

But the tenor of the administration was to cover up another mistake by the 46th president, who has not reached expectations.

Joe Biden has finally united America



Against him!  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 21, 2021

We have Americans trapped behind enemy lines. Today what Pres. Biden said made it worse. There's still NO plan to get these Americans back.



More on @seanhannity: https://t.co/fDFoV6LQnA  Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) August 21, 2021

Sink asked the Potus why he ignored potentially crucial intel from the state department. Biden answered him unclearly they got many types of cables and gave excuses as the usual routine in the White House.

Biden never clearly answered why the cable which concerned American lives was ignored. Now, there are many Americans trapped by the Taliban.

The president said the buck stops with him but blamed Trump, Obama, and those before him. He defended his erroneous decision, much to the dismay of the nation. Joe Biden denies a Classified State Department memo that could have changed the outcome, and he is at fault, as the press implies.

Read Also: Taliban Betrays Promise Not to Murder Civilians As Photos Reveal Traitors Disposing Dead Bodies of Victims in Mass Graves

Failure of the Biden administration as the worst in recent years increased over how EU allies were incensed at the country's sped up fall, after the ill-advised withdrawal by US troops and shutting of major US airbase that could have been a better alternation.

Such gross error by the administration has left numerous Americans to be beheaded and tortured. Their Afghan allies face imminent death because of a technicality about visas over humanitarian welfare.

Media turns on Biden, Blinken gets a shakedown

This president's bungling has been covered by US media the past few months, but events in Kabul may be too much.

The Wall Street Journal states that more than a dozen officials in the Afghan consulate sent a memo to the Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a state department official. It clearly said the Jihadis were ready for a speedy takeout if the US moved the troops out by August, but they were ignored.

A hint that Biden told the G7 in the much-publicized Cornwall meeting, where he proclaimed the US is back come back to mock him. In a diplomatic memo sent by Bloomberg, he said that the critical US enablers would not exit Afghanistan abruptly to keep a western presence there.

This memo was read by a UK official, saying Britain was assured that its embassy could stay in Kabul. But, days ago, their embassy had to be emptied due to Biden's terrible miscalculation. Biden even denied the loss of confidence due to his mishandling.

As he said, the buck stops at him, all the decisions were at his behest, but he insists it oi not his call. The US would be leaving terrorist Jihadis with a cache of weapons and hostage of numerous Afghans and westerners.

Joe Biden denies a classified State Department memo that led to this terrible situation giving the extremist a dangerous advantage. Also, the reputation of the US is tarnished by his denial of the notice.

Related Article: Taliban Hordes Force the Afghanistan President to Give Up as the Western Powers are Abandoning the Country

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The cruel Taliban burned a woman alive for bad cooking as more atrocities against Afghans have been reported. These beastly Jihadi are committing crime after crime against civilians that is pure lawlessness, saying their actions are based on the Sharia.

They have taken over the country and keeping civilians against their will by blocking access to the airport. Many have been brutalized by the extremists who want to get out of the country, and now many are in danger of getting killed by vengeful mullahs.

The Taliban did not respect promises not to harm anyone, and they are turning Kabul into howling wilderness due to the Biden administration's ineptitude.

Afghan women are deprived of rights

These Muslim Jihadists are getting women from communities and taking them as sex slaves; some are transported in coffins to other countries, as reported by the Mirror UK.

According to Najla Ayoubi, a former judge in Afghanistan and the chief of the coalition and global programs at Every Woman Treaty that reports violent atrocities against women, these heartless Jihadists are ramping up the violence in the country.

Metro UK cited that one female victim was cruelly torched because she cooked badly for Taliban occupiers. They are forcing people to give them something to eat and even cook for them.

They were busy hoarding countless young women sent into slavery to surrounding countries in the last few weeks. Practicing trafficking of women is done by these vile extremists, cited the Hindustan Times.

Ayoubi remarked the Taliban would force families at gunpoint to give up young daughters to their uncouth men. These are some of the many atrocities suffered under their despotic rule. The most recent is when the Taliban burned a woman alive is a glaring show of bestial ruthlessness.

Read Also: Pompeo Agrees with Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal, Warns Biden to Get it Right

Under their lawless rule, a female judge or females with powerful positions will be 'nothing' in the nightmare whenever they takeover.

Women's rights are now ignored as the west was turned aside after President Biden's flawed withdrawal of US troops. Ignoring calls for women's equality, they are keen to deny employment and changed the law undemocratically with a gun instead. So, women need a man, preferably wherever they go, and powerless to stop being brutalized and murdered by their spouses and male relatives.

No one thinks there is sincerity in the Taliban, professing no violence or peaceful transfer of power. Their violent group has never respected agreements or deals. They do not hesitate to demonstrate they can terrorize or do inhumane things to others on social media.

Cruelty in Afghanistan

Nothing else showed the fear for the ruthless Jihadists when babies were given to US and British troopers catching them, handed over by desperate parents who know their children will be killed.

Biden's shocking denial is that people running at a C-17 US cargo plane take off to leave while civilians hang on the wheels for dear life.

Taliban Jihadists are raping caught women, killing who they assume are their enemies as their reign of terror continues. They even killed an ISIS ex-leader in prison too. Taliban forgot promises, and they went on a terror campaign that is considered their enemy.

Taliban doing Rape of 15 years girls and some people of "Particular Community" are celebrating Victory of Taliban  Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) August 17, 2021

Some reports women who were taken by evil Jihadis who would rape them.

The cruel Taliban burned a woman alive shows the corruptness of this vile organization that wants to offer its vengeance after 20-years on the receiving end. Unfortunately, they like to torment women in many ways like dismemberment, rape, murder, and that is a despicable crime.

Related Article: Taliban Betrays Promise Not to Murder Civilians As Photos Reveal Traitors Disposing Dead Bodies of Victims in Mass Graves

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The U.S. State Department was recently targeted by a cyber assault, and the Department of Defense Cyber Command issued warnings about a potential catastrophic compromise.

The Breach May Occured in the Recent Weeks

In a recently published article in Yahoo News, the breach is thought to have happened a few weeks ago. According to the reporter's Twitter thread, it is unclear when it was initially found. The scope of the intrusion and whether or not activities are still in danger is likewise unknown.

According to the writer, who cited an unnamed source, the department's ongoing efforts to evacuate Americans and allied refugees in Afghanistan have not been hampered by the hack. The report of the cyberattack in the State Department came amid the armed conflict and chaos in Afghanistan.

A State Department spokesperson said that the department takes its duty to secure its information seriously and takes measures to guarantee that it is safeguarded at all times. They are unable to disclose the nature or extent of any suspected cybersecurity issues at this time due to security concerns, according to a published article in the New York Post.

Read Also: Global Consulting Group Accenture Confirms Being Hit by a Cyber Attack

Massive Cyberattack in the U.S. Government Agencies

This is not the first time that a U.S. government agency was hit by a cyberattack. In December 2020, it was reported that several U.S. government agencies were compromised due to the SolarWinds server software that put federal and private computer systems at "grave risk."

In a published article in NPR, the Pentagon, the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and Homeland Security, as well as an unknown number of private companies, including Cisco Systems and Cox Communications, were all affected by the hack.

Furthermore, in these breaches, the hackers, who utilized the widely used SolarWinds server software, showed patience, operational security, and sophisticated tradecraft, according to the CISA warning, and eliminating the threat "will be extremely complex and challenging."

The U.S. Treasury Hacked by a Foreign Government

According to Reuters, the sophisticated cyberattack targeted the Treasury Department as well as the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA, which is in charge of internet and telecommunications regulation.

According to the source, the breach was so severe that it prompted a meeting of the National Security Council in December 2020. Hackers allegedly monitored staff members' communications for months using the organization's Microsoft Office 365 infrastructure.

The Treasury Department has deferred comments to the National Security Council. The Commerce Department acknowledged the incident, saying it had "asked CISA and the FBI to investigate," but refusing to go into more detail. A news outlet also added that a Microsoft representative refused to comment.

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, said in a statement that it has been working closely with its partners on recently identified activity on government networks.

The spokesperson said at that time as impacted organizations strive to identify and mitigate any possible breaches, CISA is offering technical support. The FBI spokesman, on the other hand, said that the agency cannot confirm or deny any information about any current investigation, citing the agency's standard practice.

Related Article: US Government Agencies Under Cyber Attack: Russia, China Main Suspects



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The cover up ends as liberal media turns on 'Sleepy Joe" for the disgraceful performance in Afghanistan. This has awakened President Joe Biden as he has done everything wrong from the start, but the media covered up for him. Now, he has lost cover, and both liberals and conservatives are targeting him.

For many months, there was doubt if he could handle the situation and his predecessor, but all the problems that follow increased notions that he's not up to it.

The problems over the last week further earned him the nickname 'Sleepy Joe.' He was forced to stay in the White House, not his Delaware residence, on the weekend.

Afghanistan's Fall was Biden's FUBAR moment

Instead of hunkering down to deal with the worst American crisis, he remained silent and was not in contact with other leaders till Tuesday. Letting the critical moments spiral out of control on his watch, which in the minds of Americans is an utter disgrace, reported the Daily Mail.

There was a report that critical memos were coming in from the State Department last Friday, warning about the rapid takeover. Staying in Camp David, he stayed complacent, as if there was no urgency on his part.

One of his aides said that Biden's FUBAR (military term) moment, F**** Up Beyond Any Recognition, went from bad to messed up. In short, he was clueless. Without the press to cover up for him, the liberal media turns on 'Sleepy Joe' flip-flopping all over.

A panicked White House was on damage control that the commander in chief could not catch up on the events. While, an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos was useless and failed, made him look worse, noted Business Insider.

The White House posted one bizarre photo of the president alone in the meeting room, just staring at the screens.

Read Also: British Broadcaster Nigel Farage Not Happy With Joe Biden Ignoring Calls of Boris Johnson Amid Afghan Crisis

The New York Post published a scorching reaction to the puny attempt to save the situation. Remarked that it is his defining image as the only President of the US at its worst self-inflicted not by enemies. His appearance looked like the unfortunate leader, with no advisers in the room in the photo posted.

A photograph showed how the Taliban disregards Biden's competence, that Donald Trump mockingly called him, and hoped his opponent could do well in 2020. Well, he did but not by having a regular campaign.

Salvaging the POTUS flagging image

The president likes to go to his residence in Delaware on weekends, but the problem was too great, so he canceled it. Biden has only been in office for seven months, but it has been a train wreck in his every decision, from the border, election reform laws, covid. Now, even his party might be having second thoughts about his competence.

Many of his supporters and allies think that Joe Biden has lost control of the account, making him a hot potato for his handlers to keep the lousy press away.

Many have suspected the White House media is covering up for Biden for a long time now. One White House speechwriter complained this month that Biden needs a written cue every time or else he will not remember. His predecessor challenged him to take a cognitive test that Trump passed with a 100 percent on board, noting his critics.

The middle eastern Afghan crisis just hit the fan while he is in office. Now liberal media turns on 'Sleepy Joe', and vacation is over. With the GOP members even asked to resign, what could be the next for him?

Related Article: Joe Biden Ignores Classified State Department Memo on Rapid Taliban Takeover, Denies He Screwed Up

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Beijing wants more kids, so it signed legislation enabling women to have three children on Friday, but it is unclear when that would take effect.

Why Beijing Wants More Babies?

In a recently published article in CNN News, Beijing's desire for more children seems to be in conflict with preventing certain women from undergoing a treatment that might enable them to become moms. However, Beijing is concerned that allowing women to postpone childbearing would result in fewer kids.

Faced with an aging population and decreasing workforce, China abandoned its divisive one-child policy in 2015. Leaders believed that enabling couples to have two children would help them deal with the impending demographic problem that was threatening the world's second-largest economy's development.

Beijing has battled to persuade families to have additional children since then. In 2020, compared to the previous year, the number of births fell 18 percent to 12 million, marking the fourth consecutive year of decrease, according to a published article in Hago News.

Read Also: Singapore to Pay Aspiring Parent to have Babies Amid Pandemic

Egg Freezing Technology

As egg freezing technology improved in the early 2000s, the National Health Commission (NHC) issued regulations prohibiting Chinese hospitals and agencies from providing assisted reproductive technology (ART), such as IVF and egg freezing, to single women and couples who do not follow the country's population and family planning laws.

According to the National Health Commission, ART should only be used to assist infertile married couples to become pregnant, or for women diagnosed with cancer who are going to undergo treatment that may impair their fertility but want a child.

Despite tight restrictions on family planning, IVF became increasingly popular in China, with over 906,000 IVF cycles done in 2016, according to a national survey released in February. In the same year, almost 311,000 IVF babies were born. China's official media claimed two years later that it had the world's largest number of "test-tube infants," according to a published article in PubMed.

Expected Expenses for Egg-Freezing

About a third of the clinic's egg-freezing customers come from mainland China, according to Winnie Choi, an assistant operations director at a private reproductive clinic in Hong Kong. Demand from Chinese customers began to increase in 2018, she added, when several Hong Kong celebrities openly stated their want to freeze their eggs.

However, egg-freezing is quite expensive that only a few can afford. A customer in Hong Kong pays $17,000 for her egg to be frozen, which includes a roughly $1,400 yearly storage cost. A comparable journey farther away, on the other hand, may be considerably more expensive. According to the website FertilityIQ, egg treatment and storage may cost up to $40,000, not counting travel-related costs, and Shanghai-based medical tourism service IVF USA connects Chinese customers with American fertility facilities, according to MSN News.

How Egg-Freezing Helps Women?

Furthermore, in March, Huang Wenzheng, a senior researcher at the Center for China & Globalization who specializes in demographic studies, stated in a study that legalizing ART, including egg freezing for unmarried women over 35, may help increase the Chinese population.

Others, such as Diverse Family Network's Dong Xiaoying, acknowledge that removing limitations may encourage women to postpone childbearing plans, resulting in lower birth rates in the future. According to Zhang of IVF USA, the tiny number of women with the financial means and desire to freeze their eggs implies that any loosening of the restrictions will have little effect on the demography of a nation with 1.4 billion people.

Related Article: China's Population Growth Slowest In Decades Despite Reversing One-Child Policy



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US actress Angelina Jolie, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) special envoy, gives a statement in Goudebo, a camp that welcomes more than 11,000 malian refugees in northern Burkina Faso, on International Refugee Day on June 20, 2021. AFP-Yonhap



Oscar-winning actress and human-rights activist has shared in her first Instagram post a letter from a teenage girl in Afghanistan.



"Right now, the people of Afghanistan are losing their ability to communicate on social media and to express themselves freely. So I've come on Instagram to share their stories and the voices of those across the globe who are fighting for their basic human rights," Jolie wrote alongside an image of the letter and a photo of women wearing burkas.



"I was on the border of Afghanistan two weeks before 9/11, where I met Afghan refugees who had fled the Taliban," added the actress, who is a special envoy for the United Nations Refugee Agency. "This was twenty years ago. It is sickening to watch Afghans being displaced yet again out of the fear and uncertainty that has gripped their country. To spend so much time and money, to have blood shed and lives lost only to come to this, is a failure almost impossible to understand. Watching for decades how Afghan refugees - some of the most capable people in the world - are treated like a burden is also sickening. Knowing that if they had the tools and respect, how much they would do for themselves. And meeting so many women and girls who not only wanted an education, but fought for it. Like others who are committed, I will not turn away. I will continue to look for ways to help. And I hope you'll join me."



Jolie's post has gotten more than 2 million "likes" since it was posted on Friday.






Much-delayed James Bond movie "No Time To Die" will finally get its world premiere in London next month, the makers of the franchise announced on Friday.







"The World Premiere for #NoTimeToDie will take place on Tuesday 28 September 2021 at London's @RoyalAlbertHall," said a tweet from the official 007 Twitter account.







"Producers Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and director Cary Joji Fukunaga will join Daniel Craig on the red carpet."







The 25th instalment of the fictional British spy saga has seen its release postponed several times due to the pandemic.







It was originally set for a London premiere last March, ahead of a global rollout the following month, before that was pushed back by subsequent waves of coronavirus around the world.







In January US studio MGM said the film would be released globally on October 8.







"No Time to Die", directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga ("Beasts of No Nation", "True Detective") is expected to be Craig's last outing as the suave British spy, after starring in four previous films.







It sees Bond drawn out of retirement in Jamaica by his old friend and CIA agent Felix Leiter.







Rami Malek ("Bohemian Rhapsody") plays Bond's adversary Safin, while Lashana Lynch, Lea Seydoux, Ana de Armas and Ben Whishaw also star.







Produced at a rumoured cost of around $250 million, the film's success is crucial for MGM, while Universal Pictures will distribute the film overseas. (AFP)


South Korea is in vaccine swap talks with Romania, the foreign ministry said, denying a news report that the European country plans to provide the South with coronavirus vaccines for free. Yonhap



South Korea is in vaccine swap talks with Romania, the foreign ministry said, denying a news report that the European country plans to provide the South with coronavirus vaccines for free.



Romanian national news agency Agerpres reported earlier that the country decided to give South Korea 450,000 doses of Moderna's vaccine on humanitarian grounds.



Seoul's foreign ministry said the two countries are in talks about vaccines but denied that vaccines will be provided for free.



"Reports about the Romanian government providing vaccines for free are not true," the ministry said in a text message to reporters Saturday night. "Discussions are under way between our country and Romania from the context of a vaccine swap."






Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum / Yonhap



U.S. pharmaceutical company Moderna plans to provide South Korea with 7 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in the coming two weeks, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Sunday, following a supply disruption due to a production issue at the company.



"Moderna has notified the government that it will provide a total of 7 million vaccine doses over the next two weeks," Kim said during a daily interagency meeting on the government's coronavirus response.



The announcement was made following a South Korean government delegation's visit to the headquarters of Moderna on Aug. 14 to protest a delay in the company's vaccine provision. Earlier, Moderna notified Seoul of its plan to supply less than half of the 8.5 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine scheduled for August due to a production issue.



The delay in the vaccine supply raised concerns that the country's inoculation scheme for August and September may be hampered amid a recent flare-up in virus cases.






The headquarters of Namyang Dairy Products in southern Seoul / Yonhap



By Bahk Eun-ji



Lee Woon-kyung, 69, the wife of Namyang Dairy Products Chairman Hong Won-sik, has been accused of violating social distancing rules by holding a dinner gathering of more than 10 people at her house in June, according to police, Sunday.



It was her former housekeeper who reported the violation to the police.



When Lee hosted the party, a social distancing measure prohibiting private gatherings of more than four people was in effect in the Seoul metropolitan area. In addition, the incentive system for vaccination, such as lifting the gathering ban for fully vaccinated individuals, had not yet been implemented.





Namyang Dairy Products Chairman Hong Won-sik sheds tears while announcing his plan to step down from his post during a press conference at the company headquarters in Seoul in this May 4 photo. Korea Times file




Six presidential hopefuls from the ruling Democratic Party (DP) have embarked on a collective online campaign following the opening ceremony of their metaverse camp last week.







Metaverse, a combination of meta (meaning beyond) and verse (from universe), refers to a three-dimensional virtual shared world in which all activities can take place with the help of augmented- and virtual-reality services.







The DP has leased parts of "Metropolis," a metaverse program developed by South Korea's app-based home-finding platform Zigbang Co., to help each of the six candidates conduct an online election campaign without time and space restrictions.







The six candidates  Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, ex-DP chief Lee Nak-yon, ex-Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, ex-Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, Rep. Kim Doo-gwan and Rep. Park Yong-jin  participated in the opening ceremony Friday from their offices and other places, while DP Chairman Song Young-gil joined them from his office at the National Assembly.







Notably, Kim, who has self-isolated at home due to his son's COVID-19 infection, was able to get together with his rivals at the ceremony, though in the virtual space.







Moreover, all the participants were seen as free from the coronavirus jitters during the online event, as all but the Gyeonggi governor showed up without a mask.







In his congratulatory remark, Song said that the ceremony was meaningful in that the DP's presidential candidates have entered a metaverse camp for the first time in Korean politics.







Song said he expects all the candidates to actively take advantage of the metaverse program with brilliant ideas.







In response, all of the six candidates shared the view that the utilization of the unlimited online space in the metaverse camp seems to herald a new era in local political campaigning. (Yonhap)


Afghan refugees, who fled Afghanistan in 1996, hold a poster as they attend a rally in front of the US Embassy in Bishkek, on August 19, 2021. AFP-Yonhap



The United States is considering using American military bases in South Korea as one of the housing sites for evacuees from Afghanistan, along with other overseas bases, including those in Japan, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

The Pentagon is "looking at American bases in Japan, Korea, Germany, Kosovo, Bahrain and Italy" as existing housing sites in Qatar and elsewhere are filling up quickly, the paper reported Saturday (U.S. time), citing unidentified officials.

The report also said the White House is expected to consider activating the Civil Reserve Air Fleet to have major U.S. airlines help with efforts to transport tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees from bases in the region.

Dulles International Airport, outside of Washington, D.C., is expected to become the central processing site for a surge of Afghan evacuees, it said.

The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), however, said, "To date, USFK has not been tasked to provide temporary housing or other support for anyone departing Afghanistan," while the U.S. Defense Department is providing transportation, housing, medical and logistical support for some Afghan immigrants and their family members.

"If tasked, USFK will work with the Department of State, Department of Defense and the Republic of Korea government while maintaining our ROK-U.S. Alliance and obligation to provide and maintain a robust combined defense posture," USFK spokesperson Col. Lee Peters said in a release. The Republic of Korea is South Korea's official name.

Later in the day, the head of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party (DP) also said that no discussions have taken place with the U.S. on the issue but added he doubts whether the idea is "appropriate."




Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, the front-runner in the ruling Democratic Party's presidential primary race, pledged Sunday to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to broker a step-by-step deal to resolve the North Korea nuclear issue.







In a press conference on his Korean Peninsula peace policy, Lee said it was "realistic" and "practical" for both Pyongyang and Washington to "seek an agreement and implementation of denuclearization in a phased and synchronized" method.







"The likelihood of success by pushing the North to abandon its nukes first or seeking a package settlement through a so-called big deal is slim," Lee said at the press conference held at the residence of late President Kim Dae-jung in Seoul.







Lee vowed to come up with concrete means to conditionally lift sanctions and pursue a phased and synchronized denuclearization approach, then "meet with U.S. President Joe Biden and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in person and resolve the stalemate."







The governor also said he will persuade the United Nations to provide a comprehensive and permanent sanctions exemption on key inter-Korean programs, such as the Kaesong Industrial Complex, and projects to connect and modernize railways and roads between the divided countries.







Lee, however, also suggested he won't just go easy on North Korea, saying that joint projects should be based on the principle of mutual interest.







He also pledged to demand change from the North on what he called the country's "misguided practices and attitudes," adding, "If North Korea engages in wrongful moves, we will clearly state that it has done something wrong."







On relations with China, Lee proposed a vision of "practical diplomacy" centered around South Korea's national interest, while committing to remain resolute against Japan's historical and territorial claims but also seek active cooperation with Tokyo on areas relating to the economy and diplomacy. (Yonhap)






Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong met with U.S. special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, on Sunday and discussed ways to reactivate the stalled Korean Peninsula peace process at an early date, the foreign ministry said.







The ministry did not provide further details of the meeting that took place at Chung's residence.







Kim arrived in Seoul on Saturday for talks with his South Korean and Russian counterparts as they seek North Korea's return to dialogue amid renewed tensions over the ongoing military exercise between Seoul and Washington.







"I'm looking forward to very close consultations with our Korean government colleagues," Kim told reporters Saturday upon arrival at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul.







On Monday, Kim is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Seoul's top nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, to discuss how to achieve substantive progress in the efforts for the complete denuclearization and the establishment of lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, the foreign ministry has said. (Yonhap)


Former Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon visits a traditional market in Eumseong County, North Chungcheong Province, Friday, after announcing his bid to run in the presidential election. Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



Former Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon, who announced his presidential bid recently, is expected to shake up the presidential election next year, as he will likely appeal to uncommitted voters who account for a significant portion of the country's electorate, despite Korea's decades-long political structure, based on two dominant parties.



Kim held a press conference in his hometown of Eumseong County, North Chungcheong Province, Friday, and announced that he will run for the presidential election in next March.



"There are many contenders whose presence is like that of a conglomerate or a medium-sized company, but I will begin my campaign with the mindset of starting a venture company," said Kim, who served as the country's finance minister. "I don't want to piggyback on the conventional political community."



Kim served as the deputy prime minister and the finance minister from June 2017 to December 2018, and has been receiving calls from both the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) to join their respective parties. So far, he has not accepted either party's offer.



"During the April 7 by-elections, I was recommended to run by both parties, and recently received an offer to become the prime minister," Kim said. "However, I refused them all because I am convinced that the current value of the established political powers will not be able to address the archaic structural problems of our society."



Kim noted that he wants to benchmark the election of French President Emmanuel Macron, who was a top economic bureaucrat and launched a successful presidential campaign via his own political movement.



Observers say that Kim's future movements could change the dynamics of the current presidential race, currently dominated by the liberal DPK and the conservative PPP, given the significant portion of uncommitted voters and centrists.



According to a joint poll conducted on Aug. 13 and 14 by the Korea Society Opinion Institute and broadcaster TBS, 31.6 percent of 1,007 respondents said that they are centrists, followed by 33.4 percent identifying as conservatives and 27.7 percent as liberals.



In another poll conducted on Aug. 17 to 19 by Gallup Korea, 24 percent of 1,001 respondents said that they don't support any political party, followed by 32 percent who say they support the DPK and 31 percent who say they support the PPP.



Although Kim said that he will finish the presidential race as a third-party candidate, questions continue as to whether he will be able to keep his promise, given his previous election history.



There were a slew of big name politicians who sought to become the president as a third-party candidate, but most of them even failed to finish the race and withdrew their bids to form a single candidacy with one of the dominant parties, due to their lack of a home turf, as well as funding problems.



In 1992, Hyundai Motor Group founder Chung Ju-yung garnered attention as a third-party presidential candidate, but ended in third place in the election. In the following election in 1997, Lee In-je, who lost in the primary of the PPP's predecessor, the New Korea Party, left the party and created his own party, but that only resulted in the splitting of conservative voters.



In other elections, former seven-term lawmaker Chung Mong-joon, former Prime Minister Goh Kun, former Yuhan-Kimberly CEO Moon Kook-hyun and the current People Party Chair Ahn Cheol-soo have all garnered attention as fresh figures outside of the two-party system, but all have ultimately ended up withdrawing their campaigns or receiving small numbers of votes.



Due to these precedents, pundits see Kim's candidacy as potentially bringing in centrist support, which will increase his political presence in the future.



Kim's life is widely viewed as a model rags-to-riches story. He started earning money at the age of 17 to help support his widowed mother and three siblings, right after graduating from high school. He studied at a nighttime college and passed the civil service exam to join the economic planning board.



Politically, he is considered a centrist. During the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration, he served as the second vice finance minister and became the minister of policy coordination in the conservative Park Geun-hye administration. After serving as the president of Ajou University from 2015 to 2017, he was appointed as the finance minister of the liberal Moon Jae-in administration.




By Choe Chong-dae





Throughout contemporary history, there have been many global political leaders who devoted themselves to philanthropic causes. In particular, former President Jose Alberto Mujica Cordano, who served as president of Uruguay from 2010 to early 2015, deeply touched my heart for his cherished values on human rights, socialism and living an austere lifestyle.



Though Mujica is called by his people, "the world's poorest and most humble president," he didn't  and still doesn't  feel poor. He feels rather rich spiritually. He is confident that the poor are those who work only to maintain a luxurious lifestyle, and to gain more wealth and power.



Mujica demonstrated himself to be an example of an austere and self-sacrificing politician free from worldly luxuries. He remains an inspiration to many, not just in Uruguay, but abroad, for his austere lifestyle and his donation to charities that benefit a great number of poor people.



He has even been compared to two prominent peace activists: Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi. During his presidency, Mujica did not occupy the presidential residence. He stayed faithful to his ideals and simple principles of life. He subsequently decided to continue living in his dilapidated house. His austere and philanthropic lifestyle deserves a great deal of respect and admiration. Most of all, it's a source of inspiration.



Another impressive former head of state is Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. Since leaving office, Carter has become extremely popular  even more so than when he was the president. His devotion to a wide range of issues such as social justice, international conflict resolution and improving human rights is well-known.



In particular, he played a pioneering role in leading the Habitat for Humanity movement, building dwellings for homeless people around the world. His extraordinary efforts to promote social development have also been widely acknowledged. He is highly respected as a global mediator and a humanitarian, even more than as a former president.



In contrast, Korea's former presidents have often been involved in corruption scandals. President Moon Jae-in's predecessor, Park Geun-hye, has been behind bars since March 2017, after being impeached and convicted on 16 charges related to the abuse of power, corruption, coercion and bribery. Worse yet, her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, is also serving a prison sentence for bribery, abuse of power, and embezzlement charges.



In the wake of industrialization, people obsessively hold on to their material things, as well as social status and authority. The more we have, the more we want. On the other hand, some people who don't have much can live without chasing money. In such cases, they have more time to work on their own projects.



Wealth is frequently compared to fertilizer. When wealth is shared with others, it is beneficial. However, when acquiring wealth becomes an obsession, this wealth decays and serves no one.



Both Mujica and Carter's spirit of philanthropy paved the way for the establishment of societies built on unity and charity rather than on greed. These two great minds have had a deep impact on me. Their lives are an example for certain selfish politicians to consider and follow.





Choe Chong-dae is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is president of Dae-kwang International Co., and director of the Korean-Swedish Association. He can be reached at choecd@naver.com


By Ahn Ho-young





The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced July 4 that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) decided to classify Korea as a developed nation during its recent board meeting in Geneva.



It was interesting for me to observe how the news was reported in the Korean news media. On the one hand, it was widely reported that it was the first time that the UNCTAD upgraded a country's classification from "developing" to "developed" since its establishment in 1964.



At the same time, it was also widely reported that Korea's "graduation" had taken place through many steps. Many articles as an example of preceding steps referred to Korea's accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and subsequent accession to the OECD's Development Assistance Committee. While thinking that Korea's "graduation" is still a work in progress, I want to share my own experiences of having worked on Korea's accession to the OECD in 1996.



Then President Kim Young-sam, as soon as he was inaugurated in 1993, focused on internationalization and globalization as important foreign and economic policy goals. As a director for international trade at the foreign ministry, I was much encouraged by this, because I thought that was the right way to go for Korea as a nation in the post-Cold War world, where erstwhile ideological confrontations were being replaced with reconciliation and cooperation, and where new economic and diplomatic opportunities were emerging for Korea. Edward Luttwak used to sum up the trend of the time as "from geo-politics to geo-economics," which became one of my favorite quotes.



It was against such a backdrop that the Korean government decided to join the OECD. Korea submitted an application for membership in March 1995. In the following month, Korea opened an accession office in Paris, which I joined the following year.



The OECD decided to conduct an examination and review of Korean laws and regulations in 11 committees on such issues as capital movements, international investment, international trade, banking, insurance policies, labor relations, education, agriculture, climate change, environment and maritime transportation.



Examination and review of certain issues were closely related with structural issues in the Korean economy and society, and proved to be more challenging. One such issue was Korea's developing country status, which emerged as a critical issue in the OECD Trade Committee's review.



In the end, Korea summed up its position on the developing country status along the following lines: Korea had participated in the Uruguay Round as a developing country and would have to maintain the same status for its implementation. However, Korea will participate in the subsequent multilateral trade negotiations as an OECD member with exceptions in the two sectors of agriculture and climate change.



Korea, when its developing country status was subsequently challenged in many different international fora, especially in the WTO meetings, used to carefully hold onto the above-stated "OECD formula" of its developing country status.



It continued until 2019, when Korea decided to give up the exception on agriculture. The exception in the climate change sector became moot in my view with the emergence of the concept of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and Article 9 in the Paris Climate Accords.



Another issue of particular difficulty and importance was Korea's implementation of the OECD Codes of Liberalization of Capital Movements and Current Invisible Operations. Adherence to the codes was an important indicator of the applying economy's compatibility with the OECD principles. At the relevant joint committees, as an "OECD observer" later reported, Korea agreed to immediately implement only some 65 percent of the OECD's Codes of Liberalization.



However, Korea maintained that past efforts the country had made for liberalization of capital movement, services and investment strongly demonstrated its commitment to greater liberalization. The relevant committees acknowledged such assurances of the Korean government.



Almost the last committee to wrap up Korea's examination and review was the Committee on Employment, Labor and Social Affairs (ELSAC). Even after Korea's accession to the OECD in December 1996, ELSAC deemed that Korea's subsequent reform was short of the commitments made by Korea. The committee continued to monitor Korea's progress on labor relations reform until 2007.



Less than a year after its accession to the OECD, Korea was mired in the Asian financial crisis, which was attributed partly in Korea to "premature" accession to the OECD. Korea tried and succeeded in escaping from the crisis through reform in four sectors which accelerated, rather than retracted, liberalization. It was for this reason that the financial crisis was labeled as a "blessing in disguise" for Korea by many observers abroad.



But, it was not until 10 years later in 2008, during the global recession when I was working as a G20 sherpa, that I could better appreciate that the reform in four sectors, introduced and implemented during the Asian financial crisis, was in fact timely in further streamlining the Korean economy, which eventually dampened the impact of the global recession.





Ahn Ho-young (hyahn78@mofa.or.kr) is president of the University of North Korean Studies. He served as Korean ambassador to the United States and first vice foreign minister.




7 out of 14 executives recruited from Samsung



By Kim Hyun-bin



Hanwha Solutions has been busy hiring outside experts in the solar, hydrogen and advanced materials sectors, the businesses it has identified as its next growth engines.



The group affiliate has recruited executives from top local companies such as Samsung, LG, Doosan and Coupang, in what officials say is its intention to explore growth opportunities.



According to the company's semi-annual report, nearly half of the newly appointed executives have been recruited from outside. There are 32 newly appointed executives, 14 of whom were recruited from different conglomerates, with seven coming from Samsung.



Former Samsung Electronics Vice President Hwang Jeong-wook has been assigned to handle Hanwha Solutions' future strategies. He has mostly worked in Samsung's wireless communication department since entering the company in 1990. He managed the development of hardware for mobile phones and is known to be one of the leading experts in the field.



In April, Hanwha Solutions, the group's rising star, established the Next Generation Materials and Devices Division (NxMD) and put it under the care of Jang Sae-yeong, who is also the first female vice president at Hanwha.



The NxMD department is in charge of finding new businesses in the next-generation electronic materials sector. Prior to joining the company, Jang was a director at Samsung Electronics' mobile division and in charge of developing Galaxy series batteries. She is credited with enhancing the battery lifespan for the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 and was promoted to the director level in 2013.



In June, Koo Kyung-ha, a former Samsung Electronics smartphone division department head, was hired as a director for NxMD. Industry watchers are saying that Hanwha is keeping an eye on the materials business, as the expertise of the newly joined Samsung executives is focused on developing materials related to the semiconductor business.



In the first half of the year, two Samsung SDI employees were recruited to become executives in Hanwha Q Cells' new business and energy sectors. Since 2014, Hanwha Solutions has acquired Samsung's petrochemical and defense sectors and gone through a post-merger acquisition (PMI) becoming well aware and gaining understanding of Samsung's corporate culture, leading to more recruitments of Samsung personnel.



"Kim Dong-kwan was the hidden force in clinching several talent acquisitions from Samsung," an industry official said.



Recruitment of LG and Doosan personnel has followed behind Samsung. Park Jae-ho, director of Green Energy Solution (GES), previously worked for LG CNS. Newly appointed Hanwha Q Cells' new business sector director Yoon Joon-hwan worked at LG Electronics' solar business team.



From Doosan, the company hired M&A expert Shin Ju-hoon as a director of Hanwha Solutions' strategic and planning office, and appointed Lim Jae-hwan, director of Q Cells' Green Energy Solution (GES) department who previously worked for Doosan Heavy Industries, as the turbine generator business group head. Hanwha Solutions is aiming to expand its profile in the wind power business. Doosan is the leader in the country's turbine generator industry.




Namyang Dairy Products founder Hong Won-sik stands behind the podium to announce the fact that he would be stepping down from the chairperson position at the company's headquarters in Seoul, May 4. Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwon



By Kim Jae-heun



Namyang Dairy Products is experiencing an unprecedented degree of backlash against its founder, Hong Won-sik, who has reversed promises he made to the public in the last month.



One of the pledges he made was not to pass the management of the company to his children.



Independent of any direct action from the former chairperson, Hong's eldest son, Hong Jin-seok, returned to his senior executive position only a month after he was dismissed for misusing company money. Hong Won-sik's second son, Hong Bum-seok, was also promoted as an unregistered executive recently.



This situation leaves the possibility that one of the two sons will take a key post on the board of directors and eventually lead the company.



The company explained that due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, it was suffering vacancies in key management positions, and that Hong's two sons were needed to help the company achieve its business performance goals.



The former chairperson himself is still reportedly spending time at the company's headquarters in Seoul, despite having offered to resign.



In addition, Hong was also criticized for not showing up at a shareholders meeting on July 30, where he was supposed to close a stock purchase agreement with Hahn & Company.



As a result, public concern has continued to build, even though Hong made a public appearance two weeks ago seeking to refute allegations that he had changed his mind.



If Hong continues to create an unclear picture, people will start to distrust his words and actions. Namyang Dairy customers have already been betrayed once, when the company released a false report claiming that the company's popular yogurt drink, Bulgaris, could help prevent COVID-19 infections.



Next time, there will be even less forgiveness for the dairy firm.



Moon Eul-tae, Namyang Dairy's labor union president, is already protesting against Hong in front of the company's building. Moon said that Hong has not responded to any of the union's questions and refuses to communicate with them.



In order to regain customer trust and increase corporate value, Hong must fulfill the promises he made.



Meanwhile, Namyang Dairy's business performance is showing signs of deterioration. In the first half of this year, the dairy firm recorded an operating loss of 34.97 billion won.



The deficit is greater than the reported year-on-year loss of 32.52 billion won. Namyang Dairy's sales also decreased by 1.1 percent to 479.5 billion won between January and June of this year.


In this Jan. 18, 2008, file photo, Nicholas Burns announces his retirement at the State Department in Washington. President Joe Biden is nominating longtime former senior State Department official Nicholas Burns to serve as his ambassador to China. AP-Yonhap





Nicholas Burns, a career diplomat widely respected in Washington, will be nominated as US ambassador to China, President Joe Biden announced on Friday.



The selection of Burns, who served in the US State Department for more than three decades in high-level positions in Republican and Democrat administrations, was widely expected, and it sends an important message to China and US allies, analysts said.



"This is the most predictable development in an unpredictable relationship," said Jeffrey Moon, head of China Moon Strategies and former consul general in Chengdu. "He's a diplomat's diplomat, an outstanding choice who will be warmly received by everyone, by Congress; professional diplomats will be encouraged.



"And this is a good positive step forward in the US-China relationship, and a good signal to the Chinese government that the US wants to engage seriously and positively."



Among past posts on Burns's long resume include US ambassador to Nato from 2001 to 2005 under president George W Bush and tenure as a member of then-secretary of state John Kerry's foreign policy advisory board from 2014 to 2017 during president Barack Obama's administration.



Among the potential challenges he faces, however, include the decade-plus that Burns, currently a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, has been out of government.



"A lot has changed," said Brett Bruen, president of Global Situation Room, a former US diplomat and White House head of global engagement under Obama. "It will be really important who he selects as deputy chief of mission and important that the White House listens to the institutional experts on China."



But Burns is no stranger to high-stakes negotiations with large, somewhat insular countries. He ended up strengthening Washington's ties with India, a relationship that the Biden administration has worked to bolster as a check on Beijing's growing military capabilities.





In this file photo taken on December 9, 2016 Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks about the 2016 US Presidential election, Brexit and President-elect Donald Trump at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden on Friday nominated career diplomat Nicholas Burns as ambassador to China and former Chicago mayor and Democratic party heavyweight Rahm Emanuel to head the embassy in Japan. AFP-Yonhap
Customers search for food on near empty shelves that were depleted due to panic buying amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Ho Chi Minh City, Aug. 21. Reuters-Yonhap



Vietnam's government said it is sending troops to Ho Chi Minh City to help deliver food and aid to households as it further tightens restrictions on people's movements amid a worsening surge of the coronavirus.



The army personnel will be deployed to help with logistics as the city of 10 million people asks residents to ''stay put'' for two weeks starting from Monday, a report on the government website said Friday.



The move comes as Vietnam, which weathered much the pandemic with very few cases, recorded more than 10,000 new infections and 390 deaths on Friday. Ho Chi Minh City accounted for 3,500 of those infections.



''People must absolutely stay put, isolate from each other, from house to house, from community to community,'' Prime Minsiter Pham Minh Chinh said during a meeting Friday with southern provinces hit by the outbreak.



The prime minster also called on migrant workers to stay in the city to avoid spreading the virus as the flee before further restrictions on movement come into effect.





A customer walks next to empty rice noodles shelves as they were depleted due to panic buying amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Ho Chi Minh City, Aug. 21. Reuters-Yonhap
A Taliban fighter stands guard at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday. A panicked crush of people trying to enter Kabul's international airport killed several Afghan civilians in the crowds, the British military said Sunday, showing the danger still posed to those trying to flee the Taliban's takeover of the country. AP-Yonhap



The Taliban on Sunday blamed the United States for the chaotic evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans and foreigners from the capital, one week after the hardline Islamist group returned to power in a rapid victory that stunned the world.



The United States has warned of security threats and the European Union admitted it was "impossible" to evacuate everyone at risk from the Taliban, who have vowed a softer version of their brutal rule from 1996-2001.



But terrified Afghans continue to try to flee, deepening a tragedy at Kabul airport where the United States and its allies have been unable to cope with the huge numbers of people trying to get on evacuation flights.



"America, with all its power and facilities... has failed to bring order to the airport. There is peace and calm all over the country, but there is chaos only at Kabul airport," Taliban official Amir Khan Mutaqi said.



Britain's defence ministry said Sunday seven people had died in the crowds, without giving further details.



A journalist, who was among a group of fleeing media workers and academics fortunate enough to reach the airport on Sunday, described desperate scenes of people surrounding their bus on the way in.



"They were showing us their passports and shouting 'take us with you... please take us with you'," the journalist told AFP.



"The Taliban fighter in the truck ahead of us had to shoot in the air to make them go away."



Britain's Sky News on Saturday aired footage of at least three bodies covered in white tarpaulin outside the airport. It was not clear how they had died.



Reporter Stuart Ramsay, who was at the airport, called the deaths "inevitable" and said people were being "crushed", while others were "dehydrated and terrified."



It was the latest scenes of utter despair to emerge, following videos of a baby and children being passed over razor wire fences to soldiers and men hanging on to departing planes.



During the distress of evacuation, an Afghan woman went into labor on a US Air Force flight and gave birth to a baby girl in the plane's cargo bay moments after landing at a base in Germany, the Air Mobility Command tweeted.





In this image courtesy of the US Air Force, medical support personnel from the 86th Medical Group help an Afghan mother and family off a US Air Force C-17, call sign Reach 828, moments after she delivered a child aboard the aircraft upon landing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Aug. 21. AFP-Yonhap



'Impossible' deadline



The United States, which has thousands of troops trying to secure the airport, has set a deadline to complete the evacuations by Aug. 31.



But there are up to 15,000 Americans and 50,000 to 60,000 Afghan allies who need to be evacuated, according to the Biden administration.



Countless others fear repression under the Taliban and are also trying to flee.



U.S. President Joe Biden has described the evacuation operations as "one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history".



The situation was further complicated on Saturday when the U.S. government warned its citizens to stay away from the airport because of "security threats."



No specific reason was given, but a White House official later said Biden had been briefed on security threats, including from the Islamic State jihadist group.



EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell gave a bleak assessment of whether the airlift would succeed.



"They want to evacuate 60,000 people between now and the end of this month. It's mathematically impossible," he told AFP.



Borrell added that "we have complained" to the Americans that their airport security was overly strict and hampering attempts by Afghans who worked for the Europeans to enter.



On Saturday, the Pentagon said 17,000 people had been taken out since the operation began on August 14, including 2,500 Americans.



Thousands more have left on other foreign military flights.







Taliban government



The Taliban meanwhile have been focusing on forming a government.



The group's co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar flew into Kabul and planned to meet jihadi leaders, elders and politicians in the coming days, an official told AFP.



Among them are leaders of the Haqqani network, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization with million-dollar bounties on its leadership.



The Taliban's comeback has ended two decades of war, after fighters faced virtually no opposition from government forces that had been trained and equipped by the U.S.-led alliance.



However, there have since been flickers of resistance with some ex-government troops gathering in the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul, long known as an anti-Taliban bastion.



One of the leaders of the movement, named the National Resistance Front, is the son of famed anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.



The NRF is prepared for a "long-term conflict" but is also still seeking to negotiate with the Taliban about an inclusive government, its spokesman Ali Maisam Nazary told AFP in an interview.



"The conditions for a peace deal with the Taliban is decentralization, a system that ensures social justice, equality, rights, and freedom for all."








Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven of the Social Democrats party said unexpectedly on Sunday he would resign later this year ahead of general elections in September 2022.







"I have informed the party's executive committee and the nomination committee's chairman that I want to leave the role as party leader at the party congress in November and thereafter also retire as prime minister," Lofven said in an annual summer speech.







Lofven, who has been prime minister since 2014, resigned in June after losing a no-confidence vote but got re-elected by parliament in July.







"In next year's election campaign the Social Democrats will be led by someone else than me," he said. "Everything has an end and I want to give my successor the very best conditions."







He has been heading a weakened government since he was forced to seek new support in June. He is yet to find sufficient backing to pass a budget and said at the time he would resign once again if he failed to get his budget through parliament in the autumn.







The Social Democrats and junior government coalition partner the Green Party are due to present the 2022 budget proposal to parliament next month. (Reuters)








Application Type: Teacher / Admin Salary/Pay Scale: Based on Experience Job Description One Long-Term Substitute English Language Arts Teacher (1.0 FTE) : English Language Arts, 7-12 Certification Required Benefits will include Health Insurance; Dental Insurance; and Sick/Personal leave as specified in the Naples Teachers Association contract.



This position will start on or around October 31, 2021 and continue through June 24, 2022. Please submit your letter of interest; resume; copies of certification; candidates placement folder, including transcripts and letters of reference.



Application Deadline: September 17, 2021. Completed application packages will be evaluated and candidates contacted for interviews. EOE Job Qualifications English Language Arts, 7-12 Certification Required Application Procedure Please submit your letter of interest; resume; copies of certification; candidates placement folder, including transcripts and letters of reference; and application form online at the Recruitfront website.



Application Deadline: September 17, 2021. Completed application packages will be evaluated and candidates contacted for interviews. EOE District Mission Statement:

The Naples Central School District challenges and supports all students to

develop their diverse talents and abilities in a safe environment with rigorous

opportunities. Students will graduate with the skills and confidence needed to

excel in their chosen pursuits.



Our Community:

Naples is located at the south end of Canandaigua Lake in the heart of the Finger

Lakes. The district, which is primarily located in Ontario County, encompasses

approximately 118 square miles and has a population of about 4,500. Located

near two ski slopes, Canandaigua Lake, and miles of hiking trails.

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Description

Req #18149 Thursday, August 19, 2021 Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is a subscription-led and digitally focused media and marketing solutions company committed to empowering communities to thrive. With an unmatched reach at the national and local level, Gannett touches the lives of millions with our Pulitzer-Prize winning content, consumer experiences and benefits, and advertiser products and services.



Our current portfolio of media assets includes USA TODAY, local media organizations in 46 states in the U.S., and Newsquest, a wholly owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom with more than 120 local news media brands. Gannett also owns the digital marketing services companies ReachLocal, Inc., UpCurve, Inc., and WordStream, Inc., which are marketed under the LOCALiQ brand, and runs the largest media-owned events business in the U.S., USA TODAY NETWORK Ventures.



To connect with us, visit www.gannett.com. Operations Coordinator (Dock Worker) - Part Time

Gannett Publishing Services Las Cruces Sun-News

Las Cruces, NM



$10.50/hr

Hours:12 A.M. 5 A.M.

Gannett Publishing Services, located at the Las Cruces Sun-News, is recruiting for a part-time, Operations Coordinator for our Newspaper Distribution Centers working 20-29 hours per week. This individual provides general support for a Distribution center performing a variety of tasks and responsibilities within home delivery including delivery of newspapers. Position requires flexibility to work varied days and hours including weekends and holidays as needed. Distribution and handling of daily and non-daily products to carriers, haulers, retailers and consumers.

Unload and load trucks containing various print publications.

Open the Distribution Center and prepare for the independent contractor arrival by printing, preparing and distributing specified reports and paperwork.

Utilize industry specific software to handle required reporting for center.

General housekeeping of distribution center.

Complete required documentation and reports for center as needed.

Assist with delivering newspapers,

Respond to and resolve subscriber service issues.

Maintain and repair news racks throughout the designated distribution area.

Assist with training Product Handlers or Product Coordinators as needed. Requirements GED/High School Diploma. Valid drivers license, satisfactory motor vehicle record, dependable automobile, and liability insurance required. Strong organizational and communication skills required for a fast-paced environment. Good computer skills including Microsoft office. Good time management skills. Good verbal and written communication skills. Must be able to push and pull carts loaded with newspapers weighing up to 500 pounds with assistance and repetitively lift newspaper bundles weighing up to 25 pounds. Previous newspaper or distribution/warehouse experience preferred.

Gannett Co., Inc.is a proud equal opportunity employer. We are a drug free, EEO employer committed to a diverse workforce. We will consider all qualified candidates regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity, family responsibilities, disability, education, political affiliation, or veteran status. Job Family Operations

Job Function Marketing Solutions

Pay Type Hourly Other details

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Requirements

None




Occupational Therapists (O.T.s) - $95.00 per hour! Occupational Therapists are needed for part-time consultant positions working at a school in Nashville, Tennessee. Flexible day shift-hour schedules are being offered working with hearing impaired children. No weekends or holidays. Previous experience with special needs children or American Sign Language (A.S.L.) is preferred, but not required. Interpreter assistance will be provided if needed. Kind, compassionate, and dependable individuals are needed. High character and integrity are essential.

Worldwide Travel Staffing offers:

Immediate access to partially employer funded medical, dental, and vision insurance plans that are fully compliant with the Affordable Care Act

401(k) with immediate vesting and 6% employer contribution

Weekly payroll with optional direct deposit

Please contact Kevin Peters, toll-free, at 866-633-3700, extension 133. Complete an application online today by visiting our website from clicking apply!

Worldwide Travel Staffing, Limited is committed to fully complying with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and ensuring that our workforce has access to affordable, high-quality healthcare. After an exhaustive search, Worldwide has identified what we believe to be the most favorable ACA compliant health insurance options for our valued employees.

Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Women/Veterans/Disabled

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Provide exceptional customer service as front office receptionist for integrated student medical and mental health clinics. Utilizing electronic medical records, student enrollment records and common office equipment and software, schedules patients for various appointment types, manages provider schedules, handles cash and credit card transactions, maintains medical records, answers busy phone lines, checks patients in to clinic, and provides support services to medical and mental health staff.

Essential Responsibilities and Duties

Managing patient care flow for three clinics by answering phones, scheduling appointments, ensuring the completion of patient intake requirements, taking payments and notifying provider of patient arrival as follows:

 Assist patients with the registration process, including obtaining demographic information, checking eligibility in Banner, assisting the patient in completing required documents on the patient portal or on paper forms.

 Enter patient intake information into electronic medical record, Medicat, and ensure information is complete and accurate. Scan documents into the record as needed.

 Assemble accurate medical information by compiling and maintaining electronic and/or physical patient records.

 Responsible for answering Center for Health and Counseling main telephone lines as well as assist all staff and patients.

 Greet patients professionally both in person and on the phone.

 Quickly answer or properly refer questions and issues.

 Optimize provider schedules and patient satisfaction with efficient scheduling.

 Comfort patients by anticipating anxieties and effectively answering questions and providing updates.

 Ensure availability of treatment information by filing, retrieving, and updating patient records.  Obtain revenue by collecting and recording payments, paying attention to account balance, and explaining copayments and balance limits to patients.

 Protect patients rights by maintaining confidentiality of personal and financial information.

 Maintain office inventory and equipment by checking stock to determine inventory levels; anticipating supply needs; placing and expediting supply orders; verifying receipt of supplies; and scheduling equipment service and repairs.

 Facilitate communication between medical and mental health providers and patients.

 Maintain patient accounts by obtaining, recording, and updating personal, medical, and financial information.

 Maintain operations by following policies and procedures; reporting needed changes.  Contribute to team effort by reporting and assisting in resolving issues with clinic processes.

Attending staff meetings and participating in required College and center-specific trainings.

Travel between clinics, attending to supply needs, maintaining a clean and organized workspace.

Other duties as assigned.

Essential Responsibilities and Duties Continued

Preferred Qualifications

Certified Medical Administration Assistant or Medical Receptionist

Business office specific education or training

Ability to read PPDs (tuberculosis skin tests)

Proficiency in language in addition to English

Minimum Qualifications

High School Diploma or equivalent.

One (1) year experience working in a busy medical practice, mental health practice or other office setting in a receptionist/front desk role.

A valid drivers license is required.

Part-time experience may be considered on a prorated basis.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Ability to provide friendly and efficient services to patients, providers and members of the campus community.

Ability to handle confidential material.

Familiarity with electronic medical record databases and common office equipment and programs.

Competency in basic math and cashiering.

Self-motivated, able to work independently and as part of a team.

Organization and time-management skills to manage a variety of tasks effectively.

Ability to handle crisis situations in a supportive manner and resolve customer concerns

Follow written and oral instructions and directions effectively. Strong business English skills, including effective writing, spelling and vocabulary.

Greeting patients professionally in person and telephonically and quickly answering or properly referring questions and issues.

Ability to communicate effectively with a broad range of diverse people, ability, culture, ethnic background, to maintain good working relationships across the College. Ability to work with all groups in a diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic background of community college students, faculty and staff, including those with disabilities.

Non-Essential Responsibilities and Duties

Special Instructions

Cover letter and resume required with dates of employment and references.

Full consideration will be given to applicants who apply on or before the priority review date indicated above.

More information about Salt Lake Community College benefits: http://i.slcc.edu/hr/benefits/benefitsinformation.aspx

Please indicate on your resume if your work experience is full time or part time.

Successful completion of a criminal background check may be required for this position. FLSA Non-Exempt

SLCC Information

Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) is fully committed to policies of equal employment and nondiscrimination. The College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability, religion, protected veteran status, expression of political or personal beliefs outside of the workplace, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.



SLCC is a participating employer with Utah Retirement Systems (URS).



This position may require the successful completion of a criminal background check.

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Finger paint, sing, dance, get paid to play with play dough. Join our energetic team to make a difference in the world, and have fun by providing children ages 5 and under with excellent child care and appropriate guided learning experiences. This position is for South City Campus.

Essential Responsibilities and Duties

In addition to complying with the child care licensing rules, applicants get to write creative lesson plans, work with children on fun and simple goals, maintain both child portfolios and progress documentation. Each teacher gets to monitor the classroom while singing and playing, attend engaging monthly meetings, and take education classes that correlate with accreditation standards.

Essential Responsibilities and Duties Continued

Providers are responsible for the direct supervision of children in their care. They are responsible for paperwork associated with progressing children on their individual goals. They must be able to work with diverse populations and communicate with parents daily. Keeping a clean classroom, and serving food is necessary.

Preferred Qualifications

Energetic and loving Fun and flexible Coursework in FHS classes, or classes from the Childrens Service Society Experience working with groups of children and babies.

Minimum Qualifications

Must be a minimum of sixteen (16) years of age, unless there has been an exemption made with the Bureau with regards to specific criteria.

Must read and write in English

Must pass a background check from the Bureau of Child Care Licensing Must pass a basic physical Must pass a TB Screening

Must be able to move, bend and work on level with children.

Must be dependable.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Qualified applicants must be ready to have fun, and enjoy working with children while being patient and calm. Applicants will need to be understanding of the importance of early childhood learning. They must be willing and capable of learning new skills. Ability to communicate effectively with a broad range of diverse people, abilities, culture, ethnic background, to maintain good working relationships across the College. Ability to work with all groups in a diverse academic, socioeconomic cultural and ethnic background of community college students, faculty, and staff including those with disabilities.

Non-Essential Responsibilities and Duties

Parents, Grandparents, and Students are welcome to apply.

Special Instructions

We can work around student schedules on a limited basis.

Please indicate on your resume if your experience is full or part time.

This position may require the successful completion of a criminal background check.

FLSA Non-Exempt

SLCC Information

Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) is fully committed to policies of equal employment and nondiscrimination. The College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability, religion, protected veteran status, expression of political or personal beliefs outside of the workplace, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. SLCC is a participating employer with Utah Retirement Systems (URS). This position may require the successful completion of a criminal background check.

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Office Technology Specialist I State of Connecticut, Judicial Branch Enfield The State of Connecticut Information Technology Division, Commission on Official Legal Publications, is seeking an Office Technology Specialist I to support the daily operations of the Printing, Publishing, Warehousing and Distribution office at the Enfield Court Complex. The successful candidate will receive on-the-job training in the operation and management of a high-grade publications system. The candidate will work closely with the Supreme and Appellate Courts and other Judicial Branch Offices in the publication of a wide variety of legal and non-legal documents, both weekly, monthly and yearly. Duties will include the reception of raw documents, the monitoring of the system in the preparation of publications quality material, the return to customer of galleys for proofing, and the final preparation and delivery of the finished documents either to the internet or to the print shop for publication or distribution. Some documents may require frequent operator intervention due to their complexity. The candidate will also work with the system vendor to maintain and upgrade the proprietary publishing system. The preferred candidate should be detail-orientated, have excellent keyboarding skills, possess the ability to handle complex tasks with minimal supervision, familiarity with, and a working knowledge of standard computer operating systems and have excellent communication and inter-personal skills. Some knowledge of standard graphic arts terms, techniques and procedures would be a plus. Starting Salary $55,473  plus State of Connecticut benefits EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING:

General Experience: Two (2) years of microcomputer experience, including problem diagnosis, training, support, word processing application, design, and development of user manuals.



Special Experience: One (1) year of the General Experience must have included utilization of laser printers, fonts, and providing training on hardware and software. SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: Incumbents may be required to travel in the course of their daily work. Applications must be received by September 7, 2021. Applications must be submitted through the on-line application site at: www.jud.ct.gov/hronline/. Resumes or paper applications will not be accepted. Please reference posting number 21-4000-004 AA/EOE

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Duties



Summary You are encouraged to read the entire announcement before you submit your application package. Your application may not receive full consideration if you do not follow the instructions as outlined. This position is located in the Washington, DC Commuting Area within the Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation (DDI) , at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) . Learn more about this agency



Responsibilities Developing expert guidance and tools to strengthen the USAID's methodological framework for measuring the value of private sector engagement (PSE) and validating tools with key Agency stakeholders;

Providing field-focused technical assistance on monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) approaches for PSE, including responding to ad-hoc requests, developing training content, and providing specialized support;

Building MEL capacity of PSE Advisors by developing and delivering tailored training content, providing consultation services, and supporting team-wide efforts;

Identifying specific research projects and deliverables; disseminating the study results to improve the Agency's approach to PSE;

Preparing project papers, reports, research publications, and summary statements of key work products to encourage understanding and acceptance of findings and recommendations; and

Supporting the wider goals of the Agency's capacity-building to effectively engage with the private sector by providing hands-on technical assistance to Bureaus and Missions.



Travel Required 25% or less - Travel may vary depending on the needs of the Bureau but will not exceed 25% of the incumbent's time. Supervisory status No Promotion Potential 14 Job family (Series) 1101 General Business And Industry



Requirements



Conditions of Employment United States Citizenship is required.

Relevant experience (see Qualifications below).

Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.

Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with the Selective Service.

Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer is required.

If you have no prior Federal experience or are selected under Delegated Examining procedures, you will be required to serve a one-year probationary period.

If you select to be considered under Merit Promotion requirements, you must meet the Time-in-Grade requirements before the closing date of this vacancy announcement.



Qualifications SELECTIVE FACTOR: Your resume must demonstrate experience with monitoring, evaluating, and learning international development programs, including proficiency with statistical approaches and data analysis.



GS-14: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. Examples of qualifying specialized experience at the next lower level for this position includes a) applying principles and methodology using qualitative and quantitative measures to evaluate cross-sectoral international developments program; b) using various data collection and monitoring and evaluation methods and tools, such as quasi-experimental design, survey design, and quantitative/qualitative indicator development; and c) application of USG requirements and standards for programmatic reporting, monitoring and evaluation.



Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience relevant to the position's duties to be filled, including volunteer experience.



CTAP/ICTAP candidates will be referred to the selecting official if they are found well qualified. Well-qualified means an eligible applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities that clearly exceed the position's minimum requirements. In addition, a well-qualified employee must meet the qualification and eligibility requirements of the position, including any medical qualifications, suitability, and minimum education and experience requirements, meet all selective factors (where applicable); meet quality ranking factors and are assigned to the Silver Category or higher Category; be physically qualified with reasonable accommodation to perform the essential duties of the position; meet any special qualifying U.S. OPM-approved conditions; AND be able to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry without additional training.



A well-qualified candidate will not necessarily meet the definition of highly or best qualified when evaluated against other candidates who apply for a particular position. Therefore, selecting officials will document the job-related reason(s) for qualification determinations without selective and quality ranking factors.



Education This position does not have a positive education requirement. Therefore, no transcripts are required .



Additional information USAID is an independent Federal Government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. With headquarters in the District of Columbia, we operate in more than 100 countries worldwide, playing an active and critical role in the promotion of U.S. foreign policy interests. When crisis strikes, when rights are repressed, when hunger, disease, and poverty rob people of opportunity, USAID acts on behalf of the American people to help expand the reach of prosperity and dignity to the world's most vulnerable people. USAID employees and contractors must commit to maintaining a workplace free of sexual misconduct, including harassment, exploitation, and abuse, and adhere to USAID's Counter-Trafficking in Persons Code of Conduct. For information on the effort to counter all forms of human trafficking, including the procurement of commercial sex acts and the use of forced labor, visit (see application details) For more information about USAID, visit (see application details) If an HR Specialist determines that you are among the best-qualified applicants for these positions, an HR Specialist will share your application with multiple hiring managers for consideration. By submitting your application to this advertisement, you agree to share your application for similar positions within USAID.



This vacancy may be used to fill multiple vacancies depending on the needs of the Agency.



These are Testing Designated Positions (TDP's) under the Agency's approved Drug-Free Work Place Program. All applicants selected for this position will be subject to random drug testing once they begin working for the Agency. Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer is required.

Moving and relocation expenses are not authorized.

M ythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies: (see application details) .

EEO Policy: EEO Policy Statement .

Reasonable Accommodation Policy: Reasonable Accommodation Policy Statement .

Veterans' Information: Veterans Information .

Telework: (see application details) .

Selective Service Registration: (see application details) . It is the Government's policy not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. USAID will use information about an individual's employment experience only to determine their qualifications and assess their relative level of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Although an individual's personal conduct may be relevant in any employment decision, including conduct during periods of unemployment or evidence of dishonesty in handling financial matters, financial difficulty that has arisen through no fault of the individual will generally not be the basis of an unfavorable suitability or fitness determination. Read more



How You Will Be Evaluated You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. After the advertisement closes, a subject matter expert will review your application package to ensure you meet the job and eligibility requirements, including the education and/or experience required for this position. If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the vacancy announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter, and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire (True/False, Yes/ No, Multiple Choice questions) and place you in one of three pre-defined categories. If your resume does not reinforce your responses to the online assessment questionnaire, it will affect your eligibility for further consideration. You may be found "not qualified" if you do not possess the minimum competencies required for the position. If your application is incomplete, we will rate you as ineligible. Under Delegated Examining (All U.S. Citizens) procedures, these categories are Gold (90 points or more), Silver (80-89 points), and Bronze (70-79 points). However, your resume and/or optional cover letter must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or an HR Specialist may lower your score. Candidates placed in the " Gold " category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and invited for an interview. How you will be evaluated for preference eligibility: Within each category, those entitled to veterans' preference will be listed at the top of the pre-defined category for which they are placed. Preference eligibles with a service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest quality category ( Gold ), depending on the position and grade level of the job. ( You must provide proof of disability rating with a letter from the Veteran's Administration showing disability percentage rating). Under Merit Promotion (Status Candidates) procedures, we will refer all candidates we rank as Highly Qualified to the hiring manager. They may invite the referred applicants for an interview. The scored occupational questionnaire will evaluate you on the following competencies: Monitoring, Evaluating, and Learning

Planning and Evaluating

Private Sector Engagement

Project Management

Writing Read more



Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance Secret Drug test required No Position sensitivity and risk Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk Trust determination process Suitability/Fitness



Required Documents Resume showing relevant experience;

If you are a current Federal employee and choose to have your application considered under Merit Promotion procedures, you must submit the most recent copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action); your document must reflect grade, step, tenure code "1" (Career) or "2" (Career-Conditional), and type of position occupied.

Veterans' documentation, if requesting consideration under any Veterans' hiring eligibility ( veterans' preference and Veterans Employment Opportunities Act ).

If seeking eligibility based on any other special hiring authority (e.g., disabled veteran, Schedule A, special hiring programs ).

CTAP/ICTAP Eligibles: Must submit a copy of the appropriate documentation such as a reduction-in-force (RIF) separation notice, an SF-50 reflecting your RIF separation, or a notice of proposed removal for declining a direct reassign or transfer of function to another commuting area. You MUST also submit documentation to reflect your current (or last) performance rating of record of at least "fully successful" (Level III) or equivalent, along with your application/resume package.

Eligibles: Must submit a copy of the appropriate documentation such as a reduction-in-force (RIF) separation notice, an SF-50 reflecting your RIF separation, or a notice of proposed removal for declining a direct reassign or transfer of function to another commuting area. You MUST also submit documentation to reflect your current (or last) performance rating of record of at least "fully successful" (Level III) or equivalent, along with your application/resume package. If this position requires proof of higher education, you must submit a copy of your transcript (unofficial transcript) or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and the quarter and semester hours earned. You may use education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the requirements. Please refer to (see application details) for more information. Please be advised that an official transcript will be required if you are selected for the position. If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education . Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.



Benefits A career with the U.S. Government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window Learn more about federal benefits . Review our benefits Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time, or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.



Fair & Transparent The Federal hiring process is setup to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.



Equal Employment Opportunity Policy The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) for federal employees & job applicants Read more



Reasonable Accommodation Policy Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process should follow the instructions in the job opportunity announcement. For any part of the remaining hiring process, applicants should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. A reasonable accommodation is any change to a job, the work environment, or the way things are usually done that enables an individual with a disability to apply for a job, perform job duties or receive equal access to job benefits. Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodations when: An applicant with a disability needs an accommodation to have an equal opportunity to apply for a job.

An employee with a disability needs an accommodation to perform the essential job duties or to gain access to the workplace.

An employee with a disability needs an accommodation to receive equal access to benefits, such as details, training, and office-sponsored events. You can request a reasonable accommodation at any time during the application or hiring process or while on the job. Requests are considered on a case-by-case basis. Learn more about disability employment and reasonable accommodations or how to contact an agency. Read more Legal and regulatory guidance Financial suitability

Social security number request

Privacy Act

Signature and false statements

Selective Service

New employee probationary period




Description



System ID 724029

Category General Management

Relocation Type No

Employment Status Full-Time

Unit Description

Join a team where patients are at the heart of everything we do! Sodexo is hiring a Multi-Service General Manager/Director at University Hospitals, Ahuja Medical Center located in Cleveland, Ohio. UH Ahuja Medical Center is one of 14 community hospitals within the University Health System. This 144 bed facility is growing and expansion is underway to include the largest Sports Medicine complex in Ohio! This position will manage client staff and operations for Environmental Services and Patient Transportation. Key Responsibilities: Provides a clean and safe environment for patients, visitors and staff

Works with the Environment of Care Committee and Infection Prevention Director

Effectively manages the Unit Operating System

Responsible for driving client and patient satisfaction scores

Supports a diverse and inclusive workforce Are you the experienced Director we're seeking? We are looking for a candidate who: Possesses strong leadership skills with the ability to work independently to drive program compliance and reach project target dates of completion;

Has 5 years previous Environmental Services/Housekeeping AND/OR Patient Transport experience in a hospital or healthcare environment;

Has the ability to analyze data, present and effectively communicate to all levels within the organization related to training, leading hospital committees and change management;

Has experience effectively managing projects within agreed upon time frame;

Has experience improving patient satisfaction, and driving full compliance to HCAHPS, local, state and Joint Commission standards;

Is proficient with MS Office including Outlook, Word, Excel;

Previous experience opening a new healthcare facility is a plus.

Previous Sodexo experience is a plus. Working for Sodexo in Healthcare allows you to offer patients, healthcare professionals and caregivers around the world the best healthcare experience possible while influencing patient satisfaction, as well as cost reduction and increased productivity for our clients. Sodexo's unique CARES culture develops a dynamic atmosphere where employees are respected, turnover is low and career growth opportunities are created from within. Apply Now!

Position Summary

Functions as the leader for multiple core services, in a single account and/or multiple locations within the same contract. Single point of contact and/or client liaison in support of business that in total is between $5 and $10 million in managed volume.

Key Duties

- Monitors operations by planned and unplanned visits to each operating account of the system to plan projects, implement new processes, client interactions, and new technology to ensure sufficient resources. - Develops business plan and budget w/each account GM that supports the System and District goals - Reviews and analyzes financial statements and data and other financial information to ensure attainment of financial goals for both the client and Sodexo. - Central Point of Contact for Client Liaison promoting a solid business partnership - assists in contract negotiations for the system. - Maintains Quality & Company Standards - reviews and maintains reports to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations and Sodexo / System Client(s) policies and procedures. - Responsible for system succession planning/employee development/diversity initiatives/training/constructive counseling. Promotes and supports workplace diversity initiatives. - Provides strategic leadership to the respective units within the system to maintain client satisfaction and retention

Qualifications & Requirements

Basic Education Requirement - Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience

Basic Management Experience - 5 years

Basic Functional Experience - 5 years



Sodexo is an EEO/AA/Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran employer.



Requirements

See Job Description




Infotainment

Heartburn drug may help doctors fight Covid-19

August 22, (Agencies) | Publish Date: 8/22/2021 11:49:38 AM IST

A significant number of people who suffered from chronic heartburn and were taking an over-the-counter acid suppressant were able to survive Covid-19, a study has found.

The low cost drug called famotidine, with key ingredient Pepcid, was developed to block the histamine receptors that help produce acid in the stomach.

A team from University of Virginia examined 22,000 people, the largest sample size for a study on famotidine and the disease to date.

The teams analysis, which appeared in the journal Signal Transduction & Targeted Therapy, showed that the data supported findings from other smaller-scale studies.

When delivered at high doses (the equivalent of about 10 Pepcid tablets), famotidine appears to improve the odds of survival for Covid-19 patients, especially when it is combined with aspirin.

It also seems to hinder the severity of disease progression, making patients less likely to reach the point where they require intubation or a ventilator.

One of the most dangerous phenomena of Covid-19 is that it can trigger a cytokine storm -- a potentially fatal amplification of an immune response.

Once infected, the immune system releases inflammatory proteins called cytokines that tell the immune cells how to fight the infection. But in more severe illnesses, cytokine production can spiral out of control, becoming dysregulated.

Basically, your immune system goes haywire and starts attacking things like your otherwise healthy lung tissue because its so desperate to kill off the invading virus, said Cameron Mura, senior scientist at UVA.

The researchers note that famotidine suppresses this reaction. (IANS)
President Emmerson Mnangagwas fresh plan to address the Gukurahundi atrocities has been questioned because it excludes chiefs from the Midlands province and is silent on reparations.

Mnangagwa yesterday met chiefs from Matabeleland at the State House in Bulawayo, where they agreed that the traditional leaders would lead the exhumation of remains of people butchered by the 5th Brigade in the early years of Zimbabwes independence.

Chiefs from the Midlands province, which was also the target of the pogrom that left over 20 000, mostly supporters of the late vice-president Joshua Nkomo dead, were conspicuous by their absence at the Bulawayo meeting.

The province was also not mentioned in the government statement outlining the way forward in addressing the Gukurahundi issue. Chief Mathema from Matabeleland South said the National Chiefs Council (NCC) could not be made a central player in the resolution of the Gukurahundi issue.

The meeting is meaningless without the involvement of affected chieftainships, Mathema said. Affected chieftainships should lead the process, not an outsider. The NCC is an outsider in this case.

This issue does not need the chiefs council. It does not make any sense to have a chief from Mutare in the NCC, for example, to deliberate on the pains faced by a chief here whose area was affected by Gukurahundi.

Over and above, we know Gukurahundi also affected Midlands but chiefs from there are being denied an opportunity to present their case. There is no sincerity in all this. If we are serious about this problem, affected chieftainships must be part of the process.

Mathema is one of the chiefs from Matabeleland that have become very vocal about the resolution of the Gukurahundi issue and they have accused Mnangagwa of not being sincere.

Effie Ncube, a Bulawayo-based human rights activist said it was wrong for people implicated in the Gukurahundi atrocities to lead a process meant to address the issue.

The starting point is to recognise that in this particular incident, it is Zanu PF and the state that committed genocide and, therefore, the leader of Zanu PF and any state official are not qualified to participate in the search for the truth and justice, Ncube said.

There is a need for a standalone, independent international commission for the purpose of addressing Gukurahundi. The role of the state should only be limited to providing an enabling environment for the commission to do its work.

Mbuso Fuzwayo of Ibhetshu LikaZulu, a Bulawayo pressure group widely known for pushing for Gukurahundi redress, said the latest meeting over the killings showed that the government was not sincere in finding a solution to problems that arose as a result of the atrocities.

We have said it before, and we will say it again, Mnangagwa is playing games and is not genuine [in his approach], Fuzwayo said. This is a political gimmick that must be rejected by all people.

We have said before that it is near impossible to address Gukurahundi when state actors, who were also perpetrators are seen to be leading the process.

Leader of the secessionist Mthwakazi Republic Party Mqondisi Moyo said only a truth-telling exercise will help address Gukurahundi-related problems affecting Zimbabwe.

Mnangagwa-led negotiations are unacceptable, Moyo said. How can the perpetrator be a referee? They are still not prepared to admit that they are the murderers of our people. They are not ready to follow the right procedure that leads to genuine redress.

They are just doing this to blindfold the world and Matabeleland and Midlands people into believing that Zanu PF is committed to reconciliation.

The government said yesterdays meeting followed a two-week consultative process with unnamed Matabeleland civic society organisations and the clergy on issues affecting Matabeleland, particularly the unresolved 1980s massacres.

Information ministry permanent secretary Nick Mangwana told journalists in Bulawayo after the meeting that Mnangagwa was committed to finding a solution to problems caused by Gukurahundi .

We need to emphasize that this programme that we are gathered here to deal with was and is a president-initiated programme, Mangwana said. It is driven by the president.

The president was not under pressure from anywhere to do this, but is doing it in the spirit of fostering peace and national healing.

As in previous engagements, the issue of marginalisation, exhumations, reburials, documentation, reparations and compensation to the Gukurahundi victims and their surviving family members topped yesterdays engagement with the major difference being the adoption of a victim centred approach.

Notably, it has been resolved that each chief will spearhead the resolution of the issue in his or her area of jurisdiction, Mangwana said. The process will be victim centred and will also involve key stakeholders engagement.

It was reiterated that the Gukurahundi issue should not be tribalised in order to foster national building and healing.

Regarding exhumations and reburials, this should be resolved on a case by case basis, custom centric and the relevant chief should give guidance and directions.

Like his predecessor, the late Robert Mugabe, Mnangagwa has not offered any apology for Gukurahundi. Mugabe only went as far as describing the killings as a moment of madness. Standard
ELECTRICITY supply is set to improve countrywide starting this week following the full restoration of power generation at Hwange Power Station, a Cabinet minister has said.

This follows erratic power supply and load-shedding of up to seven hours daily that had been witnessed in different parts of the country over the past few weeks.

Since August 10, engineers have been hard at work at Hwange Power Station to repair a technical fault that resulted in the loss of 440MW at Zimbabwes largest thermal power plant.

The fault at Hwange had resulted in a significant deficit of power supply to the national grid, triggering outrage from domestic consumers and the business sector, which said the shortages were encumbering production.

However, Energy and Power Development Minister Zhemu Soda on Friday told The Sunday Mail that power generation at Hwange had been restored to about 450MW capacity daily, taking national generation capacity per day to over 1 500MW.

We did not have such a critical shortage as some are saying because despite having challenges at Hwange, our other stations, coupled with imports, have been performing very well, he said.

But we are set to witness a significant improvement in power supply from next (this) week going forward because we have recovered from the faults at Hwange.

Minister Soda said the Government was ready to source more imports whenever there were major faults that affected the national grid. Zimbabwes mainly imports power from South Africa and Mozambique.

Said Minister Soda: Following the repairs, Hwange now has the capacity to generate 450 MW, Kariba is generating over 1000 MW while small thermal stations and imports are complementing these figures to take us past 1500 MW which is more or less what we need per day. If there are areas that are still being affected by severe shortages, then it may be faults or maintenance exercises going on. I would also want to invite those affected by faults to make reports to the power utility.

According to the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), the country was generating a combined total of 1269 MW as at Friday.

Kariba had the highest output at 890 MW followed by Hwange at 337 MW. Bulawayo, Munyati and Harare power stations weighed in with 18 MW, 13 MW and 11 MW respectively.

Independent Power Producers also continue to contribute varying amounts of electricity to the national grid.

Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) president, Mr Kurai Matsheza, appealed to the Government to address the power situation saying outages were affecting business at a time when the economy is gaining momentum.

Electricity shortages are affecting business in a major way because power is a major component in production, he said.

We have members who operate on a 24-hour basis and electricity shortages mean low production or high costs of production. So we would like our Government to look into this because its affecting business at a time when our economy is on the rebound.

Despite intermittent power shortages, the future is bright for Zimbabwes power sector with the country poised to be self-sufficient in terms of its power requirements as a number of new projects are taking shape.

Chinas Sinohydro is currently constructing the Hwange Power Station 7 and 8 units, which are expected to be complete next year and will add 600MW to the grid.

Another 2 400MW project  Batoka  is being jointly pursued with Zambia and is expected to take off in the next few years.

Furthermore, a number of coal and coal-bed methane projects, predominantly in Hwange, will add up to 2000 megawatts into the national grid in the next few years. Sunday Mail
The multi-million-dollar government funded Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP) in Chiredzi is now mired in controversy after it emerged that tenders were allegedly awarded without due diligence.

One of the companies that clinched the tender to fix the drainage system has a questionable background, it has emerged. Trade Code Investments is accused of doing sub-standard work after clinching the tender.

Work on 110 metres of the 150-metre project is said to be of poor quality in both the materials used and workmanship. Trade Code and Ablixon Investment are working on the drainage system.

Ablixon only delivered a small pile of concrete stones before allegedly disappearing. It could not be established where it is operating from or its directors.

Trade Code Investment has not finished constructing a laboratory at Chiredzi Government High School after it won a US$300 000 tender to construct the building six years ago. The science laboratory has been a white elephant since then.

District schools inspector (DSI) Petronella Nyangwe, confirmed that the building was lying idle but referred further questions to the provincial education director (PED), Shylette Mhike.

I can confirm that there is an impasse between the school and the contractor; but you can talk to the PED. She will give the ministrys position, Nyangwe said.

I am not allowed to talk to the press. However, the PED could not be reached for comment as her mobile phone went unanswered.

Investigations revealed that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is constructing a new court building next to another existing one which was commissioned in 2016, and is hardly five years old.

The project, which was funded by Plan International was led by Trade Code Investments.

JSC secretary Walter Chikwana could neither deny nor confirm that the building was sub-standard, but only said it was a temporary court.

Chikwana said Tongaat Hulett partnered the JSC this time around and undertook to sponsor the rehabilitation of the court premises.

He said construction would be supervised by the district chief architect from the Local Government and Public Works ministry.

All I can say is that (building) was a temporary court because it has prefabricated walls. Plan International just offered to construct the court for us, Chikwana said. The refurbishment of the court is in line with the JSCs quest to ensure access to justice for all.

The Triangle circuit court will then be converted into a fully-fledged resident magistrates court to ensure the expeditious completion of cases in the Lowveld.

Plan International spokesperson Sibusisiwe Ndhlovu requested for time to check if the building they funded was a temporary structure.

Trade Code was also blacklisted from doing business with Tongaat Hulett after it was contracted to ferry manure given for free to Tongaat by a reputable Chiredzi based abattoir. The company allegedly connived with Tongaat employees to bill the company for both transport and the free manure.

Venancio Kurauone who is Trade Code Investments director and chairperson of the controversial Zanu PF-linked Lowveld Business Development Association confirmed that the laboratory remained unfinished six years later.

I did not get much from constructing that laboratory, Kurauone said. In fact, I ran a loss. They failed to calculate that I have to remit 25% of their payment to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority as tax.

So when they added other jobs that we didnt agree on in the first place; thats where we encountered a problem. As for the Tongaat issue it was blown out of proportion. The matter was resolved thats why the workers involved were not dismissed.

I will soon be back at Tongaat because it needs me more than I do.

United Chiredzi Residents and Ratepayers Association (UCHIRRA) has since written to Chiredzi town council expressing their displeasure at the tender process.

Part of the letter dated August 13, 2021 signed by the associations advocacy officer, Constance Chikumbo read: Some of the contractors, who were hired have a history of corruption and doing shoddy jobs.

We expect council to tender respectable companies with clean history. As a result, residents fear continued corrupt activities.

Lack of trust by residents may result in them dodging to pay their rates. As the representative of the people, UCHIRRA would like transparency, accountability and improved citizen participation to enhance better service delivery.

Chiredzi town secretary Charles Muchatukwa was not reachable for comment. Standard
MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has been invited to attend new Zambian leader Hakainde Hichilemas inauguration on Tuesday.

Hichilemas United Party for National Development (UPND) has close ties with the MDC Alliance.

Chamisa has also met the incoming Zambian president several times as part of a regional network of opposition parties led by South Africas Mmusi Maimane.

UPND and MDC Alliance officials confirmed that Zimbabwes mainstream opposition leader was expected in Lusaka for the historic occasion, but they could not give further details.

Chamisa was not reachable to confirm whether he was travelling to Zambia following the invitation.

MDC Alliance secretary for international relations Gladys Hlatywayo, who last week met with Hichilema soon after his victory, was also not available for comment.

Joseph Kalimbwe, one of the key members of Hichilemas campaign, said on Twitter MDC Alliance was the only political party in the region that supported UPND ahead of Zambias hotly-contested August 12 elections.

Hichilema defeated President Edgar Lungu by over a million votes. Kalimbwe said the UPND must never forget its allies when it assumes power in Zambia.

My support for the struggles of friends and comrades across our continent (Zimbabwe, Namibia, Tanzania  Africa) is unwavering  it will never stop, he tweeted yesterday.

They chose the hard path of supporting our UPND struggles when others refused to associate with us in the opposition.

Senior government officials were last week forced to react to social media debate about what UPNDs victory meant for Zimbabwe given its relationship with the MDC Alliance

President Emmerson Mnangagwa said those who thought that the Zambian story would repeat itself in Zimbabwe were dreaming in statements that were seen as directed to Chamisa.

Mnangagwa is also travelling to Zambia for the inauguration. Zambian Information and Broadcasting Services ministry permanent secretary Amos Malupenga said Hichilemas inauguration ceremony would be strictly by invitation because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2017, Chamisa and the late MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai were invited to attend the inauguration of Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and they held private talks with him after the ceremony. Standard
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan Presidential Council has called on the chairman of the board of directors of the Libyan General Electricity Company (GECOL), Wiam al-Abdali, "to make urgent plans to resolve the electricity crisis effectively", stressing "the need for the company to speed up measures to stabilise the electricity network"
PARLAMENTUL REPUBLICII MOLDOVA

 2010

The Moldovan Parliaments website design was supported by the Democracy Support Programme in Moldova"  an initiative financed by the European Union and implemented by the Council of Europe
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
An Indian Air Force (IAF) transport aircraft arrived at Hindan air base here with 168 passengers including some eminent Afghan leaders from Hindu and Sikh communities, on Sunday morning, the officials said.

The officials also confirmed that 107 Indians have been brought back through this evacuation.

Apprehending that the Taliban militia may prevent the Afghan public representatives from taking the IAF flight, the entire plan was kept secret till the flight took off from Afghanistan, sources said.

The IAF aircraft was waiting for the clearance at the Kabul airport due to the huge rush as many countries have sent their military planes to evacuate their citizens.

"The US authorities have taken full control of the airport and they are managing the air operation from the war torn country. In this huge rush, charting out a slot for an aircraft and also a safe air route for the evacuation flight, have become major challenges for US authority," an official explained who was privy to these developments.

This was the second evacuation made by the Indian authorities to bring back the stranded Indian and Afghan nationals who wanted to come to India after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021.

The first air rescue operation was made on August 17, when an IAF C-17 aircraft brought back 120 Indians, including Indian Ambassador Rudrendra Tandon, the last batch of the Indian embassy staff, ITBP personnel from the Kabul airport amidst the critical situation in Afghanistan.

However, the Government has been making all efforts to bring back Indians and leaders of the Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities who have feared Taliban's prosecution.

The Kabul airport was closed on August 16 evening for commercial operation but it was reopened for military aircraft deployed for evacuation operations on Tuesday by the American agencies.


The Taliban announced that its delegation met with political figures in the Afghan capital Kabul, assuring them of security and safety almost after a week of the country's takeover by the insurgent group. "A delegation from the Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan met with a number of political figures in Kabul today," Muhammad Naeem, a spokesman for the Political Office of the Taliban in Qatari capital Doha, said in a tweet on Saturday. According to the spokesman, the delegation told the attendees about the future of the "Islamic Emirate", the name of Afghanistan under Taliban rule, which wants a strong central government that respects the rule of law and gives every citizen the opportunity to serve his country, reports Xinhua news agency. The meeting came a day after former President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the High Council of National Reconciliation met Abdul Rahman Mansour, the acting governor of Kabul in which they discussed the security of Kabul city and protection of people's lives and properties, reports TOLO News. There were reports that the Taliban's deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has arrived in Kabul. The Taliban entered Kabul on August 15 after taking control of most parts of Afghanistan, following the rapid withdrawal of the US and NATO forces from the country that began in May. Two days later, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said they intended to form an inclusive government and does not want to have any internal or external enemies.




The Yemeni government announced that airstrikes launched by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition killed an Iranian military officer in the country's oil-rich province of Marib.

Haidar Serjan, who worked as an advisor to the Houthis, was killed with nine others on Friday night following airstrikes launched by the coalition during the ongoing fighting in Marib's district of Serwah, Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani said in a statement on Saturday.

The Minister urged the international community and the UN to "adopt a firm stand against Iran's interference in the Yemeni affairs."

The Houthis began in February a major offensive on Marib in an attempt to seize control of the oil-rich province, the government's last northern stronghold.

Yemen's civil war flared up in late 2014 when the Houthi rebels seized control of much of the country's north and forced the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government.
Page Content

As of August 20th, there were twenty eight (28) persons who tested positive for COVID-19; however fifty seven (57) persons have recovered; bringing the total active cases to three hundred fifteen (315). The total number of confirmed cases is now three thousand three hundred ninety four (3394).





The Collective Prevention Services (CPS) are monitoring three hundred (300) people in home isolation. Fifteen (15) patients are hospitalized at the St. Maarten Medical Center. The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 remains at forty two (42).





The number of people recovered since the first case surfaced on St. Maarten has increased to three thousand thirty seven (3037). Three hundred eighteen (318) people are in quarantine based on contact tracing investigations carried out by CPS.





The Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (VSA) Airport Health Team in collaboration with Health Care Laboratory Sint Maarten (HCLS) have tested 3, 562 travelers arriving at the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA), while CPS tested 37, 841 people throughout the community. As the numbers continue to fluctuate, CPS will continue to actively execute its contact tracing measures.





Minister Ottley continues to encourage persons who are experiencing signs and symptoms of COVID-19 to come forward for testing. The drive thru testing in Pointe Blanche remains open daily without the need for an appointment. Operating hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM and on Saturdays from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM.




The Vietnam saga being one of ideological competition had seen the North Vietnamese government ally with the Soviet Union and the Peoples Republic of China (PRC).

by Dheeraj P.C.

As pictures of Chinook helicopters hovering above the US embassy in Kabul, reminiscent of similar scenes from Saigon 45 years ago, have gone viral on social media platforms, the tendency to draw parallels between Vietnam and Afghanistan seems irresistible. There are of course some evident similaritieslong wars, unfulfilled missions, abandoning the locals, to name a few. But there have also been differences spanning across geography, culture, history, and more important, the nature of the enemy itselfin Afghanistan, the US did not face a conventional army. Yet, in this analysis, let us focus on a key area that puts Afghanistan as a case completely different from Vietnam. That is, intelligence.

The failures of US intelligence in Vietnam are multifaceted, including poor strategic intelligence in identifying the communist insurgency, scarce manpower deployment, heavy dependence on technological intelligence platforms at the cost of HUMINT, and finally, coordination problems between several agenciesmainly the DoD and the CIA. In analysing the Afghan experience, observers are likely to raise some of these factors once again, especially the HUMINT angle. In fact, Tamim Asey, former Deputy Minister of Defence, Afghanistan, has said that the US and its allies have deployed cutting-edge ISR capabilities, what is missing, however, is good HUMINT.

The truth, in this regard, may not be as bleak as Asey asserts. Following the Vietnam debacle, and influenced by the experiences of Operation Eagle Claw (1979), Beirut bombings (1983), and Gulf War (1990), the US had made considerable improvements in its HUMINT capabilities. In fact, after the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom (2001) and the invasion of Iraq (2003), HUMINT focus on these two theatres raised concerns among some observers that the War on Terror had been diverting assets away from traditional adversaries such as China and North Korea. Besides, the presence of contractors offering linguistic capabilities as interpreters and interrogators, in addition to local allies, provided the US a formidable HUMINT network in Afghanistan. In point of fact, CIA director Bill Burns expressed his biggest concern with the US withdrawal to be the loss of intelligence network, which could potentially diminish the agencys ability to collect and act on threats.

Thus, infrastructurally and operationally, US intelligence had improved manifold since Vietnam, that organisational factors serve little analytical purpose in examining US failures in Afghanistan. An argument can still be made that Iraq served as a diversion, which absorbed a chunk of intelligence capabilities that could have otherwise focused on Afghanistan. However, a thorough analysis of this perspective will need more scholarly effort and evidence in support of such an argument. In such an instance, another effective way of observing American failures is by examining the strengths and successes of the enemy intelligence and counterintelligence. Both insurgent groups Viet Cong and the Taliban shared similar intelligence mechanisms that relied on local support and terrain advantage. But, beyond this, both parties enjoyed support from foreign countries, who became their key intelligence partners. It is here that Afghanistan emerges distinct from Vietnam; one that makes the former a much bigger embarrassment to Washington.

The Vietnam saga being one of ideological competition had seen the North Vietnamese government ally with the Soviet Union and the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). Vietnamese intelligence officers were trained by the PRC during the 1950s. Later as the conflict intensified, the Soviet KGB and the GRU became active intelligence partners of the Viet Minh, while the PRC provided occasional tip-offs on American air raids. A project titled Vostok witnessed Soviet assistance in radio counter-espionage, radio intelligence and communications security. Given the US technocratic operations, the Vietnamese radio counter-espionage operations were quite successful in thwarting US-South Vietnamese efforts in building an intelligence network. Radio intelligence further offered valuable details about planned US airstrikes, whilst the GRUs ELINT support enabled the Vietnamese to detect, identify and exploit US electronic jamming signals. As is evident, foreign support to Vietnam came mostly in the domain of operational intelligence. At the strategic level, the Vietnamese refused to be guided by the interests of any other country. Even the KGB and the PRC intelligence were considered prime targets of the Vietnamese counterintelligence.

In contrast, the Afghan experience presents complexity and shows greater strategic supervision from foreign agencies. First of all, the Talibans international partnerPakistanwas not recognised by the US as an ideological foe, but a frontline ally. Secondly, the Pakistani intelligenceInter-Services Intelligence (ISI)unlike the KGB and PRC, was not limited to provision of operational and tactical support to Taliban. With direct stakes in the Afghan conflict, driven largely by its quest for strategic depth (a concept propounded by former ISI chief Mirza Aslam Beg), the ISI devised a strategic deception plan against the US to better guide its clients in Afghanistan. The present rout of US from Afghanistan is evidence of its monumental success.

At least three key aspects come to mind where Washington fell victim to Pakistani deception, leading to the current crisis in Afghanistan. The first was to convince the Americans of rogue elements within the ISI. The numerous American intelligence agencies operating in Af-Pak were aware of the ISIs double games but were conflicted in declaring the ISI an enemy due to their differing assessments of the ISI-jihadist nexus. For some, the ISI had a few capable and professional officers while support for jihadism was mostly carried out by lower rank officials or retired personnel. Even when evidence of ISIs links with the Haqqanis or the Taliban emerged, they were dismissed as evidence of the ISIs incompetence and not proof of the agencys control over the jihadists. It appears that none of the American agencies managed to place the indicators and inputs within the framework of Pakistans quest for strategic depth in Afghanistan, which would have presented a different reality.

The second major deception aspect employed by the ISI was to declare Pakistan as a victim of terrorism. The fuel for this hogwash was given by a carefully calibrated leak by the ISI in 2010 of an assessment that claimed a two-thirds likelihood of a major threat to the [Pakistani] state coming from militants rather than from India or elsewhere. The tone and tenor of this assessment that regarded Indiaconsidered Pakistans mortal enemyas a second grade threat was readily accepted by international observers as evidence of a changing Pakistan. While vast sections in the US accepted this assessment, the ISI used this to convince people at home of a joint Indian, American and French conspiracy against Pakistan via Afghanistan. The fact that terrorism in Pakistan was a self-created problem was conveniently ignored by the international community; as was the continuing sponsorship to groups aimed at India.

The same year, the third deception ployone of a reformed ISIwas laid following the arrest of Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Pakistan. After the arrest of Baradar and other Taliban leaders, the Economist interpreted the event as reflecting a change in policy in Islamabad. Bruce Riedel, former CIA analyst, termed the event a sea change in Pakistani behaviour. Indian intelligence analysts, such as the late B. Raman, had questioned the veracity of such claims considering the struggle that was brewing between the ISI and Talibans senior leadership. But Washington was far from identifying the ISIs scheme. As Steve Coll notes, the US intelligence community was unable to discern whether the ISIs arrests were to demonstrate cooperation with the US or to punish rogue clients.





Therefore, today as we witness the plight of Afghans at the hands of the Taliban, it is confirmation that the US has been the victim of historys greatest strategic deception programme. Trillions of dollars have been spent to finally offer Afghanistan to Pakistan on a silver platter. Mullah Baradar, whose arrest gave rise to claims of a reformed ISI, is now recognised by the US as a legitimate negotiator, even as reports suggest his being handled by the ISI. In fact, while in Doha for negotiations, Baradar had requested that the Qatari authorities allow ISI officials to be invited for political meetings. Thus, the defeat of the US or the victory of Pakistan owes to the ISIs correct reading of US long-term intentions. As former ISI chief Hamid Gul had declared in 2014, when history is written, it will be stated that the ISI defeated the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Then there will be another sentence; the ISI with the help of America defeated America. Guls prophetic declaration is nothing but proof that an elaborate deception plan was laid by the ISI.

In final words, if future historians were to compare Vietnam and Afghanistan, they would do well to recognise that for American spies, Afghanistan is not Vietnam. Vietnam was a case of misunderstanding the enemy whereas Afghanistan was the wrong enemy.

Dheeraj P.C. holds a PhD in Intelligence Studies from the University of Leicester, UK.
While there are several groups amongst the terrorists/Islamic groups , they are all united in their objective and various groups are likely to coordinate their activities much better and much more confidently in the coming days.

by N.S.Venkataraman

There is no doubt whatsoever that Talibans have recorded emphatic military victory in Afghanistan, leading to a situation where Americans have to run out of Afghanistan to save their skin.

Pakistan Intel ISI Chief Hameed Faiz (circled in red) with Taliban leaders in Kandahar.

Many wonder as to why even when it was clearly known that Americans have to fly away from Afghanistan and even US intelligence sources confirmed that , the US government could not evolve a face saving formula to make it look like a dignified exit. It is also surprising that the US government did not even make some alternate arrangements to protect the people of Afghanistan from the brutality of Talibans . While President Joe President is trying to explain away the situation stating that the adverse developments that are now taking place in Afghanistan after US troops leaving that country are inevitable and the Afghan government has to be blamed for this , no one is buying such explanation. The fact is that the USA has humiliated itself in Afghanistan, obviously due to the weak and confused policy process of the US government led by Joe Biden.

With the defeat of the USA in Afghanistan, the morale of the terrorists / Islamic extremists all over the world have gone up several times and now they are more confident than ever that the world can be brought under Islamic leadership and Shariat law.

While there are several groups amongst the terrorists/Islamic groups , they are all united in their objective and various groups are likely to coordinate their activities much better and much more confidently in the coming days.

As of now, it appears that terrorists/Islamic extremists are winning.

The fact that even within a week of Taliban taking over Afghanistan, the British Prime Minister said that British government may hold discussion with Taliban , shows how directionless the USA and NATO countries have now become. At present, the entire focus of USA and NATO countries is to ensure that their citizens in Afghanistan would leave from the embattled country and nothing more than that.

A few cosmetic steps like freezing the account of Afghan government or cancelling aid to Afghan government will have absolutely no impact on the mind set of the terrorists / Islamic extremists, now controlling Afghanistan.

It is well known that demographic structure of West European countries have already been seriously disrupted due to the influx of refugees and migrants ,with considerable section of them owing their allegiance to Islamic religion. As a result, bombings and violent attacks have become too frequent in these countries, with the likely grim possibility of muslims now well settled in these countries ,multiplying their population several times in quick period. The conditions in countries like Canada is no better. In such situation, the threats from terrorists and Islamic groups for the west European countries and Canada are no more from outside but from within.

With greedy and expansionist China ready to fish in troubled water , China is now befriending the Talibans . The muslim populated Pakistan is already under Chinas firm control. Perhaps, China would encourage these terrorists /Islamic extremists to oppose and attack US and West European countries, even while protecting itself in China from the terrorists by its ruthless governance in China. While the democratic countries in Western Europe and USA have already given a free passage to the muslims , quite a number of whom may have terrorist inclination, China will not allow such developments to happen in China.

The net result of Taliban taking over Afghanistan is that many law abiding citizens all over the world have lost their faith that USA and other democratic countries in Europe can effectively fight against the terrorists/Islamic extremists and save the world from terrorism.

UNO, which has now been reduced to the level of a debating club , can only discuss , condemn terrorism and can do nothing more than that.

For the terrorists / Islamic extremists, apart from USA and West European countries , the immediate target is India. It is disturbing that there are a few spokespersons for terrorists and Talibans in India and these spokespersons are exploiting the freedom in Indian democracy to air their views and create a favourable view of terrorism / Islamic extremism in India.

As of now, terrorists / Islamic extremists are winning and China would be on the  winners side. The weak leadership in USA and West European countries have no clue as to how to tackle this uncertain and disturbing developments.





In these circumstances, it is likely that China may entertain the idea of entering Taiwan and occupying the country, knowing clearly well that the weak leadership of Europe and West European countries will not come to the defence of Taiwan beyond a level and they would only bark and would not bite .

China knows this too well , as when it occupied Tibet aggressively and massacred thousands of peacefully protesting Tibetans , USA and West European countries had only barked against China and did not bite China.

Chin,once again , is likely to experiment in Taiwan with its Tibet approach .

In such situation of weakening governments in USA and west Europe, terrorists/Islamic extremists would help each other and would be helped by China in achieving their common objective of overpowering USA and West European countries and, of course India.
QSO Today - Rene Lutz, HB9NBG

SOTA Operator Rene Lutz, HB9NBG, has the European Alps as his challenge to conquer every summit with his partner Carine, HB9FZC.

Together they operate their successful rural Swiss ham radio sales and service center that attracts ham radio tourists.

Rene and Carine document their amateur radio adventures on their popular YouTube channel.

HB9NBG is my QSO Today.

Listen to the podcast
Shahid El Hafed, 22 August 2021 (SPS)  The Sahrawi Government criticized on Saturday in the strongest terms, the speech of the King of Morocco, describing it as "headlong rush and refusal to comply with international legality".



In a statement made public by its spokesperson, the Saharawi Government criticized the speech of King Mohammed VI delivered on Friday, on the so-called the "Revolution of the king and the people", as well as "intransigence based on the policy of headlong flight by exposing the region and its security to more tension and instability, in light of the return to war in Western Sahara, of which Morocco, especially under the reign of the current King Mohammed VI, is the main cause.



"By doing so, it has undermined the efforts made by the international community for more than thirty years," the same source said.



The Government denounced the discourse that "has been marked by more rejection, intransigence and insistence on not complying with international legitimacy and the implementation of its decisions by allowing the Saharawi people to exercise its right to establish its sovereignty over all its territory.



In its statement, the Saharawi government added that the king of Morocco "tried to mislead internal public opinion, explaining that it was a major plot being plotted against his country".



The Saharawi Government and the Polisario Front reaffirmed their attachment to the inalienable and imprescriptible legitimate right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence, as well as their determination to "defend at all costs the national objectives". (SPS)



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Fuengirola is one of the favourite destinations for visitors seeking a little bit of traditional Spanish life. Although the old town now boasts numerous fast-food chains, trendy coffee shops and ice cream parlours, there are several old establishments that have refused to change with the times.

One of the town's most traditional bodegas is the Taverna Plaza Vieja, a delightful bar that offers a postcard image of old Andalucia, which is perched on the corner of Calle Espana and Calle Moncayo. This nostalgic old tavern is one of the most popular in the town because it offers some of the most authentic Andalusian cuisine, along with fine wines and a vast selection of the popular sweet dessert wines and sherries.

The establishment is renowned for serving locally caught fish and seafood, and specialties include king prawns, fresh clams, mussels and octopus, along with peppers stuffed with cod, and grilled squid.

The interior is decorated with typical Andalusian decor, along with bullfight memorabilia and images of local customs and traditions.

One tavern that is popular with those looking to sample decent wine and fresh Iberian products is the Bodega La Solera, situated just 150 metres from the port in Calle del Capitan.

This rustic-style bodega, which has two salons and a bar area, has walls lined with racks of wine, antique paintings and 19th century furniture and trappings.

The wine list is extensive and offers a range from respected producing areas such as Rioja and Ribera de Duero and Valdepenas, along with manzanillas from Sanlucar de Barrameda and finos from Jerez de la Frontera.

The menu tempts diners with mouth-watering Iberian pork products, like Serrano ham, local chorizo and blood sausage from Antequera. There is also plenty of fish and seafood, as one would expect, and specialties include langoustines in garlic sauce, grilled salmon and salted cod dishes.

Another hidden gem is Bodega La Alegria, a beautiful old establishment in Avenida de Los Boliches (Los Boliches).

The interior of this tavern, lined with oak wine barrels, colourful glazed tiles and antique bullfight and feria posters, emits plenty of Andalusian charm. This is one of the most inviting taverns in the area, not only for its splendid decor and seducing ambience, but also for its range of gastronomic delights, which include paella, fish, seafood, meat and several vegetarian options.

Unsurprisingly, one will be spoilt for choice where wine is concerned, although the Moscatel and the seco montes are among the most popular.

Entering this establishment offers one the chance to leave the hubbub of the 21st century behind. The laid back ambiance and the aromas of dripping hams, chorizo sausages and sweet wine creates a truly amazing experience. This is certainly a good place to enjoy the delights of Andalusian hospitality at its best.
Here's a question: "Where was Trivial Pursuit invented? Answer: "In Nerja". "Correct!"

There are people who claim that this question exists, even if it means rummaging through thousands of questions in the countless versions of the legendary board game - including its cyber and video game variants.

According to David Baird, an English journalist and researcher based in Frigiliana, the origin of the board game lies in Nerja, where its two creators, Canadian journalists Scott Abbott and Chris Haney, stayed for several months.

Following Haney's death, Baird delved into the story that connects the town with one of the most famous board games of all time.

"They came to spend a holiday at Abbott's parents' house in El Capistrano. There they began to think about their invention and to look for investment partners to start it up.

They spent their time in the town's bars looking for investors to start up their project. "Most people thought they were crazy and ignored them," says Baird, who has published several journalistic works on the Nerja origins of Trivial Pursuit.

Abbott and Haney managed to find someone who was interested; a South African who had grown up in Canada and had been living in Nerja from the early seventies.

Despite knowing very little about Abbott and Haney, it would appear that he liked the sound of their idea and agreed to lend them a thousand dollars.

There are still many people in Nerja who remember the couple and it is said that the design of the 'pieces of pie' was inspired by the shape of the Balcon de Europa.
Swvl, a Dubai-based provider of transformative mass transit and shared mobility solutions, has announced a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Shotl, a mass transit platform that partners with municipalities and corporations to provide on-demand bus and van services across Europe, Latam and APAC regions - optimizing public transport systems and decreasing dependence on costly private options.

With a presence across 22 cities in 10 countries including Brazil, Japan and pan-European footprint, over 350,000 bookings to date, more than 10% market share in Europe and rapid adoption, Shotl is solving challenges posed by transportation voids in suburbs, cities and campuses with an on-demand platform that is simple to use, flexible, and sustainable.

It has partnered with governments, municipalities and companies to reach populations living or working in low-density areas that are largely underserved by existing mass transit and ride sharing options, including senior citizens, and people with reduced mobility, who often lack equitable access to transportation.

Shotl will now be able to leverage Swvls proprietary technologies to further optimise routes and maximize vehicle load, all the while reducing traffic congestion.

"Our two companies share the view that there is an urgent need to transform traditional public transportation to make it more accessible, convenient and sustainable," said Mostafa Kandil, Swvl Founder and CEO.

"Shotls vision for the future of mobility, with an emphasis on electrification, the reduction of congestion and emissions, and affordability  is exactly what Swvl has already achieved in ten emerging market megacities and the reinvented model for public transit systems across the world," noted Kandil.

"With Shotls strategic relationships, rapidly growing user base and deep knowledge of its market landscapes, Swvl is meaningfully expanding its core markets, in line with our publicly stated growth objectives," he added.

Based in Barcelona and present across 20 cities in 8 countries in Europe including Spain, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal and Finland, Shotl will serve as Swvls European hub and platform for further significant expansion.

Shotls on-demand SaaS platform complements Swvls pre-scheduled dynamic routing and TaaS offering.

Addition of Shotl to the Swvl portfolio creates a strong foothold in Europe, a full year ahead of Swvls expansion projections  and more than doubles Swvls geographic footprint with the addition of 22 cities across 10 countries taking the total Swvl portfolio to 32 cities in 16 countries.

"We are very pleased to be joining the Swvl team, working in concert to realize our shared vision of building more equitable and accessible mass transit systems worldwide," remarked Gerard Martret, CEO and co-founder of Shotl.

"In just a few years, Swvl has established itself as a market leader, with rapid growth and unparalleled tech-enabled offerings. Swvl is ideally situated for expansion into European markets and will immediately capitalise on our local partnerships and brand value," noted Martret.

"As a company that has made significant strides in advancing sustainable mass transit over the past several years, we are confident that Shotls market-leading technology and expertise will greatly contribute to the Swvl platform, advancing our mission to provide superior transportation alternatives for all," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Sunset Hospitality Group (SHG), renowned for curating contemporary hospitality experiences and international concepts, is set to open LAmo Bistro Del Mare, a prime Italian seafood restaurant, in partnership with Mine & Yours Group.

LAmo will reside at Dubai Harbour, a waterfront destination, boasting an advanced cruise terminal and the biggest marina in the region, featuring alfresco dining.

Scheduled for a winter 2021 opening, the restaurant aims to bring the culture, heritage, and charm of southern Italy to Dubai. The Italian coast plays host to dozens of lively restaurants with fish and seafood cuisine prepared by its homegrown chefs.

SHG CEO Antonio Gonzalez said: We are pleased to add LAmo Bistro Del Mare to our portfolio of lifestyle and hospitality concepts. Dubais dining scene hosts many Italian restaurants, but very few make seafood their main attraction.

"Signature seafood dishes will be the star at LAmo, and the location, service, and hospitality will complete the experience. It is a wonderful partnership with Mine & Yours Group that will boost our dining division.

Mine & Yours Group Managing Partner Piero Giglio said: LAmo Bistro Del Mare will be a great addition to Dubais vibrant dining scene and will become a desired place for an authentic lifestyle dining experience."

"This will be our second restaurant opening in Dubai and a great opportunity to strengthen the presence of Mine & Yours Group in the UAEs dining scene, said Stefano Cuoco, Global Managing Director and COO, Mine & Yours Group.

"The extensive menu is carefully selected by the culinary team using fresh ingredients and produce from Italy to deliver a perfect meal for every craving," Cuoco added.-TradeArabia News Service
Wartsila will supply a 40 MW power plant to provide reliable and efficient electricity supply to an export processing zone (EPZ) in Bangladesh.

Ordered by Sigma Powertech, the plant will be located in Adamjee EPZ, close to capital Dhaka, and includes orders placed in Q1 and Q2 2021.

The plant will operate with four Wartsila 34SG engines operating on natural gas fuel. Delivery of the engines is being made on a fast-track basis with all equipment scheduled to be delivered before the end of 2021. Commissioning and commencement of operations is expected before the end of June 2022.

This is an important project for the region and for the continued economic growth of Bangladesh through export enhancement as per Government's initiative. Growth throughout the industrial sector is very much dependent on having a reliable power supply, and the new power plant will provide this. Wartsila has an excellent reputation in this country with a strong presence to provide the support needed, commented Mohammad Moyeen, Chairman, Sigma Powertech.

This will be the fourth Bangladeshi EPZ project for which Wartsila has supplied power generating capacity. Wartsila currently has 5,000 MW of installed capacity in Bangladesh with over 200 company personnel employed. --Tradearabia News Service
Chandigarh, Aug 22 (UNI) Taking strong exception to the recent statements of two of Navjot Sidhus advisors on sensitive national issues like Kashmir and Pakistan, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday warned against such atrocious and ill-conceived comments that were potentially dangerous to the peace and stability of the state and the country.

Capt Amarinder urged Sidhus advisors to stick to giving advice to the PPCC president and not speak on matters of which they clearly had little or no knowledge, and had no understanding of the implications of their comments.

The Chief Minister was reacting to reported remarks of Dr Pyare Lal Garg questioning his (Capt Amarinders) criticism of Pakistan, as well as the earlier controversial statement of Malwinder Singh Mali on Kashmir. Both of them were recently appointed by Sidhu as his advisors.

Capt Amarinder expressed shock at the extraordinary statements of Mali and Garg, which he said were totally misplaced and antagonistic to the stated position of India and the Congress on Pakistan and Kashmir. He urged the Punjab Congress president to rein in his advisors before they end up doing more damage to Indias interests.

Kashmir was and is an inalienable part of India, asserted he, adding that with his proclamation to the contrary, Mali had effectively and inexplicably toed Islamabads line. This is totally anti-national, he said, also slamming Mali for failing to withdraw his statement despite the widespread condemnation it had evoked not only from other parties but also from within the Congress.

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New Delhi, Aug 22 (UNI) Another special repatriation flight from Kabul with 168 passengers on board, including 107 Indians, is set to arrive in New Delhi on Sunday, an official said.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a tweet said that the Indian Air Force plane is on its way to Delhi from Kabul.

"Evacuation continues!

IAF special repatriation flight with 168 passengers onboard, including 107 Indian nationals, is on its way to Delhi from Kabul," he posted on Twitter.

In the early hours of Sunday, just past midnight, two batches of evacuees from Kabul took off for Indiaone from Tajikistan and another from Doha, where they were in transit after being evacuated from the Afghanistan capital that is under Taliban control.

An Air India flight with 87 Indians evacuated from Kabul left Tajikistan for New Delhi late on Saturday. Two Nepalese nationals were also among those evacuated.

The passengers had been evacuated from Kabul by an Indian Air Force plane.

Bagchi tweeted the information with photographs of the evacuation: "Bringing Indians home from Afghanistan!

AI 1956 carrying 87 Indians departs from Tajikistan for New Delhi. Two Nepalese nationals also evacuated. Assisted and supported by our Embassy

@IndEmbDushanbe

More evacuation flights to follow."

"Jubilant evacuees on their journey home!," he tweeted, with a video of the Indians shouting 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' in relief and happiness.

In another operation, 135 Indians who were evacuated from Kabul to Doha were repatriated to India on Saturday night, the Indian embassy in Doha said,

The embassy said that they provided consular and logistic assistance to the Indians to ensure their safe return to India, and thanked the Qatar authorities and others for helping in the evacuation.

"1st batch of 135 Indians who were evacuated from Kabul to Doha over past days being repatriated tonight to India. Embassy officials provided consular and logistics assistance to ensure their safe return. We thank Qatar authorities and all concerned for making this possible," the Indian Embassy in Qatar tweeted.

Doha has become a major transit point for flights leaving Kabul, with most of the US Air Force flights landing in Doha in transit.

UNI RN GK 1028
50 cr Indians get first dose of COVID vaccine: Health Minister 01 Sep 2021 | 3:12 PM New Delhi, Sep 1 (UNI) After 50 crore people in the country received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya hailed the frontline workers and termed it an achievement in the world's largest vaccination drive. see more..

Jaishankar to visit Slovenia, Croatia, Denmark from Sept 2-5 01 Sep 2021 | 2:44 PM New Delhi, Sep 1 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will pay an official visit to the three European Union countries of Slovenia, Croatia and Denmark from September 2-5. see more..

Rahul slams govt over rising LPG price 01 Sep 2021 | 2:27 PM New Delhi, Sep 1 (UNI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday slammed government over rising price of cooking gas and said it has "forced people to sleep on a empty stomach". see more..

IMD issues orange alert as heavy rains continue in Delhi-NCR region 01 Sep 2021 | 11:14 AM New Delhi, Sep 1 (UNI) The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday issued an orange alert for Delhi-NCR as heavy rains continued to lash the National Capital and its adjoining areas leading to waterlogging in several places. see more..
Nur-Sultan, Aug 22 (UNI/Sputnik) The developments in Afghanistan do not pose a direct threat to Kazakhstan, but involve certain risks, so the country must be ready to respond to any challenges, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Sunday.

Tokayev attended the operational and tactical drills Kaisar-2021 drills in the Almaty Region.

"The developments in this country [Afghanistan] do not pose a direct threat to Kazakhstan, but do entail certain risks. Thus, we must monitor the developments and be ready to adequately respond to any challenges," Tokayev told participants in the drills.

Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Akan Rahmetullin confirmed on Friday that his country did not recognize the Taliban (designated terrorist by the UN and Russia) as the legitimate governing power in Afghanistan after the militants took over the nation last week.

UNI/SPUTNIK GNK 1548
Kabul, Aug 21 (UNI) The Taliban briefly "abducted" around 150 people, mostly Indians, near the airport here on Saturday but released them after "interrogating" them, according to multiple reports.



While there was no official word on the reported development, a Kabul news portal, quoting "reliable sources", said 150 people, including women, were abducted on way to Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul early this morning.



The report in 'Kabul Now' website said a source, who managed to escape along with his wife and some others, told the news website that those abducted included some Afghan citizens and Afghan Sikhs as well but most of them were Indian citizens.





He added that they had all boarded eight minivan vehicles around one in the morning and were headed to Kabul airport for evacuation but they couldnt enter the airport for lack of cooperation, the report said.

According to the source, a group of the Taliban who were not armed approached them and took them to Tarakhil, an eastern neighbourhood in the capital Kabul, after beating them physically.

The source added that he, his wife, and few others could manage to escape by throwing themselves down from windows of the minivans, the website reported.

UNI RN/AKK JW1450
NEW ORLEANS - As scientists deliver increasingly dire warnings to curtail the greenhouse gases that are changing the world's climate, Louisiana faces special challenges in reducing its emissions: More than half of the carbon emitted in the state comes from chemical plants and oil refineries.

While other states might aim to reduce emissions by encouraging renewable energy or electric vehicles, Louisiana must work closely with business interests to come up with solutions.

Among the biggest sources are the CF Industries fertilizer complex at Donaldsonville, the ExxonMobil refinery in Baton Rouge and the Sabine Pass LNG export site in Cameron Parish.

Alex Kolker, a coastal science professor at Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and member of the science advisory group of Gov. John Bel Edwards' climate task force, said discussions within the panel have included everything from reducing the carbon footprint of facilities to burying carbon dioxide underground, to improving our energy efficiency, to increasing solar and wind.

Producing less oil and gas would be another way to reduce emissions. But its not an idea that appeals to industry advocates, who argue that Louisiana must balance the economic interests of business and jobs with climate goals. Tyler Gray, president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association and a member of the climate task force, said the transition away from fossil fuels cant happen overnight.

Do you want to have a state that's even further down into poverty because there are fewer jobs? he said. He said society will still need gasoline and diesel for things such as shipping and making plastic medical equipment.

Instead, Gray is lobbying for solutions such as carbon storage and sequestration, that is, pumping emissions deep underground. The task force will hold a meeting about this idea in a few weeks.

Gray said hes also pushing the idea to cut emissions at the plants themselves, by retrofitting them with technology to capture the pollution before it gets trapped in the atmosphere where it holds heat.

You have to have a market-driven, broad-based policy. Because if you don't, then you're going to  have an economic impact that will be far-reaching, Gray said.

For some, however, reducing emissions isnt enough. Colette Pichon Battle, director of the Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy, said even if Louisiana reduces carbon emissions, the environment and residents will remain threatened as long as the state lets polluting industries operate.

While we're looking at decreased numbers around emissions, were not actually looking at the total impact of the industry on our people and their health - the true costs here, Battle said.

She added that air pollution doesnt just originate in one region and stay there. For example, the CF Industries nitrogen fertilizer plant in Donaldsonville, the states single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, ends up affecting the state twice. The fertilizer is shipped north to be used on corn and soybean fields in the Midwest, where it then runs off of those fields into streams and rivers that carry it to the Mississippi River. It then flows to the Gulf of Mexico and causes huge algae blooms that create the hypoxic area known as the dead zone.

A CF Industries spokesperson said the company has a plan to cut emissions, zeroing them out by 2050 largely by using ammonia production rather than using fossil fuels.

Pichon Battle says the noble goal of canceling emissions is not enough. Planting forests to offset emissions, or pumping carbon underground, doesnt alleviate the air and water pollution created by chemical, oil and gas plants in the communities that surround them, she said.

We have a broader duty to the communities of south Louisiana to make sure that what were investing in the future is safe and healthy for our people, she said.
KY Lake Paddle-up Event

CALVERT CITY - The KY Lake Paddle Up is a family-friendly paddle event in partnership with the City of Calvert City, Kentucky Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Tennessee RiverLine.Join the adventure on Saturday, October 9 for a paddle on Kentucky Lake! Bring a kayak, canoe, or any other worthy paddle craft for a trip from Sledd Creek to Kentucky Dam Village Boat Ramp.Beginning between 8:00-8:30 am, meet at Kentucky Dam Village New Beach Pavilion (Old Paddle Boat Area) for a short safety overview then groups will be shuttled to Sledd Creek boat launch for a leisurely group paddle four miles downriver back to Kentucky Dam Village Boat Ramp. Expect to be on the water for 2-3 hours. Lunch will be provided to all pre-registered paddlers by Buns Out Hot Dog Cart and includes a free t-shirt.For those who do not own a kayak but want to participate, 12 kayaks are available to reserve. Bring your own, or use one of the rentals for this fun-filled event on Kentucky Lake.All paddlers are required to wear a life jacket and know how to swim.Registration8:00-8:30Safety and Overview8:30 amShuttle Service8:00-8:30 amPaddle Day Take-off8:00 amDoor Prize Drawing11:00 amLunch & Live Music10:30 am - NoonVisit calvertcity.com to reserve your spot. Weather will be closely monitored and if the water is unsafe to paddle the event will be canceled.For more information regarding the KY Lake Paddle Up, call Calvert City Hall at 270-395-7138 or email: info@calvertcity.com. 
Carlisle Deputies Graduate from State Academy

By West Kentucky Star Staff

BARDWELL - Two members of the Carlisle County Sheriff's Department have graduated from basic training.Deputies Ben Green and Chris Poe were part of DOCJT class 518, which graduated 26 men and 2 women on Thursday after 20 weeks of training.On Facebook, Sheriff Will Gilbert said Green and Poe represented Carlisle County well, and held leadership positions while at the academy. Green was class leader and Poe was honor code officer.Their positions allowed them to participate in the graduation ceremony, with Green giving a speech and Poe administering the oath to the class.Gilbert said, "I am proud of the work that these two put forth and I look forward to working beside them as we continue to serve the citizens and visitors to Carlisle County."DOCJT provides basic training for city and county police officers, sheriffs' deputies, university police, and airport police throughout the state. Only Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green and Kentucky State Police have their own academies.The graduation ceremony can be viewed at the DOCJT Facebook page (see link below).On the Net:
Dorena-Hickman Ferry Resumes Service

By West Kentucky Star Staff

HICKMAN - The Dorena-Hickman Ferry is back open.The ferry had halted service around Wednesday morning when a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge arrived to work in Hickman Harbor. The dredge and support barges take up space in the harbor preventing the ferry from reaching the Kentucky Landing.The Dorena-Hickman Ferry the ferry is back in service on the regular summer schedule.
Kentucky Lake Paddle-up Event Moved to October

By West Kentucky Star Staff





CALVERT CITY - The Kentucky Lake Paddle-up event originally scheduled for Saturday, August 21 has been postponed to October 9.The KY Lake Paddle Up is a family-friendly paddle event in partnership with the City of Calvert City, Kentucky Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Tennessee RiverLine.Bring a kayak, canoe, or any other worthy paddle craft for a trip from Sledd Creek to Kentucky Dam Village Boat Ramp.Beginning between 8:00-8:30 am, meet at Kentucky Dam Village New Beach Pavilion (Old Paddle Boat Area) for a short safety overview then groups will be shuttled to Sledd Creek boat launch for a leisurely group paddle four miles downriver back to Kentucky Dam Village Boat Ramp. Expect to be on the water for 2-3 hours. Lunch will be provided to all pre-registered paddlers by Buns Out Hot Dog Cart and includes a free t-shirt.For those who do not own a kayak but want to participate, 12 kayaks are available to reserve. Bring your own, or use one of the rentals for this fun-filled event on Kentucky Lake.All paddlers are required to wear a life jacket and know how to swim.
Two Arrested on Drug Charges in Mayfield

By West Kentucky Star Staff

MAYFIELD - A drug investigation Saturday afternoon in Mayfield led to the arrest of two people.After learning about possible drug activity, the Graves County and Hickman County Sheriff's Departments served a search warrant at a home on West Oak Street. Detectives and deputies say they found more than 13 grams of crack cocaine, along with crystal methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, including scales.Officers arrested the resident, 50-year-old Keith DeSean Jordan on charges of trafficking in cocaine and possession of marijuana, meth and drug paraphernalia. They also arrested 32-year-old Patricia D. Reed of Mayfield for possession of meth and drug paraphernalia.Jordan and Reed were taken to Graves County Jail.
Could Constitutional Amendment Help Balance Power?

By Jim Waters, Bluegrass Institute

LEXINGTON -Gov. Andy Beshears latest political gyration involving leaning on the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) to mandate all children in every public school across the commonwealth don masks for 270 days  the entire school year unless the board relents, which is unlikely  helps strengthen the case for passage of a constitutional amendment next year allowing the legislature to call itself into session to deal with such matters and presumably restore the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches.Lawmakers sent clear messages about their intent during this years General Assembly by passing legislation limiting some emergency executive orders  like those closing businesses or harassing churches  to 30 days.However, Beshear, who during his tenure has demonstrated little interest in legislative intent, instead used his self-appointed KBE bureaucrats to bypass the will of the peoples representatives.The legislatures Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee recently deemed the KBEs masking regulation deficient after a three-hour hearing in which many parents expressed frustration over having nowhere else to go to find relief or at least have their concerns seriously considered.Sarah Durand, my colleague at the Bluegrass Institute and parent of Louisville public school students, suggested to the committee in her testimony that the best solution is to leave the decision to mask kids up to their parents.If you want to mask your children, you should have the right to do that; I fully support that, Durand said. But for those parents who dont support masking, they feel helpless in this battle.Legislators hearing from multitudes of those frustrated parents feel helpless, too.Since the Kentucky Constitution limits their ability to meet, the soonest legislators could act on the subcommittees determination that the KBEs regulation is deficient would be during the next General Assembly session, which doesnt begin until January  well after completion of the school years first semester.There will be an opportunity for Kentuckians to change the constitution during the next election in November 2022 to allow lawmakers more flexibility about how they use the days theyre currently allowed to meet  60 days during even-numbered years in which they must pass a biennial state budget and 30 days during odd-numbered years.Passage of the amendment would loosen the current constitutional requirement that legislators adjourn by April 15 during the even-numbered budget sessions and by March 30 in odd-numbered years by allowing the spreading of those days throughout the year.Plus, it would allow legislators to call themselves back into session for up to 12 additional days during the year.While this column previously has expressed plenty of concern over allowing legislators more days to meet, its unavoidable considering the current executives antics not to see this proposed amendment as a feasible way of addressing Beshears heavy-handed approach to locking down the state and interfering with parents and local school districts decision-making regarding how best to respond to COVID-19 and its mutations.Were this amendment already in effect, the legislature could return to Frankfort, eliminate the KBEs deficient regulation and pass legislation allowing districts to determine their own masks policies  all possibly within a couple of weeks.Doing so would recognize what the Beshear administration refuses to acknowledge: there are significant differences in the needs of, say, the Jefferson County Public Schools with its 100,348 students in urban Louisville and those of the Science Hill Independent School District an entire world away with 406 students in Pulaski County.The KBE issued its mandate just hours after the Local Superintendents Advisory Council advised the board to postpone the decision while emphasizing the role of districts leadership and the need to determine local metrics.Such flippant dismissal of local decision-making by this governor and his ideologically aligned, unelected bureaucrats is unacceptable, if unsurprising.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-15 20:40:19|Editor: huaxia

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by Dana Halawi

BEIRUT, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's health experts warned over the weekend of an imminent health disaster if authorities fail to manage the use of fuel resources and adopt proper precautionary measures amid the current increase in COVID-19 cases.

Hospitals must be given priority in terms of fuel distribution, so as to enable the COVID-19 patients to put on ventilators if needed, Mahmoud Hassoun, chairman of the Critical Care Department at Rafic Hariri University Hospital, told Xinhua.

Lebanon has been grappling with fuel shortages for months, while failing to import fuel oil because of the shortage in U.S. currency reserves.

"Half of the hospitals in Lebanon risk shutting down by Tuesday, given that they can not secure diesel to keep operating generators," Suleiman Haroun, president of Syndicate of Private Hospitals, announced on Saturday.

Firas Abiad, director of Rafic Hariri University Hospital, said hospitals must be prioritized with fuel distribution to avert an imminent disaster amid the fast spread of the new Delta variant.

"The COVID-19 patients are facing several challenges amid the fuel shortage and the immigration of a large number of nurses and doctors," Abiad told Xinhua.

Lebanon has recently seen a resurge in the number of daily COVID-19 cases, as the total tally of infections in the country has reached 581,497.

Health experts urged both authorities and citizens to put in force measures in hopes of stopping the spread of the pandemic.

Abiad said the government should adopt a serious approach to monitoring the enforcement of precautionary measures, adding that citizens also need to raise awareness about the seriousness of the Delta variant which is spreading quickly across the country.

For his part, Hassoun said authorities and non-governmental organizations should provide more support to public hospitals, which have become the only resort for most COVID-19 patients amid the increase in the costs of services in private hospitals.

"This is of an utmost importance as some public hospitals are currently unable to re-open their COVID-19 units in light of the financial crisis," he said.

Hassoun emphasized the need by municipalities to assist the government in monitoring people who arrive from other countries to ensure their commitment to precautionary measures.

Meanwhile, Nada Ghosn, head of the Epidemiological Surveillance Program at the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, urged citizens to get the COVID-19 vaccine, noting that so far, merely one third of the population has been registered for vaccination. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-17 05:52:25|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Monday warned against Afghanistan becoming heaven again for terrorists.

In the last 20 years, terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State, al-Qaida and the East Turkestan Independence Movement (ETIM) have gathered and developed in Afghanistan, posing a serious threat to international and regional peace and security, said Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

"Afghanistan must never again become heaven for terrorists. This is the bottom line that must be held firmly for any future political solution in Afghanistan," he told an emergency meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan.

"We hope that the Taliban in Afghanistan will earnestly deliver on their commitments and make a clean break with the terrorist organizations," he said. "All countries should fulfill their obligations in accordance with international law and Security Council resolutions, work with each other in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and take resolute actions to prevent terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State, al-Qaida and the ETIM from taking advantage of this chaos (in Afghanistan)." Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-19 03:33:25|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday strongly condemned Monday's attack by unidentified gunmen on civilians in the Tillaberi region of Niger, said his spokesman.

Guterres expressed his deepest condolences to the bereaved families. He expressed deep concern about the cumulative impact of these frequent attacks on the humanitarian situation in the region of Tillaberi, where already more than 100,000 people have been displaced and 520,000 are in need of humanitarian assistance, said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement.

The secretary-general calls on the Nigerien authorities to spare no effort in identifying and swiftly bringing the perpetrators to justice, said the statement.

The secretary-general reiterated the commitment of the United Nations to continue supporting Niger in its efforts to counter and prevent terrorism and violent extremism, promote social cohesion and achieve sustainable development, it said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-21 21:33:22|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Aug. 19, 2021 shows the cross-border e-commerce exhibition area of the fifth China-Arab States Expo in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

YINCHUAN, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- At an exhibition booth at the ongoing fifth China-Arab States Expo, Yang Wanlong has been attracting a lot of domestic and foreign customers for his two products on display: nutritious Morchella fungi and high-quality activated carbon.

Yang, 27, runs a cross-border e-commerce company, and this exhibition, which opened Thursday in the city of Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is his first experience of such an event.

His booth is in the cross-border e-commerce exhibition area, and he has made the most of the opportunity by making meticulous preparations, designing a merchandise webpage and displaying his goods offline.

"I hope to take this opportunity to access the market in Arab countries, so that I can promote more high-quality local products and earn more through increased overseas orders," said the young man, clearly excited at the possibilities.

Last year, China-Arab trade volume reached nearly 240 billion U.S. dollars, with Arab states' imports from China rising by 2.1 percent year on year, despite the impact of the pandemic.

As an important platform for China-Arab economic ties, the fifth edition of the expo is being held both online and offline. The offline event at the Yinchuan International Convention and Exhibition Center allows customers to peruse the exhibitors' products in person. Meanwhile, thanks to technologies such as 5G, AI and big data, buyers and sellers are able to trade with each other in the virtual shop.

In ancient times, Arab and Chinese merchants made deals along the Silk Road. Today, China is pushing forward an "online Silk Road" by promoting the cross-border e-commerce industry, to further deepen the economic cooperation with Arab countries.

Data shows that in the first half of this year, China built good momentum in cross-border e-commerce trade, with the total trade value growing 28.6 percent year on year to reach 886.7 billion yuan (about 136.4 billion U.S. dollars).

"Cross-border e-commerce has been developing rapidly, and I think it can be a very efficient way for Lebanese products to be sold in China," said Joseph Tannous, economic attache of the Lebanese embassy in Beijing.

A total of 15 Lebanese companies attended the expo online, displaying products such as red wine and olive oil.

"At the moment, we are working to create the first Lebanese online cross-border e-commerce shop in China. We hope this boutique will regroup many of Lebanon's high-quality products in China," he said. "I hope in the near future more and more Lebanese products will find their way to Chinese consumers."

Ningxia, as the permanent host of the China-Arab States Expo, has been working to build the "online Silk Road," introducing and cultivating more than 180 cross-border e-commerce companies.

Yang started his cross-border e-commerce business three years ago, retailing electronic products and daily necessities. Now he does business in more than 100 countries and regions across the world, including Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.

"We receive online orders from around the world and deliver the products to customers no matter where they are," Yang said. 
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-21 22:03:24|Editor: huaxia

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A C-130 Hercules aircraft carrying Romanians and Bulgarians evacuated from Afghanistan lands near Bucharest, Romania, on Aug. 21, 2021. The Romanian military plane returned here on Saturday from Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, bringing back 15 Romanian nationals and four Bulgarian citizens. (Photo by Cristian Cristel/Xinhua)

BUCHAREST, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- A Romanian military plane returned here on Saturday from Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, bringing back 15 Romanian nationals and four Bulgarian citizens.

In a press statement, President Klaus Iohannis stressed that the authorities will continue the efforts to evacuate Romanian citizens who are still in Afghanistan and who want to be repatriated.

The president noted that Romania will also provide evacuation assistance to Afghan citizens who had supported the activity of Romanian military in Afghanistan over the years, as well as those benefiting from the Romanian state scholarships.

According to him, over 30 Romanian citizens were evacuated in the previous days with the aircraft of other NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) members.

The Romanian Air Force sent the C-130 Hercules aircraft to Afghanistan on Tuesday to evacuate its citizens, most of whom work for a security company there.

Romania first sent its military personnel to Afghanistan in 2002, and since then 27 of its soldiers have lost their lives in combat, while about 200 have been injured. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-21 22:55:17|Editor: huaxia

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A staff member clears debris from a local reservoir in flood-hit Qixian County of Hebi City, central China's Henan Province, July 28, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Jianan)

BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Heavy rains are expected to hit China in the next three days, likely pushing water levels in some rivers above warning levels, the Ministry of Water Resources said Saturday.

From Saturday to Monday, downpours will hit the north and northwest parts of the country as well as the regions along the Yellow and Huaihe rivers, with torrential rains expected in parts of central China's Henan Province, the ministry said.

The heavy rains are likely to result in floods in the Yellow River, Huaihe River and Haihe River regions, the ministry said, calling for solid preparations for flood control.

Efforts should be made to ensure safety of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, the ministry said.

The ministry is currently maintaining Level III emergency response for flood and drought prevention, and dispatched three additional working groups Saturday to the affected regions to guide flood control work. 




Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-21 23:07:55|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday with a focus on the current situation in Afghanistan.

The presidents underlined the importance of ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan as well as the strict observance of law and order, the Kremlin said in a press release.

Putin and Erdogan emphasized the prioritized tasks of fighting terrorism and drug trafficking, and agreed to strengthen bilateral coordination on Afghan issues. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-21 23:15:25|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- New U.S. sanctions against Russia showed the Biden administration's "lack of political will and unwillingness" to build Moscow-Washington relations on a partnership basis, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

The ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova made the comments in a statement after the United States on Friday announced new sanctions against Russian individuals and entities over the alleged poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.

Zakharova considered such "hostile actions" contrary to the spirit of the Geneva summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden in June.

The new sanctions "under far-fetched pretexts" were announced against the backdrop of "the largest foreign policy failure for the United States in Afghanistan," she noted.

"It is useless to put pressure on Russia and our response, as always, will be tough and adequate," Zakharova said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 00:45:07|Editor: huaxia

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MOGADISHU, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Roble on Saturday ordered investigations into the deaths of seven civilians reportedly killed by the African Union troops during a counter-offensive in Golweyn, the southern part of the country.

The prime minister's spokesman Mohamed Moalimuu said Roble has formed a ministerial committee to probe reports of civilian killing by AMISOM forces on Aug. 10.

Moalimuu said the prime minister on Saturday held talks with Ugandan Ambassador to Somalia Nathan Mugisha in Mogadishu on the incident. "Prime Minister said punitive action should be taken against those involved," Moalimuu said in a statement issued in Mogadishu.

AMISOM had issued a statement on Aug. 11, saying its forces killed seven al-Shabab terrorists while others sustained injuries during the counter-offensive.

The AU mission said the terrorists were killed after the militants ambushed the Ugandan troops while on a routine patrol to secure the main supply routes between Beldamin-Golweyn forward operating bases in southern Somalia.

However, the residents said the AMISOM forces killed seven civilians and not al-Shabab militants, prompting the AU mission to launch a probe into the incident on Aug. 12.

The families of the victims have reportedly been holding demonstrations in the streets in Mogadishu for the last three days to protest the killing. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 02:01:46|Editor: huaxia

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Giant panda cub "Xiao Qi Ji" (R) enjoys its birthday cake with its mother "Mei Xiang" at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Aug. 21, 2021. Xiao Qi Ji (little miracle), the giant panda cub born in the national zoo in Washington, D.C., turned one on Saturday, and the zoo held a big birthday party for the little cutie featuring ice cakes and other activities to celebrate the occasion with his avid fans coming for a visit. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Xiao Qi Ji, the giant panda cub born in the national zoo in Washington, D.C., turned one on Saturday, and the zoo held a big birthday party for the little cutie featuring ice cakes and other activities to celebrate the occasion with his avid fans coming for a visit.

Staff at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute got Xiao Qi Ji's tiered cake with a large number "1" topper set up just after 7:00 a.m., placing the delicacy at the center of the outdoor ground so that reporters could easily shoot the moment Xiao Qi Ji enjoys his birthday feast.

The cake is made from frozen dilute grape, apple juices and colored water and decorated with sweet potato, apple, carrot, pear, sugar cane, banana and bamboo. Xiao Qi Ji's parents, mama Mei Xiang and papa Tian Tian, each got their own ice cakes in honor of their son's birthday.

When Xiao Qi Ji and Mei Xiang stepped out of their house, they went straight toward mama's cake. It was not until the "Xiao Qi Ji" inscript on the main cake melted that the mother-son duo finally turned their attention to the entree of the day, working on it as spectators cheered in the background.

It appeared that Xiao Qi Ji was more than satisfied with the cake, crushing the 1-shaped topper and then, after finishing the special breakfast, climbing onto his favorite tree to inspect those who came for the purpose of wishing him happy birthday.

"I've been here about four times already, even with the COVID and everything," said Yolanda Reyes, a panda lover who couldn't resist the innocence and charm of Xiao Qi Ji, and who could still vividly recall Tai Shan, Bao Bao and Bei Bei -- three other cubs Mei Xiang gave birth to in the D.C. zoo who used to live here before returning to China.

"It's been wonderful. They always have (Xiao Qi Ji) here, and you see the interaction with his mother and everything like that. It's great," said the Virginia resident.

"Xiao Qi Ji" is the Chinese expression of "little miracle" in English. People decided to name the adorable boy that way because his mother, at age 22, was the oldest giant panda to give birth in the United States. When she conceived Xiao Qi Ji, Mei Xiang had a less than 1 percent chance of having another baby.

After his miraculous birth, Xiao Qi Ji, who the keepers said is a quick learner, never stopped bringing surprise and joy to people caring for him, having not only reached a number of milestones in the past year -- such as going through his first veterinary exam, his first steps, getting his first toys and having his first taste of sweet potato -- but also adapted incredibly well to the harsh reality of the pandemic thanks to the love and caring from his keepers.

"Not only was (Mei Xiang's) age a challenge, in the best case scenario, panda breeding is challenging," said Bryan Amaral, the national zoo's senior curator. "Due to the pandemic, we had a lot of tools not available to us that we would normally use to help us be successful."

"We had to take a little bit of a different approach this time," Amaral said, noting that because of the extraordinary public health crisis, reproductive physiologists working with the giant panda conservation program had to share the lab space and, as a result, were unable to run samples in a timely fashion.

"I don't know if we'll use this (new approach) completely as a model in the future, but clearly the results speak for themselves," he said.

Speaking of the cooperation around Xiao Qi Ji between the national zoo and its partners in China, Brandie Smith, acting director of the zoo, told Xinhua that since there are so many experts in China who know how to take care of pandas, people here at the zoo have been calling and writing to their Chinese counterparts on a regular basis, giving updates about Xiao Qi Ji's care and growth.

"With the pandemic, we haven't been able to meet in person, but we're looking forward to doing that again as soon as we can," Smith said.

To mark the joyous day, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang expressed his birthday wishes to Xiao Qi Ji in a video and sent the adorable baby bear a gift.

"His arrival and every bit of his growth have given us joy and hope. For us, he is a miracle," the ambassador said of Xiao Qi Ji, adding the cub "has truly added a splash of color to the exchanges between Chinese and American people."

Smith, who had watched Qin's video, said in comments to the ambassador's remarks that "the relationships that we develop with our Chinese colleagues, including the ambassador, working together to save this endangered species is one of the most incredible parts" of the giant panda conservation program.

Celebratory events were held throughout the zoo on Saturday. General visitors attending Xiao Qi Ji's birthday party received commemorative Xiao Qi Ji buttons, and registered members of the zoo were given reusable fans featuring Xiao Qi Ji's picture.

"It's nice to be able to open up and have something really fantastic to celebrate," Amaral, the senior curator, said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 02:43:04|Editor: huaxia

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ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni government announced on Saturday that airstrikes launched by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition killed an Iranian military officer in the country's northeastern oil-rich province of Marib.

Haidar Serjan, who worked as an advisor to the Houthis, was killed with nine others on Friday night following airstrikes launched by the coalition during the ongoing fighting in Marib's district of Serwah, according to Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani in a statement.

The Yemeni minister urged the international community and the United Nations to "adopt a firm stand against Iran's interference in the Yemeni affairs."

The Houthis began in February a major offensive on Marib in an attempt to seize control of the oil-rich province, the government's last northern stronghold.

Yemen's civil war flared up in late 2014 when the Houthi rebels seized control of much of the country's north and forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 10:33:45|Editor: huaxia

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Freediving is a form of underwater diving that relies on a single breath without any breathing gear. It requires divers to push mind and body to the extreme. Yang Guang, a freediving instructor and athlete, believes that freediving is his way to communicate with nature and people.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 11:34:38|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's National Meteorological Center on Sunday renewed an orange alert for rainstorms in several regions.

From 8 a.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. Monday, heavy rains are expected in parts of the Sichuan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong and Heilongjiang provinces, as well as Chongqing Municipality.

In particular, parts of Henan's central areas are forecast to be hit by torrential rains, with rainfall of 250-350 mm, according to the center.

It suggested schools and kindergartens take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of children, and reminded drivers to watch out for waterlogged roads and traffic jams.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 15:14:47|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The China Development Bank has increased loan support for small and micro-businesses, with outstanding funds nearing 188 billion yuan (about 28.93 billion U.S. dollars) under a targeted program by the end of July.

Under the loan model, the policy bank provides funds to small and medium-sized banks, which then grant the loans to small and micro-businesses as well as the self-employed to reduce their financing burdens.

Since the beginning of the year, the policy bank has offered a total of 146 billion yuan in loans to small and micro-businesses and the self-employed in the manufacturing, wholesale and retail, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery sectors, among others.

China has rolled out a slew of measures to reduce financing costs for small and micro-companies. Outstanding inclusive finance loans to small businesses climbed by 30.3 percent year on year by the end of 2020, up to 15.1 trillion yuan, central bank data shows. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 15:39:56|Editor: huaxia

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A conference on technology transfer and innovation cooperation between China and the Arab countries was convened on the sidelines of the 5th China-Arab States Expo in northwest China's Yinchuan on Thursday. Representatives from the relevant countries pooled wisdom on jointly building regional sci-tech cooperation platforms, sharing achievements and promoting innovation collaboration.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 19:44:48|Editor: huaxia

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NIAMEY, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Nineteen civilians were killed and two others wounded on Friday in an attack by unidentified armed men in village of Tem, located in Anzourou commune in western Niger's Tillabery region, Niger's Ministry of the Interior and Public Security announced on Saturday evening.

The attack, which targeted civilian populations on Friday around 9 p.m. local time when they were performing their prayers, was perpetrated by unidentified "individuals who came on foot," according to a press release read by public authorities.

"We reinforced the existing security arrangements in the area, a judicial investigation is underway to find the perpetrators of this purely cowardly and criminal act," said the ministry.

The region has in recent years seen a growing number of deadly attacks against the country's armed forces and civilians. Since the beginning of 2021, about 300 civilians have been killed in this area, according to official statistics. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 21:06:22|Editor: huaxia

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KABUL, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- "Since last Sunday I have not been to my office as no one knows what would happen next hour or in the afternoon," Noor Khan whispered.

The 37-year-old Khan, an employee of the Passport Department in Kabul, claimed that none of his colleagues are going to return to the office nowadays.

Kabul, capital of the war-torn Afghanistan, fell to Taliban fighters on Aug. 15, since when many government offices, schools and universities have remained closed.

The Taliban has repeatedly called upon government employees to return to their offices and resume their work normally, but many offices in the government and private sectors including banks, schools and universities have been out of business.

Although the security situation is comparatively stable compared with the past, Kabul residents seemed doubtful about their future, pondering whether the current peace could be a lull before storm.

"So far no government has been formed by the Taliban and Afghanistan has no president or any other head of state, which virtually means a "vacuum of power," another Kabul resident Ahmad Nawed told Xinhua.

While praising the Taliban fighters for returning peace in Kabul city, Nawed said that "the vacuum of power" could lead to a chaotic situation" in Afghanistan.

"I am afraid that the current peaceful environment like a lull before storm could lead to fighting" in the country, he said.

"I hope the Taliban would soon form their government," Nawed further said.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has said that senior leaders of the group are engaged in talks with politicians to form a broad-based government.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, political chief of the Taliban, arrived in Kabul on Saturday to consult with concerned politicians and groups on the formation of a new ruling body in Afghanistan.

A car mechanic Mohammad Husain also appreciated the Taliban for ending the war and ensuring relative peace in Kabul, saying, "peace is everything and lasting peace can ensure stable jobs and regular income" for everyone in the country.

He told Xinhua that his daily income has been affected recently.

Husain claimed that before Kabul's fall, he earned some 1,500 afghani (about 17.6 U.S. dollars) to 2,000 afghani (about 23.5 dollars) daily, but he currently earned between 500 afghani (about 5.8 dollars) to 1,000 afghani (about 11.8 dollars).

"I am doubtful about the future as the Taliban has yet to form their government, although it was already eight days following Kabul's fall. The armed oppositions are also active in parts of the country and they could create security problems," a fruit seller Hamidullah said.

Expressing concerns about the future of Afghanistan, Hamidullah noted that the new administration may face daunting challenges if foreign counties continue to keep their diplomatic missions closed in Kabul. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 21:23:15|Editor: huaxia

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DAMASCUS, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Wearing brown uniforms with orange rims and matching hats, several young Syrians with Down Syndrome served between the tables, while some others stood behind a bar, preparing food and beverage at the cafe called Sucette.

This is Syria's first cafe run by 20 people with Down Syndrome, which was set up at the Tishreen park in the capital Damascus.

These waiters and waitresses created a good vibe at the cafe, not only by providing good service but also by playing music and dancing amid the claps and cheering of the customers.

The idea of Sucette was initiated by the Juzour Association, a local charitable organization that runs several humanitarian projects, one of which is organizing events for people with Down Syndrome.

Last year, the Juzour Association began to try running a restaurant, which hired people with Down Syndrome, for one month. It turned out to be a success, and that is the foundation of how Sucette came into being.

Kholoud Rajab, board chairman of the association, told Xinhua that the project is aiming at breaking the stereotype about people with Down Syndrome and helping these people interact with normal people.

As of now, 20 people with Down Syndrome and 10 normal people are currently working at Sucette, Rajab said, adding that the meaning of the project goes far deeper than merely setting up a cafe.

"Sucette is more than a cafe. It is an idea that will integrate the special group in the society and allow them to accept us as well," she said.

Being busy taking orders from customers flocking into the cafe, Muhannad Saleh, one of the 20 waiters, told Xinhua that he was happy in his new job.

Saleh said that he loves the idea of working hard to get salary, which makes him prove himself to be of value.

"I am happy to work here and everything is perfect. I serve customers with everything I can," the young man said.

For Rehab Qattan, a young girl with Down Syndrome, gone are the days of staying home doing nothing and feeling bored.

"I have been fed up with staying at home," she said, adding that working at Sucette is a source of happiness for her. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 22:03:06|Editor: huaxia

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BEIRUT, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese army on Sunday received 19 tons of medical equipment donated from Jordan, the National News Agency reported.

The army received the donation through Beirut's airport in the presence of the Jordanian Ambassador to Lebanon Waleed Hadid.

Faced with severe challenges caused by the financial crisis in the country, the Lebanese army is seeking international support. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 00:47:50|Editor: huaxia

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ACCRA, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Heavy flooding in northern Ghana's Upper West region claimed one life and displaced hundreds, officials confirmed Saturday.

Ahmed Mustapha, the Regional Coordinator for the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), told Xinhua that an 80-year-old woman died and 19 communities were submerged under floods following a heavy downpour on Friday.

"At least 323 people were displaced as 101 houses in the Wa East District were destroyed in the floods, and we are still on the field now assessing the damage," Mustapha said.

He said the Ghana Red Cross Society had approached the NADMO with a pledge to support the displaced persons with temporary shelter. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 20:50:52|Editor: huaxia

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BANJUL, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Finally, The Gambia disability community has gotten their long-awaited legislation that ensures their fundamental rights and freedoms. The bill was passed into "Persons with Disabilities Act" by the country's National Assembly on July 6, ten years after it was drafted.

"We are talking about ten years since it has been drafted. But my general impression now is that, there exists specific legislation that sets forth the fundamental rights and freedoms of the persons with disabilities," Muhammed Krubally, Chairperson of the Gambia Federation of Disabled (GFD) told Xinhua recently.

In The Gambia, people with disabilities have been subjected to discrimination at homes, schools, and offices, affecting their right to education and employment.

But Krubally, a magistrate and a lawyer by profession, said the law has come to change things by creating equality before the law, equality in job seeking, and to end all forms of discrimination.

"I feel that those rights are going to be guaranteed. In the sense that in the event of any encroachment or infringements upon the fundamental rights and freedoms, there is specific legislation that can be used to address the violations of those rights," he said.

Some of the rights that are enshrined in the act include the right to education, the right to healthcare and health services, the right to transportation and rehabilitation, vocational training, employment. Krubally described these provisions as pertinent as they have been the rallying cry of persons with disabilities in The Gambia for far too long.

"You can see that accessibility to both private and public buildings for persons with disabilities will also be addressed, at least reasonable adjustments will be done for parts of private and public buildings in accessible formats to ease their daily movements for people such as the visually impaired, those on wheelchairs, crutches," he explained.

However, Krubally, who is visually impaired himself, has expressed concerns about the implementation of the "Persons with Disabilities Act," given that the country has always had issues with the implementation of laws.

"We are afraid of the implementation, because if other laws are not implemented to the letter, how about this particular law that we have struggled for so long. Even to make sure it is placed before the National Assembly took longer than any other laws", he stated.

To make difference, his organization is ready to popularize the law within themselves and among the public members. From there, he stressed that any member of the disabled community can sue any person or institution that violates his or her rights to ensure the law is put into force.

Yaya Barjo, president of the National Union of Disabled Youths (NUDY), an affiliate of the Gambia Federation of Disabled (GFD) welcomed the passing of the bill with excitement.

"The entire disability community is very much excited by the passage of the bill, and we hope that it will be fully implemented. I believe that when it is implemented, it will uplift the lives and livelihoods of persons with disabilities in this country," Barjo told Xinhua.

He said that one of the prominent provisions that caught his attention so much is the one making an order that all public buildings that will be constructed after the passage of the bill should be disability friendly, as it should be fitted with rams that can ease the movements of persons with disabilities, particularly those on wheelchairs.

"I am also particularly excited when it comes to the employment and access to information provisions of the act," Barjo said.

According to the president of the NUDY, those with the visually impaired issue hardly follow the news. They do not know what's going on when it comes to visual media.

"But with the passage of the bill, we are gradually seeing that television stations like the GRTS (Gambia Radio and Television Services) are hiring sign language interpreters," he added. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 22:03:06|Editor: huaxia

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LAGOS, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian police on Sunday confirmed that 15 students kidnapped by gunmen from a secondary school in the country's northwestern state of Kaduna have regained freedom.

The students of Bethel Baptist High School were freed on Saturday night after 48 days in captivity, Mohammed Jalige, a spokesman for the police in Kaduna, told Xinhua by telephone on Sunday.

The released students were among an unspecified number of students kidnapped from the Bethel Baptist High School in Chikun local government area of Kaduna on July 5, following an attack by unknown gunmen in large numbers.

John Joseph Hayab, the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kaduna, told media that 15 students of the school were released on Saturday night while 65 students are still in captivity, and the CAN and other stakeholders were still in negotiation with the gunmen.

There have been a series of gunmen attacks in Nigeria in recent months, leading to deaths and kidnappings. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-23 01:20:49|Editor: huaxia

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NIAMEY, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Nineteen civilians were killed and two others wounded on Friday in an attack by unidentified armed men in the village of Tem, located in Anzourou commune in western Niger's Tillabery region, Niger's Ministry of the Interior and Public Security announced on Saturday evening.

The attack, which targeted civilian populations on Friday around 9 p.m. local time when they were performing their prayers, was perpetrated by unidentified "individuals who came on foot," according to a press release read by public authorities.

"We reinforced the existing security arrangements in the area, a judicial investigation is underway to find the perpetrators of this purely cowardly and criminal act," said the ministry.

The region has in recent years seen a growing number of deadly attacks against the country's armed forces and civilians.

Thirty-seven civilians were killed and four others wounded on Monday afternoon in an attack by unidentified armed men in the village of Darey Dey, located in Banibangou department, Tillabery region, security source said. The attack was carried out by several heavily armed individuals riding motorcycles against civilians working in their fields, the same source said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday strongly condemned Monday's attack by unidentified gunmen on civilians in the region, said his spokesman.

Guterres expressed deep concern about the cumulative impact of these frequent attacks on the humanitarian situation in the region, where already more than 100,000 people have been displaced and 520,000 are in need of humanitarian assistance, said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement.

The secretary-general reiterated the commitment of the United Nations to continue supporting Niger in its efforts to counter and prevent terrorism and violent extremism, promote social cohesion and achieve sustainable development, it said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-07-30 17:59:23|Editor: huaxia

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SUVA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Fijian health authorities on Friday confirmed 1,163 new infections over the past 24 hours and six more deaths due to COVID-19.

Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary James Fong said all opening businesses have to put forward COVID-safe operational plans approved by the Ministry of Health.

Fong said 80 percent of all eligible adults in Fiji have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The ministry of health hopes to fully vaccinate 587,651 Fijians by the end of October, urging Fijians to get fully vaccinated to be safe.

"If you've received one dose, come forward for dose number two. And if you are yet to be vaccinated, please do so. We have enough vaccines in country for everyone eligible," said Fong. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-14 10:22:30|Editor: huaxia

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ISLAMABAD, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- To strengthen its campaign against the alarming spike in the COVID-19 spread in the country, Bangladesh has planned to sign an agreement with China for vaccine co-production, reported Pakistani daily The Nation, citing Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen.

The agreement would be signed very soon and the co-production will start in a few weeks, the foreign minster was quoted as saying in a recent report.

Earlier on Tuesday, Minister-Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka Yan Hualong also confirmed in a Facebook post the planned cooperation between the two countries.

"We shall soon be coming for vaccine co-producing," said Yan.

Bangladesh's Health Ministry also confirmed that 1.7 million Chinese Sinopharm vaccines, under the UN's COVAX facility, has arrived in Dhaka.

On Wednesday, Bangladeshi Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told media the government needs around 276 million vaccine doses to achieve its target to inoculate over 138 million people.

Bangladesh has so far fully vaccinated only 5 million people while 15 million people have taken the first dose of the two-jab vaccines, the paper reported.

Bangladesh has registered 1.4 million COVID-19 cases with over 23,000 deaths and more than 1.2 million recoveries. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 16:51:42|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia reported 1,780 new COVID-19 cases and two more deaths over the past 24 hours, pushing the national counts to 193,679 and 898 respectively, the country's health ministry said Sunday.

One of the new confirmed cases was imported from abroad, and the others were locally transmitted, the ministry said in a statement.

The COVID-19 Delta variant remains prevalent in the country, the ministry said, urging the public to follow all relevant health guidelines to protect minors and people suffering chronic diseases.

So far, 63.1 percent of the country's population has been fully vaccinated against the virus, according to the ministry.

The Asian country launched a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign in late February, aiming to inoculate at least 60 percent of its 3.3-million population. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 16:59:00|Editor: huaxia

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NEW DELHI, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft C-17 Sunday brought back 168 people evacuated from Afghanistan, Indian foreign ministry officials said Monday.

Of the 168 passengers, 107 are Indian nationals.

"Evacuation continues!" writes foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on social media. "IAF special repatriation flight with 168 passengers onboard, including 107 Indian nationals, is on its way to Delhi from Kabul."

The C-17 landed at Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad of the Uttar Pradesh state.

Local media reports said the passengers on the IAF repatriation flight were not immediately allowed to leave the aircraft.

"Passengers will first undergo the COVID-19 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test," a local media report said.

Reports said three other flights - Air India, IndiGo and Vistara, also carrying Indians evacuated from Kabul, landed in Delhi from Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe and Qatar's Doha earlier in the day.

On Saturday morning a special flight from IAF evacuated over 85 Indian nationals from Kabul. The aircraft had landed in Tajikistan for refuelling.

Officials said the Indian government was working closely with the United States, whose forces control interior sections of the Kabul airport, to facilitate the return of its stranded citizens. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 18:24:57|Editor: huaxia

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Afghans gather near a gate of Kabul airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 22, 2021. Seven Afghan civilians were killed amid chaos near the Kabul airport as people swarmed the area in hopes of boarding an evacuation flight following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Britain's Ministry of Defense said Sunday. (Xinhua/Rahmatullah Alizadah)

LONDON, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Seven Afghan civilians were killed amid chaos near the Kabul airport as people swarmed the area in hopes of boarding an evacuation flight following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Britain's Ministry of Defense said Sunday.

The ministry did not elaborate when they were killed or if the latest death toll is on top of the four women reportedly crushed to death in a stampede in front of the airport on Saturday.

"Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible," it said in a statement.

British Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace told British newspaper The Daily Mail on Sunday that "no nation will be able to get everyone out" before the Aug. 31 deadline set by the United States for a total withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer and they will have our complete support if they do," Wallace said in a veiled plea for Washington to extend the deadline.

The United States on Saturday issued a security alert urging its citizens to avoid the Kabul airport amid concerns about the potential for attacks by the Afghan branch of the Islamic State group.

Leaders of the Group of Seven will meet online early next week to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, as the rift between Washington and its European allies seems to have widened over the former's hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 19:33:43|Editor: huaxia

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SUVA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Fiji reported five new deaths and 303 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, Ministry of Health officials said.

Fiji's Permanent Secretary for Health James Fong said 185 cases are from the Western Division, 33 cases from the Central Division of Viti Levu, and 85 cases from the Eastern Division on Kadavu, the fourth largest island on the island nation.

A total of 1,468 new recoveries have been reported since the last update, making the tally of active cases at 19,097.

Fong said Fiji has registered 43,597 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 23,809 recoveries.

He added that 438 people have died from the COVID-19 virus in Fiji, with 436 of the deaths reported during the outbreak that started in April this year.

Fong said the national seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is eight. The seven-day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is two, while the figure stands at six in the Western Division.

Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has changed curfew hours in the country from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. effective from Monday. It was previously set from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. every day.

He said the more Fijians get vaccinated, the more the government would allow lifting restrictions. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-18 00:29:28|Editor: huaxia

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TIRANA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Albania's Defense Minister Niko Peleshi said on Tuesday that the severe wildfires that have affected several parts of the country since mid-July have burned around 3,000 hectares of land.

Peleshi made the statement during a meeting held at Tirana International Airport on the situation of forest fires in Albania.

"We estimate around 3,000 hectares of damage in our forestland so far. It is a considerable number, but the good news is that 2,300 hectares are bushes, while the rest are pine trees and other plants," Peleshi said.

During the meeting, Peleshi introduced the areas where authorities are currently working to extinguish the active fires.

According to him, the largest wildfires are in Puka and Lezha regions.

Last week, according to the EU Delegation to Tirana, around 50 specialized personnel arrived from the EU Member States to assist Albania in fighting wildfires. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 23:40:34|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Aug. 22, 2021 shows a commercial plane approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, the United States. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered U.S. airlines to provide 18 aircraft to support evacuation missions from Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Sunday.(Xinhua/Liu Jie)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered U.S. airlines to provide 18 aircraft to support evacuation missions from Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Sunday.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said in a statement that Austin has ordered the Commander of U.S. Transportation Command "to activate Stage I of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF)," which provides the Pentagon access to commercial air mobility resources to support evacuation from Afghanistan.

"The current activation is for 18 aircraft: three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air; two from Hawaiian Airlines; and four from United Airlines," said the statement.

The statement added that the commercial planes would not fly into Kabul Airport. U.S. Military aircraft will focus on operations in and out of Kabul, and commercial planes "will be used for the onward movement of passengers from temporary safe havens and interim staging bases," it said.

This is the third time in history the military has activated CRAF, according to the Pentagon. The first was during the Gulf War and the second the Iraq War.

The United States has been scrambling to evacuate Americans and its Afghan partners from the country since Taliban forces entered the capital Kabul on Aug. 15. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-08-22 23:50:07|Editor: huaxia

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Pedestrians walk in the rain caused by tropical storm Henri, in Times Square in New York, the United States, on Aug. 22, 2021. The hurricane warning for Long Island, the southern coast of New England and Block Island in the northeast of the United States has been changed to a tropical storm warning, said an updated advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) on Sunday morning. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

NEW YORK, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The hurricane warning for Long Island, the southern coast of New England and Block Island in the northeast of the United States has been changed to a tropical storm warning, said an updated advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) on Sunday morning.

Tropical storm Henri is expected to land in southern New England or on Long Island later Sunday morning or early in the afternoon, said the NHC.

As of 11 a.m. Sunday, tropical storm Henri is around 15 miles in the east of Montauk Point of Long Island and around 50 miles in the south-southwest of Rhode Island's Providence while moving north-northwest at a speed of 12 miles per hour.

Still, a storm surge warning and a tropical storm warning are still in effect in Long Island, part of Massachusetts and other areas.

New York State declared a state of emergency Saturday for over 20 counties as Henri was heading toward the city's Long Island as a Category 1 hurricane.

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo also activated 500 National Guard troops for deployment to Long Island and the Hudson Valley region to help localities with storm response.

A voluntary evacuation order was issued on Saturday afternoon in Suffolk County on Long Island encouraging people from Fire Island to leave on the same day. Enditem
Mi solidaridad y apoyo desde el @MimpPeru a los familiares de las victimas del crimen en Ancon. Felicito la rapida intervencion de la @PoliciaPeru en este caso. Desde el sector Interior garantizaremos la seguridad en todo el pais y combatiremos con firmeza la delincuencia. https://t.co/xaVlff9kJs
Ahora | El presidente @PedroCastilloTe, junto con los titulares del @MinamPeru y @viviendaperu, visita el proyecto #CiudadBicentenario, propuesta multisectorial para la gestion integral del territorio bajo un modelo de ciudad sostenible.

?? En vivo: https://t.co/Sx2nW78lcJ
Questo blog e libero e senza pubblicita grazie alle donazioni dei lettori. Se ti piace, fanne una anche tu : offrimi una birra e una fetta di pizza con Paypal, bitcoin o una ricarica telefonica.
Smoke rises from a wildfire in the forested hills of the Kabylie region, east of the capital Algiers, on August 10, 2021.

The once verdant mountains of the Algerian region of Tizi Ouzou, peppered with olive groves and coniferous trees, were ravaged by more than 100 forest fires over the past fortnight.

The heat could be felt from dozens of kilometres away.

At a petrol service station in the province of Bouira, a man working the pump laboured with the suffocating atmosphere.

"[The heat] is coming from over the mountain. I've never seen fires like this," he said, squinting into the distance.

Forest fires are not a new phenomenon for Algeria, and the north-eastern region of Tizi Ouzou in particular.

On the contrary, they are regular occurrences that first responders tussle with almost every year.

Yet, in the midst of a heatwave, no rain, and unrelenting gusts of wind, this year's blazes caused extensive damage.

Tens of thousands of hectares around the villages of Larbaa Nath Irathen, Beni Douala and Ait Mesbah were completely engulfed in flames, leaving charred silhouettes of the evergreen trees that used to line the hills.

Volunteers had to use whatever they could find to try and extinguish the fires

Early reports conclude that this year's fires inflicted more damage to Algeria's forests than all the fires from 2008 to 2020 combined.

At least 90 people died fighting the flames, including 33 military personnel who received honourable funeral processions - figures far higher than ever seen before.

Despite fighting fires year after year, and boasting one of Africa's biggest military budgets, Algeria does not have amphibious firefighting airplanes.

Instead, a handful of Mi-26 helicopters equipped with 1,000-litre buckets and overloaded fire engines tried their best to snuff out the infernos.

As a result, the government had to resort to asking the European Union to help out, and, on 12 August, French President Emmanuel Macron quickly sent out two planes.

Helicopters used huge buckets of water to help put out the flames

The villagers of Beni Douala joined the fight with shovels, branches or whatever other supplies were readily available to them.

"Maybe its passport has expired," joked Fethi Fellah, a young volunteer, when asked if he had spotted a firefighting plane.

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"Besides the firefighters, no-one has come to help us out," he said, while directing a procession of cars down from the mountain and into the city of Tizi Ouzou, where families were gathered at community centres in makeshift shelters.

One such establishment was the banquet hall Le Printemps, hosting dozens of people who had fled their homes.

Many people found their homes consumed by the infernos

Resilience, desperation and indignation were etched on their faces as they understood that they were left to their own devices.

"The authorities have not helped us evacuate, we had to rely on volunteers who went from village to village," said Ines, a volunteer who did not want to share her family name.

"They are partially responsible for the elevated death toll. Every year we have forest fires and the proper mechanisms are still not in place," she said.

Both Prime Minister Aymen Benabderrahmane and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said that the origin of the forest fires were criminal, while failing to produce concrete evidence for the claims.

They blamed separatist groups fighting for self-determination in the Kabyle region around Tizi Ouzou, and also said it would "review" diplomatic relations with Morocco, which it accuses of backing the groups.

However, such accusations ignore the fact that countries around the Mediterranean have also struggled with forest fires in recent weeks, including Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Italy and France.

Climate change in the region is likely to be causing an increase in the conditions in which wildfires occur.

Unfortunately, global warming is not yet a significant part of Algerian public discourse.

More than 90% of Algeria's exports are in the hydrocarbon sector, so fossil fuels are integral to the country's strategic interests.

During the 2019 presidential election debate, for instance, not once was an environmental agenda discussed by any of the five candidates.

Yet the human and environmental losses from natural disasters are becoming just too costly to ignore.

At least 90 people died trying to put out the fires

Forest fires are not the only symptoms of climate change in Algeria.

The Sahara desert, which makes up about 80% of the country's area, is getting bigger.

It has expanded by 10% over the past century, according to the Journal of Climate, published by the American meteorological society.

Increased desertification disrupts pastoral grazing routes and forces farmers to draw deeper into underground aquifers for water resources.

For the already marginalised populations on the edges of the desert, global warming makes daily life in the summertime extremely difficult.

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Schoolchildren in the Adrar province, for example, have some of the country's lowest literacy rates, partly because the school buildings are not adapted to the region's extreme temperatures.

In the capital city of Algiers, water stress has limited large parts of the city to just a few hours of running water per day.

President Tebboune has announced that three emergency desalination plants are to be constructed to alleviate the problem.

However, until climate change is taken seriously, and a specific environmental policy is implemented, reactive solutions will only provide short-term relief.
Her love of Auburn began years before she became lieutenant governor. As a student at Syracuse University, she would visit her aunt and uncle in Auburn. That passion for the city is reflected in her work with local leaders, who consider her an asset to the area.

"She's a great lady and we will be well served by her (as governor)," Auburn Mayor Michael Quill said. "She is a down-to-earth person. She is genuinely concerned about cities, towns and villages and the people that live in New York state."

After Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation, Cayuga County Legislature Chairwoman Aileen McNabb-Coleman said she contacted Hochul's office to relay her interest in meeting with the governor-in-waiting and to keep the line of communication open.

McNabb-Coleman has attended New York State Association of Counties conferences in the past and Hochul hosts a women's roundtable. Based on that experience, she's looking forward to Hochul's tenure as governor.

"She's a great friend to Cayuga County," McNabb-Coleman said. "I find her to be a very reliable, very intelligent leader. I'm really excited to work with her at the state level in her new capacity."
Aug. 22, 1996

AUBURN  The county has Gary Green's money, and he wants it back.

Green, of South Main Street in Moravia, filed a complaint with the Cayuga County Sheriff's Department on July 21 saying that a black leather bag containing $19,000 in bearer bonds and $27,000 in cash had been stolen from his 1995 Mercedes.

On July 25 the bag suddenly reappeared at Green's place of business, Industrial Piping and Fabrication of Moravia, minus $5,343 in cash, according to court documents.

The bag and remaining money was subsequently turned over to the sheriff's department, where it has remained.

In a suit filed in County Supreme Court on Aug. 14, Green contends the money was used in a personal antique business and should be returned.

The county has refused, citing some $69,993 in existing judgments against Green's former business, Moravia Industrial Piping and Fabrication.

"I can understand that the county does not want to return the money without a ruling from the courts," said Green's attorney, Douglas Bates. "But the money is my client's own personal money and should be returned."
As I canvass the Auburn neighborhoods in legislative District 15 seeking votes for the November election, I talk to all kinds of people, including homeowners and renters. Both are frustrated and angry about the houses owned by bad landlords.

The homeowners are appalled by the eyesores around them  the houses in poor condition that these landlords have picked up for cheap and do little or nothing to improve or maintain, the very houses that drag down these neighborhoods.

The renters are frustrated by the conditions of where they live and their landlords minimal care of their property. Many such renters are low-income and qualify for federal housing assistance, which is paid directly to landlords in monthly checks, administered by Cayuga County. Rental rates in New York, set by the federal government, allow the landlords to charge more than $1,000 a month for a two-bedroom apartment. For low-income renters who are eligible for the federal Housing Choice Voucher program, the government cuts landlords a monthly check. On top of that, some landlords charge their tenants a couple of hundred dollars more.
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Call 281-422-8302 or email david.bloom@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun.

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(Global Times) The US government is gearing up efforts to manipulate American media outlets to cooperate with its intelligence's investigation on COVID-19 origins targeting China and create a favorable atmosphere for public opinion to discredit and blame China on the issue. Its tactics include "feeding the US media fake information to fabricate the "China lab-leak theory," encouraging some media to stir up the "Chinese wildlife market theory" for virus origins, and manipulating its media to strengthen positive reports about Fort Detrick, a source close to the matter told the Global Times on Friday.





It comes as the Joe Biden-set deadline for the 90-day investigation into the virus' origins draws to a close. In order to formulate the report, the US is stepping up its efforts to coerce China's neighbors to participate in its campaign to smear China as the "source of the coronavirus," using vaccine aid, talent training and industrial investment as bait, and is pressuring the World Health Organization (WHO) and marshaling its allies, including the EU, Australia, Japan and other countries, to launch a "second-phase origins tracing" probe on China despite that even its own research institutions and allies believe that the virus was almost certainly not created via artificial means, sources told the Global Times previously.

But high-level officials from the US government believe that US intelligence agencies have not yet obtained substantial evidence for the "Chinese origins theory" or the "China lab-leak theory," while China's position of upholding the China-WHO joint study report and opposing all politicization of virus-tracing has won the support and recognition of many countries, the source said. Some governments and experts have joined China in calling on the WHO to investigate the US' Fort Detrick.

Given this backdrop, the US government will make full use of the dominant position of its media in terms of international communication, and "guide" relevant media outlets to promote the American narrative from all angles, resisting the "counterattack from China" and creating a favorable public opinion that believes discrediting and blaming China is the right thing to do, the source said.

To do this, the US government has been feeding the media with fabricated evidence of the "China lab-leak theory," and hyping reports from the WHO and international scientific community which were negative for China, the source said.

Recently, the US government stirred up some media to hype the theory that Chinese wildlife markets were the source, providing alternative plans to "convict" China, the source said.

The US government has also been manipulating its media to strengthen the number of positive reports on Fort Detrick, disassociating the relationship between Fort Detrick and the novel coronavirus and trying to bring the focus of the investigation back to China.

Bloomberg on Thursday cited a study published in June which claims that a study on infected Wuhan wild animals may shed new light on the virus' origins.

The Wall Street Journal also published an opinion piece on August 15 jointly written by Robert Redfield, who previously served in the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and a Fox News medical correspondent.

The article hyped rumors that employees of the Wuhan lab were becoming sick with COVID-19-like symptoms in the fall of 2019, which has been repeatedly rejected and slammed by the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

After the Cold War, the politicization-orientated US intelligence agencies failed in dealing with all major decisions, including the Iraq War and Afghanistan War. It is clear now that US intelligence agencies did not provide balanced, neutral and objective analysis on issues, but catered to the political and public opinion of the US, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

He said politicization will determine the structure of the report on virus origins tracing even if it does not come out.

The US' virus tracing efforts are all about weakening China's influence, and it is understood by US policy makers to be a political attack that caters to its strategy of comprehensive competition and confrontation with China, Li said, noting it uses all of its available tools including allies and media to pull China away from its neighbors to the greatest extent, creating confrontation.


FILE PHOTO: Workers are seen at the construction site of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Russia

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow pledged retaliatory measures after a new set of sanctions imposed by the United States on a Russian ship and two companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

The $11 billion project, which will double the existing Nord Stream pipeline across the Baltic Sea and allow Russia to bypass Ukraine when piping gas to Europe, has been a focal point of tensions between Moscow and Washington.

Washington imposed the sanctions on Friday on a ship, its owner and a construction company, but opponents of the project said the measures were insufficient to stop it.

The United States and Britain also imposed sanctions on Friday on men they said were Russian intelligence operatives responsible for the poisoning one year ago of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

"We view such hostile actions by the Biden administration as dictated by a lack of political will and an unwillingness to build U.S.-Russian relations on a partnership basis," Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia's Foreign Ministry, was quoted as saying in the statement.

(Reporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Jason Neely)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  Overseas Filipino workers will be allowed entry into Hong Kong starting next week, as long as they hold Bureau of Quarantine-issued vaccination certificates, the Department of Labor and Employment said on Sunday.

"The HK government has already agreed to let overseas Filipino workers who received COVID vaccines in the country to come and work starting Aug. 30, provided they can present validated COVID vaccine certificates issued by the Bureau of Quarantine," DOLE said.

It added that some 3,000 OFWs would benefit from the development.

Upon arrival in Hong Kong, OFWs would need to undergo quarantine in specific hotels, the cost of which would be shouldered by their employers.

The Hong Kong government earlier refused to recognize the vaccination certificates of individuals fully inoculated against COVID-19 in the Philippines, but an official said the problem is being fixed.

Last week, the BOQ said it would open pop-up clinics in some Metro Manila malls for those needing an international certificate of vaccination (ICV), also known as a yellow card.

However, the BOQ urged those with no immediate need for IVCs to give way to those who need the slots.

READ: 'Yellow card' not yet advisable for non-travelers

The ICVs are recognized by member states of the World Health Organization.
(CNN) -- Greece has finished building a 40-kilometer (25-mile) wall along its border with Turkey, amid concerns in parts of Europe that the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan could cause an influx of people seeking asylum.

Greek government ministers toured the fence on Friday and said the overthrow of Afghanistan's government gave greater urgency to their effort to reduce the flow of migrants across its borders.

The country was at the center of Europe's migrant crisis in the mid-2010s, when millions of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq traveled to the continent. Since then Greece has taken a hardline stance, rebuffing pleas from Turkey and international organizations to allow more migrants through its borders.

"The Afghan crisis is creating new facts in the geopolitical sphere and at the same time it is creating possibilities for migrant flows," Greece's Citizens' Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis said in a government statement after touring the completed border wall on Friday. "As a country we cannot remain passive to the possible consequences."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about Afghanistan on Friday, the Turkish government said.

In a television interview the day before, he urged the European Union to assist refugees from the country. "If a transitional period cannot be established in Afghanistan, the pressure on migration, which has already reached high levels, will increase even more and this situation will pose a serious challenge for everyone," Erdogan said.

The unapologetic stance of US President Joe Biden, who faces criticism for the United States' chaotic removal of troops in Afghanistan, has dismayed leaders in Europe who are now left bracing for a possible refugee emergency.

Thousands of Afghans have attempted to leave the country in the past week, since the Taliban completed a staggeringly fast takeover of power and brought to an end two decades of US involvement in the country.

Crowds of desperate locals have gathered at Kabul's airport in search of a place on Western military flights. Those unable to leave face a return to a repressive Taliban regime, which banished women from its streets and workplaces and used the death penalty for offenses including female adultery, homosexuality and the rejection of Islam when last in power between 1996 and 2001.

"It is our decision... to defend and secure our borders," Chrisochoidis said. "Our borders will remain secure and inviolable. We will not allow uncontrolled and erratic movements and we will not allow any attempt to violate them."

Even before the Taliban took Afghanistan, the pandemic had worsened the migrant crisis. A deal was struck between Turkey and the European Union in 2016 to halt migrants traveling from the Middle East towards Europe, but last year Turkey approved the passage of migrants into the continent, saying it had "reached capacity."

The two countries share a border at the northeastern tip of Greece, which is frequently a destination of asylum seekers who travel through western Asia. There are also numerous routes into Greece by sea.

Last year several migrants on boats told CNN that they were pushed back from Greece, an accusation that Athens has repeatedly denied. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, urged Greece to investigate reports of pushbacks at the country's borders.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Greece finishes wall on border with Turkey, amid fears of Afghan migrant crisis"
Lake Urmia, Iran (CNN)  The ferries that once shuttled tourists to and from the little islets in Iran's Lake Urmia sit rusty, unable to move, on what is rapidly becoming a salt plain. Just two decades ago, Urmia was the Middle East's biggest lake, its local economy a thriving tourist center of hotels and restaurants.

"People would come here for swimming and would use the mud for therapeutic purposes. They would stay here at least for a few days," said Ahad Ahmed, a journalist in the former port town of Sharafkhaneh as he showed CNN photos of people enjoying the lake in 1995.

Lake Urmia's demise has been fast. It has more than halved in size -- from 5,400 square kilometers (2,085 square miles) in the 1990s to just 2,500 square kilometers (965 square miles) today -- according to the Department of Environmental Protection of West Azerbaijan, one of the Iranian provinces where the lake is located. There are now concerns it will disappear entirely.

Such problems are familiar in many parts of the Middle East -- where water is simply running out.

The region has witnessed persistent drought and temperatures so high that they are barely fit for human life. Add climate change to water mismanagement and overuse, and projections for the future of water here are grim.

Some Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, Iraq and Jordan, are pumping huge amounts of water from the ground for irrigation as they seek to improve their food self-sufficiency, Charles Iceland, the global director of water at the World Resources Institute (WRI), told CNN. That's happening as they experience a decrease in rainfall.

"They're using more water than is available routinely through rain. And so groundwater levels are consequently falling because you're taking water out faster than it's being replenished by the rainfall," he said.

That's what's happening in Iran, where a vast network of dams sustains an agricultural sector that drinks up about 90% of the water the country uses.

"Both declining rainfall and increasing demand in these countries are causing many rivers, lakes, and wetlands to dry up," Iceland said.

The consequences of water becoming even scarcer are dire: Areas could become uninhabitable; tensions over how to share and manage water resources like rivers and lakes could worsen; more political violence could erupt.

In Iran, Urmia has shrunk largely because so many people have exploited it, and some of the dams built in its basin mainly for irrigation have reduced the flow of water into the lake.

Iran's water woes are already a deadly issue. In one week in July, at least three protesters were killed in clashes with security officers in demonstrations against water shortages in the country's southwest.

The country is experiencing some of the driest conditions in five decades, according to the country's meteorological service.

The Middle East's winters are projected to get drier the more the world warms, and while the summers will be wetter, the heat is expected to offset its water gains, according to scientists' latest projections published earlier this month by the UN Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change report.

"The problem is, with this whole temperature rise, whatever rainfall will come will evaporate because it is so hot," Mansour Almazroui, director at the Center of Excellence for Climate Change Research at Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz University, told CNN.

"The other thing is, "This rain is not necessarily going to be usual rain. There's going to be extreme rainfall, meaning that floods like those happening in China, in Germany, in Belgium, these floods will be a big problem for the Middle East. This is really a big climate change issue."

A study by the Iranian Energy Ministry found the demise of the lake was more than 30% attributable to climate change.

These changes are not only having an impact on the amount of water available, they are also affecting quality.

Lake Urmia is hypersaline, meaning it's very salty. As it has shrunk, the salt concentration has increased and gotten so extreme, using it for irrigation is damaging farmers' crops.

Kiomars Poujebeli, who farms tomatoes, sunflowers, sugar beet, eggplant and walnuts near the lake, told CNN that the salty water has been disastrous.

"The day the soil will become unfarmable is not far away," he said.

A vicious cycle

In Jordan, one of the most water stressed countries in the world, people have become used to living with very little water.

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that Jordanians will have to halve their per capita use of water by the end of the century. Most Jordanians on lower incomes will live on 40 liters a day, for all their needs -- drinking, bathing and washing clothes and dishes, for example. The average American today uses around 10 times that amount.

In many Jordanian homes, water isn't necessarily available every day, said Daniel Rosenfeld, a professor with the Program of Atmospheric Sciences at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

"Jordan now has a critical shortage of water -- water reaches the houses in Jordan once or twice a week, even in the capital Amman," Daniel Rosenfeld, a professor with the Program of Atmospheric Sciences at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The capital actually has existential problems right now, already," Rosenfeld said.

Groundwater levels in parts of the country are dropping by well over one meter a year, studies show, and waves of refugees from many countries in the region have put extra pressure on the already stressed resource.

The secretary-general of Jordan's Water Authority, Bashar Batayneh, told CNN that the country needs more funding from the rest of the world to deal with this increased demand for water.

"Jordan bore the heavy load of the Syrian refugee crises on behalf of the international community and was deeply impacted regarding water. Refugees cost the water sector over $600 million per year while Jordan received a fraction of this amount from the international community," he said.

He added that Jordan had much less rain in 2020 than it did the previous year, putting more than a quarter of water resources at risk and halving drinking water sources.

But it's not only climate change. The country relies on the Jordan River system, which also runs through Israel, the West Bank, Syria and Lebanon, and dams building along the rivers have severely cut the flow of water flow to Jordan. Jordan, too, uses canals to redirect the river's waters for irrigation. Conflict has flared several times around the river system in the past.

It's a transboundary problem also seen in other parts of the region along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, as well as in northern Africa along the Nile.

Jordan, Israel and Syria have gotten better at coordinating management of the river system they rely on, but tensions often erupt. Experts have long warned that water scarcity worsened by climate change could lead to more conflict.

Jordan has little choice but to buy large amounts of water from Israel, which has an enormous desalination program, in which it removes salt from seawater to make it fit for human consumption. But desalination is energy-intensive -- using up huge amounts of energy; energy that is not yet green and renewable, and only adds to global warming, a major driver of water scarcity in the first place.

As the climate continues to warm and water runs scarce, part of the solution in the Middle East will have to involve reducing water use in agriculture. That can also mean changing the kind of food farmers grow and export, Rosenfeld said.

"In Israel, for example, we used to grow a lot of oranges, but at some point, we realized that we are exporting water that we don't have," he said, adding that crops could also be engineered to be more resilient to heat and dryness.

And Almazroui, from King Abdulaziz University, said that dams could be better organized to consider changing rain patterns. Coordination on managing rivers that flow across countries also has to improve.

But that's not going to help a farmer whose family has owned land for generations and can't necessarily move to wetter climes, or has little control over where a neighboring country might build a dam.

Raad al-Tamami, a 54-year-old father of five who lives in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, relies on the Diyal River, a tributary to the Tigris River, for water. The Diyal has been drying up for years and has forced al-Tamami to halve his fruit production across his three farms.

He and his fellow farmers are working on a water rationing schedule, and he sometimes waits up to a month for the water to come.

This dependence on more water to ensure food security could ironically put the availability of food at risk -- farmers are only going to keep farming under these difficult conditions for so long.

That's what plagues al-Tamami's mind all the time.

"Many farmers, including me, are seriously considering leaving this profession, which is inherited from father, from grandfather, and to start looking for more profitable jobs that guarantee a better future for our children."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "The Middle East is running out of water, and parts of it are becoming uninhabitable"
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo is also feeling the COVID-19 spike as the official's free teleconsult program disclosed it has witnessed a fourfold increase in the number of active cases it is managing.

During the weekly radio show BISErbisyong Leni on Sunday, Robredo's chief of staff and undersecretary Philip Dy said they were only recording less than 100 cases per day in June and July.

However, the figures have ballooned by 300% in the past week, Dy said.

"Ngayong nakaraang linggo, on average nakaka-more than 400 cases a day kami na pumapasok," he said.

[Translation: This past week, on average we were attending to more than 400 cases a day.]

Robredo's free teleconsultation service Bayanihan E-Konsulta was launched on April 7 when the capital region was facing a surge in new infections.

According to Dy, the initiative aims to cater to mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients, hoping to help decongest overwhelmed hospitals.

Dy said the Office of the Vice President has called for volunteers anew to support the rising demand for the Bayanihan E-Konsulta.

"Tuloy tuloy ang pagprovide natin ng free teleconsult service sa ating mga kababayan sa NCR Plus," he said.

[Translation: We will continue providing teleconsult service to Filipinos residing in NCR Plus.]

On Saturday, the Department of Health reported 16,694 new COVID-19 casesthe second highest recorded in a day, pushing the total to 1,824,051 infections with 123,935 active cases.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, in a virtual briefing Saturday, also said that active cases in Metro Manila could reach 269,000 by the end of September even if the government decides to extend the modified enhanced community quarantine.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  Despite having no access to COVID-19 vaccines, Vice President Leni Robredo continues to have talks with local government units to help speed up their inoculation programs through her "Vaccine Express" program.

Robredo's chief of staff and undersecretary Philip Dy says more LGUs have approached the Office of the Vice President for the rollout of the drive in their respective areas.

"Medyo patok ito. Every week may Vaccine Express," Dy said on Sunday during the weekly radio show BISErbisyong Leni.

[Translation: This has been gaining popularity. Every week we will deploy Vaccine Express.]

Dy said the Robredo team is in discussion with the LGUs of San Pedro, Laguna and City of San Fernando, Pampanga.

Details of the schedules as well as the sectors that will be prioritized by the program have yet to be disclosed.

This weekend, Robredo's Vaccine Express was deployed in Pasig City to inoculate about 4,000 local residents who are under the A5 category or the indigent population. Dy said they would spend the whole Sunday to hit the target as only around 700 people received their shots on Saturday.

The Vaccine Express began in June when Robredo and the city government of Manila launched a drive-thru vaccination for tricycle and pedicab drivers.

It also teamed up with the Quezon City government earlier this month to vaccinate transportation workers and operators. Outside Metro Manila, the Vaccine Express also extended its help to LGUs in Iriga City and Naga City in the Bicol Region.

To give an extra push to increase the vaccination rate, Robredo has been partnering with different companies to offer incentives for Filipinos who will participate in the Vaccine Express. For the deployment of Vaccine Express in Manila City and Quezon City, the Office of the Vice President provided gas and grocery incentives from Sea Oil and Puregold.

Dy reiterated Robredo's sentiment on the vaccine supply, saying that while their office is willing to assist LGUs in their vaccination drive, their capacity is limited by logistics and the number of volunteer medical workers.

Under the partnership, the LGUs will provide the vaccines against the virus, while Robredo's camp will focus on providing the manpower to facilitate the vaccination.

READ: Robredo hopes to have access to vaccine supply

The national government has yet to heed Robredo's call for access to vaccine supply.
(CNN)  The Biden administration could potentially compel US airlines to help with transporting tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees as the US military struggles to manage the influx of people following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, according to a senior administration official.

President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak about the ongoing evacuation in Afghanistan as well as the impact of Hurricane Henri at 4 p.m. ET Sunday, according to the White House.

To aid with transporting Afghan evacuees, the White House may invoke the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, which was created in 1952 to assist the military during emergencies following the post-World War II Berlin Airlift. The program could facilitate almost 20 commercial jets from five airlines to help transport evacuees from bases in the region, according to the official.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the potential action.

Another senior administration official told CNN that the commercial jets wouldn't be flying into Afghanistan but instead would be helping to transport Afghans from locations where they were taken after being evacuated from the country, including US bases in Qatar, Bahrain and Germany. US officials on Friday announced a dramatic expansion in the number of countries that will help transit Americans or temporarily host Afghans, including Germany where the first evacuation flight of about 350 people arrived at Ramstein Air Base.

At least 26,500 people, which includes Afghans and foreign nationals, have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the Taliban began its advance on Kabul, according to data analyzed by CNN Saturday.

A senior administration official told CNN the government would first try to get airlines to volunteer aircraft to help transport Afghan evacuees before forcing them.

"We need each major airline to offer up three planes, and get a few from FedEx. If they don't, we may use the law," the official said.

An airline industry official said discussions among carriers have been underway since the end of the week about potentially providing assistance to the airlift efforts, and they have not ruled out voluntarily offering flights yet.

That official also said airlines received a warning on Friday evening from the government that they could be compelled to provide assistance, but that the order hasn't yet come down.

The White House referred to the Committee on Transportation Communications for comment. CNN has reached out.

A US airline executive said they are eager to help evacuate Afghans and likely won't need to be compelled. Airlines would also make money from these flights, according to the executive.

Commercial aircraft are needed because military aircraft are bogged down by the Afghanistan evacuations and will need maintenance after constant flying, the executive said.

The military planes are "going to need a lot of maintenance to keep this up so no time to use them to fly to the (US) or Germany when the airlines can do it," the executive said.

Possible threats at Kabul airport

The US military is establishing "alternative routes" to Kabul airport because of a threat the terror group ISIS-K poses to the airport and its surrounding. Two US defense officials described the military effort to establish "alternative routes" for people to get to Kabul airport and its access gates, with one saying these new routes will be available to Americans, third party nationals and qualified Afghans. The Taliban are aware of the new effort and are coordinating with the US, one of the officials said.

The Pentagon has been monitoring the situation around the airport, aware that the swelling crowds on the grounds and around the airfield create a target for ISIS-K and other organizations, which may use car bombs or suicide bombers to attack, the second official said. Mortar attacks are another possible threat.

According to an official familiar with the matter, Biden has pushed his team to ramp up flights and evacuations but accessing the Kabul airport has become difficult as crowds swarm the gates. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby acknowledged Saturday the challenge the military is facing as it works towards an August 31 deadline to leave the country. Biden has indicated the US may have to stay beyond that date if all Americans have not been evacuated yet.

This story has been updated with additional information.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Biden administration may compel commercial US airlines to help transport Afghan evacuees."
(CNN) -- As Hurricane Henri's outer bands began moving over the Northeast Sunday morning, heavy rain had already saturated many areas, posing flooding danger for millions and even some suggestions to evacuate from the storm's path.

Henri's anticipated landfall on Long Island or southern New England late Sunday morning or early in the afternoon is expected to pose risks to much of the surrounding area.

And even if it doesn't hit those areas as a hurricane, it will be dangerous enough to bring damaging winds and storm surges that threaten to bring down trees and power lines along with major flooding.

As of Sunday morning, Henri was about 120 miles south-southeast of Montauk Point, New York, with 75 mph sustained winds, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. It was moving north at about 18 mph.

A hurricane warning was in effect for much of the Long Island coast along with parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts and Block Island.

A combination of storm surge warnings and watches were in place for much of Long Island and the Massachusetts coastline, the NHC said. A storm surge warning means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland from the coastline.

"The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline," NHC forecasters said.

There's also a chance tornadoes may form Sunday over southern New England, CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said.

A hurricane landfall in the region would be rare. Long Island has not had a direct hurricane hit since Gloria in 1985; New England last saw a hurricane landfall with Hurricane Bob in 1991.

Superstorm Sandy made landfall in New Jersey in 2012 with hurricane force winds and devastated swaths of the Northeast, though it was a post-tropical cyclone when it came ashore.

Henri's wind field --which is the three-dimensional radius around the storm-- at landfall is expected to be a quarter of the size of Sandy's, CNN meteorologists said.

"Henri is a much more compact storm than Sandy was when it made landfall," CNN weather producer Robert Shackelford said.

Tropical weather warnings in the Northeast

More than 50 million people in the Northeast are currently under tropical weather alerts, according to CNN meteorologist Tyler Mauldin. That includes more than 12 million people under a storm surge warning, over 5 million people under a hurricane warning and over 37 million people under a tropical storm warning.

The warnings mean these conditions are expected within 24 hours.

In Connecticut, mandatory evacuations were ordered for the coastal towns of Guilford and Branford, according to a tweet from state Rep. Sean Scanlon.

"If you live in a coastal, low-lying or area prone to historic flooding due in Guilford, evacuate now. If you live in Zone 1 or 2 in Branford ... evacuate by 9pm," Scanlon wrote. "PLEASE TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY."

Groton Mayor Keith Hedrick also told CNN the city decided to order mandatory evacuations in some neighborhoods, and authorities will go door-to-door in those parts of town to advise residents to leave ahead of the hurricane.

A voluntary evacuation order is in place in Fire Island -- a barrier island off the southern shore of Long Island -- so residents and visitors can "leave for their own safety," Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said in a Saturday afternoon tweet.

The National Guard in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island was also activated or otherwise poised ahead of the storm to help with any rescues, cleanup and other support, officials said.

Central Park sees record rain

In Manhattan, Central Park set a daily record rainfall of 4.45 inches Saturday, the National Weather Service said. The heavy rain edged out the previous record of 4.19 inches dating back to 1888.

Meanwhile, other areas in New York City saw 4 to 8 inches of rain, with Brooklyn receiving more than 6 inches in a 24-hour period.

Lightning in the city led officials to postpone the "WE LOVE NYC: The Homecoming Concert" in Central Park Saturday night, which was televised by CNN. The event was intended to celebrate New York City's progress in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Across the Hudson River, neighboring New Jersey saw rain totals of 1 to 3 inches in 24 hours.

A flash flood watch remains in effect through Monday morning, with an additional 3 to 6 inches of rain expected for parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Vermont, with higher amounts possible.

New York officials closed all city beaches Sunday and Monday in anticipation of the hurricane's impact. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency Saturday afternoon ahead of the storm, saying heavy wind, rain and storm surges are expected Sunday morning and urged everyone to stay indoors if they can.

The mayor also issued a travel advisory, recommending residents limit travel Sunday, especially driving.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned people in flood-prone areas.

"If you know you are in an area that tends to flood ... get out of that area now, please," Cuomo said in a televised news briefing Saturday.

Cuomo said he would declare an emergency for areas including Long Island, New York City, Westchester and Hudson Valley. New York has heavy equipment deployed on Long Island and water-rescue teams ready to go, Cuomo said.

Utilities prepare for possible power outages

Henri's heavy rain and forceful winds may cause significant power outages, prompting energy companies to get ahead of that threat.

Eversource -- which provides electric services in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut -- set up 1,500 crews to help with power restoration efforts and 500 others for tree clean up.

"They're preparing for the hurricane at staging areas ... so that they're ready to restore power as quickly and safely as possible," the company said in a tweet.

The Edison Electric Institute, which represents companies that provide electricity for more than 220 million Americans, said 12,000 crews from at least 29 states, Washington, DC, and Canada are being positioned to move in after the storm.

"These crews will work around the clock to restore power as quickly as possible when and where they can, provided it is safe to do so," the institute said in a news release.

This story was first published on CNN.com "More than 50 million are under extreme weather warnings as Hurricane Henri closes in on the Northeast".
(CNN) -- Zahra shelters in her Kabul apartment, anxiously peering through the window at Taliban fighters in the parking lot below. She hasn't dared to leave her house for days.

Only two weeks ago, she and her friend Sara were drinking and laughing at a party in Kabul. The Taliban were approaching -- but a return to their repressive rule still seemed far away.

In the days since the Taliban retook Kabul on August 15, plunging Afghanistan's capital into chaos, thousands of women like Zahra and Sara have faced the harrowing decision -- to stay or to go.

CNN is using aliases for the friends for their own safety, and that of their families, who are in Kabul and vulnerable to reprisals from Taliban fighters after the US decision to withdraw its troops.

Although the Taliban have pledged a more moderate and "inclusive" government, many fear the same brutal regime of two decades ago, when women were forced to stay at home, banned from school and work.

Millions of Afghans face an uncertain future, but for women the risks are extreme. Staying could mean a life of veiled subservience. Attempting to flee could end in death on Kabul's volatile streets -- or freedom with the risk of never seeing their families again.

"Things happened so unexpectedly"

Zahra and Sara were children when the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan in the 90s. After the US and its allies invaded in 2001, both left the country to study abroad, returning years later with ambitions of making their homeland a better place for girls and women.

When they saw each other at the party two weeks ago, Taliban fighters had started conquering provincial cities, but they still seemed a long way from the capital. The pair and their friends wanted to enjoy their freedom while they could.

"Some of them were like, 'We know this is the last party, so let's do this,'" said Zahra, remembering the rooftop soiree where they listened to live music late into the night.

Within days, life would change.

On Sunday, the women were stuck in separate traffic jams as thousands of Kabul residents rushed home amid reports Taliban fighters were on the outskirts of the city. Zahra queued for hours to withdraw cash before the city shut down.

"All the ATM machines have run out of money... people are panicking," Zahra told CNN on Sunday.

That night, the Taliban occupied the Presidential Palace, taking photos of themselves crowding around the wooden desk of departed President Ashraf Ghani. Monday brought more confusion, as the Taliban reinstalled themselves as the country's leaders for the first time in 20 years and promised to be an "inclusive government."

Few believed their assurances.

By Tuesday, Sara and her husband had packed up their apartment, taking what they could carry in two backpacks and leaving the rest of their possessions with relatives.

As they drove to the airport, they spotted a few Afghan flags representing the former US-backed government, giving them some comfort that not all was lost.

Outside the airport, a Taliban fighter fumbled with a road sign in an attempt to direct traffic.

"We laughed, and the Taliban saw us," she said. "They got angry. They were saying, 'Why are you thinking that he cannot guide traffic here? Why are you laughing?'"

"We were like, 'No, no, he's doing a really good job, we are not laughing at him,'" she said.

The young fighter had given the impression he had never seen a busy city before, Sara said.

For years, the Taliban had hidden in remote mountain ranges as the US, Afghan and allied armies repelled them with air strikes and ground forces. Now in the center of Kabul, some seemed out of place -- wild-eyed teenagers, wearing flip flops and carrying Kalashnikovs on their shoulders. The older fighters were calmer, Sara said, more in control.

But at Kabul's airport, the militants' anger flared as thousands of people massed outside the external gate, desperate to get inside the airport and then out of the country, Sara said.

Commercial flights out of the airport have been halted since Monday, although some diplomatic flights are still leaving.

A number of countries have promised to take Afghan refugees, but that still requires getting out of Afghanistan -- and for most, that means passing armed Taliban guards at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport.

At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sara estimates about 3,000 people were jostling to get closer to the terminal, clutching whatever documents -- legitimate or otherwise -- they thought might convince the Taliban to let them through the gate.

Many were told they wouldn't be saved and should go home, but they didn't listen and made a run for it.

"When you run to the gate, the military have to react," Sara said.

The Taliban started firing in the air, and when people disobeyed their order sit on the ground, they started lashing people with whips. "A French guy sitting beside me was kicked on the ground by a Talib, twice," she said.

"It doesn't matter if you have a US passport, if (you) are a diplomat. It doesn't matter if you're a military guy -- that doesn't matter, you still have to go that route," Sara said. "There is no comfortable route that you can use to get to the airport."

For 11 hours through the night, Sara and her husband pushed alongside others in the crowd. They refused orders to leave and tried to avoid being lashed or beaten by scurrying out of the way of angry guards.

"We didn't want to be removed by force, because a lot of people were removed by force," she said. "You see war movies, and people are just running in the corners to stay alive, that's how it was."

"I am a Muslim too, but maybe a very moderate one"

Zahra stayed awake all Tuesday night, at home in her Kabul apartment, waiting for a message from Sara to confirm she was on a plane. By 4 a.m., she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.

She hadn't left her apartment in three days, but had been communicating with friends in a WhatsApp group in which they shared photos of Taliban fighters outside their windows, debating when it might be safe to go outside.

"It's so calm that people are afraid," she said, before referring to a saying in Farsi that translates to "the silence ahead of the storm."

She'd seen the fighters confiscating cars, but that was before the Taliban's deputy leader Maulvi Mohammad Yaqub issued orders not to take cars or enter homes. But she still heard reports of the Taliban searching houses, looking for government workers, activists, journalists and people with foreign links, despite assurances of an amnesty for those who supported US and allied forces.

No one has come to Zahra's door yet. She watches the news, but like much of the world, she doesn't know how the Taliban intend to rule Afghanistan. The Taliban have insisted women will still have rights this time -- within the framework of Islamic law.

"Their interpretation of Islamic rules and regulations are very different than we have. I am a Muslim too, but maybe a very moderate one," Zahra said.

Already, it's clear life will be different from the decades spent under the US-backed government. Roads are closed and guarded by the Taliban, who say they'll be guided by Sharia law, but haven't specified crimes and punishments. When they were last in power, those included stonings, lashings and public executions.

In the past week, reports suggest women have been turned away from work and school, and beaten for not covering up or venturing out without a male guardian.

Until the Taliban takeover, Zahra worked in education. Now, she's not sure if she'll be able to continue her work, or even how long they'll have to stay inside. "The fear is there, so no one gets out of their houses," she said.

"The gate is the point when people die"

On Thursday, Zahra's phone pinged with a message. Sara was in Poland.

She and her husband had been hustled into a group with a few dozen others by a Polish journalist who liaised with the Taliban to get them through the gate at Kabul airport.

Sara has a US passport, but she has contacts in Poland, so they were able to get a seat on a Polish military plane to took them first to Uzbekistan, before they boarded a flight to a refugee center outside the Polish capital Warsaw.

In Poland, they were shuttled into dormitories to go into Covid-19 quarantine. Afghanistan has reported more than 150,000 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, and although Sara has been vaccinated against Covid-19, she lost the vaccination card to prove it.

Sara and her husband didn't have time to withdraw their money from the bank before they fled -- they have $100 between them and the few possessions they could carry, she said.

But she worries more about her mother still in Kabul, who was too ill to consider running the gauntlet of the Taliban guards at the airport gate.

"Getting into the gate was extremely hard. That is the point where people are actually getting killed or die, especially vulnerable people, especially kids," Sara said. As of Thursday, at least 12 people had been killed in and around Kabul airport, Reuters reported, citing NATO sources and Taliban officials.

Two days after her friend fled, Zahra decided it was time to leave, too.

Her mother had been urging her to go, telling her she would "kill her with worry." Her teenage sister had already fled with her mother's blessing. So Zahra -- who has an Afghan passport -- packed her belonging and headed to the airport, hoping to get on one of the rare flights leaving the country.

But when she arrived, she found she couldn't get anywhere near the airport gate. The crowds were too thick, so she reluctantly returned home

On Friday, she tried again.

The last message on her progress came from Sara as the clock ticked over to Saturday, Kabul time: "She is in the airport. I heard that she may leave soon."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "As Taliban fighters swarmed Kabul, two friends looked for the fastest route out"
(CNN)  Mississippi health officials are warning residents not to take an anti-parasitic drug  in most cases, a formulation purchased at livestock supply centers  to treat or prevent COVID-19.

The Mississippi State Department of Health issued an alert on Friday that the Mississippi Poison Control Center has received an increasing number of calls from people who have taken the drug known as ivermectin  and that at least 70% of such calls related to "ingestion of livestock or animal formulations of ivermectin purchased at livestock supply centers."

While there are human uses for the drug, the US Food and Drug Administration has not approved ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19 in humans and the drug is not an anti-viral medication.

"There are approved uses for ivermectin in both people and animals. Patients should be advised to not take any medications intended to treat animals and should be instructed to only take ivermectin as prescribed by their physician," the Mississippi State Department of Health alert said. "Animal drugs are highly concentrated for large animals and can be highly toxic in humans. Some of the symptoms associated with ivermectin toxicity include rash, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, neurologic disorders, and potentially severe hepatitis requiring hospitalization."

According to the alert, 85% of the callers had mild symptoms, but one person was instructed to seek further evaluation due to the amount of ivermectin they told poison control they had taken.

The US Food & Drug Administration tweeted on Saturday: "You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it."

In March, the FDA said that people should not use ivermectin to attempt to treat or prevent COVID-19. "Taking large doses of this drug is dangerous and can cause serious harm," the FDA said.

Mississippi has been grappling with a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

On Friday, state health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs issued a statewide order requiring residents diagnosed with COVID-19 to "immediately home-isolate on first knowledge of infection" for 10 days from onset of illness or the date of a positive test for those who are asymptomatic.

Only around 37% of the population of Mississippi is fully vaccinated, well below the national pace, according to Johns Hopkins University data. And there have been a record number of new cases over the past week, according to the data.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Health officials warn people not to take a drug meant for livestock to ward off or treat Covid-19."
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Vietnam can afford more direct Covid-19 relief, and it should speed up the process and avoid scrimping in fighting the pandemic, experts say.

On August 16, soon after the HCMC government announced the extension the social distancing for another month until September 15, hundreds of migrant workers tried to return to their hometowns on motorbikes, but they were blocked at Covid-19 checkpoints and forced to go back as authorities feared many would carry and spread the virus. Many of the migrant workers have been stuck in HCMC without financial resources to overcome the current crisis. The situation is similar in Hanoi but the numbers are smaller. Adam McCarty, chief economist, Mekong Economics Ltd., a consulting firm active in the Greater Mekong sub-region with its head office in Hanoi, said the Vietnamese government can and should quickly provide cash to people affected by Covid-19 through grassroots administrative units. He noted that Vietnam is organized down to the grassroots level, and authorities could make a list of people without income in every local area, check identity documents and make a list of people who have received money. "The system can help authorities identify people who have completely lost their income and need assistance." He suggested the government sends money straight to community level officials, who could disburse it and report back. Giving people money is the easiest way to help them because it is easy to organize and receivers can decide what they need to spend on, McCarty stressed.

People wait in line for free food in District 1, HCMC, June 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

He said Vietnam has many people who need help during Covid-19 times because they are unofficial workers in big cities  migrants from different provinces working at construction sites, selling food on the street or transporting goods.

Local governments need to ensure that food, medicines and other necessities are still flowing into local areas, especially in lockdown zones. Also, they must guarantee control and stop speculators from increasing goods prices, he added.

McCarty said charity groups in HCMC and Hanoi are just filling the gap, and that the provision of relief is the government's job. Donations are good but not a solution to the whole problem, which needs to be systematic.

He urged the Vietnamese government to provide cash to poor people, saying that this should be done in the next four weeks because it could be "late" otherwise.

The economist estimated that around 12 million of Vietnam's 27 million households might qualify to have cash and at VND2 million for each, Vietnam will spend around $1 billion.

McCarty said Vietnam has solid revenues and the budget deficit as a percentage of GDP is not too high. The country has not done the huge spending that many other countries have done. Therefore it is the time for the government to spend a serious amount of its own money, helping people who have lost their jobs.

"Vietnam can afford it."

A woman waits near a gateway of HCMC as she was stopped from leaving for her hometown in the north central Thanh Hoa Province, August 15, 2021. She worked for a construction site in the city but had been jobless as the site closed due to Covid-19 social distancing order. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Not stretched

Citing the International Monetary Funds (IMF) fiscal tracking data, Dr Hinh Dinh, former Lead Economist with the World Bank, said that as of mid-July 2021, Vietnam had spent scant budgetary resources on Covid-19, at least compared to other countries at the same economic development level and even compared to those at lower levels.

As of March 2021, support to households amounted to VND12.7 trillion ($564 million, 0.2 percent of GDP) or about $6 per person. Even this very modest amount was provided only to some selected poor people. Updated data as of June 2021 showed a marginal increase.

Not only was the planned spending on households smaller than for businesses, the implementation shortfall was also higher. Only 31 percent of the amount destined for household support was disbursed, compared to 42 percent for businesses.

"This is concerning because in the context of the Vietnamese economy, workers in the informal sector have been hardest hit by Covid-19, especially during the lockdowns because of the destruction of jobs, limited savings, and limited access to the financial sector."

Hinh said the most difficult part remains how to get the cash transfers to people who need them in a transparent and simple way. Residents need to know how much money they will receive and those who embezzle this money should be punished severely. He suggested the cost of giving money to the wrong people is less than that of not giving to the right people, because the priority now is to reduce the sufferings of the population.

Vietnam government issued its second Covid-19 relief package of VND26 trillion ($1.13 billion) in July, following up on the first one of VND62 trillion ($2.6 billion) that came out in April last year.

However, many workers, especially factory employees, have complained that the papers needed to prove that one has been truly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic have prevented them from accessing even the first package.

No cheap way

Dr Tuan Ho, senior lecturer in Accounting and Finance at University of Bristol, urged Vietnam to follow other countries and pass bills for large economic stimulus and relief packages.

Tuan stressed that the Vietnamese government should recognize that there is no "cheap" way to fight the pandemic. If the government wants to achieve the dual goal of controlling the pandemic while achieving strong economic growth under the "new normal", it has to increase fiscal expenditure significantly.

In his calculation, if the relief package size can be raised to 3 to 5 percent of GDP, there will be $8-13 billion more to support those who need support the most during the pandemic.

"If neighboring countries in the ASEAN region as well as countries heavily indebted like Spain can spend over 5 percent of their GDP on relief packages, it is hard to see how Vietnam cannot commit to a bill of similar size."

Tuan noted that Vietnam does not necessarily have a limited budget. It still has a lot of money committed for fiscal expenditure and infrastructure projects that has not been spent.

As of July 31, 2021, just 36.71 percent of the planned public investment for 2021 had been disbursed. Furthermore, Vietnam can adjust its budget to allow for larger deficits, which most of the countries are doing, Tuan said.

If the U.S., Europe, Japan, China and ASEAN countries cannot avoid "spending big", then Vietnam should not be an exception when the outbreak is killing hundreds of people a day and putting millions in difficult situations, he added.

HCMC estimates that the number of poor working people waiting for support is more than 4.74 million. As several provinces and cities are still under strict social distancing, the overall number of people who are desperately waiting for support nationwide will be much higher.

"A trade-off between fiscal deficit and human wellbeing is a hard problem. However, the government needs to act quickly if it still wants to meet the so-called dual goal."

Tuan also said that the IMF has recently allocated $650 billion to support pandemic-hit countries, and Vietnam is among those. However, as the new money is distributed in proportion to the corresponding countrys share of the global economy, Vietnam is unlikely to get much. Initial calculations suggest that Vietnam can get around $1.5 billion in the form of new foreign reserves. Nonetheless, it is still far from what is much needed to support the poor people and businesses.

As other countries are still struggling to fight the pandemic, it is hard for Vietnam to ask for more support from foreign countries.

Dr Hinh suggested that an important portion of the potential increase in fiscal spending of Vietnam could and should be used for cash transfers to help the vulnerable groups most adversely affected by Covid-19. These are the classified poor, workers in the informal sector (especially the service sectors: street vendors, coffee stands, restaurants, transportation, etc.) where physical contact is unavoidable.

He said cash transfers can be raised 15 times, from 0.2 percent of GDP to 3 percent of GDP in 2021 and 2022, about VND260 trillion per annum, without jeopardizing macroeconomic stability. In this case, the primary budget deficit would rise from about 3 percent of GDP to about 6 percent each year. This scenario still represents a sustainable position of public finances, as the ratio of public debt to GDP would remain below 50 percent by 2025, well below the 65 percent threshold.

Hinh urged Vietnam to consider making use of the IMFs newly created Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation of $650 billion to support the global recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. Although it was still too early to find out how the new SDR allocation will be distributed to IMF member countries, it is possible that Vietnam will receive an amount corresponding to its quotas in the fund (about $2 billion). Vietnam could also consider borrowing from the international organizations to reduce its long-term debt burden.

The above excerpt is from Hinh's research findings that are part of an unpublished book compiled by the Policy Center for the New South, a research institute in Morocco, on the impact of Covid-19 crisis on developing countries.

McCarty said "he is not sure Vietnam needs more money" from borrowing to provide for people affected by Covid-19. Vietnam now is a middle income country, not rich but not poor, either. If the country wanted to spend seriously on social security, it can borrow from the IMF and World Bank. Also, it could issue a "Covid bond" to mobilize money from residents and pay back with interest.

McCarty highlighted the fact that Vietnam does not have formal social security system for everybody; and this may take around 10 or 20 years. Therefore, it should "repeat" financial assistance for people if Covid-19 lasts for a longer period of time.

"You should do it again and again, three months or six months later."
Barriers at a Covid-19 checkpoint are seen in HCMC, August 22, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Vu Tuan

The Ministry of Health confirmed 11,346 new local Covid-19 patients in 36 localities on Sunday, and the highest single-day fatalities of 737.

Sunday's tally is the second highest daily number of domestic infections since the beginning of the epidemic, after Saturday's 13,417.

The three localities recording the most cases were Ho Chi Minh City (4,193), Binh Duong (3,795) and Dong Nai (849).

The number of recoveries since the start of the pandemic increased to 147,667 after 7,580 were announced recovered Sunday, while the death toll increased to 8,277.

HCMC, epicenter of Vietnam's fourth coronavirus wave, has so far recorded 175,994 local cases and 6,538 deaths.

The total number of cases in Vietnam in the new wave since late April stands at 343,973, and since the start of the pandemic last year 348,059, ranking 68th among 222 countries and territories. On average, there are 3,540 Covid-19 cases for every one million people.

Vietnam has vaccinated over 17 million people with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot, with over 1.7 million people having been fully vaccinated.
People wait to buy food at a supermarket in Go Vap District, HCMC, August 21, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Vietnam recorded 13,417 new local Covid-19 cases Saturday, the highest single-day tally ever since the pandemic hit the country as its biggest cities tightened restrictions to contain the outbreak.

The three localities recording the highest number of cases were the southern industrial hub Binh Duong with 6,623 cases, HCMC with 4,084 cases and the Mekong Delta's Tien Giang with 589 cases.

Binh Duong's new cases include 2,118 detected previously but only registered in the Covid-19 national database on Saturday.

Of the country's Saturday infections, 7,428 were detected in the community and the remaining in quaratine facilities or locked down areas. The day's number has pushed the tally in the ongoing wave since late April to 332,627.

The number of recoveries since the start of the pandemic increased to 140,087, after 7,272 were announced recovered Saturday.

The country has vaccinated over 14 million people with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot. Over 1.7 million of them have been fully vaccinated.

HCMC, Vietnam's biggest metropolis and epicenter of the ongoing wave, will tighten its travel restrictions in high-risk areas from Monday while people in safe and low-risk areas would be allowed to go shopping once a week, and the rest should expect task forces to deliver food to their homes.

People in need will receive free food, HCMC authorities said at a meeting Saturday.

Hanoi with more than eight million people continued its strict social distancing order for another 15 days until September 6.

Da Nang, considered as Vietnam's third most important city after Hanoi and HCMC, also extended its stay-at-home order for another three days until August 26. The order was scheduled to end on Monday but the number of daily infections in Da Nang has showed no signs of slowing. On Saturday, Da Nang recorded 197 new cases.
Taking a look at the wider picture, Hurricane Henri is meant to have tougher impacts on the Northeastern side of the states, specifically in the states of Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island. All three states were declared state of emergency ahead of the storm by their respective governors, with some local emergencies called up in some high risk areas such as Long Island and New York city.

Storm flooding threatens from New York - including Long islands north and south shore- all the way to Chatham, Massachusetts, according to the National Hurricane Center. A 3 to 6 inch rainfall is expected Sunday through Monday.

Regarding to landfall, Long Island and New England come favorites to suffer the consequences of the tropical hurricane. Both areas havent experiences devastating direct hits in years. In New England, last hurricane to do so was Hurricane Bob 30 years ago, while Long Islands Hurricane Gloria took place in 1985. However, a couple of storms have impacted the area since then, including Isaias.

Red flags for Connecticut

People that live besides Madison waters have been obliged to evacuate the area before 9 p.m. Saturday.

"Residents who do not leave the evacuation zone by 9 p.m. tonight are putting their lives at risk and public safety crews will not be able to respond to you once winds exceed 50 mph," First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons said in a public release yesterday.

In the same way, Branford's residents, are forced to evacuate the area before 7 a.m. Sunday, while in the coastal community of Guilford evacuation order is set at 6 a.m. today.

"The Town of Guilford Emergency Management Team is issuing a mandatory evacuation for residents living in coastal and/or low-lying areas, as well as other areas prone to historic flooding due to storm surges," the city posted on Facebook at about 6 p.m. "This order is being issued because the town cannot assure that emergency personnel will be able to reach you should you require their assistance."

Despite East New Haven, just 12 miles away from Guilford, didn't issue a mandatory evacuation, they highly recommended residents in some flood-prone areas to move to a safer location.

Multiple shelters were open.

Full screen Six beds were ready to receive guest at the Hurricane shelter at East Lyme Middle School in East Lyme, New London, Connecticut on August 21, 2021. JOSEPH PREZIOSO (AFP)

New York state prepares to overcome the storm

The state of New York is still trying to recover from it's last strong storm Sandy in 2012. Whilst most of the important reparations have been finished, projects to decrease state harm in future cyclones are still a pending task.

With a top wind speed of 75 mph Saturday, Henri strongly menaces to shatter Long Island Sunday morning.

Fire Island urged to evacuate

All Fire Island residents, a strip of houses in the Southern coast of Long Island, have been enhanced to evacuate the area before 10 p.m. Saturday as Hurricane Henri rushes towards the area.

"There may be no way out for people who decide to ride out the storm," officials said.

The Hamptons

Southampton is shown in the storm models as one of the towns to be struck by Henri's center. Therefore, the town is considering to implement a voluntary evacuation notice for 6,000 people according to the town's Supervisor Jay Schneiderman.

"We have a lot of wealthy people. There's no doubt that we do, but everybody pulls together in an emergency," Schneiderman said. "So, you know, yeah, there are people hanging out on their yachts at the moment drinking martinis, but they're also starting to talk about this storm and I'm sure they're going to want to be helpful."

Conversely, East Hampton issued a voluntary evacuation notice Saturday, aimed at people who live in low-lying areas.

Since the first evacuation alert was released Saturday evening, multiple high schools in the area have turned into shelters, including: East Hampton, Hampton Bays, Sachem East and Riverhead.

Manhattans Central Park on Henris target

Saturday night's Central Park concert to celebrate COVID recovery, which included Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simons and Jennifer Hudson in it's headline was also halted by the weather forecast. Attendants where asked by authorities to abandon the concert as lightening menaced their safety.

Full screen The 'We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert' in Central Park is interrupted due to rain storms that are part of hurricane Henri in New York, New York, USA, 21 August 2021. DAVID DELGADO (EFE)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who resigned earlier this week due to sexual harassment accusations, warned New Yorkers that Hurricane Henri could be as devastating in some parts of the state as Sandy was in 2012.

"We have short notice. We're talking about tomorrow," Cuomo said. "So if you have to move, if you have to stock up, if you have to get to higher ground, it has to be today. Please."

Rhode Island

President Joe Biden later began approving emergency declarations with Rhode Island, calling up voluntary evacuation in some parts of Westerly at 9 a.m. Sunday.

Get your family prepared, check in on grandparents and older adults, make sure they have everything they need today," Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said Saturday. "We have time to prepare and we need to use it wisely.
While China pledges to achieve a peak in carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060, Arab countries are also actively seeking energy transformation to avoid overreliance on fossil fuels.

As the two sides face similar tasks including ensuring energy security, energy cooperation has been highlighted at the ongoing fifth China-Arab States Expo in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

In 2020, Arab countries' crude oil exports to China accounted for 51.3 percent of China's total crude oil imports, making them China's most important source of crude oil imports, said Zhang Jianhua, head of China's National Energy Administration.

Chinese energy companies are also actively participating in power infrastructure construction in Arab countries. The State Grid Corporation of China has participated in a renovation project of Egypt's main power grid. Shanghai Electric took part in constructing a photovoltaic and photothermal hybrid power station in Dubai, he said.

"Over the past two decades we have seen China become the biggest trade partner and strategic external investor for many Arab and Gulf countries, especially in the energy sector," said Awaidha Murshed Ali Murshed Almarar, director of Energy Authority of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.

"Now, with the international consensus that we must act to mitigate climate change, scaling up renewable energy adoption has become a global trend," he said.

Official data shows China ranks first globally in newly installed wind-power capacity and is also a global leader in the production and use of solar energy and hydropower.

By the end of 2020, more than 40 percent of China's installed power generation capacity came from renewable resources, supporting nearly one-third of the country's electricity consumption, data from the National Energy Administration showed.

Mohammad Abunayyan, chairman of ACWA POWER, an electricity and water company in Saudi Arabia said their relationship with China started in 2008. "It has been on investment, on Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) and on equipment supply and services focused at that time in the conventional power. Then we have been able to go to the renewable (energy)." "China is willing to help Arab states speed up transformation toward low-carbon energy. We will help them develop and utilize wind and solar energy resources based on local conditions," Zhang Jianhua said.
Screen image taken at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Aug. 20, 2021 shows Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming waving their hands after conducting extravehicular activities (EVAs) out of the space station core module Tianhe. (Xinhua/Tian Dingyu)

BEIJING, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese astronauts have completed their extravehicular activities (EVAs) and returned to the space station core module Tianhe, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Friday.

This was the second time that the astronauts conducted EVAs during the construction of the country's space station. The CMSA has declared the EVAs a complete success.

Astronauts Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming left the core module in the morning and completed all the scheduled tasks after approximately six hours of EVAs.

They returned to the space station core module at 2:33 p.m. (Beijing Time), about one hour ahead of schedule, according to the CMSA.

Astronaut Tang Hongbo has been staying inside Tianhe in cooperation with Nie and Liu for their EVAs.

The scheduled tasks of the EVAs, including extravehicular extended pump sets installation and panoramic camera lifting, were accomplished with close coordination between space and the ground, as well as between the astronauts inside and outside the spacecraft.

The EVAs further tested the performance and function of the new-generation homemade extravehicular mobility units and the coordination between the astronauts and the mechanical arm, as well as the reliability and safety of related EVA supporting equipment, said the CMSA.

The three astronauts were sent into space onboard the Shenzhou-12 spaceship and entered Tianhe on June 17. Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo completed the first EVAs on July 4.

The Shenzhou-12 spaceship crew will continue to carry out the scientific and technological space experiments before their planned return in the middle of September.

Before their return, the Shenzhou-12 spaceship will conduct circumnavigation and radial rendezvous tests, the CMSA added. Enditem
Ji Bingxuan, vice chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presides over an oath-taking ceremony held by the 13th NPC Standing Committee to pledge allegiance to the Constitution at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 20, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

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Egypts Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki left for Moscow on Sunday, leading a high-level military delegation, to attend the seventh meeting of the Egyptian-Russian military committee.

Zakis several days visit comes within the framework of enhancing military relations between the two countries, a statement by military spokesman Gharib Abdel-Hafez said.

The joint committee meeting that will be attended by a number of Russian defence ministry officials and commanders will look into different issues of common interest, Abdel-Hafez said.

The meeting also aims to support the military cooperation between the two countries.

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Egypt will start the construction of a giant obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics hospital in Djibouti next month, as the first specialized hospital in the African country, Health Minister Hala Zayed said on Sunday.

The establishment of the hospital has been agreed on during President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisis historic visit to Djibouti in May, Zayed told a press conference in Cairo with her Djiboutian counterpart, Ahmed Abdilleh.

A nursing and midwifery school as well as an ambulance department will be attached to the hospital, Zayed said, adding that Egypt will supply the Djiboutian side with an ambulance vehicle.

Egypt will supply the hospital with medical staff, medicine and medical supplies, Zayed said, adding that the operation and preparation of the hospital will be Egypts responsibility.

Abdilleh, during the presser, hailed the step as a qualitative leap in the medical field in the country, especially in the field of obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics.

He added that the planned hospital is a gift from the Egyptian people to the people of Djibouti and reflects the good and brotherly relations gathering the two countries.

Abdilleh affirmed that his country welcomes cooperation with Egypt in various fields, including the health and medical domains.

He promised that his country will facilitate all the required procedures for the implementation of the project in the shortest time possible and will ensure the removal of any obstacles in this regard.

Zayed said the average number of births per family in Djibouti is 10 and therefore an obstetrics and pediatrics hospital is largely needed, especially that the hospital will serve a crowded area.

El-Sisis visit to Djibouti earlier this year is the first official visit by an Egyptian president to the African country since its independence in the seventies.

Meeting with his Djiboutian counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh during the visit, El-Sisi reiterated Egypt's keenness to enhance support directed to development efforts in Djibouti.

Cooperation could also extend to the transfer of Egyptian expertise to Djibouti as well as providing technical support and capacity-building programmes for Djiboutian cadres, El-Sisi told Guelleh.

Guelleh hailed Cairo's "sincere" efforts to support economic reform and development paths in Djibouti and praised the Egyptian private sectors contribution to the economic development process in Africa.

Egypt in May sent four planes carrying medical aid to Djibouti to support the health sector in the company amid the coronavirus crisis.

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State-owned bank Banque Misr has halted electronic transactions from bank accounts to prepaid Meeza cards after phishing cases have been reported, Chairman of Banque Misr Mohamed El-Etreby announced on Sunday.

On Sunday, videos and posts on social media have alleged that fraudsters claiming to be Banque Misr employees have been calling a number of bank clients and asking them for personal information.

The victims said large sums of money have been withdrawn from their accounts without their knowledge.

One woman from Minya appeared in such a video, saying she had only revealed a four-digit confirmation code to the caller before EGP 200,000 were withdrawn from her account.

Meeza cards, founded in 2019, are the countrys first local prepaid cards that are easily recharged and used through an ATM machine. Many banks, including Banque Misr, are taking part in the system.

The government is currently in the process of gradually replacing state employees payroll cards with Meeza cards.

The bank issued a warning statement against the defrauding of its customers, announcing that they were opening an investigation. It condemned the scams against customers, affirming its full responsibility for the money of the depositors.

As of now, there has been 13 cases of fraud reported, with over EGP 2.7 million stolen, El-Etreby told Ala Masoliety TV programme on Saturday.

He denied the allegations that the bank accounts have been hacked, urging citizens to not reveal any personal information to anyone, even customer service agents.

In remarks to Masrawy newspaper, El-Etreby said the halt is a preventative measure due to the difficulty of tracking account-to-card transactions.

El-Etreby suggested that an organised gang may be responsible for the fraud and that he expects they will be arrested within days.

A security source revealed to Sky News the formation of a security team of the highest level, to track down the perpetrators.

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Egypt will release its locally-produced doses of the Chinese Sinovac coronavirus vaccine by today or tomorrow maximum, and will manufacture between 15 and 18.5 million doses per month, Health Minister Hala Zayed said on Sunday.

Zayed made the announcement during a press conference with her Djiboutian counterpart, Ahmed Abdilleh, in Cairo.

Egypt plans to produce millions of Sinovac and Russian Sputnik V vaccine doses annually to cover the local and African needs. Early in July, Zayed said the ministry seeks to produce 80 million vaccine shots this year.

Zayed during the press conference said Egypt will receive 5.2 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines next month.

Vaccination in universities, schools

During the presser, Zayed said the ministry plans to vaccinate over 3.2 million people in universities and 2 million in schools before the beginning of the new year.

This includes teaching staff, administrative personnel, workers, security personnel as well as university students, Zayed said.

She noted that the school personnel will receive the two vaccine doses in August and September.

They will register on the health ministrys vaccination website under a new category, Zayed said, noting that they will receive an SMS within 72 hours to get the vaccine.

Vaccination for travelers

The health ministry has raised the number of centres allocated to vaccinate those willing to travel abroad to 145 in Egypts 27 governorates, Zayed said at the presser.

She noted that the large vaccination centres of the Fair Zone in Cairo, the Bohoth City in Alexandria and the Academy of Arts in Giza are capable of vaccinating up to 60,000 citizens per day.

The health ministry, in coordination with the emigration ministry, vaccinates those who had earlier received coronavirus shots and are willing to receive the Johnson & Johnson or any other vaccine recognized in the countries they are travelling to, Zayed noted.

She added that this is limited to traveling for the purpose of work, study or treatment and is not applied to traveling for the purpose of tourism.

A building in Cairos Nasr City has been allocated to vaccinate university and post-university student delegations traveling abroad, according to Zayed.

Egypt had received its first shipment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, comprising 261,600 doses earlier this month. Zayed in August said 700,000 more doses of the American vaccine will be provided in the coming period.

In case Egypt ran out of the Johnson & Johnson doses allocated for traveling purpose, it will use the British AstraZeneca vaccine, Zayed added.

According to recommendations by the World Health Organisation, the AstraZeneca vaccine doses can be administered only four weeks apart instead of 12.

Medical sector, booster shots

The Egyptian minister said the coronavirus cases among the medical staff have significantly decreased, affirming that around 700,000 medical workers have been vaccinated, representing more than 95 percent of the sector.

She denied plans to provide medical staff with booster vaccine shots.

Zayed said the country, instead, aims to administer the two vaccine shots to the largest possible number of citizens, especially as the country expects a rise in infections by the second half of September.

Zayed noted that all medical staff and public sector workers will have to take the vaccine before the beginning of October, as per the Cabinets directives.

Djiboutis 1st specialized hospital

Egypt will start the construction of a giant obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics hospital in Djibouti next month, as the first specialized hospital in the African country, Zayed said during the presser.

The establishment of the hospital has been agreed on during President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisis historic visit to Djibouti in May, Zayed told the press conference.

A nursing and midwifery school as well as an ambulance department will be attached to the hospital, Zayed said, adding that Egypt will supply the Djiboutian side with an ambulance vehicle.

Egypt will supply the hospital with medical staff, medicine and medical supplies, Zayed said, adding that the operation and preparation of the hospital will be Egypts responsibility.

Djiboutian Health Minister Ahmed Abdilleh, during the presser, hailed the step as a qualitative leap in the medical field in the country, especially in the field of obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics.

He added that the planned hospital is a gift from the Egyptian people to the people of Djibouti and reflects the good and brotherly relations gathering the two countries.

Abdilleh affirmed that his country welcomes cooperation with Egypt in various fields, including the health and medical domains.

He promised that his country will facilitate all the required procedures for the implementation of the project in the shortest time possible and will ensure the removal of any obstacles in this regard.

Zayed said the average number of births per family in Djibouti is 10 and therefore an obstetrics and pediatrics hospital is largely needed, especially that the hospital will serve a crowded area.

El-Sisis visit to Djibouti earlier this year is the first official visit by an Egyptian president to the African country since its independence in the seventies.

Meeting with his Djiboutian counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh during the visit, El-Sisi reiterated Egypt's keenness to enhance support directed to development efforts in Djibouti.

Cooperation could also extend to the transfer of Egyptian expertise to Djibouti as well as providing technical support and capacity-building programmes for Djiboutian cadres, El-Sisi told Guelleh.

Guelleh hailed Cairo's "sincere" efforts to support economic reform and development paths in Djibouti and praised the Egyptian private sectors contribution to the economic development process in Africa.

Egypt in May sent four planes carrying medical aid to Djibouti to support the health sector in the company amid the coronavirus crisis.

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Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic affirmed on Sunday his countrys keenness to continue cooperation with Egypt on all levels against the challenges facing the countries on the Mediterraneans two shores.

His remarks came in a meeting with Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo.

This cooperation comes in light of the direct relation between security in Europe and the situation in the Middle East and North Africa region, an Egyptian presidential statement cited Selakovic as saying.

Selakovic hailed the Egyptian efforts aiming to achieve security and stability in its regional surrounding as well as efforts to strengthen the bridges of cooperation between African, Arab and European countries.

He also praised Egypts efforts to counter extremist though and establish the principles of acceptance of others, freedom of choice and tolerance, according to the statement.

Selakovic expressed keenness to continue coordination and consultation between the two countries in various fields.

[Selakovic affirmed] aspiration to develop and enhance Serbias relations with Egypt, especially in light of the successful and inspiring developmental experience Egypt currently witnesses under President [El-Sisis] in all fields, the statement read.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Serbian Ambassador to Cairo Suzana Boskovic-Prodanovic attended the meeting.

El-Sisi hailed the historic relations extending for more than 100 years with Serbia, through which the two countries have witnessed constructive and fruitful cooperation on the bilateral and international levels.

El-Sisi affirmed Egypts aspiration to enhance the bilateral relations with Serbia on all levels and boost trade exchange between the two countries in a way that comes in line with the level of their distinguished political relations with each other.

This comes in light of the major development projects being implemented in Egypt and the investment and industrial opportunities these projects secure, El-Sisi said.

The president also highlighted the possibility that the Serbian companies benefit from the commercial agreements linking Egypt with the Arab and African countries.

Direct flights, cooperation

Selakovic also met on Sunday with Egyptian FM Shoukry, affirming that there is a lot of room to improve economic relations between the two countries.

When asked about the return of direct flights between Cairo and Belgrade amid Egypts adoption of strict coronavirus preventive measures in its tourist destinations, Selakovic said that he hopes that the issue would be addressed soon.

He stated that he would speak the Serbian transport minister in order to assess the situation and overcome the obstacles in this regard.

The Serbian FM affirmed the possibility of enhancing the relationship between the two countries in various fields, especially agriculture, tourism, telecommunications, energy and health sectors.

Serbia and Egypt have had strong ties historically, especially during the tenure of late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser, as the two countries have cooperated for the benefit of all countries that sought freedom and independence.

Selakovic highlighted the 60th anniversary of the first Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement scheduled for October in Belgrade, saying it would be a great honour for us to host President El-Sisi.

The top Serbian diplomat voiced hope that a joint committee for economic and trade exchange and cooperation would be held by the end of the year between Serbia and Egypt would.

This is in addition to a business forum where Serbian and Egyptian businessmen would meet, he added.

According to Shoukry, the Serbian FMs visit will also include a tour at Al-Azhar, the New Administrative Capital and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization as well as a meeting with Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria.

Last month, Egypts Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki signed a military cooperation protocol with Serbias Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic in Cairo.

Egypt will also organise a tourism week in Sharm El-Sheikh in September for a number of senior Serbian political, tourism, media, and religious figures.

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The Biden administration announced another $165 million in aid Monday to keep civilians fed in warring Yemen, calling the six-year conflict there stalemated as international peace efforts still struggle to gain purchase.

The US focus on humanitarian efforts comes after Iran-backed Houthi rebels rebuffed what were repeated appeals by the incoming Biden administration to enter peace talks.

Houthi fighters have opted instead to keep pressing a siege to capture Yemen's last government stronghold in the north, Marib, in an oil-rich province.

``The Houthis are not winning in Marib,'' despite the grinding siege, US special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking said in a call with reporters Monday.

``And when that reality dawns on people, dawns on the Houthis, I think it will force them to realize that the continued isolation and the fact that the conflict is more of a stalemate, it will pull them back, and I hope bring them to the negotiating table,`` Lenderking said.

The conflict in Yemen, the Arab world's poorest nation, began with the 2014 takeover of the capital Sanaa by the Houthis, a Yemeni rebel faction that has seized extensive territory.

A Saudi-led coalition supported by the US and allied with the Yemen government has been fighting the rebels since March 2015.

The Biden administration said at its outset it was ending any US support for the Saudi military in the war. Saudi Arabia also is now hoping for a negotiated end.

On the humanitarian front, Yemen, which imports most of its food and other commodities, remains the world's worst crisis.

The new funding will allow the UN World Food Program to keep providing emergency food assistance to 11.5 million Yemenis monthly, said Sarah Charles, a US Agency for International Development official for humanitarian aid.

The US is the largest aid donor for Yemen, providing $3.6 billion, Charles said. UN pledging conferences to stave off famine there consistently fall far short of their fundraising goals as the war grinds on.

Lenderking praised work by Oman and others for peace talks. He described Iran as the only remaining international player in the conflict indifferent or worse to stopping the fighting.

``I hear some sweet words coming out of Tehran...but I haven't seen anything on the ground that leads me to believe that the Iranians are prepared to play a constructive role`` in that, he said.

The US official also was more explicit than previously in openly blaming both sides in Yemen's conflict for a chronic fuel shortage that is crippling food and aid deliveries and helping drive up food prices beyond the reach of many Yemenis.

The US is pushing Saudis and the US- and Saudi-backed Yemen government to allow fuel shipments into a crucial, Houthi-controlled port, Hodeida, Lenderking said.

But he also accused Houthis of stockpiling fuel to drive up prices for their profit, and of using port revenue to fund their fighting, in violation of a 2018 international agreement.

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Gunmen who kidnapped more than 100 students from a high school in northwestern Nigeria have released 15 more of the hostages after collecting ransom, a representative of families said on Sunday.

Scores of assailants stormed Bethel Baptist High School on July 5 on the outskirts of Kaduna State capital city Kaduna, abducting 121 students who were sleeping in their dorms.

The Bethel abduction was part of a string of kidnappings by armed gangs known locally as bandits who have long terrorised northwest and central Nigeria, looting, stealing cattle and kidnapping for ransom.

Around 1,000 students have been kidnapped since December after gangs started to target schools and colleges. Most have been released after negotiations, but scores are still being held in forest camps.

"Fifteen students were released last night after ransom was paid," Reverend Joseph Hayab, a local church leader and representative of Bethel parents, told AFP.

Hayab declined to say how much was paid as local authorities say they are opposed to ransoms and have threatened to jail those who make payments.

So far 56 of the kidnapped Bethel students have been released or escaped from their abductors.

"We still have 65 more of our students with the bandits and we are working to see they can be freed," Hayab said.

Death in captivity

On Wednesday nine pupils of an Islamic seminary were seized by motorcycle-riding attackers in Katsina state, the second such incident in as many months.

Many hostages remain captive, including more than 136 children abducted in June from an Islamic seminary in Tegina in central Niger state, four of whom have died in captivity.

On Friday the gangs asked the seminary to send clothing for the schoolchildren who have been in the same clothes for months, according to one of the parents.

"They phoned the head of the school and told him to ask parents to send the children new clothes as the one they have been wearing are in shreds," Maryam Mohammed, whose seven children are among the hostages, told AFP.

The violence in northwestern and central Nigeria is rooted in clashes between nomadic cattle herders and local farmers over land and water. But violence has spiralled into widespread tit-for-tat attacks, mass kidnapping and banditry.

Kidnap gangs are driven by financial motives though there are signs of increasing ties between them and Islamist militants fighting a 12-year insurgency in the country's northeast. That conflict has killed around 40,000 people and displaced more than two million from their homes.

Nigerian jihadists also carried out mass abductions in the past, including the abduction of more than 300 schoolgirls from a remote village of Chibok in 2014. Some of those girls are still in captivity.

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Bahrain says its national carrier is flying people to the United States as part of efforts to evacuate people from Afghanistan a week after the Taliban takeover.

The U.S.-allied kingdom said Sunday that a Gulf Air flight will transport people from its Isa Air Base to Dulles International Airport south of Washington, DC.

The official statement said the flight was an ``affirmation of the Kingdom of Bahrain's efforts to protect lives.''

Earlier Sunday, the Pentagon activated the initial stage of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program, asking for 18 aircraft from American carriers to help transport Americans and Afghans who aided the U.S. war effort.

The commercial airlines will be used to transport people from third countries to their final destinations, allowing the U.S. military to focus on evacuating people from Afghanistan.

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Turkey cannot bail out the EU by taking in Afghans who worked for Western countries in Afghanistan as the Taliban take power there, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

"We have received a request to welcome local employees of a European Union mission in Afghanistan," a government statement quoted Erdogan as saying to European Council President Charles Michel in a telephone call.

"The member states do not open their doors even to a tiny portion of the people who served them and who are in difficulty," the statement quoted him as saying.

"You cannot expect Turkey to take on the responsibility of third countries," he said.

The head of state reiterated, the day after similar remarks during a conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, that Turkey was already hosting around five million refugees and "cannot support an additional migratory burden".

Michel for his part confirmed on Twitter that he had discussed the unfolding situation in Afghanistan with Erdogan, describing it as a "common challenge for Turkey and the EU".

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday urged all countries, especially European countries, to take in some Afghan refugees.

Erdogan had on Saturday noted that the EU has yet to honour a 2016 accord aimed at halting the flow of migrants to Europe.

He said it was "unrealistic" for the EU to expect Turkey to take on more migrants as long as the 2016 accord has not been fully implemented.

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The Taliban on Sunday blamed the United States for the chaotic evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans and foreigners from Kabul, one week after the hardline Islamist group returned to power in a rapid victory that stunned the world.

The United States has warned of security threats and the European Union admitted it was "impossible" to evacuate everyone at risk from the Taliban, who have vowed a softer version of their brutal rule from 1996 to 2001.

But terrified Afghans continue to try to flee, deepening a tragedy at Kabul airport where the United States and its allies have been unable to cope with the huge numbers of people trying to get on evacuation flights.

"America, with all its power and facilities... has failed to bring order to the airport. There is peace and calm all over the country, but there is chaos only at Kabul airport," Taliban official Amir Khan Mutaqi said.

Britain's defence ministry said Sunday seven people had died in the crowds, without giving further details.

A journalist, who was among a group of fleeing media workers and academics fortunate enough to reach the airport on Sunday, described desperate scenes of people surrounding their bus on the way in.

"They were showing us their passports and shouting 'take us with you... please take us with you'," the journalist told AFP.

"The Taliban fighter in the truck ahead of us had to shoot in the air to make them go away."

Britain's Sky News on Saturday aired footage of at least three bodies covered in white tarpaulin outside the airport. It was not clear how they had died.

Other journalists at the scene have reported people being crushed, while others were dehydrated and terrified.

Harrowing videos have emerged of babies and children being passed to soldiers over razor-wire fences and men clinging to the outside of departing planes.

During the distress of evacuation, an Afghan woman went into labour on a US Air Force flight and gave birth to a baby girl in the plane's cargo bay moments after landing at a base in Germany, the Air Mobility Command tweeted.

- 'Impossible' deadline -

The crisis has led to mounting criticism of the US and its Western allies, which this year pressed on with the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan as the government and security forces struggled to contain rising Taliban violence.

G7 leaders will discuss the situation in a virtual summit on Tuesday, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced.

"It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years," Johnson tweeted.

As the bungled evacuations continued, Joe Biden described it as "one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history".

The US, which has thousands of troops trying to secure Kabul airport, has set a deadline to complete the evacuations by August 31.

On Sunday, the defence ministry enlisted the help of several major airlines in transporting people who have been flown to US bases in the Gulf and Europe back to America.

There are up to 15,000 Americans and 50,000 to 60,000 Afghan allies who need to be evacuated, according to the Biden administration.

Countless others fear repression under the Taliban and are also trying to flee.

The US government warned its citizens to stay away from the airport, with a White House official later saying Biden had been briefed on security threats, including from the Islamic State jihadist group.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell gave a bleak assessment of whether the airlift would succeed.

"They want to evacuate 60,000 people between now and the end of this month. It's mathematically impossible," he told AFP.

Borrell added that "we have complained" to the Americans that their airport security was overly strict and hampering attempts by Afghans who worked for the Europeans to enter.

- Taliban government -

The Taliban meanwhile have been focusing on forming a government.

The group's co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar flew into Kabul and planned to meet jihadi leaders, elders and politicians in the coming days, an official told AFP.

Among them are leaders of the Haqqani network, a US-designated terrorist organisation with million-dollar bounties on its leadership.

However, there have since been flickers of resistance with some ex-government troops gathering in the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul, long known as an anti-Taliban bastion.

One of the leaders of the movement, named the National Resistance Front, is the son of famed anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.

The NRF is prepared for a "long-term conflict" but is also still seeking to negotiate with the Taliban about an inclusive government, its spokesman Ali Maisam Nazary told AFP in an interview.

"The conditions for a peace deal with the Taliban is decentralisation, a system that ensures social justice, equality, rights, and freedom for all."

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Here are the main developments since the Taliban seized Kabul, taking power again in Afghanistan after two decades of war.

- Lightning takeover -

On August 15, Taliban fighters appear on the edge of Kabul after a lightning offensive launched in May as US and NATO troops began to withdraw.

In the space of 10 days, they seized city after city across the country with little or no resistance.

Television images show the Taliban taking the presidential palace.

President Ashraf Ghani flees the country and says on Facebook that the "Taliban have won" and that he left to avoid a "flood of bloodshed".

- Airport chaos -

Frightened people besiege Kabul airport, the only exit route from the country. Chaos breaks out on the tarmac as people try to rush aircraft.

All military and civilian flights are halted, before resuming Monday evening.

- 'Terrorism sanctuary' fears -

China becomes the first country to say it is ready to deepen "friendly and cooperative" relations with the Taliban.

It later accuses Washington of "leaving an awful mess".

The UN Security Council says the country must not become a breeding ground for terrorism.

Under growing criticism, President Joe Biden insists he has no regrets and emphasises that US troops cannot defend a nation whose leaders "gave up and fled".

- Go back to work -

The Taliban tell civil servants in Kabul to resume their duties "without any fear". Some shops reopen and evacuation flights from the city's airport restart.

- 'Women can work' -

At their first news conference since seizing power, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says the Taliban will let "women work in accordance with the principles of Islam".

Girls return to school in Taliban-held Herat.

- EU 'must talk' to Taliban -

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says the bloc will have to talk to the Taliban.

- ICC: Possible violations -

Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, says reported crimes during the Taliban advance may amount to violations of international law.

- House-to-house hunt -

After the Taliban kill a relative of a journalist for the German state broadcaster as they search for the reporter, a UN intelligence report Friday says militants have been conducting "targeted door-to-door visits" searching for opponents and their families.

A German civilian is also shot on his way to Kabul airport.

- 'Collapse' of Afghanistan -

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls on the global community to prevent the "collapse" of Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover.

NATO says its allies have deployed enough planes to airlift foreign nationals and their Afghan colleagues from Kabul but ground access to the airport is a "big challenge".

- Taliban leader returns -

Within hours of Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar returning to Afghanistan, the group says it will be "different" this time. It will pardon its enemies and women will not have to wear the all-enveloping burqa.

- 'Difficult' airlift -

Biden says he cannot guarantee the final outcome of the emergency evacuation from Kabul's airport, calling it one of the most "difficult" airlift operations ever.

The US tells its citizens to avoid travelling to the airport because of "potential security threats" near its gates.

Pressure builds on Biden to extend his August 31 deadline to complete the rescue missions, with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell saying "it's mathematically impossible" to evacuate by that date.

- Seven deaths -

Britain's defence ministry says that seven Afghans died in crowds in Kabul, without giving the circumstances. The previous day Sky News aired footage of at least three bodies outside the airport.

- Taliban blames US -

The Taliban blames the US for the dramatic scenes at Kabul airport, an official saying that "there is peace and calm all over the country, but there is chaos only at Kabul airport".

- Resistance? -

There have since been flickers of resistance with some ex-government troops gathering in the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul.

The National Resistance Front is prepared for a "long-term conflict" but is also still seeking to negotiate with the Taliban about an inclusive government, the movement's spokesman Ali Maisam Nazary tells AFP.

- Taliban fighters -

Hundreds of Taliban fighters are heading to the Panjshir valley "to control it, after local state officials refused to hand it over peacefully", the group wrote on its Arabic Twitter account.

- G7 summit -

G7 leaders will discuss the crisis on Tuesday at a virtual summit, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Sunday.

"It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years," Johnson tweeted.

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Will the new UN special envoy to Yemen, the Swedish diplomat Hans Grundberg, succeed where his predecessor Martin Griffiths failed?

This is the question on everyones minds as the time approaches for Grundberg to assume his duties and as analysts and commentators urge a reassessment of the strategies used to resolve the more than six-year-old Yemeni Civil War.

Experts have cautioned that if the incoming new envoy follows the same approach as his predecessors, he will get nowhere. However, devising a new approach to resolving the Yemeni crisis has to contend with a number of difficulties related to the context of the UN missions work.

The most immediate problem is the state of the conflict and its impact on the negotiating process. At present, the military situation favours the Ansar Allah (Houthi) Movement, and this is encouraging it to press forward with its campaign and undermine UN peace initiatives.

The Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa and large portions of northern Yemen, now have their sights set on seizing control of Marib. The last government stronghold in the north, this governorate is also rich in oil and gas. As Houthi success in this campaign would impose new military equations on the ground, the Houthis have little interest in responding to current ceasefire initiatives. Instead, they want to defer the ceasefire talks until after a separate agreement is concluded on the Sanaa and Hodeida airports.

The Yemeni government wants the ceasefire and status of the airports to be combined in a single agreement. But the Houthis insistence on taking the last government stronghold in the north, using Iranian support, will definitely hamper the new UN envoys efforts to broker a ceasefire and restart the political process.

A second problem is that the adversaries in the conflict have refused to respond to incremental confidence-building measures. In general, complicated wars, such as the one in Yemen, necessitate the use of a mediating strategy that seeks to persuade the adversaries to undertake steps designed to build mutual trust, thereby giving them an incentive to engage in negotiations over the major bones of contention.

Unfortunately, the six years of the Yemeni experience, as well as numerous analyses, have established the futility of this approach. The Stockholm Agreement signed by the Houthis and the legitimate government of Yemen in 2018 failed to produce a permanent ceasefire, even if it met with the limited success of averting a potentially fierce and bloody confrontation in Hodeida. Ultimately, the agreement only led to a relatively limited prisoner exchange. It did not generate a sufficient impetus towards solving any of the basic problems.

Moreover, it turned out that the UN Mission to Support the Hodeida Agreement (UNMHA) was unable to carry out its duties in the areas that fell under Houthi control, and the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC), the mechanism created under the UNMHA to implement the ceasefire in Hodeida, was unable to continue its remit after March 2020 when the Yemeni government suspended its participation in the mechanism.

Meanwhile, Griffiths was unable to advance his four-point initiative, which called for a nationwide ceasefire, the reopening of Sanaa Airport, the lifting of restrictions on shipping from and to the Hodeida sea port, and initiating a political process.

Not only have incremental confidence-building measures as an avenue towards a breakthrough on basic areas of dispute failed to achieve their objectives, no progress has been made using a top-down approach focusing on shuttling between the opposing leaderships. Griffiths replacement clearly needs to come up with a new and different approach that the key local and regional stakeholders will respond to.

Fortunately, Grundberg will be able to draw from his familiarity with the dynamics of the conflict and the causes of the failure of mediating efforts up to now that he has gained in the course of his duties as EU ambassador to Yemen since 2019.

A third problem is the precarious cohesion of Yemen itself. While the international community has been trying to resolve the Yemeni crisis while preserving the unity of the state, many observers fear scenarios ranging from the disintegration of the country into several statelets to, at best, a partition between north and south.

According to many reports on the situation in the country, the idea of a return to the pre-1990 situation by recreating an independent state in the south has considerable support among southern Yemenis as well as among some foreign stakeholders. Although the southern forces have allied with government forces in the battle against the Houthis in Marib, both sides realise the temporary nature of this alliance and that as soon as the battle in the north is over, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) will take steps to create autonomous governmental institutions.

The underlying mistrust and tensions between the government and the STC forces continue to flare up in intermittent skirmishes, despite the Riyadh Agreement of 2019.

At the same time, the Houthis continued to hold Sanaa and other areas in the north carry the potential for the emergence of a Houthi-controlled state in the north of the country. Many regional and international stakeholders would be unlikely to acquiesce in such a scenario, especially Saudi Arabia which would not tolerate an entity on its southern borders ruled by a movement loyal to Iran. Nor would the US, which has already taken actions to dry up the Houthis sources of funding and has intensified its criticisms of the Houthis human rights violations, accept an Ansar Allah regime as a legitimate government in the north.

In the light of the foregoing, if the new UN envoy is to succeed in carrying out a new approach that has the potential to yield a peace agreement in Yemen, certain elements of the negotiating context will have to change.

The following are possible measures that might be taken.

First, there is a need to find a means to persuade the Houthis to cooperate with the envoys mediating efforts, though opinions vary on how to go about this.

Some recommend using the prospect of an agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme to leverage Tehran into making concessions that would facilitate an agreement in Yemen. Others even urge including the Yemeni question in the nuclear negotiations with Iran, as part of the regional issues on the table.

On the other hand, some observers believe that the Saudi-led Coalition that backs the Yemeni government should escalate militarily against the Houthis in Marib in order to prevent further Houthi expansion and convince them that they have no chances of further territorial gains and that their wisest option is to return to the negotiating table.

Second, there is a need to develop a political approach and negotiating strategy that would win a consensus among regional and international stakeholders. This task would involve closer and more intensive dialogue with the diverse components of Yemeni society, from the southerners to NGOs and womens organisations. It should also strive to benefit from previous local mediating initiatives that have succeeded in producing agreements on certain basic elements of a potential peace agreement.

Third, there is a need to explore the potential for new UN resolutions that would take into account the current situation on the ground and the need to bring other parties on board the negotiating process. The UN resolutions that laid the foundations for the UN peacemaking drive have not helped to create a negotiating framework conducive to the work of the UN mission. This applies, in particular, to UN Security Council Resolution 2216.

Last months report of the International Crisis Group, an international NGO, pointed out how diverse interpretations of this resolution have hampered progress towards a political settlement and mentioned that many observers and politicians wanted it replaced.

Fourth, there is a need to take advantage of the Biden administrations current diplomatic momentum on Yemen, as represented by Bidens pledge to end the war in Yemen and his appointment of Tim Lenderking as the USs special envoy for that purpose.

Simultaneously, it will be important to coordinate more closely with Russia, which has also recently intensified talks with the concerned parties, such as former president of South Yemen Ali Nasser Mohamed, the leaders of the Southern Transitional Council, and, most recently, the late Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Salehs nephew Tarek Saleh, who commands the National Resistance Forces.

Lastly, there is a need to step up the provision of humanitarian relief to Yemen. Significant progress in this regard, which should be separated from the political track, is essential to creating an environment conducive to negotiations in a country that has been universally described as being in the grips of the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today.

*The writer is a researcher on security and crisis management.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 5 August, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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KYODO NEWS - Aug 23, 2021 - 01:39 | All, Japan

Opposition-backed Takeharu Yamanaka won the Yokohama mayoral election on Sunday, defeating a ruling Liberal Democratic Party candidate in a blow to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

The loss by Hachiro Okonogi, a former chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, comes as Suga suffers from falling public support as he faces competition to remain LDP leader and a general election in the coming months.

Yokohama is the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture, the second-most populous city in the country after Tokyo and home to the constituency of Suga's seat in the House of Representatives.

The 48-year-old Yamanaka, a former professor at Yokohama City University who has no prior experience in public office, ran with the support of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan as well as the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party. The data scientist, whose work includes analyzing vaccine efficacy on coronavirus variants, has criticized the government for ignoring calls from infectious disease experts to take stronger measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. Japan is experiencing its largest wave of infections yet and dissatisfaction with the prime minister's handling of the pandemic is only growing, with a recent nationwide survey by Kyodo showing support for his Cabinet at a record-low 31.8 percent. Turnout among Yokohama's more than 3 million eligible voters was 49.05 percent, up from 37.21 percent in the previous mayoral election in 2017. Besides serving as a gauge for Suga's popularity, the ballot served as a referendum of sorts on the city's bid to host a casino after Japan legalized their operation as part of so-called integrated resorts in 2018. Incumbent Mayor Fumiko Hayashi, 75, who has held the job since 2009 but failed to secure a fourth term, had looked to push ahead with the plan as a way of creating jobs and boosting Yokohama's economy.

Yamanaka is opposed to building the casino, arguing the designated oceanfront property would be better used to build hotels, concert halls and other facilities.

"We will issue a formal statement soon making it clear that Yokohama will not make a hosting bid," he said Sunday night, vowing to run the city in a way where "each and every citizen has their voice heard."

Okonogi, who quit the National Public Safety Commission and the lower house to run in the election, was also endorsed by Cabinet members including vaccine czar Taro Kono and Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi as well as members of the LDP's junior coalition partner Komeito.

But the 56-year-old only managed to secure votes from 42.7 percent of LDP supporters, according to Kyodo exit polls, a sign of growing dissatisfaction with Suga among his base. A solid chunk, 19.7 percent, went with Hayashi, who had been backed by some of the party's members in the city assembly.

"I failed to explain (my policies to the public) properly," Okonogi told reporters.

Among unaffiliated voters, Yamanaka picked up 39.5 percent of ballots, Okonogi 11.1 percent and Hayashi 9.6 percent.

The other candidates included former Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa and former Nagano Gov. Yasuo Tanaka.
KYODO NEWS - Aug 22, 2021 - 14:48 | World, All

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Singapore on Sunday as part of her first official trip to Asia that aims to show U.S. commitment to the Indo-Pacific region amid the growing clout of China.

Her two-nation trip to Asia, which includes Vietnam, comes as U.S. President Joe Biden faces strong criticism at home and abroad over the chaos caused by the hasty U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan amid the Taliban's recent takeover of the country.

Harris will stay in Singapore for three days from Sunday, holding talks with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday, after which they plan to hold a joint press conference.

Also Monday, she will visit Changi Naval Base where she will board a U.S. littoral combat ship.

She will deliver a speech the following day to underscore the importance of partnerships and areas for further cooperation, before flying to Vietnam where she will become the first sitting U.S. vice president ever to visit the country.

Last month, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines, becoming the first member of Biden's Cabinet to visit Southeast Asia.

The Biden administration has been striving to strengthen cooperation with its partners and like-minded countries to counter China's growing assertiveness in the region.

Related coverage:

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris departs for Singapore, Vietnam

Vice Pres. Harris to show "enduring" U.S. commitment on Southeast Asia trip

U.S. Vice President Harris to visit Singapore, Vietnam in August
KYODO NEWS - Aug 22, 2021 - 12:14 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

The number of private properties for vacation rental in Japan has declined as the novel coronavirus pandemic caused a nosedive in travel demand, dashing hopes for more foreign visitors during the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

As of July 12, there were 18,578 vacation rental homes and apartments registered under the country's law on private lodging business, compared with a peak of 21,385 in April 2020, according to data released by the Japan Tourism Agency.

In fiscal 2020 through March this year, a total of 1.14 million people stayed in those private lodgings, down 77 percent from the previous year.

Private lodging, known in Japan as "minpaku," has gained attention since a law legalizing it took effect in June 2018 to relieve a shortage of hotel rooms amid an inbound tourism boom.

Before the global spread of COVID-19 in early 2020, concerns had grown that there would be a shortage of accommodation during the Tokyo Games, especially in Tokyo, Osaka and other major cities, resulting in a surge of registered private lodgings at a pace of several hundred units per month.

The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, originally scheduled for the summer of 2020, were postponed for a year due to the pandemic. The decision to stage the Summer Games mostly without spectators to prevent spread of the virus hit private lodging operators.

Among the 289 lodging operators who reported the closure of their businesses from September to October 2020 and responded to a survey, 49 percent said they could not expect to make any profit.

With the disappearance of foreign tourists, the main customers of minpaku facilities, operators see no signs of a recovery in tourism demand.

The government's "Go To Travel" subsidy campaign for domestic tourism, covering private accommodation, has been suspended nationwide since Dec. 28 due to a resurgence of coronavirus infections.

Some local governments are offering their own travel discount campaigns, but these are limited to hotels and inns, and do not cover private lodgings.

The government plans to conduct a survey by March next year on the use and management system of vacation rentals, with a possible review of the lodging system in preparation for a post-pandemic travel demand recovery.

Items to be considered by the envisioned review would include legal restrictions, such as the limitation of accommodation offered by private lodgings to 180 days per year.

While vacation rentals allow for long stays at lower prices than hotels and inns, they also make use of vacant rooms and houses in areas across Japan that are seeing population declines.
By Sayo Sasaki, KYODO NEWS - Aug 23, 2021 - 00:15 | All, Japan

Voters unleashed their pent-up frustration at the central government's handling of the novel coronavirus by casting ballots against Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's close aide and former public safety chief Hachiro Okonogi in the Yokohama mayoral election Sunday.

The focus of the local election was initially on the port city's bid to host a casino after Japan legalized their operation as part of so-called integrated resorts in 2018.

But as the highly contagious Delta variant put a strain on the country's medical system, bringing Kanagawa Prefecture where Yokohama is located under a state of emergency along with many other prefectures, voters' attention shifted to Okonogi's ties with Suga, who leads the country's coronavirus response, political analysts said.

With what was expected to be an easy win under normal circumstances for Okonogi turning into a bitter defeat, Suga, who is already suffering a plunge in approval ratings over his coronavirus response, will now face growing doubts among party members about whether they can survive the general election under his leadership.

A Kyodo News poll in mid-August showed the approval rate of Suga's Cabinet stood at 31.8 percent, the lowest for his Cabinet and down from over 60 percent at its launch in September.

Suga's term as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and hence the country's prime minister is set to expire on Sept. 30, and a general election is also looming as the House of Representatives members' term expires on Oct. 21.

His earlier scenario had been to vaccinate the population against the novel coronavirus as quickly as possible, stage a successful Olympic Games to get a boost in public sentiment, and dissolve the more powerful chamber of the parliament for a general election after the Tokyo Paralympics end on Sept. 5 and win the LDP leadership race unchallenged.

But vaccination of those who wish to receive shots has yet to be completed, and Suga has come under fire for allowing organizers to hold the Tokyo Olympics as scheduled as novel coronavirus cases surged during the Olympic period.

And the latest election outcome has probably erased Suga's envisaged scenario, said Koichi Nakano, professor of political science at Sophia University.

"With the defeat of Mr. Okonogi, it is likely that moves to replace Mr. Suga, hold a full-fledged LDP leadership race and prevent Mr. Suga from dissolving the lower house will emerge," Nakano said.

"His close aide Mr. Okonogi getting defeated in the election on Mr. Suga's home ground, even after changing his stance to be against integrated resorts, is certain to fuel views among LDP lawmakers that they cannot fight the general election under Mr. Suga," he said.

In contrast, Takeharu Yamanaka's victory in the LDP stronghold provides a boost to the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan that backed him along with the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party, while reassuring them that their efforts to join forces pay off.

Still, Toru Yoshida, professor of political science at Doshisha University, said the opposition is far from gaining enough momentum to bring about a change of government at the next general election.

"Both the ruling and opposition parties are likely to enter the general election on a weak note," Yoshida said.

Dissolving the lower house in early September for a general election has already become difficult for Suga after his government was forced to extend the COVID-19 state of emergency to Sept. 12 in the wake of the virus resurgence.

Several senior administration officials said that Suga, who has repeatedly said he puts top priority on the coronavirus response, will not dissolve the lower house while a state of emergency is still in place.

Now the Yokohama election defeat, combined with the low Cabinet approval rating, is certain to fan more calls among LDP lawmakers for holding the leadership race before the general election rather than after to seek a change of leader.

"There are many LDP lawmakers who do not wish to go into the general election under Prime Minister Suga. If we put the leadership election off, the party will not last," said an LDP source.

The LDP is expected to hold its presidential election with campaigning to begin on Sept. 17 and voting on Sept. 29, but the question of who can be an alternative to Suga remains.

Sanae Takaichi, known as a conservative member of the LDP who is close to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has already expressed her intent to run in the presidential election when its schedule is decided Thursday, while LDP policy chief Hakubun Shimomura has also expressed his interest in running.

But whether they will be able to collect signatures from 20 supporting members needed to run in the election remains uncertain. Takaichi does not belong to any faction within the party, while the party's largest faction Shimomura belongs to is led by Hiroyuki Hosoda, who has already expressed his support for Suga.

Former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who ran in the last leadership race against Suga, is also seen as a potential candidate.

Although there is still a small window for Suga to dissolve the lower house between the potential end of the state of emergency on Sept. 12 and the expected start of campaigning on Sept. 17, experts say Suga would likely aim to hold off the election for as long as possible, given the approval rating has moved in tandem with the coronavirus situation.

Doshisha's Yoshida said the only chance for Suga to gain a boost in approval is to wait to see how vaccinations against the novel coronavirus progress and when the number of infection cases decline.

"The number of coronavirus cases will not continue to rise forever. It will fall at some point, which will be the time for calling the election," Yoshida said.

"The longer Suga waits, the higher the possibility that the numbers will fall, and that's when he must take his chance of survival."

Related coverage:

Opposition wins Yokohama mayor election in blow to Suga
KYODO NEWS - Aug 22, 2021 - 21:46 | All, Japan

North Korea on Sunday accused Japan of "illegally intruding" into waters over which it exercises maritime rights and warned of possible "strong countermeasures."

The Foreign Ministry, in a post on its website, said the problem affecting North Korea's "economic waters" in the Sea of Japan, which it called the "East Sea" by its Korean name, "has become a reality in recent years."

It said the issue was discussed Saturday at a conference joined by the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Land and Environment Protection.

Although the post did not mention specific cases of Japanese intrusion in contested waters, it was apparently alluding to the movements of Japanese fishing and coast guard vessels in areas where the exclusive economic zones claimed by each country overlap.

On Oct. 7, 2019, for example, dozens of North Korean fishermen were rescued Monday when their boat sank after colliding with a Japanese patrol vessel that had warned it to get out of Japan's EEZ.

The incident took place some 350 kilometers northwest of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, near an area called Yamatotai that is known as fertile waters for squid and fish.

Then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe subsequently vowed in parliament that Japan would "take resolute action to prevent illegal operations by foreign ships within Japan's EEZ."

The two countries also dispute ownership of the Japanese-claimed, South Korean-controlled island of Dokdo, known in North Korea as Tok Island.
By Rachael Bayliss-Chan, KYODO NEWS - Aug 22, 2021 - 13:25 | Feature, All, World

Could artificial intelligence, drones, and solar-powered trackers aid in efforts to conserve Australia's beloved koala?

That is the hope of university researchers in Australia's northernmost state of Queensland, as they undertake two innovative projects that use high-tech solutions to protect koalas against the threats of vehicle collisions and bushfires.

A team of researchers at Queensland's Griffith University are using artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology to analyze how koalas cross busy roads.

Like many cities and towns across Australia, local councils in Queensland have built bridges and underpasses on high-traffic roads to provide koalas and other animals with a safe way to cross from side to side.

However, in southeast Queensland where the study is based, an average of 356 koalas were still killed or injured by cars each year between 1997 and 2018.

This is what prompted Jun Zhou, an associate professor at the university who is leading the research, to embark on the two-year pilot study that will see a network of 20 cameras set up at key koala crossing locations across southeast Queensland.

Zhou hopes the technology can help to better understand and predict koala crossing behavior to reduce the number of accidents.

"Previously, cameras have been set up to monitor the koala crossings, but each of the captured video then had to be manually checked to see whether the animals filmed using the crossings were koalas or other species," Zhou said.

"Now, with artificial intelligence developing very quickly over the past 10 years, the technology is powerful enough to help recognize not only koalas generally, but which individual koalas are using the crossings using videos that have been trained by our AI."

According to Zhou, the cameras will be triggered by animal movement to capture an image, which will then be processed by AI to automatically detect when it is a koala, and hopefully even recognize individual koalas.

The team has been working with local koala sanctuaries to train the cameras' AI algorithms to recognize the marsupial, before installing them at the crossings in July.

"To train a reliable AI system, we need a large amount of (koala) images, if possible, maybe millions of images," Zhou said.

He hopes the technology can also provide a way to analyze koala populations, with hopes the cameras may eventually be able to detect sick koalas, or be used to monitor other endangered species.

Meanwhile, researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast are teaming up with the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia, to develop a solar-powered ear tag transmitter the size of a small coin that can help to locate koalas in the wild.

"A lot of the time, koalas are really hard to find," says koala ecologist Romane Cristescu, who is leading the project.

The idea for the tags was prompted when Cristescu was rescuing koalas after the horror fire season of 2019-2020, dubbed Australia's "Black Summer" bushfires in which nearly 3 billion animals were killed or displaced, including more than 60,000 koalas, according to a WWF report.

"After the mega fire, we just had so much issue finding those koalas, and we were thinking how good would it be if there's a way for koalas to be found more easily," Cristescu recalled.

This set her team on a mission to adapt their existing Bluetooth solar ear tags for long-range use, to be able to detect koalas in remote bushland.

The new tags will use very high frequency, or VHF, signals that can be picked up for hundreds of meters, compared with the 20-30 meter capability of Bluetooth.

With this technology, when threats such as wildfires or heatwaves threaten a koala population, wildlife rescuers can quickly find them and move them out of harm's way, taking them into care until the danger has passed. This can be done by using drones, says Cristescu, taking it to the air to cover large swathes of forest and pinpoint where the koalas are, to be able to go in and rescue them.

Darren Grover, the head of the WWF-Australia's Healthy Land and Seascapes group, stressed the importance of the project to the future survival of koalas, saying, "as intense bushfires become more common, the VHF solar ear tag could play a crucial role in saving koalas and conserving genetic diversity."

"We should devise a bit of a plan for populations that we really cannot afford to lose...and catch and tag some of the koalas," Cristescu proposed. "Then we can rescue and protect some of them before the fire, instead of having to just look for survivors after."

As koalas on Australia's east coast face an endangered listing, innovative new ideas like these may be the key to bringing the beloved marsupial back from the brink.

Related coverage:

Australia mulls listing koalas on east coast as endangered

Australian researchers to use AI for koala facial recognition

FEATURE: After bushfire, a "koala ark" looks to future-proof populations
KYODO NEWS - Aug 22, 2021 - 09:40 | World

Japan has effectively refused to issue visas for two Myanmar military-appointed diplomats the junta seeks to send to Tokyo in place of two it fired in March, according to Japanese government sources.

Japan allowing the two replacements to be posted to the Myanmar Embassy in Tokyo would be tantamount to recognizing the Feb. 1 military coup that ousted the country's elected government under civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Myanmar's military has requested that Japan issue diplomatic visas for the two replacements. Japan has said it "is considering" the request but has yet to start issuance procedures, the sources said.

In the meantime, Japan is continuing to recognize the diplomatic status of the two sacked diplomats after the pair boycotted their duties at the embassy in protest of the coup.

Japan does not recognize the military, known as Tatmadaw, as a legitimate governing body of Myanmar.

According to a document dated March 15, the Myanmar Embassy told the Japanese Foreign Ministry its military-backed government nullified the two's diplomatic status and passports.

The embassy requested that Japan not allow them to use their passports, the documents show.

However, Japan has allowed the two to stay in Japan. "We have made arrangements so the two can continue to work as diplomats," a Foreign Ministry source said, even though a Japan-issued diplomatic identification card of one of the two expired in July.

The two have been collaborating with the National Unity Government of Myanmar, a group formed in the wake of the coup to represent the pro-democracy movement in its fight against the junta.

Some Japanese officials said the government needs to closely monitor the case of Myanmar's U.N. ambassador before drawing a final decision as to how Tokyo will handle the Myanmar military's request for issuance of visas for military-appointed diplomats.

Given that the military has demanded the nation's pre-coup U.N Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun be replaced by a military-appointed official, member states will eventually have to decide who will be recognized in the position.

Kyaw Moe Tun remains in the United States after being charged with treason for expressing opposition to the coup at an unofficial meeting of the U.N. General Assembly on Feb. 26.

Earlier in the month, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi expressed full support for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' decision to appoint a special envoy to Myanmar in the group's bid to resolve the crisis.

ASEAN and Japan, among other countries, have been calling for the immediate release of Suu Kyi, other members of the former ruling party, the National League for Democracy, as well as other detainees.

Still, Tokyo remains cautious about joining the United States, Britain and the European Union among other democracies in imposing sanctions on individuals and groups involved in the coup, partly because of Japan's close economic ties with Myanmar and China's rising influence on Myanmar and other ASEAN member states.

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Ranchi:

Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Wednesday said graduates of Jharkhand Raksha Shakti University will be given priority in employment in the state police force.

The chief minister said this while addressing the foundation day function of the Jharkhand Raksha Shakti University.

Modernisation of the police system cannot be done only with new weapons. For this, trained human force is required. Graduates of Jharkhand Raksha Shakti University will be given priority in employment in the Jharkhand police force, Das said.

The chief minister there is requirement of security forces in many industrial units in the state.

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There is a continuous requirement of security forces in many other industrial units, including CCL, BCCL. Keeping this in mind, the youth are being trained in Raksha Shakti University so that they can get employment in their state, Das added.

He said the youth is the pride of the country and there is no lack of talent in Jharkhand, adding all they need is right direction.

We are in a digital and knowledge-based phase that is changing our living. To be compatible with modern world, two years ago, the Raksha Shakti University was established in the state. Students studying in this university will be able to successfully cope with future challenges like terrorism, economic crime, cyber crime and judicial science, he said.

The chief minister said cyber police stations would be set up to deal with cyber crime.

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New ways of cyber crime have become a challenge in the present time. In order to overcome these challenges, trained and skilled human resources is needed. The state government is setting up cyber police station at identified places in the state to deal with cyber crime, he said.

The chief minister said that 60 children of Tana Bhagat families have been given admission in Jharkhand Raksha Shakti University for the Certificate Course in Police Science. Authorities have taken responsibility for all their requirement during study.

Das said Jharkhand Raksha Shakti University is the third university in the country for study of internal security. Within a period of just two years, it has made its mark in the education world.

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New Delhi:

With seven Rohingya Muslims on the verge of deporting to their home country Myanmar Thursday, a UN human rights expert voiced concern over India's plan, saying their forcible return could constitute refoulement which violates international law.

The migrants had been in an Indian jail on charges of illegally entering India and are due to be dropped at Moreh border where they will be handed over to Myanmar authority.

"The Indian Govt has an obligation to refer Rohingyas under their custody to the UN refugee agency so their protection needs can be assessed and proper information provided to them about their rights," United Nations Human Rights Special Procedures said in a statement.

A UN human rights expert has expressed alarm at the Indian Governments plan to deport seven Rohingya men to Myanmar, saying their forcible return could constitute refoulement which violates international law: United Nations Human Rights Special Procedures  ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2018

Read | Bodhgaya blast: NIA says explosive set off to show solidarity with Rohingyas

Early in the day, a fresh plea was moved in the Supreme Court seeking to restrain the Centre from deporting seven Rohingyas to Mynmar. A three-judge-bench, comprising CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph will decide whether there is a need of urgent hearing in this issue after perusing the application.

Justice Gogoi, who was sworn in as the 46th CJI of India, earlier made it clear that the Supreme Court will not allow urgent mentioning of matters till the framing of "parameters" on such cases.

7 Myanmar nationals who were arrested in 2017 are being deported today. Our police team is going to drop them off at Moreh border where they'll be handed over to Myanmar authority: Deepak Kumar, IG (Law and Order) on 7 Rohingyas being deported to Myanmar #Assam pic.twitter.com/jTWHBwRj9u  ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2018

Thousands of Rohingya Muslims, the most persecuted minority in the world, in 2017 fled their homes to escape an alleged crackdown by the Myanmar Army. As per the latest data, released by the Centre, more than 14,000 Rohingya people, registered with the UN refugee agency UNHCR, currently stay in India.

Read | Urgent hearing only if someone going to be hanged, evicted: CJI Ranjan Gogoi

The Human Rights group earlier blamed Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and the country's government for allegedly "burying their heads in the sand over the horrors unfolding in Rakhine State".

While successive waves of Rohingyas have fled into Bangladesh, small numbers have found their way to India and Nepal while a small community has also been established in Pakistan.

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Yavatmal :

A 30-year-old woman died after being attacked by an elephant in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, a forest department official said Wednesday.

After killing the woman Tuesday night, the same pachyderm entered a village in adjoining Wardha district and attacked an elderly man, leaving him injured, he said.

The deceased woman was identified as Archana Moreshwar Kulsange (30), a resident of village Chahand under Ralegaon taluka near here.

The woman was attacked by the wild elephant when she was collecting cow dung. She died on the spot, the official said.

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The rouge elephant then entered village Pohana in Wardha district and attacked one Mukinda Sawai. The 72-year-old was injured in the attack and admitted in the Government Rural Hospital, he said.

The elephant was later chained by forest officials with the help of its mahout (trainer or rider), the official said.

Chief Conservator of Forest (Yavatmal) B G Rahurkar confirmed the two incidents and said he would order a probe to ascertain the reason for the elephant turning berserk.

The rouge elephant was brought from Tadoba in Chandrapur district along with four other pachyderms from Madhya Pradesh to help trap a tigress blamed for a over a dozen human killings in Yavatmal district since the last two years, officials said.
Panaji:

The first chartered flight from Russia landed in Goa on Thursday, marking the beginning of tourist season this year.

The coastal state witnesses maximum footfalls in the period between October to April-May every year.

The first Chartered flight of Rossiya Airlines with 522 tourists lands in Gods own Abode #GOA, marks beginning of new tourist season. Welcome. Your safety is our priority, state Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar tweeted on Thursday morning.

The first Chartered Flight of Rossiya Airlines with 522 tourists lands in Gods Own Abode #GOA, marks begining of new tourist season. Welcome Your Safety & Security is our Priority @TourismGoa @incredibleindia  Manohar Ajgaonkar (@BabuAjgaonkar) October 4, 2018

Goa, known for its sunny beach stretch, is a major attraction for domestic and foreign tourists.

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We are getting tourists six times that of our population. The number of tourists arriving in Goa is on the rise, said Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) chairman Nilesh Cabral.

He said the government was creating necessary infrastructure to ensure safe and comfortable stay of tourists.

Cabral said the number of chartered flights has gone down this year due to their increased capacity to carry tourists, which is resulting in more arrivals.

Goa had received more than 800 chartered flights last tourist season.
New Delhi:

World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), which represents nearly 45,000 listed companies, has appointed NSEs Managing Director and CEO Vikram Limaye as the chairman of its working group committee.

WFE, which is the global industry association for exchanges and clearing houses, also admitted six new members taking the total number of full members to 70.

The new members areMulti Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), London Stock Exchange Group, Boursa Kuwait, Tunis Stock Exchange, China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation and Nairobi Securities Exchange.

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In a statement issued Wednesday, NSE said Limaye has been chosen by the members as the chairman of the working committee and director on the board of WFE.

His name was announced at the 58th General Assembly and Annual Meeting in Athens, Greece.

I feel privileged to be appointed as the WFE working committee chairman and director on the Board of WFE and look forward to collaborating and working with my colleagues at the working committee and the board during my term, Limaye said.

As a global industry organisation, the WFE discusses virtually every aspect of the capital market: technical, commercial, legal and regulatory. I am, therefore honoured to play a leadership role for an organisation which works with standard-setters, policy makers, regulators and government organisations around the world to support and promote development of fair, transparent, stable and efficient markets, he added.

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WFE chief executive Nandini Sukumar said, we look forward to Limayes leadership of the working committee at this exciting time for the WFE, as we look to build our mandate and role even further as the voice of the global market infrastructure industry.

Headquartered in London, WFE represents more than 200 market infrastructure providers including exchanges and central counterparty clearing (CCPs). It works with policy makers and regulators around the world to support the development of effective rules and standards for exchanges and market participants.

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New Delhi:

The Indian Meteorological Department has warned of 'heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated places of Kerala on October 4, 5 and 6. The depression off the Sri Lankan coast may turn into a low-intensity cyclone, IMD said in its all-India weather warning bulletin released on Wednesday. The three districts - Idukki, Thrissur and Palakkad - located on the northern and central part of the state are more likely to be hit by the rainfall.



ALSO READ | Petrol, Diesel price rise again; check October 4 rates in metro cities



IMD has issued a warning about a low-pressure area in the Arabian sea close to Sri Lankan coast. This is likely to develop into a cyclonic storm and a warning has been issued on the same. The predicted trajectory will be along the coast of Lakshadweep: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan

IMD has issued a warning about a low-pressure area in the Arabian sea close to Sri Lankan coast. This is likely to develop into a cyclonic storm and a warning has been issued on the same. The predicted trajectory will be along the coast of Lakshadweep: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan pic.twitter.com/DegbBci0SY  ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2018

"Disaster Management Authority has met to assess the situation. We've sought support from central agencies and asked for five companies of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)," Mr Vijayan said.

In view of this upcoming calamity, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan advised fishermen to reach safer coast by October 5. Red alert has been issued in parts of Kerala with the Disaster Management Authority trying to assess the situation. Weathermen also asked tourists not to travel to hilly regions, especially to Munnar to get a view of the Neelakurinji.



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Early in August, Kerala witnessed incessant rain and worst floods in a century. The deadly monsoon rains savaged the southern state of India, leaving over 370 people dead and thousands return to damaged homes and properties with nothing to hold on to.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

For the first time, the UPSC on Monday decided to allow candidates to withdraw their names from civil services examination. While taking the decision, the commission said only half of the over 10 lakh aspirants who apply for the exam actually appear in the test. The arrangement will be implemented beginning with Engineering Services Examination, 2019, it said.

"The commission has to book venues, print papers, hire invigilators and ship the documents for all the 10 lakh applicants - which turns out to be a 50% waste of energy and resources," Union Public Service Commission chairman Arvind Saxena said on the occasion of the 92nd foundation day celebrations on Monday.The UPSC conducts the civil services examination annually in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview -- to select officers for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.

According to Saxena, the commission is looking for genuine and serious candidates so that it could give them better facilities and make the system more efficient.A start is being made with the Engineering Services Examination, 2019 and more examinations will be brought under this arrangement, the statement issued by Personnel Ministry said.

Heres how to avail the facility:

# The candidate has to provide details of application.Separate One-Time Passwords (OTPs) will be sent on candidate's registered mobile number and e-mail id.

# On successful completion of withdrawal of application, confirmation message will be sent on e-mail and also an SMS. Once application has been withdrawn, it cannot be revived.

The UPSC has brought an increasing number of exam related interactions and transactions online to reduce the stress for the candidates. Saxena added that the UPSC is also moving ahead with shifting from a 'pen and paper' mode of examination to a computer-based mode.

"Apart from making the examination process more candidate-friendly, the new systems also serves to cut down the time cycle for each examination," he said.

(With PTI inputs)

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Mumbai:

Two days after Tata Sky removed 32 channels of Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) and three of TV Today Network on pricing issues, the direct-to-home (DTH) operator and the broadcaster have said they are open to negotiations to offer customers the channels.

SPNs three-year contract with Tata Sky had expired on July 31, and the two since then have been negotiating on a new pricing deal.

SPN president - distribution Rajesh Kaul said after the contract got over on July 31, Tata Sky had asked for an extension, so that the negotiations on the deal could come through. However, he claimed that Tata Sky has gone ahead and switched off SPNs 22 channels unilaterally, without even discussing with the company.

In that sense, talks have failed, that is why they have switched off (our channels), Kaul told PTI.

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We are completely open to that (negotiations). This is our business so we are open to any kind of dialogue, any kind of discussion which can lead to a settlement, he added.

Tata Sky chief executive officer and managing director Harit Nagpal also told PTI, We hope to positively close negotiations and get all our subscribers their desired channels as soon as possible.

The commercial negotiations with the broadcasters broke down as what they were seeking would have forced us to hike our prices, said Nagpal.

However, Kaul said, the biggest bone of contention is that in the last two to three years, Tata Sky has increased its subscriber base from 10 million to 16 million today and SPN has increased its bouquet of channels from 14 to 32.

We are asking for an increase because of these two factors, he added.

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The DTH players or multi-system operators pay the broadcasters on the number of subscribers they have and as per regulator Trai, the broadcasters cannot increase their rates.

Nagpal said despite Sony losing marquee properties like the IPL and Kapil Sharma show, it was expecting a much higher increase compared to what Tata Sky was willing to offer, in line with the channels viewership ratings.

About three weeks ago, during the negotiations, Sony published a disconnection notice applicable from September 30 midnight, he said.

According to Kaul, the notice was published in accordance with Trai guidelines.

He further said that the current impasse is likely to have an impact on the companys viewership and revenues.

Tata Sky said it has retained the channels with good viewership numbers, at a la carte rates and are paying a huge premium (almost three times) to Sony as per their rate card versus contracted rates, in the interest of its subscribers.

The DTH player has retained 10 channels including Set, Sony Sab, Set HD, and Aaj Tak.

Kaul, however, claimed that Tata Sky had signed a RIO (reference inter-connect offer) for the 10 channels and it could have done the same for the other 22 channels as well.

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New Delhi:

Binalakshmi Nepram, a rights activist supporting women survivors of violence in Northeast India, has been named as one of two winners of the prestigious Anna Politkovskaya Award 2018, which recognises female human rights crusaders across the world.

The Reach All Women in WAR (RAW in WAR) on Thursday announced the courageous global award on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Congratulations to brave Indian activist @BinaNepram & courageous Belarusian writer and journalist Svetlana Alexievich - winners of #RAWinWAR 2018 #AnnaPolitkovskayaAward for women human rights defenders from war and conflict zones @Refuse2beSilent pic.twitter.com/LTLCXP9RqS  RAW in WAR (@RawinWar) October 4, 2018

Binalakshmi, who belongs to Manipur, will share the RAW in WAR Anna Politkovskaya Award along with a Nobel literature laureate Svetlana Alexievich. Svetlana is an investigative journalist and a writer from Belarus, a landlocked nation in Eastern Europe.

Also Read | Norwegian Nobel Committee head: Women are used as weapons of war

The award recognised for their bravery in speaking out and defying injustice, violence and extremism, especially for their role in their respective conflict-ridden and yet forgotten domicile regions of Manipur and Belarus.

Binalakshmi, the author of India and the Arms Trade Treaty, is the founder of Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network. Since its inception in 2007, the network has helped more than 20,000 women survivors of gun violence in Manipur to rebuild their lives and obtain justice.

Talking about the surge of violence in the region, Binalakshmi said: Every day the violence continues unabated ... with our region seeing some of the highest numbers of rape and women trafficked in the country In this conflict, a lot of girls and women are subjected to sexual abuse and there is a climate of impunity.

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Binalakshmi is also the co-founder of Indias first civil society organisation to work on disarmament and to oppose growing militarisation, the Control Arms Foundation of India (CAFI).

Svetlana, 70, won the 2015 Nobel Prize for Literature for her portrayal of the lives of Soviet women during World War Two, as well as the impact of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the Soviet military adventure in Afghanistan.

The Reach All Women in WAR (RAW in WAR) award marks the 12th death anniversary of the Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya, a Russian female rights activist, journalist and writer. Anna was killed on October 7, 2006, in Moscow at the age of 48.

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New Delhi:

A fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a restraint on the Government of India from deporting seven Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar, where the army is allegedly doing ethnic cleansing of the Muslim minority.

Seven Rohingyas have been held in the Silchar Detention centre, Assam on charges of illegally entering India in 2012 and were scheduled to be sent back on October 3.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, said it would take a decision on urgent hearing in this issue after perusing the application.

The bench, also consisting of Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, was told by lawyer Prashant Bhushan that some Rohingya refugees were on the verge of being deported and the matter required urgent hearing.

"Plea filed in Supreme Court for urgent hearing seeking a restraint on the Government of India from deporting 7 Rohingya Muslims lodged in the Silchar Detention centre in Assam to Myanmar. Bench declined mentioning," the news agency ANI reported.

Read | Southeast Asia urges Myanmar to hold military accountable for Rohingya crisis

Plea filed in Supreme Court for urgent hearing seeking a restraint on the Government of India from deporting 7 Rohingya Muslims lodged in the Silchar Detention centre in Assam to Myanmar. Bench declined mentioning. https://t.co/j9Te8XD9ZF  ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2018

The scheduled deportations came on the heels of Indian government's 2017 order to return Rohingyas in a bid to wash out all the illegal migrants from the country.

As many as 700,000 ethnic Rohingya fled an offensive by Myanmar troops launched nearly a year ago in reprisal for attacks on border posts by Rohingya rebels who took up arms against the ill-treatment of the stateless minority.

Read | Facebook bans Myanmar Army Chief Min Aung Hlaing, 19 others over rights abuses

However, Myanmar's army has denied nearly all wrongdoing, insisting its campaign was justified to root out Rohingya insurgents.

While successive waves of Rohingyas have fled into Bangladesh, small numbers have found their way to India and Nepal while a small community has also been established in Pakistan.

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New Delhi:

Congratulatory messages and well wishes are pouring on Denis Mukwege and Yazidi Nadia Murad on winning the Nobel Peace Prize 2018. While the celebrations continue to elaborate the occasion, the head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee expresses the concern of drawing attention to the fact, which according to him is, women are... actually used as weapons of war. He further adds that the winners were declared in order to highlight this apprehension.

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Berit Reiss-Andersen said after announcing the prize Friday that both laureates, Denis Mukwege of Congo and ethnic Yazidi Nadia Murad, had put their personal security at stake as activists on the issue.

Ovyind Sternersen, a Nobel historian quoted, "This is a Nobel bullseye; recognizing victims of war has a long history in the peace prize."

Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. The name of the winners was announced on Friday by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

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Congolese doctor Mukwege has been a critic of the Congolese government and has treated victims of sexual violence. Murad is a Yazidi who was a captive of the Islamic State group.

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Srinagar:

In the fallout of a Special Police Officer (SPO) decamping with nine service rifles in Srinagar, the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday barred all SPOs from performing duties of personal security guards to VIPs. In a written communique, the additional director general of police (DGP) ordered the immediate withdrawal of SPOs except for SPO drivers from performing the duties of personal security officers (PSO) to protected persons.

It has been observed that some SPOs are performing the PSO duties with protected persons, which is not in accordance with the security norms. They are not trained to perform the PSO duties, the directions from (additional DGP) Muneer Khan read.

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All SPOs, except SPO drivers attached with protected persons, be immediately withdrawn, the statement read. The district police have been asked to furnish the list of the withdrawn SPOs to the Srinagar police headquarters by Friday.

On September 29, an SPO belonging to the Jammu and Kashmir Police decamped from a PDP MLA Aijaz Ahmads guard room at Jawahar Nagar with nine service rifles, the police said. The SPO was identified as Adil Bashir.

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Bashir was posted as an SPO on March 11 in 2017. Following the incident, a high alert has been sounded across Srinagar to nab the SPO. A special investigation team has been constituted to investigate the matter. According to a daily, Bashirs picture joining the Hizbul Mujahideen was released on social media a few days ago.
New Delhi:

Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray will hold a rally in Ayodhya and perform the shilanyas to initiate the work of Ram temple, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said. The schedule for Thackerays rally will be announced in a Dusshera rally in Mumbai on . On , Janamejaya Sharan, the president of Shriram Mandir Nyas, Ayodhya had a meeting with Uddhav Thackeray. According to reports, Sharan had told Thackeray that his trust needs the Senas help in the reconstruction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

The Shiv Sena has been constantly pushing to start the reconstruction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on an immediate basis.

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On , a group of seers and saints started an indefinite fast to mount pressure on the Centre and the state governments to start the reconstruction of the temple in Ayodhya.



The fast will continue till the obstacles in the temple construction are removed. We will hold shilapujan every day. Saints and Ram bhakts will participate in it, one of the seers had said.

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The Supreme Court in its latest judgment had refused to revisit its 1994 ruling that a government can take a land in which a mosque has been built. The apex court also stated that it will not be referring to a larger bench.



In 1994, the Supreme Court had said that namaz (prayers) could be offered anywhere and a mosque is not necessarily required.

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Kathmandu, August 22

The Ministry of Health and Population has informed that Nepals Covid-19 tally has reached 827,642 as of Sunday afternoon.

The ministry said 1,920 new cases were confirmed in the country in the past 24 hours.

In this period, 9,443 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 1,702 returned positive. Likewise, 3,073 people underwent antigen tests for the virus, of which an additional 218 tested positive.

Of total tests, 18.02 per cent of the PCR and 7.09 per cent of antigen samples returned positive, keeping the overall per-day positivity rate at 15.34 per cent.

As of today, there are 38,751 active cases across the country. Of them, 3,196 are hospitalised, 681 in intensive care units and 169 on ventilators.

In the past 24 hours, 2,248 people have achieved recovery whereas 24 deaths have been reported.

Of the total cases so far, 698,173 people have achieved recovery. Likewise, 10,509 died, according to the ministry. The countrys recovery rate is 93.4 per cent and the death rate 1.5 per cent.

Likewise, 3,846,736 people have received their full dose of the Covid-19 vaccine while 4,942,250 have received their first dose. Today, 18,322 people were vaccinated throughout the country.
Were streaming daily on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, and Spotify! You can also listen to it right here on the Phoblographer.

I am actually a little bit OCD when it comes to getting things right, says Australian photographer Rod Evans about his attention to detail in photography. Enraptured by the night sky after stopping by the roadside during a drive in 2015, he now blends light painting with scenic night sky locations across the country. Rod uses some familiar and some outright unusual tools for creating his photographs. All of which were going to take a look at in this in-depth interview.

Want to get your work featured? Heres how to do it!

If you thought light painting was as simple as swirling an illuminated object around a stationary subject, think again. Rod Evans does a fair bit of planning and post-production, in addition to the efforts on location, to bring out a crisp, colorful light painting image. Check out the list below to see how varied and complex the gear requirements can be to produce an eye-catching light painting photograph. Its not all in the gear though. Rod takes his time to get the shapes and patterns exactly to his liking  a process that could take hours at times. This is made more complex when he frames his subjects against the Milky Way

The Essential Photo Gear Used by Rod Evans

A 360 portrait of Rod spinning steel wool in his front yard

Rod told us:

Canon 650D / T4i

Canon 750D / T6i

Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM Lens

Yongnuo RF605C trigger

Hama DCSS trigger system

Insta360 ONE X, ONE X2 and ONE R 360 cameras

Weifeng WF-6663A tripods

Black optic fibre brush

LED umbrella

Portrait scanner

LightPainter  Ryus Lightworks Edition flashlight

Fotorgear Magilight

Fiberflies Pixelwhip

Homemade light flute (basically a PVC pipe with holes cut in it)

Coloured gels to go over the torches

Sparklers

Acrylic tubes

Clear fibre optic

Sellotape, duct tape

Lots of batteries

Glow in the dark plastic stars to mark positions on the ground in the dark

Odd plastic trinkets (found at dollar stores) that I use on the ends of the tubes

My most useful camera toys are my remote shutter releases; the Yongnuo RF605C and my newest addition, the Hama DCCS system which is awesome as it allows me to operate the camera from up to 150 m away. Both remotes are great for light painting, particularly when Im stuck on top of a waterfall alone and cant keep racing down to check the image on the back of the camera.

Story continues

The Phoblographer: Please tell us about yourself and how you got into photography.

Rod Evans: Im a 44 year old primary school teacher who currently resides in northern New South Wales, Australia. In 2013 I was living in Brisbane when I enrolled in a Diploma of Screen and Media at a local TAFE college. In that course that I needed a DSLR camera primarily for capturing video, but it was when I moved down to northern New South Wales in 2015 that I found a new use for my camera. I was driving out on a quiet country road one night when I noticed the sky was clear, so I thought I would pull over and see if I could spot the Milky Way. I hopped out of the car, and there she was, stretched out across the western night sky.

Luckily, I had my Canon DSLR in the car, so I set it up on a tripod in a grassy paddock and captured my first image of the Milky Way. From that moment on, I was hooked. At first, I was mainly doing landscape and astrophotography, and then I teamed up with my friend Caroline Fisher one night, who showed me how to do steel wool spinning in the street outside her house. That was my first foray into long exposure light painting (which has become my primary focus over the last 4 years).

I really love light painting because it gets me out from behind the camera and puts me in front of the lens where I can let my creativity run wild. Other than the Diploma of Screen and Media, I really have had no formal training in photography. Ive basically taught myself just from watching YouTube tutorials and getting out there and experimenting.

A reflected orb under the Milky Way. The white in the orb is created with ice

The Phoblographer: Whats the secret behind getting such a sharp image? Asking the subject to not breathe for a 30 second exposure? (just kidding). Jokes aside though, how many takes did it take to get this stunner?

Rod Evans: My light painting shoots usually range from 1 to 2 hours. During that time, I usually try a whole range of different shapes and patterns using different light painting tools. I am actually a little bit OCD when it comes to getting things right, so if Im doing an orb or a spiral on location in a train tunnel or at a rockpool by the sea under the Milky Way, I will keep on light painting until I get a shot Im happy with. Once Ive got it, I can then pack up and go home.

Light painting with models can be difficult when you need them to stay still (anywhere from 10 to 60 seconds, depending on the circumstances). There are a few different ways you can light a model for light painting; sometimes I will use a rear curtain flash to illuminate them; other times, I will have them standstill for the entire length of the exposure and paint them in with a torch at the end. Recently I have used a portrait scanner (from Light Painting Brushes) to illuminate the model. That tool is great as I only need to illuminate the model for a couple of seconds, and they usually come out pin sharp.

Milky Way spiral. Tool used was a red acrylic tube with a yellow plastic tip.

The Phoblographer: Does the 500 rule and NPF rule come into play a lot when you calculate your outdoor light painting shots, or does the subjects exposure take precedence over the stars?

Rod Evans: When I first bought my 10-18mm lens, I used the 500 rule to calculate that when shooting at 10mm, I could get a maximum of 30 seconds before the stars started to streak. Ive never used the NPF rule. When light painting, some of the exposures can be up to 10 minutes long, which (when combined with astrophotography) will obviously produce long star trails. This cannot be avoided when shooting a single exposure, but one way to combat star trails would be to do a composite/blend of two exposures; take a nice clean shot of the stars and then blend that with the foreground shot using Photoshop. I have done blends before, but I generally dont mind having star trails in my lights painting images.

Spirals under the Milky Way. Tool used was an orange acrylic tube with a purple plastic tip.

The Phoblographer: I see a lot of floral patterns and swirls in there. When you head out to such spots, what are the factors that make you decide what kind of shapes to paint?

Rod Evans: Over the last few years, I have practiced a lot of spiral shapes and spherical orbs, as I find them easy to produce (using colored acrylic tubes), and I love how they look. I expect a lot of viewers would get sick of seeing me do orbs and spiral shapes all the time, but I do branch out from time to time and try new shapes.

Sometimes I choose a shape to match a specific location. Once Ive practiced and mastered a shape (and got the image Im after), I will usually do an orb or a spiral at the location just because I can. I often go through my old photos from years ago and discover shapes that I created that came out quite well and that I havent visited since then, so its good to go back and remind myself of what Ive tried and what I could perhaps, one day revisit.

Train tunnel flower. Tool used was the acrylic shaft of an LED umbrella

The Phoblographer: Theres bound to be a few naysayers whod say this kind of an image isnt a single exposure. How do you deal with criticism and doubt of this sort when it comes to your work?

Rod Evans: Over the last few years, there have been one or two people who have cast doubt whether an image of mine is a single exposure, but usually, most people just believe me when I say it is. I am very honest and forthcoming with technical information in my social media posts; if the image is a composite, then I will let people know that.

Sometimes I will direct people to my tutorials where they can actually see how I create my light painting shapes. When combining light painting and astro, the light source used with a tool needs to be quite dim so as not to overexpose the image (due to the high ISO needed to capture the stars). I guess some naysayers cant comprehend the ability of the tools I use for light painting. Oh well, I do my best to explain my set-up; if they dont believe me then thats their problem. I know its a single exposure so Im happy with that.

Mushrooms under the Milky Way. This is a composite of a Milky Way exposure and several separate mushroom exposures

The Phoblographer: Tell us about some of your favourite (photography) apps that help you plan such shoots. How much preparation typically goes into producing such an image and how much post processing?

Rod Evans: A lot of people use PhotoPills, but I actually use an Android app called PlanIt Pro, which is very similar to PhotoPills. I mainly use PlanIt to find where the moon is going to rise and where I need to be to capture it over a certain landmark or where I need to be to capture the Milky Way over a specific location such as a dead straight country road or rocky outcrop on a beach (which I have used a few times to capture light painting images).

My light painting and astro shots usually require some editing to boost the exposure and clarity of the Milky Way. Sometimes I will use a clone tool or healing brush to remove blemishes or slightly blurred spots where you can see me in the middle of an orb, but usually, the light painting doesnt get touched.

Milky Way orb with my dear friend Rachel absorbing its energy

The Phoblographer: The colours that the light tubes produce is entirely within your control. But what happens when the skies and galaxies dont turn out to be as vivid as youd hoped to be? Whats the best way to deal with these scenarios

Rod Evans: Sometimes, the color of the tube can really throw off the color of the whole image (particularly the sky). I always set my DSLR on auto white balance as I usually adjust the color and white balance in Post. I do spend quite a bit of time editing my light painting images in post.

The Phoblographer: Ive never heard of anyone using a contraceptive before for a light painting photograph. How on earth did you come up with the idea for this? Tell us about your favourite image shot using one of these

Rod Evans: I was sitting at home one night trying to figure out how I could attach ice to a torch and use it for light painting. I went to work the next day and told a colleague about the problem I was facing, and he suggested using a condom to contain the ice. Genius! So I went home, filled a condom with water and stuck it in the freezer. A few nights later, the sky was clear, so I wrapped the ice condom in a towel, placed it in a cooler and drove as fast as I could (about a 30-minute drive) down to one of my favorite beach locations, a rock pool by the sea. When I got there, I quickly attached the ice condom to an orange acrylic tube and captured a few shots under the Milky Way; the two I was most happy with were an orb and a spiral plant-like shape. After about half an hour, the ice in the condom melted (due to ambient temperature and/or the heat from the torch), and that was that. Game over. I actually still have the condom in my freezer; its been sitting there for over a year now. I probably should go out and do some more photos with it.

Spiral plant created with ice attached to a torch.

The Phoblographer: Youre also someone who does a fair bit of 360 images. Any plans to combine this with light painting some day?

Rod Evans: I have done a few 360 light painting images, particularly around the yard of the house I lived in a few years ago (it had dark skies and great views of the Milky Way). One of them was a steel wool shot I did in the front yard of that place. That image was picked up by Insta360 in 2019 and used to promote their One X camera.

Tool used was a clear acrylic tube attached to an RGB colour-fading torch.

The Phoblographer: Do you also camp out a lot to connect with these beautiful spots after youre done with the images? How important is that when it comes to being inspired

Rod Evans: I have camped out at locations before but generally I dont because I actually live within half an hour drive of all these amazing locations so I can actually go out for a shoot and then come home and go to bed. I do love camping though (and at times I miss it). Might be time for me to go off-grid for a while.

All images by Rod Evans. Used with permission. Check out his Instagram page, Redbubble store and Youtube channel for more of his work
Servicing one's car personally is a time-consuming, expensive and painstaking process. It's a cycle that can lead to more expensive repairs and safety issues down the line, and no car owner likes that.

Egypt and Dubai-based auto tech startup Odiggo is a platform addressing this problem. It allows car owners to get the help they need by finding car services and parts suppliers from providers around them. Then for the suppliers, it increases their sales and reaches more customers without necessarily spending on marketing.

Odiggo is part of the current YC Summer batch and has secured a $2.2 million seed round before Demo Day. The rosters of existing investors participating in the round are Y Combinator, 500 Startups, and Plug and Play Ventures. Regional VCs like Seedra Ventures, LoftyInc Capital, and Essa Al-Saleh (CEO of Volta-Tucks) also took part.

Ahmed Omar and Ahmed Nasser launched Odiggo in December 2019. The company operates a marketplace that connects car owners with service providers who can solve their problems, from servicing and repair to washing and maintenance. A commission-based model is used and Odiggo charges the car suppliers 20% commission on every transaction.

Over 50,000 car owners across three markets -- Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia -- use Odiggo. The company also works directly with over 300 merchants. It claims merchant numbers have grown 40% month-on-month while its user base has increased 200% since the start of the pandemic.

We believe we are at a watershed moment. It is incredible that since COVID hit, Odiggo has experienced over 10 times growth in the last year, said co-founder Omar.

CEO Omar said with this new round, Odiggo's priority will be to attain consistent growth while expanding its team across the UEA, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Odiggo

L-R: Ahmed Nassir (co-founder) & Ahmed Omar (co-founder and CEO)

He adds that since Odiggo taps into a mix of data sources  including car metrics and internal software, it will use that same information to provide more product offerings.

Story continues

Odiggo will use part of the funding to continue developing its tech and dashboard software, he said.

"For example, the platform would be hooked up to the car owner's vehicle and link the vehicle to the marketplace and provide frequent updates of your vehicle condition so youll be informed if the tires are low, the oil needs changing, or if a service is required."

The pandemic has upended the mobility and logistics sectors, especially in MENA, making players like Odiggo gain much visibility from investors. In an industry today worth over $61 billion in the Middle East and Africa alone, Odiggo is looking to become a market leader. It has even more lofty plans to go public in the next three years.

"We are also aiming to be fully focused on spending more on our product and technology, as building an ecosystem to monetize requires more capital. Our target is to go for IPO by 2024 and achieve one billion services booked, and this requires a lot of network effects, infrastructure and technology," the CEO said.

We aim to be the first $100 billion company coming out of the region," added Nasser.

Some of its investors, Idris Ayodeji Bello, managing partner at LoftyInc, and Essa Al-Saleh, are onboard with the startup's plan despite early days.

"We are excited to back Odiggo through our Afropreneurs Funds in its quest to transform the automotive parts market and provide superior service to clients, starting from MENA. The leadership team of Omar and Nasser, supported by the rest of the employees, have been a joy to work with and we are on a countdown to the IPO," said Bello in a statement.
The United States and Spain have agreed to use military bases in Spain to receive Afghans who worked for the U.S. government.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reached agreement on the issue during a telephone conversation on August 21, the Spanish government said on August 22.

Under the agreement, the bases -- Moron de la Frontera near Seville and Rota near Cadiz -- can be used for refugees from Afghanistan until their travel to other countries is arranged.

Sanchez tweeted on August 21: "I have just had a meaningful conversation with President Joe Biden in which we have addressed several topics of common interest, particularly the situation in Afghanistan and the collaboration between our governments in the evacuation of citizens from that country."

A plane carrying 110 Afghan refugees and their families arrived at a military base outside Madrid in the evening on August 21, including 36 people who had worked for the U.S. administration in Afghanistan.

The base is being use to host Afghan refugees who worked with the European Union and their families who will then move to other EU countries.

Based on reporting by Reuters
Tens of thousands of Afghans have again jammed the roads leading to Kabul's airport, as Taliban fighters fired weapons in the air and sought to control the crowds trying to flee the country.

With the Taliban trying to consolidate its control over Kabul and establish law and order, the group faced a new challenge in a northern district from fighters who refuse to recognize the Talibans claim to power.

The Al-Arabiya TV channel on August 22 quoted the son of Ahmad Shah Masud, who was one of the main leaders of the countrys anti-Soviet resistance in the 1980s, as saying he will not surrender areas under his control to the Taliban.

Ahmad Masud also called on the formation of a comprehensive government to rule the country with the participation of the Taliban. And he warned that war will be "unavoidable" if the insurgents refuse dialogue, the TV channel reported.

The chaos outside the Kabul airport over the past week has resulted in the deaths of seven Afghans, the British military said August 22 -- a figure that is believed to be a major undercount. The British statement did not specify when or how exactly the deaths occurred.

A NATO official said that at least 20 people have died in the past seven days in and around the airport. Some were shot and others died in stampedes.

Thousands of U.S. Marines have secured part of the airport, and struggled to keep crowds at bay and away from the tarmac as military and civilian aircraft take off carrying foreigners and Afghans alike.

Jake Sullivan, the White House national-security adviser, told CNN on August 22 that 3,900 people had been flown out of Kabul on U.S. flights over the previous 24 hours. According to the U.S. Defense Department, U.S. planes have ferried 17,000 people out of the country since the evacuation effort began a week ago.

The British Defense Ministry said nearly 4,000 people had been evacuated on U.K. flights from Afghanistan since August 13.

WATCH: Deadly Stampede At Kabul Airport As People Try To Flee

The Afghan Civil Aviation Authority asked people not to travel to the facility.

"There [are] no civilian and commercial flights in Hamid Karzai International Airport," it advised on its Facebook account on August 21.

Britain, the United States, and other countries have struggled to expand evacuation efforts of their own citizens, as well as Afghans who have worked for foreign embassies, NGOs, NATO forces, or other organizations and might put them at risk of retribution by Taliban fighters.

Growing security threats have prompted U.S. military planes to do rapid, diving, combat landings at the Kabul airport and other aircraft have been seen shooting off flares on takeoff, apparently in an attempt to confuse possible heat-seeking missiles.

The U.S. Embassy issued a new security alert, warning citizens not to travel to the Kabul airport without individual instruction from a U.S. government representative.

The Pentagon, meanwhile, ordered six commercial airlines to help transport people after their evacuation -- a further sign of Washington's struggles to speed up the process. In total, 18 commercial aircraft from major carriers like United, American, and Delta will be used to ferry people from temporary locations after arriving from Afghanistan.

The planes will not travel to Kabul itself.

Evacuees are currently being sent to a dozen countries, including across Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

Officials have expressed frustration with slow paperwork processing by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the State Department.

The Spanish government announced that the United States and Spain have agreed to use two military bases in Spain to receive Afghans who worked for the U.S. government.

Under the agreement, the bases -- one near Seville, the other near Cadiz -- will be used to process refugees from Afghanistan until their travel to other countries is arranged.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the EU had "complained" to U.S. officials that their security at Kabul airport was overly strict and was hampering attempts by Afghans who worked for the Europeans to enter.

Bahrain has said it will open up its airports to flights evacuating people from Afghanistan, and the United Arab Emirates announced it would temporarily host Afghan refugees as the United States faced overcrowding at facilities processing evacuees in Qatar.

Afghan officials familiar with talks held in the capital say the Taliban will not make announcements on their government until the August 31 deadline for the U.S. troop withdrawal passes.

With reporting by Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, dpa, AP, and AFP
Tony Blair, the former British prime minister who took his country alongside the United States into war in Afghanistan in 2001, called the Western military pullout from the nation dangerous and unnecessary.

Blair on August 21 also warned that Russia, China, and Iran will take advantage of the Western military departure from the country after 21 years of war and terror attacks.

Blair made the comments in a statement posted on his foundation website, The Tony Blair Foundation for Global Change.

"The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours," he stated in his first public comments on the crisis since the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban takeover.

He added that the question posed by allies and enemies alike is: Has the West lost its strategic will?

Russia, China, and Iran will see and take advantage. Anyone given commitments by Western leaders will understandably regard them as unstable currency, he wrote.

As the leader of our country when we took the decision to join the United States in removing the Taliban from power -- and who saw the high hopes we had of what we could achieve for the people and the world subside under the weight of bitter reality -- I know better than most how difficult the decisions of leadership are, and how easy it is to be critical and how hard to be constructive.

He urged that the West "evacuate and give sanctuary to those to whom we have responsibility -- those Afghans who helped us, stood by us, and have a right to demand we stand by them."
Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. NE winds shifting to SSE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 58F. SSE winds shifting to NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Six years after turning a nearly vacant former railway station into a hub for space and technology startups, Kevin O'Neil has even bigger plans for his Catalyst Campus business park.

Construction is expected to begin early next year on a sixth office building in the 12-acre business park on the eastern edge of downtown Colorado Springs to house its growing collection of space-focused startups and defense contractors. Work was scheduled to begin last year on the 50,000-square-foot building on West Pikes Peak Avenue, but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, O'Neil said.

That's just the first step in O'Neil's ambitious plan to expand the campus during the next 10 years from eight buildings totaling 200,000 square feet that house 30 companies and 700 employees, to structures totaling 1 million square feet that will house dozens of companies employing thousands of people along much of downtown's southeast side. He also wants to open up to 10 satellite locations in other cities by 2026.

"Five years ago, everything here was almost entirely vacant. Now there is no vacancy, property values have gone way up and there is nothing for sale," O'Neil said. "Catalyst Campus was built as an economic driver for downtown. We did this investment to create jobs in downtown Colorado Springs. Small businesses that we helped to succeed and grow have since been acquired by large public companies."

Limited liability companies affiliated with the O'Neil Group, acquired land and buildings near the campus to give it room to grow. During the past 2 years, the limited liability companies have paid $9.15 million for buildings totaling 60,000 square feet at 545 E. Pikes Peak Ave., 422 E. Vermijo Ave. and 117 S. Wahsatch St. as well as 4.5 acres of former railroad right-of-way near Shooks Run Creek.

O'Neil wants to move tenants and demolish most of the three buildings on the land his company is acquiring to expand the campus and is still trying to buy more adjacent land for future expansion. He plans to put old railroad cars on the former railroad right-of-way, similar to the way Red Leg Brewery has used small metal shipping containers to house restaurants and food vendors to create an atmosphere that will attract talented engineers and other workers similar to the Lower Downtown (LoDo) and River North (RINO) areas of Denver.

The campus opened in 2015 with a focus on space and cybersecurity, and now its helping the Department of Defense bring technology developed by space-related startups into military programs more quickly. O'Neil Group affiliates bought the former Santa Fe railroad station and two adjacent buildings in 2014 for $4 million. It has spent more than $20 million remodeling and upgrading to make Catalyst Campus one of the most technologically advanced business parks in Colorado.

"We are providing an environment where the government has access to the traditional defense industry base, non-traditional commercially focused companies and academia to help accelerate the delivery of national security solutions to stay ahead of the evolving threat," Catalyst Campus CEO Patrick Barrett said. Recent testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee shows top military brass believe that model is working.

Gen. Glen Van Herck, commander of U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, cited the Pathfinder program at Catalyst Campus as a "best practice for innovation at the Department of Defense." Engineers working for startup companies at the campus are developing Pathfinder as a prototype for a new air command and control system that will replace six existing systems.

Catalyst Campus also is expanding into new locations beyond Colorado, opening a satellite office near the University of Maryland-College Park campus in February with plans to expand with more space in May 2022. The software "factory" is designed to bring new capabilities to the Navy using the same model of hosting teams from the defense industry, small business, government and academia that Catalyst Campus developed in Colorado Springs.

A third Catalyst Campus location is planned to open this fall in Ogden, Utah, near Hill Air Force Base, University of Utah, Utah State University and Weber State University. No location or timetable has been set for a fourth location, but Barrett said Catalyst Campus has a "long list" of communities that want to host the next location.

One of the newest tenants of Catalyst Campus is ONE Dev, a defense contracting company set up by the O'Neil Group and headed by Kevin O'Neil's brother, Ken O'Neil, and Rob Patterson, a former top Braxton Science & Technology Group executive. Kevin O'Neil said ONE Dev will use the same strategy O'Neil Group used while it owned Braxton  buy defense companies and move them to Colorado Springs. O'Neil Group sold Braxton in October to Parsons for $300 million.
The Taliban toppled Afghanistan's elected government on Monday. By Tuesday, the gun-toting Taliban leaders who mugged for cameras in the Kabul presidential palace received warm greetings from Beijing.

Welcome to Belt and Road, China's foreign outreach policy that's ensnaring the third world. And Afghanistan, which shares a 50-mile border with China, is now a perfect target.

"Facts have once again proved that some countries' military intervention against a sovereign state in the name of democracy and human rights has seriously undermined the sovereignty and territorial integrity of relevant country, causing serious damage to its economic and social development and leading to massive civilian casualties and displacement," China's foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian crowed Tuesday. "These countries should immediately stop illegal military intervention and make concrete efforts to safeguard world peace and security and promote and protect human rights."

By cuddling with the Taliban, China is again opening the world's largest pawn shop. Impoverished nations like Afghanistan can put up natural resources as collateral for infrastructure, no credit check or human rights study required.

Brutal regimes from Iran to Venezuela get economic growth, which helps them cling to power. China initially gains bushels of influence, insulating China's President Xi Jinping who is viewed with suspicion by the West and in the capitals of Asian democracies.

As the policy plays out, China gains unfettered access to oil, mineral wealth and other natural resources and wide-open markets for its industrial output.

In the Congo, Belt and Road netted China 10.6 million tons of copper and 600,000 tons of cobalt.

Zimbabwe pawned platinum. Kenya put up its coffee crop and signed over title to the ports of Nairobi and Mombassa. Iran pawned crude oil and natural gas.

Dictatorships frequently run into economic trouble. China is a friendly lender. Can't pay? China will keep pawned merchandise.

Afghanistan has plenty to put in hock. A Pentagon study found it has more than $1 trillion in untapped mineral wealth included one of the planet's richest deposits of lithium. A key material in production of batteries for everything from mobile phones to Tesla automobiles, lithium is trading at $7 a pound  nearly 90 times the price of iron ore.

And Afghanistan offers far more to China than mineral wealth. Influence over the influential Taliban could help Beijing gain control over Islamic militants in its far western provinces.

China has used concentration camps and police power to crack down on Muslims, most from the Uyghur minority group, gaining scorn from the United Nations and western powers. But China has kept in touch with the Taliban, prompting allegations that Beijing helped the militants thwart American efforts in Afghanistan.

If the Taliban put in a good word, though, the militancy could ebb. At the foreign ministry in Beijing, Zhao Lijian is already smiling.

"China's position on the Afghan issue is clear and consistent," he said. "We hope that Afghanistan can form an open, inclusive and broadly representative government that echoes the widely shared aspirations of its own people and the international community."
Cripple Creek police are investigating a sexual assault they said took place early Monday morning.

Police arrested Chad Courtney Gooch, 42, from Texas, shortly after arriving on scene of the incident, and have accused him of a litany of charges, including second-degree kidnapping, first-degree assault, sexual assault, and false imprisonment.

Gooch is currently being held at the Teller County jail, on a $250,000 cash bond.

Fort Worth, Texas court records show a man born in 1979 named Chad Courtney Gooch was convicted in 1998 of aggravated kidnapping and an undisclosed first-degree felony, though it wasnt clear if he served a sentence.

Gooch was also arrested in February on charges of attempted burglary, being in the possession of tools used for burglary, trespassing, and criminal mischief.
Lockheed Martins Colorado operations in the last year saw the completion of a spacecraft that will be launched to an asteroid near Jupiter, the success of its aeroshell that protected a NASA Mars rover as it landed on the red planet, and its Osiris-REx spacecraft grab some space dirt from an asteroid 200 million miles away.

All of that is coming out of this campus, said Richard Ambrose, executive vice president of Lockheeds space division, of the companys Waterton campus southwest of Denvers suburbs. Its important to the local economy.

Its there about 6,000 employees of the space division work to design, test and build spacecraft integral to NASAs future missions to the moon, Mars and long-range space exploration. There are about 9,000 space division employees, who work from locations in Boulder, the south metro Denver area and down to Colorado Springs. Lockheed has about 11,000 employees statewide.

The campus also houses the $128-million, 40,000-square-foot GPS III processing facility, where engineers will build up to 32 GPS III satellites for U.S. Space Force. Its estimated there are more than 4 billion GPS users worldwide.

This technology can be used for commercial, civil and defense applications, Ambrose said.

Lockheeds Waterton campus also houses the Space Operations Simulation Center, a ultra-stable test environment for precision instruments and accurate navigation systems used in space vehicles.

Its the most sophisticated facility on the planet, he said.

Lockheed officials are looking forward to the Space Symposium returning to Colorado Springs Aug. 23-26.

We enjoy coming together to have debates around space, Ambrose said. Thats the core tradition. Its a safe place for government, academic and industry representatives to discuss the challenges. Over time, its gotten a strong international flavor as well.

As opposed traveling around the country for meetings, they enjoy the efficiency of having all those representatives nearby.

We joke its like speed dating  we have like 15 meetings scheduled in two days, he said. Plus, as one of the largest space companies, we feel an obligation to help move the space industry forward by helping small companies and students.

Capturing the hearts and minds of hearts and minds of young kids by bringing them understanding about the science is really important to us, Ambrose said.

In March, NASAs Perseverance Rover successfully landed on Mars protected by the Lockheed-built aeroshell. Its the 10th one the company has produced for NASA. It carried rover safely through the Martian atmosphere at speeds of 12,500 mph and temperatures as high as 2,370 degrees.

Next on the horizon for Lockheeds Colorado operations: teaming up with General Motors to build NASAs next-generation lunar vehicle. Developing the vehicle is part of NASAs Artemis program, which hopes to land female and people of color astronauts on the moon. The program challenged the aerospace industry to design a lunar terrain vehicle to carry astronauts farther than the 4.7 miles previous rovers have traveled.

And the team is anxiously awaiting the return of Osiris-REx  short for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer. It left Earth on Sept. 8, 2016, aboard Centennial-based United Launch Alliances Atlas V rocket. It "kissed" the Bennu asteroid in October to collect carbon-rich space dirt (regolith). Its the third mission in NASAs New Frontiers program.

Its scheduled to bring the regolith sample back to Earth in September 2023.

The spacecraft destined for the Trojan asteroid near Jupiter, named Lucy, could launch after Oct. 16, also on a ULA Atlas V rocket.

Were excited about getting Lucy launched, Ambrose said.
America's withdrawal from Afghanistan reopens old wounds that never really healed.

Memories of people I miss flash through my mind.

Maj. Phil Ambard raised five great kids and climbed from enlisted basic training at Lackland Air Force Base to a professorship at the Air Force Academy.

Great guy, always wore a smile. An expert in languages, he was picking up the many tongues of Afghanistan while training the fledging Afghan Air Force.

One of his trainees, influenced by religious calls to holy war, shot Phil dead in Kabul.

Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin Griffin was a father of two from Laramie, Wyo. He was tough and smart. On the outside he was gruff and capable of delivering criticism that would make trainees melt before him. But on the inside, he carried an enduring love for his soldiers.

You could see it on the training grounds of Fort Carson, where he would quietly encourage troops when they were having a tough time.

Griffin was on his way to a meeting with local leaders in Asadabad when a suicide bomber killed him.

Staff Sgt. Vernon Martin was just 25 but was seen as an old man by his soldiers. Through training at Fort Carson, he taught his troops hard lessons he'd learned over multiple combat tours.

"I would have followed that man straight to hell," one of his soldiers said at his funeral.

Martin died when his position in the Korengal Valley was attacked by more than 300 Taliban fighters.

I sat through their funerals, professionally documenting their lives. I am a hardened old journalist, but seeing the anguish of their families brought a tear to my eye  still does when those memories flood back.

The three died trying to bring freedom to a nation that never really understood the gift. They helped ensure a brief window of democracy, women's rights and advancement.

That window is now closing for Afghanistan, but it's not that we didn't try hard enough.

Fort Carson's Clint Romesha, Ty Carter and Flo Groberg earned the Medal of Honor trying to deliver that freedom. They survived this war and their deeds are still something that amaze me. If their bravery is the yardstick, I'll never measure up.

And now, almost 20 years after Americans raced to war to avenge the terrorist attacks of 9/11, it's over.

It is not a victory.

Taliban troops are going from town to town, driving back Afghanistan's army and reasserting their theocratic control.

The fall of Kabul has been predicted.

And a nation that so many Americans fought to envelop in the light of liberty could again plunge into medieval darkness.

Afghanistan was America's first generational war. Fathers and mothers who fought there later sent their sons and daughters.

Nearly 2,400 Americans died there, more than 20,000 suffered physical wounds and we'll never know how many troops deal daily with the mental wounds inflicted by that war.

Leaving Afghanistan hurts. It feels like failure.

But one thing that lessens the blow: It's not America's failure.

The people of Afghanistan were given a choice. It is time for them to make it.

One thing has been proven these past 20 years: American blood and bravery can't fix what's broken in Afghanistan.

The American troops who died there and those who made it home are heroes who valiantly tried to bring peace to that troubled place.

But it is long past time for Afghanistan to discover its own heroes.
The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Gloucestershire Lad at Home and Abroad, by F. W. (Frederick William) Harvey

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org . If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: A Gloucestershire Lad at Home and Abroad

Author: F. W. (Frederick William) Harvey

Release Date: August 22, 2021 [eBook #66108]

Language: English

Character set encoding: UTF-8

Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by University of California libraries)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A GLOUCESTERSHIRE LAD AT HOME AND ABROAD ***

TO ALL COMRADES OF MINE WHO LIE DEAD IN FOREIGN FIELDS FOR LOVE OF ENGLAND, OR WHO LIVE TO PROSECUTE THE WAR FOR ANOTHER ENGLAND

[vii] PREFACE

Most of these poems were written at the Front, and appeared in the Fifth Gloucester Gazettethe first paper ever published from the trenches.

The author was then a Lance-Corporal in the 5th Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, and as such gained the Distinguished Conduct Medal in August, 1915.

The award appears as follows in the London Gazette

F. W. Harvey.For conspicuous gallantry on the night of the 3rd-4th August, 1915, near Hebuterne, when, with a patrol, he and another Non-Commissioned Officer went out to reconnoitre in the direction of a suspected listening post. In advancing they encountered the hostile post evidently covering a working party in the rear. Corporal Knight at once shot one of the enemy, and, with Lance-Corporal Harvey, rushed the post, shooting two others, and assistance arriving the enemy fled. Lance-Corporal Harvey pursued, felling one of the retreating Germans with a bludgeon. He seized him, but finding his revolver empty and the enemy having opened fire, he was called back by Corporal Knight, and the prisoner escaped. Three Germans were killed and their rifles and a Mauser pistol were brought in. The patrol had no loss.

[viii]The poems are written by a soldier and reflect a soldiers outlook. Mud, blood and khaki are rather conspicuously absent. They are, in fact, the last things a soldier wishes to think or talk about.

What he does think of is his home.

Bishop Frodsham, preaching in Gloucester Cathedral, after visiting the Troops in France, quoted the following poem in a passage which admirably expresses the feelings of most of our fighting men.

To suppose that these men enjoy the fighting would be sheer nonsense. The soldier does not want to go on killing and maiming Germans or Turks. He wants to get the dreadful war finished, so that he can get back to England again. But he wants the matter fought to a finish because he has seen in the villages and towns of France what German domination means. It has made him think furiously, as the French say. Many regiments and ships companies while away the impracticable hours by publishing little newspapers.

The Fifth Gloucester Gazette is one of these journals. We are proud of the courage and the gaiety these little papers show. We laugh at their quips and jokes: then suddenly we find that the corners of our mouths are quivering[ix] and the tears are gathering in our eyes. We see that the boys are thinking about England below their gaiety. One young poet lifts the veil in this exquisite little rondeau

That is perhaps the keynote of a book which the author has dedicated to all dead and living comrades who have loved England.

J. H. Collett, C.M.G., Colonel



Commanding the Fifth Battalion of the

Gloucestershire Regiment in France.



[x]

[xiv]

(Dedicated to the Gloucestershire Society)

Air: The Vicar of Bray

(Rondeau)

(Confidentially)

(Acrostics)

(T. D., 13/3/16)

(To H. M.)

(To A. E. S.)

(A Portrait)

Shrivelled in His glory: scorched by His humour: because He has imagined and made you, I trust and am sure.

Because of Him who imagined and made you I am able tranquilly to abide the time.

Well, it is yours to create realities anew, smiled Death. Hitherto (like the rest) you seem to have done it badly.

Whither does Time trot us? And is moonlight brightening the harness buckles as when children play beneath the rugs, guessing Where are we? and father drives homehomebeneath the stars?

Why am I so many men? It is because you have not Faith. What is Faith? Faith is a fire. But how does a man come by it? Perhaps God gives it him.

Perhaps (I do not know) you have learnt to hate yourself or to love a fellow-being.

Shuddering, he plucked it free, lest he should die. And thenby magicit became in his hand a shining sword fit to smite down the sorrow of the world.

What is that lovely thing you have in your heart? Why do you not sing of it? asked the Muse.

No, returned the stranger, with a sad smile, I had better have come, but now I will go home. The grass there has become blue.

Is not this the mountain of blue grass? asked the stranger. Why is the grass as green as in our common meadows?

But a man, looking at some he had plucked to wear, discovered (formed by the inside shape and hue of the petals) a black cross at the bottom of every scarlet cup, and cast them from him.

In the field of Time, at the end of the path of daisies, grow flaming poppies, taking the eye more readily than the flowers of gold and white.

Against the dark glass shone like a flower the mouth of his beloved. But in vain he pressed lips of fire upon the panesin vain!

Now he will remember my love! thought the woman, and she smiled. But when the Artist saw the smile on her face, he took his brushes and made a picture of it, and the love of the woman was forgotten.

I am tired of failing! said the Artist, and he ripped up the picture with his penknife.

Printed in Great Britain by Richard Clay & Sons, Limited.

BRUNSWICK ST., STAMFORD ST., S.E., AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.

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EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 22 , 2021

Schiller Institute Afghanistan Webcast: Rush the Economic Projects, Talk with the Government-in-Formation

Aug. 21, 2021 (EIRNS)The Schiller Institute aired an international webcast symposium today, Now, More Urgent Than Ever: AfghanistanOpportunity for a New Epoch for Mankind, bringing together speakers with wide experience, from six nationsUnited States, Germany, Pakistan, Canada, and Italy. Three main themes were struck repeatedly in the dialogue: Toss out the endless wars paradigm completely, talk to the new Afghan government-in-the-making, and get economic projects going.

Push for quick economic development, was the advice by Helga Zepp-LaRouche in her opening remarks. Saying that whats happened in Afghanistan marks the end of a system, maybe not as big as the Fall of the Wall and the end of the Soviet Union, but as portentous. There has been a deep-seated problem of conducting never-ending wars, and geopolitical games. This must stop, and it goes beyond Afghanistan as such. She stressed also that, It is high time to change the axiomatic assumptions about Russia and China.

Besides Zepp-LaRouche on the panel, there were Lt. Col. Ulrich Scholz (ret.) (Germany), a military and philosophy expert; Pino Arlacchi (Italy), former head of the UN Office for Drug Control (1997-2002), now professor at Sassari University; Hassan Daud (Pakistan), CEO, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province Board of Investment; Ray McGovern (U.S.) former CIA analyst and co-founder of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), and Nipa Banerjee (Canada), Professor at the University of Ottawa. A question was taken up from Khalid Latif, director of the Center of Pakistan and International Relations (COPAIR).

The co-moderators of todays event, Dennis Speed and Diane Sare, pointed out that todays discussion is a continuation of the dialogue of the July 31 Schiller Institute event, Afghanistan: A Turning Point in History After the Failed Regime-Change Era, and several of the same individuals are involved. Sare noted the importance of the Schiller Institute in restoring the dialogue process, saying that, people are losing the ability to have a dialogue these days. Instead, we have ideological hysteria, as seen right now, with the fixation on accusations and blame over the logistics of the Kabul evacuation process, with no vision for the people and the future.

Within two weeks of the Schiller Institutes July 31 event, presenting a development overview for Afghanistan and the region, the 20-year U.S./NATO military action came to an end. The Taliban took over Kabul. Today there were meetings in Kabul among Taliban political director Abdul Ghani Baradar, former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation head Abdullah Abdullah, and others toward an eventual formation of a government, to be announced some time shortly after Aug. 31, when the evacuation period concludes.

What we dont need now, said Arlacchi, is Talibanologyspeculating on their intentions and hypotheticals. Many others agreed, making the point that the intentions to be focused upon, are those of the major powers: What do the U.S. and the European Union intend to do? Will they, for example, work together with other major powers of Russia, China, and India as well as immediate neighbors of AfghanistanIran and Pakistan, and the Central Asian nations to the north, on humanitarian aid and economic initiatives? One in three of the 39 million people in Afghanistan are food insecure. There are dozens of thousands of internally displaced people, and thousands fleeing the nation. All this, with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing.

Arlacchi reported his own past experience on a wool factory project in Kandahar Province, involving successful negotiations with the Taliban governor. In the July 31 dialogue, Arlacchi reported on the success in nearly eradicating all opium poppy cultivation over the period 1998 to 2000, through his UN program, in conjunction with the Taliban. Opium production then roared back after the U.S./NATO 2001 invasion. Arlacchi said emphatically today, We should start to make plans on narcotics elimination right now.

On the question of accountability of the Taliban new government and projects, Ray McGovern raised the point that you can and should have a truthful monitoring process, which could come, for example from the United Nations. He raised the specific example of how the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, set up by Congress some years back, actually kept truthful accounts on what the U.S. and NATO were doing in Afghanistan, which documented that U.S. officials were lying about progress there all along. Prof. Banerjee strongly agreed on this point. These Inspector General documents were published in 2019 by the Washington Post, described by McGovern as the one useful thing done by the Washington Post in the last 20 years. Principal author Craig Whitlock, has just released his new book, The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War.

The features of economic development for the region were summarized today by Daud, whose Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan borders Afghanistan, which has national endowments, minerals, water, hard-working people. He stressed that, when the Afghanistan government is strong and stable, it can reach out to China, and work with the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, in which it already has observer status. It can become a crossroads of the region.

In the past, this very region was referred to as a land of a thousand cities, Zepp-LaRouche stated in concluding the discussion. The idea of the New Silk Road, is again to create conditions for hundreds and thousands of new citiesscience centers, and beautiful, modern new cities. The old paradigm is crashing down, not just in Afghanistan. War can no longer be a means of solving problems.
Rev. Jesse Jackson, wife Jacqueline hospitalized for COVID

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a famed civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate, and his wife, Jacqueline, have been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a statement Saturday.

Jesse Jackson, 79, is vaccinated against the virus and received his first dose in January during a publicized event as he urged others to receive the inoculation as soon as possible. He and his wife, 77, are being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

Doctors are currently monitoring the condition of both, according to the statement from Jesse Jacksons nonprofit, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.

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There are no further updates at this time, the statement said. We will provide updates as they become available.

A protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson was key in guiding the modern civil rights movement on numerous issues, including voting rights.

Despite having been diagnosed for Parkinsons disease, Jackson has remained active, and has advocated for COVID-19 vaccines for Black people, who lag behind white people in the United States vaccination drive. Earlier this month, he was arrested outside the U.S. Capitol during a demonstration calling for Congress to end the filibuster in order to support voting rights.


A top Chinese official has called for all-round efforts to ensure Tibetans speak and write in Chinese.

The official, Wang Yang, spoke at a recent ceremony in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa. The building is the ancient home of the Dalai Lamas, leaders of traditional Tibetan Buddhism.

In his speech, Wang said all Tibetans must share in, what he called, cultural symbols and images of the Chinese nation.

The official is a member of the small and powerful Politburo Standing Committee.

The ceremony was held to mark the 70th anniversary of the Chinese invasion of what is now the Tibet Autonomous Region. China has ruled the large Himalayan area since 1951, when the Peoples Liberation Army seized the territory in what it calls a peaceful liberation.

"Tibet can only develop and prosper under the party's leadership and socialism," Wang said.

China has also pointed to its efforts to improve the economy in the area.

Critics say Chinas moves to expand Chinese cultural influences threaten Tibets traditional Buddhist culture. Chinese leaders condemn the current, widely-accepted Dalai Lama as a separatist. He lives in exile in northern India.

Wang said, separatist and sabotage activities committed by the Dalai (Lama) group and hostile external forces have been crushed.

He added that since 1951, Tibet had taken a path from darkness to brightness, from backwardness to progress, from poverty to prosperity and from autocracy to democracy.

The U.S.-based International Campaign for Tibet, however, sees Tibets past progress very differently. Judging by developments in Tibet over the past 70 years, the Tibetan people have no cause for jubilation, the group said in a statement. It added: Chinese policies have turned Tibet itself into an open-air prison with restrictions on all aspects of Tibetan life."

China recognizes the current Panchen Lama -- who was put in place by the Chinese Communist Party -- as the highest religious official in Tibet. As a mark of the party's rule over Tibetan Buddhism, Wang presented the Panchen Lama with a special memorial during the ceremony.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

__________________________________________________

Words in This Story

liberation  n. to help someone or something be free

symbol  n. a sign or object that is used to represent something

prosper  v. to be successful, usually by earning a lot of money

commit  v. to do something that is considered wrong or illegal

autocracy  n. government by a single person or small group that has unlimited power or authority

jubilation  n. a feeling of great happiness

aspect  n. one part of a situation, problem, subject, etc.


The Utrecht Central Museum in The Netherlands offered an unusual art exhibit this month. Called The Blind Spot, visitors could look at artworks as expected. But, they could also touch and smell them.

The show was designed to provide a better experience for museumgoers with poor eyesight.

The creators made copies of famous paintings and added representative elements that could be heard or smelled. Visitors could even get a feel for the art, which included touchable elements.

Visitor Farid el Manssouri seemed to enjoy his experience. He smiled as he moved his hands over cheese, grapes and bread, part of the representation of a famous 1610 painting by Floris van Dyck.

"The first thing that struck me was the smell," el Manssouri said.

"I could really smell the cheese, and I touched it too."

El Manssouri wondered how the food did not fall from its unbalanced position. "That was really surprising to feel ... I guess it was glued on pretty well," el Manssouri said.



Artist Jasper Udink ten Cate and designer Jeroen Prins created The Blind Spot. They said they were inspired by an experience they shared with a blind visitor at a past art show. They had provided food to go along with an artwork at the show. The blind visitor was very moved by that, they said.

"That moment was the starting point," ten Cate said.

Steffie Maas is the museum's head of inclusivity. She said The Blind Spot was an experiment on the way to more such improvements.

Visitor Bas Suurland also praised The Blind Spot, calling the experience quite unique in the Netherlands.

Im John Russell.

Eva Plevier reported on this story from Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

glue  v. to make (something) stick to something else by using glue

inspire  v. to make (someone) want to do something : to give (someone) an idea about what to do or create

unique -- adj. very special or unusual


After over a year of teaching by video, American colleges and universities want to open for in-person learning. Some are requiring their students to have a COVID-19 vaccine before they come to school. Most will ask students to wear face coverings inside.

Some schools, however, have changed their minds. They are concerned about the fast-spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Both the University of Texas at San Antonio and California State University at Stanislaus had planned to open classrooms to students. But recently the schools announced plans to delay in-person study until the middle of September and early October.

Cal State-Stanislaus said it needed more time for students to send in proof of a COVID-19 vaccine. In San Antonio, the university said a sudden increase of COVID-19 cases required a change. The university hoped the number of cases in Texas will drop by the middle of September.

The Chronicle of Higher Education listed about 750 universities in the United States that require students to show a record of vaccination. The schools are mostly in the western and northeastern parts of the U.S.

In Republican-led states, school leaders face political pressure to limit their anti-virus actions. The governors of Florida and Texas issued orders to ban public schools from establishing requirements for vaccines or face coverings.

One schools plan

Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. is opening to about 7,000 undergraduate students this week. As a private university, Georgetown can make rules without government interference. It requires all students, teachers and other employees to be vaccinated. And everyone must wear a face covering to go inside buildings.

Sue Lorenson is the Vice Dean for Undergraduate Education in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgetown. She said Georgetown has planned for the 2021-2022 school year since last spring when vaccines were not readily available. So other than the vaccine requirement and students being permitted to sit close to each other, all other plans stayed in place.

Most classes will be in person, because our goal is to have as many in-person experiences for our students as possible, Lorenson said. As part of the plan, classes are being held in rooms where there is more space for students to spread out.

However, that means some large classes, with hundreds of students, will not take place in person. Those classes, she said, are homeless. The big classes and a few others will take place on video.

Lorenson gave two examples: a small Italian language class would be hard to teach with students sitting far apart and wearing face coverings.

Another class, first-year microeconomics, has 300 students. There is only one room on campus that can seat 300 people, but that leaves no room for students to spread out. So it will also take place on a video call.

Of course, we wish we were welcoming everyone back to campus in fall 2019 conditions, but it's not fall 2019, it's fall 2021 and the Delta variant rages. And we are fully aware that we need to be flexible and nimble.

Lorenson said she thinks any Georgetown class that is done by computer and video in 2021-2022 will be much better than the same class a year ago.

That is because Georgetowns education center, the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship, helped professors learn how to make technology a part of their teaching. A year ago, Lorenson said, professors had to learn about internet video call systems. Now, they know the technology and have experience teaching online.

I think as we move into fall 2021, our faculty are more experienced with online teaching, our students are more experienced with online learning... our faculty have the benefit of having done this a couple of times now and they also have the benefit of lessons learned.

Even with the changes, Lorenson said she is excited to welcome two classes of students to campus this fall: those who started at Georgetown last year but had to take classes by video, and those who are first-year students.

Georgetown knows many students are looking forward to getting back to sitting next to each other and having casual interactions. But in-person learning will be an adjustment for students used to taking classes by video for over a year, Lorenson noted.

The university tried to make it easier for students by running a small summer program for those who will be starting their second year. About 500 students attended. It gave them a chance to see the campus and get a sense of what life is like in Washington, D.C.

The truth is, we are better prepared than we've ever been to pivot if we need to. We're not planning for it, but we're prepared for it, if that makes sense.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

What would you do to safely open colleges and universities this school year? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. Quiz - Face Coverings, Vaccines, Selected Online Classes Await University Students Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

_____________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

variant n. something that is different in some way from others of the same kind

undergraduate n. a student at a college or university who has not yet earned a degree

rage v. to happen or continue in a destructive, violent, or intense way

flexible adj. willing to change or to try different things

nimble adj. able to move quickly, easily, and lightly

faculty n. the group of teachers in a school or college

casual adj. happening by chance : not planned or expected

adjustmentn. a small change that improves something or makes it work better

campusn. the area and buildings around a university, college, school, etc.

pivot v. to make a change of plans


The Bible Belt is often used to describe an area of the United States, mainly in the South, where people are deeply religious. As a result, religious leaders could help or hurt the campaign to vaccinate people in areas affected by high infection rates from the fast-spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Some clergies are holding vaccination centers and praying for more shots. Others are against the vaccine or not talking about it at all.

Recently, the First Baptist Church of Trussville in the state of Alabama had an outbreak following its 200th-anniversary celebration. The churchs leader promised more cleaning and face coverings. But he did not say the two words that health officials believe could make a difference: Get vaccinated.

Dr. Danny Avula is the head of Virginias COVID-19 vaccination effort. He suspected he might have a problem getting religious leaders to publicly support the shots. Members of his church called them the mark of the beast. It is a saying to describe loyalty to the devil in the churchs teaching.



A few religious leaders have gained crowds or media attention for their opposition to the vaccines, like Tony Spell. He repeatedly ignored COVID-19 restrictions to hold in-person church services in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He told followers vaccines are like the devil and urged them not to follow the governments evil orders.

Curtis Chang is a church leader who also teaches at Duke University. He said most clergies stay silent on the vaccine issue to avoid tensions in religious communities already struggling with the pandemic and political division.

The National Association of Evangelicals, a group of Christian leaders, found that 95 percent of its members plan to get vaccinated. But Chang said many leaders have not spoken in support of vaccination.

This matters because vaccination rates are generally low across the Bible Belt where many church-goers resist appeals from government leaders and health officials.

In the state of Missouri, more than 200 church leaders signed a statement urging Christians to get vaccinated as cases exploded last month. They noted the churchs teaching to love your neighbor as yourself. The mayor of Springfield, Missouri said the area saw a big jump in vaccinations after the leader of a large church told followers that it was the right thing to do.

Dr. Ellen Eaton is an infectious disease specialist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She said churches could be effective at supporting vaccination as a way to love your neighbors during this pandemic.

Next to their personal physician, many here in Alabama routinely turn to their church leaders with health issues, she said.

Im Gregory Stachel.

Jay Reeves reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

____________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

variant  n. something that is different in some way from others of the same kind

church  n. building that is used for Christian religious service

beast  n. a wild animal that is large, dangerous, or unusual

devil  n. the most powerful spirit of evil in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam who is often represented as the ruler of hell

routinely  adv. as part of a regular procedure rather than for a special reason
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The Alabama Republican Party held a rally Saturday night starring former President Donald Trump, who touted his good relationship with the Taliban and shrugged off the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak at the massive event.

After tearing into President Joe Biden for what he described as allowing weakness in the White House, Trump went on to boast of his chummy relations with the Taliban, who he described as great negotiators and tough fighters, insisting that with me in office the Taliban would not have ever dreamt of capturing our air field or parading around with our American weapons.

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He then appeared to suggest that more U.S. troops should perhaps be sent back to Afghanistan, where the Biden administrations handling of a withdrawal of U.S. troops originally brokered by Trump has sparked chaos and been met with bipartisan outrage.

You know what, we have to go in and we should go in when its right and we now may have to be forced to go in,  we may be forced to go in, and we may not be forced, but we may be forced to go in, and if youre not prepared to go in, youre never going to see those 45,000 people again. If they dont think youre prepared to go in, youre never going to see them again.

It was not clear which 45,000 people Trump was referring to, but the Biden administration has said as many as 15,000 Americans remain in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over, and that U.S. troops will stay in the country until all Americans are evacuated.

Elsewhere in his speech, Trump blasted Biden for failing to stop the virus before apparently shrugging off the risk of an outbreak at the Saturday night rally amid Alabamas crippling surge in infections.

Im shaking hands with everybody backstage. I say, well, I dont know, is this a good thing or bad? Youll read about it, three or four days, maybe. Hopefully not, he said.

He briefly urged supporters to take the vaccine before walking it back as members of the crowd reacted negatively. Thats okay, thats all right. You got your freedoms. But I happened to take the vaccine.  But you do have your freedoms, you have to maintain that, and you got to get your kids back to school.

Story continues

Could you imagine if I were president and the virus was surging back?  That ones actually tougher than the Taliban, I must be honest with you, he said, railing against Biden for reimposing mask mandates and threatening new restrictions.

Cullman, the city where the rally was held, declared a state of emergency Friday ahead of the rally. Local officials and hospital managers said they needed extra resources to deal with the gathering because current staff are so strained caring for coronavirus patients.

We want to prevent as many non-COVID related things as possible, so our hospital can use its resources to focus on the pandemic and its variants. We dont want to put any extra strain on them, said Cullman city attorney Luke Satterfield.

Vaccination rates in Alabama lag behind the rest of the U.S. COVID-19 has filled emergency room beds across Alabama to such an extreme degree that the manager of one of the states largest hospital chains said this week that the number of available beds was lower than the number of patients, that Alabamas capacity had gone negative by 29 beds.

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Individuals waiting to receive the Covid-19 vaccine stand in line that circles the second floor of the Micronesia Mall on Saturday afternoon.
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Objective

The gun use and the mental health have been closely associated according to a number of studies in the USA. The high rate of suicides in the country has been associated to the gun control laws in the USA. However, majorities of the people ask for the free gun policy in the state but agree to the fact that there should be background checks on the people buying the guns. The background checks will help as they will help in stopping the sale of guns to people with a history of mental illness. The growing number population in the USA thinks that mentally disabled people or the people with a history of mental illness are a threat to the society. The number of gun violence activities and the stigma associated with mental illness is making the American society apprehensive of the mentally ill.

Methods

An in depth analysis of the easy availability of the guns to the public has also caused the people to take extreme measures because of minor situations. The issues faced by the society in such cases are a major threat. The Newtown Connecticut mass killings brought the situations arising out of lack of gun control policies out in the public. The number of mass killings in the USA greatly outnumbers that of other parts of the world. The amount of the people with mental illness should not give access to any hazardous material, which may cause public harm. The mental health of the society is also affected by the easy availability of the guns as people face a constant threat of homicide or other such incidents in the country.

A study of the mental health of the people in the country affected by the sense of insecurity because of the lack of the gun laws of the country the racially biased crimes are also on the rise because of the lack of gun control in the country. One of the major examples to be cited in this case is that of Australia. After the 1996 Port Arthur massacre the Australian Parliament enforced strict laws for the citizens which led to considerable fall in the homicide rate and no mass massacre ever since. The Second Amendment protects the rights of the citizen of the country but that law has not been amended since it was first made. The change in the society and development in the ideology through time has to be taken into consideration to purview what kind of weapons should be freely accessible. The people should not have access to high-grade military weapons like assault rifles, which gives them a sense of power and control. This mixed with the pressures of the society that is posed today cause the people to retaliate in various ways, most of which are harmful for the society.

Results

The gun control laws of the USA very adversely affect the people in the society, as there is constant threat of the use of weapons. The majority of the community advocates strict gun control laws along with the complete prohibition in the sale of military grade weapons in the society. The background checks of the people who want to buy guns are supported by almost 91% of the society. The mental health of the society is very much affected by the gun control policy and the number of arms related crimes is high in such places.

Conclusion:

Hence, USA needs to device stringent gun control policy with the background check on the people intending to buy the guns to check if the buyer suffers from issues like depression and anger management. The Second Amendment has to be amended to give room for the complete ban of the sale of military grade weapons.

Bibliography:

Brent, D. A., Miller, M. J., Loeber, R., Mulvey, E. P., & Birmaher, B. (2013). Ending the silence on gun violence. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 52(4), 333.

Elson, M., & Ferguson, C. J. (2013). Gun violence and media effects: challenges for science and public policy.

Hemenway, D. (2014). Guns, suicide, and homicide: individual-level versus population-level studies. Annals of internal medicine, 160(2), 134-135.

Jorm, A. F., & Reavley, N. J. (2014). Public belief that mentally ill people are violent: Is the USA exporting stigma to the rest of the world?. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 48(3), 213-215.

McGinty, E. E., Webster, D. W., & Barry, C. L. (2014). Gun policy and serious mental illness: priorities for future research and policy. Psychiatric services, 65(1), 50-58.

Spitzer, R. J. (2015). Politics of gun control. Routledge.

Swanson, J. W., McGinty, E. E., Fazel, S., & Mays, V. M. (2015). Mental illness and reduction of gun violence and suicide: bringing epidemiologic research to policy. Annals of epidemiology, 25(5), 366-376.

Weinberger, S. E., Hoyt, D. B., Lawrence, H. C., Levin, S., Henley, D. E., Alden, E. R., ... & Hubbard, W. C. (2015). Firearm-Related Injury and Death in the United States: A Call to Action From 8 Health Professional Organizations and the American Bar AssociationFirearm-Related Injury and Death in the United States. Annals of internal medicine, 162(7), 513-516.
The African Network Information Centre (Afrinic) is still locked out of its bank account due to its ongoing dispute with Cloud Innovation.

Unless something changes in the case in the next week or the organisation receives outside help, Afrinic will not make payroll or pay its bills.

Community efforts are underway to raise emergency funds for the organisation, and Afrinic has previously stated that it would try to apply for funds from the Joint Regional Internet Registry Stability Fund.

Researchers at the Internet Governance Project at the Georgia Institute of Technologys School of Public Policy analysed the crisis at Afrinic. They likened it to a fight over crumbs.

They argued that the amount of downside risk Afrinic took on by threatening Cloud Innovation with revocation of their Internet address resources is not proportionate to the potential upside.

Afrinic confiscated over 6 million Internet Protocol addresses, worth an estimated R1.8 billion, from Cloud Innovation. Cloud Innovation is a network service provider that deals in Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

A block of IP addresses may be thought of as raw, undeveloped Internet land.

For anyone to connect to the Internet or any server to host content online, they need an IP address.

Much of the Internet still relies on older IP version 4 (IPv4) addresses, which only provides around 3.7 billion addresses that may be used to route Internet traffic.

Until the newer IP version 6 standard is more widely adopted, the increasingly rare IPv4 addresses will also become increasingly valuable.

In response to Afrinics attempted seizure of its IP address allocations, Cloud Innovation sued for damages. It was granted a garnishee order against the organisation to the tune of $50 million (R750 million).

Since Afrinic does not have $50 million, Cloud Innovation effectively froze the organisations bank account in executing the garnishee order.

At the heart of the dispute is Afrinics demand that Cloud Innovation must account for how it is using its IP addresses.

Cloud Innovations substantial allocation of African Internet resources is controversial in the Afrinic community, as much of it appears to be used elsewhere in the world.

It should be noted that Afrinic itself, albeit under a different administration, allocated Cloud Innovations IP address space years ago.

Cloud Innovation founder Lu Heng has maintained that there was nothing untoward about the award of their IP address blocks.

Heng also said there was nothing in Afrinics policies at the time of the award that restricted where and how they were allowed to use the IP addresses.

While newer policies did introduce controls, he said these do not apply retroactively.

Afrinic disagreed with Hengs interpretation of the rules governing African IP addresses and issued Cloud Innovation with a non-compliance notice to that effect.

Cloud Innovation approached the Supreme Court of Mauritius for an injunction to block Afrinic from terminating its membership and seizing its IP address allocation.

When the court set the application aside, Afrinic acted swiftly. Its board met immediately and voted to terminate Cloud Innovations membership.

Cloud Innovation contended that Afrinic jumped the gun by not allowing time for them to appeal.

Afrinic also failed to immediately comply with a subsequent court order to reinstate Cloud Innovations membership.

The company argued this caused substantial damage to its business, sued Afrinic for damages and obtained the garnishee order.

It should be noted that the court granted the attachment order with the wording at its own risks and perils.

This phrase means the court granted the order based on the information provided, and if Cloud Innovation enforces the order, it does so at its own risk.

Afrinic has tried to get a variation on the order to pay its staff and bills.

Most recently, on 13 August, the court would not entertain Afrinics urgent application to change the order.

The court said Afrinics urgent application was procedurally incorrect and instructed the organisation to follow a different procedure. It is understood that the standard procedure for varying the order would take much longer.

As a result, Afrinic is discussing business continuity options with its members.

Fighting over crumbs

Internet Governance Project researchers Milton Mueller, Vagisha Srivastava, and Brenden Kuerbis analysed the case and concluded that Afrinic picked an unnecessary fight.

They also characterised Cloud Innovations response as legal terrorism.

According to the researchers, the future of Africas internet development will not be greatly affected by reserving IPv4 addresses to regional use.

The growth of Africas internet to its full potential  the continents population is the same as Chinas, exceeds all of Europe, and is twice the size of North Americas  cannot be sustained by the remaining [IPv4] address resources of Afrinic.

They argued that growth would only be possible if Afrinic imports large numbers of IPv4 addresses and/or relies more on IPv6 addresses.

This is a fight over crumbs. The collateral damage from this fight is not proportionate to the value of the stakes.

They concluded that Afrinics attack on Cloud Innovation was an overreaction to its past problems and was undertaken without appropriate risk management.

While Afrinic may have a case, the authors stated that the principle it is fighting for  that usage of the numbers it hands out must be confined to the African region  is based on false premises.

Afrinic [IP addresses] are a drop in the bucket compared to what Africa will need to develop, they said.

Cloud Innovation, faced with an existential threat to its business, also over-reacted with what can only be called legal terrorism.

According to the authors, Cloud Innovations lawyers moves were designed to destroy Afrinic rather than preserve its legitimate business interests in a contractual dispute.

The authors were also critical of the performance of the Mauritius Supreme Court, saying that it allowed crippling sanctions to be put in place before it heard any detailed evidence.

It was right to order injunctions to maintain the status quo, but the bank account freeze is questionable, they said.

Neither pointing the finger at Afrinic and its past problems, nor decrying Lu Heng as a profiteer helps anything at this point, the authors concluded.

They said the situation has got out of hand and offered the following suggestion to resolve it:

Firstly, before anything else, Cloud Innovation must back off of its excessive legal measures.

The authors noted that Cloud Innovation now has 11 pending cases against Afrinic, CEO Eddy Kayihura, and the board.

In one suit, Cloud Innovation accuses Kayihura of defamation for making a video describing the situation to Afrinic members.

In another suit, it tries to throw the Afrinic board in jail.

Cloud Innovation should withdraw all of these cases, the authors argue.

Instead, the company should return to its demand for a simple injunction against the reclamation of its address resources while the contractual dispute is being heard.

It may win the case and can continue operating in the interim.

Cloud Innovation must also come to its senses and realize that its actions directly endangers the value of the very IP address blocks they are trying to protect, as there is already discussion in the ISP community of ceasing routing of the IP address blocks given their excessive methods.

Secondly, once Cloud Innovation ends the legal arms race, Afrinic must back off from its excessive demands for reclaiming all of Cloud Innovations address resources and make its claim of a policy violation clear and its proposed remedies more proportionate.

Afrinic should also place clear constraints on its usage of resource review.

Its claims that any change in utilisation requires a new needs assessmentand that it must review all the uses of customers as well as the uses of the contracting partyis overly burdensome and interferes with the ability of Internet service providers to respond to market conditions.

Thirdly, whether Cloud Innovation violated the letter or spirit of the contracts, or whether Afrinic misread its own policies and acted in an excessive and discriminatory manner, is for the court to decide.

Finally, Afrinic needs to come to its senses and accept the global nature of the IP address space and the existence of a market for IP transfers numbers.

Afrinic also needs to back off from the futile idea that its members cannot use the numbers it allocates outside its region, otherwise it will continue to nurture arbitrage efforts and the potential for corruption.

The authors also stated that Afrinic needs to learn how to better manage legal risk.

If they are going to engage in or threaten revocation, they are going to be sued.

Afrinic needs to be prepared for that and be more cautious in their use of that remedy.

MyBroadband contacted Cloud Innovation founder Lu Heng for his comment on the resolution proposed by Mueller, Srivastava, and Kuerbis.

Heng said he disagrees with the argument that their actions endanger the value of IP addresses in the region.

He also doesnt regard the discussion within the Afrinic community about blackholing traffic to Cloud Innovations network as a credible threat. Large network operators simply wouldnt do it.

Heng said that Cloud Innovation cant be expected to back down without a settlement offer from Afrinic and hope the organisation will reciprocate.

Only when the parties have reached a mutual settlement agreement will they be able to stand down at the same time.
Obsolete technology and a lack of capacity at testing centres are to blame for the problems Gauteng residents are facing when trying to renew their drivers licences.

Gauteng transport MEC Jacob Mamabolo explained this in an interview with the Sunday Times.

Mamabolo stated that adding more slots to the online booking system for licence renewals is pointless, as Gauteng testing centres cannot deal with their current workloads.

If theres no capacity at the [Driving Licence Testing Centres] in terms of people, machinery and equipment, then it will not help to issue many slots, he said.

Capacity issues have existed for many years, but are yet to be resolved. Mamabolo blamed a fragmentation of the service across municipalities, provincial government, and national government.

He said that there are critical variables municipalities running testing centres are not in control of.

The machines they need for eye tests, fingerprints and scanning of the drivers licence are run and controlled by national government.

This equipment breaks down every day, he said, and it cannot be serviced because the technology is obsolete.

National government also controls the relevant policies regarding licence renewals. Mamabolo said local government cannot adapt these policies to avoid fining motorists.

Drivers licence renewal woes

These statements come as South African drivers struggle to renew their drivers licences before the 31 August deadline.

This deadline was an extension for licences that expired between 26 March 2020 and December 2020 and was implemented due to the national Covid-19 lockdown.

Mamabolo said that malicious parties are manipulating the system to sell slots, and that a forensic investigation company is looking into the matter.

We will be making an impact on cracking the syndicates and networks of corruption that are making it difficult for everybody to get a slot, said Mamabolo.

The City of Cape Towns traffic service has extended the operating hours of its driving licence testing centres to accommodate the upcoming deadline.

Despite this panic, transport minister Fikile Mbalula is yet to extend the deadline. He has also not given any indication that his department will be taking any other measures to help those affected by the situation.
The bodies at the forefront of South Africas vaccine strategy are relaying mixed messages regarding the possibility of mandatory vaccinations.

Barry Schoub, the chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee for vaccines, confirmed to the Sunday Times that they are discussing the possibility of mandatory Covid-19 jabs for specific groups of South Africans.

If this possibility were to become a reality, it would most likely affect health workers and other groups of workers who spend lots of time indoors with other people.

However, health department spokesperson Popo Maja told the Sunday Times that compulsory vaccination is not on the table for discussion.

This is despite the updated Consolidated Direction on Occupational Health and Safety that was published on 11 June 2021, where labour minister Thulas Nxesi said employers might implement mandatory workplace vaccination policies subject to certain guidelines.

The mandatory vaccination debate has split the country. While some label it an infringement upon their freedom to choose, others argue that mass vaccination is key to lifting the country out of the lockdown.

Wits University vaccinology expert professor Shabir Madhi said he understands the usual apprehension towards mandatory vaccination but argues that it is necessary with Covid-19.

There is a compelling case from a public health perspective to make vaccination mandatory, especially for individuals with a high level of engagement with others in closed settings, he said.

In these settings, if people choose not to be vaccinated, they should be compelled to undergo testing every three or four days at their own expense.

He also highlighted that while vaccines do not offer complete protection against infection and transmission, the overall effect of Covid-19 would be massively reduced when the majority of the country is vaccinated.

The legal opinion

Legal firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr has said that no legal restrictions stop South African businesses from enforcing compulsory vaccination policies for their workforces.

The [Department of Labours] Directive has put an end to the debate as to whether a mandatory vaccination policy is legally permissible, the law firm said.

It explained that any policies requiring mandatory vaccination would be assessed against the principle of reasonableness, meaning that the rights of employees to their bodily and religious freedoms and beliefs would be taken into account.

Business organisation Sakeliga, meanwhile, is firmly opposed to mandatory vaccinations and said it received legal advice contradicting that of Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.

The organisation sent an attorneys letter to Nxesi requesting clarity on the situation.

Sakeliga supports voluntary vaccination programs in the workplace, said Sakeliga CEO Piet Le Roux.

No employee should, however, be obliged or can be obliged by law to undertake medical interventions against their will and outside the scope of the employment contract, and directives or policies of the Department of Labor to the contrary effect are invalid.

Le Roux contended that Sakeliga received legal advice stating that there is no legislation that is generally applicable to allow for the violation of a persons right to bodily integrity.

He explained to MyBroadband that companies could negotiate employment contracts with mandatory vaccinations as part of the deal, but the employee would have to agree actively to this stipulation.

Le Roux also argued that the Health Department seems to be transferring the risk of constitutional violations onto employers rather than dealing with these risks themselves.

Now read: Warning over mandatory vaccinations in South Africa
The South African Police Service (SAPS) is on high alert and has put measures in place to ensure the safety and security of citizens amidst threats of a national shutdown on Monday.

National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Robert Netshiunda warned of inflammatory messages on social media platforms advocating for violence.

Those behind these messages are warned that inciting violence is a criminal offence. Members of the public are cautioned against spreading such divisive messages, Netshiunda said.

Police Ministry Spokesperson Lirandzu Themba said messages are also doing the rounds where people are mobilising to respond to the national shutdown.

The public is urged not to respond to calls for violence and criminality and is discouraged from participating in activities that seek to defy the rule of law, said Themba.

These statements followed a document from intelligence officials which reportedly stated that instigators are calling on rioters to acquire firearms and ammunition through targeted attacks.

These attacks will be aimed at police stations, military bases, and other premises where law enforcement officials work.

The document further noted that insurrectionists would target state, municipal, and police vehicles.

The same instigators behind the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng are allegedly behind the new plan to disrupt South Africa.

This time around, South Africas public and private security forces are better prepared for potential attacks.

Themba said law-abiding citizens should be at ease knowing that the Natjoints is not taking these threats lightly.

Security forces are on high alert and ready to maintain stability in the country and ensure the safety and security of South Africans.

A national order has been issued that no police officer may work alone and that all officers must wear bulletproof vests, including those working in charging offices at police stations.

Another document from the head of visible policing in the Western Cape issued several directives to police leaders in the province.

These included the deployment of additional units, the tightening of entry controls, and making alternative transport arrangements for officers who usually rely on public transport.

Private security firms like Fidelity are also ready to support the police if there is another outbreak of public violence.

Fidelity Services Group CEO Wahl Bartmann said his national Joint Operations Centre, which was set up during the devastating riots in July, is liaising closely with all the relevant authorities.

Bartmann said the July riots showed that it is impossible for the SAPS to effectively control the looting and damage without support from other security providers.

They saw how Fidelitys standard operating procedure of real-time escalations of threats, mobilisation of forces, and threat analysis reports proved effective during the protests.

These could prove highly beneficial for any future widespread violence and protests, Bartmann stated.

Bartmann said his teams have been working with customers on several different contingency plans to manage any future unrest.

Should a second wave of riots materialise, Fidelity will place helicopter pilots on standby and be ready to deploy its anti-riot resources  including manpower and armoured personnel carriers.

Police Ministry Spokesperson Lirandzu Themba comment
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Since the coronavirus emergency triggered shelter-at-home orders and an abrupt switch to remote instruction in March 2020, California has temporarily pegged public school funding to school attendance levels before the pandemic. The waiver has propped up NVUSDs funding levels as enrollment has dropped, but it is scheduled to expire after 2021-22, once again leaving the district vulnerable to funding cuts.

A report commissioned by the district forecasts the student count dropping to barely 14,300 by 2027-28, a loss of about 4,000 pupils in 13 years.

+2 Napa educators, committee begin to plot out former Carneros schools future An 11-person committee will advise the Napa school district on a possible sale of the former Stone Bridge School site, which the academy left this year.

NVUSD has announced campus closures and scrapped a new school site to reduce expenses in response to falling enrollment. The district in 2019 canceled a second middle school envisioned for American Canyon; shuttered its two smallest elementary schools, Yountville and Mt. George, in June 2020; and approved the closure of south Napas Harvest Middle School at the end of this school year. (In north Napa, River Middle School will be replaced by a new English-Spanish academy that will open at the same campus in August 2022 and replicate Harvests dual-language curriculum.)

Opening-week student counts also indicated that NVUSDs home-based student body is only a fraction of the thousands who were taught virtually for up to a year or more after the abrupt shutdown of campuses in 2020.

As Napa public schools return to in-person teaching, district outlines remote learning option Napa Valley Unified will expand independent study to all grades in 2021-22 for parents not yet ready to send children to classrooms starting next week.
I would like to see the Salvation Army be a more integral part of this entire community, whether in disasters or the social service world, he said. We have a lot of ability to come alongside other organizations and be a helper. Extend a handout and be more of a help, and let them know were here as a completer not a competitor.

Moving every two to four years is normal for captains in the Salvation Army, they explained.

Diana Danielson said the relocation process is the most stressful and difficult, especially with a large family. For example, this past week she was finalizing school enrollments and trying to find new orthodontists and dentists and family doctors.

Plus, doing her everyday work for the Salvation Army.

They are essentially on-call 24/7, Diana said.

We always have our phones on, or email, she said.

So far, because of its focus on the culinary program, Napas Salvation Army is different from their other postings, she said. In Redding, their Salvation Army was heavily involved in disaster relief efforts.

The job doesnt pay much, the couple noted. The salary is only about $30,000 to 40,000 a year, total.
My youngest is off to college this fall, and as a result, he is having his first major entanglement with the world of bureaucracy.

He managed to navigate the complexities of college applications pretty well, and somehow he survived the legendarily byzantine financial aid application mostly by himself. He got signed up with Selective Service with a minimum of headaches.

This last week, I took a day off to assist on some final last-minute chores.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Special offer: $1 for your first 6 months!

First up, a routine physical, mostly to make sure his vaccines were up to date. We had just switched back to insurance we had many years ago, so this would be the first visit to this particular doctor in eight or nine years.

Oh, and look, the doctors office had moved to another part of town entirely, and wed be 20 minutes late to the new facility (Theyll try to squeeze you in, but there will be a wait, the receptionist at the old office explained).

At the gleaming new office, there were forms for the parent and, for the first time in his life, forms for the patient to fill out himself, since hes now 18.

I hate (stuff) like this, he mumbled, as he navigated the purposely convoluted forms.
Over the last few years, investigations by The Atlantic, The New York Times, The New Yorker, ABC News Australia and NBC News have examined the relationship between Trump, QAnon, The Epoch Times and Falun Gong. Thanks to this wealth of reporting, we know quite a bit about Falun Gong and how it used The Epoch Times to align with Trumpism and advance its anti-communist China agenda.

The Chinese government declared Falun Gong a cult over two decades ago and banned the group, forcing many members to flee under the threat of persecution. Its estimated that millions of people worldwide still practice its principles of human detachment and the sometimes problematic teachings of Master Li Hongzhi.

Falun Gong has come under scrutiny for what some former practitioners have characterized as an extreme belief system that forbids interracial marriage, condemns homosexuality, and discourages the use of modern medicine, all allegations the group denies, New York Times reporter Kevin Roose wrote last year.

In 2000, The Epoch Times was launched in a Georgia basement by a Falun Gong practitioner, John Tang. When Trump rose to power, Falun Gong leaders saw him as their champion against communist China and revamped The Epoch Times under his ideological image. Their revenue has soared ever since, reaching $15.5 million in 2019.
Armenia army General Staff chief meets with 3-month training camp reservists

Armenia health ministers adviser appointed deputy head of UCLA Promise Armenian Institute

Prosecutor's Office: Numerous injuries found on Artsakh citizen returned by Azerbaijan

Armenian Foreign Minister and CSTO Secretary General discuss Armenian-Azerbaijani border situation

Artsakh President appoints new labor, social, migration affairs minister

Armenia national airline to be named Fly Arna

Armenia defense minister pays working visit to some military units

Pashinyan: I am convinced that Armenia-Uzbekistan mutual relations will further develop

615 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Moody's leaves Armenia sovereign rating unchanged

Russia peacekeepers ensure order, security in Karabakh on Knowledge Day

Psaki: US partners with Turkey, Qatar on Kabul airport

President to Armenia students: Learn to overcome challenges, to pursue dreams without despair

Five missing after US Navy helicopter crashes off California coast

Armdaily.am: Armenia President reacts to recent events taking place in Syunik Province

Newspaper: Azerbaijan carrying out large-scale construction in Artsakhs Shushi

Newspaper: Armenia authorities compile 'blacklist' of opposition MPs

Biden calls Afghanistan evacuation mission extraordinary success

Merkel says that Germany is trying to establish contact with Taliban

Digest: More on COVID-19 in Armenia, armed robbery takes place in Yerevan

Russia FM calls on Azerbaijan to unconditionally release Armenian POWs

Russias Lavrov: Rhetoric of both sides of Karabakh conflict needs to be moderated

Armenias Mirzoyan: We will respect Afghanistan peoples choice

Armenia FM: No negotiations on peace agreement with Azerbaijan underway

Eurasian Development Bank wants to become one of largest creditors of Armenia economy

Armenia Investigative Committee: Man found dead with gunshot wound inside car in Yerevan

Lavrov: In talks with Armenia FM we will separately discuss Nagorno-Karabakh situation

Opposition MP: Positive signals being exchanged with Turkey are new trap for Armenia

Armenia FM: Tense situation in region is consequence of Azerbaijan's destructive policy

ECtHR ruling: Ambassador to Sweden, Iceland to get compensation from Armenia government

Armenia, Russia FMs hold tete-a-tete meeting

Armenia ex-president Kocharyan, former deputy PM Gevorgyan case court hearing not held

Ombudsman: Azerbaijan MOD aims to cover up their criminal acts against Armenia civilian population

Fallen soldiers family stages protest outside Armenia government building

No electricity in court where Armenia 2nd president Kocharyan, ex-deputy PM Gevorgyan criminal case is heard

Armenia ex-president Kocharyan, former deputy PM Gevorgyan criminal case court hearing resumes

524 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

OSCE Minsk Group new Russian Co-Chair visits Azerbaijan

Armed robbery occurs at bank branch in Yerevan shopping mall

37,000 first-graders start school in Armenia

Armenia PM congratulates Kyrgyzstan President on Independence Day anniversary

Some 30,000 people evacuated in California due to wildfires

Russia peacekeepers hold humanitarian action for Nagorno-Karabakh children

Dead body of man, 37, with gunshot wound is found in car in Yerevan

Newspaper: Artsakh independence anniversary to be celebrated without Armenia top leadership for first time in history

Newspaper: Armenia authorities trying to cause rift among parliament opposition factions, MPs

Armenia PM goes on short vacation

UN Security Council adopts Afghanistan resolution

Pentagon announces US completion of evacuation out of Kabul airport

Armenia ombudsman reaffirms Azerbaijan soldiers deliberate starting fire near Sotk, Kut villages of Gegharkunik

Ukraine and Armenia to cooperate in attracting investments

Armenian Ministry of Education and French Embassy sign cooperation agreement

Israeli Defense Minister meets with the President of Palestine

Uzbekistan completely closes border with Afghanistan

IAEA: North Korea seems to have restarted nuclear reactor

EU recommends restoring restrictions on US tourists

Digest: Turkey talks normalising relations with Armenia, soldier injured in Karabakh

Dollar drops in Armenia

Azerbaijans Aliyev calls Karabakh Armenians hated enemy

Azerbaijan president: Current course of events shows that Karabakh conflict would never be resolved peacefully

Divine Liturgy served in Armenian church of Turkeys Malatya for first time since 1915 (VIDEO)

Economist: Armenia exports growth connected with external factors

Opposition Armenia Faction MPs health grows worse in prison

Moscow Armenian Theater actor dies during performance

Artsakh FM: Azerbaijan, with Turkeys complicity, sending militants from Afghanistan to occupied part of Karabakh

Opposition Armenia Faction MP summoned to Special Investigation Service

Officer charged with Azerbaijans capturing of 62 Armenia soldiers in Artsakh: They were forces 15 times greater

FM: Armenian captives in Azerbaijan are subjected to torture

Lawyer of Armenia officer accused in 62 Shirak residents case: How was connection cut off on day of Azerbaijan attack?

Health ministry: 275,138 people so far vaccinated in Armenia against coronavirus

Russia peacekeepers in Karabakh carry out actions to find drones

Confusion arises during Armenia appellate court hearing of case of ex-President Kocharyan, others

Armenia 2nd president Kocharyans lawyer submits to appellate court motion to cancel or reduce bail

Prosecution in case on Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan, others: Charge should be re-qualified

Artsakh Investigative Committee: Azerbaijan soldier who entered Martakert city apartment is arrested

275 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia appellate court continues considering lawyers, prosecutors appeals in ex-President Kocharyan, others' case

Armenia FM to pay working visit to Russia

Coronavirus casualties worldwide exceed 4.5m

One dead, 2 injured after road accident in Armenia town

Brazil unveils largest Buddha statue in country

Unidentified gunman opens fire inside Toronto shopping mall

Explosions occur in Kabul Monday morning

Armenia ombudsman: Azerbaijan soldiers deliberately set fires near Sotk, Kut villages

Biden declares major disaster in US State of Louisiana

Death toll rises to 7 in US missile strike in Kabul

US hits Kabul territory

At least 30 people killed in airstrike on a Yemeni military base

Turkey speaks about normalising relations with Armenia

Pentagon confirms US attacked car in Kabul due to ISIS threat

Macron talks revival of ISIS activity in Iraq and Syria

Turkish MFA says it cannot accept refugees from Afghanistan

Central Bank of Afghanistan limits withdrawals to $ 200 per week

US evacuates nearly 2,000 people from Afghanistan over past day

Taliban kill Afghan singer

Afghans in Greece advocate peace amid chaos in Kabul

383 COVID-19 new cases reported in Armenia per day

Biden to recall American diplomats from Afghanistan by August 31

Azerbaijan opens fire on Sotk positions of Armenia

UK threatens Taliban with sanctions
Afghans trying to flee to Britain to escape the Taliban will have to make their own way to the borders if the Americans do not delay the date for leaving the country, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace declared Sunday, the Daily Mail reported.

In a powerfully emotive article for The Mail on Sunday, Wallace warns that time is ticking along, impossible to stop towards the imminent end of the UKs mission to rescue thousands of Afghans entitled to come to the UK.

While acknowledging that no nation will be able to get everyone out, Wallace also announces that a series of processing hubs will be set up in countries neighboring Afghanistan for refugees who manage to escape. If they can establish their right to come to the UK, they will be flown to Britain.

Also, Wallace makes a veiled plea for Washington to delay the US leaving date beyond August 31, writing: Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer and they will have our complete support if they do.

Wallaces announcement coincided with scenes of carnage at Kabul airport Saturday, with reports of at least four women crushed to death in a stampede.

In a separate announcement last night, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Britain had stepped up to the plate after he secured 200 visa waivers for Afghan journalists to flee.
The Taliban want to collaborate with Turkey in various domains. The statement came from Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen in an interview with Turkish pro-government newspaper Turkiye.

"Contrary to known facts, we maintain close relations with Turkey," Shaheen said. "Turkey is a very important player for us. It's both a respectable and powerful country that should have a special place in the Islamic world."

He added that Afghanistan's ties with Turkey cannot be compared with any other ties.

"As the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, we need friendship, assistance, and cooperation with Turkey more than any other country. Afghanistan has rich land resources, but we do not have the power to develop them. Our infrastructure has been destroyed due to the occupation and looting of the rulers. We want to collaborate with Turkey on health care, education, economy, construction, energy, and redeveloping land resources. Once the internal balance is formed, we expect our Turkish friends to play an active role in resolving these issues," Suhail Shaheen said.
At the summits in September, the leaders of the countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will discuss ensuring security, taking into account the developments in Afghanistan. The statement came from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting with representatives of the ruling United Russia party of President Vladimir Putin, TASS reports.

"The risks that may already arise in the territory of the Russian Federation depend on the security of our allies in Central Asia. Tomorrow's CSTO online summit, the CSTO and SCO tete-a-tete summits in September, will, of course, be devoted primarily on ensuring the security of the participating countries in the context of the development of the situation in and around Afghanistan," he said.

The leaders of the CSTO member countrieswhich includes Armeniawill hold a videoconference Monday to discuss the issues amid the situation in Afghanistan. And the SCO summit will take place on September 16-17 in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.
The situation in Afghanistan is directly related to Russia's security, said Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with representatives of the ruling United Russia party, RIA Novosti reported.

"It [i.e., the situation in Afghanistan] is important for our security, it is directly related to our citizens. We do not want terrorists in the form of refugees to appear at us. We do not want a repeat of the [19]90s, when we had actual hostilities in the North Caucasus, and let the terrible reality we see in Afghanistan today be at us. All that was not so long ago. Therefore, we do not need such elements from Afghanistan, nor do other countries need [it]," Putin said.

That is why, according to him, Russia is working towards Syria. "In order not to allow Syria to become like Afghanistan and be a source of terrorism," the Russian president said.

He added that the issue of refugees from Afghanistan will be a priority for the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Mount St. Marys University welcomes eight new faculty members and a visiting Fulbright Scholar to its campus. This group of faculty brings an incredible amount of talent and diverse experiences and backgrounds, said Provost Boyd Creasman, Ph.D. They also have demonstrated a student-centered approach to teaching with a commitment to creating undergraduate research opportunities.

Most of the new faculty will teach in the School of Natural Science and Mathematics. The SNSM has experienced tremendous growth over the last several years. Our new faculty will be instrumental in expanding our existing programming and creating new opportunities for student success, said SNSM Dean Christine McCauslin, Ph.D. I am thrilled to welcome this outstanding group to the Mount.

To meet the demand in the computer science and cybersecurity majors, the Mount hired two new faculty to teach in these programs. Daniel Salinas Duron, Ph.D., comes to the Mount from Westminster College of Salt Lake City, having earned his doctorate from Montana State University. His position is funded in part by an E-Nnovation grant from the state of Maryland. Ruth Lamprecht, Ph.D., joins the Mount after teaching computer science and mathematics for several years at Virginia Union University. She earned her doctorate at the College of William and Mary.

The Department of Science has hired an outstanding group of faculty. Rachel Hartnett, PH.D., who earned her doctorate at the University of Oklahoma and was a CAS Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow at Oklahoma State University, will teach environmental science. Mount alumnus Eric Sakowski, Ph.D., C08, moves into a tenure-track position after serving as a visiting assistant professor last year. He earned his doctorate at the University of Delaware and recently published an article in the prestigious journal Nature Microbiology. Kari Taylor-Burt, Ph.D., will teach anatomy and physiology. She completed her doctorate at Harvard University in 2020 and served last year as a post-doctoral researcher at Franklin and Marshall College. Katana Ngala, Ph.D., will join the department as a visiting assistant professor of chemistry. He holds a doctorate in inorganic chemistry from the State University of New York, Binghamton and will teach in the general chemistry sequence.

Minxaun He, Ph.D., is the newest member of the Psychology Department. A recent Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Maryland, she earned her doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley.

Kalfani Ture, Ph.D., is the Mounts new assistant professor of African-American studies. He joins us after serving as a postdoctoral associate at Yale University and completing his doctorate at American University with a focus on race, place, urban crime and urban ethnography.

Finally, Cyrelene Amoah-Boampong, Ph.D., is a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence from Ghana. She earned a doctorate in historical studies at Southern Illinois University and has worked at the University of Ghana in several roles. In addition to teaching, she will consult with us on international programming and the diversification of our core offerings.

Clearly, we had a great recruiting year, Provost Creasman added. These faculty are capable of making a tremendous impact on our students lives for years to come.
Blair blasts US over 'imbecilic' Afghanistan policy

Former British prime minister Tony Blair is a controversial figure over his strong support for US-led military action in Afghanistan and Iraq. File photo: Shutterstock

Former UK prime minister Tony Blair, who in 2001 took Britain into war in Afghanistan alongside the United States, on Saturday condemned their "abandonment" of the country as "dangerous" and "unnecessary".



In his first public comments on the crisis since the Afghan government collapsed last weekend, Blair criticised the US motives for the withdrawal as "imbecilic" and "driven not by grand strategy but by politics".



"The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours," Blair wrote in a wide-ranging article published on his institute's website.



"We didn't need to do it. We chose to do it.



"We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending 'the forever wars', as if our engagement in 2021 was remotely comparable to our commitment 20 or even 10 years ago."



The comments will be widely seen as a direct attack on US President Joe Biden, who used the "forever wars" phrase repeatedly during campaigning last year.



Blair, a controversial figure both in Britain and abroad over his strong support for US-led military action in both Afghanistan and then Iraq, argued the withdrawal left "every Jihadist group round the world cheering".



"Russia, China and Iran will see and take advantage. Anyone given commitments by Western Leaders will understandably regard them as unstable currency," he added.



British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has faced sustained criticism for being on holiday when Kabul fell, conceded late on Saturday that Moscow and Beijing would now play a bigger role in Afghanistan.



"We're going to have to bring in countries with a potentially moderating influence like Russia and China, however uncomfortable that is," he told the Sunday Telegragh.



"It will give us a group to exercise greater influence and better convey our messages to the Taliban."



One of Britain's longest-serving leaders, in power for a decade from 1997, Blair forged a close alliance with former US President George W. Bush during the latter's so-called war on terror.



His steadfast support for the increasingly unpopular military interventions in the Middle East were seen as a key factor in him standing down and handing power to his successor Gordon Brown in 2007.



In his lengthy article, Blair insisted the West must "give tangible demonstration" that it is not "in epoch-changing retreat", while decrying waning US global leadership.



"The absence of across the aisle consensus and collaboration and the deep politicisation of foreign policy and security issues is visibly atrophying American power," he wrote.



He argued Britain had received "little or no consultation" from Washington over the Afghan withdrawal, and that London was "at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers".



His comments come amid growing discontent at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's handling of the crisis, including within his ruling Conservative party, with criticism Britain has been far too ineffectual.



In the latest embarrassing revelations, the Sunday Times reported senior government officials had advised Raab to return from a luxury holiday in Crete days before Kabul fell, only for Johnson to tell him he could delay. (AFP)
3,000 Filipino helpers could arrive from next week

Philippine Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello III says an agreement is in place for domestic helpers to start taking up jobs in Hong Kong. File photo: AFP

The Department of Labour and Employment in the Philippines announced on Sunday that it had reached agreement with the Hong Kong authorities to allow fully vaccinated domestic helpers to fly to Hong Kong from August 30.



The labour secretary, Silvestre Bello III, says as many as 3,000 helpers will be able to fly in, having been unable to take up employment since SAR authorities banned arrivals from the country in April.



He also says employers will have to pay the cost of quarantine hotels, and Hong Kong authorities have been working with hotel operators.



Hong Kong's Labour Department said on Saturday it would set aside one or two hotels for incoming helpers to spend their 21 day quarantine period in, as both the Philippines and Indonesia are listed as high-risk areas.



It indicated that it was close to agreement on recognising vaccination records from both countries, and a further announcement is expected later this week.
Israel hails success of third vaccine dose

A healthcare worker delivers a third dose of the BioNTech shot to a man in Jerusalem. File photo: AFP

A third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has significantly improved protection from infection and serious illness among people aged 60 and older in Israel compared with those who received two shots, findings published by the Health Ministry showed on Sunday.



The data were presented at a meeting of a ministry panel of vaccination experts on Thursday and uploaded to its website on Sunday, though the full details of the study were not released.



The findings were on par with separate statistics reported last week by Israel's Maccabi healthcare provider, one of several organisations administering booster shots to try to curb the Delta coronavirus variant.



Breaking down statistics from Israel's Gertner Institute and KI Institute, ministry officials said that among people aged 60 and over, the protection against infection provided from 10 days after a third dose was four times higher than after two doses.



A third jab for over 60-year-olds offered five to six times greater protection after 10 days with regard to serious illness and hospital admission.



That age group is particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 and in Israel was the first to be inoculated when the vaccine drive began in late December.



In recent weeks, the health ministry has said immunity has diminished over time for seniors and younger people as well. Most vaccinated people who fell severely ill in Israel were over 60 and with underlying health conditions.



Israel started administering third jabs to over 60-year-olds on July 30. On Thursday it dropped the age of eligibility for a booster to 40, and included pregnant women, teachers and health care workers below that age. Third doses are given only to those who received their second shot at least five months ago.



The United States has announced plans to offer booster shots to all Americans, citing data showing diminishing protection. Canada, France and Germany have announced booster campaigns. (Reuters)
Harris kicks off SE Asia tour with Singapore talks

Kamala Harris prepares to board her flight to Singapore. Photo: AP

US Vice President Kamala Harris will meet Singapore's leaders on Monday on the first working day of a trip to Southeast Asia aimed at bolstering ties as part of Washington's efforts to counter China's growing influence.



Harris will meet Singapore's President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and later visit the Changi Naval Base and tour the USS Tulsa  a combat ship of the US Navy.



Singapore is not a US treaty ally, but remains one of its strongest security partners in the region with deep trade ties. However, it also seeks to balance its relationships with the United States and China by not taking sides.



The country is home to the biggest port in Southeast Asia, and supports continued free navigation in the area, where China is growing increasingly assertive.



Harris arrived in Singapore on Sunday at the start of a seven-day visit to the region, which will also include a trip to Vietnam. During the visits US officials will aim to address Washington's concerns about China's claims to disputed parts of the South China Sea.



"Singapore has encouraged greater US engagement in Asia, but warned that efforts to 'contain' China's rise are counterproductive," according to a report released in April by the Congressional Research Service, which conducts research and analysis for the US Congress.



"Singapore has maintained generally good relations with China, at least partly as a hedge against possible US retrenchment," the report said.



In a recent interview with Reuters, Singapore's foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan, welcomed the role the United States and China play in the region  reflecting the delicate diplomacy it has succeeded at and one Harris has to navigate.



He said the United States and Singapore will discuss topics such as the pandemic, the digital economy and cybersecurity. (Reuters)
Members of the British and U.S. military help people evacuate from Kabul, Afghanistan, on Friday. (Associated Press)

The pandemonium around Kabuls airport turned deadly Sunday, with seven people killed in the chaotic, thousands-strong scrum to reach evacuation flights out of Afghanistan.

"Our sincere thoughts are with the families of the seven Afghan civilians who have sadly died in crowds in Kabul, the United Kingdom's defense ministry said in a statement. "Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible.

The deaths came as the U.S. Embassy warned its citizens to stay away from Hamid Karzai International Airport unless specifically instructed otherwise, citing risks of attack by Islamic State militants operating in Afghanistan, who are avowed enemies of the Taliban.

But rather than Islamic State, the more immediate danger has been the chaos around the airport, where thousands gather daily at the gates in an increasingly frantic attempt to escape Afghanistan with the Taliban now in control.

The Taliban entered Kabul seven days ago in the culmination of a blitz offensive that saw it take  with seemingly little effort  almost all of the country. The group has exhorted people to stay, promising amnesty for officials of the former government, its armed forces as well as those who worked with its international allies. It has also spoken of reconciliation and the promise to grant women a role in state affairs.

Yet few seem willing to gamble on the Talibans sincerity, amid reports of door-to-door searches and compilation of lists of its now-defeated adversaries in the security and intelligence services  signs that hint at retribution to come.

Latifa Ainy, a womens rights activist in Kabul and mother of two, said Taliban fighters searched her home Saturday and beat her husband in front of her and their young daughters. He remained hospitalized Sunday. Some person told them about me, my work with women, Ainy said via WhatsApp on Sunday. My husband didnt let them hurt us. I am at home now but my life is at risk. I dont know what I can do. We have to leave Afghanistan."

Story continues

Outside the airport, far from presenting a gentle face to a population already in fear, the Taliban's foot soldiers have instead used ropes, whips, sticks, rifle butts as well as shooting in the air in a crude form of crowd control. Some critics say theyre only doing the work the Americans and their allies should be doing  and that in any case its necessary only as a result of botched evacuation plans.

Those who do make it past the gates speak of confusing instructions, a days-long wait inside the terminal as well as evacuation flights leaving with empty seats.

Military planners remain committed so far to the Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline, although President Biden said Wednesday that he would be willing to maintain a presence until every American is evacuated. Washington now has about 6,000 troops in the country, but there are still no plans to extend its area of operations beyond the airports perimeter and create safe passage. And few believe the U.S. is able to finish processing and evacuating foreign citizens and those with the necessary paperwork  thought to number more than 70,000  in time to leave.

If the U.S. timetable remains, we have no time to lose to get the majority of the people waiting out, wrote U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace in the British newspaper Mail on Sunday. Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer, and they will have our complete support if they do.

Defending his handling of the U.S. exodus from Afghanistan, Biden said Sunday that military commanders are working to ease access to the airport in Kabul, including possibly expanding the security perimeter around the facility as worry grows over possible attack by Islamic State militants.

Biden refused to discuss tactical changes being taken in the rescue operations but suggested that Americans and other potential evacuees may be moved from where they live or are sheltering to a second, safe site before being taken to the airport. That suggests a more robust U.S. military operation outside the airport, but the details remained unclear.

Biden again said he would consider extending the Aug. 31 deadline for ending the withdrawal, and he emphasized that all Afghans who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents will not be transported directly from Kabul to the U.S. but will undergo a full vetting at a third location.

He said about 33,000 Americans and allies have been airlifted out of the country since the end of July and the number of flights is increasing.

The evacuation, Biden added, would have been hard and painful regardless of when it began, a month ago, a month from now.

We see no reason we cant keep this tempo up, he said at a news conference at the White House.

We have a long way to go, and a lot can still go wrong.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Sunday that the situation at the airport in Kabul remained incredibly volatile and fluid but that the U.S. military succeeded in airlifting 8,000 more people out of Afghanistan on 60 flights in the last 24 hours, bringing to around 30,000 the number of people transported since the end of July. He did not update the number of U.S. citizens in that total; two days earlier it was about 2,500.

Blinken and other administration officials faced questioning Sunday on the difficulty for Americans and eligible Afghans to reach the airport.

National security advisor Jake Sullivan said on CNN that alternative methods had been developed to help people leaving the country get past Taliban checkpoints into the airport. He did not elaborate.

"Were in direct contact with Americans and others to help guide them to the airport, right place, right time, to get in more safely and effectively, Blinken said on "Fox News Sunday."

We will do what is necessary to get Americans who want to leave out of harms way and get them home, Blinken added when asked if U.S. helicopters had conducted additional rescue operations outside of the airport. One such mission, to pick up 169 Americans stuck at a hotel near the airport, was revealed last week by Biden, but Pentagon and State Department officials have declined to comment further.

Speaking later to CBS' "Face the Nation," Blinken repeated that establishing direct contact with Americans in Afghanistan was the administrations first order of business in accelerating rescue missions.

The best way, the most effective way, the way Im focused on to get folks in, again, is to be in direct contact with them and to help guide them and to give them instructions on where to go, when to go there, and then we can bring them into the airport safely and effectively, Blinken said.

The administration on Sunday also ordered commercial airlines to assist in the evacuation. They wont fly passengers out of Kabul but between the roughly two dozen countries on four continents that have agreed to accept Afghans at least temporarily. The activation order will involve 18 aircraft from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Omni Air and Hawaiian Airlines.

Sullivan, on CNN, also confirmed that an additional point of tension at the Kabul airport was what he called an acute and real threat of attack from an offshoot of the Islamic State militant group operating in Afghanistan.

Still, the difficulties continue outside the country, with the U.S. working to find a halfway point to temporarily house the thousands of Afghans flown out every day. Last week, evacuation flights were temporarily halted after Qatar said it had reached capacity, sending officials scrambling to find an alternative destination.

One could glimpse the massive logistical undertaking involved in the evacuation at Qatars Al-Udeid, a sprawling military air base on the outskirts of the capital, Doha. On Sunday, the airfield was a site of constant activity, with queues of dark-gray U.S. military transport aircraft and the banshee scream of Qatari Air Force Rafale jets streaking into the distance.

At the passenger terminal, Qatari and American soldiers, shaggy-bearded contractors sporting sunglasses and stone-faced special forces types seeking air-conditioned sanctuary from the broiling heat outside were crammed into the hallway beside a pile of Afghan refugees suitcases. Beyond the security barrier where they stood, a gaggle of young Afghan girls in brightly colored clothes played on the floor.

By Sunday, Spain said it would allow the U.S. to use two military bases on its territory to host Afghan refugees. Others would be sent to Kuwait and Bahrain.

Meanwhile, the drama of the escape persisted even on the flights. On Sunday, a pregnant woman on a U.S. Air Force C-17 headed to Ramstein Airbase in Germany went into labor. She began experiencing complications, forcing the pilot to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilize and save the mothers life, according to a Twitter thread from the U.S. Air Mobility Command.

Upon landing, airmen from the 86th MDG came aboard and delivered the child in the cargo bay of the aircraft, the tweets said. The baby girl and mother were transported to a nearby medical facility and are in good condition.

Far from the chaos at the gates, all was calm efficiency on the tarmac of Kabul airport, where hundreds of Afghan men, women and children lined up in silence, then trudged past burly soldiers bunkered in mine-resistant vehicles before being swallowed by the rear of the transport aircraft. In a penned yard to the side, Afghan families squatted among dozens of crumpled plastic bottles and discarded MREs. The mood was somber.

We didnt want to leave, but we had to, said Qiyam, a 30-year-old employee of the German Press Agency. At his feet was a backpack and a carry-on case, the sum total of the belongings he had managed to take with him on this one-way journey. These are Afghanistans best and brightest, and theyre all leaving. It will take two decades for the country to recover from this.

Toward the rear of the line sat Farah, a 22-year-old medical university student, her eyes red from what must have been hours of crying. Her university had arranged for her to continue her studies in Sulaymaniyah, in northern Iraq. But it was little solace for her.

All my dreams are destroyed, she said, choking on the words. No matter where we go, no matter how beautiful the country were going to will be, its not like my country. Its not like home.

Times staff writers Tracy Wilkinson in Washington and Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Houston contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Afghan staffers at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan are losing faith in their chances of getting evacuated from the country, according to a State Department diplomatic cable obtained by NBC News.

The cable, sent on Saturday, revealed that Afghan staff at the embassy were told to go to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, where the U.S. military is leading the evacuations.

The staffers had been warned to expect difficult conditions, however no one anticipated the brutal experience that occurred, the cable said. Afghans said they had been hit, spat on, and cursed at by members of the Taliban near the airport.

DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN CONFIRMS AMERICANS HAVE HAD 'TOUGH ENCOUNTERS WITH TALIBAN'

Some staffers said they had nearly been separated from loved ones, while others said they had collapsed in the rush of people.

It would be better to die under the Talibans bullet than face the crowds again, the cable said, quoting a staff member, while another said, Happy to die here, but with dignity and pride.

The Biden administration is working to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies who face danger after the Taliban quickly and easily rose to power in Afghanistan, the speed of which caught U.S. officials by surprise.

The Taliban were able to wrest control of the country from the Afghan military in less than two weeks, even though Afghan forces had more soldiers, better equipment, and several years' worth of U.S. training.

A State Department spokesperson said the United States has a special commitment to Afghan Embassy staff who have suffered hardship, pain and loss because of their dedication to working with us to build a better future for all Afghans.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

There have been approximately 30,000 people evacuated from Afghanistan since the end of July, with about 25,100 since Aug. 14, a White House official said on Sunday.

The administration has faced criticism for failing to ascertain the timeline of a Taliban takeover correctly, unready to evacuate those who remained in Afghanistan.

Story continues

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: News, Taliban, War in Afghanistan, Afghanistan, State Department, Embassy

Original Author: Mike Brest

Original Location: Afghan staff at US Embassy losing hope of rescue: Report
More than 11,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan this weekend, according to the US (Ministry of Defence)

Scenes of desperation at Kabuls airport continue to play out unabated a week after the Taliban took hold.

Seven more people died on Saturday, according to the British Ministry of Defence, and the total number of deaths in and around the airport has reached at least 20 since the Taliban seized the city last Sunday.

One of the seven people crushed to death in a stampede outside the gates of the airport was a two-year-old girl.

The grief-stricken mother said that her family  husband, three sisters, elderly parents, and cousin  will abandon their attempts to flee Afghanistan following the death of their toddler.

Elsewhere, a woman who made it out of the country gave birth aboard a US Air Force C-17 aircraft, the US military said.

While on the way to the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, which is to temporarily host the refugees on their way to the US, the Afghan woman experienced complications while giving birth as a result of the reduced air pressure inside the aircraft.

The US militarys Air Mobility Command tweeted: The aircraft commander decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilise and save the mothers life.

On arrival at Ramstein medics boarded the plane and delivered the baby in the aircrafts cargo bay. Images show the woman being carried out from the plane on a stretcher.

The baby girl and mother were transported to a nearby medical facility and are in good condition, the US military said.

A woman is carried off a US Air Force C-17 aircraft in Germany after giving birth on board (US AIR FORCE/AFP via Getty Image)

The MoD said almost 6,000 people have been evacuated as part of the UK rescue mission in Kabul.

Those repatriated under Operation Pitting include embassy staff, British nationals, those eligible under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (Arap) programme and a small number of nationals from partner nations.

The evacuation is being supported by 1,000 British troops on the ground  including Paras from 16 Air Assault Brigade  as well as other Whitehall staff.

Brig Dan Blanchford, the most senior UK military officer on the ground in Kabul, said British armed forces personnel had witnessed some harrowing scenes, with at least seven Afghan civilians confirmed to have died outside the airfield gates in the chaotic crowds.

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In total, 5,725 people have been repatriated since the mission began on 13 August, with 3,100 of them Afghan individuals and their families.

The MoD said defence secretary Ben Wallace had a phone call with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, to discuss allied efforts in the Afghan capital.

The MoD said the evacuation process would run as long as the security situation allows in joint coordination with our US partners", with "no firm date set" for the end of civilian flights.

Brigadier Blanchford, commander Joint Forces Operations, said the armed forces had also been supplying aid  including food, nappies and baby milk  as part of their efforts to get people to the UK.

UK armed forces minister James Heappey said the Taliban were now marshalling people into queues at Hamid Karzai International Airport, making the process faster for those hoping to leave. The UK has airlifted out more than 1,700 people in the past 24 hours, he said.

British officer Lt Col Justin Baker, of 16 Air Assault Brigade, said that troops are dealing with an unprecedented, complex situation in Kabul.

Thousands of people are struggling through the brutal heat, distress, and unsanitary conditions outside the airport in a desperate bid to escape the Talibans rise to power.

Images have shown soldiers spraying people with water from a hose, and giving out bottles of water to those who have been waiting for a space on a flight for days with no guarantee that they will make it out.

Afghan people in tightly-packed crowds are also seen handing their babies and children to soldiers in the hope that they would be safer, and that the youngsters can will be able to leave the country.

A baby is handed over to the US army over the perimeter wall of Kabul airport (via Reuters)

US president Joe Bidens national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said that US troops have evacuated 3,900 people in the past 24 hours, and that non-US military flights evacuated a similar number of people over the same period.

Mr Sullivan has not ruled out the possibility of the Biden administration deploying more troops, in addition to the 6,000 already deployed, to help evacuate more people.

He said that Mr Biden asks his defence chiefs every single day whether they need more troops or other resources to ensure safe evacuations of Americans and non-US citizens from Kabul airport.

In a speech on Sunday, Mr Biden repeated his pledge that any American who wants to get home, will get home, and that the US is working with more than two dozen countries on the evacuations.

He said that more than 11,000 people have been evacuated from Kabul airport this weekend.

But western allies have stressed that not all people who need to be rescued will be able to be saved by the planned deadline of 31 August for all evacuations. Several nations, including the UK, are calling for this deadline to be extended.

And time has become more critical as the US fears that there are acute potential threats posed by groups such as Isis and al-Qaeda. The Taliban has since claimed that it is not affiliated with al-Qaeda, and that the group has no presence in Afghanistan.

Washingtons struggle to evacuate people amid the mass attempted exodus has also been evident by the Pentagon calling on six US commercial airlines to use 18 of their civilian aircrafts to carry people to the US from transit locations.

Amid the evacuation difficulties, former British PM Tony Blair made a series of extraordinary remarks slamming Britain and the US for their withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

Tony Blair, who sent soldiers into Afghanistan 20 years ago, said withdrawal of troops is dangerous (PA)

On Saturday, in his first comments on the situation since the Talibans takeover, he said that the abandonment of the country by western allies is dangerous and unnecessary.

He added that Mr Biden withdrew troops in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending the forever wars.

Mr Biden and PM Boris Johnson will meet virtually with other G7 leaders on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing situation in Afghanistan.

Mr Johnson is expected to persuade Mr Biden to keep troops in Afghanistan beyond 31 August to help evacuate more people.

Read More

The Taliban: Who are they, who are the leaders and what do they want?

Who funds the Taliban and how?

What rules will the Taliban impose on women in Afghanistan?

Chaotic scenes at Kabul airport as thousands try to flee Afghanistan
Thousands of Afghans are trying to fly out of Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover

President Joe Biden says efforts to evacuate people from Kabul airport are accelerating, with US troops expanding the perimeter around the site.

Many thousands of Afghans have been queuing at the gates in desperate attempts to flee the country after the Taliban swept to power on 15 August.

Mr Biden said on Sunday that the US had flown nearly 28,000 people out of the airport in the past week.

He faces pressure to extend a deadline for evacuations beyond 31 August.

The president said discussions were taking place with leaders of other countries about pushing back the deadline, but that "our hope is we will not have to".

"There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and the heart-breaking images you see," Mr Biden told reporters at the White House.

"We have made changes, including extending the access area around the airport - the safe zone," he said, adding: "We have a long way to go and a lot can still go wrong."

On Monday, Vice-President Kamala Harris said the US would carry out "a robust analysis of what has happened" in Afghanistan in recent weeks.

"But right now there is no question that our focus has to be on evacuating American citizens [and] Afghans" she said during a visit to Singapore.

US forces have evacuated nearly 28,000 people from Kabul in the past week

Earlier, the Pentagon said in a statement that 18 commercial planes would be used to help transfer evacuees to third countries from safe sites outside Afghanistan.

At least 20 people have died as thousands queue outside Kabul airport, a Nato official told Reuters news agency, amid reports that some were being crushed to death.

UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said the Taliban were co-operating and marshalling people into queues at Hamid Karzai International Airport, making the process faster for those hoping to leave.

The UK has evacuated 5,725 people since 13 August, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said late on Sunday.

The UK has more than 1,000 Armed Forces personnel deployed in Kabul.

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Mobilising a civilian air fleet

On Sunday, the US Department of Defense announced the activation of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) to help with the evacuation.

This allows the US to mobilise civilian airlines to help in an emergency. It was last used ahead of, and during, the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the Gulf War of 1990-1991.

According to the statement, the level one activation is for 18 planes: four from United Airlines; three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air; and two from Hawaiian Airlines.

Activating the CRAF will help military aircraft to focus on operations in and out of Kabul, the statement added.

"These civil reserve flights will help facilitate the safe transport [of evacuees] to third countries," Mr Biden said on Sunday. "None will be landing in Kabul."

The president said a series of "processing stations" had been established in more than two dozen countries, where evacuees would be screened and cleared.

"We will welcome these Afghans who have helped America to their new homes - because that's who we are," Mr Biden added.

The news comes as White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced there were still several thousand US citizens thought to be in Afghanistan.

Speaking to CNN's State of the Union programme on Sunday, Mr Sullivan said he could not give a precise number, but noted that work was continuing to evacuate them.

Mr Sullivan also described the threat of attacks by the Islamic State group against the airport as "real" and "acute".

The civilian aircraft will help the US military with their evacuations

Taliban official Amir Khan Mutaqi meanwhile has blamed the US for the "evacuation drama" at the airport.

On Sunday, Mr Mutaqi also addressed potential dissatisfaction within Taliban ranks, arguing that "certain decisions are made in the long-term interest" of the movement and its role in Afghanistan.

He said that the Taliban were in talks with "all factions" to reach an agreement on a future government.

Johnson calls G7 meeting

The Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan has shocked its people and the world.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called an urgent meeting for Tuesday of the leaders of the G7 - the world's seven largest so-called advanced economies.

"It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years," he tweeted.

Mr Johnson is expected to urge Mr Biden to keep American forces in Afghanistan beyond 31 August in order to allow evacuation flights to continue.

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, meanwhile, has harshly criticised the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"You look round the world and the only people really cheering this decision are the people hostile to Western interests," he said.

The US plans a full withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan on 31 August.

Several allied nations - including the UK - are calling for this deadline to be extended amid the ongoing evacuation, as US soldiers are currently controlling the airport.
US President Joe Biden said Sunday he still hopes to finalize the dramatic evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan by August 31, as the Islamists blamed Washington for harrowing scenes of chaos and despair at the airport in Kabul.

One week after the hardline militant group made a stunning return to power, terrified Afghans kept trying to flee, skeptical of Taliban promises of a softer version of their brutal 1996-2001 rule.

Biden had previously set August 31 as the date to complete the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

But the United States and its allies have been unable to cope with huge numbers of people trying to get on evacuation flights, leaving Kabul airport in disarray and the European Union warning it may be "impossible" to get everyone out before the deadline.

Speaking in the White House, Biden said his "hope is we will not have to extend".

"We'll see what we can do," he added when asked by reporters what his reply was to foreign leaders asking for more time.

"We have a long way to go and a lot could still go wrong," Biden said, citing the threat of attacks by the Islamic State group in particular.

He acknowledged the searing scenes at the US-controlled Hamid Karzai International airport, which have included babies and children being passed to soldiers over razor-wire fences and men clinging to the outside of departing planes.

But he said they were part of the cost of departure.

"There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss and heartbreaking images you see," he said.

- 'Please take us' -

Biden spoke after the Taliban, who have been holding talks with elders and politicians to set up their government, slammed the chaotic evacuation.

"America, with all its power and facilities... has failed to bring order to the airport. There is peace and calm all over the country, but there is chaos only at Kabul airport," Taliban official Amir Khan Mutaqi said.

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Britain's defence ministry said Sunday seven people had died in the crowds, without giving further details.

A journalist, who was among a group of fleeing media workers and academics fortunate enough to reach the airport on Sunday, described desperate scenes of people surrounding their bus on the way in.

"They were showing us their passports and shouting 'take us with you... please take us with you'," the journalist told AFP.

"The Taliban fighter in the truck ahead of us had to shoot in the air to make them go away."

During the distress of evacuation, an Afghan woman went into labour on a US Air Force flight and gave birth to a baby girl in the plane's cargo bay moments after landing at a base in Germany, the Air Mobility Command tweeted.

Biden said that since the Taliban captured Kabul last weekend about 28,000 people had been flown out.

Earlier this week the administration said there are up to 15,000 Americans and 50,000 to 60,000 Afghan allies who need to be evacuated. Countless others are also trying to flee.

On Sunday, Washington enlisted the help of several major airlines in transporting people who have been flown to US bases in the Gulf and Europe back to America.

The crisis has seen mounting criticism of the US and its Western allies, which this year pressed on with the troop withdrawal as the government and security forces struggled to contain rising Taliban violence.

G7 leaders will discuss the situation in a virtual summit on Tuesday.

- Resistance -

Outside of Kabul, there have been flickers of resistance against the Taliban.

Some ex-government troops have gathered in the Panjshir Valley, north of the capital -- long known as an anti-Taliban bastion.

The Taliban said on their Arabic Twitter account Sunday they were sending hundreds of fighters to the valley after "local state officials refused to hand it over peacefully."

The Islamists have "massed forces near the entrance of Panjshir," tweeted Amrullah Saleh, latterly vice president of Afghanistan who has taken refuge in the area.

One of the leaders of the movement in Panjshir, named the National Resistance Front, is the son of famed anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.

The NRF is prepared for a "long-term conflict" but is also still seeking to negotiate with the Taliban about an inclusive government, its spokesman Ali Maisam Nazary told AFP in an interview.

"The conditions for a peace deal with the Taliban is decentralisation, a system that ensures social justice, equality, rights, and freedom for all."

bur-st/dw
Armed Afghan resistance forces wrested control of three districts from the Taliban, marking the first successful uprising against the group in Afghanistan since it seized control of the capital city of Kabul on Sunday.

Defense Minister Gen. Bismillah Mohammadi, who has sworn to resist the Taliban, tweeted Friday that the districts of Deh Salah, Banu, and Pul-e-Hesar in the neighboring province of Baghlan to the north of Panjshir had been reclaimed. While the forces involved in the resistance group were not immediately clear, the incident marked the first significant armed rebuke of the Taliban's swift dominance of Kabul.

Ghani Andarabi, a former local police commander, said the Banu district in Baghlan was under the control of local militia forces and said there had been heavy casualties "to the Taliban," according to Tolo News.

TALIBAN WOUND DOZENS AND KILL AT LEAST THREE AMID VIOLENT PROTEST DISPERSAL

"With the support of God and the mujahideen, three districts were liberated, we are now moving toward Khinjan district and will clear Baghlan province soon," Assadullah, Banu's former police chief, said.

There are unconfirmed reports the Taliban are preparing to take the districts from resistance fighters, the outlet reported.

People close to Ahmad Massoud, the son of former anti-Soviet mujahedeen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, said there were more than 6,000 fighters composed of remnants of military units, along with local militia groups, in the Panjshir valley. They claim to have helicopters and military vehicles that remained from the Soviet occupation of the country between 1979 and 1989.

Taliban officials have not commented on the matter, according to Reuters.

Sources said the retaliation began after the Taliban entered Baghlan and engaged in house-to-house searches, according to the local Afghan news outlet.

The resistance among militant groups in Panjshir does not appear to be connected to demonstrations seen in Kabul and eastern cities earlier this week, when nonviolent protesters marched in the streets and some raised the flag of the former Afghan government.

Story continues

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The Taliban have spent the last week fortifying their new capital of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan after the militant group overran the former government on Sunday, taking the city of Kabul. The group maintains control over 33 out of 34 provinces in the country. As of Monday, the Taliban controlled 222 of Afghanistan's 421 districts, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, American and British military forces have control of the perimeter within Kabul's international airport, where efforts to evacuate U.S. citizens, U.S.-aligned Afghan allies, and those with eligible special immigrant visas continue in spite of possible security threats outlined by the U.S. Embassy on Saturday.

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: News, Afghanistan, Taliban, National Security, Foreign Policy

Original Author: Kaelan Deese

Original Location: Armed Afghans reclaim three districts in first major display of resistance since Taliban's Kabul takeover
BAUCHI/KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Bandits have released 15 more students kidnapped last month from a Baptist school in northwest Nigeria, officials told Reuters on Sunday.

School administrator Reverend John Hayab said that parents had raised and paid an undisclosed ransom to free the students, who were among more than 100 taken on July 5 from the Bethel Baptist High School.

"The students are already being released and would be handed over to their parents any moment from now," Hayab said.

Hayab previously said the abductors were seeking 1 million naira ($2,430) per student.

Kaduna state's commissioner for internal security, Samuel Aruwan, confirmed the release but did not immediately comment on the ransom payment.

Kidnappers released 28 children from the school in July following the release of a first group of 28 two days after the raid. Around 80 had remained in captivity before Sunday's release.

Armed bandits seeking ransoms have abducted more than 1,000 students from schools in northwest Nigeria since December, and Kaduna state schools remain closed due to the threat.

President Muhammadu Buhari in February called on state governments to stop paying bandits, and Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai publicly refuses to pay. But desperate parents and communities often raise and pay ransoms themselves.

($1 = 411.2000 naira)

(Reporting By Ardo Hazzad in Bauchi and Garba Muhammad in Kaduna; Writing by Libby George; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Is Trump going to get a second term or will Biden weep to victory? (AFP/Getty/Reuters)

President Joe Biden will address the nation again on Sunday afternoon to provide an update on the withdrawal from Afghanistan as well as the response to Hurricane Henri.

Mr Biden is meeting with his national security team in the Situation Room at the White House on Sunday morning to hear intelligence, security, and diplomatic updates on the evolving situation in Kabul.

The president will then speak to the American people at 4pm from the Roosevelt Room about the latest on the evacuation of citizens, special immigration visa applicants and their families, and vulnerable Afghans.

This will be the third time Mr Biden has appeared on TV concerning the chaos that began to unfold in Kabul after the Taliban retook the Afghan capital and desperate people attempted to flee via the airport.

At a rally in Alabama on Saturday night, former President Donald Trump criticised Mr Biden throughout his remarks, saying that Democrats stealing the 2020 presidential election led to the fall of Kabul.

This will go down as one of the great military defeats of all time, Mr Trump said. This was not a withdrawal. It was a total surrender.

Mr Trump also defended his peace deal with the Taliban and his negotiations with the organisations leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

I said Abdul, anything happens, we are going to rain terror upon you, he said, noting how he and the Taliban had a conditions-based agreement on withdrawal. And then we had a rigged election and a new president and the new president came into office and he dropped to his knees and he said come on in and take everything that we have.

The Biden administration, and even some former Trump administration officials, have blamed the former presidents negotiations with the Taliban for the complete collapse of the Afghan government.

In turn, the former president praised the Taliban while also criticising the Biden administration for not knowing the precise number of Americans in Afghanistan.

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According to figures released by the White House on Sunday morning, from 21 August at 3am to 22 August 3am EDT, there were 23 US military flights (14 C-17s, 9 C-130s) evacuating approximately 3,900 personnel, and 35 coalition aircraft (including partners, foreign military, and commercial airlines) evacuating approximately 3,900 personnel.

There have been approximately 25,100 personnel on both military and coalitions flights evacuated since 14 August. Since the end of July, there have been approximately 30,000 personnel evacuated.

The White House also announced on Sunday morning that Mr Biden will meet virtually with G7 leaders on 24 August.

The meeting will build on President Bidens calls this week with G7 leaders Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France, and Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy, the White House says.

They will discuss continuing our close coordination on Afghanistan policy and evacuating our citizens, the brave Afghans who stood with us over the last two decades, and other vulnerable Afghans.

Also on the agenda are plans to provide humanitarian assistance and support for Afghan refugees.

Read More

Taliban hunts down government staff despite amnesty

The Taliban: Who are they, who are the leaders and what do they want?

How quickly did Taliban advance across Afghanistan?
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, asking U.S. airlines and charter carriers to transport Afghan evacuees from locations in the Middle East and Europe to other areas of the world.

Austin on Sunday called for a first stage mobilization of CRAF to perform airlift services, the Pentagon said in a statement. This stage asks for a limited amount of aircraft  three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air; two from Hawaiian Airlines; and four Boeing 777s from United Airlines, for a total of 18 planes.

"CRAF activated aircraft will not fly into Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul," Defense officials said. "They will be used for the onward movement of passengers from temporary safe havens and interim staging bases. Activating CRAF increases passenger movement beyond organic capability and allows military aircraft to focus on operations in and out of Kabul."

DoD said it "does not anticipate a major impact to commercial flights from this activation."

Airlines on Friday were asked to get ready in case they would be needed to ferry thousands of people who have been rescued from Kabul since the Taliban took over Aug. 15. Evacuations have continued aboard military aircraft, moving roughly 7,000 U.S. citizens and personnel, Special Immigrant Visa applicants and other at-risk individuals from Afghanistan to locations such as Ramstein Air Base in Germany and Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

The latest mobilization means CRAF has now been activated for the third time since it was created after World War II. The CRAF was established in 1951 as an emergency authorization to use commercial and charter planes to augment airlift and resupply missions. It was previously used during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990, and again in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Defense Department and U.S. Transportation Command are the activating authority for CRAF. The airlines volunteer for the program, which also involves the Department of Transportation. Commercial carriers retain their civil status under Federal Aviation Administration regulations, while USTRANSCOM "exercises mission control via its air component, Air Mobility Command," the Pentagon said.

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Airlines for America, the trade group for the major U.S. airlines, on Saturday told POLITICO it has been in communication with administration officials on the matter.

"U.S. carriers have been offering support as needed over the past week, and they remain in frequent communication with U.S. government agencies and officials to determine flight support needs," A4A said.

In a statement, United said potential impacts to its flights are "still being assessed" but expected to be minimal. "As a global airline and flag carrier for our country, we embrace the responsibility to quickly respond to international challenges like this one," United CEO Scott Kirby said on Instagram.
WASHINGTON  President Joe Bidens honeymoon with congressional Democrats appeared to reach an abrupt halt last week when a number of his allies on Capitol Hill began pummeling his execution of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, promising investigations.

Its a precarious moment for Biden, who needs to save his political capital to pass his ambitious agenda with thin Democratic majorities. House leaders are battling dissent among moderate lawmakers skeptical of the dual-track strategy to approve a $550 billion infrastructure bill and a $3.5 trillion package to expand the social safety net and raise taxes on the wealthy.

Some insiders see a new phase for relations between Biden and Democrats.

The relationship has certainly hit a rough spot, said Jim Manley, who was an aide to former Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. On a whole host of issues, hes had a pretty good run since becoming president. Now I think the relationship is going to get a little trickier from here on out.

He said he was surprised by the tough tone that key Democratic committee chairs like Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York and Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey took on Afghanistan, adding that they appear determined to conduct rigorous oversight of Biden, their fellow Democrat.

The larger political impact of the chaos in Afghanistan is unclear. Polls taken during the chaos found that Americans still prefer withdrawing over remaining. But the situation has enveloped the White House in a near-term crisis that may limit its persuasive powers over Democratic lawmakers.

An NBC News poll released Sunday found that Biden's job approval rating is 49 percent, while 48 percent of U.S. adults disapprove. That is down from April, when Biden drew 53 percent approval and 39 percent disapproval.

Dan Pfeiffer, who was a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama, said he doesnt believe the situation will harm Bidens agenda, but he said the concern is understandable.

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Democrats have so little margin of error in Congress that even a little bit of turbulence is concerning, and the instinct for self-sabotage in centrist Democrats is always prevalent, he said.

Pfeiffer said Bidens popularity will have an impact on Democrats down the ballot in the congressional elections next year, giving them an incentive to strengthen him and his presidency.

From the perspective of raw politics, the urgency to quickly pass the Biden legislative agenda is increased by recent events. Congressional Democrats need a strong Biden to have any chance of holding the majorities, he said. If the president takes a political hit from what's happening in Afghanistan, passing very popular, impactful legislation is the best way to ensure that blip is temporary.

The Senate has passed a $550 billion infrastructure bill on a vote of 69-30. The House is set to return Monday and kick off the process of advancing the bill and the separate $3.5 trillion budget resolution. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has said the infrastructure legislation wont get a vote until the Senate passes the multitrillion-dollar bill, which has sparked dissent from moderates.

And those moderates are more likely to stick with Biden if their voters support him.

I am curious to figure out how much this is actually going to hurt President Biden. Its probably a moving target for members, Kristen Hawn, a former Democratic aide for the moderate Blue Dog Coalition, said of the Afghanistan conundrum. I dont think well know that immediately. This is still playing out.

I do think that Democratic allies of the president want to deliver a win for him, she said. The bipartisan bill would be a very big win for the president at a very troubling time right now. There would be an incentive there to pass something, have it signed into law. Particularly with infrastructure, there are real-world impacts. People can see it.

A group of centrists, including Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., is pushing for a swift vote on the infrastructure bill before the House proceeds to the budget bill. But Pelosi has said infrastructure doesnt have the votes to pass unless it is linked to the larger package, which is a top priority for progressive lawmakers.

Pelosi needs all the help she can get from Biden to get most reluctant Democrats to back her plan.

Itll be interesting to see if Democrats, especially in the House, think he is weakened and they try to jam him on infrastructure and reconciliation, Manley said.

Presidents and their staff as a general rule like to preserve their political capital for tough times. And theyve done a good job of doing that so far, he said. But based on how difficult this is, theyre going to have to start calling in some chits.
A team led by Blue Origin was one of three bidders for the lunar contract. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

At least 17 top staffers at Blue Origin left the company this year, with many departing in the weeks after founder Jeff Bezos flew into space, CNBC reported.

The news follows a report by Insider's Kate Duffy on Tuesday, which revealed that a lead engineer left to join Elon Musk's SpaceX.

As CNBC reported, this was not the only high-level departure. Many other engineers and key leaders have also left, it said.

Several of those departing had been part of the team that tried to land a high-profile NASA lunar contract, the outlet said.

Fox Business said it confirmed the departure of about a dozen employees.

Bezos' space company has grown rapidly in recent years, with about 1,500 employees joining since the beginning of 2020, a spokesperson told CNBC. They said: "In fact, we've grown by nearly a factor of four over the past three years."

The departures were noteworthy because of their timing, coming after NASA in April announced that SpaceX would be awarded a $2.9 billion contract for a moon lander for the Artemis missions, reports said.

During the bidding process for the Artemis contract, NASA said it expected to choose two partners, but it chose to award a single contract. A team led by Blue Origin was one of three bidders.

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos with aviation glasses that belonged to Amelia Earhart. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Blue Origin in April filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office. The federal watchdog in July rejected its protest.

Blue Origin earlier this month said it was suing NASA in federal claims court, saying in its complaint that the agency didn't properly evaluate the proposals. NASA last week paused work on the moon-landing contract until November.

Bezos went to space in July, marking his company's first crewed space flight. After his trip, Blue Origin paid $10,000 bonuses to employees, CNBC reported.

Insider has reached out to Blue Origin for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Andrew MacAskill and Andrea Shalal

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain plans to push world leaders to consider new sanctions on the Taliban when the G7 group of advanced economies meet on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan, sources told Reuters.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who currently leads the group that includes the United States, Italy, France, Germany, Japan and Canada, called on Sunday for the virtual meeting, in the wake of the Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan.

Britain believes the G7 should consider economic sanctions and withhold aid if the Taliban commits human rights abuses and allows its territory to be used as a haven for militants, according to a British government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, and a second Western diplomat.

U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters on Sunday that the Taliban had not taken any action against U.S. forces controlling Kabul airport, and had largely followed through on their pledge to let Americans reach the airport safely.

Asked whether he would support Britain's push for sanctions if the Taliban committed abuses, Biden said, "The answer is yes. It depends on the conduct."

Taliban militants seized control of Kabul last weekend in an upheaval that sent civilians and Afghan military allies fleeing for safety. Many fear a return to the austere interpretation of Islamic law imposed during the previous Taliban rule that ended 20 years ago.

"It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years," Johnson said on Twitter on Sunday.

Sanctions against the Taliban are unlikely to be adopted immediately, one Western diplomat said. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab first raised the possibility of sanctions to pressure the Taliban last week.

Biden, under fire at home and abroad for his handling of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, last week said G7 leaders would work out a joint approach to the Taliban, and has already held bilateral talks with Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

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Johnson plans to push Biden to extend his Aug. 31 deadline for withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan so that more people can be evacuated, British media reported.

On Sunday, Biden said the U.S. military was discussing potentially extending the deadline, but hoped that would not be necessary.

He said Washington would consider an extension if asked to do so by G7 allies, but was working closely with those countries and others to help evacuate their citizens.

The U.S. military earlier on Sunday said it had ordered commercial aircraft to help transport people https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-administration-use-commercial-airlines-carry-afghan-evacuees-2021-08-22 who have already been evacuated from Afghanistan.

Biden told reporters on Friday that he and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken would work with other countries to set "harsh conditions" for any cooperation with or recognition of the Taliban, based on their treatment of women and girls and overall human rights record.

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill in London and Andrea Shalal in Washington; additional writing by Susan Heavey and Radhika Anilkumar; Editing by Susan Fenton, Giles Elgood, Grant McCool, Heather Timmons and Daniel Wallis)
Frantic search and rescue efforts continued on Monday across the flood-ravaged Middle Tennessee region as many remained missing following a devastating flood event on Saturday.

As intense and relentless downpours persisted throughout much of the day on Saturday, homes were destroyed and roads were washed out, according to The Associated Press (AP). At least 22 deaths have been reported, according to the AP, while dozens remain missing.

Officials said Monday that telecommunication services were gradually being restored after the flooding damaged cell phone towers and knocked out telephone lines. More than 3,000 were without power on Monday.

Heavy rain started falling early Saturday in Humphreys County, which includes cities such as McEwen and Waverly. It was in this part of the county where the National Weather Service office issued a rare flash flood emergency. The Tennesse Emergency Management Agency said the bulk of the rain occurred in a six-hour stretch.

Infrared satellite shows storms that plagued Tennessee This infrared satellite shows storms that plagued Tennessee on August 21, 2021. (NOAA/CIRA)

One of the worst-hit areas was Waverly, home to about 4,500 and about 75 miles west of Nashville. There, business owner Kansas Klein told the AP that it was "amazing" how quick the devastating flooding came and went. Klein noted that his business, a pizzeria, was still standing but had been rendered a total loss by the floodwaters that reached 7 feet inside the building.

"It was devastating: buildings were knocked down, half of them were destroyed," Klein told the AP. "People were pulling out bodies of people who had drowned and didn't make it out."

Drone footage captured by storm chaser Brandon Clement showed the magnitude of the devastation around Waverly and just how powerful the raging floodwaters were. Some homes were knocked off foundations, while cars were flipped completely upright, or sent into nearby rivers. Massive mounds of debris were strewn around streets and creek beds. In one part of Waverly, only the smoldering wreckage of one home remained.

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Hundreds of homes are said to be uninhabitable, The Tennesseean reported.

Schools will be closed this week in Humphreys County after 40 to 50 schools buses suffered damage, emergency management officials said.

Downpours persisted throughout the day and into Saturday night with rain finally subsiding in Middle Tennessee by midnight local time.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee visited some of the flood-ravaged areas on Sunday, meeting with affected homeowners and thanking first responders.

"Our hearts are with the many Tennesseans experiencing loss & heartbreak following yesterday's deadly floods," Lee said on Twitter. "The loss of life & property damage is devastating, & many of our neighbors are still missing. Please keep these communities in your prayers."

A staggering 17.02 inches of rain fell in McEwen, Tennessee, likely breaking the all-time 24-hour rainfall record for the state of Tennessee, according to the National Weather Service office in Nashville. Elsewhere, the city of Dickson, Tennessee, and a location just north of Centerville, Tennessee, picked up almost 10 inches.

"The slow-moving downpours over Middle Tennessee were due to a blocking pattern in the atmosphere with high pressure centered over Texas and low pressure over the mid-Atlantic," AccuWeather Senior Meterologist Tom Kines said. "These two features allowed storms to become stagnant over Tennessee on Saturday. There was also ample moisture due to humid air being ushered northward from the Gulf of Mexico into the Tennessee River Valley."

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

As torrential rainfall continued throughout the day on Saturday, the Piney River at Vernon, Tennessee, crested at 31.8 feet, shattering the river's previous record from 2019 by nearly 12 feet and towering 7 feet above major flood stage.

Roads and highways throughout Humphreys County were turned into rubble as large portions of asphalt were washed away, making rescue efforts more difficult for crews searching for any missing persons.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation urged travelers on Saturday to avoid heading through Humphreys, Houston, Dickson and Hickman counties, while the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said a reunification center had been opened at McEwen High School.

48-hour rainfall totals as of 8 p.m. Saturday local time.

As of Sunday morning, river levels had fallen and floodwaters were receding as rescuers continued to search through the debris left behind by the storms.

The Tennessee National Guard was deployed to the region to help with rescue efforts and assist residents left reeling as a result of the flooding.

Weather conditions throughout the area should remain dry through at least Wednesday, according to AccuWeather forecasters. Conditions will be hot and humid as crews continue to search for any missing persons.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Aug. 22COME ON and take a free ride...

The school board's Finance and Facilities Committee has unanimously recommended removing an $8.50 per-week fee that local high school students pay to ride Manchester school buses.

The proposal was made by school board vice chair Leslie Want of Ward 4.

"I feel like it is not right to be charging our high school students money to get to school," Want said. "This was brought to me years ago by a student at Central High School. He lived way up past the highway, past 93 and was unwalkable. To get to school he had to buy a pass, and his family had difficulty affording the pass every week.

"There are families that have more than one student in high school and that becomes a real hardship," Want said. "If we want to do our best to encourage our kids to go to school, removing this barrier of having to pay $8.50 a week for a pass would be a really big step forward."

Kelly O'Brien-Hebert, the district's transportation coordinator, estimated the change could cost the district at least $61,300 in revenue.

"The concern is that removing the requirement for purchasing a ticket would increase ridership, so you have to add in the potential to increase buses," O'Brien-Hebert said. "Will we need to add buses? It's hard to say, but it's something we need to consider."

Additional buses could cost between $100,000 and $200,000, O'Brien-Hebert estimated.

Under New Hampshire law, school districts are required to provide bus transportation for students who live more than two miles from their school  but only up to the eighth grade.

According to O'Brien-Hebert, about 100 to 150 students ride to Central and West high schools on buses, and another 250 to 300 take a bus to Memorial.

O'Brien said the weekly $8.50 charge has existed for years. She said she knows of only two other urban school districts that charge students to ride buses to local high schools  Concord and Nashua.

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In Concord, students pay $25 per year, though a waiver is available to those who receive free and reduced lunches.

In Nashua, the cost is $62.50 per year, or $1.75 a week for individual tickets.

O'Brien-Hebert said it would be difficult for Manchester to offer something similar to Concord's waiver policy while ensuring students who receive free and reduced lunches remain anonymous.

School board member Jeremy Dobson of Ward 5 said getting students to graduate from high school should be the district's main goal.

"If we're putting barriers in their way to just get them on the bus or get them to school in the morning.... I don't know how we fund this and deal with it but I am all for removing this cost from our students and our families," Dobson said. "There are a lot of luxuries that I'd love to have that I'm not willing to spend $30 a month on. That $8 a week can be an impediment for folks."

The full school board is expected to vote Monday night on whether to waive the fee.

Wellington Hill property

Although no development has been formally proposed, city aldermen have attached as a condition of the sale of an undeveloped 38-acre parcel in the Wellington Hill neighborhood a stipulation that a second way in and out of the neighborhood be part of any site plan.

The property is located in the northern area of the Wellington Hill neighborhood  north of Radburn Street and north and east of Fox Hollow Way.

The parcel consists of three properties owned separately by the city, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester and the Kirk Group. The purchase and sales agreement is with Torrington Properties, a Boston-based real estate developer.

As of now, the only way to access the parcel is via Edward J. Roy Drive.

"With only one means of egress for more than 1,000 existing homes, a Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center that's doubled in size, and a Planning Board-approved, but not-yet-built gas station, adding additional traffic to the only intersection in and out of the neighborhood is a safety hazard and not something I can in good conscience support," wrote Ward 2 Alderman Will Stewart in an email to constituents, explaining his support for requiring a second way in and out of the neighborhood.

Mayoral race endorsements

Candidates for mayor in the city's municipal election announced multiple endorsements last week.

The Manchester Police Patrolmen's Association (MPPA) and Manchester Association of Police Supervisors (MAPS) endorsed Mayor Joyce Craig in her re-election campaign.

"In order to successfully address issues our community is facing, the mayor and police department need to be on the same page, and we're glad to have that with Mayor Craig," said Kyle Daly, President of the Manchester Police Patrolmen's Association.

"Mayor Craig is a leader we need to keep in City Hall," said Joe Lorenzo, President of the Manchester Association of Police Supervisors. "As Mayor, she listens to our concerns and works with us to keep our community safe."

Mayoral candidate Rich Girard issued a statement following the Craig campaign's announcement in which he said the overriding reason for the endorsement was his "refusal to consider overriding the tax cap to give them bigger pay raises."

Girard's candidacy was endorsed last week by West Side native Eric Fischer, who served on the Manchester School Board from Ward 12, and Emily Sandblade, who was a state representative from Ward 11.

In releasing the endorsements, Girard said they were evidence his candidacy had "broad appeal."

Victoria Sullivan's campaign recently announced she has the support of state Rep. Bob Greene of Hudson. The campaign previously announced the support of former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte and former Manchester mayor and Executive Councilor Ray Wieczorek, among others.

Paul Feely is the City Hall reporter for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. Reach him at pfeely@unionleader.com.
LONDON (Reuters) - Climate change activists climbed the outside of the headquarters of the City of London's government on Sunday as they began two weeks of protests focused on the capital's financial district.

About 200 demonstrators from the group Extinction Rebellion targeted the medieval Guildhall, the home of the City of London Corporation, which governs the city's historic financial centre.

Three activists climbed the facade of the ornate Guildhall, parts of which date back to the 15th Century, lit red flares and displayed a banner that said: "co-liberation-freedom together".

Extinction Rebellion, which caused days of traffic chaos in London two years ago, said it is targeting the city's financial district, which they blame for helping to fuel climate change.

The group wants an emergency response from governments and a mass move away from polluting industries to avert the worst scenarios of devastation outlined by scientists.

Extinction Rebellion brought much of central London to a standstill during 11 days of action in 2019, bringing its cause to the fore but also provoking criticism from some politicians who said the police had been too tolerant.

The City of London is the smallest local authority in Britain, and unlike most conventional British councils, officially declares its job is to reinforce the importance of financial services to the British economy.

It claims to be the oldest, continuous representative local government in the world, running the area that is home to the Bank of England and St Pauls Cathedral for at least a thousand years.

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
SKOPJE, North Macedonia  Three Balkan countries have offered to help desperate Afghans, but no refugees have flown in on U.S. flights.

As thousands of people continue to throng around Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, officials in North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania  neighboring Balkan countries whose populations have experienced violence themselves  said last week that they had offered to temporarily take in those fleeing Afghanistan.

But a week after the Taliban completed their lightning-fast takeover of the country, finally walking into Kabul last Sunday without firing a shot, no refugees have arrived on U.S. flights, officials in the countries said. They did not know when the Afghans would arrive.

Dusko Arsovski, a spokesman for the government of North Macedonia, said Saturday that the country was waiting for information and was organizing hotels for the refugees to stay in.

Image: Afghans seeking to flee from the country (Wakil Kohsar / AFP - Getty Images)

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said Friday that his tiny country would take in around 650 Afghans.

We are rescuing a peaceful population who have cherished democracy for 20 years and who were a help and support to our military on their missions over there, he said.

A spokesman for Kosovos government said a flight could be expected in coming days, although he had no information about when it would arrive and could not say how many Afghans the country would take in.

The situation was equally unclear in Albania, where the prime ministers spokesman, Endri Fuga, said, If they arrive today, we still don't know.

The State Department and the Defense Department did not comment when asked why flights had not been sent to those countries, even though thousands are hoping for flights out of Afghanistan.

In Kabul, the U.S. faces a logistical nightmare getting U.S. citizens and Afghan refugees out of the city after thousands of terrified people raced to the airport desperate to leave as the Taliban consolidated control.

The U.K. government said Sunday that seven people died after they were crushed in the crowds around the airport.

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Two U.S. defense officials said Saturday that the U.S. was tracking specific threats from the Islamic State, the terrorist group better known as ISIS, against Kabul's airport and against Americans and others trying to leave the country. The military is working on alternative ways to get Americans, Afghans and third-country nationals safely to the airport.

We are executing an alternate path, a defense official said.

Earlier, the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan advised U.S. citizens against traveling to the airport because of potential security threats.

About 22,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan since operations began in late July, with 17,000 having been evacuated over the past week, Army Maj. Gen. William Taylor, deputy director for regional operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Saturday. In the previous 24 hours, 3,800 people were evacuated from Kabul, he said.

President Joe Biden has pledged that the U.S. will do all it can to provide safe evacuations for Afghan civilians, many of whom helped U.S. forces and now might be targeted because of their association with the U.S.

Image: Afghans run away from Taliban fighters outside the Kabul airport (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

But time is running out ahead of his Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw most remaining U.S. troops, and he has not committed to extending it.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said Friday that the U.S. was trying to transfer people through countries in the region, like Qatar, in part for fuel efficiency. From there, Americans can take commercial or State Department charter flights home, he said.

The Pentagon said Sunday that it would draft commercial aircraft to help transport people once they have been evacuated.

Meanwhile, in southern Europe, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia  the newest member of NATO  remain eager to help their U.S. ally.

The governments of North Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo are eager to show their strategic alliance with the U.S., said Petar Arsovski, a Macedonian political consultant. And maybe send a message to the E.U. that theyre not without options.

The three countries are hemmed in by European Union member states but are not part of the political and economic group.

Arsovski said the region was trying to curry favor with the White House. North Macedonia wants the Biden administration to lean on Bulgaria to unblock its accession process to the E.U., Kosovo hopes Washington will help it build a more productive dialogue with Serbia, and Albania wants to start negotiations to join the E.U., he said.

At an otherwise-quiet Skopje airport Friday night, reporters greeted a flight of Macedonians who had been working for military contractors in Kabul. As families welcomed their loved ones teary-eyed with relief under fluorescent airport lights, several people expressed concern for Afghan civilians left behind.

Those people really need help, said Jusuf Mustafi, 36, who said he had been working as a military contractor on and off in Afghanistan for 3 years. Everyone should help every human.

IMAGE: Mehmed Rexhepi speaks to reporters (Armend Nimani / For NBC News)

Mustafi said his country was right to have offered to take in refugees, saying some Macedonians knew what it meant to be uprooted by violence, as they were forced to flee during clashes in 2001 that shook this Balkan country.

The sentiment was echoed on the wide thoroughfares of central Skopje, which boast imposing monuments and is surrounded by picturesque hills.

When the war happened here, I was a refugee, said Deti Saiti, 49, a shop assistant in an Albanian neighborhood of the city near the banks of the River Vardar. Nobody wants to leave their homes. They're forced to, so of course we will welcome them.

But not everyone was so welcoming. Some passersby said North Macedonia was poor and could not cope with more dependents.

They should go to America. It's a wealthy nation, said Ivanka Miteva, 74.

Welcome or not, so far no Afghan refugee has made it to the Balkans to find out.
Following historic protests in Cuba where thousands took to the streets, Cuban officials have repeatedly blamed the six-decade U.S. embargo for Cubas food, fuel and medicine shortages.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Cuba health officials insist the embargo limits the import of crucial vaccine components  the communist country has produced its own Covid-19 vaccines  as well as components for medical equipment such as respirators.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has said the embargo is genocidal and calls it U.S. politics of economic asphyxiation.

Although the U.S. can export food, medicine and medical supplies to Cuba, the embargo makes it more difficult.

The United Nations and human rights groups have called for an end to the embargo; in the U.S., its a constant topic of debate when it comes to U.S.-Cuba policy.

When the embargo was fully implemented in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy, there was no trade. It was initially a response to Fidel Castros confiscation of American businesses and properties on the island following the 1959 revolution, which was the largest expropriation of U.S. assets ever. There are 5,913 unresolved certified claims  totaling $1.9 billion at the time  made by American citizens.

Over the years, the U.S. has added more laws on the embargo, making it harsher  while also creating more exceptions. Its now a complex set of laws with many layers.

The embargo has more holes than Swiss cheese, said Pedro Freyre, chair of Akermans International Practice, which provides legal counsel to U.S.-based companies affected by the embargo.

While food from the U.S. is available for export to Cuba, those who want to sell to the island requires authorizations or licenses from the Treasury and Commerce Departments, which makes it more cumbersome.

Sending medicine and medical supplies from the U.S. to Cuba is trickier because they cannot be exported if there is a reasonable likelihood the product could be used for torture, re-export or the production of Cuba's biotechnological industry. It must be verified on-site that the products are being used for their intended purposes.

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The State Department said it regularly authorizes the export of agricultural products, medicine and medical equipment, as well as humanitarian goods, to Cuba. In the first six months of 2021, Cuba imported $123 million worth of chicken from the U.S.

The majority of the exports are in the agricultural sector and include chicken, soybeans and corn. In 2007, the U.S. was among Cubas top five trading partners, and in 2008, U.S. exports of agricultural products to Cuba peaked at $684 million. That number has gone down since then as Cuba has diversified its supplier network, according to some experts.

The embargo does not prevent other countries from trading with Cuba, but if a product contains 10 percent of American-created content, then it must get a license from the U.S. to be exported to Cuba.

When you take global supply chains into consideration, that significantly limits the amount of products that can be exported to Cuba, even from third countries, said Ric Herrero, executive director of the pro-engagement Cuba Study Group.

Other countries may fear investing and trading with a heavily sanctioned country that is also on the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

Because the embargo does not allow Cuba to obtain financing by U.S. companies, Cuba has to pay for imports with hard currency.

Banks in other countries often avoid doing business with Cuba, not only because of the complexity of the U.S. sanctions but also because Cuba does not have a very good payment record, Freyre said. Cuba has defaulted on billions of dollars' worth of loans.

The Cuban economy is so small and conditions are so difficult that its just not a very attractive market, said Freyre, who noted that Cuba's centralized, Marxist economy is the main reason for its poverty.

After Kennedy imposed the embargo, relations between Cuba and the Soviet Union strengthened, eventually leading to the Cuban missile crisis. For decades, the Soviet Union heavily subsidized Cuba and accounted for 80 percent of Cubas international trade. But when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, it sent Cuba into a deep economic crisis it has never really recovered from.

It was during this period that the U.S. passed the Cuban Democracy Act, which strengthened the embargo and constrained presidential power, stating it could only be lifted if the president reports to Congress that Cuba has met a series of conditions, including free and fair elections.

The CDA allowed the export of medicines and medical supplies for humanitarian reasons. It also banned vessels that enter Cuba for trade from loading or unloading in the U.S. within 180 days after leaving Cuba, unless authorized by OFAC  making it more expensive to send shipments.

The next phase of the embargo came in 1996 with the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act, also known as the Helms-Burton Act. It was signed into law weeks after Cuban MiG fighters shot down two planes belonging to the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue, killing four people.

That gave the impetus for Congress to act, said Herrero. It was an election year, and President Bill Clinton wanted to lock in Florida.

The Helms-Burton Act made it harder to lift the embargo by making the existing laws and regulations permanent unless lifted by Congress or if an expanded series of conditions are met by Cuba, including a transition government.

It also allowed the original owners of Cuban properties confiscated by Castro to sue in U.S. courts foreign companies that were using them for business, though this part of the law was not enacted until 2019 by President Donald Trump.

A subsequent U.S. law enacted in 2000, the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act, allowed the direct sale of agricultural products and other food to Cuba.

Jason Poblete, a Washington, D.C., attorney who supports sanctions on Cuba, said while the measure makes it easier to export food and medicine, it adds more steps not otherwise needed when exporting to a nonsanctioned country.

During the Obama years, restrictions were eased on U.S.-Cuba trade, financial transactions and travel, but Trump reversed much of them.

After six decades, even some who support sanctions on Cuba say it's undeniable that the embargo has mainly been about domestic politics.

"Sanctions are a tool, not a policy," Poblete said. "All sides should agree on this, but folks keep talking past one another without focusing on achievable solutions."

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The Daily Beast

HRH Princess Charlene/InstagramThe narrative of a love match between Prince Albert of Monaco and his bride, former South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock, so relentlessly marketed by the tiny principality, has long struggled to maintain credibility when confronted with reality.Even before their wedding, there were extraordinary stories that Charlene tried to thrice flee the statelet only to be intercepted and brought back to the palace by the local security service.One of her escape at
Former President Donald Trump described Marjorie Taylor Greene as an "incredible woman." Getty Images

During a "Save America" rally in Alabama, Donald Trump repeatedly praised Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The former president referred to Greene as an "incredible" woman and one of his "favorite" people.

The controversial lawmaker had her committee roles stripped in February 2021 for making violent comments about Democrats.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

During a "Save America" rally in Cullman, Alabama, former President Donald Trump heaped praise on controversial Georgia lawmaker Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Trump called Greene one of his "favorite people" while speaking at the "potential superspreader" event on Saturday night, eliciting cheers from his crowd of supporters.

In a video shared by Vox reporter Aaron Rupar, the former president can also be heard describing the so-called QAnon Congresswoman as "so smart," "brilliant," and an "incredible" woman.

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"She's a brilliant woman, she's doesn't get credit for it," he said. "But we all know about that stuff."

Trump also referred to Greene, a supporter of the former president's efforts to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, as a "warrior."

"Everything I said about Georgia is true," he continued.

Trump repeatedly claimed victory in Georgia following the 2020 presidential election, a false statement that belies President Joe Biden's nearly 13,000-vote win there. He also tried to pressure Georgia officials to overturn the results, Insider previously reported.

Greene, a fiercely loyal ally to the former president, also promoted baseless conspiracy of voter fraud in her home state and called for the results of the presidential election in Georgia to be decertified.

The House of Representatives voted to remove Greene from all committee roles in February 2021 in response to violent and incendiary remarks made about prominent Democrats.

She has promoted numerous far-right conspiracy theories and controversial viewpoints, including QAnon, Pizzagate, and comparing COVID-19 safety protocols to the persecution of Jews under the Nazis.

Read the original article on Business Insider
An East Hartford man wanted in connection with the death of a rival drug dealer in Hartford last fall was captured earlier this summer and charged with his rivals murder.

Craig Apex Gore, 47, was arrested in July, exactly eight months after 38-year-old Guillermo Rivera was gunned down in front of several witnesses during a drug transaction in Hartfords South End, according to court records released last week.

Rivera was shot and killed early the morning of Nov. 8 when an altercation broke out while Rivera was selling drugs on McKinley Street, records show. The citys ShotSpotter gunshot detection system alerted to three rounds, and the first officers on the scene found Rivera suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest.

Rivera was rushed to nearby Hartford Hospital, where he died about half an hour later.

A woman who was with Rivera and witnessed the shooting told officers that Riveras assailant appeared to have dropped two iPhones on the ground near the scene, which investigators recovered and analyzed, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. One phone was registered to Gore and the other to Apex, both listing Gores home address in East Hartford.

The woman told police she had been sitting in the front passenger seat of a minivan parked at the scene, watching Rivera when a dark SUV slowly rolled by with a man in the backseat wearing an American-flag bandana around his face like a mask, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Moments later, that same man was at her vehicles window and they made eye contact.

The masked man then grabbed Riveras arm and shot him several times before running off in the direction where the two iPhones were found, the woman told detectives. A review of security camera video from around the area and location data from the phones revealed Gore and a vehicle he is associated with circling the area at the time of the murder, records show.

A few days later detectives tracked down another man who told them Rivera had been selling drugs on McKinley Street the night of the murder in an area that a man named Apex also sells drugs, though this man did not see the shooting, according to the affidavit.

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Witness #2 reported that they were also aware that Apex was upset with the victim because he felt that the victim was stealing business from him, detectives wrote in the affidavit.

An associate of that second witness came forward to police just four days after the murder and told detectives he had been purchasing drugs from Rivera when he was shot and killed, records show. The man said he has known Apex for several years and recognized him.

The third witness said Apex confronted Rivera about stealing customers, even pointing at the third witness as an example of one, and that Apex and an associate brandished firearms at Rivera before driving away in a dark SUV, according to the affidavit.

Rivera went back to completing the drug transaction with the third witness when the SUV returned and a man shot Rivera just out of his field of vision, according to the affidavit. The third witness initially told his associate, the second witness, that Gore had pulled the trigger but detectives noted that in his sworn written statement at the police station he claimed he was unsure who fired the shots, records show.

All three witnesses, including the woman who had made eye contact with the bandana-wearing shooter just before the gunshots rang out, identified Gore as the suspect in photographic lineups, detectives noted.

Gore was arrested Nov. 17 on unrelated drug charges, and police announced at the time they expected to charge him with murder, however, a judge did not sign the warrant charging him with murder for another two weeks, and by then Gore had been released on bond, court records show.

Police finally caught up with Gore again this summer and arrested him July 9 on the outstanding murder warrant. He also has three other active cases against him involving more than a dozen drug offenses and two weapons charges, according to court records.

He remains in custody on $1.25 million bond for the murder charge.

Riveras death was the 22nd of 24 total murders in Hartford last year at the tail end of a spike in non-fatal shootings across the capital city over the second half of 2020. Homicides have surged in the months since, driving Hartford to one of its deadliest years in several decades, even as other crimes have dropped dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

Hartford, as of Thursday, had recorded 27 murders in 2021, already the third deadliest year of the past decade with more than four full months left in the year. Should the deadly violence continue, it may be one of the deadliest years in Hartford since 1985, according to a Courant analysis of police data.

The increase in Hartford is similar to those seen in cities large and small across the country this year, including New Haven and Bridgeport, in what experts believe is a surge driven in combination by the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic and increased illegal weapon carrying throughout American cities.

The surge is largely isolated to homicides, however, with other crimes either roughly flat or down this year from last, including in Hartford, as crime rates remain far closer to their historic lows than the dramatic highs of the early 1990s.

Zach Murdock can be reached at zmurdock@courant.com.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that school districts in states with mask mandate bans can still access federal funds for their school reopenings.

Why it matters: A number of states have banned face mask requirements in schools even as the highly contagious Delta variant drives up COVID-19 cases across the country.

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In Florida and Texas school districts are defying executive orders from their governors that effectively prohibit local officials from mandating masks in classrooms.

The big picture: Cardona said that schools in anti-mask mandate states can still access these federal funds for school reopenings because the funds were approved by Congress.

"They do not have to get the green light from the governor to use these funds. They're made available to them," he said.

Cardona added that he called the superintendents of Broward and Alachua Counties in Florida to "personally to let them know that."

State of play: Last week the Biden administration said the Department of Education's civil rights office could start investigations if state policies are suspected to be violating students' civil rights by prohibiting masks.

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Aug. 21Former Gonzaga standout Johnathan Williams will continue his professional basketball career in Italy.

Williams signed with Dolomiti Energia in Trento, the team announced.

Williams saw limited playing time recently with the NBA Summer League champion Sacramento Kings. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged just 3.6 minutes in four game appearances in Las Vegas.

He had four points and two rebounds in a 16-minute stint in the California Classic, hosted by Sacramento prior to the Las Vegas summer league.

Williams, a starter on Gonzaga's 2017 team that lost to North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament championship game, played last season with Galatasaray in Turkey and Chemnitz in Germany. He also played in Israel in 2019.

The 26-year-old Williams has played in 39 NBA games, 24 with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018-19 and 15 with the Washington Wizards the following season. He also played in 53 NBA G League games in those two seasons.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Sunday that he has received a COVID-19 booster shot, as state health officials announced that 80% of adult residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

Hogan, a cancer survivor, said he received his third dose of the vaccine Monday.

I feel great, Hogan told Major Garrett on CBS Face the Nation.

So far, third-dose boosters have been authorized only for immunocompromised individuals, such as solid organ transplant recipients. The Biden administration has announced plans to begin offering third doses Sept. 20 to adults at least eight months out from their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. Officials say recipients of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine do not yet need a booster shot, although they may in the future.

Hogan on Sunday urged the Food and Drug Administration, which must sign off on the boosters, to do so quickly.

Were pushing to speed up that time frame because we want to start, Hogan said. Were already preparing in our state to start doing boosters for our nursing home residents and people that are in vulnerable populations. We want to get that final OK from the federal government.

Hogan also urged the FDA to issue full approvals for the three vaccines in circulation, all of which have received emergency use authorizations. A full approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is expected this week. Hogan called for the administration to approve vaccines for younger children as expeditiously as possible with schools opening for the fall. So far, only children 12 and older are able to receive the vaccine.

About 64% of 12- to 17-year-olds in Maryland have received at least one dose of a vaccine, compared with 80% of residents 18 and older. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only one that has been authorized for ages 12 to 17. Meanwhile, more than 90% of Marylanders over 65 have been vaccinated with at least one shot.

The Hogan administration has recently moved to require vaccination against COVID-19 for certain workers, including state employees working at congregate facilities like prisons, and all employees at hospitals and nursing homes in Maryland.

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Hogan said he believes a full OK from the FDA is likely to push resistant Marylanders in other groups to get their shots.

We actually did surveys, and the No. 1 reason stated for reluctancy or hesitancy to get the vaccine was that its not approved, Hogan said.

It comes amid a rise of the more contagious delta variant across the nation. Maryland has the third-lowest coronavirus transmission rate of any state in the country but has still seen a tremendous rise in infections and hospitalizations since July. The 14-day average caseload, which last month sat below 100 new cases per day, was 929 cases a day as of Sunday. Nearly 650 people were hospitalized with the virus as of Sunday.

Hogan reiterated Sunday that hes not planning to reinstate a mandate on mask-wearing in Maryland, although the state is recommending their use among unvaccinated people. About two-thirds of Maryland jurisdictions have mandated mask-wearing in schools.

Were very concerned about the spread of the delta variant all across the country, and it has impacted us, Hogan said Sunday. Our numbers are going up, but theyre going up from a very low place, and were still better off than a lot of people.
Aug. 22The Honolulu Police Department is investigating a potential aggravated assault case near Lualualei Beach Park that involves a 24-year-old man who suffered a head injury.

The Honolulu Emergency Medical Services responded just after 11 a.m., and treated and transported the victim in serious condition to a hospital. A Honolulu Emergency Services Department spokeswoman said the victim was awake and talking while in the care of EMS.

It's not clear what caused the victim's injury.

Police have not made an arrest and are still trying to identify a suspect.

HPD is diverting eastbound traffic on Farrington Highway near the park onto Leihoku Street to do its investigation, according to a city alert.
The Belgian lawyer of Paul Rusesabagina, the "Hotel Rwanda" hero turned government critic, has been deported from Rwanda for what authorities said was a breach of immigration law.

The deportation on Saturday came just a day after a verdict was delayed in a high-profile trial of Rusesabagina, who the government accuses of supporting terrorism.

Rwandan authorities said lawyer Vincent Lurquin, who arrived in the country on a tourist visa on Monday, appeared in a court in Kigali on Friday "to represent Paul Rusesabagina wearing a uniform as an advocate".

Regis Gatarayiha, director general at Rwanda Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration, said that the visitors' visa allowed Lurquin "to visit the country for 30 days but not to work".

"But then he ended up working," he told AFP.

Lurquin was deported on a plane at around 8.40 pm (1840 GMT) on Saturday and "will never be allowed back," Gatarayiha said.

Lurquin is Rusesabagina's lawyer in Belgium and had not been defending him during the February-July trial.

Prosecutors have sought a life sentence for Rusesabagina, the former hotelier credited with saving hundreds of lives during the 1994 genocide, and whose bravery inspired the Hollywood film "Hotel Rwanda".

The government of President Paul Kagame accuses him of supporting the National Liberation Front (FLN), a rebel group blamed for attacks inside Rwanda in 2018 and 2019 that killed nine people.

Rusesabagina, 67, has denied any involvement in the attacks, but was a founder of the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD), an opposition group of which the FLN is seen as the armed wing.

His family and supporters insist that the charges against him are fabricated and have campaigned globally for his release.

- Verdict delayed -

Rusesabagina, who used his celebrity following the 2004 film to denounce President Paul Kagame as a dictator, was arrested in August 2020 when a plane he believed was bound for Burundi landed instead in Kigali.

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The trial opened in February, but Rusesabagina, a Belgian citizen and US green card holder, has boycotted proceedings since March, accusing the court of "unfairness and a lack of independence.

In Kigali on Friday, Lurquin said that Rusesabagina had not been able to choose his lawyer for a year, saying it was "a basic right".

He also denounced that he was denied access to the prison where Rusesabagina is being held pending the verdict, which had been scheduled to be announced on Friday.

But the court on Friday said it would instead give its verdict against Rusesabagina and his 20 co-accused on September 20, without giving a reason for the delay.

The Rwanda Bar Association's president Julien Kavaruganda on Twitter denounced that Lurquin "appeared in court as a lawyer, in a lawyer's gown, although he is not a member" of the bar and "is not allowed to practice in Rwanda".

Government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo responded by saying that "Lurquin's crooked behaviour is a clear violation of the rules of legal practice in Rwanda."

str-sva/fjb/dl/lc
AP

Tony Blair was the Prime Minister who ordered the UK invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

He has described Biden's withdrawal from the country as "imbecilic."

"We did it with every jihadist group around the world cheering," he said.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Tony Blair, who was Prime Minister when the USA and UK invaded Afghanistan in 2001, called Joe Biden's decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan "imbecilic."

Writing an article on his charity website - the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change - Blair said: "We didn't need to [withdraw]. We chose to do it. We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending 'the forever wars.'"

"We did it with every jihadist group around the world cheering." He added.

Blair describes the "abandonment" of Afghans as "tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours."

Blair, the UK prime minister from 1997 to 2007, also wrote of the urgent need to attend to "those to whom we have a responsibility" - which included the Afghan people and our country's own citizens.

His comments come as seven people are killed within the mass crowds trapped in the Kabul airport by the Taliban.

Fears that Afghanistan will become an oppressive state as reports emerge of journalists are being threatened by the Taliban, whilst concern for women's rights - their right to work, study, leave the house - heighten.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Kamala Harris hopes to reinforce US relations with allies in the region, Singapore and Vietnam

When US Vice President Kamala Harris arrives in Vietnam on the second part of her South East Asian tour, she can be grateful it is Hanoi she is flying into, not the larger commercial capital in the south, Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, which was re-named in 1975 after the first insurgent leader to force a humiliating American withdrawal.

For years afterwards, Vietnam evoked US failure and the futility of pouring money and lives into a war against an entrenched local insurgency.

The obvious parallels between Afghanistan today, and Vietnam then, are going to be awkward enough without actually being in the last city where the US had to lay on a last-minute, panicky evacuation.

Third time lucky?

Vice President Harris's visit is part of a diplomatic charm offensive by the Biden administration in South East Asia, a region it argues is crucial to the future prosperity and security of the United States. His is the third US administration to promise a renewed focus on this region.

President Obama's had his so-called 'pivot', which was supposed to redirect US diplomacy away from the Middle East towards the Asia-Pacific, and President Trump his 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific', intended to challenge China's expanding influence. Neither strategy went much beyond broad concepts, nor did they reverse the perception of declining US prestige here.

So, coming right after the embarrassing fiasco in Afghanistan, what hope has the vice-president of convincing her hosts in Singapore and Vietnam that President Biden will do any better?

There was some concern in this region about his apparent lack of interest in the first six months of his administration, when he did not call a single South East Asian leader, and seemed to focus more on rebuilding ties with Europe.

But in the past two months visits first by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and then Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin have signalled the seriousness with which the US now takes this region.

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"The way that the withdrawal from Afghanistan happened was very damaging to US credibility", says Professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

"But in the long term, it depends what they do next. If they follow up on the Austin and Harris visits, stepping up vaccine diplomacy in this region, if they fully resource their Indo-Pacific strategy, this could be a more focused foreign policy for the Biden administration, away from the Middle East and the wars that cannot be won."

US vaccine diplomacy is already in full swing in the region

The recent donation of 23 million doses of Covid vaccines has given the US image in South East Asia an unexpected lift, the perceived quality of its mRNA technology contrasting favourably with the less effective Chinese-made vaccines which have been deployed in large quantities.

Ms Harris will capitalise on that by proposing deeper healthcare and medical partnerships, and opening a first regional branch of the US Center for Disease Control in Hanoi.

She is also likely in Singapore to push the idea of a digital trade pact among several countries in the region, which could cover digital security and agreed standards in emerging technologies like AI and blockchain.

This has the advantage of re-engaging in Asia-Pacific trade networks, after the damage done by President Trump's abrupt withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership five years ago, and in areas where the US is competitive.

Challenge to China

It would aim to counter China's rapid advances in pushing its own telecoms and other advanced technology, the so-called 'digital silk road', which has seen, for example, Huawei's cutting-edge 5G infrastructure dominate in many countries.

President Biden is also pushing for changes to the way global supply chains are structured, to wean US companies off dependence on small numbers of specialised suppliers, many in China.

These issues will have much more appeal in South East Asia than the Trump administration's focus on projecting US military power in the South China Sea, and on escalating trade disputes with China. None of the countries in this region wants to be asked to choose between the US and China.

But that means enthusiasm even for these digital and supply chain initiatives will be limited if they are perceived as an attempt to confront China.

And the US will have to accept the reality that Asia-Pacific countries are already increasingly locked into tight trade relationships with China through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, signed in November last year.

Pressure on Myanmar crisis

President Biden has talked a lot about a diplomacy "rooted in America's most cherished democratic values".

Human rights, in which President Trump showed almost no interest, are on the list of topics to be discussed in Singapore and Vietnam.

But they are unlikely to feature as much as they did in the soaring speeches given by President Obama on his visits to this region. While his rhetoric about the arc of history bending towards freedom inspired younger audiences, it had little appeal to governments which have become more authoritarian and less tolerant of dissent.

Kamala Harris will certainly urge more decisive action by South East Asian countries to help restore democratic rule in Myanmar, but the US still says it accepts that Asean, the ten-member Association of South East Asian Nations, should lead efforts to solve the crisis there, and so far, Asean's diplomacy on Myanmar has moved at a glacial pace.

That acceptance of Asean's central role matters to governments here, unnerved by the increasingly shrill rivalry between the US and China, and the dominance of the so-called 'Quad', the new strategic partnership of the US, Australia, Japan and India, in US diplomacy.

"Asean's nightmare is to become irrelevant" says Thitinan Pongsudhirak, "and to lose its centrality in regional action for peace and security. It is very important for member states for the Quad not to be expanded, and for the Quad not to overshadow Asean."

Asean was founded in 1967 at the height of the Vietnam War, essentially as an arrangement by which the countries of the region could avoid the horrors they were witnessing next door in Indochina.

In the iconic photo from 1975, people are seen boarding a helicopter on the roof of the CIA station in Saigon

The US pull-out in 1975 left the region divided and vulnerable, with a debilitating conflict lingering another 15 years in Cambodia, which Asean worked hard to end.

The striking similarities between the falls of Saigon and Kabul, 46 years apart, cannot be avoided during Vice-President Harris's trip.

But she will doubtless point to the close economic and strategic ties today between her country and Vietnam, as evidence that the US can recover from the damage done by disastrous withdrawals.
By Nandita Bose

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Monday during a visit to Singapore that the United States was focusing on evacuation efforts taking place in Afghanistan and that there would be plenty of time to analyse the context of the troop withdrawal.

Harris met with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Halimah Yacob during a trip aimed at bolstering ties with partners in the region as part of Washington's efforts to counter China's growing economic and security influence.

"There is going to be plenty of time to analyse what has happened and what has taken place in the context of the withdrawal from Afghanistan," Harris said during a joint news conference with Singapore's prime minister.

"But right now we are singularly focused on evacuating American citizens, Afghans who have worked with us and Afghans who are vulnerable, including women and children and that is our singular focus at this time," said Harris.

U.S. President Joe Biden has faced criticism at home and abroad over his handling of the withdrawal of U.S. forces and the chaotic evacuation after the lightning takeover by the Taliban.

"We hope Afghanistan does not become an epicentre for terrorism again," said Lee, adding that Singapore had offered transport aircraft to help with evacuations.

Part of Harris's task during the trip will be convincing leaders in Singapore and Vietnam that Washington's commitment to Southeast Asia is firm and not a parallel to Afghanistan.

"Today, we are in Singapore to stress and reaffirm our enduring relationship to this country and in this region, and to reinforce a shared vision of a free and open Indo Pacific region," Harris said.

Singapore's Lee said that perceptions of U.S. resolve and commitment to the region would be determined by "what the U.S. does going forward, how it repositions itself in the region, how it engages its broad range of friends and partners and allies..."

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Singapore is not a U.S. treaty ally, but remains one of its strongest security partners in the region with deep trade ties. However, it also seeks to balance its relationships with the United States and China by not taking sides.

The country is home to the biggest port in Southeast Asia, and supports continued free navigation in the area, where China is growing increasingly assertive - a concern U.S. officials plan to address during Harris' visit to the region, which also includes a trip to Vietnam.

"I reaffirmed in our meeting the United States' commitment to working with our allies and partners around the Indo Pacific to uphold the rules based international order, and freedom of navigation, including in the South China Sea," said Harris.

The disputed South China Sea, a strategic waterway with potential oil and gas riches, has competing claims by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

SECURITY, CYBER AGREEMENTS

The United States and Singapore reached security agreements on Monday that reaffirm America's presence in the region through "rotational deployments of U.S. P-8 aircraft and littoral combat ships to Singapore," according to a fact sheet of the meeting shared by the White House.

The United States and Singapore also agreed to expand cybersecurity cooperation in the financial sector, the military and enhance information exchange on cyber threats, according to details shared by the White House.

Cybersecurity has risen to the top of the agenda for the Biden administration after a series of high-profile attacks https://reut.rs/381vyis that affected fuel and food supplies in parts of the United States.

Other initiatives include starting a U.S.-Singapore dialogue on building supply chains.

The Biden White House is tackling a severe supply shortage of semiconductor chips in the United States that has seriously hurt car manufacturers and contributed to inflation.

The countries also struck a partnership to fight COVID-19 and prepare for the next pandemic and agreed to tackle the global climate crisis, promote smart cities and green building standards throughout ASEAN.

Harris will also visit Singapore's Changi Naval Base and tour the USS Tulsa combat ship during the trip to Singapore.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose; Additional reporting by Aradhana Aravindan and Chen Lin in Singapore; Editing by Susan Fenton, Ed Davies and Michael Perry)
Singer Lorde, 24, is looking back on how she became a music star in her teen years. (Photo: Paula Lobo/ABC via Getty Images)

Lorde (real name: Ella Marija Lani Yelich-OConnor) is reflecting on her rise to teenage superstardom in a revealing new interview with the Sunday Times. The New Zealand native was just 16 when she found fame with her 2013 studio debut album, Pure Heroine, and her hit single "Royals."

Its not normal. My first single was so huge  I thought, This just happens. I remember, over and over, the sensation of feeling like people wanted to drink my youth, she told the U.K. newspaper. Some elixir! People were like, Give it to me! I felt, God, this is about you. I was aware of what my youth was doing to people, but I just wanted to be really good [at music].

Now 24, Lorde shared that she feels wise beyond her years.

"I have grown so much in the years since I became famous," she said. "A lot of my school friends describe me as a mum, or grandma. Im their old lady friend. But the thing about my job is that I get to play. So, in a way, you are immortalized. Friends leave that sandbox; I will always be kind of a child because of what I do.

But that doesn't mean dealing with her rise to stardom at such a young age wasn't a challenging process. Calling fame "a really interesting thing to happen, she said she recognizes "it gets tricky for people if they find the experience super-validating, if they feel its giving them fuel."

"For me, I was always a little suspicious of it, or sure it would go away. I am significantly less famous than I was when I was 16, but thats exactly how I like it," she said. "Im not getting my validation from it.

Of course, becoming adult has meant dealing with disappointments, which included the commercial reception of her 2017 sophomore album, Melodrama. While hailed by critics, the album didn't sell as well as her first.

When Melodrama came out, I had this moment of being, Ah, Im not always going to be No. 1 for nine weeks, said Lorde. Now Ive settled into this place where people call you, then one day they wont. And thats all good. Im a different part of the meal. I know who I am.

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Of course, she still has plenty of love for that album, and the young woman she was when she made it.

I listened to Melodrama recently and was, like, Oh, girl! You were stressed out. This was a really fraught time for you! And it was. I remember touring and being gripped by angst every night. It was quite tough, to be honest, to live like that for a year," she explained.

With several more years of fame under belt, Lorde says she's finally starting to comprehend the experience of finding fame at such a young age and the power it had over her.

"Its funny. Im still only really understanding this now. For the first songs youve written to have that impact gives you a really skewed perception of how it all works. Everyone wanted to meet me," she said. "And know how my brain works.

With her new album, Solar Power, Lorde has found a little bit more peace.

Im more settled, she explained.
Gunmen who kidnapped more than 100 students from a high school in northwestern Nigeria have released 15 more of the hostages after collecting ransom, a representative of the families said on Sunday.

Scores of assailants stormed Bethel Baptist High School on July 5 on the outskirts of Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna State, abducting 121 students who were sleeping in their dorms.

The Bethel abduction was part of a string of kidnappings by armed gangs known locally as bandits who have long terrorised northwest and central Nigeria, looting, stealing cattle and kidnapping for ransom.

Around 1,000 students have been kidnapped since December after gangs started to target schools and colleges. Most have been released after negotiations, but scores are still being held in forest camps.

"Fifteen students were released last night after ransom was paid," Reverend Joseph Hayab, a local church leader and representative of Bethel parents, told AFP.

Hayab declined to say how much was paid as local authorities say they are opposed to ransoms and have threatened to jail those who make payments.

So far 56 of the kidnapped Bethel students have been released or escaped from their abductors.

"We still have 65 more of our students with the bandits and we are working to see they can be freed," Hayab said.

Last week, nine pupils of an Islamic seminary were also seized by motorcycle-riding attackers in Katsina State, the second such incident in as many months.

- Death in captivity -

Kaduna State security commissioner Samuel Aruwan said on Friday that intelligence reports indicated nine bandits had been killed in a gun battle between rival kidnap gangs, possible over disagreements about ransom cash.

"The cause of the fratricidal face-off is yet unclear, but was said to revolve around a disagreement over sharing of accumulated ransoms, during which one of the groups felt cheated," his statement said.

Many hostages remain captive, including more than 136 children abducted in June from an Islamic seminary in Tegina in central Niger State, four of whom have died in captivity.

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On Friday the gangs asked the seminary to send clothing for the schoolchildren who have been in the same clothes for months, according to one of the parents.

"They phoned the head of the school and told him to ask parents to send the children new clothes as the ones they have been wearing are in shreds," Maryam Mohammed, whose seven children are among the hostages, told AFP.

The violence in northwestern and central Nigeria is rooted in clashes between nomadic cattle herders and local farmers over land and water. But the security crisis has spiralled into widespread tit-for-tat attacks, mass kidnapping and banditry.

Kidnap gangs are driven by financial motives though there are signs of increasing ties between them and Islamist militants fighting a 12-year insurgency in the country's northeast. That conflict has killed around 40,000 people and displaced more than two million from their homes.

Nigerian jihadists also carried out mass abductions in the past, including the abduction of more than 300 schoolgirls from a remote village of Chibok in 2014. Some of those girls are still in captivity.

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VRBO

Hat Yai Villa, Ko Kut, Thailand (Vrbo): The dreamy thing about travel is that, in the best of years, were jetting off to some fabulous location to soak up the new sights, sounds, and tastes. But when, say, the whole world goes to hell, we can still dream of all the places we arent able to visit. (As Dr. Seuss once wrote, All the places you will go if the pandemic ever ends, or something like that.) Whether youre vaxed, waxed, and rushing to book your next getaway, or planning the epic trip around the world you will take once its safe again, may we introduce you to the Thai paradise of Hat Yai Villa.

VRBO

Located on the island of Ko Kut on the Gulf of Thailand, Hat Yai Villa is not so much one fabulously sizable chateau and more an island estate made up of interconnected treehouses and pavilions. The $15,400 a night stay may put a dint in your vacation budget, but this jungle paradise is well worth it for the memories you and your Tarzan (and maybe your little jungle bambinos) will make.

VRBO

The master bedroom has sea views and its own private terrace next to the pool. It also brings a whole new meaning to the go-to move of modern design: the open-plan concept. Here, its all about open-air living.

VRBO

Theres a reason the bedroom walls retract to allow you to sleep en plein airoutside is where you really want to be when youre vacationing on an island in Thailand. If you cant bear the thought of moving from your lounge chair, rest assured that there are resident chefs on hand to cater to your every whim.

VRBO

The villa has five bedrooms and sleeps 14, including a whole bunch of kiddos thanks to the bunk room that is complete with four bunkbeds. As if the young ones needed any more enticement to travel to Thailand, there is also a slide your little daredevils can careen down into the pool. The more mature kids in your group will enjoy a dip in the hot tub with a glass of bubbly.

VRBO

Like the villa itself, the pool is less of a singular space to swim and sun and more of a lazy river that ensures no guest in your party will ever be more than a quick step away from a dip. As if you needed any encouragement to embrace the lazy side of vacation

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VRBO

Mmm a Thai massage sounds nice, you were probably thinking as you went about making your holiday plans. But then, the thought of leaving your villa sounded too stressful to imagine. Luckily for you, you can book your very own masseuse to come to your very own in-residence spa room.

VRBO

Kayaking, paddle boarding, diving, snorkeling, sailingif you can dream of a water sport, you can probably find a place to do it on Ko Kut. But if you fancy yourself a member of the hoity-toity class, opt instead for a ride in the propertys private boat and find an empty beach to call your own.

VRBO

Vacation is about having it allwho really wants to have to choose between a relaxing beach destination or a jungle adventure? On Ko Kut, you can have both. Spend one day on the white sandy beaches and the next traipsing around the jungle mountains looking for waterfalls.

VRBO

The listing agent promises Hat Yai Villa residents will have a personal Villa Manager who will be on hand 24 hours a day to ensure your happiness. Its a luxurious service to offer, especially given theerdemanding nature of some tourists. (You know who you are.)

VRBO

If the island has that lovely, remote feel, its for good reason. Ko Kut isnt accessible by car and less than 2,500 people live here full time. But what the island lacks in human inhabitants, it makes up for in exotic neighbors: 300-year-old Macca Trees, vibrant coral, a rainbow of fish, turtles, barracudas, and even sea horses.

VRBO

Hat Yai Villa visitors also have access to all the amenities at the Soneva Kiri eco-resort, like a private beach, restaurant and bars, and, naturally, a chocolate room.

VRBO

A movie on the lagoon? Dont mind if we do. May we suggest you choose any film that isnt part of the Jaws franchise. Theres such a thing as being too on-the-nose. (Dun dun dun dun dun dun)

VRBO

This is a perk that every vacation home should offer: access to a private wine cave. The only choice you have to make on this holiday: red, white, or rose?

VRBO

Everything tastes better when youre dining high up in the trees (well, unless youre afraid of heights.) May we suggest you end your stay with a romantic sunset dinner in the sky? But what about the kids, you ask? Oh, dont worry about them. Were sure theyll be fine flinging themselves down their massive private water slide.

Book Your Stay: Hat Yai Villa, Ko Kut, Thailand: $15,400/night via Vrbo

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DUBAI (Reuters) - The 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) pledged on Sunday to help achieve peace in Afghanistan and said its future leaders must guard against allowing the country to be used as a backyard for international Islamist militancy.

The organisation urged "the future Afghan leadership" and the international community to work together to ensure that Afghanistan is never again used as a platform or safe haven for "terrorists".

"Terrorist organizations are not allowed to have a foothold (in Afghanistan)," said a final communique, issued after the Saudi Arabia-based organisation held a special meeting called by Riyadh to discuss the situation in the war-torn country.

The bodys calls and decisions are mostly symbolic, but it shows mistrust towards the Taliban who took over Kabul last week, and how some Muslim countries are concerned about the new reality on the ground in Afghanistan.

The statement called on Afghan parties to resolve their differences "peacefully".

(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by David Clarke and Jan Harvey)
The Pentagon said Sunday it is formally seeking assistance from commercial airlines to help relocate evacuees from Afghanistan.

Driving the news: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has activated the first stage of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF), asking 18 commercial aircraft from six airlines to support the U.S. military in its efforts to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies. It's the third time a CRAF has been activated in the program's history.

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Details: The activation formally requests three aircraft each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air; two from Hawaiian Airlines and four from United Airlines.

The commercial aircraft will not fly into Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul but instead solely focus on evacuees who have already gotten out of the country, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in an emailed statement.

Kirby added that that the department does not anticipate a major impact on commercial flights.

United Airlines, in an emailed statement, said it had accepted the Pentagon's request and would provide four of its Boeing 777-300 planes.

Atlas Airlines said, "We are proud to provide this essential passenger service in the region at this critical time."

American Airlines , in an emailed statement, said it would deploy three "widebody" aircraft to military bases and other secure transit points.

Delta announced it would assist the evacuation effort using available spare aircraft.

The other airlines did not immediately comment on the CRAF.

What they're saying: "We need more planes in the mix to do that piece of it, to move them from these initial points of landing onto the places that they'll ultimately resettle," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

Austin, speaking on ABC's "This Week," added: "We're going to try our very best to get everybody, every American citizen who wants to get out, out. And we've got  we continue to look at different ways ... to reach out and contact American citizens and help them get into the airfield."

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.

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WASHINGTON  When Robert Reeder sat down with two FBI agents in April to talk about his involvement in the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol, he described himself as an accidental tourist with a phone trying to document everything.

The government wasnt buying it. Reeder was a rioter violating the law; not a journalist; not a tourist, the prosecutor countered this month in a brief that slammed Reeders apparent lack of remorse despite pleading guilty. It made the case that he should serve jail time as a dose of reality. When Reeders lawyer objected to calling his client a rioter, the prosecutor struck back, attacking Reeders efforts to portray himself as a lost tourist, a hapless tourist, and an innocent and unlucky tourist.

In the months since a Republican member of Congress went viral in May for comparing footage of rioters inside the Capitol to a normal tourist visit, the word has become a symbol of GOP efforts to downplay the violence on Jan. 6 and criticize the investigation. The tourist comparison has struck a nerve not only with the prosecutors bringing these cases but also with the presiding judges. In court filings and hearings, theyve made clear just how much it bothers them.

The government accused Reeder of trying to falsely cast himself as a tourist and downplay his participation in the attack on the Capitol in hopes of securing a lighter sentence. Reeder was supposed to be sentenced Aug. 18, but the sentencing was postponed after new videos surfaced hours before the hearing that appeared to show Reeder assaulting a US Capitol police officer.

The Defendant was not an innocent and unlucky tourist, Assistant US Attorney Joshua Rothstein wrote in an Aug. 13 brief; he was an active participant in criminal behavior against a sitting branch of government.

A judge and prosecutor in an entirely separate Jan. 6 case took a swipe at the tourist reference this week too. Leonard Gruppo of New Mexico appeared before US District Chief Judge Beryl Howell on Wednesday to plead guilty to one misdemeanor count for parading, demonstrating, and picketing inside the Capitol. Howell asked Gruppo what exactly he was demonstrating about when he walked into the Capitol  was he there to protest Congress certifying the results of the election?

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Gruppo paused. He replied that he was there to support former president Donald Trump. That answer didnt satisfy Howell, who pushed him to explain further  he wasnt just a tourist looking around, right? Gruppo agreed. When the judge asked the government to confirm that Gruppos conduct on Jan. 6 fit the elements of the crime he was pleading guilty to  that is, that he had disrupted Congress  the prosecutor said that was correct, and that for someone to plead guilty to the demonstrating charge, their actions had to go beyond tourism.

The tourist gripe came up in the case of Joshua and Jessica Bustle, a Virginia couple who, like Reeder and Gruppo, pleaded guilty to demonstrating in the Capitol. The Bustles were arguing for a sentence of probation, while the government wanted them to serve a period of home incarceration. The prosecutor urged the judge to consider that even though the couple pleaded guilty to a relatively low-level crime, their decision to enter the Capitol took place in the context of a large and violent riot that relied on numbers to overwhelm law enforcement, breach the Capitol, and disrupt the proceedings.

Make no mistake, Assistant US Attorney Michael Romano wrote in the governments July 30 brief, no rioter was a mere tourist that day.

Rothstein repeated that line verbatim in the initial sentencing brief he filed the following week in Reeders case.

US District Judge Thomas Hogan picked up on Romanos thread during the sentencing hearing for the Bustles on Aug. 4, rebuffing the idea that the couple were tourists after one of their lawyers tried to argue that it was unfair to characterize them as rioters. The judge noted that as they entered the Capitol amid the large crowds of people, they would have heard blaring alarms, walked past broken windows, and smelled pepper spray in the air. He sentenced them to a term of home confinement  one month for Joshua and two months for Jessica.

This was not a normal situation, Hogan said.

Other judges have previously pushed back on the tourist comparison. Long before Georgia Republican Rep. Andrew Clydes remarks sparked widespread backlash in May, Howell had commented during a hearing in March that people who arrived in DC with tactical vests and communicated in advance about how to get bear spray werent in the city as normal tourists.

In June, during the first sentencing in any of the Capitol riot cases, for defendant Anna Morgan-Lloyd, who also took a misdemeanor plea deal, US District Judge Royce Lamberth called out Republicans who had used the term.

Im especially troubled by the accounts of some members of Congress that Jan. 6 was just a day of tourists walking through the Capitol, Lamberth said at the time. I dont know what planet they were on.

Shortly before announcing a sentence earlier this month for defendant Karl Dresch, US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson spoke about the seriousness of the assault on the Capitol and how participants were responsible for what happened even if they didnt commit some of the more violent crimes that day. She read aloud an excerpt from a Facebook message Dresch had posted the day after the insurrection in which he wrote, we the people took back our house, the news is all bullshit.and now those traitors Know whos really in charge.

So, Jackson said, hes not your typical tourist.

More on this
Kentucky Republicans reveled Saturday in a decision by the state Supreme Court to uphold laws limiting Gov. Andy Beshears authority to enforce emergency orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, tweeted that the ruling is a victory for co-equal branches of government, balance of power & the peoples branch of government. There are no implied or inherent powers given to the executive branch. Enumerated powers are in the Constitution, all other powers are granted by the General Assembly.

Kentucky state auditor Mike Harmon, a Republican who has announced plans to run for governor in 2023, said the ruling reaffirms the clear checks and balances that exist between the executive and legislative branches and how essential those are to prevent overreach by one side or the other.

The General Assembly serves as a voice for those Kentuckians who elect its members, and it is the proper place to create laws and oversight, Harmon said. All this could have been avoided if the governor would have simply communicated and worked with the members of the General Assembly in determining the best courses of action at the start of the pandemic. But instead, the governor chose to take a path that did not include everyone at the table. Instead, guided by his own opinions, he chose to pick winners and losers arbitrarily. Future governors should adhere to the opinions of the court and be an equal partner with the legislative branch. In my opinion, that is truly the team approach Kentuckians need from their public servants.

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles also weighed in on the decision, saying the Supreme Court ruling affirms that the General Assembly sets the public policy of the commonwealth. Our constitutional order does not take a break during a pandemic. With this ruling, Governor Andrew Beshear should turn away from his lawless ways and his open disrespect for the Peoples branch, and do what he should have done from the beginning: actually bring people together and lead. Soon, Kentuckys courts will have another opportunity to vindicate the right of the General Assembly to set public policy in a similar case: the governors lawsuit against the Kentucky State Fair Board and me. The governor is not a legislator or a king: even he is bound by our constitution and laws.

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The Republican Party of Kentucky proclaimed the ruling a victory for the separation of powers and the rule of law as enshrined in our Constitution. 

I am proud of our Republican lawmakers and constitutional officers for fighting against Gov. Beshears executive overreach every step of the way, and we are happy to see these efforts yield results for the people of Kentucky, Chairman Mac Brown said in a statement. Moving forward, I would suggest Gov. Beshear realize it is time for him to start working across the aisle with legislative leaders and constitutional officers to put Kentuckians ahead of narrow and partisan political priorities.

However, the Kentucky Education Association issued a statement saying the decision was unfortunate.

It is unfortunate that the Kentucky Supreme Court had no choice but to uphold hyper-partisan actions of the 2021 General Assembly, the statement said. Today, the coronavirus delta variant is raging across the commonwealth, active COVID cases are at record levels, available ICU beds have reached near capacity, and in-person learning has been canceled in some school districts. Politicizing public health policy is obviously dangerous. Emergency action by Gov. Beshear to mandate masking in our schools may have very well have averted a far worse health disaster for our students and their families.

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TUNIS (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia pledged on Sunday to provide assistance to Tunisia, which is suffering a political, economic and health crisis, the Tunisian presidency said on Sunday, the latest sign of support for President Kais Saied against his Islamist opponents.

Saudi State Minister for African Affairs Ahmed Abdul Aziz Kattan met Saied in Tunis and senior officials held talks afterward to discuss cooperation, the presidency said in a statement.

Saied last month dismissed his prime minister, froze parliament and assumed executive authority in a sudden intervention that his Islamist opponents have labeled a coup but that he said was necessary to save the country from collapse.

The statement did not give any details of the assistance that could be provided by Saudi Arabia, which has reiterated that it supports Saied's decisions aimed at protecting the country.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz said earlier this month that his country would give Tunisia one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and Saudi has also established an air bridge to provide medical aid for the North Africa country.

Tunisia is struggling with an unprecedented fiscal deficit, which reached 11.4% last year.

It is also on the verge of bankruptcy, needing at least $3 billion this year to pay off foreign debts and the wages of hundreds of thousands of employees in the public sector.

Some Gulf states saw Saied's intervention as undermining the Muslim Brotherhood movement, which they regard as their main regional foe, and which is close to the biggest party in Tunisia's now frozen parliament.

(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Frances Kerry and Jan Harvey)
The United States incarcerates a larger proportion of its citizens than any other developed country in the world, with around 1.5 million people serving time in prison. But to anyone who doesnt work or live in a facility, life behind bars largely remains a mystery. The public gets a glimpse of life on the inside only when there are riots, executions or scandals.

As criminologists, we spent nine months interviewing over 800 prisoners in Texas in 2016. They told us about their lives before and during prison, as well as their impending return to the community, a journey shared by over 600,000 people each year.

We also learned about a significant reality in prisons: gangs.

Our book, published in 2020, pulls back the curtain on how gangs compete for control and structure prison life. Gangs wield power behind bars, but they are more fractured and have less control than people believe.

Getting in, getting out

Despite fairly extensive research on street gangs, there is little research on gangs in prison.

Conducting research in prisons is rare because it is hard to gain access. Prison officials tend to be risk-averse and loathe to let outsiders inside the walls. Even if researchers get inside, theres the possibility that prisoners will not participate in interviews. When the topic is gangs, these issues are even bigger.

That was not our experience. About half of the people we interviewed were affiliated with gangs. Gang and nongang prisoners told us, Id rather talk to you than sit in my cell. They saw the interview as cathartic; they were able to get things off their chest to a neutral party.

The war years

Prison gangs exploded across the U.S. with the rise of mass incarceration in the 1980s. Texas prisons were mostly gang-free until bloody battles broke out in 1984-85 between the Mexican Mafia and Texas Syndicate as well as the Aryan Brotherhood and Mandingo Warriors. Fifty-two prisoners were murdered in a 21-month period that became known as the war years.

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Over 50 different gangs were represented in our study. Most of these gangs were active in prison and on the street. All of the 12 security threat groups, or STGs as they are termed by prison officials, fit the classic view of prison gangs: organized, conspiratorial and violent. The remaining gangs are called cliques. If security threat groups are like criminal organizations, cliques are like a band of criminals without clear leadership, direction or structure.

Race and ethnicity mattered to all gangs. Geographic proximity is the great social sorter for street gangs; it is race and ethnicity for prison gangs. Nearly all of the prison gangs were composed of a single race or ethnicity.

The people we spoke with made it clear that prison gangs in Texas are not what they used to be. Prison gangs were described as watered down, no longer having the teeth to enforce rules, especially the security threat groups. Few prisoners, including gang members, believed that gangs brought order to prisons or made prisons safer, a claim often made about prison gangs. The perception of power is stronger than its reality.

Wielding power

While gangs may not have iron-fisted control over prison life, it would be wrong to think they lack influence. If gang members compose only a minority of prisoners, around 20% in Texas according to our research, how do they wield power?

Violence.

Gangs use violence to resolve disputes, discipline members and protect their interests. Stories of violence are passed down across generations to ensure the memory lives on. The war years occurred more than 30 years ago, yet still loom large in the minds of the people we interviewed.

Gangs bring a different flavor to prison violence. There is a multiplier effect. A violent incident involving a gang member expands the pool of future victims and offenders because of the collective gang identity. Being in a gang means assuming these liabilities.

Joining the gang

For the uninitiated, prison is scary. People are stripped of their identity, roles and status from the outside. About half of the prison population is convicted of a violent offense. Joining a gang would seem like a pretty good decision.

Our research reveals that about 10% of inmates in Texas joined a gang for the first time in prison, while another 10% imported their gang affiliation from the street. Status and protection were common reasons for joining a gang in prison, much like on the street. But ideology was also important, such as race supremacy or vigilantism, which we rarely observe in street gangs.

Still, most prisoners dont end up in gangs. Thats true even though avoiding gangs is harder in prison than on the street. Nongang members get their affiliations checked and are often recruited when they step onto a prison unit. Those that want to avoid gangs cite their religion, homosexuality or even status as sex offenders  most gangs ban inmates convicted of sex crimes  as reasons to not to join.

Blood in, blood out

It was once believed that once you join a gang you could never leave. Criminologists have dispelled this myth among street gangs; young people leave gangs regularly, and usually without repercussions like violence. We also found this to be the case in prison, even for the security threat groups.

Disillusionment is the leading reason for leaving. Gang members eventually realize they are sold a bill of goods on gangs. Snitching, victimization, solitary confinement and delayed parole crystallize discontent with gang life.

Leaving a gang is more difficult in prison. Walking away is not a credible option. Gang members sought permission or gave notice of intentions to leave, or enrolled in the prison systems two-year exit program.

Block the on-ramps, open the off-ramps

Despite decades of effort, breaking the grip of gangs on prison has been unsuccessful. The silver bullet simply doesnt exist.

Placing gang members in solitary confinement is thought to be a solution, but thats a management approach. It applies a Band-Aid to a bullet wound that could hurt more than help. And one-size-fits-all approaches to rehabilitation ignore the baggage of gang affiliation. [Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversations newsletter.]

To compete for control, gangs need numbers, which is why focusing on points of entry and exit offers hope for reducing the power of gangs in attracting new members and encouraging current members to leave.

Doing nothing only allows the problem to fester and grow. Prisoners today will eventually become the neighbors, religious congregants and employees of tomorrow. We want people to leave prison in a condition better than they arrived. That means effective responses to gangs.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: David Pyrooz, University of Colorado Boulder and Scott H. Decker, Arizona State University.

Read more:



David Pyrooz has received research grant funding in last five years from the City of Denver's Department of Public Safety, the National Institute of Justice (US Department of Justice), the Charles Koch Foundation, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).

Scott H Decker has received funding from the National Institute of Justice and the Arizona State University Foundation.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  Mason Stajduhar made a career-high five saves for his first MLS shutout, Benji Michel scored and Orlando City beat the Chicago Fire 1-0 on a rain-soaked Saturday night.

Orlando City (9-4-7) is unbeaten in its last five games. Chicago (5-11-5) is winless in 19 straight road games since a 5-2 victory at Orlando City in October 2019.

The 23-year-old Stajduhar has started each of the past five games  the only five appearances of his MLS career  in the place of injured Pedro Gallese, who returned to the Orlando City bench after a three-week absence but did not see action.

Gallese, who suffered a leg injury in the closing minutes of a loss to New York City FC on July 25, is expected to return to the starting lineup Friday night against Inter Miami.

Tesho Akindele stole the ball from Chicago defender Mauricio Pineda in the attacking third, poking it to Michel, who took two dribbles before driving a roller inside the post from the top of the penalty arc in the 51st minute.

The kickoff was delayed about 45 minutes because of heavy rain.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Aug. 22As the new school year gets underway, Pennsylvania State Police are reminding motorists to be alert for the bright yellow buses, pedestrians and gatherings at bus stops.

Motorists may have become used to fewer school buses on highways in the 2020-21 school year, when many districts adopted remote instruction because of the coronavirus pandemic, Troop A spokesman Trooper Stephen Limani said.

"I recall there was a certain amount of time last year when there were no buses traveling on the roadways locally. With that being said, motorists should be aware that in the next couple of weeks, we're going to have most of our schools back in session," Limani said. "We'd like to remind drivers to be careful and allow a little extra travel time during morning and afternoon commutes."

One of the most common traffic violations troopers encounter are when motorists meet or overtake school buses. The law requires that drivers must stop at least 10 feet away from a stopped school bus  with stop arm extended and red lights flashing  whether approaching from behind or from the opposite direction, Limani said.

The driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection where a school bus is stopped should stop their vehicle at that intersection until the flashing red signal lights are turned off.

Penalties for these types of violations include a $250 fine, a 60-day driver's license suspension and 5 points on the motorist's driving record.

If physical barriers such as grassy medians, guide rails or concrete barriers separate oncoming traffic from the bus, motorists in the opposing lanes of travel can proceed without stopping.

"The last thing we want to do is give a motorist a reminder in the form of a citation. We just want to make sure motorists are in compliance and all of our children are arriving at school safely," Limani said.

When it comes to school bus infractions, police do not have to witness a violation.

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"Just because you don't see a police officer sitting there, don't think a school bus driver can't initiate a citation. In fact, a school bus driver is among the only professionals who can initiate a citation without a police officer being there," Limani said.

On Friday, Trooper David Vinkler gave an inspection demonstration at the DMJ Transportation bus garage in Mt. Pleasant Township. He is one of the troopers who perform bus safety inspections throughout Troop A's jurisdictions in Cambria, Indiana, Somerset and Westmoreland counties.

Vinkler said annual bus inspections began in June, after the completion of the previous school year. The inspections continue through August, though there are surprise inspections throughout the year.

"The infractions could be anything as minor as the broom not being secured inside the bus, to a rip in a seat or a seat not being secure," said Vinkler, who has inspected buses for five years.

Inspectors also check brakes, emergency doors, exterior crossing bars, fire extinguishers, shocks and tire treads, he added.

"It's very important a parent understands the work that goes in each year before a child gets on a school bus to make sure the bus is in working order," Limani said.

Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@triblive.com or via Twitter .
By Fabian Hamacher

TAIPEI (Reuters) -President Tsai Ing-wen got vaccinated with Taiwan's first domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, giving her personal stamp of approval as the island begins rolling out the shot whose approval critics say has been rushed.

The health ministry last month approved the emergency use of Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp's COVID-19 vaccine, part of a broader plan for inoculation self-sufficiency as delays in vaccine deliveries from global drug companies have affected Taiwan and many other countries.

Tsai, who had held off using vaccines from Moderna Inc or AstraZeneca Plc, the current mainstay of Taiwan's vaccination programme, received her Medigen shot at a hospital in central Taipei, demonstrating her confidence in the safety of the vaccine.

Tsai chatted to medical workers as they prepared her shot, the whole process being broadcast live on her Facebook page, and gave a short response of "no" to a shouted question from reporters about whether she was nervous.

"It doesn't hurt, I'm in good spirits, and I'm going to continue working for the day," she later wrote on Facebook.

The government says the initial experience of the pandemic last year, when basic supplies such as face masks were in short supply, made it realise they had to be able to rely on themselves for critical materials.

Medigen, whose Chinese name literally means "high-end", rejects claims its vaccine is either unsafe or that it has been sent to market with undue haste, saying it is effective and well tested.

"We have done so many experiments, everyone has seen how safe our vaccine is," Medigen's Chief Executive Officer Charles Chen told Reuters.

CONCERNS

The recombinant protein vaccine has been developed in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health in the United States, and the government has ordered an initial 5 million doses. It says nobody will be forced to get it.

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The vaccine has yet to finish clinical trials and no efficacy data is available, but the government says studies so far have shown that antibodies created by the shot have been "no worse than" those created by AstraZeneca's vaccine.

Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang, or KMT, has mounted a fierce campaign against the shot, saying that while it supports domestic vaccines, Medigen's approval has been rushed.

"There is no need for the lives and health of the Taiwanese people to serve as white rats in a laboratory," Ho Chih-yung, deputy head of the KMT's international department, told Reuters.

Around 40% of Taiwan's 23.5 million people have received at least one shot of either of the two-dose AstraZeneca or Moderna vaccines, though fewer than 5% are fully vaccinated.

However, unlike some other parts of Asia, Taiwan faces no huge pressure to accelerate its vaccination drive, with domestic infections well under control. It has reported 15,932 infections since the pandemic began, including 828 deaths.

Taiwan has received more than 10 million vaccine doses to date, and in July ordered a further 36 million doses of Moderna's.

People who spoke to Reuters in Taipei after getting the Medigen shot said they had no particular concerns about it.

"I think my body is pretty good because I do dragon boat racing, so I can be a lab rat," said bank worker Wu Meng-ru, 30.

(Reporting by Fabian Hamacher; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Sam Holmes and Jacqueline Wong)
Authorities say a body was found in the bed of a pickup truck after a high-speed chase on Friday in Florida. WPBF

A teen boy's body was found in the bed of a pickup after a high-speed chase in Florida.

Authorities identified the vehicle's driver as Carlos Castaneda, 17, according to local reports.

A passenger in the car is also under investigation, The Sun Sentinel reported.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Authorities say a 17-year-old boy led the police on a high-speed chase Friday with the body of a dead teen in the bed of his pickup truck, according to local reports.

The chase was apparently prompted by reports of a shooting in Florida's Palm Beach County on Friday night.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office tweeted that it had received a call that night from someone who reported witnessing a shooting. The person said the shooter and a second person were trying to drag the victim's body into a canal.

But before deputies could respond to the scene, the two had instead put the body in the back of a Ford F-150 pickup truck and fled the scene, the tweet thread said.

Sheriff's deputies tracked the vehicle down sometime after, sparking a chase.

Authorities say that after speeding on I-95 northbound for some 50 miles, deputies conducted a pit maneuver and stop the vehicle, according to WPBF.

"Both suspects were taken into custody and the deceased victim's body was located in the bed of the truck," the sheriff's office said in a tweet.

The victim has not been identified.

Officials in Martin County, where the chase ended, identified the driver as Carlos Castaneda, 17, according to WPTV.

Castaneda has been charged with fleeing and eluding in Martin County, according to WPTV, and Palm Beach officials told WPBF he'd eventually be charged with murder.

A female passenger has not been identified and has not been charged, according to WPBF. She is being investigated, authorities told The Sun Sentinel.

Read the original article on Insider
BANGKOK (Reuters) - The Thai government's allocation of 8.76 billion baht ($262 million) for the monarchy in the next fiscal year survived unprecedented calls for cuts by opposition lawmakers during parliamentary proceedings that concluded on Sunday.

The questions over the royal budget in parliaments lower house followed criticism of the monarchy and calls to curb its powers at youth-led protests last year.

The Royal Palace did not respond to questions on the challenge to the royal budget.

The government lawmakers in parliament did not comment on opposition lawmakers calls for royal budget cuts.

The budget for royal agencies for the next fiscal year is for a 2.4% cut compared to the previous year.

It is the first reduction since all monarchy-related agencies were combined in 2017 after the succession of King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Opposition lawmakers from the Move Forward Party said the allocated budget lacks clear details and should therefore be subject to cuts ranging from 15% to 40% based on the budgeting of these agencies prior to the merger and because funds maybe needed elsewhere due to the COVID-19 crisis.

"The royal agencies did not send a representative to explain the budget... there is only a seven-page document that did not explain much," Becha Saengchantra, a lawmaker from Move Forward Party said in parliament late on Saturday.

The budget bureau had earlier explained to parliaments budget committee that 92% of the allocated budget for the "royal agencies" is for the payroll of its 14,275 staff.

Opposition lawmakers also raised concerns over other funds related to the monarchy that were included in planned expenditure in other ministries.

The budget for royal agencies is part of a 3.1-trillion baht draft 2022 budget. It still faces Senate and royal approval before the start of the next fiscal year in October.

($1 = 33.3500 baht)

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
(AP)

Tropical Storm Henri reached the coast of Rhode Island at 12.15pm on Sunday, packing high winds that knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes, and bands of rain that led to flash flooding from New Jersey to Massachusetts.

The storm was downgraded from a category one hurricane to a tropical storm earlier in the day, and made landfall near the town of Westerly on Sunday afternoon with sustained winds of about 60mph and gusts of up to 70mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Henri has since weakened and now has sustained winds of 50mph as it moves inland, heading northwest towards Hartford, Connecticut.

Updating the American people on the federal government response to Henri, President Joe Biden said that while the system had been downgraded from a hurricane, the region impacted has already experienced heavy rainfall in recent weeks and flooding is a threat.

The president has already approved disaster declarations for New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and directed Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to respond with its full resources.

Resources have been pre-positioned in the affected area by Fema including food, water, life-saving communications equipment, and generators.

Mr Biden also reminded people not to forget the dangers of the Delta variant of Covid-19 and said that if they have to relocate from their homes they should wear face masks to protect themselves and others. He also took the opportunity to urge those who have not been vaccinated to get the vaccine.

There were few early reports of major damage due to wind or surf, but officials warned of the danger of flash flooding in inland areas over the next few days.

Millions in southern New England and New York braced for the possibility of toppled trees, extended power outages, and flooding from the storm system which threatens to linger over the region well into Monday.

The slow-moving system has specifically raised worries regarding flash flooding from rain over the threat of surge flooding from the sea  hurricane barriers designed to hold back the ocean have been reopened across the region.

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New York City has again been placed on a flash flood alert after 24 hours that saw rainfall records broken and streets, highways, and subway stations inundated.

Between 10pm and 11pm on Saturday night, 1.94 inches of rain fell in Central Park, smashing the hourly record. Data has been collected at the weather station in the park since 1869.

New York City Councilmember Mark Levine tweeted that the park also received a months worth of rain in a single night, totalling 4.45 inches.

The age of extreme weather is here, he wrote. It has continued to rain for most of Sunday.

At a Zoom press conference, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, on his last full day in office, warned that the storm would still bring very serious consequences, including flooding, especially if the storm continues to slow down.

The potential for serious damage from flooding is very large, he said, urging people to take proper precautions.

Mr Cuomo said that he expects the stormy conditions to remain in place until around 2 or 3pm on Monday, adding we have a long way to go.

In preparation for Henris arrival, those living near the coast boarded up windows to protect their homes, and residents made supply runs and prepared generators and batteries amid warnings that power outages caused by the storm could last days. A number of gas stations from Cape Cod to Long Island reportedly sold out of fuel.

Residents on Fire Island, a strip of sandy villages barely above sea level, just off of Long Islands southern coast, were urged to evacuate on Saturday night. The last boats left the island before 11pm, and officials warned that there may be no way of reaching people left behind.

While some flooding was reported in the community of Ocean Beach, other hamlets including Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove reported little impact from the storm.

As rain and thunderstorms approached New York City on Saturday night, Central Parks Homecoming concert  intended to mark the citys return from the Covid pandemic  was called off mid-performance.

Three hours after the concert began, the New York Police Department issued an advisory warning attendees to clear the area, stressing that it was not an emergency, but that the park must be cleared.

Barry Manilow was partway through performing Cant Smile Without You when the advisory was issued and the crowd of more than 60,000 started to disperse.

The concert was set to feature Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Jennifer Hudson, Carlos Santana, LL Cool J, Andrea Bocelli, the Killers, and Manilow, but not all groups were able to perform before the storm hit.

Specifically, The Killers and Bruce Springsteen had yet to perform, and fans could be heard yelling that they had paid to see these acts.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted: While its disappointing that tonights concert had to end early, the safety of everyone in attendance has to come first.

With additional reporting from the Associated Press
GoFundMe

Twin 7-month-old babies were swept from their fathers arms during devastating flooding in rural Tennessee that left dozens more dead or missing.

By early evening, the death toll in Humphreys County in the middle of the state had risen to 22, with more feared to have perished.

Record-setting rains on Saturday led to swollen creeks that unleashed flash floods in Waverly and the surrounding area, swamping homes and leaving residents clinging to debris in raging rapids.

They were washed away in the flood, a relative of the twins wrote on GoFundMe. The mother grabbed a tree and the father had the 2 twins the 5 year old and 19 month old and sadly the 2 babys left his arms! The infants grandmother confirmed their death to local station WZTV.

As the floodwaters receded on Sunday, emergency crews began searching for the living and dead in a hellscape dotted with debris and cars standing on end in mud. Survivors, meanwhile, shared the harrowing scenes they had witnessed.

Hardin County Fire Department

Kansas Klein, whose pizzeria was destroyed by 7 feet of water, told the Associated Press he saw two girls holding onto a puppy and a wood board sweep by her. He did not know their fate.

He said a low-income housing complex took the brunt of the flooding.

It was devastating: buildings were knocked down, half of them were destroyed, Klein said. People were pulling out bodies of people who had drowned and didnt make it out.

Hardin County Fire Department

Over the course of Sunday, the death toll rose hour by hour.

Were working very diligently to identify, photograph, reunite and get some questions answered for familiesand that's really tough considering our logistics, without phones and communications, Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told reporters. Phone and power lines were down throughout the county, and many roads were impassable.

He choked up as he talked about the scope of the loss in a tight-knit community.

They just went and recovered one of my best friendshe drowned in this, he said. It's tough but were going to move forward.

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The speed and brutality of the rain shocked weather forecasters. Most had predicted four to six inches of rain would fall in the town of McEwen, also in Humphreys County, but more than 17 inches ended up falling on Saturday, breaking the state record of 13 inches in 24 hours.

Krissy Hurley, a forecaster in Nashville, told the AP, Forecasting almost a record is something we dont do very often. Double the amount weve ever seen was almost unfathomable.

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KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday signed a decree imposing sanctions on Andriy Derkach, the Ukrainian lawmaker accused by the United States of being a Russian agent and interfering in U.S. elections, the presidential office said.

The sanctions include an asset freeze, a ban on capital withdrawals, the revocation of Derkach's licences, restrictions on him transferring resources of any kind and other measures.

A top Ukrainian security official said in a briefing on Friday that Ukraine was sanctioning Derkach, along with members of the Russian military and Russian judges.

Derkach has previously denied wrongdoing and said he was being targeted for exposing corruption.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Former Liverpool striker Taiwo Awoniyi scored his fourth goal in three games to seal a Bundesliga point for Union Berlin in their 2-2 draw at Hoffenheim on Sunday.

The 24-year-old, who moved permanently from Merseyside this summer after spending last season on loan in the German capital, equalised with a superb strike early in the second half.

"It was a good game for us, but with a bit of luck maybe we should have won," said Awoniyi.

With Union 2-1 down, he rescued a point two minutes into the second-half by volleying home at the second attempt after his initial shot was parried.

"When I saw the 'keeper save my shot, I kept on going, the ball came back to my feet and it went in," Awoniyi added.

It capped a golden week for the Nigerian who scored twice and set up a third goal in Thursday's 4-0 away drubbing of Finnish club Kuopion Palloseura in a first-leg qualifier for the Europa Conference League.

Awoniyi also scored the opening goal in last Saturday's 1-1 league draw at home to Bayer Leverkusen.

Union took the lead after 10 minutes in Hoffenheim when defender Niko Giesselmann tapped home the rebound after his header was blocked.

The hosts roared back as defender Kevin Akpoguma headed in the equaliser four minutes later.

Hoffenheim took the lead on half an hour when a superb Andrej Kramaric long ball was met by Danish forward Jacob Bruun Larsen, who scored his second goal in as many games before Awoniyi equalised.

Union finished with 10 men as defender Marvin Friedrich was dismissed in added time for a second booking. He will now miss next Sunday's home game against Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Later, champions Bayern Munich host Cologne with club captain Manuel Neuer fit after shaking off a leg injury from Tuesday's 3-1 win at Borussia Dortmund in the German Super Cup.

ryj/bsp
The United States on Sunday enlisted several major airlines in its frantic evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans, Americans and other foreigners from Kabul following its fall to Taliban extremists.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin activated the rarely-used Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) to aid the onward movement of people arriving at US bases in the Middle East, the Pentagon said.

"We're going to try our very best to get everybody, every American citizen who wants to get out, out," Austin said in an ABC interview on the evacuation mission, adding that the same applied to America's Afghan allies.

Eighteen civilian craft, from American Airlines, Atlas, Delta, Omni, Hawaiian and United, will aid dozens of military cargo transports involved in the evacuation, the statement said.

Rather than going in and out of Kabul, the planes will transport people from US bases in Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to European countries and, for many, onward to the United States.

With thousands of troops trying to secure the Afghan capital's airport, Washington has set a deadline to complete one of the largest evacuation missions the Pentagon has ever conducted by August 31.

But Austin didn't rule out asking the president to extend the deadline.

"We're going to continue to assess the situation. And again, work as hard as we can to get as many people out as possible. And as we approach that deadline, we'll make a recommendation to the president," he told ABC.

Up to 15,000 Americans need to be removed from Afghanistan, according to President Joe Biden, who says the administration wants to get at least 50,000 Afghan allies and their family members out of the country.

-- Chaotic exit --

Widely criticized over the chaotic exit after a sudden Taliban victory, Biden has warned that the frantic effort to fly Americans, other foreigners and Afghan allies out of Taliban-occupied Kabul is dangerous.

Story continues

There have been reports of Taliban militants intimidating and beating people trying to reach the airport but Austin said the militants had largely been letting American passport holders pass through safely.

The situation was further complicated on Saturday when the US government warned its citizens to stay away from the airport because of "security threats."

The Pentagon said Saturday that 17,000 people had so far been taken out since the operation began on August 14, with many flown first to Qatar or Kuwait. The total included 2,500 Americans.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told CNN Sunday that the US military and its partners had flown out a further 7,900 people in the last 24 hours.

"In terms of what we'll be able to accomplish going forward... we can't place a specific figure on exactly what we'll be able to do, but I'll just tell you that we're going to try to exceed expectations, and do as much as we can, and take care of as many people as we can, for as long as we can," Austin told ABC.

The CRAF has only been activated twice -- to fly troops for the 1990-91 Gulf War and again in 2002-2003 for the Iraq invasion.

ft/bbk
An Afghan moments is seen moments after giving birth to a baby girl on a US military evacuation flight. US Air Force via Reuters

A woman gave birth aboard an Afghan evacuation flight on Saturday, according to the Air Force.

The pilot descended to lower altitude when the woman went into labor and experienced complications.

She gave birth to a baby girl on the plane after it landed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

A mother gave birth to a baby aboard an Afghan evacuation flight on Saturday, according to tweets from the US Air Force's Air Mobility Command.

According to the Air Force, the woman went into labor and began having complications on a flight to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, from an intermediate staging base in the Middle East.

The pilot decided to descend to a lower altitude to "increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilize and save the mother's life," the tweet said.

After landing in Germany, Airmen from the 86th Medical Group boarded the flight and helped deliver the baby in the plane's cargo hold, according to the Air Force.

The mother and her baby girl were then taken to a nearby medical facility and are in good condition, the tweet said.

Thousands of American citizens and US visa holders have been evacuated from Afghanistan in recent days as the country fell to the Taliban.

Most have been taken to other Middle Eastern countries such as Qatar, where they await transfer to Ramstein, and eventually the US, according to Military.com.

On Saturday, Brig. Gen. Josh Olson told CNN that Ramstein has the capacity to accommodate 5,000 people but that they are building extra facilities to house up to 7,500 by Sunday evening.

Read the original article on Business Insider
MILWAUKEE (AP)  Kolten Wong homered and drove in three runs, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 7-3 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sunday.

Lorenzo Cain also connected as Milwaukee took the rubber game of the weekend series. The NL Central leaders have won 10 of 13 overall.

Hunter Strickland (2-1) got two outs for the win, and Josh Hader recorded the last out for his 26th save.

Wong drove Sean Nolin's second pitch deep to right for his 10th homer. It was his fifth leadoff shot this season and No. 7 for his career.

Wong had another big swing in the fourth. After Nolin (0-2) issued consecutive two-out walks, leading to a mound visit, Wong poked a tiebreaking two-run triple into the right-field corner.

Wong also walked and scored on Christian Yelich's groundout in the sixth, and Cain hit a two-run homer off Jefry Rodriguez in the seventh.

In Saturday nights 9-6 win, Yelich homered twice, including his third career grand slam, and drove in six runs. The 2018 NL MVP went 2 for 5 in the series finale.

It's really a good sight to see, pitcher Adrian Houser said of Yelich. Hopefully, it keeps trending up and we get some 2018, 2019 Yellie here down the stretch.

Nolin was charged with three runs and six hits in four innings.

I felt like I was able to keep the team in it for a little bit, Nolin said. The fourth inning got away from me a little bit. Kolten Wong had my number today. He hit mistakes. I guess that's the key to hitting, hitting mistakes."

The Brewers took a careful approach with Houser in the right-hander's first start since coming off the COVID-19 injured list. He was pulled after 68 pitches, departing with runners on the corners and one out in the fourth.

There was no rust there, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. We got him to a number of pitches that we thought was practical to both get us into the game and then build him up for some normalcy as we move forward.

Strickland came in and struck out Carter Kieboom and Riley Adams, ending the inning.

Story continues

Houser allowed an unearned run and three hits. He struck out two and walked two.

Kieboom hit a solo homer during Washington's two-run ninth. Hader then closed it out when Juan Soto bounced into a fielders choice.

The Nationals allowed a season-high 11 walks.

They can't be afraid of throwing strikes, Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. Don't give them any freebies. We're giving them way too many freebies.

TRAINERS ROOM

Nationals: CF Lane Thomas made his second consecutive start in the outfield despite being less than 100%. He went through protocol. Everything came back fine, Martinez said. I want to make sure he drinks a lot of fluids the next couple of days and gets hydrated.

Brewers: INF Eduardo Escobar left with right hamstring discomfort. We're going to get an MRI tonight, Counsell said. That's it. ... 1B Daniel Vogelbach (strained left hamstring) was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

MAKING MOVES

Nationals: RHPs Austin Voth and Kyle McGowin (right biceps fatigue) were reinstated from the 10-day injured list. OF Andrew Stevenson was optioned to Triple-A Rochester, and RHP Javy Guerra was designated for assignment.

Brewers: LHP Aaron Ashby was recalled from Triple-A Nashville. RHPs Miguel Sanchez and Eric Yardley were sent down.

UP NEXT

Nationals: RHP Erick Fedde (5-8, 5.14 ERA) faces Jesus Luzardo (4-6, 7.76 ERA) and the Miami Marlins on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game set.

Brewers: RHP Corbin Burnes (8-4, 2.13 ERA) pitches Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series against second-place Cincinnati. RHP Tyler Mahle (10-4, 3.78 ERA) starts for the visiting Reds.

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Former President Donald Trump called President Joe Biden's "botched exit in Afghanistan" the "worst nightmare" imaginable during his first public rally since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.

While Trump and numerous members of the Republican Party have criticized Biden for the "botched" troop withdrawal, the former president said the aborted drawdown, which has led to a desperate scramble by many U.S. citizens and allies to flee Afghanistan, was "even worse than any of us could have imagined in our worst nightmare."

"Joe Biden was going on vacation as Afghanistan was going to hell," Trump said at a Saturday night rally at York Family Farms in Cullman, Alabama, apparently referencing Biden's trip to the presidential retreat of Camp David. "This is what you get when you have weakness in the White House. You can't have weakness in the White House. They have to respect your president."

"We only had strength," the former president said, recalling the April 2017 U.S. launch of 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syria-government airfield following Syrian President Bashar Assad's chemical weapons attack on civilians.

FORMER PENCE AIDE FAULTS STEPHEN MILLER'S 'RACIST HYSTERIA' FOR US REFUSAL TO ACCEPT AFGHAN REFUGEES UNDER TRUMP

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Trump has railed against "Sleepy Joe" Biden for being an absentee president in the past, saying the "woke Left" is actually in control of his policy decisions.

"You think he's running the government? He's not running the government," Trump said at the rally.

The former president reiterated past criticism of "woke generals," such as Gen. Mark Milley, recalling the general's participation in the incident at St. John's Church where Trump posed with a Bible amid mass unrest over police-involved deaths that social justice groups alleged were racially motivated.

"Milley was walking with me. And the next day, the radical left media starts calling, 'You shouldn't have walked. You shouldn't walked,' instead of saying, 'I'm proud to walk with my president.' ... Instead of saying that, [Milley] wanted to apologize for walking with the president of the United States," Trump said.

Story continues

A watchdog group concluded in June that Lafayette Park, which Trump traversed that day en route to the church, was not cleared for the photo-op, a finding that Trump has seized on as he criticized the Left's readiness to condemn him.

"Everything woke turns to s***," Trump said Saturday, later asking, "Do you think Gen. Patton was woke?"

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The former president dinged Biden again for the U.S. exit strategy from Afghanistan, noting the $83 billion the country spent on weapons and supplies for the 20-year war, many of which wound up in the hands of the Taliban.

Trump then commented that he was recently with a group of people and "there was a five-year-old child" who said, "I'd leave the military and get everything out first," adding, "It's true. This is a five-year-old kid."

The rally on Saturday was also attended by several prominent members of the former president's entourage of support, including MyPillow founder Mike Lindell and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who introduced a fresh slate of impeachment resolutions against Biden on Friday over his handling of the Afghanistan troop withdrawal.

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Biden has been roundly criticized for the chaos in Afghanistan, with the president's approval ratings sinking amid the fallout.

Despite the backlash, the president insisted no mistakes were made in crafting the U.S. exit plan, telling ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday, "The idea that somehow, there's a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don't know how that happens."

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: News, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Afghanistan, Alabama, Taliban

Original Author: Kaelan Deese

Original Location: 'Worst nightmare': Trump hits Biden's 'botched exit in Afghanistan' in first rally since fall of Kabul
Alongside a grinding seven-year military conflict, Yemen's government and the Huthi rebels are locked in battle on another front -- a currency war that has opened up a gulf in riyal values.

Both the government and the Iran-backed Huthis used the same notes until late 2019 when the rebels banned new banknotes printed in government-run Aden, due to concerns about inflation.

The resulting difference in money supply has since seen the riyal's value plummet to around 1,000 to the dollar in government areas, while the value in Huthi-controlled zones has held relatively stable at 600.

Citizens and businesses in both government and rebel-controlled zones have been left out of pocket by the divergence, but especially those in the former, given rampant inflation there.

This internal exchange rate has also complicated trade and led to manipulation by profiteers, to the detriment of most in a country on the verge of famine.

"Right now, we have... an exchange rate of the same currency inside the country," said Amal Nasser, an economist with the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies. "This is bizarre from an economic perspective".

According to Nasser, other experts and ordinary Yemenis, the gap between the two currency values meant higher transfer costs between the two zones.

- Inflationary stimulus -

Yemen's conflict has split the country between the mostly Huthi-controlled north, and the south under the internationally-recognised government which relocated the central bank to Aden after the insurgents seized Sanaa in 2014.

The war has pushed the nation, long the poorest on the Arabian Peninsula, to the brink of famine and economic collapse, with most schools, factories, hospitals and businesses either destroyed or closed.

As the riyal plummeted to new lows in recent weeks in government areas, the central bank there pledged to withdraw the series of banknotes which had accumulated in its territory after the Huthi ban in late 2019.

Story continues

The central bank in Aden was caught out because it had expected the new notes to eventually spread evenly through both zones, but the concentration of supply in the government zone stoked inflation there and spurred the exchange rate divergence.

The government this month introduced a stockpile of what it claims were old bills, drawing the ire of the rebels who accused it of minting new, "counterfeit" money.

Rebel authorities also banned their use and issued civilians with guides to identify the so-called "fakes" -- something experts said would be hard for an average citizen to do.

"Obviously, this new injection of money will affect the economy negatively, increase inflation and affect the citizen's purchasing power," Alaa al-Haj, an Aden resident, told AFP.

Yemenis were already battling soaring living costs in a country where more than 80 percent of people are dependent on international aid.

- Huthis allege ruse -

The Huthis have accused Goznak, a Russian state-owned company, of colluding with the central bank of Aden to print "large amounts of counterfeit currency" this year -- "in particular 1,000 riyal notes" to pass new bills off as old.

Wahid al-Fawdai, an economic analyst and former adviser to the central bank, said the bills the government recently put into circulation had been in the central bank reserves for several years.

Neither Goznak nor the central bank commented when contacted by AFP.

Social media and newspapers are rife with stories of profiteers exploiting the unstable economic situation.

Some people have used the rate discrepencies as an opportunity to cash in, including by using the newly issued "old" notes in Aden to buy up those printed after 2017 at a discount of around 20 percent.

Experts spoken to by AFP believe that the new "old" notes have a strong chance of permeating largely undetected into Huthi areas, since they are hard to distinguish from the earlier old notes.

Ultimately, this should help the central bank in closing the gap in the exchange rate between the two zones, they said.

str-csl/mdz/aem/dm-gw/dwo/par
The Japanese government is planning to send Self-Defense Force aircraft to Afghanistan to evacuate more Japanese nationals and local embassy staff.

Last week, the government evacuated the Japanese embassy's employees in Kabul using a British military plane.

Officials from Japan's foreign and defense ministries left for Afghanistan on Sunday to study the situation there.

Japan's Foreign Ministry says local embassy staff and their families, as well as Japanese who work at international organizations have sought help to leave Afghanistan.

Ministry sources said SDF planes may evacuate more than 500 people.

The sources added that government officials will consider how to move evacuees to an airport in Afghanistan, and to which country or countries they should be taken.
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The worlds largest shipping company, A.P. Moller Maersk A/S, aims to have net-zero carbon dioxide emissions from its own ocean operations by 2050 as the industry responsible for around 3 percent of global CO2 emissions looks to boost sustainable seaborne transportation. Yet, the ambition of Maersk, and that of other shipping firms, clashes with the scarcity of feedstock for biofuels, amid limited availability of the key ingredient for producing biofuelsused cooking oil.

The problem with running ships on green fuels is not the vessel technology; its the fuel product scarcity, Maersks chief executive Sren Skou told Bloomberg earlier this month.

We cant keep scaling it. If our growth rates continue, we will run out of cooking oil in one or two years, Skou noted.

Maersk has committed to decarbonize its operations and slash its CO2 emissions by 60 percent by 2030 compared to 2008 levels and have net-zero CO? emissions from its own ocean operations by 2050. The biggest shipping company in the world, which operates a fleet of more than 700 vessels, says it is also working with customers, partners, and regulators to build the market, fuel supply chains, and policy frameworks to support net-zero emissions shipping.

Maersk is foregoing any transitional technologies to power its ships, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), as it believes that the right thing to do is to leapfrog to pure net-zero vessel technology without any transitional technologies.

Any talk about so-called transition fossil fuels is simply not relevant from our perspective, its simply not solving the problem, Maersks head of decarbonisation, Morten Bo Christiansen, said on an online briefing in May, as carried by Euractiv.

Maersk wants pure net-zero vessel powering fuels, but they are not so easy to source right now.

[T]he ship technology is not the limiting factor, but the availability of the green fuels is, CEO Skou told Bloomberg. Its a new global energy system that needs to be built and thats a massive challenge.

Related: U.S. Rig Count Ticks Higher Amid Oil Price Slide

There are challenges in green fuel procurement, according to Maersks analysis of four priority fuels that it has identified for net-zero emissions shipping.

Biodiesels key advantage is that it can be used as a drop-in fuel in existing vessels and engines. Still, the limited availability of feedstock challenges future scalability while prices rise because of high demand for biofuels from other industries.

Production at scale of another fuel, bio-methanol, is also challenged by uncertainty over the availability of biomass, while e-methanol would depend on the cost and maturity of electrolyzer technology.

Then there is a new biofuel based on ligninbiomass residuewhich is promising, but it is still in the development stage and may require additional handling of contaminants.

Ammonia can be sourced from renewable electricity alone, but limitations include safety and toxicity challenges, infrastructure challenges at port, and the cost/maturity curve of electrolyzer technology, Maersk says.

Limitations are not stopping the shipping giant, though, and it continues to announce various deals and initiatives aimed at decarbonizing seaborne transport.

Maersk said in February that it would launch the worlds first carbon-neutral liner vessel in 2023seven years ahead of the initial 2030-ambition. All future Maersk-owned new buildings will have dual-fuel technology installed, enabling either carbon-neutral operations or operation on standard very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO).

Just this week, Maersk announced that it had identified its partners to produce green fuel for its first vessel to operate on carbon-neutral methanol: REintegrate, a subsidiary of Danish renewable energy company European Energy.

This type of partnership could become a blueprint for how to scale green fuel production through collaboration with partners across the industry ecosystem, and it will provide us with valuable experiences as we are progressing on our journey to decarbonise our customers supply chains, said Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands at Maersk.

Sourcing the fuels of the future is a significant challenge, and we need to be able to scale production in time, Thygesen noted.



By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
We recently wrote about Europe's soaring, record gas prices as Russian nat gas supplies have been suspiciously low, amid growing concerns about Europe's inventory levels as the winter approaches.

The price uptrend was finally broken yesterday - if only for the time being - when as Bloomberg's Stephen Stapczynski explains, Dutch nat gas futures prices (TTF) plummeted by 10% after data suggested Nord Stream 2 started flowing. But that data turned out to be incorrect, and prices quickly rebounded recovered.

But then European nat gas prices plunged once again today, and again it was on the prospect of more Russian supply, after Gazprom said it's likely to deliver 5.6bcm of gas this year via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. As Stapczynski updates, "possible flows keep spooking the market and prices are now down ~11% from the record high on Monday."

Then again, a little bit of context on the recent Dutch natural gas price rally courtesy of the Bloomberg reporter:

And if the gas doesn't start flowing for real, we expect even higher highs. This could be challenging because hurdles remain before Nord Stream 2 can start. Stapczynski quotes OxfordEnergy's Katja Yafimava who said that "the first line of NS2 might be getting tested. But it is too much of a wishful thinking on part of the market to believe that the line is ready for commercial operations Related: Europe Faces LNG Supply Crunch

Russia, naturally, presented a different view: "assuming the pipeline will reach utilization of 70% from the design capacity in December and its gas-in will be gradual, Gazprom probably anticipates full-fledged supplies can start approximately in October

Meanwhile, ICIS expects Nord Stream 2 to flow 8.1 bcm in 2021:

One final point via Bloomberg: "Before carrying the first gas flows to Europe, Nord Stream 2 needs to obtain insurance and certification, a task made difficult by U.S. sanctions that restrict providing these services to the project."

In short: if Russia is indeed preparing to ship much-needed product to Europe, then the price of nat gas could plummet. Alternatively, should Russia continue to toy with the continent as we enter fall, and especially winter, the current record prices will seem like Bitcoin in 2014. A good time to buy straddles?

By Zerohedge.com

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Brazil is in talks with Argentina about potentially building a $5-billion natural gas pipeline from the Argentinian Vaca Muerta shale play, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said during his weekly live broadcast.

"We are in negotiations with Argentina. Gas from Vaca Muerta. It will happen one day, because it is not easy to start importing gas, you need pipelines," Bolsonaro said, as carried by Reuters.

A pipeline is estimated to cost $3.7 billion in Argentina and another $1.2 billion in Brazil, as per Reuters estimates.

Bolsonaro didn't say how the project would be funded.

A gas pipeline from the prolific Vaca Muerta shale in Argentina's province Neuquen could be one option for reducing natural gas prices in Brazil, according to the Brazilian president.

This year, Brazil is importing a lot of liquefied natural gas (LNG) because of the worst drought in the country in nearly a century.

Brazil is importing so much LNG this year that volumes are close to levels usually seen in countries in Europe and Asia, as the South American country's electricity system grapples with the worst drought in 91 years.

Brazil's electricity mix is heavily dependent on hydroelectric power, which accounted for more than 75 percent of electricity generation in 2020, according to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Brazil has the largest installed hydropower capacity in South America and accounts for two-thirds of the continent's total hydropower capacity.

But this year, Brazil, the most populous country in South America, is experiencing its worst drought in 91 years and is struggling to keep the lights on with hydropower.

At the same time, Vaca Muerta in Argentina is recovering from the pandemic slump and is estimated to hold recoverable resources consisting of 16 billion barrels of oil and 308 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Those numbers make the Vaca Muerta the world's second-largest shale gas deposit.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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The White House is expecting draft biofuel-blending quotas from the Environmental Protection Agency imminently, according to Bloomberg.

The EPAs draft blending requirements is the precursor for the agencys official proposal for exactly how much renewable fuel refiners must mix into gasoline and diesel for 2022.

The final proposal from the EPA is expected within weeks.

Bloomberg sources said that some lawmakers have been told to brace for relatively unchanged requirementsor even a reduction in the amount of renewable fuel that must be blended, much to the ire of the corn lobby.

The EPA was unable to come up with a decision last year during the pandemic by the November deadline, which would have set the Renewable Fuel Standards for 2021.

The battle between oil refiners and the corn lobby is an old one, creating a political divide that makes its appearance in every U.S. election.

And now, there is a new monkey wrench in the works. Fearing that rising agricultural commodity prices could raise the costs for bread and donut makes, the American Bakers Association (ABA) lobbied the Biden Administration in July to stop the rising mandates for biofuel blending. The ABA met with the EPA during the last week of July to discuss the matter.

Unlike last year, it is not the pandemic that has slowed the biofuel decision-making. Rather, it is competing interestsincluding farmers and refiners, as well as the ABAwhich are lobbying the new administration hard.

And perhaps both sides are lobbying extra hard this year, as the slump in fuel demand continues to squeeze refiners. On the other hand, the Biden Administration cannot afford to alienate the farmers, either, who have relied on the blending requirements as another outlet for corn.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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The Birth of Westwood Park, Part I

by Woody LaBounty



Artistic Surroundings for Moderate Means

In 1911, when the Residential Development Company purchased Adolph Sutro's vast land holdings in San Francisco's West of Twin Peaks area, large "residence parks" were immediately planned around the site of the west portal of the Twin Peaks streetcar tunnel. These master-planned developments featured homes with covenants banning businesses and minority ownership, while defining minimum construction costs, building design, and yard setbacks. St. Francis Wood, Forest Hill, and West Portal Park joined Ingleside Terraces as new restricted communities West of Twin Peaks, and the houses on their winding streets were intended and marketed to the upper classes: doctors, lawyers, capitalists, industrialists, and corporate heads. But as Sutro's forest of pine and eucalyptus was thinned, and anxious developers awaited the completion of the tunnel that would make their investment pay off, one tract of land was set aside for a slightly different vision called Westwood Park.

The man most responsible for the creation of the Residential Development Company, and transforming Sutro's forested hills into toney neighborhoods, was Archibald S. Baldwin. An experienced real estate man and owner with Josiah Howell of the firm of Baldwin & Howell, A.S. Baldwin had surveyed Sutro's properties for his heirs and pulled together the investors to buy and develop the rural and forested land around Mount Davidson. While the Residential Development Company sold off tracts to Mason-McDuffie, Newell-Murdoch, and Fernando Nelson, each to create their own version of the residence park, Baldwin held back ninety-three acres fronting the north side of Ocean Avenue for an experiment.

Baldwin & Howell was not a stranger to selling residence park lots or development. The firm had sold homes in Presidio Terrace in 1905, and had just recently subdivided the Mission Terrace tract to the east. After seeing the slow sales of the properties adjacent to West Portal, however, A.S. Baldwin decided on an alternative strategy. Instead of targeting doctors and lawyers as customers, Baldwin focused on their clerks.

In one of his first public statements about the new neighborhood in August 1916, while work gangs were sawing down trees and pulling up stumps for the future Miramar Avenue, Baldwin made his intent clear:



We propose to put Westwood Park on the market at conservative prices, placing it within the reach of those who desire moderate priced homes in highly artistic surroundings. This will be one of the first subdivisions of this character to be offered in San Francisco. 1

Not that this new neighborhood would be cheap. Baldwin and his fellow investors put $300,000 into development, making clear that Westwood Park would have most of the amenities of the other residence parks: looping, curving streets; wide lots with reserved yard space and front setbacks; buried electric lines; landscaped medians; ornamental concrete lamp posts; and handsome entrance gateways and pillars designed by Louis Christian Mullgardt (well-known for his work at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition and the de Young museum). And while Ingleside Terraces offered Craftsman-style homes and St. Francis Wood took on an Italian Renaissance Revival theme, so Westwood Park would have its own signature style: the bungalow.

Characterized by wide front porches and deep-eaved roofs, the single-story bungalow design had been enthusiastically embraced by the Arts and Crafts movement. They were simple, but attractive, homes with economical floor plans, and usually embellished with rough-hewn elements, natural coloring, and brick or stone foundation facades. Publications described "bungalow cults" and "bungalow fever" in regard to the 1910s popularity of the affordable residences. Baldwin & Howell had built versions of single and one-and-a-half story bungalows in Mission Terrace, and now proposed to build an entire bungalow community with Westwood Park.

Baldwin & Howell formally opened Westwood Park for sale on October 15, 1916, with lots at prices from $1,050 to $1,600. Instead of San Francisco's standard twenty-five-foot-wide lot, Westwood Park street frontages were thirty and forty feet across. Sales agents gave prospective buyers a book with thirty-four bungalow plans to choose from, although, in some cases, owners purchased lots and had houses of their own design erected on them. A bungalow could be bought and built for a down payment of $400 with mortgage payments as low as $35 a month over ten years. So while a property in neighboring St. Francis Wood or Ingleside Terraces might cost $12,000 to $20,000, a pleasant Westwood Park house in almost the same setting went for $4,200. Baldwin & Howell also offered a novel incentive to buyers: a free insurance policy that would pay off the mortgage to the Residential Development Company in case of accident or death. 2

A number of companies were involved in creating Westwood Park. The Residential Development Company owned the land. Baldwin & Howell acted as sales and advertising agents. Construction firms such as Barrett & Hilp and Nelson Brothers purchased lots to build tracts of bungalows. Behind them all, A.S. Baldwin acted as the concertmaster.

Marketing was heavy-handed. Westwood Park was trumpeted as the "tenth wonder of the world," and any possible qualms about buying were countered in one of Baldwin's advertisements or newspaper editorials. Foggy locale? Westwood Park was in "the most sheltered portion of Sutro Forest," and ample sunshine was always mentioned. Too far from work? When the tunnel was finished it would be "22 minutes from Westwood Park to 3rd and Market." An uncertain investment? "Upon completion of the Tunnel we confidently believe that lots in Westwood Park will be selling at from 50 per cent to 100 percent more." 3

The wait for the completion of the tunnel hindered sales for all the West of Twin Peaks properties, and just as it seemed that the long wait was about to end, war in Europe, and possible entry by the United States, further clouded investment. Baldwin referenced the conflict in advertising style, encouraging buyers to "join an army of home seekers" viewing Westwood Park, and quoted the U.S. Vice-President (with photo of him holding a baby) as saying he would be willing to die for his home, but "shall never shoulder a musket in defense of a boarding house." 4

The United States did enter World War I. On October 5, 1918, Baldwin & Howell announced that, in compliance with an edict from the War Industries Board to save materials for the war effort, home building in Westwood Park would be discontinued. A.S. Baldwin would have to wait for the conclusion of the "war to end of all wars" to see if his experiment in bringing the amenities of residence park life to San Francisco's middle class would succeed. 5

Contribute your own stories about western neighborhoods places!
Kingsair Travel and Tours has hosted survivors of the United States' 1921 Tulsa race massacre.



The two African-American survivors of the century-old Tulsa Race Massacre recently visited Ghana with their grandchildren to connect with their motherland.



Viola Fletcher, aged 107, known as Mother Fletcher, and her brother Hughes Van Ellis, 100, known as Uncle Red, are from the district of Greenwood in the Oklahoma city of Tulsa.



In 1921, a mob of armed white folks carried out the massacre against Blacks.



The visit of the two survivors to Ghana was aimed at helping them to replace the 100 years of bad memories with knowledge of positive developments in their "motherland".



Their trip to Ghana was organized by H.E Dr Erieka Bennett Founder, Head of Mission Diaspora African Forum.



Kingsair Travel & Tours was responsible for handling the entire logistics for their visit



CEO and MD of Kingdom Exim Group of Companies, Dr James Rajamani and Dr Immanuel Rajamani, had the privilege to meet and extend their best wishes and some Souvenirs to Mother Fletcher, Uncle Redd and their entourage at La Palm Beach Resort.



Persons who attended the event expressed that it was indeed a great pleasure for them to have met Mother Viola Fletcher and Uncle Redd.



Mother Viola Fletcher and Uncle Redd are believed to be the Oldest Living 1921 Tulsa Oklahoma, USA Massacre Survivor.



History of the Tulsa Massacre



On May 31, 1921, a group of Black men went to the Tulsa courthouse to defend a young African-American man accused of assaulting a white woman. They found themselves facing a mob of hundreds of furious white people.



Tensions spiked and shots were fired, and the African Americans retreated to their neighbourhood, Greenwood.



The next day, at dawn, white men looted and burned the neighbourhood, at the time so prosperous it was called Black Wall Street.



In 2001, a commission created to study the tragedy concluded that Tulsa authorities themselves had armed some of the white rioters.



Historians say that as many as 300 African American residents lost their lives, and nearly 10,000 people were left homeless in the 1921 incident that drew the white against the black.



About Kingsair travel and tour



KingsAir travel and tour is a subsidiary of Kingdom Exim Group of Companies, a leading agro-based conglomerate.



About Kingdom Exim Group



The Kingdom Exim Group has been in existence since 2008, operating mainly in the Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, and Savannah Region.



As a leading agro-based company, the Group liaises with farmers of tree crops such as Raw cashew Nuts shea-nut, soya bean, maize, among others.



CSR



Over the years, the Group has undertaken a number of corporate social responsibility initiatives  drilling boreholes, providing materials for farmers, and providing food during the Covid 19 in the Tema Metropolis, supporting the Tema Regional police with PPEs, barricades, hand sanitisers, liquid soap, support to Tema East Constituency during the Covid-19 pandemic, donation made at the Techiman North District Assembly during the Covid-19 pandemic, donation made to the Queen Mother's in areas of the Eastern Region during the Covid 19 pandemic etc.



Awards



The works of the Kingdom Exim Group have widely gained recognition, helping the group to win several awards  both locally and internationally.





Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Private jets filled up the runway of the airport in the northern Nigerian city of Kano as members of Nigeria's elite and West African dignitaries flew in for the wedding of the president's son and the daughter of a prominent religious and traditional leader.



The marriage of Yusuf Buhari to Zahra Nasir Bayero is one of Nigeria's biggest celebrity events of the year.



Thousands attended the event at the palace of the Emir of Bichi, a town in Kano state.



One historian told the BBC that a wedding between presidential and royal families was unprecedented in Nigeria.



The pair met at the University of Surrey in the UK.



The festivities continued on Saturday when the bride's father Nasir Ado Bayero was officially crowned as the Emir of Bichi. His brother is the Emir of Kano, one of Nigeria's most prominent Islamic leaders.



The newlywed couple did not attend that ceremony.



The groom's family paid 500,000 naira ($1,200; 900) as the bride price - about 10 times the average amount in northern Nigeria.



The BBC's Ishaq Khalid in Nigeria says the pre-wedding pictures of the bride caused controversy on social media, with some calling her clothing "immoral" because her shoulders were exposed, while others defended her.



While there are some reports that 100 private jets flew in for the occasion, an airport official told the BBC there were actually fewer than 50.



Nevertheless, the festivities were scaled down because of the coronavirus pandemic. Many of the guests wore face masks, with Nigeria currently struggling to contain an upsurge in cases.



There was heavy security at the wedding ceremony, with police and military officers guarding the palace and stationed at nearby strategic locations.



The wedding itself was conducted by Communications Minister Isa Ali Pantami, a qualified imam.



Top politicians and traditional rulers from across the country flew in, including several opposition figures. Among them were President Muhammadu Buhari's predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, whom he defeated in the 2015 election.



The Gambia's First Lady Fatoumata Bah Barrow and the former president of neighbouring Niger, Muhammadu Issoufu, were among the foreign guests.

Source: BBC









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The acting Inspector-General of Police, (IGP) Dr George Akuffo Dampare, has directed the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), headquarters to provide technical support to the Bono Regional CID to effectively investigate the murder of three persons at Abesim in the Sunyani Municipality.



The murder case involves one Richard Appiah, a 28-year-old architect, suspected to have murdered 12 and 15 years old young men and a yet-to-be-identified man whose bodies were found in his living quarters at Alaska, near Abesim, on Friday, August 20, 2021, a press release issued by the Police said.



A copy of the release signed by Assistant Commissioner of Police Kwesi Ofori, acting Director-General of Public Affairs, said the arrest of Appiah, now in custody and assisting with investigations, was facilitated by the collaboration of members of the community.



Dr Dampare in commending the Police and the community for the timely arrest of Appiah, urged the deepening of civil-police collaboration to promote peace and security in the society.

Source: GNA









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Armed robbers have shot and killed a teacher at Derma, a tomato-growing community in the Tano South Municipality of the Ahafo Region.



The Ghana News Agency (GNA) gathered the robbers stormed the Derma town on the eve of Friday, August 20, 2021, attacked and robbed a mobile money merchant of GHC200,000.



In the process, Fareed Adu Gyamfi, a tutor at the Derma Senior High School was shot at close range and he died later at the Derma Health Health Centre.



Another basic school teacher was also shot and he is said to be in critical condition at the health centre.



The two teachers, GNA learnt were doing mobile money transactions when the robbers attacked the vendor.

Source: GNA









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The demolition of the Hong-Kong Market Building at Makola, which started this morning, is expected to continue overnight.



Mr Gilbert Ankrah, the Public Relations Officer, Accra Metropolitan Assembly, told the Ghana News Agency that, personnel engaged in the exercise would be working throughout the night with the aid of powerful lights.



The exercise follows the recommendation of the technical team, which investigated the July 5 Fire, that the building had become weak and its integrity had been compromised.



The three-storey building will be pulled down completely as recommended by the committee, tasked by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to investigate the fire incident.



The committee found that the building had become weak and compromised.



It established that a generator set started the fire that engulfed a bigger part of the building and destroyed items worth thousands of Ghana cedis.



The committee also found that there were naked and haphazardly exposed wires in the building with bad electrical wiring, especially by unprofessional electricians as well as the use of substandard materials.



It took fire fighting officers several days to extinguish the inferno, amid criticisms from some traders and members of the public, who were frustrated with

the situation.



The Committee said, though the Ghana Water Company Limited reported of available water supply in the area, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) said due to the low pressure of the water, they had to go to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and adjoining areas to access water, which affected the firefighting exercise.



Sunday morning, personnel of the 48 Engineer Regiment cordoned off the area ahead of the demolition, which started at midday with support from the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Fire Service and the Ghana Water Company Limited.

Source: GNA









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Every time former host of Ladies Circle, Abena Korkor, has been in the news, it is because she is sharing details about sexual encounters she has had with popular people, whose names she is not afraid to mention.



Her actions have attracted mixed opinions among the public. While some believe she has been taken advantage of her bipolar condition, others think she is deliberately doing that just to attract attention and some even believe she doesnt want to get well.



But in an interview with Graphic Showbiz this week, Abena Korkor said what she does is not deliberate and is part of relapses from her condition.



It is not like I enjoy what is going on, it is overwhelming and very hard to figure out sometimes. It is not deliberate that I mention names, I sometimes wonder why I go back. I am doing everything I can to get well.



These are people I do not even talk to again or have any form of contact with. Whatever happened, happened in the past. I just dont understand why I can't let them go, why I have them in my subconscious, she said.



Continuing, Abena Korkor said, I do my best to get well, I take my medication, I go for therapy and even as Im talking to you, I'm on my way to see my therapist. So, its not like Im happy, I go through a lot, the issues are too much, they take a toll on me.



It makes me question myself. Just recently, I contemplated suicide and I asked myself if it has gotten this bad. This thing has destroyed my relationship with people I could work with, I have lost a lot of job opportunities because of it. I'm doing my best but it looks like my best is not enough, I'm trying.



When asked the one thing she needs from Ghanaians, she said it was sympathy. I want them to be sympathetic, I have relapses in real life, I dont do that because I am paid to, I don't fake it, I dont like the end results of my actions and the issues it brings to people and their homes.



I will urge Ghanaians not to also dwell on these things, even if I bring it out or stand on the roof to shout about it. I want to move on with my life, I want to be in the headlines for the right reasons, I am tired of all these.



People do not see me when Im going through that, when Im going through the hard times, they only see the end result which ends up online. I dont do them deliberately; I don't understand why I do these things.



Honestly, it's hard to convince people that what I go through is real. I pray it comes to an end soon because I want my life back, I cannot continue like this and my life cannot just be about this, she stated.



Abena Korkor also revealed that her condition and her actions have taken a toll on her family.



My state has and is affecting my family, my friends and my relationship. Sometimes, I wonder how they feel when I go into a relapse. However, to all those who have stood by me through it all, those who are with me because they know the real Abena Korkor, I appreciate you all, God bless you.



Sharing what she has been up to since leaving TV3, Abena Korkor said, for now, I have no project Im working on except advocating and educating people on mental health issues. I am doing something with the World Health Organisation and Psycho Social Africa.

Source: Graphic Showbiz









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In this handout satellite image courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory taken at 11:45 am US Eastern Time (15:45 UT) on August 20, 2021, Henri is seen moving toward the northeast US Coast.

Hurricane Henri was on course to make landfall on the US east coast Sunday, with millions in New England and New York's Long Island preparing for flash flooding, violent winds and power outages.

A swath of the northeastern coastline, including New York City, was under alert late Saturday as storm Henri was upgraded to what could be the first hurricane to hit New England in 30 years.

The US National Hurricane Center said in its 5 am (1700 GMT) advisory that Henri was approaching eastern Long Island and southern New England, and 80 miles (128 kilometers) southeast of Montauk Point in New York state.

Forecasters warned of heavy rainfall and the risk of surging seas as the storm churned in the Atlantic, packing maximum sustained winds near 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour.

Nasty weather that preceded Henri forced New York City to halt a star-studded Central Park concert billed as a "homecoming" for a metropolis hard hit by the pandemic.

The approaching hurricane had prompted New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to announce a state of emergency and the deployment of 500 National Guard soldiers in anticipation of response efforts.

"It's as serious as a heart attack," he warned.

He said the storm was expected to make landfall on Long Island, home to the plush Hamptons villages where wealthy New Yorkers retreat in summer, around noon (1600 GMT) on Sunday.

Homes were boarded up in Connecticut as Hurricane Henri steams towards the US east coast.

"It will be about a 26-hour event," Cuomo added, telling New Yorkers to expect "significant power outages" and "significant flooding" in some suburbs of the Big Apple.

Henri was anticipated to miss New York City by miles, but could still cause tropical storm conditions beginning Saturday night.

Some of that weather rolled in during the concert in Central Park, where an announcer cut off pop legend Barry Manilow mid-song to urge revelers to proceed swiftly but calmly to the nearest exit.

"I guess for safety it makes sense. I mean I can hear the thunder," said attendee Maria Fuentes.

'Begin storm preparations'

The NHC warned of "a dangerous storm surge, hurricane conditions and flooding" in areas of southern New England and Long Island.

The National Weather Service said late Saturday Henri was expected to remain a Category 1 hurricane at landfall.

Attendees of the "We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert" were ushered out after the event was canceled due to severe weather warnings in Central Park.

Henri is expected to produce three to six inches of rain (7.5 to 15 centimeters) across the region, with isolated maximum totals near 10 inches, the NHC warned.

The heavy rainfall "may result in considerable flash, urban, and small stream flooding" as well as river flooding, it added.

Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent as temperatures rise.

Officials in New Englandwhich includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermonthave warned people to get ready.

"All residents are advised to begin storm preparations today, and to pay close attention to local weather," the office of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said Friday.

His state, which will close parks and beaches from Saturday to Monday, was bracing for the high winds to knock out electricity for up to 300,000 people, the governor's office said.

If Henri stays on its current course and maintains strength, it would be the first hurricane to directly hit New England in 30 years.

Members of the Edelweiss construction crew worked fast to protect costal homes by barricading their windows and doors with plywood sheets before Hurricane Henri hits the beach front area in New London, Connecticut.

"The last hurricane to make landfall onto New England was Hurricane Bob in 1991," Dennis Feltgen, an NHC spokesman, told AFP. That storm killed at least 17 people.

It has been almost a decade since such severe weather threatened the region.

"The last time we had hurricane watches issued for the area was for Hurricane Irene, back in late August of 2011," tweeted the National Weather Service in New York City.

The last hurricane to make landfall in Long Island was Gloria in 1985.

New York beaches were ordered closed for swimming Sunday and Monday as officials warned of high winds and possible storm surges, as well as flash flooding on roads.

The warnings have reignited memories of Hurricane Sandy, a more powerful storm that knocked out power for much of Manhattan and flooded subways in 2012.

Explore further Henri upgraded to hurricane as it threatens US coast

 2021 AFP
THE WWE NXT TAKEOVER 36 TIP SHEET

WWE will present NXT Takeover 36 on tonight, live in the US on Peacock. Here is our take on what will happen in the matches.

NXT Men's Champion Karrion Kross vs Samoa Joe

Dave: With Kross on Raw they need to get the Title off of him. Jeff Hardy beat him and doesn't even want the belt. They are hurting it, big time. Put it on Joe. He will be more than credible.

Mike: The sooner the belt gets away from Kross and the terrible Raw booking, the better. I just hope Joe can resurrect it after everything that the main roster creative did to blemish the title. This should be a fun little brawl.

Richard: With Karrion Kross starting to win matches on Raw, does this mean we are going to be seeing the final appearance of Karrion Kross? If so, will we see Scarlett with him or does he walk alone going forward? If Kross can beat four of the top guys in a single match, should he LOGICALLY have any problem with Joe? I think history will be made and Samoa Joe becomes a three time NXT Champion.

NXT Women's Champion Raquel Gonzalez vs Dakota Kai

Dave: I love Dakota and it was just a matter of time until this happened but I just don't see her winning. The champ retains and boy, would this be the perfect time to introduce the US to Kay Lee Ray.

Mike: This feels more like Kai's chapter endpoint and exit than a chance at a title win. It seems like she's main roster bound, as she should be, so Raquel beats her former partner and runs her off, just as she did Rhea.

Richard: Ever since Raquel won the title, I expected this match to happen. I would be a lot happier about this match if we didn't have that 'Thing' happen to Dakota on Main Event a few weeks ago (but we aren't supposed to remember that). Dakota is playing the Shawn Michaels role so well being pissed that Raquel is not acknowledging her contributions to Raquel's success as champion. I would love to see Dakota get the win since she has also assumed the role that Bayley had when the other three went to the main roster, but I don't think they take the title off Raquel on Sunday. Since Mike mentioned that there is a former champion who has been in Florida for a while, what if she is the next challenger for Raquel and the one to take the title from her?

Adam Cole vs Kyle O'Reilly in the Undisputed Finale Two Out Of Three Falls Match (Fall One: Standard Match, Fall Two: Street Fight, Fall Three (If necessary): Steel Cage Match)

Dave: Cole's contract status has to factor in here. With that said, even if he is staying Kyle needs the win here more that Cole does.

Mike: Internally, these are considered the top babyface and heel (other than Kross, who is likely exiting) so they have to give them a chance to go all out and try and top their previous matches. I expect a lot of damn good near falls and twists and of course we are getting the cage. My guess is Cole pins Kyle for round one, Kyle makes him tap for Fall Two and then they go all out. In the end, who wins? I say Cole, just to keep people talking.

Richard: If they wanted a three hour show with only five matches, this match is how they get there. If this doesn't go a combined 50 minutes, I will be disappointed. We saw this format before with Gargano and Cole. I really hope Cole was a prophet when he said this would be a sweep. The future of these two men will likely be revealed with the result of this match. If Cole is staying, I would expect him to win, but if he loses, does this mean the final appearance of Mr. Cole? Cole wins the first fall and then Kyle gets the second fall to bring out the cage. Despite Kyle's best efforts, he will fall short and then we can build to Joe vs Cole for the title.

NXT UK Champion WALTER vs Ilja Dragunov

Dave: This is the match of the weekend for me, by far. Nothing else is even close. I can't wait. I would have Ilja go over here. But since they had him lose to Pete Dunne last week, which was main roster level stupid booking, if he does win he has to take on, and beat, Dunne really quickly.

Mike: For everything else that is hyped this weekend, this may be far and away the best bell to bell match of the weekend. I think Ilja is great and NXT UK has done a masterful job of building thid up, but I don't see WALTER losing.

Richard: This match is the reason why I will not be doing the commentary for this show since I will be in Orlando for this match. Just like with Dakota, we can ignore the recent match that Ilja had against Pete Dunne, since that did nothing to help with the hype for this match for the casual fan (for the people who have been watching NXT UK over the years, we know that these two showing up is enough to get us to care about this match). I have said many times that I thought WALTER's title reign was vulnerable but he has persevered every time. This might be the night, but if it is going to happen there cannot be any outside interference because that would take the bloom off this rose. Give them 20 to 25 minutes.

Million Dollar Champion LA Knight vs Cameron Grimes (if Knight wins, Ted DiBiase becomes Knight's Butler)

Dave: Grimes needs to win here, on his own. Ted can't help. Ted, however, can be getting jawed at by Knight when Grimes takes advantage and scores the pin.

Mike: This should be the next step in Grimes stepping up and making it to the next level. I can see a finish where Knight uses the Million Dollar Belt as a weapon but it backfires.

Richard: Cameron Grimes will win this match but the question will be how does DiBiase help Grimes get the win over Knight. Will he 'pay off' the referee or will we see a switcheroo with the referee and suddenly there is a familiar face to make the three count . . . VIRGIL.

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Pioneering winemaker Bryan Babcock, owner of Babcock Winery & Vineyards, was named 2021 Vintner of the Year by the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance during its 20th anniversary celebration in August.
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Volunteer opportunity turned into a big win for SkS and students! Posted on 17 August 2021 by BaerbelW At the end of May we published our Call for Help in order to find volunteers who'd be willing to fix broken links in our rebuttals and add references of published papers to our glossary. In this blog post we'll focus on what happened for the 2nd of our volunteer opportunities, the glossary entries. It didn't take long for the first applications to arrive and in early June we received an email from Tara Holland, who teaches climate change at Simon Fraser University in Canada. Tara had the neat idea to encourage her students to apply for the task and to turn this into one option for the final assignment of the summer semester which - incidentally - was about climate communication. What a perfect fit and intriguing suggestion! The Assignment We quickly agreed that from the two tasks available, identifying and adding references to our glossary was the best fit for Tara's students to work on. Within a couple of days of her making the announcement in class we started to receive their applications. Once the deadline for submissions had passed we set up a Zoom-call, so that we could get to know each other. We also used that call to explain in more detail what the task involved and what the expectations were. The students then had a few days to decide whether or not to do this assignment and we ended up with a group of six who set out to work. The assignment for the students included adding at least 20 glossary entries each and to also write a short reflection upon completion of the task. Most of the students did more than they were asked for and all told identified and added about 170 references to our glossary. In order to identify entries to add, they read through 50 of our rebuttals and - as a first step - collected the papers' titles via the links to published papers found in the rebuttals. These were added to an ever growing shared spreadsheet. While the students were gatherig these data, Doug was busy putting together a query which would help with the assembly of the actual content of the glossary entry. This involved querying UnPaywall and CrossRef and eventually produced a text file for each student from which they could easily fill the glossary via copy & paste. As this was obviously a lot more involved than is possible to go into here, we'll leave that story for another blog post! Another volunteer In addition to Taras students, Marc Kodack, a retired Department of the Army civilian, had volunteered to work on this task in parallel to the students. In his application, Marc had given the following as a reason for helping: [..] I want to provide assistance to strengthen your current efforts to bring the science behind climate change to the general public. Fixing/updating references in rebuttals is part of the strengthening of the underlying science and its the academic process of "doing" science. And help he did! He single-handedly added 130 references to our glossary thus far and in addition provided a lot of additional feedback via the Google-form we link to at the bottom of each rebuttal. Well still have to sift through the long list this generated, hopefully with Marcs help as he already agreed to join our team! A random sample of newly added glossary entries Reflections Adding all these glossary entries has been an obvious win for us, but what did the students gain from the experience? Judging from the reflections they sent in as part of their assigment, quite a lot! In the following paragraphs, we are sharing some snippets with the students' permission. Mengjia Chen "[...] I learned a lot from completing this assignment. Due to the word limitation, it is hard for me to explain all references in detail. However, the big difference between the Skeptical Science assignment and the regular class assignment is I could read more journal articles or papers. During the reading, I found out that I had some misconceptions that were the same as mentioned in the rebuttal articles. During the process of adding glossaries, those studies well answered my questions and curiosity. I also realized that how important to have a website to lead people to have a correct understanding of the topics related to climate change. Nowadays, more and more people rely on social mediate or online materials to access information. Therefore, I think I am doing a meaningful thing, which better helps myself and others to conveniently access the original papers or texts to get further information to correct peoples common climate change misconceptions." Shania Cheung "[...] The first takeaway I obtained from assisting in the glossary curation for Skeptical Science was the knowledge I gained from reading through a number of climate change myths and rebuttals I was previously unfamiliar with. My participation provided the opportunity for me to learn and understand under what conditions I most optimally learn and work at. I found that having clear instructions and deadlines provided very early on helps me plan and organize my time better. [...] [I]nstead of feeling pressured to fulfill certain criteria to achieve a good grade, my learning experience was much more enjoyable and fulfilling, in which this is also due to the fact that my contributions were helping the team at Skeptical Science." Wan Yi (Cynthia) Huang "[...] I also learned about this website and generally how entering information through software to a website works. I am not very good at anything technical, so I dont think that is something I wouldve learned in other assignments. It was a very interesting experience, and it deepened my appreciation for the countless journals about climate change." Uyen (Katherine) Vu "[...] Im in the end so glad that I chose Skeptical Science volunteering project as an alternative to the class assignment. Skeptical Sciences volunteer definitely required a lot more work and effort, but the experience also really rewarding. To begin with, I feel truly thankful that Skeptical Science volunteer project gave me a chance to be more involved during the online learning period where I have a chance to give back and contribute to such meaningful work of helping people to become more aware, more knowledgeable and have more attention on Climate Change. I believe this is a long-term benefit that many people at my age will definitely enjoy, care and take action to protect our climate as well as our future. Moreover, I m myself able to gain many benefits, improve my knowledge, build up my unique experience on my journey with Skeptical Science. I enjoy it so much that Ive never once felt like schoolwork, but more like a fun thing to do when I have time. The experience was amazing! Lastly, Climate Change, one of my big interest topics from the start, and Skeptical Science gave me a chance to work closely with what Im interested in, so I always have my motivation up. Besides, I think Im able to learn the most from Skeptical Science not just on Climate Change issues, impacts, strategies,  but also what is trendy in Climate Change, what people are most concerned about and those popular misconceptions that people may have on Climate Change in general.



My decision helping Skeptical Science so far was the best decision Ive made this term. I believe what I receive from this experience is actually much bigger what I gave. If I have chances in the future, I still would love to help when they needed." Xilin Wan "[...] I am glad to volunteer with SkepticalScience to add glossary entries and help more people access academic sources and correct information about climate change. This volunteer experience allows me to further understand the significance of communication about climate change because popular unreliable sources can affect peoples perception of climate change. During this process, I have reviewed several rebuttals and explored the academic references that break some climate myths such as sea-level rise, climate change, and economic impacts on carbon pricing. These rebuttals not only provide further information on the topics covered in lectures, but also dip into the other unique impacts and perspectives of global warming. [...] Besides that, the comments section of SkepticalScience is an online forum where people can interact with others who have different opinions or further supporting resources about the rebuttals. Since science is dynamic, the discussion and interactions urge me to consider climate change and its impacts critically rather than follow the lectures and instructions to finish the regular class assignments." Summary What started with a "we are looking for help" blog post, turned - as far as I can tell - into a win-win for us and Tara's students. Some of them enjoyed the activity so much, that they plan to keep working on this task and to also branch out into other activities like translating selected content into other languages. How neat is that?!? Let me end with a big THANK YOU to all who volunteered to help with this - admittedly at least partially - tedious task! Thanks to your enthusiasm and engagement, this turned into a very satisfying project to help organize and run! 3 0 Printable Version | Link to this page
President Joe Biden said that evacuation of Americans and Afghans from the airport in Kabul accelerated over the weekend but he recognized that further delays were possible and said the initial Aug. 31 deadline to end U.S. military operations in Afghanistan could very well be extended. Our hope is we will not have to extend, but there are discussions, Biden said during a Sunday news conference at the White House. Several NATO countries have been pushing the White House to keep the airport open beyond August so evacuations can continue.

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The president detailed that the United States and its allies have evacuated almost 28,000 people from Afghanistan since Aug. 14, 11,000 of whom were airlifted this weekend. Biden insisted that the country has an unwavering commitment to get American citizens and Afghans who may be at risk out of the country. But he also recognized the security situation on the ground is changing rapidly and ISIS could seek to exploit the ongoing chaos. We have a long way to go and a lot could still go wrong, Biden said. Biden spoke a few hours after Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, warned the ISIS threat is real, acute, persistent and something were focused on with every tool in our arsenal.

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Earlier in the day, the Pentagon ordered six commercial airlines to assist in the evacuation efforts. By activating the Civil Reserve Air Fleet the Defense Department will have more resources to assist in the efforts. In all, 18 aircraft will be activated: four from United Airlines, three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, and Omni Air and two from Hawaiian Airlines. The commercial planes wont fly into Kabul but rather will be used to get people from other countries, such as Germany and Qatar, to the United States. It marks the third time the Civil Reserve Air Fleet was activated since the program was created in 1952.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Biden said that American forces had managed to improve access to the Kabul airport but he didnt really explain what that meant. He spoke at the end of a weekend when chaos engulfed the areas surrounding the airport. Seven Afghans died on Saturday in a crush at the airport gates. Among those who died was the two-year-old daughter of a former interpreter. Our sincere thoughts are with the families of the seven Afghan civilians who have sadly died in crowds in Kabul, a spokesperson for Britains Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday. Taliban forces fired in the air and used force to get people to line up in a more orderly fashion outside the airport on Sunday. The danger and chaos at the airport is leading some Afghans to give up on trying to escape. Im losing hope, a 39-year-old former interpreter for the U.S. military told the New York Times.
Update: The devastating flooding that struck Middle Tennessee Saturday turned out to be even more deadly than initially feared as the death toll increased to at least 22 people Sunday afternoon. Rescue workers were still desperately looking for survivors as more than 50 people remained missing. The flooding that followed record-breaking rain destroyed roads and cellphone towers leaving many families uncertain about whether their loved ones survived.

Waverly, a town of 4,000 residents that is about 60 miles west of Nashville, was hit hardest by the deadly storm that poured as much as 17 inches of rain in Humphreys County in less than 24 hours. That shattered the states record for one-day rainfall by more than three inches.

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Original post at 7:56 a.m.: Severe flooding struck Middle Tennessee on Saturday and left at least 10 people dead while some 30 remain missing as record-breaking rainfall washed away rural roads, cars, and homes. Two of the dead were twin toddlers who were swept away from their father. Authorities were going around houses to try to locate people missing in Humphreys County, a rural county that is around 72 miles west of Nashville that was the hardest-hit by the flooding. Some areas received as much as 17 inches of rain in less than a day.

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We have lost a lot of roads, both rural and major highways, Rob Edwards, the chief deputy of the Humphreys County Sheriffs Office, said. In my 28 years, its the worst Ive ever seen it. Power outages and lack of cell phone service has complicated rescue efforts, he said. It could take days to restore power and broadband service to the area. Humphreys County Emergency Management called on residents to not travel unless absolutely necessary as an 8 p.m. curfew was imposed Saturday. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called on residents to stay cautious of rising floodwaters.

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I finally have cell service. It is a horrible scene in Wavery, TN. There is damage all over town up and down the creek. I have personally never seen so much flood damage. AP confirms 8 dead and dozens missing. These people need a lot of help. #tnwx pic.twitter.com/xiwnGGoYZZ  Steve Smith (@stevesmith1043) August 22, 2021

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Meanwhile, the Tennessee National Guard was called in to help with water rescues as some suddenly found themselves stuck and in dire need of assistance. People are trapped in their homes and have no way to get out. Water is up to their necks. It is catastrophic, the worst kind of situation, Krissy Hurley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Nashville, told the Tennessean of the flooding in Humphreys County. Low-income homes appear to have been hit the hardest. It was devastating: buildings were knocked down, half of them were destroyed, local business owner Kansas Klein told the Associated Press. People were pulling out bodies of people who had drowned and didnt make it out.
Phil Valentine, a Nashville-based conservative radio host who was openly skeptical of COVID-19 vaccines before he was hospitalized with the coronavirus, died on Saturday. He was 61. Please keep the Valentine family in your thoughts and prayers, WTN Radio said on Twitter.

Valentine died a little more than a month after he announced he had contracted COVID-19. At the time, the radio host sounded an optimistic tone about his prospects. Unfortunately for the haters out there, it looks like Im going to make it, Valentine wrote on Facebook on July 11. But Valentines health quickly deteriorated and his family issued a statement saying that the experience had changed the radio hosts mind on vaccination. Phil would like for his listeners to know that while he has never been an anti-vaxer he regrets not being more vehemently Pro-Vaccine, and looks forward to being able to more vigorously advocate that position as soon as he is back on the air, which we all hope will be soon, Valentines family said in a statement posted to the radio stations Twitter account. Please continue to pray for his recovery and PLEASE GO GET VACCINATED!

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Mark Valentine said in an interview with CNN that his brother didnt like thinking that other people didnt get vaccinated because of his stance. He recognizes now that him not getting the vaccination has probably caused a bunch of other people not to get vaccinated, he said in a July 26 interview. And that he regrets. At the time, Mark Valentine said that if his brother could go back in time, his cavalier attitude wouldnt have been what it was and he would have gotten vaccinated and encouraged everybody to get vaccinated.

Valentine had spent much of the early part of the year encouraging his listeners to be skeptical of the vaccine and question whether they needed to get the shot if they werent at high risk of dying from COVID-19. He had said he chose not to get vaccinated out of common sense because he had pretty low chances of contracting COVID-19 and his odds of dying from the virus were probably way less than one percent.

Several officials shared tributes for Valentine after his death became public. Maria and I are deeply saddened by the loss of Phil Valentine and pray for his family as they navigate the difficult days ahead, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee wrote on Twitter. Sen. Bill Hagerty said that Tennessee has lost a strong conservative voice who will be sorely missed. And Sen. Marsha Blackburn called Valentine a visionary for the conservative movement. Tennessee has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country with only 50.1 percent of adults fully vaccinated.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is trying to find a good home for a parrot that swears all the time. Why do parrots repeat things that humans say?

Because there arent any other birds around. Most animals are born with their species distinctive calls programmed into their brains. Parrots are among the few animals, along with dolphins, whales, hummingbirds, songbirds, bats, and some primates, that learn their species communication patterns. Wild parrots typically only repeat the sounds that other parrots make, although theyve occasionally been observed mimicking other species. When forced to live with humans, parrots repeat what their owners say.

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Parrot expert Michael Schindlinger of Lesley University explained in Scientific American in 2007 that mimicking helps parrots separate members of their own community from outsiders. It can allow a bird to find its mate and prevent intracommunity conflicts over territory.

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The obscene or vulgar parrot is an old standby in Western humor and lore. In Othello, Shakespeare refers to swearing as speak[ing] parrot. (Some scholars think speak parrot means talk nonsense, but the surrounding wordsdrunk, squabble, and swearmake vulgarity the more likely reference.) In Rationale of the Dirty Joke: An Analysis of Sexual Humor, Gershon Legman devoted an entire section to parrot jokes. In one joke, a parrot tells his naked owner, I see your ass, and is punished with a dousing of water. When the owners daughter later enters the house, drenched from the rain, the parrot asks, Whose ass did you see? Andrew Jackson, the rough-hewn seventh president of the United States, famously owned a bawdy, foul-mouthed parrot. According to legend, Jacksons funeral was interrupted by the birds incessant cursing.

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Todd McCarthy picked up a live drive aboard the red-hot Grace Hill and he converted that opportunity to notch his first victory in the $250,000 James M. Lynch Memorial for three-year-old pacing fillies as part of Sun Stakes Saturday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

McCarthy settled 5-2 third choice Grace Hill into second after a sharp :26.2 opening quarter as stablemate Fire Start Hanover (Dexter Dunn) wanted the front and got there as the field hit the homestretch for the first time. The stablemates were 1-2 through the :55 half until Blue Diamond Eyes (Yannick Gingras) came to call first up, towing favourite Hot Mess Express (Andy McCarthy) into contention second over.

Fire Start Hanover repelled that overland bid and looked strong as the third quarter was reached in 1:22, but Grace Hill loomed the danger in the pocket with a passing lane in her sights. Todd McCarthy angled the filly to the inside and she responded to that daylight with powerful strides. Grace Hill forged to the front a length ahead of her stablemate pacing back to her 1:49 lifetime mark while setting a new stakes record in the process. Matt Kakaley stayed along the pylons with Thebeachiscalling to complete the triactor.

"I was pretty lucky there, Nifty reached out through the week so I was pretty stoked when I got that [drive]. Nifty's very casual to drive for and it just worked out today. I'm very pleased. We ended up with a great trip. A lot of the speed seems to be on the front here today so I wanted to be handy. I had to use her a little bit early but she had plenty of finish."

Trained by 'Nifty' Norman for owner Ton Hill, Grace Hill has now won her last three starts and the winner's share of the purse from her eighth lifetime win pushes her earnings to $494,355.

Third along the rail turning for home, Nashville Elgenna appeared to hopelessly trapped in the James M. Lynch Memorial Consolation I but a seam opened up for driver Andy McCarthy and he was able to angle the 2-1 choice to the inside and rally for the lifetime best 1:50.2 tally. Tony Alagna trains the Crawford Farms LLC homebred, the first foal of the great Anndrovette.

The Lynch was one of the highlights of Sun Stakes Saturday at Pocono. Check out the recaps of the other events in the Sun Stakes Saturday News Centre.
Bulldog Hanover scored his third Gold Series win at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday (Aug. 21), beating five rivals to the wire in a personal-best 1:49.

Sent the favourite in the lone $154,800 three-year-old pacing colt Gold division, driver Jody Jamieson of Guelph, Ont. eased Bulldog Hanover away from post 2 and settled in fourth as Century Heineken led the field to a :26.4 opening quarter. Second Bruiser made a move to the front heading by the :53.4 half and soon after Jamieson had Bulldog Hanover on the move. Second Bruiser reached the three-quarters in 1:21.2 with Bulldog Hanover and Desperate Man looming in the outer lane. The stretch battle came down to Bulldog Hanover and Desperate Man, with the favourite prevailing by one-half length in 1:49. Desperate Man settled for second and pocket-sitter Century Heineken was two lengths back in third.

The race actually went good for him, he raced big, he raced tough, but Jody (Jamieson) said for some reason he was kind of spinning his wheels again on the track, kind of like he was up at Georgian, said trainer Jack Darling. So I am a little bit puzzled right now, whats causing that. We might have to do a little bit of shoeing adjustments, but he raced big, first-over.

Hes just one of those horses, he obviously wasnt, for some reason, getting over the track like he should, but he still pulled it off. Hes just that kind of horse, added the Cambridge resident, who shares ownership of Bulldog Hanover with Brad Grant of Milton, Ont.

Last years Super Final champion, Bulldog Hanover has been bested twice in six starts this season. The first came in his June 12 sophomore debut at Woodbine Mohawk Park and the second in the July 25 Gold Series Leg at Georgian Downs. The colt seemed to struggle around the turns on the Georgian Downs five-eighths mile before sprinting home in :27.3 to finish third behind Desperate Man and Lawless Shadow.

He (Jamieson) said he wasnt bad, but there was a little something. He just wasnt quite keeping up the way he normally was. Hes good and sound and everything, so Ill just make a few adjustments and hopefully get it ironed out, said Darling. Everything is just a guess right now, but he was sharp as a tack warming up, he was sharper than he ever was tonight warming up. Theres always something in this business.

Provided Darling can sort things out, Bulldog Hanover is slated to make his next start in the Somebeachsomewhere stake at Woodbine Mohawk Park next Saturday, Aug. 28. After that, the son of Shadow Play and BJs Squall is eligible to the Pepsi North America Cup, with eliminations on Sept. 4 and the final Sept. 11, and the Simcoe Stakes on Sept. 18. The three-year-old pacing colts return to Gold Series action on Sept. 25 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Many of Bulldog Hanovers peers will be joining him in open stake action over the coming weeks, including Lawless Shadow, who skipped Saturdays Gold event to head south for the $300,000 Max C. Hempt Memorial at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Another son of Shadow Play, Lawless Shadow controlled the tempo in the Saturday afternoon contest and dug in down the stretch to record a 1:48.2 victory over a field of American-bred colts. Driver Mark MacDonald was reunited with The Meadowlands Pace winner for trainer Dr. Ian Moore of Cambridge, ON and his co-owners R G McGroup Ltd. of Bathurst, N.B., Serge Savard of St. Bruno, Que. and Frank Cannon of Sanford, Fla.

Ontario Sires Stakes action continues at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Monday (Aug. 23) with a single $155,600 Gold Series division for the three-year-old trotting colts slated for Race 6. Fans can download a program and watch the live stream on the Woodbine Mohawk Park website or register to attend in person.

(Ontario Sires Stakes)

To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Five-year-old distaffer Dan Dar Mal led at every call on her way to a second straight victory in the Sunday afternoon featured pace at Inverness Raceway.

Trained and driven by Alex MacNeil, Dan Dar Mal fired to the lead off the gate from post four in the $1,400 top class event and led the field of six through a 29-second opening quarter with favourite Rockemsockem Scott in the two-hole and Windmeredontmatter parked out the entire way.

Dan Dar Mal carved out middle splits of :57.3 and 1:28.1 before holding clear of the pocket-pulling Rockemsockem Scott down the stretch to win in 1:58.1 by one length. Big Engine finished third ahead of Windmeredontmatter.

After a 1:56.4 career-best effort last Sunday, Dan Dar Mal defeated her male rivals once again and returned $7.30 to win as the 5-2 second choice.

The Betterthancheddar-Little Wubbs mare now has five wins from 11 seasonal starts and nine victories lifetime for owner/breeder Kevin Gillis of Windsor, Ont.

One race earlier, veteran pacing mare Southwest Bliss reached a milestone, recording her 50th lifetime victory with Andrew MacLean in the sulky.

Sent postward as the longest shot on the board, the 11-year-old daughter of Blissfull Hall and Jet West circled her foes to prevail by one length in 1:59.1, returning $19.40 for the upset win. Favourite Eastwardho Fun and Lo Lo Lo Logan finished second and third, respectively.

Southwest Bliss, who has been trained by owner Alex MacDonald since she arrived at Inverness at 2019, has earned $112,934 through 250 career starts.

To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Inverness Raceway.
Cryptocurrency mining has been garnering everyone's interest especially over the span of the last couple of months. However, hackers are using this public interest in cryptocurrencies to trick innocent netizens into installing malicious apps on their smartphones containing dangerous malware and adware. The good thing is that these malicious actors have been identified and Google has removed them. In fact, as many as 8 dangerous apps have been removed from Google Play Store that were masquerading as cryptocurrency mining apps - users were lured by promises of earning big profits by investing money in a cloud-mining operations. The list includes BitFunds, Bitcoin Miner, Bitcoin (BTC), Crypto Holic, Daily Bitcoin Rewards, Bitcoin 2021 and more - check full list below.

Security firm Trend Micro reports that upon analysis it found that these eight malicious apps were tricking victims into watching ads, paying for subscription services that have an average monthly fee of $15 ( 1,115 approx.), and paying for increased mining capabilities without getting anything in return. The company reported its findings to Google Play, following which they were promptly removed by the company. The point is that Google may have removed them from Play Store, but these apps may well have already been downloaded on your phone. So, what you need to do is check out your phone for them and delete quickly.

Also read: Looking for a smartphone? Check Mobile Finder here.

Heres a list of the 8 malicious apps that Google has removed from the Play Store:

-- BitFunds  Crypto Cloud Mining

-- Bitcoin Miner  Cloud Mining

-- Bitcoin (BTC)  Pool Mining Cloud Wallet

-- Crypto Holic  Bitcoin Cloud Mining

-- Daily Bitcoin Rewards  Cloud Based Mining System

-- Bitcoin 2021

-- MineBit Pro - Crypto Cloud Mining & btc miner

-- Ethereum (ETH) - Pool Mining Cloud

The research site says that two of these apps are paid apps that users need to purchase. While users had to pay $12.99 ( 966 approx.) to download Crypto Holic  Bitcoin Cloud Mining, they needed to pay $5.99 ( 445 approx.) to download Daily Bitcoin Rewards  Cloud Based Mining System.

Furthermore, Trend Micro said that more than 120 fake cryptocurrency mining apps are still available online. These apps, which do not have cryptocurrency mining capabilities and deceive users into watching in-app ads, have affected more than 4,500 users globally from July 2020 to July 2021, the company wrote in a blog.

Heres how you can recognise a fake cryptomining app:

1. Carefully read the apps reviews: Fake apps will receive numerous 5-star reviews once they are released publicly. Pay more attention to 1-star reviews.

2. Try to enter an invalid or wrong cryptocurrency wallet address:Trend Micro says that if a user encodes an invalid wallet address and the app accepts it and is able to perform follow-up operations, there is a high probability that the app is fraudulent.

3. Restart the app or phone while it is in the process of mining: If a device is restarted after mining starts and the mining application is killed in the background, the system will forcibly clear the counter, resetting it to zero.

4. Confirm if there is a withdrawal fee: The transfer of cryptocurrency requires a handling fee, which is relatively high compared to what is typically made from cloud mining. Hence, free withdrawals are very suspicious, the firm said.
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is warning of active exploitation attempts that leverage the latest line of "ProxyShell" Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities that were patched earlier this May, including deploying LockFile ransomware on compromised systems.

Tracked as CVE-2021-34473, CVE-2021-34523, and CVE-2021-31207, the vulnerabilities enable adversaries to bypass ACL controls, elevate privileges on the Exchange PowerShell backend, effectively permitting the attacker to perform unauthenticated, remote code execution. While the former two were addressed by Microsoft on April 13, a patch for CVE-2021-31207 was shipped as part of the Windows maker's May Patch Tuesday updates.

"An attacker exploiting these vulnerabilities could execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable machine," CISA said.

The development comes a little over a week after cybersecurity researchers sounded the alarm on opportunistic scanning and exploitation of unpatched Exchange servers by taking advantage of the ProxyShell attack chain.

Originally demonstrated at the Pwn2Own hacking contest in April this year, ProxyShell is part of a broader trio of exploit chains discovered by DEVCORE security researcher Orange Tsai that includes ProxyLogon and ProxyOracle, the latter of which concerns two remote code execution flaws that could be employed to recover a user's password in plaintext format.

"They're backdooring boxes with webshells that drop other webshells and also executables that periodically call out," researcher Kevin Beaumont noted last week.

Now according to researchers from Huntress Labs, at least five distinct styles of web shells have been observed as deployed to vulnerable Microsoft Exchange servers, with over over 100 incidents reported related to the exploit between August 17 and 18. Web shells grant the attackers remote access to the compromised servers, but it isn't clear exactly what the goals are or the extent to which all the flaws were used.

More than 140 web shells have been detected across no fewer than 1,900 unpatched Exchanger servers to date, Huntress Labs CEO Kyle Hanslovan tweeted, adding "impacted [organizations] thus far include building manufacturing, seafood processors, industrial machinery, auto repair shops, a small residential airport and more."
Starting Sept. 1, Texans ages 21 and older will be allowed carry handguns without training or a license as long as they are not legally prevented from doing so. Gov. Greg Abbott said the law protects American gun rights. Some law enforcement officers worried the law may increase crime rates while putting officers and civilians in danger. Do you support Texas becoming a constitutional carry state?

You voted:
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No one who questioned the boards decision to include masks in the districts dress code was wrong to do so. But its the right thing for a school board to do everything in its power to protect students from a known threat to their health and lives.
Editor's note: The story is written by Lynda Cade, in response to the 'Ho Chi Minh City Goes Global' contest, an open forum for readers to contribute their ideas and solutions to raise the position of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City in the international arena.

The contest is co-organized by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations to prepare for the celebration of Vietnam's National Day on September 2.

First, let me start by saying that Ive been fortunate enough to call Ho Chi Minh City home for some time now, and Im still struck by the vibrancy of life in the city. Its an intoxicating place that never fails to surprise me.

Im always in awe of around 5:00 pm, just before the sun sets and traffic picks up, as I witness the already bustling streets begin to hum with even more activity. The golden yellow hue of the sky seems to amplify the honking of motorbike horns as they whizz by, all somehow connected to the flow of each other.

This somewhat insignificant moment captures what I believe to be just one tiny fragment of the citys soul. A unique piece of Ho Chi Minh City thats effervescent even as the cityscape builds up around us.

So, its a pity that, when I talked to friends back home in London, they had some surprisingly outdated preconceptions of Ho Chi Minh City. I heard the surprise in their voices when I talked about some of the restaurants I visited, for instance. For them, Vietnam is a country fresh from war, and its far from being developed.

Wars, unfortunately, are a part of Vietnams history, but the country and city have so much more to offer. However, whats clear is that a considerable part of the story isnt making it to the other side of the globe.

To answer the question, 'How to raise Ho Chi Minh Citys global status and put itself alongside the worlds leading metropolises?', we need to understand the message being received by foreigners, look to global trends, and find a means to communicate the soulful story of the city.

Visibility and communication

Lets take a step back for a moment and put ourselves in the shoes of a distant traveler looking for their next adventure.

People rarely travel without doing some research first. When I plan city breaks, I usually look to a citys website for area guides, find out where to eat and what events are on.

When it comes to Ho Chi Minh City, there are a few independent guides online. Some do a better job than others, but for the next potential city explorer, its a task to sift through the information. Most offer the same options again and again -- Cu Chi, War Museum, Cathedral -- and they arent regularly updated.

Ho Chi Minh City is constantly evolving, you only need to walk down a street you havent visited in a while, and theres a new coffee shop or bar. Or, in some cases, entire apartment blocks pop up out of nowhere.

As a tourist, I want easy access to reliable, up-to-date information about museums, galleries, and the best restaurants in town. Just look at other city websites for inspiration -- London, Melbourne, Helsinki -- all are great examples of how to showcase a city from afar.

The travel website run by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, which Im told had a makeover recently, looks fantastic. It paints a stunning picture of Vietnam as a whole. Its fresh, modern, and exciting. Just looking at it makes me want to hop on the train and travel up the coastline. In fact, I might.

However, in contrast, the Visit HCMC website, Im sorry to say, is lacking. Is it an accurate representation of Ho Chi Minh City? I dont believe so. In agreeance with Ton Nu Thi Ninhs article, maybe a cohesive re-branding of the city is neeeded.

Sustainability in tourism

Check any of the websites Ive mentioned and youll see a trend emerging: sustainability. It is a not-so-glamorous word and one thats often overused. But lets face it, a city without a 'sustainable' plan for responsible growth is going to fall short eventually.

People are already turning their noses up at overhyped tourist attractions and are instead looking for more authentic holidays. In some cases, they are traveling with purpose and leaving a positive impact on the destinations they visit. They want to mingle with locals and experience cities as though they were habitants. In other words, they want to decrease their footprints and maximize their experiences.

Look to Helsinkis Feel Good and Fair Play hotels as an example. For years, Helsinkis accommodation providers have already paid attention to environmental aspects, such as energy and water consumption, and reducing food waste in their restaurants. At the same time, social responsibility and fair employment have become increasingly important. They focus on all aspects of sustainable operations.

Assuming tourism in Vietnam returns to 'normal' and considering that it plays such a vital role in Vietnams economy (12 percent of the countrys GDP pre-COVID), it seems only sensible that investment is put into sustainable and responsible development.

Just make fair pay, health care, training, progression, responsibility, and recognition a priority for every individual contributing to the industry. Too often, the jobs are menial and for low-skilled workers.

How about introducing a citywide certification that sets guidelines for hotels, tour companies and travel agents, and lets tourists book with confidence?

Small improvements like water refills and making the removal of single-use anything in hotels compulsory arent expensive to introduce but will make a big difference and encourage behavioral change.

I saw an excellent example of how old, worthless mobile phones are turned into travel guides in one Spanish city. They're pre-loaded with data and an app to explore the city with. The results are fewer lost tourists, reusing an otherwise redundant resource, and immersive storytelling about the city -- a great creative way to solve multiple problems. There are so many creative energies in this city that I am sure we could come up with something equally brilliant.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourisms website already has some information on Green Travel in Vietnam available -- a great addition to the site -- but we could be doing a whole lot more. Everyone could.

Its tough to think about it right now, but having these conversations before tourism kicks off again and establishing a strategy to reopen responsibly will put Ho Chi Minh City at the forefront of the movement in Vietnam and open the eyes of international travelers.

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Here are todays leading news stories:

COVID-19 Updates

-- The Ministry of Health confirmed 11,299 local COVID-19 infections, including 4,505 in Binh Duong and 4,084 in Ho Chi Minh City, on Saturday evening, raising the countrys tally to 336,707, with 140,087 recoveries and 7,450 deaths.

-- More than 501,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by Poland arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Saturday afternoon.

-- Ho Chi Minh City recorded 2,885 COVID-19 cases in the community on Saturday, accounting for over 71 percent of the citys daily count. The districts with the highest ratio of infection in the community included Tan Binh District, Binh Thanh District, Binh Tan District, District 8, and District 10.

-- Another shipment of 50,000 vials of COVID-19 medicine Remdesivir, part of a deal between Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup and an Indian supplier, was delivered to Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday evening.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Public Security said on Saturday they had booked over 4,400 people for going outside without proper reasons since the beginning of the fourth COVID-19 wave.

Society

-- A large number of residents in Ho Chi Minh City continued flocking to local supermarkets early on Sunday morning to stock up on supplies for the upcoming stay-home drive, which will begin on Monday.

-- Police in Ho Chi Minh City confirmed on Saturday they had broken up an illegal racket that produced and sold fake medicine, including COVID-19 drugs, and arrested the 46-year-old ring leader.

-- Officers in the Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau affirmed on Saturday they had captured and initiated legal proceedings against a 48-year-old man for allegedly raping and murdering a five-year-old girl.

-- A 32-year-old woman has been arrested for illegally selling slots for COVID-19 vaccination to 21 people and pocketing VND60 million (US$2,600) in District 11, Ho Chi Minh City.

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Children and young people living in Vietnam are among those most at risk of the impacts of climate change, threatening their health, education, and protection, according to a UNICEF report launched on Friday.

The Climate Crisis Is a Child Rights Crisis: Introducing the Childrens Climate Risk Index is the first comprehensive analysis of climate risk from a childs perspective, the UN agency said in a press release the same day.

It ranks countries on childrens exposure to climate and environmental shocks, such as cyclones and heatwaves, as well as their vulnerability to those shocks, based on their access to essential services.

Launched in collaboration with Fridays for Future on the third anniversary of the youth-led global climate strike movement, the report finds approximately one billion children  nearly half the world's 2.2 billion kids  live in one of the 33 countries classified as extremely high risk.

The findings reflect the number of children impacted today, with figures likely to get worse as the impacts of climate change accelerate.

The report found that Vietnamese children are highly exposed to air pollution and flooding.

It calls for investments in climate action and environmental protection that will secure development gains and ensure a sustainable future for children.

Measures such as a COVID-19 green recovery, improved access to safe water, and climate education can make a significant difference in the ability to safeguard childrens futures from the impacts of climate change.

The climate crisis is a childs rights crisis, said Lesley Miller, UNICEF Vietnam deputy representative.

Vietnam is becoming a more hazardous place for children to live due to climate change and environmental pollution, but if we act now we can prevent it from becoming worse.

Ensuring adequate safety nets and accessible, resilient services  such as water, healthcare, and education  will help to protect childrens futures.

An estimated 850 million children  one in three worldwide  live in areas where at least four of these climate and environmental shocks overlap. As many as 330 million children  one in seven worldwide  reside in locales affected by at least five major shocks.

The report also reveals a disconnect between where greenhouse gas emissions are generated and where children are enduring the most significant climate-driven impacts.

The 33 extremely high-risk countries collectively emit just nine percent of global CO2 emissions. Conversely, the 10 highest-emitting countries collectively account for nearly 70 percent of global emissions. Only one of these countries is ranked as extremely high risk in the index.

The frightening environmental changes we are seeing across the planet are being driven by a few but experienced by many, said Miller.

Vietnamese children and young people are concerned about the threat climate change and environmental degradation poses to their future.

They are calling on world leaders to act decisively in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work as a global community to build a better world for all children.

Without the urgent action required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, children will continue to suffer the most.

Compared to adults, children require more food and water per unit of their body weight, are less able to survive extreme weather events, and are more susceptible to toxic chemicals, temperature changes and diseases, among other factors.

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Ho Chi Minh City police have arrested a man and interrogated many others after cracking down on a ring that counterfeited medicines including those for use in treating COVID-19 patients.

Police officers detained Nguyen Duc Thuan, the rings 46-year-old leader, hailing from Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, on Friday, and have questioned eight others involved in the case.

On Friday, a police team stopped Thuan for inspection while he was carrying a carton on a motorbike on a street in Phu Nhuan District, as the officers noticed suspicious signs from him.

Searching the carton, they discovered 150 boxes of Terpin-Codein, a kind of medicine used to relieve symptoms of COVID-19 patients in Vietnam, without any supporting documents.

Thuan then confessed his ring had counterfeited the drug for sale to make illegal gains.

During the urgent searches later conducted at three locations in Phu Nhuan and two other districts, police officers seized raw materials for medicine counterfeiting, fake medications, and a lot of equipment and tools.

The seized fake drugs included 630,000 tablets of various kinds, 3,116 boxes of medicines for treating COVID-19 symptoms, 2.5 kilograms of white pills used to fake medications to treat worms, and 100 jars of paracetamol capsules, among others.

Police officers also found counterfeits prepared in toilet areas and finished fakes on the floor.

The value of the haul amounted to billions of Vietnamese dong (VND1 billion = US$43,700), investigators said.

Police are continuing their investigation into the case.

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More than 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine as a donation from Poland arrived in Hanoi on Saturday, health authorities reported.

The shipment of 501,600 shots was transported to the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology for storage and preservation after reaching Noi Bai International Airport at noon on Saturday, the Ministry of Health said.

Poland will also transfer 3.5 million more AstraZeneca vaccine jabs to Vietnam, with the specific delivery date yet to be set.

The European country will give Vietnam essential medical equipment worth US$4 million for COVID-19 prevention and control, which is expected to arrive in early September.

Vietnam is the first country outside Europe to receive coronavirus vaccines and medical devices from Poland, Polish Ambassador to Vietnam Wojciech Gerwel said at a recent meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi.

Some other European countries have said they would offer COVID-19 vaccines to Vietnam, according to the health ministry.

Currently, the Southeast Asian country is shoring up vaccine diplomacy to get more supplies in the coming time.

Next week, at least three more million shots will be delivered to Vietnam, making the total vaccine volume sent to the country this month higher than expected, but it is still lower than actual demand, the ministry said.

The nation has so far approved six COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use in Vietnam, namely AstraZeneca, Moderna, Sinopharm, Pfizer, Sputnik V, and Johnson & Johnson.

Vietnam is also considering licensing Hayat-Vax, a coronavirus vaccine made in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for emergency use.

Meanwhile, Nano Covax, a vaccine developed by Ho Chi Minh City-based Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC, is scheduled to be registered for emergency approval this month as part of an effort to make the first Vietnamese vaccine available as soon as possible.

Vietnam has targeted to secure 150 million of vaccine doses to inoculate two-thirds of its 98-million population, but it has received only some 24 million doses from different sources, including COVAX Facility, contractual purchases, and donations.

By Saturday evening, the numbers of people receiving the first and second coronavirus vaccine doses nationwide had neared 14.8 million and topped 1.7 million, respectively, the health ministrys data shows.

The ministry has documented more than 336,707 COVID-19 cases across the country since the pandemic hit it in early 2020.

The death toll has reached 7,540, which is 2.3 percent of the total number of patients, equal to the global rate.

The coronavirus has now spread to 62 out of the countrys 63 cities and provinces, with Ho Chi Minh topping the list with some 172,000 cases, followed by Binh Duong Province with 67,000, and Long An Province with 17,000 cases.

The only province in Vietnam has yet to be affected by COVID-19 is Cao Bang, where measures against coronavirus penetration are strictly applied.

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A large number of residents in Ho Chi Minh City flocked to local supermarkets early on Sunday morning to stock up on supplies in preparation for a shelter-in-place mandate that will take effect for two weeks on Monday.

According to the observation of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters, residents had gathered at Co.opmart Chu Van An Supermarket in Binh Thanh District hours before the venue was open.

There were so many customers that they had to queue up on the sidewalk in front of the supermarket as well as on a nearby bridge.

Nguyen Van Tho, a local, said he arrived at the venue at 6:00 am, while the opening time was 7:30 am.

Tho added he would buy enough supplies for the next two weeks.

People line up at a food store in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, August 22, 2021. Photo: Ngoc Hien / Tuoi Tre

At a food store on Le Quand Dinh Street in Binh Thanh, customers began lining up at around 5:00 am, two hours before the shop opened.

A local stated that she had come to this store on Saturday. As it was overcrowded with buyers, she decided to go home and come back early on Sunday morning.

People queue up at a supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City, August 22, 2021. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre

A similar situation was also recorded at supermarkets and facilities that sell bread, food, and groceries in other districts.

Im planning to spend VND3 million [US$131] on food and supplies for my family of four, Nguyen Thuy Ngoc Tram, 16, said while waiting in front of Co.opmart Nguyen Kiem in Phu Nhuan District.

I will buy some for my aunt in Go Vap District as well, as she has had a difficult time doing so.

The shopping was even more excruciating for people who travel on motorbikes as they were stuck in front of parking lots.

Customers wait in front of a parking lot at Emart Supermarket in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City, August 22, 2021. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre

The municipal authorities have asked people to stay where they are from August 23 to September 6, underlining each home, company, and factory should be an anti-virus fort.

The shelter-in-place order came as the most assertive measure yet that authorities have taken to curb the serious pandemic.

The city has undergone various levels of social distancing since May 31, but daily infections are still in the thousands, with cases detected in the community on the rise over the past days.

Shoppers wait in front of Co.opmart Chu Van An Supermarket in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, August 22, 2021. Photo: Cong Trung / Tuoi Tre

As of Sunday morning, Vietnam had documented 336,707 COVID-19 cases, with 140,087 recoveries and 7,540 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

The country has detected 332,626 domestic infections in 62 out of 63 provinces and cities since the fourth wave began on April 27

Ho Chi Minh City leads the table with 171,801 cases.

Shoppers wait in front of Co.opmart Chu Van An Supermarket in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, August 22, 2021. Photo: Cong Trung / Tuoi Tre

People line up at Bach Hoa Xanh Supermarket in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, August 22, 2021. Photo: Nguyen Tri / Tuoi Tre

Customers wait in front of a parking lot at Emart Supermarket in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City, August 22, 2021. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Customers wait in front of a parking lot at Emart Supermarket in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City, August 22, 2021. Photo: Nhat Thinh / Tuoi Tre

Officers ask motorcyclists not to gather at the entrance of Emart Supermarket in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City, August 22, 2021. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Big C Supermarket in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City is crowded on August 22, 2021. Photo: Nhat Thinh / Tuoi Tre

Big C Supermarket in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City is crowded on August 22, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

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A consignment of over 50,000 vials of COVID-19 treatment medicine Remdesivir was delivered to Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday evening as part of a deal between Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup and Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla.

The shipment landed at the airport at 6:45 pm after leaving Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, India and taking a pit stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a source told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

It brings the total number of Remdesivir vials that Vietnam has received to 120,000, VnExpress news site reported.

Saturday's arrival is part of a 500,000-Remdesivir vial package that Vingroup promised to the Ministry of Health in a bid to push back the current coronavirus outbreak in Vietnam.

A supply of 500,000 Remdesivir vials could help treat 80,000-100,000 COVID-19 patients in the country, experts estimated.

The first shipment of the drug, consisting of 50,000 vials, reached Vietnam via Tan Son Nhat on August 6.

Remdesivir is an anti-viral medicine developed by U.S.-based Gilead Sciences.

It has been approved for treatment of COVID-19 patients by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The drug has also been featured in the COVID-19 treatment regime of over 50 countries, including Australia, Japan, Singapore, India, and Vietnam.

Cipla, among several other manufacturers, has acquired the rights to produce the drug under a licensing agreement with Gilead.

As of Sunday morning, Vietnam had documented 336,707 COVID-19 cases, with 140,087 recoveries and 7,540 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

The country has detected 332,626 domestic infections in 62 out of 63 provinces and cities since the fourth wave began on April 27.

Ho Chi Minh City leads the table with 171,801 cases.

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Two passengers were killed on Saturday after their vehicle crashed into a pickup truck running in the opposite direction on a road in northern Vietnam.

The accident took place in Dao Duc Commune, Vi Xuyen District, Ha Giang Province, Le Van Nham, chairman of the commune, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

As footage from a road surveillance camera showed, a car was traveling on Dao Duc Communes section of National Road No. 2 when it collided with a pickup around 11:15 pm on Saturday.

The crash disfigured the fronts and triggered the airbags of both vehicles, while all victims were promptly sent to the hospital.

Two passengers in the car did not survive the collision, but the pickup truck driver was only injured, Nham said.

Local police are investigating the case.

In January-July, Vietnam recorded 7,137 traffic accidents which killed 3,635 people and injured 4,984 others, according to the National Committee for Traffic Safety.

The number of crashes dropped 10.74 percent year on year, while fatal casualties decreased 4.12 percent.

Road surveillance camera footage shows a head-on collision on National Road No. 2 in Ha Giang Province, Vietnam, August 21, 2021.

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The Ministry of Health documented over 11,000 domestic coronavirus cases on Sunday, along with more than 7,500 recoveries and 700 deaths.

Thirty-six provinces and cities reported 11,346 local cases, the second-sharpest daily jump, whereas another six infections were imported from abroad, the health ministry said.

A high of 13,417 locally-infected patients had been recorded on Saturday.

Almost 6,400 of the latest local cases were found in the community while the remainder were detected in isolated areas or centralized quarantine facilities.

Ho Chi Minh City recorded 4,193 of the new domestic infections, up by 109 patients; Binh Duong Province 3,795, down by 710; Dong Nai Province 849; Tien Giang Province 709; Long An Province 365; Da Nang 183; Khanh Hoa Province 160; Dong Thap Province 142; Soc Trang Province 138; Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province 107; and Can Tho City 97.

Since the fourth COVID-19 wave began in Vietnam on April 27, the country has confirmed 343,972 community transmissions in 62 out of its 63 provinces and cities.

Ho Chi Minh City is in the front with 175,994 patients, followed by Binh Duong Province with 70,242, Long An Province with 17,805, Dong Nai Province with 17,688, Tien Giang Province with 7,284, Dong Thap Province with 5,961, Bac Giang Province with 5,828, Khanh Hoa Province with 5,267, Tay Ninh Province with 4,107, Can Tho City with 3,490, Da Nang with 3,094, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province with 2,887, Hanoi with 2,803, and Phu Yen Province with 2,434.

By comparison, Vietnam confirmed 106 community cases in the first wave from January 23 to April 16, 2020, 554 in the second from July 25 to December 1, 2020, and 910 in the third from January 28 to March 25, 2021.

The ministry announced 7,580 recoveries on Sunday, taking the total to 147,667 recovered patients.

The death toll has risen to 8,277 after the health ministry reported 737 fatalities the same day, including 599 registered in Ho Chi Minh City, 62 in Binh Duong Province, and 25 in Dong Nai Province.

The Southeast Asian country has detected an accumulation of 348,059 cases since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit it on January 23, 2020.

Health workers gave 370,836 vaccine doses on Saturday.

About 17 million vaccine shots have been administered in Vietnam since the country rolled out vaccination on March 8, with nearly 1.8 million people having been fully vaccinated.

The Vietnamese government expects to obtain 175 million shots of various vaccines, including 51 million Pfizer-BioNTech jabs, by early 2022.

It set a target of immunizing two-thirds of a population of nearly 98 million people against COVID-19 by the first quarter of next year.

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The 'Ho Chi Minh City Goes Global' contest, an open forum for readers to contribute their ideas and solutions to raise the position of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City in the international arena, has wrapped up after a two-month journey, with ten prize winners announced.

The contest is co-organized by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations, along with the accompaniment of Global Embassy and Vietnam Signature, to prepare for the celebration of Vietnam's National Day on September 2.

From June 16 to August 16, the organizing board received over 420 entries including articles, PowerPoint files, graphics, and video clips presented in both Vietnamese and English.

Aside from Vietnamese contestants, many foreigners who are living in Ho Chi Minh City or have visited the metropolis also participated in the competition.

There were also special entries from Assoc. Prof. Tran Dinh Thien, former director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, Tim Evans, CEO of HSBC Vietnam, and musician Thanh Bui, among others.

"The contest attracted many people from different backgrounds, including overseas Vietnamese and foreigners in Vietnam," said Le Xuan Trung, deputy editor-in-chief of Tuoi Tre.

"Ho Chi Minh Citys goal to go global is completely feasible thanks to the interesting ideas and solutions that can be implemented in the coming years."

Pham Tran Thanh Thao, deputy director of the municipal Department of External Relations, said foreign affairs are among the three pillars contributing to the stability and development of Ho Chi Minh City in the 2021-25 period.

Therefore, the city needs to identify and promote its strengths to international friends.

The Department of External Relations will select the best entries and ask leaders to consider adding them to the citys foreign policy.

Members of the judging panel and organizing board of the 'Ho Chi Minh City Goes Global' contest convene a teleconference on August 20, 2021.

The panel of judges had reviewed the submissions for days before convening a teleconference on Friday to determine the prize winners. The winners of the contest are as follows:

* Collective prizes:

First prize: no first prize

Second prize (VND30 million): 'Finding Oneself in the Sustainable 4.0 Era' by SPG Industrial Development Co. Ltd.

Third prize (VND20 million): 'Streets of Innovation' by Phan Hoang Dung - Fulbright University Vietnam; Nguyen Ky Nam - Sciences Po University, France; Bui Le Mai Anh - University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City; Hoang Ngoc Gia Huong - Fulbright University Vietnam; Truong Thanh Khoa - Hoa Sen University; Nguyen Thuy Dung - University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City

* Individual prizes:

First prize (VND30 million): 'Dream of a Unified and Diverse City' by Phan Khuong

Second prize (VND20 million): 'Think City' by Kieu Minh Trang

Third prize (VND10 million): 'Meaning Behind the Citys Acronym' by Nguyen Quoc Thai.

Five consolation prizes (VND5 million):

- 'Promoting Twinning Relationship' by Nguyen Thien

- Create a Livable City' by Lee Andre Chan (Canada)

- Post-COVID-19 Brand of the City by Dang Ngoc Tra

- Asia's New Business-Friendly Hub with Softened Visa Policy, Tax Advantages by Guillaume Rondan

- Vietnamese Taste, Worlds Kitchen by Pham Trong Chinh

Complains and questions must be sent prior to August 23. The above results will become official afterward. The organizing board reserves the right to make the final decision.

The awards ceremony is expected to take place in late September.

Panel of judges: 1. Le Xuan Trung  Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Tuoi Tre Newspaper 2. Pham Tran Thanh Thao  Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations 3. Ton Nu Thi Ninh  former Ambassador of Vietnam to Belgium and the EU, Former Deputy Head of the National Assemblys Committee on Foreign Affairs 4. Pham Phu Ngoc Trai  Chairman of Global Integration Business Consultants (GIBC) 5. Tran Hoang Ngan  Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies 6. Dominic Scriven  Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Dragon Capital

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A woman from Ho Chi Minh City has been arrested for illegally selling slots for COVID-19 vaccination and pocketing over VND60 million (US$2,600).

Officers under the municipal Department of Public Security confirmed on Saturday evening they had apprehended and initiate legal proceedings against Le Thi Kim Dung, a 32-year-old resident in District 4, for abusing influence over people with positions and powers for personal gain.

Dung previously used her Facebook account named Kim Zunf to advertise the provision of COVID-19 vaccination service in Ho Chi Minh City.

Police then launched an investigation and caught the woman red-handed organizing the vaccination of two people at an inoculation site established inside a kindergarten in District 11.

At the police station, Dung said she was able to arrange and provide COVID-19 vaccination for others thanks to her connections.

She charged VND2-4 million ($87-175) per dose.

People who wanted to use this service were required to text Dung their information and wire their payment.

Preliminary information showed that the woman had arranged inoculation for 21 people in District 11 and earned more than VND60 million ($2,600).

Further investigation is ongoing.

COVID-19 vaccination in Vietnam is currently provided for residents free of charge, while competent authorities have yet to allow any paid COVID-19 inoculation service.

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Ankara and Abu Dhabis relationship has been shaped and defined by their rivalry for several years. Is it headed in a new direction? As TRT World writes, the United Arab Emirates National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al Nahyan met with Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara this week, the first high-level official visit between the two countries since 2016.

The relations between the two countries in the past several years have been marked by rivalry and tension, particularly in regional politics. However, there have been hints at normalisation for several months, and the visit by Sheikh Tahnoun is the culmination of progressive steps that could lead to a new phase in bilateral relations.

Regional rivals

The UAE has been striving to become one of the decisive actors in Middle Eastern politics and has played an active role in many conflict zones to this end. In line with these efforts, the Abu Dhabi administration wanted to create a new regional order by consolidating its military capacity alongside traditional foreign policy tools.

One of the important components of this foreign policy strategy was the prevention of Turkey's foreign policy engagements, which the UAE considered to be the main obstacle to the establishment of its desired regional political order.

The Abu Dhabi administration, which failed to achieve its goals in Yemen, Libya, and Syria due to its limited political and military capacity, not only lost its relationship of trust with Turkey, but also paved the way for the diminishing of its image in the eyes of the Arab peoples and some of their leadership. The UAEs normalisation agreement with Israel and its counter-revolutionary policies in Yemen and Libya caused the further antagonisation of popular masses in the region.

Meanwhile, the changing regional and global conjuncture compelled the UAE to re-evaluate its foreign policy and make changes in its relations with Turkey and its policies towards the Arab world. In this context, Turkey no longer stood as one of the priority agendas in the UAE's foreign policy.

Several reasons can be attributed to this shift: the normalisation efforts between Turkey and Egypt and Qatar and Saudi Arabia; the leadership change in the US; the negative economic effects of Covid-19; and Turkey's increasing military capacity seem to have played a crucial role in this policy change. Egypt and Saudi Arabia, some of the UAEs closest allies, changed their policies towards Turkey, which also affected Abu Dhabis attitude towards Ankara.

Recent constructive comments about Turkey by some Emirati figures, who had been conducting smear campaigns against Turkey and are known for their disinformation activities, were considered to be the harbinger of this transformation.

One of these people, Anwar Gargash, then the UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, stated in January 2021 that his country does not seek problems with Turkey and that they have the will to normalise relations.

Geopolitical shifts

The main concern prompting the UAE to a possible normalisation with Turkey, on the other hand, is the likelihood of Abu Dhabi being further isolated as a byproduct of its aggressive regional strategies.

This process started with the military coup in Egypt in 2013 when the UAE backed the toppling of the legitimate President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi. In the following period, the UAE continued its counter-revolutionary policies that caused popular masses to suspect the motivations of the Emirati leadership regarding the future of democratic principles in the region.

The blockade of Qatar, led by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, was a clear turning point for most of the actors in the region. As the UAE continued its aggressive and disinterested stance toward Qatar, its regional partners, including Kuwait and Oman, lost confidence in the Emirati leadership and further tried to distance their regional affiliations from Abu Dhabi.

Following Joe Bidens election as the President of the United States, the UAE and Saudi Arabia were forced to end the blockade, putting them in the position of being rather unreliable partners. The UAE was the clear loser of the Qatar crisis.

On the other hand, the Abu Dhabi administration is experiencing a serious loss of trust with its most important ally in the region, Saudi Arabia. This was most evident in the war in Yemen, where the two countries clashed. In 2020, Abu Dhabi decided to end its military engagement in Yemen without consulting Saudi Arabia, angering Riyadh. The tension between the two countries gradually increased in the following period, in which Saudi Arabia and the UAE followed divergent policies on many issues.

Meanwhile, the US gradually reduced its political and military engagements in the region, ending its years-long operations. This led its allies, like the UAE, to increasingly distrust Washington, and seek new cooperation opportunities with new regional and global actors. In this context, the UAE, which has improved its relations with countries like Russia and China, felt the need to reconsider its ongoing tensions with Turkey.

At this point, the UAE administration, which sent a delegation to Turkey at an official level, appears to be the party that wants a new expansion in relations with Ankara. Turkeys successes in its foreign policy engagements in the wider Middle East - from Syria to Nagorno-Karabakh, have been influential in Abu Dhabi's reconsideration of the relations. Ankara also helped Libyas internationally recognised central government against the repetitive attacks of the UAE-backed warlord Khalifa Haftar.

Emirati decision-makers have also been deterred by Turkeys ability to translate its foreign policy activism in the Horn of Africa, the Balkans and the Caucasus into outputs consistent with its national interests and the gains of its allies.

Although the tendencies of the two parties and their constructive attitudes towards each other are seen as a sign of improvement in relations, it can be said that the parties will want to see more concrete steps in the days ahead.

Despite the initiatives from both sides, it won't be an easy rapprochement. There has been serious damage done to the relationship. Similar to the case of Emirati relations with Qatar, building trust will take time. The Abu Dhabi administration will have to make serious efforts to convince once-archrivals Turkey and Qatar, to normalise relations.

Ankara expects the UAE, which has become an influential regional actor in recent times due to its confrontational actions toward Turkey, to take concrete initiatives to demonstrate its commitment to normalisation.

On the other hand, Turkey ought to maintain positive relations with the UAE in line with its economic interests, and implement mechanisms that can minimise the emergence of different approaches to regional issues.
The region encompassing modern Turkey was ruled by the Romans for around 14 centuries, serving not only as a gateway into the Near East but also as the empire's administrative base after the reign of Emperor Constantine. As Middle East Eye writes, under the ruler, who lived in the fourth century, the until-then stagnating imperial power enjoyed a new lease of life, adopting Christianity as its state religion and moving the capital of the empire from Rome to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople and is now known as Istanbul.

As the western part of the empire succumbed to decay and barbarian invasion, the eastern half flourished in a Hellenised form, with Greek serving as the dominant language.

The empire, which came to be known as the Byzantine Empire after Constantinople's original name, would last until 1453 when the Ottomans under Sultan Mehmet II conquered the city and put an end to remnants of Roman rule once and for all.

Its legacy however remained, especially within Turkey's architectural heritage with extant ruins dotted around modern-day Istanbul and the rest of the country.

Here Middle East Eye looks at just some of these remnants of one of the world's most influential empires.

Temple of Appollo, Side

Apollo was said to be the twin brother of Artemis, the goddess of the wilderness, chastity and fertility, known as Diana to the Romans. His own divine portfolio included music, dance and truth.

Several temples were built in his honour around the Mediterranean, including this one in Side, along Turkeys southern coastline.

Built by the Romans around 150AD, under the rule of Emperor Antonius Pius, the structure showcased signature Roman columns capped with Corinthian designs, which featured elaborately detailed carvings.

Five temple columns remain, and have been restored several times, with the most recent renovation being in 2017. Roman theatres, baths, roads and walls are also extant in Side.

Aqueduct of Valens, Istanbul

After Constantine declared Byzantium (or Constantinople) his capital, the city's resultant population growth required a more efficient supply of water.

Construction of an aqueduct began during the reign of one of his successors, Constantius II, but the project was not finished until 368 CE during the reign of Emperor Valens, who gave the structure its name.

Clean water from Thrace, east of Constantinople, was channelled through the aqueduct to locals and was used in the baths and cisterns around the city.

At 920 metres long and close to 30 metres tall, the aqueduct is one of modern Istanbul's largest structures and remains in remarkably good condition despite its age.

It was fed by a system of canals and wells that stretched to more than 300km into Thrace and was used by the Ottomans for their water supply more than a thousand years after it was first constructed.

Basilica Cistern, Istanbul

Built in 532 under the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, the cistern in the heart of Istanbul's old city has been preserved for centuries.

With 336 columns propping it up, the cistern was able to store up to 80,000 cubic metres of water, with some of the supply delivered from the Aqueduct of Valens.

Known as Yerebatan Saray by the Turks, which means Sunken Palace, the cistern was first built to serve the Great Palace of Constantinople and was restored in 1985 by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Today it is one of the city's most popular attractions. Tourists may even notice the three heads of the mythical Medusa - a monstrous creature with snakes for hair, whose gaze can turn a human into stone - propping up some of the pillars under the waterways.

Aspendos Theatre, Serik

The structure in southern Turkey was built during the rule of stoic philosopher and Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (160-180).

Situated in the ancient region of Pamphylia, the theatre is considered to be one the best-preserved of its kind in the world, with walls inscribed with the name of its designer, the Greek architect Zeno, and also its financiers, the Crispinus brothers.

The theatre's design includes Greek characteristics, such as having part of the theatre wall dug out of the hill beside it.

With seating space for 12,000 spectators, the site is still in use today and hosts the Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival annually.

The Column of Constantine

Another ruin in the heart of Istanbul's old city, the Column of Constantine was once topped with a statue of the famed emperor dressed as the god Apollo.

While that particular feature has failed the test of time, the structure remains important as one of the earliest built during his reign.

Despite Ottoman attempts to strengthen the column to protect it from earthquakes, a fire in 1779 gave the structure its current blackened look.

The column has been considered a Unesco World Heritage site since 1985.
Greece said it had completed a 40-km fence on its border with Turkey and a new surveillance system was in place to stop possible asylum seekers from trying to reach Europe following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, Reuters reports.

Events in Afghanistan have fuelled fears in the European Union of a repeat of the 2015 refugee crisis, when nearly a million people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and beyond crossed to Greece from Turkey before travelling north to wealthier states.

Greece was on the frontline of that crisis and has said its border forces are on alert to make sure it does not become Europe's gateway again. read more

The Afghanistan crisis had created "possibilities for migrant flows," Citizens' Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis said after visiting the region of Evros on Friday with the defence minister and the head of the armed forces.

"We cannot wait, passively, for the possible impact," Chrisochoidis told reporters. "Our borders will remain safe and inviolable."

Chrisochoidis said the extension to the existing 12.5-kilometre fence had been completed in recent days, as well as a hi-tech, automated electronic monitoring system.

Migrant arrivals to Greece, either by land or by sea, have overall slowed to a trickle since 2016, when the EU agreed a deal with Turkey to stem the flows in exchange for financial support.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed Afghanistan on the phone on Friday, with Erdogan saying Afghanistan and Iran - a key route for Afghans into Turkey - should be supported or a new migration wave was "inevitable," a statement from his office said.
The Prime Minister has assigned the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to study and try to use a cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology as a part of a strategy on e-government in 2021-2025.

David Tran, associate professor of computer science and director of the Network Computing Lab at the University of Massachusetts, third from left

The space for cryptocurrency is huge and those who stay outside will lose great opportunities. Vietnam should build up a national blockchain network and issue a cryptocurrency managed by SBV, according to David Tran, a Vietnamese scholar working in the US.

David Tran is associate professor of computer science and director of the Network Computing Lab at the University of Massachusetts. He is also a professor at Vin University and collaborator in blockchain at the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics.

El-Salvador has become the first country in the world recognizing bitcoin as a legal currency. What do you think about this?

This is proof showing that bitcoin not only has a certain value but has a value big enough to be used as a national currency of a country.

However, the fact that one country uses bitcoin as a legal currency has both good and bad sides, depending on the political and economic characteristics of that country.

If the national currency of a country is increasingly depreciating, is unstable, and the state cannot control it, using bitcoin could be a good choice to save the economy. In the case of Salvador, using bitcoin will help the country increase foreign exchange earnings.

However, if a country wants to control the national currency tightly and doesnt want the central currency to lose its value, recognizing bitcoin as an official currency will pose high risks.

The Prime Minister has assigned the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to study and try to use a cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology as a part of a strategy on e-government in 2021-2025.

I think that only when bitcoin has stable value will we consider if it is a currency equal to the central currency.

For the time being, what needs to be done is creating a national cryptocurrency (the digital version of the current banknote). From a national perspective, we should have a positive view of bitcoin as well as similar cryptocurrencies.

What are the views of other governments about blockchain and cryptocurrencies?

Blockchain can be applied in almost economic and financial fields, manufacturing industries, health care, education, environmental resources, trade, tourism, services, etc.

More governments have shown their interest in cryptocurrencies. In 2019, an economic report from the US Congress to the US President praised the high potential of blockchain in ensuring the security of the US national digital infrastructure.

China since 2016 has considered blockchain as a focus in its five-year economic development plan. Recently, the country has shown aspirations to become the worlds leader in blockchain by 2025.

To date, more than 80 countries have been considering deploying CBDC (central bank digital currency). A lot of large banks in the world have set up funds, networks and programs supporting cryptocurrency operation.

The Prime Minister has asked SBV to study and consider using Blockchain-based cryptocurrency on a trial basis. What is your comment about the move?

The move shows that the government of Vietnam is open to this trend. Vietnam can see opportunities and it is willing to go early to become a pioneer in blockchain. I hope the move will be followed by concrete actions.

Which direction do you think should we go when trying to use blockchain-based cryptocurrency?

I hope Vietnam will run a key program on blockchain. Cryptocurrency should be regulated on a non-concentrated platform, because if relying totally on concentrated servers like those of financial systems, such as the stock market, a mistake or sabortage because of human mistake or computer effort would be enough to cause the collapse of the monetary system.

Israel is experimenting with CBDC on Blockchain. In China, the first version of the cryptocurrency did not run on blockchain, but some experts have advised them to use blockchain. It has set up a National Blockchain Network. I will be very surprised if in the future, they dont use blockchain.

I think there are three things that need to be done. First, building a CBDC for Vietnam dong. Second, building a national blockchain network which would be a blockchain infrastructure to serve Vietnams purposes. Third, allowing people to invest and own cryptocurrency like gold. The transactions would be carried out via the banking system, not via third trading floors, because this would be unreliable and difficult to manage.

No 1 and No 2 are the things China has done. No 3 is the South Korean way. Following the South Korean model will open up opportunities for Vietnams banks so they wont be left out but can avoid assets bleeding form the banking system.

Is it early or late for Vietnam to try cryptocurrency now? What are the challenges and opportunities?

Now is the right time for the government to study and consider deploying cryptocurrency. No need to hurry. It is necessary to prepare carefully, but Vietnam needs to go fast as China spent seven years to create the digital yuan.

Vietnam needs to make heavy invetsments in finance and human resources, because CBDC will have a big impact on the economy and national security.

Trong Dat

Axie Infinity capitalizes at US$4.4 billion The virtual currency in the Vietnamese blockchain game Axie Infinity - Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) - has hit a new peak of $71, setting a record capitalization of $4.4 billion.
After graduating from Wellesley College majoring in biochemistry, Trinh Mai Chi, with impressive research achievements, has won a full scholarship to study at Johns Hopkins, the worlds leading medical university.

Trinh Mai Chi

Five years ago, the 18-year-old female who was in the German majoring class at the Hanoi High School for the Gifted in Foreign Languages left for the US to study at Wellesley College with a scholarship worth VND4.7 billion.

Chi said in the first semester of the first year at the college, she registered to study Introductory Chemistry and Introductory Molecular and Cellular Biology.

The classes on molecular genetics and organic chemistry aroused a passion for research and she decided to choose biochemistry as her major. The professor who taught chemistry in her first class became her professional advisor.

During the four-year study at the college, Chi was involved in research on the properties of BCR-ABL kinase protein, the cause of chronic myeloid leukemia.

I studied the electrostatic interactions between some drugs, especially imatinib and ponatinib, and variants of this protein to understand more about resistance mechanisms. The research was presented at the American Chemical Society Conference, she explained.

Chi graduated from the college receiving Summa Cum Laude granted to the top 5 percent of students. She was admitted to Sigma Xi, the honorable society of college students carrying out scientific research.

Thanks to her excellent achievements, Chi became one of 15 students admitted to Phi Beta Kappa, the US honor society which only admits 10 percent of students with highest achievements from universities.

Chi spent her summer holidays on volunteer activities and research internship. In the second summer in the US, she had an internship at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Childrens Hospital.

My project was about experimenting with some new drugs on the cells of patients suffering from neuroblastoma and normal cells to evaluate the effectiveness and toxicity of compounds. I also learned the mechanism of operation and interaction with DNA/RNA/protein of these drugs, Chi explained.

The opportunity to meet and learn from doctors at clinics and seminars led her to the decision to become a doctor. Realizing that the competition for scholarship in this major is high, Chi began preparing for the scholarship application very early.

In the third year, Chi participated in clinical medical research on dermatomyositis in children at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago. She assisted the professor to analyze data from more than 3000 examinations of more than 600 patients made over the last 20 years to find new, objective and more effective diagnostic criteria for the disease.

My research helps prove that the number of natural killer cells in blood is an important indicator in the diagnosis and prognosis of disease, and that this type of cell plays an important role in disease occurrence, Chi said.

The research results have been submitted for presentation at the American College of Rheumatology Convergence.

Chi is a volunteer with Blue Cancer Society raising funds for American Cancer Society, and also organizes registrations for marrow donations and inspirational meetings with cancer survivors. She also teaches primary school students from migrant families in Boston.

After one year of self-study and review for MCAT (Medical College Admission Test), she had results better than 97 percent of students attending the exam that year. She prepared her documents, focused on her essay, and asked for letters of introduction to apply for scholarships.

She regrets that clinical opportunities were cancelled because she graduated at the time when the Covid-19 pandemic became severe. She continued working as an assistant at the Laboratory of Hematology and Blood Diseases at DFCI/BCH.

Chi said she was surprised when receiving a full scholarship from Johns Hopkins. She signed a commitment to enroll in the school in April.

Ngoc Linh

Physics class sets school record with 18 international medals, multiple records Many students in the 12th Physics Majoring Class of the Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted have won numerous medals at competitions, as well as scholarships to study at leading schools in the US, UK, Singapore and Canada.
We made a fancy PDF of this post for printing and offline viewing. Buy it here.

In a post last year, we laid out the human lifespan visually. By years:

By months:

And by weeks:

While working on that post, I also made a days chart, but it seemed a bit much, so I left it out. But fuck it.

The days chart blows my mind as much as the weeks chart. Each of those dots is only a single Tuesday or Friday or Sunday, but even a lucky person who lives to 90 will have no problem fitting every day in their life on one sheet of paper.

But since doing the Life in Weeks post, Ive been thinking about something else.

Instead of measuring your life in units of time, you can measure it in activities or events. To use myself as an example:

Im 34, so lets be super optimistic and say Ill be hanging around drawing stick figures till Im 90.1 If so, I have a little under 60 winters left:

And maybe around 60 Superbowls left:

The ocean is freezing and putting my body into it is a bad life experience, so I tend to limit myself to around one ocean swim a year. So as weird as it seems, I might only go in the ocean 60 more times:

Not counting Wait But Why research, I read about five books a year, so even though it feels like Ill read an endless number of books in the future, I actually have to choose only 300 of all the books out there to read and accept that Ill sign off for eternity without knowing what goes on in all the rest.

Growing up in Boston, I went to Red Sox games all the time, but if I never move back there, Ill probably continue at my current rate of going to a Sox game about once every three yearsmeaning this little row of 20 represents my remaining Fenway visits:

There have been eight US presidential elections during my lifetime and about 15 to go. Ive seen five presidents in office and if that rate continues, Ill see about nine more.

I probably eat pizza about once a month, so Ive got about 700 more chances to eat pizza. I have an even brighter future with dumplings. I have Chinese food about twice a month and I tend to make sure six dumplings occurs each time, so I have a fuckton of dumplings to look forward to:

But these things arent what Ive been thinking about. Most of the things I just mentioned happen with a similar frequency during each year of my life, which spreads them out somewhat evenly through time. If Im around a third of my way through life, Im also about a third of my way through experiencing the activity or event.

What Ive been thinking about is a really important part of life that, unlike all of these examples, isnt spread out evenly through timesomething whose [already done / still to come] ratio doesnt at all align with how far I am through life:

Relationships.

Ive been thinking about my parents, who are in their mid-60s. During my first 18 years, I spent some time with my parents during at least 90% of my days. But since heading off to college and then later moving out of Boston, Ive probably seen them an average of only five times a year each, for an average of maybe two days each time. 10 days a year. About 3% of the days I spent with them each year of my childhood.

Being in their mid-60s, lets continue to be super optimistic and say Im one of the incredibly lucky people to have both parents alive into my 60s. That would give us about 30 more years of coexistence. If the ten days a year thing holds, thats 300 days left to hang with mom and dad. Less time than I spent with them in any one of my 18 childhood years.

When you look at that reality, you realize that despite not being at the end of your life, you may very well be nearing the end of your time with some of the most important people in your life. If I lay out the total days Ill ever spend with each of my parentsassuming Im as lucky as can bethis becomes starkly clear:

It turns out that when I graduated from high school, I had already used up 93% of my in-person parent time. Im now enjoying the last 5% of that time. Were in the tail end.

Its a similar story with my two sisters. After living in a house with them for 10 and 13 years respectively, I now live across the country from both of them and spend maybe 15 days with each of them a year. Hopefully, that leaves us with about 15% of our total hangout time left.

The same often goes for old friends. In high school, I sat around playing hearts with the same four guys about five days a week. In four years, we probably racked up 700 group hangouts. Now, scattered around the country with totally different lives and schedules, the five of us are in the same room at the same time probably 10 days each decade. The group is in its final 7%.

So what do we do with this information?

Setting aside my secret hope that technological advances will let me live to 700, I see three takeaways here:

1) Living in the same place as the people you love matters. I probably have 10X the time left with the people who live in my city as I do with the people who live somewhere else.

2) Priorities matter. Your remaining face time with any person depends largely on where that person falls on your list of life priorities. Make sure this list is set by younot by unconscious inertia.

3) Quality time matters. If youre in your last 10% of time with someone you love, keep that fact in the front of your mind when youre with them and treat that time as what it actually is: precious.

___________

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You can buy a PDF of this post here.

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More things to reflect on:

Taming the Mammoth: Why You Should Stop Caring What Other People Think

Life is a Picture, But You Live in a Pixel. So obvious, so hard to remember.

Religion for the Nonreligious. Everyone needs a growth framework.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  The share of New Mexico adults who are at least partly vaccinated climbed above 75% on Wednesday  3 percentage points higher than the nation as a whole.

The milestone comes as U.S. health officials announced plans to offer booster shots  a third dose for those who have received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines  as soon as next month.

In the meantime, however, New Mexico and other states are still pushing to persuade more people to get the shots now available.

An estimated 72.2% of U.S. adults have received at least one vaccine dose, and 61.8% are fully vaccinated.

New Mexico is ahead of the national average by both standards.

An estimated 75.2% of New Mexicans 18 and older have had at least one dose, and 66% have completed their vaccination series, according to data released Wednesday. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires just one shot, and the Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations take two doses.

This is an important milestone  three-quarters of New Mexico adults have now received at least one dose of vaccine, and nearly two-thirds have completed their vaccination series, Health and Human Services Secretary David Scrase, who is also interim secretary of the state Department of Health, said in a written statement.

New Mexico is offering $100 to any resident who gets the first or second shot this month. They must register at vaccineNM.org to be eligible.

The state is also requiring hospital and nursing home workers to get vaccinated.

As for the booster dose, federal health officials announced plans Wednesday to offer booster shots starting late next month to people who have received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. They were still evaluating how to handle recipients of the Johnson & Johnson shot.

The federal plan calls for people to get the booster shot eight months after their last dose of Pfizer or Moderna.

Some individuals are already eligible for a third shot. People with compromised immune systems  including those who have undergone organ transplant surgeries  can get the additional dose, although they arent eligible for the $100 incentive.

David Morgan, a spokesman for the Health Department, said the state is exploring ways to distribute the shots, perhaps through primary care physicians, contractors or others.

We expect plans to take firmer shape in the coming days and week, he said.

COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, meanwhile, continued to climb. The Department of Health reported:

 353 coronavirus patients in hospitals Wednesday  the most in six months.

 878 new COVID-19 cases, including 271 in Bernalillo County and 123 in Lea County.

 Four additional COVID-19 deaths, pushing the toll to 4,459.
I was born a second-class citizen. I wish that was hyperbole, but it isnt. People who were born into slavery at the tail end of the Civil War were still alive when I took my first breath, though their testimonies werent included in history books mass-produced for Americas schoolchildren.

Because I was a child, I didnt know how circumscribed my existence was by law and tradition. I learned my ABCs shortly before the U.S. Senate began debating the merits of HR 7152, a piece of landmark civil rights legislation that emerged from the House of Representatives.

The 1964 bill debated in the U.S. Senate was designed to end racial discrimination and segregation in most spheres of American public life. Then, as now, a two-thirds vote was needed to cut off the filibuster in the Senate that had dragged on for months. The question of whether people who looked like me were entitled to be first-class citizens, including the right to vote, was the most debated question in American politics.

For decades, Southern Democrats, much like their spiritual descendants in the GOP today, successfully wielded the filibuster to stymie progressive legislation. The big difference is that, in those days, members of the Senate were unapologetic about using the filibuster to preserve discrimination.

Today, the filibuster is defended in the name of good order and protecting the rights of the minority party. The Democratic senators in a position to dispel the noxious cloud of procedural legalese and end the veto exerted by a Jim Crow relic over our national politics lack both the moral imagination and a broader view of history required to meet the moment.

I dont remember what I was doing on June 10, 1964, when 27 Republicans and 44 Democrats worked together to finally end the filibuster that had bogged down every piece of significant civil rights legislation since the collapse of Reconstruction nearly a century earlier.

On June 19, 1964, the same Senate chamber where dozens of proposed civil rights legislation had gone to die for decades witnessed the passage of an ambitious civil rights bill that had been almost unimaginable until it happened. On July 2, the House took up and passed the Senate version.

In a signing ceremony at the White House televised to the nation on that same day, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. It was the moral equivalent of the Emancipation Proclamation for millions of Americans who were free only on the pages of childrens history books.

I dont remember what I was doing on that hot day 57 years ago when, with the stroke of a pen, LBJ jolted American democracy from the patriotic somnambulance of the previous century into a recognition that we had a long way to go to fulfill our democratic potential.

I cant possibly account for what I was doing that day nearly six decades ago, but the romantic in me would like to think that maybe it was that same day that my mom, instead of being annoyed by my incessant whining for ice cream, uncharacteristically picked me up for a sprint behind the slow-moving Mr. Softee truck as it made its way down the block playing its circus-like theme music at top volume.

Did she really buy ice-cream for all the kids who streamed after the truck with us, as I vaguely recall? Probably not, but I remember a day  most likely that summer  when, after chasing down that truck with me in her arms, she bought me an ice-cream sandwich instead of the much cheaper vanilla ice-cream cone with sprinkles that had been our routine.

Id like to think it was her way of celebrating the signing of the Civil Rights Act in the only way a 4-year-old would understand  through the deliciously exquisite pain of brain freeze caused by the first ice-cream sandwich Id ever had. Whenever it happened, it created an indelible memory of a summer that has never gone away.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was followed by LBJ signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965  legislation designed to cement the civil rights gains of the previous legislative session in which Southern politicians were already hard at work trying to circumvent.

Specific legislation was needed to outlaw literacy tests at the polls, especially in the South, where Black voters were often required to recite whole sections of state constitutions or interpret obscure sections of the law before being allowed to vote.

The fight in the U.S. Senate over the Voting Rights Act was as contentious as the fight over the Civil Rights Act the year before, but it passed by a shocking 77-19. After a monthlong debate in the U.S. House, it passed by a vote of 333-85 on July 9, 1965. LBJ, who used the presidential bully pulpit more effectively than any American president since FDR, happily signed it into law on Aug. 6, 1965.

Suddenly, the U.S. attorney general could investigate the use of modified poll taxes and other sneaky workarounds in local elections that Southern Democrats had come up with to keep Jim Crow on life support as long as possible.

In 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court helped the federal government in its quest to bring recalcitrant states in line with civil rights laws by definitively banning the use of all poll taxes in state and local elections.

Poll taxes in federal elections had been banned in 1964, but Confederate dead-enders and other states-rights advocates had managed to hang on to a shrinking island of voter suppression for another few years.

Realizing they were losing the culture war that had enshrined inequality as an American virtue for centuries, their rhetoric changed from openly advocating white supremacy to protecting the integrity of the vote from the unqualified voters they predicted would flood the polls and imperil democratic apartheid in America.

They especially hated those provisions of the Voting Rights Act that required states that had historically discriminated against Blacks to get federal permission to make any changes, from redrawing precinct boundaries and establishing voting hours to moving polling places and designing the ballots.

Since 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts has done everything possible to reverse the democratic momentum embedded in the Voting Rights Act by weakening the section that required states to get federal permission to make changes that would disproportionately affect voters of color.

The assault against voting rights didnt begin with the Trump administration, but it was exacerbated by the empowerment of a hostile Justice Department and the appointment of three very conservative Supreme Court justices who agree with Justice Roberts that racial discrimination is no longer the existential threat to democracy it once was.

As a practical matter, the Supreme Court has given state legislatures the right to make it more difficult for all citizens to vote as long as absolute access to the ballot box isnt denied to those who are slowly being disenfranchised.

Weakening the provision of the Voting Rights Act that makes it possible for the federal government to interfere with the power of the state to regulate voter access to the polls has resulted in hundreds of laws being passed by Republican-controlled legislatures in the past few years to roll back ballot access.

Fueled by the maniacal ex-presidents big lie about the 2020 election being stolen, the reconstitution of Jim Crow voting patterns and voter suppression schemes across the country is being couched as voter integrity and an attempt to correct an overreach of federal power that has been tolerated for far too long.

These arent even clever updates of the arguments that kept Jim Crow enshrined for decades before LBJ strong-armed the U.S. Congress into doing the right thing. Still, one almost has to admire the brutal efficiency with which this stealthy, multi-front campaign against democracy is being executed, despite the fractiousness of the modern GOP and its descent into cultic Trump worship.

I have three grandsons who are 2 years old and younger. They were born with rights and opportunities recognized by law and tradition that I didnt have at their age. No one in the generations that came before me would have dreamed that the rights I have now would even have been possible, despite the lofty rhetoric of this nations founding documents.

Though my grandsons are decades away from experiencing the creeping angst of disenfranchisement, it is the duty of every citizen who still has unfettered access to the ballot box to feel anxiety on behalf of every member of their generation and vote accordingly.

I was born into a period of American history where my status as a natural born citizen was upgraded by a president who challenged the encrusted prejudices of the American people and their congressional representatives. He was enough of a realist to know that complacent people convinced of their own righteousness rarely do the right thing.

Because of this, I never lose focus on the fact that our democracy is literally younger than I am, despite what the history books say. I may not remember the great civil rights battles that swirled around me in the early 60s, but I know they, not patriotic abstractions, are what made my current life possible. Im grateful to every soul who stood up, marched, picketed, legislated and voted on my behalf. Their sweat equity made me a first-class citizen.

As Jan. 6 reminded us, democracies are fragile. The right to vote is a precious generational trust that those of us with even the vaguest memories of the world before the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts are obliged to protect. Were no longer children chasing ice-cream trucks down the street. This is a democracy (if we can catch it).
On Aug. 12, the NM State Game Commission held a much-anticipated meeting to determine the status of five non-navigable water applications. The commission was recently mandated, by court order, to act on the applications under the Landowner Certification of Non-navigable Water Rule. The rule, simply put, provides approved applicants with signage to be placed near a streambed posting that waterway as non-navigable, which in turn provides the landowner with the means necessary to pursue criminal trespass against anyone found walking or wading in that streambed. The applications have been pending since the commission placed a moratorium on the rule back in 2019. In March this year, a federal court ruled that the moratorium was unlawful and ordered the commission to act on the applications. Much to the surprise of many, the commission voted to deny all five applications  even though it had previously approved other applicants with similar waterways, in similar areas, under the identical same set of circumstances.

The motion for denial was based on a single commissioners personal views regarding the constitutionality of the Stream Access Law. The Stream Access Law is currently waiting for the N.M. Supreme Court to determine its constitutionality. However, in the meantime, the law is still very much in effect. The problem with the commission voting to deny the applicants based on the law rather than the rule is twofold. First, the parameters set forth in the rule are completely separate of the constitutionality question surrounding the Stream Access Law. The commission was under a court order to follow the rule and instead denied the applications based solely on individual personal beliefs not substantiated by current law. Second, and most importantly, the commission vote created confusion in the minds of the general public, which has been led to wrongly believe that, because of this vote, waterways on private land are now fully accessible to public recreation. This dangerous misperception has been further perpetuated by recent media statements.

To be absolutely, indisputably clear, it is illegal to walk or wade in a streambed with private property on both sides of the bank, regardless of whether or not a landowner has a Non-navigable Water Certificate. The vote that was taken by the commission this month did nothing to change this fact. The statute, commonly referred to as the Stream Access Law, which was signed in 2015 and codified 30-plus years of Game and Fish rule, clearly reads no person engaged in hunting, fishing, the operation of watercraft or any other recreational use shall walk or wade onto private property through non-navigable public water or access public water via private property unless the private property owner or lessee, or person in control of private lands has expressly consented in writing.

The unfortunate side effect of the commission vote will be an unavoidable increase in trespass on private property. Sadly, many of these trespassers will be completely unaware of the illegality of their actions. Landowners who find trespassers in and along their private waterways are encouraged to immediately contact Operation Game Thief at 1 (800)-432-4263 or call their local Department of Game and Fish Conservation officer.
The United States and the American people have two compelling interests in not letting the Taliban consolidate its rule in Afghanistan.

First is that the Taliban will brutally strip millions of Afghani women of their autonomy and the ability to determine how to live their lives. Secondly, under the Taliban, Afghanistan will once again be a safe haven for such militant jihadi groups as al-Qaida and ISIS to plan and prepare attacks against the United States and other Western nations.

If this judgment means reinvading Afghanistan and risking U.S. casualties, ultimately, this choice will be seen as necessary and worthwhile.

This is similar to President Obamas premature 2011 decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, which allowed the massive expansion of the terrorist group ISIS in Iraq and Syria, thus making the reintroduction of U.S. troops into those countries necessary.

The rapid collapse of the U.S.-trained Afghani military is disappointing, but not entirely surprising. More than 40 years of continuous war and civil conflict have left Afghani society deeply wounded, fragile and lacking in mature, capable leadership. U.S. efforts to stand up an effective government and a military to defend it has been marked frequently by confusion, inconsistent effort and short-term thinking.

At its core, the American weakness is rooted in an unspoken, but lingering, doubt as to whether the core American values anchored in a deep belief in unalienable rights  life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness secured by a government that derives its just powers from the consent of the governed actually extends to the Afghanis. This doubt is a form of racism where Afghanis are perceived as too tribal, too Muslim, too Asian or simply too exotic.

Since the U.S. overthrew the Taliban in 2001, there has been an enormous flowering of opportunities and achievement for Afghani women. There are hundreds of thousands of women who made great strides in such professions as education, medicine and government service, including the military and police. All these women and Western-educated men now face grave peril from a tyrannical Taliban regime noted for its misogyny.

I am in my late 60s. I have a niece and nephew who are on active duty in the U.S. Army, and both have served multiple combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. I am aware the course of action I am advocating will put relatives I admire and love in harms way. But they are patriots, and they have the intelligence to know a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan will harm U.S. interests in many profound ways.

When we go back in, we must do it right. Nation-building is not a bad word. A fact of life that President Joe Biden doesnt understand is that nation-building is necessary for successful counterinsurgency and counterterrorism.

Terrorists are created, not born. It is lack of opportunity and dignity, and too much miseducation, that creates terrorists. Throughout the world, dysfunctional societies are creating more potential terrorists than we can ever hope to kill.

The Taliban are a violent minority rooted in a perversion of Islam who will use violence and terror to rule over 32 million people. The Taliban are as antithetical to American values as Marxist-Leninist communism. We spent more than 50 years confronting communism, and U.S. troops are still in Europe and South Korea.
As the situation in Afghanistan unfolds in the wake of a poorly managed U.S. troop withdrawal, there is a lot of uncertainty about the future of Afghanistan. There are competing speculations regarding prospects of peace in Afghanistan, but one thing is certain: The American democratic experiment in Afghanistan has failed, creating a humanitarian crisis that will mark the presidency of Joe Biden and bear heavy on the American conscience for years to come.

Two decades, four presidents, a loss of 241,000 lives and $2.3 trillion later, a war with an ambiguous and altering agenda, and lack of a coherent strategy has come to an end, leaving us with the question of what went wrong in the calculus of bringing peace and development to a region that has been mired in conflict forever.

The goal of American intervention in Afghanistan after 9/11 was two-fold: capture those responsible for the attacks on U.S. soil and eliminate terrorist groups that pose a threat to American security. The power and security vacuum created by U.S. intervention in 2001 shifted the focus to state-building, and bringing peace and stability to a country plagued with internal divisions and conflict. The U.S. strategy was incoherent at best, oscillating between the broader U.S. counterterrorism agenda and state-building that would outlast the American presence in Afghanistan, but America was unable to render a crushing defeat to the Taliban. The militant group continued to engage in guerrilla-style warfare, undermining peace and security gains in NATO-dominated urban areas and expanding influence in the rugged terrain of rural Afghanistan. The harrowing scenes from Afghanistan have triggered an onslaught of blame and criticism of the wavering U.S. strategy. Two questions arise: What went wrong, and where do we go from here?

Afghanistan has always been, and continues to be, a multi-ethnic decentralized society; any approach disjointed from Afghanistans decentralized political reality has always failed and will continue to fail. Imposition of a U.S.-style centralized military in Afghanistan non-representative of Afghanistans ethnic makeup, and out of touch with the local norms and traditions is a replay of past failures. Similarly, a non-inclusive and centralized governing approach by the Taliban will only perpetuate the cycle of violence and conflict in a tribally organized society. This will have significant consequences for the regional players, notably the spillover of violence and instability in Pakistan, where the Pakistani Taliban will be emboldened.

The region can easily become a safe haven for terrorist groups, further reversing counterterrorism gains of the past two decades. The prospects for a stable and prosperous Afghanistan seem bleak at best, but the region cannot be ignored because of its geopolitical importance, especially in the face of waning U.S. dominance on the world stage, and Chinas growing political and economic clout.

Despite the challenges presented by terrain and an uneasy relationship due to its treatment of the Uyghurs, China will see the vacuum created by the U.S. as an opportunity to increase its influence and capture the natural resources of a mineral-rich country. Americas reluctance to pay the price of being the dominant power will have a lasting impact on the geopolitical dynamics of the region.
Entrepreneur, gig economy, side hustle, hobby to a business. Whatever you call it, people have started businesses to make money either part-time or full-time. It is called small business, but that is only a classification. There is nothing small about it. They contribute to much of our economy, and it takes a big thinker to be successful.

Are you thinking about starting a business? Do you have a skill, knowledge or talent that you think can fill a need? There is help available to consider how to get a business started and grow it.

Where do I start?

There are several agencies and organizations that will help you think critically about starting a business. Many offer free or low-cost services. Additionally, they work together and will make referrals to each other to best assist you.

 Small Business Development Center at CNM www.nmsbdc.org/locations/albuquerque (505) 224-5250

 NM Small Business Development Center www.nmsbdc.org/

 NM Economic Development Department www.gonm.biz (505) 827-0300

 WESST www.wesst.org (505) 246-6900

 Service Corps Of Retired Executives (SCORE) www.score.org (505) 717-4058

 Veteran Business Outreach Center (VBOC) www.nmdvs.org/veteran-business-outreach-center/ (505) 220-9932

 Small Business Administration www.sba.gov/offices/district/nm/albuquerque (505) 248-8225

 NM Procurement Technical Assistance Center www.nmptac.org (505) 224-5965

What is a business plan, and do I need one? A business plan is highly recommended. Going through the process of writing a plan helps you think about critical issues to make your business successful. Include issues such as a clear description of your product or service, who are your customers and how will you connect with them, pricing, regulations, will this be full- or part-time for you and other considerations.

Do I need a business registration or license? Albuquerque and most of the surrounding communities do require a registration or license at low cost. You register online or call the business registration office to get assistance. In Albuquerque, go to www.cabq.gov/planning/business-registration-information or call (505) 924-3890.

Do I need to register with the state? Anyone who engages in business in New Mexico must register with the Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD). After registering you will receive a New Mexico tax identification number. Use this tax number to report and pay state and local option gross receipts tax, New Mexico withholding tax and compensating tax under the Combined Reporting System (CRS). Known as a CRS Identification Number, it is used to report and pay tax collected on gross receipts from business conducted in New Mexico. You can complete a paper registration form and turn it in at a local TRD office or complete it online at www.tax.newmexico.gov/businesses/. Click on popular information and then how to register a business.

All Corporations, Limited Liability Companies (LLC) and Partnerships must first register with the secretary of state. You can register LLCs online, but partnerships and corporations registration forms must be completed and submitted via mail or in person. www.sos.state.nm.us/business-services/start-a-business/.

Cant I just be self-employed?

Consider how you want to organize your business and seek training and consultation from the agencies identified above. Sole proprietor or LLC are common for individuals starting a business.

It isnt my business; I will be an independent contractor. What do I need to consider?

As an independent contractor, you are a business. Seek training and consulting from the agencies listed.

Can I have a business in my home?

You will want to check on your local zoning requirements. Regulations differ based upon your business plans. Consider if you will be working out of your home with or without customers visiting your home.

What about taxes?

Have a conversation about income taxes, Social Security and Medicare with one of the agencies identified above and consider talking to a tax professional. Online training is available from New Mexico Tax and Revenue: www.tax.newmexico.gov/news-alerts/workshop-schedule/ and the IRS: www.irsvideos.gov/Business.

Sources: Websites identified above; Francisquita Fernandez, Center Director, Small Business Development Center at CNM. If you have a question you want answered, go to abqjournal.com, click on opinion and submit a letter or column.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

In October, it will be a year since the Santa Fe Plaza Soldiers Monument came crumbling down at an Indigenous Peoples Day rally.

Since then, the tensions that led to the obelisks downfall have only grown, resulting in vandalism to the obelisk on and the Cross of the Martyrs on Aug. 10, when 1680  the year of the Pueblo Revolt  was spray painted across it.

The banners on the cross and obelisk both had red handprints, which are used to represent the voices of Indigenous people, and missing and murdered Indigenous women.

While no suspects have yet been identified, the Santa Fe Police Department is still actively investigating the case.

We have not ruled out the possibility of future attempts to vandalize local monuments, and we have increased our proactive patrols in and around those areas of the City, Deputy Chief Paul Joye said in an email.

The city created the Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation and Truth Committee to help determine what to do with the obelisk, but that process has been slow and frustrating, District 3 Councilor Chris Rivera said.

He said he thinks vandalism is a bad way to deal with anger and, if people have something to say, they should bring it up through appropriate channels. The longer things remain status quo, the more tensions will continue to rise, he said.

If it were up to him, Rivera said, he would have had the obelisk rebuilt and started the process from there. He said hes concerned that the different community factions will flood the CHART process and it will turn into a big fight, but he remains hopeful.

When we asked to speak with Mayor Alan Webber, city spokesman Dave Herndon referred the Journal to a statement Webber issued shortly after the vandalism. He said the obelisk and cross vandalism occurred shortly after someone spray painted a port-a-potty with graffiti supporting Don Diego de Vargas.

Such lawless displays of anger and divisiveness tear at the fabric of community and, worse, can lead to violence, Webber said in his statement. All our histories and cultures are important. Weve witnessed what happens when hatred and division take over.

District 1 Councilor Signe Lindell said she believes the CHART process is a path for the community to come together and move forward, but she is also saddened that this process is taking so long.

She said she thought the Aug. 10 vandalism was wrong, and city leaders must speak out against it.

District 2 Councilors Carol Romero-Wirth and Michael Garcia also voiced their support of the CHART process. Garcia also decried the recent vandalism.

I do not condone vandalism and, in the case of the Cross of the Martyrs, I view it as desecration of a sacred site, Councilor Renee Villarreal said. This vandalism is especially sensitive given that the Cross of the Martyrs is seen as a pilgrimage site for prayer and reflection, and for religious freedom.

Villarreal said its unclear whos responsible for the vandalism, or if theyre related to the various groups that have differing opinions and perspectives on the citys monuments and statues. The vandals could be outsiders who dont understand that their actions affect all of us who are seeking more truth and reconciliation around our history and cultural legacies, she said.

She said theres a process in place for cultural reconciliation, understanding and healing, and that no monuments or statue decisions will be made until this process is complete. Everyone needs to be more reflective, respectful and patient with each other, she said, because reconciliation is a painful, necessary long-term process thats long overdue.

Union Protectiva de Santa Fe, a Spanish heritage group, called on Webber and 1st Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies to investigate and punish the vandals, and said the vandalism was anti-Catholic. Union Protectiva previously criticized Carmack-Altwies for her decision to allow the obelisk protesters from last years Indigenous Peoples Day rally to participate in a diversion program.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Padgett Macias said the vandalism situation isnt ripe for comment at this time because no arrests have been made.

Valerie Martinez, Artful Life founder and CHART consultant, said the CHART contract with the city was finalized less than a week ago, which is when the project officially began. She said on Friday, Aug. 13, that the project launched an open call for Santa Feans to be part of a paid project team, which will help lead CHART.

The goal of CHART is to foster mutual understanding of shared values among Santa Feans of diverse backgrounds Martinez said via email. We will be doing this by offering smaller and larger community gatherings, surveys, one-on-one interviews, art activations, a cultural history series, and more  Whether this will be a decision about the obelisk (properly Soldiers Monument) or not will be up to residents.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

After suffering from drug addiction and homelessness, Leesa Bloom found help through a peer support system. She says it saved her life.

Now, shes helping others by using her own experiences and giving others hope as a peer support specialist at the newly opened La Sala Crisis Center.

I bring my life experience, which provides hope for people who are going through it, because Ive been through it, Bloom said. Thats what we do. We bring our experience, strength and hope. It makes a difference, it makes a huge difference.

She said seeing someone who was in her position at one time get her life back made her feel like if she can do it, I can do it.

Its this hope and inspiration from peer support specialists that Dr. David Ley, executive director of New Mexico Solutions, hopes to incorporate at the crisis center. The center opened July 29 in a limited capacity and, since then, has served about 10 to 15 people.

The La Sala facility encompasses both a mental health crisis center and a detox center.

The eventual goal is to get the crisis center running round the clock because crises dont always happen between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., the centers current hours. This expansion will depend on the centers staffing levels, which Ley said hes trying to grow.

La Sala is Spanish for living room and part of the centers goal is to mimic a living room. Ley said a clinical setting may be more triggering to people in crisis.

In addition to counseling and outpatient resources, the center has a limited pharmacy and the ability to offer telehealth appointments with psychiatrists or nurse practitioners to provide prescriptions.

The center also has meditation rooms for napping, flexible funding for hotel rooms, showers, and a washer and dryer. There is also an area where law enforcement can drop off people who need help.

The goal of La Sala is really to try to reduce inappropriate jail use and inappropriate hospitalization, and to try to catch people on their way up before it spins into one of those scenarios, said Rachel OConnor, community services director for Santa Fe County.

Both Ley and OConnor said there has been an increased demand for mental health crisis services since the pandemic.

La Sala was made possible by a $2 million bond approved by the County Commission about a year ago, and has a $1.5 million operating budget, OConnor said.

In addition to the mental health crisis center, La Salas detox center  run by the Santa Fe Recovery Center  is open 24/7 and is a residential treatment facility, said Laura Grant, chief operating officer for the Santa Fe Recovery Center. People can stay at the detox center for a few days, a week or longer  depending on the substance theyre detoxing from. Detox services at La Sala went live in mid-June.

The detox center can house 27 patients, 13 more than before the remodel, Grant said. On the detox side of La Sala, there is a living room, an open-concept bedroom area for patients and various medical equipment.

We also have medical providers that are available 24 hours a day, Victoria Gallegos, medical technician supervisor, said. We also have a nurses station here, and they are here round the clock as well, and (patients) are assessed by nurses, pretty much on arrival.

These medical professionals help monitor withdrawal symptoms, Gallegos said, and administer medication. Now that the detox center is medically monitored, rather than just a social setting detox like it was before, it can help people detox from such harder substances as Valium or Xanax.

The detox center can also use methadone rather than Suboxone for opioid addiction, Gallegos said, and help treat such symptoms as dehydration rather than sending them to the hospital, which the center had to do before.

I think the demand for detox is significant in Santa Fe County, and this really is going to offer a much expanded service from what we had previously, OConnor said. Everywhere I go, I hear people talking about detox and trying to get into detox services, particularly since youre seeing an escalation in the drug overdose numbers  its good timing to have an expanded service.
Few disputed that getting American military forces out of Afghanistan was a laudable goal. It was one of the few things Joe Biden, Donald Trump and most Americans agreed on. How to do it was another question.

President Joe Biden ultimately decided to unconditionally pull out of Afghanistan prior to the 20th anniversary of 9/11. He did so contrary to the advice of his top military advisers, according to a detailed report in The New York Times, and to the consternation of allies. And incredibly, it appears he did so without a clear plan in place to evacuate thousands of American citizens and many more Afghans who have worked with us. The images of desperate Afghans clinging to a U.S. C-17 taking off from the Kabul Airport last week will be seared forever in our collective memory in the same way the evacuation of Saigon haunted an earlier generation.

There is no way to sugarcoat it. This is a catastrophic policy and humanitarian failure.

An estimated 10,000-plus American citizens are still in Afghanistan. Their only way out is the Kabul Airport, which means they must pass through countryside and city roads controlled by Taliban checkpoints. Thats even more problematic for Afghans who have papers to prove they worked with the U.S. or allies to get a flight out  papers that could be a death sentence for them if discovered at a Taliban checkpoint.

Biden on Friday, in his first news conference since the Taliban took over the country, pledged to bring all Americans  and all Afghans who aided the war efforts  safely out of Afghanistan. American military officials said helicopters have been rescuing groups of Afghans. And the U.S. has ramped up the number of people being flown out  but thousands still thronged outside the Kabul airport trying to get inside to safety, and officials confirmed some Americans were among those beaten by the Taliban outside the airport.

When Biden decided we were leaving by Aug. 31, he should have moved aggressively to get our people out. He didnt. He said Friday the U.S. withdrawal would have led to painful scenes no matter when it occurred.

But what kind of commander in chief evacuates most of the troops and leaves the civilians behind?

Our departure and the rapid government collapse  which Biden told us as recently as July was highly unlikely  has left a generation of Afghan women whom we had encouraged to go to school and work at the mercy of the Taliban. The Taliban says it has changed and will allow women rights within Islamic law, but many women in major cities remain in hiding. There have been reports of villagers forced to give their daughters to Taliban fighters to be their wives.

Bidens decision and its woeful execution have left America less secure. We no longer have assets in place to conduct important intelligence gathering and prevent Afghanistan from returning to the terrorist haven it was when militants hatched the plan to attack the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Our hasty departure has emboldened Islamic extremists, along with China and Russia. Military officials have told senators they believe terror groups in Afghanistan will now grow faster than had been expected, warning a resurgence of Al-qaeda could threaten U.S. security.

And what must our friends in Europe, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Israel be thinking about our assurances?

Americans have every right to be weary of the money spent and, more importantly, the lives lost in an unwinnable war. More than 2,300 U.S. military personnel have been killed in Afghanistan in the last 20 years, including at least 15 New Mexicans. But what kind of message does Bidens decision to leave the way we did send to the families of Americans who have given their lives there in defense of this nation? What does their sacrifice mean?

As for the Afghan military that Biden has been so critical of, it is worth noting they have done most of the fighting since 2014. Our casualties since then have been fewer than 100, while Afghans have lost more than 66,000 fighting since 2001. They deserved better than to have us slip away in the night, as we did from one air base.

Like Biden, Trump was eager to get out of endless wars and wanted to pull the troops. Top defense officials persuaded him to wait, and he moved the date to May. Biden set it back a few more months. An April 17 story in The New York Times reports how Biden insisted on setting a date and a complete withdrawal  even though officials advised against it and told him weve seen this movie before.

Biden now disputes, or at least says he doesnt recall, that advisers recommended some level of force be retained.

Despite the chaotic exit and scenes of victorious Taliban and desperate civilians, the president seems remarkably detached. He hunkered down at Camp David before finally defending his decision in remarks read from a prompter early last week. He took no questions and then went back to Camp David. CNNs Jake Tapper remarked that while Biden said the buck stopped with him, his speech was full of finger-pointing and blame, especially for the Afghans. Then Friday came the pledge to get people out.

Ryan Crocker, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said Trumps conditional deal with the Taliban in 2020 undermined the Afghans and Bidens embrace of that deal and his subsequent decisions have left him with grave questions about the presidents ability to lead our nation as commander-in-chief.

When Biden was a candidate in 2019, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, he wrote in response to a Council of Foreign Relations questionnaire that any continued presence in Afghanistan would focus on counterterrorism.

Americans are rightly weary of our longest war; I am, too. But we must end the war responsibly, in a manner that ensures we both guard against threats to our homeland and never have to go back.

Too bad he didnt follow his own advice. Because this is now his legacy.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Enrollment at the University of New Mexicos Albuquerque campus is expected to be 20,000 for the fall semester, which begins Monday.

That was actually the enrollment a year ago. But this fall there is a significant difference.

In fall 2020, 80% of our students were taking online classes and 20% in-person classes, said James Holloway, UNM provost and vice president for academic affairs.

This fall, it will be the reverse.

That translates into about 16,000 students on campus, by far the most since the pandemic bullied its way into our lives in March 2020 and turned education into a remote and isolating experience.

My sophomore year was the start of the pandemic, said Greg Romero, 21, president of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico. The last time I was in a classroom was March 2020. Right at spring break, everything went virtual. I did my entire junior year online.

Romero, a Manzano High graduate, is starting his senior year this semester and looks forward to being in a classroom with others.

I am very much a people person, he said. I like to talk to other people, to interact with other students, to have a teacher standing right there in front of me. Its a much more enjoyable education experience.

Revival was in the air Thursday, as students who will be living on campus started moving into residence halls. Romero said that people were lined up to get student IDs and that most of the restaurants in the Student Union Building were open.

It almost feels like back to normal, he said. I believe college is a lot more than going to class. Having more people on campus encourages people to get involved in extracurricular activities and other opportunities.

But with the number of COVID-19 infections increasing in the state, Romero fears another shutdown.

I know thats a possibility, he said. But I am optimistic. He believes the university is doing all it can to keep the campus population safe.

If it is not being done yet, it is in the process of being done. The first thing was the mandatory vaccine (for students, staff and faculty). Thats the most important.

Right things

Sept. 30 is the vaccination deadline for UNM students, staff and faculty who have access to campus facilities, housing, programs, services and activities. Holloway said more than 14,000 people have submitted proof of vaccination. He said, too, that free vaccination clinics at the Student Union Building will remain open through September.

With our policies, I am pretty confident we can weather this, Holloway said. It depends on the university doing the right things, which includes requiring vaccinations and requiring masks. Thats critical. But it also requires people across New Mexico doing those things.

The universitys vaccination policy does allow people to apply for exemptions for medical or religious reasons, but those exempted will be subject to special safety measures.

We have a pretty complete system in place for once-weekly testing for folks who get exemptions, Holloway said. We will really pay attention to what cases are doing in Bernalillo County and other places we have campuses to see if we need to increase testing. People can get the testing done anywhere they want. They just need to provide proof.

Although some classes will still be available for students who wish to participate online, Holloway expects most students and faculty back on campus this semester. That will make for an atmosphere much different from the one on campus the past year and a half.

I have an office in the Student Union Building, so even last year I would come (on campus) every so often, Romero said. You might see one person here the whole day. It felt very lifeless. I got used to it, but it was not fun.

Zoom fatigue

Sushilla Knottenbelt, senior lecturer in the department of chemistry and chemical biology, is eager to get back on campus.

I have been teaching entirely remotely, she said. I cant wait to be back in a classroom with all of them. I think for most students, and probably for most teachers, the best modality is for students to be in the classroom.

I feel like my online teaching was effective, but I just felt it was harder on my students and harder on me. By the end of it, no one wanted to get online. The Zoom fatigue was evident.

Knottenbelt was aware, too, of depression brought on by the pandemic.

Its hard to learn when you dont feel safe, and I dont think many of us felt safe, she said. When Knottenbelt noticed students missing from online sessions, she or her teaching assistant would email those students to remind them that the classes were important and also to assure them they were not alone and their presence was valued.

A lot of my students are pre-med or pre-health sciences. Id tell them, You will be the doctors and the health professionals who will be helping us in the future. 

She is hopeful that vaccination and mask mandates will get the university through an on-campus experience this semester, but admits the uncertainty of it all.

Do I feel completely comfortable? No, she said. Do I feel we are putting in the best precautions? Yes. Do I feel it is important for students to have an in-person experience? Yes.

Romero believes the rewards are worth the effort.

We may have to wear masks the whole year, but Ill take wearing a mask in an in-person class over an online class any day.
Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

It used to be that after a patient died, a hospital nurse could take a 10-minute timeout to get re-centered, perhaps in a room with aroma therapy. Nurses might meet up after a shift for coffee or a meal for support. Now, many go home alone.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit New Mexico hospitals, the chance for nurses to decompress is diminished, according to New Mexico nursing leaders.

Now, hospital nurses are not only working extra shifts trying to save lives but at times encounter verbal abuse. Some have been victims of physical assault from patients or family members.

And the COVID-19 deaths keep coming.

As New Mexico hospitals face a potential repeat of last years darkest days of COVID-19 fueled by a surge of the new delta variant, more and more hospital nurses have been calling it quits or retiring. That means hospital beds can sit empty because there are no nurses to staff them.

Travel nurses, who are brought in to work temporarily, are being deployed at almost every hospital in New Mexico, most of which are now well beyond capacity, state hospital officials said last week.

But such nurses are expensive to hire and harder to come by now as the nation again is gripped with a spike in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations  mostly of unvaccinated patients. Travel nurses are in high demand everywhere.

Hospital nurses in New Mexico who have decided to stick it out often end up working extra hours to cover high caseloads and short staffing. For an already exhausted, stressed-out workforce, life can be an emotional roller coaster.

At least two New Mexico nurses have committed suicide over the past year, according to nurse association leaders.

I have so many nurses that are very fragile right now because theyve had a year of deaths, said Deborah Walker, executive director of the New Mexico Nurses Association. Burnout is a grave concern.

Emotionally draining

State Human Services Secretary David Scrase, who is also acting secretary of the state Department of Health, said hospital nurses are under incredible stress.

They have worked 12 to 16 months continuously (during the pandemic), a shift almost every day. And they say, I just cant do this anymore; I need to retire, or they are pulling back because of exhaustion and the intensity of the work. Its more emotionally draining to be a nurse right now. To have so many people die, and to see patients die alone without their families  it takes a toll.

Add to that, youve got the ICUs full of unvaccinated people dying of COVID-19 he said.  The scene in the ICU units has changed, and its very stressful.

It was one thing to provide lifesaving care when there was nothing people can do, Scrase said. But now a COVID-19 vaccine is readily available and can keep most people from becoming severely ill with the virus and hospitalized, he added.

Patti Kelley, University of New Mexico Hospitals chief nursing officer, said nurses at UNMH are exhausted and at times theyre angry that their community is not trying to help them by getting the vaccine.

The nurses are giving back to the community but some members of the community arent being appreciative, she said.

Scrase says 90% of New Mexico hospital nurses have been vaccinated, and association officials said last week that they hadnt received any complaints from nurses about Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams new vaccine mandate for hospital workers.

For nurses still debating whether to be vaccinated, Walker said their code of ethics requires nurses be vaccinated for preventable diseases.

More than 4,470 people have died in New Mexico of COVID-19 related illness. More than 66% of residents ages 18 and over are fully vaccinated in New Mexico, but state data show more than 500,000 residents who are eligible for the vaccine havent gotten it.

Scrase said last week that he feared the new rise in cases and hospitalizations could overwhelm some hospitals in the next two months, potentially forcing crisis standards of care to be implemented that would ration health care in some circumstances among patients.

Staffing challenges

Troy Clark, president and CEO of the New Mexico Hospital Association, told the Journal last week, Right now, staffing is probably our No. 1 concern. We have a very tired, fatigued nursing staff out there.

The employment of travel nurses is probably at the highest level, Clark said.

We are using them at every hospital in the state just to keep beds open, he said.

Clark said pre-pandemic rates charged by agencies that supply traveling nurses were from $75 to $85 an hour, but during the height of the pandemic last year, the price occasionally jumped as high as $200 an hour for each traveling nurse.

Now the rates are about $150 an hour, he said.

According to a health care workforce update presented to the interim Legislative Health and Human Services Committee last week, New Mexico needs as many as 6,223 registered nurses and clinical nurse specialists to meet national benchmarks.

Retirements of some baby boom nurses in New Mexico were expected over the past year, but nurse association officials say the added stress of renewing a license and completing continuing education amid a pandemic has spurred departures from the profession.

About 8,480 registered nurses worked in New Mexico hospitals in fiscal year 2021, according to the New Mexico Board of Nursing. No data was available on how many have retired or left the profession during the pandemic.

Officials at the states biggest private hospitals, such as Presbyterian Healthcare Services, Lovelace Health System and Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, acknowledged the current challenges in staffing.

Shifts in the workforce and the number of people in the workforce likely wont stabilize for at least another year, said Lillian Montoya, president and CEO of Christus St. Vincent.

This destabilization has led to a more competitive recruitment and retention environment for all health care positions, she said. Through it all, our health care team has remained nimble in caring for Santa Fe and north central New Mexico to meet patient demand.

Lovelace spokeswoman Whitney Marquez told the Journal, We are no different from other hospitals in our area and across the country that are experiencing nursing shortages due to COVID-19, but continue to have adequate staffing within our hospital system to care for patients.

Tim Johnsen, chief operating officer at Presbyterian, said, The most significant impact that can be made to decrease hospitalizations and provide relief to our team is for more New Mexicans to get vaccinated.

The current nursing shortage prompted Scrase on Aug. 13 to call for volunteer nurses currently licensed or anyone with a medical license to help shore up the states medical workforce. About 70 people have responded.

Incivility in workplace

On the front lines of the pandemic, New Mexicos hospital nurses thought they could take a deep breath as COVID-19 vaccinations helped cut the number of related hospitalizations to as low as 62 in early July.

But they never got the chance.

As COVID-19 went away, unfortunately, the number of beds hospitals were using did not go down, said Gloria Doherty, president of the New Mexico Nurses Association. That didnt happen because all those chronic patients were coming in. They did not get the care they needed (over the past year), and now with serious exacerbations they were trying to get better.

Nurses still havent recovered from the first burnout when COVID-19 patients flooded hospitals, said Eleanor Chavez, executive director of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees District 1199, which represents workers at hospitals around the state.

Nurses and hospital staff once saw a light at the end of the tunnel, she said, but its almost like at this point in time there is no light because were going back into it again.

Earlier this year, Chavez said, a number of intensive care unit nurses quit in New Mexico.

It was enough to make an impact. Maybe at one hospital alone, five or six left. When you have that many nurses leave during a pandemic, that really creates an impact.

Walker said that before COVID, nurses had a support system for dealing with patient deaths but that because of the contagious nature of the disease, many nurses go home alone.

Some nurses also had to move from their areas of specialty in a hospital and be retrained to work in intensive care to treat coronavirus patients.

In one of our hospital systems, they retrained over 400 nursing staff to leave where they normally practice, she said, adding that you can only do that so long before you start evaluating whether you want to continue nursing.

Another factor in the nursing shortage is violence in the workplace, Walker said.

When she began her nursing career, she said, she dealt with patients who might become violent because of alcohol withdrawal.

Now nurses (nationwide) are threatened with broken jaws, broken wrists, eye sockets, rapes and shootings, said Walker, who added that she is aware of two incidents in the past two weeks involving New Mexico nurses. One escaped a violent situation; another was assaulted.

The incivility in the workplace is astounding, Walker said. Weve gone from being the heroes at the bedside to have family members and patients accuse hospitals of giving them the wrong diagnosis to make money.

Quitting or moving to a less stressful nursing job outside a hospital is an option, Chavez said, but the decision tears them apart emotionally. They understand the impact it will have on their co-workers and their patients.

Chavez knows one nurse who quit because the staffing was so bad she couldnt handle it anymore. For her it was an ethical question, a moral question  she felt she couldnt provide the kind of care patients needed.

The state Human Services Department set up a hotline for health care workers and first responders trying to deal with pandemic-related stress. Since April 2020, 471 calls have been received, a DOH spokesman said.

Kelley, UNMH nursing chief, said UNM offers employee wellness and resilience training, and decompression kits to help nurses relax.

Communication and transparency is what they want the most, she said. They want the truth, like, Do we have enough PPE? 

Dedication to the job still keeps many nurses going.

As a nurse who dealt with COVID in the last year and a half, one woman wrote in a recent social media post, it was really hard for me to watch people suffer and then pass away. As healthcare workers we did the best we could. I dont need to be praised as a hero because thats not why I went into healthcare for. I want people to get better and go home to their families.
Sen. Martin Heinrich said at an appearance in Albuquerque last week that its time to focus on getting as many U.S. allies out of Afghanistan as possible.

If that government after 20 years, and tens and tens and tens of billions of dollars, cant hold Kabul themselves, I think that very clearly, no amount of support from the outside world can make up for that, the New Mexico Democrat said at the event. So I think we have to recognize what the reality on the ground is and focus on helping  the civilians and getting people out of the country.

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was met with chaos as the countrys government quickly fell to the Taliban, bringing a tumultuous end to a 20-year war in the country. Heinrich on Thursday joined a bipartisan group of over 50 senators who wrote to President Joe Biden, asking for the quick removal of Afghan Special Immigrant Visa applicants and their families, as well as a quick implementation of legislation to expand the Afghan visa program, and to improve the application process for those visas.

The senators urged the administration to work to control Kabuls Hamid Karzai International Airport and take other steps to ensure the safety of American partners in the country.

I dont think anyone whos traveled to Afghanistan, myself included, can say anything positive about the Taliban, Heinrich said. But at the same time, we have to recognize the reality on the ground there and deal with it as it is.

WHATEVER THAT IS: The third time apparently wasnt the charm.

U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell, the lone Republican member of New Mexicos congressional delegation, has repeatedly written Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in recent months asking for more security at the states southern border. In at least two of those letters, Herrell asked the governor to send New Mexico National Guard troops there.

On Wednesday, at an appearance in Roswell before the Chaves County Federated Republican Women, Herrell told the crowd that her letters werent positively received by the Democratic governor.

Weve written to her three times, and now she calls me a xenophobe, whatever that is, Herrell said at the event, according to Alex Ross, a Roswell Daily Record reporter in attendance who quoted Herrell on Twitter.

That, in turn, drew this Twitter response from Nora Meyers Sackett, a spokeswoman for the governor: Dictionary.com is free to use.

However, she said in an email that the governor never used the word xenophobe to describe the congresswoman.

That said, it is worth pointing out that the congresswomans frequent fact-free tirades against migrants, and the fear-mongering she has attempted to do about immigration, would suggest the description is not unwarranted, Sackett said.

BTW, a xenophobe is someone who has a dislike or prejudice against people from other countries.

Representatives for Herrell did not respond to questions about the flap.

NO TO VIRUS TESTS: Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luj a n of New Mexico were among 11 senators who voted against an amendment to a budget resolution that would prohibit migrants from being transported from the border without first testing negative for COVID-19.

Officials for the senators said that the resolution was nonbinding and that the senators cast their votes because such a law could have unintended consequences.

The resolution was introduced by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and it passed 88-11.

Spokesmen for Heinrich and Lujan said the senators have been strong supporters of COVID testing and vaccines, as well as COVID-19 relief packages.

Sen. Marshalls non-binding amendment prohibiting transport until after receiving a negative COVID-19 test would have jeopardized the safety of Border Patrol agents, violated the law, and is out of touch with the realities of protecting our southern border, Aaron Morales, a Heinrich spokesman, said in a statement.

The votes drew a rebuke from the states Republican Party.

Democrats across the country are demanding that citizens be vaccinated, that our kids wear masks and that businesses restrict access to those who are not vaccinated, but they obliquely turn their back on the border policies of the Biden administration, Steve Pearce, the state Republican Party chairman, said in a statement. At current rates, more than 2 million people will cross the southern border over the next year, and they will be flown and bused across the country and dumped into communities.

Ryan Boetel: rboetel@abqjournal.com
Santa Fe police are investigating the vandalism of a public art sculpture that was burned on Saturday night.

The Solacii by New Mexico-based artist Tigre Mashaal-Lively was installed at Form & Concept in Santa Fe in late July.

On Saturday night, Santa Fe Fire Department put out a fire that destroyed the sculpture outside Form & Concept, which is located at 435 S. Guadalupe Street.

Form & Concept owner Sandy Zane and Jordan Eddy, gallery director, said they are deeply saddened by the intentional destruction of the art work.

The Solacii represents a remarkable effort by Mashaal-Lively, collaborating artist Anstazia Louise Aranaga, and countless individuals who have contributed to the monumental project, Zane and Eddy said in a statement.

The Solacii is a queer and Afrofuturist expression of comfort and solace by a local artist of color, and its burning is an undeniable act of violence against the artist and considerable cross section of their community, Zane and Eddy said.

According to Form & Concept, the sculpture symbolizes a process of communal grieving as the artists wove the robes from personal garments and heirlooms donated by friends, family and community members.

We sincerely hope that a dialogue will emerge out of this incident on how Santa Fe as a community can embrace, support and uplift Mashaal-Lively and artists like them who have gifted us with their art, Zane and Eddy said in a statement. We feel there is a collective responsibility to support accessible public art, especially by queer artists of color.

The Solacii debuted at Burning Man in 2017 and was installed in Santa Fe for the closing of Mashaal-Livelys exhibit.
With the "imminent" full approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine expected, more businesses will likely issue vaccine mandates to help prevent the Delta variant from sending the country further backward in this pandemic, doctors say.

"For businesses and universities that have been thinking about putting vaccine requirements in place in order to create safer spaces for people to work and learn, I think that this move from the FDA ... will actually help them to move forward with those kinds of plans," US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN on Sunday.

All three Covid-19 vaccines used in the United States have been vetted and granted emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine may become the first to be granted full FDA approval following the review of months of additional safety and efficacy data.

That approval is "imminent," but no date has been mentioned, a senior federal official told CNN on Friday.

Businesses don't need full FDA approval to mandate a Covid-19 vaccine -- they already have legal authority to do so, according to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. But full approval could give any legal challenge less potency.

Full FDA approval would also give some skeptics of the Covid-19 vaccine more confidence in getting shots, according to research by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

"This FDA approval cannot come a moment too soon," said emergency physician Dr. Megan Ranney, associate dean at the School of Public Health at Brown University.

"With this full approval in hand, we're going to have a chance to message again about the safety and effectiveness of this vaccine. We can help to fill the airwaves and the newspapers and social media with messages about what a difference this vaccine makes in terms of preventing hospitalization and death, even in the face of the Delta variant," Ranney said.

New vaccinations increase, but with a caveat

With the Delta variant fueling more Covid-19 deaths and hospitalizations -- including among children -- the rates of new vaccinations have recently increased.

On Saturday, for the third consecutive day, more than 1 million doses were administered, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Such a feat had not occurred since the first week of July.

But it's important to remember the vaccines don't fully kick in until two weeks after the final dose. "Keep taking all precautions until you are fully vaccinated," the CDC says.

"So we're still looking a tough couple of months ahead," Ranney said.

About 51.3% of Americans have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to CDC data.

Many Americans still need to get vaccinated to minimize the spread of the Delta variant and help keep children in classrooms, former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said.

"We're encouraged by the increase in uptick of vaccines. But remember, you've got something like 90 million (eligible) people not vaccinated," Frieden said Saturday.

"So a million (vaccine doses) a day leaves you months and months of lots of people susceptible to severe illness or death."

'Seriously, y'all. Stop it,' FDA warns of horse drug

A myth that the drug ivermectin can somehow treat or prevent Covid-19 has resulted in people getting hospitalized "after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for horses," the FDA said.

The FDA tweeted a blunt warning for anyone trying to use ivermectin against Covid-19: "You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it."

Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic medication, not an anti-viral. While it can be prescribed for humans suffering from parasitic worms or head lice, it's often given to much larger animals -- at much greater concentrations.

"Such high doses can be highly toxic in humans," the FDA said.

Still, the Mississippi Poison Control Center has received an increasing number of calls from people who took ivermectin. At least 70% of such calls related to "ingestion of livestock or animal formulations of ivermectin purchased at livestock supply centers," the Mississippi State Department of Health said Friday.

"Some of the symptoms associated with ivermectin toxicity include rash, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, neurologic disorders, and potentially severe hepatitis requiring hospitalization," the health department said.

The US surgeon general said tech companies need to do more to stop the spread of misinformation.

"It's happening ... aided and abetted by social media platforms," Murthy said.

"These are things that companies can and must change. And I think they have a moral responsibility to do so, quickly and transparently."

He said the myth about ivermectin as a treatment for Covid-19 highlights "the profound cost of health misinformation."

"It is not a recommended drug to prevent Covid-19," the surgeon general said. "The best protection we have against Covid-19 is the vaccine."

Covid-19 hospitalizations reduce resources for others

The number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 jumped to 95,000 as of Saturday, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.

More than 23,000 of them were in ICU beds, reducing resources for others who need hospital care.

Several states, largely those with below-average vaccination rates, have reported hospitals reaching 100% capacity during this Delta variant surge.

In Mississippi, the number of Covid-19 patients requiring hospitalization or intensive care reached record highs last week, Gov. Tate Reeves said.

The major problem with resources is "not a lack of beds," Reeves said Thursday. "It is a lack of staff."

He encouraged Mississippians to get vaccinated.

In Florida, Orlando's mayor has asked residents to conserve water as liquid oxygen -- typically used to treat the local water supply -- was being diverted to hospitals locally and statewide to treat critically ill Covid-19 patients.

"This is another impact of the virus continuing to surge in our community," Mayor Buddy Dyer posted on Facebook.

"And it's another result of what happens when residents do not get the vaccine and become critically ill, needing medical support and treatment."

CDC: Those at high risk should avoid cruises for now

Unvaccinated people are strongly urged to avoid cruise travel, the CDC said.

And people at high-risk for severe Covid-19, even if they're vaccinated, are advised to stay off cruise ships, the CDC said in updated guidance Friday.

"If you are at increased risk for severe illness and considering cruise travel during the Covid-19 pandemic, discuss this type of travel with your healthcare professional," the CDC said.

"Older adults and people of any age with certain underlying medical conditions are more likely to get severely ill if they get Covid-19. People with weakened immune systems, including people who take medicines that suppress their immune systems, may not be protected even if fully vaccinated."

Anyone who has Covid-19 symptoms, was exposed within 14 days to someone with Covid-19, or is awaiting results of a Covid-19 viral test should not board cruise ships, the CDC said.

The cruise industry has been battered by the Covid-19 pandemic and has made strides to provide safe travel for passengers. But some infections have been reported.

The CDC has worked with cruise lines to authorize their operation and has a website with infections on individual ships.

The-CNN-Wire

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Update 5:37 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021 - The Plumas County Sheriff is now allowing residents of Diamond Mountain Rd. to return to their homes. People who live on that road can only drive up to Lights Creek Lane, as there is a road closure just past that location.

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QUINCY, Calif. - The Plumas County Sheriff's Office has issued mandatory evacuation orders for the Sugar Loaf Zone (PLU Zone 43A).

The orders include:

Frenchman Rd. near Bloomer Lake Rd.

North to the county line

The Plumas side of Doyle Grade

SHELTER INFORMATION

Springs of Hope Church in Quincy at 59 Bell Lane in Quincy

Springs of Hope Church in Quincy at 59 Bell Lane in Quincy Veterans Memorial Hall at 449 W. Sierra Avenue, in Portola

ANIMAL INFORMATION

If you need assistance with animals contact Plumas County Animal Services at

283-3673 or 283-6300. Large animals/livestock can also be accommodated.

CLICK HERE to find our main story on the Dixie Fire that is updated throughout the day will all pertinent information.
CHICO, Calif. - An unconscious man was discovered in a restroom near the Transit Center in downtown Chico near the Chico State campus on Friday afternoon at approximately 3:30 p.m.

The man did not respond to lifesaving efforts and was pronounced dead at the Transit Center, which is located in the 300 block of W. 2nd St.

According to the Chico Police Department, they responded to the call along with Chico Fire and Butte Medics. They said responders spent close to 20 minutes trying to revive the man but were unsuccessful.

The identity of the man is being withheld until his next-of-kin have been notified.

Police said they do not believe the man's death to be suspicious in nature.
QUINCY, Calif. - The Plumas County Sheriff's Office will be providing opportunities over the next few days for some property owners to visit their damaged or destroyed properties for a short time. The access is only temporary as some areas have not been deemed safe for repopulation.

The areas where escorts will be provided have been determined to be safe from both active fire and hazard trees, but only for a short period of time.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the neighborhoods have been split into blocks by geography and population. Each "block" of residents will be provided an opportunity to spend 30 minutes on their properties.

Deputies are warning that if you are late you will be denied entry. They also said if you plan to go to Greenville you should leave early because it can take an extended amount of time to get there due to road conditions and hazards.

Residents are being contacted by the Sheriff's Office on Saturday with their allotted date, time, and entrance location and the escorts will begin on Sunday. It could take up to five days for all of the escorted visits to be completed.

Meetings locations are:

Greenville - Greenville High School

Canyon Dam - Go to the parking lot near the Caltrans sand shed

Warner Valley area - go to the Chester Sheriff's Substation at Willow Way and First Avenue

If you live in these areas and want to check your properties you should make sure you are scheduled to do so with the Plumas County Sheriff's Office as they have tight timelines for visits to certain blocks in the Dixie Fire damage areas.

Property owners will not be allowed to sift through their damaged properties due to environmental health hazards. Residents are being warned that if they start sifting through their properties that it might impact their eligibility for state-assisted cleanup, as well as the insurance process.

Residents will be required to sign a waiver to enter the area and will be entering at their own risk. N95 masks will be provided to people participating in this process.
Other comforts of home that I needed to have on hand were Ronans safe foods. I mailed a package of some of those items to the family we were staying with about two weeks before we traveled. That lightened some of the load wed be carrying in our suitcases and gave us a days worth of non-perishable must haves once we arrived. Since most of us in the family are gluten-free, I had quite the stash of gf goodies for the plane trip west!

Transporting the comforts of home  Besides clothes and diapering items, we had to make sure we had enough of Ronans medications to last the two weeks. I also made sure that we had enough for a few extra days in case we had any delays on our trip home.

The travel aspect  Ronan hasnt been on an airplane since 2007. A million questions went through my mind as I thought about our trip. Would he board the flight willingly? Would he stay calm on the flight? Would the flight crew understand autism? What if we run into delays  what can we do/bring to help Ronan handle that? What if we had a medical emergency en route? How would we manage that? Not being able to do a practice run at an airport in our area, I knew that wed be winging it and that wed have to plan for every possible scenario and hope for the best.

I knew that wed need to bring a lot more than those few items on a cross-country trip. Planning for the trip and for the length of time wed be gone took months. I had to think about so many things.

On any given day when Ronan and I leave the house, I plan ahead. I think about how long well be out of the house and pack what I think we may need. That includes diapers, wipes, snacks, and a change of clothes, seizure meds, and emergency seizure meds. It isnt much to carry around, but those essentials must come with us.

Since I love surprises, we didnt tell the kids where we were going until we were on the plane. They guessed and guessed and guessed all sorts of fun places we might go. Little Buddy guessed correctly that we were going to Washington state. It wasnt an easy trip to plan, but it was one of the neatest ones we have been able to go on as a family. From one coast to the other, with all seven of us traveling, our trip was quite the adventure.

As we make plans for a family getaway this summer, I realized that I never shared what we did on our family vacation from last year. After months of planning, we took the kids with a two-week vacation to the Pacific Northwest.

Since I knew Id need to go food shopping once we arrived, I went online well before we left to check out which stores in the area offered gluten-free products. Happily, several stores boasted of gf items as well as organic fruits, veggies, and meats. Wed be able to find more than enough comforts of home in the town where wed be staying.

When we travelled, we were able to bring some of those comforts from home with us. One of the kids backpacks was the snack backpack. Another backpack doubled as the diaper bag complete with 3 outfits should Ronan need clean clothes. One more was the activity backpack with a deck of cards, some books, crayons and paper, the iPad, the Nook, and charger cords inside. We were ready for anything!

Potential to wander  Not every family has to factor this aspect into their travel arrangements, but when you have a child who wanders, this may be the most important one to consider.

The wandering potential was the most nerve wracking of things to think about. But the people we were staying with knew this could be a major issue and had already gotten the ball rolling long before we booked our flight. Theyd investigated door alarms, door wedges, and had called their county police department on our behalf. Good news, their community had Project Lifesaver!

The day after we arrived, we went to the police station and dropped of a one-page Person of Interest document. On it, we listed vital information that include our contact information, his medical conditions, and how to communicate with Ronan. Thankfully, we never needed to enlist the help of the local law enforcement while we were in town, but knowing that they were a quick phone call away and that they had the tracking equipment to search for Ronan was a relief.





After registering our Project Lifesaver information,

Ronan was given a Junior Police sticker.

Up, Up, Up and Away!

We hadnt gotten beyond the ticketing counter before hitting our first hiccup. Ronan, in his adaptive stroller to preserve his energy, did not want to get out of the stroller to go through the metal detector. He did not allow any sort of pat down from the TSA people either. That hiccup, one we had never factored into our travel time, caused quite the delay. Thinking quickly, we asked what other options there were to help individuals with special needs get through security.

The TSA folks were very helpful and explained what we needed to do to, but with how resistant Ronan became, we asked for a head supervisor for assistance. The TSA supervisor, recognizing and understanding Ronans struggle, gave us his contact information in case we could offer any assistance on our return flight home. He also suggested that when we travel again, we should call ahead and let his office know that wed be coming through.

Now that we knew what to do for next time, together, we brainstormed a way to get Ronan through the line. It took more time than wed budgeted to get to the gate, but with the extra help, we were finally on our way.

I know that other families with children with autism have encountered unkind responses from airport staff in the pastmy advice, take this supervisors advice. Call ahead. Speak to someone in charge. Ask them what you can do to make the process go smoothly. If there is a supervisor who can meet you in the security area, ask them to personally assist you on the day of travel. Our children have great needs. Our children have great anxiety. Its nice to know that some people understand that and that they can help make the transition at the airport as smooth as possible.

Getting from Point A to Point B

Since it had been so long since wed travelled with Ronan, I wanted to call a few of the major airlines to find out what kind of restrictions they had and want kind of accommodations they offered to their special needs travelers. Wed have some precious cargo with us. I wanted to make sure that they understood that and that they could help Ronan. One of my favorite airlines could: Southwest.

Ronan qualified for pre-boarding, as did the entire family. That ensured that we had enough time to get on the plane and so that we could get seats as close together as possible. Something else that helped us choose Southwest was that we were able to check Ronans big, bulky adaptive stroller at the gate. Having it available to us at the next airport helped us safely get Ronan to the connecting gate.

Happily, Ronan remained calm on the flights to our destination and again on our return home. The people we met and those who personally assisted us went above and beyond our expectations. Wed been blessed with the means to get from point A to point B and wanted to make the most of our trip. Choosing Southwest, not just because their flights were more affordable, but because they were ready to assist us should the need arise was more than reason enough to fly with them.

On a Southwest flight, Ronan was calm and relaxed. Thank you, Southwest Air!

Tips for Medical Emergencies

We had to reduce some of our activities last summer when Ronan had seizures on our trip, but fortunately, he did not required immediate medical assistance while we were away. Ronan has gotten very sick when weve been far from home though. In fact, the last time we went to the Pacific Northwest, he was in the emergency room at the childrens hospital twice. If I had to offer one more piece of advice for families who travel with a child on the spectrum, it would be to be prepared for medical emergencies.

Because of those very scary ER experiences, I now travel with a folder that contains copies of medical records and documents. Those records are from Ronans specialists, and the documents describe his current treatment plan. I brought that folder in my carry-on on the flight and kept it, as well as other important information about Ronan (Project Lifesaver number, Medical Bracelet ID number, and a local emergency contact numbers) close by when we went exploring. That way, should we have needed to get Ronan to a medical facility quickly, I could hand the team the folder and give them a head start on what Ronans team is doing back home.

Something else I did when we went away was look up where medical facilities were. When we had to get Ronan to the ER on our previous trip, we travelled by ferryboat. If an ER visit was required again, we knew to keep the car at least a half-tank of gas and to keep at least one backpack stocked with diapers, wipes, clothes, and safe foods. With the remoteness of some of the locations we had hoped to visit, if we had any medical emergencies, not just for Ronan, I wanted to know how far wed be from an urgent care center. None of us required it, but it was good to know that medical help wouldnt be too far away in the areas we visited.

Another tip Id suggest when traveling is to share a medical update with whomever you may be staying with. You dont have to go into great detail, but do let them know what a medical emergency may look like so they know how to respond should one happen.

The last tip would be to also let them know what is needed for any siblings left behind. When we had to get Ronan to the ER in 2007, we left our other kids in the hands of family. They quickly pitched in, but with how stressful and anxious I was about Ronan, they needed more directions than I thought to offer. Thankfully, many hands lovingly pitched in to help us and it all worked out with.

Finally, Its Time to Relax

When we planned for the vacation, we thought of everything: transportation, meals, medical needs, Ronan safety, what places to visit, which people to see, and how to make some good family memories. Im happy to say that even though it took tons of work, we made some good family memories last summer! We got to see some exciting areas on the west coast. We rode ferryboats and hike through several forests. We saw mountains and wildlife. We saw old friends and made new friends. We even took Ronan out of the country to Canada. Better than all of that, our hosts were more than ready to jump in to help us and were so happy to see us being able to do so much while we were there. We were blessed in so many wonderful ways.

On the trail, with Daddy as his guide.

Our trip this summer will be a lot shorter and a lot closer to home. It wont require traveling through multiple time zones or crossing the border. But well be together, and we will most certainly make some memories like we did last year.

Im glad I have last years trip under my belt to know what needs to be done, to know what worked, and to know how to plan for a successful vacation. Ive a few more things to figure out before we can go. But soon, when we hit the road, I know well be ready to have some good old family fun.

Cathy Jameson is a Contributing Editor for Age of Autism.
On our first day, which was the longest day we'd be outdoors, I knew that Ronan would tire much quicker than the rest of us would. That's why we researched what accommodations the amusement park could offer someone with disabilities. We have an adaptive stroller for when Ronan needs physical assistance, but as clunky and as big as it is, it was better to rent a wheelchair from the park. Plus, Ronan loves wheelchairs.

We brought all of Ronan's favorites with us in the hopes that having something from home would be encouraging. It was. Ronan definitely enjoyed some of the things we did.

Would he want to be outside at the park, at the beach, or on the bay all day doing things he doesn't normally do?

Ronan is easy going. But that doesn't mean he will adapt quickly to the massive changes in his routine.

Would other guests hear him? Would someone complain? Would he even be quiet if we asked him?

Traveling with a young adult with autism can be challenging. Were seasoned travelers, including Ronan, but staying in a sold-out hotel, where every room is booked, was a bit intimidating.

For this get away, we stayed in a hotel the entire time we were out of town. I cant recall the last time we did that. When we go away, we usually stay with family or friends who welcome us and all that we bring  Ronans favorite things, his safe foods, his water-proof bedding/sheets, and a lot of excitement from the siblings. We brought all of that to our destination and something more this time  my Mom. I was grateful that she could join us on our little adventure.

It was refreshing to step away from some of life on our short family vacation last weekend. I've shared other vacation stories before offering a peek at our familys life and love that I can share our reality . I also like to be able to share travel suggestions that have worked for us .

When we head to the childrens hospital, which he can walk into and out of without assistance, he insists that I get one for him. Pointing to the ones by the main entrance and standing his ground until I bring one to him, Ronan sits like a king when I take him to his appointments with medical specialists. I knew he'd be just as excited to be wheeled around the park.

He was!

While the others spent the day riding all the fast and twisty roller coasters, one scaredy-cat little sister, and my Mom and I, quietly rolled Ronan from one corner of the park to the other checking out the food options and the quieter attractions.

I anticipated that some of the other activities and outings we had scheduled for the siblings wouldn't be ones Ronan would want to do. When the kids, my husband, and my Mom went to the wind tunnel, Ronan had a time slot to go, too. Wed been there before, but it was ambitious of me to think he'd suit up and fly. Like everything else, though, we always offer for Ronan to try to do what the typical kids are doing. He had signed yes that he wanted to go up like his little brother did, but when it was time to get the equipment on, he stepped back and signed no, no, no. As Ive done in the past, I asked Ronan to try, try again. But I knew not to push him. The flight crew, as encouraging as they were, said to come back next time we were in town.

They want to give Ronan the opportunity to experience the fun that everyone else had.

The next day was one of the most enjoyable days. Thats when we went to the beach. Ronan has loved to be in the water and swim since he was very young, but with some neuropathy issues in his lower legs, he no longer likes to go to the pool. Without being able to tell us why, we assume that the cooler pool temperature must be painful. Ronan never tires of the waves while seaside, so we made sure that he had every chance to enjoy some time at the beach.

With one wave after another crashing onto him, he smiled the entire time he sat in the surf.

Another outdoor event the day before we left had us smiling so big. I had set up a kayaking tour of a bay that leads to the ocean. The kids had never kayaked like that before, and the last time I paddled as far as we would be going that evening was back in 1998 or 99. Thats when I kayaked with my husband around Liberty Island in New York.

It would be an adventure for us for sure!

I was especially excited that my Mom was able to also join us on this adventure of ours. She and Ronans younger brother, whos now 62 tall, would be in one kayak. Ronans youngest sister would be with me. Ronans other 2 sisters were together, and my husband had Ronan with him. Having never done this as a family, we had no idea what to expect. Im glad we remained optimistic about all of us, and especially Ronan, being able to go. But the farther away from shore we got, the more nervous I became.

Oh.

My.

Word.

What have I signed us up to do??

What if Ronan flipped out? What if he tried to stand up? What if he had a seizure? What if he wanted to go home, home, home while we were in the middle of the bay?

It was an early evening tour of a waterway we didnt know in an area wed never visited with people who didnt know us. Was I the biggest fool in the world to think we could handle this?

No, I wasnt.

Sitting like a king in the front of the kayak, with his hand gently splashing water every few minutes, Ronan was in his element.

Spending several hours in 50 feet of water in the middle of a saltwater bay thats full of jellyfish, as well as unique maritime and US history, the kids loved our little outing. I loved it also. The only mishap that night was when Ronan got too relaxed in the kayak and dropped his foot in the water. His shoe, with his custom orthotic insert, was fully soaked. Since we are not seasoned kayakers, several of us we were almost fully soaked by the time we were back at the boat launch. We knew wed get a little bit wet, but some of the splashes were not from terrible beginner paddling. The extra splashes happened during the unscheduled, full-on Jameson Family amateur kayaking competition. Our guide had said we could ease on in, but the closer we got to shore, the faster some of us began to paddle.

Smiling, laughing and egging each other on until we crossed an imaginary finish line, it was a thrilling end to our vacation.

Being very patient while the other kids got to enjoy some summer fun, Ronan did pretty well while we were in the hotel and when we were out in town. His brother and sisters loved the amusement park, the indoor skydiving and being at the beach. If he could tell me, I bet Ronan's favorite vacation activity was going to the beach. I bet he would say that he loved eating out, listening to his music and watching videos on his iPad, too. Those are things he loves at home.

Those are things he loves when hes traveling.

Vacations dont always work for families like mine. Last weekend, we as a family, including my Mom, spent a great deal of time outside. We did things we dont normally get to do. We got along well, and we all want to come back another time. Im praying that our next adventure, whenever that can happen, will be every bit as fun as this one was.

Cathy Jameson is a Contributing Editor for Age of Autism.
Whenever false liberals and allied progressives were cornered with the facts about their de facto subversion of Christianity (this was before woke times) they countered with egalitarian cliches like who is to say and opinions are equal. The Christians-in-Name-Only (CINOs) among them agreed. Now, from the ramparts of the wall they erected between church and state, liberals, progressives, and the fully brainwashed shoot down everyone who dares challenge their rant against Judeo-Christian teaching.

Christ spoke and the church was formed; so much for who is to say regarding Christianity. It was He and His apostles who had the say, meaning that whoever would be Christian either follow or not follow Christ and His church and accept the consequences of that choice. The teachings of Christ and His church are the backbones of Christianity, hence a firm Gospel for true Christians.

As for the notion that opinions are all equal, it must be pointed out that if all opinions were equal, no opinion would be worth taking seriously. Comparing the opinion of one who is addicted to drugs to the opinion of one who is unaddicted or comparing the opinion of a mentally ill person to that of a mentally well person indicates the flaw in the alleged equation. Equality of opinions is a fallacious notion. I touched on extreme cases to suggest the immense range of inequalities in judgment among people, including professionals and experts in their respective fields.

Big deal? In a democracy, where issues are settled by a vote of the majority, this is a huge deal. Cutting to the quick: Can a majority of voters be wrong? The honest answer, yes, resonates with Christians, remembering that a majority voted to crucify Christ.

The tendency of majoritarian rule toward mob rule by vote alerted Americas founders to configure a system of government that would make it hard for any faction to dominate and take control. The prerequisite for prior open and rigorous debate, followed by responsible action, was taken as self-evident. The checks-and-balances system of government crafted by the architects of the American government is intended to maximize cooperation and minimize selfish interests in the governance of the nation.

In a chronically wicked world, as proven over and over again in history, wisdom is not a luxury but a necessity. That is why morality must inform the conduct of government and why the founders of this nation did not exclude Providential wisdom from the conduct of government.

To their everlasting discredit, however, fake liberals and progressives willfully ignore or distort the moral dimension of democracy, permitting the Law of the Land, the Constitution, to be made an instrument of justice for the powerful elite instead of remaining the instrument of justice for all Americans, as intended by men wiser than any member of government today.

The separation of church and state was never meant to be justification for abandoning Judeo-Christian morality in public affairs. To all honest participants in government, it was clear from the start that the legal isolation of church and state  lest a specific denomination exerts undue pressure  was not a wall between the United States and God.

It must never be forgotten that the hatred of the church by the Left is an inheritance of Enlightenment intellectuals of the 17th and 18th centuries who deemed themselves above the laws of their Creator  some of whom assumed the role of God. The first fruit of that intellectual piracy was the blood bath that turned the French Revolution into a horrific Reign of Terror. The reckless pitting of humans against one another, costing thousands of lives for no legitimate motive, continues to occur today for essentially the same reason, namely that since, as falsely predicated, church and state are enemies, then the state must destroy the church.

So it was Age of Reason literati and academics who unreasoningly branded into their Creator-dismissing acolytes  Leftists are their standard-bearers today  a bias that insists that church and state are enemies because they differ in their demands on society. This fallacy and the prodigious political loophole for selfish advantage continue to chop off heads, as it were. (I cant help visualizing the gavel of the current Speaker of the House as a guillotine.)

That the Lefts warrant against the church reeks of vengeance against the Creator is something that nobody is supposed to notice in todays post-truth Woke World. But the spirit of rebellion against God needs no special visual aids to be visible in todays mad political landscape. It must also not be noticed that obfuscating facts, reality, and truth with big lies and a massive cloud of censorship in fact harms everyone and kills many.

What surprise can there be that churches have been shut down, burned, their icons wrecked, their congregants scattered, demonized, and persecuted, their leaders pressured to turn against their own religion and their own church? Could it possibly be that Christ and His church still, after 2000 years, are mortal enemies not of the state but of malfeasance at top levels of society and government? Is it why they were never excluded from public affairs by the founders of the United States of America?

Leftists fail miserably to see or admit that it is precisely because our powers of insight and judgment are limited and because everyone is capable of wrongful conduct that each generation cannot by themselves determine what is right and what is wrong for them and future generations. This is why governance in the U.S.A. is based on church and state, not church versus state. Each exists for the benefit of the people they serve, recognizing that such service is not a job for what R.W. Trewyn in a recent article calls amoral moralists. Counterfeit moralists and outright assassins of morality, unable or unwilling to balance wants with oughts, are not fit for work in government.

The ill-effects of being at odds with church teaching is something Americans were warned against by Franklin at the start of our republic, by visiting scholar Tocqueville in Americas early years, and by many others since the establishment of this nation. More recently, Solzhenitsyn has pointed out: Men have forgotten God  that's why all of this has happened. This articulate defector from Soviet Russia was intimating the emergence of a communist-style dystopia for Americans that, regardless of how comfortable it might be made, would end the peoples freedom of body, mind, and soul.

Some will say that it's retrograde and a waste of time to bring up what has passed and behind us when so much is now at stake. I say it is never too late to speak truthfully of what in the past has brought us to the present.

Photo credit: Brian McLeod CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license

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In his sonnet "Ozymandias," poet Percy Bysshe Shelley tells of a traveler who comes upon a desert ruin that was once an ancient empire. All that is left of it are "two vast and trunkless legs of stone" and a sneering imperial stone "visage" half-buried in the sand. Etched on a pedestal are the words: "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair."

Joe Biden is a latter-day Ozymandias, with a tremendous thirst for power and a misplaced sense of invulnerability. But unlike the ancient royal ruler, it will not take eons for Biden's power to erode. Even as his smirk remains, he is diminishing before our very eyes.

Put bluntly, Biden is not as advertised. He was supposed to bring a divided nation together. He promised to govern not with an iron fist, but with a velvet glove. Now that hand has trouble finding his mask. Joe represented himself as a serious candidate, well versed in affairs of state. Instead, we are saddled with a cipher in the White House, a compromised head of state who takes in teleprompter content through his beady eyes and drones it out through his thin lips.

In many U.S. states, there are "lemon laws" that provide a remedy for purchases of cars and other consumer goods to compensate for products that fail to meet standards of quality and performance. If the home you buy comes with unhappy surprises, there are legal remedies. The Federal Trade Commission enforces truth in adverting laws. Nothing like this applies to politicians who disappoint.

After Trump's victory over Hillary in 2016, one of my college classmates wrote to her like-minded liberal friends, "How can we have let this happen?" I suspect that a similar query is being voiced by deluded Biden-supporters whose judgment at the ballot box was blinded by their irrational hatred for the Orange Tweeter.

Despite the sizable lineup of candidates in their primaries, Democrats eventually opted for old Uncle Joe Biden. If he didn't seem all that good in the debates, at least he looked promising on paper. His resume was long, if not impressive. He was Barack's buddy, supposedly tapped for his wide experience with international issues. He had name recognition. And surely, one can't spend almost a half-century in the swamp and not learn the dangers of bucking the tide.

Over his long political career that began in 1973, Biden faced few challenges  and fewer challengers. He was re-elected to the Senate six times. He glad-handed folks, securing their loyalty through longevity and privilege. He became a familiar face in Washington, not because he did so much, but because he did so little for so long. As a result, he became impervious to criticism. He found it easy enough to weasel out of unpopular actions, such as the 1994 legislation he authored and pushed, intending to reduce crime but resulting, instead, in massive incarceration, particularly of blacks.

Biden kept a rather low profile during his years as "second in command" in the Obama administration. That's how "Barack" liked it: an older "yes man" rather than a vital competitor to the charismatic president. Biden knew how to bulldoze his way through the Washingtonian corridors of power. And more importantly, he knew where the bodies were buried.

Joe made three runs for the presidency. The third time was the charm  but not for America. He might have been the "real deal" in Dover, but he didn't particularly resonate with voters beyond his home turf. In the first campaign, he was forced to drop out after being caught plagiarizing. On his second try, he garnered about 3% of the primary vote. It was only when the veneer of Obama's popularity rubbed off on him that Biden was more or less taken seriously by the country at large.

Obama once remarked that Old Joe didn't have a mean bone in his body. What he neglected to point out, however, is that Biden's backbone has gone missing. The perennial bureaucrat went giddily with the flow, as long as its course led to personal enrichment for himself and his family. In his years in Washington, Joe became very wealthy, and so did his siblings and younger son, Hunter.

Biden turned the tiny Diamond State of Delaware into an attractive tax haven for corporations, and they loved him for it. Once entrenched in office, Joe breezed through his re-election campaigns. Voters felt understandably sorry for the horrific loss of his first wife and daughter. And he made political hay over the fact that he Amtrak-ed back and forth between home and capital, fulfilling his dual obligations to his sons and constituents. It is ironic that a man who personally suffered such loss seems humdrum about his role in causing the collective grief of so many other families in Afghanistan.

Biden may seem grandfatherly and low-key, but he exhibits a scathingly short temper toward those whose opinions differ from his own, such as Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork, distinguished candidates for the Supreme Court. He humiliated Thomas, a black jurist who had pulled himself up by the bootstraps from an impoverished Southern family.

As for Bork, Joe ironically opposed him because he feared that the conservative judge was racist  a concern in sharp contrast to his longtime friendship with powerful West Virginia senator Robert Byrd, a onetime muckety-muck in the Ku Klux Klan. From then on, all conservative high court applicants have been "Borked."

Fortunately for Biden, his contradictions, outbursts, flubs, and gaffes were rarely taken any more seriously than he was. Even some of my Republican friends excused his missteps as just "Joe being Joe." Would the NeverTrumps tolerate forgiveness because Trump was just being Trump?

Now that Joe is president, the chickens of his sketchy political past are coming home to roost. Accustomed to coasting through his career without much criticism, Biden seems now to have landed in a place that befuddles him. His speechwriters may insert Harry Truman's famous phrase, "the buck stops here," but don't expect Joe to put that plaque on his desk in the Oval Office anytime soon.

Still, Biden is fond of boasting, "I am the president of the United States," and "This is America, for God's sake," as though presumably anything is possible with him at the helm. His current shortfall is exacerbated by creeping dementia. He finds it hard to play the role because somewhere along the line, he lost the script. He was never one to lead the pack, and at this point, he seems unable to do so. The effects of his impairment may vary from day to day, but the condition never goes away. It only gets worse with time.

Unfortunately, Biden's confusion and inability to deal with problems spell big trouble for our country. Over his years in office, he had come to expect immunity for his misbehavior, as was the case with his quid quo threat against the Ukrainian government. He has grown accustomed to weaseling out of sticky situations  such as inappropriately fondling women and young girls. And an accommodating press has been covering up his son Hunter's various scandals.

In fact, until now, Biden has not been taken to task by most of the mainstream media. Not for side-stepping the border crisis. Not for putting mandated masks above mayhem here and abroad. Not for his craven capitulation to the far left of his party, even concurring that the United States is "systemically racist." He has even been given leeway to point his bony finger of blame at everyone but himself.

This pattern of scapegoating others for his own shortcomings has badly damaged Biden. More importantly, it will likely damage America for years to come. Recently, his growing petulance and irrational rants were on full display during a televised ABC interview with George Stephanopoulos.

Clearly, Biden has no business being president of the United States. During his unimpressive campaign, he failed to inform Americans about his mental decline. If he did not know about it, surely his doctor and family did. Failure to fully disclose his condition should be grounds for his resignation or impeachment.

During the Vietnam war era, opponents gathered outside the White House, chanting, "Hey, hey, LBJ! How many kids did you kill today?" Maybe it is time to descend on the White House, shouting, "Joe, Joe, you gotta go!" (That is, if he hasn't already gone...off to Camp David or his home in Wilmington, Del.)

There is a lesson to be learned from Shelley's poem. If Biden and his buddies continue in power, our country could  with unimaginable speed  become a shadow of its former self. We must not underestimate such an eventuality the way Biden did with the swift advance of the Taliban. Without a course correction, America could hopelessly find itself sinking into the sands of oblivion.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.

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Political action comes in various forms: from nonviolent direct action (protests, rallies, sit-ins, boycotts, marches, the Tea Party) to its ugly step-sister violent direct action (everything BLM and Antifa do). Civil disobedience is generally nonviolent direct action focused on potential arrest to make a point (the arrest of Democrats who protested the eviction moratorium cancellation; parents ignoring school mask mandates).

Conservatives are well organized when it comes to getting out the vote, campaigns, and voting; and adept at organizing as local issues arise. We are not and never have been organized regarding what I call Armchair Activism (nonviolent direct action where thousands write, email, call, fax, petition, and lobby officeholders, agency heads, the President or AG, etc., in a coordinated and carefully orchestrated manner).

In the wake of Election 2020, the Year of COVID Hell, and the Torquemada-like response to January 6th, conservatives were left shell-shocked and politically paralyzed. But 75 million people have tremendous untapped power! So, in late January 2021, I started 75M & Rising, an email list of conservatives dedicated to armchair activism.

For one to five minutes a few days a week, I provide canned emails, letters, and phone scripts that members copy and paste into provided links. In addition to the officeholders above, weve targeted RNC/NRCC/NRSC chairs, AFTs Randi Weingarten, CEOs of Coke and Bed Bath & Beyond, and the MLB Commissioner. Some action items require more time, as when we bombarded President FUBAR and AG Garland for a week about January 6th and contacted the 19 Republican Sellouts on the Infrastructure bill. Sometimes weeks pass with nothing to do.

The left has aggregated massive email lists from their vast network of organizations, allowing them to coordinate political action among hundreds of thousands from their armchairs. These voices are consequential: supportive communications embolden Democrat officeholders to vote one way; disapproval convinces them otherwise.

Left-wingers have a virtual monopoly on this kind of agitation. Republican voices are virtually nonexistent; conservatives do not have organized activists who persistently lobby Republican officeholders. If there were, wed have more influence on more Republicans. Cynics might gripe that this wont work, but we dont know since this is virgin territory.

One thing is certain: Democrats and Republicans view silence from conservatives as tacit approval and that empowers them to proceed as they see fit, constituents be damned.

While it is true that elected Republicans -- especially RINOs -- often ignore their conservative constituents, conservatives are partially to blame by failing to badger them about our expectations, as does the left.

A letter here or a call there has little impact. But thousands with the same message over a few days will raise the eyebrows of Republicans who care and embolden them to vote as directed by their loudest constituents.

Will this influence the most ardent Democrat or stubborn RINO? Unlikely. But that isnt necessarily the goal. We want them to know we are here, have strong views we wholeheartedly defend, and will never be silenced.

Even more important is hammering them on issues week after week, televising the unexpected: that conservatives are organized. Whether the Reagan Revolution, Tea Party, or MAGA, the left fears nothing more than organized right-wingers.

They outflank us not because of their ideas, but because their organizational skills produce committed supporters who do as asked -- even break a few eggs as when SoCal Antifa roused members to violently disrupt a peaceful anti-mask protest in L.A., dog-whistling that it directly puts the unhoused communities who live in the area in danger despite having nothing to do with Antifa or the homeless.

From your neighbor to the most crazed radical, Democrats attend meetings and vote, they harangue in person and riot, petition, email, and call by the hundreds of thousands, threaten and destroy. They relish being painful thorns in the side of darn near everyone. They are obstreperous, intransigent, and dangerous.

They understand the power of organization and the necessity of crushing any inkling of it among conservatives -- which is precisely why the Democrat-Media Complex and schools censor conservative voices; AG Merrick Garland indefinitely incarcerates January 6th protesters and vows to hunt down similar domestic terrorists; Obamas IRS targeted Tea Party groups; and Democrats exploited COVID in the hopes of canceling Trump rallies.

These tactics serve only to silence conservatives and it gets increasingly vexatious by the day.

Nearly every constitutionally protected avenue for expression or participation in our governance has been commandeered by Big Government in cahoots with Big Tech, Big Media, and any other institution that wants to hop aboard.

The media have long abrogated their role as a check on government and are more fox watching the hen house.

The left has oft tried, but failed, to squelch talk radio, recognizing it as the lifeline for conservatives that it is; but, has been wildly successful curtailing speech on the internet by allowing pusillanimous, 20-something tech snowflakes to burrow into the safe spaces of their algorithms and decree who shall speak and who shall be banned.

President FUBAR bombastically telegraphs his administrations collusion with Big Tech to silence what it deems is misinformation.

Wokism continues its pestilential sweep across the continent, silencing individuals in the public arena as well as in their homes as threats of intrafamilial cancellation nudge parents to progressive enlightenment.

As if it wasnt enough to mischaracterize January 6th as an armed insurrection and persecute the participants, murder Ashli Babbitt and close the case without resolution, surround the Capitol with barbed-wire fencing and National Guardsmen, and define domestic terrorists so broadly as to include little old Tea Party ladies waving flags and wearing MAGA hats, the message is indisputable: Americas justice system will criminally target Trump supporters and conservatives no matter how legitimate their grievances.

The icing on the cake is manipulating COVID to squelch our civil rights of speech, assembly, worship, work, travel, and free and fair elections.

In the midst of this silencing, I chose armchair activism for 75M & Rising not only because it is an overlooked tactic that conveniently fosters participation, but also because it has yet to be nullified.

Conservatives are being called to service and must change their ways. Is it too much to copy an email and paste it into a link? Make a phone call? Join an email list that will facilitate future communications and coordination?

Is it too much to give a few minutes of your time to, if nothing else, unnerve a bunch of Democrats and let RINOs and Republicans know we will not be silenced? People spend more time with clickbait!

Politicians respond to pressure and will do what is necessary to survive. We drive that response by our participation. We shouldn't hesitate to use this power. It is our birthright.

At some point, 75 million people will need to be organized in order to take action to save America. Imagine if it was so easy, even a Neanderthal could do it.

If you are interested in joining my 75M & Rising email list, please email me at sallyzel@yahoo.com.

Image: David

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"The delta variant."

Who knows how many times over the course of the past few months that phrase has been uttered or written by media, by pundits, and by just plain folk on social media?

What we never hear or read is "the India variant"  India was the source of the virus mutation that seems to be sweeping and confounding the globe today. It was decided early on by someone that the use of "the India variant" would offend or even incite hatred toward people from India  and down the memory hole it went. Everyone fell into line and complied.

This essay is certainly not a plea to reinstate the geographic or nation label to the virus variant or to necessarily attach a country name to the source of the original COVID strain. Rather, it is to comment on politically motivated usage and how some terms become universally accepted while others  even when historically more accurate and by no means offensive  are discarded and also sent down the memory hole, and perhaps to venture a guess as to why.

For literally thousands of years, there were two small regions in the Middle East that bordered one another: Judea and Samaria. Also literally for thousands of years, cartographers who mapped these areas among the broader Middle East consistently labeled them Samaria (the northern region) and Judea (the southern territory), with slight language modifications to accommodate the nationality of the cartographer or of the nation or party who commissioned the map-makers.

Many ancient, medieval, and even twentieth-century maps of the Middle East from a variety of nations are readily available on the internet for anyone to see to verify this fact.

What were Samaria and Judea?

Throughout time, both Samaria and Judea were associated with the Jewish people.

Perhaps the best-known city in Samaria was Shechem, the site where Jewish patriarch Abraham first built an altar to make an offering to HaShem, as well as the site of Joseph's tomb. It has other significance to the Jewish people as well. Samaria was where the tribe of Ephraim and half of the tribe of Manasseh resided (the other half of the Tribe of Manasseh resided in what is today Jordan).

Perhaps the best-known cities in Judea are Hebron, site of the tombs of all but one of Judaism's patriarchs and matriarchs, as well as the first capital of the first Jewish commonwealth; Modi'in, home of the Maccabees, who saved Judaism from the Hellenists and the Seleucids; Jericho, the first Israelite city, where "the walls came tumbling down"; and Beit Lechem (AKA Bethlehem), where David was anointed as king and the location of Jewish matriarch Rachel's tomb. The tribes Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, and Dan were located in Judea.

The United Nations, in General Assembly Resolution 181, which advised in 1947 dividing the remnant (22%) of the original Palestine Mandate into a Jewish state and an Arab state, uses the terms "Samaria" and "Judea" to refer to the geographic areas.

But by 1950, the usage for the two place names changed, as Samaria and Judea morphed into "the West Bank." Up to that point, there was no such place as "the West Bank" in the Middle East. Two years earlier, the Jordanian Army, as part of a full-scale onslaught by surrounding Arab nations, attacked nascent Israel from the east immediately after the Jewish state declared its independence from Great Britain.

For 19 years, Jordan illegally occupied Judea and Samaria. Jordan committed population transfers and ethnic cleansing as it murdered or drove the Jewish people out of these longtime Jewish lands.

The new name, "the West Bank," achieved two purposes: it differentiated the new, illegally gained territories from the rest of Jordan ("the East Bank"), and, more importantly, it sought to eliminate the Jewish people's connection to those lands. After all, Jews come from Judea.

Along with attempting to erase the Jewish connection to these lands before the world, the Jordanians and the Arab League sought to create a fictitious history of their own to claim that they were historically Arab lands.

In 1967, Jordan again attacked Israel. This occurred as Israel was defending itself after Egypt committed multiple acts of war against the Jewish state. This became known as the Six-Day War, for in the brief span, Israel defeated the Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian, Lebanese, and Iraqi militaries. The Israel defense forces pushed the Jordanians back across the River Jordan, liberating the eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem and reunifying the city, as well as freeing the Jewish heartland.

Israel also restored the names Judea (Yehudah) and Samaria (Shomron) to the lands it liberated.

But the rest of the world  led by the media  largely has clung to the name "the West Bank," as it seeks to delegitimize the Jewish claims to the lands and obliterate the Jewish connection.

Thus, media, politicians right and left throughout the world, academia, and others uniformly insist on using a term that was operational for only nineteen years among thousands. Yet on a dime, in unison, all of the above adopted and embraced "delta" rather than "India" when referring to a new strain of COVID-19. Clearly, names matter.

There has been no such fear of or concern about insulting the Jewish people for the past 54 years.

Yes, we are offended that the world has wiped our history from its maps and that this erasure is largely accepted. Unfortunately, for the most part, relatively few Jews have fought to restore the proper names to these areas in lexicons the world over.

It is well past time for the Jewish people  one of the world's tiniest minorities  to fight back: to press for the world's recognition of our connection to these lands and to call them by their rightful names. Part of that requires Jews and especially Israelis to use the terms Judea (Yehuda) and Samaria (Shomron), and for us to educate ourselves and the broader community about our history in these lands. Simultaneously, we must strongly encourage media, political figures, and academia to use them as well.

Steve Feldman is executive director of the Zionist Organization of America's Greater Philadelphia Chapter.

Image: hendricjabs via Pixabay, Pixabay License.

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If you ever doubted that the country was in the hands of some very stupid and corrupt people, this week should have thoroughly disabused you of that fantasy. In one fell swoop, the administration left billions of dollars of military equipment in the hands of the barbarous anti-American Taliban; broke the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance by bugging out without warning to its members who were in Afghanistan in support of our mission there; left as many as 50,000 Americans and tens of thousands more of our Afghan allies to the not so tender mercies of the enemy; and on Friday Biden lied about it all.

Its not that most of us wanted this Afghan Mission Impossible to continue forever. Its just that theres a right way to do it. President Trumps Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a well-conceived plan. It included preconditions on the Taliban and the removal of all U.S. military equipment and civilians before any group withdrawal. The administration in its wisdom did it backward: troops first, civilians left to their own devices (were even charging those who make it through the Taliban blockade around the one remaining airport $2,000 a head to be evacuated), abandoning Bagrams well-fortified and equipped airbase, and an incredible array of military equipment for the taking, a taking that makes the entire world very unsafe.

Scores of videos have emerged of Taliban fighters rejoicing near abandoned American helicopters, carrying U.S.-supplied M24 sniper rifles and M18 assault weapons, stacking other small arms and materiel in unending piles and driving Humvees and other U.S.-made military trucks. The Taliban have seized airplanes, tanks and artillery from Afghan outposts and from evacuating U.S. personnel, revealing one of the heavier costs of a U.S. troop withdrawal amid a collapse of Afghanistans government and army.

We often are critical of CNN and with good reason, but this week its chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward has been doing the most incredible coverage from Kabul. Every second shes on the air from Kabul she puts paid to the administrations fantastical accounts.

The British Parliament (both houses of it) condemned Biden in special sessions. Why wouldnt they? Albert Nardelli of Bloomberg explained that Biden had explicitly told key allies that wed maintain enough of a security presence after the main troop withdrawal so they could continue embassy operations in Kabul. We did not, leaving diplomatic personnel there unprotected and NATO nation civilians at great risk. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried repeatedly to discuss this by phone with Biden who did not take the calls. We, in one ill-considered move, betrayed the Afghans who worked with us and the allies who are fighting alongside us there.

The last reports I saw say British and French special operation outfits have been transported to Kabul to aid in getting their nationals to the airport for evacuation. When they can, they are also aiding Americans trapped in this mess. Our troops are confined to the airport and apparently not happy that our allies are doing the job which should be done by them:

I understand that the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division has told the commander of the British special forces at the Kabul airport to cease operations beyond the airport perimeter. Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue has told his British Army counterpart, a high-ranking field-grade officer of the British army's 22nd Special Air Service Regiment, that British operations were embarrassing the United States military in the absence of similar U.S. military operations. I understand that the British officer firmly rejected the request.[snip]I understand that the SAS has conducted operations to bring American citizens, as well as British citizens and at-risk personnel, through checkpoints and to the airport. This is not an indictment on U.S. capabilities or special operations intent, but rather, it's a reflection of political-military authorities. In part, this difference is understandable. Large-scale U.S. military operations beyond the Kabul airport perimeter would entail significant risk absent prior Taliban approval. But there is a sense, at least by allies, that the U.S. military could be doing more to leverage the Taliban into providing greater ease of access to the airport for those most at risk.

According to Breitbart:

CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward said Friday while reporting from the Kabul airport that despite promises from President Joe Biden of a full evacuation, during a period of eight hours, she did not see any U.S. flights evacuate people. Ward said, Im sitting here, for 12 hours in the airport, eight hours on the airfield, and I havent seen a single U.S. plane take off. How on earth are you going to evacuate 50,000 people in the next two weeks. It just, it cant happen. A bureaucratic tug of war between the State Department, Pentagon, and White House is also disrupting evacuation operations out of Kabul. This is aggravating British, French, and other Kabul-present military authorities. I understand that these governments have been further aggravated by the failure of the White House and Pentagon to communicate adequately, or in some cases, to communicate at all, on their intentions and actions. All these allies admit, however, that only the U.S. military could provide the airfield defense and air traffic control capabilities now on display.

The claim that the rapid Taliban advance which the administration had assumed falsely would take 90 days was unexpected, is also nonsense. The tangled lines of communication and the diffusion into a Babel of authorization to act is the key, not the rapid Taliban movement.

Officials on the ground had warned on July 13 that Kabul would collapse soon, that the Talibans advance was imminent  and the Afghan military unlikely to stop it.

In the meantime, the advance, as you certainly would expect, was accompanied by targeted killings, atrocities, and Afghani flights to the exits. (Both Greece and Turkey are fortifying their borders to prevent an onrushing torrent of Afghan asylum seekers.) We have apparently distributed visa forms for anyone in Afghanistan and are transporting those who make it through the Taliban phalanx at the airport, but with records of those who helped us being destroyed by our embassy officials and by the document holders themselves for protection who knows who we are taking in? Afghan history and culture give me every reason to believe that the reason the Taliban has given us a hard deadline to get our civilians out of there at the same time they are making the exits impossible, presage horrid mass murders of those stuck there or a dreadful hostage situation involving tens of thousands of Americans.

After hiding out at Camp David, providing only a video of him sitting alone at a huge conference table in front of a telescreen which seems to have been made in February (given the erroneous time shown on the telescreen), Biden finally showed up briefly on Friday in the Capitol an hour late to read a statement and respond to a handful of questions, clearly handed up in advance by the reporters he called on. Even this song and dance was a joke. He stumbled and lied throughout.

How bad was Bidens misinformation to the American public? Dreadful. The best assessment comes from Jennifer Griffin, a very experienced Pentagon reporter who spent years in Afghanistan. She said couldnt [sic] fact-check the misstatements fast enough in real time. There were just so many falsehoods. Shes a thorough-going professional, but you could see her genuine anger burning through as she said that.

Former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker -- in the pithy way my native state speakers communicate -- said it well:

If Joe Biden knew, he should be impeached. If he wasnt told, the Secretary of State should be fired. If he doesnt remember, they should invoke the 25th amendment.

Its not just Biden. To look at his team of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Chief of Staff General Mark Milley is to understand Shel Silversteins the lights are on, but nobodys home.

Biden announced on Friday that he would return to Delaware. He said he needed to because he "wasnt sleeping well." Ill bet he isnt. On Saturday, he was apparently overruled and remained in the Capitol. For how long, even he probably doesn't know. The lid seems indefinite.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.

Correction: An early version of this article misidentified Mike Pompeo as Secretary of Defense. We have corrected the error.
Afghanistan has been depicted, and rightly so, as the Graveyard of Empires because of the enormous difficulty of waging war there. Efforts to do so have been disastrous for more than 150 years starting with the United Kingdom and its rival Russia, Russia again during the 1980s, and most recently the United States. Al Qaeda gave us no choice on September 11, 2001, but the desirability of waging what President Biden calls a "forever war" (also the title of a science fiction novel by Vietnam veteran Joe Haldeman) is indeed open to question. Any President who has to sign letters to the families of American service members had better have a reason that involves the protection of American lives and liberties, or else we shouldn't be there.

Nation-building in a region that was never a nation but is instead an aggregation of tribes that make and break alliances at a moment's notice, was probably never a realistic goal. The Biden Administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan resembles a precipitous rout as depicted in Rudyard Kipling's That Day.

An some one shouted Ook it! an it come to sove-ki-poo, An we chucked our rifles from usO my Gawd!

(Hook it = run away

sove-ki-poo = sauve qui peut, save yourself if you can)

There was thirty dead an wounded on the ground we wouldnt keep No, there wasnt more than twenty when the front begun to go But, Christ! along the line o flight they cut us up like sheep, An that was all we gained by doin so!

Most people know the difference between an orderly withdrawal and a rout. The Taliban would not dare raise a hand to our Soldiers in open battle, which means we should have evacuated our civilians along with friendly Afghans before, rather than after, Biden's August 31 withdrawal target. As matters stand, the Taliban now appears to be going door to door to round up "collaborators" the same way the Gestapo once went door to door to round up Jews. The Taliban has also told civilians to give up their weapons because they no longer need them, just as the Nazis told the Jews to give up their weapons. This is, needless to say, a good reason for concealing the weapons in question, and acquiring more if possible. This is exactly what the National Resistance Front for Afghanistan has done and it deserves American support in the form of weapons and money.

Captured weapons have given the Taliban a superbly-equipped military force

YouTube screengrab

I eard the knives beind me, but I dursnt face my man, Nor I dont know where I went to, cause I didnt alt to see, Till I eard a beggar squealin out for quarter as e ran, An I thought I knew the voice anit was me!

This is not, by the way, the first time the United States has abandoned allies to be slaughtered by terrorists and repressive governments. Robert L. Wilkie, a former Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, explains why the United States failed to give military aid to South Vietnam when the Communists violated the peace treaty they made with us in 1975.

"One of those standing in the way of Fords attempt to save our friends was a new senator from Delaware named Joseph Robinette Biden." The result, Wilkie continues, was "countless refugees were forced into the sea, murder reigned throughout South Vietnam, and 'reeducation' camps became a way of life."

This proves that the phrase "Never Again" is, as shown by the Communists' treatment of South Vietnamese, Pol Pot's mass killings in Cambodia (technically not genocide because the Khmer Rouge murdered political opponents rather than people of any specific race, not that that made a difference to those murdered), the extermination of tens of millions of Chinese by Mao Zedong's government, and Communist China's current treatment of Uighurs, is nothing more than an empty slogan. This is exactly why Communist China is making overt threats to Taiwan and repressing freedom in Hong Kong despite its commitments regarding autonomy.

Should Taiwan, Israel, and Japan Build Nuclear Weapons?

This is, to be quite blunt, a good reason for Israel to build nuclear weapons if it does not already have them and, if it does, to build even more. This is the only way to ensure that "Never Again" means exactly that and, if Iran or other bad actors try to reenact the Holocaust, a genocide will indeed occurbut it won't be of the Jews this time. If that sounds like an outrageous statement, the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction was nothing more than a threat of mutual genocide by the Soviet Union and the United States, and it was the only diplomacy the operators of the gulags understood. The most evil dictator on earth will exercise restraint if he believes that, should he even begin to succeed in his goal of annihilating the Jews, the Armenians, the Ukrainians, or anybody else, his own country (or terrorist organization like Hamas, Hezballah, Al Qaeda, or ISIS) will cease to exist. That is the only language the world's Hitlers, Stalins, Pol Pots, Xi Jinpings, and terrorists understand.

This is also more than ample reason for Taiwan and perhaps Japan to repudiate the Nonproliferation Treaty and acquire enough nuclear weapons to make it clear to Beijing that the consequences of military aggression from the latter would be too horrific for any sane person to even contemplate. Communist China's rulers are just as evil as the Russian dictators Joseph Stalin (who committed genocide in the Ukraine) and Nikita Khrushchev, but they are also just as rational, and they are not going to create a situation in which one of their intended victims might give them a face full of plutonium.

"Concern about the credibility of the U.S. defense commitment to Taiwan" was in fact cited (Office of Technology Assessment, "Nuclear Proliferation and Safeguards") as a potential incentive for Taiwan to acquire nuclear weapons as long ago as 1977. The same reference cites Japan as a "major refrainer" which, like West Germany and Sweden, could build nuclear weapons but chooses not to. This article also raises the possibility that Taiwan might acquire nuclear weapons, and quickly. The bottom line is however that history has proven repeatedly that it is a bad idea to rely on alliances to defend your national existence, whether you are Czechs in 1938, Poles in 1939, or Israelis, Taiwanese, or Japanese today. Rudyard Kipling's poem offers a fitting epitaph to the credibility of the United States as currently "led" by Joe Biden.

An there aint no chorus ere to give, Nor there aint no band to play; But I wish I was dead fore I done what I did, Or seen what I seed that day!

Civis Americanus is the pen name of a contributor who remembers the lessons of history, and wants to ensure that our country never needs to learn those lessons again the hard way. He or she is remaining anonymous due to the likely prospect of being subjected to "cancel culture" for exposing the Big Lie behind Black Lives Matter.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
The president and first lady are back in Delaware and singing along with Perry Como:

Oh what did Del-a-ware boy, what did Delaware

What did Del-a-ware boy, what did Delaware...

According to news reports:

President Biden is once again scheduled to head home to Delaware Saturday, as thousands of Americans and Afghan allies remain stranded in Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover last weekend. The White House announced that Biden would leave for Wilmington around midday following a meeting with his national security team to get updated on the situation. Vice President Kamala Harris, who was traveling to Southeast Asia, is expected to attend virtually. As of late Friday evening, Biden had no public events scheduled for Saturday or Sunday.

Normally, we would be very happy to see a couple enjoy their retirement in a place like Delaware.

So what in the heck is going on? Why is this president always away from the White House? No one would be complaining if the economy were great or the world were peaceful or the border situation were under control.

I don't know for sure, but this may have been part of the deal to get Joe out of retirement. Maybe the phone call went something like this:

Mr. Vice President, we need you to run one more race.

Why? Call Beto, Sanders, Warren, the guy from South Bend, Indiana whatever his name is...

Mr. Vice President, they don't cut it.

Why me? I've never won a national race. I lost three times...come on, man!

Mr. Vice President, we need you. It's you or another Trump term for sure.

OK. Here is the deal. If I win, I work a couple of hours a day and fly to Delaware every weekend.

Mr. Vice President, you got a deal. We'll surround you with people who'll run the country, write your speeches, and make you so popular unlike Trump.

OK. It's a deal, but don't complain if things don't work out.

Well, maybe it didn't happen quite that way. Maybe he really wanted to be president and get back in the kitchen at his age.

Honestly, I don't think so. Life has thrown the Delaware plan a major curveball, from the price of gasoline to the border and now Afghanistan.

Wonder if anyone explained this to V.P. Harris? She'll be owning all of this a lot sooner than she thinks.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).

Image: 12019 via Pixabay, Pixabay License.

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They're doing it againscrabbling through the dustbins of recent history in search of solutions that have never worked. The Bible says it best: "As dogs return to their vomit, so fools repeat their folly" (Proverbs 26:11).

Since he took office on January 20, President Biden has issued scores of executive orders, memoranda, and proclamations in a cascade of paper-tiger efforts to return to the "good old days" of the Obama administration.

Biden's Cabinet picks have also reflected his nostalgia for familiar faces and fallacies. Most of them are Obama-era retreads like Sec. Austin at Defense, Sec. Blinken at State, and Sec. Yellen at Treasury. Apart from the old-timers, the one governing principle here seems to be that each candidate has been chosen to ensure maximum diversity of race, ethnicity, sex, and gender preference. Apparently, it's all about identity politics. Dr. Martin Luther King must be spinning in this grave.

There's nothing more dangerous than a man with only one idea unless it's a man with too many ideas. Our desperately groping leader has way too many ideas. Among the worst is the notion that, when the country you're trying to lead has too many unhappy citizens, the best way to fix the problem is to open your borders and bring in more unhappy people from all over the world. That has proven to be a political and fiscal time bomb.

If we take a closer look at the details of Biden's growing library of executive orders and proclamations, we see a sinister future for both the United States and the rest of the free world. Consider these two lists of radical changes in our nation's foreign and domestic policies:

Foreign Policy

Stopped building or maintaining the border wall Implemented open borders for all, including Middle Eastern terrorists and Central American drug cartels Restored Obama's nuclear deal with Iran Ignored Trump's peace deals with Saudi Arabia, etc. Restored U.S. support for the Paris Climate Accord

Domestic Policy

Kept Section 230 immunity for Big Tech (Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.) Supported the 1619 Project in all schools and colleges to promote Critical Race Theory Endorsed unlimited abortion, "sex change" procedures, and euthanasia Raised the income tax on all millionaires to more than 40% Shut down all fossil fuel production and replaced these energy sources with solar and wind power.

Whatever the Biden-Pelosi-Schumer triumvirate's future plans for global "equity" may be, their current policies are already disastrous. Their open-borders immigration policy is triggering an unprecedented flood of illegal alien children that will overwhelm our health care and educational systems, and their clean energy drive is wrecking both our domestic economy and our foreign policy. As economist Stephen Moore observed back in February, "[w]e will reverse the energy independence achieved under former President Donald Trump to dependency on OPEC nations under Biden[.] ... [T]he Saudi oil sheiks, Russia's Vladimir Putin, and the communists in Beijing ... are going to make out like bandits."

Just when we thought things couldn't possibly get worse, we now have Biden's calamitously botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. When, on August 18, Pentagon military leaders Austin and Milley announced at a Pentagon press conference that there was nothing they could do to save the American citizens still in the custody of the Taliban, it became clear to many that the current situation in Kabul is far worse than our desperate withdrawal from Saigon in 1975.

Reaching out to a contemporary (whose name must remain anonymous for his own protection), I elicited this response:

Regarding the Austin-Milley press conference, yes, I watched it as well and have been trying to keep up with the whole process[.] ... My impression is that the whole process seems to suffer from poor decisions from the top. The president said there was no way to have conducted the draw down without chaos. This is only marginally true.

Simple common sense says you take out the civilians and refugees first while the military is kept there in the necessary size force to maintain overall area control. That includes all areas where we have to gather people and get them to the airports. Both airports were necessary for such a large action initially. The embassy should have been kept open to help with communication, processing records, and coordination with Afghan leaders. ...

What I described is simple common sense, but that is not how our leadership chose to proceed. They needlessly and unnecessarily assumed and relied on the Afghan army and government, which was inflated and shaky at best, to provide protection and support. Worse yet, it is reasonable to assume that, since the Taliban control all the country outside the one U.S.-controlled airport and since admittedly at least 15,000 personnel are under Taliban control, and since a smart enemy would realize they now have 15,000 hostages to bargain with, then they will not let any valuable assets return to the airport. They are too valuable as political prisoners. To give the enemy this advantage over us is beyond foolish.

Although the news media will cover it up and try to make it seem reasonable, it is in fact foolish, given the history and motivational failures of which we had ample knowledge. This is like watching the mistakes made in the Vietnam draw down all over again, but this is much worse than the Vietnam situation. ...

Finally, the world is watching us closely. Our allies, our enemies, our veterans, our citizens, if they are lucky enough to find out the truth, or even care, as they are distracted by the COVID-created diversion. Will we watch China take over Taiwan soon? I predict it will happen before November 2022.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.

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After four years of President Trump putting America first and gaining respect on the world stage, the American position abroad has crumbled. The Biden administration has wrought so much destruction that it is difficult not to despair about what the future holds. In no place is despair more warranted than in Afghanistan, a country being subjugated by the Taliban now that Biden has ended the American occupation. Women and girls who thought they had a chance for a brighter life are being thrust back to the Dark Ages and sexual slavery.

And yet, even in this horrific time, there are heroes among us rising to the occasion. Ten girls from the Afghan Girls Robotics Team were rescued this week by Allyson Reneau. Who is this woman? An intrepid soldier of fortune? An international adventurer of intrigue and mystery? A member of a real-life Mission: Impossible team?

No, shes just an ordinary mom with 11 children, a 60-year-old appalled at the ascending violence against women and girls in Afghanistan. Allyson has known the girls of the robotics team since 2019 when she worked on the board of directors for Explore Mars. She met the girls at the organizations annual Humans to Mars conference. Ironically, the girls were considered an example of how womens rights had improved in Afghanistan following the American invasion after 9/11. Now they were in danger of being turned into sex slaves.

Allyson couldnt bear the thought of the future the girls faced under the Taliban. She tried reaching out to Jim Inhofe, one of the Republican senators from Oklahoma and a ranking member of the Armed Services Committee. The senator was too swamped with calls for help from American citizens to assist Allyson.

She might have accepted that there was nothing she could do. A lot of people might have felt they had done all they could. Not Allyson. She flew to Qatar, where a friend in the U.S. Embassy helped assemble passports and other documents to get the girls out of Afghanistan. They worked all night desperately trying to gather the precious papers that would allow ten girls to escape a life of degradation, and they succeeded. The team was safely evacuated to the United States, where they will have an opportunity to continue their education and live their lives in peace and freedom.

Allysons work is not done. She is trying to evacuate 25 more girls, while the Taliban goes door to door, seizing young girls and forcing them to become child brides. It is appalling to think of the life women face now in Afghanistan, where oppression is real and not a matter of microaggressions or anguish over cultural appropriation or the woes of ancestors who have long turned to dust.

Women in Afghanistan are being relegated to nothing more than furniture to be covered up with drapes and used at the pleasure of violent men who dont care about anything but their own desires. Ten girls have escaped this fate, thanks to Allyson Reneau, a great American hero.

Pandra Selivanov is the author of Future Slave, a story about a 21st century black teenager who is sent back in time and becomes a slave in the old south.

Image: Members of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team. YouTube screen grab.

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Exactly like your father: A big stupid muscle-headed moron -- Mrs. Marcus (Ethel Merman) in Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.

With that inspiring start, lets look via questions at the ways the American public as a whole is a stupid muscled headed moron along with further interludes by Mrs. Marcus:

Why are we still dependent on other countries for basics needs such as pharmaceuticals, computer chips, and steel?

Why are we required to wear masks when it is widely known they are ineffective against COVID?

Why is it that our military leadership has no idea of the number of military armaments left behind in Afghanistan? Knowing that we have rearmed our enemy, who will take the blame for the next terrorist event -- wherever it may occur?

Why is it that Neptunes moon Triton is experiencing global warming (MIT 1998) and we think its our exhaust pipe that is warming the earth?

Why did we vote to give away our energy independence in 2020?

Why do we need $1.2 trillion in infrastructure spending when President Trump proposed federal spending of $200 billion?

What kind of an attitude is that? "These things happen." The only reason why these things happen is that this whole country is filled with people, that when these things happen, they just say "these things happen," and that's why they happen.

What will happen to the price of infrastructure basics such as concrete, asphalt, and steel if and when the infrastructure plan gets passed? What will that do to the price of housing?

Why havent cities eradicated gang violence? Why do urban residents keep voting Democratic when nothing gets done?

Why did the Governor of Oregon vote to suspend graduation testing? Who does that benefit? Why arent Oregonians troubled by this?

If the Keynesian multiplier effect (government spending a dollar increases the economy by a multiple) actually worked, why do we have a $28 trillion (and rising) national debt?

How do you feel about this statement from the Navy in the July 12, 2021WSJ -- I guarantee you every unit in the Navy is up to speed on their diversity training?

Do you really think pregnant women should be flying fighter jets?

Whose idea was it to have high school sophomores read Two Boys Kissing (New Trier High School, Winnetka, Illinois)?

Do we really think its a good idea to let boys who identify as girls be in the girls locker room?

What about boys/young men who identify as girls/young women competing against girls in womens sports?

Why was the toughest question posed to Joe Biden during the 2020 election, What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Knowing this, how did Joe Biden receive 63.5% of the vote in California?

Why havent we held our media accountable for all of these failures?

Hard leftists arent going to go away. We need to engage persuadable Democrats to change the direction of our country. Doing nothing will only continue the slow decline of a once-great country known as the United States of America. Throw them some of these questions along with some of your own and lets move the needle.

and you know what those half-witted morons up in Sacramento do about it? They just sit there.

A hat tip to Mrs. Marcus.

Image: Pixabay

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The Army of North Vietnam had Jane Fonda.

Fonda was a willing useful idiot to them and their propaganda and had a grand old time gleefully bouncing up and down on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun used to shoot down American fighters. That image was catnip to the communists, but sickening to Americans, and the putrid image reverberated for decades.

But not even those masters of propaganda, burning with hate for the U.S., could top the Taliban, which must have spent months brainstorming (just picture it) to come up with crap like this:

Taliban photo appears to mock Iwo Jima flag raising in latest propaganda push https://t.co/OBxVPTvyEo pic.twitter.com/pUjq6laKJU  Military Times (@MilitaryTimes) August 21, 2021

They've got quite a propaganda operation, state of the art, really, and imagine what they've got for us come 9/11.

The Taliban's mocking parody is repugnant. What does the picture of the Marines on Iwo Jima in 1945 stand for? Service. Selflessness. Honor. Humility. ("We had a job to do.") Courage. Perseverance. Victory. And every last man in that picture was a gentleman.

And what does the Taliban stand for? Frenzied manic fanaticism, born of fury at being born barbarians in an advancing world and not being happy about it. Zero honor, all of them thieves, looters, and liars. Cowardly as sin, easy to beat when the U.S. leadership has resolve and isn't more cowardly than they are. And not one of these maggots will ever be a gentleman, every last one of them comfortable with beating women and babies and old people trying to get into Kabul airport, and doing far fouler things to the helpless beyond that. In short, they're maggots, so naturally, they know to put their grubby visages onto our great American visage from World War II, the better to sully it. It's little different from their blowing up the Bamiyan Buddhas, they see no self other than their crummy, worthless, selves; selflessness is utterly foreign to them.

Apparently, the image has been out there since late July, first run by the U.K, Sun, but it's gotten out now, a painful reminder that senile Joe Biden and his clown lieutenants have handed the Taliban billions of dollars of state-of-the-art American equipment, and a $700 million embassy as the Taliban runs circles around the Americans trying to leave the country, blocking 10,000 American citizens' entry to the Kabul airport to evacuate, accompanied by beatings, and the odd spray of machine-gun fire in the huge, desperate crowd on the outside. They defeated us, as at least one Biden official reportedly said, in what amounted to a self-inflicted own-goal on our side. And now they're twisting the knife on us.

They're also making a bid for new recruits to their black hole of a cause, hoping that the image will excite other losers out there just as much as it excites them.

Which rather tells us that the Biden-created catastrophe in Afghanistan is far from over. The terrorists, at least so long as Biden is around, have "won" yet winning a whole country is not enough for them, they also need to dance around and stomp on our most sacred images to keep their creepy party going.

The idea of course, is sadistic pleasure in our pain across the board, not just to America's brave veterans of the Afghanistan war, but to American troops from every war, and Americans in general.

Imagine what World War II veterans, who fought and died in the most desperate warlike conditions and eventually won, must be feeling when they see that grotesque clown parody, done up by slimy terrorists who did nothing at all to win except for wait for the Biden administration to destroy itself, putting on captured American uniforms as war booty, like Dr. Lector in a skin suit.

It's almost an act of divine mercy that this man, U.S. Col. Dave Severance, who ordered the 1945 U.S. flag hoisting by Marines in those desperate days of World War II, died last August and didn't live to see this. I'm glad that Associated Press photographer, Joe Rosenthal, who died in 2006, didn't live to see it, either.

The Taliban are doing this not just to disgust us but to engage in hot pursuit. Having snagged a whole country based on the fecklessness of Joe Biden, they'd like to keep the war going. They'd like attract slimy new recruits, terrorists from ISIS, al-Qaida, and anyone else who wants to lay America low. That was warned of several days ago by CNN analyst Peter Bergen, an old Afghanistan-based foreign correspondent who knows the place, and obviously, pictures like this from a very busy Taliban propaganda shop show that that is coming to pass.

The Biden administration has not only blundered catastrophically in Afghanistan by pulling out troops, abandoning critical properties such as the embassy and the Bagram airbase, abandoning billions in top-line equipment for the Taliban to get its filthy hands on, and then leaving civilians to fend for themselves, it's still blundering by suggesting that the Taliban is not an enemy.

Three days ago, we were treated to these press conference responses from Biden officials like these:

The Pentagons top spokesman declined to say Thursday whether Americas military considered the Taliban to be an enemy of the US, as Washingtons forces struggle to get thousands of Americans and Afghans out of Kabul in a matter of days. We are focused right now  the thing were working against right now is time and space, John Kirby told Fox News Special Report in response to the question from host Bret Baier, and we want to get as many people out of Kabul as we can in as little amount of time as we can. Weve had no hostile interactions right now between American forces and the Taliban and we want to keep it that way. Since the Islamic fundamentalist forces entered the Afghan capital Sunday, the Biden administrations top military and security officials have portrayed the militants as a reasonable  if not equal  partner in the withdrawal of US troops from the war-torn country. On Tuesday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House that the Taliban have informed us that they are prepared to provide the safe passage of civilians to the airport, and we intend to hold them to that commitment. When asked if he believed that assurance, Sullivan simply answered, yes.

Now we have that sickening Iwo Jima image.

With staged propaganda photos like these, the Taliban is trying to correct that misperception. Yet these fools obviously don't believe them.

It's all very redolent of Jimmy Carter, in the wake of the Iran hostage crisis's conclusion, who reportedly stated that that deep down, he didn't think the Iranian mullah militants who took several dozen American diplomats hostage for 444 days in horrible conditions really meant A,erocam any harm.

When someone tells you who they are, believe them.

Image: Twitter screen shot

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Waking up this morning, the PurpleAir.com smoke/air quality measurements were in the 150s. Thats only the red zone of unsafe air and not nearly as bad as the various gradations of purple but still considered a hazard for sensitive people. Smoke from several large California wildfires drifted to the Pacific and the on-shore wind pulled it right back in. At least were not inland, where smoke blankets the valley, and the weather is always hotter. And at least were not in the foothills and mountains, where towns are burning down wholesale, in the middle of the forests that are on fire. Rural Californians are losing their homes, their livelihoods, their entire environment. Not for the first time, many of them.

At the coast, for the moment, we have the humidity of the typical cool, foggy August morning making it seem a little less awful. The kind of morning that prompted someone  apparently not Mark Twain  to say The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.

The coastal fog will end, and September and October, always hot here, will bring days on end where the wind reverses and, unless the whole state burns down before then, it will also bring lung-degrading smoke from an ever-increasing number of out of control fires. How our firefighters stand living in the conditions they experience, fighting these fires months on end, I do not know.

If youve never experienced smoke on this scale, imagine your sinuses inflamed, a dull headache, and a feeling of cotton-candy fluff brain, where coherent thought is difficult. Not enough oxygen to function, basically. Last summer and fall, we had a double-whammy of smoke and lockdowns. There was, literally, nowhere to go.

Ive lived in California full-time since 1979, and my first memory of a bad fire was the Oakland Firestorm of 1991. It burned hundreds of homes, and it came within a few blocks of our house. That fire was a shock to the state  nobody talked about it as a normal occurrence, as we now do.

There are plenty of excuses, the super dry year we just had, for instance. But as I wrote back in March, this fire season was inevitable, due to the states mismanagement over time of our natural resources. In that article, I talked about the environmental movement vociferously championing shortsighted goals, which brought us to this point.

Weve had no forest management for so long, the underbrush has created perfect tinder to burn the trees. (Newsom deleted the budget for clearing brush this last year entirely, in case you wondered.) Destroying the lumber industry was the movements first win. End evil clear-cutting, which provided fire breaks. No more thinning the brush out, to harvest the trees. No more cutting and replanting. The habitat of the spotted owl is now pristine! Too bad its all burned down

The next evil was water infrastructure. Damn the dams! Let the fish have their habitat, keep the water flowing to the sea, empty the reservoirs for the one-inch Delta smelt! Man is evil!

Now, we have added nothing to our water infrastructure for so long that the farmers who feed our country are cutting down their nut trees, leaving their fields fallow. We may be importing families of future farmworkers over the border wholesale, but there are not going to be too many places left for them to work. And forget about the prices of farm goods, under these circumstances!

Finally, we have the power grid. As I took a break from writing to eat lunch, I came across this article  ever so quietly, Newsom is trying to make up for destroying our efficient, power-by-natural-gas (and hydro, which is nonexistent in the drought) by installing five temporary generators that run onwait for it!natural gas. He needs to make up for the shortfall of his short-sighted quest for all renewable power.

Our goal of all-renewable power by 2045, may not be realistic. Ya think? Back in May, I wrote about the destructiveness of renewables, from killing birds by the billions, to slaves mining rare earths needed to construct solar panels, to inefficiency. Newsoms goals havent changed, but reality is biting him in the butt.

We Californians need our own version of Ron DeSantis, someone who is savvy enough, experienced enough, discerning enough, persuasive enough to turn the tide in our floundering state. I hope everyone carefully returns their ballots (if you do it by mail, be sure to not let your vote to get rid of Newsom show through that hole in the envelope). I think Ill do it in person, on election day.

My vote will go to Larry Elder because from what Ive seen, hes got a good grasp of reality and far better ideas than Governor Useless. Newsoms already sold his Marin county home, so maybe he realizes his time is about up.

Image: Fire in California (cropped image). YouTube screengrab.

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The owner of Geronimo the alpaca has welcomed the support she has received from across the world as she continues the fight to stop her animal being culled by the Government.

Helen Macdonald said she had received messages of support from New Zealand, from Malaysia and across Europe.

Supporters have also been camping out at her farm near Wickwar, South Gloucestershire, in case officials from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) arrive to destroy the alpaca.

Geronimo has twice tested positive for bovine tuberculosis and Ms Macdonald believes the tests are returning false positives.

The destruction warrant is valid until September 4 and Ms Macdonald wants the Government to allow Geronimo to be tested for a third time or let him live to aid research into the disease.

Ive heard nothing from Defra, nothing from the ministers, nothing from the chief veterinary officer, Ms Macdonald told the PA news agency.

The groundswell of support from around the world and everything that everyone is doing gives me hope that Defra will look at this and say they dont have any data for multiple priming in camelids and take a pause and look at this properly.

Geronimos owner Helen Macdonald wants further tests to be carried out (Jacob King/PA)

Ms Macdonald, a veterinary nurse, praised the assistance she has received from people who have travelled from all over the UK to her farm.

Weve been soldiering on for four years and to have this support is so wonderful, she said.

Theres a movement here now and theres anger, sadness and outrage about wrongdoing.

Its just growing by the hour. The petition is growing, and the responses are growing.

Its huge and its very, very welcome because what we are dealing with is not whether Geronimo has TB but the fact they knowingly misused tests to create a suspicion of disease and to kill him four years ago.

Geronimo awaits his fate in isolation in South Gloucestershire (Jacob King/PA)

Theres no science to back up what theyre saying, and we need to move forward in a positive way. Everyone is asking for that now, listen to the electorate and sit down and sort out this properly.

Ms Macdonald accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Environment Secretary George Eustice and Defra officials of hiding in plain sight having heard nothing from any of them.

Theyre hiding in plain sight, Im afraid. We havent seen anything of them or heard anything of them, she said.

I invite them to come and sit down and talk about it. They dont have any evidence and they cant keep denying evidence from multiple priming or they would have shown it to us by now.

Its not fair and all were asking for is they use appropriate testing on camelids and stop treating them like cattle.

Supporters are camping out at Helen Macdonalds farm in South Gloucestershire (Jacob King/PA)

Ms Macdonald, who imported Geronimo from New Zealand, has received an outpouring of support from the public, with more than 130,000 people signing a petition calling on the Prime Minister to halt the killing.

On Wednesday, a High Court judge refused her lawyers application for a temporary injunction to stop the destruction order and reopen the case.

Ms Macdonald said that when Defra officials do attend her farm to euthanise Geronimo, she will not break the law.

As well as alpacas, badgers have been a victim of the fight against bovine TB, with mass culling employed to stop the spread since 2013, sparking a huge public backlash.

Last week, the Government insisted all the evidence on the animals condition had been looked at very carefully.

A Defra spokesman said: We are sympathetic to Ms Macdonalds situation  just as we are with everyone with animals affected by this terrible disease.

While nobody wants to cull animals, we need to do everything we can to tackle this disease to stop it spreading and to protect the livelihoods of those affected.
A member of the London Fire Brigade (LFB) was given a retirement present he is unlikely to forget  a surprise visit from Hollywood megastar Harrison Ford.

The LFBs Blue Watch had just finished roll call at around 8pm on Saturday evening when the Star Wars actor got out of a car outside the station.

Station Officer Ryan Osborne struck up conversation with the actor, whose major roles include Indiana Jones, before introducing him to Andrew Shaw  who has carried out 31 years of service for the LFB.

Ford, 79, spoke with Mr Shaw for a while and wished him well with his retirement.

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After the encounter, Mr Osborne said: It was a pleasure to be able to say farewell to Andrew on his last shift with the impromptu help of Han Solo.

Being based at a busy central London location we do sometimes see famous faces passing by, and this just happened to be perfect timing.

The LFB Twitter account later tweeted: Woah, not often Indiana Jones pops by to wish you well on your retirement!

A treat for crews at @LFBWestminster when Hollywood star Harrison Ford paid them a surprise visit.

The Westminster LFB account added: Han Solo comes to Soho!! Mr Ford was kind enough to congratulate Firefighter Andrew Shaw on his last night shift for 31 years of service.
The UK will offer its complete support to the US if Joe Biden opts to extend the deadline for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan after the evacuation situation in Kabul worsened.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, in what is likely to be read as a plea to Washington, said no nation will be able to get everyone out of the Taliban-controlled country, with the US presidents August 31 target date making the rescue mission even more time pressured.

Writing for the Mail on Sunday, the Cabinet minister said: If the US timetable remains, we have no time to lose to get the majority of the people waiting out.

Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer, and they will have our complete support if they do.

Relations between the UK and US are under strain, with former prime minister Tony Blair  who was in Downing Street when Britain sent troops into Afghanistan 20 years ago in the wake of 9/11  accusing Mr Biden of deciding to pull out of the central Asian country with little or no consultation, branding the move imbecilic.

According to the Sunday Times, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab  who is once again in the spotlight over his decision to remain on holiday as the Taliban advanced on Kabul  is seeking to speak to his opposite number, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to discuss extending the end-of-the-month deadline.

It comes as the situation around Kabul airport took a turn for the worse, with The Independent reporting that four Afghan women were crushed to death on Saturday as they sought to access the airfield where military repatriation flights are leaving from.

Former prime minister Tony Blair has been critical of US President Joe Bidens decision to withdraw from Afghanistan (Victoria Jones/PA)

Mr Wallace confirmed there were too many people in the airport on Saturday, forcing the US side of the operation to suspend access.

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman stressed that neither UK flights nor processing were affected by the pause, however.

There were further worrying reports about the treatment of Britons and Afghans who supported UK efforts in the country who are trying to escape.

Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy shared a letter on social media that she had sent Mr Raab about the crisis facing evacuees, as she sought additional assistance for those on the ground.

The senior Opposition figure said Labour MPs had been hearing of people being shot at, beaten and raped while they wait to be called forward at the airport, while the Baron Hotel in the city, where many British nationals are being told to travel to for processing, is being blockaded by the Taliban.

Ms Nandy asked whether Nato allies could put in place a military policing operation at the gates of Hamid Karzai International Airport or within the internal processing zone to protect those waiting.

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Meanwhile, the US embassy in Afghanistan recommended US citizens avoid travelling to Kabul airport because of potential security threats outside the gates being linked to the so-called Islamic State.

Sir Laurie Bristow, the British ambassador to Afghanistan who has stayed in the capital to help process applications, said the rescue effort was without a doubt the biggest international challenge I have worked on as a diplomat.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the Operation Pitting evacuation mission is being supported by 1,000 British troops  including Paras from 16 Air Assault Brigade  with nearly 4,000 people repatriated from Afghanistan since August 13.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace (Andrew Matthews/PA)

In his article, the Defence Secretary appeared to recommend that any Afghans left behind once troops exit the country should head for the borders where processing hubs across the region outside Afghanistan will be set up for those who Britain has an obligation to bring to this country.

Back home, the Foreign Secretary was facing further revelations about his decision to remain on holiday in Crete while the Taliban circled Kabul, with claims he stayed abroad despite being told to return to the UK.

The Sunday Times reported that Mr Raab was ordered home from his trip by Downing Street on August 13 but stayed for two more days at his five-star hotel on the Greek island because Boris Johnson told him he could.

The newspaper quotes a senior government official as saying there was a sense of disbelief in No 10 when the Cabinet minister was not present in person for talks on Sunday, adding: He seems to have nobbled Boris after he was told to come back.

The Foreign Secretary returned to the UK on Monday after Kabul had fallen to the militants.

The Prime Minister has already had to give Mr Raab his backing once after he found himself in the firing line over his handling of the unfolding situation.

It emerged he delegated a call about repatriating Afghan interpreters, while away on August 13, to a junior minister  a decision that resulted in the phone conversation with the Afghan foreign minister not taking place and possibly delaying taking them to safety.

Responding to the latest holiday allegations, Labours Ms Nandy said: Its staggering that the Foreign Secretary found the time to pick up the phone to lobby the Prime Minister to extend his own holiday, but refused to call the Afghan government in the hours before Kabul fell to the Taliban.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  A conservative talk radio host from Tennessee who had been a vaccine skeptic until he was hospitalized from COVID-19 has died. He was 61.

Nashville radio station SuperTalk 99.7 WTN confirmed Phil Valentine's death in a tweet Saturday.

Valentine had been a skeptic of coronavirus vaccines. But after he tested positive for COVID-19, and prior to his hospitalization, he told his listeners to consider, If I get this COVID thing, do I have a chance of dying from it? If so, he advised them to get vaccinated. He said he chose not to get vaccinated because he thought he probably wouldnt die.

After Valentine was moved into a critical care unit, Mark Valentine said his brother regretted that he wasn't a more vocal advocate of the vaccination.

I know if he were able to tell you this, he would tell you, Go get vaccinated. Quit worrying about the politics. Quit worrying about all the conspiracy theories," Mark Valentine told The Tennessean on July 25.

He regrets not being more adamant about getting the vaccine. Look at the dadgum data, Mark Valentine said.

Phil Valentine had been a radio personality since he was 20 and became a popular conservative host by railing against a state income tax proposed by Republican then-Gov. Don Sundquist, the Tennessean reported.

The program grew into a nationally syndicated show that aired for 12 years on as many as 100 stations, according to the newspaper. At the end of the run, Valentine signed a three-year deal in 2019 that kept him on 99.7 WTN.

Phil Valentine was a visionary for the conservative movement, and he made an enormous impact on the lives of many Tennesseans, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn tweeted. My deepest condolences and prayers are with Phils wife, Susan, and his family. May they be comforted and surrounded by love during this difficult time.
Pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak

Islamabad: Pakistan has decided to allow fully-vaccinated Sikh pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur from next month with strict COVID-19 protocols, ahead of the 482nd death anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev on September 22, media reports said on Sunday.

On this occasion, three-day rituals will be held at the shrine from September 20. Guru Nanak died in Kartarpur on September 22, 1539.

Pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The decision to open the Kartarpur shrine was taken by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday due to the approaching death anniversary of Sikhism founder Baba Guru Nanak Dev on September 22.

Dawn newspaper reported that the NCOC meeting unanimously decided to allow Sikh pilgrims to visit Kartarpur next month under strict COVID-19 protocols.

Due to the Delta variant, India was in category C in Pakistan from May 22 till August 12, and a special approval was required for people coming from the country, including Sikh pilgrims.

However, fully-vaccinated persons with certificates will be allowed to enter Pakistan provided they show Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test reports which should not be more than 72 hours old.

Apart from this, a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) will also be conducted at airports and in case of a positive result, the individual will not be allowed to enter Pakistan.

Besides, as per Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs), a maximum of 300 people will be permitted to assemble at a time at the darbar.

According to an official of the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS), Pakistan had introduced three categories to deal with the coronavirus spread.

Countries in category A are exempted from the mandatory COVID-19 test, travellers from areas falling in category B are required to present a negative PCR test that must be taken within 72 hours of the travel date, while visitors from nations in category C are restricted and can travel only under specific NCOC guidelines, the official said.

The movement of pilgrims to Pakistan through the Kartarpur corridor has been suspended since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the neighbouring country banned all travel from India citing the surge in cases here in April this year, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai told Parliament in New Delhi on August 3.

India signed the Kartarpur corridor agreement with Pakistan on October 24, 2019. Under the pact, Indian pilgrims of all faiths are allowed to undertake round-the-year visa-free travel through the Kartarpur corridor to Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib, one of the most revered shrines of Sikhs, in Pakistan.

The restriction to visit Kartarpur was eased despite the country reporting 3,842 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the national tally to 1,123,812, according to the health ministry.

The death toll reached 24,923 with 75 more fatalities. The positivity rate was 7.18 per cent, the highest in the last three days.

The vaccination drive was going on and a consignment of 2 million doses of Sinovac vaccine reached Pakistan on Saturday to replenish the stock. So far, 46.45 million doses have been administered in the country.
Among those arrested were three maulanas, a police constable and an MBBS student of Tezpur Medical College

A Taliban fighter stands guard along a road near the site of an Ashura procession which is held to mark the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad, along a road in Herat on August 19, 2021, amid the Taliban's military takeover of Afghanistan. (Photo:AFP)

Guwahati: The Assam police on Saturday arrested 15 persons, including a student of medical college and a constable, from different places for their alleged social media posts supporting the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Pointing out that they had started arresting them since Friday night, police said that the accused have been booked under different sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, IT Act and the Criminal Procedure Code.

Director-General of Police (Special) G.P. Singh told reporters, We were on alert and monitoring social media for inflammatory posts. We found at least 18 such posts on social media in which pro-Taliban inflammatory remarks were found.

People are advised to be careful in posts or likes etc., on social media platforms to avoid penal action, he added.

Two people each were arrested from Kamrup Metropolitan, Barpeta, Dhubri and Karimganj districts, police said. One person each was arrested from Darrang, Cachar, Hailakandi, South Salmara, Goalpara and Hojai districts.

Deputy inspector-general Violet Baruah said that the Assam Police were taking stern legal action against pro-Taliban comments on social media that are harmful to national security. Were registering criminal cases against such persons. Please inform the police if any such thing comes to your notice, she tweeted.

Among those arrested were three maulanas, a police constable and an MBBS student of Tezpur Medical College. The medical student belongs from Hailakandi. Police said that they have identified two more residents of Assam who were involved in posting pro-Taliban posts from abroad.
The IGP said that there are inputs about some fresh infiltration bids having been made from across the Line of Control (LoC)

SRINAGAR: Against the backdrop of apprehension over and speculation of over a possible ingress of the Afghan Taliban, a senior police officer who is at the thick of counterinsurgency operations in Kashmir said on Saturday that the Indian Army, the J&K police and other uniformed forces would act professionally in such an eventuality.

In case any foreign element enters Kashmir, the J&K police, the Army and other security forces are ready to deal with the challenge in a very professional manner. As far as the Taliban are concerned, I will not talk and those who are authorised to speak will talk about it, inspector general of police Vijay Kumar told reporters here.

He also said, Speaking as a police officer, I may say if anyone comes here, my job is to collect information and launch operations along with the Army to neutralise the threat. Any future challenge will be handled in a professional manner. We are fully alert.

He said that the security forces and official agencies would seek public corporation if any element, any terrorist or suicide bomber plans anything. We will look for information from the locals. If any incident happens, the locals will be affected as tourists will fear coming here.

He asked, Whose economy will be affected if it happens, and, answering the question himself, said, It will be the locals and as such I will ask them to share information.

The IGP said that there are inputs about some fresh infiltration bids having been made from across the Line of Control (LoC). The terrorists killed in Bandipora recently had infiltrated this year, he said.

Replying to questions, he said that the militants after targeting civilians and politicians take refuge in woods and that the J&K police and the Army were activating human intelligence in the forest areas as well to take on them. We will not just track terrorists in the hinterland only but in the woods too, he said.

Asked about the increase in the number of incidents in which activists of mainstream parties, particularly BJP, were being killed by suspected militants, the officer said it has been happening in J&K since 1989.

We cant provide security to all of them but yes, those facing threats and are vulnerable must approach us and we will provide them security cover, he said.
Sri Lanka is currently experiencing a rapid rise in infections

Colombo: Indian naval ship Shakti carrying 100 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen reached Sri Lanka on Sunday to help the island nation combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country's ports minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena was at the port here to receive the cargo and hailed India's assistance to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

The deployment of the Indian naval vessel for the delivery of oxygen was in response to a personal request for assistance by Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for an urgent supply of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO), the Indian High Commission here said.

Camaraderie and coordination between Navies and various other stakeholders in India and Sri Lanka were on display as Sri Lankan Naval Vessel Shakthi with 40 tonnes of LMO on board also commenced its journey from Chennai to Colombo around the same time as INS Shakti.

It was a rare instance wherein two Shakti vessels commenced their journey from two different ports in India to the same destination almost at the same time for a common purpose, it said.

India's assistance to Sri Lanka during the pandemic has been varied and need-based in nature. Close to 26 tonnes of essential medical supplies were gifted in April-May 2020. Currency swap of USD 400 million was provided in July 2020.

The first consignment of vaccines, which was donated by India in January 2021, enabled Sri Lanka to roll out their vaccination programme ahead of the schedule, the Indian High Commission said.

Sri Lanka is currently experiencing a rapid rise in infections.

The death toll exceeded 7,000 with nearly 200 fatalities, the health authorities said on Sunday.

There has been a 30 per cent increase in the demand of oxygen to handle the rapid rise in the number of fresh patients, according to officials.
This does not mean that the Taliban, which has swept to power in the war-torn country, must be left alone to run havoc

The imperative now if for the international community to keep up the pressure on it to eschew terrorism and repression against women. Representational Image. (AFP)

At the height of the Cold War in the 1970s, a weary Polish poet, tired of Communist jargon, and the intrusively pervasive presence of the former Soviet Union in East Europe, wrote the evocative lines: Workers of the world Leave me alone!. A weary Afghanistan, tired of the presence of foreigners for decades, must be echoing these lines.

This does not mean that the Taliban, which has swept to power in the war-torn country, must be left alone to run havoc. There can be no Taliban 2.0. The Taliban, by its very nature is unlawfully violent, fanatically religious, repressive to women, compulsively terrorist, and insensitive to democratic governance. International pressure, for it to behave must continue, and increase.

However, the principal point of this column is different. And that is that countries must ultimately resolve their internal problems on their own, and foreign presence or military intervention has self-defining limitations, and cannot continue in perpetuity. In fact, I would further assert that military intervention in the end exacerbates problems and delays the solutions which countries can better arrive at as part of their autonomous evolution.

History is replete with examples to illustrate this verity. In Iran, a rootless anglicised elite under the Shah of Iran in the 1970s was sought to be propped up by a US-UK backed military coup. In the end, it failed. More significantly, the fact of this intervention, and the kind of regime it was trying to prop up, created its own backlash in the bazaar, and we had the empowerment of an ultr a-regressive regimen led by Ayatollahs. The consequences of foreign intervention are being felt till today.

In Kampuchea, the carpet-bombing by the USA led to a quantum leap in the recruitment of the abhorrent Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Ultimately the Pol Pot dictatorship came to power, which carried out a genocide against its own people in which millions died. China supported this genocidal regime, providing 90 per cent of Cambodian aid, and more than 15,000 military advisors. Left to itself, Cambodia has today resolved its internal problems.

In Vietnam, the iconic Ho Chi Minh formed the Communist Viet Minh party to oppose Japanese invaders and the French colonial administration. The US, in the thrall of the Cold War, then intervened, and fought a long bloody war to prevent Communism succeeding in Vietnam. At least three million Vietnamese were killed as also some 58,000 Americans. Communist forces ended the war by seizing control of South Vietnam in 1975. Today, Vietnam is a prosperous and stable country, and the United States is one of its most enthusiastic investors.

These are snapshots of history, but they illustrate the essential point that foreign military intervention, however well intentioned, is usually counter-productive, and nations must resolve their internal issues on their own. In Afghanistan, Russia intervened during the Afghan war of 1978-82 in support of the Afghan

Communist government. The Russians stayed for 10 years, none the better for their intervention, leaving Afghanistan only more bruised and battered. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack, the US invaded Afghanistan in 2001. It stayed for two decades, at an expense of one trillion dollars. During this period, it trained over 300,000 Afghan soldiers and police, and equipped them with state-of-the-art military equipment. However, the moment the US left, the Taliban reconquered all of Afghanistan at lightening speed. The US has been vilified by many for leaving Afghanistan to the mercy of the Taliban. The truth is that the Americans, for once, understood the lessons of history. Joe Biden spoke the truth when he said that endless American presence in the middle of another countrys civil conflict was not acceptable to me (emphasis mine).

Now, what remains is for Afghanistan to begin and complete its own process of national reconciliation. It is a highly complex country, opaque to foreigners, and overlapped with multiple ethnicities, fiefdoms, local loyalties, and internal dynamics. Yet, we have little option but to repose trust in the Afghans themselves to work out their destiny. What should give us hope is that Afghanistan is not what it used to be two decades ago. Two-thirds of its population is below the age of 30; 60 per cent of Afghans have Internet access; the bulk of Afghani people have been exposed to democratic freedoms; and, Afghani women, having experienced new freedoms, are likely to fight to retain them.

This does not mean that we underestimate the threat of the Taliban. The imperative now if for the international community to keep up the pressure on it to eschew terrorism and repression against women. It is hoped that China will learn from the experience of Russia and the US, and keep out of Afghanistan. Pakistan will be complicit with Taliban, but history may well bring out that it was sleeping with a Frankenstein monster.

During the transition period, with the Taliban in power, the threats to India are very real. There are many advocates of greater activism on the part of India, including building bridges with the Taliban. I dont think that is advisable, and we should act as per the options available to us. In such a situation, it is useful to remember what Chanakya said. In addition to sama, dama, danda, bheda, he spoke about a fifth upaya or instrument, asana, the strategic art of sitting on the fence. This essentially means that we should identify our feasible priorities, add our voice vehemently to international pressure on the Taliban, and look to what we need to do to protect our own interests: the evacuation of our remaining citizens from there; strengthening our defences (especially in Kashmir) against the possibility of greater terror emanating from the Afghanistan-Pakistan axis; and wait to see how the situation evolves in Afghanistan.

In the interim, the world should allow Afghanistan to negotiate its own destiny, free from outside military intervention.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he will convene a meeting of leaders from the Group of Seven nations on Tuesday

London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he will convene a meeting of leaders from the Group of Seven nations on Tuesday for urgent talks on the situation in Afghanistan.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Johnson said it is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years.

The UK holds this year's presidency of the G-7 nations, which is also made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
The ministry said separately that the UK had now evacuated nearly 4,000 people from Afghanistan since August 13

Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul. (Representational Photo:AFP)

LONDON: Britain said Sunday that seven Afghans have died in the chaos near Kabul airport as the British defence secretary expressed support for extending Washington's end-of-the-month deadline to permit the evacuation of so many people.

The United States and its allies have been struggling to cope with the thousands of foreign nationals and Afghans trying to flee Afghanistan in the week since the Taliban retook power.

"Our sincere thoughts are with the families of the seven Afghan civilians who have sadly died in crowds in Kabul," a defence ministry spokesman said without giving the circumstances.

Britain's Sky News had on Saturday aired footage of at least three dead bodies covered in white tarpaulins outside the airport.

Sky reporter Stuart Ramsay, who was at the airport, said that people at the front of one part of the crowd were being "crushed", while others were "dehydrated and terrified".

The defence ministry spokesman said: "Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible."

The ministry said separately that the UK had now evacuated nearly 4,000 people from Afghanistan since August 13.

Meanwhile Defence Secretary Ben Wallace issued what could be read as a plea to Washington for more flexibility over US President Joe Biden's August 31 target date to complete the rescue missions.

"If the US timetable remains, we have no time to lose to get the majority of the people waiting out," he wrote in the Mail on Sunday.

"Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer, and they will have our complete support if they do."

US President Joe Biden has said the deadline could be extended for the airlifts. "I think we can get it done by then, but we're going to make that judgment as we go," he said Friday

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is seeking to speak to his US counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss extending the August 31 deadline, according to the Sunday Times.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Pennsylvania artist invites Aspen audiences to see the incarcerated for more than their crimes
EV

Apart from being the heaviest components in electric vehicles, battery packs are also the most expensive. Any issue with them renders theuseless. Used ones are now facing the challenge of replacing these components feasibly. In most cases, new battery packs are more expensive than the entire electric car. Recent recalls show carmakers may have more good reasons to produce them on their own.The first one came from Hyundai. It created a very successful EV  the Kona Electric  until fires started happening. One of the first ones took place in Canada on June 26, 2019. Investigations were still ongoing in 2020, and Hyundai decided to recall the vehicles in October of that year.According to Hyundai, the issue was a folded anode tab in the cells made by LGES (LG Energy Solution) in its Nanjing plant in China. Rumors stated LGES would pay 70% of the recall costs, but none of the companies confirmed that was the case.Almost simultaneously, GM began having issues with the Chevrolet Bolt EV. Fires started to turn up while the car was charging or right after the process  which was also the case with the Hyundai. LGES was also the supplier for these batteries.GM initially denied it was something similar to what happened with the Kona Electric. Their batteries were made in a South Korean plant. When rumors emerged about the issue being with cell separators, the American company was quick to inform its LGES cells had different separators. It also tried to fix the situation with a bunch of software updates that made no difference in fire occurrences.It took a long time for GM to admit it would have to replace the defective battery modules. The last update was that it would switch the entire battery pack of all Bolt EV and Bolt EUV units ever made. The estimated cost for that would be $1.8 billion, which would allow the American automaker to open two new car factories if it wanted to.Before this last update, GM had only said that the association of two rare manufacturing problems caused the fires. After it, the Bolt EV manufacturer disclosed that the issues were a torn anode tab and, ironically, a folded separator. It also said it would seek compensation from LGES, which will have implications that well talk about later in this text.With so much at stake, does it make sense that automakers accept to buy such an expensive component that can have huge impacts on their reputation, or should they just learn how to produce them themselves?If you consider Hyundais and GMs situation with these recalls involving LGES, they would probably be better off on their own. Blaming a supplier for an issue does not change much for the consumer: theyll say that their Hyundai or Chevrolet were problematic, and thats it. Not having to deal with a third party that may try to avoid liability would also speed up the investigation and discovery of the causes for something as dangerous as blazes.Another irony is that the first company to reveal it would produce its own batteries was GM. On March 5, 2020, it announced Ultium, which will be made by Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture between GM and LGES. At first, it seemed that GM was trying to protect its supplier and partner as much as possible, but it completely gave that up when so many different manufacturing issues in various plants started to appear. How shaken their relationship will be after the recall is yet to be seen.On September 22, 2020, the Tesla Battery Day revealed the now famous 4680 cells. Until then, the EV maker would only buy them from Panasonic, with which it created its first Gigafactory in Nevada. The furthest Tesla had gone with batteries until announcing the 4680 cells was conceiving a new format, the 2170 cells.Volkswagen first talked about its unified cells during the Volkswagen Power Day on March 15, 2021. All the companys suppliers confessed they were surprised to hear that the German automaker would make its own batteries. It is yet unclear if Volkswagen will do that all by itself or with the help of a supplier, like GM did with LGES.So far, Mercedes-Benz and Ford have also decided to follow suit. The German carmaker announced that on July 22, 2021. On September 2, 2020, Fords former CEO Jim Hackett declared the company would buy them instead of producing these components. On April 27, 2021, he changed its mind and said it would manufacture its own cells. The recalls may prove that Fords new approach is a wise decision.Whether it is to retain a competitive edge or just to have more control over a crucial component to electric cars, expect all manufacturers that are serious about going electric to make their own cells. Battery packs are just too important to let them in the hands of other companies.
So the plan is as simple as it could be: Google wants to kill off the Android Auto for phone app and instead convince users to stick with a new driving mode bundled with Google Assistant and powered by Google Maps.The driving mode itself reached the preview stage a few months ago, but right now, its only available for a handful of users in the United States and a bunch of other countries.The purpose of this driving mode is, as you could easily figure out by simply reading its name, to provide users with an experience thats completely optimized for the car, therefore replacing Android Auto for phones on an Android device.Google, however, has embraced a slightly different approach, and in the next few lines, were going to highlight everything you need to know about the new driving mode.First and foremost, the driving mode is specifically designed to work with Google Maps . Oddly enough, no other navigation app is currently supported, and while Google hasnt provided any information as to whether it plans to expand its feature lineup in this regard, theres no doubt that other alternatives would be added rather sooner than later. So if youre a heavy Waze user, it shouldnt take too long before this Google-owned app makes its way to the driving mode.Just like Android Auto for phones, the driving mode is deeply integrated with Google Assistant, so you can also read and send messages, make calls, and control media and navigation using nothing but voice commands.The best of all is that you dont have to leave Google Maps for the whole thing, so the navigation app always stays on the screen, therefore providing you with uninterrupted information when driving.The driving mode, however, doesnt work on all Android phones out there. While Android Auto requires Android 6.0 and newer, the driving mode only supports Android version 9 and higher, so if youre already running Android 11, everything should be fully supported.Your device, however, must come with at least 4GB of RAM, and the driving mode only supports the portrait mode for now, though I wouldnt necessarily be surprised to see it getting support for landscape at some point in the future.If you want to get message notifications while running the driving mode in your car, make sure you turn on the Assistant notifications. And of course, a series of other permissions are also required if you want to make calls and send messages to contacts.Starting the driving mode will be possible either from Google Maps or right from Google Assistant The experience in this driving mode is clearly inspired by Android Auto for phones. Theres a launcher at the bottom of the screen, letting you toggle between the compatible apps, phone calls, messaging, and everything else available behind the wheel.The UI has also been specifically optimized to make sense in a car, so youre getting large buttons that are easy to interact with, therefore reducing the distraction as much as possible.Needless to say, you are strongly recommended to keep your device plugged in while using it in the car with the driving mode enabled. Given youre supposed to run navigation, music apps, and phone calls at the same time, the impact on the battery could be rather high, so plugging in the smartphone should come in handy and also guarantee a 100% charge after a long drive.At the end of the day, the new Google Maps driving mode isnt necessarily a replacement to Android Auto for phones but rather an evolution of the experience it provided. It remains to be seen how its going to evolve in the long term, but right now, everybody should keep in mind the whole thing is still in its early days and further refinements are required.
Over in Europe there is a very large number U.S. military bases and installations belonging to various branches and serving different needs, in places like Germany, Italy, and the UK. It is the British islands from where the 48th Fighter Wing, or the Statue of Liberty Wing, operates.The 48th is presently the only air wing that operates F-15 aircraft in Europe, and that makes the sight of the airplanes flown by American pilots one to remember. Especially when the F-15 in question is not only loaded to the teeth, but it is also performing pre-landing maneuvers that make it look particularly deadly.This is exactly what is happening in the main pic of this piece (click main photo to enlarge), which shows one of the 48th Fighter Wing F-15E Eagles in the skies over the RAF Lakenheath base this unit calls home, performing what the U.S. Air Force ( USAF ) calls routine training.The F-15, a machine made by Boeing, is called in one of its most recent configurations Strike Eagle. It is an incredibly nimble machine, being capable of reaching speeds of up to 1,875 mph (3,017 kph) thanks to a pair of Pratt & Whitney engines.The thing comes with enough hardpoints to be able to be fitted with a large variety of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, bombs, and drop tanks.Unlike the F-16, the F-15 is less widespread, presently being deployed by a small number of countries other than the U.S., namely Japan, Israel, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Qatar.
In the beginning, the Russians had the upper hand in the conquest of the space. They were the first to launch a satellite in Earth orbit in 1957, and the first to send a man into space in 1961. But that was just the beginning. In complete secrecy, they developed a lunar vehicle named Lunokhod (also spelled Lunakhod) with the only purpose of going there and drive on the Moon.Unlike the Sputnik 1, which was just a beeping device, the Lunokhod 1 had to complete research missions. It was sent to find what's on the Earth's natural satellite. Its sensors and x-ray devices could analyze the ground and send crucial data to the Command Center located in the Crimean peninsula.The Lunokhod (Moonwalker) program was developed by the Lavochkin institute, the same Russian company that built the first supersonic missile. It was also responsible for the development of various aircraft during WW2.With all the equipment and the motors, batteries, and communication devices, the Lunokhod 1 weighted 756 kg (1,667 lbs). It was way heavier than the LRV1 sent by NASA in 1972, which weighed just 210 kg (460 lbs). It was 1.35 m (4 feet) high and 2.15 m (7 feet) long.Around a tub-like shell, Lavochkin engineers packed the vehicle with sensors and other devices. Lunokhod was equipped with things like antennas, four television cameras, and special extendable devices to test the lunar soil, according to NASA summary of Russian things on the Moon. It also included a spectrometer, a penetrometer, a laser reflector, radiation detectors, an X-ray telescope, and a speedometer.The vehicle was controlled by a team of five "drivers" on Earth. They controlled the eight-wheel vehicle, which could develop a top speed of 300 feet (100 meters) per hour. All drivers needed to anticipate movements since there was a five-second lag between the command input and the vehicle's answer.It was powered by a folding solar panel dish mounted on top of the vehicle, which could close and act as a lid. The engineers did that to protect the internal part of the vehicle during the Moon's nights. However, since the temperatures during the nights dropped below -275 F (-129 Celsius), the scientists were afraid that the onboard equipment could stop working. To prevent that, they mounted a Polonium-powered generator which created a heat shield inside the rover.During day, the temperatures raised up to 320 degrees Fahrenheit (160 Celsius). A solar-powered ventilation system extracted all that heat from inside the vehicle's body and sent it outside via a thermal exchange unit. Thus, the equipment inside the vehicle was saved.To send the vehicle on the Moon, the Russians used a Proton rocket which they launched on November 10, 1970, from the Baikonur cosmodrome. After it escaped from the Earth's gravitation, the rocket released the Luna 17 spacecraft, which carried the Lunokhod 1. Four and a half days later, the spacecraft soft-landed on the Moon in an area known as the Sea of Rains (Mare Imbrium), and, on November 17, it deployed the ramps to release the vehicle.The Russians thought the mission would last about 90 days, but the vehicle exceeded everyone's expectations and ran for 322 days. It ceased to work when the Polonium reserve was depleted, and the last communication between the Command Center and the vehicle stopped on September 14, 1971. On October 4, the vehicle was officially considered "dead". In total, the vehicle traveled 10.54 km (6.55 miles) on the Moons' surface.But the Russian vehicle served even after its "death." Since it stopped working during the Moons day, its lid remained opened. In 2010, a team of researchers discovered the lost rover on the Moon's surface. Due to that, the Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operations (APOLLO) researchers could use the Lunokhod 1 reflector to return more light than any other surface from the Moon. As the researcher Tom Murphy from the University of California at San Diego said,But even if someone would replenish the Polonium supply of the vehicle, there is little chance that the equipment inside it could still work. Moreover, the controllers from the Earth are already safely placed in museums. Still, the Russians lost their race to the Moon with a crewed spacecraft. So, in the end, the U.S. won the Space Race even though it looked the other way around at the beginning.Do you think that the next crew on the Moon should try and jump-start the Russian vehicle?
If you asked me to pick a suitable donor for a custom project thatll embody the Ferrari spirit, the 2006 MY Honda CB600F Hornet isnt the first bike Id point to. However, thats exactly what a customer had in mind when he got in touch with One-Up Moto Garages Taylor Henschell, asking him to craft a two-wheeled interpretation of the most precious jewel from his Maranello-bred collection.The relic in question is a legendary NART Le Mans racing car from the mid-sixties  the vintage Prancing Horse of your wildest fantasies, essentially. It should go without saying this fellow was no ordinary client, so well bet the pressure was rather intense for Henschells Arkansas-based enterprise to deliver something outstanding.In any case, Fayettevilles moto architect absolutely nailed it, and we cant help but marvel at the staggering workmanship thats at hand here! His love for two-wheeled creatures materialized over a decade ago, when a 16-year-old Taylor got to ride a bike for the very first time. Before this took place, the craftsman claims to have had reoccurring dreams of riding a motorcycle, so we could say he was hooked before he even knew it.Ever since he founded One-Up Moto Garage, weve seen an abundance of awe-inspiring customs roll out of his workshop, but the modified Hornet were featuring here takes the cake for being the raddest of them all. Ladies and gents, behold Taylor Henschells most entrancing mechanical showstopper, Rosso Corsa.Following the acquisition of a CB600Fs engine and frame, he went about outsourcing a pair of cast wheels from a Honda VFR800, along with its monoshock and single-sided swingarm. The donors rear end was then redesigned with fresh shock mounts and a bespoke subframe, on top of which youll find a two-tone quilted leather saddle thats been upholstered in-house.Next, the machines skeleton was powder-coated from head to toe, while the wheels received a sexy coat of gold paintwork. Rosso Corsas front end comes equipped with a CBR s inverted forks and a set of unique triple clamps, as well as a built-in smartphone mount. With these items in place, it was time to replace the stock fuel tank with a hand-shaped steel alternative that looks absolutely bonkers, as does the perforated metal fairing youll see up front.Lighting duties are handled by aftermarket LED units and Motogadget blinkers, all of which are fed by a Shorai lithium-ion battery via revised wiring. In terms of performance enhancements, Taylor blessed the Hornet s carbs with a comprehensive overhaul and top-grade UNI pod filters. On the opposite end of the combustion cycle, were greeted by a pie-cut four-into-two exhaust system thats been manufactured using stainless steel. Dual reverse megaphone mufflers from Lossa Engineering can be seen adorning the exhaust tips.The cockpit wears an assortment of premium accessories, such as clip-on handlebars, new levers and a single bar-end mirror fitted on the left-hand side. To achieve a tougher riding posture, the clip-ons are appropriately complemented by rear-mounted foot pegs. Last but not least, the gas chamber was enveloped in a juicy layer of Maranellos iconic Rosso Corsa finish, while a modified version of Ferraris emblem has been painted on the swingarm by hand.All things considered, One-Up Garages custom masterpiece is one of those builds thatll make even the most pretentious gearhead go weak at the knees, and we applaud Taylor Henschell for going above and beyond to fulfill his clients ambitious vision. Rosso Corsa s faultless level of fit and finish is by no means a daily occurrence, so well thank Arkansas specialist for delighting our eyes with a sight to behold!What are your thoughts on this glorious piece of rolling artwork?
3 Paris Hilton Still Has the Pink Bentley Continental With Diamante Dashboard, FYI

2 Ford Explorer Interceptor in Hot Pink Will Make One Tough Barbie Very Happy

Paris Hilton Would Rather Ride an e-Scooter Than Walk Inside Her Home

You know youre rich when your house is so big you feel exhausted by simply walking from bedroom to the kitchen to get a snack. Count on Paris Hilton to come up with an elegant solution to such a nasty problem. 6 photos



So here she is, offering a look inside at her glamorous life at the Slivington Manor in Beverly Hills, where she does what she calls sliving. Sliving, like the infamous catchphrase Thats hot!, is a very Paris thing, a portmanteau of slaying and killing it and living your best life.



Apparently, sliving implies not having to walk anymore, which can come especially in handy if you live inside a sprawling manse where, as noted above, youd get sore feet by simply walking from room to room. Much



One of Paris most recent Instagram posts shows her riding an Inokim e-scooter around her house, with the caption implying she does that on the regular. The video is most likely sponcon, seeing how shes wearing a sparkly blue dress and shes riding a matching scooter. She wore that same dress while in New York for an appearance on Jimmy Fallon this week, and the chances of Paris wearing the same outfit in two separate cities are absurd.



So, yes, this is a sponcon. But it does speak to the reality of one-percenters, where they get to scoot around their own homes because theyre so vast that the effort of traversing them is too much. At the very least, Paris is doing it in a very on-brand way, with a matching scooter; you wouldnt expect any less from the woman who



Speaking of scooters, Inokim holds the 2018 RedDot award in design and delivers a wide range of models, from the mini for the daily commute to the beast for rough riding, all of them with suspension, solid range, and top speed and performance. If youre going to be sliving, you might as well do it on an Inokim, right?



Mimi also did sliving back in the day.







View this post on Instagram A post shared by Paris Hilton (@parishilton) Paris Hilton , the ultimate celebrity of the 2000s, never really went anywhere but she did lose her footing at the top of the food chain at the end of that decade. These days, shes mounting a comeback in reality television, thanks to a new cooking show on Netflix and plans to have her three-day wedding documented for a new series. In short, she has stuff to promote.So here she is, offering a look inside at her glamorous life at the Slivington Manor in Beverly Hills, where she does what she calls sliving. Sliving, like the infamous catchphrase Thats hot!, is a very Paris thing, a portmanteau of slaying and killing it and living your best life.Apparently, sliving implies not having to walk anymore, which can come especially in handy if you live inside a sprawling manse where, as noted above, youd get sore feet by simply walking from room to room. Much like model Cara Delevingne before her, Paris too relies on a scooter for that, but she prefers an electric model.One of Paris most recent Instagram posts shows her riding an Inokim e-scooter around her house, with the caption implying she does that on the regular. The video is most likely sponcon, seeing how shes wearing a sparkly blue dress and shes riding a matching scooter. She wore that same dress while in New York for an appearance on Jimmy Fallon this week, and the chances of Paris wearing the same outfit in two separate cities are absurd.So, yes, this is a sponcon. But it does speak to the reality of one-percenters, where they get to scoot around their own homes because theyre so vast that the effort of traversing them is too much. At the very least, Paris is doing it in a very on-brand way, with a matching scooter; you wouldnt expect any less from the woman who gets custom cars to match her favorite outfits.Speaking of scooters, Inokim holds the 2018 RedDot award in design and delivers a wide range of models, from the mini for the daily commute to the beast for rough riding, all of them with suspension, solid range, and top speed and performance. If youre going to be sliving, you might as well do it on an Inokim, right?Mimi also did sliving back in the day.

Editor's note: This article was not sponsored or supported by a third-party. This article was not sponsored or supported by a third-party.
The most recent NASA data on asteroids paints a grim picture. There are more than 25,000 asteroids circling the solar system like a huge pack of hungry wolves, and over 9,000 of them are listed as near-Earth objects. But thats only the ones we know about, as there are potentially 15,000 more of them out there, still left to discover, moving unseen on some potentially dangerous paths.If one of those asteroids were to head our way, probably all hell would break loose. A tabletop exercise (check PDF attached below for more) conducted by NASA back in May showed that at the moment theres nothing humanity can do to stop an asteroid from slamming into Europe, for instance, not even with six months of advance warning.During the exercise, several defense scenarios were tried out. The first one was deflection, meaning hitting the incoming asteroid with something hard and fast enough to alter its course. That was ruled out because, well, six months warning and our current technological level were not enough to change the simulated rocks course significantly.Then, NASA imagined how it would be throwing nuclear warheads at the thing, but got stuck in calculating the force needed to obliterate the asteroid. Because it was impossible to determine the asteroids composition, it was impossible to determine how big of a nuke should be sent. The largest one available was considered, but even that was deemed useless for asteroids larger than ~100 m to ~210 m, and with densities ranging from 5 g/cm3 down to 1 g/cm3.Whats more worrying is that with our current technological level, six months would not be enough to get a mission up and running to study the rock closer either, making all other efforts largely useless.Now, NASA knows an asteroid impact is a matter of when, not if. And it is planning on doing something about it, at least to give us the impression we still have a fighting chance.Since 2018, a number of agency branches have been working on something called DART. That is short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test, and it is in essence a suicidal spacecraft sent into the void to prove whether all that fancy talk about deflection in movies, literature, and tabletop exercises, is worth anything. DART is scheduled to take off on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base this November. It will head out into space, homing in on a binary asteroid called Didymos, and plans of slamming into the thing in the fall of 2022 at speeds of 15,000 mph (24,140 kph), to see if it can alter its course.DART is a tiny little thing, measuring 12.5 meters  2.4 meters (41.0 feet  7.9 feet). It comprises an engine called NEXT to move along, Roll-Out Solar Arrays (ROSA) to give it power, two batteries to store that power, a star tracker to get its bearings, and the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical (DRACO) to record the moment of impact.Thats it. No fancy lasers, no nuclear warheads, no humans on board. Just a tiny piece of metal and other materials, thrown from a planet Didymos probably doesnt even know exist, and meant to prove a point.Didymos main body measures 780 meters (2,560 feet) across, while the smaller, orbiting one just 160 meters (525 feet) across, and DART should not make such a big impact on the space-floating pair of rocks.It is the smaller asteroid DART is targeting, and the goal it set for itself may seem rather small: change the asteroids speed and orbit around the main body by a fraction of one percent. That however translates into a change in the orbital period by several minutes - enough to be seen from Earth using telescopes and prove that yes, humans could eventually deflect asteroids. Provided, of course, we mature the technology fast enough and some other asteroid does not strike us in the meantime.Despite being the first mission dedicated to seeing if deflection can be a thing, DART will not be the first time humans have abused an asteroid . Back in 2019, the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) fired a projectile called Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI) from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, right into the surface of asteroid Ryugu.The slug hit the surface at speeds of 2 km per second (4,473 mph), causing a crater 2 meters in diameter (6.5 feet). Whats more, boulders on the surface were disturbed within a 30 meters (98 feet) radius from the impact crater center, according to the Kobe University That means there is no reason why DART shouldn't work. It only remains to be seen how fast can it lead to something really usefull to defend ourselves.
Top Pentagon officials defended U.S. arms sales to Egypt at a Senate hearing on Tuesday, while also stressing the need to limit China's military presence in the Middle East.

Driving the news: Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee for the Middle East, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Dana Stroul was pressed by senators including Chair Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on whether arms sales to Egypt still serve U.S. national security interests.

Stroul stressed that Egypt has legitimate security needs and the U.S. has key security interests in the country, like the Suez Canal, overflights in Egyptian airspace, maritime security in the Red Sea, as well as Egypt's role in Libya and Gaza.

Biden had raised human rights concerns with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the administration will take those issues into account when considering arms transfers, Stroul said. But she gave no indication that the U.S. would consider suspending arms sales or the $1.3 billion in annual military aid.

Between the lines: During the election campaign, Biden was very critical of Egypt and Sisi, saying there'd be "no blank checks" for Egypt's "dictator." But the administration seems to have softened its position in recent months, particularly after Egypt brokered a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel has lobbied the Biden administration and members of Congress to go easy on Cairo due to Egypt's security role in the region. Many Democrats in Congress contend that the U.S. shouldn't treat Sisi as a partner.

Another focus of the hearing was China's attempt to gain a military presence in the Middle East.

Stroul said the Biden administration had warned its partners and allies in the region that China wasn't interested in their security needs or in regional stability, and that further Chinese involvement will eventually compromise their sovereignty and pose a risk to their security relationships with the U.S.

Between the lines: The Biden administration is particularly concerned by a Chinese initiative to potentially build a military base in the UAE, and by China's role in infrastructure projects in Israel, including in a port that hosts U.S. navy vessels.

The bottom line: We know our partners and allies in the Middle East have trade relations with China and thats OK,  but we made it clear that there is a certain kind of cooperation with China we cannot live with," said the State Department's Mira Resnick, who also testified.

Go deeper: Egypt releases journalists, activists after U.S. expresses human rights worries

Correction: This article previously stated that Stroul had said the U.S. would not suspend arms sales to Egypt. She did not make any such conclusive statement.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz today announced that a committee will convene next week to authorize new housing units in the occupied West Bank for both Jewish settlers and for Palestinians living in "Area C," which is controlled by Israel.

Why it matters: West Bank settlements policy is among the most polarizing issues in Israel and could destabilize Bennett's ideologically diverse coalition. It's also one of the biggest challenges for Bennett to navigate as he prepares for an expected meeting with President Biden later this month.

Gantz's announcement ends an unofficial moratorium on the approval of new settlements that had lasted ten months. It's also the first time in several years that Israel has approved new Palestinian homes in Area C.

Gantz said the committee would authorize 2,200 new housing units in West Bank settlements  900 of which are already in the final planning stages and ready for construction  while also noting that permits would be issued for 1,000 housing units for Palestinians in "Area C."

Between the lines: Gantz's announcement was expected, but the key question had been whether it would be made before or after Bennett met Biden.

Israeli officials tell me the decision was to get the announcement out of the way before the meeting so it wouldn't overshadow it, and because approving the plans after the meeting could have been perceived as disrespect towards Biden.

Behind the scenes: Aides to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had discussed settlements policy in meetings at the White House and State Department last week, notifying their counterparts that the settlements committee would convene soon.

Bennett's aides  foreign policy adviser Shimrit Meir and national security adviser Eyal Hulata  said the government would show restraint, base its decisions on needs arising from "natural growth," and not take steps that would make a future peace agreement more difficult, the Israeli officials say.

The Biden administration opposes any new settlement building, and the Palestinian Authority strenuously objects to any new construction.

What they're saying: "The Biden administration knows we are going to build. We know they dont like it, and both sides dont want to reach a confrontation around this issue," an Israel official told me.

In the meetings, Biden administration officials said they expect Israel to avoid provocative steps like demolishing Palestinian homes, evicting Palestinians or establishing new illegal outposts in the West Bank.

The U.S. side also raised recent instances of violence by settlers against Palestinians and was told that Bennett would show no tolerance for such violence, the Israeli officials say.

The U.S. officials also asked that Israel take steps to help the Palestinian Authority cope with the current economic crisis.

The latest: Israel notified the Biden administration ahead of Gantz's announcement, Israeli officials say.

Flashback: Settlement construction was one of the main points of contention between Benjamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama. Obama declined to veto a 2016 UN Security Council resolution reiterating that the settlements are illegal.
Hurricane Henri triggers state of emergency for parts of New York as it takes aim at Long Island
Contributing columnist Jose Gaspar is a news anchor/reporter for Telemundo Bakersfield and KGET. Email him at elcompa29@gmail.com. The views expressed here are his own.
Robert Price is a journalist for KGET-TV. His column appears here Sundays. Reach him at RobertPrice@KGET.com or via Twitter: @stubblebuzz. The opinions expressed are his own.
Kevin Russell, the owner of American Fabrication, was in bed one night, thoughts ruminating in his head. He had lost his best friend, Victor R
Officials Working on Decreasing Whale Entanglement Off Oregon Coast

Published 08/18/21 at 5:52 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Oregon Coast)  A new conservation plan from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is now in draft form as Oregon coast officials look to decrease the frequency of whale and sea turtle entanglement in crab fishing gear. (Above: Humpback whale near Astoria, courtesy Seaside Aquarium)

For the past six years, ODFW has been working closely with the crabbing industry and its partners to address the issue of marine life entanglements in crabbing gear as well as other fisheries. Now, the agency has developed a management strategy for the Dungeness crab industry off the Oregon coast, outlined in this conservation plan draft.

Since 2014, there has been an elevated number of marine mammal entanglements in fixed fishing gear, which has emerged as a management challenge across the entire West Coast fishery, ODFW said in the draft. This increase has been driven largely by interactions between humpback whales, which are listed under the Endangered Species Act.

The aim here is a co-existence between the commercial crab fishery and species recovering from endangered list status, especially populations of humpback whales, blue whales and leatherback sea turtles in ocean waters off Oregon's coast.

It would not apply to gray whales or other species not in the same endangered status.

The plan includes an incidental take permit (meaning a limit on accidental entanglement), utilizing a 20-year take authorization for Oregon's ocean and Columbia River commercial Dungeness crab fishery covering humpback whales, blue whales, and leatherback sea turtles.

Key elements of the conservation program include an assessment of anticipated take levels for covered species over the permit term, biological goals and objectives that will be achieved through implementation of targeted conservation measures, a robust monitoring program that will provide the necessary information to assess progress towards objectives, and an adaptive management strategy for

refining the existing conservation measures throughout the permit term should monitoring indicate that changes are warranted, ODFW said in the document.

The ways to achieve limiting this tragedy? ODFW is specifically looking at adjusting the number of pots allowed out there at any one time, depending on what species are in what area. Seasons could be altered or closed earlier, and known hot spots could become off limits for awhile, among other ideas.

ODFW is also looking to the public for commentary on the draft plan, which can be found here. This begins a 30-day public comment period ahead of an informational briefing to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission at their Sept. 17 meeting. Comments can by made by emailing odfw.commission@odfw.oregon.gov

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N. Oregon Coast Outdoor Events Include Birds, Salt Marsh Tour, Diving in Netarts Bay

Published 08/17/21 at 6:29 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Netarts, Oregon)  In August, you can get just a little closer to a wondrous little bay on the north Oregon coast's Tillamook Coast.

Thanks to Friends of Netarts Bay, this month brings more opportunities to learn about this unique body of water near Oceanside, and immerse yourself in its wonders as you become a knowledgeable advocate of its resources.

Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS will host three events that open up all sorts of new ways to enjoy the outdoors of the Oregon coast while digging deeper into what's going in and around Netarts Bay. You'll find the Netarts Bays Salt Marsh Tour, Summer Birding on the Bay, and, for interested or current partners and volunteers, a new Deeper Dive training event on Netarts Bay Formation and Habitats.

On August 20 there will be the Netarts Bay Salt Marsh Tour. Here, you'll explore the plants thriving within a salty world. This free, two-part event includes a virtual presentation on August 20 at 7 p.m, followed by a small group, in-person guided walk along the salt marsh at the southern end of Netarts Bay on August 21 at 10 a.m.

August 28 brings Summer Birding on the Bay. Join Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS and Portland Audubon to observe Oregon coast birds on and near Netarts Bay at 9 a.m. The day will start off with an overview of the endangered Western Snowy Plover and the "Plover Patrol" program designed to engage community scientists in monitoring this recovering species on the north coast including Netarts Spit.

The group will continue on to different locations in search of soaring brown pelicans, great blue herons, bald eagles, song birds, and cormorants.

An ongoing program that literally let's you dive into the bay's secrets is the Deeper Dive Volunteer Training: Netarts Bay Formation and Habitats.

Netarts Bay is a unique system which is constantly changing. Full of life and rich habitats, this living bay is an incredibly important ecosystem. Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS is offering an in-depth online training session about Netarts Bay, how the bay formed, how this place has changed over the years, and the habitats within this salty inlet. Discover the common algae species and invertebrates that may be encountered while clamming, kayaking, or exploring along the shore. This training will be led by the knowledgeable and talented Jim Young, retired marine biologist and WEBS board member.

Deeper Dive Trainings are virtual learning opportunities that provide great information for partners, volunteers and prospective volunteers. There is no volunteer requirement for participating in these training sessions. Prospective volunteers are welcome. Contact volunteer@netartsbaywebs.org to get a link to register.

Details and links to register for all three of these events are available on the Explore Nature Series (www.explorenaturetillamookcoast.com) or Friends of Netarts Bay (www.netartbaywebs.org) websites.

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One Pelican Rescued, Another Dies at Fort Stevens | Oregon Coast Beach Connection

Published 08/18/21 at 4:29 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Warrenton, Oregon)  Seaside Aquarium crews were out on another rescue Tuesday morning on the north Oregon coast, which wound up both tragic and rather happy at the same time. Crews responded to a call about two stranded pelicans on the beach at Fort Stevens, and found them both entangled in some sort of long line or string. (Photos and video courtesy Seaside Aquarium)

One was dead while the other flapping around vigorously, and that one was able to be rescued in a way that was even comical at moments, as seen in the video provided by Seaside Aquarium.

We came across a very sad scene this morning, said Tiffany Boothe of Seaside Aquarium. Two pelicans were entangled in fishing line. While one was still alive, it appeared that the other pelican had drowned and died.

Boothe said they were able to cut much of the line, but some of it was embedded deeply into the wing of the living pelican and he was unable to fly.

Luckily, we were able to safely capture the injured pelican, which was taken to the Wildlife Center of the North Coast, a license nonprofit animal rehab center, Boothe said. If all goes well, this pelican will get the care he needs and released once healthy enough to fend for itself.

Rescuing the living pelican off this north Oregon coast beach proved to be at once dramatic and rather amusing. The video shows manager Keith Chandler trying to wrestle the great bird, first trying to catch it without getting bitten, then slowly getting a firm grip on it and carrying it over to the box for transportation. That part proved challenging as well.

Once you get hold of its beak you can handle it well, Chandler said. He was pretty frisky, but that line was deep down into his wing. I wanted to just cut him loose and let him fly, but it was too hard working with a big knife right there on the beach, and it was clear he'd need more care than that.

Chandler has had plenty of experience rescuing these birds in the past and he's been bitten before.

It doesn't hurt too bad, he said. They snap, though.

At the Wildlife Center of the North Coast, veterinarian Ginger Nealon said the pelican was doing pretty well.

He wasn't too bad, Nealon told Oregon Coast Beach Connection.

"It turns out it was more some kind of long, yellow string than a fishing line, and it was pretty well wrapped around his elbow."

Nealon was able to remove that, and said the pelican had no dramatic injuries, no fractures but some abrasions. Unless they discover something new in the next day or so, he'll likely recover quite quickly.

He's doing well, Nealon said. We're keeping him hydrated, giving him plenty of support for the next few days, making sure he's got plenty of fish to eat.

The plan is not to hold onto him for too long, maybe a couple of weeks or so.

It will be a few days for the swelling to go down, she said. Then a few days for him to stretch his wings.

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Motiva Enterprises pulled its request for tax incentives for a potential local expansion, and the future of the project is unclear as the company will not confirm if it could continue at a later date.

The Houston company, a direct subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, was planning an expansion that could have meant a $6.6 billion investment at the Port Arthur complex and would have included a new steam cracker, aromatics unit and multiple polyethylene units.

When tax abatement filings on the project suddenly dropped from the Texas Comptrollers Office database, community members assumed that changes in the market or the companys acquisition of former Flint Hills chemical assets changed the expansion plans.

Now, the company said it has no reason to continue pursuing the local incentive agreements its been seeking since 2018 after fluctuations in global demand and oil prices disrupted the projects timeline.

Related: PA group drops case against Motiva permits

Our industry is operating in a period of tremendous market volatility, which has created financial hardships for fuel refiners, a spokesperson with the company said in a statement to The Enterprise.

Given these challenging market conditions, Motiva has taken significant steps to ensure that we manage our cash flow and control our spend(ing) while remaining a stable employer and community partner in Port Arthur.

The company didnt confirm whether the projects would be scrapped for good or refocused toward other chemical assets the company now owns. Representatives only said that any previously-made schedules were now null and void.

The Wall Street Journal, which originally reported the news in July, suggested the move could be connected Saudi Armacos potential move into diversified products.

Since the 2020 economic downturn, the company has slowed its involvement in expansions of crude output and other projects, including the Port Arthur LNG terminal proposed for the Sabine Pass.

The Motiva projects wouldnt be the first to be canceled or delayed in Southeast Texas since the start of the pandemic, which has made for varied impacts on the regions workforce and economy.

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By the end of 2019, the area was looking at billions in proposed petrochemical investments and expansions and a tight labor market  with some of the lowest unemployment rates in Southeast Texas history.

Combined with growing shortages in skilled labor and craftspeople and an aging workforce, companies were focusing on regional recruitment and skills training to meet their requirements.

Bryan Gross, a local representative with the United Steelworkers Union, said despite some of the layoffs and work delays during the pandemic, the same dynamics that kept some workers in high demand in 2019 already have started roaring back.

The people doing the critical work in some of these expansion projects are the same ones that help when there are outages or routine turnaround work, Gross said. You see some competitors even cooperating a bit to stagger work so the crews can jump from one job to another.

Motiva has more than 800 workers represented by USW, including a group of 12 from the companys Port Neches terminal that recently voted to take on representation from the labor union.

While shortages in skilled labor may be adding to the stack of issues companies like Motiva consider when making an investment decision, another dropped investment means fewer construction jobs and dollars spent in a community still reeling from the pandemic.

Related: Reports: Motiva plans to lay off 200 people

The City of Port Arthur has one of the highest unemployment rates in a region recently tied for the highest rate among metropolitan statistical areas tracked by the Texas Workforce Commission.

At 15.1%, the unemployment in Port Arthur has been traditionally higher than other nearby cities like Beaumont and Orange, but the downturn of the oil industry hasnt helped. Unemployment claims are still led by workers in oil and gas pipeline construction and industrial building construction, two key industries in the city.

Mayor Thurman Bartie said he is still confident Motiva will make good on other projects it has planned in the area, like the renovation of a historic downtown building as new office space for corporate employees.

But, because the lifelines of the city and its residents are so closely tied to the success of companies like Motiva, a canceled project or delayed investment means fewer jobs and opportunities.

It affects everyone that is directly or indirectly connected in this economy, Bartie said.

It can trickle down and add to the negatives of our economic situation, but its not something any one company does maliciously.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/jd_journalism
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Laura Prepon has revealed that she stopped practicing Scientology five years ago.

The Orange Is the New Black and That 70s Show star reflected on different changes that motherhood has brought into her life, including her break with the Church of Scientology.

Im no longer practicing Scientology. Ive always been very open-minded, even since I was a child. I was raised Catholic and Jewish. Ive prayed in churches, meditated in temples. Ive studied Chinese meridian theory. I havent practiced Scientology in close to five years and its no longer part of my life, she said in an interview with People.

Prepons spiritual practices now are more focused on meditation, which she does with her husband, actor Ben Foster. We meditate daily and Im really liking it, because its something that helps me to hear my own voice and its something we can do together, she said.

Being a parent, Prepon shared, has been a driving force encouraging her to make several changes in her life. If motherhood has taught me anything so far, its that something can work out for a period of time and then you move on and evolve from that, she said. As a new mom, I was riddled with anxiety that I had never experienced before. My friends who were mothers with older kids said, Laura, this is a phase, youll move on and then it will be something different. And that has transcended into other parts of my life. Were all evolving. I always see that with my kids.

These are some of Prepons first public remarks about Scientology since 2015, when she appeared on the cover of Scientology-affiliated magazine Celebrity. Then, she said that Scientology helped ease her anxiety: In my life, things have become much easier, Im not affected like I used to be. Things dont bother me that had before. I dont react like I did before. I remember I was doing a show with an amazing actor, and we were waiting to hear the fate of our show. He turned to me one day and asked, How are you always so relaxed? Nothing seems to bother you. I want to know what you are doing  I take that as such a compliment and testament to the auditing I have done.

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On Saturday afternoon, members of the family that owns Katys Video in south-central Beaumont set to work cleaning up the aftermath of an event few people would wish to go through.

The day was much like the one before it, sunny and hot  a typical August in Southeast Texas.

But instead of customers coming in and out of the family-run business on Saturday, the two men were replacing the buildings front door and cleaning up other damage after an armed-robbery-turned-shootout that occurred the previous day.

Bullet holes riddled a plexiglass cashier barrier guard, glass display case and the wall of the store, 2568 College St, owned by Humberto Ordaz and his wife, Kathy.

Katys Video offers a wide variety of items, like a flea market, including some products from Mexico. The family thinks the men mistakenly thought the business had a lot of money.

A relative, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, told The Enterprise on Saturday afternoon that this is the second time in nearly two decades the business has been robbed.

This time, the familys matriarch and her daughter were working around 5 p.m. at the store behind the cash register when two armed men  who have not yet been arrested  entered the store, demanded money and began shooting.

Related: Two people shot at SE Texas video store

The relative said the 18-year-old daughter was shot seven times, including in the upper body around the chest and shoulder area. She was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, but the relative said she is expected to survive and be moved from the Intensive Care Unit to a regular hospital room soon. She was just 2 years old when the business was first robbed.

Her mother was shot five times, including in the lower side of her body. The woman, who is in her 50s, also was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive, the relative said.

They are doing better right now, the relative said.

The relative said a customer in the store during the robbery also had his wallet taken from him. At one point, one of the women who were working shot back at the two men.

During the robbery, the employees and suspects fired multiple shots at each other, police said in a news release. Both of the employees were struck by gunshots.

The relative said the customer helped the women after the the suspects fled in a mid-sized, maroon SUV.

He called 911, and 911 told him what to do to put pressure on the bullet holes, the relative said. Whatever he did  he saved her life.

While the two women recover, family members have been working to prepare the business to reopen  after the mother is released from the hospital.

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But even when their wounds heal, the experience will remain with everyone involved.

For everybody, you know, we were thinking we were safe, the relative said. Sometimes, I leave my kids in here for a little while we go to eat. Its changing the way we think. I dont think it is safe anymore. It has been crazy around here lately.

As of Saturday afternoon, the incident remained under investigation by the Beaumont Police Department. Police do not know if the suspects were injured in the exchange of gunfire. The same suspects are believed to be involved in at least one other aggravated robbery in the same area within the past week, officers said previously.

During the Aug. 13 incident, two men matching the same description entered La Tejana at 3045 College St. at 3 p.m. The armed men also threatened employees and demanded money before leaving in a maroon SUV, police said.

A video of the men allegedly fleeing the previous incident is posted on the Beaumont Police Facebook page. Anyone with information about these crimes, may contact Beaumont Police at (409) 832-1234 or submit anonymous tips through Southeast Texas Crime Stoppers by calling (409) 833-TIPS. You can also download the P3 Tips app on your smartphone to submit tips anonymously. Tips may be eligible for a cash reward.

meagan.ellsworth@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/megzmagpie
A man has been arrested for pointing a gun at his wife, according to the Laredo Police Department.

Gilbert Rodriguez, 38, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, family violence with a weapon (firearm) and unlawful carrying of weapon.

Laredo police officers were dispatched to a person with a gun report at about 2:50 p.m. Monday in the 500 block of Pitaya Drive. Responding officers located the suspect by the intersection of Soria and Salamanca drives.

Authorities identified him as Rodriguez following a traffic stop. Rodriguez stated he had been in a verbal argument with his wife. He then left the house because he did not want things to get out of hand and because his wife is toxica, states the arrest affidavit.

Other officers spoke to the wife. She stated that Rodriguez had pointed a handgun at her during a verbal argument. Officers said they located a handgun inside Rodriguezs vehicle. He denied the allegations, according to the affidavit.

The wife did state that she did not want to press charges on Rodriguez and wanted him to be dispersed. But police told her that they would press charges on Rodriguez on behalf of the State of Texas, according to court documents.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to move forward stalled peace efforts for eastern Ukraine on Sunday and stressed Germanys commitment not to let Russia use a new gas pipeline as a weapon as she made what is likely her last visit to Ukraine as Germany's leader.

Merkels trip came two days after she went to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The chancellor is not running in Germanys national election next month and is nearing the end of her almost 16-year-long leadership of Germany.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, Merkel advocated working to get a leaders' meeting between Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France on the situation in eastern Ukraine, the first since late 2019.

That in my opinion would bring us progress, if we can work out a good agenda -- our advisers should do that, she said. I am glad that President Zelenskyy is prepared to do this."

The fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels has killed more than 14,000 since 2014. Germany and France have worked to help broker a peaceful settlement to the conflict, including an often-violated 2015 cease-fire agreement reached in Minsk, Belarus.

Zelenskyy said Kyiv is seeking a permanent cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, a prisoner exchange, open crossings at the line of contact and to ensure Red Cross access to the conflict zone. He supported the idea of a meeting, but urged Kyiv's Western partners to exert pressure on Russia in order to achieve progress in eastern Ukraine.

As long as there is no progress, the pressure on Russia should continue. We want to see active efforts of our Western partners, Zelenskyy said.

Merkel noted that some of the goals named by Zelenskyy, like "the opening of further crossings on the line of contact or other humanitarian questions, have not yet been implemented, and that weighs down the process a great deal.

However, one has to say again and again: that at present, we have no other format in which can discuss these things, and so work should be continued here, Merkel said.

She added that she expects the next German government to work in the same spirit with Ukraine, pushing for the country to recover its territorial integrity and enabling it to continue with domestic reforms.

The chancellor also talked up the merits of a U.S.-German deal last month to allow the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany without the imposition of U.S. sanctions on German entities.

Ukraine opposes the project, and Zelenskyy on Sunday called it Russia's geopolitical weapon.

I believe that this is a weapon and it is not correct not to see it as a weapon," he said. The launch will lead to great risks and it will play into the hands of Russia.

Merkel said she viewed the German-U.S. agreement as a commitment by the German government to ward off President Zelenskyys worry, namely energy being used as a weapon. She said she takes the concern very seriously, and pointed to Germanys appointment of a negotiator to help secure an extension of an agreement for gas transit through Ukraine beyond 2024.

It commits future German governments to address this issue of energy security as well as committing Germany to help renew Ukraines energy mix, Merkel said.

She also assured that Berlin will advocate further sanctions in the European framework if this suspicion is substantiated that the pipeline is used as a weapon.

Zelenskyy, in turn, said Kyiv has initiated consultations with the European Parliament and the German government regarding the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. He added that energy ministers from the United States, Germany and Ukraine will meet Monday in Kyiv.

The two leaders didn't announce any groundbreaking agreements on Sunday but that was no surprise, said Kyiv-based political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko.

There were no big expectations from Merkels visit," Fesenko, head of the Penta Center think tank, told The Associated Press. In a farewell handshake, the chancellor tried to soften the unpleasant consequences that the agreements between Berlin and Moscow would have for Ukraine. Soften at least in words.

___

Moulson reported from Berlin.
Rocker Marilyn Manson approached a videographer at his 2019 concert in New Hampshire and allegedly spit and blew snot on her, according to a police affidavit released Wednesday.

Manson, whose legal name is Brian Hugh Warner, surrendered last month to police in Los Angeles in connection with a 2019 arrest warrant in the case. The allegations were detailed in the affidavit that released along with the criminal complaint in the case.

Manson is charged with two misdemeanor counts of simple assault stemming from an alleged incident on Aug. 19, 2019, at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Gilford. The misdemeanor charges can each result in a jail sentence of less than a year and a $2,000 fine if convicted.

An arraignment hearing on the charges will be scheduled for Sept. 2 at Laconia District Court in New Hampshire.

Mansons attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Susan Fountain, a videographer, was in the venues stage pit area at the time of the alleged assault. Her company, Metronome Media, was contracted by the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion for the concert season.

According to the affidavit, Manson approached Fountain the first time, put his face close to the camera and spit a big lougee at her. She was struck on both hands with saliva.

Manson allegedly returned a second time, covering one side of his nostril and blowing in Fountain's direction. Fountain put down her camera and went to the restroom to wash her hands and arms that had Manson's bodily fluids on them.

Manson also has faced abuse accusations  unrelated to the New Hampshire incident  in recent years. He has denied wrongdoing.

In February, actor Evan Rachel Wood publicly accused Manson, her ex-fiance, of sexual and other physical abuse, alleging she was manipulated into submission during their relationship. Months later, Game of Thrones actor Esme Bianco sued Manson in federal court in Los Angeles, alleging sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

The AP generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, but Bianco and Wood have spoken publicly.

In 2018, Los Angeles County prosecutors declined to file charges against Manson over allegations of assault, battery and sexual assault dating to 2011, saying they were limited by statutes of limitations and a lack of corroboration. The accuser in that case was identified only as a social acquaintance of Manson.
NORFOLK, Va. (AP)  With midterm election season rapidly approaching, Republicans and Democrats have something in common when it comes to recruiting candidates they hope will deliver majorities in Congress: a preference for military veterans.

Both parties anticipate a significant number of races where veterans will be opposing each other, using their military service as a foundation of their appeal even as they hold widely diverging views on issues.

Democrats are clinging to threadbare advantages in both the House and Senate, so the success of these candidates could determine the balance of power.

The chaotic winding down of the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan  combined with President Joe Biden's blaming his predecessor's policies for much of what occurred  could resonate with voters in ways not seen since opposition to the Iraq War helped Democrats retake the House in 2006.

When the U.S. suffers a very public defeat ... historically, thats the kind of thing that does become an issue in the next election," said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida.

In few places are military matters more likely to dominate the debate than in Norfolk, Virginia, and the surrounding area. It's a swing congressional district along the Atlantic coast and home to the world's largest naval base. One in 5 residents are active military personnel, veterans or their relatives.

Rep. Elaine Luria, a Democrat, served as naval commander, including on aircraft carriers that once helped stage Afghanistan bombing runs. She defeated an incumbent Republican, Scott Taylor, a former Navy SEAL, in 2018 and again in a rematch in 2020.

Veteran candidates can be seen as more willing to put country above self, which often plays best among moderate voters and in swing districts without a dominant political ideology.

One of the reasons you see veterans on veterans is because the thought process is that just neutralizes that advantage, Taylor said. Both parties are looking for that.

This year, among those hoping to capture the Republican nomination and challenge Luria is another veteran, ex-Navy helicopter pilot Jen Kiggans, a state senator.

Luria, who sits on the House Armed Services, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs Committees, said that in her district, someone who has served instantly goes into this with a level of credibility and connection.

Kiggans believes that, too: Understanding the nuances of military life and being a military family member, a military spouse, I think those are really all very important to representing the district well.

There should be more of us, Kiggans, who deployed to the Middle East during her 10-year naval career, said of running against a fellow female veteran in Luria. "I think veterans truly understand a lot of issues that are important to the country and we love the country, weve fought for the country, weve sacrificed for the country.

The number of veterans who may face other veterans for congressional seats in 2022 won't be known until after next summer's primary season. In 2020, 17 House and Senate general election races featured two candidates' having military experience, according to With Honor Action, a nonpartisan organization that promotes veterans for elective office.

Similar veteran-against-veteran races occurred 21 times two years before that.

During that 2018 cycle, Democrats stressed recruiting candidates with military experience to appeal to swing voters  and ultimately won House control.

Now candidates will be addressing issues such as the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol in January and the fractious evacuation of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, with their military backgrounds seen as giving them added credibility.

Roughly two-thirds of Americans said they did not think Americas longest war was worth fighting, according to a poll released this past week from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. While 52% approve of Biden on national security, the poll was conducted Aug. 12-16 as the two-decade war in Afghanistan ended with the Taliban returning to power and capturing the capital of Kabul.

Republicans nearly took control of the House in 2020, when all 15 seats they flipped featured women, minority or veteran candidates.

Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran, said serving in Afghanistan makes me believe in a cause bigger than myself," even though what's occurring there now has left him very bitter.

None of Kinzinger's major challengers so far is a veteran. Still, veteran-on-veteran races are taking shape around the country.

Oregon Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio is his state's longest-serving member of Congress and an Air Force Reserve veteran. He's gearing up for a possible second consecutive race against Republican Alek Skarlatos, a former Army National Guardsman who, along with four others, stopped a gunman during a 2015 terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train.

In suburban Houston, Democrat Matt Berg, who served in the Air Force, is hoping to unseat first-term Rep. Troy Nehls, an Army veteran who served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It brings a more broad base appeal as a candidate, said Berg who noted that the district saw about a 5-percentage point drop between its 2020 support for Biden and its nonveteran Democrat who ran for Congress. "We do feel it will help us reach out to voters who felt that Nehls' military background was a pivotal factor.

The move into politics is not always smooth for veterans, considering that the military consistently polls as among the nations most-respected, most trusted institutions  and Congress decidedly does not.

Rye Barcott, a former Marine who is co-founder and CEO of With Honor, said his group advises veterans considering a run that it is a hardship post. He added: Its going to be painful but youre doing it as a service to something larger than yourself.

The number of female veterans running for Congress as major party nominees has increased even more sharply from 14 in 2018 to 28 vying for seats in the House or Senate last year.

Still, Seth Lynn, executive director of Veterans Campaign, a nonprofit which helps make it easier for veterans to seek public office, said that since 2000, fewer than 25 House races pitting veterans against veterans featured at least one female candidate from a major party. None had two women running against each other.

That makes the potential Luria-Kiggans race something that hasn't happened in at least a generation.

Rebecca Burgess, founder of the advocacy group the CivMil Project, said she expects to see more congressional races involving matchups of female veterans. But a potentially even more potent reason is the power of example" where more female veterans in Congress means mentors for those looking to emulate them.

Luria may have gotten a firsthand glimpse of that when she addressed a recent luncheon at Naval Station Norfolk. Navy Lt. Courtney Janowicz posed for a picture with the congresswoman and chatted about the pairs' shared experiences, having both worked on ships in shipyards.

Asked if she could eventually see herself following Luria's path into politics, Janowicz beamed before proclaiming, I can see it now.

___

Associated Press writer Padmananda Rama in Washington contributed to this report.
Gov. Greg Abbott may have just helped Texas businesses keep their recovery going despite the surge of the delta variant, and he didnt have to lift a finger. All he had to do  ironically  is test positive for COVID-19.

Thats what he did this week, unintentionally of course. And fortunately his health is not endangered because he was vaccinated against COVID-19 in 2020 and is experiencing no symptoms. He is even receiving the monoclonal antibody treatment that can be very effective.

So how does a governor catching COVID-19 help the states economy?

Simple. Abbotts brush with the virus has reinforced two key points about this pandemic that cant be stressed often enough: A) People over 12 need to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated, and more specifically to him, B) Texans need to wear masks a little more indoors because COVID-19 numbers are heading in the wrong direction.

Both of those points should not need any more emphasis, and doctors have been preaching them for some time. But not enough Texans  and people in other states  are getting the message. When a high-profile person like a governor catches a fresh dose of this old menace, average people sit up and take notice. They start thinking they should finally get jabbed, and maybe put on a mask in a crowded room with strangers.

If enough people do that, COVID-19 cases will start falling again. Then Texas businesses would see more customers and employees coming through their doors.

That had been happening since the spring, when the vaccines started kicking in, but Texas and the nation have taken a few steps back because of the delta variant. The disappointing numbers for retail sales caused the stock market to tumble Tuesday (a lot) and Wednesday (a little). Consumer confidence has also plunged 13.5% since last month; its actually lower than when the virus started spreading through our communities in April of 2020.

Abbotts experience could help reverse that trend  especially because he banned mask mandates in the spring. His infection proves that even vaccinated people can catch this bug, reinforcing the need for masks indoors in some cases.

More Information States with highest % of vaccinated residents 1) Vermont - 67.08% 2) Massachusetts - 64.87% 3) Maine - 64.61% 4) Connecticut - 64.54% 5) Rhode Island - 62.83% 6) Maryland - 60.04% 7) New Jersey - 59.75% 8) New Hampshire - 58.88% 9) Washington - 58.86% 10) New York - 58.47% 35) Texas - 45.35 47)Louisiana - 38.65% Source: BeckersHospitalReview.com See More Collapse

For political reasons, Abbott cant suddenly decide that cities and school districts should be allowed to impose mask mandates, even though that would obviously help. Abbott has two far-right challengers in next years GOP primary, and he cant afford to veer from the message that Texans should be allowed to make their own decisions on COVID-19 2.0. Again, he is primarily making that point on masks, but the concept extends to vaccines  as in get it if you want, but its OK if you dont.

Unless more Texans come around on vaccines and indoor masks among strangers, the current COVID-19 surge will get worse, and its pretty bad now. We could be in a serious crisis in the fall, with widespread business closings and travel restrictions  the last thing our state economy needs.

Just as actions sometimes speak louder than words, Abbotts positive test conveys the medically positive message in ways that other arguments cant. The highest elected official in the state, one of the chief barriers to more masks, has just shown why his political position is wrong for this medical problem.

And if that symbolism doesnt get through to skeptical Texans, try this: State officials have asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for five mortuary trailers in anticipation of an increase in COVID-19 deaths.

You read that right. We might need more portable mortuaries. We already dont have enough available ICU beds in some regions, which is bad enough. But when the bodies of COVID-19 victims start stacking up beyond normal capacity, you know were in trouble.

Lets hope it doesnt get that bad. Lets hope that more Texans see a governor with a positive test (and the extra mortuary trailers) and realize that this pandemic surge is serious. And if they take the steps to counteract that surge, the states economy will improve  along with its health.

TTaschinger@BeaumontEnterprise.com
You have to give the Paris ISD trustees an A for effort, and maybe a B for boldness. The school board in that small northeast Texas district has found a way around  for now  the order by Gov. Greg Abbott forbidding mask mandates in schools, cities or counties. The trustees voted 5-1 to amend the districts dress code to require face masks during certain health emergencies.

As the boards motion put it, The board believes the dress code can be used to mitigate communicable health issues, and therefore has amended the PISD dress code to protect our students and employees.  For health reasons, masks are required for all employees and students to mitigate flu, cold, pandemic and any other communicable diseases.

Thats clever  if it survives a challenge in court or one by Abbott, should either be filed. The policy will also be revisited at every monthly trustee meeting and could be changed later.

Whats really unfortunate, however, is the fact that a school board would have to go to such creative lengths to do something that should be within their rights anyway. In Texas, the concept is known as local control, the sensible belief that trustees, mayors, county judges, etc. should have a great deal of flexibility to do whats right for their constituents. The decision in one jurisdiction might not work for another, but thats exactly why a big state like Texas shouldnt have a one-size-fits-all approach to any complex crisis.

School boards all over the state are concerned about rising Covid numbers and the higher susceptibility to infections by children, who were mostly spared from earlier versions of the virus. The delta variant is sickening more of them, and with our children, any threat like this must be taken seriously.

Although masks started coming off in the spring across the state, as the vaccines began to drive down Covid numbers, the trajectory of the pandemic has changed. Doctors say that even vaccinated people can catch  and spread  the delta variant, hence the recommendation for masks indoors among strangers. That, of course, is a perfect description of school classrooms, cafeterias, libraries, buses, etc. And as the weather gets colder this fall and people start congregating indoors more, Covid numbers could get even higher.

President Biden has directed Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to explore possible legal action against governors like Greg Abbott in Texas who have prohibited school mask mandates by executive orders. But its unclear what the federal government could do, and for now most analysts believe the feds wont be able to do much. Some districts in Texas have tried to require masks anyway, though Abbott has pushed back at them in state courts and been victorious so far.

Its a sad way to start the school year, tying the hands of some districts who want to protect their students as much as possible. Frankly, most of the states 1,265 public school districts wouldnt require masks. But those that do should have this option  without the creative rule-writing as in the Paris ISD.
Gov. Greg Abbott deserves some credit for announcing this week that he is bringing even more medical personnel to Texas from other states and launching more COVID-19 antibody infusion centers over the next week. Those efforts will clearly help, although they are coming from a governor who has forbidden schools, cities and counties from imposing mask orders if they believe that is necessary.

If Abbott would relent on masks, Texas probably wouldnt need so many doctors and nurses from other states to care for Covid victims in this state. This pandemic is terrible, but it can be lessened by more mask-wearing indoors among strangers, even for vaccinated people.

Abbott himself proved that this week when he was infected with the virus even though he has been vaccinated. The delta variant of the corona virus that is causing most of the current cases spreads easier than previous versions, even to vaccinated people like a state governor. Most of those people wont get sick because they have rolled up their sleeves, though they could spread Covid to others and should be isolated.

But with case numbers steadily climbing in Texas, anything that can save lives should be implemented. Abbott said that about 2,700 medical personnel have been called up this week to help hospitals care for the increasing number of COVID-19 patients in the state. The Texas Department of Health and Human Services estimates that this total will increase to 5,500 by next week. This additional infusion of medical personnel will be fully funded by the state through Sept. 30.

The extra doctors and nurses are need to spell medical staff in Texas who have been working long shifts day after day, sometimes without any time off. Their dedication is tremendous, but at some point even the strongest of them encounter mental or physical burnout. Many of them did this in the early stages of the pandemic and thought they wouldnt have to do it again.

Again, the additional support is welcome, but what Texas really needs is fewer Covid cases. We can all make that happen by getting vaccinated, social distancing and wearing masks when indoors with strangers. The medical facilities and employees in this state and every other one can only do so much to care for an influx of Covid patients.

Instead of asking them to do more and more, lets all try to make the virus spread less and less.
Bennington, VT (05201)

Today

A few showers early becoming a steady rain for the afternoon. High near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 54F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
Afghan citizens pack inside a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III, as they are transported from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. On Friday, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming another photo showed a plane full of Afghan refugees being evacuated from the country this week, with not a single woman or child among them. In fact, that photo, which appeared online as early as 2018, shows Afghan refugees being sent back to their country from Turkey, according to a story at the time from Turkeys state-run news agency, the Anadolu Agency. Photos captured this week show that hundreds of Afghan men, women and children have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover.
Three emergency response centers are up and running in Berkshire County to help residents deal with Tropical Storm Henri. With early preparations done, they await whats to come today and Monday  whatever that is.

Quote You can only plan so far  and then you respond. Jay R. Green, Adams town administrator

You can only plan so far  and then you respond, said Jay R. Green, the Adams town administrator.

Amalio Jusino, chair of the Northern Berkshire Emergency Planning Committee, said an operations center opened at 8 a.m. Sunday at the North Adams airport. Officials used the last hours before the storms arrival to establish communications with emergency centers in Pittsfield and Great Barrington, as well as coordinate a call with officials in all eight of its member towns, plus Williams College, the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Berkshire Health Systems.

Jusino said the center also opened its web portal to state and federal emergency response officials.

Equipment has been moved to the go-to shelter in North Adams, at the St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish at 70 Marshall St., in case people need to be evacuated. Transportation partners have also been told to be ready.

Photos: Preparations for Tropical Storm Henri The Berkshires prepares for Tropical Storm Henri, which is forecast to hit the region on Sunday. Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021

The regional centers are in close contact with both the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but also with each other, so that responders in Berkshire County can help one another.

We want to streamline the operation so were not flooding MEMA, Jusino said.

As of late Sunday morning, the storms track suggested that the Berkshires would see heavy rain, on the western side of Henris center, but less-punishing winds than expected. A flood watch is in effect.

Flooding remained the most likely risk, though power losses remain possible due to falling trees and tree limbs.

We might be spared the wind, but not the rain, Green said.

Jusino said area DPW crews got a jump on Henri because heavy rains this summer spurred them to clear culverts. In that respect, we feel very good, he said.

In Adams, the DPW worked Friday to check and clear flood-control chutes to enable the free-flow of stormwater. Still, because it sits in a valley between two mountain ranges, Adams is prone to flooding, particularly in the Lime Street area, Green said Sunday.

Infrastructure improvements since Tropical Storm Irene, in 2011, have lessened, but not eliminated, the possibility of flooding in Adams.

Due to recent rains, however, Henris rainfall is more likely to run off than be absorbed by the ground, leading local officials to be wary of flooding, according to Jusino.

Towns covered by the North Adams operations center include that city as well as Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Florida, New Ashford, Savoy and Williamstown.

The Southern Berkshire Emergency Planning Committee, at Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington, provides services to 12 communities: Alford, Egremont, Great Barrington, Monterey, Mount Washington, New Marlborough, Otis, Sandisfield, Sheffield, Stockbridge, Tyringham and West Stockbridge.

The Pittsfield Fire Department handles emergency operations for the central Berkshires.
COVID-19 workplace safety standards previously required workplaces to establish distancing protocols and to require all employees to wear masks. While the state Department of Labor Standards has dropped those standards and is pursuing their permanent repeal, public health and labor groups have called for the standards to be revised rather than repealed outright.
Investigations editor

Larry Parnass joined The Eagle in 2016 from the Daily Hampshire Gazette, where he was editor in chief. His freelance work has appeared in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant, CommonWealth Magazine and with the Reuters news service.
Berkshire towns, cities to residents: Please stay off the roads during Henri
Because of an eastward jog as Tropical Storm Henri, downgraded from a minimal hurricane, was set to wash ashore along the Connecticut-Rhode Island border Sunday, Berkshire County is likely to be spared the worst effects.

Were still expecting heavy rain to expand westward into the Berkshires, so there will be concerns for street and stream flooding as well as river rises, said Brian Frugis, National Weather Service meteorologist in Albany, N.Y. There could be some overflow along southern Berkshires sections of the Housatonic, he told The Eagle on Sunday morning.

But wind damage, utility impacts and coastal storm surge continue to be a threat for the Southern New England coastline, as well as Block Island, Cape Cod, Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket.

The National Hurricane Centers track of Henri, as of mid-morning Sunday, indicated a slow-mo move northward through central Massachusetts, weakening into a tropical rainstorm along the Vermont-New Hampshire border, then into southern Maine early Tuesday, Downeast Maine and offshore toward Nova Scotia by Tuesday afternoon.

For the Berkshires, While heavy rain is still expected into the pre-dawn hours on Monday, winds are likely to be moderately strong at times, gusting to 30 mph, but not approaching 39 mph gale force. As a result, storm damage and potential power blackouts are much less likely in the county, forecasters pointed out.

South Berkshire is likely to be harder hit than other sections, with 4 to 6 inches of rain possible, according to Frugis at the National Weather Service.

After the storm Day-by-day forecast for the week ahead: Tuesday: Isolated showers and thunderstorms, otherwise partly sunny, mid-80s. Clear overnight, mid-60s. Wednesday: Sunny, near 85; clear at night, mid-60s. Thursday: Mostly sunny, chance of thundershowers in the afternoon, mid-80s. Partly cloudy after dark, mid-60s. Friday: Mostly sunny, showers possible, mid-70s. Chance of showers at night, mid-50s. Saturday: Partly sunny, low- to mid-70s. Source: National Weather Service forecast for Berkshire County.

Pittsfield and surrounding central Berkshire towns may see 2 to 3 inches, while Adams, North Adams and Williamstown, along with adjacent North Berkshire towns could wind up with 1 to 2 inches.

However, the government forecasters cautioned that Henri is expected to slow down and perhaps stall over eastern New England, according to the current track, prolonging rainfall into late Monday.

Key takeaways:

 A flood watch for Berkshire County has been extended through early Monday evening.

 Heavy rainfall is expected to lead to flash flooding, urban flooding and small stream flooding.

 Some minor river flooding is expected with isolated moderate river flooding possible.
The Outlook is today's look ahead at the week's weather, its impact on the Berkshires and beyond. Clarence Fanto can be reached at cfanto@yahoo.com.
   :         ,         
OTTAWA - Chuk Odenigbo didn't pay attention to federal politics until he decided to vote for the first time in the 2019 election.

First time voter Justin Fletcher poses for a photo in Toronto, Friday, Aug. 20, 2021. After the voter turnout for youth increased to 57 per cent in the 2015 election the youth turnout rate decreased by 3.2 percentage points in 2019, which raises concerns of a further drop this year, especially after Elections Canada decided not to offer vote on campus during this election. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

OTTAWA - Chuk Odenigbo didn't pay attention to federal politics until he decided to vote for the first time in the 2019 election.

The 28-year-old, who is pursuing a PhD degree in medical geography at Ottawa University, said he didn't see how the policies of the federal government could directly affect his life before the Ontario government cut funding for services for francophone people and the federal government stepped in to provide the money.

"I sort of realized, 'Oh, I see, the federal government, having a good strong government really sort of ensures that our province is limited in its ability to trample on certain people's rights,'" he said.

He said major federal parties should listen more to the ideas of young people so they feel their voices are being heard and thus they should vote and participate in federal politics.

Making politics more accessible also encourages more young people to vote, he said.

"Many Canadians, myself included, born and raised in Canada, don't really understand how our government functions," he said.

The turnout of those 18 to 24 years old surged to 57 per cent in the 2015 election compared to less than 39 per cent in 2011. But the youth turnout rate fell by 3.2 percentage points in 2019, raising concerns that it might drop even more this year, especially after Elections Canada decided not to offer voting on campus during this election.

A spokesman for Elections Canada said "the difficult decision" to not provide polling stations on campus was made last year. Setting up these stations requires lengthy planning that is not possible during the COVID-19 pandemic and with a minority government where an election could be called suddenly, Matthew McKenna said.

"Without clear timelines to provide campus administrators on whom we rely to identify and secure the space required and help us recruit the election workers needed to deliver the program, and given the uncertainty at that time around students ability to be present on campus, we opted to instead reallocate resources to other areas where we could be confident that the benefits for electors, including students, would be maximized," he said in a statement.

He said Elections Canada has been working with student organizations to inform students of their voting options.

"We informed them of our plans to support students by offering enhanced early voting options."

One of Elections Canadas partners is Apathy is Boring, a non-partisan organization that works to educate young voters and get them involved in politics.

The organization's executive director Samantha Reusch said making sure that young people are aware they can vote before the election day or send their ballot via mail is important.

"As long as we make a concerted effort to make sure that folks are aware of all the options that are available to them, we can mitigate any losses from the (lack of) on-campus polling," she said.

Her organization is rolling out a digital campaign to provide young people with information on how and when they can vote and also hosting virtual events to create a space for young people to discuss politics.

These events aim to encourage young people to break the stigma of chatting politics at the dinner table," she said.

Justin Fletcher, who works at the University of Toronto and is studying there towards a master's degree in education, said he will be voting for the first time in this election since he became a Canadian citizen last year, 10 years after he emigrated from the United States.

"I was always disappointed in the previous elections but I never had the opportunity to vote," he said.

He said university campuses are important hubs for students and having polling stations on campus would have made voting much more accessible.

"Hopefully, at least, there will be polling stations near campuses, so that students can vote as easily as possible."

The 28-year-old said political parties should focus on the climate crisis and explain to young people how life in Canada will look like in the next five to 20 years.

"The prospect for me as a single person to buy property in Toronto is not looking very likely," he said.

"I want to hear from the parties, what are you going to do to make (it possible) to not only just live in Canada but also to be able to thrive and have a meaningful livelihood?"

Reusch said young people are deeply concerned about the economy because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their lives and the climate crisis as they see more wildfires, heat waves and droughts across the country.

"We're also seeing a lot of conversations around racism and ethnic intolerance, so a lot of conversations around reconciliation and anti-Black racism and anti-Asian hate, Islamophobia," she said.

Reusch said a recent survey by Abacus Data in partnership with her organization showed a 10-point increase in interest for Canadian politics among those 18 to 30 years old between 2019 and 2021, with 60 per cent of 2,000 surveyed saying they have at least some interest in politics.

"Young people are paying attention and I think through the pandemic we've seen the profound role that government plays in our day-to-day lives," she said.

"The final turnout will ultimately depend on the ability of our leaders to reflect our priorities and concerns and demonstrate that they're paying attention and prioritizing the issues that young people care about at the moment."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 22, 2021.



This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Chuk Odenigbo is 29 years old.
The three main federal parties lobbed attacks at each other Saturday, undaunted by the absence of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau on the sixth day of the federal campaign.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh responds to questions during a news conference in Toronto, Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

The three main federal parties lobbed attacks at each other Saturday, undaunted by the absence of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau on the sixth day of the federal campaign.

While it is not unusual for party leaders to take a down day on Saturdays because it's traditionally the day when parties return to home base to regroup, the current election has opened Trudeau up to criticism for launching a campaign as a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds.

So it was that NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh needed little prompting when reminded of Trudeau's blank itinerary as he began his day in Toronto.

"I don't know what his schedule is and why he's not campaigning ... I can just say for me, on housing specifically and on many other things, Trudeau has been missing in action," Singh said, as he promised a supplement of up to $5,000 for those struggling to pay rent and a crackdown on so-called "renovictions." .

"He has been missing when it comes to helping people who are struggling with trying to find a place they can rent, (and) with people are struggling to find a place they can buy."

Trudeau called the election last Sunday, triggering a campaign that will send voters to the polls on Sept. 20.

At a campaign stop in Edmonton, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole faced questions about his own team's decision to spend the first few days in a downtown Ottawa hotel campaigning on a newly constructed television set.

O'Toole said his "telephone town halls" allowed him to reach more Canadians "than all the other leaders combined" in southwestern Ontario, New Brunswick and Quebec. O'Toole said he's learned as a "COVID era leader" how to connect with Canadians and expose the faults of his Liberal opponent.

"I want to connect with as many Canadians as possible that are worried about more years of division under Mr. Trudeau, more cover ups, more ethical breaches," he said during a campaign stop in Edmonton.

O'Toole also pledged to work better with provincial premiers "because our country's become fractured under Mr. Trudeau, in part because there's always an Ottawa knows best approach." That, he said, would include Nova Scotia's new Progressive Conservative Premier Tim Houston who unseated the governing Liberals earlier this week.

"There was a change with the Liberal government that tried to call a snap election in a pandemic," O'Toole quipped.

The Conservative and Liberal war rooms also volleyed attacks on each other.

The Conservative campaign said it had written to the federal ethics commissioner about former Liberal cabinet minister Judy Sgro, a candidate in the Humber River-Black Creek riding. A party release raises concerns about a reported trip she took to Italy in 2017, which was allegedly funded by the Basilicata Cultural Society of Canada.

"According to proactive disclosures on the website for the Ethics (Commissioner), Sgro never publicly disclosed the name of the third party who sponsored her trip to Italy," the release said.

Sponsored trips are permitted, but MPs must disclose who paid for them, the release said.

The Liberals did not immediately respond to request for comment on the matter, but did release a letter of their own to O'Toole concerning a separate issue.

The letter was penned by Toronto-area MP Mary Ng, the trade minister when Parliament was dissolved, criticizing the Conservative leader for not backing mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for government employees as well as air and rail passengers.

The letter compared O'Toole to Republican politicians in Texas and Florida who have blocked mandatory vaccination.

"If you will not show leadership to protect the health and safety of Canadians, you can't stand in the way of those who will," the letter said.

"Will you commit to ensuring that your party, your candidates, and your caucus, will not be permitted to introduce legislation that would ban mandatory vaccine policies or punish businesses and organizations who require their customers and employees to be vaccinated?"

The O'Toole campaign sought to showcase the lack of daylight between the Liberal approach and the Tories', repeating that a Conservative government would require unvaccinated passengers to present a recent negative test result or pass a rapid test hopping on a bus, plane or ship. Unvaccinated federal public servants would also have submit to a daily test.

"(Under) Justin Trudeau's plan for federal employees, those who refuse vaccination will need to consider alternative measures, such as testing and screening," party spokesman Cory Hann said in an email.

"The simple fact is that Justin Trudeau's plan for federal employees is the same as Erin O'Toole's."

The Liberals also highlighted a news release from pro-life group RightNow targeting O'Toole. The group is calling on the Conservative leader to say he will not ask medical professionals to refer patients seeking services like abortion or medical assistance in dying to another provider if they object to performing these procedures themselves.

Erin OToole promised to pro-lifers during the 2020 Conservative Party of Canada leadership race that he would protect conscience rights of medical professionals across Canada, said Scott Hayward, co-founder and president of RightNow, in Saturday's news release.

Hayward and his group want O'Toole to stick to that commitment, the release said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2021.

 With files from Christopher Reynolds in Vancouver
WAVERLY, Tenn. (AP)  At least 22 people were killed and rescue crews searched desperately Sunday amid shattered homes and tangled debris for dozens of people still missing after record-breaking rain sent floodwaters surging through Middle Tennessee.

Dickson Public Works personnel check the flooding on Old Pond Lane following heavy rainfall, Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. Heavy flooding in several Middle Tennessee counties on Saturday prompted water rescues, road closures, and communications disruptions, with several people reported missing. Flash flood warnings were in effect for Dickson, Houston and Montgomery and Stewart counties on Saturday evening. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)

WAVERLY, Tenn. (AP)  At least 22 people were killed and rescue crews searched desperately Sunday amid shattered homes and tangled debris for dozens of people still missing after record-breaking rain sent floodwaters surging through Middle Tennessee.

Saturday's flooding in rural areas took out roads, cellphone towers and telephone lines, leaving families uncertain about whether their loved ones survived the unprecedented deluge. Emergency workers were searching door to door, said Kristi Brown, a coordinator for health and safety supervisor with Humphreys County Schools.

Many of the missing live in the neighborhoods where the water rose the fastest, said Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis, who confirmed the 22 fatalities in his county. The names of the missing were on a board in the countys emergency center and listed on a city departments Facebook page.

The playground at Jason Chapel Church is covered in debris following heavy rainfall and flooding Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. Heavy flooding in several Middle Tennessee counties on Saturday prompted water rescues, road closures, and communications disruptions, with several people reported missing. Flash flood warnings were in effect for Dickson, Houston and Montgomery and Stewart counties on Saturday evening. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)

"I would expect, given the number of fatalities, that were going to see mostly recovery efforts at this point rather than rescue efforts," Tennessee Emergency Management Director Patrick Sheehan said.

The dead included twin babies who were swept from their fathers arms, according to surviving family members, and a foreman at county music star Loretta Lynn's ranch. The sheriff of the county of about 18,000 people some 60 miles (96 kilometers) west of Nashville said he lost one of his best friends.

Up to 17 inches (43 centimeters) of rain fell in Humphreys County in less than 24 hours Saturday, shattering the Tennessee record for one-day rainfall by more than 3 inches (8 centimeters), the National Weather Service said.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee toured the area, calling it a "devastating picture of loss and heartache." He stopped on Main Street in Waverly where some homes were washed off their foundations and people were sifting though their water-logged possessions. All around the county were debris from wrecked cars, demolished businesses and homes and a chaotic, tangled mix of the things inside.

Debris from flooding is strewn along Sam Hollow Road following heavy rainfall on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)

Shirley Foster cried as the governor walked up. She said she just learned a friend from her church was dead.

"I thought I was over the shock of all this. Im just tore up over my friend. My house is nothing, but my friend is gone," Foster told the governor.

The hardest-hit areas saw double the rain that area of Middle Tennessee had in the previous worst-case scenario for flooding, meteorologists said. Lines of storms moved over the area for hours, wringing out a record amount of moisture  a scenario scientists have warned may be more common because of global warming.

The downpours rapidly turned the creeks that run behind backyards and through downtown Waverly into raging rapids. Business owner Kansas Klein stood on a bridge Saturday in the town of 4,500 people and saw two girls who were holding on to a puppy and clinging to a wooden board sweep past, the current too fast for anyone to grab them. He hadn't found out what happened to them.

Kansas Klein, standing at right in the doorway, talks outside of his destroyed Bella Blak Pizzeria restaurant, Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, in Waverly, Tenn. Heavy rains caused flooding in Middle Tennessee and have resulted in multiple deaths as homes and rural roads were washed away. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Not far from the bridge, Klein told The Associated Press by phone that dozens of buildings in a low-income housing area known as Brookside appeared to have borne the brunt of the flash flood from Trace Creek.

"It was devastating: buildings were knocked down, half of them were destroyed," Klein said. "People were pulling out bodies of people who had drowned and didnt make it out."

The Humphreys County Sheriff Office Facebook page filled with people looking fo r missing friends and family. GoFundMe pages were made asking for help for funeral expenses for the dead, including 7-month-old twins yanked from their fathers arms as they tried to escape.

The foreman at Lynn's ranch, Wayne Spears, also was killed.

John Curtis, co-owner of Waverly Cash Saver grocery store, stands by a wall with flood water marks in his damaged store Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, in Waverly, Tenn. Heavy rains caused flooding in Middle Tennessee and have resulted in multiple deaths as homes and rural roads were washed away. Curtis' store is the only grocery store in town. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

"Hes out at his barn and next thing you know, he goes from checking animals in the barn to hanging on in the barn to people seeing him floating down the creek. And thats how fast it had come up," the sheriff said.

A photo taken by someone at the ranch showed Spears in a cowboy hat clinging to a pillar in brown, churning water up to his chest.

"Waynes just one of those guys, he just does everything for everybody, if theres a job to do," said his friend Michael Pate, who met Spears at the ranch 15 years ago.

At the Cash Saver grocery in in Waverly, employees stood on desks, registers and a flower rack as the waters from the creek that's usually 400 feet (120 meters) from the store rushed in after devastating the low income housing next door. At one point, they tried to break through the celling into the attic and couldn't, store co-owner David Hensley said.

A car is among debris that washed up against a bridge over a stream Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, in Waverly, Tenn. Heavy rains caused flooding Saturday in Middle Tennessee and have resulted in multiple deaths as homes and rural roads were washed away. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

The flood waters stopped rising as fast just as the situation was getting dire and a rescue boat came by. "We told him that if theres somebody else out there you can get, go get them, we think were OK," Hensley said.

At the beginning of a news conference on Tropical Storm Henri's impact on New England, President Joe Biden offered condolences to the people of Tennessee and directed federal disaster officials to talk with the governor and offer assistance.

Just to the east of Waverly, the town of McEwen was pummeled Saturday with 17.02 inches (43.2 centimeters) of rain, smashing the states 24-hour record of 13.6 inches (34.5 centimeters) from 1982, according to the National Weather Service in Nashville, though Saturdays numbers would have to be confirmed.

A flash flood watch was issued for the area before the rain started, with forecasters saying 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain was possible. The worst storm recorded in this area of Middle Tennessee only dropped 9 inches (23 centimeters) of rain, said Krissy Hurley, a weather service meteorologist in Nashville.

"Forecasting almost a record is something we dont do very often," Hurley said. "Double the amount weve ever seen was almost unfathomable."

Recent scientific research has determined that extreme rain events will become more frequent because of man-made climate change. Hurley said it is impossible to know its exact role in Saturdays flood, but noted in the past year her office dealt with floods that used to be expected maybe once every 100 years in September south of Nashville and in March closer to the city.

"We had an incredible amount of water in the atmosphere," Hurley said of Saturdays flooding. "Thunderstorms developed and moved across the same area over and over and over."

The problem isnt limited to Tennessee. A federal study found man-made climate change doubles the chances of the types of heavy downpours that in August 2016 dumped 26 inches (66 centimeters) of rain around Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Those floods killed at least 13 people and damaged 150,000 homes.

___

An earlier version of this story had the incorrect name for a creek. It is Trace Creek, not Trent Creek.

___

Collins contributed to this report from Columbia, South Carolina. John Raby contributed from Charleston, West Virginia.
Australian Press Council. The Press Council considered a complaint from John Nagle, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NSW workers compensation scheme, icare NSW, concerning 25 articles published in The Sydney Morning Herald. The articles complained of were published between 27 July 2020 and 1 October 2020. A list of the articles is available here. The articles, which included opinion pieces, concerned the performance of icare and its financial position, and reported criticism of the system by injured workers, referencing a NSW Treasury document that said 52,000 injured workers had been underpaid $80 million. The articles also reported on a NSW Government Parliamentary inquiry into the workers compensation scheme. In this context, it was initially reported in August 2020 during the parliamentary inquiry that the complainant had quit after it had emerged he was stripped of a bonus for failing to properly declare his wife had been given a contract with the agency. It was reported that the inquiry heard that the complainants wife was paid $750 a day for contract work performed between 2016 and 2019, totaling more than $800,000. It was also reported that the complainant failed to declare in icares annual report, business class flights to Las Vegas to speak at a conference organised by a software company which the inquiry heard had received millions of dollars in contracts from icare to provide claims management software and that the complainant had appeared in a promotional video for the company. It was also reported that the complainant had refused to disclose his pay details to the inquiry. The complainant said that the publication was conducting a campaign that was intended to discredit him, and the ongoing articles about icare issues are inextricably linked to his reputation and capability given his role as the former CEO. The complainant said the tenor of the reporting incorrectly implied corruption or impropriety on his part. In relation to his wifes contract with icare, the complainant said that his wife was contracted by icare while he was also employed there but before he became CEO and, at that time, he declared a conflict of interest. The complainant later clarified that as an icare executive, the reporting line for the project his wife was engaged to complete, reported to him. Strategies were put in place in response to the conflict of interest. The complainant said that he was not involved in the hiring of his wife or in any decision about her contract renewal or remuneration. The complainant also said the figure of $800,000 was inaccurate. He said that upon being appointed CEO and after an internal investigation, it became apparent that he ought to have made an additional declaration to the icare Board concerning his wifes employment. The complainant said however, that the investigation confirmed that there had been no intent to deceive on his part and, as required, details of the complaint and investigation were referred to ICAC which took no further action. Regarding the trip to Las Vegas, the complainant said it was inadvertently omitted from icares annual report. The complainant said, however, there was no secrecy about this trip and there was a video presentation of a keynote speech given at the conference on icares website for some time and it was also promoted in internal staff announcements. The complainant said that the reporting unfairly implied corruption or impropriety on his part.

The complainant said that he did not refuse to disclose his pay details to the inquiry. He said he was appearing at the inquiry under oath and, as he did not have accurate details of his salary and bonuses at the hearing, he took the question on notice. This meant he was required to provide the information within a specific timeframe, which he subsequently did. In relation to the reports that 52,000 injured workers had been underpaid $80 million, the complainant said the publication omitted to mention the figure came from an icare report which gave a range of possible scenarios with $80 million being a conservative worst case scenario, and the probable range being $15 million to $25 million. The publication said it stands by its journalism, much of which is backed up directly by Hansard records of the parliamentary inquiry into the states workers compensation scheme. Regarding the complainants wife being employed by icare, the publication said it did not report that he did not declare the contracts existence but instead accurately reported that the complainant failed to properly disclose the contract. The publication said that in relation to the $800,000 value of the contract, it did not state in any article that the complainants wife was paid this amount directly. Rather, it accurately reported what was said by a director of icare under oath at a parliamentary inquiry that the contract was worth that amount. The publication said it was willing to publish a footnote to clarify that the inquiry was subsequently informed that the value of the contract was $772,524. Concerning the Las Vegas trip, the publication said the complainant has acknowledged that it ought to have been included in icares annual report. In relation to the complainants knowledge of his salary, the publication said it accurately reported the comments made by him at the inquiry that he did not know what his salary was for a defined period. The publication said it did initially report that he refused to disclose his salary, but this was later amended to say Mr Nagle did not disclose his salary. The publication said the reports that 52,000 injured workers in NSW have been underpaid up to $80 million is based on icare estimates that were put to the parliamentary inquiry and the State Insurance Regulatory Authority. Conclusion The Councils Standards of Practice applicable in this matter require that publications take reasonable steps to ensure that factual material in news reports and elsewhere is accurate and not misleading and is distinguishable from other material such as opinion (General Principle 1), provide a correction or other adequate remedial action if published material is significantly inaccurate or misleading (General Principle 2), is presented with reasonable fairness and balance, and that writers expressions of opinion are not based on significantly inaccurate factual material or omission of key facts (General Principle 3) and provide an opportunity for a response to be published by a person adversely referred to (General Principle 4). The Council notes the complainants concerns that the volume and tenor of articles concerning icare were intended to discredit him personally. However, the Council has not been provided with any material that is consistent with this view. The Council notes that it is legitimate journalistic practice to comment on parliamentary inquiries and accepts that the publications reporting was based on an accurate record of comments made at the NSW parliamentary inquiry, including by the complainant. This includes reporting on the complainants failure to properly declare a conflict of interest; that his business trip ought to have been included in icares annual report; and comments concerning his response to questions about his salary. In relation to the estimated $80 million reportedly owed by icare to injured workers, the Council accepts this figure is based on information on the public record referred to at the inquiry, which is of significant public interest. The Council notes that the complainant was given a fair opportunity to respond to the matters concerning him but did not pursue it. Accordingly, the Council finds no breach of its General Principles.
One person was arrested after hundreds of protesters marched in Coolangatta on the NSW border to protest against COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccinations on Sunday.

Police monitored the protesters as they gathered about noon and moved along Griffith Street and Marine Parade, then into parkland on Sunday afternoon.

Protesters let their feelings be known in Coolangatta on Sunday. Credit:Tony Moore.

Several police crews moved through the crowd, which appeared to be relatively peaceful.

One person was arrested on the Queensland side of the border, while there were reports that a man rode a horse through the crowd while shouting.
Loading Ms Matson said authorities were not aware of any community transmission dating back to the mans August 12 arrival at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he remains. Contact tracers are unsure whether man could be the source case for the Shepparton outbreak. We dont have a source case for the Shepparton outbreak yet. Were not sure how that outbreak started, it could well be a new incursion from NSW, it may be something else we dont yet know, Ms Matson said. State Health Minister Martin Foley was asked on Sunday whether the man was tested before his surgery on August 12. He said he thought the man had been tested, but the matter was being further investigated.

Emergency physician Stephen Parnis, a former Australian Medical Association vice-president, said COVID-19 outbreaks in Victoria and NSW were putting even more pressure on health services. Its very concerning, the trajectory is heading in the wrong direction, Dr Parnis told ABC News 24 on Sunday. Police and protesters clash on Spring Street during Saturdays anti-lockdown rally. Credit:Justin McManus We know from past experience that when the numbers increase, that translates through to more sick people, more hospital presentations. Already in Melbourne, weve seen an impact with hundreds of exposure sites, lots of people  over 10,000 to 15,000 in isolation, and that includes a significant amount of health workers. Its putting pressure on health services. We saw these protests [on Saturday], which are demoralising because these people are doing the exact opposite of what they purport to do, which is improve peoples freedoms. They actually made it worse for everyone.

Victoria Police estimated 4000 people attended the protest rally in the CBD on Saturday, with six police injured in clashes with protesters while 218 protesters were arrested and 236 people fined. Police fire rubber bullets at protesters near Victoria Market on Saturday. Credit:Justin McManus Dr Parnis said he hoped Victorias lockdown would soon stop the growth in numbers but he urged eligible people to get vaccinated. The problem that we have in common is that we are dealing with a virus that is significantly more infectious than last year. Thats the downside, he said. The upside is that we are getting a more and more significant proportion of the population vaccinated and protected every single day. As far as Sydney goes, if we did not have anyone vaccinated, the number of people getting infected, being in hospital, dying, would be a fair bit higher than it is at the moment.

Thats really an incentive for accelerating rates of vaccination to increase. And not just in Sydney and Melbourne, but across the entire nation. We havent got a day to lose. Dr Parnis said it would take time for data to become available on how children handled the vaccines and that could slow returning to a more normal life. Its not going to be what it was two years ago, he said. We cannot achieve, with vaccination alone, the protection of the entire community that we would like, and that we have seen with infectious diseases such as measles over the years. So the way that I would envisage restrictions being eased would be quite slow, gradual, obviously linked to rates of vaccination, but also linked to the way that cases are presenting to hospital.
Liberal MPs are urging Prime Minister Scott Morrison to take a hard line against states that veto plans to ease lockdowns when vaccination rates hit 70 per cent, escalating a political clash over calls to abandon the target when coronavirus case numbers have surged to record levels.

Federal government MPs are demanding a clear path toward easing rules to give Australians a reward for signing up for vaccinations, with some calling for states to be able to go it alone rather than being held to the national target.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

With national daily case numbers climbing to 917 on Sunday, the highest since the pandemic began, state and territory leaders questioned Mr Morrisons claim that the medical advice to national cabinet endorsed the plan even at high infection rates.

The advice, from Doherty Institute professor of epidemiology Jodie McVernon and her colleagues, assumed only 30 cases in one scenario but is being clarified with a new assessment likely to go to states and territories this week.
More than 200 NSW children aged nine and under were diagnosed with COVID-19 over the weekend ahead of the state government revealing plans for when schools will open despite primary students being unable to be vaccinated.

As case numbers surpassed 800 on both days of the weekend, there were 204 cases of the virus reported in children aged 0-9. There were also 276 young people aged 10-19 who contracted COVID in the same period.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard says NSW is surging ahead with vaccinations. Credit:Renee Nowytarger

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she would this week reveal the governments plans for what schools looks like in term three and four, as well as what restrictions can be eased when the state hits its 6 million jabs target. As of Sunday, NSW had administered 5,868,974 jabs.

The lockdown extension, announced on Friday, is not due to end until the end of September, with September 17 the last day of term 3.
The Pentagon said it called up 18 commercial aircraft from United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air and others to carry people from temporary locations after they landed from Afghanistan. US troops line the airport perimeter at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. Credit:US Marine Corps via AP Earlier on Sunday, the Taliban fired in the air and used batons to force people desperate to flee Afghanistan to form orderly queues outside Kabul airport, witnesses said, a day after seven people were killed in a crush at the gates. While gunmen beat back the crowds, Washington said American troops were now getting large numbers of Americans into the airport. A NATO official said at least 20 people had died in the past seven days in and around the airport. Some were shot and others died in stampedes, witnesses said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called a virtual meeting of leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations for Tuesday to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people. A Taliban fighter at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood of Kabul on Sunday. Credit:AP Panicked Afghans have tried to board flights out, fearing reprisals and a return to a harsh version of Islamic law the Sunni Muslim group exercised while in power two decades ago. One woman fleeing Afghanistan gave birth while on a US military evacuation flight out of the country on Saturday night. During a flight from an intermediate staging base in the Middle East, the mother went into labour and began having complications, the Air Mobility Command, a division of the US Air Force, wrote in a tweet about the flight.

The aircraft commander decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilise and save the mothers life. Loading The US Defence Department posted images of the woman being escorted by medical personnel off the aircraft at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The Air Force says both mother and baby, a girl, are now in good condition.

The image of the woman and her family being escorted off the Boeing C-17 transport aircraft is one of the latest stunning images emerging from the evacuation from Kabul as the Taliban takes control of the country. Opposition forces mount challenge They face opposition from forces in northern Afghanistan, which said this weekend they had taken three districts close to the Panjshir valley. Anti-Taliban leader Ahmad Massoud said on Sunday he hoped to hold peace talks with the Islamist movement but that his forces in the Panjshir  remnants of army units, special forces and militiamen  were ready to fight. We want to make the Taliban realise that the only way forward is through negotiation, he said. We do not want a war to break out.

The United States and other countries including Britain have brought in several thousand troops to help evacuate foreign citizens and vulnerable Afghans, but have been careful to avoid clashes with the Taliban. A Taliban official said the Islamist group was seeking complete clarity on foreign forces exit plan. Managing chaos outside Kabul airport is a complex task. Afghans who have fled have spoken about their despair at leaving loved ones behind. It was very difficult to leave my country, one veiled woman told Reuters in Qatar. I love my country.

Loading The World Health Organisation and UN childrens agency UNICEF called for a humanitarian air bridge to deliver aid to Afghanistan to help more than 18 million people in need. Ongoing airport chaos On Saturday, the United States and Germany told their citizens in Afghanistan to avoid travelling to Kabul airport, citing security risks, but Washington said on Sunday the situation had improved. The United States has secured the capacity to get large numbers of Americans safe passage through the airport and onto the airfield, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNNs State of the Union.

Life goes on for some people in Kabul as they wait to see what changes Taliban rule will bring. Credit:AP Sullivan also said there was a risk of Islamic State attacks on Kabul or its airport. The threat is real, it is acute, it is persistent and it is something that we are focused on with every tool in our arsenal, he said. We are working hard with our intelligence community to try to isolate and determine where an attack might come from. A Pentagon spokesman said the United States would deploy 18 commercial aircraft to transport people who have been flown to temporary locations from Afghanistan. The US says it has evacuated 17,000 people in the past week, including 2500 Americans.

Australia ran four flights into Kabul on Saturday, evacuating more than 300 people, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. The Netherlands said it would increase its military presence in Afghanistan to help evacuation efforts. People evacuated from Kabul arrive at Hindon Air force base near New Delhi, India on Sunday. Their flight carried 168 people, according to an Indian government spokesman. Credit:AP President Vladimir Putin rejected the idea of sending evacuees to countries near Russia, saying he did not want militants showing up here under cover of refugees. The Talibans seizure of power came as US-led forces were withdrawing after a 20-year war that President Joe Biden sought to conclude. Taliban leaders are meanwhile trying to hammer out a new government, and the groups co-founder, Mullah Baradar, has arrived in Kabul for talks.
Beijing: In the US departure from Afghanistan, China has seen the realisation of long-held hopes for a reduction of the influence of a geopolitical rival in what it considers its backyard.

Yet, it is also deeply concerned that the very withdrawal could bring risk and instability to that backyard  Central Asia  and possibly even spill over their narrow, remote border into China itself and the heavily Muslim north-western region of Xinjiang.

In July, Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pose for a photo during their meeting in Tianjin, China. Credit:AP

The Talibans takeover could certainly present political and economic opportunities for China, including developing Afghanistans vast mineral riches, and Beijing has said it is ready to help rebuild the impoverished nation. But stability will be required to reap most of those benefits, and the immediate result of the American withdrawal has been more instability, not less.

I think Beijing will play up the narrative of American fecklessness and decline of Empire, painting this as evidence of why Beijing will be a better steward for the Eurasian heartland, said Raffaello Pantucci, an expert on the region at the Royal United Services Institute in London.
THE AMERICAN WAR IN AFGHANISTAN: A History

Author: Carter Malkasian

Pages: 576

Price: $34.95

THE PAPERS: A Secret History of the War

Author: Craig Whitlock

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 368

Price: $30

In the predawn hours of July 1 they departed, the few remaining US troops at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, the centre of operations for Americas longest war. It marked the symbolic end of Americas 20-year military intervention in a war-ravaged land.

It will be up to historians of the future, writing with broad access to official documents and with the kind of detachment that only time brings, to fully explain the remarkable early-morning scene at Bagram and all that led up to it. But theres much we can already learn  abundant material is available. When the historians get down to work, chances are they will make ample use of two penetrating new works: Carter Malkasians The American War in and Craig Whitlocks The Papers.

The two volumes constitute a powerful one-two punch, covering the key developments in the war and reaching broadly similar conclusions, but with differing emphases. Both authors paint a picture of an American war effort that, after breathtaking early success, lost its way, never to recover.

My recommendation is to read the Malkasian first. A former civilian adviser in Afghanistan who also served as a senior aide to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Malkasian speaks Pashto and has a doctorate in history. In this, his third and most comprehensive book on Afghanistan, he provides a broad-reaching and quietly authoritative overview of US involvement, from 9/11 onward. No less important, he enlightens us on the Afghan part of the story  on the tribal system and its variations; on the forbidding geography, so vital in the fighting; on the leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and his decision-making; on the complex and ever-shifting relationships between the government of Hamid Karzai and the warlords.

Whitlock, a veteran Washington Post reporter, expands on a much-discussed series of articles that appeared in The Post in late 2019 and that were based on interviews and documents gathered by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) for several Lessons Learned reports. In Whitlocks grim assessment, American military and civilian leaders in three successive administrations from George W Bushs to Donald J Trumps engaged in an unspoken conspiracy to mask the truth about the almost continuous setbacks on the ground in Afghanistan.

It wasnt always that way. In early October 2001, the rode a wave of international support following the 9/11 attacks to launch a sustained aerial campaign against Al Qaeda and the ruling and dispatched Special Operations forces to assist a resistance organisation in northern Afghanistan. The result was a rout. Within 60 days, the was driven from power, with the loss of only four US troops and one CIA agent. It was a stunning victory, even if Osama bin Laden and top Taliban leaders eluded capture. Flushed with success, US planners were uncertain about what to do next. They feared that Afghanistan could descend into chaos, but didnt want to be saddled with the tasks of nation-building. Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, who is a key figure in both volumes, personified the indecision. Empowered by George W Bush to oversee the mission, Rumsfeld shared the presidents inclination to view the Taliban and Al Qaeda as inseparable. Yet he also showed a subtler side.

Respectful of Afghanistans history, Malkasian writes, Rumsfeld was aware that U S troops could upset the Afghan people and trigger an uprising. He wanted to outsource to Afghan partners and be done with the place as soon as possible. In hindsight, he was prescient. Yet his actual decisions cut off opportunities to avoid the future he so feared.

Thus Rumsfeld ignored entreaties to include the Taliban in the postwar settlement in late 2001 and sanctioned overly aggressive counter-terrorism operations that alienated ordinary Afghans and in short order drove former Taliban supporters to resort again to violence. And thus he and Bush turned a blind eye to the repressive actions of Karzais government and its warlord allies. Yet even as American planners acknowledged  behind closed doors  that they were losing in Afghanistan, they kept up the bullish public pronouncements. Lies and Spin, Whitlock titles a particularly devastating chapter, as he quotes general after general declaring to reporters that the trend lines pointed in the right direction, that the enemy was on the ropes, that victory would soon come. Never mind the plethora of intelligence assessments showing the opposite. Neither of these authors gives much reason to believe that an alternative American strategy would have brought an appreciably different result. Malkasian, the more sanguine of the two, identifies some missed opportunities to limit the bloodshed and cut back US involvement, but concludes that Afghanistan was always destined to be a long and difficult slog. Whitlock credits President Joe Biden for his April decision to pull the US forces from what the author terms an unwinnable war.

Indeed, one puts down these two estimable works with the strong sense that the very presence of the created a monumental problem for the Kabul government. Much like South Vietnam a half century before, it could never escape being tainted by its association with a foreign occupying power.
For Paris-headquartered IT services major Capgemini, India has always been the backbone of its services delivery for its global clients, but the company is focused on driving more value from India as it gears up its research and development (R&D) presence worldwide with its acquisition of Altran Technologies.

The company, which has about 143,000 employees in India, is looking to hire 60,000 associates this year. Of them, 30,000 will be recruits from campuses and the rest lateral entrants.

For Ashwin Yardi, chief executive officer India, Capgemini, the focus is to make sure that the India unit is aligned with the global plans of repositioning the company as a hub of R&D, operational technology, and IT.

When we acquired Altran, we repositioned engineering, and our strategy has been to be a leader in the intelligent industry. By far we are the leaders; if you look at the scale and size of our at Capgemini, we are the largest. Some of the areas that are being created by this focus include autonomous car platforms and setting up 5G labs in India, Yardi said.

A few months ago, announced setting up a 5G lab in Mumbai, its third globally, to accelerate the deployment of 5G solutions. Spread over 1,300 square feet, the lab offers a collaborative environment, which leverages technologies on network, cloud, edge computing, hardware, and software solutions. The lab will support Capgeminis global clients in a 5G end-to-end transformation.

Yardi said engineering had always been a focus area at with Sogeti as a division of the company, which got an impetus with the acquisition of iGate in 2014. Now the Altran acquisition has catapulted the company into the leading table of engineering and R&D services providers. This is reflected in the growth of the engineering business, which was up 16 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of CY2021.

The Altran India team has almost 15,000 people. Along with this, the firm is sharpening its industry focus and the idea is to build deeper industry talent and also expand its industry centres of excellences (CoEs) in India. Capgemini now includes auto, telecom, consumer products & retail, BFSI, and aerospace in its industry focus.

This has meant the companys hiring or talent acquisition has changed. One is to hire people directly from these core sectors and to increase the wider knowledge pool of industry awareness and depth among employees for which we have launched industry content so that the employees can get skilled in specific industries. And finally the firm has created an asset hub that looks at client-specific or cross-industry assets, which can be deployed for clients.

To give an instance, when we talk about building an autonomous car platform we mean working on a car as well. We want to improve the overall industry quotient of our pool of consultants, building assets, and then building labs, which can build prototypes for our clients and it is being done on a much bigger scale, he said.

He is not concerned about the rising attrition the industry is seeing. For the second quarter of CY21 Capgemini had an attrition rate of 15.2 per cent (last 12 months).

One of the reasons for this confidence is because we never stopped hiring, like most of our peers did during the initial days of the pandemic; also we did not stop giving salary hikes. Our quarterly salary hikes continued. Perhaps that is why Capgeminis YoYattrition has gone down. For the second quarter of 2020 the attrition was 17.4 per cent. He is confident attrition will taper off in a few quarters.

There is not a single skill area that is not in demand, which is making people move. With growth back, the industry needs to adjust to this spike, he added.
Mobility start-up Get My Parking is looking to double its revenue to USD 5 million (about Rs 37 crore) this fiscal, on the back of an expected complete unlocking and economic revival both in the domestic and international markets, its co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer Rasik Pansare has said.

Founded in 2015, and a pioneer in the Rs 200-crore domestic digital parking space industry, the start-up with its technology helps parking operators and facility managers upgrade physical parking lots into digital hubs with control access and cashless payments.

The platform's smart parking technology is currently deployed in over 250 parking lots in 10 metro cities in the country. Besides, it also has presence across 17 other countries, including the US, Latin America, Australia, Europe and the West Asia.

In addition to largely catering to the corporate sector, Get My Parking maintains a few government projects also, including one in Hyderabad.

"We are currently doing USD 2.5 million in revenue, and we are looking at doubling the topline (revenue) this fiscal to USD 5 million," Pansare told PTI in an interaction.

Pansare said the company turned Ebitda positive in the financial year ended March 2021, which is an important thing to have happened, considering that it was achieved in a pandemic year, he said.

Ebitda stands for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.

Business from the corporate parking space accounts for 70 per cent, and the rest 30 per cent comes from the parking facilities that are under the government's ownership, he said.

He said the company has mopped up USD 10.4 million funds so far, including USD 6-million raised from IvyCap and IAN Fund in June this year.

As much as USD 4.5 million of the total capital have already been invested in product and market development besides inducting fresh talent, Pansare added.

The mobile app-based parking management system seeks to simplify parking by digitising the entire process from ticketing to auditing. To users, the app provides information on the nearby location of the parking lots, availability of parking spots and ticket pricing so as to avoid overcharges.

Noting that the company is growing at 25-35 per cent in the Indian market annually despite the pandemic, he said the growth in the international markets is much higher at around 200 per cent.

"The US and Europe have opened up 100 per cent and are seeing huge tailwinds there. We are also hoping that once India opens up 100 per cent, we will probably benefit from tailwinds here also," Pansare said.

He said that thanks to the cautionary opening up of the economy, people are demanding technology where there was no technology earlier. "This is helping us digitalise more parking lots all over the world."



"We are seeing huge growth in the number of deployments we are doing and the interest we are getting from the markets we are operating in," Pansare stated.

In the past 3-4 years, the company was focusing a lot on Europe and had expanded a lot there. And, after establishing in those markets before the pandemic, it started focusing on the US market as well, he said.

For the past six months, the company has been getting a lot of inbound demand from Latin America and also started getting interest from working in Australia, Pansare added.

"Before the pandemic, growth in the Indian market was organically quite stable. There are low-hanging fruits for digitising smart parking in this market and we have already captured that very fast before the pandemic," he said.

In India, the business grew exponentially until pre-pandemic. "After that, it has been very organic and steady," said Pansare.

The domestic digital parking market is pegged at around Rs 200 crore, while there is a huge unorganised market that needs to be digitalised, he added.

As against this, the global parking industry is estimated to be valued at USD 100 billion. The smart parking segment of that is valued at about USD 10 billion.

As the country opens up, more people start going out more. How does technology demand by the consumer plays out in the India market will have to be seen, he said.

Pansare added that the start-up is currently working with a large automotive company to clinch a business opportunity apart from Mercedes-Benz, with which it already has a tie-up.

"We have certain OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) working with us, who are not consumer car makers, but are suppliers and enablers for the passenger car makers," Pansare said.

He added that the company is already into the business of providing technology to automotive companies, to bundle their services and its parking solutions together, and provide it to the OEMs.

With the increasing deployment of connected technology in the cars, such partnerships are expected to grow further in the future, he said.

The company has a lot of partnerships with corporate parks, who along with institutional campuses, want to digitalise their respective parking spaces, Pansare added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
brand shipped nearly 12.8 million handsets in the second quarter (Q2) of 2021, new data has showed.

In terms of smartphones, Mobile did see an improvement in shipments of 36 per cent compared to Q1 2021, driven by the new 1.4, G and C series devices, according to Counterpoint Research.

In Q2 2021, the Nokia brand remained the second biggest brand in terms of market share on the feature phone market.

Nokia Mobile grabbed 18 per cent of the feature phone market share.

The number of shipped feature phones decreased compared to previous quarter by 8 per cent, meaning nearly 10.1 million units were shipped.

Global smartphone shipments declined by 7 per cent QoQ in Q2 2021, primarily due to ongoing component shortages as well as the implementation or extension of COVID-19 restrictions across Asia and Europe.

Nearly 329 million units were shipped in Q2.

Shipments, however, grew by 19 per cent YoY as inoculation rates increased in several major economies preventing the need for lockdowns as stringent as those seen in the same quarter of last year.

--IANS

na/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The first batch of 135 Indians who were evacuated from Kabul to Doha over the past few days, are being repatriated to India, the Indian Embassy in Qatar informed on Sunday.

"1st batch of 135 Indians who were evacuated from Kabul to Doha over past days being repatriated tonight to India. Embassy officials provided consular and logistics assistance to ensure their safe return. We thank Qatar authorities and all concerned for making this possible," India in Qatar tweeted.

Some 500 odd people are set to return to India on Sunday morning from Afghanistan, through various destinations and flights.

External Affairs Ministry (EAM) spokesperson informed that an Air India flight carrying 87 Indians has departed from Tajikistan for New Delhi. "Bringing Indians home from Afghanistan! AI 1956 carrying 87 Indians departs from Tajikistan for New Delhi. Two Nepalese nationals also evacuated. Assisted and supported by our Embassy in Dushanbe. More evacuation flights to follow," said Arindam Bagchi, EAM spokesperson.

Earlier on Saturday, government sources told ANI that India has been allowed to operate two flights per day from Kabul to evacuate its nationals stranded in

The permission has been granted by the American and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces which have been controlling operations of the Hamid Karzai International Airport after the Afghan capital was taken over by the on August 15.

A total of 25 flights are being operated by them as they, at present, are focusing on evacuating their citizens, weaponry and equipment.

Hundreds of Indian nationals have to be taken out of Kabul which is now under the Taliban's control. India is airlifting its citizens through Dushanbe in Tajikistan and Qatar. The Indian Air Force has already evacuated around 180 passengers including its Ambassador to and all other diplomats.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) and instructed all concerned officials to undertake all necessary measures to ensure the safe evacuation of Indian nationals from in the coming days.

entered Kabul on Sunday and took control of the presidential palace. The Indian government has been closely monitoring all developments in Afghanistan.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
is leaving behind some 50 bags at the Delhi airport as it flies to the US, reducing what it carries after the closure of Afghanistans airspace increased flight time by at least 30 minutes.

flies the Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft to New York, Newark, Chicago, Washington and San Francisco. While the San Francisco flight takes the eastern routes, the other four usually cross into Central Asia and Russia. After the Afghan airspace closed on August 16, Air India's Europe and US bound flights are taking a southern route via Pakistan and Iran into Central Asia.

is uplifting an additional 5-8 tonnes of fuel due to change in route. This has led to payload restriction, contributing to the airlines reason to leave passenger behind bags and cargo at Delhi. The problem is acute on the Chicago route, which has a longer flying time than New York and Newark.

An Air India spokesperson said "Due to the longer routes that are being charted now, there is some payload restrictions for which some baggage may not get loaded. However, all effort is being made to send the same expeditiously."

Along with the changed route, Air India's generous baggage policy has become a challenge for the airline. It allows two bags of 23 kg for economy class passengers and students are allowed a free third bag.

Passengers have taken to Twitter and other social media platform to complain about their luggage. Students are troubled as they carry household items for their new residences abroad. Some passengers complained that there was no response from Air Indias customer care number.

A source said bags that are left behind are being sent on the next available flight including those of United Airlines.

The airline is also carrying out a safety assessment risk for a shorter northern route via Pakistan and Tajikistan. This would cut down the increase in flight duration and reduce fuel burn.
A special Indian Air Force repatriation flight ferrying 168 evacuees from landed at the Ghaziabad Hindon air base here on Sunday.

The flight had 107 Indian nationals among those evacuated from Afghanistan, which has been overtaken by the Talban a week ago. Passengers who arrived here will first undergo a COVID RT PCR test.

India has been allowed to operate two flights per day from to evacuate its nationals stranded in Afghanistan, government sources told ANI.

The permission was granted by American and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces which have been controlling operations of the Hamid Karzai International Airport after the Afghan capital fell to the on August 15.

People in have been rushing to leave the country after the seized control last week. On August 15, the country's government fell soon after President Ashraf Ghani left the country.

Countries have been urgently evacuating their citizens from the war-torn nation. The airport is witnessing nowadays a heavy chaos due to instability in the region.

The MEA has said the government is committed to the safe return of all Indian nationals from The MEA said that the main challenge for travel to and from is the operational status of the Kabul airport.

Spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs (MEA), Arindam Bagchi, tweeted earlier to say that two Nepalese citizens were among those on board the Air India flight from Kabul.

"Bringing Indians home from Afghanistan! AI 1956 carrying 87 Indians departs from Tajikistan for New Delhi. Two Nepalese nationals also evacuated. Assisted and supported by our Embassy @IndEmbDushanbe. More evacuation flights to follow," he tweeted very early on Sunday morning.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Around 300 Indian nationals are expected to be brought back home from on Sunday as part of India's evacuation mission in view of the deteriorating security situation in Afghan capital Kabul, people familiar with the development said.

Eighty-seven Indians were on Saturday taken to Tajikistan capital Dushanbe from Kabul on board a military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force and the group is being brought back to Delhi in a special Air India flight from the central Asian city early on Sunday.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted that two Nepalese citizens are also coming to India on board the Air India flight.

"Bringing Indians home from Afghanistan! AI 1956 carrying 87 Indians departs from Tajikistan for New Delhi. Two Nepalese nationals also evacuated. Assisted and supported by our Embassy @IndEmbDushanbe. More evacuation flights to follow," Bagchi tweeted at around 1:20 am.

He said the passengers were earlier evacuated from Kabul by an IAF aircraft.

Separately, the Indian embassy in Qatar said 135 Indians, who were evacuated from Kabul to Doha in the last few days, are being sent to India.

"1st batch of 135 Indians who were evacuated 4m Kabul to Doha over past days being repatriated tonight to India," the embassy said in a post-midnight tweet.

It said embassy officials provided consular and logistics assistance to ensure the safe return of the Indians.

"We thank Qatar authorities n all concerned for making this possible," it added.

It is learnt that the to Doha from Kabul were employees of a number of foreign companies that were operating in The Indians were flown in to Doha by US and NATO aircraft.

The people cited above said on condition of anonymity that close 100 Indians are likely to be brought back to India from Kabul in an Indian Air Force heavy-lift aircraft by Sunday.

The total number of Indians to be evacuated on Sunday is around 300, they said.

India has already evacuated 200 people including the Indian envoy and other staffers of its embassy in Kabul in two C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft of the IAF after the seized control of Kabul on Sunday.

The first evacuation flight brought back over 40 people, mostly staffers at the Indian embassy, on Monday.

The second C-17 aircraft evacuated around 150 people including Indian diplomats, officials, security personnel and some stranded Indians from Kabul on Tuesday.

The swept across this month, seizing control of almost all key towns and cities including Kabul in the backdrop of the withdrawal of the US forces.

The mission to evacuate close to 200 Indians was accomplished with support from the US.

Following the evacuation, the MEA said the focus now would be to ensure the safe return of all Indian nationals from the Afghan capital.

The MEA said the immediate priority for the government is to obtain accurate information about all Indian nationals currently staying in Afghanistan.

It also requested the Indians as well as their employers to urgently share the relevant details with the special Afghanistan cell.

As per a rough estimate earlier, the number of Indians stranded in Afghanistan could be around 400 and India has been looking at ways to evacuate them including by coordinating with the US and other friendly countries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Farmers seeking a hike in sugarcane prices continued to block rail tracks and a highway in Punjab's Jalandhar as a meeting between their representatives and state ministers here remained inconclusive with another round now scheduled with agriculture experts on Monday.

Scores of farmers had on Friday launched an agitation for an indefinite period to press the Punjab government to accept their demands related to pending dues of sugarcane and hike in cane prices.

After the meeting here on Sunday, senior farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal told reporters, "Not much was achieved from today's meeting. It remained inconclusive."



He, however, said the government has assured that outstanding arrears of private mills will be cleared within next 15 days and those of cooperative be settled by September first week.

Another senior farmer leader, Balbir Singh Rajewal, told reporters that the blockade will continue till their demand of hike in cane prices is met.

The blockade by farmers has been affecting movement of trains and vehicular traffic. Emergency vehicles are, however, being allowed to ply.

Giving more details of the meeting, Dallewal said, "On cost of production issue, the government admitted that the officials had not given them correct feedback and now in the meeting in Jalandhar these things will be discussed threadbare."



Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said agriculture experts, officers of cooperation and agriculture departments will hold a meeting in Jalandhar with farmers' representatives and all calculations regarding cost of production will be worked out.

When asked that cane growers are demanding Rs 400 per quintal, he said the government's job is to watch interests of farmers as well as the industry.

Asked if a meeting between farmers' representatives and chief minister will also be held, Randhawa said, "This will be decided after tomorrow's meeting."



Earlier, the opposition party Shiromani Akali Dal had demanded from the Congress government to increase the state assured price (SAP) of sugarcane to a minimum of Rs 380 per quintal.

Protesting farmers are demanding that the Punjab government raise the SAP of sugarcane and clear payment of arrears to the tune of Rs 200-250 crore.

They have already rejected the hike of Rs 15 per quintal announced by the Punjab government a few days back.

The state government had revised sugarcane rates to Rs 325 for the early variety, Rs 315 for mid variety and Rs 310 per quintal for the late maturing variety.

Railway officials of Ferozepur division had earlier said a total of 89 trains were cancelled because of the farmers' protest.

Rail passengers travelling for the festival of Raksha Bandhan festival on Sunday bore the maximum brunt of the blockade.

Protesters have blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara stretch of the Delhi-Amritsar highway near Dhanowali village of Jalandhar district.

The blockade affected vehicular movement to and from Jalandhar, Amritsar and Pathankot, though the administration diverted the traffic through some alternative routes.

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At least 15 people, including an Assam Police constable, a senior Jamiat leader and a journalist, were arrested from across Assam for social media posts allegedly supporting the takeover of Afghanistan, police said on Saturday.

The arrests were made since Friday night and they have been booked under different sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, IT Act and CrPC.

Special Director General of Police GP Singh tweeted that the Assam police have arrested people for social media posts regarding activities that have attracted provisions of law of the land.

Singh also advised people to be careful about inflammatory social media posts, including retweeting them or liking them, as their actions could invite penal action.

Deputy Inspector General Violet Baruah also urged people to help law enforcing agencies keep tab on such social media posts.

Baruah tweeted, we're registering criminal cases against such persons. Please inform the police if any such thing comes to your notice.

Among those arrested are two people each are from Barpeta and Dhubri, and one each from Darrang, South Salmara, Goalpara and Hojai districts, police said.

Two persons have been arrested from Kamrup (Rural) district also, with one of them being a constable with the state police.

An Assam Police jawan and a school teacher have been arrested for supporting through social media. We are interrogating them and more people could fall into our net soon, Kamrup (Rural) superintendent of police Hitesh Chandra Roy said.

Among three Maulanas arrested is Maulana Fazlul Karim, who is a secretary of the state unit of the Jamiat-e-Ulema and also a general secretary of state's opposition All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF).

An AIUDF spokesperson told PTI that Karim is being suspended from the party till completion of an enquiry.

The arrested people also include four from the three Barak Valley districts. While two people have been arrested in Karimganj, one each has been apprehended from Hailakandi and Cachar districts, police officials added.

The person arrested in Hailakandi is a MBBS student at Tezpur Medical College in Sonitpur district, a senior police officer said.

DIG Baruah told PTI that another person has been arrested in Baksa district on Saturday on similar charges for posting material on social media supporting the Taliban.

We have one such case in Baksa so far. One person, who claims to be a journalist and also a teacher in Gobardhana area of the district, has been arrested, she added.

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Union Minister V Muraleedharan on Sunday said the evacuation process of Indians from Kabul in Afghanistan, in the backdrop of the deteriorating situation in the city after its takeover by the Taliban, was happening in a flawless manner and the central government will bring back all Indian citizens, who want to come back.

The Union Minister of State for External Affairs while speaking to media here, said there are around 500 people stranded there as per the preliminary estimation and the government will ensure their safe travel to the airport there.

"The evacuation process is happening in a flawless manner. As per our estimation there will be around 500 people to return to India. The union government has taken steps to bring back all those Indians who want to come back. There are some issues related to the travel to the airport there. The government will take necessary steps to bring those stranded there safely to the airport," Muraleedharan said. Meanwhile, India brought back nearly 400 people, including 329 of its nationals and two Afghan lawmakers, in three different flights as part of its efforts to evacuate its citizens from Kabul on Sunday.

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The number of days it takes in trial and judgment of commercial disputes has come down significantly in Delhi and Mumbai, according to the latest data of the

According to the World Bank's 'doing business' report for India, it used to take 1,095 days in trial and judgment of commercial disputes in 2020.

But following a push for reforms, the number of days has come down to 424 in Delhi and 306 in Mumbai, according to the data put the in public domain by the Department of Justice in the

The Code of Civil Procedure of 1908 provides time standards for case management.

According to it, the filing of written statement should be done within 30 days of the notice served on defendant and the judgment should be delivered within 30 days from hearing conclusion date.

Time standards are respected in more than 50 per cent of cases in dedicated commercial courts, the department said.

Fixing of time standards for key court events and streamlining of trial process have led to speeding up case disposal, it claimed.

Order XVII Rule (1) of the CPC provides for a maximum of three adjournments during the hearing of a suit.

Order XVII, Rule 2(b) of the CPC states that no adjournment will be granted at the request of a party, except where the circumstances are beyond control.

The Department of Justice had sent letters to the high courts of Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Karnataka to adhere to the three-adjournment rule.

The four high courts have issued advisory to all the dedicated commercial courts under their jurisdictions to strictly adhere to the timelines and three-adjournment rule.

The rule of maximum three adjournments is being actively enforced in more than 50 per cent of cases of dedicated commercial courts of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru.

This has reduced the time taken for trial, arguments and final judgment, the department noted.

Besides, e-committee of the Supreme Court has ensured compliance with the three-adjournment rule by creating facility which is provided in "daily proceedings screen" to alert judge about the listing of case.

Green colour indicates that the case is listed on the same stage for less than three times.

Orange colour indicates that the case is listed on the same stage between three and six times.

Red colour shows the case is listed on the same stage for more than six times.

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Another 32,253 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 6,492,906, according to official figures released Sunday.

The country also reported another 49 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 131,640. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

The Health Security Agency will launch a new national surveillance program next week, which will offer antibody testing to adults in Britain who test positive.

The aim is to help improve the health authorities' understanding of immunity against COVID-19 from vaccination and infection, according to a statement from Britain's Department of Health and Social Care.

From Tuesday, anyone aged over 18 will be able to opt in to take part when booking a PCR test through NHS Test and Trace. Up to 8,000 people who opt-in and then receive a positive PCR result will be sent two-finger prick antibody tests to complete at home and send back to a lab for analysis, according to the statement.

The data collected will help estimate the proportion of those who got COVID-19 despite developing antibodies as a result of having a vaccine or previously catching coronavirus.

"Our new national antibody testing will be quick and easy to take part in, and by doing so you'll be helping strengthen our understanding of COVID-19 as we cautiously return to a more normal life," said Britain's Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.

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Technology firm IBM India has provided healthcare facilities like pediatric ICU beds and oxygen concentrators to Karnataka, Haryana and Uttarakhand which would help them tackle a potential third wave of COVID-19, according to senior company official.

The healthcare facilities have been provided as part of IBM India's corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative in partnership with the Nasscom Foundation.

Speaking to PTI, IBM India and South Asia Head-CSR Manoj Balachandran said, "While a lot of relief like oxygen cylinders was coming in to address the immediate short term need, we decided to work on mid to long term requirements with the state governments."



In Karnataka, pediatric ICU beds were provided thinking that children could be at potential risk if there is a third wave as they are not vaccinated, he said.

"All that we are doing now is obviously trying to be prepared for the third wave, hoping against hope that the third wave is not going to be as severe as the earlier one," he said.

Right now, the focus has been on these three states. But things might change if a third wave hits, as the company will then re-evaluate and look at other states for extending relief, he added.

According to IBM, 45 pediatric ICU beds have been provided to CV Raman General Hospital and Sevashram Hospital in Bengaluru.

The Nasscom Foundation has partnered with Rashtrotthana Parishad to get these high-end equipment installed.

In Uttarakhand, the company has deployed 122 oxygen concentrators and 125 flow meters in Cantonment General Hospital in Dehradun.

In Haryana, it has deployed an oxygen generation plant of 200 LPM (litre per minute) capacity at Faridabad District Hospital and Community Health Centre.

Besides, the company has provided nine ICU beds, four regular hospital beds, five high-flow nasal canula and 191 flow meters to the Faridabad District Hospital and Community Health Centre, he added.

"These current efforts should help in the third wave also," Balachandran said, adding that reasonable capacity has been created in some of these hospitals to handle the likely third wave.

However, the company is keeping its eyes and ears open to meet the possible demand that may come from hospitals if a third wave hits, he added.

Nasscom Foundation CEO Nidhi Bhasin said, "The whole tech industry responded very fast. It was very overwhelming the way everybody responded, including IBM, during the second wave of the pandemic."



The focus was on building infrastructure and creating awareness about vaccination. Companies like IBM should come forward and support these kinds of initiatives, she added.

Apart from this initiative being implemented along with Nasscom Foundation, Balachandran said IBM India is engaged in implementing CSR works in areas like education.

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India on Sunday brought back nearly 400 people, including 329 of its nationals and two Afghan lawmakers, in three different flights as part of its efforts to evacuate its citizens from Kabul in the backdrop of the deteriorating situation in the city after its takeover by the

A total of 168 people including 107 Indians and 23 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, were flown from Kabul to the Hindon airbase near Delhi in a C-17 heavy-lift military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Another group of 87 Indians and two Nepalese nationals were brought back in a special Air India flight from Dushanbe, a day after they were evacuated to the Tajikistan capital in an IAF aircraft, officials said.

Separately, a group of 135 Indians, who were evacuated from Kabul to Doha in the last few days by the US and NATO aircraft, were flown back from Doha to Delhi on a special flight, they said.

India carried out the evacuation missions in coordination with the US, Qatar, Tajikistan and several other friendly countries.

The group of 168 people, who were evacuated from Kabul, included Afghan lawmakers Anarkali Honaryar and Narender Singh Khalsa and their families, people familiar with the evacuation mission said.

"Evacuation continues! IAF special repatriation flight with 168 passengers on board, including 107 Indian nationals, is on its way to Delhi from Kabul," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted hours before the plane landed at Hindon.

It is learnt that the Indians evacuated to Doha from Kabul were employees of a number of foreign companies that were operating in

ALSO READ: How the US lost Afghanistan

"Bringing Indians home from Afghanistan! AI 1956 carrying 87 Indians departs from Tajikistan for New Delhi. Two Nepalese nationals also evacuated.Assisted and supported by our Embassy @IndEmbDushanbe. More evacuation flights to follow," Bagchi tweeted at around 1:20 am.

India evacuated 200 people including the Indian envoy and other staffers of its embassy in Kabul in two C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft of the IAF after the seized control of Kabul. The first evacuation flight brought back over 40 people, mostly staffers at the Indian embassy, on Monday last.

The second C-17 aircraft evacuated around 150 people including Indian diplomats, officials, security personnel and some stranded Indians from Kabul on Tuesday.

The swept across this month, seizing control of almost all key towns and cities including Kabul in the backdrop of the withdrawal of the US forces.

Following the evacuation, the MEA said the focus now would be to ensure the safe return of all Indian nationals from the Afghan capital.

The MEA said the immediate priority for the government is to obtain accurate information about all Indian nationals currently staying in It also requested the Indians as well as their employers to urgently share the relevant details with the special Afghanistan cell.

According to a rough estimate last week, the number of Indians stranded in Afghanistan could be around 400 and India has been looking at ways to evacuate them including by coordinating with the US and other friendly countries.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As India continues to evacuate people from Afghanistan, which has been taken over by the Taliban, the Centre on Sunday said it will also administer free vaccines to Afghan nationals who land in the country.

The move said the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is a preventive measure against the wild virus.

Sharing a photo of the ongoing vaccination of the evacuees at the Delhi International airport, Mandaviya on Sunday tweeted: "We have decided to vaccinate returnees with free Vaccine - OPV & fIPV, as a preventive measure against Wild Polio Virus. Congratulations to the Health Team for their efforts to ensure public health. Take a look at the vaccine drive at Delhi International Airport."

Polio has not yet been eradicated in and Pakistan.

Several countries have been carrying out the evacuation of their nationals from after the country's government fell to the terrorist group on August 15.

India on Sunday evacuated 168 passengers including 107 Indian nationals via Indian Air Force's C-17 aircraft that landed at the Hindon IAF base in Ghaziabad.

An Air India flight carrying 87 Indians also landed in Delhi today.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said the government is committed to the safe return of all Indian nationals from Afghanistan.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
has decided to allow fully-vaccinated Sikh pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur from next month with strict COVID-19 protocols, ahead of the 482nd death anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev on September 22, media reports said on Sunday.

On this occasion, three-day rituals will be held at the shrine from September 20. Guru Nanak died in Kartarpur on September 22, 1539.

Pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The decision to open the Kartarpur shrine was taken by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday due to the approaching death anniversary of Sikhism founder Baba Guru Nanak Dev on September 22.

Dawn newspaper reported that the NCOC meeting unanimously decided to allow Sikh pilgrims to visit Kartarpur next month under strict COVID-19 protocols.

Due to the Delta variant, India was in category C in from May 22 till August 12, and a special approval was required for people coming from the country, including Sikh pilgrims.

However, fully-vaccinated persons with certificates will be allowed to enter provided they show Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test reports which should not be more than 72 hours old.

Apart from this, a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) will also be conducted at airports and in case of a positive result, the individual will not be allowed to enter Pakistan.

Besides, as per Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs), a maximum of 300 people will be permitted to assemble at a time at the darbar.

According to an official of the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS), Pakistan had introduced three categories to deal with the spread.

Countries in category A are exempted from the mandatory COVID-19 test, travellers from areas falling in category B are required to present a negative PCR test that must be taken within 72 hours of the travel date, while visitors from nations in category C are restricted and can travel only under specific NCOC guidelines, the official said.

The movement of pilgrims to Pakistan through the has been suspended since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the neighbouring country banned all travel from India citing the surge in cases here in April this year, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai told Parliament in New Delhi on August 3.

India signed the agreement with Pakistan on October 24, 2019. Under the pact, Indian pilgrims of all faiths are allowed to undertake round-the-year visa-free travel through the to Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib, one of the most revered shrines of Sikhs, in Pakistan.

The restriction to visit Kartarpur was eased despite the country reporting 3,842 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the national tally to 1,123,812, according to the health ministry.

The death toll reached 24,923 with 75 more fatalities. The positivity rate was 7.18 per cent, the highest in the last three days.

The vaccination drive was going on and a consignment of 2 million doses of Sinovac vaccine reached Pakistan on Saturday to replenish the stock. So far, 46.45 million doses have been administered in the country.

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Prime Minister arrived here on Sunday to pay his last respects to former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh.

Singh, who was ailing for some time, died at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow on Saturday night. He was 89.

Tributes poured in for the veteran BJP leader with Modi hailing his "indelible contribution" towards the development of the state and the "cultural regeneration" of India.

Singh, who also served as the Rajasthan governor, was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the SGPGI in a critical condition on July 4.

He died due to sepsis and multi-organ failure, the hospital said.

Uttar Pradesh has announced three-day mourning and a holiday on Monday when the former chief minister's last rites will be performed.

Singh was the Uttar Pradesh chief minister when the Babri mosque was demolished by a mob of "karsevaks" in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. Along with BJP veterans L K Advani and M M Joshi, he was among the 32 people acquitted in the demolition case in September last year.

A Lodhi leader, Singh was instrumental in the rise of the BJP to power in Uttar Pradesh in the 1990s.

He is survived by his wife Ramvati Devi, son Rajveer Singh, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Etah, and grandson Sandeep Singh, who is the minister of state for finance, technical education and medical education in Uttar Pradesh.

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: The government on Saturday said it would offer round-the-clock vaccination services at government colleges and hospitals from next week for the benefit of those unable to take the Covid shots at their convenience.

Speaking after launching one such facility at the Directorate of Public health and Preventive Medicine here, medical and family welfare minister Ma Subramanain said vaccines would be provided round the clock at this centre and that those wishing to receive the jabs should bring proof of identity.

"After testing, individuals will be vaccinated. Those who are going out of town and employees may use this service", he told reporters.

Subramanian said this service would be provided in all the government run hospitals in 37 districts from Monday onwards.

"In Chennai, the service will be provided at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, government multi-super specialty hospital, Omandurar, Stanley Medical College and also at Kilpauk Medical College hospital from Monday.

On the same day, the service will be extended in all medical college hospitals round-the-clock and also in places like Mayiladuthurai and Perambalur, which does not have a medical college", he said.

The government would put out advertisements on the 24 hour vaccination programme, advising the public to make use of the service, he said.

District administrations of various tourist and pilgrimage centres have been advised to expedite the vaccination process, he said.

In the popular tourist town of Kodaikanal, all the people had been vaccinated, while it was 98 per cent in Palani, he said.

As part of serving the elderly people, officials of the Greater Chennai Corporation would visit the houses of those aged 80 years and above to vaccinate them, he said.

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The UK government on Sunday announced the rollout of a new nationwide antibody surveillance programme, which will make free home antibody tests available for up to 8,000 COVID-positive people a day.

The UK Health Security Agency will offer these finger-prick tests to help improve the understanding of immunity against COVID-19 from vaccination and infection. Under the scheme, from Tuesday, anyone aged over 18 will be able to opt in to take part when booking a PCR COVID-19 test through NHS Test and Trace system.

Our new national antibody testing will be quick and easy to take part in, and by doing so you'll be helping strengthen our understanding of COVID-19 as we cautiously return to a more normal life, said UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

I'm proud to see all parts of the UK uniting around this new initiative and working together to arm ourselves with even more valuable insights into how COVID-19 vaccines are protecting people up and down the UK, he said.

The UK Health Security Agency said it will work alongside NHS Test and Trace testing services in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to monitor levels of antibodies in positive cases across the UK.

The data collected will help estimate the proportion of those who got COVID-19 despite developing antibodies as a result of having a vaccine or previously catching

The initiative could also provide insight into any groups of people who do not develop an immune response.

The UK Health Security Agency said it will use the data to inform its ongoing approach to COVID-19 and provide further insight into the effectiveness of the vaccines against different variants.

We are rolling out antibody testing across the UK to gain vital data into the impact of our vaccination programme and on immune responses to different variants of COVID-19, said Dr Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of the UK National Health Security Agency.

This innovative programme is only possible thanks to the thousands of people who continue to help with studies on vaccine and treatment effectiveness each week.

The best way to protect yourself and those around you is by getting vaccinated. I encourage anyone who has not yet come forward to book their first and second jabs, she said.

All adults interested in the study will be encouraged to opt in. Anyone taking part must take their first antibody test as soon as possible after receiving a positive PCR result, before the body has had time to generate a detectable antibody response to the current infection.

The first test will determine the level of antibodies a person had before their current infection.

The second test should be taken 28 days after testing positive for COVID-19 and will measure antibodies generated in response to the infection.

By comparing the two antibody test results, the UK Health Security Agency says it will be able to see how well vaccinated individuals boost their immunity when they are infected and how this might vary with different variants.

The agency, however, warned that testing positive for antibodies does not mean someone is immune from COVID-19 and people must continue to follow the rules, get tested if they have symptoms and self-isolate if positive or are a contact of a positive case and have not received both vaccine doses, to prevent the virus from spreading.

Our testing armoury is stronger than ever now we are rolling out antibody testing to thousands of people in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland alongside the vast testing capacity we have built including our NHS Test and Trace system, said Dr Susan Hopkins, Public Health England's (PHE) COVID-19 Strategic Response Director.

Antibody testing surveillance shows how health teams across the UK are dedicated to working together to find innovative ways to understand the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and target future treatments for COVID-19, she said. Antibodies are part of the body's immune response to help fight off infection and are generated either after being infected or following vaccination.

Antibody testing looks for evidence of this immune response, whereas PCR and antigen testing tells someone if they have the virus at the time of test. Antibody testing is aimed at contributing to the understanding of the protection provided by vaccines, as official figures in the UK show that 87 per cent of people aged 16 and over have now received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose and 76 per cent have had their second dose.

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The has summoned managing director and chief executive officer over troubles with the new (I-T) e-filing portal. The website went live earlier this year, but has been marred by glitches since its launch on June 7.

Parekh has been called to appear before the on Monday to explain to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as to why even after two and a half months since launch of the new e-filing portal, glitches have not been resolved, the Ministry of Finance said in a tweet on Sunday.

Since August 21, the portal itself became available, it added.

The new I-T e-filing portal was launched on June 7, with the motive to reduce the processing time for returns from 63 days to one day and expedite refunds. was given the contract to develop the website in January 2019 after a bidding process with an outlay of Rs 4,241.97 crore. The project was expected to be completed in 18 months and was to be launched after three months of testing. However, it was launched after a delay. The government has so far paid Rs 164.5 crore to between January 2019 and June this year for developing the portal.

Taxpayers have since faced numerous problems accessing and using the portal since the day of its launch.

This is the second time the brass of the information technology major will be in North Block over the issue. The previous meeting took place on June 21. Infosys had then assured the of addressing all glitches in a time-bound manner.

I wish it hadnt happened this way.

But we are correcting the course and soon the portal will be as planned, Sitharaman had said in June.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, has sought an update from Sitharaman. The finance minister is expected to meet tax officers in New Delhi to get their feedback on the new portal.

The entire assessment process is on hold. The time limits of reopening I-T cases need to get extended beyond September, said a tax official. Rajat Mohan, senior partner, AMRG & Associates, said the I-T portal is far from functional.

Taxpayers and tax professionals are facing a hard time doing simple operations, which include filing of returns, filing of rectification, and online checking of tax credit. Besides, the government is under immense pressure to meet revenue targets. A dysfunctional I-T portal is delaying not only tax compliance, but tax collections as well, said Mohan.

Amit Maheshwari, partner, AKM Global, said the service provider was given two years to develop a new portal. Two years were enough, given the old portal was running smoothly, said Maheshwari. The new portal has issues like late fee being levied for I-T returns filed after July 31, especially when the last date of filing returns has been extended.
The total loans and advances extended by during 2020-21 registered a growth of 25.2 per cent year-on-year to reach Rs 6 lakh crore, with half of it going into production and investment, the bank said in its annual report.

The report said earned Rs 34,671.2 crore income during 2020-21, or a 6.1 per cent increase over the preceding year. Its profit before tax in 2020-21 was Rs 6,081.4 crore, against Rs 5,234.3 crore in the year-ago period. The profit after tax was Rs 4,320 crore compared with Rs 3,859.2 crore in 2019-20.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) also said its balance sheet size reached Rs 6.57 lakh crore as on March 31, 2021, most of which is on account of non-idle (earning) assets that, in turn, helped create private and public investments at the ground level.

"We achieved a record year-on-year growth of 24 per cent in our total assets and similar impressive growth in loan portfolio," Chairman G R Chintala said in the annual report.

He noted that because of the government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat package and hardworking farmers, the agricultural sector recorded a growth of 3.6 per cent last year and is likely to repeat the performance in the current financial year also.

Agricultural credit outstanding grew at 12.3 per cent in 2020-21, the highest across all sectors.

"This gives us confidence to meet the target of Rs 16.5 lakh crore rural credit flow set by the Union Budget 2022, as the monsoon during current year is also expected to be normal," Chintala said.

Highlighting deployment of funds and year-on-year growth as on March 2021, the annual report said the total loans and advances from NABARD reached Rs 6 lakh crore compared to Rs 4.8 lakh crore as on March 31, 2020. The growth was 25.2 per cent despite the pandemic compared with 11.5 per cent in 2019-20.

"Encouragingly, half of this total went into production and investments and a third into infrastructure development. With the package unfolding over the coming years, the retail credit offtake in agriculture and rural sector is likely to remain buoyant," it said.

The report further said the quantum of short-term surplus deployed by NABARD in various financial instruments including deposits with banks stood at Rs 47,740 crore as on March 31, 2021, accounting for 7.3 per cent of the balance sheet.

Out of this, it said 94 per cent was deployed in government securities and other financial instruments and Rs 2,945 crore was kept in the form of short-term bank deposits to meet liquidity and contingency requirements, as on March 31, 2021.

NABARD said that during 2020-21, it formed about 6.8 lakh self-help groups (SHGs), ensured bank credit for nearly 4 lakh, and released Rs 170.2 crore against a sanction of Rs 418.20 crore for promoting over 8.7 lakh SHGs.

As per the report, the bank promoted 634 farmer producer organisations (FPOs) during the fiscal ending March 2021 against the target of 600. In 2019-20, the government had announced a scheme to develop 10,000 FPOs in five years. As one of the implementing agencies, NABARD targeted the promotion of about 4,000 FPOs within the scheme period.

A credit guarantee fund of Rs 1,000 crore with equal share from the central government and NABARD was set up under NABSanrakshan, a NABARD subsidiary, to incentivise banks to finance FPOs.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) has moved an application to the (RBI) seeking licence to set up a Rs 6,000-crore National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) or bad bank, according to sources.

NARCL was incorporated last month in Mumbai following the registration with Registrar of Companies (RoC).

According to sources, the company after mobilising an initial capital of Rs 100 crore and fulfilling other legal formalities has approached the RBI seeking licence to undertake asset reconstruction business.

The RBI in 2017, raised the capital requirement to Rs 100 crore from the earlier level of Rs 2 crore, keeping in mind the higher amount of cash required to buy bad loans.

RBI has its process and procedure for granting licence for such business, sources said, adding, it could take next few weeks to obtain licence from the regulator.

RBI's approval could come either in September or October, sources added.

Legal consultant AZB & Partners has been engaged to seek various regulatory approvals and fulfilling other legal formalities.

IBA, entrusted with the task of setting up a bad bank, has put a preliminary board for NARCL in place. The company has hired P M Nair, a stressed assets expert from State Bank of India (SBI), as the managing director.

The other directors on the board are IBA Chief Executive Sunil Mehta, SBI Deputy Managing Director S S Nair and Canara Bank's Chief General Manager Ajit Krishnan Nair.

Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Budget 2021-22, announced that the high level of provisioning by public sector of their stressed assets calls for measures to clean up bank books.

"An Asset Reconstruction Company Limited and Asset Management Company would be set up to consolidate and take over the existing stressed debt," she had said in the Budget Speech. It will manage and dispose the assets to alternative investment funds and other potential investors for eventual value realisation, she had said.

Last year, IBA made a proposal for the creation of a bad bank for swift resolution of non-performing assets. The government accepted the proposal and decided to go for an asset reconstruction company and asset management company model in this regard.

Meanwhile, state-owned Canara Bank has expressed its intent to be the lead sponsor of NARCL with a 12 per cent stake.

The proposed NARCL would be 51 per cent owned by PSBs and the remaining by private-sector lenders.

NARCL will take over identified bad loans of lenders. The lead bank with an offer in the hand of NARCL will go for a 'Swiss Challenge', wherein other asset reconstruction players will be invited to better the offer made by a chosen bidder for finding a higher valuation of a non-performing asset on sale.

The company will pick up those assets that are 100 per cent provided for by the lenders. have identified around 22 bad loans worth Rs 89,000 crore to be transferred to NARCL in the initial phase.

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wont accept Afghan asylum seekers and will instead focus on assisting them locally, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said, according to excerpts of an interview published by broadcaster Puls 24. The ruling Peoples Party has taken a hard line on immigration amid calls to help Afghans at risk of persecution after the US troop withdrawal. Kurz said had already made a disproportionately high contribution, with more than 40,000 Afghans accepted in the past. The nations responsibility lies with helping improving security and womens rights locally, he said. Switzerlands government is examining the possibility of hosting a summit on on Swiss soil. The government is evaluating its contribution to solving the crisis, and possibilities include a donor conference to negotiate humanitarian aid, creating a humanitarian corridor out of Afghanistan, or hosting diplomatic talks between the and Afghanistans former government, a local paper reported.

Trump assails Biden for humiliation Former President Donald Trump launched a sustained attack on President Joe Biden's handling of the retreat of US forces from Afghanistan, which he called "the greatest foreign policy humiliation" in US history. Trump, a Republican who has dangled the possibility of running again for president in 2024, has repeatedly blamed Biden, a Democrat, for Afghanistan's fall to the Islamist militant Taliban, even though the US withdrawal that triggered the collapse was negotiated by his own administration. (Reuters)
Pentagon says that about 3,800 civilians have been evacuated from over the past day, amid widespread logistical challenges and backlogs at waystations in the Middle East and Europe.

Security threats slowed the progress of Americans and through the gates at Kabul airport, as thousands desperately try to get on flights out of the country.

The Pentagon said that six U.S. military C-17 aircraft and 32 charter flights departed Kabul airport over the past 24 hours. The military planes carried just 1,600 of those people.

Army Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor, Joint Staff deputy director for regional operations, told Pentagon reporters on Saturday that of the 17,000 people evacuated since Aug. 15, just 2,500 have been Americans. U.S. officials have estimated there are as many as 15,000 Americans in Afghanistan, but acknowledge they don't have solid numbers.

The evacuations have been hampered by screening and logistical strains at waystations such as al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which hit maximum capacity. U.S. officials said they have limited numbers of military and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol screeners at the transit points, and they are struggling to work through glitches in the vetting systems.

Taylor said that the Kabul airport remains open, and that Americans continue to be processed if they get to the gates.

He and Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declined to discuss security problems in any detail, but said the threat picture changes by the hour.

We know that we're fighting against both time and space, Kirby said. That's the race we're in right now.

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As China, Pakistan mull a joint strategy to push for a global recognition of the regime in war-torn to further their interests, experts have warned the all-weather allies of long-term losses, especially a blowback effect from the US which may turn its ire on Beijing and Islamabad to avenge its Afghan imbroglio.

Since the Taliban's takeover of Kabul on August 15, China and Pakistan have stepped up contacts amidst a sense of their delight over a humiliating defeat of the US after a 20-year war in despite lingering concerns over the return of the with all its baggage of the al-Qaeda and the Islamic State terror groups.

Contrary to its oft-stated diplomatic position that it has no favourites in Afghanistan, the Pakistani government is clearly comfortable with the return of the Taliban, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Posted quoted some Pakistani analysts as saying.

Within hours of Kabul's fall, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said the Afghan people had broken the shackles of slavery to the West.

Pakistan has lobbied the community -- close allies China and Russia in particular -- to garner support for a collective diplomatic engagement with the as a means of ensuring that the group keeps its promises to form an inclusive administration, prevent terrorist attacks from and allow women access to education and employment, the Post report said.

Pakistan has the most to gain from peace in its neighbour and the most to lose from strife and instability, said Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the UK, the UN and the US.

Pakistan only stands to gain in terms of stability on its western border if the Taliban were able to govern effectively, accommodate other ethnic groups and establish a lasting peace, she said.

Conversely, if they are unable to do so, Afghanistan could face an uncertain and unstable future which will not be in Pakistan's interest, she said.

Abdul Basit, an associate research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, said the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban is a marriage of convenience based on tactical divergences in Afghanistan.

For Pakistan, it was to keep India out of Afghanistan by helping the Taliban. For the Taliban, it was to resist the US presence and eventually force it out of Afghanistan by availing itself of sanctuaries in Pakistan, he told the Post.

Beyond this marriage of convenience, the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban had its own ups and downs, disagreements and divergences, Basit said.

For instance, Islamabad was frustrated by the Taliban's lack of action against the thousands of Pakistani Taliban fighters in eastern Afghanistan, he said.

At a confidential parliamentary briefing of Pakistan's politicians on July 2, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed described the Taliban and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group as sides of the same coin.

Also, the analysts said both Pakistan and China will face a strong push back from the US, which may feel more liberated after withdrawing its troops as it could focus its attention more on China and the region.

The US-Pakistan ties would remain strained, with Washington asking for counterterrorism support and pressure on the Taliban, Stanford University analyst Asfandyar Mir said.

If the Taliban behave responsibly and run their government moderately, US-Pakistan relations will stay afloat without showing any improvement, Basit said, adding that if the situation in Afghanistan deteriorated, the US-Pakistan ties will nosedive.

Chinese analysts too had a similar warning for China.

America's longest war has ended in a catastrophic failure and it has given Beijing a propaganda coup at the time of adversarial nature of bilateral ties with Washington, Wang Xiangwei, former Editor-in-Chief of the Post, wrote in his column in the newspaper.

Understandably, Chinese official media reports and commentators have been relentless in mocking the American defeat in Afghanistan, a country known as the Graveyard of Empires'.

There is no doubt that the American debacle in Afghanistan has given China's massive propaganda machine a field day, allowing it to pour scorn on American decline, but the claims of some overseas analysts that this has given China a strategic win are premature, Wang said.

From a Chinese point of view, having US troops bogged down in Afghanistan has far greater geopolitical benefits, he said.

Now the American withdrawal will not only create uncertainties and risks in regional stability and the balance of power but will also allow Washington to focus more attention and resources on countering China, he said.

US President Joe Biden made that sentiment clear in his speech this week when he said our true strategic competitors, China and Russia would love nothing more than the United States to continue to funnel billions of dollars in resources and attention into stabilising Afghanistan indefinitely.

Evidently, Beijing sees both risks and opportunities after the Taliban returns to power, Wang said.

On the one hand, Beijing has legitimate worries that Afghanistan could again become a staging ground for terrorists because of the Taliban's historical links with extremists including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a group of Uygur militants blamed by China for terror attacks in Xinjiang, he said.

Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in his visit to China last month, had assured Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that the Taliban will not allow foreign fighters to operate from Afghanistan.

But Beijing remains unconvinced and Wang used that meeting and since then to stress that the Taliban must take concrete actions to make a clean break with all terrorist forces including the ETIM, Wang Xiangwei said.

Shi Yinhong, an affairs specialist from Renmin University, said there must be some strategic benefits for the US after withdrawing from a 20-year war as Washington has made it clear that it would concentrate strategic forces against China.

I believe China is listening and watching, he told the Post.

Lu Xiang, a US affairs specialist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the Asia Pacific could be high on the agenda for the White House.

The US always wants to create a kind of discomfort for China through the issues of the South China Sea issue and Taiwan because this could divide China's political and diplomatic resources, he added.

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The White House on Sunday informed that President has met his national security team to discuss the security situation in

The meeting also discussed counterterrorism operations, evacuation efforts, and intensive diplomatic efforts to finalise agreements with additional third-party country transit hubs.

"This morning, the President met with his national security team to discuss the security situation in Afghanistan, counterterrorism operations, evacuation efforts, and intensive diplomatic efforts to finalize agreements with additional third-party country transit hubs," the White House said in a tweet.

Earlier, President Biden had described the images emerging out of as "gut-wrenching", showing people "acting out of sheer desperation," hoping to get out of the country following the Taliban's siege of Kabul.

is witnessing its worst-ever crisis in decades as the Taliban's control has forced people to flee the nation in afraid of their atrocities. Afghans have flocked to the Kabul airport in order to flee the

Terrorists on the streets of Kabul are reportedly preventing people from entering the airport using force. The situation continues to deteriorate at the airport and around its perimeter, which is under control.

Soon after the terror group claimed control of the Afghan capital, several countries evacuated their diplomatic personnel from the country, and thousands of people flocked to the Kabul airport in a desperate attempt to leave Afghanistan.

The world is closely watching the unfolding situation in Afghanistan as the countries have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from Afghanistan in an attempt to secure their people.

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Iranian president met Sunday with Japan's foreign minister in the capital of Tehran and the two discussed de-escalation of tensions in the region, Iranian news agencies reported.

The president's official website, president.ir, said that Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi discussed bilateral, regional and issues with President Ebrahim Raisi.

The two-day visit is the first by a Japanese official since Raisi became Iran's new president and the first since the Japanese prime minister visited in 2019. ISNA said Motegi is in Tehran at the official invitation of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The report said Motegi would meet with other Iranian officials, including Raisi's nominated foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian and other high-ranking officials during his two-day visit.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Saturday that Motegi's visit to Tehran is aimed at boosting bilateral relations with and furthering diplomatic efforts to de-escalate and stabilize the Middle East.

During Sunday's meeting, Raisi welcomed efforts by and other countries to help establish peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region. has always supported peace and stability in Afghanistan. Of course, we believe that Afghans should make their own decisions in Afghanistan.

Raisi said he is opposed to the creation of insecurity in the region, adding: The presence of Americans in the region, including Afghanistan, has not provided security.

Motegi said Tokyo also supports diplomatic efforts by regional countries to achieve peace and stability in the region. He said believes problems should be resolved peacefully and through dialogue.

Earlier on Sunday, Motegi met with Zarif and the two also discussed de-escalation of tensions in the region.

Semi-official ISNA news agency report Sunday said Motegi discussed bilateral, regional and issues with Mohammad Javad Zarif.

In 2019, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Iran's top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as an interlocutor for former U.S. President Donald Trump, hoping to ease tensions between Washington and Tehran. But Khamenei did not consider Trump worthy of an exchange of messages.

Recently, donated some 3 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Iran, which has suffered the worst virus outbreak in the Middle East.

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Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday held telephonic interactions with his counterparts from Russia, Germany Turkey, the Netherlands, Belgium and with the OIC chief on the rapidly evolving situation in

In his conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Qureshi emphasised that a peaceful and stable was of critical importance for and the region, according to the Foreign Office.

Pakistan had consistently supported the Afghan peace process, he said, adding that Pakistan and Russia, as part of Troika Plus, had made valuable contributions to these efforts.

The two foreign ministers agreed to continue working closely through the Troika Plus format.

Qureshi highlighted that an inclusive political settlement was the best way forward for peace and stability in Afghanistan, and said Pakistan was fully supporting efforts in that direction.

He stressed the importance of ensuring safety and security as well as protection of rights of all Afghans.

The foreign minister also apprised his Russian counterpart of Pakistan's outreach to regional countries for consultations on dealing with the challenges arising out of developments in

He informed Lavrov that on the request of several governments, Pakistan was facilitating evacuation of their diplomatic personnel, staff of organisations, media and from Afghanistan, the Foreign Office said.

Qureshi expressed satisfaction at the upward trajectory of Pakistan-Russia relations and reiterated the government's resolve for early implementation of the agreement on the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline Project.

The two foreign ministers agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in different areas, enhance high-level exchanges and remain in close contact on matters relating to Afghanistan.

Qureshi received a telephone call from German counterpart Heiko Maas and the two leaders exchanged views on the latest developments in Afghanistan.

We must work together to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan, Qureshi told Maas, adding that the community's support for the Afghan peace process would be vital.

He stressed that it was important for the community to remain engaged in support of the Afghan people for ensuring humanitarian and economic assistance.

Qureshi called Foreign Minister of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu and exchanged views on bilateral relations and reviewed the latest situation in Afghanistan.

He said Pakistan's National Security Committee (NSC) had underscored the importance of peace and stability in Afghanistan for Pakistan and the region and hoped that the Afghan leaders would work together to achieve inclusive political settlement.

The two foreign ministers agreed to coordinate closely on the situation in Afghanistan, the Foreign Office said.

Qureshi also received a telephone call from Belgian's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes who exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan.

He underscored the importance of the world community to support the people of Afghanistan to address the humanitarian situation for economic sustenance.

The Belgian foreign minister thanked Pakistan for its support and facilitation in evacuation.

Qureshi spoke with Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag about the Afghan situation. The two leaders agreed that international cooperation was important for the prosperity of the Afghan people.

He also spoke with Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen.

Qureshi told Al-Othaimeen that Pakistan will continue to play its constructive role in Afghanistan.

He said it was imperative for the international community to remain engaged with Afghanistan including by supporting the country's economy, reconstruction, rehabilitation and humanitarian needs.

He added that it was also important for the Muslims to show traditional solidarity with the Afghan people in their quest for a peaceful, united, stable and prosperous Afghanistan.

The OIC Secretary-General apprised Qureshi of the OIC Executive Meeting that has been convened in Jeddah on August 22 to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

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Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday said that the community should remain engaged with to help it come out of the current situation.

During a conversation with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy/Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell, Qureshi shared Pakistan's perspective on the evolving situation in

Qureshi underlined that the highest priorities remained ensuring safety and security as well as protection of the rights of all Afghans, Pakistan's Foreign Office said in a statement.

Qureshi said that the current situation in required sustained engagement.

At this critical juncture, it was vitally important to remain in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and extend support to them, both in the humanitarian arena and for economic sustenance, he said.

He said that was in close contact with regional and partners and briefed Borrell of his interactions with several counterparts from Europe.

Underlining the importance of regional perspective, Qureshi informed Borrell about his upcoming visit to the neighbouring countries to coordinate on issues relating to the situation in Afghanistan.

He stressed that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan was of critical importance for and the region.

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South African Health Minister Joe Phaahla is hopeful the country would achieve herd immunity against coronavirus if 70 per cent of its 18 to 35 population is vaccinated.

According to 2019 mid-year estimates by Statistics South Africa, this age group makes up about a third of the country's population of 17.84 million people.

Phaahla was speaking after the country Friday further opened up its age group-based drive to vaccinate young adults, who excitedly queued up in their thousands across the country to get the jab.

Phaahla said the government had decided to bring forward the date for its final phase from September 1 as suggested by a panel of advisory experts amid a renewed rise in the number of infections and deaths.

In its latest update, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases said 289 more people had died in the preceding 24 hours, with 14, 312 new COVID-19 cases recorded.

We can now cut out administrative and bureaucratic red tape. at workplaces can take place without differentiation of age differences, the minister said.

Phaahla also said travelers for business or educational purposes would no longer require approval for vaccination in advance. About 700,000 registered students at tertiary institutions would now also have the opportunity to be protected against the virus with vaccination, he added.

The optimism came barely a week after experts expressed concerns about vaccine hesitancy among the older age groups sparked by widespread fake social media posts about the purported dangers of the vaccines, even falsely attributing numerous deaths to vaccination.

Phaahla said it was a cause of concern that there has been a resurgence in the number of infections in four of the nine provinces of the country.

The worrying thing is that overall, in the last seven days there has been an 18.2-per cent increase in new infections compared to the previous seven days. So, while the curve had started to show a downward trend, it is now picking up again, he said.

Phaahla said indications were that the country would be in a better position by the end of the year.

The possibility of liberating ourselves from the clutches of COVID-19 is now in our hands. We can now open up more economic activities, religious, cultural and sporting activities with fans in stadiums as a possibility we have seen that happening in Europe, Phaahla said.

Under the current Level 3 of a five-level lockdown strategy, gatherings, including at funerals, are limited to 50 people and outdoor sporting activities are still not allowed with spectators at stadiums.

We can have a last quarter of 2021 better than 2020. We can have a better Christmas and even a better 2022. All that we need now is take the first step, which is walk into a vaccination centre, Phaahla said calling on the young adults to bring their parents and other seniors with them when they came for vaccinations.

Community organisations across the country, including temples and mosques, have now also joined health centres to provide vaccinations, many even offering services at weekends.

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Senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh passed away on Saturday at a hospital here following illness.

Kalyan Singh was admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences on July 4 following deterioration in his health condition.

"Former Chief Minister of UP and and Ex-Governor of Rajasthan Kalyan Singh Ji breathed his last today. He was admitted in SGPGI on July 4 in Intensive Care Unit in critical condition. He died due to sepsis and multi-organ failure," said a statement by the hospital.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had met Kalyan Singh earlier in the day and prayed for his speedy recovery.

Kalyan Singh had been put on dialysis and was on the ventilator.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had enquired about Kalyan Singh's health and several BJP leaders had visited him in the hospital.



PM Modi condoles demise of Kalyan Singh, says he was rooted in Indian values



Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed condolences on the demise of former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Kalyan Singh and said that he was firmly rooted in Indian values.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister wrote, "I am saddened beyond words. Kalyan Singh Ji...statesman, veteran administrator, grassroots level leader and great human. He leaves behind an indelible contribution towards the development of Uttar Pradesh. Spoke to his son Shri Rajveer Singh and expressed condolences. Om Shanti."

"Generations to come will remain forever grateful to Kalyan Singh Ji for his contributions towards India's cultural regeneration. He was firmly rooted in Indian values and took pride in our centuries old traditions," PM Modi further tweeted.

Praising the life of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, the Prime Minister further wrote, "Kalyan Singh Ji gave voice to crores of people belonging to the marginalised sections of society. He made numerous efforts towards the empowerment of farmers, youngsters and women."

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also mourned Singh's demise and tweeted, "Kalyan Singh ji was not only a stalwart of Indian politics, but also left an indelible mark on the country and society with his personality and creativity. His long political life was devoted to the service of the masses. He became known as the most popular Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

"From the time of Jana Sangh, he worked hard to make BJP strong and reach out to every section of the society. This country will always remember him for his important role in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement. His death is a great loss to Indian and it is a very sad moment for me," tweeted Rajnath Singh

The Defence Minister who was also a former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister further wrote, "I have lost my elder brother and companion in the passing away of Shri Kalyan Singh Ji. The void created by his death is almost impossible to fill. May God give patience and strength to his bereaved family in this difficult time of grief. Om Shanti!"

Kalyan Singh was also the former governor of Rajasthan. In a tweet by the Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, he mourned his demise and wrote, "Deeply saddened by the passing away of former Governor of Rajasthan and former CM of UP, Sh. Kalyan Singh ji. My heartfelt condolences to his family members. May God give them strength in this difficult time. May the departed soul rest in peace."

Kalyan Singh passed away at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow today, due to sepsis and multi organ failure at the age of 89.



Kalyan Singh: Hindutva icon under whose watch Babri Masjid fell



The defining moment in Kalyan Singh's life was the fall of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992. Just hours after mobs of kar sevaks demolished it, Singh quit as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh owning moral responsibility.

Not that he had any regrets over his failure to save the mosque which he had assured the Supreme Court would be protected.

Maybe it was destined that the structure would be demolished with me as chief minister, he told a newspaper ahead of the 2020 bhoomi pujan for the Ram temple, now being built at the once disputed site in Ayodhya after a historic Supreme Court verdict.

Had there been no demolition, probably the courts too would have ordered status quo, he said then. And his last wish, he said, was to live till the temple comes up.

Singh, a Hindutva icon and a Bharatiya Janata Party veteran, died at a Lucknow hospital on Saturday. He was 89.

Hailed by many for his administrative acumen during his two stints as Uttar Pradesh chief minister, the influential backward caste leader from western UP parted ways twice with the BJP and has briefly also floated his own outfits.

His second parting was in 2009, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, when he said he felt humiliated by the party and complained that he had hardly any say in the selection of candidates in his state.

Singh said it was a political blunder to have rejoined the BJP, which he had left the first time n 1999, only to return in 2004 before the General Election.

Born on January 5, 1932, Kalyan Singh first became an MLA in 1967. Since then, he won the assembly polls several times, held important posts in the BJP and was appointed Rajasthan Governor in the last phase of his public life.

Soon after his Raj Bhavan term ended in 2019, Singh formally rejoined the BJP as a primary member, signalling that he was not keen on retiring from political life just yet.

Back in 1991, he became the first BJP chief minister of the country's most populous state. A little over a year later, the Babri Masjid was demolished as the Sangh Parivar campaign to build the temple at the same spot picked momentum.

As UP's chief minister, Singh had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, assuring that the 16th century mosque will be protected. But he had also ordered police not to open fire at protesters, arguing later that any such action would have led to much bloodshed.

Admitting failure to protect the mosque, he resigned the same evening. The state assembly was dissolved as riots erupted at several places in the country.

In the next assembly elections in November 1993, he contested from two seats ---- Atrauli and Kasganj -- and won both.

A Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine formed the government in the state under Mulayam Singh Yadav, even though the BJP won the largest number of seats. Singh was Leader of the Opposition in the UP Assembly.

He got his second shot at the top post in September 1997, becoming CM again under a six-month rotation formula with the Bahujan Samaj Party. The arrangement collapsed soon with the BSP withdrawing support.

But, backed by a group of disgruntled opposition members, his government survived. A controversial order by Governor Romesh Bhandari dismissing his government was also stayed by the high court.

But a section of BJP MLAs was gunning for him. One reason for the dissent was the alleged interference in the state government by Lucknow corporator Kusum Rai, who was also said to control access to the chief minister.

As opposition within the BJP mounted, Kalyan Singh was removed from the CM's post by the party high command in November 1999.

Later, he was also formally expelled from the party over remarks targeting the party's top leadership. Singh appeared to cosy up with Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, who offered a ticket to his son Rajvir Singh.

In 2010, he also floated the Jan Kranti Party, but let his son head it till it merged with the BJP.

All these years, the Babri Masjid demolition case trial dragged on. Singh enjoyed immunity from trial as he held a gubernatorial post.

After demitting office as Rajasthan Governor, he appeared before the CBI court which pronounced its order in September 2020, acquitting him and 31 others accused of conspiracy to demolish the mosque.

The judge concluded that there was no evidence to show that the demolition was pre-planned.

He was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences here on the evening of July 4 due to an infection and reduced consciousness levels.

Before being shifted to the PGI, the former chief minister was undergoing treatment at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences here.
While addressing events in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow and Mirzapur on August 1, 2021, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, mainly credited the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government with how it claimed top spot in terms of law and order. In four years, the Yogi government has worked to make Uttar Pradesh riot-free, free from land mafia and provide security to the mothers and sisters of Uttar Pradesh, the union Home Minister said.

This claim is false. Uttar Pradesh recorded 5,714 cases of riots in 2019 alone, according to data from the Crime Records Bureau. In 2018, the state saw 8,908 cases and ranked second in the country with 8,990 cases in 2017. In 2016, the number of cases stood at 8,018. UP CM Yogi Adityanath made another such claim on March 20, 2021, when he said no riots had occurred since he took charge as CM in 2017.





Shah also said: In the last four years, there has been a huge reduction in incidents like robbery, dacoity, murder in the state.

This claim is true. As per data, UP saw a steady decline in robbery, dacoity and murder cases between 2017 and 2019. In 2017, UP recorded 4,089 cases of robbery which then dropped to 3,218 in 2018 and 2,241 in 2019.

Similarly, related to dacoity nearly halved in the state  from reporting 263 cases in 2017 to 144 in 2018 and 124 in 2019. Cases related to murder also decreased from 4,324 in 2017, to 4,018 in 2018 and further dropping to 3,806 in 2019.

But when it comes to cases registered under against women, UP ranked the highest at 59,445 in 2018 and 59,853 in 2019. Moreover, UP is the third-highest in terms of pending cases of against women (1.84 lakh), according to a February 2, 2021 Lok Sabha reply. At 2.57 lakh such pending cases, West Bengal tops the list, followed by Maharashtra at 2.07 lakh.
Photo: The Canadian Press Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau holds a campaign event alongside candidate for Calgary Skyview, George Chahal, in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, Aug 19, 2021.

In the waning daylight of a cool August evening in northeast Calgary, Liberal tour staff used measuring tape and chalk paint to draw out physical distancing circles at a Thursday mini-campaign rally.

A limited crowd of preapproved supporters were then directed to stand within the circles with only their own households for the duration of the event. Do not rush the stage to get close to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, they were told. He will come to you.

Everything seemed to go to plan inside the official perimeter, as Trudeau delivered a stump speech on a podium and then moved around from circle to circle bumping elbows and posing for photos with the 80 people who made the cut to get inside.

But as soon as Trudeau stepped outside the barrier, the crowd of supporters who showed up despite not making that cut threw all the best-laid pandemic precautions to the wind, surging towards the leader en masse, jockeying for the chance to get that desired photo or the coveted elbow bump.

They were all wearing masks  the Liberals insisted on it even for those not admitted inside the official perimeter  but the throngs around Trudeau could not meet any definition of physical distancing.

The event was not unique.

From the lively streets of Trudeau's own riding of Papineau in Montreal, to the quaint downtown environs of Cobourg and Aurora, Ont., or the street outside the Vancouver Convention Centre, the first week of the Trudeau election tour was a repeated reminder of just how hard it might be to run anything resembling a normal campaign while keeping true to pandemic restrictions.

But even as the Liberals took steps to limit publicity on most daily tour stops, word of mouth travels quickly, especially on social media.

Hundreds of eager fans and small pockets of what appeared to be organized but angry anti-vaccine protesters flocked to the events. Despite a heavier than usual security detail, keeping everyone roughly two metres apart proved to be impossible.

Trudeau, who spent much of the first week defending the decision to call an election as a fourth wave of COVID-19 is starting to surge, said Friday he feels things are still safe.

"It is important to follow public health measures, which is why we are wearing masks," he said at tour stop in Winnipeg.

"We are getting regularly tested. We are following the local public health rules as much as possible  as much as everyone is across the country."

He said it is important to continue to follow public health measures, though he sidestepped answering a direct question about whether the campaign crowds are sending the wrong message to Canadians.

Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam has said she thinks an election can be held safely, but has been careful to remind parties and Elections Canada staff alike that public health measures must still be followed.

"There are public health measures that people have to observe including local measures on gathering sizes but also best practices in any of those gatherings, mask wearing being one of them, outdoors being better than indoors," she said on Aug. 12.

"... Everybody who is going to show up at any gathering should protect themselves maximally, which includes vaccinations."

On Friday, Tam reported that new infections of COVID-19 had jumped to an average of more than 2,200 new cases a day. That's up 38 per cent in just one week and is driven mostly by the spread of the more infectious Delta variant among unvaccinated Canadians.

All the campaigns have implemented infection control measures, from requiring face masks, full vaccinations and daily rapid tests for anyone on tour, to setting crowd limits and avoiding the kind of massive rallies reminiscent of campaigns past.

The Liberals have previously brought out hundreds of supporters toting campaign signs just to send Trudeau off on his campaign plane for the first time. In 2021, however, Trudeau boarded his plane for the first time on day three, waving at the top of the stairs only to a handful of staff and the small pool of media travelling with the tour.
Photo: The Canadian Press This Aug. 15, 2021, photo provided by U.S. Forest Service-Superior National Forest shows a rapidly growing wildfire in northeastern Minnesota that has prompted some evacuations, the U.S. Forest Service said Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. The fire was spotted around 3 p.m. Sunday near Greenwood Lake, about 15 miles southwest of Isabella, in the Superior National Forest.

The U.S. Forest Service on Saturday closed the popular Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota as the largest active wildfire in the state threatens the 1-million-acre property.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness stopped issuing entry permits Saturday, but it was not known if campers already in the expansive wilderness area would be evacuated. The closure includes all land, water, trails, portages, campsites, canoe routes and wilderness entry points and is in place until Aug. 27.

The Boundary Waters in the Superior National Forest is one of the most visited federally designated wilderness areas.

The Greenwood fire in the forest remained uncontrolled Saturday and had spread to about 14 square miles (36 square kilometers). About 250 firefighters were battling the blaze.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office had ordered residents of about 245 homes and cabins to evacuate in areas around McDougal Lake, Sand Lake, the Highway 2 corridor, and north of Highway 1 in the vicinity of East and West Chub Lakes, Jackpot Lake and Slate Lake.

No structures have been damaged and no injuries have been reported, officials said.

Temperatures were lower Saturday, humidity was higher and skies were cloudy  all factors that can help moderate fire behavior by blocking the sun from the forest floor, aid Clark McCreedy, a spokesman for the multiagency team fighting the blaze.

Nonetheless, its already dry because we didnt get enough precipitation out of that weather last night, he told the Star Tribune.

Sprinkles of precipitation Friday and Saturday did little to help firefighting efforts.

Enough to settle the dust, little more than that, McCreedy said. With fire, were always at the mercy of the weather.

Drought conditions in western states, which extend as far east as Minnesota, are fueling around 100 wildfires. California has already surpassed the acreage burned at this point last year, which ended up setting the record. In northeastern Minnesota, heat, low humidity and a tinder-dry forest have fueled the Greenwood Lake fire, one of several burning inside and outside the Boundary Waters.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh pledged to offer relief from soaring housing prices on Saturday, promising thousands of dollars in subsidies for those struggling to keep pace with payments on rising rental costs.

Singh's pledge of $5,000 in annual rent subsidies came in downtown Toronto, a riding-rich district where the New Democrats are hoping to win seats away from the Liberals and where the NDP leader says average rents have skyrocketed by more than $4,000 in the past six years.

Singh also said his party would impose strict rules on Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation loans in an effort to stop so-called "renovictions." For-profit companies, he said, have been taking advantage of loans from the federal housing agency to purchase buildings, renovate them and then jack up the rent, forcing those who can't afford the new rates to find somewhere else to live.

"Buying is out of the question for so many people, even renting has become so difficult," Singh said at the downtown campaign stop. "Over the past couple of years, (it) has become more and more unaffordable."

"Justin Trudeau's allowed this to happen, allow this crisis to get worse, it's gotten worse while he's been in power and the CMHC is being used to 'renovict' people."

When asked where the funding for an annual supplement of up to $5,000 a year would come from, he pointed to his party's previous promise to introduce new taxes on the rich.

A real estate economist said transferring cash to those with low-income is better than just building affordable housing, noting a subsidy can be allocated for other basic expenses.

"It's not a crazy idea but $5,000 is probably too much," said Tom Davidoff, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia, noting that such subsidies would likely benefit renters more than supply-side aid such as the rental investment incentives proposed by the Conservatives.

Singh accused the Liberal leader of allowing rents to rise and housing prices to balloon by protecting investors over families.

The Liberal government kicked off a 10-year, multibillion-dollar national housing strategy in 2018-19. The parliamentary budget officer recently found program delays at CMHC, expired community housing deals with the provinces and a shift toward more expensive affordable homes have limited the impact of the strategy.

The NDP leader proposed only allowing CMHC loans to be used on affordable housing rather than renoviction projects, adding Canadians shouldn't have to compete with foreign investors when buying homes.

"I don't want them to come to Canada. I don't want them here," said Singh, reiterating his pledge of a 20 per cent foreign buyers' tax on the sale of homes to individuals who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
Photo: Nono Shen Zhengwen Hao, restaurant owner, says Bella is hardworking and never complains

A fairly new server has just joined the Haos Lamb Restaurant team in Richmond.

And whether shes in a mood, is rushed off her feet or unhappy about the tip, Bella will always have a smile on her face.

Thats because Bella is a robot, complete with an upward-facing infrared camera and four trays, which she has been busy using to transport dishes to and from the kitchen to hungry diners at the restaurant near Aberdeen Centre.

Once Bella arrives at the table, another staff member helps her remove a dish from one of its trays.

After which, the human staff member hits a confirm button atop the robots touchscreen to send it back to the kitchen.

Although Bella just joined our team, she is super helpful. She allows other human staff to have time to concentrate on other tasks, such as packing takeout orders, greeting guests, clearing tables and refilling water, said Zhengwen Hao, restaurant owner.

The restaurant has been operating more efficiently than before. But, as such a hardworking employee, Bella never asks for any tips from me, laughed Hao, adding that Bella can sing Happy Birthday to customers, in Mandarin and English.

The BellaBot, initially developed by Chinese-based Company Pudu Robotics, was introduced by GreenCo Robots to the North American market, including Richmond.

Hao bought two Bellas amid the pandemic in hopes of easing up the labour shortage and help with social-distancing rules, but he didnt expect that his Bella could also boost business.

He said younger customers have been trying to interact with Bella, while many others snap photos and video of his new staff member hard at work.

Liang Yu, president of Green Co Robots, told the Richmond News that many other local restaurants have invited robots to help them out during the busy season as the economy reopens.

One robot working at another Richmond hotpot restaurant has recorded that she has walked 10,000 metres and served up to 750 trays of dishes to customers within a day, said Yu.

Robots are a great way to liberate human staff from meaninglessly repetitive and laborious work, allowing them to focus on other more complicated and interesting work, such as talking with guests.

As for people concerned about the robots taking over from human servers, Yu said they are being introduced to help serve and make customers feel safer, with less human contact during the pandemic.
Tennessee radio host Phil Valentine has died after a struggle with COVID-19 for over a month.

The conservative host had broadcast out of Nashville, but was heard throughout the country.

He was best known for organizing a protest against a state income tax in Tennessee in 1995.

Valentine had been skeptical of the COVID-19 vaccine.

He tweeted In December of 2020, "I have a very low risk of A) Getting COVID and B) dying of it if I do. Why would I risk getting a heart attack or paralysis by getting the vaccine?"

He also recorded a parody song - Vaxman - that mocked the vaccine.

Senator Marsha Blackburn said, Phil Valentine was a visionary for the conservative movement. He made an enormous impact on the lives of many Tennesseans as an esteemed radio host, actor, and author. It was a privilege to know Phil, and I know his legacy will endure.

"My deepest condolences and prayers are with Phils wife, Susan, and his family. May they be comforted and surrounded by love during this difficult time.
I am just like you. When I watch actual footage of human beings being flung from departing aircraft in Kabul, it is unacceptable. I dont want my grandchildren to enter adulthood in such a place as this. When I look over the last seven months of Joe Bidens presidency, I tend to blanche when the population of Chattanooga (2020 census 170,332) is coming across the Mexican border each month. No jobs, no housing, no health safeguards, no food, no future. What horrors have we yet to behold?

Somehow, and how we dont yet know, the critical race theory has been introduced through liberal education and it is the most racially divisive tool yet to come out of the toolbox.

Then we have COVIDs invasion where sufferers are literally lying on hospital floors  there are simply no beds. In short, we are in an ever-increasing mess of concerns and in the seven months Joe Biden has been in a ruinous reign of office, the raging Afghanistan debacle could lead the man out of The White House.

I dare not climb in some lofty chair of wisdom  I have no say in why we dont deploy our might back to Afghanistan and immediately scorch its earth  but what I see is not the America I want it to be. We must stand for Democracy and liberty and freedom for all who embrace it. And to abandon Afghanistan aint nothing but a fleeing dog with its tail tucked between its legs. Joe Biden should accept the responsibility and its outcome. I can assure you this; he will.

Several days ago, my favorite opinion writer on political strife, Victor Davis Hanson, who writes under the Tribune media groups banner, offered this on the Foxnews.com website and it speaks for me:

* * *

IF BIDEN WERE A REPUBLICAN, THE (DEMOCRATS) IN CONGRESS WOULD HAVE IMPEACHED HIM  THEY SHOULD!

Witten by Victor Davis Hanson, and appeared on Foxnews.com Friday, August 20, 2021.

The American-nurtured Afghan military of the last 20 years that had suffered thousands of prior casualties evaporated in a few hours in the encirclement of Kabul. Enlistees apparently calculated that their own meager chances with the premodern Taliban were still better than fighting as a dependency of the postmodern United States  despite its powerful diversity training programs.

Forces more powerful than the Taliban, in places far more strategic, will now leverage an ideologically driven but predictably incompetent administration, a woke Pentagon and politically weaponized intelligence communities.

Why not, when President Joe Biden trashes both American frackers and the Saudis  only to beg the Kingdom to rush to export more of its hated oil before the U.S. midterms?

Why not, when Biden asks Russias Vladimir Putin to request that Russian-related hackers be a little less rowdy in their selection of U.S. targets?

And why not, when our own military jousts with the windmills of "white supremacy" as Afghans fall from U.S. military jets in fatal desperation to reach such a supposedly racist nation?

Biden keeps repeating that he was bound by former President Donald Trumps planned withdrawal.

Really?

A mercurial Trump repeatedly demonstrated that he was willing to use air power to protect U.S. personnel and to bomb an Islamic would-be caliphate. The Taliban knew that and so struck when Trump was gone.

Biden claims he was bound by Trumps decision to withdraw and thus cannot be blamed for his reckless operation of a predetermined departure. But all Biden has done since entering office is destroy Trump pacts, overturning past agreements on energy leases, protocols with Latin America and Mexico on border security, and pipeline contracts.

No sooner did Biden claim he was straitjacketed by Trump than he reversed course to defend not just his own withdrawal but the disastrous manner of it. Biden claims that he has no free will while insisting he would have done nothing differently if he did.

In a sane world, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the secretary of defense would resign. We have heard for too long their careerist boasts about assigning climate change as their chief challenge. For too long they have virtue-signaled their critical race theory credentials to Congress. For too long they have bragged about rooting out alleged white supremacists from their ranks. For too long they have sparred with journalists while fighting Twitter wars and issuing cartoonish commercials attesting to their woke credentials.

In other words, they sermonized on anything and everything  except their plans to prevent a humiliating military defeat of U.S. forces and their allies.

Our intelligence and investigatory agencies are just as morally suspect. The legacy of John Brennan, James Clapper, James Comey and Andrew McCabe has been the destruction of the reputations of the CIA, NSA and FBI.

Current and retired intelligence lackeys and careerists all wasted years promulgating Russian "collusion." They swore Hunter Bidens laptop was Russian "disinformation."

They surveilled and unmasked officials and hatched adolescent plots against an elected president. All that was more important to their careers than warning of the growing threats in Afghanistan.

In the aftermath of the Afghan debacle, we must de-politicize and de-weaponize these warped agencies and incompetent institutions.

We could get a symbolic start by pulling security clearances from all retired operatives, officers and diplomats who go on television to offer partisan analysis.

The retired and pensioned top brass should finally be held to account if they violate tenets of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. When four-star generals lecture the nation that an elected president is a Mussolini or Nazi-like but keep mum during the greatest military setback in a half-century, they should forfeit exemptions from existing military codes.

Retired officers who revolve in and out of corporate defense contractor boards and Pentagon billets should have a cooling-off period of five years before leveraging their inside knowledge of the Pentagon procurement labyrinth.

As for Biden, his team in defeat threatens the victorious Taliban with possible ostracism from global diplomacy as the price of their illiberality. We are to assume that in between executing women, the Taliban will fear losing the chance to visit the U.N. in New York.

Biden has defied a Supreme Court ruling and assumed that it was a good thing to have broken the law. Under his watch, the fate of Americas border, equal enforcement of the laws, economy, energy, safety from crime, foreign policy and racial relations have imploded  and in seven months no less.

If Biden were a Republican, the current Democratic House would have impeached him. It would have been right to have done so.

* * *

Oh, mercy, lets see what will unfold 

royexum@aol.com
Religion can be a challenging subject for most people. Some people dont like to talk about it, while others are vocal about it. Most celebrities have been open about their beliefs or lack thereof throughout their careers, and for some, its a significant aspect of who they are. Christopher Meloni of Law & Order: Organized Crime had some serious reservations about going to church that he equated it to being close to death.

Christopher Meloni had a stifling childhood that made him dread Sundays

Christopher Meloni | Virginia Sherwood/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Meloni was born in Washington, D.C, and grew up in a Catholic home that warranted every family members presence in church every Sunday. Speaking to Mens Health, Meloni said that going to church was close to death. Saturday afternoon would roll around, and my weekend was over. Thats how much I dreaded going to church.

From his statement with the publication, it seems what bothered the actor more wasnt the institution itself but who exactly is the big dog. Meloni remembered asking a nun about God and Jesus and leaving with no answers.

The star also likened living at home to a dark cloud, noting that his parents were so quiet and so reserved. Meloni said he could always feel the tension at home, but since no one else was willing to acknowledge it, he wondered if he was crazy. The trauma of childhood is real, the actor reasoned.

After graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder, his degree in history, focusing on contemporary U.S diplomacy and communism, was rendered obsolete after the Berlin Wall fell and the actor began his journey of mostly unsuccessful auditions.

Meloni went through a series of failed auditions until 1997, when he landed the role of inmate Chris Keller in HBOs Oz. Soon after his luck started changing a year later, he appeared in Law & Order: SVU as the lead character. Although this was a dream come true, the star experienced anxiety as he felt crushed by his lifelong dream come to reality.

Meloni has his own religion now

Around the time Christopher Meloni was coming to terms with his newfound success, he and his wife got called back to church. (The actor is very protective of his family and rarely mentions them unless necessary). As he was out on a walk, he quietly asked God for a sign to come back to the fold. The star recalled feeling overwhelmed with the love, the beauty of it, the spirituality of it, the potential of it.

After arriving at mass, Meloni looked at the father and thought, this guy could not have been more bored. And he left the church, never to return. Today Meloni uses exercise as therapy, church, meditation, and a kind of personal re-engagement. The actor left Law & Order: SVU in 2011 after contract negotiations between him and NBC broke down.

After leaving the show, he found work with other shows like Wet Hot American Summer and Happy before appearing in The Diary of a Teenage Girl. In 2020 it was announced that Meloni would pick up where he left off with his character Elliot Stabler in Law & Order: SVU, but this time he would be continuing his story in his show Law & Order: Organized Crime.

The responses have been positive on Christopher Melonis return

Law & Order: Organized Crime recently concluded its first season in July, with the second season already given the green light for September. The fan responses have been mostly positive, with people enjoying scenes involving him and Mariska Hargitays Olivia Benson.

His acting isnt the only thing that stands out to fans but also his body. The actor has gone viral for his ripped body (especially his glutes), which has earned him the nickname Zaddy from his fans. When asked about why he returned to the SVU universe, Meloni said, it felt good to have to make that decision with a sense of clarity and a sense of certain things being correct.

RELATED: Law & Order: Organized Crime Star Christopher Meloni Knows Hes a Zaddy
In April 2021, Josh Duggar was arrested for allegedly downloading child sexual abuse content  and it shook up the Duggar familys lives. Now, all eyes are on the Duggars to see what will happen next. And a podcast host of I Pray You Put This Journal Away is giving fans an inside look into what the family was really like when he was a kid. Heres what the podcast host explained regarding Josh and his state-of-the-art computer at the time.

Josh Duggar was arrested for allegedly obtaining child sexual abuse content

Josh Duggars 2021 mugshot | Washington County Sheriffs Office/Getty Images

Its no secret Josh Duggars been all over Duggar news as of late. The oldest Duggar family son found himself in hot water in April 2021 after he was arrested for allegedly downloading child sexual abuse content. This is far from the first time Josh has put his family in a difficult place, too. Back in 2015, he allegedly molested a number of young girls, a few of whom were his sisters.

According to an affidavit by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Gerald Faulkner, they discovered the alleged material by tracking down the IP address of the downloads. The IP address led to Joshs place of work, Wholesale Motorcars. A Homeland Security Investigations Task Force Officer went undercover to Wholesale Motorcars to meet Josh and learn more.

Additionally, the FBI searched a BitTorrent network to find the downloaded material, which also led them to Joshs computer at his workplace. Josh pleads not guilty to the allegations so far.

A childhood friend of the Duggar family recounts the time he spent at their home

Josh Duggar and his daughter during their visit with Extra | D Dipasupil/Getty Images for Extra

The podcast hosts of I Pray You Put This Journal Away grew up as Christian fundamentalists, and one of the hosts met the Duggar family at a young age. In season 1 episode 1 of the podcast, he explains he met Josh Duggar when Josh was 17. At the time, Josh had the best computer in the house and seemed quite proud of the technology.

And Josh, over at his work station, he had the creme de la creme, super nice Mac that was nice. It was new, the podcast host revealed.   It was 2004, 2005  whatever they had going on for iMacs at the time, they had. And it was super nice. Slick. This was probably brand new.  They were clearly investing in Joshs video interest.

The podcast host notes Josh would show him the brand-new computer and go over all the specks, at the time, the host loved it. But his father then embarrassed him. The hosts dad asked Josh what kind of filter Josh had on the computer.

Filter, meaning like  this admin-level software or, sometimes, hardware.  It was a real common product to give to Christian households, the host clarified. Filters would prevent the computer users from looking at content deemed inappropriate.

Do the Duggars still talk to Josh? Heres what we know

EXCLUSIVE The federal government is firing back at Josh Duggar's claim they are dragging their feet on turning over evidence. Read Radar's EXCLUSIVE story here!!

https://t.co/WrRAUKA3pb  Radar Online (@radar_online) August 10, 2021

Whats going on with Josh Duggar and the Duggar family now? Its unclear if Joshs siblings have any contact with him currently. Josh reportedly stays with Duggar family friends Lacount and Maria Reber in Elkins, Arkansas. While Josh stays with the Rebers, hes allegedly not allowed to have any contact with his six children or any minors.

Recent reports suggest his wife, Anna Duggar, spends a lot of time with Josh at the Rebers. Anna is currently pregnant with their seventh child. As for the couples other six kids, Annas family allegedly cares for them while Anna visits Josh.

Joshs father, Jim Bob Duggar, also allegedly helped Josh out initially, though its unclear how much involvement Jim Bob has with the case now. Jim Bob hooked Josh up with the Rebers and is likely paying Joshs attorneys.

We wouldnt be surprised if all 18 of Joshs siblings dont speak to him currently and will continue to keep their distance until his trial in November 2021.

How to get help: If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 for free and confidential support

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RELATED: Josh Duggars Legal Team Asking for the Evidence Against Him is Totally Normal
Jason Momoa is known as a mighty warrior in Game of Thrones and the superhero Aquaman in the DC Comics Movies universe.

Many other celebrities and fans have also commented on his kindness and thoughtfulness throughout his career, as well as his versatile acting abilities and on-screen charisma. Recently, Momoa did an interview with The New York Times, and it didnt go exactly how the interviewer planned. Learn more about Momoa, the now famous interview, and his upcoming projects.

Jason Momoas background and career so far

Momoa grew up in Norwalk, Iowa after moving to the Midwestern state from Honolulu, Hawaii. Momoas career in show business started in 1998 when he was discovered by two designers who recommended he try modeling. When he was just 19 years old, he was cast in Baywatch Hawaii, playing the role of Jason Ioane from 1999 to 2001.

According to IMDb, Momoa then struggled to break into other roles in larger projects for quite some time, playing either small roles in somewhat popular films or large roles in films that didnt reach mainstream popularity. His first major film was in Conan the Barbarian, where his 65 frame was perfect for the titular character.

In 2011, he secured the role of Khal Drogo in the highly regarded drama Game of Thrones from 2011 to 2012, making Momoa a household name. He has since appeared in a variety of television shows and movies; most notably, as Aquaman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, and Aquaman.

Momoa recently called an interviewers question icky

The New York Post reports that Momoa recently called out a New York Times reporter for asking what he called an icky question. In the first season of Game of Thrones, Khal Drogo brutally rapes his wife, Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke) on their wedding night. The reporter asked if Momoa thinks differently about those scenes today.

At first, Momoa replied, Well, it was important to depict Drogo and his style. Youre playing someone thats like Genghis Khan But my job was to play something like that, and its not a nice thing, and its what the character was. Its not my job to go, Would I not do it?'

Toward the end of the interview, Momoa circled back to that exchange and stated, It just feels icky  putting it upon me to remove something. As if an actor even had the choice to do that. Were not really allowed to do anything. There are producers, there are writers, there are directors, and you dont get to come in and be like, Im not going do that because this isnt kosher right now and not right in the political climate. That never happens. So its a question that feels icky. I just wanted you to know that.

Momoas upcoming projects

Jason Momoa | David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images

Momoa hasnt had any trouble finding work in recent years, and it appears that his career trajectory is set to continue on its upward climb. IMDb reports that he plays Duncan Idaho in the highly anticipated film Dune, which also stars Zendaya and Timothee Chalamet and is set to release later this year.

He was also cast to star as Flip in Slumberland, an upcoming movie about a girl searching for her dad in a mythical world. He is set to reprise his role of Aquaman in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is currently filming and due to premiere in 2022 as well. This film is a sequel to the 2018 Aquaman film, and it also stars Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

Momoa has already had an impressive career, and it looks to be just getting started.

RELATED: Sophie Turner Deeply, Deeply Misses Game of Thrones: I Would Go Back to It in a Heartbeat
Netflix is full of fun series to binge, and reality television is one of the most popular genres. One of the fun aspects of reality TV is the ability to glimpse different lifestyles. Whether it is the life of the rich and famous like the Kardashians or those who suffer from varying addictions, reality television is enlightening to the masses. My Unorthodox Life is no exception. It is a fun and unique chance for viewers to take a glimpse at the glamorous world of Elite World Groups CEO, Julia Haart. One question on viewers minds when tuning in has been: When was My Unorthodox Life filmed?

From fundamentalism to fashion: Meet Julia Haart

Julia Haart on My Unorthodox Life. | Netflix

My Unorthodox Life focuses on ex-Orthodox Jew Julia Haart. After being raised in a fundamentalist community, Haar had an arranged marriage at 19. The marriage resulted in the births of four beautiful children, but Haart was not happy. She likened the marriage to a prison sentence and quietly planned her escape. Without formal education, making money was a challenge, but Haart secretly sold insurance to build savings.

At the age of 42, Haart left the Orthodox community only a couple of days after her oldest daughters marriage. Upon leaving, she explored her love of shoes by starting a shoe brand that focused on both fashion and comfort. From there, Haart went on to work with La Pera before co-founding her talent agent Elite World Groups.

The series shows Haarts work as well as her family life. It also follows the rest of the family on their individual journeys. The family members all have unique circumstances, from Miriam, who explores her bisexuality, to the youngest, Aron, who is still spending half of his time living in the Orthodox Jewish community.

When was My Unorthodox Life filmed?

Unconventional and unstoppable  just two words to describe us. Here's the trailer for our new @netflix series My Unorthodox Life coming to @netflix on July 14th! #MyUnorthodoxLife pic.twitter.com/lfGUErqPKx  Julia Haart (@JuliaHaart) July 6, 2021

New York City is the epicenter of My Unorthodox Lifes filming, but the show does venture into Munsey, the Hamptons, and even France. This might lead viewers to wonder when exactly the shows filming took place. Although dates are never explicitly stated, there are significant clues. Reality Titbit narrows down a timeline with the e1972 Fashion Show featuring Bebe Rexha. The fashion show was in February 2020, and likely the rest of the show was filmed at about the same time. This means filming took place amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Haart actually addressed the complexities of filming during the coronavirus in an interview with Womens Health. She explained that everyone tested for COVID-19 daily and wore masks when not on camera. She gave Netflix a lot of kudos, explaining, It was an extremely intense health regimen. And luckily for us, if Im not mistaken, no one got sick in our productions. Netflix did a great job of really keeping everything safe and having so many safety protocols and procedures.

Will there be a season 2?

Nothing but respect for bicon Miriam Haart!!! pic.twitter.com/ejnSpgK35t  Most (@Most) July 27, 2021

With a decent size fanbase, anticipation for the second season of My Unorthodox Life seems probable. Netflix, however, has yet to announce whether a second season is in the cards. There is no doubt that the family has plenty of stories left to tell. There is endless content with Haarts daughters exploring possible motherhood, professional success, and balancing religion with modern living. Haarts ex-husband even recently announced he is moving to a different community and is engaged to be married for a second time.

Yet, even though all My Unorthodox Life has a lot going for it, there has been mixed reception. The IMDb scores hover around five, which is not great. Similarly, Rotten Tomatoes gives the series a 44 percent audience score. Even so, there are still many storylines to explore, so expect a definitive answer to renewal soon.

RELATED: Harlan Coben on Netflix: The Innocent and 4 Other Series to Binge Watch
Chinese authorities paying citizens to spy on neighbors, report illegal Christian activities

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China's communist regime has ordered citizens in the countrys northeastern region to spy on Christians and report any illegal religious activities, including preaching and religious house gatherings. Informants will be rewarded with $150 for each tip, according to a report.

The administration of the Meilisi Daur District in Heilongjiang Provinces Qiqihar city released a document titled, The Reward System For Reporting Illegal Religious Activities Offences, saying informants would be paid up to 1,000 yuan ($150), China Christian Daily reported.

Officials, it says, are looking for any information  through a phone call, email or letter  on unqualified religious personnel, unauthorized trans-regional activities, preaching and distribution of printed religious literature, audio-visual products outside places of worship, unauthorized donations or private house gatherings.

The objective, it adds, is to strengthen the control of illegal religious activities in the district, prevent any COVID-19 cluster resulting from religious gatherings, mobilize the public to engage in preventing, suppressing illegal religious activities, and ensure a harmonious and stable religious landscape.

The document was released this month by the Meilisi Daur District United Front Work Department of Qiqihar.

Similar reward systems were later introduced in Zibo citys Boshan District and Weihai Citys Shandong area.

Previously, such rewards have been offered in Fujian, Guangxi, Henan, Hebei and Liaoning.

While they do not specify which religion they are targeting, it is self-evident that house churches are being suppressed, the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern commented.

Open Doors USA, which monitors persecution in over 60 countries, estimates that there are about 97 million Christians in China, a large percentage of whom worship in what China considers to be illegal and unregistered underground house churches.

According to recently-released reports, religious persecution in China intensified in 2020, with thousands of Christians affected by church closures and other human rights abuses.

Under the direction of President Xi Jinping, officials from the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, have been enforcing strict controls on religion, according to a report released in March by the U.S.-based group China Aid.

Authorities in China are also cracking down on Christianity by removing Bible apps and Christian WeChat public accounts as new highly restrictive administrative measures on religious staff went into effect this year.

China is ranked on Open Doors USAs World Watch List as one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to the persecution of Christians.

The U.S. State Department has also labeled China as a country of particular concern for continuing to engage in particularly severe violations of religious freedom.
Tropical Storm Henri slams New England, causes flooding in NYC

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Tropical Storm Henris outer bands started moving over the Northeast Sunday morning, bringing heavy rain hours before its expected landfall in southern New England as more than 35 million people remained under a flood watch in the region.

The Weather Channel said early Sunday that Henri, which had strengthened into a hurricane Saturday morning, has weakened from a Category 1 hurricane to a strong tropical storm and was located about 50 miles southeast of Montauk, New York.

However, its impacts are expected to be the same, even with Henri at tropical storm strength.

Dangerous storm surge inundation is expected to begin this morning in portions of Long Island, Connecticut, Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts, where a Storm Surge Warning has been issued, the National Weather Service of the Eastern Region wrote on Twitter early Sunday.

Tropical storm conditions will begin in [portions of Long Island, Connecticut and Rhode Island] within the next couple of hours, it added.

Henri is likely to make landfall on Sunday afternoon but heavy rain had caused flooding from New York City to parts of Long Island by Saturday night, the Weather Channel said, adding that Henri is likely to be a strong tropical storm because the system will encounter cooler waters and some possible increased wind shear as it nears the Northeast.

CNN said a broad area from New York City into New England, which are likely to have strong wind and rain, could witness days of power outages and falling trees as the area is saturated from recent rain.

Were going to see power outages, we're going to see downed trees, and even after the storm has passed, the threat of falling trees and limbs is still out there, Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Deanne Criswell was quoted as saying.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Saturday declared a state of emergency, urging everyone to stay indoors.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned people in flood-prone areas to move to safety.

If you know you are in an area that tends to flood ... get out of that area now, please, he said in a news briefing Saturday. If you have to get to higher ground it has to be today.

Over 35 million people remained under a flood watch across the Northeast as the hurricane center has warned that the expected heavy rain may cause considerable flash, urban and small stream flooding" and create the potential for "widespread minor and isolated moderate river flooding.
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Only about thirty percent of our people have returned.

The normally upbeat pastor sagged as he described the before and after impact of COVID-19 shutdowns on his churchs attendance.

He confirmed findings by George Barna. As noted in The Christian Post,Barna reported: One in three practicing Christians is still and only attending their pre-COVID church. Some secular observers gloat over statistics indicating that professing Christians have abandoned churches, and even the faith.

There is a sad irony in this phenomenon.

Reading Barnas reports and those of others brought back to my mind an interview I did more than 50 years ago with one of that eras most famous authors.

William Bradford Huie had penned The Execution of Private Slovik. It would be hailed as one of the top investigative books of the 1960s, and I talked with Huie about the book and Slovik at Huies home in north Alabama.

In 1944, as the Allies Normandy invasions advanced against the Nazis, Eddie Slovik became the first American soldier since the War Between the States to be executed for desertion.

Huie sought to understand why this young Detroit native had run away from the battle in France. Huie discovered that Slovik, terrified, had asked his commanding officer to transfer him to the rear of the unit of attack. Sloviks superior refused, and Slovik told him bluntly that he would run away any way. If caught and sent to the front, Ill run away again ...

And thats exactly what happened.

The dates of the Slovik tragedy reveal the irony. Sloviks desertion occurred in the fall of 1944, when Allied armies were headed, with great cost, but much determination, to victory in Europe. Sloviks execution was on January 31, 1945, five months before VE (Victory in Europe) Day.

Slovik had made it that close to triumph and the end of the war in Europe.

That brings us to the tragic irony of those who are deserting their faith and churches at this point in history. To understand, we must travel much farther back in time, to ancient Jerusalem.

Jesus of Nazareth, after a night of weeping over the city and its rejection of prophets sent by God and their message, walks toward the Temple compound. Some of His followers join Him, and they head in the direction of the Mount of Olives.

As they pass the imposing Temple structure, someone calls Jesus attention to its massive stones. Do you see all these buildings? Jesus replies. I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another! (Matthew 24:2)

Later, up the slope of the Mount, a smaller group of Jesus disciples huddle around Him. Tell us, when will all of this happen? What sign will signal Your return and the end of the world?

Jesus provides detail: false Christs and false prophets will abound, wars will singe the world, people group will arise against people group, Christs followers will increasingly be hated and persecuted, lawlessness in the form of antinomianismthe sheer hatred of law and orderwill explode, and apostasy, falling away from doctrinal truth, will increase as many of His followers in that future period lose their passion for Him and His teaching.

But positively, This gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached to the whole (inhabited) world as a testimony to all the nations (ethnesin, people groups), and then the end (telos, purpose) will come. (Matthew 24:14)

Therefore, the whole purpose of time and history is the atonement of Jesus Christ for the sins of all humanity, and the announcement of that good news to every people group in the world.

There are many other things that will characterize the end-times, but the proclamation to the whole world is the major marker.

Jesus stresses that the one who endures (literally, 'keeps standing firm') to the fulfillment of the telos-purpose will be saved (Matthew 24:13).

So the big question on many minds today is this: Are we in the End Times? And, if so, where are we? How close to the "end are we?)

Times grand fulfillment is the totality of the Christ event: Jesus coming into the world to redeem it, His proclamation, His crucifixion and resurrection, His ascension, and the creation and empowerment of His Church to continue His incarnational ministry in the world as His Body.

The events prior to the Christ event were in the age leading to His first coming. Everything after that  including our era  is leading to the Lords Second Coming.

A fragment in one of the Apostle Pauls letters provides a tantalizing clue. He writes Christs followers in Corinth to heed well the lessons Moses and the Hebrews learned in the Sinai wilderness. These are written for the people on whom the culmination of the ages has come (1 Corinthians 10:6).

If the Corinthian believers 2,000 years ago lived in the culmination (or end-goal) of the purpose of time and history, surely we must.

Whatever the case, we live in the period when for the first time ever certain End Times prophecies can be fulfilled  like the collapse of the global economy in one hour (Revelation 18:10-11), and the proclamation, or announcement of the Gospel of the Kingdom to the whole Earth (Matthew 24:14).

Private Slovik deserted when the Allies at last had the upper hand and were moving fast toward victory  which he missed.

With respect to Christ, the moment He was conceived in the womb of Mary, the beachhead  the seed  of the Kingdom of Heaven was present in the fallen creation, and the world began moving toward His second coming.

Now is not the time to run away.
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What comes to your mind when you think of the Middle East? Wars? Fanatical extremists? America haters?

Ive lived in the Middle East for nearly 50 years, and Ive found most people in America, the U.K., and the West have set notions about this volatile part of the world.

But Ive also discovered that the Middle East is full of surprises.

Did you know, for example, that two-thirds of the population of the Middle East is younger than 30?

They represent a bold, new generation thats clamoring for change. Theyre fed up with oppressive regimes that continually ram restrictions down their throats. Theyre sick of failing economies, corruption and hypocrisy.

And many are turning their backs on the restrictive religious systems theyve been raised with  either rejecting traditional beliefs or declaring they dont believe in God at all. In a region where religion plays such a dominant role, the surging number of young "religious rebels" in 2021 is a surprising reality. Just a generation ago, it was impossible to conceive of people in Iran and other Middle East theocracies declaring themselves to be deists or atheists, with the latter considered apostasy and punishable by death in some countries.

In the Islamic Republic of Iran  where conversion to Christianity often results in imprisonment, and its illegal to hold worship services in the Farsi (Persian) language  millions of young people want to escape the straitjacket of religious extremism thats brought them only conflicts, misery and hopelessness. Through their smartphones and other digital devices, theyve seen what freedom has to offer. And theyre desperate for it.

Across the Middle East, young people see no hope for their future. Many have no job. One in every three women has experienced physical violence by their partner. So-called "honor killings" are widely accepted. Suicide among young people is soaring. And freedom of the press is virtually non-existent.

Surprising crack in the armor

Yet as young people push back against these stifling social and religious norms, theres a surprising crack in their anti-establishment, religion-wary armor. Theyre curious about Christianity because its vastly different from anything theyve encountered before. As they begin to hear about Jesus, a preacher of love, forgiveness, turning the other cheek  breaking the endless cycle of an eye for an eye so prevalent in the Middle East  theyre hungry to learn more about Him. Theyre anxious for a real, living hope. They want to be surprised!

In my half century of life and media ministry in the Middle East, theres never been a more critical or opportune moment to broadcast the hope of the whole Gospel to millions looking for a surprising answer to their spiritual, physical, emotional and economic struggles. At SAT-7 (www.sat7usa.org)  an indigenous media ministry I started 25 years ago in the Middle East -- our local presenters and their guests show people what it means to be a Christian here. Theyre living epistles  living love letters, if you like  showing viewers every day how Jesus surprises them.

And now we have the most powerful media channels ever  locally-produced satellite television broadcasts that cant be censored; video-on-demand services that can be played on smartphones and other digital devices anywhere, any time; and social media live-chat platforms that engage people in real-time in Arabic, Farsi and Turkish.

This revolution in both on-air and online media is giving local Christians across the Middle East and North Africa previously unimaginable opportunities to share their lives and their faith with millions who have perhaps never even spoken with a Christ-follower before.

Surprising skeptics

As I share in my new bookDare to Believe, God is using their courageous witness to surprise and shock even the most ardent religious skeptics with the cannot-be-faked, unquenchable love of Jesus.

Aziz, a young Iraqi militant fighting with extremists in Syria, surprised the SAT-7 team when he called our counseling line, shaken by what he described as an encounter with Jesus. While hiding in a devastated church building during a battle, he told us, a man in radiant white touched his shoulder. Aziz said he recognized the man as Jesus Christ from the "JESUS" film hed seen on SAT-7s Arabic channel. The living Jesus came to me, Aziz said. I told him, I want to follow you.

In the fullness of time, I believe you and I will be surprised, too  even awestruck  when all thats happening right now in secret in the Middle East becomes clear to everyone.

Thats because God is constantly springing surprises  and daring us to believe he can do the impossible.
Majority of parents prefer working from home, flexible work: study

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The prolonged period of workplace flexibility amid the pandemic has given rise to an increased desire among a majority of parents with children younger than 18 to continue working from home full time or part time and is most pronounced among college-educated fathers, a new study shows.

The YouGov survey from the Institute for Family Studies/Wheatley Institution of 2,500 American adults, ages 18-55, conducted May 28 to June 10, shows that 53% of parents with children younger than 18, now prefer working from home either most of the time or half of the time as a result of the pandemic.

Some 65% of college-educated fathers led the pack among parents in endorsing working from home at least half the time or most of the time. Approximately 44% supported working from home most of the time, while 21% support working from home half of the time. Among college-educated mothers, some 57% endorse the shift.

Among non-college educated fathers, 45% supported working from home most or half of the time.

According to the researchers, Wendy Wang and Jenet Erickson, the shifting attitudes among parents to remote work is partly due to the increased options parents have discovered in managing childcare.

Some of this shift in desire reflects the fact that parents now see more options for possible ways to arrange child care. In the same survey, parents rated both parents work flexible hours and share child care as the best child care arrangement for families with kids ages 0-4, the researchers noted.

Mothers were more likely than fathers to prefer that option while having a stay-at-home parent remains popular among parents as well. Nearly 30% of mothers and fathers believe that one parent stays home full time to care for the child is the best arrangement for families with children younger than 5.

The data from the survey shows that contrary to national childcare policy proposals supporting more center-based childcare, most parents prefer taking care of their children themselves if their work arrangement allows it.

The Biden administrations American Families Plan has brought the child care issue to the front and center of the debate, operating from the implicit assumption that lack of a federally funded child care is keeping mothers, in particular, from full-time work. There is no doubt that the cost of child care is high in the U.S. and helping families to better afford the cost could benefit many parents.

"But it is also important to know whether center-based child care is what most parents really want. Among families with children ages 0-4, who are most likely to be impacted by child care policy decisions, full-time center-based care is only preferred by 14% of parents, according to the new IFS/Wheatley survey, the researchers explained. Instead, a plurality of parents said they would prefer arrangements that allow them to care for their own children at home.

The flexibility in work arrangements created by the coronavirus pandemic shows that this is beneficial and needed in the long term, particularly for parents.

No one work situation and child care model fits all parents, Wang and Erickson noted.

What parents desire is access to work and child care situations that are responsive to their different situations and family needs.  The results from this IFS/Wheatley Institution survey suggest that both mothers and fathers want more opportunities to choose where and when they work so they can provide the kind of care situation they want for their children. The COVID-19 pandemic may prove an opportunity to reset how parents decide between those options  both now and for the long-term, they added.
5 ways to pray for people in Afghanistan

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The scenes coming out of Afghanistan are horrific. People are so desperate to flee that they would cling to the exteriors of airplanes as they are taking off, with some tragically falling to their deaths. A young woman in tears dreading the Taliban rule says, No one cares about us. Well die slowly in history.

Being confronted with such tragedies ought to drive us to our knees in prayer. Faced with the worst-case scenario, the people of Afghanistan need a miracle.

Here are several ways we can pray for Afghanistan.

1. Pray that God would protect Afghan Christians and give them wisdom as they decide what to do.

Even more than before, Afghan Christians are about to be under immense pressure. Joshua Youssef, president of Help the Persecuted, outlined three main possible outcomes. First, some Afghan Christians may succumb to the pressure and return to the Muslim background many of them converted from.

Second, Afghan Christians could be forced to pay some sort of penalty. Some people call it a tax, but its really a penalty to remain a Christian, a dhimmi, under Islamic rule, Youssef says. Third, it is possible that Afghan Christians will be hunted down and killed by Taliban fighters. Youssef says, thats the concern that a lot of people have  that there will be violence.

WORLD magazine reporter Mindy Belz stated that she was aware of at least one letter that an Afghan Christian received from the Taliban, stating, We know where you are, and we know what youre doing.

Such a troubling future for Afghan believers is difficult to fathom. Please pray that Christians would be strengthened in their faith to withstand persecution. Pray that God would meet their practical and physical needs. Pray that they would remain hidden from the Taliban.

2. Pray for the safety and preservation of women and girls in Afghanistan.

The Taliban is notorious for its oppression of women and girls. Fortunately, many young women in Afghanistan today grew up without the abuses of Taliban fighters and life under strict Sharia law. Yet, that time has come to an end. The Taliban has returned, and Afghan women and girls are rightfully scared.

It was not all that long ago that Malala Yousafzai, now a famous human rights advocate, survived an assassination attempt at the hands of the Taliban in Pakistan. In 2012, Taliban fighters tried to kill 15-year-old Malala for asserting her right to simply go to school. Malala wrote this week in a New York Times op-ed: Afghan girls and young women are once again where I have been  in despair over the thought that they might never be allowed to see a classroom or hold a book again.

Now, the Taliban is trying to claim that Afghan women will be happy to be living within our framework of Sharia. But years of repression and violence have proven the Taliban to be far from trustworthy. Under the Talibans previous control of Afghanistan, women and girls were prevented from being educated, leaving the house without a male guardian, and working outside the home (with a few exceptions).

Pray that women and girls in Afghanistan would be protected and kept safe. Pray that they would find hope for the future and be allowed opportunities to grow and thrive. Pray that this new regime would be more open than the last time the Taliban was in power.

3. Pray that the Taliban would cease their violence and repression and that evil plans would be thwarted.

Jesus instructed His followers to pray for those who persecute you (Matt. 5:43). Pray that the Taliban would turn from their evil ways and be restrained from committing acts of terror and instituting an oppressive regime. Pray that God would radically change their hearts the way He changed the heart of the Apostle Paul (Acts 26).

4. Pray that world leaders would have the courage and understanding to aid the victims of this humanitarian crisis and make a positive difference.

The decision to swiftly withdraw troops without a sufficient contingency plan has unleashed an immense humanitarian disaster. American leaders, and those of other Western countries, should be developing solutions to help.

Pray that world leaders can identify practical and meaningful ways to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people. Pray that the United States would find a way to swiftly facilitate visas for those who worked for the American military and may now face repercussions from the Taliban.

Thousands of U.S. citizens remain trapped in Afghanistan without a way to get out. Pray that American leaders would quickly find a solution to allow them to return home safely.

5. Pray for the future of Afghanistan.

As precious persons made in the image of God, the people of Afghanistan deserve so much better than the cultural and political turmoil they are experiencing. Many are already mourning the loss of their dreams.

Pray that the people of Afghanistan would continue to have hope for the future. Pray that a better future would quickly be realized for them. Pray that they would one day have a strong, stable, and free representative government.

Watching events unfold in Afghanistan is deeply saddening. Yet, we are not without hope, and neither are the people of Afghanistan.

Originally published at the Family Research Council.
60% of adults under 40 say Jesus isnt only way to salvation; equal to Buddha, Muhammad Survey shows pluralistic worldview expanding rapidly among American Christians

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More than 60% of born again Christians in America between the ages of 18 and 39 believe that Buddha, Muhammad and Jesus are all valid paths to salvation and over 30% say they either believe that Jesus sinned just like other people when He lived on Earth or arent sure, according to a new study.

Theres a striking decline in evangelical religious beliefs and practices over the last 10 years, as the number of self-proclaimed believers to hold these beliefs has increased by nearly 25%, says Probe Ministries in a statement announcing the results of its Religious Views & Practices Survey.

The study, which interviewed 3,100 Americans ages 18 to 55 in 2020 and looked at various other previous studies, saw a drop in basic biblical worldview  Gods attributes, the accuracy of the Bible, salvation and Jesus being sinless  from 47% in 2010 to 25% in 2020 among born again Christians.

The drop in the expanded biblical worldview  beliefs about Satan and morals being objective  went from 32% in 2010 to 16% in 2020.

So, the percentage of Born Again Christians with a biblical worldview (of either type) has been cut in half over the last decade, says the study, which compared the 1829 age group from 2010 with the same age group 10 years later, now 3039. This result is a startling degradation in worldview beliefs of Born Again Christians over just 10 years.

This means, even born-again Christians can have a false view of Jesus Christ and embrace a pluralistic worldview, Kerby Anderson, president of Probe Ministries, said. Pastors and church leaders just cant assume any longer that the members of their church or Christian organization have a biblical worldview.

Theres an even greater drop off among the general population, the study found. For the basic biblical worldview, theres a drop off from 13% to 6%. For the expanded biblical worldview, the decline is from 9% to just over 3%.

Anderson attributed the change to the continual and growing influence of media.

These disturbing trends are, yes, due to pastors not consistently teaching biblical theory. But they can also be attributed to young Christians who are not paying attention, who are focused  nearly exclusively, it seems  on their phones, social media and other content they deem more compelling, he said.

The study suggests, Anderson said, that we have to continue to explain the cost of salvation ... that there is no way to salvation, other than through the sacrificial and atoning death of a sinless Christ. That no one can come to the Father except through the Son, but also that anyone may come through Him.

An article about the studys findings on the Probe Ministries website notes that in the Roman Empire in AD 60, biblical worldview Christians accounted for less than 1% of the population. Three hundred years later, virtually the entire empire was at least nominally Christian.

If we will commit ourselves to proclaiming the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light, God will bring revival to our land, it adds.
Nearly half of Gen Z Americans view socialism favorably: survey

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After 100 million murders, dozens of wars, unquantifiable starvation, and gulags created under socialism, 40% of Americans today consider it favorable, a survey by Victims of Communism Foundation has found.

The Victims of Communism Foundation released its fifth annual survey, asking 2,100 representative Americans their opinions on socialism. In 2020, 4% more Americans view socialism favorably than in 2019.

Younger generations approve of socialism most, the survey said. Some 49% of Generation Z and 47% of millennials have favorable opinions of the term socialism. For millennials, that number has gradually declined from 50% in 2018 and 49% in 2019.

It also found that one in four Americans favors the gradual abolition of the capitalist system. Some 12% of Gen Z and 10% of millennials said they believe "society would be better off if all private property was abolished and held by the government."

The change in approval toward socialism has delivered remarkable political gains for socialists, said Democratic Socialists of America San Diego chapter Treasurer Herbert Shore in an interview with The Christian Post.

There was a lot of activity after Trump was elected, he said. The institution has increased tremendously. Eight years ago, we had 6,000 members nationally. Now were passing around 70,000. Weve become a significant force in American politics.

Reps. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., are both members of the DSA. Along with former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who also identifies as a Democratic Socialist, they represent an increasing acceptance of socialist politicians.

According to Shore, the government should take over electric utilities, railways systems, and other companies that affect many Americans. And workers should have representatives on the directing boards of corporations.

Its more closely linked to the government taking a larger role in the whole economy. Its not about seizing the means of production as a whole, he contended.

Shore said that many of the DSAs new members are young people who feel that neither Republicans nor Democrats help working-class people. The DSA doesnt have a clear set of beliefs or policies because most American socialists define socialism differently, although it can be roughly understood as the way Bernie Sanders describes it, he added.

In 1988, Sanders honeymooned in the Soviet Union. He praised Venezuela in 2011 as a place where the American dream is more apt to be realized. As recently as February, Sanders said its unfair to simply say everything is bad about dictator Fidel Castros Cuba.

People who are older, their attitudes tend to change, Shore said. Bernie Sanders today did not espouse anything like [support for Venezuela and praise for Fidel Castro.] Very few American socialists are Marxists, he said.

Wall Street Journal opinion columnists noted, however, that Sanders has a long history of backing Venezuela's dictators. In 2003, Sanders signed a letter in support of Hugo Chavez at a time when politically motivated arrests and property confiscation were rampant. Similarly, Sanders has received criticism from even Democrats for backing socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro, and for saying he would not recognize Juan Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela.

Victims of Communism Foundation Director Marion Smith said that socialists cannot redefine the term socialism.

Its a term for an ideology, an imperfectly practiced system that affected the lives of millions of people. They dont get to redefine it, he said. The DSA has misled the public on the meaning and history of the word. That is dangerous.

Socialism means government control of the economy, Smith explained. If people vote a socialist government into power, it will be the last time they vote. Every time socialists have ruled a nation, it resulted in economic collapse and the creation of dictatorial police states.

People murdered in Venezuela were murdered with the wink and nod of the Chavez regime because they were class enemies, he said.

The media and school system have ignored the legacy of murder that socialist states have left behind, Smith added. Young people dont learn the crimes of socialists, so they become socialist.

Unlike the crimes of Nazis, the crimes of communist regimes never received a moral reckoning and legal accountability. Those who defended the Soviet Union never apologized, he said. Socialism should be just as unacceptable as fascism.

Shore and Smith agree that multinational corporations are one reason why some young Americans are showing interest in socialism.

Smith noted that corporations that use slave labor in Communist China arent really part of the free market. And Shore said that the migration of manufacturing jobs overseas has left many Americans behind.

Arthur Herman, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, noted in an op-ed for WSJ that in the last 20 years, more than 5 million manufacturing jobs have been lost. "In the 1960s, manufacturing made up 25% of U.S. gross domestic product. Its barely 11% today."

Herman added: "A 2018 White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy study noted that, since 2000, Americas defense industry has shed more than 20,000 U.S.-based manufacturing companies. As the work those companies once did domestically has shifted overseas, much of it has gone to China."

Speaking more on China, Smith told CP that big business in the United States has given free enterprise a bad name."

"More millennials and Generation Z members have realized some of Americas largest corporations have conspired with some of the worst regimes on earth, including China, to use slave labor, Smith continued. The little man in China suffering under the slave system and the average worker in the Midwest have a lot more in common than they realize about wanting free enterprise.

Christians should remember that socialism has no greater enemy than faith, Smith stressed.

"Every socialist system has viewed religion as an existential threat. Anything that provides a moral authority higher than the Communist Party is a threat."

In August, a survey released by the Cultural Research Center headed by noted evangelical pollster George Barna found that 98% of Americans who hold socialist beliefs reject a biblical worldview.

By contrast, 83% of those who hold a biblical worldview responded that they preferred capitalism over socialism," according to findings from the American Worldview Inventory 2020.
This week in Christian history: Bakker fraud trial begins, Louis IX dies and massacre in Orissa

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Throughout the extensive history of the Church, there have been numerous events of lasting significance.

Each week brings anniversaries of impressive milestones, unforgettable tragedies, amazing triumphs, memorable births, notable deaths and everything in between.

Some of the events drawn from over 2,000 years of history might be familiar, while other happenings might be previously unknown by most people.

The following pages highlight events that happened this week in Christian history. They include the death of Saint Louis IX, the fraud trial of Jim Bakker, and a massacre of Christians in India.

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Al Mohler says Pres. Biden, media downplaying the Taliban's Islamic theology Over 10,000 Americans stuck in Afghanistan as Taliban hamper evacuations

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President Joe Biden and left-leaning corporate news outlets are downplaying the Islamic theology behind the Taliban, according to Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

In an episode of his podcast The Briefing, Mohler assessed the reaction of many to the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan and the rise of Islamic extremism elsewhere in the world, such as the Islamic State, also known as IS and ISIS, and its affiliates.

Mohler began by noting that some news outlets seem to prefer the term ISIS to describe the group, asserting that this is because they want to avoid using the word Islam or Islamic.

Notice how little attention, almost no attention at all, how much virtual silence you now hear in the mainstream media about the reality that the Taliban are not a secular army. They are a jihadist group of Islamic fighters, Mohler said.

The mythology of the American Left is that theology does not matter and that any reference to Islam as in a clash of religious worldviews is just a form of disguised racism or something they often refer to as Islamophobia.

Mohler stressed that progressives need to understand that Islam makes theological truth claims and that its morality is based on its theological structure and jihad is baked into the logic of the Quran.

Its interesting to hear people talk about the humanitarian disaster as if what would be taking place, including the oppression of women, is just based upon some kind of tribal habit in Afghanistan, he continued.

It is not that. It is what is claimed to be the application of the Quran. It is coming with a religious, not a secular, authority; it is driven by religious, not secular, ambitions; it is driven by religious, not secular, passions.

In response to the Taliban harboring al Qaeda terrorists and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, the United States invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 and, with the help of local guerilla groups, toppled the Islamist faction that had ruled Afghanistan from 1996-2001.

Despite U.S. intervention and the subsequent killing of bin Laden, the Taliban continued to resist the new regime in Afghanistan, leading a lengthy insurgency against coalition forces.

Over the past several years, the number of U.S. troops in the predominantly Muslim country had been drawn down, numbering 2,500 by the time President Joe Biden took office.

In February 2020, Trump announced that he had reached a deal with the Taliban, agreeing to an eventual withdrawal of remaining forces from Afghanistan if the Islamist group upheld several commitments, such as no longer harboring terrorist groups, including al Qaeda.

The United States signed a deal with the Taliban so that we can hopefully begin the immediate process of finally bringing our troops back home, Trump told the Conservative Political Action Conference last year.

I want to just thank our military because weve been really a police force there for the last long time. Were not supposed to be a police force, were supposed to be fighting soldiers.

Earlier this year, Biden announced that he planned to withdraw the last of the U.S. forces by the beginning of September, despite reported concerns from his own military advisors.

With the American withdrawal, the Taliban went on the offensive and retook large parts of Afghanistan, including Kabul on Sunday, prompting a chaotic evacuation in which thousands of Americans were told to "shelter in place" and go online to register to evacuate.

Biden had announced that 5,000 U.S. troops would be deployed to help with the evacuation. On Sunday, the Pentagon announced that an additional 1,000 troops would be deployed to assist.

As many as 10,000 to 15,000 Americans have yet to be evacuated from Afghanistan, according to The Washington Post.

In response to the situation and the scenes of desperate Afghanis trying to board U.S. Air Force planes taxiing on the runway of Kabuls international airport on Monday, Biden, who was on vacation and said he wasn't going to respond publicly until later in the week, decided to return to Washington and deliver a speech.

Biden said during Tuesday's speech from the East Room of the White House that the quick collapse of the Afghan forces reinforced his belief that ending U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan now was the right decision.

American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves, said the president.

Our mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to have been nation-building, it was never supposed to be creating a unified, centralized democracy.
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For many people, 2020 brought change and challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic turned normal, as we knew it, on its head, causing our society to collectively contemplate death in a deeper way.

Death is not natural

Most people would agree that things in this world are not as they should be, especially when it comes to death. If you have ever watched someone on the doorstep of death, every gasping breath is a fight to live. This is because death is not natural for us; we were made to live.

The Bible explains that in the beginning God breathed into man the breath of life so that he could dwell together with Him. But tragically, humanitys first parents, Adam and Eve, chose to disobey Gods good, life-sustaining command (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:1-6) and were cast out of Eden. God cursed them, saying, for you are dust and to dust you shall return (Gen. 3:19b). Since that day, out of consequence for humanitys disobedience, our bodies have continued to decay and will one day bring forth death (Rom. 6:23).

Death is not natural; we were not made for this. God created humanity in His image and after His likeness to live and walk in perfect fellowship with Him (Gen. 1:27). Sadly, death is the unnatural consequence of humanitys sin.

What the Bible says about death

Although we live in a fallen world, Christians should not despair or grieve like those who have no hope (1 Thes. 4:13). Our hope is in Jesus Christ, who died so we could live  forever (John 3:16). In his book A Reason For God, Timothy Keller notes that Jesus became the man of sorrows (Is. 53:3) by taking our suffering so seriously that he took it on himself. Jesus Himself tells us, Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me and I am the way, and the truth, and the life (John 14:1, 6).

One of Jesus most encouraging promises is that He is coming back for those who put their trust in Him to bring them to live forever with Him (John 14:2-3, Rev. 21:3-4). According to Scripture, nothing in creation can separate those who have trusted in Jesus from the love of God, not even death (Rom. 8:23).

As believers walk through the shadow of death, there is ultimately nothing to fear because Jesus is there beside us. He is our comfort (Ps. 23). We can grieve what suffering does to us and what death takes from us, but we should always remember where our hope lies. Our hope is anchored in the Lord who shares in our suffering and is acquainted with great grief (Is. 53:3).



We can find joy in our suffering by keeping our eyes on Jesus, knowing that He is always with us and He will strengthen our faith. These trials will produce steadfastness and endurance in the long run (James 1:2-4).

When we suffer, it is important to remember that Christ is with us. When we go through something difficult, it might seem that God has abandoned or forgotten us. But even on the darkest nights, we must remember that God hears and sees us and will not leave or forsake us.

Christians have hope despite death because of the promise of the resurrection. The Bible teaches that being human means we are embodied souls/ensouled bodies. Upon physical death, we will be disembodied, meaning our body will be separated from our spirit but our spirit will return to God (Ecc. 12:7). Scripture says that to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corin. 5:8).



In other words, death will separate us from God, but believers will always be with the Lord in the present Heaven free from sin and suffering in the fullness of joy, awaiting the bodily resurrection and permanent home in the New Heaven and New Earth (Rom. 8:38-9, Rev. 21:1).

On the cross, Jesus tasted death to give us eternal life. Those who believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Jesus declares, I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live (John 11:25), thereby extending the invitation of eternal life to everyone.

For believers, what waits on the other side of death is what we love, namely, the presence of the Lord. When we grieve the loss of someone we love or are weighed down by suffering, His peace and His presence revives our soul. We may be overwhelmed or sad, but this present pain is not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed and the perfect restoration that even creation groans for (Rom 8:18-20). Although we may come face to face with our darkest hour, God fills us with all joy and peace so that through His Holy Spirit, we can have a steadfast hope (Rom. 15:13).

We were made to live

We were made to live. Scripture tells us God has put eternity into mans heart (Ecc. 3:11) and is not wishing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Life is a gift of God, but physical death is an effect of the fall. From the beginning, humanity has fought against physical death, establishing hospitals to ease suffering and its decaying effects because we long to live.

We do not have to fear death. We can live abundantly in Christ, walking in step with the Spirit, knowing death is coming but making the most of every hour. This is because we know that death is not the end of us. Rather, it is a small interruption before we step into eternal life with our Lord.

We all know someone who is suffering, maybe even facing death. When we are invited into someones pain, we have the opportunity to share the burden of their suffering, to be still with them, and speak words of life. Our words can impart the aroma of Christ and give the peace and hope that people hunger for. Without Christ, we will die physically and spiritually. With Christ, though we die, we have eternal life. It is only when we lose our fear of death that we can truly live.

Originally published at the Family Research Council.
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When I think of the number of bad teachings that could bloom among self-focused Americans and ambitious young entrepreneurs, it is like asking how many bugs will stick to your windshield when you drive by a swamp on a hot summer night.

Revivalists ask of each of these waves of new thinking instructionist teaching if they are just going to be unfruitful, or conversely and frighteningly, if they are capable of leading someone in suffering for all eternity.

I think of the words of the Apostle Paul who said to the Romans, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? (Romans 6:1-2, NKJV). If there are two all-encompassing enemies of the true Gospel which encapsulates most false teachings, it is any teaching that presents a type of Christianity which avoids the subject of sin and which does not require service or sacrifice. The enemy of our souls can ease us into complacency and then sell us on the false gospel of easy believism.

I once visited a large United Methodist church in Georgia in a very affluent part of Atlanta. I was disturbed to see the following statement, centrally located on a large bulletin board in the middle of the Sunday School classrooms: All the World is Born Again! Wouldnt that be wonderful, if only it were true? However, it is not true, and millions will be eternally lost if they spend their lifetime believing such false teachings.



What we as true Christians fail to realize is how bad it can get when, for generations, no one calls out such damning false doctrines. The early Methodists were once so full of the Spirit that people called them the wild eyed Methodists. However, error always follows the same path when the Church preaches what people want to hear, instead of what people need to hear from Gods Word!

Ive recently caught a podcast online. A young couple was promoting their counseling services to anyone who has been a victim of performance-based Christianity. I am hearing that term more and more lately. Not surprisingly, such teaching emerges from the camps that promote a hyper grace Christianity. My immediate response to the podcast was, Is not all true Christianity performance based?

James, the half-brother of Jesus, taught in James 2:17, In the same way, faith also if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. The simple truth about the difference between good works and bad or religious works, is that good works are works that God by His Holy Spirit calls us to do, through prayer and our ongoing relationship with God in Christ. God never called us to do anything for Him. He does, however, call us to work with him.

Dead religious works, in contrast, are things we try to do for God in order to earn His favor. Jesus died on a cross for our sins, and we receive His favor only by His grace. No amount of works will ever purchase that favor. However, because of that grace we can now do good works for Him through the leading of His Holy Spirit.

In Matthew 25:23, Jesus said, Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.

It sounds to me like Jesus was building some form of performance-based Christianity! Our true calling is to be living so close to Him, and to be so biblically astute, that our whole lives bring glory to His name in the process.
HOUSTON (AP)  U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas says that he's tested positive for COVID-19 and has moderate symptoms.

Nehls, a Republican from the Houston area, said Saturday that he is fully vaccinated and hopes the symptoms pass soon.

All Americans are free to make their own health decisions, but I strongly encourage getting vaccinated, he wrote on Twitter Saturday. It is scientifically proven to drastically reduce the risk of severe illness & death from COVID.

Nehls, the former sheriff of Fort Bend County who was elected to Congress last year, had said on Wednesday that a close family member had tested positive.

Nehls said he has been quarantining at home and will continue to do so for at least the next 10 days.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that he'd tested positive for the virus. He said Saturday that he had tested negative.

Im told that my infection was brief and mild because of the vaccination that I received, Abbott said in a video clip posted on his Twitter account on Saturday. So I encourage others who have not yet received the vaccination to consider getting one.
BERLIN (AP)  Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie, an iconic modern art museum designed by Bauhaus pioneer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, reopened to the public Sunday after a six-year refurbishment of the glass-fronted building.

Germany's culture minister, Monika Gruetters, said during a celebration ceremony held Saturday that the occasion marked the museum's brilliant comeback as a pilgrimage site for lovers of modern art and as a stage for contemporary artists.

British architect David Chipperfield oversaw the extensive refurbishment of the steel-and-glass structure, a project that cost 140 million euros ($164 million).

Mies van der Rohe was the last of three directors of the Bauhaus school of art and design, which started work in 1919 and was forced to shut down shortly after the Nazis came to power in 1933. He later emigrated to the United States.

The Neue Nationalgalerie was Mies van der Rohe's only post-World War II building in Germany. It was built in then-West Berlin, not far from the Berlin Wall that divided the city for much of the Cold War. The museum opened in 1968, the year before the architect's death.

Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller said that, shortly after the Wall was built, the building, with its transparent facade, stood for "progress, the avant-garde and modern, openness and internationality, news agency dpa reported.

The museum is reopening with three exhibitions: a selection of key works from its collection, a show of works by sculptor Alexander Calder, and another dedicated to film and media artist Rosa Barbra.

Berlin is creating more space to show its contemporary art collection by building a new Museum of the 20th Century next door to the Neue Nationalgalerie.
PARIS (AP)  The remains of American-born singer and dancer Josephine Baker will be reinterred at the Pantheon monument in Paris, making the entertainer who is a World War II hero in France the first Black woman to get the countrys highest honor.

Le Parisien newspaper reported Sunday that French President Emmanuel Macron decided to organize a ceremony on Nov. 30 at the Paris monument, which houses the remains of scientist Marie Curie, French philosopher Voltaire, writer Victor Hugo and other French luminaries.

The presidential palace confirmed the newspaper's report.

After her death in 1975, Baker was buried in Monaco, dressed in a French military uniform with the medals she received for her role as part of the French Resistance during the war.

Baker will be the fifth woman to be honored with a Pantheon burial and will also be the first entertainer honored.

Holocaust survivor Simone Veil, one of Frances most revered politicians, was buried at the Pantheon in 2018. The other women are two who fought with the French Resistance during World War II  Germaine Tillion and Genevieve de Gaulle-Anthonioz  and Nobel Prize-winning chemist Curie.

The monument also holds the remains of 72 men.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Baker became a megastar in the 1930s, especially in France, where she moved in 1925 as she was seeking to flee racism and segregation in the United States.

Baker quickly became famous for her banana skirt dance routines and wowed audiences at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees and later at the Folies Bergere in Paris.

She became a French citizen after her marriage to industrialist Jean Lion in 1937.

During World War II, she joined the French Resistance. Amid other missions, she collected information from German officials she met at parties and carried messages hidden in her underwear to England and other countries, using her star status to justify her travels.

A civil rights activist, she took part in 1963 in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who made his I Have A Dream speech.
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A few days after Phil Valentine announced he had tested positive for Covid-19 on July 11th, the conservative talk-radio host wrote on Facebook that he was doing my patriotic duty for natural herd immunity. Valentine, whose nationally syndicated Phil Valentine Show aired on 100 stations from 2007 to 2019, had questioned the vaccines on his current show on Nashvilles SuperTalk 99.7 WTN and online, mocking the U.S.s inoculation campaign in the song Vaxman, a parody of the Beatles Taxman. I certainly am not getting the vax now, he replied to a commenter on Facebook on July 14th. I have full immunity.

Valentine died Saturday from complications related to Covid-19, according to a tweet from his station. He was 61.

Valentines condition steadily worsened since announcing his diagnosis. Two weeks into hospitalization, he was placed on a ventilator and, on July 30th, his brother Mark Valentine said he was going to be transferred to an ECMO machine, which does the work of the heart and lungs.

You need to have a plan in case you get COVID. Make SURE you get your vitamin D3 level checked And then have a doctor on speed dial who will write you a prescription for ivermectin, Phil Valentine wrote on Facebook on July 13th, recommending an unproven drug used to treat livestock for worms. If youre high risk of dying from COVID I still strongly suggest you consider the vaccine, but this it totally your choice. Just make sure youre prepared if you decide against the vaccine.

After Valentines syndication deal ended, he signed a three-year contract with Nashvilles WTN to continue his show on the local level. In addition to his radio career, Valentine wrote, produced and hosted the 2012 documentary An Inconsistent Truth, a rebuttal to Al Gores Oscar-winning film about climate change, An Inconvenient Truth. Valentine also released the book The Conservatives Handbook: Defining the Right Positions From A to Z in 2016 and authored a series of spy novels.

If you dont like me coming round/be thankful I dont hold you down, he sang in the vaccine parody song Vaxman.

He wishes he could do it over, Valentines brother Mark told Nashville public radio station WPLN in a July interview. His regret [was] I made the decision [not to get vaccinated] based on my situation, but I know now that a lot of people didnt get the vaccine because I didnt get the vaccine. And that is what I would like to correct.

Just under 41 percent of Tennessees population is fully vaccinated.
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP)  A cruise ship headed for the Mexican Riviera set sail from the Port of Long Beach on Saturday  the first cruise ship to depart from California in 17 months.

The Carnival Panorama is on a seven-day voyage and will stop in the Mexican ports of Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan before returning to Long Beach, Carnival Corp. said in a statement.

The 1,060-foot Carnival Panorama debuted in 2019.

Passenger Bob Lechtreck said he and his wife were on the inaugural sailing on Dec. 11, 2019.

I cant tell you how excited I am to be on the Panorama for its inaugural return to service, Lechtreck told the Press-Telegram in a text. "Its been way too long since weve sailed, and we couldnt be happier returning to our favorite activity.

The cruise industry was hard-hit by the pandemic after passengers and crew members tested positive for COVID-19 and some ships were turned away from ports. The industry has battled the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over health requirements for resuming sailing in U.S. waters.

The company said its operational protocols exceed CDC recommendations. They include having all employees vaccinated and requiring all passengers to show a negative COVID-19 test.

Passengers must be vaccinated, but the company will allow a small number of exemptions for those unable to get the vaccine, including children under 12 who are not yet eligible. Those who are unvaccinated will have to follow additional precautions, according to Carnival's COVID-19 guest protocols.

Last week, 27 people tested positive for COVID-19 on a Carnival cruise just before the ship made a stop in Belize City, Belize. The ship headed back to Galveston, Texas, Friday after stopping in Mexico.

The positive cases were among 26 crew members and one passenger on the Carnival Vista, which was carrying over 1,400 crew and nearly 3,000 passengers, the Belize Tourism Board said in a statement.

All 27 were vaccinated, had mild or no symptoms and were in isolation, according to the statement. The tourism board said 99.98% of the ships crew was vaccinated, as well as 96.5% of its passengers.
NEW HAVEN  In an uncertain time in his youth, the Rev. Wayne McCraes local leaders served as guide stones for helping him to find a path toward a brighter future.

On Saturday, McCrae, joining with officials and residents, sought to extend that hand to the wide community , urging residents, particularly young people, to consider the paths walked by local luminaries and politicians and work toward peace and stability.

The day began with the formulation of a new exhibition of shoes at City Hall, set to feature the footwear of a number of local politicians and leaders, including U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3; U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Mayor Justin Elicker, former Mayor Toni Harp, the Rev. Boise Kimber, state Sen. Martin Looney, Bishop William Philpot, Fire Chief John Alston and Acting Police Chief Renee Dominguez and Fair Haven pioneer Celestino Cordova.

McCrae said he was inspired to do the exhibit by a visit to Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta, which features the imprints of Kings shoes, and those of other civil rights leaders.

It just stayed with me, said McCrae. In leadership, theres a journey everyone takes.

He placed shoes of his aunt, Mildred Miley, into the exhibit during Saturdays ceremonies.

He said Miley, founder and president of MakeLa, Inc., had touched many lives during her own, raising money for scholarships for city youth. She was also a guiding light for him, he said, in a difficult time.

I was out there in the streets, and the positive influence  she constantly told me that you can do better, that you dont have to be out there, said McCrae. And I thank God that I took heed and listened.

The importance of guiding young people toward stable lives and averting violence, McCrae said, is not political  its about humanity. In the current political climate, he said its important to remain neutral and help young people stay the course.

Officials, praising McCrae for his efforts, spoke of the damaging impact of gun violence on the lives of city residents, and the importance of offering opportunities to young people, particularly considering the anxiety and strife of the pandemic.

Elicker said he had two pairs of shoes  one brown, one black. On days without tragedy, he wears the brown ones; on the others, he wears black, as he attends funerals and wakes. He placed the black ones in a display case Saturday  a symbol of the pain residents continue to suffer.

States Attorney Patrick Griffin and Blumenthal noted the importance of improving efforts to prevent and deter gun violence, instead of focusing on prosecution and incarceration.

Gun violence is not just a local or New Haven issue. Its, in fact, really a national scourge; its really a national disgrace, said Griffin. When individuals are hit and injured, their lives are altered forever.

Violence has been aggravated during the coronavirus pandemic, Blumenthal said, as people deal with anxiety and isolation, struggling with substance use disorder.

In addition to changes in laws  he noted the idea of banning ghost guns, among other initiatives  people need to strive to band together in faith and belief in their fellow man, he said.

Although policing has a role, gun violence is fundamentally an issue of community spirit, he said. The goal has to be to intercede in someones life before they pull a trigger, setting unalterable consequence in motion.

Were really talking about a cycle that repeats itself. Young people learn by example, (learn) leadership by example, said Blumenthal. Right now, young people are learning a lot of the wrong lessons.

Harp also stressed the communitys role in changing the impact of gun violence on the world. She said she had learned over her decades in the field that democracy happens at the local level, government, in turn, provides the tools to allow them to keep themselves safe.

If the people want there to be peace, there will be peace. And, you know, its really important for people to understand that they have that power, said Harp. We come together, as families, as community, for one major thing  to keep ourselves safe. (When we) dont do that, (its) because we dont feel empowered enough to come together, to set the standards, to use the tools that we have to insist upon safety.

Weve been talking about the same things for the past 30 or 40 years. Weve been talking about kids dying in our streets. Weve been talking about families that cant feed their own; weve been talking about people who dont have good jobs, said Harp. Well, at the point that the community believes it is entitled to those things (and) will work together on behalf of those things, we will make more progress.... What we really have now is a crisis of the heart.

Harp, noting, with humor in her voice, that she was the first woman to serve as mayor in New Haven, offered a pair of pink shoes for the exhibit.

Dominguez praised McCrae for his passion in creating the exhibit  he had driven the process along with his immediate energy and belief, she said. The department was working to slow the pace of violence in the city, but needs aid, she said.

Alston spoke of the importance of impressing that progress has been made upon young people  he grew up watching fire hoses turned on protesters in the Civil Rights movement, he noted, and now commands firefighters.

After remarks were offered, the spirit of the event shifted outside, as McCraes Upright Ministries and the Peoples Coalition of Connecticut, represented by former Hamden councilman Henry Candido, held a rally, titled Peace Starts Within on the Green.

McCrae invited Elicker to let loose white doves on the Green as a tribute to gun violence victims and their families; he did so, then offered brief remarks, noting the impending hurricane.

Weve got a hurricane coming, but weve had a hurricane in our city for many, many, many years, facing a lot of economic challenges, facing a lot of challenges around gun violence, and facing, in many ways, a challenge about people not feeling hope, said Elicker, noting the issues had only intensified during the pandemic.

Leaders, he said, care for their neighbors, help others, provide a safe haven and support people that are struggling the most.

The real hope that I think we see today in this type of event, and the path forward in our community, is to bring people together more, said Elicker. (So) that, in New Haven, we can truly be a city where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
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Alert: Pentagon orders emergency use of 18 US commercial aircraft to transport Afghan evacuees after they've flown out of Kabul
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP)  A daylong event will be held next weekend in Burlington commemorating the arrival of enslaved Africans to what would become the United States.

The third annual Vermont First African Landing Day is scheduled for next Saturday at the Intervale Center under the theme of Out of Darkness, Into the Light," the Burlington Free Press reported.
As Tropical Storm Henri moved through Connecticut Sunday, telecommunication companies said they were ready to repair outages at a time when many are still working from home.

While much of the focus has fallen on the potential for days-long power outages, recent damaging storms have shown that the same infrastructure critical for electricity can cut people off from their phones and internet connection.

Lara Pritchard, senior director of communications for the Northeast region for Spectrum, said it was closely monitoring Henris path, which changed course on Sunday and made landfall just over the border in Rhode Island, lessening the blow on Connecticut.

Teams are connecting regularly to monitor Henris track to safely pre-position staff, materials like fiber-optic cable, vehicles, fuel, generators and other supplies so we can react quickly to assess and repair any damage as soon as its safe and we have access to damage sites, Pritchard said.

As Connecticut still faces the COVID-19 pandemic, internet connections have become more essential than ever as many people are still working from home.

But following Tropical Storm Isaias in August 2020, people faced connectivity issues for days after the storm, and struggled to reach customer service to get back online. Though not as severe as what was faced by the power companies, internet and phone providers faced criticism following that storm.

Much like how power companies prepared for the worst Sunday when Henri impacted Connecticut, these internet and phone providers were beefing up staffing to get customers quickly back online.

In a notice to customers, Optimum said it had been in communication with local authorities and energy companies to ensure coordination on any restoration efforts needed.

While some outages cannot be prevented, as theyre caused by downed wires and power lines, our fully staffed teams are standing by and ready to make repairs as commercial power is restored, Optimum said in the notice to customers.

Kristen Roberts, vice president of communications for Comcasts Western New England Region, said its Xfinity services could be impacted if there are commercial outages.

Weve been actively preparing for Tropical Storm Henri so we can support our customers by responding quickly to any impact from the storm may have on our service, Roberts said. Weve been increasing staffing, and we will be strategically placing employees throughout the Connecticut area with backup generators and other supplies as needed.

Roberts said for most customers, services should be restored after commercial power is back and access to damaged infrastructure and downed lines have been cleared.

It is important to note that even though power might have been restored to an individual's home, there are instances where power has not yet been fully restored to the local Xfinity distribution point that serves the neighborhood, she said. Once cleared and access is gained, we will work around the clock until services are fully restored for every customer.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)  Kansas City police are investigating two separate homicides that were reported Saturday night.

In the first incident, officers found a 15-year-old boy with gunshot wounds on the front porch of a home around 7:45 p.m. Saturday, police department spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina said. The boy died at the scene.

Police believe the shooting took place in front of the home in the 3500 block of Agnes Avenue. No arrests were reported immediately.

The teen was identified as Damario Gentry.

In the second incident, officers found a man with stab wounds who was unresponsive after a disturbance was reported around 11:15 p.m. Saturday.

Becchina said the man, who was found in a car, was taken to hospital where he died. Detectives spoke with witnesses and detained a person of interest afterward.

The Kansas City Star reports that these two killings were the 99th and 100th homicides of the year in Kansas City.

Police did not immediately release the name or age of the stabbing victim.
The Greater Houston Builders Association (GHBA), Benefit Homes Project has raised more than $12 million for local charities since its inception in 1980. This charity fundraiser benefits two local charities  HomeAid Houston and Operation Finally Home. Raising funds of this amount would not be possible without the donations of construction materials, supplies and services by GHBA members who share the Associations vision to build a home for good.

The most recent Benefit home built was Chesmar Homes Hillcrest plan in Lago Mar. Chesmar donated construction management and Land Tejas, the developer of Lago Mar, donated the homesite.

Dozens of companies donated to ensure this home was built at low cost, yet packed with high-end amenities. One such company was Bac Trac Plumbing, a residential and commercial new construction plumbing company. Bac Trac donated a good portion of the overall plumbing labor and materials needed to pipe the home.

Bac Trac Plumbings customers range from the production builder to high-end custom builders, lease spaces to large manufacturers and complexes. The company offers a wide range of services as well as in-house fixture consulting and sales.

It is amazing to hear about the extensive donations a Benefit home receives during construction, said Patrick Mayhan, chairman of the Benefit Homes Project. Everything from the land, site prep work through the closing costs can be donated. The plumbing pipe that Bac Trac Plumbing provided on this home isnt seen, but the home would not function without it, so we give a huge shout-out to them for contributing out of the goodness of their heart.

Chesmar Homes was able to recruit 65-plus vendors and suppliers to build the home, and most of them were their existing subcontractors who have known their home designs and the Chesmar team for years.

Bac Trac was happy to take part in this Benefit home, said Chris Johnston, Bac Trac. It is such a worthwhile cause, and helping out with what we do best in our business was rewarding for us. We look forward to future opportunities to assist.

The Chesmar Benefit home sold in May 2021 and raised a record $300,000 for local charity.

For more information on the Benefit Homes Project, or to learn more about the Greater Houston Builders Association, visit www.ghba.org or call 281-970-8970.
WALLOON LAKE, Mich. (AP)  A village in northern Michigan is planning an art installation dedicated to author Ernest Hemingway who frequented the area during his summers in the state.

The art installation is part of Walloon Lakes yearlong Hemingway Homecoming celebration which also will feature formal dedication of a series of historical signs.
CETINJE, Montenegro (AP)  Several thousand people demonstrated Sunday in Montenegro over the planned inauguration of the new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the small Balkan state.

Ethic tensions have soared over the scheduled ceremony for Metropolitan Bishop Joanikije II. The protesters in Montenegros former capital, Cetinje, where the Sept. 5 inauguration is to take place, waved Montenegrin flags and chanted slogans against the country's government, accusing it of being pro-Serb.

Hundreds of police officers were deployed in the city and the U.S. Embassy warned Americans to avoid the protest.

Despite calls to respect COVID-19 health measures, most protesters did not wear masks while chanting Treason! and accusing the government of setting the stage for the occupation of Montenegro by Serbia.

Montenegro declared independence from the much larger Serbia in 2006. The country is deeply split between residents who consider themselves Montenegrins and those who deny the existence of the Montenegrin nation. About 30% of the country's population of 600,000 identifies as Serb.

Joanikije II is to succeed the Serbian church's previous most senior cleric in Montenegro, Metropolian Bishop Amfilohije, who died in October after contracting coronavirus. The inauguration ceremony is set for the Cetinje Monastery, which is considered the historic cradle of Montenegrin statehood.

Protest leaders said they do not oppose the naming of a new church leader but are against his enthronement in a shrine that symbolizes Montenegro's centuries-old struggle for sovereignty and independence.

We will not allow further desecration of Montenegrin shrines by those who dont recognize Montenegro as a state and Montenegrins as a nation, Predrag Vusurovic, a protest organizer, told the crowd.

Joanikije said in a statement that it's a shame" that his inauguration is being challenged.

I'm not being sent by the church in Serbia, nor by its state," he said. I'm not a foreigner. I was born in Montenegro, I'm a citizen of this country."

The Serbian Orthodox Church, the largest religious institution in Montenegro, played a key role in a movement that helped defeat a long-ruling pro-Western government last year. The church led months of protests against alleged plans by that government to take away its property, which Montenegrin officials denied.

The former government had steered Montenegro away from Serbian as well as Russian influence. The Adriatic nation joined NATO in 2017 and is seeking European Union membership.

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Dusan Stojanovic contributed from Belgrade, Serbia.
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP)  Police say a resident in a suburban Maryland group home assaulted and killed one of his caregivers.

Montgomery County Police were called to the group home on Carona Court in Silver Spring Saturday night.
MALIBU, Calif. (AP)  Powerful surf washed away a section of a beach access road in Malibu and swimmers and surfers were urged to use caution as huge waves from a southern swell battered the Southern California coastline.

The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors tweeted photos Saturday that showed the ground under Westward Beach Road completely collapsed.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  Iranian president met Sunday with Japan's foreign minister in the capital of Tehran and the two discussed de-escalation of tensions in the region, Iranian news agencies reported.

The presidents official website, president.ir, said that Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi discussed bilateral, regional and international issues with President Ebrahim Raisi.

The two-day visit is the first by a Japanese official since Raisi became Irans new president and the first since the Japanese prime minister visited Iran in 2019. ISNA said Motegi is in Tehran at the official invitation of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The report said Motegi would meet with other Iranian officials, including Raisi's nominated foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian and other high-ranking officials during his two-day visit.

Irans state-run IRNA news agency reported Saturday that Motegis visit to Tehran is aimed at boosting bilateral relations with Iran and furthering diplomatic efforts to de-escalate and stabilize the Middle East.

During Sunday's meeting, Raisi welcomed efforts by Japan and other countries to help establish peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region. Iran has always supported peace and stability in Afghanistan. Of course, we believe that Afghans should make their own decisions in Afghanistan.

Raisi said he is opposed to the creation of insecurity in the region, adding: The presence of Americans in the region, including Afghanistan, has not provided security.

Motegi said Tokyo also supports diplomatic efforts by regional countries to achieve peace and stability in the region. He said Japan believes problems should be resolved peacefully and through dialogue.

Earlier on Sunday, Motegi met with Zarif and the two also discussed de-escalation of tensions in the region.

Semi-official ISNA news agency report Sunday said Motegi discussed bilateral, regional and international issues with Mohammad Javad Zarif.

In 2019, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Irans top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as an interlocutor for former U.S. President Donald Trump, hoping to ease tensions between Washington and Tehran. But Khamenei did not consider Trump worthy of an exchange of messages.

Recently, Japan donated some 3 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Iran, which has suffered the worst virus outbreak in the Middle East.
PERU, Ind. (AP) 

Residents and local officials are fighting plans for overhauling a U.S. 24 intersection in northern Indiana, saying they dont believe it will improve traffic safety.

The Indiana Department of Transportation has proposed building a so-called J-turns at the intersection of U.S. 24 and Indiana 19 just north of Peru. Agency officials cite 26 crashes involving two deaths there over the past decade as the reason for changing traffic patterns, the Kokomo Tribune reported.

The J-turns would allow only right-hand turns only entering or exiting U.S. 24, with a dedicated lane for drivers to make U-turns after passing the intersection to go the other direction.

Miami County economic development director Jim Tidd said he worried the J-turns wont provide safe crossing for the number of semitrailers traveling to and from the nearby Peru Industrial Park.

The state highway department backed off plans to build six J-turns on U.S. 31 in the area after widespread local opposition. The agency said in December it was reevaluating how to modify the intersections toward a long-term goal of eliminating traffic lights on U.S. 31 through northern Indiana.
CHICAGO (AP)  The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a famed civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate, and his wife, Jacqueline, have been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a statement Saturday.

Jesse Jackson, 79, is vaccinated against the virus and received his first dose in January during a publicized event as he urged others to receive the inoculation as soon as possible. He and his wife, 77, are being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
BOSTON (AP)  A Massachusetts man already on the state's sex offender registry is facing new charges for allegedly threatening an 11-year-old Vermont girl into sending him explicit photographs of herself through social media, federal prosecutors say.

Chayanne Nieves, 23, of Lowell, was arrested last week and charged with receipt of child pornography, according to a press release from the U.S. attorney's office in Boston.
WEST HAVEN  Officials with Avangrid announced that the energy company it will relocate the offices of 150 Southern Connecticut Gas employees from Orange to 190 Frontage Road in West Haven.

The Register first reported in May that SCG was selling its longtime headquarters on Marsh Hill Road in Orange.

Officials with Avangrid did not immediately comment on the reason the company was relocating much of its operations to West Haven Friday, but West Haven Mayor Nancy Rossi said she believes the decision is evidence of the citys improving economic viability.

Three years ago nobody was looking to come here, she said.

Rossi and other officials have credited the citys budget  which has shown a positive fund balance in recent years while under review by the states Municipal Accountability Review Board  as well as its implementation of state funding to raise Beach Street to prevent flooding near the shoreline for a stream of developers purchasing blighted properties since spring.

It shows people that other businesses have faith in us, she said.

Rossi said that when businesses move employees to the city, economic development tends to follow.

West Haven has seen the sale of several former iconic properties this year, including the former Chicks Drive-In and Debonair Motel properties on Beach Street, as well as the former American Steakhouse on Sawmill Road. The Savin Rock Plaza by the shoreline also changed ownership this year, with the new owner promising to fill long-vacant storefronts in the Captain Thomas Boulevard strip mall.

brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com
Henri strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane Saturday and continued to take aim at Connecticut, staying on course for an expected direct hit on Sunday morning.

A hurricane warning remains in effect for parts of Connecticut with storm surge along the coast expected to reach up to 3-5 feet.

Gov. Ned Lamont urged Connecticut residents to stay inside and to prepare for widespread flooding and power outages across the state due to the incoming hurricane combined with other recent weather conditions.

He said that due to an increase in rain in recent weeks, the ground is much more likely to flood.

Its like a sponge, Lamont said.

He added that the timing of a full moon this weekend will cause astronomical tides that will add to the flooding risk.

Lamont said hes been assured by utility companies that they are prepared to deal with outages, even as Eversource estimated that 50-69 percent of its customers could lose power for 8-21 days and United Illuminating projected up to 50 percent of its customers could lose power for an undisclosed amount of time.

The power companies faced significant criticism for their responses to last years Tropical Storm Isaias, when about 750,000 customers lost power for as long as a week.

Lamont said that despite the severe risk of flooding and power outages, the state is well-prepared for the incoming storm.

I dont think Connecticut has ever been as well prepared for a storm, Lamont said.

He said emergency personnel are ready to evacuate at-risk residents if needed, including those in nursing homes. A number of coastal communities had already started evacuating residents Saturday.

While Sunday morning should see some rain and wind, the worst is expected to reach Connecticut by the afternoon. Forecasters said the storm will move slowly once it reaches land.

No area of the state is expected to escape impact. Initial projections were that Henri would affect New Haven and east the most, but the storm's western shift puts residents in and around Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, and Danbury in its path.

The National Weather Service issued a hurricane warning for Northern Middlesex, Northern New Haven and Northern New London counties. A storm surge and hurricane warning are in effect for southern Middlesex, southern New Haven and southern New London counties.

A storm surge and tropical storm warning was issued for southern Fairfield County. The weather service issued just a tropical storm warning for the northern part of Fairfield County.

Eversources estimates are from the University of Connecticut and Eversource Energy Centers Outage Prediction Modeling group.

The group is predicting a high impact in each town, according to Diego Cerrai, the team leader for the Outage Prediction Model group and an assistant professor of the University of Connecticuts Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Cerrai compared the storms impact to Hurricane Isaias, which put 500,000 Eversource customers without power last year.

All of Connecticuts shoreline is under a storm surge watch, meaning there is a possibility of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline," the National Weather Service said.

Dan Warzoha, the emergency management director for Greenwich, said This could be the biggest storm event that weve seen since Superstorm Sandy, and possibly Hurricane Bob in 1991.

Gov. Ned Lamont declared a civil preparedness emergency and requested President Biden declare a state of emergency for federal assistance to help with storm damage. Lamont also called for 200 members of the National Guard to be prepared to conduct search-and-rescue missions, as well as clear routes, help with power and distribute goods if needed. Lamont met by phone with Biden and area governors on Saturday.

Lamont said he was cutting short his Maine vacation to return to the state.

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker Saturday advised some residents to evacuate low-lying areas of the city Saturday afternoon, as Hurricane Henri headed straight towards us.

Elicker said the city was now expecting three for five feet of storm surge and four to six inches of rain, an increase from what was predicted yesterday afternoon.

The town of Madison issued a mandatory evacuation for all residents south of the Boston Post Road. Those residents must evacuate by 9 p.m. Saturday.

Groton, a city along the shoreline, recommended a voluntary evacuation starting at 10 p.m. Saturday for some of its residents.

The city, in partnership with the Red Cross, will be opening a shelter at Fitch High School, 101 Groton Long Point Rd., starting Saturday at 6 p.m. People wishing to stay in the shelter should bring pillows, blankets, clothing, medicine and special food if needed. Masks are required and people will be screened before entering.

Gary Lessor, chief meteorologist for Western Connecticut State University, compared the storm to Hurricane Irene in 2011.

Everybody should be taking some precaution, Lessor said, adding residents should have groceries for up to five days.

The storm will be at or near hurricane strength when it makes landfall in Long Island or southern New England on Sunday morning, the weather service said.

Connecticut can expect rain and wind starting between 6 and 8 a.m. Sunday, Lessor said. Around 2 p.m., the storm will make landfall in central and coastal Connecticut, probably somewhere between New Haven and Madison, he said.

There will be wind gusts of more than 40 mph through the afternoon into the evening. The strongest winds  possibly up to 70 mph  will most likely occur by 2 p.m., the meteorologist added.

The strong winds could cause potential roof damage, as well as snap or uproot large trees, according to the National Weather Service.

The hurricane will bring minor to moderate coastal flooding during noontime high tide. Tides will be 2 to 2.5 feet taller than normal, according to Lessor.

Ocean swells from the storm are expected to last through the weekend and may bring potentially life-threatening surf and rip currents, the weather service said.

There will be about 2.5 to 6.5 inches of rainfall throughout the state. More rainfall will be seen in the central and west central regions, the meteorologist said.

Residents can stop worrying about increasing power outages by 12 a.m. Monday, Lessor said, as most of the damage will have already been done.

Though thats well after the worst of the wind at 2 p.m., Lessor says that the wind, combined with the rain, will loosen the soil, knocking down more trees throughout the day and causing more power outages. Rain will continue to fall through Sunday night and possibly Monday.

Lessor advised residents to not travel outside of their homes after 10 a.m. Sunday.

On Monday, there will still be the possibility of rain and a breeze of about 30 to 35 mph, Lessor said.

Metro-North on Saturday suspended service on the New Haven line for Sunday. That includes the New Canaan, Danbury and Waterbury branches. Service will operate every two hours on the Hudson and Harlem Lines, and there will be no buses on the Waterbury branch.

The state also suspended bus services for Sunday, including:

 All CTtransit services which operate in Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury, New Britain, Bristol, Meriden, Wallingford, and surrounding communities

 All CTfastrak services which provide direct service to and from Waterbury, Cheshire, Southington, Bristol, Plainville, New Britain, Newington, West Hartford, Hartford, and Manchester

 All CTtransit express services statewide

 Local transit district and paratransit services may also be affected. Customers should check the web site of their service provider for up-to-date information.

Approximately 63 trucks from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, arrived in Westover Air Reserve Base Friday evening and Saturday morning. The trucks brought provisions, such as bottled water, tarps, food and other emergency supplies, to serve all of New England during the storm.

Field crews from the U.S. Geological Survey are installing up to 62 storm tide sensors Saturday to track Hurricane Henris effects on the Atlantic coast.

The sensors are being installed from Long Island, New York to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. More than 20 scientists will install between 35 and 50 storm tide sensors along the Connecticut and Rhode Island coasts into Massachusetts.

These sensors will provide water level and wave data that local, state and federal officials can use for decisions impacting lives and property in New England. Scientists can also use this information to fine-tune future storm surge and coastal change forecasts, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Information from the sensors can also be used to guide recovery efforts, plan evacuation routes, identify areas most affected by the storm and flooding, inform building code decisions and improve structure designs to promote public safety, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden is raising concerns that the Islamic State poses a threat as American troops seek to evacuate thousands of U.S. citizens and Afghan allies from Afghanistan.

Biden in remarks at the White House on Sunday noted that the terror group is a sworn enemy of the Taliban and said that the longer U.S. troops are on the ground increases the chance that the group will attempt to strike innocent civilians and American personnel near the Hamid Karzai International Airport.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul has been warning Americans to avoid traveling to the airport in part because of concerns about Islamic State fighters.

The extremist group has long declared a desire to attack America and U.S. interests abroad and it has been active in Afghanistan for a number of years, carrying out waves of horrific attacks, mostly on the Shiite minority.

The group has been repeatedly targeted by U.S. airstrikes in recent years, and faced Taliban attacks.

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MORE ON THE CRISIS IN AFGHANISTAN:

 British military: 7 Afghans killed in chaos at Kabul airport

 China both worries and hopes as US departs Afghanistan

 Europe fears Afghan refugee crisis after Taliban takeover

 AP PHOTOS: Two decades of war, and daily life in Afghanistan

 Biden vows to evacuate all Americans  and Afghan helpers

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 Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/afghanistan

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HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden says 11,000 individuals were evacuated from Kabul over the weekend and he remains committed to assisting all Americans who want to leave Afghanistan get out.

Biden added Sunday that his first priority is getting American citizens out of Afghanistan as quickly and safely as possible.

In the presidents words: Were working hard and as fast as we can to get people out. Thats our mission. Thats our goal.

Biden also says he is also activating the civilian reserve air fleet provided by commercial airlines to help move evacuees from third country waystations on to the United States.

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MILAN  Italys defense minister has discussed the massive evacuation under way from Kabul in a phone call with his U.S. counterpart, including access to bases in Italy.

Lorenzo Guerini thanked the U.S. military for securing the airport in Kabul, and he exchanged ideas with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on how to ensure the safe and effective flow of departures from Kabul, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Guerini said that close ties between the countries was key to helping assist compatriots and Afghans who have worked with our institutions and organizations.

The Italian military has flown out of Kabul 2,100 Afghans workers and their families since June, most of those in the last week. Around 1,300 of those have been transferred to Italy.

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BERLIN  The World Health Organization and UNICEF are calling for a humanitarian airbridge to be set up immediately to allow the unhindered delivery of medicines and other aid supplies to Afghanistan.

The two U.N. agencies said in a statement Sunday that they are committed to stay and deliver for the people of Afghanistan.

But they added that with no commercial aircraft currently permitted to land in Kabul, we have no way to get supplies into the country and to those in need. They noted that other humanitarian agencies face similar problems.

The agencies said that, even before the Talibans recent takeover of Afghanistan, the country required the worlds third-largest humanitarian operation, with more than 18 million people needing help.

They said that while the main focus in recent days has been the evacuation of foreigners and vulnerable Afghans, the massive humanitarian needs facing the majority of the population should not -- and cannot -- be neglected.

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LONDON -- Britains ambassador to Afghanistan says British authorities have managed to evacuate more than 5,000 people, with 1,000 in the last 14 hours alone.

In a statement on Twitter, Laurie Bristow said the huge effort to move evacuees out of Afghanistan is gathering pace but that there is still a huge amount of work to do.

Bristow said he is in the evacuation handling center in Kabul where soldiers, diplomats and forces have been working around the clock to get our British nationals, Afghan colleagues and Embassy staff to safety.

In addition to the 4,000 or so U.K. nationals, there are thought to be around 5,000 Afghan allies, such as translators and drivers, who are earmarked for a seat on a British plane.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  Bahrain says its national carrier is flying people to the United States as part of efforts to evacuate people from Afghanistan a week after the Taliban takeover.

The U.S.-allied kingdom said Sunday that a Gulf Air flight will transport people from its Isa Air Base to Dulles International Airport south of Washington, DC.

The official statement said the flight was an affirmation of the Kingdom of Bahrains efforts to protect lives.

Earlier Sunday, the Pentagon activated the initial stage of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program, asking for 18 aircraft from American carriers to help transport Americans and Afghans who aided the U.S. war effort.

The commercial airlines will be used to transport people from third countries to their final destinations, allowing the U.S. military to focus on evacuating people from Afghanistan.

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PARIS  About 200 people, mostly Afghan nationals, gathered in Paris on Sunday to show solidarity toward evacuees and refugees from Afghanistan, one week after the Taliban took power in the country.

Many were brandishing posters writing Afghanlivesmatter and Evacuation now.

Safi Matiullah, a 33-year-old Afghan who left his country two years ago and has been living in France for about nine months, said we want to bring our family here.

Matiullah said his parents and sisters remained in Afghanistan amid big danger and he was not able to get in touch for two weeks.

Ezat, a co-organizer of the gathering who asked not to be identified by his last name, said the Taliban are taking back all freedoms we had until now and for 20 years.

He called on France to welcome refugees because its not the Taliban who are fleeing the country, its people whose lives are in danger.

Macron said Monday that France would do its duty to protect those who are most at risk, but also said Europeans must protect ourselves against significant irregular migratory flows.

France has evacuated almost 600 people from Kabul since Monday, most of them Afghan citizens who worked with the French government or French groups in Afghanistan.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates The worlds largest organization of Muslim nations held an extraordinary session in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, with calls for it not to be turned into a hub for terrorism.

The secretary general of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Yousef al-Othaimeen, pointed to the escalating humanitarian needs in Afghanistan and noted that reconciliation is the key to bringing peace.

The OIC issued a statement after the meeting saying its member states called upon future Afghan leaders and the international community to ensure that Afghanistan is never used again as a platform or haven for terrorists, and not allow terrorist organizations to have a foothold there.

The OIC urged Afghan parties to renounce violence, work together and protect and respect the right to life and security in compliance with tolerant Islamic principles.

Member states agreed on the need to provide humanitarian assistance in areas that need it most, though no new specific commitments were announced. The meeting also called for dispatching a high-level delegation from the OIC to visit Afghanistan to convey the groups message of supporting peace and national reconciliation.

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LONDON  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he will convene a meeting of leaders from the Group of Seven nations on Tuesday for urgent talks on the situation in Afghanistan.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Johnson said it is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years.

The U.K. holds this years presidency of the G-7 nations, which is also made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. The meeting, which will be held virtually, will also address plans to provide humanitarian assistance and support for Afghan refugees.

U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that the meeting would seek to help Afghans who aided the war effort and others considered targets under Taliban control of the country.

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MOSCOW -- Russias president has criticized Western nations for seeking to temporarily house Afghan refugees in Central Asian countries, citing security concerns for Russia.

Speaking at a meeting with top officials of the Kremlins United Russia party on Sunday, Vladimir Putin blasted what he described as a humiliating approach by Western states.

The Russian president noted that there are no visa restrictions between Russia and its Central Asian allies, and said that Moscow doesnt want militants appearing (in Russia) again under the guise of refugees.

We dont want to repeat, even in part, something what we had in the 90s and in the mid-2000s, when there were hostilities in the North Caucasus, Putin said.

Thousands of people in Afghanistan have been looking for ways to leave the country after the Taliban took control of Kabul in a swift power grab, seeking to escape what they see as a return to ruthless fundamentalist rule. Hundreds have headed to the Central Asian nations of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which share a border with Afghanistan.

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WASHINGTON  The Pentagon said Sunday that it is formally seeking airlift help from commercial airlines to relocate evacuees from Afghanistan once they have gotten out of their country.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has activated the initial stage of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program, asking for 18 aircraft: three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air; two from Hawaiian Airlines; and four from United Airlines.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said the Department does not anticipate a major impact to commercial flights from this activation.

According to Kirby, those aircraft will not fly into Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. They will be used to move passengers from way stations once they leave Kabul, allowing the U.S. military to focus on the Afghanistan portion of the evacuation.

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands  The Dutch military is sending extra troops to Kabul to bolster 62 soldiers already in the Afghan capital to help secure evacuation efforts and protect the countrys consular team.

The ministry said Sunday that the extra forces already are on their way to Afghanistan. It did not say how many troops make up the fresh deployment.

A further company of marines and a company of paratroopers also are available for deployment.

Foreign Affairs Minister Sigrid Kaag tweeted earlier Sunday that she had spoken to her British counterpart Dominic Raab about cooperation of the two countries military forces in Kabul.

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LONDON  Britains Ministry of Defense says the countrys armed forces have evacuated nearly 4,000 people from Afghanistan since Aug. 13.

Though it did not provide further details, its clear that the majority of those evacuated by British troops are Afghans who have helped Britain over the past 20 years.

In addition to 4,000 or so U.K. citizens, there are thought to be around 5,000 Afghan allies, such as translators and drivers, who are earmarked for a seat on a plane. As of last Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain had managed to get out over 2,000 Afghans and 300 or so U.K. citizens.

Our Armed Forces continue to work tirelessly at Kabul Airport to ensure the safe evacuation of British nationals and Afghan civilians, the ministry said in a statement on Twitter.

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KYIV, Ukraine -- A Ukrainian military plane evacuated 83 more people out of Kabul on Sunday, according to Ukraines foreign minister.

Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that the plane carried 31 Ukrainians back to Kyiv, as well as foreigners  Afghan women and children, human rights activists, journalists working with Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today.

Theyre safe in Kyiv, Kuleba said in the tweet. We dont abandon our people and help others, he said, adding that Ukrainian authorities were working on further evacuations. Last week, a Ukrainian plane evacuated some 80 people out of Kabul.

Thousands of people in Afghanistan have been looking for ways to leave the country after the Taliban took control of Kabul in a swift power grab, seeking to escape what they see as a return of a ruthless fundamentalist rule.

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BERLIN  The U.S. military says an Afghan woman gave birth aboard an Air Force C-17 that flew from the Middle East to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The base is being used as a transit post for people being evacuated from Afghanistan.

The militarys Air Mobility Command tweeted that the mother began having complications during the flight Saturday. It says: The aircraft commander decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilize and save the mothers life.

On arrival at Ramstein, U.S. medical personnel came aboard and delivered the child in the aircrafts cargo bay. The baby girl and mother were transported to a nearby medical facility and are in good condition, the military said.

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands  The Dutch government is donating 10 million euros to fund aid such as food, clean drinking water and medical supplies for Afghans.

The foreign ministry said Sunday the money will go to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund that can be tapped by United Nations organizations and NGOs working in Afghanistan.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Tom De Bruijn says we want to support the Afghan population under these difficult circumstances.

Meanwhile, the Dutch defense ministry said a plane it chartered arrived in the Netherlands on Sunday carrying 160 passengers from Afghanistan. It did not disclose the nationalities of the evacuees.

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MADRID  Spains government says that U.S. President Joe Biden and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez have agreed that the Rota and Moron military bases in Spain used by U.S. forces will temporarily take in Afghans who worked for the Americans and fear Taliban reprisals.

One Spanish plane carrying 64 people who worked for the U.S. landed late Saturday at Spains Torrejon air base near Madrid.

Additionally, Spain has received another 230 evacuees this week from Kabul, mostly Afghans who worked for Spain and for the European Union. Fifty-five of these evacuees have already flown on to other EU countries.

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LONDON  Tony Blair, the British prime minister who deployed troops to Afghanistan 20 years ago after the 9/11 attacks, says the U.S. decision to leave has every Jihadist group round the world cheering.

In a lengthy essay posted on his website late Saturday, Blair said the decision to withdraw troops was tragic, dangerous, unnecessary. He added that Britain has a moral obligation to stay until all those who need to be are evacuated.

He said the exit was not in the West or Afghanistans interest, with the Taliban reasserting itself across most of the country.

He also warned that the decision by the U.S. to keep Britain largely in the dark about the withdrawal risks relegating the country to the second division of global powers.

Blair accused U.S. President Joe Biden of making the decision on the back of an imbecilic political slogan about ending the forever wars.

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KABUL, Afghanistan  The British military says seven Afghan civilians have been killed in the crowds near Kabuls international airport amid the chaos of those fleeing the Taliban takeover of the country.

The Defense Ministry said in a statement Sunday that conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible.

The airport has been the focal point for thousands trying to flee the Taliban, who swept into Kabul a week ago after their lightning advance seized the country.

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ISLAMABAD  The spokesman for Pakistan International Airlines says the airline has suspended flights from Kabul and is not evacuating anyone at the moment.

Abdullah Hafeez Khan says Sunday that the airline has no on-ground arrangements and lacks appropriate facilities at Kabul international airport to operate evacuation flights.

Khan said the suspension is temporary and the airline will resume its operations once the required arrangements are made there.

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NEW DELHI  An Indian official says an air force transport plane has left Kabul for New Delhi carrying 168 people on board.

Arindam Bagchi, the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, says the plane took off from Kabul on Sunday morning and the passengers include 107 Indian nationals. He didnt give the nationalities of 61 others evacuated from the Afghan capital.

Meanwhile, another group of 87 Indians who were evacuated from Kabul to Tajikistan on Saturday in an Indian air force plane are being flown to New Delhi on Sunday, Bagchi said in a tweet. Two Nepalese nationals also were evacuated on that flight.

India began evacuating its nationals last Sunday after the Taliban swept into Kabul.

The Press Trust of India news agency said around 400 Indians were believed to be stranded in Afghanistan. No official figure was available.

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MRT file photo

A 15-year-old is dead and an 18-year-old has been transported to the Midland County Jail after a shooting that happened Saturday night/Sunday morning, according to the Midland Police Department.

Midland police reported that officers were dispatched around 12:13 a.m. to the Park Glen Apartments, 2300 Camp Drive in reference to a 15-year old male gunshot victim. The victim was transported and was later pronounced deceased at the hospital.
Paul Galindo, a former jailer with the Midland County Sheriffs Office, was indicted by a grand jury this week in the death of Catarino Rodriguez, an inmate who died after he was pushed and hit his head on a concrete bench.

Galindo has been charged with aggravated assault by a public servant, criminally negligent homicide and tampering with government records, according to a copy of his indictment.

On the morning of Feb. 20, Galindo allegedly pushed Rodriguez during roll call, causing Rodriguez to lose his balance and hit his head on a concrete bench. A custodial death report filed with the Texas Attorney Generals Office states that Rodriguez walked toward an unsecure door and refused verbal commands to step back.

However, according to Galindos indictment, the jailer allegedly falsely reported the actions of [Rodriguez] to justify the actions of the said defendant in a Use of Force Incident Report. The indictment states Galindo allegedly tampered with the government record in order to defraud MCSO and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.

Rodriguez, 51, was in a holding cell after being arrested for public intoxication two days earlier, according to a previous Reporter-Telegram article. He was transported to Midland Memorial Hospital after hitting his head, where he was placed on life support and never regained consciousness before dying on March 7.

Five employees were placed on administrative leave on March 22 in connection to Rodriguezs death, but they returned to work on April 8, according to Sheriff David Criner. The Texas Rangers investigated the incident and submitted the case to the Midland County District Attorneys Office; the names of the other employees who had been placed on administrative leave have not been released.

Galindo was being held at the Midland County jail on $300,000 bond but was released on Friday, according to jail records.
Jabin Botsford/AP

AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he has tested negative for COVID-19, just four days after testing positive.

I'm told that my infection was brief and mild because of the vaccination that I received, Abbott said in a video clip posted on his Twitter account on Saturday. So I encourage others who have not yet received the vaccination to consider getting one.
Over the past few months, several REALTORS have told me the current real estate market is unlike any theyve seen before. In many cities, low inventory, bidding wars, and soaring home prices have become the norm. No one knows exactly how long this will continue, but many in the industry say they see signs that this trend may soon be over. According to the latest data from the San Antonio Board of REALTORS, a total of 4,024 homes were sold in San Antonio and the surrounding areas in June compared to 3,885 in July. While there was a slight dip in home sales, Realtor Tyson Cline, who represents luxury clients in San Antonio, Houston, and The Woodlands, said these markets remain hot.

Cline is the founder and team leader of The Group, a premier luxury real estate team with Real Brokerage. Hes no stranger to the industry, the Louisiana natives family has been owning a residential and commercial construction company for 40+ years. The former residential mortgage lender began selling real estate in 2014. He holds several designations including, Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist, Certified Home Marketing Specialist, and Texas Realtors Leadership Program. Tyson recently shared his thoughts on the current luxury real estate market in San Antonio, which he said starts at $600,000.

Q. Whats happening in the luxury real estate market?

A: In the latter part of April, into May, and June, inventory levels started to climb across North America. This offset multiple bid situations and allowed some markets to begin achieving greater stability and a more normal pace in the buying and selling process. Make no mistake, the luxury real estate market is still a sellers market. However, the intensity of demand is expected to decrease, which will result in a gradual but ongoing shift toward a more typical pace.

Q: Are inventory levels similar in all price ranges?

A: No, we have less inventory in non-luxury price bands. For example, The Dominion has 4+ months of inventory on hand for homes priced between $600 -800k. compared to other San Antonio neighborhoods where inventory is < 2.5 months.

Q: Where are most of the homebuyers coming from?

A: Most of the buyers are coming from California, New York, and Mexico. We also work with buyers relocating from the Houston area as well.

Q: What design features are buyers requesting?

A: COVID created a huge focus on how homes were built, valued and what the homeowners determined they needed in their homes. So, we started seeing new designs begin to pivot dramatically toward integrated home environments where people can live, work, and play. Its more of a balanced lifestyle that provides solutions for indoor and outdoor living. Design and functionality primarily focused on having a flex space, more square footage, more outdoor space, additional rooms, and fast data connectivity. Some engineering features include ambient HVAC solutions, water filtration systems and home automation.

Q: Which areas in San Antonio seem to be the most popular?

A: Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, and Olmos Park. These areas have been attracting affluent buyers for years and continues to meet the needs of most families.

Q: Are your clients purchasing investment properties, too?

A: Yes, I have clients that are purchasing fix/flip and Airbnb investment properties in Houston, San Antonio, and The Woodlands.

Q: Where are people buying vacations homes?

A: There is a lot of activity in the Galveston area. The affluent are buying resort-style property for family travel and enjoyment. During peak seasonal times, some use their property as short-term rentals to generate additional income.

Q: Do most of your clients prefer to build, or do they want to buy an existing home?

A: Right now, people just want homes. Were seeing a little bit of both. For people who are relocating from outside of the area, if they can come in and find a property that fits their requirements, theyll purchase it. Otherwise, they lease a property and consider building. The market is just as competitive for building as it is for resale.

For more information about The Group, call 210-799- 5858 or visit http://www.clineluxury.com/

Lisa.harrison@express-news.net


In early 2021, practically as soon as it reopened, I went to The Ravens Wing Magical Co. in Oakland in search of a retail therapy cure for my winter doldrums and pandemic malaise. I ended up purchasing the "2021 Many Moons Lunar Planner."

This year, I would plan things. Like a regular day planner, it has monthly calendars and daily to-do lists, but it also includes essays and rituals from various astrologers, healers and Indigenous writers whose work provides a multicultural, spiritual and even practical ode to the moon.

More than a few interesting synchronicities emerged when I started writing my daily highlights and lowlights alongside the moon cycles.

On a new moon, which represents new beginnings and fresh cycles, I accepted a new job. Two weeks later, during the full moon, which represents completion or climax, I said goodbye to the old one. On the one-year anniversary of the passing of a lifelong friend, the full super Pink Moon loomed larger than life in Scorpio, the sign of death and transformation. On that night, I found myself painting my 13th moon in a year. I hadnt planned on it, had barely noticed I had acquired this new pandemic hobby, but I painted a moon for every full moon she was gone. As I read about the supermoon in Scorpio in my planner, I realized the moons had guided me in grief.

There were other more physical synchronicities between the moon and my routines and experiences, but its much bigger than just me and this day planner. Humanitys relationship with the moon is ever present and ancient. Weve exalted and prayed to it, planted and harvested by it, planned our battles and movements according to it ... across cultures. For  ev  er. Physically, it moves our tides and affects our bodies in ways we can feel and study. Research shows sleep is more elusive, dreams more vivid, and doctors and nurses claim emergency rooms are more crowded and eventful on full moons than other days of the month.

In the planners essay for this weekends full moon, acupuncture practitioner Russell Brown draws comparisons between the traditional Chinese medicine and astrology, pointing out theres an acupuncture point called Ri Yue, which is related to the gall bladder and decision-making, and translates in English to Sun and Moon. He writes: The names of acupuncture points are stories, metaphors meant to restore our memory of our original nature. And thats exactly what has struck me most as Ive explored the healing-and-dealing powers of astrology the last couple of years. The moon, in particular, is a nightly reminder of our true nature: Everything is a phase. Ever-changing and cyclical all at once. Its the most bodily, physical reminder that we are of and in relationship to the cosmos. And perhaps thats why in astrology, its said the moon rules our physical bodies, as well as our emotions.

Diana Rose Harper, a tarot reader, astrologer and another guest author of my day planner explains full moons like so: Every full moon is a moment of astronomical opposition with the sun and moon face-to-face on either side of the zodiacal axis. The opposition is magnified and intensified in Aquarius because, as she writes, the full moon in Aquarius is always opposite the sun in its home sign of Leo. This is a lunation that stretches us from the literal center of our solar system to the far edges of it, from the radiant heart of Leo to the Aquarian edge of conceptual reality. In the words of another prolific astrologer, Chani Nicholas: Its big picture stuff. Like Brown points out in my planner, when you can hold the big picture, you can better make decisions.

The full moon in Aquarius this Sunday is particularly auspicious because its a rare blue moon, or the second full moon in the same sign. This Leo season, were offered an extra dose of Aquarian moon energy, which is a potent metaphor for this moment. Aquarius is considered the rebellious, innovative humanitarian of the zodiac. According to Nicholas, it emphasizes how the individual can affect the collective. We all need to feel connected to something bigger than ourselves, Nicholas says in her apps podcast. And the current astro combinations are helping us to contemplate just that. Aquarius helps us see our unique place in the whole, while a conjunction with Jupiter brings ease and optimism.

Full moons are often considered a time to appreciate all you have accomplished or worked through over the last lunar cycle. And because this is the second full moon in the same sign, were offered even more perspective on whatever it was we were facing during and since the last full moon. Think back to the heat of the last full moon in July, when the Aquarius full moon opposed rule-making Saturn. Nicholas says what felt sharp, heavy, or restrictive may feel a little lighter and freer now. Everything may not be resolved, but the full moon may allow you to feel full of optimistic ideas  especially related to how to use your most unique gifts to help humanitys greatest needs.

Sounds like something we might want to take advantage of, so heres how to work with this once-in-a-blue-moon moment, according to your sign. For extra insight, look up what sign the moon was in when you were born for a fuller picture of what you may experience this lunation.

Aquarius

Like the fog that enshrouds the bay, you are the water bearer in a California drought: refreshing, needed and often a little chilly. Your power lies in your ability to deliver droplets of atmosphere-changing wisdom to all you come into contact with. But beware of what some may characterize as cold or picnic-ruining. Just as the fog returns every morning and afternoon in August, this full moon grants you multiple second chances to enchant, rather than alienate, with your view-changing perspectives.

Pisces

As a water sign, you know something about ebb and flow, which makes you a generous source of nourishment in your intimate relationships. Just make sure your takes are commensurate with your gives. The tides at China Beach may rush in with life-sustaining waters, but they also always retreat revealing all sorts of rich, hidden life in its pools. After a month of balancing interpersonal dynamics, the full moon offers the flattering lighting you need to court even the scariest sea creatures that lurk under the surface.

Aries

As the pioneering disrupter of the zodiac, taking the initiative is a form of self care for you. And many areas of your life and work are experiencing the effects of your well-executed action items. Take advantage of this full moon by gathering with your co-conspirators and investors to celebrate all youve accomplished. Theres more to-dos to check off, of course. But leave the meeting notes to Virgo season. Blowing off steam is an essential part of your process.

Taurus

This lunation is asking you to be a bit like the goats who graze the hillsides each fire season. Reflect on all youve weeded through, while you continue to process whats ahead. The fact that you may have landed in this field before means little when fresh growth is underfoot. The fruits of your labor will be acknowledged soon; use the light of this moon to illuminate the path that led you to this vista.

Gemini

The summer likely called you to get in touch with the wisdom traditions, studies or elders youre eager to learn from. Now its time to be your own air purifier by reviewing your notes and filtering whats useful from whats potentially toxic, or simply not needed. While youll be buzzing with your crew again soon, this lunation has you enjoying your own company. You know better than most how to entertain your multidimensional self; when you emerge your atmosphere will be all the more fresh.

Cancer

For a sign that lives to nurture others, boundaries can often feel cold and unromantic. Not so with this full moon, aided by Jupiters abundance and Venus trip through balance-making Libra. Right now, the work of defining whats yours and whats theirs feels less like fine print and more like arranging a communal table. Youre able to serve up a healthy scoop for everyone seated around a rustic centerpiece, just as you like it.

Leo

You started your birthday month with a full moon in Aquarius and youre ending it with the same flair for Orpheum Theater-on-reopening-night theatrics. Whatever drama you starred in last month gets a sequel. You might be the main character, but dont forget to give credit to your co-stars when accepting your flowers. A generous acceptance speech tends to multiply the applause.

Virgo

Your willingness to serve is matched only by your ability to problem solve  and lets face it  clean up others messes. While the first full moon in Aquarius may have had you leading the neighborhood beautification projects (read: trash pick-ups), this one rewards you with extra focus on your own wellness or purification rituals. Virgos need regular pampering, to drop out of their analytical minds and into the pleasures and needs of their bodies. Take this lunation as an invitation to book a treatment at Kabuki Springs & Spa. Cleansing waters and an on-point austere aesthetic is the tonic you need.

Libra

Like the grapes in Napa that become sparkling wine, the fruits of your labor are begging to be harvested early and savored for all the ways they delight the senses. Instead of questioning if you deserve a glass, take this full moon as an opportunity to toast all the creativity thats poured from you so far. Virgo season offers many opportunities to crush your goals; for now, its time to refill your cup.

Scorpio

The first full moon in Aquarius may have had you considering a remodel of your home dynamics  and potentially taking a sledgehammer to anything providing less-than-sturdy support. This second full moon lends you a more forgiving eye, making you aware of what can be lovingly upcycled rather than completely demolished. When it comes to family or living dynamics, you know dark, unfinished basements are just part of the foundation. Let this full moon draw your attention toward all that you appreciate, even as you make plans to renovate imperfections.

Sagittarius

Remember the first day of school as a kid? Even if you were going back to the same hallways, it felt ripe with possibility. Surely your classmates would have trouble recognizing you after your transformational summer. This second lunation in Aquarius asks you to conjure that adolescent back-to-school excitement in order to build stamina for your daily routines. The rituals of a fresh start can help you see new philosophies in the same lessons.

Capricorn

If last months full moon dealings with Saturn had you worrying over your cryptocurrency portfolio, this lunation has a much more generous business partner. Jupiter has a way of sprinkling an abundance mindset, even if youre still working through meticulous financial planning. Is there enough live in your live-work space? If not, how can you shift your mindset to focus on the bounty in your mutual exchanges rather than just your mutual funds?

Amy Copperman is a writer based in Oakland. By day, she works for LeanIn.Org. By night, she studies the astro wisdom of Chani Nicholas and contemplates patterns in the universe through art and tarot.
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The Canadian government provides the following list of ways it is providing assistance.

Canadas special immigration measures for Afghanistan and how you can help

Canadas special immigration measures for Afghanistan and how you can help The Canadian government provides the following list of ways it is providing assistance.

Canadas special immigration measures for Afghanistan and how you can help The Canadian government provides the following list of ways it is providing assistance.

Canadas special immigration measures for Afghanistan and how you can help The Canadian government provides the following list of ways it is providing assistance. Kareem El-Assal Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has published a list on its website of ways that Canadians can assist Afghan refugees amid the return of Taliban rule.

Its website also explains the steps it is taking to assist Canadians and Afghans affected by the crisis.

Volunteer and Donate

If you wish to help Afghan refugees coming to Canada (through the donation of your time, clothing, furniture, money), IRCC provides the following suggestions:

email afghaniresettlement@ccislive.ca to get in touch with Canadian refugee resettlement organizations that are helping Afghan refugees.

contact a local service provider organization. These are organizations with a mandate to help newcomers to Canada.

Sponsor an Afghan Refugee

Since 1978, Canadians have been able to privately sponsor refugees to move to Canada. There are different ways you can move forward with the sponsorship process:

you can work with a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH). These are organizations that have agreements with IRCC to bring resettled refugees here.

as a Group of Five. These are five or more Canadian citizens and/or permanent residents that have agreed to sponsor refugees.

Family Sponsorship

IRCC has stated it will prioritize family class sponsorship applications for Canadian citizens and permanent residents looking to bring their loved ones from Afghanistan. This includes sponsoring your spouse, partner or dependent children, your parents and grandparents, or orphaned relatives under the age of 18.

Special Programs for Afghans

Canada has committed to resettling 20,000 vulnerable Afghans through:

a special immigration program for Afghans and their families that assisted the Canadian government.

a special humanitarian program that will resettle Afghans abroad who do not have a durable third country to move to such as women leaders, human rights advocates, LGBTI individuals, journalists and people that helped Canadian journalists, their immediate family, and extended family members of previously resettled interpreters that helped the Canadian government.

IRCC notes you do not need to be living in Afghanistan to be eligible for these special programs.

IRCC says you can email them about the special programs here: Canada-Afghanistan@international.gc.ca

You can email IRCC here your questions about resettling Afghans living outside of the country and about Canadians reuniting with their Afghan family members: IRCC.SituationAfghanistan.IRCC@cic.gc.ca

Afghan Temporary Residents in Canada

Afghan temporary residents can apply to extend their stay in Canada.

If you are a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident in Afghanistan that needs travel documents urgently

IRCC asks you to email them here: IRCC.SituationAfghanistan.IRCC@cic.gc.ca

Learn about Canadas immigration system

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 20)  Isang has intensified into a tropical storm, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported in its 11 p.m. bulletin.

The state weather bureau said Isang was last located 835 kilometers east of extreme Northern Luzon, packing maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph.

The weather disturbance - with international name Omais - is moving west northwest at 10 kph.

Despite gaining strength, Isang remains unlikely to have a direct effect and bring heavy rainfall in the country, according to PAGASA.

"Hindi ito makakaapekto sa anumang bahagi ng ating bansa," weather specialist Raymond Ordinario said in an earlier briefing.

[Translation: It is not going to affect the weather condition in any part of the country.]

Hoisting of Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals over any land area in the country is also not expected, PAGASA added.

Isang is forecast to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Sunday afternoon or evening.

Ordinario earlier told CNN Philippines' New Day the monsoon will again start to affect the country, especially the northern part of the Ilocos Region, "in the coming weeks."

At least two cyclones may enter or develop in the PAR in September, he added.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 22)  Detained Senator Leila de Lima is urging Congress to look into the awarding of a logistics contract for next year's general elections to a firm linked to a businessman known to be a friend of President Rodrigo Duterte

"There is a need to avoid any semblance of conflict of interest and ensure that no supplier that participated in partisan political activities should be awarded with contracts connected to the conduct of our national and local elections... Any transaction or contract that would erode public trust in government, and in the objectivity of civil service, must be put under the strictest scrutiny," de Lima said in a statement Sunday.

De Lima said F2 Logistics Philippines, Inc. is "largely controlled" by Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy who supported Duterte in his 2016 presidential bid.

READ: Dennis Uy's Malampaya takeover faces re-evaluation after firm's financial health questioned

"F2 supposedly bested three other firms that qualified out of eight participating companies. As the winning bidder, the firm is expected to deliver equipment and supplies such as vote-counting machines, external batteries and accessories, consolidation or canvassing system machines, transmission equipment and devices, and ballots," de Lima's statement said.

The senator said if conflict of interest is proven, those who took part in it should be made to answer for their actions.

"This issue should not be taken lightly especially when an apparent majority control over many industries that affect the lives and rights of Filipinos are concentrated in the same hands and within the same circle of those who are closely connected to the President," she added.

Uy has not issued a comment on de Lima's statement.
NEW MEXICO

State keeps title as most Hispanic state in nation

SANTA FE  New Mexico has retained its title as the nation's most heavily Hispanic state, with 47.7% of respondents to the 2020 census identifying ancestry linked to Latin America and other Spanish-speaking areas.

The Census Bureau on Aug. 12 released new demographic details culled from the census.

California and Texas were close runners up, with about 39% of residents claiming Latino or Hispanic heritage. Nearly 31% of Arizona residents describe themselves as Hispanic.

In New Mexico, Latino pride runs deep within a region of the U.S. where Spanish conquerors arrived in the late 1500s and Mexico governed for decades during the 19th century. The state is currently led by its third consecutive Hispanic governor.

The new numbers on ethnicity and race have implications for the political redistricting process as states redraw congressional and legislative districts later this year with an eye toward preserving communities of common interest. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits plans that intentionally or inadvertently discriminate on the basis of race by diluting the minority vote.

The share of New Mexico residents who identify themselves as Indigenous by race or by combined ancestry was 12.4%. Alaska was the most predominantly Native American state, followed by Oklahoma and then New Mexico.

An earlier set of data released in April showed New Mexico's population grew by 2.8% over the past decade, making it one of the slowest growing states in the U.S. West, adding about 58,000 residents to a population over just over 2.1 million.

In the West, only Wyoming had a slower growth rate. The U.S. had 331 million residents last year, a 7.4% increase from 2010.

Prosecutors offer plea deal to Cowboys for Trump founder

SANTA FE  Federal prosecutors have offered a confidential plea agreement to Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin that might resolve misdemeanor criminal charges against him linked to the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol, according to discussions at an Aug. 9 court hearing in Washington.

The county commissioner from New Mexico still denies federal charges that he knowingly entering barricaded areas of the Capitol grounds with the intent of disrupting government as Congress considered the 2020 Electoral College results.

Griffin reached an outside terrace of the Capitol without entering the building and used a bullhorn to try to lead a tumultuous crowd in prayer. He was arrested after his return to Washington to oppose President Joe Biden's inauguration.

Griffin's case inched toward trial in U.S. District Court in Washington as federal prosecutors have introduced vast troves on evidence about the Capitol siege from security cameras, police lapel recordings and social media posts.

The charges against Griffin carry a maximum prison sentence of one year and implications for Griffin's future in public office.

As a first-term commissioner in southern New Mexico's Otero County, Griffin faces a petition drive to to recall him from office with a special election and a probe by state prosecutors of allegations that Griffin used his public office in coordination with Cowboys for Trump for personal financial gain.

NEBRASKA

Rural population losses add to farm and ranch labor shortage

OMAHA  Rural America lost more population in the latest census, highlighting an already severe worker shortage in the nation's farming and ranching regions and drawing calls from those industries for immigration reform to help ease the problem.

The census data released on Aug. 12 showed that population gains in many rural areas were driven by increases in Hispanic and Latino residents, many of whom come as immigrants to work on farms or in meatpacking plants or to start their own businesses.

The population trend is clear in Nebraska, where only 24 of the state's 93 counties gained residents. Of those 24, just eight reported an increase in the white population, suggesting that most of the growth was driven by minorities, said David Drozd, a research coordinator for the University of Nebraska Omaha's Center for Public Affairs Research.

Drozd crunched the census data and found that Nebraska counties with the greatest racial diversity are a "who's who of where the meatpacking plants are," even though many plants are in rural areas that are often perceived as mostly white.

The National Pork Producers Council is pushing federal lawmakers to change the H-2A visa program so that migrant workers can remain employed longer.

In Kansas, some rural Republicans say Congress needs to find a practical solution.

Nancy Weeks, secretary of the Haskell County Republican Party in southwestern Kansas, said if immigrants living in the United States illegally want to move to the area and work, they should be provided a way to gain legal status "so that they pay taxes like I do."

Al Juhnke, executive director of the Nebraska Pork Producers Association, said his group would like to see changes that would allow seasonal immigrant workers to stay in the country longer.

"These folks buy houses. They bring their families. They go to our churches. They earn money and spend it locally," he said. "It's really a win-win-win for these communities."

Rachel Gantz, a spokeswoman for the National Pork Producers Council, said her group will continue to press Congress for changes.

"Simply put, pork producers are drawing from a rapidly diminishing pool of applicants," she said.

UTAH

Mormon leaders urge members to mask up, get vaccine

SALT LAKE CITY  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints renewed its prior calls to members to get a COVID-19 vaccine and to wear face masks in public gatherings Aug. 12.

Church leaders said in a statement that available vaccines have proven to be both safe and effective and urged members to help limit the spread of the virus. The message was the latest in a series of statements from church leaders encouraging vaccination efforts against COVID-19.

In Utah, where the church is based, a summer surge of the virus among unvaccinated residents has continued to grow while vaccination rates have slightly increased.

New data from the Utah Health Department showed that state residents who are unvaccinated are 7.6 times more likely to die from COVID-19 and 6.2 times more likely to be hospitalized than those who are vaccinated.

About 58% of Utah residents ages 12 and older were fully vaccinated as of Aug. 12, state data showed.

NAVAJO NATION

Former tribal president Kelsey Begaye dies at age 70

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.  Navajo Nation officials have called for all flags on the vast reservation be flown at half-staff to honor former tribal President Kelsey Begaye.

They said Begaye, who served as Navajo Nation president from 1999 to 2003, died of natural causes Aug. 15 in Flagstaff. He was 70.

Current Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said in a statement that Begaye "was a very humble and loving person who overcame adversities at a young age and turned to his faith to become a loving family man, a Vietnam veteran and a great leader for his people."

Begaye was born in Kaibeto, Arizona and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1969. He served four years as a radio operator while in Vietnam.

Tribal officials said Begaye later became a substance abuse counselor in the mid-1970s though 1990s, helping many young people overcome drug and alcohol abuse.

After serving two terms as the speaker of the tribal council, Begaye was elected the fifth president of the Navajo Nation in November 1998.
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From June to November, Connecticut residents experience hurricane season, but some years are worse than others.

Earlier this summer, tropical storm Elsa hit Connecticut and caused power outages in thousands of homes across the state. However, last year's tropical storm Isaias heavily affected state residents. Hitting early August, Isaias damaged power lines, utility poles and trees. Tropical storm Isaias caused over 750,000 power outages in the state, with some residents not having power for a week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer some tips to get ready for a storm: gathering emergency supplies, getting gas for your car and preparing in case of an evacuation.

"Just in case, you need a hurricane plan in place, especially if you live in a flood prone area that you may have to evacuate," Dan Kottlowski, Senior Meteorologist at AccuWeather, told Hearst Connecticut Media in a previous interview. "Dont wait until the last minute."

The most damaging storms turn into hurricanes with winds of more than 74 mph like the hurricane of September 1938, considered by weather experts to be the worst storm to ever hit New England. The day it landed, the Associated Press reported that a tropical hurricane was heading towards the Northeast, but this was before the advance of forecasting technology. When the hurricane struck the coast, it took nearly everyone by surprise.

"The 1938 [hurricane] was one of the worst hurricanes to ever hit New England," said Kottlowski. "It was a fast-moving hurricane and caught a lot of people off guard. When the storm started accelerating, it caused a huge storm surge that we've never seen in modern history in New England.

Most of the destruction was caused by water and the worst damage was right along the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Almost 700 people died and more than 60,000 people lost their homes, according to news reports.

In 1954, Hurricane Carol hit the state, killing 72 people and causing an estimated $460 million in damages in today's dollars. Tropical storm Diane ravaged the coast of New England a year later, unleashing some of the most devastating floods the region has seen and killing dozens of people.

Many in Connecticut still remember the day Hurricane Gloria made landfall in Southwestern Connecticut on September 27, 1985. Its winds and rains destroyed hundreds of homes from Westport to Milford. News reports spoke of at least eight people killed and thousands homeless.

Hurricanes Irene and Sandy rank among the deadliest and costliest storms in recent memory. Irene, which struck in late August 2011, will long be remembered for its widespread damage from the Caribbean to Canada. Multiple states along the East Coast declared states of emergency and hundreds of thousands of people had to evacuate or lost their homes in the aftermath of the hurricane. In October 2012, Superstorm Sandy inundated many Connecticut coastal towns and was responsible for more than 110 deaths throughout the U.S.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP)  Top Republican lawmakers are promising to work with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear to fight COVID-19 after a court ruling cleared the way for new limits on the Democratic governor's emergency powers.

Beshear's allies said they'll be watching to see if the governor's critics follow through.

Kentucky Republicans cheered the state Supreme Court ruling Saturday. The ruling ordered a lower court to dissolve an injunction that for months had blocked the GOP-backed laws. It comes as the highly contagious delta variant drives up coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in Kentucky.

The court's decision signals it is time for the Republican leadership to publicly put forth their plan to protect the commonwealth from this pandemic and the deadly delta variant, said Rep. Joni Jenkins and Sen. Morgan McGarvey, the top Democrats in the Kentucky House and Senate.

"We know what they dont support; show us your plan, they added.

The top legislative Republicans  House Speaker David Osborne and Senate President Robert Stivers  said lawmakers are "ready to work with the governor, as we have for nearly a year and a half, and address what is a very real public health crisis. The GOP holds supermajorities in both chambers, and Republicans accused Beshear of taking a go-it-alone approach in dealing with the pandemic.

Let us be clear that todays ruling in no way diminishes the seriousness of this virus or its impact on our commonwealth, and the General Assembly will continue to work to maintain both the safety and rights of all Kentuckians, Osborne and Stivers said in their joint statement Saturday.

Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who defended the laws in court, urged Beshear to consult with lawmakers and find consensus on what is needed to protect Kentuckians.

This is not a novel concept; in fact, its the bedrock of our system of government, he said.

Beshear spokeswoman Crystal Staley said the court's order would dissolve the pandemic-related state of emergency. That would affect actions including measures to fight COVID-19 in long-term care facilities and workers compensation for front-line workers who contract the virus, she said.

The next step is to determine whether lawmakers are willing to extend the state of emergency as the governor assesses whether to reconvene them, Staley said.

If called in to a special session, we hope the General Assembly would do the right thing, she said.

One of the new laws limits the governors executive orders in times of emergency to 30 days unless extended by lawmakers. Under another measure, businesses and schools have to comply either with COVID-19 guidelines from the governor or the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They could follow whichever standard is least restrictive.

Beshear imposed capacity limits and other restrictions during much of the pandemic to try to stop the virus's spread. He lifted most of his restrictions in June.

But with COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rising, Beshear recently signed an executive order imposing an indoor mask mandate in K-12 schools, child care and pre-kindergarten programs across Kentucky. That set off a new round of legal wrangling.

Even the state's deputy chief justice, Lisabeth T. Hughes, pleaded for cooperation. In her concurring opinion Saturday, she warned the COVID-19 scourge continues, creating seemingly limitless thorny issues.

As a justice, and more pertinently as a lifelong Kentuckian, I implore all parties to this matter to lay down their swords and work together cooperatively to finish this immensely important task for the benefit of the people they serve, she wrote.

The court ruling came one day after former longtime Kentucky lawmaker Brent Yonts died after battling a COVID-19 infection. His obituary said he was fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

His family believes his death was preventable, and it is their prayer that everyone who is eligible get vaccinated to avoid the type of cruel suffering this virus brings, his obituary said.

___

Follow more of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
BEDFORD, N.H. (AP)  A New Jersey man faces multiple charges in connection with a double homicide at a New Hampshire hotel, authorities said Sunday.

Theodore Luckey, 42, of Asbury Park, New Jersey, has been arrested on second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a deadly weapon charges, according to a statement from the office of Attorney General John Formella.
WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (AP)  A woman who fired at law enforcement officers in northeast Arkansas was found dead in her home following a standoff, authorities said.

The Arkansas State Police said they are investigating the death Saturday of Jennifer Shirley, 44. State police say an autopsy will determine cause of her death.
Gov. Ned Lamont issued a travel ban on Interstate 95 late Saturday night in preparation for Tropical Storm Henri for certain vehicles.

Lamont banned all motorcycles, and empty and tandem tractor trailers from the highway.

The travel ban starts at 11 a.m. Sunday and goes until further notice.

During peak periods of the storm, the heavy rain and strong wings will make travel unsafe, particularly along the coast in the area of I-95, Lamont said. I encourage everyone to stay off the roads on Sunday and into Monday morning to the greatest extent possible.

Read live updates for Tropical Storm Henri here.
CHANUTE, Kan. (AP)  A police officer shot and killed a man who pointed a gun at the officer in a small southeast Kansas town, authorities said.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said the shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. Friday evening in Chanute, which is about 110 miles south of Topeka. KBI spokeswoman Melissa Underwood said the man who was shot, 28-year-old Brandon Lee Schlichting of Chanute, died Sunday at a hospital in Kansas City, Kansas.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares! The liberal elite is saying it cares. Oh, how they care about Afghanistan. In fact, you might be forgiven for thinking they care more about Afghanistan than they do about Britain.

The really intense carers even have a special way of speaking to show how much they care.

Instead of saying Kabool, the way British people have pronounced the Afghan capital for generations, they say Karble or even, in advanced cases, Korble.

The country itself is described as Arfkharnistarn, and the Taliban become the Tarlabarn.

Now, I make a complete exception here for any of these carers who actually plan to welcome Afghan refugees into their own homes, without time limit and at their own expense.

A Taliban fighter is seen beating a man on the streets of Kabul. Who precisely is going to do the endless bloody fighting necessary to keep the Taliban away from power? Why, young men from the poor parts of our cities

These all mean what they say and deserve our respect. But the others want to make themselves feel and look good, a very different thing from doing good.

As for the rest of their concerns, no doubt the Talibans social policies are unlovely and cruel.

But who precisely is going to do the endless bloody fighting necessary to keep the Taliban away from power? Why, young men from the poor parts of our cities.

And these young men live under our own Taliban, the fierce stone-faced Left-wing doctrinaires who in the past 50 years have created huge zones of misery in what was once a pretty happy society.

Our liberal Taliban  who claim so much to worry about the fate of Afghan girls  drove millions of women out of homes where they would happily raise their own children if they could, to drudge all day in call centres and such places for a pittance that pays for the ropey childcare they must then use.

They destroyed lifelong marriage, depriving uncounted British boys of their fathers and dumping multitudes of children in care homes whose very names are a mockery.

Our liberal Taliban destroyed rigorous state education, depriving the British working class of skills and of ladders upwards into real careers.

Our liberal Taliban told the British people to be ashamed of their history, their freedom and their religion and gave them nothing to believe in instead.

As for the rest of their concerns, no doubt the Talibans social policies are unlovely and cruel

And they gave up protecting them from crime and disorder, claiming that such things were caused by deprivation, not by a lack of punishment and deterrence.

Try, as I have done for decades, to argue against these dogmatists and you get nothing in return but contempt. How they wish I did not exist.

If they can, they will silence and cancel opposition to their views, and you should realise that they will in the end do this, so that opinions such as mine will no longer be heard.

But why is it so much better to care about how Afghan young women are deprived of proper schools, thousands of miles away, than to care about how British young men are deprived of the same thing, down the road? And there is so much hypocrisy here.

Taliban fighters are seen confiscating an Afghan flag

Let us turn to the mysterious, fascinating ex-soldier Tom Tugendhat, who was garlanded with praise for his odd, rambling speech in Parliament on Wednesday.

I may be mistaken but he seemed to be arguing that Britain should have stayed in Afghanistan to save it from the medieval repression of the Taliban.

Yet back in February 2018, the same Tom Tugendhat told the Abu Dhabi newspaper The National that he thought very highly of the Saudi regime, perhaps the closest rival to the Taliban on Earth for repression of women, lack of freedom in general, religious intolerance and savage, steel-bladed criminal justice: I welcome enormously the reforms that Mohammed bin Salman has conducted recently.

He is rightly showing a vision for Saudi Arabia that sees her taking a place as a player in the global economy and I think that is incredibly positive, not just for Saudi Arabia, but for the world. Eight months later the Saudis murdered the dissident Jamal Khashoggi.

This incessant making of allowances for the Saudis, a central part of our foreign policy implicating every Cabinet and the Royal Family itself, makes a perpetual nonsense of our pose as the enemies of repression in the Islamic world.

So I personally could do with a great deal less of this noisy piety. Good deeds, if you can manage them, should be done in private and without bombast. And they begin, as they always have, at home.

Can The Courier deliver for cinemas?

The new Benedict Cumberbatch film The Courier really ought to bring audiences back into British cinemas.

It is based on the oddly moving true story of Greville Wynne, a very ordinary businessman inveigled by MI6 into risking his liberty and health by smuggling secrets out of the Communist bloc. It is a beautifully made and enthralling drama, full of thought and action and with some fine acting.

It is just the right length  long enough to absorb and take you out of daily life, not so long that you begin to shift in your seat and wonder when it will end.

Yet when I watched it, there was hardly anyone there. I do begin to worry that proper cinemas may be one of the long-term casualties of the past 18 months of panic and fear.

The new Benedict Cumberbatch film The Courier really ought to bring audiences back into British cinemas

Drug clue to another massacre

Once again, a clearly unhinged crime is being treated as if it is a political action. Plymouth mass-killer Jake Davison could not have expected to achieve anything for any cause by these ghastly crimes.

I agree his record makes it absurd that he should have been allowed to own a gun of any kind. But why was he so crazy? It seems very possible that, as a bodybuilder, he used steroids, whose use is associated with several rampage killings.

He may also have been prescribed SSRI antidepressants, likewise associated with such acts, and I would be amazed if he was not a user of marijuana, again associated with many violent crimes.

If there is a causal connection between such drugs and violence, we need to know, and to act on it. Yet nobody is interested. When I asked Devon and Cornwall Police if they had any information on his drug use, they refused to discuss the matter. This is the invariable response of police forces in such cases. It shouldnt be.

Assange does not deserve this jail hell

I have tried and failed to get an official explanation of why Julian Assange is being held in miserable conditions in Belmarsh, a maximum-security jail built for the most dangerous prisoners in the country.

Mr Assange is not a convicted prisoner and he is not in any way violent. He is on remand waiting for our tortoise-like court system to rule on his extradition, an unjustified and vindictive attempted state kidnapping by Washington.

If we still had a civil society, there would be a well-supported campaign to improve his conditions.

If you want to comment on Peter Hitchens click here
The Taliban have swept into Kabul on a wave of terror. Already we have reports of atrocities  torture, mutilation, murder. For many Afghans, and for millions more looking on from the safety of the West, the situation must seem hopeless.

After more than four decades of reporting from Afghanistan, and having seen the Taliban rise, fall and now rise again, I find what is taking place profoundly shocking.

And yet just a week after the fall of Kabul a strong resistance movement is already taking shape in Afghanistan. At present it's only a slender shaft of optimism, but it's one that the West will want to grasp and nurture.

Every day, while crowds of desperate people besiege the airport in the hope of getting on a plane to safety, others are quietly slipping away to the Panjshir Valley, a hundred miles away to the north-east, to join the opposition.

After more than four decades of reporting from Afghanistan, and having seen the Taliban rise, fall and now rise again, I find what is taking place profoundly shocking, writes John Simpson

Headed by Amrullah Saleh, Afghanistans former vice-president who took over when the weak, broken President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, the movement has already attracted a number of generals, their staffs and some soldiers.

They, and others, are starting to plan their next step.

The Panjshir is a superb base from which to fight a defensive campaign. Overlooked by the forbidding Hindu Kush mountains and with narrow approaches ideally suited to ambush and sudden attack, the river valley stretches for mile after mile, opening out into broad meadows where most of its 170,000 people live.

During the Soviet occupation of 1979-89, the brilliant guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud defended the Panjshir from everything the Russians could throw at it. There were seven major offensives in as many years, using all the latest equipment at a super-powers disposal: heavy bombers, tanks, artillery.

Each time the Russians eventually withdrew, defeated. The wrecks of their armoured vehicles are strewn around the valley as monuments for kids to play on.

The Taliban may be ferocious and determined, but they cant match the Russians for firepower  not even with the vast quantities of military equipment the Americans have abandoned.

Until now, they have met with precious little opposition as they roared through the countryside to Kabul.

The Afghan National Army, trained so carefully by NATO soldiers over twenty years, simply ripped off their uniforms, threw away their rifles and headed home.

Having seen photographs of some of the Talibans atrocities and heard peoples descriptions of what was done, Im not surprised. Being an Afghan soldier was a cushy number. Their duties were usually fairly light, except for those front-line troops who were deployed against the Taliban, and pay was good.

The possibilities of graft and the ease with which supplies and equipment could be sold on the black market  often bought up cheap by the Taliban themselves  were immense. The way the Afghan army operated was one long inducement not to fight.

We have to wonder if the US withdrawal now will mark of the end of Western dominance in the world. A British soldier is seen outside Kabul airport

The Taliban, by contrast, are tough, wiry backwoodsmen, largely untrained and uneducated. The movement was founded in September 1994 as an almost exclusively Pashtun force from the south and west of the country: fierce young men, tall and gaunt. Originally, most of them grew up in the sprawling refugee camps on the Pakistan side of the Afghan border.

In 1996, in a field outside Kandahar, my television team and I witnessed the start of the Talibans original campaign to take over the country. At an extraordinary ceremony Mullah Omar, the first Taliban leader, took the carefully preserved cloak of the Prophet Mohammed out of its shrine and held it up to show to his thousands of followers.

People wept and chanted and threw their turbans up to touch the holy relic, like some great religious event from the Middle Ages. Within weeks the Taliban had captured Kabul from the more moderate mujaheddin.

It can be weird to come across Taliban groups from the Kandahar area: they often line their eyes with kohl, paint their toenails and sometimes their fingernails, and totter around on gold high-heeled sandals; armed, of course, with AK-47s.

Now, the movement has attracted thousands of volunteers from other parts of the country, convinced the Taliban are the winning side.

The Taliban see themselves as the soldiers of Sunni Islam. On their way to Kabul they have attacked, tortured and killed an unknown number of Hazaras  the country's third largest ethnic group, usually characterised by their Central Asian features and their Shia Islam faith.

To the Taliban they are heretics who need to be crushed.

Every day, while crowds of desperate people besiege the airport in the hope of getting on a plane to safety, others are quietly slipping away to the Panjshir Valley, a hundred miles away to the north-east, to join the opposition

In 1989 the Hazaras smuggled my cameraman and me into Kabul, and several of them died to save us from the pro-Soviet secret police.

The Hazaras are strong in the valleys to the west of Kabul, but they also form a sizeable part of the capitals population.

They have benefitted strongly from the Western presence. Now they stand to suffer as a result. As a result they too are starting to join the resistance.

In 2001, when Osama bin Laden planned and organised the 9/11 attacks from his comfortable house in Kabul, the opposition to the Taliban was mostly based in the provinces to the north, including the Panjshir Valley itself.

On 13 November 2001, with the help of US air force bombers, the Northern Alliance launched its attack on Kabul.

For the previous month my BBC colleagues and I had taken over an abandoned municipal building in the town of Charikar, only forty miles from Kabul. Before dawn on 14th we swept down towards the city with the first wave of troops. When the Northern Alliance halted on the outskirts in order to minimise the bloodshed, my colleagues and I continued into Kabul on foot.

We were mobbed by crowds of people ecstatic at being free after five years of brutality, food shortages and constant power black-outs. In the ditches lay the bodies of Taliban fighters killed by angry city-dwellers, and we watched as the few who were left were winkled out of their hideouts and dragged away.

Seeing the joy all round me at the Talibans defeat, I felt they could never stage a comeback. It was one of the biggest misjudgements Ive made. But I just couldnt imagine that the Western powers would abandon Afghanistan to such a freakish, backward, cruel regime once again.

I didnt foresee a US president as careless of the lives and rights of others as Donald Trump, who signed a laughably weak peace deal with the Taliban in February last year; or Joe Biden, who feebly went along with it and made everything even worse by the chaotic pull-out. The Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989, which I also witnessed, marked the end of Russias status as a superpower.

We have to wonder if the US withdrawal now will mark of the end of Western dominance in the world.

The Taliban will consolidate their power. Their vigilantes will go round arresting and killing people they suspect of serving the old regime, and when the foreign journalists and cameramen leave the city, they will reimpose their ferocious interpretation of Islamic law and customs on its inhabitants.

Now though, President Biden will surely order US special forces to continue operating in Afghanistan. The SAS and their Australian, French and German counterparts will quietly join them in working with the resistance.

A new version of the Northern Alliance, with the tough, courageous Hazaras fighting alongside them, will emerge from the Panjshir Valley; and at some point Im certain they will sweep the Taliban out of Kabul.

When that will happen, I have no idea. But having been in Afghanistan for every major convulsion in Afghanistan for 41 years until this, I hope Ill be on hand to report on it.
Talking to someone who's had the same experience can be helpful for many

This is compounded by the lack of formal mourning rituals for pets in our culture

Pain correlates to the quality of the relationship you had with the loved one

Grief over death of a pet can be as severe as losing a human, psychologists say

The death of a pet can be just as painful as the death of a family member, psychologists have claimed.

When Myra euthanised her dog Jason after a complicated illness, the loss affected her so badly, she had to take mental health leave from work. Nearly four years later the loss still looms large in her life.

'I feel embarrassed that I still can't speak about him without tearing up, but his illness and death was one of the worst things that ever happened to me,' she said. 'Going through that was even more difficult than losing family members. He was such an important presence in my life, and always by my side.

'It took a long time to reconcile myself to the idea that he wasn't ever going to physically be here anymore. At times the pain felt overwhelming.'

Like Myra, people are often embarrassed to express the depth of their grief when they lose a companion animal.

Speaking exclusively to FEMAIL, consultant clinical psychologist Dr Pat Franklish commented: 'It is as painful, because it's about attachment. If the significant attachment figure is a pet rather than a person, then the loss is the same. It's the loss of a key attachment figure.'

While grief is widely acknowledged as one of the most painful experiences humans can go through, often people don't realise how profound the grief at losing a pet can be (stock image)

'For people who live alone with a pet, and they don't have a person they're close to, they only have a pet they are close to, it's worse.'

She continued: 'If you've got parents and children, brothers and sisters, and lots of people in your life it may fall into a slightly different category. But if the animals in your life are your main attachment figures, then your loss is the same as it would be for a person.'

Grief is universally acknowledged as one of the most profoundly difficult emotions humans ever have to face.

Losing loved ones is so significant, different cultures have created their own rituals for saying goodbye to people who've died. So why don't we treat the deaths of beloved companion animals as seriously?

People rarely hold funerals for dogs, or memorial services for cats. Mourners seldom gather to share fond memories of dearly departed furry friends.

Bereavement happens to us all at some point in our lives, but how can YOU cope with it? For some, bereavement is sudden and unexpected, and even for those who know their loved one is dying it can come as a great shock. What can you do to help yourself? Talk to your close family and friends, especially those that you feel understand. Dont listen to those who say you 'should be doing better than you are'. Tell yourself that you are normal for feeling the way that you do. If you feel that you are not coping: Visit your GP. Dont go back to work too soon. Talk to someone close to you. You could be referred for grief counselling. Sometimes it is helpful to talk to someone outside of your family and friends and it can be helpful to retell your story over and over again. This can help you to make sense of how you are feeling and it can help to normalise your feelings. Not everyone finds it helpful to talk. Sometimes it can be more useful to keep busy. This is fine, providing that you are not pushing things away so that they build up to a point where you feel you are going to explode. It can be helpful to have an outlet when you feel like this, maybe a good friend to talk to or possibly some professional help. Source: The British Psychological Society Advertisement

Consultant Practitioner Psychologist Ingrid Collins, who is the director of The Soul Therapy Centre in London, agrees that the death of an animal can be profoundly painful.

'Any bereavement of a loved one is painful and the pain is in direct measure to the quality of the relationship we enjoyed with that loved one,' explained Ingrid, who is also the co-author of 'Bandit Burmilla Babies: Intimate conversations with a family of cats of love, pregnancy, birth, death, and separation.

'Often our pets enjoy a special place in our hearts because the connection is generally so honest and uncomplicated.

'In return for our care, compassion, and concern for their wellbeing, pets offer us a loving connection to the natural world, and they are more honest than most humans in the expression of emotions.'

The lack of rituals surrounding the death of a companion animal can also compound the grief, with people often lacking support.

According to Dr Franklish: 'People who don't keep pets often don't have any understanding at all, so they can be inadvertently (or sometimes deliberately) unkind, and sometimes shrug it off,' she said.

'They can say "it's only a cat, it's only a dog', where in fact to the individual who lost (the animal) they were much more than that.'

For Ingrid Collins, the lack of formal mourning rituals means we "dont give ourselves the opportunity for closure" when an animal dies'.

'It is not usual to receive letters of condolence either, as we would do when a close family relative passes,' she added.

'Often, children are admonished for displaying their distress over the loss of a beloved pet, because "it's only an animal!" and it often is swiftly replaced with another.

'We learn in this way that animal lives have less value than human lives, and that our investment in love and care was not of the same value as that which we afford to humans.'

For Myra, and like many others, Jason's death also brought with it guilt.

'Making the decision to have him euthanised was almost easier than I thought it would be because I couldn't bear the thought of him suffering any more than he had to,' she said. 'But going through with it was incredibly difficult. I second-guessed myself, and worried that he knew I was killing him. The guilt was very difficult to live with.'

According to psychologist Ingrid Collins: 'Any bereavement process, be it from a human or animal loved one, involves guilt that comes after the initial numbing in disbelief and unwillingness to accept the reality of their passing.

'As our animals quite often elicit feelings akin to parental emotions, our feelings of responsibility are compounded.

'It is the most painful decision to take to end the physical presence of the beautiful soul who has given love, loyalty and trust to us.'

'The first step is to own and acknowledge our painful emotions, and remember the reasons why the circumstances leading to our decision tipped the scales to that particular decision to action.'

Dr Franklish added: 'You can save your pet pain and distress [by euthanising them] and that should give you a clear conscience, and not a guilty one.'

She went on to offer advice on how you can try and work through the grief when your beloved pet has died.

'Most of us go and get another one, so replacement is one thing. Another thing is getting in contact with someone who's had a similar loss to share the pain,' said Dr Franklish.

Pets offer us a 'loving connection to the natural world, and they are more honest than most humans in the expression of emotions' a psychologist said (stock photo)

The consultant clinical psychologist went on to say that when it comes to dealing with feelings of guilt around replacing a dead companion animal, it is a 'cognitive exercise as much as an emotional one'.

'Whichever way we look at it, dogs and cats aren't going to live as long as us, so we can't possibly expect one to last all our lives,' she explained. 'It's about facing the realism of that. And if they could talk, they would tell us to go and get another answer.'

Other tips she has for working through grief include 'avoiding people who might not understand', until a time when it's 'manageable for you to talk about it without crying,' and getting in touch with a helpline - such as the Blue Cross' pet bereavement and loss service.

Speaking to a pet bereavement line was helpful for Myra, who said: 'While my friends and family were sympathetic, I got to a point where I wanted to talk to someone totally non-judgemental, who truly understood where I was coming from.

'I found the helpline to be a good source of support, and I also found pet bereavement online forums to help. Everyone understood the depth of the grief, and feeling like I wasn't alone helped.'

While Myra still feels great pain from Jason's loss, she says she has now 'reached a point of acceptance' that he has died, and can now take some pleasure from happy memories.

The key takeaway, Dr Franklish said, is that 'the grief is real, and needs to be acknowledged as such by the person experiencing it and those around them'.

Ingrid Collins concluded: 'Grief ebbs and flows like the tide, and eventually subsides over time. However, If we become aware that our painful emotions are impeding the progress of our emotional wellbeing, that is the time to seek therapeutic help.'
A young business owner who made $100,000 in her first 14 days of launching her fake eyelash brand has sold out of her latest 'miracle' product in just 72 hours.

Olivia Epifano, from Melbourne, launched The Lavish Lash Lounge on October 6, 2019 after struggling immensely to find lashes that were reusable and 100 per cent mink-free.

Last week the brand released The Lash Lifter, which is designed to lift your lashes unlike a regular curler.

Olivia, 21, told FEMAIL the business sold more than 1,000 units of the product in 72 hours with over 300 pre-orders in the first two hours.

'Honestly it was so surreal, it was the biggest launched we've ever had,' she said.

The $19.95 Lash Lifter is simple, easy to use and leaves people with feathery, lifted lashes in seconds without any chemicals or damaging the lashes.

Scroll down for video

Olivia Epifano, from Melbourne, (pictured) launched The Lavish Lash Lounge on October 6, 2019 after struggling immensely to find lashes that were reusable and 100 per cent mink-free.

Last week the brand released The Lash Lifter, which is designed to lift your lashes unlike a regular curler

The $19.95 Lash Lifter is simple, easy to use and leaves people with feathery, lifted lashes in seconds without any chemicals or damaging the lashes

The rapid spike in sales was likely duo to influencer marketing, after TikTok user Sarah Bada posted a video comparing The Lash Lifter to the $30 Kevyn Aucoin lash curler.

In the video Sarah compares both products and shows the added curl The Lash Lifter provides compared to the alternative.

The video has since been viewed more than 74,000 times, with other customers praising the buy in the comments.

The swift response from customers has turned the buy into the brand's best-selling product with a five-star rating online.

The rapid spike in sales was likely duo to influencer marketing, after TikTok user Sarah Bada posted a video comparing The Lash Lifter to the $30 Kevyn Aucoin lash curler

The swift response from customers has turned the buy into the brand's best-selling product with a five-star rating online

The brand's signature product is the 100 per cent mink-free lashes that can be reused more than 30 times.

Olivia dropped out of her marketing and communications university degree to focus on the business prior to launching and previously worked as a makeup artist.

'I always had a dream about changing the lash game, and it's what I'm here to do,' she said.

Some of the best-sellers VITA and ARIA lashes are made from synthetic silk and claim to last 30 wears, making them a very inexpensive choice.

Some of her customers are even claiming to have used one pair of lashes 85 times before they eventually broke.

Her best advice for applying them is to have a good applicator and know what to do with your glue.

The brand's signature product is the 100 per cent mink-free lashes that can be reused more than 30 times

'I always had a dream about changing the lash game, and it's what I'm here to do,' she said

Some of the best-sellers VITA and ARIA lashes are made from synthetic silk and claim to last 30 wears, making them a very inexpensive choice

While she has braced the brunt of business challenges along with Covid-19, Olivia said she is proud of the mistakes she's made and what she has achieved.

'I think everything has made me a better person in business to date,' she said.

'My goal is to have my brand so accessible and get into retail stores, pharmacy, grocery and online cosmetic stores.'
A millionaire promised a single mother she'd do anything to help her business venture succeed after a life-changing episode of Rich House, Poor House.

Debi Clark, from Kent, is a multi-millionaire who overcame adversity to create a thriving children modelling business, and now owns a listed farmhouse where she lives with her dogs, following the untimely passing of her husband Bob.

Meanwhile, single mother Geri lives on 60-a-week in a small ground floor flat in Rochester with her daughter Scarlet, who is studying for her A levels.

In tonight's episode of the Channel 5 show, the two women swap lives and budgets and after living in Geri's shoes, Debi, who appears on the show with friend Sarah, promises she'll be there for her every step of the way as she creates her own business - even booking her onto a training course.

Geri Hobbs is a single mother from Surham-on-Sea, near Rochester, who struggles on 60 a week budget. She appears on tonight's Rich House, Poor House on Channel 5 with her daughter, Scarlet (pictured)

Debi Clark, from Kent, is a self-made millionaire who owns four business and has a disposable income of 1,520 per week. She appears on the show with her friend Sarah (pictured)

Debi, originally from the East End, explains how she started her child modelling business in 1996 and now has 1,520 of disposable income per week.

'I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, nothing like that as you can probably tell from the accent,' Debi jokes.

'I've had a 100 of jobs, literally. I used to make false teeth at the royal dental hospital, I used to sell encyclopedias all over the country, I've done a lot of jobs.'

But after falling pregnant with her daughter Sadie when she was ages 19, Debi says she struggled financially, and had so little money, she couldn't pay for hot water and was showering at her mother's house.

Debi says how her first successful business allowed her to form other ventures over the years, including a luxury attire for dog business, a cosmetic line, while she's also a certified nail tech - and she now owns a villa in Spain in addition to her house in the UK.

But devastatingly, both her husband Bob and mother passed away in 2020. To overcome her grief, Debi explains how she turned to work, and now works across four projects at the same time, with little time to relax.

'I have to keep doing things, I don't know why,' she admits.

Geri always built her career around Scarlet and now that her daughter is older, she'd like to start her own business

Meanwhile, near Rochester, Geri explains how she raised her daughter Scarlet alone after she separated from her father when Scarlet was four.

The single mum has always put her daughter first, and says she's been looking for 'mummy jobs' that she can fit in around the school run.

The pair, who have lived in eight different homes in the past ten years, have even been homeless.

Geri now works part time as a cook in a children's nursery, and also cares for her sick father Peter.

'My granddad says my mum is a butterfly, someone who goes from place to place, who hasn't really settled yet,' Scarlet says.

Geri, who has just finished a floristry course, explains how she hopes to one day open a cafe that sells flowers.

'It'd be such a lovely atmosphere to have a coffee with all the smell of the flowers,' she says.

And with Scarlet now studying for her A-levels, Geri has more time for herself.

'I'm really proud of Scarlet and I'd love her to get to university,' she explains. 'I feel when you are on minimum wage and living this way, it's a trap, once you're in it, it does seem almost impossible to get out of.'

The single mother has been moving from flats to flats and was even homeless, raising her daughter after separating from her father when Scarlet was four

'I do really feel I've got that bit more freedom, I can leave Scarlet on her own, over the last few years, it's my time now.'

Debi's best friend Sarah says she hopes the experience will allow her pal to relax.

'I hope that towards the end of the week, when she gets used to it, I hope she'll enjoy slowing down a bit,' Sarah says.

And when the two families do swap, Scarlet is quickly taken by Debi's lavish home.

'If I lived here, I would definitely throw parties, invite everyone I know,' she enthuses.

Meanwhile, Sarah is not so enthralled by the 60-weekly budget, but confident she and Debi can make it work.

'We'll manage, we'll manage on the budget, we've just got to be careful,' she says.

As she learns more about Debi's business and drive, Geri is increasingly inspired to follow in her footsteps.

'It gives me inspiration that she's got so many businesses that she's made successful from an idea. She must have a lot of drive to do that,' she explains.

She meets with Sadie, Debi's daughter, who admits her mother never stops working - adding that she started her business 'from nothing.'

Debi's agency, Bizzy Kids, is now a leading agency in the UK, which has received several awards.

In Surham-on-Sea, Debi is tasked with buying and cooking a dinner for Geri's dad Pete, who comes around to stay hello.

Debi, pictured, is used to a life of luxury and lives in a grade listed farmhouse in Kent, but she wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she says

He tells her a bit more about Geri's story, and admits she's struggling to choose a craft to start a business in.

As the episode progresses, Debi grows determined to help Geri, but admits she needs to know more about what she wants to do.

'She knows she needs something to improve her life to where she'd like to be,' she says. 'I can help her to do it but not if on Monday it's going to be floristry and then by Wednesday she's going to want to be picking nails.'

The penny starts to drop for Geri as well, who is left wondering whether she's been self-sabotaging.

'I think I've probably used the learning and courses maybe as a bit of self sabotage, of keeping myself from starting a little business in something that I want to, because maybe I'm scared of failure,' she admits.

Throughout the week, both women learn more about the other, with Debi stepping into the daily life of Geri by going into her workplace.

After hearing Geri is a 'reliable' and hardworking woman, she is increasingly keen to help, while staying by the sea, where life is more peaceful than her regular jam-packed schedule is also a wake up call for both Debi and Sarah.

'If it wasn't for family, I could go to Spain and not look back,' says Sarah. 'Living in Geri's life, in comparison to the fast lane, the fast-paced life that I live, if I could slowly release myself from that, and meet halfway somehow, I think that'd be perfect,' she says. 'I'd go to Spain with my makeup bag and my bikini.'

Meanwhile, Geri realises the life of a millionaire is busy as she jumps from one task to the next to fulfil the varied demands of Debi's businesses.

During the show, Debi, pictured with Sarah, realises she is working too much and needs to take time for herself

She spends the last night relaxing in Debi's hot tub, before the next day's return to reality.

'I feel like I know you already,' Debi says when the two women meet. 'I can't thank you enough for staying in your place, it's lovely and it's so peaceful, what a beautiful area.'

And the millionaire doesn't wait long to discuss Geri's career.

'I tried to get to the bottom of where you want to go and what you want to do,' she says.

Geri admits: 'I never stick with one thing, I'd really like in the end, in a couple of years, to open a cafe with a florist.'

'Find what your biggest passion is,' Debi advises, with Geri replying her biggest passion is floristry, even more so than the cafe.

But Geri admits she's nervous because she's never done a business plan before.

'The first thing I'm going to offer you is a business study course, which will teach you how to create a business plan,' Debi says. 'You might do the course and think "its not for me, I'm gonna get a job".

'The second thing I'm going to offer you, which, without sounding conceited is probably the best thing, the thing I'm going to offer you is me.

'I want to see facts and figures from you, where you're going to do this, how you're going to do this, time management, all this sort of things. Put all that together and I'll be there for you. I'm on the other end of the phone whenever you need me, every step of the way.'

Geri, who is motivated by the proposition, says: 'I think this is just what I need. I need someone to be able to talk to about, someone behind me, somebody to tell me what to do, really, to boss me about.'

Meanwhile, Debi is ready to slow her pace down and enjoy life a bit more.

'I'm hoping that this experience and how I feel now kind of sticks with me in the same way, even if it's just for the next six months', she says.

Rich House, Poor House airs on Sunday at 9pm on Channel 5.
Shoppers are devastated after discovering a hugely popular range of baby formula from Aldi Australia has been discontinued.

A group of parents have shared the news on social media after they were told Mamia step 1, 2 and 3 baby formulas will no longer be replenished in stores once stock sells out.

'I'm afraid that this product has been deleted from our "everyday range". Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience this has caused you,' an Aldi customer service representative told a shopper via email.

Shoppers are devastated after discovering a hugely popular range of baby formula from Aldi Australia has been discontinued

'At Aldi, we are committed to producing products to the highest industry standards. Staying true to that commitment means that we periodically review our product range and make adjustments as necessary.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Aldi for comment.

Dozens of shoppers have shared their frustrations on Facebook after struggling to find the baby formula for their toddlers in recent weeks.

'We've been to about seven Aldi stores in Sydney looking for the same and my daughter is just about to go up from 2 to 3. We can't find any. Hoping it's not discontinued,' one mum wrote.

Another said: 'Number 3 is nowhere to be found. My kids are used to the taste. I'm going to be devastated if they've discontinued it.'

A group of parents have shared the news on social media after they were told the stock for Mamia step 1, 2 and 3 baby formulas will no longer be replenished in stores

'My bub is on this formula and I will be devastated if they are discontinuing... I asked at my store and the worker said they were struggling to get stock,' one added.

While another wrote: 'I can't find the Mamia Gold 3 formula in stores anywhere. Have these been discontinued? Will they be returning in stores? I'm devastated.'

Many customers confirmed they have been told the baby formula range will not be returning to stores once stock has sold out, leaving some parents furious.

'Aldi are you serious? I have been trying to find 2 and 3 formulas but no luck and nothing to say it's discontinued - it's the only one my son drinks,' one mum wrote.

While another parent added: 'Yep gone with no notice to anyone, it's not good enough.'
Anita Rani has told how growing up in a Punjabi household meant her family had different expectations for her than they did for her brother.

The TV personality, 43, who grew up in Bradford, has long credited her Punjabi upbringing for her successful broadcasting career which led to her presenting Woman's Hour on Radio 4.

The host has also starred in staple shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, Who Do You Think you Are? and Country File and has now spoken about the adversity she has faced.

Speaking to the Sunday Times Magazine, Anita and her brother Kuldeep have revealed how their upbringing differed from the rest of their family.

The host said her parents often said Kuldeep, who was calm and unlike other Punjabi men, should have been born a girl and she, who was loud, should have been the boy.

Woman's Hour host Anita Rani, pictured, has said her Punjabi family expected her to be quiet and her brother not to be so sensitive (pictured in 2019)

'Women are treated differently in a Punjabi household. On the day I was born my gran said, We dont celebrate girls,' Anita said.

She claimed she was told to be obedient and quiet and that marriage was important, and that it was deeply ingrained in her family's culture that boys were to be treasured.

She recalled she was the one who had to do the dishes because boys were not expected to help with chores in Punjabi culture.

'The first time he went out and rolled in at 3am with his mates, my mum was up and made them all chapattis. She never did that for me,' the host added.

Anita and her brother were raised by their mother Lakhbir (Lucky) and their father Balvinder, who met through an arranged marriage (pictured: Anita as a toddler with her parents)

The presenter said she married her husband Bhupi Rehal, pictured with her in 2018, because he was not an usual Punjabi man

Anita admitted she had to 'battle' in order to have long studies and to create something for herself even though her parents were liberal.

When she applied to go to university and to live in the halls, the broadcasting star said her mother told her: 'You know how many people have said that we give you too much freedom, and that youre too educated?'

She added that while her parents never forced her to get married, she felt they indoctrinated her from birth by telling her she could marry anyone she liked as long as they were an Indian man.

The TV host married her husband, Bhupi, who she lives with in East London, after the pair met in 2008.

Meanwhile, in the same interview, Kuldeep said he had family pressures on his shoulders to be less sensitive and to provide for his family and his parents.

The pair were raised by their mother Lakhbir (Lucky) and their father Balvinder, who met through an arranged marriage.

In 2015, Anita starred in Strictly Come Dancing, pictured, and Who Do You Think You Are? and Country File

Balvinder's parents came to the UK when he was four, and in 2020, Anita, speaking to Mailonline, described him as a 'Yorkshire Man through and though.'

Because she attended a private school where most pupils were white, the broadcaster said she grew up in a life full of contrast.

She also said she and Kuldeep help her parents' manufacturing business and that she was encouraged to get a job as soon as possible in order to make herself some pocket money.

At the time, she had reflected on racism and said: Of course I have experienced racism but maybe not as badly as my husband, an Asian male.

'For a long time we have acknowledged that we have to work twice as hard and we were made to feel grateful for opportunities. Our parents taught us that we have to get on with it.
A children's picture book which aims to normalise families with same-sex parents has been published with an 18+ content warning in Russia as part of a campaign to challenge the country's LGBT+ propaganda law.

The book, titled Mothers, Fathers and Kids from Dusk till Dawn in Russia, was published with the mature content label because of the country's so-called 'gay propaganda laws,' which bans content promoting the gay life style.

It is published as two titles in English - Early One Morning - which follows a boys morning with his two mothers; and Bedtime, Not Playtime!, which focuses on a girl with two fathers at nighttime - while Russia's version combines the two.

It comes after a Hungarian bookshop was fined 600 for selling a copy of the same picture book, the Guardian reported.

A translation of American author Lawrence Schimel's Bedtime not Playtime and Early One Morning, which follows the story of a child with same-sex parents, has been published in Russia with a 18+ label

A library in Hungary was fined 600 for publishing the book last month. Now, the charity Sphere is using the book to draw attention to Russia's anti-LGBT propaganda laws (pictured: an illustration from the book)

In each book, the story follows the child of a same sex couple, either as they wake up and get ready for the day or prepare to go to bed.

It aims to normalise the idea of having 'two daddies' or 'two mums' by showing happy and healthy children and family environment.

Author Lawrence Schimel said he opposed Russia's LGBT+ laws, adding he feels his book is important to show that families like this existed around the world

The book was published in Russia by the LGBT+ charity Sphere, who decided to go ahead after publishing houses in Russia refused due to the country's laws banning LGBT+ material.

'[This] is a book that is not only about LGBTQ+ families, but for them. In that sense, this book stands on its own as the very first of its kind in Russia,' the organisation told the Guardian.

They went on to say how the law required them to publish the children's book with an 18+ label.

'In other words, because of the existing legislature there was no other choice but to publish a childrens book for adults onlyThis is the ridiculousness of the propaganda law, which only raises discrimination against LGBT+ and limits access to information,' they added.

Sphere has since launched a petition to see the law repelled in Russia, which has already gathered over 60,000 signatures.

The book has already been published in five languages, with Sphere predicting more editions will become available by the end of 2022

The Russian law impeding the freedom of the country's LGBT+ people In 2013, Russia introduced its 'Gay Propaganda Law'. Formally called the law 'aimed at protecting children from information promoting the denial of traditional family values,' it bans the 'promotion of nontraditional sexual relations to minors.' In practice, it bans children from accessing any information regarding the lives of LGBT people. The ban includes, but is not limited to, information provided via the press, television, radio, and the internet. The law prevents LGBT+ groups working with or providing information to teens, and websites have shut down because of it. The law presents the LGBT+ lifestyle like a threat to Russian families' traditions and values. Mental health counsellor have said the law prevented them from giving honest counsel because they had to self-censor themselves to abide by the law. In 2017, the European Court of Human Rights concluded in 2017, said that the law reflects and reinforces 'predisposed bias, unambiguously highlighted by its domestic interpretation and enforcement.' Source: Human Rights Watch Advertisement

In a statement to the publication, the charity said: 'This law does not protect anyone from anything. Rather, it acts as an instrument of 1) limiting access to information, and 2) legitimisation of discrimination in the forms of homophobia and transphobia in the society  all while real families, with real children, are suffering from it.'

Author and illustrator Schimel and Braslina both said they opposed the laws in Russia and were 'delighted' to donate the book to help Sphere's campaign.

The American author, who says the book should be read so that a whole generation doesn't grow up under the coupe of political homophobia, went on to say that hate had no place in the diverse world in which we live.

He added that such anti-LGBT+ laws do not protect children and that the gay lifestyle is not something anyone needs protecting from.

Schimel also said that it's important for children who might be discovering their LGBT+ identity to see the book, while noting that all children should know families like those he wrote about in the book exist.

In total, Sphere has published 500 copies of the book, which have been sent to regional LGBT+ charities around Russia as well as influencers.

The charity said the publishing process had not been easy and that the group had feared some government interference to prevent the book's publication.

The book will not be sold, but instead be handed to activists in order to give more representation to LGBT+ families

Both Early One Morning and Bedtime not Playtime have been published in English, Spanish, French, German and Italian.

Sphere said that it would be available in 24 languages and in 30 editions worldwide by the end of 2022.
The Duchess of Cornwall is unlikely to ever forgive her stepson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle for hurting Prince Charles after Megxit, a source has claimed.

Camilla, 74, who has supported her husband the Prince of Wales, 72, throughout his youngest son's rift with the royal family, might not be able to ever forgive the Duke, 36, and Duchess of Sussex, 40, for their actions since stepping back as senior royals in March last year.

Prince Harry, who lives in a 11million mansion in Santa Barbara, California, has addressed his relationship with his father in several interviews throughout the year - after first opening up about it in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March where he claimed he has been 'let down' by Prince Charles.

Now, speaking to The Telegraph, royal expert Camilla Tominey reported that a source close to Camilla has said that even though Buckingham Palace is conveying the message that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are still loved by the family, the Duchess of Cornwall will struggle to move on.

A source has told The Telegraph the Duchess of Cornwall is unlikely to forgive Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for 'hurting' Prince Charles (pictured: Meghan and Camilla at the 70th birthday of patronage celebration for Prince Charles in 2018)

In an interview with American broadcaster Oprah Winfrey, pictured, Prince Harry claimed a senior member of the royal family asked how dark the skin of his and Meghan's first child was likely to be

'I don't think the Duchess will ever forgive Meghan for what she's done to the Prince of Wales,' the source said.

Another source claimed that Prince Charles was deeply affected by the reported fall out with Prince Harry and that it had been 'really hard for him.'

Others reportedly said Camilla would be on the Prince of Wales' side no matter what when he becomes king.

'When he [Charles] becomes king, she'll understand the need to be by his side  as the Duke of Edinburgh was for the Queen  and I don't think she's daunted by that,' one unnamed friend claimed.

Camilla, who has reportedly been Prince Charles 'rock' since Megxit, had a good relationship with Prince Harry before the Orpah Winfrey interview (pictured with the Prince of Wales on Porthcressa Beach in July)

It was announced today that the transatlantic war of words between Buckingham Palace and the Sussexes could take a new twist, with the Queen reportedly 'ordering' officials to plan a legal fightback against the couple.

Sources say the 'exasperated' Queen, 95, has told palace officials to 'lawyer up' with libel experts after 'repeated attacks' on the Royal Family from the US-based Sussexes.

It comes after Harry and wife Meghan Markle said in their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey that an unnamed royal had raised concerns over their son Archie's skin colour before his birth.

Days later Buckingham Palace released a statement saying 'recollections may vary' in response to allegations.

But the row was reignited this week after it was revealed in a new chapter of their biography Finding Freedom that a source had accused the royals of 'failing to own' their part in the fallout.

Now sources close to the Queen have told the Sun that the feeling 'coming right from the top' is that 'enough is enough'.

The source told the paper: 'There is a limit to how much will be accepted and the Queen and Royal Family can only be pushed so far.

They are getting lawyered up. Harry and Meghan will be made aware and know repeated attacks will not be tolerated.'

One hurdle any legal team could face is the upcoming release of Prince Harry's tell-all memoirs.

The book, due to be released next year, will be published by Penguin Random House.

Pictured: Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the Duchess of Cornwall stand with the Queen, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during to mark the centenary of the RAF in 2018

According to the Sun, a preemptive legal warning to the publishers is now being considered.

The source told the paper: 'If someone were named in the book and accused of something directly that could be a libel and also infringe their rights to a private family life.

'It would be ironic if Harry and Meghan were accused of breaching privacy given their pronouncements on the subject.'

It comes after lawyers for the Sussexes earlier this week denied that the couple had 'reignited a rift' with the Queen after an updated biography claimed they believe she has failed to act over their accusations of racism.

The new edition of Finding Freedom suggests sources close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they were 'not surprised' at a perceived lack of action over their claim that a senior royal expressed 'concern' about their unborn child's skin colour.

It says they took exception to a carefully-worded statement from the Queen, following their interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, in which she expressed concern for the couple but insisted that 'some recollections may vary'.

Days later, Prince William told reporters that the royals were 'very much not a racist family' and admitted he was yet to speak to his estranged brother following the Oprah interview.

Now, the updated edition of Finding Freedom has claimed that the Sussexes were far from happy at Buckingham Palace's official response.

But their legal team at Schillings told MailOnline today that it was false and defamatory to claim the couple have 'reignited a rift' with the Queen - or to suggest or imply that they have made any statements to that effect.

Their lawyers insisted there were no new developments on the topic and that the claims were from the authors of the book, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, who do not speak for the Sussexes and rely on unnamed sources.

It has been reported relationships between Prince Harry, Meghan and other royals have been frosty since the couple decided to step down as senior royals in 2020 (pictured attending the annual Commonwealth Service in 2020)

Mr Scobie also tried to clarify the situation, tweeting: 'Back at this rodeo and, predictably, words are already being twisted.

'The comments made by a SOURCE (a detail some outlets have purposefully ignored) was about a lack of ownership from the royal institution as a whole. There's no 'attack' against the Queen anywhere in the book.'

An excerpt from the new version of Finding Freedom due to be published in People magazine in the US states that the couple believe senior royals have not taken 'accountability'  preventing a major thaw in relations.

The extract reads: 'Those three words, 'recollections may vary', did not go unnoticed by the couple, who a close source said were 'not surprised' that full ownership was not taken. 'Months later and little accountability has been taken,' a pal of Meghan's added. 'How can you move forward without that?' '

The book now covers Harry's return to the UK in April for his grandfather Prince Philip's funeral - and says he bought a one-way ticket as he hoped he might be able to speak to his family directly, without staff being involved.

It claims Harry spoke to his brother Prince William three times in all during the visit, as well as briefly chatting to his father, Prince Charles, after the service. He also enjoyed 'precious moments' with his grandmother, the Queen.

The biography, which was a glowing portrait of the Sussexes by Mr Scobie and Ms Durand first published in August 2020, concludes that the trip 'broke the ice' and that the door to a rapprochement is now 'slightly ajar'.
Looking back, I can see the awful irony of my situation. There I was, a family law barrister of 15 years experience, being cross-examined in the family court by my ex-partner and sobbing uncontrollably as he accused me of lying in an attempt to restrict access to our young daughter.

Each word stabbed me. I had made up the fact of his abuse, he claimed; I had never supported contact with Adele; he had never assaulted me. I was the toxic, manipulative one, not him.

He was calm, even apologetic, and apparently convincing. Meanwhile I could barely speak, so traumatised did I feel. The whole thing was a nightmare, even for me, with all my insider knowledge and training. If I found the family courts so callous and humiliating, then how much worse must it be for women without any experience at all of how they work?

Going to court had not been my choice. Proceedings had been brought against me because I would not let Adele stay overnight at my exs flat owing to his physical and emotional abuse, including breaking my hand.

Michelle Goodman, who was a family law barrister for 15 years, recounts going against her ex in court after refusing to allow their daughter Adele to stay overnight at his flat (file image)

At one point during the two-day case, the male judge even commented sarcastically on my anxious demeanour, as though my anxiety at being made to sit just feet from my abuser was somehow an abnormal reaction.

My own domestic saga surely proves what many women who have been through the family courts know all too well: that the system is failing us at best, and bullying us at worse.

Whats more, the family courts in-built lack of transparency, with hearings held behind closed doors and judgments not always published, means they can, in effect, act with impunity and mask bad practice.

Earlier this summer, an investigation into the justice system by the charity SafeLives, spearheaded by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs, concluded that nine out of ten women get no support through the family courts.

Far from dealing with them sympathetically, the entire system risks retraumatising victims, says the damning report. The family courts  and a lack of understanding from judges  undermine, belittle and even frighten the very people they are supposed to help.

Small reforms are making it easier  the 2021 Domestic Abuse Act banned the cross-examination of victims by those they accuse  but that came too late to help me, and still does not deal with what I came to feel was a generally unfeeling attitude from powerful figures in the court.

I wasnt even allowed to sit behind a screen, and the judge simply ignored my sobs, positioning his body so that he could not see me crying.

I am not an easily intimidated person. The morning of the court case, I kissed Adele goodbye, feeling confident and strong. I was going to do what I had advised countless women before: Stand in your truth and tell your story. But the reality of being questioned by my ex left me feeling helpless and vulnerable.

Michelle realised she had made a mistake having a child with Jonathan after he shouted at her in the street for not being 'cheerful' enough to his friends (file image)

Jonathan and I met at a party and he pursued me. When I became pregnant after two years, he was thrilled and asked me to marry him.

There were warning signs. He could be charming and considerate, but then criticise my weight or my intelligence. Once, while I was pregnant, he shouted at me in the street for not being cheerful enough to his friends, stormed off with my bag, then locked me out of my own flat.

I was distraught and realised I had made a terrible mistake having a child with Jonathan.

He disappeared for days but then turned up at my 20-week scan, acting like a loving father-to-be for the hospital staff.

The judge simply ignored my sobs, positioning his body so he could not see me crying

After Adele was born by emergency C-section, I contracted a severe post-operative infection and was readmitted to hospital twice. I experienced post-natal depression. Jonathan seemed bored and irritated by my illness.

Then, when Adele was still a baby, he began shouting at his teenage son while holding her. His son was crying, Adele was hysterical and I was frightened, pleading with Jonathan to give her to me.

He moved back to his own flat. We were still a couple but later, just before Adele turned two, I ended the relationship. I couldnt bear for my daughter to grow up in a toxic environment where her mother was afraid of her father.

Jonathan began a new relationship, but occasionally he tried to persuade me to get back together with him. Our daughter lived with me and Jonathan had access to her whenever he wished, but he often missed arrangements to go on holiday.

In 2017, after I moved away from London, Jonathan began demanding that Adele stay overnight at his flat. I felt she was not emotionally ready and feared exposing her to his temper, yet I wanted her to have a relationship with her father. So each summer we spent time with Jonathans extended family. It wasnt always easy, but we made it work.

Michelle said she chose not to pursue charges when Jonathan injured her hand because he would lose his job (file image)

Then, in 2019, while on one of these breaks, Jonathan accused me of denying him contact with Adele, and said I was jealous of his new girlfriend.

For the first time I was angry, not scared. I stood over him and remonstrated. He accused me of crazy behaviour, grabbed my right hand and squeezed it hard. There was an audible click. I was in shock and excruciating pain.

Later, in court, he claimed he was trying to protect his face and we had accidentally clashed. I knew Adele could be taken away from me if Id failed to protect her in a situation of domestic violence, so my main concern was to get us home safely.

Back home, an X-ray revealed a fracture. The doctor sent me to the hand trauma clinic and gave me a leaflet on domestic abuse. My mother insisted I report it to the police and social services.

In the judgment, I was portrayed as jealous and out of control. It felt deeply personal

As a barrister, Ive advised countless women to do this, but as I told the police officers that my partner had hurt me, I could feel myself shrinking with shame. In the end, I chose not to pursue charges because it would mean Jonathan would lose his job.

After three months when he disappeared from her life, I arranged for Jonathan and Adele to meet in a third-party contact centre on alternate Saturdays and every Tuesday. By this point, he owed me thousands in agreed child maintenance. When he later lost his job, he said he wouldnt pay his share of her school fees.

It was in late 2019 that I was served with a child arrangement application stating that Jonathan was not getting fair access to Adele and that I had made a false allegation he had broken my hand. It now fell to me to prove that there had been domestic abuse.

At the initial hearing at the beginning of 2020, Jonathan had legal representation and I was what is known as a litigant in person. I felt bullied and belittled. I realised I wouldnt get a fair hearing unless I lawyered up  so thats what I then did.

Michelle said the judge refused to accept other examples of Jonathans coercive and threatening behaviour, minimising his conduct as inappropriate parenting (file image)

I provided our contact schedule for the past three years, showing where Jonathan had missed or cancelled sessions with Adele, sometimes at the last minute, proving that his application had no merit. It was disregarded by the court and the magistrate patronisingly said to me: We must look forward now, Ms Goodman, and not dwell on past events.

A two-day fact-finding hearing was listed in November 2020. Jonathan was super-charming, though it seemed to me obvious that his evidence didnt hold up.

A few weeks later, the judge found that, in his opinion, there had been no history of domestic abuse during our five-year relationship and granted Jonathan unrestricted access to Adele.

The judgment was like a character assassination  I was portrayed as jealous and out of control. The comments felt deeply personal.

For months after, I couldnt sleep. I suffered hair loss and depression. At times I felt suicidal

From a family law perspective, Jonathan was not guilty of assault but had fractured my hand in self-defence.

The judge suggested that I had been angry because I had seen photos of Jonathan and his new partner on his camera. He questioned why I did not leave the holiday.

He refused to accept other examples of Jonathans coercive and threatening behaviour, minimising his conduct as inappropriate parenting. Jonathans contact arrangements with Adele were fully restored.

For months afterwards, I couldnt sleep, or I woke in the early hours crying. I suffered hair loss and severe depression. At times, I even felt suicidal. I still cant return to work.

Michelle said her experience left her convinced that the family court is not safe for women and children who are victims of abuse (file image)

My experience convinced me the family court is not safe for women and children who are victims of abuse.

I was telling the truth, had medical and police evidence, and had done everything right. Yet I lost the case.

I felt shamed into silence, when all Ive done is to have a baby with the wrong man.

After a while, I decided that I wouldnt accept defeat without a fight. I contacted barrister Dr Charlotte Proudman, who had recently represented two women appealing against judges orders dismissing their allegations of rape, domestic abuse and coercive control by a male partner.

With her backing, I decided to appeal. The stakes were high: if I was successful I could have a rehearing, but if I lost then Jonathan would continue to have unfettered access to Adele and would use his court victory against me.

My appeal this year was heard over a video link. This time, the judge said the previous judge had minimised the domestic abuse by regarding it as inappropriate parenting and this was wholly inappropriate and not what one may expect a judge of the family court to condone.

As a mother, he said, I was a vulnerable witness and the court should have implemented special measures as I gave evidence.

Michelle revealed that she feels too traumatised to go back to her legal career but wants to work in domestic violence and womens advocacy in the future (file image)

When Jonathan argued with him, he said: I am the judge here, and Im not used to being questioned about my judicial decision-making. Eventually, he overturned the decisions made in the 2020 ruling, upheld my appeal against the original judges findings and ordered a rehearing of my case. I had won!

While we await the new fact-finding hearing, Jonathan is only allowed contact with Adele that I consider safe and in her interest. My barrister has given me back my life, and Ill always be grateful to her. But after 24,000 in legal fees, Im back where I started. I have to go to court to prove there was domestic abuse during the relationship and after the separation, and that I have not denied Jonathan access to his child.

I feel too traumatised to go back to my legal career but want to work in domestic violence and womens advocacy in the future.

Judges and magistrates should have training around the complex issues of domestic abuse if we are to reform the culture of family courts. The system as it stands is appalling.

Had I not lived through it, on the other side of the fence as it were  not as a family court lawyer but a victim  I wouldnt have believed it.

some names have been changed to protect identities
The view has been expressed that inherited wealth is like a medicine  give too much and, rather than the benefits you had hoped for, it can kill the patient.

This is something Daniel Craig appears to have taken on board. He made headlines last week for saying he didnt want his children to inherit his estimated 117 million fortune when he dies.

I dont want to leave great sums to the next generation, Craig said. I think inheritance is quite distasteful. My philosophy is get rid of it or give it away before you go.

While some people might think this mean, I consider it a very sensible parenting decision.

Daniel Craig has revealed that he doesn't want his children to inherit his estimated 117 million fortune when he dies. Pictured: Daniel Craig with his wife Rachel Weisz

You might imagine that coming from wealth and privilege would guarantee someone a happy life. Yet time and again I have seen the children of rich people weighed down by their parents wealth and success.

Far from being a passport to adult bliss, it means they spend their teenage years and early adulthood trying to find direction and meaning.

They have nothing to strive for, nothing to work towards. They flail around, lost and confused. While some eventually settle down and find a purpose, many dont. They spiral into drink and drugs or battle depression and anxiety. They are bowed down by feelings of inadequacy or lack of fulfilment.

When I worked privately in drug addiction, a good number of my patients were the children of very wealthy families. They felt overwhelmed by the pressure to replicate their parents success  and so just didnt bother.

And when their parents do eventually die and they inherit a vast sum, it is like a millstone around their neck.

It is not just Daniel Craig who worries about this. Others agree. The investment billionaire Warren Buffett has said he will give his children enough money to do anything but not enough to do nothing. Similarly, Bill Gates has said that leaving kids massive amounts of money is not a favour to them.

Dr Max Pemberton said Daniel Craig has made a very sensible parenting decision. Pictured: Daniel Craig with daughter Ella

Gordon Ramsay, Elton John and Andrew Lloyd Webber have also expressed concern that their wealth might spoil their children if they are not careful.

The counter-argument is that if you are wealthy and dont give your children money, they will resent you. But I think a child who has been brought up to know you have their best interests at heart will understand that you are making them fend for themself.

While this might seem harsh, the sense of achievement they obtain when they make their own way in life is the greatest gift a parent can bestow on a child. Instilling a work ethic in your children is a fundamental role of any parent.

My parents werent rich at all  quite the opposite  but the best thing they gave me when I departed for medical school was nothing. When I went to university, it was on the understanding that they wouldnt be able to give me any money, so I would have to support myself entirely.

I saved, worked during the holidays and got a job as a journalist writing news in the early mornings to fund my way through the six-year course. I never took a penny from them.

I sometimes wonder what would have happened if my parents had been wealthy enough to give me money to get through medical school. I certainly wouldnt be writing this column.

Dr Max (pictured) said cutting down your child's inheritance is doing them a kindness by making them stand on their own two feet

Of course, Im not saying you should leave your children destitute. Notice that Craig was careful in his choice of words  he didnt say no sums, he said he wouldnt leave his children great sums. This seems fair.

I See Boris Johnson puts his watch forward to avoid being late. So do I! My wristwatch is always 15 minutes fast, so I panic momentarily when I look at it, then remember its fast and work out the real time  which spurs me on. Its a good trick for people like me who are habitually late.

We shouldnt imagine this is a consideration only for the elite uber-rich. We are entering a process economists have dubbed the great wealth transfer, as the older generation who have benefited from such things as rising house prices, deregulation and globalisation start to die off and the younger generation inherit. A report by the financial management company Brooks Macdonald estimated that in the UK alone, younger people will inherit 327 billion in the next decade.

How will those generations behave, I wonder, knowing they stand to inherit so much?

Perhaps it will be positive. Maybe some will take on worthy but low-paid jobs such as teaching, safe in the knowledge that eventually they will be financially secure when Mum and Dads house can at last be sold. But I wonder how many will instead drift in and out of work, unfulfilled and unmotivated.

People forget that your job as a parent is not to make friends with your children. Its tough cutting down their inheritance, but in the long term you are doing them a kindness by making them stand on their own two feet. Theyll thank you when they have made it themselves.

Make all schools no phone zones

Dr Max said not having phones in schools will improve their attention and focus, while also having a positive impact on their mental health (file image)

Unions have criticised the government plan to ban school pupils from having phones because, they claim, it will cause anxiety.

Please. What utter rubbish. Have unions completely lost their minds? I sometimes think they just object to things for the sake of it.

Far from causing children anxiety, not having phones in the classroom will have a tremendously positive impact on their mental health. Not only will it get them away from social media for a while, but it will help improve their attention and focus.

Im convinced that at least part of the reason for the epidemic of ADHD and attention disorders we are seeing in children is that they are not developing the skills they need to focus and sustain attention  thanks, in no small part, to having their phones always by their sides.

Ive been interested to read about a phenomenon called hygiene theatre. This describes the rituals many of us have adopted around Covid that are, in fact, largely useless in preventing infection but simply make us feel better.

Things like wearing surgical gloves while out shopping, wiping seats before customers sit on them, and using see-through face shields. In my gym, for example, the benches are wiped down between each person, yet the dumbbells never are. It makes no sense. In fact, its far better to open a window, get vaccinated and test regularly than any of this other nonsense weve been doing.

Dr Max prescribes...

clary sage

Also known as Salvia sclarea, this plant is native to the northern Mediterranean and its oils are known to be mood- enhancing. If you wake up feeling a bit flat or feel youve lost your get-up-and-go, reach for Ilapothecary Beat The Blues Room Spray (29, feelunique.com, also available in a handy pulse point or bath and shower gel), which has clary sage as the main ingredient.
Yes, says Flic Everett, whos had some compelling experiences with telepathy herself. She explains how it could take human communication to the next level

'Ive succeeded enough times to convince myself this is more than coincidence'

Are you thinking of it? he asks. From 500 miles away I focus on the image of a playing card. Concentrating hard. Theres a long pause, and the line goes so quiet I have to check were still connected.

Four of hearts, he says, and I scream. Immediately, I send my partner Andy the picture of the playing card Ive been thinking of. The four of hearts.

This happened seven years ago, soon after we met, and it wasnt the first time Id done telepathy. Ive been fascinated by the idea of reading minds ever since I was a child; compelled by the conviction that, with enough focus, I can transmit an image or idea without words. Ive succeeded enough times to convince myself theres more than coincidence at play, from calling someone as they were about to call me after weeks of no contact, to knowing that my son was in trouble at school when I was halfway down a ski slope. Id never reached the bottom so fast.

Once it happened when I was driving down a motorway with my ex-husband. I said: Ill think of an object and you guess. Initially he scoffed but we had a lot of miles ahead, and we had exhausted I Spy. I thought, randomly, of a clown doll Id owned as a child; not something my ex had ever seen, or that we had even discussed. We drove along in silence for a while, as I focused as hard as I could on the image, trying to send the picture to him.

OK, he said, Im getting the shape of a baby No wait, its a doll. But colourful a red nose... its a clown doll. I shrieked so loudly that we nearly drove on to the hard shoulder. We didnt try it for a long time after that, because we were both so freaked out.

A sceptic (which, in many ways, I still am) would say its simply luck. A less critical explanation would be that I had inadvertently given my subjects some kind of clue as to what I was thinking. What, I wonder, would a scientist say?

Cognitive neuroscientist Dr Lynda Shaw says that there are already compelling theories about how telepathy works

The absence of evidence does not mean the evidence of absence, says cognitive neuroscientist Dr Lynda Shaw. She goes on to point out that we happily entertain other nonverbal forms of communication. We already use empathy to understand one another without speaking. Similarly we can walk into a room and sense feelings of unrest or that something just doesnt feel right.

One of the most compelling scientific theories about how telepathy happens involves a specific type of nerve cell. There is a theory that mirror neurons [which fire both when we execute an action and when we observe someone else executing it] are also activated when we empathise with another person, says Dr Shaw. It is a relatively small jump from there, she says, to theorising that these mirror neurons might actually respond to specific thoughts.

One study published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine appears to support this idea. It found that changes in certain brain regions of the receivers in the study when the transmitters were sending their thoughts with focused intention. When they were told to stop, the receivers brain function altered too.

Following on from the idea of mirror neurons being at play in telepathy, Dr Shaw says that some studies have suggested certain mental states may be more readable than others. Gamma brain waves occur when we are at a high level of concentration, processing information. When this happens, communication in the brain is very efficient, she says. This is what psychologists call a state of flow, and also tends to happen on long car journeys or in creative periods of thought.

'Ive succeeded enough times to convince myself this is more than coincidence'

Another theory suggests that the brain is at its most receptive during sleep. In the 1970s, Dr Stanley Krippner, professor of psychology at Saybrook University in California, conducted experiments with sleeping subjects. The (conscious) sender was given a picture to focus on. The receiver would be asleep, then woken and asked about their dream. One image used was School of Dance, a painting by Degas showing girls in a ballet class. Dr Krippner reported that on waking, the receiver immediately said, I was in a class made up of maybe half a dozen people, it felt like a school There was one little girl trying to dance with me.

Indeed, telepathy has proved of such enduring interest to the scientific community that, in 2014, Barcelona-based research institute Starlab successfully transmitted the words hola and ciao in binary code from the brain of a person in India to the brains of three people in France. The communication involved the sender wearing a cap of electrodes that recorded brain activity, which was then sent to the receivers where it was seen as flashing lights. There is hope that this might one day open up pathways of communication for people who have either lost or never had the power of speech.

Aside from the potential medical benefits of engineered telepathy (and, of course, those that it might offer the military) there is the problem of the psychological impact of being able to read each others thoughts. As Dr Shaw points out, however, this depends on whether you believe that the senders mind is an open book or whether they have control over what they are transmitting.

If we are able to read another persons thoughts uncensored, then it could lead to all sorts of problems, from being hurt because we know what someone else really thinks of us, to knowing what their intentions are  good and bad, she agrees. However, if we are talking about simply communicating a message outside the normal channels then this will be like any other medium  written or spoken.

Natalie Reeves Billing, a childrens author and musician from Merseyside, subscribes to the idea of telepathy brought on by a flow state after an experience that she cannot explain away. For the past year, my writing partner Johnny and I have been working on tunes for children  the latest song was a sea shanty, she explains. I was in the shower when the tune suddenly came to me. I had to record it quickly and send it to Johnny before I forgot it. As I was sending it, I saw a message from him pop into my inbox. They both listened to each others recordings at the same time and were stunned to find that they had written the same tune.

We couldnt even get our words out! Everything about the song was the same. We joked that we may have secret cameras in each others houses, but honestly, Ive never been so surprised. I think we became believers [in telepathy] right there and then. It would be one huge coincidence otherwise.

Anna Craig*, a retail manager from North London, experienced telepathy with her best friend Sally*. For her it was a state of intense crisis rather than of flow which she believes prompted the telepathic connection.

About five years ago, Sally was with a really bad boyfriend, she says. None of us trusted him; he had a temper, but she swore he was lovely. I hadnt seen her for a few weeks and was getting ready for bed when I suddenly thought of Sally. It was as if she was speaking in my head, saying, Call me. I was so spooked, I phoned her immediately and heard her crying. Sally had had a massive row with her boyfriend, he had hit her and shed fled the flat with no money.

She said, I was desperate to call you, but I thought youd be asleep, Anna recalls. That was the end of their relationship  and Sally and I still talk about the weirdness of what happened that night.

The problem with true telepathic communication (in other words, brain-to-brain communication without the use of electrodes or flashing lights) is that there is just not enough hard scientific data to prove it exists; there is data to show how it might exist, but nothing beyond that. Dr Shaw, however, is keeping an open mind.

Consciousness is the last frontier in human research, she says. I have high hopes that we will learn more in the not-too-distant future. That said, to actually understand how a brain may transmit complex messages to another brain that it is then able to decipher them may be a long way off.

In the meantime, Ill keep practising. Go on, which card am I thinking of?

(Its the eight of diamonds.)
From movie icons to socialites, Christian Dior dressed them all. But his greatest muse was Princess Margaret, says Justine Picardie

Princess Margaret meeting Christian Dior for the first time at his Paris salon, 1951

Women, wrote Christian Dior in his memoir, have instinctively understood that I dream of making them not only more beautiful, but also happier. After the debut collection of his eponymous couture house on 12 February 1947, which launched what the formidable editor of Harpers Bazaar Carmel Snow coined the New Look, women flocked to be dressed by him. And in May 1949, Christian Diors status as fashion royalty was confirmed as a result of a visit by Princess Margaret to his couture salon.

Margaret was 18 and on her first European holiday. The princess created a sensation wherever she went, attracting swarms of photographers and journalists, for  as Christian recalled  she crystallised the whole popular frantic interest in royalty She was a real fairy princess, delicate, graceful, exquisite. Such was the frenzy surrounding Margaret that she had been pursued throughout Italy in the preceding days by paparazzi, who captured images of her in a bikini on the island of Capri, which were then published around the world. Meanwhile, a female journalist slipped into Margarets hotel suite, and reported that it contained a detective story (Busmans Honeymoon by Dorothy L Sayers), a bottle of Tweed perfume and a phial of Peggy Sage nail polish.

Cecil Beatons 1951 21st birthday portrait of the princess wearing a dior silk organza ballgown

Margaret was already perceived as being fashion-conscious. For the silver wedding celebrations of her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the previous year, she had worn an outfit designed by the Queens dressmaker, Norman Hartnell: a full skirt and fitted jacket in forget-me-not blue that had been much admired in the press. Margaret was also ravishingly pretty, with big blue eyes, a soft, peach-like complexion and a voluptuous hourglass figure that was perfectly aligned with the New Look silhouette.

On 31 May, the princess was filmed being met by Christian Dior at his couture house on 30 Avenue Montaigne. After a tour, she was shown dresses from the Trompe lil collection, which included the now famous Miss Dior design, and chose a romantic evening gown for herself. Years later, she recalled: My favourite dress of all was never photographed. It was my first Dior dress, white strapless tulle and a vast satin bow at the back. Underneath the huge skirt there was a kind of beehive, fixed like a farthingale [a hooped petticoat]. It meant I could move any way, even walk backwards, without tripping up.

Princess Margaret is given a private view of the new collection at Diors salon, 1951

Dior was delighted to have secured such a high-profile client, and impressed by Margarets sartorial confidence. In his memoir, he noted that she was keenly interested in fashion, and also, unlike many women, knew exactly the sort of fashions which suited her fragile height and Titania-like figure. Princess Margaret is the only one of Diors clients identified by name in his memoir, as if her patronage represented the highest acclaim, beyond that of any film star or rich socialite.

The Dior dress, however, raised eyebrows when Margaret wore it for the first time at a dinner party given by her father; apparently her mother suggested that shoulder straps should be added, and the low-cut neckline raised to a more demure level.

Despite the Queens concern, she nevertheless accompanied her younger daughter to meet the couturier and view his latest collection when he came to London in April 1950. Dior was there for his British debut at the Savoy hotel. Tickets for the two shows on 25 April sold out so quickly that a third was added. The next day, a private show was held for members of the royal family at the French embassy. The Queen and Princess Margaret attended, along with the Duchess of Kent and her sister, Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark. According to Dior, the proceedings were shrouded in secrecy. The huge ball dresses, with their voluminous skirts concealed by covers, were smuggled out of the service door of the Savoy, he recalled. The whole operation took place amidst a telltale rustle of material and constant sshs.

With the Queen at Royal Ascot, 1952

After arriving at the embassy, a final, chaotic, rather emotional rehearsal took place. The models had practised walking backwards out of the room, in line with royal protocol, but the Queen requested that they turn around so that she and her companions could see the garments in all their glory. After the show, Dior was introduced to the Queen: I was instantly struck by her elegance, which I had been quite unprepared for: that, and the atmosphere of graciousness which she radiates. The mauve dress and draped hat which she wore would have been quite inconceivable on anyone else  as it was, on her they looked wonderful.

Dior was equally enthusiastic about the other Englishwomen that he encountered. I adore the English, he declared, dressed not only in the tweeds which suit them so well, but also in those flowing dresses, in subtle colours, which they have worn inimitably since the days of Gainsborough. Indeed, what he termed his Anglomania extended even further: There is no other country in the world, besides my own, whose way of life I like so much. I love English traditions, English politeness, English architecture, I even love English cooking! I dote on Yorkshire pudding, mince pies, stuffed chicken, and above all I worship the English breakfast of tea, porridge, eggs and bacon.

Dior receiving his Certificate of Life Membership of the British Red Cross from Princess Margaret, 1954

As the younger royal daughter, Margaret was able to distinguish herself from the future queen with a glamour that also contained a streak of rebellion. It would have been perceived as unpatriotic for a queen, or the heir to the throne, to appear in French couture, but Margaret was allowed to choose a Dior dress for her 21st birthday, and to wear it in Cecil Beatons memorable portrait of her at Buckingham Palace in July 1951 (pictured on page 41). Among the most romantic of Diors ballgowns, it was made of white silk organza, the seven layers of the full skirt ingeniously gathered into a 21-and-a-half-inch waist, and embroidered with floral motifs that formed the perfect frame for an English rose.

When Londons V&A Museum staged its immensely popular Dior exhibition in 2019, the birthday dress proved to have lost none of its original appeal. The gown took pride of place, displayed opposite Beatons picture. He noted in his diary that she jokingly said she liked the golden embellishment because its got bits of potato peel on it. In fact, its most unusual feature was the incorporation of raffia and straw into the intricate embroidery, combined with mother of pearl, sequins and rhinestones. The princess wore the dress to her birthday party at Balmoral in August 1951, and again on 21 November that year, at a charity ball in Paris. The morning after the event, pictures of her dancing at the ball appeared in newspapers around the world.

A Dior fashion show at Blenheim Palace

As Elizabeth ascended to the throne, the differences between the two sisters inevitably became more marked. The photograph of Princess Margaret in her white Dior dress at Ascot in June 1952 (opposite) shows her walking a few steps behind her sister. Both of them are very beautiful, but it is Princess Margaret who looks chic, her wide-brimmed hat trimmed with black ribbon to match her black gloves and sandals.

   

In December 1951, Princess Margaret had appeared for the first time in the International Best Dressed List, an annual ranking started by the New York Dress Institute in 1940, and which regularly featured the Duchess of Windsor (formerly Mrs Wallis Simpson). The princess was ranked at number 13, while the duchess was in the top spot. By 1953, however, Margaret had risen to number eight, two places above her. The list was widely reported in the press. For as Picture Post observed about Margarets relationship with fashion: What she wears is News. It is seen by thousands of women in person, hundreds of thousands on newsreels, millions who read the newspapers and magazines. Her dresses, her hats, are copied, modified and sold to girls all over the country in weeks. Her whole life is a public appearance. She is known as the Princess who loves clothes.

Christian Dior surrounded by models following his show at the Savoy, 1950

Hence the significance of her appearance as the guest of honour at a Dior show at Blenheim Palace on 3 November 1954. The event was organised by the Duchess of Marlborough in aid of the British Red Cross. Such was the duchesss allegiance to the charity that when she conducted an expedition to meet Christian Dior at his headquarters in Paris, she arrived dressed in her Red Cross uniform, an outfit admired by the couturier as setting off the chic of her tall figure.

In his memoir, Dior remarked on the magnificence of the surroundings, and the series of 14 salons that the models paraded through, before an audience of 2,000. He also noted that Blenheim had originally been built for the first Duke of Marlborough in recognition of his great victories over the French When I saw the two flags of France and England fluttering together in the afternoon wind over the palace, I silently asked Marlboroughs pardon for having set up the triumphant standard of French fashion in such a place. At any moment I expected his indignant ghost to join the line of mannequins. No such apparition appeared; and Dior was applauded by the audience, feted by the press and presented with a Certificate of Life Membership of the British Red Cross by Princess Margaret.


Styling: Holly Elgeti. Make-up: Nicky Weir using Hourglass. Hair: Alex Szabo at Carol Hayes using T3. Dress, Iris & Ink. jewellery, Daisy Jewellery, Alighieri, Pilgrim



There are many ways of discerning what kind of person you are. Generally, anthropological organisation falls into two camps. There are those with a sticking-out belly button (not me) and those with a navel that folds in on itself (me). There are those who prefer salty over sweet (also me). There are those who believe Star Wars to be one of the greatest film franchises of all time (my husband) and those who correctly state this to be untrue (me). There are those who would, at all times except in a real emergency, prefer a text over a call (me) and those who can natter away happily for hours on the phone (weirdos).

Recently, I have discovered another means of categorisation. Saunas. Youre either someone who loves saunas and steam rooms, or you arent. Until last week, I fell into the latter camp. I do not do well in the heat unless Im wearing a bikini and theres a cooling body of water nearby.

In everyday life, I tend to run hot. A brief journey on a crowded tube, a rushed walk to the shops or one too many flights of stairs taken in haste, and I will cascade with sweat. Theres an assumption that people who sweat a lot are also unhealthy, but this isnt the case. I exercise a lot. However I now know to schedule in at least an hours cool-down time after a workout so that I can apply make-up without half of it sliding off my face.

So the idea of willingly sitting in a cramped, overly hot cabin and being left there alone with my thoughts, or as intense steam billows in without warning, is enough to make me, well, break out in a sweat. Honestly, saunas make me panicky. I can stick it for about five minutes, then my anxiety levels rise and I suddenly reach Peak Hotness and have to evacuate immediately.

My husband, on the other hand, is able to sit there for hours on end and claims to feel rejuvenated afterwards.

The other thing that makes saunas stressful is the lack of clarity over the required etiquette. My friend Daisy recounts a story of the time she and her lovely boyfriend Patrick went on holiday to an Austrian ski resort. Daisy, who is far more sophisticated and worldly than I am, loves a sauna and thinks nothing of divesting herself of all clothing and sitting quite happily on a towel in a steamy wooden box full of similarly naked strangers. Patrick, like me, finds such a prospect utterly horrifying.

The fact that Daisy went to the sauna on her own caused one of their only rows when later, over dinner, Patrick was convinced two fellow hotel guests (both male) were checking out his girlfriend having seen her earlier in the altogether.

No theyre not, Daisy said.

Harrumph, came the reply.

They made up swiftly. Now, like all healthy couples, they understand that although they agree on the big things (ethics, values, Marmite), there are some areas on which they will never completely see eye to eye.

Daisy and I went on holiday last week, and she told me this story while encouraging me to try our hotels sauna and steam-room offering. OK, but I dont want to be naked, I said. I was Team Patrick on that front.

Perhaps Im unnecessarily prudish, but one of my recurring nightmares is walking down the street and finding I have no clothes on. I just dont get the appeal.

You dont have to take your bikini off, Daisy said patiently.

And if I say I have to leave, I have to leave immediately.

Fine.

So it was, with the ground rules in place, I actually had quite a nice time in the hotel sauna. There was no nudity. And yes, OK, afterwards I did feel pretty good. I still refuse to be a sauna person, though. Thats firmly not part of my identity.

This week Im

Wearing this halter-neck bikini top with button detail from Reiss. A pleasing Ursula Andress vibe. Drinking Edinburgh Gin from a bottle designed by Fleabags Phoebe Waller-Bridge (*All profits go to Edinburgh Festival Fringe, helping to fund the arts recovery in 2022). Reading Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny. Tender, funny and full of heart. Think funny Anne Tyler.

Wearing this halter-neck bikini top with button detail from Reiss. A pleasing Ursula Andress vibe.

Drinking Edinburgh Gin from a bottle designed by Fleabags Phoebe Waller-Bridge. (All profits go to Edinburgh Festival Fringe, helping to fund the arts recovery in 2022)

Reading Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny. Tender, funny and full of heart. Think funny Anne Tyler.
He sent a photo of his bare torso emerging from reeds in a river. I replied, Blimey! Looks cold! He said he had sent it by mistake

Im like catnip to men. Catnip!

I was having a quiet Sunday evening watching my new friends on Love Island, when I had a message alert on Twitter. It was from a man who had texted me Happy New Year, but Id heard nothing since. This time, it was a naked photo!

Well, not completely naked, but a bare torso emerging from reeds in a river. He looks a little like Michael Fassbender.

I replied, Blimey! Looks cold!

He said he had sent it by mistake, but that was obviously a lie. He said he had been for a swim after a stressful day. Then he typed: Can I ask, why the Goddess Twitter handle? Is it because you are so good looking?

I replied that, no, ha ha ha, I had named my limited company Goddess, as I wanted the chippy people at HMRC to be forced to call me that every time they opened my file.

Its a pleasure to virtually meet you, he typed. Shame its not normal, like in a bar or a cafe So, I will take a leap

At least this dumping was so swift I hadnt had time to wax

And he sent me his phone number!

We are both divorced; he lives in the Midlands. We decided to meet in a pub in the Peak District which, I tell him, is one of my favourite places.

He replied: Well, if you are there, I probably wont notice anything else.

Very smooth! I tell him I could ask a million questions, but it all boils down to attraction. He replied: You are a big tick in that column!

We both tried to find a pub or hotel with rooms, as it is a few hours drive for both of us, but they were all fully booked. Would the virus like to find any more ways to thwart my love life? The only slight red light was that he sent a screen shot of a double room in a Premier Inn for 95, with the message: There is only one room left, wed have to share, which I pointedly ignored.

Im not staying in a Premier Inn!

We ended on him saying that we would meet this Saturday, and that we would work out what to do. He then went to bed. I started Google Earthing the car parks of various pubs in the Peak District National Park, to work out the terrain vis-a-vis heels.

The next day, I show Nic his bare torso in the river, and tell her we are going on a date this Saturday. Let me see more photos! she says, which I hadnt thought of. And so I open his profile on Twitter and, lo and behold, it says, Sean XXX has blocked you. You can no longer send messages to this person or view his tweets.

Oh.

Go on WhatsApp and see if he has blocked you there, too, she says, unable to contain her glee.

This is turning out to be very similar to when I had just moved to London aged 18. A man on Tottenham Court Road stopped me and asked me for a drink. We went to a pub, he went to the bar and never came back.

How do I check if Im blocked on WhatsApp as well? I ask her. She is well versed in these sorts of situations.

Message him and see if it goes through.

But how will I know if I am blocked there too?

Lizzie Bennet never had these problems.

You will get one tick, which means sent. But you wont get a second tick, which means message delivered.

So I type, Hi, Sean. Have you drowned? Been eaten by a duck?

I wait for my ticks. Its a bit like a pregnancy test, but without the fun part. I wait. And I wait.

I have only got one tick! He has blocked me on WhatsApp too!

I then stare a bit, and notice that me saying Night! on Sunday, seconds after he said we would sort our date, only got one tick as well!

What is going on? Is this worse than being stood up by Cambridge Man? I suppose at least this dumping was so swift I hadnt had time to wax.

Contact Liz at lizjonesgoddess.com and stalk her @lizjonesgoddess

Everyones talking about Liz Joness Diary: The Podcast! 

Join Liz and her trusty (long-suffering) assistant Nicola as they dissect her weekly YOU magazine diary and delve into the archives to relive the bust-ups, betrayals, bullets and much more in this brilliant podcast. Theyre outspoken, outrageous and utterly hilarious. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and mailplus.co.uk
Former Royal Navy submarine commanders have become the latest experts to sound the alarm over Advent International's 2.6billion takeover of Ultra Electronics.

FTSE 250-listed Ultra makes highly sensitive kit for the Navy  including critical submarine-hunting sonobuoys.

Senior public figures have warned that Britain could lose access to this technology if US private equity titan Advent takes it over.

Concern: Ultra makes highly sensitive kit for the Navy  including critical submarine-hunting sonobuoys

Ryan Ramsey, who commanded attack submarine HMS Turbulent, said that as a frontline operator he found the deal 'concerning'.

He told The Sunday Telegraph: 'The real focus is not on the here and now, it is about the future.'

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has ordered regulators to assess whether the deal poses a security threat.

Paul Blythe, who commanded submarine HMS Vanguard, said that 'even with the best will and assurances about safeguards, we don't know if Ultra could be sold on if the safeguards are watered down'.
Global dividends are set to get back to 2019 levels by this time next year as companies rebound from the Covid crisis.

Payouts to investors will reach almost 1trillion by the end of 2021, according to figures from Janus Henderson.

Boost: Payouts to investors will reach almost 1trillion by the end of 2021, according to figures from Janus Henderson

This is just 3 per cent below the pre-pandemic total. Within 12 months, the payouts should be on a par.

In the second quarter of 2021 UK payouts rocketed by 60 per cent compared with last year.

However, they were still 27 per cent down on the same period in 2019  compared with a global drop of 6 per cent.

The drag on the UK has been driven by cuts made by Royal Dutch Shell and BP.

Shell recently raised its dividend by 40 per cent but is still handing back around half the amount it was paying before Covid.

Jane Shoemake, of Janus Henderson, said: 'Households have record savings and there is pent-up demand to spend which should be good for company profits.'
She died before telling her version of events to police, who are still investigating

Friend took her to a medical centre but she passed out in the car on the way

Made a frantic call to her friend and said she stabbed herself in the stomach

Cameila Thomas, 18, was stabbed inside the home she shared with her boyfriend

Pictured: Cameila Thomas, 18, before her Year 12 formal

The devastated mother of an 18-year-old woman stabbed to death at the home she shared with her boyfriend has remembered her daughter as a 'ray of sunshine' - before she broke down and said 'it's horrific way for any girl to die'.

Cameila Thomas planned on spending the evening of August 4 doing craft with her mum Corneli Minnaar, but she was distracted with her phone and suddenly said at 3pm that she had to go home to Spearwood, in Perth's south, to 'sort something out'.

She hopped on a bus to Fremantle with her 15-year-old brother and got off a few stops before him - it was the last time she would ever speak her family.

About an hour later, the teenager made a frantic call to a friend claiming she had stabbed herself in the stomach and needed a lift to Spearwood Medical Centre immediately.

Her friend raced to the property to try and save Cameila's life, but she lost consciousness in the car before she had a chance to tell anyone what happened.

Paramedics were called to the centre at about 4.30pm and took her to Fiona Stanley Hospital for surgery, but Ms Minnaar told Daily Mail Australia she lost too much blood.

Cameila Thomas (pictured), 18, died in the home she shared with her boyfriend in Spearwood, Perth

Cameila Thomas (picture right) and her mother Corneli Minnaar (left), 39, shared a very close bond

Pictured: Corneli Minnaar (left), Cameila and one of her little brothers enjoying a day at the beach

'Doctors tried to stabilise her after the operation and tried to bring her back to life, but they couldn't,' the 39-year-old said.

She also doesn't know how long her daughter waited between when she was stabbed and when she made the phone call.

Police said in a statement that a 17-year-old boy was assisting them with enquiries, but he was released amid the ongoing investigation.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting the 17-year-old had anything to do with Cameila Thomas' death.

The shattered mum-of-three explained that Cameila was about to finish Year 12, but moved into a granny flat with her boyfriend out the back of his mother's house on Galian Way several months prior.

They met at school and had been together for a year, but the make-up artist said he daughter was 'very responsible' and lived in her own one-bedroom flat prior.

She visited her mum and two little brothers about four times a week, during which time Ms Minnaar tried to ask if everything in her life was okay.

Cameila moved into a one-bedroom flat several months ago, before she moved into a granny flat with her boyfriend because it was cheaper

Cameila wanted tp travel the world with friends when she graduated school, and thought about becoming a marine biologist

Pictured: Cameila with her two little brothers when she was younger. Even though she didn't live at home, she visited about four times a week

'With teenagers, the more you talk the more they push you away, so I had to be careful,' she said.

Ms Minnaar wishes she could have stopped her daughter from leaving her sight that day.

'It's really sad that such a beautiful kid gets taken away, but of course we all think we could have forced her to stay,' she said.

'I can't think about that.'

When asked how she will remember her only daughter, Ms Minnaar broke down.

'Cameila makes me proud to be a mum even thought she's not here anymore,' she said.

'She loved us so much and she was such a happy young girl. Everyone loved her.'

Cameila's family are originally from South Africa and raised money to fly her father and grandparents to Australia for the funeral

Pictured: Cameila (left) with her mother Corneli Minnaar (centre), and her two brothers

Pictured: Cameila with her brothers and grandparents, who live in South Africa

Cameila's family are originally from South Africa and started a Go Fund Me campaign to raise money to fly her father and grandparents to Australia.

'In these Covid times travelling from country to country is expensive, but what parent or grandparent wouldn't move heaven and earth to be there in these precious last moments,' the fundraiser read.

With the help of community in Perth and South Africa, Cameila's grandparents arrived in Western Australia on Wednesday and will spend two weeks in hotel quarantine.

Her father will arrive in the coming weeks.

Cameila's best friend Grace Holtham said that the teenager was 'someone that everybody needed in their life'.

Pictured: Cameila (right) with her best friend Grace Holtham (left). Grace and her family were devastated when they hear the horrific news

Pictured: Forensic investigators at the scene where Cameila was stabbed. No one has been arrested

Detectives brought a 17-year-old boy in for questioning after Cameila was stabbed, but he was released amid ongoing investigations

'She was an amazing person who made everyone smile and blessed so many people with her beautiful laugh and everyone loved her.

She was the best friend I have ever had, she always made me feel loved and wanted.'

'I always called her my sunshine because she always cleared my clouds of worry and sadness so I found it sweet when the day after her passing it was a beautiful sunny day after constant stormy weather.'

In a heartfelt message to her friend, Grace said: Cameila, you are so loved and missed by so many, you were taken from this life far too early, none of this feels like its real and nobody will ever forget you.'

Cameila's school friends banded together and bought her family flowers after she died

Pictured: Gifts and trinkets Cameila's friends brought Corneli Minnaar after the teenager died

'I love you so much gorgeous girl. Rest in peace angel.'

Tributes have also been pouring in for her on social media.

'Oh Cameila, you were taken way too soon, too abruptly and in a brutal and undeserving way. Just last month you turned 18,' one woman wrote.

'We will always remember you as the loving, caring and gentle daughter, sister, granddaughter, cousin, niece and friend. You were loved by many and will forever be in our hearts girl.'

Another wrote: Cameila's life faded very soon and in sad circumstances, there is a wound that is open and there is no explanation for situations like this.'

For 24/7 confidential support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14
Donald Trump blasted Joe Biden on Saturday over the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and accused him of giving the U.S. military away to the Taliban as he appeared at a rally for thousands of supporters in Cullman, Alabama.

'This will go down as one of the greatest military defeats of all time,' Trump said.

Trump called the situation in Afghanistan a humiliation, claiming it's not a withdrawal but rather 'a total surrender'.

The former President told the massive crowd gathered in the deep red state that 'this would have never happened if I was president.'

He said: 'The issue here is not whether to leave Afghanistan, the issue is Joe Biden's staggering incompetence and gross negligence ... creating the greatest strategic humiliation that we've ever seen as a country.

'With me in office the Taliban would not have ever dreamt of capturing our airfield or parading around with our American weapons.

'There would have been no emergency embassy evacuation and no taking down of our flag. Because we would have established clear lines that the Taliban would never have dared to cross.

'The problem with Biden is that our enemies are not afraid of him, they don't respect him.'

Trump called the Afghanistan withdrawal a humiliation, claiming it is 'a total surrender'

Trump also defended his original negotiations with Taliban leaders, after he was criticized for meeting with the warlord leaders while in office

It came as pictures emerged of Taliban fighters bearing a combination of U.S. military hardware and that used by Afghan forces, likely seized as Western and allied forces withdrew from the country.

'Our military is being given to the enemy,' he said.

Trump also defended his original negotiations with Taliban leaders, after he was criticized for meeting with the warlord leaders while in office.

'Who the hell else am I supposed to be negotiating with', he asked.

Trump made a conditional peace deal with the Taliban in 2020 to reduce the number of Afghan troops if the Taliban did not provide support to terrorists.

Trump agreed to a full military withdrawal by May 1 of this year. The Biden administration has blamed Trump for the timeline leading to the botched withdrawal.

Biden extended the deadline to September 11 and then pledged to have all US troops out by August 31.

And Trump said he was tough in the negotiations and told warned the Taliban: 'If anything happens we will reign terror upon you.'

'Don't touch our American citizens,' Trump said he told the Taliban leader. 'Don't touch our American citizens.'

It came as pictures emerged of Taliban fighters bearing a combination of U.S. military hardware and that used by Afghan forces, likely seized as Western and allied forces withdrew from the country

Trump said: 'The issue here is not whether to leave Afghanistan, the issue is Joe Biden's staggering incompetence and gross negligence'

Trump called the situation in Afghanistan a humiliation, claiming it's not a withdrawal but rather 'a total surrender'

He also owned his decision to set a deadline for withdrawing all US troops from Afghanistan, claiming after 20 years it was time to leave the region and let them fight out their civil war without Americans lives lost in the process.

In just over a week, the Taliban was able to takeover almost all of Afghanistan, including the capital city of Kabul.

President Joe Biden's handling of the withdrawal was slammed by all sides.

Trump only ended his speech after it started to drizzle at the farm against after hours of clear skies between attendees entry and the speech.

After nearly an hour-and-a-half of speaking, the president noticed people were beginning to leave because of the rain.

'By the way, it's starting to rain,' Trump said. 'I will prove to you it's my hair.'

The comment was met with roaring laughter from the thousands-strong audience.

The pregame show before Trump took stage included a short speech by Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville.

He lauded the crowd size, claiming there were people as far as he could see onto the field at York Family Farms.

'They used to call it Woodstock, this is Trump-stock here in Cullman County,' he said to massive cheers.

Chairman of the Alabama Republicans, John Wall, used his remarks to call Critical Race Theory a 'demonic doctrine from the pit of hell'.

Trump also said that Wall was able to bring in $1.2 million in fundraising for the party by putting on the event.

Trump arrived to a muggy mid-80s weather, which settled after a bout of rain struck the farm grounds hours before his arrival.

Hundreds of supporters waited out a 45-minute thunderstorm after gaining entry to the rally venue. Thousands more continued to wait in line outside the farm grounds in the rain.

TRump's guest list at the Alabama rally included Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (left) and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell (right), who has focused his attention on combatting the 2020 election results

Trump defended his decision to set a deadline for withdrawing all US troops from Afghanistan

Trumps said Afghanistan 'will go down as one of the greatest military defeats of all time'

Many donned red 'Keep America Great' plastic ponchos.

Trump traveled to the deep red state on Saturday for the first time since his rally on February 28, 2016 in Madison, Alabama as he looks to help Representative Mo Brooks in running for the Senate.

To the right of the stage was a whole tent dedicated to Brooks' Senate campaign.

Alabama Senator Richard Shelby is retiring at the end of his sixth term and, so far, four Republicans are vying in the 2022 midterms primaries to replace him  Brooks, Lynda Blanchard, Katie Britt and Jessica Taylor.

Trump slammed Shelby last month for endorsing Britt, who previously served as the senator's chief of staff.

'She's like family. She'd make a good candidate. She's probably the best-qualified candidate to come along in a long time,' Shelby said of Britt, according to a June report. 'I'd support her, I'd vote for her.'

President Joe Biden's handling of the withdrawal was slammed by all sides

Trump used that opportunity to lash out against Shelby, Britt and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

'I see that the RINO Senator from Alabama, close friend of Old Crow Mitch McConnell, Richard Shelby, is pushing hard to have his 'assistant' fight the great Mo Brooks for his Senate seat,' he wrote in a statement at the time.

'She is not in any way qualified and is certainly not what our Country needs or not what Alabama wants,' he continued. 'For Mitch McConnell to be wasting money on her campaign is absolutely outrageous.'

He also issued his endorsement for Brooks during that July 10 statement.

'Vote for Mo Brooks! He stands for America First, and everything Alabama wants. He also has my Complete and Total Endorsement.'

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was walking around the rally campaigning for Brooks and speaking to some of Trump's most fervent supporters.

She held a Brooks' campaign sign for much of the night but switched to an 'Impeach Biden' sign at some point as she joined Trump is calling for Biden's removal over his handling of Afghanistan.

Brooks made some remarks just before Trump took stage, but lost the audience when he told them to try and forget about 2020 and move forward to winning 2022 and 2024.

In a video that played before Brooks took stage, it showed a clip of him at the January 6 rally in front of the White House where he told people they would start 'Taking down names and kicking ass'.

That 'Stop the Steal' rally in January led up to the Capitol riot, which got Trump impeached by the House for 'incitement of insurrection.' He was acquitted by the Senate.

People who lined up hours before the former president's arrival on Saturday ran to try and grab the limited seats available at York Family Farms as the audience started pouring into the venue around 2:15 p.m.  nearly five hours before Trump's expected start time.

Outside of a few hundred seats, there was room for thousands more to stand.

As attendees made it through Secret Service checks, they were greeted with live music, a food vendor and a free water station handing out Blue Spring Living Water, which comes from Blount, Alabama.

There were also food vendors available outside the security perimeter for Trump supporters to snack on as they waited in line.

Social Media site Gettr, which was created by former Trump aide and spokesman Jason Miller, was prominently promoted at the rally.

People lined up hours before the former president's arrival on Saturday in Cullman, Alabama

A plane flew around York Daily Farms with a banner behind it reading: 'Twitter Sucks, Join Gettr'.

The social media platform officially launched on July 4, 2021 as an obvious conservative alternative to Twitter, as the interface and gestures have been described as similar to Jack Dorsey's site.

Many MAGA followers started seeking social media sites that wouldn't stifle or censor their posts and shares.

Parler emerged as the clear alternative as a site that wouldn't censor posts and accounts, but that quickly turned sour when Apple took the app off its App Store.

Gettr emerged months later as an anti-censorship social media platform.

While initial estimates of the crowd were not immediately known, organizers publicly said they expected about 20,000 people to attend the rally.

Privately, they say 50,000 people applied for tickets which could make it the biggest Trump rally in history.

But having been burned last year - when they claimed a million people had RSVPed for a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, only for 6200 to attend - they were reluctant to make such predictions public.

Crowds of tens of thousands present their own problems. Trump arrived in Cullman two days after it announced a public health emergency amid spiralling numbers of COVID-19 cases.

A very minimal amount of rally goers were seen donning face masks at the outdoor event. Most were naked-faced while some more elderly attendees were seen with a mask.

Whenever the topic of masks or vaccinations were brought up by a speaker, including Trump, the crowd issues their most pronounced boos and jeers.

Alabama is one of the states experiencing the worst surge as the Delta variant ravages the nation and breakthrough cases in vaccinated Americans continue to spike.

The case-rates in Alabama are at the same level as they were in January.

In a state with a 4.903 million population, the average number of cases per day sits at more than 4,500.

A top ally previewed to DailyMail.com ahead of the speech that Trump would issue his strongest signal he's running in 2024 by calling for 'real leadership' in the White House.

'It's time for real leadership in the White House ,' the ally said the former president would say.

Trump has joined Democrats and Republicans in spending the past week attacking President Joe Biden for his handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

'I'm expecting to hear the president use the line: 'It's time for real leadership in the White House,' the source said.

'And even though aides say there is no final announcement, no final decision it still is the clearest indicator that he's likely to run in 2024.'

The former president did not say whether he will run in the next presidential election, but he did say: 'I was right about Biden.'

'Not only have my predictions come 100 per cent true, but it's even worse than any of us could have imagined in our worst nightmare,' he said.

'Joe Biden is a failed president,' Trump explained. 'He will always be a failed president.'

'He ushered in one calamity after another.'

He listed those failures as the southern border crisis, rising crime rates in U.S. cities, the botched Afghanistan troop withdrawal, spiking gas prices, and his response to the pandemic  including vaccinations and crippling the ability of kids to return to in-person schooling.

Trump said Biden has 'emboldened our enemies'  from China, to Russia, to North Korea, to the Taliban.

Trump has repeatedly hinted that he is planning a run but insiders say no announcement is expected until after next year's midterms.

He dangled the idea once again this week when Sean Hannity asked him the question live on Fox News.

'So, because the campaign finance laws are extremely complicated and unbelievably stupid, I am actually not allowed to answer that question, can you believe that? I would love to answer it,' he said.

'But let me put it this way, I think you'll be happy and I think a lot of our friends will be very happy.'

Trump traveled to the deep red state on Saturday for the first time since his rally on February 28, 2016 in Madison

Biden's approval ratings have been in freefall, first after a surge in COVID-19 cases and then amid the fall-out from television images of chaos in Kabul.

A Rasmussen Reports poll this week reported that Trump would beat Biden by six points if an election do-over were held now.

Trump insiders say Biden's bungled handling of the crisis has reminded voters that they miss the former president's America First message.

Trump himself has seized on the crisis to issue a running commentary with emailed statements and television interviews.

On the eve of the rally, he said: 'Joe Biden must apologize to America for allowing the military to leave before civilians and for allowing $85 billion dollars worth of sophisticated military equipment to be handed over to the Taliban (and Russia and China so they can copy it) rather than bringing it back to the United States!'

And earlier in the week, he spelled out his concerns in detail to Hannity.

'It's not the concept of leaving,' he said.

'It's the way they withdrew. It was not even possible to believe.'

President Biden flew back to the White House from Camp David on Tuesday evening. His approval rating has plunged and the administration is in damage limitation mode as it deals with the crisis unfolding in Afghanistan. Making matters worse, Biden has spent days at the presidential retreat rather than at the White House

Biden and his officials have claimed their hands were tied by a deal struck with the Taliban by Trump.

But the former president said he made clear in negotiations there would be consequences if Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's political chief, failed to stick to the terms of their deal.

'We had a very strong conversation,' he said.

'I told them upfront, I said: 'Look, before we start, let me just tell you right now that if anything bad happens to Americans or anybody else, or if you ever come over to our land, we will hit you with a force that no country has ever been hit with before, a force so great that you won't even believe it, and your village, and we know where it is - and I named it - will be the first one.'

American officials day they have been in contact with Kabul's new rulers, the Taliban, who had promised safe passage for those trying to reach the airport.

Trump said the U.S. had never suffered a worse humiliation, with thousands of 'potential hostages' stuck in the country.

'You can go back to Jimmy Carter with the hostages. We all thought that was a great embarrassment and we were pulled out of that by Ronald Reagan,' he said.

'This is a many many times worse and you're dealing with thousands and thousands of Americans and others that are stranded and very dangerously really stranded in Afghanistan.'
Male porn legend Peter North is accused of beating his estranged wife at least 11 times in over two years and then allegedly raping her shortly after one of his two domestic violence arrests.

Nadia North, 43, told The Daily Beast that she thought she was going to die during one of the alleged assaults in early December 2018 after she tried to leave her husband and he found out.

She had the presence of mind to record audio of the alleged attack on her phone and slide the phone under the bed.

In the alleged recording, which was published by The Daily Beast, a man's voice - purportedly that of Peter North, now 63, whose real name is Alden Joseph Brown - is heard laughing, singing 'Jingle Bell Rock' and confessing to nearly beating Nadia to death.

'You're looking at me like, what the f**k is he on?' the man's voice on the recording says.

'I'm on a highhigh on lifeI always just wanted to make you happy, and I'm so sorry for everything that I've done to upset youespecially physically or emotionally scar youor almost kill you.'

One was one of at least 11 alleged assaults between March 2017 and June 2019.

Nadia North told The Daily Beast that she suffered broken ribs, multiple bruises all over her body, a head contusion, a spinal injury and at least five concussions.

Nadia North accused her estranged husband and pornstar Peter North of assaulting her at least 11 times in two years and raping her. They were married in March 2017 and dated for a couple years before that

Nadia North's pictures of bruises allegedly caused by her estranged husband Peter North

Nadia claims she was beaten at least 11 times in two years by her estranged husband

Nadia North before she married Peter in March 2017

The Daily Beast said in its exclusive report published on Saturday that it 'observed numerous police reports, hospital reports, court documents, audio recordings, text messages and photographs of Nadias bruised body that corroborate her abuse allegations against North.'

North did not respond to The Daily Beasts request for comment. Attempts by DailyMail.com to contact North were unsuccessful.

Peter North has been in porn since 1983 and appeared in thousands of XXX films. The two married in March 2017, and Nadia said he quickly became controlling and violent.

He was arrested twice in June 2019 in connection with domestic violence charges, The Daily Beast reported.

Shortly after making bail for the second arrest, Peter North allegedly emptied the bank accounts and told Nadia is she was a 'good girl' she can have some money, The Daily Beast reported.

Two months later - August 2019 - the situation became desperate for Nadia, who had a mold leaking in the house and she didn't have money to fix it.

She begged Peter to give her money for a hotel. They met up to look at the mold, The Daily Beast reported.

Peter North, whose real name is Alden Joseph Brown - has been has been in porn since 1983 and appeared in thousands of XXX films

Peter North was arrested on domestic violence charges in June 2019

'He was just supposed to look at it and leave. I went upstairs to change my shirt andhe said that he missed me,' she told The Daily Beast. 'He decided that he wanted me, and I told him no, and that didnt work.'

That's when she said Peter allegedly raped her.

'He held me down by my neckand then he told me that it was "my fault" and to not tell anybody because I was the one who broke the restraining order and "deserved it,"' Nadia told The Daily Beast.

The interview was conducted from an 'undisclosed location,' Daily Beast reported, and Nadia has a hearing this week in her divorce and abuse cases against Peter.
The U.S. State Department was recently hit by a cyber attack, with the Department of Defense Cyber Command issuing notifications of a possible serious breach, according to reports.

It is unclear when the breach was discovered, but it is believed to have happened a couple of weeks ago, according to a Fox News reporter.

The State Department's ongoing mission to evacuate Americans and allied refugees in Afghanistan 'have not been affected,' the reporter added.

The extent of the breach, investigation into the suspected entity behind it, efforts taken to mitigate it, and any ongoing risk to operations remained unclear.

In a statement to DailyMail.com, a State Department spokesperson said: 'The Department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to ensure information is protected.'

'For security reasons, we are not in a position to discuss the nature or scope of any alleged cybersecurity incidents at this time.'

The U.S. State Department was recently hit by a cyber attack, and notifications of a possible serious breach were made by the Department of Defense Cyber Command

It is unclear when the breach was discovered, but it is believed to have happened a couple of weeks ago

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Department of Defense Cyber Command for more information and additional comment.

The revelation of the hack came just weeks after the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs said that the State Department's data was at risk.

The committee ranked the State Department with a 'D', the lowest possible rating, for information security. The State Department's information security was described as 'ineffective' in four out of five areas, including the detection of threats.

'As the lead agency for American foreign police, State has a wealth of both PII (personally identifiable information) and sensitive national security information,' the report reads.

The State Department maintains data that includes names, birthdates, and social security numbers used for visa and passport applications.

The report found 450 critical risk vulnerabilities, and 736 high-risk vulnerabilities in its computer systems.

'The State Department could not provide documentation for 60 percent of the sample employees who had access to the agency's classified network and left thousands of accounts active after an employee had left the agency for extended periods of time on both its classified and unclassified networks,' the report reads.

Some accounts remained active as long as 152 days after former employees quit, retired or were fired, according to the report.

'Former employees or hackers could use those unexpired credentials to gain access to the State's sensitive and classified information, while appearing to be an authorized user,' the report reads.

Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu tweeted that, if the hack is true, 'it's another reason why the Senate should pass our bipartisan bill to improve cyber security' at the State Department.
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New York City has been hit flash flooding amid torrential rain and lightning as Henri impacts the North East, with millions braced for flooding, toppled trees and extended power outages.

The outer bands of Henri, which had been downgraded to a tropical storm, began spreading inland across parts of New England around 9am Sunday morning.

As of its 11am storm watch update, the National Weather Service was tracking the storm as it passed over Block Island, Rhode Island, and was expected to make landfall on Rhode Island by early afternoon.

It is anticipated to bring gusts of up to 70-mile-per-hour winds, as well as storm surges of up to five feet on parts of Long Island.

Perhaps most seriously, regions in the Hudson Valley New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts could see rainfall of up to five inches, with a chance for the storm to slow and linger, and increasing the likelihood of serious flooding, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced during a Sunday morning press conference.

Already more than 1,000 flights had been cancelled at airports in New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey due to the storm, with more expected throughout the day.

Janno Lieber, acting chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said that 23 percent of flights at LaGuardia, 11 percent of flights at JFK, 22 percent of flights at Newark had been cancelled, but none expected flooding.

Strong winds had already begun lashing the region as Rhode Island and eastern Long Island saw gusts of up to 63 miles per hour and 56 miles per hour respectively, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Despite it weakening below hurricane strength, the National Weather Service warned that the threats posed by the storm - particularly heavy rain - remained the same.

Buildings were boarded up in Montauk, Long Island, where Tropical Storm Henri was scheduled to make landfall at around 11am Sunday

Boarded up homes on Hotchkiss Grove beach, Connecticut Sunday morning. Henri is expected to make its way across the New England region, bringing heavy rains

A boarded up convenience store in Montauk Sunday morning. Parts of Long Island could see wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour from Henri

Fishing vessels moored in Sunday morning in Montauk, where the storm surge as a result of Henri could reach up to

The first thunderstorms fed by moisture from Henri brought up to half a foot of rain late Saturday, and flooding began in some areas overnight.

New York's Central Park set an all-time record for rain in an hour, with 1.94" falling by 11:51pm - beating the previous record of 1.76" of rain recorded in the park on September 8, 2004.

It marked the wettest hour the city had ever seen on record.

With the center of Henri projected to pass over or just off the eastern tip of Long Island by midday, storm warnings extended from coastal Connecticut and near the old whaling port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, to across the luxurious oceanfront estates of New Yorks Hamptons, to the summer getaway of Fire Island.

'Henri has weakened slightly and is now below hurricane strength,' the agency tweeted Sunday morning.

'This does NOT CHANGE the overall threats, especially the heavy rain threat.'

Henri was expected to make landfall at Montauk, and make its way across the New England region, bringing heavy and sustained rains to areas in New York's Hudson Valley, Connecticut and Massachusetts, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a Sunday morning press conference

BROOKLYN, NYC: Videos posted online showed drivers plowing through high water in New York City, and Newark and Hoboken, New Jersey Saturday evening, when moisture from the storm caused torrential downpours

Flood water was seen on Saturday evening gushing into homes on Throop Avenue in Brooklyn

WILLIAMSBURG, NYC: Streets were covered in water in Brooklyn as torrential rain battered New York ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Henri

Flash flooding hit the streets in Gowanus Brooklyn Saturday evening around 10pm amid torrential rain

WILLIAMSBURG, NYC: Rain began battering New York City on Saturday night as the storm approached

Some 55 million people are under storm warnings ahead of the arrival of Henri, and the National Hurricane Center warned that winds that could reach 80 mph.

Eversource, who provide power to 1.2 million customers in Connecticut, warned that between 50% and 69% their customers could lose power for between eight and 21 days, NBC reports.

Tropical storm-intensity winds began striking the coast at around 8am.

Several videos posted online showed drivers plowing through high water in New York City, and Newark and Hoboken, New Jersey.

A bicyclist made their way through a flooded street in Rhode Island where the outer bands of the storm began lashing the area at around 9.30am

Waves crashed against the sea wall in New Longdon, Connecticut Sunday morning as Henri spread across the New England region

Strong winds lashed the region, with Rhode Island and eastern Long Island recording gusts upwards of 40 miles per hour

Despite downgrading Henri to a tropical storm., the National Weather Service warned that heavy rain and storm surges remained a threat

The National Weather Service downgraded Henri to a tropical storm Sunday morning, but warned the threat remained the same

CENTRAL PARK, NYC: The 'Homecoming' concert intended to mark the end of the Covid pandemic was dramatically cancelled half way through, as Barry Manilow was singing on stage as the city was hit by thunderstorms

President Joe Biden on Sunday morning approved states of emergency declared in areas of New York state and Connecticut.

People in the projected path spent Saturday scrambling to stock up on groceries and gasoline. Some gas stations from Cape Cod to Long Island sold out of fuel.

Those close to the coast boarded up windows and, in some cases, evacuated.

Officials in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York cautioned that people could lose power for days.

Authorities advised people to secure their boats, fuel up their vehicles and stock up on canned goods.

HOBOKEN NJ: Streets were completely submerged after flash flooding in new Jersey (left) while The Brooklyn Queens Expressway was closed in both directions due to flooding (right)

QUEENS: Water is seen pouring into an underground subway station in Ozone Park (left) while the basement of an apartment building in Brooklyn was flooded (right)

HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY: Roads were submerged after torrential downpours (left) - while water poured down stairs like a waterfall in Brooklyn

10 highest hourly rainfall amounts for NYCs Central Park: pic.twitter.com/3AtQmjVn45  Don Sutherland (@DonSuth89069583) August 22, 2021

People ran back from watching waves at Ponquogue Beach in the Hamptons Long Island Sunday morning as Henri neared

Police in Southampton on eastern Long Island closed a flooded road as Henri began to make landfall Sunday morning

WESTHAMPTON, NY: Cars waited in line to fill up on gas Saturday ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Henri

WESTERLY, RHODE ISLAND: Panic buying saw shelves stripped of supplies as Tropical Storm Henri barreled towards the state

Approaching severe weather Saturday night also cut short a superstar-laden concert in Central Park. The show headlined by Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Jennifer Hudson was meant to celebrate New York Citys recovery from the coronavirus.

But officials asked concertgoers to leave the park during Barry Manilows set amid the threat of lightning.

NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT: Homeowners began barricading their windows and doors with plywood

VALLEY STREAM, NY: A road sign flashes a hurricane warning on Southern State Parkway

A satellite image taken Saturday afternoon shows Tropical Storm Henri barreling towards New England where it is expected to make landfall on Sunday

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that swells from the storm can cause 'life-threatening surf and rip currents'

Henri began making landfall Sunday morning at tropical storm strength, with winds that could reach 80 mph

New York City's 'Homecoming' concert canceled half way through Manilow set

New York City's homecoming concert was dramatically cancelled half way through, and revelers were told to leave Central Park immediately and seek shelter as Tropical Storm Henri barreled down on the city.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC officials had ignored a storm watch for the Big Apple ahead of the concert, and planned to push ahead with the event on the Great Lawn in Central Park.

The 'We Love NYC, The Homecoming Concert' was intended to mark the end of the Covid pandemic in the city that was the global epicenter for the virus back in April 2020.

But just after 7:40pm, as Barry Manilow was singing a medley of his hits on stage, the music was suddenly stopped as lightning strikes were reported within the city.

Manilow was part way through singing 'I Can't Smile Without You' when concertgoers were told to 'quickly and calmly proceed to the nearest exit'.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said: 'We need everyone for brief period of time to move to some place safe because of thunder and lightening, and then we will bring the concert back.'

But as concertgoers deserted the park and the torrential rain and lightning showed no signs of easing, officials pulled the plug.

New York City's homecoming concert has been dramatically cancelled half way through and revelers were told to leave Central Park immediately and seek shelter as Hurricane Henri barreled down on the city

The 'We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert' in Central Park was cut short due to rain storms that are part of Henri in New York

Officials had ignored a tropical storm watch for the Big Apple and insisted that the homecoming concert would continue as planned

A sea of unmasked New Yorkers packed Central Park to watch a star-studded line up of performers Saturday evening as Henri was on the horizon.

Concertgoers flood out of Central Park after the Homecoming concert was called off

People leave We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert as the event was canceled due to weather during in Central Park on Saturday

A weather anchor for CNN revealed that city officials had previously said they would need to call off the concert if lightning struck anywhere within 10 miles of the show.

Manilow appeared on the network in a phone interview after his performance was cut short.

'It's such a shame,' Manilow said. 'They cut us off and threw us off the stage because they were afraid of lightning. It was getting very dangerous out there.'

He then sang I Made It Through the Rain over the phone while Anderson Cooper waved his arms.

On Saturday a sea of unmasked New Yorkers packed Central Park to watch a star-studded line up of performers as Tropical Storm Henri was on the horizon.

Big name headliners including Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen and Jennifer Hudson had entertained a crowd of up to 60,000 in Central Park.

Just before the concert was stopped, some people had posted on social media that they had been in line for three hours but still hadn't been admitted to the park for the concert.

Also set to perform before the concert was abruptly halted were Andrea Bocelli, Carlos Santana, Jon Batiste, Kane Brown, LL Cool J, Elvis Costello, Earth, Wind & Fire and others.

Organized by Brooklyn-born music mogul Clive Davis, the concert was meant to celebrate New York City's reopening after the pandemic, despite rising COVID cases nationwide.

NYC's largest concert since the pandemic began in early 2020, the free ticketed show was only open to attendees over the age of 12 who provide proof of vaccination, and won't be required to wear masks.

The massive crowd is seen during the concert before it was seemingly cancelled on Saturday because of the storm

Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson, left, and Carlos Santana, right, performed during We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert on Saturday

Andrea Bocelli performs onstage with the New York Philharmonic during We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert Saturday

Mayor Bill de Blasio mask up for Saturday's We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert in Central Park

On Saturday a sea of unmasked New Yorkers packed Central Park to watch a star-studded line up of performers as Henri is on the horizon

Models from the Czech meteorological company VentuSky show Henri developing into a hurricane before it passes over western Long Island before hitting Manhattan

Cuomo warns that Henri is 'as serious as a heart attack' and could be as devastating as Superstorm Sandy in parts of New York

The storm is set to make landfall in Long Island or southern New England late Saturday or early Sunday, with winds that could reach 80 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.

People evacuated popular beach communities and made last-minute runs on batteries and gasoline as Henri churned closer, while officials pleaded with the millions of people in the storms path to brace themselves for torrential rain and storm surges.

Henri has sparked New York to declare a state of emergency as the Hamptons braced for a direct hit on Saturday.

A mandatory evacuation order was issued for some residents closest to the water in Madison, Connecticut.

Henri was on course to collide Sunday in the late morning or afternoon with a long stretch of coastline, as storm warnings extended from near the old whaling port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, across the luxurious oceanfront estates of New Yorks Hamptons, to the summer getaway of Fire Island.

Intense winds and potentially dangerous tidal surges were expected as far east as Cape Cod and as far west as the New Jersey shore, and utilities warned ensuing power outages could last a week or even more. Governors urged people to stay home during the brunt of the storm.

Henri was veering a bit further west than originally expected, placing eastern Long Island in its bull's-eye rather than New England. That gave people directly in the storm's path less time to prepare.

A person with an umbrella stands in falling rain while looking toward New York City ahead of Tropical Storm Henri in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey

Surfers flock to the beach as wave heights elevate in advance of Henri on Saturday in Lido Beach, New York

Earlier today de Blasio announced NYC is under a Tropical Storm Warning and to expect strong winds and rain to begin late Saturday through Sunday

Residents and visitors on Fire Island, a narrow strip of sandy villages barely above sea level off Long Islands southern coast, were urged to evacuate. The last boats out will leave at 10:40 p.m. Saturday; after that, officials said, there may be no way out for people who decide to ride out the storm.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo pleaded with New York residents to make last-minute preparations, warning that heavy rain, winds and storm surges from Henri could be as devastating as Superstorm Sandy in parts of the state.

The governor, who will leave office in two days following a sexual harassment scandal, warned that heavy rains were expected to create problems far up into the Hudson River Valley.

In a briefing on Saturday afternoon, Cuomo warned that Henri is 'as serious as a heart attack' and New York residents in parts of Long Island, particularly Fire Island, need to prepare to evacuate to higher ground as soon as possible.

More than 40million people are under storm threat

Huge clouds were seen over Manhattan on Friday as the Tropical Storm Henri expected to arrive in New York City

'We have short notice. Were talking about tomorrow,' Cuomo said. 'So if you have to move, if you have to stock up, if you have to get to higher ground, it has to be today. Please.'

The State of Emergency is in place for Long Island, New York City, Westchester County, the Hudson Valley and the Capital Region.

Cuomo said Henri is forecasted to make landfall 7am on Sunday with the eye of the storm passing over Long Island by 11am. The storm is expected to batter the state for 26 hours before it subsides around 2pm on Monday.

He added that there will be delays or cancellations to flights, and that passengers should check with their airlines to see if their travel plans were still on track. In Long Island, most train services will be suspended from midnight and the MTA is considering shutting down the Harlem line.

At least 500 National Guard troops will be deployed today, and the State Police will have 1,000 staff on duty.

Earlier on Saturday, de Blasio announced that New York City is under a Tropical Storm Warning and to expect strong winds and rain to begin late Saturday through Sunday.

'Right now, from what we're hearing, the real impacts are tomorrow but we want to start warning people now, we want you to make your plans the right way, to really minimize activity tomorrow to the maximum extent possible,' de Blasio said during a Saturday press briefing.

'Stay off the roads, stay indoors, there's going to be heavy winds, a lot of rain, we could definitely be seeing some trees falling down, we need people to be safe so I'm telling you now so you can alter your plans, prepare your plans for tomorrow. Stay in, to the maximum extent possible.'

Connecticut braced for first direct hit from a hurricane in 30 years amid warnings that millions could be left without power for WEEKS

A mandatory evacuation order was issued for some residents closest to the water in Madison, Connecticut. First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons wrote in a public notice, that any 'residents who do not leave the evacuation zone by 9 p.m. tonight are putting their lives at risk and public safety crews will not be able to respond to you once winds exceed 50 mph.'

Gov. Ned Lamont warned Connecticut residents they should prepare to 'shelter in place' from Sunday afternoon through at least Monday morning as the state braces for the first possible direct hit from a hurricane in decades.

New England has not taken a direct hit from a hurricane since Hurricane Bob in 1991.

In Rhode Island, Gov. Dan McKee similarly urged state residents stay at home Sunday and into Monday morning.

'We consider this a serious matter,' McKee said at a news conference.

Eversource, who provide power to 1.2 million customers in Connecticut, warned that between 50% and 69% their customers could lose power for between eight and 21 days, NBC reports.

'Weve been re-positioning crews, equipment and other resources accordingly so that were ready for the significant, widespread damage we can expect to see from this storm,' said Eversource President of Regional Electric Operations Craig Hallstrom.

Sean Delvin speaks with Connecticut State Trooper Ollivierre about the mandatory evacuation as Henri approaches East Haven, Connecticut on Saturday

Rafael Roman boards up a client's home as Henri approaches East Haven, Connecticut on Saturday

Erica Giglietti takes a selfie while filling sandbags for her home ahead of a mandatory evacuation as Henri approaches East Haven, Connecticut on Saturday

President Joe Biden participated in a phone call with northeastern governors, as well as FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall, to discuss Henri's anticipated landfall on Long Island and southern New England on Sunday.

According to a readout of the call, they discussed how governors are 'working closely' with FEMA and the National Guard to prepare to respond to impacts from the storm - including possible widespread power outages, coastal storm surges, and inland flooding.

Criswell said FEMA is positioning 700 response personnel and materials including meals, tarps, and generators, according to the readout.

'Additionally, the President and other participants discussed the need to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through the use of vaccines, masks, and social distancing if sheltering is required,' according to the readout.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker expressed relief Saturday that the latest models suggest Henri won't make a direct hit on the state.

But Baker and McKee at separate briefings warned that high winds and heavy rains still could lead to widespread and lengthy power outages.

Officials said Logan International Airport in Boston was expected to remain open, but that some flights likely would be canceled. And service on some branches of New York City's commuter rail system will be suspended Sunday.

Celebrities in the Hamptons 'hanging out on their yachts at the moment drinking martinis' while locals board up homes ahead of storm

In the Hamptons, the celebrity playground on Long Island's east end, officials warned of dangerous rip currents and flooding that's likely to turn streets like the mansion-lined Dune Road into lagoons.

'We have a lot of wealthy people. There's no doubt that we do, but everybody pulls together in an emergency,' Schneiderman said.

'So, you know, yeah, there are people hanging out on their yachts at the moment drinking martinis, but they're also starting to talk about this storm and I'm sure they're going to want to be helpful.'

Former President Bill Clinton was seen at a charity softball game in the Hamptons while others were pictured boarding up their in advance of the impending tropical storm.

Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said the town was considering issuing a voluntary evacuation advisory for about 6,000 people. He said storm models showed that the storm's center would run 'smack on the town of Southampton.'

He described a run on supplies like batteries and flashlights as people 'are starting to wake up.'

Former President Bill Clinton is pictured at The East Hampton Artists & Writers Annual Charity Softball Game ahead of the storm on Saturday

Former President Bill Clinton gives autographs at The East Hampton Artists & Writers Annual Charity Softball Game on Saturday

Former President Bill Clinton puts on his umpire t-shirt at The East Hampton Artists & Writers Annual Charity Softball Game

Former President Bill Clinton posing for a photograph with Mike Lupica, center, at The East Hampton Artists & Writers Annual Charity Softball Game

Former President Bill Clinton shakes hands with Lori Singer at The East Hampton Artists & Writers Annual Charity Softball Gam

Residents and visitors on Fire Island, a narrow strip of sandy villages barely above sea level off Long Island's southern coast, were urged to evacuate. The last boats out will leave at 10:40 p.m. Saturday; after that, officials said, there may be no way out for people who decide to ride out the storm.

The evacuation threw a wrench into Kristen Pavese's planned Fire Island bachelorette party. The group of 10 had intended to celebrate out on Saturday night, but ended up leaving on the ferry just a day after arriving. They had planned to stay until Monday.

'I'm upset about it, but it's the weather. It's nothing I can control,' said Pavese, a Long Island resident. 'I've been going to Fire Island for a long time, so I'm sort of familiar with this happening.'

Boats sit in a parking lot as part of storm preparation on August 21, 2021 in Hampton Bays, New York

The group made alternate Saturday night plans at a Long Island winery, and Pavese said she was happy to still be with her friends.

New York hasn't had a direct hit from a powerful cyclone since Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc in 2012. Some of the most important repairs from that storm have been completed, but many projects designed to protect against future storms remain unfinished.

With a top wind speed of 75 mph Saturday, Henri sped up to move north-northeast at 18 mph as of Saturday evening. It's still about 335 miles south of Montauk Point on Long Island.

Storm surge between 3 and 5 feet is possible from Flushing, New York, to Chatham, Massachusetts, and for parts of the North Shore and South Shore of Long Island, the hurricane center said. Rainfall between 3 to 6 inches is expected Sunday through Monday.
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As the evacuation of Kabul descends further into pandemonium and desperation, President Joe Biden is considering activating the Civil Reserve Air Fleet to augment the struggling effort.

The Pentagon said Saturday the United States has evacuated just 17,000 people, including 2,500 Americans, from Kabul in the past week, including 3,800 in the past day.

It means the US has surged more American troops into the Kabul airport than the number of US citizens it has extracted from the country since the Taliban swept into power on August 14.

Up to 15,000 Americans need to be evacuated and the administration hopes to get out a further 50-60,000 Afghan allies and their families.

Other NATO allies are also hoping to save thousands of people, but the security situation in Kabul appears to be quickly deteriorating, with the US now warning citizens not to attempt to get to the airport amid the threat of attack by Islamic State fanatics who are hiding in the country.

Biden faces growing criticism as videos depict pandemonium and violence outside the airport. On Saturday Biden met with his national security team to discuss the chaotic situation after cancelling his weekend trip to Delaware.

Commercial airlines were notified Friday night that participants in the voluntary Civil Reserve Air Fleet could be activated imminently, industry officials told the Wall Street Journal.

US officials told the newspaper that up to 20 commercials jets from five airlines could be activated to aid the airlift of tens of thousands of evacuees, ferrying Americans and Afghans onward to the US from staging bases in Qatar, Bahrain and Germany.

The commercial jets are not expected to fly directly into Taliban-controlled Kabul, where military flights are rushing to fly tens of thousands of refugees to regional bases.

Afghans gather on a roadside near the Kabul airport on Friday in a press to escape by plane. President Joe Biden is considering activating the Civil Reserve Air Fleet to augment the evacuation of Kabul, officials say

A full flight of 265 people are evacuated out of Kabul by the UK Armed Forces on Saturday in Kabul, Afghanistan

Afghan evacuees line up to be processed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany on Saturday. Ramstein Air Base is providing temporary lodging for evacuees from Afghanistan as part of Operation Allies Refuge

Evacuees from Afghanistan arriving at Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar's capital Doha

Created in 1952 in the wake of the post-World War II Berlin Airlift, the Civil Reserve Air Fleet is a program that airlines can enroll in, pledging a certain number of aircraft to the Pentagon to be available within 24 hours upon activation.

Currently 24 passenger and cargo carriers and 450 aircraft are enrolled in CRAF, including 268 in the long-range international section.

The Fleet was last activated on a large scale in March of 2020, when the Pentagon conscripted commercial jets to repatriate Americans who were trapped abroad when the coronavirus pandemic descended.

It comes amid tragic scenes at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, the only remaining patch of US control in the country, where thousands are gathered at the Taliban perimeter in a crush to get inside.

Potential Islamic State threats against Americans in Afghanistan are forcing the U.S. military to develop new ways to get evacuees to the airport in Kabul, a senior U.S. official said Saturday, adding a new complication to the already chaotic efforts to get people out of the country after its swift fall to the Taliban.

The official said that small groups of Americans and possibly other civilians will be given specific instructions on what to do, including movement to transit points where they can be gathered up by the military. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

The Islamic State group - which has long declared a desire to attack America and U.S. interests abroad - has been active in Afghanistan for a number of years, carrying out waves of horrific attacks, mostly on the Shiite minority.

The group has been repeatedly targeted by U.S. airstrikes in recent years, as well as Taliban attacks. But officials say fragments of the group are still active in Afghanistan, and the U.S. is concerned about it reconstituting in a larger way as the country comes under divisive Taliban rule.

A US Marine grabbing an infant over a fence of barbed wire during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport

Afghan people gather along a road in Kabul as they wait to board a U S military aircraft to leave the country

US soldiers stand guard behind barbed wire as Afghans sit on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul on August 20, 2021, hoping to flee from the country after the Taliban's military takeover of Afghanistan

Time is running out ahead of President Joe Biden's August 31 deadline to withdraw most remaining U.S. troops.

In his remarks on the situation Friday, he did not commit to extending the deadline, though he did issue a new pledge to evacuate not only all Americans in Afghanistan, but also the tens of thousands of Afghans who have aided the war effort since September 11, 2001. That promise would dramatically expand the number of people the U.S. evacuates.

On Saturday Biden spoke with his team at the White House Situation Room about the ongoing evacuation efforts, counterterrorism operations, and intensive diplomatic efforts to finalize agreements with a third-party country transit hub to help American, who were warned on Saturday not to travel to Kabul airport.

Biden discussed the matters with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and National Intelligence Director Avril Haines.

Vice President Kamala Harris joined the meeting by video teleconference during her trip to Singapore.

The White House did not indicate whether the president still planned to travel to Delaware on Sunday. The trip would have been his 19th to his home state since taking office.

The Taliban takeover of Afghans last Sunday has consumed his administration, which was caught off-guard by the development and is scrambling to evacuate thousands of Americans, Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the war, and others.

'Let me be clear, any American who wants to come home, we will get you home,' Biden had pledged.

On Saturday Biden spoke with his team at the White House Situation Room about the ongoing evacuation efforts, counterterrorism operations, and intensive diplomatic efforts to finalize agreements with a third-party country transit hub

Biden faces growing criticism as videos depict pandemonium and violence outside the airport, and as vulnerable Afghans who fear the Taliban's retaliation send desperate pleas not to be left behind

The U.S. Embassy issued a stern warning to Americans on Saturday not to go to Kabul airport - which is the only way out of the country - because of 'security threats' outside its gates

Despite the U.S. Embassy warning, crowds remain outside the Kabul airport's concrete barriers, clutching documents and sometimes stunned-looking children, blocked from flight by coils of razor wire.

Evacuations continued, though some outgoing flights were far from full because of the airport chaos. The German military said in a tweet that one plane left Kabul on Saturday with 205 evacuees, while a second aircraft carried only 20.

The Italian Defense Ministry announced the evacuation Saturday of 211 Afghans, which it said brought to 2,100 the number of Afghan workers at Italian missions and their families who have been safely evacuated.

On Friday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said around 1,000 people a day were being evacuated amid a 'stabilization' at the airport. But on Saturday, a former Royal Marine-turned charity director in Afghanistan said the situation was getting worse, not better.

'We cant leave the country because we cant get into the airport without putting our lives at risk,' Paul Farthing told BBC radio.

A US Air Force security forces raven, assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, maintains a security cordon around a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft in support of Operation Allies Refuge at Hamid Karzai International Airport

The situation at the airport was growing more chaotic and dangerous on Saturday, adding pressure on what has been dubbed one of the most difficult airlifts in history.

As desperate people, including children, wait for hours and days in the heat and crush outside the US-controlled Hamid Karzai International Airport, the delay has turned deadly for some.

Britain's Sky News on Saturday aired footage of at least three dead bodies covered in white tarpaulins outside the airport. It was not clear how they had died.

Sky reporter Stuart Ramsay, who was at the airport, called the deaths 'inevitable' and said that people at the front of one part of the crowd were being 'crushed', while others were 'dehydrated and terrified'.

The footage was the latest image of utter despair, after video of a baby being lifted over a wall at the airport and horror scenes of people hanging onto departing planes.

Families hoping for a miracle crowded between the barbed-wire that surrounds an unofficial no man's land separating the Taliban from US troops. Roads to the airport were choked with traffic.

'Please, please, please help me... where should I go, what should I do,' one man, who said he worked for the US embassy in the mid-2000s, wrote on a WhatsApp group for people to share information on how to get out.

Members of the British and US military engage in the evacuation of people out of Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday

Evacuees wait under the wing of C-17 Globemaster lll after arriving in an undisclosed location in the Middle East region

The United States and Germany on Saturday told their citizens in Afghanistan to avoid travelling to Kabul airport, citing security risks.

At least 12 people have been killed in and around the single-runway airfield since Sunday, when the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, NATO and Taliban officials said.

'Because of potential security threats outside the gates at the Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid travelling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so,' a U.S. Embassy advisory said.

The German Embassy also advised its citizens not to go to the airport, warning in an email that Taliban forces were conducting increasingly strict controls in its immediate vicinity.

The advisories underscored just how unsettled the security situation remains. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the American military is looking at alternative routes for people to reach the airport because of threats from militant groups such as al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Army Major General William Taylor, with the U.S. military's Joint Staff, told a Pentagon briefing that 5,800 U.S. troops remain at the airport and that the facility 'remains secure.'

A member of the United Services Organization (USO) high-fives an evacuee from Afghanistan as they depart a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Ramstein Air Base, Germany on Friday

Civilian, military spouse and USO volunteers transport cots at Ramstein Air Base, Germany on Saturday as sleeping areas are built out for people evacuated from Afghanistan

Taylor said some gates into the airport were temporarily closed and reopened over the past day to facilitate a safe influx of evacuees.

A Taliban official, speaking to Reuters, said security risks could not be ruled out but that the group was 'aiming to improve the situation and provide a smooth exit' for people trying to leave over the weekend.

The Taliban's takeover has sparked fear of reprisals and a return to a harsh version of Islamic law the Taliban exercised when they were in power two decades ago.

Even refugees who have managed to escape still face fear and uncertainty, and despair at leaving loved ones behind after the Taliban's rapid takeover.

'It was very difficult to leave my country,' a veiled woman told Reuters in Doha, Qatar, where thousands of evacuees are being housed until they can enter a third country. 'I love my country.'

She explained that before the Taliban arrived, she had never expected to go anywhere.

The woman said she fled with her husband, a dentist, and three children, fearing that her work with international humanitarian organisations would make them a Taliban target.

A member of the Qatar Air force walking next to a boy evacuated from Afghanistan, at Al-Udeid airbase in Doha

Hangars at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar are seen filled with refugees fleeing from Afghanistan

She described traumatic scenes at Kabul airport as thousands clamored to board evacuation flights.

At one point when the crowd tried to rush into the airport, she recalled, a man standing next to her was shot in the leg by 'military people'. The claim could not be independently verified.

'It was just shocking and I didn't know what should I do.'

A man at the compound in Doha told Reuters he was not hopeful that the Taliban would keep their promises, which have included respecting women's rights and an amnesty for those who worked in the government or with foreigners.

'The most disturbing part is that there is not a lot of hope for the future,' said the man, who arrived in Doha this week with his wife, three children, parents and two sisters.

The man, a lawyer, said he feared that if he had stayed in Afghanistan he would have also become a target of the Taliban, in part because of his work with international companies.

'It's going to be a very, very different and challenging life ahead of us,' he said.
A man who witnessed a car crash that killed a 71-year-old diner and injured five other people outside a restaurant has described the scene as a 'horror movie'.

Stephen Willison was drinking at My Place Bar and Restaurant when a black Land Rover mounted the kerb along Pier Street in Perth at 6.25pm on Friday.

Police allege the vehicle then crashed into a Toyota Corolla, propelling it through the busy alfresco dining area outside the bar.

Alleged driver Jamie Eric Glasfurd, 60, was driving on a suspended licence and has been charged with aggravated dangerous driving causing death and driving on a suspended licence.

A man who witnessed a car crash that killed a 71-year-old diner and injured several other people outside a restaurant has described the scene as a 'horror movie'

Mr Willison said he was lucky to be alive after he changed seats moments before the car ploughed through the outdoor dining area.

'I'd been sitting at a table on pavement and I went to get a beer' he told The West Australian.

'This was two minutes before the accident, when I came back someone had taken my seat, so I went to a different stool overlooking Pier street.'

Mr Willison said he watched the car crash into an entire table of diners he had been sitting next to just moments earlier.

He described watching a 71-year-old man lying on the ground and dying 'two or three minutes' later.

'The shock of it, was just so horrific  it didn't throw me back, but I threw myself back across the bar, it was an instantaneous reaction,' he said.

Police allege the vehicle then crashed into a Toyota Corolla before sending it through the busy alfresco dining area outside the bar

Diner Priyesh Adatia had been enjoying post-work drinks with two friends when the crash unfolded

A 41-year-old man was taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital in a serious condition. Four men in their 20s were taken to hospital to be treated for their injuries. Two have since been discharged.

Witnesses claim the black Land Rover ran through a red light before turning off Murray Street and on to Pier Street.

It then mounted the kerb and crashed into the parked Toyota Corolla before hitting another car and flipping onto its roof.

Diner Priyesh Adatia had been enjoying post-work drinks with two friends when the crash unfolded.

He said a tyre dislodged from the Land Rover, flew across the outdoor dining area, and missed his head by a 'couple of inches'.

Police allege the black Land Rover crashed into a parked Toyota Corolla before hitting another car and flipping onto its roof

The trio then rushed to the overturned SUV before trying to help the alleged driver Glasfurd.

'Me and my two friends quickly sprinted over to the black four-wheel drive to help the driver straight away,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'We sat with him and tried to get a response while my other friend was talking to the emergency staff on the phone.'

Glasfurd, from Walebing, was taken to Royal Perth Hospital in a serious condition.

He faced Perth Magistrate's Court from a hospital bed on Saturday.

A duty lawyer said Glasfurd was heavily sedated and unresponsive. The matter was adjourned until Monday.
South Australians returning home from Victoria will be forced to put signs on the front of their homes warning the world they are self-isolation.

The invasive requirement is among harsher conditions for entering the state from Victoria as the outbreak grows by 65 on Sunday.

Those who cross the border after 6pm need a specific exemption after the outbreak in Melbourne spread to regional areas and put all of Victoria back in lockdown.

Returning South Australians and anyone relocating there will be banned from entering the state and must apply for a SA Health exemption to come in.

If they are granted approval, they must quarantine at home for 14 days will be provided a sign, which must be displayed at the front of their homes.

The sign states that no visitors are allowed while the household is in isolation and for deliveries to be left at the front door.

South Australians returning from Victoria will face tougher rules from 6pm Sunday. Pictured are travellers at Adelaide Airport

'They will be given a personal direction by an authorised officer requiring them to ensure the sign is displayed,' police said.

'People who are required to quarantine at home are reminded that regular compliance checks will take place.

'Those people found not to be complying with the requirements may be subject to a fine or prosecution.'

The signs will also apply to residents who already return home and are still self-isolation.

'Those returning South Australian residents who are currently required to quarantine at home will be able to still return to South Australia and quarantine at home,' Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said.

'However, they will be given a quarantine sign and be given a personal direction by an authorised officer to display that sign on the front of the premises they're quarantining at for the 14-day period.'

The new rules sparked anger and confusion, as they made getting back to SA more difficult and time consuming, locking many out for months.

Returning South Australians granted an exemption to quarantine at home will have to erect this sign (pictured)

'I waited over three weeks for an exemption to be told I now to have to hotel quarantine, so this information about signage at your resident of isolation is confusing and misleading,' one person relocating from country NSW posted online.

Another added: 'My partner, who is genuinely relocating after finishing up a job in regional Victoria and who applied for an exemption/border clearance well over a week ago, hasn't had any correspondence back is now unable to return at all.

'I'm all for keeping SA safe, he intends to do the right thing but can't leave without the paperwork. It's just so frustrating.'

The 70km cross-border bubble will stay in place.

'That's for this current point in time  we will obviously continue to assess the situation in Victoria as it goes,' Commissioner Stevens said.

'Hopefully, we'll see a reduction in case numbers and the lockdown arrangements in that state get on top of the current outbreak.'

Those travelling from Victoria, NSW and ACT are banned from entering South Australia. Pictured are health workers at Adelaide Airport

People entering the state to flee domestic violence will be subject to level five requirements, which includes a Covid test on days one, five, and 13.

SA eased border restrictions for Queensland and the Northern Territory, but banned anyone from arriving from NSW or Canberra.

'The Delta strain is giving us concern that we are more likely than not to face 'seeding' from those jurisdictions,' Commissioner Stevens said.

'We need to be prepared for that and take every opportunity to get on with our activities as much as we can, knowing that there's a possibility that we might place further restrictions in a given situation.

'Our greatest risk comes from the NSW and Victoria situation and in those two states we have hard borders in place.

'But, notwithstanding those borders, we'll still need to allow certain activities to occur between those states including freight movement and that carries risk.'
One of Australia's most notorious vegan activist has stormed a designer store in only a g-string with red paint smeared across her breasts to abuse customers for buying animal products.

Tash Peterson, 26, has gained infamy for a series of public protests, often featuring provocative outfits soaked with fake blood, heckling anyone who isn't vegan.

The shock-tactic demonstrations have targeted diners in food courts, butchers, meat isles in supermarkets, and families eating out in busy restaurants.

Now, in her latest outlandish stunt, the social media influencer has taken aim at fashion enthusiasts perusing a Louis Vuitton in Perth.

Serial animal rights protester Tash Peterson (pictured) has struck again - this time carrying out a demonstration in a busy Louis Vuitton store

A video posted online shows the animal activist marching into the luxury store with her derriere and breasts exposed, clutching a sign reading: 'If you're not vegan, you're an animal abuser'.

Lifting the board above her head, she parades around the store attempting to shame shoppers for buying items featuring animal-derived materials.

'Who was murdered for your leather bag, down jacket, and woollen jumper,' she chants, as security guards attempt to usher her to the front door.

'If you buy animal skin, wool, fur, feather, and scales, you are paying for the most horrific animal abuse on this planet. You are contributing to an animal holocaust.'

A security guard snatches the sign, prompting a tug-of-war between the pair as unimpressed shoppers stare at the almost naked activist digging her heels into the ground.

The social media influencer marched into the designer store in Perth wearing only a nude G-string, with red paint daubed from her chest down to her crotch

Security guards tried to block her from progressing deeper into the store, as she stormed through chanting:' If you're not vegan, you're an animal abuser'

Shoppers in the luxury label store appeared unperturbed by the outlandish stunt

As the board snaps in half, Ms Peterson grabs what is left of her sign and walks off to continue her tirade through the shop.

'If you're not vegan, you're an animal abuser. Louis Vuitton are responsible for the murder of cows, sheep, goats, foxes, minx, ducks and pigs,' she screams.

'Louis Vuitton have blood on their hands, and so do you if you are not vegan.'

Security guards and management follow behind, attempting to block her passage through out the store, and stop her accomplice filming.

One tried to grab her sign, but only succeeded in ripping some of it off and she continued undeterred until she was eventually herded out the door.

'Thank you, Louis Vuitton is a great brand, thank you,' the man says calmly guiding her out the door, as she continues screaming into the street.

Her antics left social media users divided, with some praising her work while others felt her approach would be detrimental to her cause.

'Go Tash. You make it so obvious just how crazy the animal rights movement is,' one person wrote.

'The arrogance and attitude of this nutter is such a waste of peoples own free time,' another added.

Tash Peterson (pictured) ambushed patrons at a seafood restaurant and later compared herself to women's rights activists

'This person is trespassing on private property with no intent for the purpose the property is intended. Also if you look at the people in the shop. She won no friends.'

Ms Peterson, who moved to Melbourne in June, is currently back in Perth where she faced court on August 12 for disorderly conduct.

Last month, Western Australia initially denied her entry into her home state due to her spate of high-profile protests.

In June, she was banned from every pub in WA, after she was slapped with a disorderly behaviour charge for ambushing diners at a busy seafood restaurant and publicly chastising them about the 'fish holocaust'.

Ms Peterson and a group of other activists stormed the Bathers Beach House restaurant in Fremantle in Perth's south in May.

In another stunt, the militant vegan went topless and painted herself in cow print to protest outside a butcher's shop

They proudly filmed her stood on a table where she called diners 'animal abusers' and shouted out a pre-written speech while furious diners yelled 'boo' and told her to 'shut up'.

The Instagram and OnlyFans star has also dressed in bloodied aprons and stormed into restaurants and supermarkets like McDonald's, KFC and Coles.

She even interrupted an AFLW match by running onto the field at Perth Stadium.

The serial protester ran around for about a minute before she was tackled by Fremantle midfielder Kiara Bowers long enough for security to catch up.

She was fined $1,800 in court for trespassing.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Louis Vuitton for comment.
One source said a lot of the analysis is made 'on data clouds often based in US'

It is understood that US analysts have obtained data and research by Wuhan labs

The Chinese government has stepped up its aggressive resistance against efforts by Western scientists to probe Covids origins  and is accusing the US of spreading fake news about laboratories in Wuhan.

Ahead of US intelligence experts finalising a report demanded by President Joe Biden into the pandemics cause, which is expected on Tuesday, Beijing officials have demanded that Washington opens for public scrutiny a US military laboratory in Maryland.

In this tit-for-tat, it is understood that US analysts have obtained data and research by Wuhan laboratories in order to compare and examine genetic sequences on shared online databases.

A lot of the analysis is carried out on data clouds which are often based in the US, said one Washington source.

Two months ago, a leading US scientist revealed he had recovered deleted files from the Google Cloud to reconstruct partial genetic sequences of early cases in Wuhan that differed from the variants that spread to cause the pandemic.

'Forgot protective measures': A still from a video showing Tian Junhua, who studied samples from bats at Wuhan lab and co-authored a key early article in the pandemic identifying the genome of the new coronavirus

The data obtained by Jesse Bloom, an evolutionary biologist in Seattle, confirmed that Covid-19 was circulating well before the outbreak emerged in a Wuhan market selling wild animals  and that Chinese laboratories had attempted to delete critical data.

But David Asher, former lead investigator for the State Department, fears US efforts are hampered by not offering rewards to potential whistleblowers and defectors, or to ensure agencies gain access to data outside of secretly-obtained intelligence.

Such data would include records and communications with China by the National Institutes of Health  Americas medical research agency  and EcoHealth Alliance, a charity run by British scientist Peter Daszak, which both funded cutting-edge work on bat coronaviruses at Wuhan Institute of Virology, the highest-security lab in China.

Asher said the intelligence services were doing their best but were handicapped if unable to even access all the information that might be available in the US.

China, having controlled initial World Health Organisation efforts to investigate the disease origins in Wuhan, said last month it would not allow more inquiries after the public health body started to resist Chinese efforts to marginalise the lab leak idea.

There was international condemnation after the WHOs heavily-controlled trip to Wuhan earlier this year concluded the lab leak hypothesis was extremely unlikely.

Peter Ben Embarek, a Danish food scientist who led the study, has since admitted the Chinese were unwilling to discuss the lab leak theory and would only co-operate if the report defined the lab accident hypothesis as extremely unlikely rather than unlikely.

Beijings increasing aggression was highlighted by an article on Friday in the state-run Global Times newspaper accusing the US of running a campaign to smear China as source of the coronavirus while feeding the media with fabricated evidence and putting pressure with its allies on the WHO.

Ahead of US intelligence experts finalising a report demanded by President Joe Biden (pictured) into the pandemics cause, which is expected on Tuesday, Beijing officials have demanded that Washington opens for public scrutiny a US military laboratory in Maryland

Bizarrely, it even accused the US of hyping the theory that Chinas wildlife markets were the source of Covid  something first raised by Beijing disease experts before the theory was dismissed following scientific research. Tory MP Bob Seely, a member of the foreign affairs committee, said: It speaks volumes that China is becoming so defensive and belligerent.

A responsible country would open its labs to get to the bottom of the greatest health crisis of this century.

We dont know where Covid comes from  transmission from animals, sloppy lab procedures or experiments that manipulate viruses  but its clear China is nervous of the world finding out. Why? Whats it got to hide?

Meanwhile the spotlight is also focusing on the Wuhan Centre for Disease Control and Prevention laboratory after Embarek highlighted its move to a new location  a short distance from the market  in December 2019, just as cases began to emerge.

Researchers with Drastic, a group of online digital activists who have uncovered many facts seen as contradicting the official Chinese narrative, point out such a move of the biosafety level-2 laboratory would have been disruptive and taken several months to complete.

Employees line up for nucleic acid testing of Covid-19 in LIVAT Shopping Mall on August 11 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China

Embarek also noted the possibility of a researcher becoming infected while taking samples falls under one of the probably hypotheses, since this would be where the virus jumps directly from a bat to a human.

A leading researcher at the Wuhan Centre for Disease Control and Prevention laboratory is Tian Junhua, who co-authored a key early article in the pandemic identifying the genome of the new coronavirus. According to the WHO report in March, the lab denied storage or activities involving bat coronaviruses before the pandemic. Yet Chinese media reported Tian bragging about visiting bat caves to collect samples and studying hundreds of virus vectors.

Documentary footage  disclosed by the MoS in May  shows Tian and his team without full protective clothing, despite admitting it was easy to be in contact with bat droppings. It is highly risky here. I feel the fear. The fear of infections, he says.

Scientific papers show the team trapped and killed bats for tissue samples of heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney and brain although most of its work seems to have been around Wuhan rather than in the southern Chinese caves assumed to be the reservoir of viruses closest to Sars-Cov-2 (the strain of coronavirus that causes Covid).

Chinese media reports have described how Tian forgot to take protective measures while speaking of bat blood and urine dripping on to the researchers head and skin like raindrops on his body, in the words of one report by state media outlet Xinhua.

Richard Ebright, a biosafety expert and professor of chemical biology at Rutgers University in the US, said the footage and reports exposed reckless Indiana-Jones-style adventurism that raised serious concerns over accidental infection.

Intriguingly, Tian was labelled Patient Zero on some Chinese social media when the disease began to rampage  and then disappeared from public view.
Mothers have been turned away for vaccination appointments in Sydney's coronavirus hotspots for bringing their babies along.

Michaela Newman arrived at the Sydney Super Dome in Olympic Park for her first Pfizer shot on Friday and lined up with her six-month-old Brianna in her pram.

Slowly the lined progressed, but when she get to the entrance she was told by military personnel that prams were on allowed inside.

When she queried this, a supervisor arrived and told her children, along with carers and support people, were banned from the facility.

'They said it was a risk mitigation thing, so the kids arent at risk of catching Covid in the event there were positive cases in the arena,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

Michaela Newman arrived at the Sydney Super Dome in Olympic Park for her first Pfizer shot on Friday, but was turned away at the door

Six-month-old Brianna is pictured sitting in her pram in the vaccine line with her mum - before they were turned away

'They just kept saying "we don't want your baby to get Covid" but she's going to get it anyway if I do. It was such a waste of my time.

'To the credit of ADF and the staff, they totally saw my point and were really kind and felt bad about my situation.'

Ms Newman, who lives in Toongabbie in Sydney's west, is one of thousands of younger people eligible for a priority Covid vaccine as the state government desperately tries to stop the outbreak.

Australia bought a million new Pfizer doses from Poland, 535,000 of which are earmarked for younger workers in the 12 hardest hit local councils.

However, despite huge interest, people are struggling to get appointments, or get time off work to get vaccinated - particularly as many work in insecure jobs.

Australia bought a million new Pfizer doses from Poland, 535,000 of which are earmarked for younger workers in the 12 hardest hit local councils. Pictured is the line at Olympic Park

'My husband is working from home and doing Zoom calls all day so he cant just up and leave his desk to come and supervise the baby,' Ms Newman said.

Arranging childcare is just another hurdle for families trying to protect themselves from coronavirus, with many centres closed and parents told to keep kids at home.

'My husband is working from home and doing Zoom calls all day so he cant just up and leave his desk to come and supervise the baby,' Ms Newman said.

The mother-of-one said Brianna also needed to stay with her because she was breastfeeding, and the rules didn't make logical sense.

'If the Delta variant is as contagious as theyre saying, if I were to catch it at Qudos, my baby would get it regardless?' she said.

'Whether she gets it at the arena or gets it from me when I get home and feed her, hold her, and bathe her... So I dont get how its mitigating risk.'

Ms Newman, who lives in Toongabbie in Sydney's west, is one of thousands of younger people eligible for a priority Covid vaccine as the state government desperately tries to stop the outbreak

Ms Newman said Brianna also needed to stay with her because she was breastfeeding, and the rules didn't make logical sense.

Ms Newman said because the appointment wasn't actually carried out and wasn't cancelled, it took her all day to book another one for Monday.

'I'm really frustrated, from what I hear the vaccines expire and its such a waste. And I just want to be part of the change,' she said.

'We need to reach these targets to live normal lives again but they make it so difficult for us.'

Another western Sydney mother was also turned away at the door because she had her baby son with her.

'I had an appointment today, and after waiting in the sun for almost an hour I was refused entry as I had my 11-week-old with me alone,' she said.

'It was such a big deal to leave the house and I left [the arena] feeling rather defeated.

'Due to his age, I wouldn't think about nit taking him with me anywhere, after all I am the number one person who can meet all his needs at the moment.'

Ms Newman said because the appointment wasn't actually carried out and wasn't cancelled, it took her all day to book another one for Monday

Mothers said they were confused because the ban on children was buried in the fine print of email confirmations.

Another FAQ on the Sydney Local Health District website asked parents to avoid bringing children 'if possible', rather than implying an outright ban.

Sydney is days away from reaching its six million dose target, with plenty of time to spare before the August 28 deadline set by Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

The premier all but promised to ease restrictions in areas with low cases and high vaccination rates, but a record 830 new infections on Sunday makes that seem increasingly unlikely.

The state is on track to hit 70 per cent vaccinated in October and 80 per cent a couple of weeks later, which is supposed to see the lockdown lifted.
Boris Johnson's feelings about America's withdrawal from Afghanistan have been variously described by sources as 'furious', 'a betrayal' and 'let down'.

Downing Street dismisses the claims  it is in neither country's interests to stoke tensions when the future of Afghanistan hangs in the balance  but there is little question that the UK has been left exposed by the speed of Washington's pull-out.

Britain is tied to America's cut-off date of August 31 for the end of evacuation flights, which was agreed without consultation, meaning that if Joe Biden fails to extend the date, the UK will have to stop flights within days  to allow time to also remove the 900 British troops in the country.

No 10 also denies claims that the Prime Minister was disappointed by Mr Biden's victory in the Presidential elections and had declared that it would have been 'better' if Donald Trump had won a second term, and say it is 'categorically untrue' that Mr Johnson employs the President's derogatory nickname of Sleepy Joe during jocular conversations.

No10 denied claims that PM Boris Johnson (pictured) feels 'furious' or 'let down' by America

Across Whitehall and in British embassies around the world, officials and diplomats are adjusting to the fact that Mr Biden has adopted an America First policy every bit as isolationist as his predecessor's.

There are also whispered concerns that the 78-year-old might be, in the words of one Government source, 'a bit doolally'  unable to exert full executive grip on the White House and with a world view forged decades ago and out of step with the demands of leadership in the 2020s.

The Times claimed yesterday that Mr Johnson finds Mr Biden 'lightweight and inward-looking'.

Observers of the two men's relationship believe that there is a degree of wariness, with Mr Biden regarding Mr Johnson as a 'mini-Trump' because of his personality-driven style of politics and the pair talking far less frequently than Mr Johnson and Mr Trump did.

There are also policy differences, with Washington reluctant to accede to the UK's demand to ramp up spending on 'green' policies ahead of the COP26 climate change summit being hosted by the UK in November.

Of particular irritation in London during the Afghan endgame has been the fact that British military commanders have been cut out of discussions between the US and the Taliban.

Britain is tied to America's cut-off date of August 31 for the end of evacuation flights, which was agreed without consultation, meaning that if Joe Biden (pictured) fails to extend the date, the UK will have to stop flights within days  to allow time to also remove the 900 British troops in the country

But a No 10 source said yesterday that Mr Johnson had not expressed any anger over the US withdrawal, and said the two men had enjoyed a 'warm and constructive' phone conversation on Tuesday evening.

A Downing Street spokesman said: 'These claims are categorically untrue. The Prime Minister has not criticised President Biden, and they have a very strong working relationship.

The President's first call to a leader outside of North America after his election win was to the Prime Minister.

They have worked together on a range of issues, including at the recent G7, where they secured an additional one billion Covid vaccine doses for developing countries, and signed the Carbis Bay Declaration to improve global health co-operation and prevent future pandemics'.

President Biden cancelled plans to spend the weekend at his home in Delaware. Instead he is meeting his national security team 'to hear intelligence, security and diplomatic updates on the evolving situation in Afghanistan,' the White House said.
Victoria has recorded 65 new cases of Covid as the virus spreads further in regional areas amid claims the state's battle against the outbreak is heading in the wrong direction despite harsh lockdown restrictions.

Only 12 of the 65 cases were in isolation for the entire infectious period, and 10 are mystery infections.

They were diagnosed from 44,147 tests with the state administering 26,149 vaccine doses on Saturday.

It comes as the State Government announced a cash incentive for more than 300,000 public sector workers to get fully vaccinated.

They will be offered access to half-a-day's paid time off for each dose of the vaccine they receive.

The incentive will be available to nurses, doctors, teachers, firefighters, first responders and all part-time and full-time workers as well as long-term casuals.

Victoria has recorded another 65 locally-acquired cases of coronavirus, 55 of which are linked to current outbreaks and 10 that are currently under investigation (pictured, Victoria's Health Minister Martin Foley)

The worrying surge in cases comes after the mass anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne, with copycat rallies seen in Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns (pictured, police spraying pepper spray at protests in Melbourne on Saturday)

'We think it's the responsibility of us as a significant employer in the state to put in place all the support we can to encourage our employees to get on and make sure they are all vaccinated as soon as possible,' Health Minister Martin Foley said.

Breakdown of Victoria's 65 cases recorded on Sunday *21 are linked to the greater Shepparton outbreak. *Eight are linked to the Al-Taqwa College *Eight are linked to the City of Hobsons Bay outbreak *Five are linked to the MyCentre Child Care Broadmeadows outbreak *13 are linked to 'general other outbreaks', including St Kilda and CS Square in Caroline Springs *Ten are not yet linked to known outbreaks Source: Victoria Health Advertisement

'This is a part of our drive to make sure that we administer one million doses of the vaccines that are available from August 16.'

The 65 locally-acquired cases include the 16 cases found using a rapid PCR testing platform in Shepparton, 185km north of Melbourne.

An additional case not included in Sunday's numbers was recorded in Mansfield, 125km south of Shepparton, in worrying evidence the virus is spreading further into the state's regional areas.

There was also one new case of Covid-19 acquired overseas, detected in hotel quarantine.

There are now 440 active cases across Victoria, 109 of which are children under the age of nine.

Mr Foley said 27 people are in hospital, 12 are in ICU and five are on ventilators.

The health minister said more than 62,894 vaccination appointments are available to Victorians from as soon as next week as the state receives more doses.

On Thursday and Friday, just over two per cent of Victorians received a vaccination.

Slots are available across Geelong, Wodonga, Shepparton, Warrnambool, Melton and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

'Please get on board the growing number of Victorians who are eligible and are getting the best vaccine that is available  that is the one that is available now,' Mr Foley said.

'That vaccination journey is our quickest way out of this pandemic and with driving down down our infection levels.'

Department of Health deputy secretary Kate Matson (pictured) pointed to the widespread community transmission of the virus and asked that Victorians remained vigilant

(pictured, mounted police are seen in Melbourne's CBD)

A package of automatic cash grants funded jointly by the federal and Victorian government will provide support to regional businesses impacted by the lockdown.

The package comprises a $100.9million allocation to the Business Costs Assistance Program, $34.5million for regional businesses that have previously received the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund grants, and $11.2million for the Alpine Resorts Winter Support program.

The $146million initiative will be paid automatically to those in the states regions, with the program expected to support 20,000 businesses.

About 110,000 businesses in the Melbourne are due to be paid cash grants during the two-week lockdown extension.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas said the package would provide some much-needed assurance to regional businesses who needed it most.

'No-one wanted to be in this position, but the rapid spread of the Delta strain and the emergence of cases in regional Victoria meant there was no choice,' Mr Pallas said.

'We are acting quickly, decisively and on public health advice to get ahead of this outbreak.'

Crowds of protesters who were not wearing masks lit flares, held placards and chanted anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine slogans (pictured, a rally attendee in Melbourne)

Health Minister Martin Foley (pictured) announced 27 Victorians were currently hospitalised for Covid-19, 12 were in ICU and five are on ventilators

Department of Health deputy secretary Kate Matson said she was aware of seven cases now linked to the Royal Melbourne Hospital cluster.

Health authorities believe the virus entered the hospital through a man from Shepparton who was awaiting heart surgery.

Ms Matson said the original case is a visitor to the hospital who caught the virus from a family member sharing a room with the Shepparton man.

The male patient was not tested for Covid-19 until after the visitor tested positive, as authorities had been unaware of a risk in Shepparton.

Ms Matson pointed to the widespread community transmission of the virus and asked that residents remained vigilant.

'I ask everyone to consider that Covid may be out there as you go for your exercise, as you go to the grocery store, as you pick up your takeaway coffee, if you get UberEats, food delivered to your door,' she said.

'We have community transmission. Please maintain the vigilance we've been practicing over the 18 months.'

Mr Foley said it was too soon to tell whether the state-wide lockdown would end on September 2 as planned.

'The fact that we have got a high number, proportionately, of cases out in the community today, the numbers that we have released, reflects the fact that we have got new components for that outbreak and, as we have indicated every step of the way, we will provide up-to-date, transparent information to Victorian people as soon as we get it.'

Meanwhile, Victorian Sports Minister Martin Pakula said he still held hope the AFL Grand Final would be played at the MCG on September 25.

'I think it probably goes without saying that right now, it looks problematic, the idea that we would have tens of thousands of people gathered in one place that soon,' Mr Pakula said.

'Having said that, contrary to reports, we have not waved the white flag yet.'

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has confirmed 48 guests who attended the infamous engagement party in Caulfield North last week had each been slapped with a $5452 fine.

Mr Patton said a record 3000 calls had been made to the Police Assistance Line on Saturday to report breaches of the public health orders.

He said 55 infringements were handed out on Saturday for private gatherings, with police busting 16 people at a gathering in Warrnambool and 12 people in Docklands having a 'gambling party'.

Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) warned on Friday that if Victorians ignored strict stay-at-home orders this weekend 'well then next week it will be like Sydney'

Today's case numbers follow the huge anti-lockdown protest attended by 4,000 people in Melbourne on Saturday, with similar rallies also held in Sydney, Brisbane, and Cairns (pictured, police seen walking during the protests in Melbourne)

Today's case numbers follow the huge anti-lockdown protest attended by 4,000 people in Melbourne on Saturday, with similar rallies also held in Sydney, Brisbane, and Cairns.

Victoria's police chief described the illegal demonstrations as 'probably one of the most violent protests weve seen in nearly 20 years'.

The protest started on the corner of Elizabeth and Bourke street in the CBD on Saturday morning and escalated during the afternoon despite Premier Dan Andrews saying the state is on the verge of a Covid catastrophe.

The Melbourne rally continued for several hours and at times the protesters appeared to outnumber police, breaking through police barricades.

Crowds of protesters who were not wearing masks lit flares, held placards and chanted anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine slogans.

By late afternoon seven officers had been injured with six hospitalised - including two with suspected broken noses, one with a broken thumb and the others with concussions - and 218 protesters arrested.

Police issued 236 fines of at least $5,452 for breaching the CHO directions, and have three people in custody for assaulting police.

In Melbourne on Saturday Police issued 236 fines of at least $5,452 for breaching the CHO directions, and have three people in custody for assaulting police (pictured, police spray pepper spray during protests in Melbourne)

Health Minister Martin Foley said he hoped the 'full weight' of the law would be brought down upon protestors who attacked the states frontline workers (pictured, man is arrested during Melbourne's freedom protest on Saturday)

'While there were some peaceful protestors in attendance, the majority of those who attended came with violence in mind,' Victoria Police said in response to claims pepper ball rounds and OC foam canisters were fired at demonstrators.

'The behaviour seen by police was so hostile and aggressive that they were left with no choice but to use all tactics available to them.'

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton slammed the people who attended the protest, and said the vast majority were men aged between 25 and 40.

Mr Foley also hit out at the 'absolutely outrageous attacks' which saw several officers hospitalised and wished those injured a quick recovery.

The health minister cited the event as the most violent attack on police in 20 years and said he hoped the full weight of the law would be brought down on attendees who attacked the states frontline workers.

More than 100 venues were added to the states ever-developing list of Covid-19 exposure sites, including a public housing tower in North Melbourne (pictured)

A Woolworths in Fisherman's Bend in Port Melbourne (pictured) has been listed as a tier 2 exposure site for periods on August 13, 14, and 17

The Delta Medical Centre in Shepparton (pictured) has also been listed as an exposure site, as well as an Aldi and a popular pharmacy in the same suburb

Victorian health authorities are now fearing the state is on course to enter the same endless cycle of lockdowns currently being experienced in NSW.

AMA vice president Stephen Parnis has said he holds grave concerns over delayed testing and an increase of mystery cases and exposure sites, warning 'the trajectory is heading the wrong way' for Victoria.

'We know from past experience that when the numbers increase, that translates through to more sick people, more hospital presentations,' Dr Panis told ABC News.

'And already in Melbourne we've seen an impact with hundreds of exposure sites, lots of people  over 10,000 to 15,000 in isolation, and that includes a significant amount of health workers. It's putting pressure on health services.

'And then, of course, we saw these protests yesterday, which are demoralising because people are doing the exact opposite of what they purport to do, which is improve people's freedoms. They actually make it worse for everyone.'

AMA vice president Stephen Parnis (pictured) has warned 'the trajectory is heading the wrong way for Victoria' due to delayed testing and a growth of mystery cases and exposure sites

Meanwhile more than 100 venues were added to Victoria's ever-developing list of Covid-19 exposure sites yesterday alone.

A public housing tower at 33 Alfred Street in North Melbourne has been listed as a tier two exposure site alongside a Woolworths in Fisherman's Bend.

A number of retailers, restaurants and takeaways in Altona Keys, Moorabbin, Dandenong North and Keysborough were also listed as high-risk sites.

FIND THE LATEST EXPOSURE SITES NEAR YOU:

The health department has declared the Greater Shepparton Secondary College's Invergordon campus as a tier two exposure site between August 16 and August 20.

The Delta Medical Centre in Shepparton has also been listed as an exposure site, as well as an Aldi and a popular pharmacy in the same suburb.

Mr Andrews on Friday said the state was sitting on a 'knife's edge', urging Victorians to follow protocol or there could be an explosion in cases.

The state recorded 77 new cases on Saturday before the anti-lockdown protests began, with the premier announcing the capital city's lockdown would be broadened to include the entire state.

Regional Victoria's restrictions are the same as for those in Melbourne minus the curfew that requires those in the capital to not leave their home between 9pm and 5am.

Construction has also been limited to 25 per cent capacity statewide to be inline with Melbourne.

The Melbourne protests continued for several hours and at times the emboldened protesters appeared to outnumber police, breaking through police barricades (pictured, police spray pepper spray at protestors on Saturday)

Victorian health authorities are now fearing the state is on course to enter the same endless cycle of lockdowns currently being experienced in NSW (pictured, police arresting a protestor at the anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne on Saturday)

There are significant changes around childcare, which has been flagged as an area where transmission has been occurring.

'We will move to a permit system, where only authorised workers will be able to send their kids to childcare and those who have vulnerable children,' Mr Andrews said at Saturday's state update.

'We will work through all the detail of that over the course of the weekend. There will be exact words up on the website, a process for people to follow, but essentially going back to the process that we followed last year which was very successful, I know challenging, but very, very successful.

'We have got to limit the number of kids that are in our childcare centres. We have to got to limit the amount of movement that is occurring that involves our smallest children.'

Children at schools will also be asked to wear masks, however, this won't be compulsory.
TV star Deborah Hutton's meditation guru friend who allegedly choked his ex-wife during a home invasion could fight his assault charges under the mental health act.

Andrew 'Marshy' Marsh allegedly broke into the house while his ex-wife and another person were at the home in Bondi, Sydney's eastern suburbs, on December 14.

He pleaded not guilty to choking and two counts of common assault and his case was listed for a hearing at Waverley Local Court on Friday.

Though magistrate Carolyn Huntsman said the case would be adjourned because of current Covid-19 restrictions.

Outside of court, his lawyer Paul McGirr said he intended to fight some of his client's charges under section 32 of the Mental Health Act.

TV star Deborah Hutton's (centre, with friend Andrew Marsh) meditation guru friend who allegedly choked his ex-wife during a home invasion could fight his assault charges under the mental health act

Andrew 'Marshy' Marsh allegedly broke into the house while his ex-wife and another person were at the home in Bondi, Sydney's eastern suburbs, on December 14

'We envisage making a mental health application in respect to parts of this matter,' he told Daily Telegraph.

'If the prosecution withdraws certain charges, it might be a Mental Health Act application on the remaining ones.'

Documents previously tendered to court alleged Marsh drank from a wine bottle and threatened self-harm during the incident last year.

The court heard that Marsh's ex-wife sent six panic-stricken text messages saying 'send help to the house now'.

Police prosecutors initially told the court Marsh 'put one victim in a chokehold'.

'The victims, your honour, are so scared when they find the accused is in the house they hide in the cupboard and attempt to find help,' the prosecution told the court.

'Putting one victim in a choke-hold, she states to police this makes her think she is going to die.'

Marsh was remanded in custody and spent Christmas behind bars before he was granted bail in January.

Under the strict conditions of his release is been barred from Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Marsh is a wellness and meditation guru whose close friendship with TV personality Deborah Hutton has made headlines.

Marsh is a wellness and meditation guru whose close friendship with TV personality Deborah Hutton has made headlines

Although court papers initially listed Marsh's home address as Hutton's mansion, the media personality claimed this was not true.

'Contrary to various media reports, Andrew Marsh is not living with me - I consider him a very dear friend and in what has been an incredibly challenging year for Andrew, I offered him my full support during the breakdown of his marriage as he had nowhere to go,' she said.

'This is totally out of character for him and I'm shocked at what has unfolded over the past few days and hope that Andrew is able to receive the help he clearly needs.'

Marsh was last year convicted on a charge of cocaine possession, but escaped with no additional penalty.
Princess Diana believed that 75 per cent of the profits from her Panorama interview with Martin Bashir should go to charity, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

It comes as pressure mounted on the BBC last night to confirm the timing and details of when the profits from the 1995 interview would be donated to a charity chosen by the Royal Family.

The issue of a donation was first raised by Diana and it is understood that negotiations were ongoing just before the interview was shown.

Diana had hoped for a similar agreement to that struck between Prince Charles and ITV the previous year. But, in Dianas case, the BBC refused to honour her wish.

The Mail on Sunday last week revealed that the BBC was set to pay back the profits earned from selling the rights to the interview (pictured)

In an internal memo, the BBC confirmed that all proceeds were being retained by the Corporation. An aide wrote: We were following standard practice for distribution of a current affairs interview.

A friend of the late Princess said: Diana wouldnt have thought to get the charity donation in writing. No doubt she believed that there was a gentlemans agreement but as with a lot that she was told by them, it wasnt as she was led to believe.

The Mail on Sunday last week revealed that the BBC was set to pay back the profits earned from selling the rights to the interview.

Kensington Palace declined to comment, saying that ongoing discussions on the matter were private.
The transatlantic war of words between Buckingham Palace and the Sussexes could take a new twist, with the Queen reportedly 'ordering' officials to plan a legal fightback against the couple.

Sources say the 'exasperated' Queen, 95, has told palace officials to 'lawyer up' with libel experts after 'repeated attacks' on the Royal Family from the US-based Sussexes.

It comes after Harry, 36, and wife Meghan Markle, 40, said in their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey that an unnamed royal had raised concerns over their son Archie's skin colour before his birth.

Days later Buckingham Palace released a statement saying 'recollections may vary' in response to allegations.

But the row was reignited this week after it was revealed in a new chapter of their biography Finding Freedom that a source had accused the royals of 'failing to own' their part in the fallout.

Now sources close to the Queen have told the Sun that the feeling 'coming right from the top' is that 'enough is enough'.

The source told the paper: 'There is a limit to how much will be accepted and the Queen and Royal Family can only be pushed so far.

Sources say the 'exasperated' Queen (pictured right) has told palace officials to 'lawyer up' with libel experts after 'repeated attacks' on the Royal Family from the US-based Sussexes. It comes after Harry, 36, and wife Meghan Markle, 40, (pictured left together) said in their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey that an unnamed royal had raised concerns over their son Archie's skin colour before his birth

Sources close to the Queen (pictured here with Harry and Meghan in 2018) have told the Sun that the feeling 'coming right from the top is that enough is enough'

Finding Freedom author Omid Scobie claims Meghan and Harry's decision to name daughter Lilibet is proof of their 'closeness' to the Queen Finding Freedom author Omid Scobie yesterday reignited the row over Meghan and Harrys decision to name their daughter Lilibet, after the Queens childhood nickname, when he claimed it was actually proof of how close the couple are to the monarch. The name, he said, offered an insight into the close relationship the Sussexes and the Queen still share. Others, however, have taken a different view. Indeed, the question of whether or not the Queen had granted permission  as Harry suggested  sparked a transatlantic row. Palace sources insist the initial conversation between Harry and his grandmother about the name was a telling not an asking. The BBC report first revealing that the Queen had not been asked for permission caused a furore. Scobie, who co-wrote about Harry and Meghans departure from the Royal Family in Finding Freedom, also came under fire last week when a forthcoming excerpt from a revised edition of his book was published detailing the aftermath of the Oprah Winfrey interview. The Queens statement that some recollections may vary led Harry and Meghan to believe senior Royals had not taken accountability and full ownership of the claims, according to the forthcoming new edition. But Scobie quickly backtracked, saying that it was the institution of the Monarchy, not the Queen personally, who bore the brunt of the Sussexes displeasure  even though the statement was issued on behalf of Her Majesty. Yesterday, Scobie told Good Morning America: When it comes to that relationship with the Queen, it is as strong as ever. They have nothing but love for her. Of course, we saw them name their daughter after the Queens very nickname. So that really gives us an insight into that close relationship. Advertisement

'They are getting lawyered up. Harry and Meghan will be made aware and know repeated attacks will not be tolerated.'

One hurdle any legal team could face is the upcoming release of Prince Harry's tell-all memoirs.

The book, due to be released next year, will be published by Penguin Random House.

According to the Sun, a preemptive legal warning to the publishers is now being considered.

The source told the paper: 'If someone were named in the book and accused of something directly that could be a libel and also infringe their rights to a private family life.

'It would be ironic if Harry and Meghan were accused of breaching privacy given their pronouncements on the subject.'

It comes after lawyers for the Sussexes earlier this week denied that the couple had 'reignited a rift' with the Queen after an updated biography claimed they believe she has failed to act over their accusations of racism.

The new edition of Finding Freedom suggests sources close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they were 'not surprised' at a perceived lack of action over their claim that a senior royal expressed 'concern' about their unborn child's skin colour.

It says they took exception to a carefully-worded statement from the Queen, following their interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, in which she expressed concern for the couple but insisted that 'some recollections may vary'.

Days later, Prince William told reporters that the royals were 'very much not a racist family' and admitted he was yet to speak to his estranged brother following the Oprah interview.

Now, the updated edition of Finding Freedom has claimed that the Sussexes were far from happy at Buckingham Palace's official response.

But their legal team at Schillings told MailOnline today that it was false and defamatory to claim the couple have 'reignited a rift' with the Queen - or to suggest or imply that they have made any statements to that effect.

Their lawyers insisted there were no new developments on the topic and that the claims were from the authors of the book, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, who do not speak for the Sussexes and rely on unnamed sources.

Mr Scobie also tried to clarify the situation, tweeting: 'Back at this rodeo and, predictably, words are already being twisted.

'The comments made by a SOURCE (a detail some outlets have purposefully ignored) was about a lack of ownership from the royal institution as a whole. There's no 'attack' against the Queen anywhere in the book.'

An excerpt from the new version of Finding Freedom due to be published in People magazine in the US states that the couple believe senior royals have not taken 'accountability'  preventing a major thaw in relations.

Harry and Meghan spoke to Oprah Winfrey in a bombshell interview in March in which they accused a senior royal of racism

Royal author Omid Scobie is a trusted media contact of the Sussexes and co-wrote their biography Finding Freedom

The extract reads: 'Those three words, 'recollections may vary', did not go unnoticed by the couple, who a close source said were 'not surprised' that full ownership was not taken. 'Months later and little accountability has been taken,' a pal of Meghan's added. 'How can you move forward without that?' '

The book now covers Harry's return to the UK in April for his grandfather Prince Philip's funeral - and says he bought a one-way ticket as he hoped he might be able to speak to his family directly, without staff being involved.

The new version of Finding Freedom will be out on August 31

It claims Harry spoke to his brother Prince William three times in all during the visit, as well as briefly chatting to his father, Prince Charles, after the service. He also enjoyed 'precious moments' with his grandmother, the Queen.

The biography, which was a glowing portrait of the Sussexes by Mr Scobie and Ms Durand first published in August 2020, concludes that the trip 'broke the ice' and that the door to a rapprochement is now 'slightly ajar'.

Stating that Harry and Meghan have no regrets about their actions, despite the toll on their family, the book says: 'What started [as a] fairytale romance became a story that reinvented the genre  a self-made, independent woman playing an equal role alongside her knight.'

The excerpt to be published in People also claims the couple felt nervous sitting down with chat show host Oprah but had decided that they needed to speak up now, or never.

'There were so many things they were unable to say [before stepping back from their royal roles],' it reads.

Although the Sussexes have insisted they did not co-operate directly with the book's authors, the level of detail  and claims by both the writers and publisher, Harper Collins, that they had access to the couple's close circle of friends and associates  has led some to claim that indirect help was provided.

The book's authors have said, however, that Finding Freedom is 'independent and unauthorised' and that the couple did not speak to them about it.

The new version is set to be published on August 31  the anniversary of Princess Diana's death. It contains an updated epilogue covering the Oprah interview, the death of Prince Philip, and the Sussexes' plans for the future.
NSW has broken another pandemic record with 830 new cases of Covid-19 overnight, with 94 fighting for life in intensive care.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard announced the figure at a press conference on Sunday morning, but described the state's vaccination rates 'quite extraordinary'.

'I thank the residents of NSW are coming out in such great numbers to be vaccinated,' he told reporters.

'I am advised that in fact, NSW is now amongst the highest - if not the highest - in the world in terms of vaccination rates.'

So far, 58 per cent of people in the state have had one dose of a vaccine and 31 per cent have had two doses.

NSW registered a record 830 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday morning - the highest number of infections ever recorded in a single day in Australia. Pictured: A woman at Coogee on Sunday

When asked whether restrictions would be eased, Mr Hazzard said he was confident there would be 'a lot more normality in our lives' in just 'weeks'.

'If our community keeps getting their vaccines the way they are, NSW will look pretty good by October, November,' he said.

'I'm really encouraged by the positivity in the community in getting vaccinated.'

Of the 830 new cases, 317 are in the Western Sydney health district, 237 in the South Western Sydney district and 70 in the Nepean Blue Mountains district.

The majority of Sydney's cases are in the south-west, in Blacktown, Greenacre, Guildford, Merrylands, Granville and Condell Park.

Three more deaths were also recorded overnight - two men in their 60s and 70s, and a woman in her 80s.

New South Wales registered the worst day of cases Australia has seen during the pandemic with 830 new coronavirus cases on Sunday

Three more deaths were recorded overnight in NSW on Sunday - two men in their 60s and 70s, and a woman in her 80s. Pictured: Women exercising at Coogee Beach on Sunday

People flocked to the Bronte Beach on Sunday morning, despite NSW registering a record 830 new cases

Mr Hazzard said there are 557 people in hospital with the virus in NSW, and 94 are in ICU - 83 of whom are not vaccinated, while the remaining patients have received only one dose.

Deputy chief health officer Marianne Gale explained that Covid particles have been detected in the sewage in Bateau Bay on the Central Coast and encouraged all residents to get tested.

Residents of Lithgow, Parkes and Orange were also urged to get a swab after 36 cases were recorded in the area.

'The majority continue to be in the area of Dubbo and surrounds although we are also seeing cases in Bathurst, Wellington, Berks, Narromine and Orange,' Dr Gale said.

'We are calling to people of Orange to come out and get tested, is that while we have two [new cases] reported to 8pm last night, overnight we have had an additional four cases making a total of six in Orange at the current time.'

There are two new cases in Wilcannia and Broken Hill, in the state's far west, and seven in the Hunter New England region.

Mr Hazzard encouraged people to stay at home unless they're getting vaccinated. Pictured: A woman at Coogee Beach on Sunday morning

Regional areas, including Orange, Wilcannia and Bathurst are also on alert (pictured: women running in Sydney on Sunday)

NSW Health has 200,000 vaccine bookings so far, but NSW Health deputy secretary Susan Pearce said there could easily be 200,000 more accomodated.

'The reality is, we really need people to continue to come out and get vaccinated,' Dr Gale said.

'Don't delay... it is reasonable to leave your home to get vaccinated, you don't need to be concerned about that.'

Deputy Police Commissioner Gary Worboys said police issued 240 penalty infringement notices in the last 24 hours across the state.

Many were related to those involved in Saturday's planned anti-lockdown protests in Sydney CBD.

About 1,500 officers were deployed on Saturday to stop protesters from marching.

The huge coordinated police presence and operation appeared to overwhelm protest efforts.

Police issued 37 tickets after stopping around 38,000 cars approaching the city.

There will be a curfew in 12 Sydney LGAs of concern, staring on Monday. Pictured: A woman walking in Coogee

Pictured: A woman is questioned by NSW Police on Broadway on August 21 during anti-lockdown protests

Pictured: A police officer is injured during a 'National Rally for Peace, Freedom and Human Rights' anti-lockdown protest in Sydney, Saturday, August 21

Mr Worboys said police will be out in force ensuring residents in the 12 Sydney LGAs of concern comply with 9pm curfews.

He said the tight restrictions would stop 'young men wanting to leave their home and go about various engagements and activities through all hours of the night'.

'This curfew will signal that this is the time that that sort of behaviour must stop,' Deputy Commissioner Warboys said.

'Police will be out and they will take action and we just hope that everyone makes some sense of this and realises that we all have a part to play on this.'

On Saturday, NSW Premier Berejiklian confirmed the state registered 825 new infections.

The state leader lamented the 'catastrophic consequences' of the minority doing the wrong thing in the community.

Deputy Police Commissioner Gary Worboys said police issued 240 penalty infringement notices in the last 24 hours across the state

Many were related to those involved in Saturday's planned anti-lockdown protests in Sydney CBD. Pictured: A man a Coogee on Sunday morning

NSW authorities said the chanced of dropped down to zero Covid cases is unlikely (pictured: women walking at Coogee Beach on Sunday)

'This is nothing Australia has seen before. Even in very strict and harsh lockdowns, the virus is spreading,' she said.

'That is a fact. What we need to do is protect ourselves and loved ones by staying at home and getting vaccinated.'

There were at least 58 residents who were infectious in the community with three deaths recorded overnight - a man in his 80s, a man in his 90s and a woman in her 80s.

In a bid to shift public focus from the rising tide of cases to 'more important' vaccination figures and the national goal of 70 and 80 per cent coverage, Ms Berejiklian said she'd noticed a 'change in attitude' from her interstate counterparts.

'We accept that Delta is here,' she told reporters.

'We accept heading to zero across the nation, especially once you open up and live freely, will be an impossible task.'

The premier implored people to 'be real about it' and know that vaccinations were keeping them and their loved ones out of hospital.

Nearly 80 per cent of Saturday's cases were in Sydney's west and southwest where tough new restrictions including a night-time curfew are in force.

Deputy Chief Health Officer Marianne Gale said six residents of the Normanhurst facility's dementia ward had been diagnosed with the virus after an unvaccinated staff member worked while infectious. Four of them had declined the jab.

Nearly 80 per cent of Saturday's cases were in Sydney's west and southwest where tough new restrictions including a night-time curfew are in force. Pictured: People in Coogee on Sunday

Pictured: People exercising at Bondi Beach on Saturday, as the state recorded 825 new infections

The entire state is now locked down and a police blitz underway to enforce harsher regulations and increased fines.

Leichhardt Public School has been closed after a staff member tested positive to Covid-19, and Lane Cove West Public School was also shut after a student tested positive.

Staff and students at both schools have been asked to self-isolate until further notice, a NSW Education spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday night.

Persistently high case numbers have led to stay-at-home orders for Sydneysiders until at least September 30 while regional NSW is locked down until at least August 28.

NSW police have been given greater powers to enforce compliance including the ability to lock down apartment blocks while NSW Health assesses Covid-19 risk - before anyone even tests positive.

People who enter LGAs of concern, which include Bayside, Blacktown, Burwood, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith and Strathfield, without a reasonable excuse will face fines of $1000 and an order to isolate at home for two weeks.

Hardware stores like Bunnings, office supply stores and other retail premises must close in those 12 areas except for click-and-collect, and all exams and education activities must move online, except the HSC.

A permit system will from Saturday also come into force for people travelling between Greater Sydney and regional NSW.
Britain would have to turn to Russia and China to exercise a 'moderating influence' over the Taliban despite a mistrust between the UK and those governments, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said.

'We're going to have to bring in countries with a potentially moderating influence like Russia and China, however uncomfortable that is,' Raab told The Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

The Taliban seized power last weekend from a US-backed government, sending thousands fleeing and potentially heralding a return to the militants' austere and autocratic rule of two decades ago.

It comes after Mr Raab was plunged into a fresh row over his holiday after sources told the Mail on Sunday he refused an order by No.10 to return from the Mediterranean to deal with the crisis.

Sources said Mr Raab had been told by a senior Downing Street official on Friday 13th August that he should return to London immediately as the situation in Kabul deteriorated, and that there had been 'much gnashing of teeth' when he delayed his homecoming until the early hours of Monday morning.

The claim is strongly denied by friends of Mr Raab, who insist that he was assured by Boris Johnson that he could stay with his family until the end of the weekend.

'We're going to have to bring in countries with a potentially moderating influence like Russia and China, however uncomfortable that is,' Raab said

The Taliban seized power last weekend from a US-backed government, sending thousands fleeing and potentially heralding a return to the militants' austere and autocratic rule of two decades ago

A flight of 265 people is evacuated out of Kabul by the British Army

Britain and China have recently been at odds over various issues, including Hong Kong and alleged human rights abuses against China's Uyghur ethnic group.

Ties between London and Moscow also have been on ice since the 2018 poisoning with a Soviet-developed nerve agent known as Novichok of ex-double agent Sergei Skripal, a mole who betrayed hundreds of Russian agents to Britain's MI6 foreign spy service.

Relations between Britain and Russia deteriorated further after a BBC journalist working in Moscow was told to leave the country.

British forces have evacuated 3,821 people from Kabul since August 13, according to Britain's Ministry of Defence, including 1,323 who have made it to the UK.

This includes embassy staff, British nationals and those eligible under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy programme.

Evacuations have been underway in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control on August 13 after American troops were pulled from the country.

Evacuations have been underway in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country on August 13 after American troops were pulled from the country

A US Navy corpsman hands out water to children during an evacuation at the airport in Kabul

Reports have since flooded in of death squads hunting Afghans, who helped the British or American armies, in their homes and killing them.

Operation Pitting, involving 1,000 British soldiers, has been deployed to help repatriate those stranded in the country and desperately needing escape.

Chaos has ensued at the airport ever since the Taliban took control and the Armed Forces are in a race against time to evacuate as many as possible.

British troops at the airport in Kabul told Sky News that the mayhem at airports, including mass crushes which have killed at least four women, were the worst scenes they saw during their service.

It is unclear exactly when evacuations need to be finished by but US President Joe Biden has indicated he wants them finished by the end of the month, meaning Britain will most likely have to follow suit.

A US Airman embraces a mother after she helped to reunite their family at the airport in Kabul

A US Airman high fives a child after helping to reunite their family at the airport in Kabul

It comes as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace declared that 'no nation will be able to get everyone out'.

In a powerfully emotive article for The Mail on Sunday, Mr Wallace warns that time is 'ticking along, impossible to stop' towards the imminent end of the UK's mission to rescue thousands of Afghans entitled to come to the UK.

While acknowledging that 'no nation will be able to get everyone out', Mr Wallace also announces that a series of 'processing hubs' will be set up in countries neighbouring Afghanistan for refugees who manage to escape. If they can establish their right to come to the UK, they will be flown to Britain.

The MoD is looking at establishing hubs in countries such as Pakistan and Turkey  but, startlingly, is also exploring whether the Taliban might allow the UK to retain a 'presence' in Kabul after the Americans have gone.

Mr Wallace makes a veiled plea for Washington to delay the US leaving date beyond August 31, writing: 'Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer and they will have our complete support if they do.'
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has backed NSW to end lockdown once 70-80 per cent of the NSW population is vaccinated, regardless of case numbers.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has repeatedly implied lockdown will end somewhere between 70 and 80 per cent vaccination, even as the outbreak continues to grow.

The state hit yet another record of 830 cases on Sunday, a day after diagnosing the most cases in a single day anywhere in Australia on Saturday.

Other state premiers are resistant to NSW ending the lockdown with so many cases a day, and insisting about 30, or at least less than 100, should be required.

But the NSW premier now has cover for opening up in October as updated advice from the Doherty Institute indicates case numbers won't matter.

NSW is another step closer to freedom, despite soaring Covid numbers. Pictured are Sydneysiders exercising as the state recorded a record 830 new cases

Federal government sources told the Sun Herald the Doherty Institute advised that lifting lockdowns with hundreds of daily cases at 70 per cent vaccination wouldn't make a drastic change to epidemiological modelling.

National Cabinet agreed to set second dose thresholds of 70 and 80 per cent to significantly reduce the prospect of lockdowns.

A spokesman for Mr Morrison said national cabinet had asked the Doherty Institute to model a number of reopening scenarios.

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'However, when we reach the 70 per cent and 80 per cent thresholds the findings are clear that we can move forward with our reopening plan regardless of case numbers because there will be far less serious illness for our health system to manage,' he said.

The updated modelling will be presented to National Cabinet this week.

Australia ramped up its vaccination efforts to the point where more than 1.7 million doses were administered in the past week, including a record 310,524 jabs delivered on Friday.

About 29.6 per cent of Australians over-16s are now fully vaccinated, while 51.8 per cent have received a first dose.

NSW is at more than 30 per cent fully vaccinated with 5.86 million jabs administered since the program began.

Ms Berejiklian urged her locked-down state to focus on vaccination as Sydney and surrounding regions entered their 10th week of stay-at-home orders.

NSW premier has reiterated assurances life will be much different once the state reaches the magic milestone of 70-80 per cent vaccination. Pictured are Sydneysiders soaking up the winter sunshine at Bondi

'While case numbers are going up, the more important figure going up is the vaccination rate,' she said.

'The vaccination rate is where we can look forward to living life freely.'

Health minister Brad Hazzard added on Sunday: 'I am advised that NSW is now amongst the highest, if not the highest, in the world in terms of vaccination rates.'

Ms Berejiklian claimed she'd seen a 'seismic shift' and change in attitude in her state counterparts' approach to living with Covid-19.

'We accept the Delta is here, we accept getting to zero across the nation, especially once you open up and live freely, will be an impossible task - no other place on the planet has done it,' she said.

However, several state leaders disagree on lifting lockdowns and reopening borders while NSW cases remain in their hundreds.

They include Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, whose state recorded 65 new cases on Sunday.

The Prime Minister looks forward to reopening up the county once 80 per cent of Australia's are vaccinated. Pictured is a pop up vaccination clinic at Australian Sikh Association in Sydney

'If you don't actively suppress this virus then, when you do open up, we will have scenes the likes of which none of us have ever experienced in our hospitals,' Mr Andrews said.

'That is why [on Friday at national cabinet], far from a sense of easing or a sense of moving away from the plan, there was an agreement, and quite some discussion about the need to update the Doherty modelling because the Doherty modelling is not predicated on 10, 12, 15, 20,000 active cases in any state or across our nation.

'It is, in fact, predicated on very small numbers of cases.'

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk agreed.

'There is a huge outbreak in NSW and you can't just say when we get to 70 or 80 per cent the number of cases doesn't matter. It does. The comments of the NSW Premier and PM are not reflected in Doherty,' her spokesman told the Sun Herald.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says it's 'inevitable' that case numbers will likely rise once Australia begins to open up

However, Mr Morrison reiterated that Australia could start claiming back what Covid has taken away once it hits 70 and 80 per cent vaccination targets.

'You can't live with lockdowns forever and at some point you need to make that gear change and that is done at 70 per cent because that's where we are advised from the medical science that you can make that gear change,' he told ABC's Insiders on Sunday.

'Once you do that, then you can move into focusing on the public health issues of hospitalisation and serious illness.

'Case numbers are not the whole story but right now, of course, we need to make the lockdowns effective, we need to suppress the virus as best we can, and we need for people to isolate, stay at home, get tested and of course, go and get vaccinated.'

But Mr Morrison said it was 'inevitable' that case numbers will likely rise once Australia begins to open up.

'And when we do so, we must not be intimidated by the case numbers that will inevitably increase,' Mr Morrison wrote in a Sunday Telegraph opinion piece.

'We will be able to better handle them then, because of all the improvements we have made to protect people from serious illness and fatality.

'Rising cases need not impact our plan to reopen, and reopen as soon we can.'
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, 79, and his wife, Jacqueline, 77, have been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a statement Saturday.

Jesse Jackson, a famed civil rights leader, is vaccinated against the virus and received his first Pfizer dose in January during a publicized event as he urged others to vaccinate as soon as possible.

Jacqueline Jackson, a largely private figure, has not spoken publicly about her vaccination status. The two are being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

'Doctors are currently monitoring the condition of both,' according to the statement authorized by their son, Jonathan Jackson.

Rev. Jesse Jackson received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in January (above). The Jacksons are being treated for COVID at a Chicago hospital. He is 79 years old. Jacqueline Jackson is 77

Rev. Jesse Jackson, 79, and his wife, Jacqueline, 77, are seen in 2013. They are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Chicago

'There are no further updates at this time,' the statement said. 'We will provide updates as they become available.'

The prevalence of so-called 'breakthrough cases' is causing concern as the Delta variant drives a surge in cases nationwide.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that vaccines greatly reduce the risk of hospitalization and death, even if they don't prevent all cases among the vaccinated.

'While these vaccines are effective, no vaccine prevents illness 100% of the time. For any vaccine, there are breakthrough cases,' the CDC website acknowledges.

'However, fully vaccinated people are much less likely to be hospitalized or die than people with similar risk factors who are not vaccinated,' the agency said.

Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks to the crowd during a demonstration supporting Democrats' push to change election laws, on Capitol Hill on August 2

Three US senators said Thursday they have tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated, though none were ill enough to be hospitalized.

Senators Angus King, a Main Independent, Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, and John Hickenlooper, a Democrat from Colorado, all said they have tested positive for the virus.

A protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson was key in guiding the modern civil rights movement on numerous issues, including voting rights.

Jackson has remained active, most recently advocating for COVID-19 vaccines for black people, who lag behind other racial groups in the United States' vaccination drive.

In the past month, Jackson has been arrested twice participating in protests demanding the passage of the Democrats' voting bill.

In late July, he was arrested during a sit-in at Senator Kyrsten Sinema's office in Phoenix, where protesters demanded the moderate Democrat withdraw her support for the Senate filibuster.

The Jacksons are being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago

Rev. Jesse Jackson, 79, and his wife, Jacqueline, 77, are seen in 2018. They are currently hospitalized with COVID-19

On August 2, Jackson was arrested with 200 other demonstrators during a protest at the U.S. Capitol .

The protest, organized by Poor People's Campaign, was part of a series of events to demand the passage of Democrats' new election rules, an end to the filibuster, a $15 hourly minimum wage and protection for immigrants.

Speakers at the rally - that began in Washington DC in front of Union Station, and ended on the Capitol - included Lyndon B. Johnson's daughter Luci Baines Johnson.

Her father signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which organizers say 'has since been gutted.'
Cheaper wine and honey could be on the way after officials last night boasted of 'good progress' being made in efforts to secure a free trade deal with New Zealand.

A post-Brexit accord could see prices cut on popular New Zealand wines, which currently face tariffs of up to 20p a bottle.

The price of apples and Manuka honey could also be slashed.

Trade Secretary Liz Truss said: 'We are both big fans of each other's high-quality products'

More than 42 million of the fruit and 32 million of honey were imported last year, despite tariffs of 8 per cent and 16 per cent respectively.

Trade Secretary Liz Truss said: 'We are both big fans of each other's high-quality products, so this could be a huge boost that allows British shoppers to enjoy lower prices and British exports to be even more competitive.'

The associated tariffs could be wiped out as part of a free trade agreement, the Government said.

Officials said 'good progress' had been made following the end of the sixth round of trade talks with Wellington last month as confidence grows about striking a deal.

The Department for International Trade talked up what fresh trading terms could mean for British exporters, suggesting they could 'gain an advantage over international rivals in the New Zealand import market', which is expected to grow by 30% by 2030.

British-made products such as Beefeater gin and Belvoir soft drinks currently face a tariff of 5% when entering New Zealand, as do products from chocolate to cheese and crisps.

The UK's fashion industry sold 30 million worth of clothes to New Zealand last year, with negotiators looking to ensure the 10% tariffs on clothing is scrapped as part of a new agreement.

Cars are the UK's biggest export to New Zealand, with 133 million worth sold last year.

The price of apples and Manuka honey could also be slashed. Pictured, Rowsl Manuka Honey

The figures comes after a survey by consumer group Which? found that more than two-thirds of the UK public feel 'left in the dark' about the impact that post-Brexit trade deals struck by the Government will have.

A quarter of the 3,000 consumers who took part in the poll said they felt the Government was 'not at all open' about the impact new trade deals will have  a finding ministers seem keen to reverse with its latest assessment of the potential benefits of a future New Zealand deal.

It also follows criticism being levelled at the Government's trade deal agreed with Australia, with British farmers predicting it could see them undercut by imported produce that does not match the same standards as UK-grown produce.
Conservative radio host Phil Valentine has died of COVID at age 61

A conservative talk radio host from Tennessee who had been a vaccine skeptic until he was hospitalized from COVID-19 has died at the age of 61.

Phil Valentine's death following a month-long hospitalization was confirmed by Nashville radio station SuperTalk 99.7 WTN in a tweet on Saturday.

Valentine had expressed skepticism of coronavirus vaccines, though his family insist he was not an 'anti-vaxxer'.

After he tested positive for COVID-19, and prior to his hospitalization, he told his listeners to consider, 'If I get this COVID thing, do I have a chance of dying from it?'

If so, he advised them to get vaccinated. He said he chose not to get vaccinated because he thought he had a 'very low risk of dying'.

After Valentine was moved into a critical care unit, Mark Valentine said his brother regretted that 'he wasn't a more vocal advocate of the vaccination'.

Valentine had been a skeptic of coronavirus vaccines, questioning their safety and saying he chose not to get vaccinated because he thought he had a 'very low risk of dying'

Valentine is survived by his wife, Susan. Senator Marsha Blackburn called him 'a visionary for the conservative movement'

'I know if he were able to tell you this, he would tell you, "Go get vaccinated. Quit worrying about the politics. Quit worrying about all the conspiracy theories",' Mark Valentine told The Tennessean on July 25.

'He regrets not being more adamant about getting the vaccine. Look at the dadgum data,' he said.

His family revealed late last month that he was 'in very serious condition' and was suffering from 'covid pneumonia,' along with other side effects of the virus.

Days later, relatives said Valentine had been placed on a ventilator. It seems likely that he never regained consciousness before his death.

In their initial statement after his hospitalization, his family said: 'Phil would like for his listeners to know that while he has never been an 'anti-vaxxer' he regrets not being more vehemently 'Pro-Vaccine' and looks forward to being able to more vigorously advocate that position as soon as he is back on the air, which we all hope will be soon.'

Valentine is seen at a 2009 Tea Party rally. He said he chose not to get vaccinated because he thought he had a 'very low risk of dying'

Phil Valentine had been a radio personality since he was 20 and became a popular conservative host by railing against a state income tax proposed by Republican then-Governor Don Sundquist, the Tennessean reported.

The program grew into a nationally syndicated show that aired for 12 years on as many as 100 stations, according to the newspaper.

At the end of the run, Valentine signed a three-year deal in 2019 that kept him on 99.7 WTN.

'Phil Valentine was a visionary for the conservative movement, and he made an enormous impact on the lives of many Tennesseans,' U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn tweeted.

'My deepest condolences and prayers are with Phil's wife, Susan, and his family. May they be comforted and surrounded by love during this difficult time.'

Phil Valentine appeared to be in high spirits July 12 when he told his followers in a Facebook post that he had COVID, saying 'unfortunately for the haters out there, it looks like I'm going to make it.'

Valentine announced on his Facebook page that he contracted the virus on July 12

Two days later, he went back to hosting his radio show and promoted 'very effective alternatives to the vaccine' on Facebook

Valentine at first dismissed the infection, before he took a turn for the worse

Valentine ridiculed the Johnson and Johnson vaccine after the company recalled 'cancer-causing' sunscreen. His final Twitter posts on July 16 mocked vaccines and masks

He went back on air two days later according to his Facebook profile, striking a more grateful tone but still promoting 'alternatives'.

'Thanks for all the prayers and well-wishes,' he said. 'The good news is there are some very effective alternatives to the vaccine.'

He ridiculed the Johnson and Johnson vaccine after they recalled its sunscreen after 'cancer-causing chemicals' on July 16.

In the original statement, released by his brother Mark Valentine, implored: 'PLEASE GO GET VACCINATED!'

His brother, now a champion for COVID-19 vaccines, is encouraging others to go get their vaccine. Mark got his after his brother's diagnosis with the disease.

He wrote in an August 15 Facebook post: 'For those of you who haven't gotten your vaccine, you need to consider this. Our hospitals are being overrun with Covid patients & most are on 'diversion' meaning they aren't accepting transfers, ambulances or new patients period. So if you get it there may very well be nowhere to go. GET THE VACCINE...go to WalMart and do it right now!'
A 'desperate' shortage of supply chain workers has forced food manufacturers and restaurants to try and recruit prisoners to fill the void.

Recent weeks have seen supermarket shelves across the country left empty as a double whammy of the so-called pingdemic and Brexit has seen a drastic drop in HGV drivers, fruit pickers and factory workers.

Businesses are now desperately attempting to fill the vacancies via a scheme which allows prisoners to undertake paid work on day release - with one lockup having run out of inmates to offer due to the surge in demand.

It comes after prisoners took part in 58,752 days of work-related release between October 2020 and March this year.

But those numbers could increase as the British Retail Consortium warned business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday that a shortfall of around 90,000 HGV drivers is 'placing increasingly unsustainable pressure on retailers and their supply chains.'

Businesses are now desperately attempting to fill the vacancies via a scheme which allows prisoners to undertake paid work on day release - with one lockup having run out of inmates to offer due to the surge in demand.. Pictured is an undated file photo of Wandsworth prison

In a letter co-signed by the freight trade group Logistics UK, the group warned that the situation is set to get worse when schools re-open in September and workers head back to offices.

The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers is set to urge HM Prison Service to prioritise food suppliers for the release on temporary licence (ROTL) programme at a meeting this week, reports the Times.

But the group said there is such a high demand there are not enough prisoners to go around.

Spokesperson Tony Goodger said: 'Last week I contacted HMP Hollesley Bay, in Suffolk, for a member but the rehabilitation officer there told me, "Normally I would bite your hand off, but we have got such a big demand for inmates at the moment that we've reached our quota and we are not allowed to let any more out to go to work".'

Meanwhile, the Working Chance charity, which finds jobs for women with convictions, said inquiries from businesses rose tenfold in the past two months alone.

Countless supply lines have been hit, including poultry factories - leading the likes of Nando's and KFC to run low on chicken, with the former having to close several branches this week

It comes after a record number of job vacancies - one million - was recorded in July as companies struggled to find workers following the coronavirus lockdown.

Thousands of EU workers left the UK last year and were unable to return due to tougher Brexit rules and strict travel guidelines owing to the pandemic.

Countless supply lines have been hit, including poultry factories - leading the likes of Nando's and KFC to run low on chicken, with the former having to close several branches this week.

The situation has left businesses no other choice but to try and fill vacancies with inmates.

Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association, said: 'Businesses are leaving no stone unturned to find workers, including contacting charities for ex-servicemen and women and the prison service, as well as advertising on social media to attract younger people, anything they can think of.'

He added: 'The situation is getting worse. One member said, at this rate, Christmas is going to be a disaster.'

James Bielby, chief executive of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors, added: 'Any discerning shoppers can see there's already less choice available on the shelves.

'It won't go away until after Christmas at the earliest unless the government intervenes.'.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: 'Helping prisoners find jobs during their sentence and after release makes it much less likely they will reoffend.

'We will support all industries with skills shortages where possible, and are working towards bringing levels [of release on temporary licence] back up towards pre-pandemic levels as restrictions allow.'
Sydneysiders can ditch their masks when going for a walk, even if it's just to the shops, police bosses have confirmed.

Tougher rules will come in force across NSW, and worse in western Sydney, from Monday as the state's Covid crisis continues to set the wrong kind of records.

Wearing masks outside will be mandatory for everyone NSW from 12.01 am on Monday, except when exercising.

Even then, locals are still required to carry a mask on them at all times, and there was confusion over what counted as exercise.

Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys at Sunday's Covid briefing clarified walking was good enough exercise to justify leaving your mask off.

From Monday, all residents across NSW will be required to wear masks when outdoors unless exercising. Pictured: Women walk in Coogee on Sunday

However, he strongly advised that masks be put back on when social distancing could not be maintained, such as on a busy street or walking track.

Wearing a mask would be mandatory if they stop exercising to engage in another activity, such as picking up a coffee or other goods from a shop.

'In terms of exercising, people do not have to wear a mask but where you are exercising in a place where there are crowds of people or where you think you will end up in a situation where people will be close by,' he told reporters on Sunday.

'You have to carry it so if you feel that your safety, if you feel that people are too close, why not put that mask on?'

Asked whether walking to a shop to get a coffee counted as exercise, Deputy Commissioner Worboys said people need to wear a mask if they stop moving.

'When I go to the shop, when I go to purchase a cup of coffee, when I get out of the car, I put my mask on, do my business and get back in the car,' he said.

'In terms of exercising to get a cup of coffee or to get something from the shop, there must be a point in time where you stop exercising and you actually move among people or towards the shop and I would suggest you put a mask on.

'It is just common sense that you would put that mask on. I don't really think it is that hard and I certainly don't think it is confusing.'

Those over 18 who do not wear or carry a face mask can be slapped with a $500 on-the-spot fine, with $80 and $40 penalties in place for younger age groups.

There were a record 830 new locally acquired Covid cases in NSW on Sunday - the highest ever daily rise recorded during the pandemic

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said masks will still need to be worn by people exercising if they cannot maintain social distancing

Anyone with an exemption must either carry a medical certificate issued by a doctor, or a statutory declaration.

NEW COVID RESTRICTIONS IN NSW FROM MONDAY Wearing masks outside will be mandatory for everyone in NSW, unless they are exercising

Those who are exercising will still need to carry a mask with them at all times

People will need to put on a mask while exercising if they are in a busy area or cannot socially distance

A curfew will apply to residents in Sydney's 12 LGAs of concern

They will not be able to leave the house between 9pm to 5am unless they are an authorised worker

Outdoor exercise for residents in those LGAs has been limited to an hour a day

Sydneysiders travelling into or out of the 12 LGAs of concern for work will also need to carry a permit Advertisement

The state reported 830 new locally acquired cases of Covid on Sunday, another daily infection record, as well as three deaths, as authorities battle to contain the spread of the Delta strain.

The isolation status of almost 700 remains under investigation.

The deaths were of a man in his 60s, a man in his 70s and a woman in her 80s, none of them fully vaccinated. The fatalities take the toll for the current outbreak to 71.

'It is a very difficult time for them and for the broader community but particularly for those families of those three people who passed away,' Health Minister Brad Hazzard told reporters on Sunday.

There was also a record of more than 206,000 tests over the 24-hour period.

Lockdown settings will remain in place in regional NSW until at least August 28 and in Sydney until at least September 30.

Aside from stricter mask regulations, police will be ramping up enforcement of restrictions across the worst hit areas in Sydney's west and southwest.

Permits will be required for those travelling in and out of the 12 LGAs of concern for work, and residents will be banned from leaving home between 9pm and 5am, unless an authorised worker.

Those LGAs are Bayside, Blacktown, Burwood, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool, Parramatta, Strathfield, and some suburbs of Penrith.

Residents of those areas will also only be permitted to exercise for one hour a day.

It comes after NSW recorded 825 new local COVID-19 cases in the previous 24-hour period.

Deputy Commissioner Worboys urged residents to use 'common sense' to protect themselves and others from catching the virus. Pictured: Two women jog in Sydney's Centennial Park on Sunday

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Saturday she'd noticed a 'change in attitude' from her interstate counterparts and an acceptance 'Delta is here'.

The premier implored people to 'be real about it' and know that vaccinations were keeping them and their loved ones out of hospital.

An illegal party in the beachside suburb of Maroubra held last weekend has led at least 16 revellers to test positive, plus some of their contacts.

Meanwhile, a concerted NSW Police operation to smother a planned anti-lockdown protest on Saturday appeared to be effective, with numbers a fraction of a demonstration last month.

Some 1,500 police were involved in patrolling approaches to the CBD, while train services, taxis and ride-share services were excluded.

NSW Police arrested 47 people and fined more than 260 in relation to protests across the state. They issued 137 tickets after stopping around 38,000 cars approaching the city.
The NSW health minister has slammed premiers who threatened to keep state borders closed even when the country reaches its 80 per cent vaccination target.

Brad Hazzard warned other premiers they could not keep locking their states off to interstate travellers every time there was an outbreak.

'We are one nation and we need to try to ensure we stay as one nation and a sense we are Commonwealth,' he said during Sunday's Covid briefing.

'We are one Commonwealth and I think we have to move forward in hoping that each of those jurisdictions will do what they can to encourage the citizenry to be vaccinated so we can achieve the opening of the whole.'

The NSW health minister has slammed premiers who have threatened to keep state borders closed even when the country reaches its 80 per cent vaccination target

Mr Hazzard said premiers like Western Australia's Mark McGowan were so committed to zero-Coivd that they used border closures as most of their strategy.

'Some states have relied on distance so obviously you've got a long highway across the desert,' he said, in a pointed reference to Mr McGowan.

'You can put a gate across it effectively and say that's it, and think that's how you manage Covid. Well that's probably not going to be the long term possibility.'

The plan agreed to by all state and territory leaders at National Cabinet was to scrap lockdowns and state border closures at 70 to 80 per cent vaccination.

However, some premiers like Mr McGowan, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews implied they would lock out NSW if it opened before its outbreak was quelled.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison this weekend confirmed the National Cabinet plan was still in effect and called on state leaders to stick to what they agreed to.

Brad Hazzard warned that premiers could not keep putting up 'gates' on major highways to stop interstate travellers from entering their states

Mr Hazzard said border closures were only a short-term solution, and the best chance of beating the virus was to increase vaccination rates across the country.

'Delta has shown itself to be capable of getting into every nation and every part of every nation across the world,' he said.

'At some point, that will occur. I hope that we will be able to get the vaccination rates up in those jurisdictions in Australia that have not had the exposure to the virus to a great degree.'

Mr Hazzard said the states that closed their borders the hardest and most frequently had the worst vaccination rates because they relied too heavily on them.

'I hope that we will be able to get the vaccination rates up in those jurisdictions in Australia but have not had the exposure to the virus to a great degree,' he said.

'That is more challenging because... they have been lulled into a false sense of security.

'Melbourne had a long, challenging, cold, four months last year. Off the back of that, Victorians have been very keen to get vaccinated and NSW residents have had challenging times in recent weeks.

What we have seen in NSW as a result of that is normal human behaviour, that when the danger is on your doorstep, you tend to want to get vaccinated.

'I'm hopeful that those other states that perhaps haven't had the bigger issues will manage to convince their residents that they need to get vaccinated.

'It is not hard to see the statistics... which states are not vaccinating a particularly fast rates and they have had the least amount of challenges so far.'

Prime minister Scott Morrison has announced that lockdowns and border closures will become a thing of the past when 80 per cent of the country is vaccinated

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan is one of the premiers who has refused to budge on his zero-Covid stance.

'It's better not to have Covid than have Covid. I went through this argument all of last year,' he said.

'I had all the conservative commentators, Liberal MPs, National MPs saying, 'Oh, it's better to have Covid than not have Covid.'

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has followed suit and says he will not accept New South Wales residents until cases drop considerably. The neighbouring state announced a record 830 cases on Sunday.

'They'll be locked out of here. They won't be getting in here,' Mr Andrews said during a press conference last Sunday.

'If you open at 80 per cent with thousands of cases, you're going to have more people in hospital than if you open at 80 percent - as I hope to - with hopefully a very small number of cases.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk sidestepped questions whether she would reconsider lifting her tough border closures - but conceded some restrictions within her state would be eased.

'We're all agreed at national cabinet about reaching that 80 per cent threshold which will allow more easing of restrictions,' she said on Monday.
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The Pentagon appears to be inching toward expanding its rescue mission in Afghanistan outside of the walls of Hamid Karzai International Airport, as the situation grows dire for US citizens now unable to reach the airport.

The US Embassy in Kabul on Saturday issued an alert warning citizens not to attempt to reach the airport on their own, where four people were killed in a crushing stampede. It came as Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar arrived in Kabul and fears grew of Islamic State cells operating freely in the country.

A senior US official said that small groups of Americans and possibly other civilians will now be given specific instructions on what to do, including movement to extraction points where they can be gathered up by special operations teams.

America's NATO allies UK, France and Germany are now planning or have already launched daring rescue missions to extract their civilians trapped elsewhere in Kabul, but US President Joe Biden has seemed reluctant to expand operations.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declined to discuss security problems in Kabul or contingency planning in any detail, but said the threat picture changes by the hour.

'We know that we're fighting against both time and space,' Kirby said. 'That's the race we're in right now.'

For a week, officials had been urging Americans to make their way to the airport, with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin saying on Tuesday that US forces 'don't have the capability to go out and collect up large numbers of people.'

But pressure has been mounting to assist Americans trapped outside the airport, with some issuing desperate pleas and the gates of the airport now consumed in deadly chaos.

The situation at the Kabul airport grew more desperate on Saturday when a Sky News correspondent reported mayhem and then bodies covered in white sheets amid an evacuation scramble

US President Joe Biden (seen at church on Saturday) has seemed reluctant to expand operations beyond the airport, but pressure is mounting to launch rescue missions into Kabul with all routes to the airport now consumed with chaos

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Singapore on Sunday for her Southeast Asian junket

Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar arrived in Kabul on Saturday for talks on forming a new government

One US citizen trapped in Afghanistan spoke out in an interview with Fox News on Saturday, saying she is in hiding with family members and fears she will never see her children again.

'I really have given up hope, given up on the hope of going to the airport,' said the woman, whose identity was withheld due to safety concerns. 'It's just not possible to make it through all those people.'

She said that there are more than 20 Taliban checkpoints between her position and the airport, and that on one attempt to get through, she was whipped by the militants. During another attempt, a man standing near her was shot in the head, she said.

'We are devastated,' she said. 'We're scared for our lives. Every moment that a car passes by, I feel like they are going to pull in and execute us. I don't know if I'm going to see my children again.'

She said she is considering suicide in order to avoid falling into Taliban custody, and issued an urgent plea to Biden: 'Please, Mr. President, please evacuate us. We need help.'

The Taliban has promised to grant US citizens passage to the airport, but its unclear whether the group's fighters are respecting the pledge.

And with no uniforms on the Taliban militants, the risk remains that some checkpoints could be manned by cells of Islamic State or al Qaeda fanatics, who would jump at the chance to execute US citizens.

The Pentagon said Saturday the United States has evacuated just 17,000 people, including 2,500 Americans, from Kabul in the past week, including 3,800 in the past day.

It means the US has surged more American troops into the Kabul airport than the number of citizens it has extracted from the country since the Taliban swept into power on August 14.

Up to 15,000 Americans need to be evacuated and the administration hopes to get out a further 50-60,000 Afghan allies and their families.

A Taliban fighter keeps Afghans from crossing and explains the process of a checkpoint passage before the road that leads to the military entrance of the airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday

Outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport Taliban fighters stand guard as Afghans gather to flee the country Saturday

Taliban fighters stand guard as Afghans gather outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport to flee the country, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday

On Saturday Biden spoke with his team at the White House Situation Room about the ongoing evacuation efforts, counterterrorism operations, and intensive diplomatic efforts to finalize agreements with a third-party country transit hub

The U.S. Embassy issued a stern warning to Americans on Saturday not to go to Kabul airport - which is the only way out of the country - because of 'security threats' outside its gates. There are fears Islamic State is planning to attack the airport

Potential Islamic State threats against Americans in Afghanistan are forcing the U.S. military to develop new ways to get evacuees to the airport in Kabul, a senior U.S. official said Saturday.

Officials declined to provide more specifics about the IS threat but described it as significant. They said there have been no confirmed attacks as yet.

The Islamic State group - which has long declared a desire to attack America and U.S. interests abroad - has been active in Afghanistan for a number of years, carrying out waves of horrific attacks, mostly on the Shiite minority.

The group has been repeatedly targeted by U.S. airstrikes in recent years, as well as Taliban attacks. But officials say fragments of the group are still active in Afghanistan, and the U.S. is concerned about it reconstituting in a larger way as the country comes under divisive Taliban rule.

Meanwhile, the Taliban's top political leader arrived in Kabul for talks on forming a new government.

The presence of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who returned to Kandahar earlier this week from Qatar, was confirmed by a Taliban official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Baradar negotiated the religious movement's 2020 peace deal with the U.S., and he is now expected to play a key role in negotiations between the Taliban and officials from the Afghan government that the militant group deposed

Australian citizens and visa holders are seen on board a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster as Australian Army Infantry personnel provide security at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday

A family evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, walk through the terminal to board a bus after they arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Saturday

Relative greeted a family evacuated from Kabul as they arrive after a four-day trip at Washington Dulles on Saturday

Baradar negotiated the religious movement's 2020 peace deal with the U.S., and he is now expected to play a key role in negotiations between the Taliban and officials from the Afghan government that the militant group deposed.

Afghan officials familiar with talks held in the capital say the Taliban have said they will not make announcements on their government until Biden's August 31 deadline for the troop withdrawal passes.

Abdullah Abdullah, a senior official in the ousted government, tweeted that he and ex-President Hamid Karzai met Saturday with Taliban's acting governor for Kabul, who "assured us that he would do everything possible for the security of the people" of the city.

Despite the U.S. Embassy warning, crowds remain outside the Kabul airport's concrete barriers, clutching documents and sometimes stunned-looking children, blocked from flight by coils of razor wire.

Evacuations continued, though some outgoing flights were far from full because of the airport chaos. The German military said in a tweet that one plane left Kabul on Saturday with 205 evacuees, while a second aircraft carried only 20.

A U.S. Navy Corpsman with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Central Command, hands out water to children during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul on Friday

Members of the British and US military engage in the evacuation of people out of Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday

At the Kabul airport, members of the British and US military engage in the evacuation of people on Friday

The Italian Defense Ministry announced the evacuation Saturday of 211 Afghans, which it said brought to 2,100 the number of Afghan workers at Italian missions and their families who have been safely evacuated.

On Friday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said around 1,000 people a day were being evacuated amid a 'stabilization' at the airport. But on Saturday, a former Royal Marine-turned charity director in Afghanistan said the situation was getting worse, not better.

'We can't leave the country because we can't get into the airport without putting our lives at risk,' Paul Farthing told BBC radio.

The situation at the airport was growing more chaotic and dangerous on Saturday, adding pressure on what has been dubbed one of the most difficult airlifts in history.

As desperate people, including children, wait for hours and days in the heat and crush outside the US-controlled Hamid Karzai International Airport, the delay has turned deadly for some.

Britain's Sky News on Saturday aired footage of at least three dead bodies covered in white tarpaulins outside the airport. It was not clear how they had died.

Sky reporter Stuart Ramsay, who was at the airport, called the deaths 'inevitable' and said that people at the front of one part of the crowd were being 'crushed', while others were 'dehydrated and terrified'.

The footage was the latest image of utter despair, after video of a baby being lifted over a wall at the airport and horror scenes of people hanging onto departing planes.

Families hoping for a miracle crowded between the barbed-wire that surrounds an unofficial no man's land separating the Taliban from US troops. Roads to the airport were choked with traffic.

'Please, please, please help me... where should I go, what should I do,' one man, who said he worked for the US embassy in the mid-2000s, wrote on a WhatsApp group for people to share information on how to get out.

U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wave as they arrive at Holy Trinity Catholic Church on Saturday

Time is running out ahead of Biden's deadline to compete the rescue mission withdraw most remaining U.S. troops.

In his remarks on the situation Friday, he did not commit to extending the deadline, though he did issue a new pledge to evacuate not only all Americans in Afghanistan, but also the tens of thousands of Afghans who have aided the war effort since September 11, 2001. That promise would dramatically expand the number of people the U.S. evacuates.

On Saturday Biden spoke with his team at the White House Situation Room about the ongoing evacuation efforts, counterterrorism operations, and intensive diplomatic efforts to finalize agreements with a third-party country transit hub to help American, who were warned on Saturday not to travel to Kabul airport.

Biden discussed the matters with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and National Intelligence Director Avril Haines.

Vice President Kamala Harris joined the meeting by video teleconference during her trip to Singapore, the first stop on her Asian junket as the crisis unfolds.

The White House did not indicate whether the president still planned to travel to Delaware on Sunday. The trip would have been his 19th to his home state since taking office.

The Taliban takeover of Afghans last Sunday has consumed his administration, which was caught off-guard by the development and is scrambling to evacuate thousands of Americans, Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the war, and others.

'Let me be clear, any American who wants to come home, we will get you home,' Biden had pledged.
Chuck Schumer has been slammed on social media for dancing backstage at the We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert in Central Park on Saturday.

The Senate Majority Leader was criticized for joining the star-studded event, while America is being rocked by a string of crises.

Some noted that thousands of Americans and allies remain stranded in Afghanistan, while others noted that the concert was held in New York despite the oncoming Hurricane Henri, which is expected to the north east on Sunday.

Meanwhile, some critics slammed New York officials like Mayor Bill de Blasio for holding the concert while the Delta variant of COVID-19 wreaks havoc on America.

Schumer was seen dancing with The Late Show host Stephen Colbert in a video that was posted to Twitter by Bill Neidhardt, the press secretary for de Blasio.

'Backstage antics,' Neidhardt had captioned the video.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been slammed on social media for dancing backstage at the We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert in Central Park

New York City's homecoming concert was dramatically cancelled half way through, and revelers were told to leave Central Park immediately and seek shelter as Hurricane Henri barreled down on the city.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC officials had ignored a tropical storm watch for the Big Apple ahead of the concert, and planned to push ahead with the event on the Great Lawn in Central Park.

The 'We Love NYC, The Homecoming Concert' was intended to mark the end of the COVID pandemic in the city that was the global epicenter for the virus back in April 2020.

Twitter users were quick to mock Schumer and de Blasio for the video and attending the concert.

Twitter user Sean Parnell tweeted: '10,000 plus Americans are stranded in Afghanistan, surrounded by the enemy & desperate for help & this is what Senate Majority Leader @chuckschumer is doing. Dancing in the street with celebrities.'

'Just so tone deaf & embarrassing for our nation,' Parnell tweeted.

People reacted to the video of Chuck Schumer dancing on Twitter

Investigative journalist Leah McGrath Goodman tweeted: 'Er, not sure why NY officials ever thought going through with a Covid-is-over-not-over homecoming concert in Central Park when Hurricane Henri was due to hit was a good idea'

'I was in a cab on the Central Park transverse just as the storm hit with people fleeing the concert from all exits. The cabby was in shock. Total pandemonium. The sky turned a color not to be described. Just look at the picture,' she continued.

McGrath Goodman added: 'New Yorks like, Oh, the disgraced Governor Andrew Cuomo says its a Category 1 hurricane? And the Delta variant is running roughshod through the city? What could possibly go wrong? Lets have the concert anyway. NY being ineffably NY.'

Twitter user @realAaronBergh quipped: 'I haven't seen white guys dancing this good since Windows 95 dropped.'

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chirlane McCray speak onstage during We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert

New York City's homecoming concert was dramatically cancelled half way through, and revelers were told to leave Central Park immediately and seek shelter as Hurricane Henri barreled down on the city

The 'We Love NYC, The Homecoming Concert' was intended to mark the end of the COVID pandemic in the city that was the global epicenter for the virus back in April 2020

Meanwhile, @_AttorneyAtPaw tweeted: '@StephenAtHome and @SenSchumer bringing strong 'lit dads at the Barbecue' energy.'

'We have Americans stranded in Afghanistan. The United States is falling apart & then there is this. Chuck Schumer and Stephen Colbert in NYC dancing like everything is wonderful. Sad and Pathetic. It is time for old Chucky to retire cause he is useless,' someone else tweeted.

Others made easy jabs at de Blasio, though many of those tweets lacked substance and instead went for quick hits.

'De Blasio coming out to the boos. God bless New Yorkers,' another user tweeted.

Another said: 'As of tonight, 75% of New Yorkers have received at least one dose too many of Mayor Bill de Blasio.'

Tom Watson tweeted: 'So de Blasio's really weird COVID 'mission accomplished' concert is a total disaster. Who could have predicted this?'

Others, however, pointed out the blatant hypocrisy of the Schumer critics - noting that Trump held a rally despite the situation in Afghanistan.

'Did those that attended the Trump rally today in Alabama, buying souvenirs, worry who was dying in Afghanistan at the same time, or will be dying because of the super spreader event?' @MichaelaAllen11 tweeted.
An Afghan woman has given birth on a US C-17 Globemaster during the ongoing evacuation of Kabul.

US Air Mobility Command said in a statement on Saturday that the woman went into labor during a flight to Ramstein Air Base in Germany from an undisclosed Middle Eastern staging base.

The mother began to have complications, and the pilot descended to a lower altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which Mobility Command credited with saving her life.

'Upon landing, Airmen from the 86th MDG came aboard and delivered the child in the cargo bay of the aircraft,' the statement said.

US Air Mobility Command said in a statement that the woman went into labor on Saturday during a flight to Ramstein Air Base in Germany

'Upon landing, Airmen from the 86th MDG came aboard and delivered the child in the cargo bay of the aircraft,' the statement said

'The baby girl and mother were transported to a nearby medical facility and are in good condition,' said Mobility Command

'The baby girl and mother were transported to a nearby medical facility and are in good condition,' said Mobility Command.

The new mother was traveling with other family members, and photos shared by the Air Force show her being wheeled off the C-17 on a stretcher.

Officials say that Ramstein Air Base will soon be able to accommodate up to 7,500 refugees as they are processed for transit to onward destinations.

The Pentagon said Saturday the United States has evacuated just 17,000 people, including 2,500 Americans, from Kabul in the past week, including 3,800 in the past day.

It means the US has surged more American troops into the Kabul airport than the number of citizens it has extracted from the country since the Taliban swept into power on August 14.

Up to 15,000 Americans need to be evacuated and the administration hopes to get out a further 50-60,000 Afghan allies and their families.

A transport plane carrying people flown out of Afghanistan lands at Ramstein Air Base

A group of Afghan evacuees depart a bus at Ramstein Air Base, Germany on Friday. Ramstein Air Base is providing safe, temporary lodging for qualified evacuees from Afghanistan

Other NATO allies are also hoping to save thousands of people, but the security situation in Kabul appears to be quickly deteriorating, with the US now warning citizens not to attempt to get to the airport amid the threat of attack by Islamic State fanatics who are hiding in the country.

President Joe Biden faces growing criticism as videos depict pandemonium and violence outside the airport.

On Saturday Biden met with his national security team to discuss the chaotic situation after cancelling his weekend trip to Delaware.

Meanwhile, the US Transportation Command issued a warning order to U.S. air carriers Friday night to prepare for possible activation of the Civil Air Reserve Fleet to aid the airlift effort. The order was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Transportation Command said in a statement the Pentagon has not yet ordered any activation of commercial airlines as allowed under the program, which adds to military aircraft capability during a national defense crisis.

If activated under the program, commercial airlines would transport evacuees from way stations outside Afghanistan to the US, or from Virginia's Dulles International Airport to US military bases.

The Civil Reserve Air Fleet was last activated on a large scale in March of 2020, when the Pentagon conscripted commercial jets to repatriate Americans who were trapped abroad when the coronavirus pandemic descended.
Security guards who protected the Australian embassy in Afghanistan have been told they are not eligible for immediate evacuation Down Under, leaving them to an uncertain future under Taliban rule.

The Department of Foreign Affairs sent notification to the group of more than 100 sub-contractors who looked after the Australian embassy in Kabul.

A pro-forma rejection letter was emailed to the men on Friday to inform them they were 'not eligible for certification' under the At Risk Afghan Employees Visa Scheme.

Australia has abandoned 100 embassy security guards in Afghanistan to face the brutal Taliban forces alone after claiming the men weren't direct employees (pictured, a baby is handed over to the American army at Kabul airport)

The government has denied visas for the group of more than 100 men who formerly protected the Australian embassy in Kabul (pictured, Taliban fighters patrol in Kabul)

It is understood one of the reasons they won't be offered protection in Australia is because they were not directly employed by the embassy, and were instead subcontractors.

The rejection letter thanks its recipients for their application for a visa and says Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne has considered them.

'Unfortunately, you are not eligible for certification under this visa policy,' the letter obtained by the ABC read.

The letter states an initial 3,000 humanitarian places will be allocated to Afghan nationals within Australia's 13,750-person annual program.

'Particular priority will be given to persecuted minorities, women and children, and those who have links to Australia,' the letter continues.

The templated response, which used the same file number for each of the 100 men, recommends the contractors continue to investigate their options.

The final line of the letter suggests the men contact a migration agent to 'discuss these avenues' and notes their details have been passed on to the Home Affairs Department, which processes the applications.

The 'mass-produced' rejection letter thanks its recipients for their application for a visa and says Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne (pictured) has considered them

The rejection letter suggests the embassy security guards contact a migration agent to help gain access to a visa under a humanitarian stream (pictured, people landing in Dubai from Afghanistan August 22)

One of the contractors who was denied a visa told the ABC the entire workforce was shocked to receive the email.

Working for the Australian embassy meant strict security checks and low wages, with some security guards receiving less than $30 a day.

The first warning sign came after the majority of the contractors were fired as foreign troops began to slowly withdraw from Afghanistan.

The mens' loss of employment may have had an impact on their eligibility for a visa.

Lawyer Glen Kolomeitz who is working pro-bono to evacuate the contractors said the templated letters were 'a disgrace'.

Mr Kolomeitz and his team of lawyers and ex-military personnel at GAP Veteran and Legal Services have been working tirelessly to help hundreds obtain a visa.

'This is clearly an attempt by Defence and DFAT to look like they have done their job when they sat on their hands for so long,' he said.

To work for the Australian embassy meant strict security checks and low wages, with some security guards receiving less than $30 a day (pictured, people onboard the Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster at Kabul Airport)

Lawyer Glen Kolomeitz who is working pro-bono to evacuate the contractors said the templated letters were 'a disgrace' (pictured, people boarding the Royal Australian Air Force C-17A at Kabul Airport)

'These are mass-produced rejection letters and they are entirely unacceptable.'

The attorney threatened a Federal Court challenge to the visa considerations process after hundreds of his clients were rejected.

Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia would tread carefully with its relationship with ex-employees from Afghanistan.

'There are people who worked with us, people who worked with us five or six years ago, and what they have been doing in that intervening period is an unknown,' he told the ABC's Insiders program.

'We also have to be exercising the appropriate caution, and that's what we have been doing.'

The Australian Government has defended offering 3,000 humanitarian places to Afghans fleeing the Taliban despite other nations pledging intakes more than six times that figure (pictured, people disembarking a rescue flight from Afghanistan near Dubai)

Meanwhile, in the Brisbane CBD hundreds of protestors took to the city streets to bring awareness to the humanitarian crisis unravelling in Afghanistan

Meanwhile, in the Brisbane CBD hundreds of protestors took to the city streets on Sunday to bring awareness to the humanitarian crisis unravelling in Afghanistan.

A similar scene was observed in Perth, just hours after it was confirmed that more than 300 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan on four Australian flights overnight.

The Forrest Place rally in Perth saw attendees chanting 'free, free Afghanistan' and 'help the ones who helped you', after several speeches were made to the crowd.

Early on Friday morning a rescue flight carrying 94 evacuees landed in the West Australian capital, the first since the Taliban seized control in Kabul.

'These evacuees are a mix of Australians and visa holders, obviously mainly the interpreters and the like that assisted our defence forces in Afghanistan,' Premier Mark McGowan told state parliament.

'We've been working on this arrangement since Saturday.'

The Australian Government defended offering just 3,000 humanitarian places to Afghans fleeing the Taliban despite other nations pledging intakes more than six times that figure.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said he expected the initial commitment to rise to 5,000 as the situation unfolds in Afghanistan.
US Vice President Kamala Harris landed in Singapore on Sunday to kick off her week-long tour of Asia, escaping DC as President Joe Biden faces the biggest crisis of his administration.

Harris plans to meet with US sailors aboard the USS Tulsa in a visit to Changi Naval Base on Monday, making her the highest ranking official to address troops in person as the disastrous evacuation of Afghanistan plays out.

The Taliban's stunning return to power a week ago, and desperate scenes of thousands trying to flee Kabul, have cast another grim shadow over the United States' status as a global superpower.

Harris will also visit Vietnam on her tour, a stop that has prompted criticism that she is tone-deaf for visiting the communist country as US forces struggle to evacuate Americans, other foreigners and Afghan allies from Kabul airport.

The crisis has prompted comparisons with the traumatic scenes from the 1975 Fall of Saigon, when US helicopters ferried final evacuees from the embassy roof as Viet Cong troops advanced.

US Vice President Kamala Harris landed in Singapore on Sunday to kick off her week-long tour of Asia, escaping DC as President Joe Biden faces the biggest crisis of his administration

Harris will also visit Vietnam on the tour, a stop that has prompted criticism that she is tone-deaf for visiting the communist country as US forces struggle to evacuate Kabul

US officials say Harris' trip was planned long before the Afghan debacle, however -- and insist Harris is focused on Washington's broader strategic goals in Asia

Biden drew criticism after he insisted several weeks ago that Kabul would not be a replay of the Fall of Saigon. Observers tend to agree that the situation in Afghanistan has in fact been far worse.

US officials say Harris' trip was planned long before the Afghan debacle, however -- and insist Harris is focused on Washington's broader strategic goals in Asia.

Harris has remained nearly completely out of public sight as the Afghan crisis unfolded this week, prompting accusations that she is attempting to distance herself from the Afghan crisis.

But as she left DC, she told reporters that Afghanistan remained the administration's focus, saying: 'We couldn't have a higher priority right now.'

'And a particular high priority is making sure that we safely evacuate American citizens, Afghans who worked for them, Afghans at risk - including women and children,' she said.

'And it's a big area of focus for me in the past days and weeks, and will continue to be.'

On her Asian junket, the vice president plans to offer reassurances of Washington's commitment to the region, amid regional tensions over China's sweeping claims over the South China Sea, part of which is claimed by Vietnam.

But on her visit, which includes stops in Singapore and Vietnam, Harris will likely be forced to allay concerns about US dependability and commitment to allies.

'The vice president will make clear throughout the trip that we do have an enduring commitment to the region,' said a senior US official.

Harris flew into the tiny island city-state on the Boeing C-32 serving as Air Force Two

Harris was greeted warmly by Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and other dignitaries

Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan (center) greets Harris

Harris, an Asian-American whose mother was of Indian origin, landed in Singapore Sunday and will start her activities Monday by meeting the city-state's leaders.

She was greeted warmly by Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and other dignitaries as she disembarked the Boeing C-32 serving as Air Force Two.

It is the latest visit by a top US official to the region, as Biden's administration looks to build alliances against China and reset relations after the turbulent Donald Trump presidency.

At a time when China is challenging US political sway and naval dominance in the Indo-Pacific region, Southeast Asia remains 'strategically important and economically important to this country', said a White House official, who asked not to be named.

'That hasn't changed with Afghanistan,' the official said.

The 10-country region is a growing battleground for influence between the United States and China, and Washington has repeatedly criticized Beijing's expansive claims to almost the entire South China Sea.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is greeted by Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and his delegation, as she arrived at Paya Lebar Air Base in Singapore on Sunday

Harris is on a tour of Southeast Asia, where she will attempt to reassure allies of American resolve following the chaotic end of a two-decade war

Secret Service agents escort Harris into her limousine at Paya Lebar Base airport in Singapore

Four Southeast Asian states -- Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam -- as well as Taiwan have overlapping claims with Beijing in the flashpoint sea, home to key shipping lanes.

'Following the previous administration and what's happening in Afghanistan, it is a categorical imperative for the US to build up political trust in this region,' said Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at consultancy Solaris Strategies Singapore.

During the Singapore leg of her trip, Harris will meet the president and prime minister and make a stop at the Changi Naval Base, where she'll address US sailors aboard the visiting USS Tulsa.

She arrives in Hanoi late Tuesday, and will be the first US vice president to visit Vietnam.

She will hold Vietnamese government meetings, attend the opening of a Southeast Asian regional branch of the US Centers for Disease Control, and meet civil society representatives in the communist country, which has emerged as a potential US ally.

She will also join a virtual meeting of Southeast Asian officials which will focus on the coronavirus pandemic.
Thousands of angry protestors have gathered at the NSW and Queensland border to rage against it being closed amid the Covid outbreak.

Up to 2,000 people, including one man on horseback, congregated at both sides of the border at about 12pm on Sunday.

About 50 police officers have been monitoring the mostly peaceful protest, however several arrests have been made.

Thousands of angry protestors have gathered at the New South Wales and Queensland border to hit back at Covid-19 lockdown restrictions

Up to 2,000 people congregated at both sides of the NSW and Queensland border at about 12pm on Sunday

Angry residents who live near the NSW side are hitting out at the travel restrictions which they say are destroying their lives and livelihood, the ABC reported.

On Boundary Street in Coolangatta, one man on horseback was heard chanting 'Cross the border. Everyone cross the border, they can't hold all of us'.

Other rally attendees yelled 'who do you work for' at police while others held signs that said 'Open the Border Now' and 'No Vaxx Passport'.

A plane flew overhead the protestors with a banner reading: 'Tweed zero cases. Why lockdown insanity?' the Courier Mail reported.

Meanwhile at Jack Evans Harbour in Tweed Heads, a blockade of protestors who outnumbered police were seen forcing the officers to retreat.

One demonstrator from West Tweed said crossing the border into Queensland was a daily occurrence for a lot of his community.

'To stop people being able to do that  particularly in the situation where there's no cases in our area  is hypocrisy,' he told the ABC.

Around 50 police officers have been monitoring the mostly peaceful protest, however multiple arrests have been made

Other rally attendees yelled 'who do you work for' at police while others held signs that said 'Open the Border Now' and 'No Vaxx Passport'

Few attendees at the protest were seen wearing masks, while others kissed and hugged in the tightly-packed crowds.

While some protestors argued there were no active cases in northern NSW, Covid-19 particles were detected in Byron Bay's sewage system on Tuesday.

The coastal town was also visited by a Covid-positive man and his two teenage children who travelled from Sydney last month.

The rally was just hours after state leaders condemned anti-lockdown demonstrations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Cairns on Saturday and NSW recorded a pandemic-record of 830 locally-acquired cases.

The protest in Melbourne started on the corner of Elizabeth and Bourke street in the CBD on Saturday morning and escalated into the afternoon despite Premier Dan Andrews saying the state is on the verge of a Covid catastrophe.

The rally continued for several hours and at times the protesters numbering more than 4,000 appeared to outnumber police, breaking through police barricades.

Crowds of protesters who were not wearing masks lit flares, held placards and chanted anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine slogans.

A plane flew overhead the protestors with a banner reading: 'Tweed zero cases. Why lockdown insanity?' (pictured)

An attendee at the NSW and Queensland border rally on Sunday is seen holding a sign reading 'Plandemic'

At Boundary Street in Coolangatta, one man on horseback (pictured) was heard chanting 'Cross the border. Everyone cross the border, they can't hold all of us'

By late afternoon seven officers had been injured with six hospitalised - including two with suspected broken noses, one with a broken thumb and the others with concussions - and 218 protesters arrested.

Police issued 236 fines of at least $5,452 for breaching the CHO directions, and have three people in custody for assaulting police.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the rally as 'probably one of the most violent protests we've seen in nearly 20 years'.

The state's health minister Martin Foley Mr Foley also hit out at the 'absolutely outrageous attacks' and wished those injured a speedy recovery.

Queensland's Deputy Premier Steven Miles described Sunday's protests at the border as 'shameful and reckless'.

'We've gotten through this because Queenslanders have done the right thing, we've kept each other safe,' he said.

'That's not the kind of behaviour Queenslanders do, it's very un-Queensland like.'

The deputy premier said the border between the two states was one of the riskiest places for unwanted transmission of the virus.

'We have to see the situation in NSW the same way weve seen the situation in other countries throughout this pandemic,' he said.

Queensland's Deputy Premier Steven Miles described the protests at the borderline as 'shameful and reckless'

The deputy premier said the border between NSW and Queensland is one of the riskiest places right now for unwanted transmission of the virus

The large crowds congregated on both sides of the border to protest lockdown restrictions, with many attendees not wearing masks and others seen kissing and hugging

'By having a protest there, we make the jobs of our police harder, they put their own safety at risk as well as the safety of the community and I'm frankly pretty disgusted.'

One attendee of the border rallies described the public health orders as 'a disgrace' and a direct attack on his freedom and ability to move.

'It's affecting people's businesses and social lives,' he told the ABC.

'This will be the break-up of the Commonwealth of Australia, it will be the fragmentation of Australia into disparate, fighting, disputing groups and the end of democracy as we know it.'

Another woman from Pottsville in NSW said she worked across the border and had lost her source of income, making her dependent on the government.

'It's really, really distressing and we're angry  we're angry about our government,' she said.

She said a travel bubble between the two states was implemented during previous lockdowns and was the optimal solution.

Meanwhile, in the Brisbane CBD hundreds of protestors took to the city streets to bring awareness to the humanitarian crisis unravelling in Afghanistan.

A similar scene was observed in Perth's CBD, just hours after it was confirmed that more than 300 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan on four Australian flights overnight.

The Forrest Place rally in Perth saw attendees chanting 'free, free Afghanistan' and 'help the ones who helped you', after several speeches were made to the crowd.

One attendee of the border rallies described the public health orders as 'a disgrace' and a direct attack on his freedom and ability to move (pictured, police monitor the crowds)

The rally on the borderline is a latest in a suite of illegal demonstrations across the country that health authorities fear could become superspreader events

NSW recorded a pandemic-record of 830 new cases of Covid-19 overnight, with 94 fighting for life in intensive care.

The state's Deputy Police Commissioner Gary Worboys said police issued 240 penalty infringement notices in the last 24 hours across the state.

Many were related to those involved in Saturday's planned anti-lockdown protests in Sydney CBD.

About 1,500 officers were deployed on Saturday to stop protesters from marching, with police issuing 37 tickets after stopping around 38,000 cars entering the city.

The huge coordinated police presence and operation appeared to overwhelm protest efforts.
Home Secretary Priti Patel has said the UK is doing everything it can to help evacuate vulnerable Afghans from airport in Kabul

Home Secretary Priti Patel has vowed to 'do right by those who need us most in this darkest of hours' as the UK looks to the US to extend the deadline for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.

There is pressure on US President Joe Biden to push back the August 31 target for evacuations from Kabul airport, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace admitting in the Mail on Sunday that 'no nation will be able to get everyone out'.

Writing in The Sun, Ms Patel said: 'The UK will not be found wanting. We will do right by those who need us most in this darkest of hours.'

It came after the Home Secretary on Wednesday defended plans for a scheme to resettle vulnerable Afghans fleeing the Taliban.

The Government has been accused of not moving quickly enough after it said it would take up to 20,000 refugees, with as many as 5,000 in the first year.

Ms Patel told Sky News the UK 'cannot accommodate 20,000 people all in one go', but then hinted that the scheme could be expanded to admit double the initial figure for the first year.

'There could be up to 10,000. We are expanding categories of people,' she said.

In the Sun, the Cabinet minister wrote that Home Office staff are 'working around the clock' to help bring people to safety.

'I am personally working through cases, in constant contact with our committed team on the ground, helping to co-ordinate an international response,' she said.

It comes as the UK will offer its 'complete support' to the US if Joe Biden opts to extend the deadline for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan after the evacuation situation in Kabul worsened.

A full flight of 265 people supported by UK Armed Forces on an evacuation flight out of Kabul

The MoD said the situation at the airport in Kabul remained 'extremely challenging' as they confirmed seven Afghans had died. Pictured: Mayhem at Kabul airport as civilians try and flee

Earlier today, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed seven Afghan civilians had died in the chaotic crowds outside the city's international airport.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, in what is likely to be read as a plea to Washington, said 'no nation will be able to get everyone out' of the Taliban-controlled country, with the US president's August 31 target date making the rescue mission even more time pressured.

Writing for the Mail on Sunday, the Cabinet minister said: 'If the US timetable remains, we have no time to lose to get the majority of the people waiting out.

'Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer, and they will have our complete support if they do.'

Relations between the UK and US are under strain, with former prime minister Tony Blair - who was in Downing Street when Britain sent troops into Afghanistan 20 years ago in the wake of 9/11 - accusing Mr Biden of deciding to pull out of the central Asian country with 'little or no consultation', branding the move 'imbecilic'.

According to the Sunday Times, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab - who is once again in the spotlight over his decision to remain on holiday as the Taliban advanced on Kabul - is seeking to speak to his opposite number, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to discuss extending the end-of-the-month deadline.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace (pictured right) makes a veiled plea for Washington (pictured left: President Joe Biden) to delay the US leaving date beyond August 31, writing: 'Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer and they will have our complete support if they do'

The situation around Kabul airport took a turn for the worse this weekend as the MoD confirmed seven Afghan civilians had died.

The Independent reported that four of them - Afghan women - were crushed to death on Saturday as they sought to access the airfield where military repatriation flights are leaving from.

Mr Wallace confirmed there were 'too many people in the airport' on Saturday, forcing the US side of the operation to suspend access.

A MoD spokeswoman stressed that neither UK flights nor processing were affected by the pause, however.

In a separate statement on Sunday, an MoD spokesperson confirmed the deaths of seven people in the airport's crowds and added: 'Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible.'

There were further worrying reports about the treatment of Britons and Afghans who supported UK efforts in the country who are trying to escape.

While acknowledging that 'no nation will be able to get everyone out', Mr Wallace also announced that a series of 'processing hubs' will be set up in countries neighbouring Afghanistan for refugees who manage to escape. If they can establish their right to come to the UK, they will be flown to Britain. Pictured: British and US troops help Afghans in Kabul

Pictured: A baby is handed over to the American army over the perimeter wall of the airport for it to be evacuated, in Kabul, on August 19, as the race to evacuate Afghans goes continues

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the Operation Pitting evacuation mission is being supported by 1,000 British troops - including Paras from 16 Air Assault Brigade - with nearly 4,000 people repatriated from Afghanistan since August 13.

In his article, the Defence Secretary appeared to recommend that any Afghans left behind once troops exit the country should head for the borders where 'processing hubs across the region outside Afghanistan' will be set up for those who Britain has 'an obligation to bring to this country'.

Back home, the Foreign Secretary was facing further revelations about his decision to remain on holiday in Crete while the Taliban circled Kabul, with claims he stayed abroad despite being told to return to the UK.

The Sunday Times reported that Mr Raab was ordered home from his trip by Downing Street on August 13 but stayed for two more days at his five-star hotel on the Greek island because Boris Johnson told him he could.

The newspaper quotes a senior government official as saying there was a 'sense of disbelief' in No 10 when the Cabinet minister was not present in person for talks on Sunday, adding: 'He seems to have nobbled Boris after he was told to come back.'

The Foreign Secretary returned to the UK on Monday after Kabul had fallen to the militants.

The situation around Kabul airport took a turn for the worse this weekend as the Government confirmed seven Afghan civilians had died. Pictured: Afghans attempt to get into Kabul airport

The Prime Minister has already had to give Mr Raab his backing once after he found himself in the firing line over his handling of the unfolding situation.

It emerged he delegated a call about repatriating Afghan interpreters, while away on August 13, to a junior minister - a decision that resulted in the phone conversation with the Afghan foreign minister not taking place and possibly delaying taking them to safety.

Responding to the latest holiday allegations, Labour's Ms Nandy said: 'It's staggering that the Foreign Secretary found the time to pick up the phone to lobby the Prime Minister to extend his own holiday, but refused to call the Afghan government in the hours before Kabul fell to the Taliban.'
Groundbreaking Covid-19 modelling commissioned by National Cabinet and carried out by the prestigious Doherty Institute was supposed to give Australia a clear road map of how to live in the aftermath of the pandemic.

But with the country seeing record daily case numbers, lockdowns in several states and territories and the Delta variant showing no signs of abetting, fierce debate has erupted between Scott Morrison and states leaders.

The Prime Minister has backed NSW to end lockdown once 70-80 per cent of the NSW population is vaccinated as the modelling suggests, regardless of case numbers.

But various other states have slammed the idea claiming it would be irresponsible to reopen with infections rates surging and opting to maintain border closures and lockdowns if required.

Their concerns centre around the potential for skyrocketing case numbers, the risk to children and teenagers who remain largely ineligible to get vaccinated, as well as the need for an immunity lag time buffer - with at least two weeks needed after getting the shot to give significant protection from the virus.

But according to the Prime Minister and the newly-revised report from the Doherty Institute, immunity lag time is already priced into the dat and soaring case numbers will make little difference, nor will the risk to unvaccinated children and teens.

Nation divided over Doherty modelling: Pictured: Melbourne's CBD is seen from the banks of Williamstown as people take a walk on Sunday

The Prime Minister has backed NSW to end lockdown once 70-80 per cent of the NSW population is vaccinated as the modelling suggests, regardless of case numbers. Pictured: Dubbo Mass Vaccination centre

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has repeatedly implied lockdown will end somewhere between 70 and 80 per cent vaccination, even as the outbreak continues to spiral.

The new modelling shows that if case numbers are still in the 100s, with an 80 per cent vaccinated population, there is little change to the epidemic curve.

The state hit yet another record of 830 cases on Sunday, a day after diagnosing the most cases in a single day anywhere in Australia on Saturday.

Other state premiers are resistant to NSW ending the lockdown with so many daily cases, and insisting about 30, or at least less than 100, should be required.

Australia's chief medical officer Paul Kelly said eliminating Covid is not a 'sustainable long-term strategy'.

'The only places in the world that have not seen any COVID at all... would be some of the Pacific Island countries and that's because they've essentially been cut off from the rest of the world for the last 18 months,' he said on Sunday

'Even in New Zealand, which I would say would be the poster jurisdiction for elimination, they have very clearly and recently stated that remains their aim, [they] are now coping with an outbreak in Auckland and beyond.

'Western Australia have done extremely well now, relying on the very strong border controls, both external to the rest of the world and to the rest of Australia.

'The matter of how WA see themselves working through the pandemic over time is really a matter for them but I will say that the whole of National Cabinet, including the West Australian Premier, did sign up to the plan only a couple of weeks ago.'

He also that conceded that Victoria, as well as NSW, may never return to zero cases.

'The Delta virus is quite clearly different to the original that we had,' Professor Kelly says.

'We were very successful in those approaches to lockdown, including New South Wales up to the current rate, with a less stringent approach.

'Delta is more infectious, which is quite clearly the case, virtually 100 per cent of people in a household when there is a case will become infected.'

NSW is another step closer to freedom, despite soaring Covid numbers. Pictured are Sydneysiders exercising as the state recorded a record 830 new cases

Pictured: Hundreds of people wait in line for their Covid-19 vaccine at the South Western Sydney vaccination centre at Macquarie Fields

The Doherty Institute has advised that lifting lockdowns with hundreds of daily cases at 70 per cent vaccination wouldn't make a drastic change to epidemiological modelling, according to reports.

They've also suggested that with high vaccination rates there would be minimal impact on children and teens, however steps are being made to roll out the jab to children aged over 12.

Number-crunchers at the institute also say there is no need to wait for the immunity lag time of three weeks to kick in, as Labor leader Anthony Albanese has suggested.

The report claims that because there would be such a large pipeline of the community already fully vaccinated, it would leave just a miniscule percentage needing the three-week buffer.

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National Cabinet, in July had agreed to set second dose thresholds of 70 and 80 per cent to significantly reduce the prospect of lockdowns.

A spokesman for Mr Morrison said national cabinet had asked the Doherty Institute to model a number of reopening scenarios.

'However, when we reach the 70 per cent and 80 per cent thresholds the findings are clear that we can move forward with our reopening plan regardless of case numbers because there will be far less serious illness for our health system to manage,' he said.

The updated modelling will be presented to National Cabinet this week.

Australia ramped up its vaccination efforts to the point where more than 1.7 million doses were administered in the past week, including a record 310,524 jabs delivered on Friday.

About 29.6 per cent of Australians over-16s are now fully vaccinated, while 51.8 per cent have received a first dose.

NSW premier has reiterated assurances life will be much different once the state reaches the magic milestone of 70-80 per cent vaccination. Pictured are Sydneysiders soaking up the winter sunshine at Bondi

Pictured: Business continues at a grocery store in Sydney's Auburn on August 22, as the city battles its ninth week of lockdown

NSW is at more than 30 per cent fully vaccinated with 5.86 million jabs administered since the program began.

Ms Berejiklian urged her locked-down state to focus on vaccination as Sydney and surrounding regions entered their 10th week of stay-at-home orders.

'While case numbers are going up, the more important figure going up is the vaccination rate,' she said.

'The vaccination rate is where we can look forward to living life freely.'

Health minister Brad Hazzard added on Sunday: 'I am advised that NSW is now amongst the highest, if not the highest, in the world in terms of vaccination rates.'

Ms Berejiklian claimed she'd seen a 'seismic shift' and change in attitude in her state counterparts' approach to living with Covid-19.

'We accept the Delta is here, we accept getting to zero across the nation, especially once you open up and live freely, will be an impossible task - no other place on the planet has done it,' she said.

The Prime Minister looks forward to reopening up the county once 80 per cent of Australia's are vaccinated. Pictured is a pop up vaccination clinic at Australian Sikh Association in Sydney

However, several state leaders disagree on lifting lockdowns and reopening borders while NSW cases remain in their hundreds.

They include Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, whose state recorded 65 new cases on Sunday.

'If you don't actively suppress this virus then, when you do open up, we will have scenes the likes of which none of us have ever experienced in our hospitals,' Mr Andrews said.

'That is why [on Friday at national cabinet], far from a sense of easing or a sense of moving away from the plan, there was an agreement, and quite some discussion about the need to update the Doherty modelling because the Doherty modelling is not predicated on 10, 12, 15, 20,000 active cases in any state or across our nation.

'It is, in fact, predicated on very small numbers of cases.'

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk agreed.

'There is a huge outbreak in NSW and you can't just say when we get to 70 or 80 per cent the number of cases doesn't matter. It does. The comments of the NSW Premier and PM are not reflected in Doherty,' her spokesman told the Sun Herald.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says it's 'inevitable' that case numbers will likely rise once Australia begins to open up

However, Mr Morrison reiterated that Australia could start claiming back what Covid has taken away once it hits 70 and 80 per cent vaccination targets.

'You can't live with lockdowns forever and at some point you need to make that gear change and that is done at 70 per cent because that's where we are advised from the medical science that you can make that gear change,' he told ABC's Insiders on Sunday.

'Once you do that, then you can move into focusing on the public health issues of hospitalisation and serious illness.

'Case numbers are not the whole story but right now, of course, we need to make the lockdowns effective, we need to suppress the virus as best we can, and we need for people to isolate, stay at home, get tested and of course, go and get vaccinated.'

But Mr Morrison said it was 'inevitable' that case numbers will likely rise once Australia begins to open up.

'And when we do so, we must not be intimidated by the case numbers that will inevitably increase,' Mr Morrison wrote in a Sunday Telegraph opinion piece.

'We will be able to better handle them then, because of all the improvements we have made to protect people from serious illness and fatality.

'Rising cases need not impact our plan to reopen, and reopen as soon we can.'
The Taliban has insisted that schools and colleges can open across Afghanistan as a source confirmed they are seeking clarity on foreign forces' exit plans.

A Taliban official added that the group commanders are set to meet former governors and bureaucrats in more than 20 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces over the next few days to ensure their safety and seek cooperation.

'We are not forcing any former government official to join or prove their allegiance to us, they have a right to leave the country if they would like,' the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

The Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan has sparked fear of reprisals and a return to the harsh version of Islamic law the Sunni Muslim group exercised when it was in power two decades ago.

Crowds have grown at the airport in the capital Kabul each day over the past week, hindering operations as the United States and other nations attempt to evacuate thousands of their diplomats and civilians as well as numerous Afghans.

A Taliban official has confirmed that schools and colleges will be allowed to open across Afghanistan as the group says it is seeking clarity on foreign forces' exit plans as evacuations continue from Kabul. Pictured: Taliban fighters patrol Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 19, 2021

A spokesman said while they are looking for co-operation from former Governors and bureaucrats, he added that they are not 'forcing officials to join or prove their allegiance'

'We are seeking complete clarity on foreign forces' exit plan,' the Taliban official added. 'Managing chaos outside Kabul airport is a complex task.'

It comes as the Ministry of Defence confirmed seven Afghan civilians had died at the airport in Kabul as the race to evacuate citizens before foreign troops leave the country continues.

The British Ministry of Defence said in a statement that seven Afghan civilians have been killed trying to flee the Taliban.

A spokesman added: 'Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible.'

US military planes have been making rapid, diving combat landings at Kabul airport, while aircraft have fired flares on take-off, in a bid to confuse possible heat-seeking missiles amid a new, perceived threat from the Islamic State group affiliate in Afghanistan.

The situation around Kabul airport has taken a turn for the worse, with the Independent reporting that four Afghan women were crushed to death on Saturday - and perhaps as many as 12 killed in total - as they sought to access the airfield where military repatriation flights are leaving from.

Pictured: A Taliban fighter stands guard at a checkpoint in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 22

There were further worrying reports about the treatment of Britons and Afghans who supported the 20-year intervention who are trying to escape.

Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul has been the focal point for thousands trying to flee the Taliban, who seized power after sweeping into the capital a week ago following their astonishing lightning advance across the Middle Eastern country.

The Taliban on Sunday blamed the United States for the chaotic evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans and foreigners from the capital, one week after the hardline Islamist group returned to power in a rapid victory that stunned the world.

The MoD confirmed that the Operation Pitting evacuation mission is being supported by 1,000 British troops - including Paras from 16 Air Assault Brigade - with nearly 4,000 people repatriated from Afghanistan since August 13.

It comes as the Defence Secretary, in what is likely to be read as a plea to Washington, said 'no nation will be able to get everyone out' of the Taliban-controlled country, with the US president's August 31 target date making the rescue mission even more time pressured.

Mr Wallace (pictured right) makes a veiled plea for Washington (pictured left: US President Joe Biden) to delay the US leaving date beyond August 31, writing: 'Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer and they will have our complete support if they do'

While acknowledging 'no nation will be able to get everyone out', Mr Wallace also announces that a series of 'processing hubs' will be set up in countries neighbouring Afghanistan for refugees who manage to escape. Pictured: British and US troops help Afghans in Kabul

Writing for the Mail on Sunday, Mr Wallace said: 'If the US timetable remains, we have no time to lose to get the majority of the people waiting out.

'Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer, and they will have our complete support if they do.'

According to the Sunday Times, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab - who is facing calls to resign over his decision to remain on holiday while Afghanistan collapsed - is seeking to speak to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss extending the end-of-the-month deadline.

The 900 British troops cannot remain without the logistical support of the 6,000 US soldiers in Kabul and will have to finish the evacuation before that point to allow enough time to secure their own safe exit.

Pictured: A British evacuation flight with 265 people on board took off out of Kabul yesterday

Mr Wallace confirmed there were 'too many people in the airport' on Saturday, forcing the US side of the operation to suspend access. A MoD spokeswoman stressed that neither UK flights nor processing were affected by the pause, however.

US citizens were yesterday warned not to go to the airport amid fears that they might be hijacked en route by militants. The State Department said the US side of the airport would close for 48 hours. The British section remained open.

Sir Laurie Bristow, the British ambassador to Afghanistan who has stayed in the capital to help process applications, said the rescue effort was 'without a doubt the biggest international challenge I have worked on as a diplomat'.
A healthy Sydney-based skateboarder is fearing for his life after he was rushed to hospital within hours of testing positive for Covid.

Jett Stanton, 21, was due to get his first Covid jab last week until he tested positive on Wednesday - one day before his appointment.

He became seriously ill and and he was admitted to hospital with terrifying chest pains, a hacking cough and agonising headaches, as well as nausea, fatigue and cold sweats the following night.

But the Brisbane-born skateboarder fears his condition may deteriorate further and has begged everyone to get vaccinated before they suffer a similar fate.

Sydney skateboarder Jeff Stanton, 21, seen here, is fearing for his life amid fears his condition will worsen after he was rushed to hospital within hours of testing positive for Covid

'I cant stress this enough,' he warned from his hospital bed. 'Covid is NOT a joke and not to be played with.

'I can 100 per cent assure you this is not just a flu like some of you say it is.'

Mr Stanton passed out twice in three hours during extreme panic attacks brought on by the disease and feared he was going to die.

From his bed in Liverpool Hospital, he revealed he had been a close contact of an infected case in Sydney's south-west before testing positive.

His two unvaccinated housemates also tested positive but his vaccinated girlfriend escaped infection and returned a negative test result.

Despite his active healthy lifestyle as a semi-pro skateboarder, he rapidly became seriously ill and had to be rushed to hospital.

Jett Stanton, 21, was due to get his first Covid jab last week until he tested positive on Wednesday and then suddenly took seriously ill. He's seen here in his Liverpool Hospital bed in a picture he posted to his Instagram page

'Some people may only get small symptoms, others have their lives changed for good in such a negative way,' said Mr Stanton on Instagram on Saturday.

'Some people are at risk of dying.'

He said the symptoms hit him suddenly and then came in waves as his condition quickly deteriorated.

'I am having uncomfortable cold sweats, throat and chest is blocked, intense headache, unable to sleep,' he said.

'My anxiety disorder has had me have panics attacks to the point I passed out twice within three hours - I feel like Im going to die every time I have an attack.

Semi-pro Brisbane-born skateboarder Jeff Stanton fears his condition may deteriorate further and has begged everyone to get vaccinated before they suffer a similar fate. He posted this picture of his hospital room on Instagram as he battled the disease on Saturday

'My body cramps and the list of symptoms go on...and I dont even know if this is the worst of it yet.'

NSW broke another pandemic record with 830 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed on Sunday, with 94 in intensive care and 31 on a ventilator.

One quarter of Sunday's total cases - 195 out of 830 - were aged 20-29.

So far, 58 per cent of people in the state have had one dose of a vaccine and 31 per cent have had two doses.

He begged his followers to stop putting others at risk and get vaccinated - and branded anti-vaxxers and lockdown protesters as 'privileged dogs'.

Jeff Stanton begged followers to stop putting others at risk and get vaccinated - and branded anti-vaxxers and lockdown protesters, like those seen here who protested in Melbourne on Saturday, as 'privileged dogs'

'Its not the government trying to control you,' he said. 'Its so sad to hear about people not respecting others and putting other people at risk of catching this virus.

'I have family in Indonesia that would do anything for the vaccine (that is studied and made by scientists and doctors) as it is killing hundreds.

'Yet privileged dogs here Dont trust the government and I dont know who else you expect to get a cure from.'

He added: 'I am generally a very healthy young person and I still feel like my life is on the line.

'Please follow the lockdown rules as they are there for a reason and take care of one another.'
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Military planes making evacuation runs into Kabul are dropping flares and carrying out nosedive combat landings amid fears that Islamic terrorists may try to shoot one down as Afghans trying to flee the Taliban have described at least 20 civilians being killed in the chaos.

US military planes are doing rapid diving combat landings to beat the threat of a missile attack, with video showing a French transport plane yesterday deploying flares designed to confuse heat-seeking technology which may have been stolen by Islamic State in Afghanistan.

Taliban forces controlling all access points to Hamid Karzai International Airport are not thought to be attempting to shoot down military aircraft during the Western evacuation effort, as such an action could trigger another American-led intervention in Afghanistan.

It is feared Islamic State in Afghanistan - also known as ISIS-K - could use stolen heat-seeking missiles to bring down a rescue plane carrying hundreds of refugees including women and children.

ISIS militants have been fighting the Taliban for the last six years as they attempt to annex their own piece of Afghanistan following the collapse of their caliphate in Syria and Iraq following Western airstrikes and raids targeting the terror group.

Afghans at Kabul airport have described seeing more than 15 people including a two-year-old girl shot and beaten to death by the Taliban or trampled to death in the melee as thousands of locals desperately try to escape the new regime. One family described night-time crowd surges outside the airport gates and people killed in the stampede as they pleaded: 'We are trapped in a hell.'

A NATO official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters at least 20 people have been killed in the past seven days in and around Kabul airport during the evacuation effort. The British Ministry of Defence said seven Afghans had died while trying to flee the Taliban.

British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey has said that more than 1,700 people have been airlifted out in the past 24 hours with the help of the Taliban, adding that the militants were marshalling people into separate UK and US evacuation queues.

However, Taliban militants surrounding Kabul airport fired in the air and used batons to beat back the crowds and make people line up in orderly queues on Sunday, witnesses said. The crude crowd-control methods, together with reports that Taliban gangs have marauded conquered territory to enslave female Afghans, fly in the face of the group's stated claims to be going 'moderate'.

Boris Johnson said he will convene G7 leaders on Tuesday for 'urgent talks' on the crisis, writing on Twitter: 'It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years.'

Today he held talks with Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who could become a key go-between in any diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and the west. No.10 today said the two leaders had agreed that the Taliban must 'protect the rights of women and minorities'.

'The leaders shared the view that any new government must be representative of Afghanistan's diverse population and protect the rights of women and minorities, and that the Taliban would be judged by their actions not their words on this,' a Downing Street spokesman said.

'They agreed that countries must commit to burden-sharing on aid and refugees, noting that United Nations co-ordination would be central to that effort,' the spokesman added.

The crisis in Afghanistan has strained relations between Britain and the US, with Tony Blair - who was in Downing Street when London sent troops into the Middle Eastern country 20 years ago following the 9/11 attacks - branding Joe Biden's withdrawal of US troops 'imbecilic'.

Cabinet insiders have suggested the President was 'gaga' and 'doolally' for withdrawing so quickly, while the Prime Minister has allegedly privately referred to Mr Biden as 'Sleepy Joe', the nickname coined by Donald Trump. Mr Johnson also allegedly remarked Britain 'would be better off with Trump' - allegations branded 'categorically untrue' by Downing Street.

Meanwhile, a former US ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, today said Bidens chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan has 'given a huge boost to militant Islam everywhere'.

It comes as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, in what is likely to be read as a plea to Washington, said 'no nation will be able to get everyone out' of Afghanistan, with the US President's August 31 target date making the rescue mission even more time pressured.

In other dramatic developments:

Mr Raab was accused of defying an order from No 10 to return early from his holiday as the crisis escalated. However, allies of Mr Raab said Boris Johnson had given him permission to remain;

Tony Blair branded the 'abandonment of Afghanistan and its people' as 'tragic and dangerous';

Sources claimed that the Prime Minister felt 'betrayed' by Joe Biden over the Afghan withdrawal  although No 10 denied there are any tensions between the two;

One source even claimed the President, 78, was 'a bit doolally';

Taliban leaders Mullah Baradar and Siraj Haqqani arrived in Kabul to form a new government;

UK hate preacher Anjem Choudary urged the Taliban to restore full Islamic justice, including stoning adulterers;

The Home Office was scrambling to make the Taliban a proscribed group in an attempt to dissuade British jihadis from heading to Afghanistan;

Britons in Kabul said the city was running out of food and money;

Britain's ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Laurie Bristow, called the crisis the 'greatest challenge' of his 30-year career;

Thousands rallied in London in protest at the Government's handling of the crisis;

The Minister with responsibility for Afghanistan, Lord Ahmad, was reported to be on holiday when the Taliban seized Kabul.

US military plans are doing rapid diving combat landings to beat the threat of a missile attack, with video showing a French transport plane yesterday deploying flares designed to confuse heat-seeking technology

Military plans making evacuation runs into Kabul are dropping flares and carrying out nosedive combat landings amid fears that Islamic terrorists may try to shoot one down

Hundreds of Afghans desperately trying to flee the Taliban are pictured outside Kabul airport

Afghans trying to flee (pictured: Chaos at Kabul airport yesterday) to Britain to escape the Taliban will have to make their own way to the borders if the Americans do not delay the date for leaving the country, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace declares today

In a powerfully emotive article for The Mail on Sunday, Mr Wallace warns that time is 'ticking along, impossible to stop' towards the imminent end of the UK's mission to rescue thousands of Afghans entitled to come to the UK. Pictured: Afghans attempt to get into Kabul airport yesterday

Staff talking to evacuees from Afghanistan as they arrive in an Airbus A400 transport aircraft of the German Air Force Luftwaffe in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Evacuations have been underway in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country on August 13 after American troops were pulled from the country

Members of the British and US military engage in the evacuation of people out of Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday

Meanwhile, the British Foreign Office released images showing British Ambassador to Kabul Sir Laurie Bristow processing applications - images which contrast sharply with the reality of the chaos engulfing Kabul airport

Britain's Ambassador to Afghanistan Laurie Bristow speaks with an HMG staff member as they facilitate the UK evacuation effort in Kabul, Afghanistan, in this undated handout

Meanwhile people are gathering outside the Pakistani Embassy. Pakistan offered a special package of transit visa to Afghan diplomats and high officials upon their arrival at Islamabad, as Pakistan's Embassy in Kabul continues to extend consular services for Pakistanis, Afghans and nationals of other countries and help them leave the country

A porter pushes a wheelbarrow carrying Afghan children as family members enters into Pakistan through a border crossing point in Chaman, Pakistan

Afghan nationals arrive in Pakistan through the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman today

Mr Wallace (pictured right) makes a veiled plea for Washington (pictured left: US President Joe Biden) to delay the US leaving date beyond August 31, writing: 'Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer and they will have our complete support if they do'

Beneath a fierce late-morning sun, crowds parted to reveal women's lifeless bodies and then, rising above the chaotic hubbub, the piercing screams of their children

A baby is handed over to the American army over the perimeter wall of the airport for it to be evacuated, in Kabul

Paratroopers tried to pull people from the chaos, and stood atop compound walls, spraying the crowd with hoses to try and cool them down, as medics dashed between casualties

At least four women are thought to have died in what witnesses called a 'horrendous crush'. Pictured: Soldiers cover up the bodies of those who died yesterday

A soldier gives one of the locals at the airport a bottle of water, as many struggled in chaotic scenes at the airport today

A U.S. Navy Corpsman with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Central Command, hands out water to children during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport

An evacuee holds up a peace sign after being manifested for a flight at Hamid Karzai International Airport

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, right, and Taliban fighters stand guard on their respective sides at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in Torkham, in Khyber district, Pakistan

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier indicates direction to Afghan nationals at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan

A man instructs people to queue as they stand with their belongings outside Kabul airport, Afghanistan

People stand on a barrier outside Kabul airport, Afghanistan, after the Taliban takeover of the city last week

The 19th century struggle for power in Afghanistan between the UK and Tsarist Russia was called the Great Game. As the US and the UK pull its troops and the Taliban retake control by force, who will Afghanistan's new leaders cosy-up with? Turkey, the only Muslim-majority member of Nato, could benefit, partly because it can control the flow of Afghan refugees into Europe. The mullahs in Iran are delighted by the departure of the US and will recognise the new Kabul regime. Russia will also be pleased to see the US leave, but has its own concerns about Islamic extremism. China and Pakistan have also made early noises of support, while Qatar hosted Taliban leaders in its capital Doha since 2013. However India is dismayed by the Taliban's victory. Here Michael Burleigh looks at where each countries vested interests lie, and which countries will be happy and who will be angry at the Taliban takeover

ISIS-K: Terror affiliate that operates in Afghanistan's mountainous east A member of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (stock) Islamic State in Afghanistan - a branch of the terror group that first emerged in Syria and Iraq - operates in the mountainous region of Central Asia that includes Afghanistan and Pakistan: Khorasan. Known as ISIS-K (the name deriving from 'Khorasan'), the organisation has been recruiting from schools and mosques in the area. With a 'mandate to attack across the Atlantic', it has also been using social media to recruit US-born jihadists. US officials told CNN the membership of ISIS-K 'reflects more of a local South Asia flavor and includes some elements of foreign fighters but also includes some elements of people that are local to the area here'. Speaking on condition of anonymity, they said the membership includes 'a small number of veteran jihadists from Syria and other foreign terrorist fighters,' saying that the US had identified 10 to 15 of their top operatives in Afghanistan. Established in Afghanistan's remote eastern provinces, the Afghanistan franchise 'doesn't need large swathes of land like ISIS in Iraq and Syria does'. However, ISIS-K has fought with local Islamist groups including the Taliban for territory and recruits. In recent years the United States has killed several ISIS-K leaders and conducted airstrikes and raids targeting the terror group in its redoubts. Advertisement

Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul has been the focal point for thousands trying to flee the Taliban, who seized power after sweeping into the capital a week ago following their astonishing lightning advance across the Middle Eastern country.

One mother - a former interpreter - said her two-year-old daughter was trampled to death as the family attempted to get to the airport. The unnamed woman said the crowd surged as the family was thrown the ground, with other desperate escapees trampling them.

She couldn't breathe and when she came to her feet she searched for her daughter, only to find the little girl dead. 'I felt pure terror. I couldn't save her,' she told the New York Times.

Another Afghan woman called Sara, who asked for her real name not to be used, told the Observer how families with US visas, US passports and green cards were not able to reach their evacuation flights or get any information about their fate as the Taliban block all access points to Kabul airport.

Sara said: 'It's so scary here. There's horror in everyone's eyes. No one is allowed through, even with visas.

'No one from the US is helping us. No one is telling us which gate to go to - we don't even know when the US flights are leaving. There is violence everywhere but every gate we go to is closed and no one gives us any information or shows any mercy.'

A close family friend based in the US added: 'The US have told them they can be evacuated, but only if they can get through an airport gate. But every day they have gone to the airport it's been so crowded and violent, it's not been possible to get the family through without a huge risk to their lives.'

Writing for the Mail on Sunday, Mr Wallace said: 'If the US timetable remains, we have no time to lose to get the majority of the people waiting out. Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer, and they will have our complete support if they do.'

According to the Sunday Times, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab - who is facing calls to resign over his decision to remain on holiday while Afghanistan collapsed - is seeking to speak to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss extending the end-of-the-month deadline.

The 900 British troops cannot remain without the logistical support of the 6,000 US soldiers in Kabul and will have to finish the evacuation before that point to allow enough time to secure their own safe exit.

Mr Wallace confirmed there were 'too many people in the airport' on Saturday, forcing the US side of the operation to suspend access. A MoD spokeswoman stressed that neither UK flights nor processing were affected by the pause, however.

US citizens were yesterday warned not to go to the airport amid fears that they might be hijacked en route by militants. The State Department said the US side of the airport would close for 48 hours. The British section remained open.

Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan

The fighters were all seen carrying weapons as they spoke to passing Afghans at the checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul

Taliban fighters search a vehicle at a checkpoint on a road in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan

Taliban fighters were seen carrying automatic weapons and with ammo strap to their chest at the checkpoint in Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood of Kabul

Taliban fighters patrol in the streets of a neighborhood in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday. One fighter is seen carrying a rocket laucher

Other Taliban fighters were seen armed with automatic rifles and sub machine guns on the streets of Kabul yesterday

A group of armed taliban fighters in a what appears to be a police vehicle patrol the streets of Kabul after their take over of the city

Britain loses patience with Sleepy Joe: Tony Blair brands Biden an 'imbecile' over 'tragic, dangerous and unnecessary' decision to quit Afghanistan amid claims Boris remarked 'we would be better off with Trump' Tony Blair has blasted US President Joe Biden's 'imbecilic' decision to withdraw American troops from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan Tony Blair has blasted US President Joe Biden's 'imbecilic' decision to withdraw American troops from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, calling the scuttle 'tragic, dangerous and unnecessary' and claiming the move had 'every Jihadist group round the world cheering'. Mr Blair, who was in Downing Street when London sent British troops into the Middle Eastern country 20 years ago following the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington - said Britain has a 'moral obligation' to stay until 'all those who need to be are evacuated'. In a 2,700 article on the threat of 'radical Islam', the former British prime minister said the exit was not in the West or Afghanistan's interest as he lamented the likely reversal of gains made during the occupation, with the Taliban reasserting itself across most of the country in recent days. Mr Blair issued a stark warning to Boris Johnson that the manner of the US' handling of the exit indicated the UK could be relegated from the top division of international powers, with reports Britain was largely kept in the dark about when American armed forces would leave. Relations between Britain and US are strained, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warning 'no nation will be able to get everyone out' of Afghanistan as Mr Biden's August 31 date makes the mission even more time-pressured, in what is likely to be seen as a plea to Washington. Cabinet insiders have suggested the President was 'gaga' and 'doolally' for withdrawing so quickly, while the Prime Minister has allegedly privately referred to Mr Biden as 'Sleepy Joe', the nickname coined by Donald Trump. Mr Johnson also allegedly remarked Britain 'would be better off with Trump' - allegations branded 'categorically untrue' by Downing Street. Advertisement

Sir Laurie Bristow, the British ambassador to Afghanistan who has stayed in the capital to help process applications, said the rescue effort was 'without a doubt the biggest international challenge I have worked on as a diplomat'.

Meanwhile, UK troops in Afghanistan have said they are facing challenges 'nobody has experienced before', as a former defence chief warned the Kabul airport evacuation is the 'worst possible scenario'.

Lieutenant Colonel Baker, stationed at the passenger handling facility at Hamid Karzai airport, said: 'I think this is something that nobody has really experienced before, so we are facing challenges that nobody has experience for."

Former chief of the defence staff Lord Richards said UK forces securing the air strip are in a 'very precarious situation', with little protection from security threats posed by the likes of so-called Islamic State.

'I've done a few of these non-combat evacuation operations in my time and this is the worst possible scenario, when you are unable to clear a space between the airhead and your possible threat, which is exactly what is happening now," he told Times Radio.

'They are right on top of people and we've seen the tragic scenes coming out of Kabul airport, so it is not a good situation.'

According to the MoD, 3,821 British and Afghan nationals have been evacuated from Kabul, where 1,000 British troops are based. About 3,500 people are still waiting to be airlifted.

Last night, an MoD source said the announcement about the refugee centres was intended to display 'honesty' about the thousands of British allies likely to be left behind.

While acknowledging that 'no nation will be able to get everyone out', Mr Wallace also announces that a series of 'processing hubs' will be set up in countries neighbouring Afghanistan for refugees who manage to escape. If they can establish their right to come to the UK, they will be flown to Britain.

The MoD is looking at establishing hubs in countries such as Pakistan and Turkey - but, startlingly, is also exploring whether the Taliban might allow the UK to retain a 'presence' in Kabul after the Americans have gone.

In his article today, Mr Wallace says that the collapse of Afghanistan has been 'an exhausting, worrying and demanding time', and warns that 'the distressing exit of the West will have consequences for us all for years to come'.

He says: 'The Parachute Regiment at the airport are dealing with unimaginable challenges. Public order, overcrowding, searing heat and desperate people. Soldiers trained for war are instead holding babies and co-ordinating crowds.'

The Minister adds: 'Too many people in the airport has meant a suspension of access. I am confident that too will be fixed or mitigated but until it is, the crowds will get bigger. And ticking along, impossible to stop, is time. I have said all along that no nation will be able to get everyone out.

'It is a source of deep sadness for many of us across NATO and no one wanted 20 years of sacrifice to end this way. We will do our best to the very last moment. But it isn't the end.

'The Home Secretary and I have been planning the next stage we will establish a series of processing hubs across the region outside of Afghanistan for those Afghans we have an obligation to bring to this country.'

It comes as former British premier Tony Blair blasted Mr Biden's 'imbecilic' decision to withdraw American troops from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, calling the scuttle 'tragic, dangerous and unnecessary' and claiming the move had 'every Jihadist group round the world cheering'.

Mr Blair, who was in Downing Street when London sent British troops into the Middle Eastern country 20 years ago following the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington - said Britain has a 'moral obligation' to stay until 'all those who need to be are evacuated'.

It comes as former British premier Tony Blair (pictured left) blasted Mr Biden's 'imbecilic' decision to withdraw American troops from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, calling the scuttle 'tragic, dangerous and unnecessary' and claiming the move had 'every Jihadist group round the world cheering'. Meanwhile, former chief of the defence staff Lord Richards (pictured right) said UK forces securing the Kabul Airport are in a 'very precarious situation', with little protection from security threats posed by the likes of so-called Islamic State.

Foreign forces at the entering gate of Kabul airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Seven Afghan civilians were killed amid chaos near the Kabul airport yesterday

According to the MoD, 3,821 British and Afghan nationals have been evacuated from Kabul, where 1,000 British troops are based. About 3,500 people are still waiting to be airlifted

Former US ambassador to Afghanistan slams Joe Biden over chaotic withdrawal Ryan Crocker (pictured left), who served under Barack Obama, said the chaotic withdrawal had given a 'huge boost to militant Islam everywhere' A former US ambassador to Afghanistan has slammed President Joe Biden over his chaotic handling of America's withdrawal. Ryan Crocker, who served under Barack Obama, said the chaotic withdrawal had given a 'huge boost to militant Islam everywhere'. In a stunning broadside, he said Mr Bidens lack of strategic patience in Afghanistan has damaged alliances, emboldened enemies and increased the security risk to the West. In an essay for the New York Times, Mr Crocker said of the withdrawal: 'It has damaged our alliances, emboldened our adversaries and increased the risk to our own security. It has also flouted 20 years of work and sacrifice. 'The American disaster in Afghanistan that Mr Bidens impatience brought about is not a disaster just for us. It has also been a huge boost for the Taliban, whose narrative now is that the believers, clad in the armour of the one true faith, have vanquished the infidels. Mr Bidens strategic impatience has given a huge boost to militant Islam everywhere.' Advertisement

In a 2,700 article on the threat of 'radical Islam', the former British prime minister said the exit was not in the West or Afghanistan's interest as he lamented the likely reversal of gains made during the occupation, with the Taliban reasserting itself across most of the country in recent days.

Mr Blair issued a stark warning to Mr Johnson that the manner of the US' handling of the exit indicated the UK could be relegated from the top division of international powers, with reports Britain was largely kept in the dark about when American armed forces would leave.

Mr Blair also claimed that 'Russia, China and Iran will see and take advantage. Anyone given commitments by Western leaders will understandably regard them as unstable currency'.

Both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab have suggested that Britain will now have to turn to Beijing and Moscow to assist with exercising a 'moderating influence' over the Taliban post-withdrawal.

'For Britain, out of Europe and suffering the end of the Afghanistan mission by our greatest ally with little or no consultation, we have serious reflection to do,' said Mr Blair.

'We don't see it yet, but we are at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers.'

Meanwhile, Biden today took criticism former US ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker, who served under Barack Obama. Mr Crocker, 72, said the chaotic withdrawal had given a 'huge boost to militant Islam everywhere'.

In a stunning broadside, he said Mr Bidens lack of strategic patience in Afghanistan has damaged alliances, emboldened enemies and increased the security risk to the West.

In an essay for the New York Times, Mr Crocker said of the withdrawal: 'It has damaged our alliances, emboldened our adversaries and increased the risk to our own security.

'It has also flouted 20 years of work and sacrifice.

'The American disaster in Afghanistan that Mr Bidens impatience brought about is not a disaster just for us. It has also been a huge boost for the Taliban, whose narrative now is that the believers, clad in the armour of the one true faith, have vanquished the infidels.

Mr Bidens strategic impatience has given a huge boost to militant Islam everywhere.'

Meanwhile, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Home Secretary Priti Patel is scrambling to proscribe the Taliban as a terrorist group amid fears that hundreds of British jihadis will head to Afghanistan to join and live under the Islamist regime.

The Home Office is now looking urgently to ban the group which has avoided proscription so far, even though the Taliban has harboured terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and killed 456 British troops in Afghanistan over the past two decades.

If an organisation is on the Government's list of proscribed groups, it becomes a criminal offence for anyone in Britain to join or even support it, punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

If the situation remains as it is, Ministers fear that British jihadis could join and train under the regime then escape prosecution on their return to Britain.

While acknowledging that 'no nation will be able to get everyone out', Mr Wallace also announces that a series of 'processing hubs' will be set up in countries neighbouring Afghanistan for refugees who manage to escape. If they can establish their right to come to the UK, they will be flown to Britain. Pictured: British and US troops help Afghans in Kabul

The MoD is looking at establishing hubs in countries such as Pakistan and Turkey  but, startlingly, is also exploring whether the Taliban might allow the UK to retain a 'presence' in Kabul after the Americans have gone. Pictured: A British evacuation flight with 265 people on board

A U.S. Airman with the Joint Task Force-Crisis Response speaks with families who await processing during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, front, and Taliban fighters, stand guard on their respective sides while a truck moves to cross at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan

Shocking footage shows injured Afghans bleeding as they desperately try and make their way into the airport

British soldiers desperately shouted for medics and stretchers, as unconscious people were carried away, many being pronounced dead and covered in white sheets

Taliban fighters stand guard on their side at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in Torkham, in Khyber district, Pakistan

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, right, and Taliban fighter stand guard on their respective sides at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan

UN warns Afghanistan faces 'absolute catastrophe' of famine, homelessness and economic ruin as Tory MP says organisation MUST be brought in to deal with Kabul airport chaos The United Nations must intervene in Afghanistan 'immediately' before the country descends into 'complete disorder', Tory chairman of the Commons Defence Committee Tobias Ellwood has urged The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan faces an 'absolute catastrophe' of famine, homelessness and economic ruin, as the Tory chairman of the Commons Defence Committee urged the organisation's 'immediate' intervention before Kabul descends into 'complete disorder'. Mary-Ellen McGroarty, the UN's World Food Programme's country director for Afghanistan, told the Observer swift coordinated action was critical 'otherwise, an already horrendous situation is just going to become an absolute catastrophe, a complete humanitarian disaster'. She added: 'We need to get supplies into the country, not only in terms of food, but the medical supplies, the shelter supplies. We need money and we need it now. Delay for the next six or seven weeks and it's going to start becoming too late. People have nothing. 'We have to get food in now and get it to the communities in the provinces, before roads are blocked by snow.' Ex-Army officer Tobias Ellwood, who together with Tom Tugendhat and Johnny Mercer has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the scuttle, told Sky News: 'If you do want to withdraw from a country you don't pull out your military first and then choose to allow the civilians to depart. 'This is the wrong order in which we've done things, and this situation is simply not sustainable, it's getting worse every single day. The airport cannot manage this and with the terrorist threat growing the chances are the airport will implode. 'What I will say is the United Nations and its agencies must be brought in immediately before complete disorder breaks down. The relationship between the US and the Taliban is very very fragile indeed, the US has frozen Afghanistan's assets, the economy is in freefall. 'Many of the civil servants that help run the country and indeed run the airport have already departed. We require some serious international leadership immediately.' Advertisement

Sources have told the MoS that Ms Patel is 'livid' that the Taliban in Afghanistan has not been banned already. A source said last night: 'The fault doesn't lie with Priti. It goes far back, as no previous Home Secretary has bothered to ban it.'

A Government source told the MoS that MI5 and counter-terrorism units are preparing for the possibility of British jihadis travelling to Afghanistan.

'Some will go and train under the Taliban and may come back to launch attacks,' said the source. Others may take their families with them and live under the Taliban's Islamic government.'

Britain has promised to evacuate about 6,000 UK citizens and Afghan staff from the country, but that is looking increasingly unlikely.

Yesterday, amid chaotic scenes, Britons were told to either go to Kabul airport or the nearby Baron Hotel, where their papers could be processed. But some found their path blocked by makeshift Taliban checkpoints.

Last night, a Briton and his wife told how they came under fire from Taliban militants at a checkpoint as they headed to the hotel. Their driver was injured in the shooting.

As the British man tried to explain to the militants that he was a foreign national he was beaten and threatened.

He told ITV News: 'My wife came out of the car, she was trying to save me and then they start beating my wife as well. They are warning me that if they see me next to that checkpoint they will kill us.'

It comes as yesterday the US Embassy told citizens not to travel to the Kabul airport without 'individual instructions from a US government representative,' citing potential security threats outside its gates.

And yet crowds remained outside its concrete barriers, clutching documents and sometimes stunned-looking children, blocked from flight by coils of razor wire.

Footage has since emerged of pandemonium and violence outside the airport, with US officials reporting that Americans have been beaten by the Taliban as they've tried to reach safety. The White House earlier confirmed that three military helicopters were used to rescue 169 Americans who were trapped at a hotel near the airport.

Meanwhile, Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar arrived in the Afghan capital yesterday for talks with militant commanders, former government leaders and religious scholars.

Nato yesterday begged Mr Biden not to leave Kabul and urged the US troops to stay at the airport to get as many people out as possible.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said: 'The US has stated that the timeline ends on August 31, but several of our allies raised... the need to potentially extend that to be able to get more people out.'

Meanwhile, pressure continues to grow on Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab after new claims emerged accusing him of failing to engage with foreign counterparts on the Afghanistan situation until the Taliban had reached Kabul.

Witnesses told the Times that the Cabinet minister was swimming and using a paddleboard on the last day of his break, which was spent at a beach at a five-star hotel on the Greek island of Crete, as the crisis began to unfold.

Mr Raab was already in the firing line after it emerged he delegated a call about repatriating Afghan interpreters, while away on August 13, to a junior minister, a decision that resulted in the phone conversation with the Afghan foreign minister not taking place and possibly delaying taking them to safety.

Nato yesterday begged Mr Biden not to leave Kabul and urged the US troops to stay at the airport to get as many people out as possible. Pictured: Medical support personnel help an Afghan mother with her family off a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport aircraft moments after she delivered a child aboard the aircraft upon landing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said: 'The US has stated that the timeline ends on August 31, but several of our allies raised... the need to potentially extend that to be able to get more people out.' Pictured: British troops in Kabul yesterday

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, right, and Taliban fighter, stand guard on their respective sides while a truck moves to cross at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in Torkham, in Khyber district

Boris Johnson and Turkish president agree Afghanistan must 'protect the rights of women and minorities' Boris Johnson and the Turkish president agreed that any new government in Afghanistan must 'protect the rights of women and minorities' during a phone call on Sunday, No 10 said. A Downing Street spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister spoke to Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, today about the crisis in Afghanistan. 'They discussed the importance of the international community working together to stabilise the situation and support Afghans in the country and in the region. 'The leaders shared the view that any new government must be representative of Afghanistan's diverse population and protect the rights of women and minorities, and that the Taliban would be judged by their actions not their words on this. 'They agreed that countries must commit to burden-sharing on aid and refugees, noting that United Nations co-ordination would be central to that effort. The Prime Minister and President Erdogan also discussed intensifying UK-Turkey co-operation on trade and tackling climate change, ahead of Cop26.' Advertisement

And last night he was plunged into a fresh row over his holiday after sources told the Mail on Sunday that he had refused an order by No.10 to return from the Mediterranean to deal with the Afghanistan crisis.

The sources said Mr Raab had been told by a senior Downing Street official on Friday 13th August that he should return to London immediately as the situation in Kabul deteriorated, and that there had been 'much gnashing of teeth' when he delayed his homecoming until the early hours of Monday morning.

The claim is strongly denied by friends of Mr Raab, who insist that he was assured by Boris Johnson that he could stay with his family until the end of the weekend.

A source said: 'There is no doubt that Raab was told to come back on that Friday.

'There was then a significant amount of surprise when he appeared on the Cobra on the Sunday down the line from Crete.

'He must have nobbled Boris and asked for permission to finish his holiday'.

Last night, Mr Raab told the Mail on Sunday that he had enjoyed a 'wave of support', and denied that there was pressure from within his party to resign.

Mr Raab said: 'I've not heard any of my Conservative colleagues call for me to resign, but I have had a wave of support.

'There is no doubt that, like all countries, there is a measure of surprise at the rapidity of the Taliban takeover.

'But as the Foreign Secretary travelling around the world, whether I am on leave or I'm travelling for work purposes, I am always set up to be able to grip things'.

A close ally of Mr Raab insisted that No.10 had not 'ordered' him to return on the Friday.

The ally said: 'The suggestion was that he should make plans to come back.

'They said that if things get worse then he needed to be ready to come back at a moment's notice.

'He then talked it through with the PM and it was agreed that he would came back on Sunday'.

Britain loses patience with Sleepy Joe: Tony Blair brands Biden an 'imbecile' over 'tragic, dangerous and unnecessary' decision to quit Afghanistan amid claims Boris remarked 'we would be better off with Trump'

By JACK WRIGHT FOR MAILONLINE

Tony Blair has blasted Joe Biden's 'imbecilic' decision to withdraw US troops from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, calling the President's scuttle 'tragic, dangerous and unnecessary' and claiming the move had 'every Jihadist group round the world cheering'.

Mr Blair, who was in Downing Street when London sent UK troops to the Middle Eastern country 20 years ago following the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington DC, said Britain has a 'moral obligation' to stay until 'all those who need to be are evacuated'.

In a 2,700 article on the threat of 'radical Islam', the former British prime minister said the exit was not in the West or Afghanistan's interest as he lamented the likely reversal of gains made during the occupation, with the Taliban reasserting itself across most of the country in recent days.

Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Mr Blair said he has 'enormous respect' for Mr Biden, but suggested the President - who campaigned on a slogan of ending 'forever wars' and is likely to be keeping an eye on next year's midterms - had withdrawn US troops for domestic political reasons.

He repeated his assertion that the withdrawal was a 'serious mistake' and 'not something we needed to do' and said there had been 'a lot of gains' made in the past two decades, stressing that the deaths of British Armed Forces personnel were 'not in vain'.

Mr Blair also issued a stark warning to Boris Johnson that the manner of the US' handling of the exit indicated the UK could be relegated from the top division of international powers, with reports Britain was largely kept in the dark about when American armed forces would leave.

He added that countries including China and Russia are likely to applaud the withdrawal and occupy the 'vacuum' in Afghanistan left by the NATO powers. Both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab have suggested Britain will now have to turn to Beijing and Moscow to assist with exercising a 'moderating influence' over the Taliban post-withdrawal.

Relations between Britain and US are strained, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warning 'no nation will be able to get everyone out' of Afghanistan as Mr Biden's August 31 date makes the mission even more time-pressured, in what is likely to be seen as a plea to Washington.

Cabinet insiders have suggested the President was 'gaga' and 'doolally' for withdrawing so quickly, while the Prime Minister has allegedly privately referred to Mr Biden as 'Sleepy Joe', the nickname coined by Donald Trump. Mr Johnson also allegedly remarked Britain 'would be better off with Trump' - allegations branded 'categorically untrue' by Downing Street.

'For Britain, out of Europe and suffering the end of the Afghanistan mission by our greatest ally with little or no consultation, we have serious reflection to do,' said Mr Blair. 'We don't see it yet, but we are at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers.'

His comments come as the US President signalled he wanted evacuations from Kabul airport completed by the end of the month as he prepares to withdraw all American troops - a move that would likely force Britain to wrap up its operation at the same time.

Tony Blair has branded Joe Biden an 'imbecile' over his 'tragic, dangerous, unnecessary' decision to withdraw the US troops from Afghanistan, and claimed that the move had 'every Jihadist group round the world cheering'

Mr Blair issued a stark warning to Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the manner of the US' handling of the exit indicated the UK could be relegated from the top division of international powers, with reports Britain was largely kept in the dark about when American armed forces would leave

An evacuee holds up a peace sign after being manifested for a flight at Hamid Karzai International Airport

Terror threat level should be raised to severe with threat of atrocity on UK soil 'highly likely' after Taliban takeover, former head of British forces in Afghanistan Colonel Richard Kemp warns A jihadist atrocity on British soil is now 'highly likely' following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the UK's terror threat level should be raised to 'severe', the former head of British forces in Afghanistan and Government counter-terrorism adviser has warned. Colonel Richard Kemp claimed that the Taliban regime will allow al-Qaeda and so-called Islamic State terrorists to operate on Afghan territory they control - a key provision of the US withdrawal deal negotiated by Donald Trump last year - and launch attacks on the UK. He warned there is an 'immediately increased threat from British jihadists inspired and motivated by events in Afghanistan' and urged the Government to 'consider raising the UK threat level and increasing counter-terrorist assets available to the intelligence services and police'. It is understood British and US Special Forces will establish secret bases in neighbouring countries which will be used to target any terrorist bases in Afghanistan in the weeks and months ahead. The current national threat level - which is set by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which works with MI5 - is 'substantial' and the next level is 'severe'. It was lowered from 'severe' in February following a spate of atrocities in Austria and France, including the murder of a teacher in Paris who showed a class a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. Advertisement

But Mr Blair urged for there to be 'no repetition of arbitrary deadlines' - a reference to Washington's Doha agreement with the Taliban, committing to vacate Afghanistan in time for the 9/11 anniversary - in the rescue mission.

'We must evacuate and give sanctuary to those to whom we have responsibility - those Afghans who helped us and stood by us and have a right to demand we stand by them,' said the former Labour Party leader.

'There must be no repetition of arbitrary deadlines. We have a moral obligation to keep at it until all those who need to be are evacuated. And we should do so not grudgingly but out of a deep sense of humanity and responsibility.'

Mr Blair defended his own decision making in 2001 when he worked with former US president George Bush and NATO allies to avenge the New York World Trade Centre attack. After the Taliban refused to evict al Qaeda, the terror group that masterminded the hijacking of the planes in 2001, Mr Blair said Western allies, who feared worse attacks were to come, felt there was 'no safer alternative' than to strike.

He continued: 'There is no doubt that in the years that followed we made mistakes, some serious. But the reaction to our mistakes have been unfortunately further mistakes.

'Today we are in a mood which seems to regard the bringing of democracy as a utopian delusion and intervention virtually of any sort as a fool's errand. The world is now uncertain of where the West stands because it is so obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this way was driven not by grand strategy but by politics.

'We didn't need to do it. We chose to do it.

'We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending 'the forever wars', as if our engagement in 2021 was remotely comparable to our commitment 20 or even 10 years ago, in circumstances in which troop numbers had declined to a minimum and no allied soldier had lost their life in combat for 18 months.'

The former Middle East envoy said that, although 'imperfect', the 'real gains over the past 20 years' were likely to be lost following the Taliban victory, including advances in living standards, education particularly of girls, and other freedoms.

He called for the UK, in its role as president of the G7 this year, to help coordinate an international response to 'hold the new regime to account'.

The UK Government has been working diplomatically to ensure there is no unilateral recognition of a Taliban government in Afghanistan, with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab refusing to rule out applying sanctions if the militants renege on their promise to be more inclusive, especially in their attitudes towards women, than when last in control.

Mr Blair said: 'We need to draw up a list of incentives, sanctions, actions we can take including to protect the civilian population so the Taliban understand their actions will have consequences. This is urgent. The disarray of the past weeks needs to be replaced by something resembling coherence and with a plan that is credible and realistic.'

The Prime Minister's feelings about America's withdrawal from Afghanistan have been variously described by sources as 'furious', 'a betrayal' and 'let down'.

Downing Street dismisses the claims - it is in neither country's interests to stoke tensions when the future of Afghanistan hangs in the balance - but there is little question that the UK has been left exposed by the speed of Washington's pull-out.

No 10 also denies claims that the Prime Minister was disappointed by Mr Biden's victory in the Presidential elections and had declared that it would have been 'better' if Donald Trump had won a second term, and say it is 'categorically untrue' that Mr Johnson employs the President's derogatory nickname of Sleepy Joe during jocular conversations.

Speaking to Sky News today, Mr Blair said 'the only people really cheering this decision are the people hostile to Western interests' - listing among them the Chinese and Russian regimes.

'We've got to realise we were in a situation where... we could've managed the situation,' he said. 'The problem with what's happened now is that it's not just about the Afghan people and our obligation to them... it's about us and our security.

British soldiers desperately shouted for medics and stretchers, as unconscious people were carried away, many being pronounced dead and covered in white sheets

A soldier carries someone amid the chaos at Kabul airport in Afghanistan yesterday, with thousands desperate to flee the country

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, front, and Taliban fighters, stand guard on their respective sides while a truck moves to cross at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan

UN warns Afghanistan faces 'absolute catastrophe' of famine, homelessness and economic ruin as Tory MP says organisation MUST be brought in to deal with Kabul airport chaos The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan faces an 'absolute catastrophe' of famine, homelessness and economic ruin, as the Tory chairman of the Commons Defence Committee urged the organisation's 'immediate' intervention before Kabul descends into 'complete disorder'. Mary-Ellen McGroarty, the UN's World Food Programme's country director for Afghanistan, told the Observer swift coordinated action was critical 'otherwise, an already horrendous situation is just going to become an absolute catastrophe, a complete humanitarian disaster'. She added: 'We need to get supplies into the country, not only in terms of food, but the medical supplies, the shelter supplies. We need money and we need it now. Delay for the next six or seven weeks and it's going to start becoming too late. People have nothing. 'We have to get food in now and get it to the communities in the provinces, before roads are blocked by snow.' Ex-Army officer Tobias Ellwood, who together with Tom Tugendhat and Johnny Mercer has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the scuttle, told Sky News: 'If you do want to withdraw from a country you don't pull out your military first and then choose to allow the civilians to depart. 'This is the wrong order in which we've done things, and this situation is simply not sustainable, it's getting worse every single day. The airport cannot manage this and with the terrorist threat growing the chances are the airport will implode. 'What I will say is the United Nations and its agencies must be brought in immediately before complete disorder breaks down. The relationship between the US and the Taliban is very very fragile indeed, the US has frozen Afghanistan's assets, the economy is in freefall. 'Many of the civil servants that help run the country and indeed run the airport have already departed. We require some serious international leadership immediately.' Advertisement

'Because you've now got this group back in charge of Afghanistan. They will give protection and succour to al Qaeda, you've got ISIS (Islamic State) already in the country trying to operate at the same time. You look round the world and the only people really cheering this decision are the people hostile to Western interests.'

Mr Blair said the UK and its G7 allies will need to come up with a 'strategy' to deal with the Taliban regime to make sure 'we don't end up with a security threat'.

He added: 'We should be putting together the leading countries who are part of this coalition in the first place and who have supported Afghanistan in the last 20 years and we need to work out what our strategy and tactics are going to be in respect of the Taliban government.

'We need to be drawing up a list of incentives and sanctions and other things we can do in order to use the leverage we have, which is not insignificant. The Taliban will find that governing is a lot harder than they thought. The population of Afghanistan is different.

'There's going to be a lot that we can still do but it's important that we mobilise now after the disarray frankly of the last few weeks, that we mobilise as the leading countries and make it clear that we still understand we have an obligation in our own interests to try and resolve this situation and to put as much pressure on the government in Afghanistan as possible to make sure that we don't end up either with a security threat in play for us or with the Afghan people losing the gains they've made over the last 20 years.'

Across Whitehall and in British embassies around the world, officials and diplomats are adjusting to the fact that Mr Biden has adopted an America First policy every bit as isolationist as his predecessor's.

There are also whispered concerns that the 78-year-old might be, in the words of one Government source, 'a bit doolally' - unable to exert full executive grip on the White House and with a world view forged decades ago and out of step with the demands of leadership in the 2020s.

The Times claimed yesterday that Mr Johnson finds Mr Biden 'lightweight and inward-looking'.

Observers of the two men's relationship believe that there is a degree of wariness, with Mr Biden regarding Mr Johnson as a 'mini-Trump' because of his personality-driven style of politics and the pair talking far less frequently than Mr Johnson and Mr Trump did.

There are also policy differences, with Washington reluctant to accede to the UK's demand to ramp up spending on 'green' policies ahead of the COP26 climate change summit being hosted by the UK in November.

Of particular irritation in London during the Afghan endgame has been the fact that British military commanders have been cut out of discussions between the US and the Taliban.

But a No 10 source said yesterday that Mr Johnson had not expressed any anger over the US withdrawal, and said the two men had enjoyed a 'warm and constructive' phone conversation on Tuesday evening.

A Downing Street spokesman said: 'These claims are categorically untrue. The Prime Minister has not criticised President Biden, and they have a very strong working relationship.

The President's first call to a leader outside of North America after his election win was to the Prime Minister.

They have worked together on a range of issues, including at the recent G7, where they secured an additional one billion Covid vaccine doses for developing countries, and signed the Carbis Bay Declaration to improve global health co-operation and prevent future pandemics'.

President Biden cancelled plans to spend the weekend at his home in Delaware. Instead he is meeting his national security team 'to hear intelligence, security and diplomatic updates on the evolving situation in Afghanistan,' the White House said.

Lord Ricketts, who served as the Government's first national security adviser from 2010 to 2012 under former prime minister David Cameron, said the UK will need to 'rethink' its foreign policy stance following the United States' handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Speaking to Times Radio, he said: 'It has been a humiliating period for the UK. I'm afraid we've learnt that (US President) Joe Biden has put US politics ahead of NATO alliance solidarity and Britain hasn't counted for much in that decision, if anything at all.

'The hard fact is we are going to need to continue to work with the Americans in all sorts of areas and this has been a difficult experience, but we need to bring the Americans back to working with their allies, taking account of our views.

'But we can't somehow invent a foreign policy without the Americans so we've got to take a deep breath and do some frank talking to Joe Biden and then get back to work with him.'

The former chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee continued: 'We need to rethink a lot of that rhetoric in the integrated review published by the Government a few months ago about Britain as an independent sovereign operator, turning the dial on international crises.

'We have shown actually that we are pretty impotent in a situation where the Americans take a decision - we have little choice but to follow.'

DEFENCE SECRETARY BEN WALLACE: The American deadline is looming... we have no time to lose to get people out

By Ben Wallace, Defence Secretary, for the Mail on Sunday

For everyone involved, the last few months have been an exhausting, worrying and demanding time.

The unedifying exit of the West from Afghanistan will have consequences for us all for years to come.

As Defence Secretary I have been incredibly proud of the work done by my civil servants and military personnel.

From before the collapse of the Afghan government to the present, four Ministry of Defence civil servants alone have handled the process and faced thousands of fearful Afghans.

They did so often at risk to themselves. Alongside them a small band of 150 military secured their part of the airport.

We are able to do what we are doing today because of them and because of the immense effort and support of our closest allies, the United States.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says he is 'incredibly proud of the work done by my civil servants and military personnel'

Our force has now grown to over 1,000 troops, Home Office border officials and embassy staff.

The US has surged to close to 6,000 military personnel. Only last week, as the crisis deepened, I had departmental civil servants volunteering to deploy.

The Parachute Regiment at the airport are dealing with unimaginable challenges. Public order, overcrowding, searing heat and desperate people. Soldiers trained for war are instead holding babies and co-ordinating crowds.

Despite all this we are getting people out  more than 1,000 in the past 24 hours alone.

But be under no illusion, as one problem is solved a new one appears. At first we worried whether the airport would remain open, then if those coming to Britain would able to get to the airport. Next came overcrowding.

One by one, our commanders, Brigadier Dan Blanchard and Vice Admiral Ben Key, removed the problems.

Today's problem is different. Too many people in the airport has meant a suspension of access. I am confident that, too, will be fixed or mitigated, but until it is the crowds will get bigger.

And ticking along, impossible to stop, is time. I have said all along that no nation will be able to get everyone out.

It is a source of deep sadness for many of us across Nato, and no one wanted 20 years of sacrifice to end this way. We will do our best to the very last moment.

But it isn't the end. The Home Secretary and I have been planning the next stage.

Firstly, it is important to note that the scheme is not time- limited. We shall stand by our obligations and are investigating now how to process people from third countries and refugee camps.

Pictured: Afghan people gather along a road as they wait to board an evacuation aircraft to leave the country

We will establish a series of processing hubs across the region outside Afghanistan for those Afghans we have an obligation to bring to this country.

As far back as April, we relocated an Afghan family from a Greek refugee camp. People must not despair.

As I write, we are exploring ways to keep a presence in the country after the military are gone. There is much work to do to ensure conditions are right.

If the US timetable remains, we have no time to lose to get the majority of the people waiting out. We have the planes  we just need the flow.

Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer, and they will have our complete support if they do.

Soldiers often witness the worst of humanity and the best of humanity. I know I did on my operational tours.

Right now, the best resides in the men and women of the Army, RAF and Royal Navy risking their lives to save others.
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The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan faces an 'absolute catastrophe' of famine, homelessness and economic ruin, as the Tory chairman of the Commons Defence Committee urged the organisation's 'immediate' intervention before Kabul descends into 'complete disorder'.

Mary-Ellen McGroarty, the UN's World Food Programme's country director for Afghanistan, told the Observer swift coordinated action was critical 'otherwise, an already horrendous situation is just going to become an absolute catastrophe, a complete humanitarian disaster'.

She added: 'We need to get supplies into the country, not only in terms of food, but the medical supplies, the shelter supplies. We need money and we need it now. Delay for the next six or seven weeks and it's going to start becoming too late. People have nothing.

'We have to get food in now and get it to the communities in the provinces, before roads are blocked by snow.'

Ex-Army officer Tobias Ellwood, who together with Tom Tugendhat and Johnny Mercer has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the scuttle, told Sky News: 'If you do want to withdraw from a country you don't pull out your military first and then choose to allow the civilians to depart.

'This is the wrong order in which we've done things, and this situation is simply not sustainable, it's getting worse every single day. The airport cannot manage this and with the terrorist threat growing the chances are the airport will implode.

'What I will say is the United Nations and its agencies must be brought in immediately before complete disorder breaks down. The relationship between the US and the Taliban is very very fragile indeed, the US has frozen Afghanistan's assets, the economy is in freefall.

'Many of the civil servants that help run the country and indeed run the airport have already departed. We require some serious international leadership immediately.'

Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul has been the focal point for thousands trying to flee the Taliban, who seized power after sweeping into the capital a week ago following their astonishing lightning advance across the Middle Eastern country.

The MoD confirmed that the Operation Pitting evacuation mission is being supported by 1,000 British troops - including Paras from 16 Air Assault Brigade - with nearly 4,000 people repatriated from Afghanistan since August 13.

It comes as the Defence Secretary, in what is likely to be read as a plea to Washington, said 'no nation will be able to get everyone out' of the Taliban-controlled country, with the US president's August 31 target date making the rescue mission even more time pressured.

Writing for the Mail on Sunday, Ben Wallace said: 'If the US timetable remains, we have no time to lose to get the majority of the people waiting out. Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer, and they will have our complete support if they do.'

Relations between Britain and the US are strained, with Tony Blair - who was in Downing Street when London sent troops into Afghanistan 20 years ago in the wake of 9/11 - accusing Mr Biden of deciding to pull out with 'little or no consultation', branding the move 'imbecilic'.

In other dramatic developments:

Mr Raab was accused of defying an order from No 10 to return early from his holiday as the crisis escalated. However, allies of Mr Raab said Boris Johnson had given him permission to remain;

Tony Blair branded the 'abandonment of Afghanistan and its people' as 'tragic and dangerous';

Sources claimed that the Prime Minister felt 'betrayed' by Joe Biden over the Afghan withdrawal  although No 10 denied there are any tensions between the two;

One source even claimed the President, 78, was 'a bit doolally';

Taliban leaders Mullah Baradar and Siraj Haqqani arrived in Kabul to form a new government;

UK hate preacher Anjem Choudary urged the Taliban to restore full Islamic justice, including stoning adulterers;

The Home Office was scrambling to make the Taliban a proscribed group in an attempt to dissuade British jihadis from heading to Afghanistan;

Britons in Kabul said the city was running out of food and money;

Britain's ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Laurie Bristow, called the crisis the 'greatest challenge' of his 30-year career;

Thousands rallied in London in protest at the Government's handling of the crisis;

The Minister with responsibility for Afghanistan, Lord Ahmad, was reported to be on holiday when the Taliban seized Kabul.

The United Nations must intervene in Afghanistan 'immediately' before the country descends into 'complete disorder', Tory chairman of the Commons Defence Committee Tobias Ellwood has urged

Members of the British and US military engaged in the evacuation of people out of Kabul, Afghanistan

A full flight of 265 people supported by members of the UK Armed Forces on board an evacuation flight out of Kabul airport

US headquarters of the United Nations in New York. Ex-Army officer Mr Ellwood has called for a UN intervention

In a powerfully emotive article for The Mail on Sunday, Mr Wallace warns that time is 'ticking along, impossible to stop' towards the imminent end of the UK's mission to rescue thousands of Afghans entitled to come to the UK. Pictured: Afghans attempt to get into Kabul airport yesterday

Mr Wallace (pictured right) makes a veiled plea for Washington (pictured left: US President Joe Biden) to delay the US leaving date beyond August 31, writing: 'Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer and they will have our complete support if they do'

A baby is handed over to the American army over the perimeter wall of the airport for it to be evacuated, in Kabul

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier indicates direction to Afghan nationals at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan

The 19th century struggle for power in Afghanistan between the UK and Tsarist Russia was called the Great Game. As the US and the UK pull its troops and the Taliban retake control by force, who will Afghanistan's new leaders cosy-up with? Turkey, the only Muslim-majority member of Nato, could benefit, partly because it can control the flow of Afghan refugees into Europe. The mullahs in Iran are delighted by the departure of the US and will recognise the new Kabul regime. Russia will also be pleased to see the US leave, but has its own concerns about Islamic extremism. China and Pakistan have also made early noises of support, while Qatar hosted Taliban leaders in its capital Doha since 2013. However India is dismayed by the Taliban's victory. Here Michael Burleigh looks at where each countries vested interests lie, and which countries will be happy and who will be angry at the Taliban takeover

Britain loses patience with Sleepy Joe: Tony Blair brands Biden an 'imbecile' over 'tragic, dangerous and unnecessary' decision to quit Afghanistan amid claims Boris remarked 'we would be better off with Trump' Tony Blair has blasted US President Joe Biden's 'imbecilic' decision to withdraw American troops from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan Tony Blair has blasted US President Joe Biden's 'imbecilic' decision to withdraw American troops from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, calling the scuttle 'tragic, dangerous and unnecessary' and claiming the move had 'every Jihadist group round the world cheering'. Mr Blair, who was in Downing Street when London sent British troops into the Middle Eastern country 20 years ago following the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington - said Britain has a 'moral obligation' to stay until 'all those who need to be are evacuated'. In a 2,700 article on the threat of 'radical Islam', the former British prime minister said the exit was not in the West or Afghanistan's interest as he lamented the likely reversal of gains made during the occupation, with the Taliban reasserting itself across most of the country in recent days. Mr Blair issued a stark warning to Boris Johnson that the manner of the US' handling of the exit indicated the UK could be relegated from the top division of international powers, with reports Britain was largely kept in the dark about when American armed forces would leave. Relations between Britain and US are strained, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warning 'no nation will be able to get everyone out' of Afghanistan as Mr Biden's August 31 date makes the mission even more time-pressured, in what is likely to be seen as a plea to Washington. Cabinet insiders have suggested the President was 'gaga' and 'doolally' for withdrawing so quickly, while the Prime Minister has allegedly privately referred to Mr Biden as 'Sleepy Joe', the nickname coined by Donald Trump. Mr Johnson also allegedly remarked Britain 'would be better off with Trump' - allegations branded 'categorically untrue' by Downing Street. Advertisement

According to the Sunday Times, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab - who is facing calls to resign over his decision to remain on holiday while Afghanistan collapsed - is seeking to speak to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss extending the end-of-the-month deadline.

The 900 British troops cannot remain without the logistical support of the 6,000 US soldiers in Kabul and will have to finish the evacuation before that point to allow enough time to secure their own safe exit.

Mr Wallace confirmed there were 'too many people in the airport' on Saturday, forcing the US side of the operation to suspend access. A MoD spokeswoman stressed that neither UK flights nor processing were affected by the pause, however.

US citizens were yesterday warned not to go to the airport amid fears that they might be hijacked en route by militants. The State Department said the US side of the airport would close for 48 hours. The British section remained open.

According to the MoD, 3,821 British and Afghan nationals have been evacuated from Kabul, where 1,000 British troops are based. About 3,500 people are still waiting to be airlifted.

Last night, an MoD source said the announcement about the refugee centres was intended to display 'honesty' about the thousands of British allies likely to be left behind.

While acknowledging that 'no nation will be able to get everyone out', Mr Wallace also announces that a series of 'processing hubs' will be set up in countries neighbouring Afghanistan for refugees who manage to escape. If they can establish their right to come to the UK, they will be flown to Britain.

The MoD is looking at establishing hubs in countries such as Pakistan and Turkey - but, startlingly, is also exploring whether the Taliban might allow the UK to retain a 'presence' in Kabul after the Americans have gone.

There were further worrying reports about the treatment of Britons and Afghans who supported the 20-year intervention who are trying to escape.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy shared a letter on social media that she had sent Mr Raab about the 'crisis' facing evacuees, as she sought additional assistance for those on the ground.

The senior Opposition figure said Labour MPs had been hearing of people being 'shot at, beaten and raped' while they wait to be called forward at the airport, while the Baron Hotel in the city, where many British nationals are being told to travel to for processing, is being blockaded by the Taliban.

Ms Nandy asked whether NATO allies could put in place a 'military policing operation' at the gates of Kabul airport or within the internal processing zone to protect those waiting.

Sir Laurie Bristow, the British ambassador to Afghanistan who has stayed in the capital to help process applications, said the rescue effort was 'without a doubt the biggest international challenge I have worked on as a diplomat'.

In his article today, Mr Wallace says that the collapse of Afghanistan has been 'an exhausting, worrying and demanding time', and warns that 'the distressing exit of the West will have consequences for us all for years to come'.

He says: 'The Parachute Regiment at the airport are dealing with unimaginable challenges. Public order, overcrowding, searing heat and desperate people. Soldiers trained for war are instead holding babies and co-ordinating crowds.'

The Minister adds: 'Too many people in the airport has meant a suspension of access. I am confident that too will be fixed or mitigated but until it is, the crowds will get bigger.

'And ticking along, impossible to stop, is time. I have said all along that no nation will be able to get everyone out.

'It is a source of deep sadness for many of us across Nato and no one wanted 20 years of sacrifice to end this way. We will do our best to the very last moment. But it isn't the end.

'The Home Secretary and I have been planning the next stage we will establish a series of processing hubs across the region outside of Afghanistan for those Afghans we have an obligation to bring to this country.'

Meanwhile, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Home Secretary Priti Patel is scrambling to proscribe the Taliban as a terrorist group amid fears that hundreds of British jihadis will head to Afghanistan to join and live under the Islamist regime.

The Home Office is now looking urgently to ban the group which has avoided proscription so far, even though the Taliban has harboured terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and killed 456 British troops in Afghanistan over the past two decades.

If an organisation is on the Government's list of proscribed groups, it becomes a criminal offence for anyone in Britain to join or even support it, punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

A U.S. Airman with the Joint Task Force-Crisis Response speaks with families who await processing during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport

Shocking footage shows injured Afghans bleeding as they desperately try and make their way into the airport

British soldiers desperately shouted for medics and stretchers, as unconscious people were carried away, many being pronounced dead and covered in white sheets

Ex-Royal Marine who refused to flee Kabul without the Afghan staff from his animal welfare charity says he is now 'in talks' with the Foreign Office Paul 'Pen Farthing', 52, says he is 'in talks' with the Foreign Office about getting 68 local workers from his Kabul-based Nowzad charity and their families processed by UK officials A former Royal Marine running an animal welfare charity in Afghanistan says he has begun talks with the UK Government in the hope of getting his staff to safety. Paul 'Pen' Farthing, 52, says he is now 'in talks' with the Foreign Office about getting 68 local workers from his Kabul-based Nowzad charity and their families processed by UK officials. The ex-Royal Marine Commando says he is 'hopeful' they will be relocated to the UK. Pen, whose charity has been backed by celebrities including Ricky Gervais and Judi Dench, said it was an 'absolute result'. 'We're just waiting for that process to finish. Hopefully, I've been told, it shouldn't take too long,' he told the BBC. Yesterday the Foreign Office confirmed to the BBC that it had been in contact with Mr Farthing. A spokeswoman told the broadcaster it was 'working closely with the Home Office to offer assistance'. Serviceman-turned-charity boss, Pen, served in Helmand at the height of the Afghanistan conflict and saw two of his comrades killed fighting the Taliban. He remained in Kabul as the extremist group stormed the Afghan capital and took control. Pen was separated from his wife Kaisa during the takeover, though, as reported by the Daily Mail yesterday, she has since been flown to safety. Speaking last week as panic-stricken Westerners fled, the veteran spoke of his anger towards Britain and America for abandoning the Afghan people to the 'medieval' regime. And, after turning down the offer of a repatriation flight, he vowed to stay in Kabul until he can secure his British visas for his Afghan staff. Advertisement

If the situation remains as it is, Ministers fear that British jihadis could join and train under the regime then escape prosecution on their return to Britain.

Sources have told the MoS that Ms Patel is 'livid' that the Taliban in Afghanistan has not been banned already. A source said last night: 'The fault doesn't lie with Priti. It goes far back, as no previous Home Secretary has bothered to ban it.'

A Government source told the MoS that MI5 and counter-terrorism units are preparing for the possibility of British jihadis travelling to Afghanistan.

'Some will go and train under the Taliban and may come back to launch attacks,' said the source.

'Others may take their families with them and live under the Taliban's Islamic government.'

Britain has promised to evacuate about 6,000 UK citizens and Afghan staff from the country, but that is looking increasingly unlikely.

Yesterday, amid chaotic scenes, Britons were told to either go to Kabul airport or the nearby Baron Hotel, where their papers could be processed. But some found their path blocked by makeshift Taliban checkpoints.

Last night, a Briton and his wife told how they came under fire from Taliban militants at a checkpoint as they headed to the hotel. Their driver was injured in the shooting.

As the British man tried to explain to the militants that he was a foreign national he was beaten and threatened.

He told ITV News: 'My wife came out of the car, she was trying to save me and then they start beating my wife as well. They are warning me that if they see me next to that checkpoint they will kill us.'

It comes as yesterday the US Embassy told citizens not to travel to the Kabul airport without 'individual instructions from a US government representative,' citing potential security threats outside its gates.

And yet crowds remained outside its concrete barriers, clutching documents and sometimes stunned-looking children, blocked from flight by coils of razor wire.

Footage has since emerged of pandemonium and violence outside the airport, with US officials reporting that Americans have been beaten by the Taliban as they've tried to reach safety. The White House earlier confirmed that three military helicopters were used to rescue 169 Americans who were trapped at a hotel near the airport.

Meanwhile, Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar arrived in the Afghan capital yesterday for talks with militant commanders, former government leaders and religious scholars.

Nato yesterday begged Mr Biden not to leave Kabul and urged the US troops to stay at the airport to get as many people out as possible.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said: 'The US has stated that the timeline ends on August 31, but several of our allies raised... the need to potentially extend that to be able to get more people out.'

Meanwhile, pressure continues to grow on Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab after new claims emerged accusing him of failing to engage with foreign counterparts on the Afghanistan situation until the Taliban had reached Kabul.

Witnesses told the Times that the Cabinet minister was swimming and using a paddleboard on the last day of his break, which was spent at a beach at a five-star hotel on the Greek island of Crete, as the crisis began to unfold.

Mr Raab was already in the firing line after it emerged he delegated a call about repatriating Afghan interpreters, while away on August 13, to a junior minister, a decision that resulted in the phone conversation with the Afghan foreign minister not taking place and possibly delaying taking them to safety.

And last night he was plunged into a fresh row over his holiday after sources told the Mail on Sunday that he had refused an order by No10 to return from the Mediterranean to deal with the Afghanistan crisis.

The sources said Mr Raab had been told by a senior Downing Street official on Friday 13th August that he should return to London immediately as the situation in Kabul deteriorated, and that there had been 'much gnashing of teeth' when he delayed his homecoming until the early hours of Monday morning.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said: 'The US has stated that the timeline ends on August 31, but several of our allies raised... the need to potentially extend that to be able to get more people out.' Pictured: British troops in Kabul yesterday

Evacuations have been underway in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country on August 13 after American troops were pulled from the country

The claim is strongly denied by friends of Mr Raab, who insist that he was assured by Boris Johnson that he could stay with his family until the end of the weekend.

A source said: 'There is no doubt that Raab was told to come back on that Friday. There was then a significant amount of surprise when he appeared on the Cobra on the Sunday down the line from Crete. He must have nobbled Boris and asked for permission to finish his holiday'.

Last night, Mr Raab told the Mail on Sunday that he had enjoyed a 'wave of support', and denied that there was pressure from within his party to resign.

Mr Raab said: 'I've not heard any of my Conservative colleagues call for me to resign, but I have had a wave of support. There is no doubt that, like all countries, there is a measure of surprise at the rapidity of the Taliban takeover.

'But as the Foreign Secretary travelling around the world, whether I am on leave or I'm travelling for work purposes, I am always set up to be able to grip things'.

A close ally of Mr Raab insisted that No.10 had not 'ordered' him to return on the Friday.

The ally said: 'The suggestion was that he should make plans to come back. They said that if things get worse then he needed to be ready to come back at a moment's notice. He then talked it through with the PM and it was agreed that he would came back on Sunday'.
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The British Ambassador to Kabul had to be ordered by the Foreign Office to stay in Afghanistan to help thousands of trapped British nationals while Dominic Raab defied calls to cut his holiday in the Mediterranean short two days before he returned, according to reports.

Sir Laurie Bristow, London's man in Afghanistan, has been widely praised as 'heroic' for helping thousands of UK citizens evacuate the Middle Eastern country after it was taken over by the Taliban following the terror group's astonishing seizure of Kabul last Sunday.

A report by the Sunday Times now alleges that all Embassy staff - including the Ambassador - were due to leave Afghanistan on Saturday night, but that a senior Foreign Office mandarin phoned Sir Laurie and ordered him to remain in Kabul to help British nationals.

A Whitehall source told the paper: 'It was pretty late. There was a flight preparing to take off.'

The report suggests that Sir Laurie was forced to stay in Afghanistan while Mr Raab was on holiday in Crete. The Foreign Secretary is accused of refusing an order by Downing Street on Friday, August 13 to return to London immediately as the situation in Kabul deteriorated and had instead delayed his homecoming until the early hours of Monday morning.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'Our Ambassador remains in Kabul and UK Government staff continue to work to provide assistance to British nationals and to our Afghan staff. The Ambassador personally expressed his desire to stay to do all he can to support the ongoing evacuations.'

In a video message on Twitter, Sir Laurie said the 'huge effort' to move out of Afghanistan is 'gathering pace' but there is still a lot of work to do: 'I am in the evacuation handling centre in Kabul where our soldiers, our diplomats and all the forces have been working around the clock to get our British nationals, Afghan colleagues and Embassy staff to safety.

'It's a huge effort. So far we have managed to get over 5,000 people on to planes and in the last 14 hours alone we've managed to get a thousand people on their way. But there is still a huge amount of work to do.

'I'd just like to say thank you to all of our colleagues here in Kabul, in London and elsewhere around the region who are working around the clock to get as many people to safety as we can.'

Mr Raab has faced a torrent of criticism for staying on holiday as Kabul fell into the extremists' hands, and for omitting to call the Afghan foreign minister to seek help for translators stranded in the country. The claim is strongly denied by his friends, who insist that he was assured by Boris Johnson that he could stay with his family until the end of the weekend.

The saga has led to sniping at the Cabinet Minister from within his own party and calls from Labour for him to resign, though Mr Johnson has said that he 'absolutely' has full confidence in his Foreign Secretary. It has, however, undoubtedly strained relations between No10 and the FCO.

A source told the Mail on Sunday: 'There is no doubt that Raab was told to come back on that Friday. There was then a significant amount of surprise when he appeared on the Cobra on the Sunday down the line from Crete. He must have nobbled Boris and asked for permission to finish his holiday'.

Last night, Mr Raab told the Mail on Sunday that he had enjoyed a 'wave of support', and denied that there was pressure from within his party to resign.

The Foreign Secretary said: 'I've not heard any of my Conservative colleagues call for me to resign, but I have had a wave of support. There is no doubt that, like all countries, there is a measure of surprise at the rapidity of the Taliban takeover. But as the Foreign Secretary travelling around the world, whether I am on leave or I'm travelling for work purposes, I am always set up to be able to grip things'.

In other dramatic developments:

Tony Blair branded the 'abandonment of Afghanistan and its people' as 'tragic and dangerous';

Sources claimed that the Prime Minister felt 'betrayed' by Joe Biden over the Afghan withdrawal  although No 10 denied there are any tensions between the two;

One source even claimed the President, 78, was 'a bit doolally';

Taliban leaders Mullah Baradar and Siraj Haqqani arrived in Kabul to form a new government;

UK hate preacher Anjem Choudary urged the Taliban to restore full Islamic justice, including stoning adulterers;

The Home Office was scrambling to make the Taliban a proscribed group in an attempt to dissuade British jihadis from heading to Afghanistan;

Britons in Kabul said the city was running out of food and money;

Britain's heroic ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Laurie Bristow, called the crisis the 'greatest challenge' of his 30-year career;

Thousands rallied in London in protest at the Government's handling of the crisis;

The Minister with responsibility for Afghanistan, Lord Ahmad, was reported to be on holiday when the Taliban seized Kabul.

The British Ambassador to Kabul was ordered to stay in Afghanistan to process thousands of applications from British nationals while under-fire Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was still on holiday in the Mediterranean, according to reports

British Ambassador to Afghanistan Sir Laurie Bristow (left) with Government staff in Kabul

A general view shows the British Embassy in Kabul

Members of the British and US (left) military engaged in the evacuation of people out of Kabul

Hundreds of Afghans desperately trying to flee the Taliban are pictured outside Kabul airport

In a powerfully emotive article for The Mail on Sunday, Mr Wallace warns that time is 'ticking along, impossible to stop' towards the imminent end of the UK's mission to rescue thousands of Afghans entitled to come to the UK. Pictured: Afghans attempt to get into Kabul airport yesterday

A baby is handed over to the American army over the perimeter wall of the airport for it to be evacuated, in Kabul

An evacuee holds up a peace sign after being manifested for a flight at Hamid Karzai International Airport

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier indicates direction to Afghan nationals at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan

The 19th century struggle for power in Afghanistan between the UK and Tsarist Russia was called the Great Game. As the US and the UK pull its troops and the Taliban retake control by force, who will Afghanistan's new leaders cosy-up with? Turkey, the only Muslim-majority member of Nato, could benefit, partly because it can control the flow of Afghan refugees into Europe. The mullahs in Iran are delighted by the departure of the US and will recognise the new Kabul regime. Russia will also be pleased to see the US leave, but has its own concerns about Islamic extremism. China and Pakistan have also made early noises of support, while Qatar hosted Taliban leaders in its capital Doha since 2013. However India is dismayed by the Taliban's victory. Here Michael Burleigh looks at where each countries vested interests lie, and which countries will be happy and who will be angry at the Taliban takeover

Britain loses patience with Sleepy Joe: Tony Blair brands Biden an 'imbecile' over 'tragic, dangerous and unnecessary' decision to quit Afghanistan amid claims Boris remarked 'we would be better off with Trump' Tony Blair has blasted US President Joe Biden's 'imbecilic' decision to withdraw American troops from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan Tony Blair has blasted US President Joe Biden's 'imbecilic' decision to withdraw American troops from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, calling the scuttle 'tragic, dangerous and unnecessary' and claiming the move had 'every Jihadist group round the world cheering'. Mr Blair, who was in Downing Street when London sent British troops into the Middle Eastern country 20 years ago following the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington - said Britain has a 'moral obligation' to stay until 'all those who need to be are evacuated'. In a 2,700 article on the threat of 'radical Islam', the former British prime minister said the exit was not in the West or Afghanistan's interest as he lamented the likely reversal of gains made during the occupation, with the Taliban reasserting itself across most of the country in recent days. Mr Blair issued a stark warning to Boris Johnson that the manner of the US' handling of the exit indicated the UK could be relegated from the top division of international powers, with reports Britain was largely kept in the dark about when American armed forces would leave. Relations between Britain and US are strained, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warning 'no nation will be able to get everyone out' of Afghanistan as Mr Biden's August 31 date makes the mission even more time-pressured, in what is likely to be seen as a plea to Washington. Cabinet insiders have suggested the President was 'gaga' and 'doolally' for withdrawing so quickly, while the Prime Minister has allegedly privately referred to Mr Biden as 'Sleepy Joe', the nickname coined by Donald Trump. Mr Johnson also allegedly remarked Britain 'would be better off with Trump' - allegations branded 'categorically untrue' by Downing Street. Advertisement

A close ally of Mr Raab insisted that No10 had not 'ordered' him to return on the Friday. The ally said: 'The suggestion was that he should make plans to come back. They said that if things get worse then he needed to be ready to come back at a moment's notice. He then talked it through with the PM and it was agreed that he would came back on Sunday'.

The ally strongly denied reports that Mr Raab had spent most of last Sunday on the beach: 'That is just not true. He based his family on the beach in a gazebo precisely so that he could go back and work at the hotel, while checking in on them every now and again'.

Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul has been the focal point for thousands trying to flee the Taliban, who seized power after sweeping into the capital a week ago following their astonishing lightning advance across the Middle Eastern country.

The MoD confirmed that the Operation Pitting evacuation mission is being supported by 1,000 British troops - including Paras from 16 Air Assault Brigade - with nearly 4,000 people repatriated from Afghanistan since August 13.

It comes as the Defence Secretary, in what is likely to be read as a plea to Washington, said 'no nation will be able to get everyone out' of the Taliban-controlled country, with the US president's August 31 target date making the rescue mission even more time pressured.

Writing for the Mail on Sunday, Ben Wallace said: 'If the US timetable remains, we have no time to lose to get the majority of the people waiting out. Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer, and they will have our complete support if they do.'

Relations between Britain and the US are strained, with Tony Blair - who was in Downing Street when London sent troops into Afghanistan 20 years ago in the wake of 9/11 - accusing Mr Biden of deciding to pull out with 'little or no consultation', branding the move 'imbecilic'.

The 900 British troops cannot remain without the logistical support of the 6,000 US soldiers in Kabul and will have to finish the evacuation before that point to allow enough time to secure their own safe exit.

Mr Wallace confirmed there were 'too many people in the airport' on Saturday, forcing the US side of the operation to suspend access. A MoD spokeswoman stressed that neither UK flights nor processing were affected by the pause, however.

US citizens were yesterday warned not to go to the airport amid fears that they might be hijacked en route by militants. The State Department said the US side of the airport would close for 48 hours. The British section remained open.

According to the MoD, 3,821 British and Afghan nationals have been evacuated from Kabul, where 1,000 British troops are based. About 3,500 people are still waiting to be airlifted.

Last night, an MoD source said the announcement about the refugee centres was intended to display 'honesty' about the thousands of British allies likely to be left behind.

While acknowledging that 'no nation will be able to get everyone out', Mr Wallace also announces that a series of 'processing hubs' will be set up in countries neighbouring Afghanistan for refugees who manage to escape. If they can establish their right to come to the UK, they will be flown to Britain.

The MoD is looking at establishing hubs in countries such as Pakistan and Turkey - but, startlingly, is also exploring whether the Taliban might allow the UK to retain a 'presence' in Kabul after the Americans have gone.

There were further worrying reports about the treatment of Britons and Afghans who supported the 20-year intervention who are trying to escape.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy shared a letter on social media that she had sent Mr Raab about the 'crisis' facing evacuees, as she sought additional assistance for those on the ground.

The senior Opposition figure said Labour MPs had been hearing of people being 'shot at, beaten and raped' while they wait to be called forward at the airport, while the Baron Hotel in the city, where many British nationals are being told to travel to for processing, is being blockaded by the Taliban.

Ms Nandy asked whether NATO allies could put in place a 'military policing operation' at the gates of Kabul airport or within the internal processing zone to protect those waiting.

Ex-Royal Marine who refused to flee Kabul without the Afghan staff from his animal welfare charity says he is now 'in talks' with the Foreign Office Paul 'Pen Farthing', 52, says he is 'in talks' with the Foreign Office about getting 68 local workers from his Kabul-based Nowzad charity and their families processed by UK officials A former Royal Marine running an animal welfare charity in Afghanistan says he has begun talks with the UK Government in the hope of getting his staff to safety. Paul 'Pen' Farthing, 52, says he is now 'in talks' with the Foreign Office about getting 68 local workers from his Kabul-based Nowzad charity and their families processed by UK officials. The ex-Royal Marine Commando says he is 'hopeful' they will be relocated to the UK. Pen, whose charity has been backed by celebrities including Ricky Gervais and Judi Dench, said it was an 'absolute result'. 'We're just waiting for that process to finish. Hopefully, I've been told, it shouldn't take too long,' he told the BBC. Yesterday the Foreign Office confirmed to the BBC that it had been in contact with Mr Farthing. A spokeswoman told the broadcaster it was 'working closely with the Home Office to offer assistance'. Serviceman-turned-charity boss, Pen, served in Helmand at the height of the Afghanistan conflict and saw two of his comrades killed fighting the Taliban. He remained in Kabul as the extremist group stormed the Afghan capital and took control. Pen was separated from his wife Kaisa during the takeover, though, as reported by the Daily Mail yesterday, she has since been flown to safety. Speaking last week as panic-stricken Westerners fled, the veteran spoke of his anger towards Britain and America for abandoning the Afghan people to the 'medieval' regime. And, after turning down the offer of a repatriation flight, he vowed to stay in Kabul until he can secure his British visas for his Afghan staff. Advertisement

Sir Laurie Bristow, the British ambassador to Afghanistan who has stayed in the capital to help process applications, said the rescue effort was 'without a doubt the biggest international challenge I have worked on as a diplomat'.

In his article today, Mr Wallace says that the collapse of Afghanistan has been 'an exhausting, worrying and demanding time', and warns that 'the distressing exit of the West will have consequences for us all for years to come'.

He says: 'The Parachute Regiment at the airport are dealing with unimaginable challenges. Public order, overcrowding, searing heat and desperate people. Soldiers trained for war are instead holding babies and co-ordinating crowds.'

The Minister adds: 'Too many people in the airport has meant a suspension of access. I am confident that too will be fixed or mitigated but until it is, the crowds will get bigger.

'And ticking along, impossible to stop, is time. I have said all along that no nation will be able to get everyone out.

'It is a source of deep sadness for many of us across Nato and no one wanted 20 years of sacrifice to end this way. We will do our best to the very last moment. But it isn't the end.

'The Home Secretary and I have been planning the next stage we will establish a series of processing hubs across the region outside of Afghanistan for those Afghans we have an obligation to bring to this country.'

Meanwhile, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Home Secretary Priti Patel is scrambling to proscribe the Taliban as a terrorist group amid fears that hundreds of British jihadis will head to Afghanistan to join and live under the Islamist regime.

The Home Office is now looking urgently to ban the group which has avoided proscription so far, even though the Taliban has harboured terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and killed 456 British troops in Afghanistan over the past two decades.

If an organisation is on the Government's list of proscribed groups, it becomes a criminal offence for anyone in Britain to join or even support it, punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

If the situation remains as it is, Ministers fear that British jihadis could join and train under the regime then escape prosecution on their return to Britain.

Sources have told the MoS that Ms Patel is 'livid' that the Taliban in Afghanistan has not been banned already. A source said last night: 'The fault doesn't lie with Priti. It goes far back, as no previous Home Secretary has bothered to ban it.'

A Government source told the MoS that MI5 and counter-terrorism units are preparing for the possibility of British jihadis travelling to Afghanistan.

'Some will go and train under the Taliban and may come back to launch attacks,' said the source.

'Others may take their families with them and live under the Taliban's Islamic government.'

Britain has promised to evacuate about 6,000 UK citizens and Afghan staff from the country, but that is looking increasingly unlikely.

Yesterday, amid chaotic scenes, Britons were told to either go to Kabul airport or the nearby Baron Hotel, where their papers could be processed. But some found their path blocked by makeshift Taliban checkpoints.

Last night, a Briton and his wife told how they came under fire from Taliban militants at a checkpoint as they headed to the hotel. Their driver was injured in the shooting.

As the British man tried to explain to the militants that he was a foreign national he was beaten and threatened.

He told ITV News: 'My wife came out of the car, she was trying to save me and then they start beating my wife as well. They are warning me that if they see me next to that checkpoint they will kill us.'

While acknowledging that 'no nation will be able to get everyone out', Mr Wallace also announces that a series of 'processing hubs' will be set up in countries neighbouring Afghanistan for refugees who manage to escape. If they can establish their right to come to the UK, they will be flown to Britain. Pictured: British and US troops help Afghans in Kabul

The MoD is looking at establishing hubs in countries such as Pakistan and Turkey  but, startlingly, is also exploring whether the Taliban might allow the UK to retain a 'presence' in Kabul after the Americans have gone. Pictured: A British evacuation flight with 265 people on board

A U.S. Airman with the Joint Task Force-Crisis Response speaks with families who await processing during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, front, and Taliban fighters, stand guard on their respective sides while a truck moves to cross at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan

Shocking footage shows injured Afghans bleeding as they desperately try and make their way into the airport

British soldiers desperately shouted for medics and stretchers, as unconscious people were carried away, many being pronounced dead and covered in white sheets

Taliban fighters stand guard on their side at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in Torkham, in Khyber district, Pakistan

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, right, and Taliban fighter stand guard on their respective sides at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan

It comes as yesterday the US Embassy told citizens not to travel to the Kabul airport without 'individual instructions from a US government representative,' citing potential security threats outside its gates.

And yet crowds remained outside its concrete barriers, clutching documents and sometimes stunned-looking children, blocked from flight by coils of razor wire.

Footage has since emerged of pandemonium and violence outside the airport, with US officials reporting that Americans have been beaten by the Taliban as they've tried to reach safety. The White House earlier confirmed that three military helicopters were used to rescue 169 Americans who were trapped at a hotel near the airport.

Meanwhile, Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar arrived in the Afghan capital yesterday for talks with militant commanders, former government leaders and religious scholars.

Nato yesterday begged Mr Biden not to leave Kabul and urged the US troops to stay at the airport to get as many people out as possible.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said: 'The US has stated that the timeline ends on August 31, but several of our allies raised... the need to potentially extend that to be able to get more people out.'

Meanwhile, pressure continues to grow on Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab after new claims emerged accusing him of failing to engage with foreign counterparts on the Afghanistan situation until the Taliban had reached Kabul.

Witnesses told the Times that the Cabinet minister was swimming and using a paddleboard on the last day of his break, which was spent at a beach at a five-star hotel on the Greek island of Crete, as the crisis began to unfold.

Mr Raab was already in the firing line after it emerged he delegated a call about repatriating Afghan interpreters, while away on August 13, to a junior minister, a decision that resulted in the phone conversation with the Afghan foreign minister not taking place and possibly delaying taking them to safety.

Nato yesterday begged Mr Biden not to leave Kabul and urged the US troops to stay at the airport to get as many people out as possible. Pictured: Medical support personnel help an Afghan mother with her family off a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport aircraft moments after she delivered a child aboard the aircraft upon landing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said: 'The US has stated that the timeline ends on August 31, but several of our allies raised... the need to potentially extend that to be able to get more people out.' Pictured: British troops in Kabul yesterday
Khola Hasan, from the UK's Islamic Sharia Council, told BBC Radio 4 that the Taliban's recent posturing on women's rights was a 'good start'

A UK Islamic Sharia Council scholar has claimed that the Taliban have 'grown up' and British Muslims are 'celebrating' the return of the jihadi group to power.

Since taking over Afghanistan, the jihadi group has claimed it will not carry out violence against women, and will not 'seek vengeance' on those who stood against them during the brutal 20-year war in the region.

Sharia Council scholar Khola Hasan today told BBC Radio 4 that the Islamist group's recent posturing on women's rights was a 'good start', and 'every single person that I know, as a Muslim' was 'celebrating' their return.

She added: 'They have been ruled by foreigners for 40 years, let the people of Afghanistan rule their own country and determine their own fate for a change.'

Fears over reprisal attacks and a return to the brutal rule of the jihadis have brought about deep unrest, with Western nations struggle to cope with the thousands of foreign nationals and locals trying to leave the country in the week since the Taliban retook power.

When asked about reports of women and children being beaten and whipped as they pass through checkpoints in Afghanistan, Ms Hasan said Afghanistan is a 'tribal society with tribal loyalties', with 'a lot of violence within the communities' amid decades of 'occupation'.

Ms Hasan said: 'We have to be very careful not to take small, minor incidents and make them into something huge.'

She added that 'western media loves misrepresenting Muslims', telling Sunday morning listeners: 'The kind of language that came out from Western media when the Taliban took over - civil war, monsters, they're going to slaughter people, it's going to be awful, poor women, oh blah blah blah we're going to cry our eyes out, poor women are going back into Medieval times, and all the rest of it.

'It's been misrepresented for so long that I've got used to it, I don't even blink an eyelid anymore.'

Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, August 22

Taliban fighters pose for photograph in Wazir Akbar Khan in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, August 18

Ms Hasan was told the world had 'seen this movie before', referring to promises to be compassionate and merciful following the sack of Kabul 25 years ago.

She replied: 'No we haven't because the Taliban have grown up, they were not exposed to the modern world, so what they were saying 20 years ago this was a myopic, insulated, small organisation, living in the mountains, very illiterate, very uneducated, not just about the world but about Islam itself...

'They're learning. That's not an easy thing to do, to come from hundreds of years of one way practising your faith, and then suddenly exposed to different ways to think oh maybe we got it wrong. The problem is we don't give them a chance.'

Her comments come after the United States and Germany told their citizens in Afghanistan to avoid travelling to Kabul airport, citing security risks as thousands of desperate people gathered trying to flee.

At least 12 people have been killed in and around the single-runway airfield since last Sunday, NATO and Taliban officials said. Some were shot and others died in stampedes, witnesses have said.

Britain's Ministry of Defence said seven Afghans have been killed in the chaos around the airport. 'Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible,' the ministry said in a statement.

The Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan has sparked fear of reprisals and a return to a harsh version of Islamic law the Sunni Muslim group exercised when it was in power two decades ago.

Crowds have grown at the airport in the heat and dust of the day over the past week, hindering operations as the United States and other nations attempt to evacuate thousands of their diplomats and civilians as well as numerous Afghans. Mothers, fathers and children have pushed up against concrete blast walls in the crush as they seek to get a flight out.

The Taliban follow an ultra-hardline version of Islam. They have sought to present a more moderate face since returning to power, saying they want peace and will respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law.

When in power from 1996 to 2001, also guided by Islamic law, the Taliban stopped women from working or going out without wearing an all-enveloping burqa and stopped girls from going to school.
A British man set to become a dad for the first time has been killed in a hit-and-run in Colombia.

Justin Danton, a 37-year-old actor from Margate, was crossing the road in Medellin when he was struck by the car travelling at high speed on Monday.

The driver sped off, leaving Justin lying in the street.

Passers-by rushed to his aid and he was taken to a nearby hospital with head injuries but doctors couldn't save him.

He and his grieving partner Mary Cruz Avendano had already chosen the name Ethan for their son, who is due to be born in November.

Colombian police are treating Justin's death as a murder and are due to bring the suspect in for questioning.

Justin Danton, pictured with his partner Mary Cruz Avendanoa, was struck by the car travelling at high speed on Monday and suffered fatal head injuries

The couple had already chosen the name Ethan for their son, who is due to be born in November

Justin's mother, Gemma, and father Lee, have set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money for Justin's unborn son

Justin had only moved to Colombia in May and was due to stay for 11 months for work having previously starred in a movie called The Legend of the Mad Axe Man.

Justin had previously appeared in short films called Beacon, Ready or Not and Resentment.

The police have found the car thought to be involved in Justin's death and are set to question the suspect.

His mother Gemma, 56, and father Lee, 53, have set up a Go Fund Me to raise money for their unborn grandchild.

They have so far raised 4,400 of the target of nearly 6,000.

Mary Cruz thanked Gemma and said: 'I have no words to thank you for what you are doing for us.'

Gemma said: 'We are all with you my darling heart.

'You are not alone. Help is on the way.'

In the fundraising post, they said: 'Hello our names are Lee and Gemma.

'We are the parents of Justin James Danton who tragically lost his life on August 9 in Medellin, Colombia.

'He was killed by a hit and run driver currently under investigation by Medellin police as a homicide case.

'He leaves behind his partner Mary Cruz Avendano who is expecting their first child a little boy named Ethan who will be born in November.

'This is suddenly an extremely financially vulnerable time for her and we would like to find a way to help her.

'So in memory of our son Justin and his great love for his girl Mary Cruz and their son Ethan we would like to offer everyone and anyone who knew him the humble opportunity to open up our hearts and give to his child who he will not see.

'But we will flood with our compassion. Large or small our love can conquer all.

'Thank you very much and God bless you.

'Rest in peace Justin our dear boy.'

The Go Fund Me page has so far raised 4,400 of the nearly 6,000 target

Justin had appeared in a number of films and was set to remain in Colombia for around 11 months for work

He and his grieving partner Mary Cruz Avendano had already chosen the name Ethan for their son, who is due to be born in November (pictured: Mary Cruz)

Gemma then added: 'We would like you to know that the investigators have finally found the car and the person that committed this awful crime.

'Soon our son can be at peace and we can begin the healing journey.

'The beautiful gift you have all given together is rapidly nearing its target and this week we can send the funds to Justin's son Ethan and Ethan's mama Mary Cruz who we love very much.

'They are both doing well and the baby is very strong with 'super powers' according to his physicians.

'The funds will go towards housing furniture day to day living costs all of the baby's needs as the mother is ordered to rest and take time to look after her child that grows inside her.

'Ethan is strong. This news makes my heart sing and I know it will make yours sing too. God bless you all from my family to yours you have made all the difference in the world.'

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: 'We are supporting the family of a British man who died in Colombia, and are in touch with the local authorities.'

Medellin is the capital of Colombias Antioquia province and is well-known as the home city of notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar.

Though the murder rate has declined in recent years, Medellin still bears witness to hundreds of murders per year.
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Tony Blair has blasted Joe Biden's 'imbecilic' decision to withdraw US troops from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, calling the President's scuttle 'tragic, dangerous and unnecessary' and claiming the move had 'every Jihadist group round the world cheering'.

Mr Blair, who was in Downing Street when London sent UK troops to the Middle Eastern country 20 years ago following the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington DC, said Britain has a 'moral obligation' to stay until 'all those who need to be are evacuated'.

In a 2,700 article on the threat of 'radical Islam', the former British prime minister said the exit was not in the West or Afghanistan's interest as he lamented the likely reversal of gains made during the occupation, with the Taliban reasserting itself across most of the country in recent days.

Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Mr Blair said he has 'enormous respect' for Mr Biden, but suggested the President - who campaigned on a slogan of ending 'forever wars' and is likely to be keeping an eye on next year's midterms - had withdrawn US troops for domestic political reasons.

He repeated his assertion that the withdrawal was a 'serious mistake' and 'not something we needed to do' and said there had been 'a lot of gains' made in the past two decades, stressing that the deaths of British Armed Forces personnel were 'not in vain'.

Mr Blair also issued a stark warning to Boris Johnson that the manner of the US' handling of the exit indicated the UK could be relegated from the top division of international powers, with reports Britain was largely kept in the dark about when American armed forces would leave.

He added that countries including China and Russia are likely to applaud the withdrawal and occupy the 'vacuum' in Afghanistan left by the NATO powers. Both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab have suggested Britain will now have to turn to Beijing and Moscow to assist with exercising a 'moderating influence' over the Taliban post-withdrawal.

Relations between Britain and US are strained, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warning 'no nation will be able to get everyone out' of Afghanistan as Mr Biden's August 31 date makes the mission even more time-pressured, in what is likely to be seen as a plea to Washington.

Cabinet insiders have suggested the President was 'gaga' and 'doolally' for withdrawing so quickly, while the Prime Minister has allegedly privately referred to Mr Biden as 'Sleepy Joe', the nickname coined by Donald Trump. Mr Johnson also allegedly remarked Britain 'would be better off with Trump' - allegations branded 'categorically untrue' by Downing Street.

'For Britain, out of Europe and suffering the end of the Afghanistan mission by our greatest ally with little or no consultation, we have serious reflection to do,' said Mr Blair. 'We don't see it yet, but we are at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers.'

His comments come as the US President signalled he wanted evacuations from Kabul airport completed by the end of the month as he prepares to withdraw all American troops - a move that would likely force Britain to wrap up its operation at the same time.

In other dramatic developments:

Mr Raab was accused of defying an order from No 10 to return early from his holiday as the crisis escalated. However, allies of Mr Raab said Boris Johnson had given him permission to remain;

Tony Blair branded the 'abandonment of Afghanistan and its people' as 'tragic and dangerous';

Sources claimed that the Prime Minister felt 'betrayed' by Joe Biden over the Afghan withdrawal  although No 10 denied there are any tensions between the two;

One source even claimed the President, 78, was 'a bit doolally';

Taliban leaders Mullah Baradar and Siraj Haqqani arrived in Kabul to form a new government;

UK hate preacher Anjem Choudary urged the Taliban to restore full Islamic justice, including stoning adulterers;

The Home Office was scrambling to make the Taliban a proscribed group in an attempt to dissuade British jihadis from heading to Afghanistan;

Britons in Kabul said the city was running out of food and money;

Britain's ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Laurie Bristow, called the crisis the 'greatest challenge' of his 30-year career;

Thousands rallied in London in protest at the Government's handling of the crisis;

The Minister with responsibility for Afghanistan, Lord Ahmad, was reported to be on holiday when the Taliban seized Kabul.

Tony Blair has branded Joe Biden's 'tragic, dangerous, unnecessary' decision to withdraw the US troops from Afghanistan 'imbecilic', and claimed that the move had 'every Jihadist group round the world cheering'

Mr Blair issued a stark warning to Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the manner of the US' handling of the exit indicated the UK could be relegated from the top division of international powers, with reports Britain was largely kept in the dark about when American armed forces would leave

Afghan families enter into Pakistan through a border crossing point in Chaman, Pakistan

Staff talking to evacuees from Afghanistan as they arrive in an Airbus A400 transport aircraft of the German Air Force Luftwaffe in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

A U.S. Navy Corpsman with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Central Command, hands out water to children during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport

A baby is handed over to the American army over the perimeter wall of the airport for it to be evacuated, in Kabul

Terror threat level should be raised to severe with threat of atrocity on UK soil 'highly likely' after Taliban takeover, former head of British forces in Afghanistan Colonel Richard Kemp warns A jihadist atrocity on British soil is now 'highly likely' following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the UK's terror threat level should be raised to 'severe', the former head of British forces in Afghanistan and Government counter-terrorism adviser has warned. Colonel Richard Kemp claimed that the Taliban regime will allow al-Qaeda and so-called Islamic State terrorists to operate on Afghan territory they control - a key provision of the US withdrawal deal negotiated by Donald Trump last year - and launch attacks on the UK. He warned there is an 'immediately increased threat from British jihadists inspired and motivated by events in Afghanistan' and urged the Government to 'consider raising the UK threat level and increasing counter-terrorist assets available to the intelligence services and police'. It is understood British and US Special Forces will establish secret bases in neighbouring countries which will be used to target any terrorist bases in Afghanistan in the weeks and months ahead. The current national threat level - which is set by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which works with MI5 - is 'substantial' and the next level is 'severe'. It was lowered from 'severe' in February following a spate of atrocities in Austria and France, including the murder of a teacher in Paris who showed a class a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. Advertisement

Mr Blair told Sky News on Sunday: 'I've enormous respect for Joe Biden, I've known him for many years - he is a good man and he's a decent man. But on the other hand ... I think it is important to realise this was not something we needed to do.

'I understand the political pressure but our footprint had really been reduced to a much smaller level, and by the end of 2019 we were in a situation whereby we could have held firm for some considerable time and helped the Afghan people through the next stages of their progress.'

Mr Blair said there had been 'a lot of gains' made in the past two decades and stressed that the deaths of UK armed forces personnel were 'not in vain'.

He added: 'Our troops were fantastic in Afghanistan, and a lot of them made the ultimate sacrifice, a lot of them were injured. And it's really important that they know that this wasn't a hopeless endeavour, and it wasn't a bad cause.

'What I'd say to them is the sacrifice was not in vain, that those 20 years matter. What we achieved in Afghanistan matters today. I think it's really important that people realise this, the story of Afghanistan, the story of the Taliban takeover, it's not over. It's tragic what's happened, I think it's unnecessary, I think we've made a serious mistake in doing this in this way, but it isn't over yet.'

In his article, Mr Blair urged for there to be 'no repetition of arbitrary deadlines' - a reference to Washington's Doha agreement with the Taliban, committing to vacate Afghanistan in time for the 9/11 anniversary - in the rescue mission.

'We must evacuate and give sanctuary to those to whom we have responsibility - those Afghans who helped us and stood by us and have a right to demand we stand by them,' said the former Labour Party leader.

'There must be no repetition of arbitrary deadlines. We have a moral obligation to keep at it until all those who need to be are evacuated. And we should do so not grudgingly but out of a deep sense of humanity and responsibility.'

Mr Blair defended his own decision making in 2001 when he worked with former US president George Bush and NATO allies to avenge the New York World Trade Centre attack. After the Taliban refused to evict al Qaeda, the terror group that masterminded the hijacking of the planes in 2001, Mr Blair said Western allies, who feared worse attacks were to come, felt there was 'no safer alternative' than to strike.

He continued: 'There is no doubt that in the years that followed we made mistakes, some serious. But the reaction to our mistakes have been unfortunately further mistakes.

'Today we are in a mood which seems to regard the bringing of democracy as a utopian delusion and intervention virtually of any sort as a fool's errand. The world is now uncertain of where the West stands because it is so obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this way was driven not by grand strategy but by politics.

'We didn't need to do it. We chose to do it.

'We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending 'the forever wars', as if our engagement in 2021 was remotely comparable to our commitment 20 or even 10 years ago, in circumstances in which troop numbers had declined to a minimum and no allied soldier had lost their life in combat for 18 months.'

The former Middle East envoy said that, although 'imperfect', the 'real gains over the past 20 years' were likely to be lost following the Taliban victory, including advances in living standards, education particularly of girls, and other freedoms.

He called for the UK, in its role as president of the G7 this year, to help coordinate an international response to 'hold the new regime to account'.

The UK Government has been working diplomatically to ensure there is no unilateral recognition of a Taliban government in Afghanistan, with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab refusing to rule out applying sanctions if the militants renege on their promise to be more inclusive, especially in their attitudes towards women, than when last in control.

Mr Blair said: 'We need to draw up a list of incentives, sanctions, actions we can take including to protect the civilian population so the Taliban understand their actions will have consequences. This is urgent. The disarray of the past weeks needs to be replaced by something resembling coherence and with a plan that is credible and realistic.'

The Prime Minister's feelings about America's withdrawal from Afghanistan have been variously described by sources as 'furious', 'a betrayal' and 'let down'.

Downing Street dismisses the claims - it is in neither country's interests to stoke tensions when the future of Afghanistan hangs in the balance - but there is little question that the UK has been left exposed by the speed of Washington's pull-out.

No 10 also denies claims that the Prime Minister was disappointed by Mr Biden's victory in the Presidential elections and had declared that it would have been 'better' if Mr Trump had won a second term, and say it is 'categorically untrue' that Mr Johnson employs the President's derogatory nickname of Sleepy Joe during jocular conversations.

However, one minister denounced US isolationism and warned the Government would have to 'revisit' the recent review on defence and foreign policy because the US was no longer a reliable ally.

They told the Sunday Times: 'America has just signalled to the world that they are not that keen on playing a global role. The implications of that are absolutely huge. We need to get the integrated review out and reread it. We are going to have to do a hard-nosed revisit on all our assumptions and policies.

Pakistan's soldiers check the documents of Afghan and Pakistani nationals for crossing into Afghanistan at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman

People gather outside the Pakistani embassy, to obtain a visa. after Taliban took over in Kabul

A soldier carries someone amid the chaos at Kabul airport in Afghanistan yesterday, with thousands desperate to flee the country

Hundreds of Afghans desperately trying to flee the Taliban are pictured outside Kabul airport

UN warns Afghanistan faces 'absolute catastrophe' of famine, homelessness and economic ruin as Tory MP says organisation MUST be brought in to deal with Kabul airport chaos The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan faces an 'absolute catastrophe' of famine, homelessness and economic ruin, as the Tory chairman of the Commons Defence Committee urged the organisation's 'immediate' intervention before Kabul descends into 'complete disorder'. Mary-Ellen McGroarty, the UN's World Food Programme's country director for Afghanistan, told the Observer swift coordinated action was critical 'otherwise, an already horrendous situation is just going to become an absolute catastrophe, a complete humanitarian disaster'. She added: 'We need to get supplies into the country, not only in terms of food, but the medical supplies, the shelter supplies. We need money and we need it now. Delay for the next six or seven weeks and it's going to start becoming too late. People have nothing. 'We have to get food in now and get it to the communities in the provinces, before roads are blocked by snow.' Ex-Army officer Tobias Ellwood, who together with Tom Tugendhat and Johnny Mercer has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the scuttle, told Sky News: 'If you do want to withdraw from a country you don't pull out your military first and then choose to allow the civilians to depart. 'This is the wrong order in which we've done things, and this situation is simply not sustainable, it's getting worse every single day. The airport cannot manage this and with the terrorist threat growing the chances are the airport will implode. 'What I will say is the United Nations and its agencies must be brought in immediately before complete disorder breaks down. The relationship between the US and the Taliban is very very fragile indeed, the US has frozen Afghanistan's assets, the economy is in freefall. 'Many of the civil servants that help run the country and indeed run the airport have already departed. We require some serious international leadership immediately.' Advertisement

'The US had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the First World War. They turned up late for the Second World War and now they are cutting and running in Afghanistan.'

Speaking to Sky News today, Mr Blair said 'the only people really cheering this decision are the people hostile to Western interests' - listing among them the Chinese and Russian regimes.

'We've got to realise we were in a situation where... we could've managed the situation,' he said. 'The problem with what's happened now is that it's not just about the Afghan people and our obligation to them... it's about us and our security.

'Because you've now got this group back in charge of Afghanistan. They will give protection and succour to al Qaeda, you've got ISIS (Islamic State) already in the country trying to operate at the same time. You look round the world and the only people really cheering this decision are the people hostile to Western interests.'

Mr Blair said the UK and its G7 allies will need to come up with a 'strategy' to deal with the Taliban regime to make sure 'we don't end up with a security threat'.

He added: 'We should be putting together the leading countries who are part of this coalition in the first place and who have supported Afghanistan in the last 20 years and we need to work out what our strategy and tactics are going to be in respect of the Taliban government.

'We need to be drawing up a list of incentives and sanctions and other things we can do in order to use the leverage we have, which is not insignificant. The Taliban will find that governing is a lot harder than they thought. The population of Afghanistan is different.

'There's going to be a lot that we can still do but it's important that we mobilise now after the disarray frankly of the last few weeks, that we mobilise as the leading countries and make it clear that we still understand we have an obligation in our own interests to try and resolve this situation and to put as much pressure on the government in Afghanistan as possible to make sure that we don't end up either with a security threat in play for us or with the Afghan people losing the gains they've made over the last 20 years.'

Across Whitehall and in British embassies around the world, officials and diplomats are adjusting to the fact that Mr Biden has adopted an America First policy every bit as isolationist as his predecessor's.

There are also whispered concerns that the 78-year-old might be, in the words of one Government source, 'a bit doolally' - unable to exert full executive grip on the White House and with a world view forged decades ago and out of step with the demands of leadership in the 2020s.

The Times claimed yesterday that Mr Johnson finds Mr Biden 'lightweight and inward-looking'.

Observers of the two men's relationship believe that there is a degree of wariness, with Mr Biden regarding Mr Johnson as a 'mini-Trump' because of his personality-driven style of politics and the pair talking far less frequently than Mr Johnson and Mr Trump did.

There are also policy differences, with Washington reluctant to accede to the UK's demand to ramp up spending on 'green' policies ahead of the COP26 climate change summit being hosted by the UK in November.

Of particular irritation in London during the Afghan endgame has been the fact that British military commanders have been cut out of discussions between the US and the Taliban.

But a No 10 source said yesterday that Mr Johnson had not expressed any anger over the US withdrawal, and said the two men had enjoyed a 'warm and constructive' phone conversation on Tuesday evening.

A Downing Street spokesman said: 'These claims are categorically untrue. The Prime Minister has not criticised President Biden, and they have a very strong working relationship.

The President's first call to a leader outside of North America after his election win was to the Prime Minister.

They have worked together on a range of issues, including at the recent G7, where they secured an additional one billion Covid vaccine doses for developing countries, and signed the Carbis Bay Declaration to improve global health co-operation and prevent future pandemics'.

President Biden cancelled plans to spend the weekend at his home in Delaware. Instead he is meeting his national security team 'to hear intelligence, security and diplomatic updates on the evolving situation in Afghanistan,' the White House said.

Lord Ricketts, who served as the Government's first national security adviser from 2010 to 2012 under former prime minister David Cameron, said the UK will need to 'rethink' its foreign policy stance following the United States' handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Speaking to Times Radio, he said: 'It has been a humiliating period for the UK. I'm afraid we've learnt that (US President) Joe Biden has put US politics ahead of NATO alliance solidarity and Britain hasn't counted for much in that decision, if anything at all.

'The hard fact is we are going to need to continue to work with the Americans in all sorts of areas and this has been a difficult experience, but we need to bring the Americans back to working with their allies, taking account of our views.

'But we can't somehow invent a foreign policy without the Americans so we've got to take a deep breath and do some frank talking to Joe Biden and then get back to work with him.'

The former chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee continued: 'We need to rethink a lot of that rhetoric in the integrated review published by the Government a few months ago about Britain as an independent sovereign operator, turning the dial on international crises.

'We have shown actually that we are pretty impotent in a situation where the Americans take a decision - we have little choice but to follow.'

TONY BLAIR: America's retreat is imbecilic  and tells our enemies we don't have any interests or values worth defending

By TONY BLAIR FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours.

In the aftermath of the decision to return the country to the same group from which the carnage of 9/11 arose, and in a manner that seems almost designed to parade our humiliation, the question that allies and enemies alike pose is  has the West lost its strategic will?

By that I mean, is it able to learn from experience, think strategically, define our interests strategically and on that basis commit strategically? Is 'long term' a concept we are still capable of grasping? Is the nature of our politics now inconsistent with asserting our traditional global leadership role? And do we care?

As leader of our country when we decided to join America in removing the Taliban from power in 2001, and who saw the high hopes we had of what we could achieve for the people and the world subside under the weight of bitter reality, I know better than most how difficult are the decisions of leadership and how easy it is to be critical and how hard to be constructive.

Tony Blair pictured addressing British troops in Basra, southern Iraq, in May 2003. The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours, the former prime minister writes

Twenty years ago, following the slaughter of 3,000 people on US soil on September 11, 2001, the world was in turmoil. The attacks were organised out of Afghanistan by Al Qaeda, an Islamist terrorist group given protection and assistance by the Taliban.

We forget this now, but the world was spinning on its axis. We feared further attacks, possibly worse. The Taliban were given an ultimatum: yield up the Al Qaeda leadership or be removed from power.

They refused. We felt there was no safer alternative for our security than keeping our word. We held out the prospect, backed by substantial commitment, of turning Afghanistan from a failed terror state into a functioning democracy on the mend. It may have been a misplaced ambition, but it was not an ignoble one.

There is no doubt that in the years that followed we made mistakes, some serious. But the reaction to our mistakes has been, unfortunately, further mistakes.

Today we are in a mood that seems to regard the bringing of democracy as a utopian delusion and intervention virtually of any sort as a fool's errand. The world is now uncertain of where the West stands because it is so obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was driven not by grand strategy but by politics.

We didn't need to do it. We chose to do it. We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending 'the forever wars', as if our engagement in 2021 was remotely comparable to our commitment 20 or even ten years ago, in circumstances in which troop numbers had declined to a minimum and no allied soldier had lost their life in combat for 18 months.

We did it in the knowledge that though worse than imperfect, and though immensely fragile, there were real gains over the past 20 years. And for anyone who disputes that, read the heartbreaking laments from every section of Afghan society as to what they fear will now be lost. Gains in living standards, education, particularly of girls, gains in freedom. Not nearly what we hoped or wanted. But not nothing. Something worth defending. Worth protecting.

We withdrew because our politics seemed to demand it. And that's the worry of our allies  and the source of rejoicing in those who wish us ill. They think Western politics is broken. Unsurprisingly, therefore, friends and foes ask: is this a moment when the West is in epoch-changing retreat?

Royal Marines of 40 Commando, Bravo Company, arrive at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan - part of the lead element of an International Peace Keeping Force - in December 2001

British citizens and dual nationals residing in Afghanistan board a military plane for evacuation from Kabul airport on August 16

I can't believe we are in such retreat, but we are going to have to give tangible demonstration that we are not. This demands an immediate response in respect of Afghanistan. And then measured and clear articulation of where we stand for the future. We need to work out a means of dealing with the Taliban and exerting maximum pressure on them.

This is not as empty as it seems. We have given up much of our leverage, but we retain some. The UK as the current G7 chair should convene a Contact Group of the G7 and other key nations and commit to coordinating help to the Afghan people and holding the new regime to account. Nato  which has had 8,000 troops still in Afghanistan alongside the US  and Europe should be brought fully into co-operation under this grouping.

We need to draw up a list of incentives, sanctions and actions we can take, including to protect the civilian population so the Taliban understand their actions will have consequences.

But then we must answer that overarching question. What are our strategic interests and are we prepared any longer to commit to upholding them? Afghanistan was hard to govern all through the 20 years of our time there. And of course there were mistakes and miscalculations. But we shouldn't dupe ourselves into thinking it was ever going to be anything other than tough when there was an internal insurgency combining with external support  in this case Pakistan  to destabilise the country and thwart its progress.

Wing Commander Matt Radnall carries a carefully folded Union Flag under his arm and back home to the UK as he leaves the Helmand Province of Afghanistan in 2014

Blair pictured with ex-Afghan President Hamid Karzai at 10 Downing Street in January 2006

We have not had another attack on the scale of 9/11, though no one knows whether that is because of what we did post 9/11 or despite it.

The World Trade Center attack exploded into our consciousness because of its severity and horror. But the motivation for such an atrocity arose from an ideology many years in development.

For want of a better term, I will call it Radical Islam  an ideology in different forms and with varying degrees of extremism that has been almost 100 years in gestation.

Its essence is the belief that Muslim people are disrespected and disadvantaged because they are oppressed by outside powers and their own corrupt leadership, and that the answer lies in Islam returning to its roots, creating a State based not on nations but on religion, with society and politics governed by a strict and fundamentalist view of Islam.

In the West, we have sections of our own Muslim communities radicalised. Islamism is a long-term structural challenge because it is an ideology utterly inconsistent with modern societies based on tolerance and secular government. Yet Western policymakers prefer to identify Radical Islam as a set of disconnected challenges each to be dealt with separately.

We are in the wrong rhythm of thinking in relation to Radical Islam. With Revolutionary Communism, we recognised it as a threat of a strategic nature that required us to confront it both ideologically and with security measures. It lasted more than 70 years. Throughout that time we would never have dreamt of saying, 'Well, we have been at this for a long time, we should just give up.'

Ex-Prime Minister Blair meets British troops at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, during a surprise visit in November 2006

We knew we had to have the will, the capacity and the staying power to see it through. This is what we need to decide now with Radical Islam. Is it a strategic threat? If so, how do those opposed to it, including within Islam, combine to defeat it?

We have learnt the perils of intervention in the way we intervened in Afghanistan, Iraq and indeed Libya. But non-intervention is also a policy with consequence.

What is absurd is to believe the choice is between what we did in the first decade after 9/11 and the retreat we are witnessing now; to treat the full-scale 2001 military intervention as of the same nature as the secure-and-support mission in Afghanistan of recent times.

Intervention can take many forms. We need to do it learning the proper lessons of the past 20 years, according not to our short-term politics but to our long-term strategic interests.

But intervention requires commitment. And not time-limited by political timetables but by obedience to goals. For Britain and the US, these questions are acute. The absence of consensus and collaboration, and the deep politicisation of foreign policy and security issues, is visibly atrophying American power.

And for Britain, out of the EU and suffering the end of the Afghanistan mission by our greatest ally with little or no consultation, we have serious reflection to do. We don't see it yet. But we are at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers. Maybe we don't mind. But we should at least take the decision deliberatively.

There are, of course, many other important issues in geo-politics: Covid 19, Climate, the rise of China, poverty, disease and development. But sometimes an issue comes to mean something not only in its own right but as a metaphor, as a clue to the state of things and the state of peoples. If the West wants to shape the 21st Century, it will take commitment. Through thick and thin.

It will require parts of the Right in politics to understand that isolation in an interconnected world is self-defeating; and parts of the Left to accept that intervention can sometimes be necessary to uphold our values.

It requires us to learn lessons from those 20 years from 9/11, in a spirit of humility, and the respectful exchange of different points of view. It also requires a sense of rediscovery that we in the West represent values and interests worth being proud of and defending. And that commitment to those values and interests needs to define our politics  and not our politics define our commitment.

This is the large strategic question posed by these last days of chaos in Afghanistan. And on the answer will depend the world's view of us and our view of ourselves.

This is an edited version of an article originally published on the Tony Blair Institute website.
The man who was wrongly accused of murdering Rachel Nickell nearly 30 years ago has revealed plans to marry his soulmate.

Colin Stagg, 58, became the target of one of Scotland Yard's most notorious honey trap operations when an undercover female officer tried to get him to 'confess' to the 1992 murder of Rachel Nickell.

Ms Nickell had been walking her dog on Wimbledon Common, south west London, when she was stabbed 49 times in front of her two-year-old son Alex.

Mr Stagg, who was held in prison for 13 months, had never admitted killing Ms Nickell and there was no worthwhile evidence against him, but police still charged him with her murder.

But in 1994, an Old Bailey judge threw out the case, branding the undercover operation 'reprehensible'.

Years after his ordeal, Mr Stagg has now revealed plans to marry his partner Terri Marchant who he first met in primary school.

Colin Stagg, 58, who wrongly accused of murdering Rachel Nickell, haas revealed plans to marry his partner Terri Marchant

He told The Mirror: 'We'll just do it at a registry office and then go on honeymoon to Cornwall, which is a place we both love.'

Mr Stagg said he and his partner have been living together for the last five years after reconnecting through the social networking site Friends Reuinited.

Soon after the pair entered a relationship, Mr Stagg was offered a position as a shop assistant in a Dunelm store before going on to work at a Tesco Express.

Ms Marchant, who described her partner as a 'good strong character' who was 'not the man he was portrayed as', said Mr Stagg told her about his ordeal with the police 'straight away'.

She also said she was 'sick of the lies' that were told about him.

She said: 'He's not the man he was portrayed as. He was portrayed as a monster, but it was all lies and totally wrong. He's kind and caring and he's very generous.

'We often talk about marriage. We'll get married one day, just with our close family in a private ceremony. Life just keeps seeming to get in the way.'

Ms Nickell was just 23 when she died on July 15, 1992, after she was stabbed 49 times and sexually assaulted on Wimbledon Common, in front of her two-year-old son Alex.

Mr Stagg was later targeted by an undercover officer, known as Lizzie, who called and wrote to him and even dangled the possibility of sex as bait - under the guidance of psychologist Paul Britton.

Mr Stagg had never admitted killing Ms Nickell and there was no worthwhile evidence against him

Rachel Nickell died on July 15, 1992, after she was stabbed 49 times and sexually assaulted on Wimbledon Common, in front of her two-year-old son

In 1994, an Old Bailey judge threw out Mr Stagg's (centre leaving the Old Bailey)case and branded the undercover operation 'reprehensible'

Serial rapist Robert Napper (pictured) was convicted of the crime in 2008 after forensic evidence

The case against Mr Stagg was thrown out at the Old Bailey in 1994, but despite his acquittal he claimed the stigma made him unemployable and a 'national hate figure' for years later.

At the trial, the judge lambasted the Met's 'honeytrap' operation in which an undercover woman detective attempted to encourage Mr Stagg to confess to the killing by instigating an exchange about his sexual fantasies.

Mr Stagg received 706,000 in compensation from the Home Office for the 'stigma' of still being wrongly considered the prime suspect in the case.

The award was decided by Lord Brennan QC, a government assessor, who described the police tactics as 'reprehensible'.

The case then lay cold until 2004, when advancements in DNA evidence led police to serial rapist and killer Robert Napper, who was already in Broadmoor at the time for the murder of model Samantha Bisset and her four-year-old daughter Jazmine.

Napper confessed to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility in December 2008.

In 1998 the undercover officer who tried to entice Mr Stagg took early retirement and was awarded 125,000 compensation after claiming Scotland Yard failed to support her adequately.

Paul Britton was also charged with professional misconduct by the British Psychological Society but in 2002, further action was dismissed due to the time delay in bringing proceedings.

Mr Stagg has now said he wants to bring a civil case against Professor Britton for 'pulling the strings' of the operation.

He went on to say he wanted the professor to issue an apology for his part in the case and 'for him to admit he was wrong'.
The hard-Left campaign group that launched an advertising boycott against GB News is being accused of breaking company laws by participating in 'political activity'.

Ten Conservative MPs are calling for an investigation into Stop Funding Hate, claiming the group advocates 'cancel culture' by discouraging businesses from advertising with the broadcaster and other media organisations.

Stop Funding Hate is a Community Interest Company (CIC), a firm which is intended to 'benefit the community' with a structure that makes it easier to attract charitable donations, The Telegraph reports.

But CICs cannot be formed for 'political purposes' and political activities 'should be closely related to the non-political community benefit activities which they are set up to carry out'.

The ten Tory backbenchers' letter to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng reads: 'We are concerned that since 2017 the campaign group Stop Funding Hate has been exploiting the prestige that is afforded by CIC status, and the privileged access that CICs have to many grants of taxpayers money, for overtly political means.'

The campaign group that launched an advertising boycott against GB News is being accused of breaking company laws by participating in 'political activity'

Among the MPs writing to Mr Kwarteng is MP for Bassetlaw, Brendan Clarke-Smith, who tweeted: 'Is @StopFundingHate the sort of organisation that represents the best of Britain's #charitable sector?'

Among the MPs writing to Mr Kwarteng is MP for Bassetlaw, Brendan Clarke-Smith, who tweeted: 'Is @StopFundingHate the sort of organisation that represents the best of Britain's #charitable sector?

'I don't believe it is and that its current tactics are against the spirit and the letter of #CIC legislation surrounding political activity.'

A Stop Funding Hate spokesman told MailOnline: 'In a free society, we all have the right to encourage brands to advertise ethically and avoid funding toxic media. To deny this would be to undermine basic free market principles.'

In June this year the campaign group hit the headlines after the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust awarded a 50,000 two-year grant to the online activists.

Tory MP and former Minister Robert Goodwill had said it was a 'blatant example of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust funding organisations that quite clearly have a very political agenda, and actually quite a nasty political agenda.'

Craig Mackinlay, another Tory MP, called on the Charity Commission to investigate the funding.

In a letter to Helen Stephenson, the regulator's chief executive, he said: 'The activities of Stop Funding Hate are demonstrably party political and hugely divisive.'

The grant to Stop Funding Hate was 'for a project to encourage responsible media through an ethical advertising code'.

An update on the Stop Funding Hate website last month reads: 'Amid reports of plummeting ratings and high-profile resignations, GB News this week stepped up its ''anti woke'' direction, with the recruitment of a controversial new host, and an intensified focus on migrants and trans people.

'While this direction may appeal to some sections of the GB News audience, the challenge for the channel is that many big brands will want to steer away from this kind of controversy.

'GB News's renewed ''anti woke'' tone will likely give many advertisers further pause for thought.

'Stop Funding Hate volunteers have seen very few high profile brands advertising on GB News this week.'
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A community has said it is being overrun by weeds after the local council implemented a ban on pesticides.

The Green Party-run Brighton and Hove Council announced plans to be weed-killer free over concerns on the impact it has on humans and the environment.

The council, one of Britain's most eco-conscious, pledged to become a pesticide-free city by 2022 and halted its use of glyphosate - a key ingredient in most weed killers - in 2019.

But as a result of the ban, residents in the area say their pavements are being destroyed by overgrown weeds and plants, creating trip hazards and eyesores.

According to the Sunday Times, two elderly women have ended up in hospital after falling on damaged pavements.

Reports suggest the problem has grown worse because of the pandemic, meaning some council workers have been unable to tackle the weeds due to restrictions.

Robert Nemeth, a councillor for Wish ward, in Brighton, told the Times: 'It's all very well for a trendy city-dweller to say, 'Let's rewild our pavements' after hearing about the cause for the first time.

Residents have hit out at Brighton and Hove Council as they say a ban on the use of weed killers has meant weeds are overtaking pavements and walkways, making them dangerous. Pictured: Overgrown weeds in St Keyna Avenue, Hove

Brighton and Hove Council announced plans to be weed-killer free over concerns on the impact it has on the environment

Reports suggest two elderly residents were hospitalised after they tripped over the pavement which was overrun with weeds

Critics accused Brighton and Hove Council of using rewilding policies as an excuse for neglecting to maintain pavements

Pictured: Overgrown moss on pavement in Brighton and Hove on Cuthbert Road

Overgrown weeds on Sutherland Road in Brighton and Hove

Pictured: Overgrown footpaths on Kingsway in Brighton and Hove

Weeds have run amok in Sutherland Road in Brighton and Hove

Kingsway has got masses of grass and overgrown weeds in Brighton and Hove

Grass and weeds have taken over the edge of the road at Montaque Place in Brighton and Hove

Huge weeds are completely taking over Freshfield Road in Brighton and Hove

Weeds and moss have sprouted through all the cracks on Manor Way in Brighton and Hove

Weeds and grass have started to grow and cover the street sign for Wadhurst Rise in Brighton and Hove

Messy weeds line the street on Beaconsfield Road in Brighton and Hove

Weeds on London Road have overtaken so much that there is barely any space for pedestrians to walk

Weeds and moss have overtaken Swansborough Drive in Brighton and Hove, where an orange plastic railing has been discarded

Dying weeds are seen engulfing the edge of the road on Swansborough Drive in Brighton and Hove

Grass and weeds have run amok on Montaque Street in Brighton and Hove

Weeds are seen sprouting from the sides of the street on Beaconsfield Road in Brighton and Hove

Grass and weeds have taken over Manor Way in Brighton and Hove so much that the pavement is barely visible

Even the street sign for Manor Way in Brighton and Hove is barely visible because of the weeds

Weeds and moss have started coming up between the cracks on Cuthbert Road in Brighton and Hove

Masses of weeds have taken over the street on Kenya Avenue after the Green Party-run council banned the use of herbicides

Large clumps of grass and weeds have been able to grow through the cracks on Glastonbury Road in Hove

Weeds are wreaking havoc on Kenya Avenue in Hove because no one is allowed to use herbicide

Weeds have started growing at the side of the road and in the middle partition in Patcham, Brighton

Overgrown weeds cut down the walking space on Lavington Road in Worthing

Huge weeds grow outside a restaurant on London Road in Brighton

Masses of weeds have sprung up on London Road in Brighton because herbicides have been banned

Masses of huge weeds have overtaken the side of the road on London Road in Brighton

The pathway on Westbourne Villas in Hove has almost become completely overtaken by weeds

'They probably haven't got any friends who are elderly or disabled, who are most likely to be seriously injured under the current unsatisfactory situation.'

A petition signed by hundreds of residents in Brighton - which has the country's only Green MP - urged the council to find alternative ways to manage weeds which had grown as a result of the ban.

It said: 'We petition Brighton and Hove Council to effectively manage the increasing issue of weeds growing from the pavements and walkways causing damage to the pavements that will inadvertently cost the taxpayer and divert future funds for other projects.

'The weeds are dangerous in paces causing trip hazards and they are detrimental to the aesthetics of our city.'

The petition went on to state that they acknowledged the council's policy against chemical weed killers but said the weeds needed to be manually removed to ensure walkways are maintained.

The council responded by stating that the weeding and deep cleaning schedule 'had been badly impacted upon by the Covid-19 pandemic and effects of restrictions and lockdown'.

A petition signed by hundreds of residents in Brighton urged the council to find alternative ways to manage weeds

Brighton and Hove Council said the problem has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and Government measures

In 2019, Brighton and Hove council pledged to become a pesticide-free city by 2022 and halted its use of glyphosate

Residents say the problem is creating trip hazards across the region and needs tackling by the council to prevent injury

Council say 'many residents have welcomed the weeds as habitats for insects and bees and complain when they're removed'

Masses of weeds have taken over on Westbourne Villas in Hove

Giant tufts of huge weeds have started to impede on the pathway of Westbourne Villas in Hove

Large patches of weeds and grass have overtaken Westbourne Villas in Hove because herbicides have been banned

Huge clumps of weeds have been able to grow wildly on Westbourne Villas in Hove

A ban of herbicides has led to gigantic amounts of weeds being able to grow on Westbourne Villas in Hove

However, critics say the problem persists even as the country has eased out of lockdown.

Some have said that the council is using its rewilding policy - allowing 'natural processes' to replace human management of site 'where possible' - as a cover for avoiding maintaining the pavements.

Joy Flowers, 68, who lives in Hollingbury, told the Times: 'We did have the hand-weeding team around, but you wouldn't know it. I think the 'rewilding' is a bit of an excuse. The pavements should be kept clear.'

Brighton and Hove Council said that many residents 'have welcomed the weeds as habitats for insects and bees and complain' when they're removed.

It added that the weed problem had been exacerbated by staff shortages during the pandemic and that the weather had also contributed to 'a growth spurt'. It will hire an external contractor to help speed up removal.
A Covid-positive man being hunted by NSW Police has allegedly reneged on a deal to turn himself in to police as he is branded Sydney's 'public health enemy number one'.

Anthony Karam, 27, was previously known to police and tested positive for the disease on August 14, cops say, but has allegedly refused to self-isolate at home.

The man, said to be thin, about 170cm tall and of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern appearance, refused to answer calls from health officials who then brought in police, they claim.

But when they tried to visit his home, they allegedly discovered the address he gave was fake.

Covid-positive Anthony Karam, seen here, is being hunted by NSW Police after he allegedly reneged on a deal to turn himself in

Karam is now feared to have gone on the run while infected, potentially spreading the disease to thousands across the state.

CCTV footage of Karam released by police shows him coughing while in an apartment block lift.

Police had made contact with him through a third party and had thought they had negotiated a deal to bring him in off the streets, The Daily Telegraph reported.

But the deal fell through, sparking a renewed manhunt for him.

The situation is considered so serious, police have used Section 62 of the Public Health Act for the first time to name and identify Karam to help in the search.

A spokesman confirmed to Daily Mail Australia: 'Inquiries continue to locate Anthony Karam.'

NSW Police said a deal had been done for him to come forward and hand himself in.

Anthony Karam, 27, seen here in CCTV footage from a lift in an apartment block, has been branded Sydney's 'public health enemy number one'

Anthony Karam, 27, pictured, was previously known to police and tested positive for the disease on August 14 - but has allegedly refused to self-isolate at home

But a police spokesman, who called him 'public health enemy no.1', claimed: 'He reneged and failed to comply with the arrangements he had made.

'He is not only a danger to the community but to himself as he is sick and can be seen coughing when he was last seen in an apartment block.'

Karam is said to have olive skin, short dark hair, brown eyes, a beard and moustache. Police say he is often seen around Greenacre, Wentworth Point and Parramatta.
Donald Trump was met with a round of boos Saturday night after he encouraged his supporters to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The former president was hosting a rally Save America rally in Cullman, Alabama when he touted the benefit of the shot, saying vaccines are 'good'.

'I believe totally in your freedoms, I do, you've got to do what you've got to do. But I recommend that you take the vaccines,' Trump said to the crowd, who replied with jeers.

'You've got your freedoms,' he responded. 'But I happened to take the vaccine.'

Donald Trump was met with negativity and a round of boos at a rally in Cullman, Alabama on Saturday night after he encouraged his supporters to get vaccinated against COVID-19

Trump told the crowd: 'I believe totally in your freedoms, I do, you've got to do what you've got to do. But I recommend that you take the vaccines. You've got your freedoms. But I happened to take the vaccine'

Once the booing stopped, Trump told his supporters they would be the 'first to know' if the vaccine was ineffective.

'If it doesn't work, you'll be the first to know. Ok?' he said. 'I'll call up Alabama and say, 'hey, you know what?'...But, it is working. But you do have your freedoms. You have to keep -- you have to maintain that.'

He also reiterated that families 'need to get [their] kids back to school'.

Similarly, Trump's remarks were met with opposition on social media.

'Anyone looking for the edge of Trumpism just found it: Trump recommends the #COVID19 vaccine to a massive Alabama rally crowd, only to get shouted down with boos from the audience. Not even Donald himself can get these folks on board with the vaccine,' tweeted journalist Max Burns.

'Well, Im surprised he actually said that. Of course, its for selfish reasons. He needs their votes,' Twitter user @ultmtpersister responded.

'A lot of people fail to realize he doesnt really lead them. They lead him. He just has no scruples and doesnt mind playing to the least common denominator. They selectively ignore anything they didnt already agree with,' wrote Ryan Hill.

'Trump advises Alabama audience to take the COVID vaccine, but says people should have the freedom to not do so if they choose. His approach is far more moral and less authoritarian than the people who claimed he's an authoritarian for 4 years,' Jon Miltimore tweeted.

Much like at the rally, Trump's remarks were met with criticism on social media

Analysts say that Trump's promotion of the shot follows news that his allies wanted him to run on a pro-vaccination campaign.

The Daily Beast reported that four individuals spoke to Trump about a pro-vaccine campaign and he had 'shown little interest' in associating his name to vaccination efforts.

Trump's former top surrogate, Stephen Moore, has previously argued that the former president join Joe Biden in a national primetime address to encourage Americans to get the shot.

'I think he would be well-advised to make a public statement and a speech [devoted to] really encouraging people to get vaccinated; I think it would influence peopleIt would be in his own political interest, as well as the nation's interest,' Moore told the news outlet.

Analysts say that Trump's promotion of the shot follows news that his allies wanted him to run on a pro-vaccination campaign

Reportedly, those close to Trump claim the former president was 'initially reluctant' to promote the COVID-19 vaccine because he feared the move would be unpopular amongst his supporters and help Biden.

However, in recent weeks Trump has routinely praised the coronavirus vaccine and advocated for a return to normalcy.

Earlier this month he claimed the world could have seen 100 million deaths from COVID-19 if his administration hadn't developed the vaccine.

'I think if we didn't come up during the Trump administration with the vaccine, you could have 100 million people dead just like you had in 1917,' Trump said, comparing the current pandemic to the Spanish Flu.

He also argued that children need to return to the classrooms because school closures are leaving behind a 'psychological scar'.

'The schools have to open. These young people are losing a big part of their life and they're not going to recover from it,' Trump said two weeks ago, echoing a claim he has made time and time again.

However, while the former president has said he is very proud of the vaccine and that it 'has been great for the world,' he has also argued that he's a 'big fan of our freedoms' and the Americans 'have to make that choice for themselves'.

In recent weeks Trump has routinely praised the coronavirus vaccine and advocated for a return to normalcy. In fact, earlier this month he said he is very proud of the vaccine and that it 'has been great for the world'

Also in Saturday's address, Trump blasted Biden over the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and accused him of giving the U.S. military away to the Taliban as he appeared at a rally for thousands of supporters in Cullman, Alabama.

'This will go down as one of the greatest military defeats of all time,' Trump said.

Trump called the situation in Afghanistan a humiliation, claiming it's not a withdrawal but rather 'a total surrender'.

The former President told the massive crowd gathered in the deep red state that 'this would have never happened if I was president.'

He said: 'The issue here is not whether to leave Afghanistan, the issue is Joe Biden's staggering incompetence and gross negligence ... creating the greatest strategic humiliation that we've ever seen as a country.

'With me in office the Taliban would not have ever dreamt of capturing our airfield or parading around with our American weapons.

'There would have been no emergency embassy evacuation and no taking down of our flag. Because we would have established clear lines that the Taliban would never have dared to cross.

'The problem with Biden is that our enemies are not afraid of him, they don't respect him.'

Trump called the Afghanistan withdrawal a humiliation, claiming it is 'a total surrender'

Trump also defended his original negotiations with Taliban leaders, after he was criticized for meeting with the warlord leaders while in office

It came as pictures emerged of Taliban fighters bearing a combination of U.S. military hardware and that used by Afghan forces, likely seized as Western and allied forces withdrew from the country.

'Our military is being given to the enemy,' he said.

Trump also defended his original negotiations with Taliban leaders, after he was criticized for meeting with the warlord leaders while in office.

'Who the hell else am I supposed to be negotiating with', he asked.

Trump made a conditional peace deal with the Taliban in 2020 to reduce the number of Afghan troops if the Taliban did not provide support to terrorists.

Trump agreed to a full military withdrawal by May 1 of this year. The Biden administration has blamed Trump for the timeline leading to the botched withdrawal.

Biden extended the deadline to September 11 and then pledged to have all US troops out by August 31.

And Trump said he was tough in the negotiations and told warned the Taliban: 'If anything happens we will reign terror upon you.'

'Don't touch our American citizens,' Trump said he told the Taliban leader. 'Don't touch our American citizens.'

It came as pictures emerged of Taliban fighters bearing a combination of U.S. military hardware and that used by Afghan forces, likely seized as Western and allied forces withdrew from the country

Trump said: 'The issue here is not whether to leave Afghanistan, the issue is Joe Biden's staggering incompetence and gross negligence'

Trump called the situation in Afghanistan a humiliation, claiming it's not a withdrawal but rather 'a total surrender'

He also owned his decision to set a deadline for withdrawing all US troops from Afghanistan, claiming after 20 years it was time to leave the region and let them fight out their civil war without Americans lives lost in the process.

In just over a week, the Taliban was able to takeover almost all of Afghanistan, including the capital city of Kabul.

President Joe Biden's handling of the withdrawal was slammed by all sides.

Trump only ended his speech after it started to drizzle at the farm against after hours of clear skies between attendees entry and the speech.

After nearly an hour-and-a-half of speaking, the president noticed people were beginning to leave because of the rain.

'By the way, it's starting to rain,' Trump said. 'I will prove to you it's my hair.'

The comment was met with roaring laughter from the thousands-strong audience.

The pregame show before Trump took stage included a short speech by Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville.

He lauded the crowd size, claiming there were people as far as he could see onto the field at York Family Farms.

'They used to call it Woodstock, this is Trump-stock here in Cullman County,' he said to massive cheers.

Chairman of the Alabama Republicans, John Wall, used his remarks to call Critical Race Theory a 'demonic doctrine from the pit of hell'.

Trump also said that Wall was able to bring in $1.2 million in fundraising for the party by putting on the event.

Trump arrived to a muggy mid-80s weather, which settled after a bout of rain struck the farm grounds hours before his arrival.

Hundreds of supporters waited out a 45-minute thunderstorm after gaining entry to the rally venue. Thousands more continued to wait in line outside the farm grounds in the rain.

TRump's guest list at the Alabama rally included Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (left) and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell (right), who has focused his attention on combatting the 2020 election results

Trump defended his decision to set a deadline for withdrawing all US troops from Afghanistan

Trumps said Afghanistan 'will go down as one of the greatest military defeats of all time'

Many donned red 'Keep America Great' plastic ponchos.

Trump traveled to the deep red state on Saturday for the first time since his rally on February 28, 2016 in Madison, Alabama as he looks to help Representative Mo Brooks in running for the Senate.

To the right of the stage was a whole tent dedicated to Brooks' Senate campaign.

Alabama Senator Richard Shelby is retiring at the end of his sixth term and, so far, four Republicans are vying in the 2022 midterms primaries to replace him  Brooks, Lynda Blanchard, Katie Britt and Jessica Taylor.

Trump slammed Shelby last month for endorsing Britt, who previously served as the senator's chief of staff.

'She's like family. She'd make a good candidate. She's probably the best-qualified candidate to come along in a long time,' Shelby said of Britt, according to a June report. 'I'd support her, I'd vote for her.'

President Joe Biden's handling of the withdrawal was slammed by all sides

Trump used that opportunity to lash out against Shelby, Britt and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

'I see that the RINO Senator from Alabama, close friend of Old Crow Mitch McConnell, Richard Shelby, is pushing hard to have his 'assistant' fight the great Mo Brooks for his Senate seat,' he wrote in a statement at the time.

'She is not in any way qualified and is certainly not what our Country needs or not what Alabama wants,' he continued. 'For Mitch McConnell to be wasting money on her campaign is absolutely outrageous.'

He also issued his endorsement for Brooks during that July 10 statement.

'Vote for Mo Brooks! He stands for America First, and everything Alabama wants. He also has my Complete and Total Endorsement.'

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was walking around the rally campaigning for Brooks and speaking to some of Trump's most fervent supporters.

She held a Brooks' campaign sign for much of the night but switched to an 'Impeach Biden' sign at some point as she joined Trump is calling for Biden's removal over his handling of Afghanistan.

Brooks made some remarks just before Trump took stage, but lost the audience when he told them to try and forget about 2020 and move forward to winning 2022 and 2024.

In a video that played before Brooks took stage, it showed a clip of him at the January 6 rally in front of the White House where he told people they would start 'Taking down names and kicking ass'.

That 'Stop the Steal' rally in January led up to the Capitol riot, which got Trump impeached by the House for 'incitement of insurrection.' He was acquitted by the Senate.

People who lined up hours before the former president's arrival on Saturday ran to try and grab the limited seats available at York Family Farms as the audience started pouring into the venue around 2:15 p.m.  nearly five hours before Trump's expected start time.

Outside of a few hundred seats, there was room for thousands more to stand.

As attendees made it through Secret Service checks, they were greeted with live music, a food vendor and a free water station handing out Blue Spring Living Water, which comes from Blount, Alabama.

There were also food vendors available outside the security perimeter for Trump supporters to snack on as they waited in line.

Social Media site Gettr, which was created by former Trump aide and spokesman Jason Miller, was prominently promoted at the rally.

People lined up hours before the former president's arrival on Saturday in Cullman, Alabama

A plane flew around York Daily Farms with a banner behind it reading: 'Twitter Sucks, Join Gettr'.

The social media platform officially launched on July 4, 2021 as an obvious conservative alternative to Twitter, as the interface and gestures have been described as similar to Jack Dorsey's site.

Many MAGA followers started seeking social media sites that wouldn't stifle or censor their posts and shares.

Parler emerged as the clear alternative as a site that wouldn't censor posts and accounts, but that quickly turned sour when Apple took the app off its App Store.

Gettr emerged months later as an anti-censorship social media platform.

While initial estimates of the crowd were not immediately known, organizers publicly said they expected about 20,000 people to attend the rally.

Privately, they say 50,000 people applied for tickets which could make it the biggest Trump rally in history.

But having been burned last year - when they claimed a million people had RSVPed for a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, only for 6200 to attend - they were reluctant to make such predictions public.

Crowds of tens of thousands present their own problems. Trump arrived in Cullman two days after it announced a public health emergency amid spiralling numbers of COVID-19 cases.

A very minimal amount of rally goers were seen donning face masks at the outdoor event. Most were naked-faced while some more elderly attendees were seen with a mask.

Former President Donald Trump holds rally in northern Alabama, speaking to crowd of thousands of supporters in a rain and mud-soaked field on Saturday. Aug. 21, 2021

Donald Trump delivers remarks at a major rally hosted by the Alabama Republican Party and in conjunction with the Alabama Republican Party's Summer Meeting to support the MAGA agenda in Cullman

Whenever the topic of masks or vaccinations were brought up by a speaker, including Trump, the crowd issues their most pronounced boos and jeers.

Alabama is one of the states experiencing the worst surge as the Delta variant ravages the nation and breakthrough cases in vaccinated Americans continue to spike.

The case-rates in Alabama are at the same level as they were in January.

In a state with a 4.903 million population, the average number of cases per day sits at more than 4,500.

A top ally previewed to DailyMail.com ahead of the speech that Trump would issue his strongest signal he's running in 2024 by calling for 'real leadership' in the White House.

'It's time for real leadership in the White House ,' the ally said the former president would say.

Trump has joined Democrats and Republicans in spending the past week attacking President Joe Biden for his handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

'I'm expecting to hear the president use the line: 'It's time for real leadership in the White House,' the source said.

'And even though aides say there is no final announcement, no final decision it still is the clearest indicator that he's likely to run in 2024.'

The former president did not say whether he will run in the next presidential election, but he did say: 'I was right about Biden.'

'Not only have my predictions come 100 per cent true, but it's even worse than any of us could have imagined in our worst nightmare,' he said.

'Joe Biden is a failed president,' Trump explained. 'He will always be a failed president.'

'He ushered in one calamity after another.'

He listed those failures as the southern border crisis, rising crime rates in U.S. cities, the botched Afghanistan troop withdrawal, spiking gas prices, and his response to the pandemic  including vaccinations and crippling the ability of kids to return to in-person schooling.

Trump said Biden has 'emboldened our enemies'  from China, to Russia, to North Korea, to the Taliban.

Trump traveled to the deep red state on Saturday for the first time since his rally on February 28, 2016 in Madison

Trump has repeatedly hinted that he is planning a run but insiders say no announcement is expected until after next year's midterms.

He dangled the idea once again this week when Sean Hannity asked him the question live on Fox News.

'So, because the campaign finance laws are extremely complicated and unbelievably stupid, I am actually not allowed to answer that question, can you believe that? I would love to answer it,' he said.

'But let me put it this way, I think you'll be happy and I think a lot of our friends will be very happy.'

Biden's approval ratings have been in freefall, first after a surge in COVID-19 cases and then amid the fall-out from television images of chaos in Kabul.

A Rasmussen Reports poll this week reported that Trump would beat Biden by six points if an election do-over were held now.

Trump insiders say Biden's bungled handling of the crisis has reminded voters that they miss the former president's America First message.

Trump himself has seized on the crisis to issue a running commentary with emailed statements and television interviews.

On the eve of the rally, he said: 'Joe Biden must apologize to America for allowing the military to leave before civilians and for allowing $85 billion dollars worth of sophisticated military equipment to be handed over to the Taliban (and Russia and China so they can copy it) rather than bringing it back to the United States!'

And earlier in the week, he spelled out his concerns in detail to Hannity.

'It's not the concept of leaving,' he said.

'It's the way they withdrew. It was not even possible to believe.'

President Biden flew back to the White House from Camp David on Tuesday evening. His approval rating has plunged and the administration is in damage limitation mode as it deals with the crisis unfolding in Afghanistan. Making matters worse, Biden has spent days at the presidential retreat rather than at the White House

Biden and his officials have claimed their hands were tied by a deal struck with the Taliban by Trump.

But the former president said he made clear in negotiations there would be consequences if Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's political chief, failed to stick to the terms of their deal.

'We had a very strong conversation,' he said.

'I told them upfront, I said: 'Look, before we start, let me just tell you right now that if anything bad happens to Americans or anybody else, or if you ever come over to our land, we will hit you with a force that no country has ever been hit with before, a force so great that you won't even believe it, and your village, and we know where it is - and I named it - will be the first one.'

American officials day they have been in contact with Kabul's new rulers, the Taliban, who had promised safe passage for those trying to reach the airport.

Trump said the U.S. had never suffered a worse humiliation, with thousands of 'potential hostages' stuck in the country.

'You can go back to Jimmy Carter with the hostages. We all thought that was a great embarrassment and we were pulled out of that by Ronald Reagan,' he said.

'This is a many many times worse and you're dealing with thousands and thousands of Americans and others that are stranded and very dangerously really stranded in Afghanistan.'
Two young brothers were forced to grab the wheel of their father's vehicle after he was fatally shot while driving along a busy Houston freeway, and the two boys bravely managed to steer the car to safety.

Their father, described by the Houston Police Department as a 29-year-old man, was driving the family's Toyota Sequoia along Interstate 10 with his two sons, ages 6 and 8, when he was fatally shot around 11 pm, according to CNN.

The boys told investigators that they thought someone had thrown a rock at the SUV after hearing a 'pop' sound, but jumped into action after noticing their father had slumped over in the driver's seat, Click2Houston reports.

The two quick-thinking brothers somehow managed to steer the vehicle as it traveled along the freeway and parked it safely in a parking lot at a strip mall.

One of the boys then proceeded to exit the SUV and get help for his fatally wounded father, who remained in the drivers seat until authorities arrived, Houston Police Department Public Information Officer John Cannon told the network.

The two boys somehow managed to steer the SUV to safety as their father lay slumped over the driver's seat

A Houston Police Department officer investigates the Toyota Sequoia that was driven by the 29-year-old father who was shot to death while driving his sons, ages 6 and 8

A woman at a nearby Chili's restaurant came to the child's aid and called the police.

While their father was pronounced dead at the scene, neither boy sustained any injuries.

'We don't know if it was targeting or road rage,' Cannon said while speculating the cause behind their father's fatal shooting.

Cannon said that police are actively searching for the gunman as they work to piece together the investigation.

However, he did reveal that the department is on the lookout for a 'white passenger vehicle' in relation to the crime.

A woman at a nearby Chili's restaurant came to the child's aid and called the police

Pictured: Interstate 10 in Houston, Texas, where police say two young boys steered their father's car to safety after he was fatally shot while driving along the busy freeway

No arrests have been made as of Sunday, according to the Houston Police Department.

Meanwhile, investigators involved with the case say they are currently canvassing the freeway to review any potential video from surveillance cameras posted in the area, to 'see if this was captured at all,' Cannon added.

Anyone with any information should reach out to Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
The FDA issued a bizarre warning on Saturday begging Americans to stop taking a popular anti-parasitic drug for livestock to treat or prevent COVID-19.

'You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it,' the agency tweeted.

Despite the lack of scientific evidence proving that ivermectin is effective at decreasing one's chances of catching or treating the virus, State Health Office Thomas Dobbs revealed there had been multiple cases in Mississippi of people taking the drug to treat the virus.

One person was even hospitalized for ingesting it; a 'kind of crazy' act he compared to 'getting chemotherapy at a feed store.'

'Please don't do that,' he said.

On Friday, Mississippi's state health department issued a statement on the COVID-19 treatment myth about ivermectin after cases of people consuming the drug in the state were reported.

PICURED: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted a tweet on Saturday strongly recommending people to not take Ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, referring that's mainly for animals

'At least 70 percent of the recent calls' to the state's poison center 'have been related' to the ingestion of ivermectin 'purchased at livestock supply centers,' according to Mississippi State Epidemiologist Paul Bryers' letter to the MS Health Alert Network.

The total number of cases related to ivermectin remains unknown.

However, Byers esteemed that 85 percent of those who called the Mississippi Poison Control Center said they experienced mild symptoms from taking ivermectin, such as rash, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, neurological disorders, and potentially severe hepatitis requiring surgery.

'Do NOT take drugs made for animals in any form,' the health department pleaded on Facebook.

PICTURED: Tablets of Ivermectin. The medicine was authorized by the National Institute for Food and Drug Surveillance (INVIMA) to treat patients with mild symptoms in some countries, such as Colombia and India

Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs called the hospitalization of one person in the state after ingesting Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 'a kind of crazy' act

Mississippi, the state with the worst outbreak in the U.S., is seeing a spike in ivermectin at a time in which Dobbs described as 'the worst part of the pandemic'.

5,000 new COVID-19 related cases were reported in the state on Friday, taking its seven-day average for new positive patients to 3,586, according to collected data by The Washington Post.

More than 1,600 people are critically-ill from the virus and about 450 beds in ICUs are filled as of Saturday.

Nearly 90 percent of covid-19 hospitalizations and 86 percent of deaths in the state have been among unvaccinated people, Dobbs said.

Dobbs, who has often voiced that vaccination remains 'our best way out of this pandemic,' added that nearly 90 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations and 86 percent of deaths in the state had been among unvaccinated people.

The National Institutes of Health claimed most studies on ivermectin's use to treat Covid-19 had 'significant limitations' and said there was not enough evidence to recommend either for or against the drug's use in the pandemic.

An FDA warning added that ivermectin 'is not an anti-viral' and that 'taking large doses of this drug is dangerous and can cause serious harm.'

It also said that the drug is only used on humans to treat two specific conditions caused by parasitic worms.

Mississippi has the highest number of infections per capita and holds the lowest rate of vaccination in the country.

Ivermectin is often used on horses and cows to treat against parasites in livestock

Though the vaccination rate has recently increased, 45.1 percent of people have received at least one dose compared with the national average of 60.5 percent, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.

Ivermectin has been at the center of a somewhat polarizing debate between political talks show hosts, Democrats, Republicans and even scientists since the beginning of the pandemic.

Between March and this month, Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham promoted the drug's use as an alternative COVID-19 treatment to their audiences on their prime-time shows.

Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Georgetown's University's Center for Global Health Science and Security, previously touted ivermectin as the 'new hydroxychloroquine,' referring to the malaria drug praised by former president Donald Trump that concluded to be ineffective against COVID-19.

In June, Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) saw YouTube suspend his account for posting a video recommending viewers to take ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine as treatments for the virus.
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The Pentagon is calling in reinforcements from six commercial airlines on Sunday in its continued Afghanistan evacuation efforts by activating the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF).

Eighteen planes will be used for 'onward movement' of Americans and Afghan allies who are already in 'safe havens and interim staging bases', according to a statement from Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby.

'The Department does not anticipate a major impact to commercial flights for this activation,' he assures in his statement on the activation.

Stage 1 of the CRAF gives the Department of Defense access to commercial air mobility. The commercial aircraft will not be flying into the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Planes used for this stage of evacuation include four from United Airlines, two from Hawaiian Airlines and three from each  American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air.

The planes will be used to aid in the airlift of tens of thousands of evacuees, ferrying Americans and Afghans onward to the U.S. from staging bases in Qatar, Bahrain and Germany.

Military flights will continue to go to the airport in the Taliban-controlled Kabul to get refugees out of Afghanistan and to these regional bases.

The activation comes after the Pentagon said Saturday that they were only able to evacuate 2,500 Americans from Kabul in the past week.

The Pentagon activated on Sunday the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, calling on six different airlines  including American, Delta, and United  to loan 18 airplanes to assist in evacuating Americans and allies from Afghanistan

The commercial planes will not be landing in Kabul, where chaos ensues at the airport after the Taliban was able to seize the country in just over a week. Afghans gather on a roadside near the Kabul airport on Friday in a press to escape by plane

In the last week overall, the U.S. was able to evacuate 7,000 people from the pandemonium at the Kabul airport, including 3,800 from Friday to Saturday.

These new figures, however, show the U.S. has deployed more American troops into the Kabul airport than the number of U.S. citizens it has extracted from the country since the Taliban swept into power on August 14.

Up to 15,000 Americans still need to be evacuated and the administration hopes to get out 50-60,000 more Afghan allies and their families.

Other NATO allies are also hoping to save thousands of people, but the security situation in Kabul appears to be quickly deteriorating, with the US now warning citizens not to attempt to get to the airport amid the threat of attack by Islamic State fanatics who are hiding in the country.

Biden faces growing criticism as videos depict pandemonium and violence outside the airport. On Saturday Biden met with his national security team to discuss the chaotic situation after cancelling his weekend trip to Delaware.

Commercial airlines were notified Friday night that participants in the voluntary Civil Reserve Air Fleet could be activated imminently, according to reports.

Created in 1952 in the wake of the post-World War II Berlin Airlift, the Civil Reserve Air Fleet is a program that airlines can enroll in, pledging a certain number of aircraft to the Pentagon to be available within 24 hours upon activation.

Currently 24 passenger and cargo carriers and 450 aircraft are enrolled in CRAF, including 268 in the long-range international section.

The Pentagon statement on Sunday notes the Fleet was activated twice in the past  from August 1990 to May 1991 in support of Operation Desert Shield/Storm and for Operation Iraqi Freedom from February 2002 to June 2003.

The Fleet was also used on a large scale in March of 2020, when the Pentagon conscripted commercial jets to repatriate Americans who were trapped abroad when the coronavirus pandemic descended.

The activation comes amid tragic scenes at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, the only remaining patch of US control in the country, where thousands are gathered at the Taliban perimeter in a crush to get inside.

The commercial flights will not land in Kabul, but will help 'onward movement' of evacuees from 'safe havens and interim staging bases'. Afghan evacuees line up on Saturday to be processed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, which is providing temporary lodging for evacuees from Afghanistan as part of Operation Allies Refuge

Evacuees from Afghanistan arriving at Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar's capital Doha

Potential Islamic State threats against Americans in Afghanistan are forcing the U.S. military to develop new ways to get evacuees to the airport in Kabul, a senior U.S. official said Saturday, adding a new complication to the already chaotic efforts to get people out of the country after its swift fall to the Taliban.

The official said that small groups of Americans and possibly other civilians will be given specific instructions on what to do, including movement to transit points where they can be gathered up by the military. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

Bahrain's Gulf Air became on Sunday the first commercial airline to arrive in the U.S. as part of Afghan evacuation efforts.

'As part of the Kingdom of Bahrain's commitment to international humanitarian efforts, Gulf Air, the country's national carrier, has flown a first-of-its-kind flight from Isa Air Base to Dulles International Airport as part of efforts to evacuate individuals from Afghanistan to the United States,' the statement declared.

'Gulf Air's participation makes it the first commercial company in the world to arrive in the US as part of the evacuation efforts of individuals from Afghanistan,' the release continued.

'It represents an affirmation of the Kingdom of Bahrain's efforts to protect lives. This initiative comes as part of the Kingdom's well-established endeavours to support humanitarian efforts.'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke with Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani on Sunday, according to State Spokesperson Ned Price.

'The Secretary expressed gratitude to Bahrain for the government's humanitarian support in facilitating the safe transit of U.S. citizens and evacuees from Afghanistan,' Price said in his Sunday statement. 'The Secretary underscored the importance and strength of the U.S.-Bahrain partnership.'

The Taliban  which has long declared a desire to attack America and U.S. interests abroad  has been active in Afghanistan for a number of years, carrying out waves of horrific attacks, mostly on the Shiite minority.

The Islamic State group has been repeatedly targeted by U.S. airstrikes in recent years, as well as Taliban attacks. But officials say fragments of the group are still active in Afghanistan, and the U.S. is concerned about it reconstituting in a larger way as the country comes under divisive Taliban rule.

A U.S. Marine grabbing an infant over a fence of barbed wire during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport

Afghan people gather along a road in Kabul as they wait to board a U S military aircraft to leave the country

Time is running out ahead of President Joe Biden's August 31 deadline to withdraw most remaining U.S. troops.

In his remarks on the situation Friday, he did not commit to extending the deadline, though he did issue a new pledge to evacuate not only all Americans in Afghanistan, but also the tens of thousands of Afghans who have aided the war effort since September 11, 2001. That promise would dramatically expand the number of people the U.S. evacuates.

On Saturday Biden spoke with his team at the White House Situation Room about the ongoing evacuation efforts, counterterrorism operations, and intensive diplomatic efforts to finalize agreements with a third-party country transit hub to help American, who were warned on Saturday not to travel to Kabul airport.

Biden discussed the matters with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and National Intelligence Director Avril Haines.

Vice President Kamala Harris joined the meeting by video teleconference during her trip to Singapore.

The White House did not indicate whether the president still planned to travel to Delaware on Sunday. The trip would have been his 19th to his home state since taking office.

The Taliban takeover of Afghans last Sunday has consumed his administration, which was caught off-guard by the development and is scrambling to evacuate thousands of Americans, Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the war, and others.

'Let me be clear, any American who wants to come home, we will get you home,' Biden had pledged.

On Saturday Biden spoke with his team at the White House Situation Room about the ongoing evacuation efforts, counterterrorism operations, and intensive diplomatic efforts to finalize agreements with a third-party country transit hub

The U.S. Embassy issued a stern warning to Americans on Saturday not to go to Kabul airport - which is the only way out of the country - because of 'security threats' outside its gates

Despite the U.S. Embassy warning, crowds remain outside the Kabul airport's concrete barriers, clutching documents and sometimes stunned-looking children, blocked from flight by coils of razor wire.

Evacuations continued, though some outgoing flights were far from full because of the airport chaos. The German military said in a tweet that one plane left Kabul on Saturday with 205 evacuees, while a second aircraft carried only 20.

The Italian Defense Ministry announced the evacuation Saturday of 211 Afghans, which it said brought to 2,100 the number of Afghan workers at Italian missions and their families who have been safely evacuated.

On Friday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said around 1,000 people a day were being evacuated amid a 'stabilization' at the airport. But on Saturday, a former Royal Marine-turned charity director in Afghanistan said the situation was getting worse, not better.

'We cant leave the country because we cant get into the airport without putting our lives at risk,' Paul Farthing told BBC radio.

A U.S. Air Force security forces raven, assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, maintains a security cordon around a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft in support of Operation Allies Refuge at Hamid Karzai International Airport

The situation at the airport was growing more chaotic and dangerous on Saturday, adding pressure on what has been dubbed one of the most difficult airlifts in history.

As desperate people, including children, wait for hours and days in the heat and crush outside the US-controlled Hamid Karzai International Airport, the delay has turned deadly for some.

Britain's Sky News on Saturday aired footage of at least three dead bodies covered in white tarpaulins outside the airport. It was not clear how they had died.

Sky reporter Stuart Ramsay, who was at the airport, called the deaths 'inevitable' and said that people at the front of one part of the crowd were being 'crushed', while others were 'dehydrated and terrified'.

The footage was the latest image of utter despair, after video of a baby being lifted over a wall at the airport and horror scenes of people hanging onto departing planes.

Families hoping for a miracle crowded between the barbed-wire that surrounds an unofficial no man's land separating the Taliban from US troops. Roads to the airport were choked with traffic.

'Please, please, please help me... where should I go, what should I do,' one man, who said he worked for the US embassy in the mid-2000s, wrote on a WhatsApp group for people to share information on how to get out.

Evacuees wait under the wing of C-17 Globemaster lll after arriving in an undisclosed location in the Middle East region

The United States and Germany on Saturday told their citizens in Afghanistan to avoid travelling to Kabul airport, citing security risks.

At least 12 people have been killed in and around the single-runway airfield since Sunday, when the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, NATO and Taliban officials said.

'Because of potential security threats outside the gates at the Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid travelling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so,' a U.S. Embassy advisory said.

The German Embassy also advised its citizens not to go to the airport, warning in an email that Taliban forces were conducting increasingly strict controls in its immediate vicinity.

The advisories underscored just how unsettled the security situation remains. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the American military is looking at alternative routes for people to reach the airport because of threats from militant groups such as al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Army Major General William Taylor, with the U.S. military's Joint Staff, told a Pentagon briefing that 5,800 U.S. troops remain at the airport and that the facility 'remains secure.'

A member of the United Services Organization (USO) high-fives an evacuee from Afghanistan as they depart a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Ramstein Air Base, Germany on Friday

Taylor said some gates into the airport were temporarily closed and reopened over the past day to facilitate a safe influx of evacuees.

A Taliban official, speaking to Reuters, said security risks could not be ruled out but that the group was 'aiming to improve the situation and provide a smooth exit' for people trying to leave over the weekend.

The Taliban's takeover has sparked fear of reprisals and a return to a harsh version of Islamic law the Taliban exercised when they were in power two decades ago.

Even refugees who have managed to escape still face fear and uncertainty, and despair at leaving loved ones behind after the Taliban's rapid takeover.

'It was very difficult to leave my country,' a veiled woman told Reuters in Doha, Qatar, where thousands of evacuees are being housed until they can enter a third country. 'I love my country.'

She explained that before the Taliban arrived, she had never expected to go anywhere.

The woman said she fled with her husband, a dentist, and three children, fearing that her work with international humanitarian organisations would make them a Taliban target.

A member of the Qatar Air force walking next to a boy evacuated from Afghanistan, at Al-Udeid airbase in Doha

Hangars at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar are seen filled with refugees fleeing from Afghanistan

She described traumatic scenes at Kabul airport as thousands clamored to board evacuation flights.

At one point when the crowd tried to rush into the airport, she recalled, a man standing next to her was shot in the leg by 'military people'. The claim could not be independently verified.

'It was just shocking and I didn't know what should I do.'

A man at the compound in Doha told Reuters he was not hopeful that the Taliban would keep their promises, which have included respecting women's rights and an amnesty for those who worked in the government or with foreigners.

'The most disturbing part is that there is not a lot of hope for the future,' said the man, who arrived in Doha this week with his wife, three children, parents and two sisters.

The man, a lawyer, said he feared that if he had stayed in Afghanistan he would have also become a target of the Taliban, in part because of his work with international companies.

'It's going to be a very, very different and challenging life ahead of us,' he said.
The vet caring for Geronimo the alpaca is refusing to put the animal down over fears of the aftermath from activists and campaigners.

The eight-year-old alpaca is suspected of being infected with bovine tuberculosis and is due to be killed on September 4 after a court order which his owner, Helen Macdonald, is fighting against.

The 50-year-old from Gloucestershire maintains that tests to detect the disease are returning false positives, and that her beloved pet does not have the illness.

Geronimo has twice tested positive and Ms Macdonald has been refused permission to have him tested a third time.

The disease, which infects cattle, can jump from species to species including cats, dogs, goats, deer, pigs, badgers and humans.

Geronimo the alpaca at Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire with owner Helen Macdonald

Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca at Shepherds Close Farm

A campaign to save Geronimo has attracted support from actress Joanna Lumley, and protesters are gathered at the farm in Gloucestershire, with petition to stop the destruction of the animal gathering more than 130,000 signatures.

Supporters have been camping out at her farm near Wickwar in case officials from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) arrive to destroy the alpaca.

She has received messages of support from New Zealand, from Malaysia and across Europe.

Speaking of the petition, she said: 'It's just growing by the hour.

'It's huge and it's very, very welcome because what we are dealing with is not whether Geronimo has TB but the fact they knowingly misused tests to create a suspicion of disease and to kill him four years ago.

'There's no science to back up what they're saying, and we need to move forward in a positive way. Everyone is asking for that now, listen to the electorate and sit down and sort out this properly.'

Ms Macdonald has until Friday evening to arrange for the animal to be put down, but she claims she cannot meet the demands of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Geronimo has twice tested positive and Ms Macdonald has been refused permission to have him tested a third time

Ms Macdonald has until Friday evening to arrange for the animal to be put down

But she add she will stand firm and 'not put a healthy animal down' because 'my code of conduct will not allow it'

WHAT IS BOVINE TB? Bovine tuberculosis is a disease of cattle that can also infect badgers, deer, goats, pigs, dogs and cats. The disease is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium bovis. This is related to the microbe that causes tuberculosis in humans. Bovine tuberculosis is typically transmitted aerially through coughs and sneezes. It causes fever, coughing, weight loss, pain, diarrhoea and ultimately death. Badgers are the most significant wildlife reservoir for the bacterium. In the United Kingdom, most bovine tuberculosis outbreaks occur in the South West and the West Midlands. Advertisement

She claims her vet is 'worried about reprisals on them and their family from animal campaigners' should they put the alpaca down.

'They don't want to come and kill a healthy animal in front of the whole world, on a live internet feed watched by thousands of people,' she told The Sunday Times.

'I had the discussion last month with my vet and she said she wouldn't feel safe to euthanise Geronimo. Safety is a genuine concern.

'People around the globe have grown to love Geronimo. I wouldn't want to be the person who puts him down.'

She was given 24 hours to kill the creature herself but she told MailOnline: 'I'm not going to do that, no way. They would say I consented if I did that.

'If they want to do it they will have to do it themselves in front of the whole planet. Everyone watching will know that Boris and Eustace are accountable.'

Ms Macdonald has set up a camera, which uploads a live feed to the web, to keep a 24/7 watch on Geronimo over fears of him being snatched after supporters offered to smuggle him out of the farm.

Others have suggested hiding him among other members of his heard - an idea which Ms Macdonald has called 'nonsense' as he is being kept isolated.

'Hiding Geronimo away would completely defeat the purpose of what I've been trying to do for the last four years, which is make a stand against the government, who are carrying out a TB testing system that is deeply flawed,' she added.

She warned officials who are set to come and kill the eight-year-old alpaca: 'The whole planet will be watching.'

'People have tuned in from all over the world - Boris Johnson and George Eustace [the Defra secretary] will have blood on their hands if they kill Geronimo.'

She added that she has 'heard nothing from Defra, nothing from the ministers, nothing from the chief veterinary officer.'

'The groundswell of support from around the world and everything that everyone is doing gives me hope that Defra will look at this and say they don't have any data for multiple priming in camelids and take a pause and look at this properly.'

She said she has not heard anything from the government and issued a final plea with ministers and the PM to save him

She added that she has 'heard nothing from Defra, nothing from the ministers, nothing from the chief veterinary officer.'

Supporters have camped out at the farm in case officials from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) arrive on site

Defra have no yet announced when they plan to destroy the animal.

A Defra contractor is expected to receive a police escort to kill Geronimo when the time comes.

His body will then be taken for a post-mortem exam at a government laboratory in Surrey,

Ms Macdonald believes the false positive test results have come from Geronimo being primed, meaning he had previously been injected with a small amount of bovine tuberculosis to measure any immune response.

'I will fight this to the very end,' she said. 'I want George Eustice to stand up and make himself accountable. I want him to engage in a meaningful dialogue over this. I have evidence that Defra's testing regime is not sound, and I would like it to be heard.

'All I'm asking for is a new test for Geronimo. But they don't want to do that because the government is scared of the result.'

On Wednesday, a High Court judge refused her lawyer's application for a temporary injunction to stop the destruction order and reopen the case.

Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca at Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge

A campaign to save Geronimo has attracted support from actress Joanna Lumley, and protesters are gathered at the farm in Gloucestershire

A Defra contractor is expected to receive a police escort to kill Geronimo when the time comes

Ms Macdonald said that when Defra officials do attend her farm to euthanise Geronimo, she will not break the law.

Last week, a spokesperson for Defra said: 'We are sympathetic to Ms Macdonald's situation, just as we are with everyone with animals affected by this terrible disease.

'It is for this reason that the testing results and options for Geronimo have been very carefully considered by Defra, the Animal and Plant Health Agency and its veterinary experts, as well as passing several stages of thorough legal scrutiny.

'Bovine tuberculosis is one of the greatest animal health threats we face today and causes devastation and distress for farming families and rural communities across the country, while costing the taxpayer around 100 million every year.

'Therefore, while nobody wants to cull infected animals, we need to do everything we can to tackle this disease to stop it spreading and to protect the livelihoods of those affected.'
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett (pictured) said staff at the Dane County Jail in Madison will no longer refer to those in jail as 'inmates'

A Wisconsin prison will now refer to its offenders as 'residents' to 'humanize and respect' them.

Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said staff at the Dane County Jail in Madison will no longer refer to those in jail as 'inmates' and will instead address them as 'residents' or 'those within our care,' the sheriff announced Monday.

After speaking with sheriff's deputies and other staff members, in addition to those incarcerated, Barrett said he arrived at the decision over his last nearly 100 days as sheriff.

'As we serve, we want to maintain dignity and respect for all who are involved in our criminal justice system,' Barrett said. 'We will no longer refer to our incarcerated community members as 'inmates'. Their new title will be 'resident(s)' or 'those within our care.'

Barrett said he met with a group of formerly incarcerated individuals at the nonprofit Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development, who told him being referred to as 'inmates' or 'convicts' increases stigma against them and creates challenges while transitioning back into society.

After speaking with sheriff's deputies and other staff members at the Dane County Jail, in addition to those incarcerated, Barrett said he arrived at the decision over his last nearly 100 days as sheriff

Barrett said the change in language is a 'small step' to reduce those barriers, and hopefully help reduce recidivism.

In addition to altering the language for those incarcerated, officers will also refer to themselves as 'peace officers' instead of law enforcement.

'The title we go by and how we view ourselves matters how we carry out the duties of our position,' Barrett said. 'When I mean peace officer, I mean that is exactly what my goal, my philosophy and my vision, is, we are there to keep the peace.'

There is no formal rule enforcing language change, and staff won't be penalized if they continue to say 'inmate.' However, Barrett and jail leadership will continue to work on normalizing referring to inmates as 'residents,' and said the county is working towards making the change an official policy.

In making the decision, Barrett was joined by other community leaders, including Dane County Board Chair Analiese Eicher and Public Protection and Judiciary Committee Chair Maureen McCarville.

Dane County Board member and state Rep. Shelia Stubbs said it's crucial to give those in jail and former offenders 'a sense of belonging' in the community, and referring to them in a way that emphasizes how they are people too, not just inmates, helps with that.

'We need to give people back the wholeness they deserve,' she said.
2,207 people are confirmed dead with another 344 missing following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake which rocked Haiti on August 14.

Haitis Civil Protection Agency announced the harrowing figures on Sunday, with the death toll increasing by 18 compared with its previous statement on Wednesday.

The agency said via Twitter that 12,268 people were injured and nearly 53,000 houses were destroyed by the quake, just eleven years after a 7.0 magnitude quake in the capital Port-au-Prince killed hundreds of thousands in 2010.

The U.S.-based aid agency Samaritans Purse opened a field hospital on Saturday in the most heavily affected city of Les Cayes, but authorities are struggling with security at distribution points.

The quake struck Haiti amid a period of extreme political upheaval following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise last month which led to rising levels of civil unrest.

2,207 people are confirmed dead with another 344 missing following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake which rocked Haiti on August 14

International aid has been dispatched to the area, with US charities setting up field hospitals while Mexican rescuers traverse the rubble looking for survivors

US Christian charity Samaritan's Purse has set up a field hospital and is helping to distribute aid, but food distribution is being hijacked by local gangs

Rescue workers are transporting survivors to field hospitals via helicopter

Recovery efforts have been impeded by flooding and damage to access roads, feeding tensions in some of the hardest-hit areas.

Tropical Storm Grace battered the south of Haiti on August 15 and 16, preventing rescuers from carrying out extensive rescue missions and officials said some areas were hit by several inches of rainfall before the storm moved on.

Exasperation over delays in assistance has boiled over, with residents looting food packages and gangs hijacking aid trucks in an attempt to round up supplies for profit.

The head of Haitis office of civil protection, Jerry Chandler, acknowledged the severity of the situation, and admitted 'people are getting aggressive' as the destruction and subsequent storm prevented aid from arriving.

The violence is nothing new to the people of Haiti, a country that had been under immense strain with the coronavirus, gang violence, worsening poverty and the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise when the quake hit.

Meanwhile, families who lost loved ones in the disaster have been forced to gather in open fields to hold funerals and church services, as many of the structures were destroyed or too severely damaged by the quake.

Some children were orphaned in the quake and some youngsters were starting to go hungry, said Carl-Henry Petit-Frere, a field manager for Save the Children, which said in a statement that it was distributing what it could to people living on the streets without protection from the wind and rain.

'I see children crying on the street, people asking us for food, but we are low on food ourselves as well,' Petit-Frere said, adding that children were warned not to go into houses because they could collapse.

'The organizations that are here are doing what they can, but we need more supplies. Food, clean water and shelter are needed most, and we need them fast.'

Funerals and church services are taking part in open fields after the earthquake destroyed many of the city's churches and communal buildings

Earthquake victims try to grab a food bag during a food distribution. Aid packages have been hijacked by gangs and residents have fought over supplies as tensions boil over

Mexican firefighters known as 'Topos' work in the early morning hours in a search and rescue mission

Rescue workers accommodate a survivor on Army helicopter at the airport in Les Cayes
An Australian veteran of the Afghan war has burnt his campaign medal in disgust over the government's handling of the crisis, as the country descends into chaos.

Former army major Stuart McCarthy says he is ashamed at the way the Anzac spirit has been abandoned in the haste to retreat from Afghanistan.

Vital Afghan interpreters, soldiers and support staff have been left behind in the chaos of Kabul Airport with reports of the Taliban hunting them door to door through the city.

Hundreds have been tied up in paperwork and immigration caps, with 11th hour visa approval for nearly 200 security guards who protected Australian diplomats only being granted on Sunday, as the situation at Kabul Airport turns desperate.

Stuart McCarthy (pictured) an Australian veteran of the Afghan war, has burnt his campaign medal in disgust over the government's handling of the crisis

TV footage showed the two-tour Afghan veteran dousing the medal and ribbon in lighter fuel before setting it ablaze on a BBQ grill plate until the charred medal lay among ashes, seen here

'We will only be resettling people through our official humanitarian program going through official channels,' Scott Morrison said last week.

'We will not be offering a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship.'

Now Mr McCathy has symbolically torched his Afghan war medal in protest.

Footage showed the two-tour Afghan veteran dousing the medal and ribbon in lighter fuel before setting it ablaze on a BBQ grill plate until the charred medal lay among ashes.

'If I was to continue to wear my Afghanistan campaign medal, knowing that we as a country had abandoned these people to be executed by the Taliban...' he told Nine's 60 Minutes on Sunday.

Former army major Stuart McCarthy (pictured) says he is ashamed at the way the Anzac spirit has been abandoned in the haste to retreat from Afghanistan

Afghans at Kabul airport (pictured) have described how victims, including a two-year-old girl, have been shot and beaten by Taliban militants and trampled to death as they try to flee

'I would have been ashamed to wear them ever again, so it actually wasn't that tough a decision for me to make.

'What's more valuable here? A shiny piece of metal or human lives?'

The Brisbane digger believes the government could still send in a rescue mission to spirit the Afghans out the country, with American troops desperately trying to secure Kabul Airport as thousands gather outside in a desperate bid to escape.

'We can, if we as a country, and if our leaders decide to go and get these people out, we could save hundreds of their lives,' he insisted.

'Here now today, that would be one of the best possible things that we as Australia could do to finish our 20 year long military commitment to Afghanistan.

'Let that be our legacy.'

Afghans trying to flee (pictured: chaos at Kabul airport) to Britain to escape the Taliban will have to make their own way to the borders if the Americans do not delay the date for leaving the country, the UK's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned

One mother - a former interpreter - said her two-year-old daughter was trampled to death as the family attempted to get to the airport (pictured, Afghans attempt to get into Kabul Airport)

Mr McCarthy raised the alarm on the escalating situation in Kabul last month when he warned the Taliban forces were on the rise and already trying to track down anyone who collaborated with western forces.

'These people literally risked their lives to do that work with us,' Mr McCarthy said in July.

'I am in daily contact with a number of these civilians who have already had their colleagues brutally murdered in some cases, and they are in hiding.'

Afghans at Kabul Airport have described how victims, including a two-year-old girl, have been shot and beaten by Taliban militants and trampled to death as they try to flee.

More than 15 people including children have been reportedly shot dead amid night-time crowd surges outside the airport gates and people killed in the stampede.

Evacuations have been underway in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country on August 13 after American troops were pulled from the country

Beneath a fierce late-morning sun, crowds parted to reveal women's lifeless bodies and then, rising above the chaotic hubbub, the piercing screams of their children

A NATO official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters at least 20 people have been killed in the past seven days in and around Kabul airport during the evacuation effort.

The British Ministry of Defence said seven Afghans had died while trying to flee the Taliban.

One mother - a former interpreter - said her two-year-old daughter was trampled to death as the family attempted to get to the airport.

The unnamed woman said the crowd surged as the family was thrown the ground, with other desperate escapees trampling them.

She couldn't breathe and when she came to her feet she searched for her daughter, only to find the little girl dead. 'I felt pure terror. I couldn't save her,' she told the New York Times.

US military planes have been making rapid, diving combat landings at Kabul Airport, while aircraft have fired flares on take-off, in a bid to confuse possible heat-seeking missiles amid a new, perceived threat from the Islamic State group affiliate in Afghanistan.

A baby is handed over to the American army over the perimeter wall of the airport for it to be evacuated, in Kabul

Paratroopers tried to pull people from the chaos, and stood atop compound walls, spraying the crowd with hoses to try and cool them down, as medics dashed between casualties

The situation around Kabul airport has taken a turn for the worse, with The Independent reporting that four Afghan women were crushed to death on Saturday - and perhaps as many as 12 killed in total - as they sought to access the airfield where military repatriation flights are leaving from.

The Taliban on Sunday blamed the United States for the chaotic evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans and foreigners from the capital, one week after the hardline Islamist group returned to power in a rapid victory that stunned the world.

It comes as the UK Defence Secretary, in what is likely to be read as a plea to Washington, said 'no nation will be able to get everyone out' of the Taliban-controlled country, with the US president's August 31 target date making the rescue mission even more time pressured.

At least four women are thought to have died in what witnesses called a 'horrendous crush'. Pictured: Soldiers cover up the bodies of those who died yesterday

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, right, and Taliban fighters stand guard on their respective sides at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in Torkham, in Khyber district, Pakistan

Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul has been the focal point for thousands trying to flee the Taliban, who seized power after sweeping into the capital a week ago following their astonishing lightning advance across the Middle Eastern country.

An Afghan woman called Sara, who asked for her real name not to be used, told the Observer how families with US visas, US passports and green cards were not able to reach their evacuation flights or get any information about their fate as the Taliban block all access points to Kabul airport.

Sara said: 'It's so scary here. There's horror in everyone's eyes. No one is allowed through, even with visas.

'No one from the US is helping us. No one is telling us which gate to go to - we don't even know when the US flights are leaving. There is violence everywhere but every gate we go to is closed and no one gives us any information or shows any mercy.'

A close family friend based in the US added: 'The US have told them they can be evacuated, but only if they can get through an airport gate. But every day they have gone to the airport it's been so crowded and violent, it's not been possible to get the family through without a huge risk to their lives.'

US citizens were warned not to go to the airport amid fears that they might be hijacked en route by militants. The State Department said the US side of the airport would close for 48 hours. The British section remained open.

While acknowledging that 'no nation will be able to get everyone out', Mr Wallace also announces that a series of 'processing hubs' will be set up in countries neighbouring Afghanistan for refugees who manage to escape. If they can establish their right to come to the UK, they will be flown to Britain. Pictured: British and US troops help Afghans in Kabul

A U.S. Airman with the Joint Task Force-Crisis Response speaks with families who await processing during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport

It comes as former British premier Tony Blair blasted Mr Biden's 'imbecilic' decision to withdraw American troops from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, calling the scuttle 'tragic, dangerous and unnecessary' and claiming the move had 'every Jihadist group round the world cheering'.

Mr Blair, who was in Downing Street when London sent British troops into the Middle Eastern country 20 years ago following the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington - said Britain has a 'moral obligation' to stay until 'all those who need to be are evacuated'.

In a 2,700-word article on the threat of 'radical Islam', the former British prime minister said the exit was not in the West or Afghanistan's interest as he lamented the likely reversal of gains made during the occupation, with the Taliban reasserting itself across most of the country in recent days.

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, front, and Taliban fighters, stand guard on their respective sides while a truck moves to cross at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan

Shocking footage shows injured Afghans bleeding as they desperately try and make their way into the airport

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, right, and Taliban fighter stand guard on their respective sides at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan

Security guards who protected the Australian embassy in Afghanistan were granted last-minute asylum visas on Sunday, just a day after being told they are not eligible for immediate evacuation Down Under.

A group of around 200 Afghan security guards were facing an uncertain future under Taliban rule, with those who helped western allies targeted by militants.

The Department of Foreign Affairs sent messages to the group of sub-contractors who looked after the Australian embassy in Kabul as recently as Saturday telling them they should contact immigration agents.

In an email, dozens were told they were 'not eligible for certification' under the At Risk Afghan Employees Visa Scheme.

But as turmoil at Kabul's Airport compound worsened over the weekend, with more than a dozen killed in a stampede desperately trying to escape the country, nearly 200 of the men and their families were told a humanitarian visa had been approved.

Nato has begged US President Biden not to leave Kabul and urged the US troops to stay at the airport to get as many people out as possible.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said: 'The US has stated that the timeline ends on August 31, but several of our allies raised... the need to potentially extend that to be able to get more people out.'

Nato begged Mr Biden not to leave Kabul and urged the US troops to stay at the airport to get as many people out as possible. Pictured: Medical support personnel help an Afghan mother with her family off a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport aircraft moments after she delivered a child aboard the aircraft upon landing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany
Security guards who protected the Australian embassy in Afghanistan have been granted last-minute asylum visas, just a day after being told they are not eligible for immediate evacuation Down Under.

A group of around 200 Afghan security guards were facing an uncertain future under Taliban rule, with those who helped western allies targeted by militants.

The Department of Foreign Affairs sent messages to the group of sub-contractors who looked after the Australian embassy in Kabul as recently as Saturday telling them they should contact immigration agents.

In an email, dozens were told they were 'not eligible for certification' under the At Risk Afghan Employees Visa Scheme.

A group of around 200 Afghan security guards were facing an uncertain future under Taliban rule, with those who helped western allies targeted by militants (pictured, a baby is handed over to the American army at Kabul airport) (pictured, Afghans attempt to get into Kabul airport)

The government had previously denied visas for the group of more than 100 men who formerly protected the Australian embassy in Kabul (pictured, Taliban fighters patrol in the city)

Hundreds of Afghans desperately trying to flee the Taliban are pictured outside Kabul airport

It is understood one of the reasons they had been refused protection in Australia is because they were not directly employed by the embassy, and were instead subcontractors.

But as turmoil at Kabul's Airport compound worsened over the weekend, with more than a dozen killed in a stampede desperately trying to escape the country, nearly 200 of the men and their families were told a humanitarian visa had been approved.

Late on Sunday night, it was revealed the guards had been 'approved for visas in another humanitarian category'.

'Every applicant who does not meet the criteria of the category of at-risk employees now has their application forwarded automatically to the Department of Home Affairs to be automatically considered under another humanitarian stream,' a spokesman told The Australian.

Afghans trying to flee (pictured: Chaos at Kabul airport yesterday) will have to make their own way to the borders if the Americans do not delay the date for leaving the country, experts have warned

'This process has already resulted in hundreds of other visas being granted to those who are ineligible for the special category.'

The rejection letter had thanked its recipients for their application for a visa and said Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne has considered them.

'Unfortunately, you are not eligible for certification under this visa policy,' the letter obtained by the ABC read.

The letter states an initial 3,000 humanitarian places will be allocated to Afghan nationals within Australia's 13,750-person annual program.

'Particular priority will be given to persecuted minorities, women and children, and those who have links to Australia,' the letter continues.

Late on Sunday night, it was revealed the guards had been 'approved for visas in another humanitarian category' (pictured, evacuees at Kabul Airport on Sunday)

The templated response, which used the same file number for each of the 100 men, recommends the contractors continue to investigate their options.

The final line of the letter suggests the men contact a migration agent to 'discuss these avenues' and notes their details have been passed on to the Home Affairs Department, which processes the applications.

One of the contractors who was denied a visa told the ABC the entire workforce was shocked to receive the email.

Working for the Australian embassy meant strict security checks and low wages, with some security guards receiving less than $30 a day.

The 'mass-produced' rejection letter thanked its recipients for their application for a visa and says Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne (pictured) has considered them. Nearly 200 security guards have since been issued visas

The rejection letter suggested the embassy security guards contact a migration agent to help gain access to a visa under a humanitarian stream (pictured, people landing in Dubai from Afghanistan August 22). Nearly 200 now have a visa

The first warning sign came after the majority of the contractors were fired as foreign troops began to slowly withdraw from Afghanistan.

The mens' loss of employment may have had an impact on their eligibility for a visa.

Lawyer Glen Kolomeitz who is working pro-bono to evacuate the contractors said the templated letters were 'a disgrace'.

Mr Kolomeitz and his team of lawyers and ex-military personnel at GAP Veteran and Legal Services have been working tirelessly to help hundreds obtain a visa.

'This is clearly an attempt by Defence and DFAT to look like they have done their job when they sat on their hands for so long,' he said.

To work for the Australian embassy meant strict security checks and low wages, with some security guards receiving less than $30 a day (pictured, people onboard the Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster at Kabul Airport)

Lawyer Glen Kolomeitz who is working pro-bono to evacuate the contractors said the templated letters were 'a disgrace' (pictured, people boarding the Royal Australian Air Force C-17A at Kabul Airport)

'These are mass-produced rejection letters and they are entirely unacceptable.'

The attorney threatened a Federal Court challenge to the visa considerations process after hundreds of his clients were rejected.

Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia would tread carefully with its relationship with ex-employees from Afghanistan.

'There are people who worked with us, people who worked with us five or six years ago, and what they have been doing in that intervening period is an unknown,' he told the ABC's Insiders program.

'We also have to be exercising the appropriate caution, and that's what we have been doing.'

The Australian Government has defended offering 3,000 humanitarian places to Afghans fleeing the Taliban despite other nations pledging intakes more than six times that figure (pictured, people disembarking a rescue flight from Afghanistan near Dubai)

Meanwhile, in the Brisbane CBD hundreds of protestors took to the city streets to bring awareness to the humanitarian crisis unravelling in Afghanistan

Meanwhile, in the Brisbane CBD hundreds of protestors took to the city streets on Sunday to bring awareness to the humanitarian crisis unravelling in Afghanistan.

A similar scene was observed in Perth, just hours after it was confirmed that more than 300 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan on four Australian flights overnight.

The Forrest Place rally in Perth saw attendees chanting 'free, free Afghanistan' and 'help the ones who helped you', after several speeches were made to the crowd.

Early on Friday morning a rescue flight carrying 94 evacuees landed in the West Australian capital, the first since the Taliban seized control in Kabul.

'These evacuees are a mix of Australians and visa holders, obviously mainly the interpreters and the like that assisted our defence forces in Afghanistan,' Premier Mark McGowan told state parliament.

'We've been working on this arrangement since Saturday.'

The Australian Government defended offering just 3,000 humanitarian places to Afghans fleeing the Taliban despite other nations pledging intakes more than six times that figure.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said he expected the initial commitment to rise to 5,000 as the situation unfolds in Afghanistan.
Joe Biden's national security adviser warned the Taliban on Sunday that the U.S. will issue a 'forceful' response if they interfere in American evacuation efforts from Afghanistan  and he doesn't rule out sending in more troops.

'If in the end Americans are blocked from getting to the airport, blocked from leaving the country, or our operations are disrupted or our evacuations are in some way interfered with, we have explained to them that there will be a swift and forceful response,' Jake Sullivan told NBC News host Chuck Todd during an interview on Meet the Press.

Sullivan detailed that Washington has an agreement with the Taliban that they will allow all American citizens passage to the Kabul airport  including through any checkpoints along their travel to the Hamid Karzai International Airport.

He admitted Sunday that the airport is dangerous and faces 'threats from ISIS.'

'I know that the scenes around the airport are heartbreaking, large crowds of people wanting to leave,' Sullivan said. 'I know that there is complexity and there is turbulence on the ground and in Kabul, and it's very risky and dangerous because there's a genuine threat from ISIS-K. That is the reality of what we are up against, and I'm not going to sugarcoat that reality.'

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned the Taliban on Sunday of a 'forceful response' if they prevent Americans from evacuating from the Kabul airport  he also admitted the scene at the airport is dangerous with 'threats from ISIS'

The Taliban has an agreement with Washington to let Americans through checkpoints to the airport. Taliban fighters stand guard as Afghans gather to try and get into Hamid Karzai International Airport to evacuate the country on Saturday

This comment runs counter to Biden's messaging on Friday that Americans are not being blocked from getting to the airport.

'We have no indication that they haven't been able to get, in Kabul, through the airport,' Biden said in his first press conference since the bundled withdrawal from Afghanistan.

He cited the agreement Sullivan was referencing where the Taliban have vowed to let people with an American passport through checkpoints. Many critics have questioned why the administration would take the word of the militant group.

'We know of no circumstance where American citizens, carrying an American passport, are trying to get through to the airport [and can't],' Biden continued in his press conference. 'But we will do whatever needs to be done to see to it they get there.'

The president will give on Sunday afternoon an update to the nation on the evacuation efforts of Americans and allies from Afghanistan.

Republican Representative Liz Cheney pushed back against these comments on Sunday, claiming the administration is 'denying' the facts of what's actually happening in the Middle East.

'The White House is denying what we know is happening on the ground: That Americans are being beaten, they're being prevented from getting to the airport and they're probably being held hostage,' Cheney told Meet the Press.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said over the weekend that Americans are being beaten by the Taliban as they try to reach the airport in Kabul.

The scene outside the airport has become increasingly chaotic as Americans, allies and Afghans all attempt to flee the country after the Taliban takeover last week

Americans still stranded in the country are receiving some mixed signals from Washington, with some advice not to try to get to the airport and to instead shelter in place, but public reassurances that it's safe to try and gain passage because the Taliban will let them through.

Sullivan said Sunday morning that there are no current plans to deploy more troops to the region, but wouldn't rule out the future potential of sending in more.

'At the moment, we believe we have sufficient forces on the ground,' Sullivan told Todd.

'But every single day the president asks his military commanders, including those at the airport and those at the Pentagon, whether they need additional resources, additional troops,' he continued. 'So far, the answer has been 'no,' but he will ask again today.'

Later Sunday morning, Biden will meet with his national security team to hear intelligence and diplomatic updates on the evolving situation in Afghanistan.

So far, Biden has sent in 6,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan to help with evacuation efforts after the Taliban was able to take over the country in just over a week. This means the U.S. has deployed more American troops into Afghanistan than the number of U.S. citizens it has extracted from the country since the Taliban swept into power on August 14.

The Pentagon said Saturday they were only able to evacuate 2,500 Americans from Kabul in the past week.

Overall, the U.S. was able to evacuate 7,000 people from the pandemonium at the Kabul airport since last weekend, including 3,800 in the last day.

Up to 15,000 Americans still need to be evacuated and the administration hopes to get out 50-60,000 more Afghan allies and their families.

Top military brass and Pentagon leaders, however, have not said when pressed on the matter whether evacuation efforts will continue past August 31.

The Pentagon announced Sunday its activating the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF), which taps commercial airlines to loan out planes to help with rescue efforts.

Eighteen planes fro six airlines will be used for 'onward movement' of Americans and Afghan allies who are already in 'safe havens and interim staging bases', according to a statement from Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby.

'The Department does not anticipate a major impact to commercial flights for this activation,' he assures in his statement on the activation.

Stage 1 of the CRAF gives the Department of Defense access to commercial air mobility.

The commercial aircraft will not be flying into the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Instead, planes will be used to aid in the airlift of tens of thousands of evacuees, ferrying Americans and Afghans onward to the U.S. from staging bases in Qatar, Bahrain and Germany.

Planes used for this stage of evacuation include four from United Airlines, two from Hawaiian Airlines and three from each  American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air.

Military flights will continue to go to the airport in Kabul to get refugees out of Afghanistan and to these regional bases.
A mosque manager who sparked fury among worshippers after he shared a social media post that appeared to support the Taliban has been issued with a warning by police.

Saddique Hussain, general manager of Central Jamia Mosque Ghamkol Sharif in Small Heath, Birmingham, was quizzed by officers after he shared a video showing an armed group of Taliban leaders in Kabul on his Facebook page.

The post has now been removed and the mosque manager has issued a full apology for any offence caused.

Mr Hussain said he 'does not and never has supported the Taliban' and 'should have thought before he shared the post'.

Saddique Hussain, general manager of Central Jamia Mosque Ghamkol Sharif in Birmingham, apologised after he shared a video showing an armed group of Taliban leaders in Kabul on Facebook

The mosque manager shared a video of Taliban leaders reciting from the Quran at the presidential house in Kabul

In the post, Mr Hussain shared a video showing an armed group of Taliban leaders at at the presidential house in Kabul reciting from the Quran, and wrote: 'How beautiful and civilised and no 'I'. May Allah SWT guide us on to His beautiful religion.'

However furious worshippers, who include Afghan refugees who fled the Taliban regime 20 years ago, complained to police and mosque trustees, claiming it indicated support for the Taliban regime - a claim Mr Hussain denies.

One worshipper, who has submitted a formal complaint, said: 'There is nothing civilised about the Taliban holding guns and reading Quran.'

And Adam Hussain, 33, from Small Heath, who worships at the mosque, has formally complained to the mosque trustees.

In his complaint, seen by Birmingham Live, he wrote: 'He (Saddique) wrote the video is civilised and beautiful. The Taliban are civilised?

'His sharing brings great harm to Pashtun people in Small Heath who have family hurt by this group, and other Birmingham citizens. His sharing is like an endorsement for their actions.

'He said that he only shared because the Taliban were reading Quran beautifully...would he share if Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda or the ISIS read the Quran in a way that he likes?

'Because of this I no longer want my child to study in your new madrasah because of fear that people running the education could teach children the dangerous message, which is opposite to British law.

'I will also bring this disturbing share to the attention of Birmingham safeguarding for children.'

He added: 'There is a refugee crisis and lots of innocent people who being affected by Taliban are trying to escape. What will happen when they come to UK and see manager of Ghamkol mosque sharing postings about those who oppress them?'

Another mosque said: 'This is inexcusable, it comes across as supportive of the Taliban and that is absolutely disgusting.

Trustees at Central Jamia Mosque Ghamkol Sharif in Small Heath, Birmingham, said they were aware of the concerns raised and were investigating

Hundreds of Afghan people gather near a U.S Air Force C-17 transport plane in Kabul

'I pray at the mosque alongside Pashtuns from Afghanistan who escaped their regime 20 years ago and settled here, and for them to see this while they have huge anxiety for their friends and family is appalling. This message has stirred a lot of anger.'

Another said: 'Islam is a religion of peace, and he shares an image of men with big guns, who have just celebrated seizing control, and it suggests the mosque is supportive of their regime. It is unbelievable.'

Police confirmed they were alerted to the post and visited the mosque, where they interviewed Mr Hussain. They issued a warning and said they would be 'monitoring the situation.'

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: 'We were made aware on Friday, Aug 20, of Facebook posts relating to the situation in Afghanistan and the Taliban that were causing concern with some members of the public.

'Neighbourhood officers visited the person who'd posted the messages to understand his reasons behind the post and a video he shared. No criminal offences have been identified but the man was warned and we will be monitoring the situation.'

Following the incident Mr Hussain posted an apology to his Facebook page and said while 'the focus of the video was the recitation' he 'should have thought' before he shared the post.

He wrote: 'Earlier this week I shared on my Facebook page a post by someone else which showed a short video of a group of men sitting and standing around a desk listening to the recitation of the Qur'an followed by sending blessings on the Beloved Prophet (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him).

'The Arabic recitation was translated in English sub-titles. No other comments were made. The focus of the video was the recitation and I commented on that. This was ill-advised.

'I should have thought before I shared the post. Had I done so, I would have properly appreciated that:

(1) The men were armed.

(2) The group included individuals who were likely to be Taliban officials.

(3) Any comment on the post might be taken as a comment on those pictured rather than a comment on the recitation.

'After Friday prayers I was visited by the police who had an anonymous tip off that I had posted something concerning the Taliban.

'I told them why I had shared the post, explained my comments and told them categorically that I never have supported the Taliban and regret any offence caused by my actions. Within minutes of the officers leaving I deleted the post.

'I reaffirm that I do not support and never have supported the Taliban.

'Like many people I pray for a positive resolution to the crisis in Afghanistan - for peace in the country and a civilised government under which the human rights of all citizens are respected.

'Once again, by sharing the post thus causing anyone any offence or hurt whatsoever I unreservedly and sincerely apologise.'

The Board of trustees at the mosque, chaired by Ahsan ul Haq, said they were aware of the concerns raised and were investigating.

In a statement they said: 'The board of trustees of the charity are aware of concerns raised about a post made by the mosque's General Manager, Saddique Hussain, using his personal Facebook account. We are investigating the issue and will respond appropriately.

'As this is an employment issue, it would not be appropriate to comment further on this incident.

'I can assure you more generally that the charity trustees are keenly alive to community concerns about ongoing developments in Afghanistan.

'We join our neighbours in hoping for a positive resolution to that crisis - and extend our prayers for peace.

'We cannot know how far the new regime in Afghanistan will make good on its promises to respect women's rights, forgive those who fought them, and ensure the country does not become a haven for terrorists.

'We can only pray that they do, both for the benefit of the citizens of Afghanistan and because of the wider impact that developments in the region have on all of us, wherever we are in the world.

'As a community based faith charity, our impact on international affairs is of course extremely limited.

'We can take some comfort in the fact that our mosque community continues to work to live out our belief in Islam as a religion of peace, respecting human rights, promoting forgiveness and working to support those less fortunate than ourselves.

'In recent months, the mosque's focus has been to support our local communities through the impact of Covid-19.

'We continue to develop that work and as we return to normal after the lockdown we will be resuming our charitable services, with a focus on community development and educational opportunities for some of our most disadvantaged communities.'
Smith's body was found on a rural South Carolina road after having suffered severe head trauma, yet his death was ruled a hit-and-run

Smith's body was found on a rural South Carolina road after having suffered severe head trauma, yet his death was ruled a hit-and-run

His deposition suggests that the family may have been involved in the 2015 death of Stephen Smith

His deposition suggests that the family may have been involved in the 2015 death of Stephen Smith

His deposition suggests that the family may have been involved in the 2015 death of Stephen Smith

Cook, who lied to authorities immediately following the crash, said he did so out of fear, noting that the Murdaugh family often got away with crimes

Cook, who lied to authorities immediately following the crash, said he did so out of fear, noting that the Murdaugh family often got away with crimes

Cook, who lied to authorities immediately following the crash, said he did so out of fear, noting that the Murdaugh family often got away with crimes

Connor Cook was one of six people on board a boat driven by legal dynasty scion Paul Murdaugh, then 20, when it crashed in 2019

Connor Cook was one of six people on board a boat driven by legal dynasty scion Paul Murdaugh, then 20, when it crashed in 2019

Connor Cook was one of six people on board a boat driven by legal dynasty scion Paul Murdaugh, then 20, when it crashed in 2019

A deposition from a boat crash survivor suggests a prominent South Carolina family have may been involved in the 2015 death of a local teen

A deposition from a boat crash survivor suggests a prominent South Carolina family have may been involved in the 2015 death of a local teen

A deposition from a boat crash survivor suggests a prominent South Carolina family have may been involved in the 2015 death of a local teen

A recently unveiled deposition suggests that the late Paul Murdaugh (pictured) may have been involved in the 2015 death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith

A deposition from someone on board a boat driven by legal dynasty scion Paul Murdaugh when it crashed in 2019 suggests the prominent family have may been involved in the 2015 death of a South Carolina teen.

Connor Cook, who was a passenger during the boat crash that killed Mallory Beach, recorded a deposition in January 2020 that was unveiled in court last week.

According to the court document, Cook admitted to lying about events that took place the night of the crash because he feared the family would seek retaliation, citing unsubstantiated rumors that the Murdaughs had gotten away with crimes in the past.

'Anything they get in, they get out of. I've always been told that,' Cook said in the deposition.

'One was said that Paul [Murdaugh] had pushed his housemate down the stairs, and she died, and nothing ever happened. And another one, there was something that Paul was supposedly involved with a guy, got found beat up in the middle of the road, that they got out of.'

Cook's latter comment is believed to suggest that the family dynasty was involved in the July 2015 death 19-year-old Stephen Smith, Fox News reported.

Stephen Smith, 19, (pictured with his mother Sandy) was found dead in the middle of a country road 15 miles from the Murdaugh family's Islandton hunting lodge on July 8, 2015. The coroner's report said he suffered severe head trauma

The teen's death was ruled a hit-and-run accident even though responding state troopers said they found 'no evidence to suggest the victim was struck by a vehicle'

Smith was found dead on a rural South Carolina road near a Murdaugh property after having suffered severe head trauma.

The teen's death was ruled a hit-and-run accident even though responding state troopers said they found 'no evidence to suggest the victim was struck by a vehicle'.

Earlier this summer, police announced that they had reopened their investigation into Smith's death, after new information was gathered during the investigation into the June 2021 double murder of Paul and his mother, Maggie Mudaugh.

Case notes obtained by WCBD revealed that at the time of the alleged hit-skip, investigators received anonymous tips suggesting Paul and his older brother, Buster Murdaugh, as persons of interest.

'We didn't know who did it but we just heard that Buster did it,' one tipster told investigators.

'Everybody knows who Buster is and like his family and all that so it's kind of shocking.'

Records also note that a tipster raised the question of whether, 'Stephen and Buster Murdaugh ever had any type of relationship.'

However, when investigators followed up with the person who had called in, he said he was just repeating 'rumors.'

Earlier this summer, police announced that they had reopened their investigation into Stephen Smith's death (Pictured: Footage from the scene where Smith's body was found)

In another curious inclusion, an officer noted a tip called in by a man claiming that his stepson had named a local guy as the one who 'struck and killed Stephen Smith.'

The tipster then failed to return any calls and when finally reached, 'stated that the reason that he was passing this information on was because Randy Murdaugh told him to call.'

Randy is Paul and Buster's uncle, patriarch Alex Murdaugh's brother.

Cook's testimony, which echoes accusations made by community members alleging the family's involvement in accident, was included as part of a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Beach's family.

New information surrounding the Smith case was revealed during Connor Cook's deposition about a 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach (pictured)

Beach, 19, was killed when the Sea Hunt boat crashed into a Beaufort County bridge in February 2019. Several other passengers, including Cook, were injured during the accident. Beach's body was found about a week after the crash.

In the deposition recorded on Jan. 13, 2020, Cook claimed that while he was at the hospital the night of the crash, Paul's father, Alex Murdaugh confronted him and instructed him not to tell investigators who was driving the boat.

According to the deposition, when asked why he was 'not upfront with officers,' Cook replied:

'Well, I was told for one by Alex Murdaugh that I didn't need to tell anyone who was driving.'

He continued, alleging that Alex told him: 'That everything was going to be all right. I just needed to keep my mouth shut and tell them I didn't know who was driving, and that he's got me.'
Parents have slammed a school for calling their son by a female name without checking with them first after he told them he was transgender.

The school, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales, said the boy, who was under 14, had requested he be called by a girl's name and asked to join girls' PE classes.

The boy's father said his son 'had been bullied before' but that he had 'never mentioned these feelings', according to The Sunday Times.

Parents have slammed a school for calling their son by a female name without checking with them first after he told them he was transgender (stock image)

During a meeting with the school, the family expressed that they wanted their son to be allowed therapy before changes were made.

But the school said it was obliged to follow guidance from the local authority, known as a trans toolkit, and that some teachers had already started calling him by a female name.

The boy's father said: 'They said the child is within their rights to do this. We were like, "No, wait, don't put him on a path we are really frightened of, we do not know where this path leads".

'The school was in a difficult position [as] they were following guidelines from the council which seemed to say go along with the child's wishes. It was a horrible time.'

During meetings with the school, it was suggested the boy meet an advocate from a charity, who his parents thought would be 'neutral' and would 'give him a voice'.

But notes from the meeting, according to a legal letter, said the advocate had told the boy it was his 'human right to be called whatever he wants'.

The school, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales, (pictured) said the boy, who was under 14, had requested he be called by a girl's name and asked to join girls' PE classes

The boy also told his parents the advocate allegedly said that if his name was not changed on the school register 'a*** would be kicked big time', and he should try wearing girls' clothes.

After the family challenged this with lawyers, Rhondda Cynon Taf county borough council confirmed that it had temporarily removed the toolkit and would review it.

This guidance had advised schools that they should support children to change gender, and that they could use toilets and changing facilities most closely aligned with their identity.

The trans toolkit for teachers stated: 'Remember that a pupil who identifies as a trans girl but was born biologically male is not a "boy dressed as a girl" but is a girl who outwardly at this point resembles a "boy".'

A Rhondda council spokesman said: 'Given that over two years have passed since the toolkit was introduced, the school summer holiday has provided us with an opportune time to consider how the toolkit might be improved to better support schools and their pupils. We will look to reinstate the toolkit as soon as possible, once our review is complete.

'RCT council, like others in the local authority sector, is committed to establishing arrangements that can assist in providing support to transgender and gender-questioning pupils. It would not be appropriate to comment on any single case or individual situation.'

Scottish education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: This guidance outlines how schools can support transgender young people while ensuring that the rights of all pupils are fully respected'

This comes as Scotland announced earlier this month that children as young as four will be able to change their gender at school without their parents consent.

Any pupil who decides they want to switch gender must be supported and listened to in school following the Scottish Government advice.

The guidance applies in primary schools, where the youngest children are only four or five, because recognition and development of gender identity can occur at a young age.

It also tells teachers not to question a child who says they want to transition to live as a boy or a girl - and instead ask for their new name and pronouns.

Primary and secondary schools have also been told to put books featuring transgender people on the curriculum, allow pupils to choose which changing room or toilets to use, and consider introducing a gender neutral uniform.

But the guidance was branded shocking and led to concerns that children are being allowed to make life-changing decisions at too young an age.

The advice says: Some young people are exploring their gender identity in primary school settings. Primary schools need to be able to meet the needs of these young people to ensure they have a safe, inclusive and respectful environment in which to learn.

A section on changing name and recorded sex says children simply need to tell others informally that they want to use a different name, and that they dont need to record this formally on their official school record. Advice to school staff on what to do if a child wants to discuss their gender includes asking what name and pronoun you should use to address them.

It also says that they should ask if their family are aware they are considering their gender identity  but does not suggest the teacher should contact them.
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Joe Biden's aides were 'too afraid' to quiz him and his National Security Adviser over key decisions made in the run-up to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to sources close to the US administration.

The President is accused of insisting on recalling US troops ahead of the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington DC, and allegedly ignored warnings that it would not leave the military enough time to get American nationals and allies out.

A former defence official in regular contact with senior White House aides suggested that there was not much pushback from concerned administration staffers because they were 'too afraid' of challenging Mr Biden and his National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan.

The Sunday Telegraph reports that Biden administration officials urged the President - unsuccessfully - to keep open Bagram Air Base, which has more runways than Kabul airport and has been the heart of US operations in Afghanistan during the 20-year intervention.

The official claimed that the Biden administration functions 'like an autocracy' and stifles internal dissent, adding: 'It's one thing to crack down on leaks, it's another thing to allow a mistake like this.

'This White House is very disciplined, especially when it comes to leaks and such. But the downside of discipline is if you're running things like an autocracy, and you broker no dissent internally, that's not what the purpose of a White House staff is.'

It is understood that the State Department is now pushing the White House to extend the August 31 withdrawal deadline, even if it means striking a new deal with the resurgent Taliban, amid fears that tens of thousands of civilians could remain trapped in Afghanistan in nine days.

Going into September with a large contingent of US troops still in Afghanistan could be politically damaging for Mr Biden, who campaigned last year on a promise to end America's 'forever wars' and is likely to be keeping an eye on the midterm elections next year.

Critics claim Mr Biden's narrow pursuit of US interests has left him increasingly isolated abroad, with former British premier Tony Blair calling the decision to withdraw 'imbecilic'.

Relations between Britain and US are strained, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warning 'no nation will be able to get everyone out' of Afghanistan as Mr Biden's August 31 date makes the mission even more time-pressured, in what is likely to be seen as a plea to Washington.

Cabinet insiders have suggested the President was 'gaga' and 'doolally' for withdrawing so quickly, while the Prime Minister has allegedly privately referred to Mr Biden as 'Sleepy Joe', the nickname coined by Donald Trump. Boris Johnson also allegedly remarked Britain 'would be better off with Trump' - allegations branded 'categorically untrue' by Downing Street.

Joe Biden's aides were 'too afraid ' to quiz him and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan over key decisions made in the run-up to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to sources close to the US administration

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the evacuation of American citizens and vulnerable Afghans, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Friday, August 20, 2021

Taliban fighters patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan

Pakistan's soldiers check the documents of Afghan and Pakistani nationals for crossing into Afghanistan at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman on August 22, 2021

Jake Sullivan: Biden national security adviser who helped negotiate Iran nuclear deal for Barack Obama in secret US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan President Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, was a senior policy advisor to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential election campaign and her deputy chief of staff at the Department of State when she was Secretary of State. Mr Sullivan was also a senior advisor to the Obama administration for the Iran nuclear negotiations, which began in secret throughout 2013. He and US officials including Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, Senior White House Iran Advisor Puneet Talwar had met with the Iranian regime at least five times faece-to-face in Oman over the prospect of an agreement over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Those efforts paved the way for the Joint Comprehensive, which critics say created the conditions in which Iran could develop nuclear weapons after the deal expired. Republicans also say the deal did nothing to contain Iranian terrorism in the Middle East, its ballistic missile programme, the regime's policy towards Israel or its support for Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Palestine and President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. Advertisement

The President is under immense domestic and international criticism for his management of the crisis in Afghanistan. In a speech given from the White House on Monday, Mr Biden blamed his predecessor Donald Trump and the Afghan Army for the Taliban's astonishing seizure of Kabul - and seemingly refusing to accept responsibility himself.

He has spent just four of the last 15 days at the White House and on Saturday was forced to cancel plans to return to his beachfront home in Delaware for the weekend.

General David Petraeus, the former CIA director who led US and Allied forces in Afghanistan under Barack Obama, told the Sunday Telegraph that Mr Biden was wrong to deflect blame onto the Afghan Army.

Mr Biden's predecessor Donald Trump, who negotiated the US withdrawal deal with the Taliban, accused the President of giving the US military away to the Islamists as he appeared at a rally for thousands of supporters in Cullman, Alabama.

'This will go down as one of the greatest military defeats of all time,' Mr Trump said. He called the situation in Afghanistan a humiliation, claiming it's not a withdrawal but rather 'a total surrender'.

The former President told the massive crowd gathered in the deep red state that 'this would have never happened if I was president.' He said: 'The issue here is not whether to leave Afghanistan, the issue is Joe Biden's staggering incompetence and gross negligence ... creating the greatest strategic humiliation that we've ever seen as a country.

'With me in office the Taliban would not have ever dreamt of capturing our airfield or parading around with our American weapons. There would have been no emergency embassy evacuation and no taking down of our flag. Because we would have established clear lines that the Taliban would never have dared to cross.

'The problem with Biden is that our enemies are not afraid of him, they don't respect him.'

Marc Thiessen, speechwriter under George W Bush, said on Friday that Mr Biden's team of 'sychophants' had enabled him to move forward with the bungled Afghanistan withdrawal and questioned 'where are the adults in the room?'

'When President Donald Trump was in office, the media were always celebrating the 'adults in the room' - the presidential advisers who restrained Trump from following through on his worst instincts,' Thiessen wrote.

He noted that the former president sometimes invited those who disagreed with him into his inner circle, like HR McMaster and John Bolton, both national security advisers under Trump.

'When his generals warned him of disastrous consequences, he modified his plans,' Thiessen said of Trump. The former president had wanted to pull all US forces out of Syria, but left 900. He'd wanted to withdraw from Afghanistan, but left 2,500 troops.

'Far from a team of rivals, Biden has surrounded himself with a team of sycophants and enablers who share his worst instincts,' Mr Thiessen wrote in the Washington Post. 'Where are the adults in the room today? Nowhere to be found.'

He noted that Mr Biden told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday no one had recommended to him he leave a residual force of 2,500 in Afghanistan, 'that I can recall.'

Mr Thiessen laid blame squarely on Secretary of State Antony Blinken, calling to mind late Senator John McCain's warnings about the secretary.

'Blinken is an ideologue who has been working toward a full Afghanistan withdrawal since he joined the Obama administration in 2009. Ditto for national security adviser Jake Sullivan,' the speechwriter claimed. 'But others such as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark A. Milley knew better.'

Mr Milley claimed on Thursday: 'There was nothing that I or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days'.

In a 2014 speech on the Senate floor, Mr McCain warned that Mr Blinken, then up for the deputy secretary of state role, would be 'dangerous to America and to the young men and women who are fighting and serving our country.'

President Biden speaks during a meeting with his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Marc Thiessen, speechwriter under George W Bush, laid blame squarely on Secretary of State Antony Blinken, calling to mind late Senator John McCain's warnings about the secretary. Mr Sullivan has defended the Biden administration's handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal

'We will see the same movie in Afghanistan that we saw in Iraq,' adding that 'we must leave a stabilizing force behind of a few thousand troops,' Mr McCain warned at the time.

Mr Thiessen was chief speechwriter for former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld beginning in 2001, when the US invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, before joining Mr Bush's speechwriting team in 2004.

On Friday the Wall Street Journal reported that State Department officials in Kabul had warned the Biden administration that the Afghan capital would fall. A dozen diplomats sent a confidential memo in a dissent channel to Mr Blinken on July 13 that the Taliban was rapidly gaining ground and the city was vulnerable to collapse.

On July 8, Mr Biden said it was 'highly unlikely' the Taliban would take control of Afghanistan and denied there would be chaos in Kabul. But then on Wednesday this week, the President said there was 'no way' to leave Afghanistan without chaos ensuing.

Afghan security forces were collapsing, the diplomats said in the memo, and offered ways to mitigate the advancing insurgents. But it may have been too late to stop them.

The State Department memo, according to the report, also called for the government to use tougher language on the violence in the past from the Taliban and urged them to start collecting information for Afghan allies who qualified for Special Immigrant Visas after working with US forces.

The Journal reported that 23 Embassy staffers signed the cable and rushed to deliver it considering the deteriorating situation in Kabul. Mr Blinken reviewed the cable, a personal familiar with it told the paper.
Since Friday night, at least seven people were killed and 41 others were wounded in citywide gun violence in Chicago, as crime rates continue to escalate throughout the city.

On Saturday, a man, 52, and two women, 62 and 24, were outside a gas station in Austin on the West Side, when someone in a black Dodge Charger opened fire at about 2:55 a.m., Chicago Police said.

According to police, the 62-year-old suffered gunshot wounds to the head, abdomen and lower backside, while the 24-year-old suffered gunshot wounds to the back.

Since Friday night, at least seven people were killed and 34 others were wounded in citywide gun violence in Chicago, as crime rates continues to escalate throughout the city

On Saturday, a man, 52, and two women, 62 and 24, were outside a gas station in Austin on the West Side, when someone in a black Dodge Charger opened fire at about 2:55 a.m.

The 52-year-old male and 62-year-old female were transported to Mount Sinai Hospital, while the 24-year-old took herself to Stroger Hospital.

The 62-year-old eventually succumbed to her injuries, while the two additional victims remain in critical condition.

Their identities have not been announced.

A few hours later, in in West Garfield Park, a man, 35, was shot and killed at about 2:05 p.m.

Police said he was shot in the neck and transported to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

According to police, the 62-year-old suffered gunshot wounds to the head, abdomen and lower backside, while the 24-year-old suffered gunshot wounds to the back

His identity also remains unknown.

A little while later, at about 6:40 p.m., 19-year-old Israel L. Luna was shot in the chest in Back of the Yards on the South Side.

He was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he later died, police said.

Then, at around 7 p.m., a man was killed and another was critically wounded in a shooting in Marquette Park.

Police said both were traveling west in a vehicle when someone outside fired shots, police said.

Following that shooting, 30-year-old Sergio Ochoa was shot in the head and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead.

The other individual, 36, was struck in the shoulder and transported to Holy Cross Hospital in critical condition, police said.

Yanez and his partner, 29-year-old Ella French, (pictured) were shot in the West Englewood neighborhood on August 7, after performing a routine traffic stop for expired plates.

The Morgan brothers were said to have been driving with expired license plates, prompting police to pull them over

Their identity has not been confirmed.

Hours later, six people were shot in a parking lot at about 9:10 p.m. in Calumet Heights in the South Side.

Two male suspects fired shots from an alley in the 1600 block of East 87th Place, striking a 39-year-old man in the abdomen and a 40-year-old in the back and leg.

The 39-year-old self-transported himself to Jackson Park Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. He hasnt been identified.

The 40-year-old was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he remains in critical condition, police said.

In the same incident, a 39-year old man was struck in the ankle; a 32-year-old was struck in the leg; a 44-year-old woman was shot in the leg; and a 25-year-old was shot in the arm.

The 39-year-old was taken to the Univerisity of Chicago Medical Center in fair condition, while the 32-year-old self-transported to Trinity Hospital in good condition.

The 44-year-old self-transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center while the 25-year-old self-transported to Trinity Hospital.

Both are in stable condition and their identities remain unknown at this time.

Four hours later, on the West Side, one person was killed and four others wounded in a mass shooting.

Officers responded to a call about 1 a.m. in the 3400 block of West Lake Street and discovered four males, (29, 17, 34, and 28) and a female (18) shot.

Police said the 29-year-old man was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene. He hasnt been identified.

The 17-year-old was shot in the shoulder and the 18-year-old in the torso.

Both were transported to Stroger Hospital, where the male remains in fair condition while the woman in serious condition.

As for the two remaining victims, police said the34-year-old was shot in the arm and a 28-year-old in the arm and chest.

Both were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where they were listed in fair condition, police said.

Since 5 p.m. Friday, at least 26 others were wounded in shootings across Chicago.

Last weekend, 56 people were shot, 8 fatally, in Chicago.

On August 7., officers Carlos Yanez and Ella French were shot in the West Englewood neighborhood after performing a routine traffic stop for expired plates.

Yanez was severely wounded but survived his injuries, while French, 29, succumbed to hers.

A GoFundMe campaign set up for Yanez features a photo of the officer lying in his hospital bed unconscious.

French was one of 10 people killed and 64 wounded by gun violence throughout the city in August as the city continues to suffer from high crime rates.

Chicago police union boss John Catanzara told Fox News that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot had to shoulder some of the blame for French's death due to the city's soft stance on crime.

Lightfoot had also been criticized for incorrectly referring to French as 'Ella Franks' and siding with First Deputy Police Supt. Eric Carter in dismissing a traditional bagpipe service for French outside the medical examiner's office.
Joe Biden will speak with G7 leaders in a virtual meeting on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing chaos in Afghanistan, the White House announced on Sunday.

The world leaders will talk about continued cooperation between the nations as the Taliban overruns Afghanistan, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in her statement on the upcoming meeting.

'The leaders will discuss continuing our close coordination on Afghanistan policy and evacuating our citizens, the brave Afghans who stood with us over the last two decades, and other vulnerable Afghans,' Psaki's statement reads.

'They will also discuss plans to provide humanitarian assistance and support for Afghan refugees,' she continued.

'The meeting will build on President Biden's calls this week with G7 leaders Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France, and Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy.'

President Joe Biden will participate in a virtual meeting with G7 leaders on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing situation in Afghanistan

The G7 intergovernmental group includes leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

The call comes after Biden received a slew of backlash last week for not talking with any world leaders in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover. Hours after reports came out attacking him for his inaction, Biden spoke with Johnson.

The G7 intergovernmental group includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

On Sunday afternoon, Biden will deliver remarks on Afghanistan  and Hurricane Henri response  at the White House.

Britain currently holds the rotating leadership of the G7 and announced earlier on Sunday that it called for the group to meet virtually this week.

The meeting comes as chaos in Afghanistan continues to unfold, and nations scramble to evacuate their citizens from Kabul.

So far, Biden has sent in 6,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan to help with evacuation efforts after the Taliban was able to take over the country in just over a week. This means the U.S. has deployed more troops into Afghanistan than the number of American citizens it has extracted from the country since the Taliban swept into power on August 14.

The meeting comes as chaos ensues at the Kabul airport this week as foreign nationals and Afghan residents attempt to flee Afghanistan amid the Taliban takeover

The Pentagon said Saturday they were only able to evacuate 2,500 Americans from Kabul in the past week.

Overall, the U.S. was able to evacuate 7,000 people from the pandemonium at the Kabul airport since last weekend, including 3,800 in the last day.

Up to 15,000 Americans still need to be evacuated and the administration hopes to get out 50-60,000 more Afghan allies and their families.
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U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida eloped to Southern California to marry his girlfriend Ginger Luckey, 26, on Saturday in a small ceremony on Catalina Island.

The 39-year-old Republican, who is under investigation as part of a sex trafficking probe, announced the wedding on his personal Twitter page.

He exclaimed 'I love my wife!' along with a photo of them together - he in a sport coat, she in a white dress.

Luckey also announced their union on social media, tweeting a photo from the ceremony captioned #GaetzGetsLuckey.

The ceremony was performed by Sergio Gor, a former staffer for Sen. Rand Paul, Vanity Fair reports. About 40 people were in attendance.

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida eloped to Southern California, marrying his girlfriend Ginger Luckey on Saturday in a small ceremony on Catalina Island

Vanity Fair reports that Sergio Gor, a former staffer for Sen. Rand Paul, performed the ceremony that was attended by about 40 people

According to the magazine, notable attendees included war room hosts Raheem Kassam and Natalie Winters.

Family members at the ceremony included Luckey's brother, Palmer, and his partner, Nicole, and Gaetz's adopted son, Nestor Galban.

After the ceremony, Gaetz served as chef at a cook-out reception, serving up BBQ chicken legs, grilled vegetables, and a watermelon salad.

Gol, who officiated, also served as DJ.

The couple's elopement came as quite the surprise as Gaetz was just on a congressional tour in the Midwest.

He was just in Iowa on Thursday with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, speaking at a rally that is part of a national tour where the lawmakers claimed the 2020 election was stolen from President Donald Trump. They also downplayed the COVID-19 pandemic.

Luckey also announced their union on social media, tweeting a photo from the ceremony captioned #GaetzGetsLuckey

The couple's elopement came as Gaetz embarked on a congressional tour in the Midwest. Pictured: Rep. Matt Gaetz (left) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (right) speak during the America First Rally in Des Moines, Iowa on August 19, 2021

Gaetz proposed to Luckey, a 26-year-old food analyst from Southern California, at then-president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in December 2020 after 8 months of dating.

Luckey had one word to say to Gaetz after he got down on one knee and proposed  and it wasn't 'yes.'

'It was actually 'duh,'' Luckey confessed in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com last year.

'It didn't come as a surprise, I had sort of seen it coming,' she said at the time.

During that same interview, Luckey said the couple had first met at Mar-a-Lago earlier that year. She didn't specify exactly when, but blurted out that the next night Gaetz took her to a birthday party for Donald Trump Jr.'s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle. Guilfoyle's birthday was on March 9.

The couple initially said they planned to wed next year.

Gaetz proposed to Luckey, a 26-year-old food analyst from Southern California, at then-president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in December 2020

At the time of the proposal, Luckey told DailyMail.com: 'It didn't come as a surprise, I had sort of seen it coming'

Gaetz is currently under investigation as part of a probe that led to the arrest and plea deal of his close friend, Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole Count, Florida, tax collector.

Greenberg pleaded guilty last May to six federal crimes, including sex trafficking of a child, identity theft, stalking, wire fraud and conspiracy to bribe a public official. His plea agreement with prosecutors requires continued cooperation with an ongoing probe into sex trafficking.

Greenberg's cooperation could play a role in an ongoing investigation into Gaetz's supposed pay-for-sex relationship with a 17-year-old girl.

While Gaetz was not mentioned by name, in his plea deal Greenberg said he 'introduced the minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts.'

Just last month, his now-wife's sister, Roxanne Luckey, 20, described the Florida congressman as 'weird and creepy' and said she was 'unfortunately not surprised' at his being investigated for sex crimes.

Roxanne Luckey said that she was unsurprised when it emerged that he was being investigated

In a string of TikTok videos, Roxanne criticized Gaetz, saying that she spent the summer of 2020 in Washington DC working as a White House intern, and was uncomfortable with him from the start.

'As someone who has personally experienced a ton of creepy old politician men hitting on me when I was underage, and experiencing sexual assault at that age by people of power, it's very disheartening,' she said.

'And I have zero tolerance of people like him.'

She added that she is 'tired of them getting away with this type of stuff.'

Gaetz has denied any allegations of wrongdoing and has said repeatedly he will not resign from Congress. No charges have been brought against him.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, whose state is engulfed in a fourth COVID surge, said he tested negative for COVID-19 on Saturday after having a 'brief and mild' bout with the infection this week, all while vowing to not enforce any more mask mandates and issuing an emergency order banning school mask mandates statewide.

In a video posted on Twitter, the Republican governor, who announced four days ago that he had tested positive with the virus, credited the vaccination for his short illness and urged Texans to get vaccinated.

'I am now testing negative for Covid,' Abbott captioned the video. 'I am told that my infection was brief & mild because of the vaccination I received.'

'I will continue to quarantine as recommended by doctors. And, I will keep working on issues affecting Texas. God bless you all. And God bless Texas.'

Abbott said he will continue to quarantine at the recommendation of doctors and will continue to work to open infusion centers for antibody therapy treatment across his state.

In a video posted on Twitter, Abbott, who announced four days ago that he had tested positive with the virus, credited the vaccination for his short illness and urged Texans to get vaccinated

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whose state is engulfed in a fourth COVID surge, said he tested negative on Saturday after having a 'brief and mild' bout with the infection this week

Abbott's office on Tuesday said he had the virus but was not experiencing symptoms. He received a monoclonal antibody treatment, it said.

It did not give any indication as to when the governor contracted the virus.

The highly infectious Delta variant continues to rampage across Texas and other states with low levels of vaccinations.

Meanwhile, when it comes to percent of population vaccinated so far, Texas sits between 50 and 60 percent, while states in New England and elsewhere have a near 80 percent rate.

Nationwide, the 7-day average of daily vaccination rates have steeply dropped since their peak in April, 2021.

Meanwhile, Abbott is part of a trend of Republican governors going against mask mandates, and has sought to block local officials in the state from mandating the use of nose and mouth coverings to reduce infection by the virus.

However, just days before announcing he had recovered from the virus, Abbott's efforts to block mask mandates across the Lone Star State were thwarted by the state's Supreme Court, which declined to back his ban of school mask mandates on Thursday, according to NBC News.

Although federal agencies have required their employees to wear masks on site, Abbott still issued an emergency order last month banning any mask mandates statewide.

Pictured: A graph showing average vs. cumulative number of US vaccinations, which depicts a steep drop off of daily jabs over the last several months

Percent of US population vaccinated so far, seen state by state. Texas sits between 50 and 60 percent vaccinated, while states in New England and elsewhere have a near 80 percent rate

The Supreme Court had initially upheld Abbott's ban earlier this month after county leaders in Dallas and San Antonio defied the governor's ban, the Associated Press reported.

Both Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton added that they would sue any agency, department or company that does not comply with the emergency order. No lawsuits have been filed as of Sunday.

The states biggest county, along with several Southern Texas school districts, won temporary restraining orders on Friday in an effort to skirt Gov. Abbotts ban on mask mandates, which they states is worsening the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the state.

While granting the temporary restraining orders, state District Judge Jan Soifer said Abbotts executive order was 'prohibiting a requirement that the schools and the local authorities and the people who generally Texas relies on to make decisions for its citizens think are necessary.'
The start of the new school term for secondary school pupils in England will be delayed by at least a week as heads across the country call students in for on site covid tests.

Lessons in many secondary schools are not expected to start until the second week of term in September after the Department of Education confirmed schools in England will be able to stagger start dates as pupils are tested twice for the virus.

Close contacts of those found to be infected will be traced and, if they also test positive, will need to self-isolate.

Assurances made by Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, in July look to have made little impact on schools in England.

Earlier in the summer, he ditched measures, including teaching in small groups or bubbles and requiring students to wear facemasks.

Close contacts of those found to be infected will be traced and, if they also test positive, will need to self-isolate.

But, a survey this weekend showed that many schools will not obey government instructions to open as normal without taking measured to curb coronavirus transmission.

A poll of more than 1,200 senior teaching staff found that nearly one in five schools are planning to stagger the start or end of the school day throughout the autumn/winter term.

Masks will be worn by pupils in class in one in eight secondary schools, and a third of all schools have said they will take precautions.

And four per cent said they would take the measure of teaching outdoors.

In the last week, ministers have tried to reassure schools with measures including promising that classrooms will be fitted with air quality monitors to improve ventilation.

Families will also be asked to test their children twice weekly until the end of next month, when minister plan to review the policy.

Assurances made by Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, in July look to have made little impact on schools in England.

Schools may be asked to send home a class or year group as a last resort only if action has been advised by health teams and if the outbreak involves five or more people.

Geoff Barton, the General Secretary of ASCL, the senior leaders union, told The Times: 'If you have nine million children going back into school, having been mixing through the summer, you can see the need to test them on site. Logistically it will be challenging.

'We thought we could focus on the norm of education and already we have the spectre of disruption. Parents may rightly feel frustrated.'

Steve Chalke, chief executive of academy trust Oasis, added: 'This is all last minute again.

'Head teachers have called for months for a way of opening schools and keeping them open to avoid a third year of academic disruption to children.'

Oasis will decided next week on whether or not to use facemasks in classrooms from next month.

A DfE spokesman said:

'Our priority is to ensure settings are able to deliver high-quality, face-to-face education to all pupils.

'As our guidance stated in June, and to ensure all pupils receive the education they deserve with minimal disruption, settings may commence testing from three working days before the start of term and can stagger the return of pupils across the first week to manage this process.'
Lloyd Austin said in an interview that aired Sunday that some intelligence assessments predicted the Taliban would gain control of Afghanistan within months of a U.S. troops withdrawal  in stark contrast to President Biden's July claims there were no such reports.

'I know the president has said that the intelligence absolutely did not show that anybody  that the Taliban could take over in 11 days. What's the earliest you were aware that that could happen?' ABC News' Martha Raddatz asked the Defense secretary in a pre-taped interview.

'There were assessments that ranged initially from one to two years to, you know, several months, but it was a wide range of assessments,' he replied.

Austin also said that not one entity predicted that the Islamic militant group would reemerge with such force and be able to take over the lion's share of the country in less than two weeks.

'This all occurred in a span of about 11 days,' he said of the takeover. 'Nobody predicted that, you know, the government would fall in 11 days.'

He added that the evolving situation made it increasingly harder for intelligence and military officials to accurately assess the final outcome.

'As the Taliban began to make gains, and then we saw that in a number of cases, there was less fighting and more surrendering and more forces just kind of evaporating, it was very difficult to predict with accuracy,' Austin said.

The Defense secretary's comments contradict what Biden said last month.

'Your own intelligence community has assessed that the Afghan government will likely collapse,' a reporter said to the president during the July 8 press conference.

Biden fired back by saying, 'That is not true.'

'They did not reach that conclusion,' the president insisted, which appears to be inaccurate based on Austin's comments.

Defense Department Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an interview that aired Sunday that intelligence assessments concluded the Taliban would take over Afghanistan from months to years after U.S. withdrawal

The comments are a stark contrast to President Joe Biden's July claims 'that [it] is not true' his intelligence community assessed that the Afghan government will likely collapse. Biden and first lady Jill leave church in Washington, D.C. on Saturday

'The Afghan government and leadership has to come together,' Biden said at the time of the press conference. 'They clearly have the capacity to sustain the government in place. The question is: Will they generate the kind of cohesion to do it?'

'It's not a question of whether they have the capacity. They have the capacity,' he continued.

Another reporter asked during the press conference last month: 'Is the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan now inevitable?'

'No, it is not,' Biden responded.

'You have the Afghan troops at 300,000  well equipped, as well as any army in the world  and an Air Force, against something like 75,000 Taliban. It is not inevitable,' he explained.

Since the botched withdrawal, Biden has attempted to deflect blame to his predecessor and the Afghan security forces and has seemed to forget many details involved with his decision to get all troops out of Afghanistan by August 31.

The Taliban  of which fighters are pictured patrolling Kabul on Thursday  was able to take over most of the country in a week and collapse the Afghan government in less than two

'This all occurred in a span of about 11 days,' Austin told ABC News' Martha Raddatz. 'Nobody predicted that, you know, the government would fall in 11 days'

Biden said in his first interview after the Taliban took over the country that he couldn't 'recall' if he was warned to maintain a troop presence in Afghanistan.

During the same interview he insisted that 'no one is being killed' at the Kabul airport despite at least a dozen confirmed deaths associated with the chaotic scenes.

He also admitted that would have still pulled troops from Afghanistan without former President Donald Trump's deal to get everyone out by May 1  in a reversal of his repeated finger-pointing at his predecessor for the chaos.

'Your top military advisers warned against withdrawing on this timeline  they wanted you to keep about 2,500 troops,' ABC's George Stephanopoulos said to Biden in an interview that aired Thursday.

'No, they didn't,' the president pushed back. 'It was split. That wasn't true. That wasn't true.'

'They didn't tell you they wanted troops to stay?' Stephanopoulos asked.

'No, not in terms of whether we were going to get out in a time frame  all troops, they didn't argue against that,' Biden reiterated.

There were multiple warnings from top brass and military intelligence officials who cautioned against a total withdrawal from Afghanistan, claiming the situation was ripe for the Taliban to take over.

Reports emerged last week that Biden knew the risks of a total troop pull out and went forward with it anyway despite objections and warnings from his team.

Biden said in the interview that chaos in Kabul was inevitable - months after saying it was not - and snapped at a question over photos of Afghans falling from planes and packing a C-17 while trying desperately to flee the Taliban.

The president's performance was blasted from all arenas with Republicans and Democrats branding Biden 'shameful' and calling for him to 'take responsibility' for the scenes of violence and disorder in recent days as thousands attempted to flee while the Taliban advanced.

'We have control of the airport now,' Biden said at one point during the interview last week as he lauded what has been widely viewed as missteps in evacuating Americans and allies from Afghanistan.

Stephanopoulos pushed back: 'Still a lot of pandemonium outside the airport.'

'Oh, there is,' the president admitted in the interview.

'But no one's being killed right now,' he claimed. 'God forgive me if I'm wrong about that, but no one's being killed right now.'

So far there are a dozen confirmed deaths since the Taliban took over Kabul on Sunday when Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country  including a 14-year-old girl who was trampled to death in a stampede.

Others were killed when they were run over by aircraft rolling down the runway at the Kabul airport, two were shot by U.S. military personnel and two others plummeted to their deaths from a U.S. Air Force plane last Monday as they clung to the side of the aircraft when it taxied away from Hamid Karzai International.

Of the horrific scenes at the airport, Biden dismissed it as something of the past.

'We've all seen the pictures. We've seen those hundreds of people packed into a C-17. You've seen Afghans falling ' Stephanopoulos said before being cut off by the president.

'That was four days ago, five days ago,' Biden shot back.
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Boris Johnson and G7 leaders will plead with Joe Biden to delay the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, amid fears mercy flights could be halted within 48 hours.

The Prime Minister will use a virtual meeting of world leaders on Tuesday to push for more time so thousands are not left behind in the clutches of the Taliban.

However they could be facing an uphill battle, with the US President refusing to commit to an extension.

Nearly 6,000 UK citizens and Afghan staff had been airlifted out by the RAF by last night, and, according to reports last night, a further 6,000 people will be flown out this week.

But the rescue mission is reliant on the American military retaining control of Kabul airport. Along with losing key air support, British military officials fear Islamic State (IS) may also target UK soldiers at Kabul airport in suicide bomb attacks.

'It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years,' Mr Johnson said last night.

But, while the PM last night issued his plea for co-operation, last night there appeared little hope of US troops remaining in Afghanistan beyond the end of this month.

President Biden said yesterday he 'hopes not to' extend his current deadline. He made a pledge to US citizens that 'any American who wants to get home will get home' but pointedly failed to mention his allies.

It came as dramatic pictures emerged of Taliban fighters and British troops, once sworn enemies, working just yards apart at Kabul airport.

Downing Street insiders said Mr Johnson will ask the US President at the G7 meeting not to leave Western allies in the lurch.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace have also been in contact with their opposite numbers in Washington on the issue.

A Whitehall source said last night: 'The situation on the ground is in flux  it would be unwise to impose a rigid deadline at this stage.'

Mr Biden has set a deadline of August 31 for all Americans to have left the country, but UK military sources said another fortnight was needed.

Asked what he would say if G7 leaders pushed him, Mr Biden said: 'I will tell them we will see what we can do.'

British military commanders are understood to have pencilled in August 25 as the last day they can process refugees, including former British interpreters, before the focus shifts to getting about 1,000 British troops and government officials home safely.

It could mean the last British evacuation flight may have to leave as soon as tomorrow or Wednesday to allow soldiers enough time to withdraw. Reports in the Times today suggested the final date could be pushed back to Friday or Saturday.

Meanwhile, furious former generals last night urged the Prime Minister to continue the UK's Afghanistan evacuation mission even if the US leaves, in the hoping of getting 'every last Britain out'.

It came as:

The Ministry of Defence confirmed seven Afghan civilians died in the chaos outside Kabul airport over the weekend, with at least 20 killed in the past week;

Britain pledged to work with Moscow and Beijing to exercise a 'moderating influence' over the Taliban, despite a deep mistrust of both regimes;

Vladimir Putin rejected the idea of airlifting people from Afghanistan to countries near Russia, saying he did not want 'militants showing up here under cover of refugees';

Tony Blair stressed that Britain's involvement in Afghanistan has not been a 'hopeless endeavour', as he accused Mr Biden of following an 'imbecilic policy';

Only a last-minute concession by the Taliban and a change of heart by Mr Biden can save the thousands of vulnerable Afghans who face being left behind.

Boris Johnson (pictured left) will attempt to persuade US President Joe Biden (pictured right) to keep American troops in Afghanistan beyond his August 31 deadline when the two leaders take part in a G7 meeting this week

There are fears that the 1,000 UK troops taking part in Britain's rescue operation will have to pull out when America's remaining group of 6,000 leave, due to a lack of air support. Pictured: Evacuees from Afghanistan as they arrive in an Airbus A400 transport aircraft of the German Air Force Luftwaffe in Tashkent, Uzbekista

Afghan families enter into Pakistan through a border crossing point in Chaman, Pakistan

Afghan nationals arrive in Pakistan through the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman today

People stand on a barrier outside Kabul airport, Afghanistan, after the Taliban takeover of the city last week

A man instructs people to queue as they stand with their belongings outside Kabul airport, Afghanistan

US military plans are doing rapid diving combat landings to beat the threat of a missile attack, with video showing a French transport plane yesterday deploying flares designed to confuse heat-seeking technology

Over recent days, the President has remained stubbornly opposed to any plan to extend the rescue operation into September.

His stance means UK nationals and Afghans eligible to relocate to Britain would have to escape themselves to a third country, such as Pakistan, from where they could travel to the UK on commercial aircraft.

Such journeys would be fraught with danger. Scores of interpreters are hiding in Kabul following beatings and shootings by the Taliban; punishment for their service to a foreign power.

Planes drop flares and make 'diving combat landings' amid fears of ISIS missile attacks as twenty die at airport Military planes making evacuation runs into Kabul are dropping flares and carrying out nosedive combat landings amid fears that Islamic terrorists may try to shoot one down as Afghans trying to flee the Taliban have described at least 20 civilians being killed in the chaos. US military planes are doing rapid diving combat landings to beat the threat of a missile attack, with video showing a French transport plane yesterday deploying flares designed to confuse heat-seeking technology which may have been stolen by Islamic State in Afghanistan. Taliban forces controlling all access points to Hamid Karzai International Airport are not thought to be attempting to shoot down military aircraft during the Western evacuation effort, as such an action could trigger another American-led intervention in Afghanistan. It is feared Islamic State in Afghanistan - also known as ISIS-K - could use stolen heat-seeking missiles to bring down a rescue plane carrying hundreds of refugees including women and children. ISIS militants have been fighting the Taliban for the last six years as they attempt to annex their own piece of Afghanistan following the collapse of their caliphate in Syria and Iraq following Western airstrikes and raids targeting the terror group. Afghans at Kabul airport have described seeing more than 15 people including a two-year-old girl shot and beaten to death by the Taliban or trampled to death in the melee as thousands of locals desperately try to escape the new regime. One family described night-time crowd surges outside the airport gates and people killed in the stampede as they pleaded: 'We are trapped in a hell.' A NATO official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters at least 20 people have been killed in the past seven days in and around Kabul airport during the evacuation effort. The British Ministry of Defence said seven Afghans had died while trying to flee the Taliban. British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey has said that more than 1,700 people have been airlifted out in the past 24 hours with the help of the Taliban, adding that the militants were marshalling people into separate UK and US evacuation queues. However, Taliban militants surrounding Kabul airport fired in the air and used batons to beat back the crowds and make people line up in orderly queues on Sunday, witnesses said. The crude crowd-control methods, together with reports that Taliban gangs have marauded conquered territory to enslave female Afghans, fly in the face of the group's stated claims to be going 'moderate'. Advertisement

Tonight Mr Biden appeared to push back on extending, saying: 'Let me be clear - the evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul is going to be hard and painful,' Biden said.

'No matter when it started, when we began. It would have been true if we had started a month ago, or a month from now.

'There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss and heartbreaking images you see on television. It's just a fact.'

He said about 11,000 people were lifted out of Kabul in less than 36 hours and said defence officials 'hope' they will not have to extend the evacuation operation.

However in a glimmer of hope that an extension was still possible, he added: 'There are going to be discussions I suspect on how far along we are in the process.

'Our first priority in Kabul is getting American citizens out of the situation as quickly and safely as possible,' Biden said.

'Any American that wants to get home will get home.'

He also said the US government is 'looking to move our Afghan allies' out of the country as well, noting that citizens of NATO allies and Afghan allies were amongst the 11,000 individuals evacuated this past weekend.

Meanwhile, Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons defence committee, last night stressed the importance of Mr Johnson convincing Mr Biden that the rescue mission should be extended.

He said: 'Time is unquestionably running out and unless there is movement politically on that cut-off point of August 31, we could see flights for former interpreters, other eligible Afghans and refugees ending in the coming days.

'After that, the main effort must switch to the safe withdrawal of our military personnel.

'It simply isn't possible to do both at the same time; the folding up of the military mission cannot be done amid the mayhem and chaos we are currently witnessing; in particular given genuine fears of a terrorist attack.

'Boris Johnson must get the support of other G7 leaders and present a united front to President Biden. More time must be made available.

'I dread to think what the scenes will be at the airport this week as the deadline approaches. There could be carnage. We are perhaps fortunate that more lives haven't been lost and no British troops have been wounded.'

The threat of a terrorist attack is being factored into all military plans as the chaos is thought to provide an 'open goal' opportunity for the Islamic State terror group to strike British and other international forces.

Military aircraft have been seen dropping anti-missile flares and carrying out nosedive combat landings amid fears that terrorists may try to shoot down an aircraft.

Armed Forces minister James Heappey conceded the UK would not be able to rescue everyone who has been promised sanctuary here.

Asked how important it was that Mr Biden approved an extension of the deadline, Mr Heappey said: 'We are assuming nothing... If the programme is extended, then there is the opportunity to continue with flights.

'But the Taliban get a vote in that too  it's not just a decision made in Washington.'

Meanwhile, a former British Army general last night said the UK should go it alone if the US does not push back its leaving date.

Retired Major General Tim Cross, who served in Iraq and Kosovo, told the Sun: 'What's the point of having armed forces if we cannot hold a single airfield? It makes the whole global Britain idea a joke.'

Another, Colonel Richard Kemp, a retired officer who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, told the paper: 'We are one of the most powerful military nations in the world. We should stay until we have got every last Brit, and everyone we need, out.'

The Minister of Defence last night said it would be 'impractical' to secure Kabul Airport and to continue the evacuation mission 'without the partnership (with the US)'.

Meanwhile, fears have been raised about UK and US troops being targeted by IS terrorists as the evacuation at Kabul airport continues. Fears of an Isis attack on the have prompted the US to warn its citizens not to travel to the site without instructions from its officials.

Former British Army generals last night said the UK should go it alone if the US does not push back its leaving date. Colonel Richard Kemp, a retired officer who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, told the Sun: 'We are one of the most powerful military nations in the world. We should stay until we have got every last Brit, and everyone we need, out.'

Tobias Ellwood (pictured left), chairman of the Commons defence committee, last night stressed the importance of Mr Johnson convincing Mr Biden that the rescue mission should be extended. Armed Forces minister James Heappey (pictured right) conceded the UK would not be able to rescue everyone who has been promised sanctuary here

Evacuations have been underway in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country on August 13 after American troops were pulled from the country

A porter pushes a wheelbarrow carrying Afghan children as family members enters into Pakistan through a border crossing point in Chaman, Pakistan

The 19th century struggle for power in Afghanistan between the UK and Tsarist Russia was called the Great Game. As the US and the UK pull its troops and the Taliban retake control by force, who will Afghanistan's new leaders cosy-up with? Turkey, the only Muslim-majority member of Nato, could benefit, partly because it can control the flow of Afghan refugees into Europe. The mullahs in Iran are delighted by the departure of the US and will recognise the new Kabul regime. Russia will also be pleased to see the US leave, but has its own concerns about Islamic extremism. China and Pakistan have also made early noises of support, while Qatar hosted Taliban leaders in its capital Doha since 2013. However India is dismayed by the Taliban's victory. Here Michael Burleigh looks at where each countries vested interests lie, and which countries will be happy and who will be angry at the Taliban takeover

Former top British military officials urge UK to 'go it alone' in Afghanistan rescue mission if the US pulls out as planned on August 31 Former top British military officials last night urged the UK to go it alone in its Afghanistan rescue mission if the US does not push back its pull-out date. President Joe Biden last night said he 'hoped not to' extend the date for pulling his 6,000 remaining US troops from Kabul. The current date is August 31. UK defence bosses say it is unlikely British troops will be able to remain in Kabul once the US pulls its forces. However a former British Army general last night said the UK should go it alone if the US does not push back its leaving date. Retired Major General Tim Cross, who served in Iraq and Kosovo, told the Sun: 'What's the point of having armed forces if we cannot hold a single airfield? It makes the whole global Britain idea a joke.' Another, Colonel Richard Kemp, a retired officer who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, told the paper: 'We are one of the most powerful military nations in the world. We should stay until we have got every last Brit, and everyone we need, out.' The Minister of Defence last night said it would be 'impractical' to secure Kabul Airport and to continue the evacuation mission 'without the partnership (with the US)'. Advertisement

A government source told the Times last night: 'We know they (IS) would love to get a suicide bomb into the crowd and take out some Brits or Americans.

'There is a serious threat of an Isis suicide bomber. The soldiers are having to keep their fingers on the trigger in one hand while holding a baby in the other. It's very fragile.'

It comes as Sir Laurie Bristow, Britain's ambassador to Afghanistan, last night said the UK had managed to evacuate more than 5,700 people, including 1,000 in the previous 14 hours.

And British troops could be given extra time to evacuate more people out of Afghanistan. The Times suggest that the military has now managed to push back the final evacuation date to Friday or Saturday, in order to help more people.

The evacuation missions has also been expanded, according to the paper. The expansion is reportedly due to a rise in the number of people who have come forward with eligibility claims to the UK.

The figure is thought to have raised from 6,000 last week to around 12,000. Part of the rise is due to the inclusion of Afghan politicians, civic leaders and humanitarian workers, as well as their families, the Times reports.

Lord Richards, the former chief of defence staff, meanwhile, said extending the evacuation window would 'undoubtedly' save lives if the Taliban agreed to it.

He added: 'Western politicians [are] sleepwalking through this, coming out with all sorts of statements of regret and recrimination,' he told BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House. It's so important that we now get a grip of it.

'I think there could be an international consensus and the Taliban ironically might well welcome it, because the alternative is some very bad headlines come September 1 when we see starving Afghans, and worse potentially, simply because they don't have the capacity to deal with it.'

Sir Nick Kay, the former British ambassador to Afghanistan, told LBC radio: 'If you can extend that deadline you can release the Afghan people from the panic that they're in that this is all going to end within a matter of days and hours.'

Former Tory party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said Mr Biden 'needs to be told categorically, you can't go off by this ridiculous artificial date'.

A U.S. Navy Corpsman with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Central Command, hands out water to children during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport

A baby is handed over to the American army over the perimeter wall of the airport for it to be evacuated, in Kabul

Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan

The fighters were all seen carrying weapons as they spoke to passing Afghans at the checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul

Taliban fighters were seen carrying automatic weapons and with ammo strap to their chest at the checkpoint in Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood of Kabul

US President Joe Biden refuses to rule out extending August 31 deadline to withdraw from Afghanistan President Joe Biden said U.S. forces had extended the perimeter around Kabul airport on Sunday as they try to accelerate the evacuation of American nationals after days of chaos and crushes. At the same time he warned that terrorists of ISIS may seek to exploit the operation by attacking Americans or Afghan civilians. The result is that discussions are under way to extend the president's August 31 deadline for the full troop withdrawal. 'Let me be clear - the evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul is going to be hard and painful,' Biden said. 'No matter when it started, when we began. It would have been true if we had started a month ago, or a month from now. There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss and heartbreaking images you see on television. 'It's just a fact.' He said about 11,000 people were lifted out of Kabul in less than 36 hours and said defense officials 'hope' they will not have to extend the evacuation operation, but 'there are going to be discussions I suspect on how far along we are in the process'. 'Our first priority in Kabul is getting American citizens out of the situation as quickly and safely as possible,' Biden said. 'Any American that wants to get home will get home.' Biden says for security reasons, he cannot share what plans entail for moving Americans safely to the Kabul airport. He also said the government is 'looking to move our Afghan allies' out of the country as well, noting that citizens of NATO allies and Afghan allies were amongst the 11,000 individuals evacuated this past weekend. The president stated that as evacuation efforts are underway he wanted to be clear about three things: 'One, planes taking off from Kabul are not flying directly to the United States,' said Biden, explaining that the planes are landing at U.S. Military bases and transit centers around the world where security screenings will take place for non-citizens. 'Two, at these sites where they are landing we are conducting scrutiny security screening for everyone who is not a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. 'Anyone arriving in the United States will have undergone a background check.' He also noted that the government will welcome these individuals into the U.S. 'Three, once screened and cleared we will welcome these Afghans we helped us in the war effort over the last 20 years,' said Biden. Advertisement

He told LBC: 'The idea that in the next couple of days there will be the last flights is abominable.'

During last night's national address from the White House, Mr Biden said it did not matter when the Afghan evacuation began, it was always 'going to be hard and painful'.

The President added: 'No way of evacuating this number of people would be without pain and loss. It is just a fact.

'We are bringing out citizens, Nato allies, Afghani allies... but we have a long way to go and a lot can still go wrong.'

It comes as today Tony Blair blasted President Biden's 'imbecilic' decision to withdraw US troops from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, calling the President's scuttle 'tragic, dangerous and unnecessary' and claiming the move had 'every Jihadist group round the world cheering'.

Mr Blair, who was in Downing Street when London sent UK troops to the Middle Eastern country 20 years ago following the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington DC, said Britain has a 'moral obligation' to stay until 'all those who need to be are evacuated'.

In a 2,700 article on the threat of 'radical Islam', the former British prime minister said the exit was not in the West or Afghanistan's interest as he lamented the likely reversal of gains made during the occupation, with the Taliban reasserting itself across most of the country in recent days.

Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Mr Blair said he has 'enormous respect' for Mr Biden, but suggested the President - who campaigned on a slogan of ending 'forever wars' and is likely to be keeping an eye on next year's midterms - had withdrawn US troops for domestic political reasons.

He repeated his assertion that the withdrawal was a 'serious mistake' and 'not something we needed to do' and said there had been 'a lot of gains' made in the past two decades, stressing that the deaths of British Armed Forces personnel were 'not in vain'.

Mr Blair also issued a stark warning to Boris Johnson that the manner of the US' handling of the exit indicated the UK could be relegated from the top division of international powers, with reports Britain was largely kept in the dark about when American armed forces would leave.

He added that countries including China and Russia are likely to applaud the withdrawal and occupy the 'vacuum' in Afghanistan left by the NATO powers.

Both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab have suggested Britain will now have to turn to Beijing and Moscow to assist with exercising a 'moderating influence' over the Taliban post-withdrawal.

Cabinet insiders have suggested the President was 'gaga' and 'doolally' for withdrawing so quickly, while the Prime Minister has allegedly privately referred to Mr Biden as 'Sleepy Joe', the nickname coined by Donald Trump. Mr Johnson also allegedly remarked Britain 'would be better off with Trump' - allegations branded 'categorically untrue' by Downing Street.

'For Britain, out of Europe and suffering the end of the Afghanistan mission by our greatest ally with little or no consultation, we have serious reflection to do,' said Mr Blair. 'We don't see it yet, but we are at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers.'

His comments come as the US President signalled he wanted evacuations from Kabul airport completed by the end of the month as he prepares to withdraw all American troops - a move that would likely force Britain to wrap up its operation at the same time.

Tony Blair has branded Joe Biden an 'imbecile' over his 'tragic, dangerous, unnecessary' decision to withdraw the US troops from Afghanistan, and claimed that the move had 'every Jihadist group round the world cheering'

Mr Blair issued a stark warning to Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the manner of the US' handling of the exit indicated the UK could be relegated from the top division of international powers, with reports Britain was largely kept in the dark about when American armed forces would leave

Mr Blair told Sky News on Sunday: 'I've enormous respect for Joe Biden, I've known him for many years - he is a good man and he's a decent man. But on the other hand ... I think it is important to realise this was not something we needed to do.

'I understand the political pressure but our footprint had really been reduced to a much smaller level, and by the end of 2019 we were in a situation whereby we could have held firm for some considerable time and helped the Afghan people through the next stages of their progress.'

Mr Blair said there had been 'a lot of gains' made in the past two decades and stressed that the deaths of UK armed forces personnel were 'not in vain'.

Terror threat level should be raised to severe with threat of attack on UK soil 'highly likely', ex-head of British forces warns A jihadist atrocity on British soil is now 'highly likely' following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the UK's terror threat level should be raised to 'severe', the former head of British forces in Afghanistan and Government counter-terrorism adviser has warned. Colonel Richard Kemp claimed that the Taliban regime will allow al-Qaeda and so-called Islamic State terrorists to operate on Afghan territory they control - a key provision of the US withdrawal deal negotiated by Donald Trump last year - and launch attacks on the UK. He warned there is an 'immediately increased threat from British jihadists inspired and motivated by events in Afghanistan' and urged the Government to 'consider raising the UK threat level and increasing counter-terrorist assets available to the intelligence services and police'. It is understood British and US Special Forces will establish secret bases in neighbouring countries which will be used to target any terrorist bases in Afghanistan in the weeks and months ahead. The current national threat level - which is set by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which works with MI5 - is 'substantial' and the next level is 'severe'. It was lowered from 'severe' in February following a spate of atrocities in Austria and France, including the murder of a teacher in Paris who showed a class a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. Advertisement

He added: 'Our troops were fantastic in Afghanistan, and a lot of them made the ultimate sacrifice, a lot of them were injured. And it's really important that they know that this wasn't a hopeless endeavour, and it wasn't a bad cause.

'What I'd say to them is the sacrifice was not in vain, that those 20 years matter. What we achieved in Afghanistan matters today. I think it's really important that people realise this, the story of Afghanistan, the story of the Taliban takeover, it's not over. It's tragic what's happened, I think it's unnecessary, I think we've made a serious mistake in doing this in this way, but it isn't over yet.'

In his article, Mr Blair urged for there to be 'no repetition of arbitrary deadlines' - a reference to Washington's Doha agreement with the Taliban, committing to vacate Afghanistan in time for the 9/11 anniversary - in the rescue mission.

'We must evacuate and give sanctuary to those to whom we have responsibility - those Afghans who helped us and stood by us and have a right to demand we stand by them,' said the former Labour Party leader.

'There must be no repetition of arbitrary deadlines. We have a moral obligation to keep at it until all those who need to be are evacuated. And we should do so not grudgingly but out of a deep sense of humanity and responsibility.'

Mr Blair defended his own decision making in 2001 when he worked with former US president George Bush and NATO allies to avenge the New York World Trade Centre attack. After the Taliban refused to evict al Qaeda, the terror group that masterminded the hijacking of the planes in 2001, Mr Blair said Western allies, who feared worse attacks were to come, felt there was 'no safer alternative' than to strike.

He continued: 'There is no doubt that in the years that followed we made mistakes, some serious. But the reaction to our mistakes have been unfortunately further mistakes.

'Today we are in a mood which seems to regard the bringing of democracy as a utopian delusion and intervention virtually of any sort as a fool's errand. The world is now uncertain of where the West stands because it is so obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this way was driven not by grand strategy but by politics.

'We didn't need to do it. We chose to do it.

'We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending 'the forever wars', as if our engagement in 2021 was remotely comparable to our commitment 20 or even 10 years ago, in circumstances in which troop numbers had declined to a minimum and no allied soldier had lost their life in combat for 18 months.'

The former Middle East envoy said that, although 'imperfect', the 'real gains over the past 20 years' were likely to be lost following the Taliban victory, including advances in living standards, education particularly of girls, and other freedoms.

He called for the UK, in its role as president of the G7 this year, to help coordinate an international response to 'hold the new regime to account'.

The UK Government has been working diplomatically to ensure there is no unilateral recognition of a Taliban government in Afghanistan, with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab refusing to rule out applying sanctions if the militants renege on their promise to be more inclusive, especially in their attitudes towards women, than when last in control.

Mr Blair said: 'We need to draw up a list of incentives, sanctions, actions we can take including to protect the civilian population so the Taliban understand their actions will have consequences. This is urgent. The disarray of the past weeks needs to be replaced by something resembling coherence and with a plan that is credible and realistic.'

The Prime Minister's feelings about America's withdrawal from Afghanistan have been variously described by sources as 'furious', 'a betrayal' and 'let down'.

Downing Street dismisses the claims - it is in neither country's interests to stoke tensions when the future of Afghanistan hangs in the balance - but there is little question that the UK has been left exposed by the speed of Washington's pull-out.

No 10 also denies claims that the Prime Minister was disappointed by Mr Biden's victory in the Presidential elections and had declared that it would have been 'better' if Mr Trump had won a second term, and say it is 'categorically untrue' that Mr Johnson employs the President's derogatory nickname of Sleepy Joe during jocular conversations.

However, one minister denounced US isolationism and warned the Government would have to 'revisit' the recent review on defence and foreign policy because the US was no longer a reliable ally.

They told the Sunday Times: 'America has just signalled to the world that they are not that keen on playing a global role. The implications of that are absolutely huge. We need to get the integrated review out and reread it. We are going to have to do a hard-nosed revisit on all our assumptions and policies.

Pakistan's soldiers check the documents of Afghan and Pakistani nationals for crossing into Afghanistan at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman

People gather outside the Pakistani embassy, to obtain a visa. after Taliban took over in Kabul

A soldier carries someone amid the chaos at Kabul airport in Afghanistan yesterday, with thousands desperate to flee the country

Hundreds of Afghans desperately trying to flee the Taliban are pictured outside Kabul airport

'The US had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the First World War. They turned up late for the Second World War and now they are cutting and running in Afghanistan.'

Speaking to Sky News today, Mr Blair said 'the only people really cheering this decision are the people hostile to Western interests' - listing among them the Chinese and Russian regimes.

'We've got to realise we were in a situation where... we could've managed the situation,' he said. 'The problem with what's happened now is that it's not just about the Afghan people and our obligation to them... it's about us and our security.

'Because you've now got this group back in charge of Afghanistan. They will give protection and succour to al Qaeda, you've got ISIS (Islamic State) already in the country trying to operate at the same time. You look round the world and the only people really cheering this decision are the people hostile to Western interests.'

Mr Blair said the UK and its G7 allies will need to come up with a 'strategy' to deal with the Taliban regime to make sure 'we don't end up with a security threat'.

UN warns Afghanistan faces 'absolute catastrophe' of famine, homelessness and economic ruin The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan faces an 'absolute catastrophe' of famine, homelessness and economic ruin, as the Tory chairman of the Commons Defence Committee urged the organisation's 'immediate' intervention before Kabul descends into 'complete disorder'. Mary-Ellen McGroarty, the UN's World Food Programme's country director for Afghanistan, told the Observer swift coordinated action was critical 'otherwise, an already horrendous situation is just going to become an absolute catastrophe, a complete humanitarian disaster'. She added: 'We need to get supplies into the country, not only in terms of food, but the medical supplies, the shelter supplies. We need money and we need it now. Delay for the next six or seven weeks and it's going to start becoming too late. People have nothing. 'We have to get food in now and get it to the communities in the provinces, before roads are blocked by snow.' Ex-Army officer Tobias Ellwood, who together with Tom Tugendhat and Johnny Mercer has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the scuttle, told Sky News: 'If you do want to withdraw from a country you don't pull out your military first and then choose to allow the civilians to depart. 'This is the wrong order in which we've done things, and this situation is simply not sustainable, it's getting worse every single day. The airport cannot manage this and with the terrorist threat growing the chances are the airport will implode. 'What I will say is the United Nations and its agencies must be brought in immediately before complete disorder breaks down. The relationship between the US and the Taliban is very very fragile indeed, the US has frozen Afghanistan's assets, the economy is in freefall. 'Many of the civil servants that help run the country and indeed run the airport have already departed. We require some serious international leadership immediately.' Advertisement

He added: 'We should be putting together the leading countries who are part of this coalition in the first place and who have supported Afghanistan in the last 20 years and we need to work out what our strategy and tactics are going to be in respect of the Taliban government.

'We need to be drawing up a list of incentives and sanctions and other things we can do in order to use the leverage we have, which is not insignificant. The Taliban will find that governing is a lot harder than they thought. The population of Afghanistan is different.

'There's going to be a lot that we can still do but it's important that we mobilise now after the disarray frankly of the last few weeks, that we mobilise as the leading countries and make it clear that we still understand we have an obligation in our own interests to try and resolve this situation and to put as much pressure on the government in Afghanistan as possible to make sure that we don't end up either with a security threat in play for us or with the Afghan people losing the gains they've made over the last 20 years.'

Across Whitehall and in British embassies around the world, officials and diplomats are adjusting to the fact that Mr Biden has adopted an America First policy every bit as isolationist as his predecessor's.

There are also whispered concerns that the 78-year-old might be, in the words of one Government source, 'a bit doolally' - unable to exert full executive grip on the White House and with a world view forged decades ago and out of step with the demands of leadership in the 2020s.

The Times claimed yesterday that Mr Johnson finds Mr Biden 'lightweight and inward-looking'.

Observers of the two men's relationship believe that there is a degree of wariness, with Mr Biden regarding Mr Johnson as a 'mini-Trump' because of his personality-driven style of politics and the pair talking far less frequently than Mr Johnson and Mr Trump did.

There are also policy differences, with Washington reluctant to accede to the UK's demand to ramp up spending on 'green' policies ahead of the COP26 climate change summit being hosted by the UK in November.

Of particular irritation in London during the Afghan endgame has been the fact that British military commanders have been cut out of discussions between the US and the Taliban.

But a No 10 source said yesterday that Mr Johnson had not expressed any anger over the US withdrawal, and said the two men had enjoyed a 'warm and constructive' phone conversation on Tuesday evening.

A Downing Street spokesman said: 'These claims are categorically untrue. The Prime Minister has not criticised President Biden, and they have a very strong working relationship.

The President's first call to a leader outside of North America after his election win was to the Prime Minister.

They have worked together on a range of issues, including at the recent G7, where they secured an additional one billion Covid vaccine doses for developing countries, and signed the Carbis Bay Declaration to improve global health co-operation and prevent future pandemics'.

President Biden cancelled plans to spend the weekend at his home in Delaware. Instead he is meeting his national security team 'to hear intelligence, security and diplomatic updates on the evolving situation in Afghanistan,' the White House said.

Lord Ricketts, who served as the Government's first national security adviser from 2010 to 2012 under former prime minister David Cameron, said the UK will need to 'rethink' its foreign policy stance following the United States' handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Speaking to Times Radio, he said: 'It has been a humiliating period for the UK. I'm afraid we've learnt that (US President) Joe Biden has put US politics ahead of NATO alliance solidarity and Britain hasn't counted for much in that decision, if anything at all.

'The hard fact is we are going to need to continue to work with the Americans in all sorts of areas and this has been a difficult experience, but we need to bring the Americans back to working with their allies, taking account of our views.

'But we can't somehow invent a foreign policy without the Americans so we've got to take a deep breath and do some frank talking to Joe Biden and then get back to work with him.'

The former chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee continued: 'We need to rethink a lot of that rhetoric in the integrated review published by the Government a few months ago about Britain as an independent sovereign operator, turning the dial on international crises.

'We have shown actually that we are pretty impotent in a situation where the Americans take a decision - we have little choice but to follow.'

TONY BLAIR: America's retreat is imbecilic  and tells our enemies we don't have any interests or values worth defending

By TONY BLAIR FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours.

In the aftermath of the decision to return the country to the same group from which the carnage of 9/11 arose, and in a manner that seems almost designed to parade our humiliation, the question that allies and enemies alike pose is  has the West lost its strategic will?

By that I mean, is it able to learn from experience, think strategically, define our interests strategically and on that basis commit strategically? Is 'long term' a concept we are still capable of grasping? Is the nature of our politics now inconsistent with asserting our traditional global leadership role? And do we care?

As leader of our country when we decided to join America in removing the Taliban from power in 2001, and who saw the high hopes we had of what we could achieve for the people and the world subside under the weight of bitter reality, I know better than most how difficult are the decisions of leadership and how easy it is to be critical and how hard to be constructive.

Tony Blair pictured addressing British troops in Basra, southern Iraq, in May 2003. The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours, the former prime minister writes

Twenty years ago, following the slaughter of 3,000 people on US soil on September 11, 2001, the world was in turmoil. The attacks were organised out of Afghanistan by Al Qaeda, an Islamist terrorist group given protection and assistance by the Taliban.

We forget this now, but the world was spinning on its axis. We feared further attacks, possibly worse. The Taliban were given an ultimatum: yield up the Al Qaeda leadership or be removed from power.

They refused. We felt there was no safer alternative for our security than keeping our word. We held out the prospect, backed by substantial commitment, of turning Afghanistan from a failed terror state into a functioning democracy on the mend. It may have been a misplaced ambition, but it was not an ignoble one.

There is no doubt that in the years that followed we made mistakes, some serious. But the reaction to our mistakes has been, unfortunately, further mistakes.

Today we are in a mood that seems to regard the bringing of democracy as a utopian delusion and intervention virtually of any sort as a fool's errand. The world is now uncertain of where the West stands because it is so obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was driven not by grand strategy but by politics.

We didn't need to do it. We chose to do it. We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending 'the forever wars', as if our engagement in 2021 was remotely comparable to our commitment 20 or even ten years ago, in circumstances in which troop numbers had declined to a minimum and no allied soldier had lost their life in combat for 18 months.

We did it in the knowledge that though worse than imperfect, and though immensely fragile, there were real gains over the past 20 years. And for anyone who disputes that, read the heartbreaking laments from every section of Afghan society as to what they fear will now be lost. Gains in living standards, education, particularly of girls, gains in freedom. Not nearly what we hoped or wanted. But not nothing. Something worth defending. Worth protecting.

We withdrew because our politics seemed to demand it. And that's the worry of our allies  and the source of rejoicing in those who wish us ill. They think Western politics is broken. Unsurprisingly, therefore, friends and foes ask: is this a moment when the West is in epoch-changing retreat?

Royal Marines of 40 Commando, Bravo Company, arrive at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan - part of the lead element of an International Peace Keeping Force - in December 2001

British citizens and dual nationals residing in Afghanistan board a military plane for evacuation from Kabul airport on August 16

I can't believe we are in such retreat, but we are going to have to give tangible demonstration that we are not. This demands an immediate response in respect of Afghanistan. And then measured and clear articulation of where we stand for the future. We need to work out a means of dealing with the Taliban and exerting maximum pressure on them.

This is not as empty as it seems. We have given up much of our leverage, but we retain some. The UK as the current G7 chair should convene a Contact Group of the G7 and other key nations and commit to coordinating help to the Afghan people and holding the new regime to account. Nato  which has had 8,000 troops still in Afghanistan alongside the US  and Europe should be brought fully into co-operation under this grouping.

We need to draw up a list of incentives, sanctions and actions we can take, including to protect the civilian population so the Taliban understand their actions will have consequences.

But then we must answer that overarching question. What are our strategic interests and are we prepared any longer to commit to upholding them? Afghanistan was hard to govern all through the 20 years of our time there. And of course there were mistakes and miscalculations. But we shouldn't dupe ourselves into thinking it was ever going to be anything other than tough when there was an internal insurgency combining with external support  in this case Pakistan  to destabilise the country and thwart its progress.

Wing Commander Matt Radnall carries a carefully folded Union Flag under his arm and back home to the UK as he leaves the Helmand Province of Afghanistan in 2014

Blair pictured with ex-Afghan President Hamid Karzai at 10 Downing Street in January 2006

We have not had another attack on the scale of 9/11, though no one knows whether that is because of what we did post 9/11 or despite it.

The World Trade Center attack exploded into our consciousness because of its severity and horror. But the motivation for such an atrocity arose from an ideology many years in development.

For want of a better term, I will call it Radical Islam  an ideology in different forms and with varying degrees of extremism that has been almost 100 years in gestation.

Its essence is the belief that Muslim people are disrespected and disadvantaged because they are oppressed by outside powers and their own corrupt leadership, and that the answer lies in Islam returning to its roots, creating a State based not on nations but on religion, with society and politics governed by a strict and fundamentalist view of Islam.

In the West, we have sections of our own Muslim communities radicalised. Islamism is a long-term structural challenge because it is an ideology utterly inconsistent with modern societies based on tolerance and secular government. Yet Western policymakers prefer to identify Radical Islam as a set of disconnected challenges each to be dealt with separately.

We are in the wrong rhythm of thinking in relation to Radical Islam. With Revolutionary Communism, we recognised it as a threat of a strategic nature that required us to confront it both ideologically and with security measures. It lasted more than 70 years. Throughout that time we would never have dreamt of saying, 'Well, we have been at this for a long time, we should just give up.'

Ex-Prime Minister Blair meets British troops at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, during a surprise visit in November 2006

We knew we had to have the will, the capacity and the staying power to see it through. This is what we need to decide now with Radical Islam. Is it a strategic threat? If so, how do those opposed to it, including within Islam, combine to defeat it?

We have learnt the perils of intervention in the way we intervened in Afghanistan, Iraq and indeed Libya. But non-intervention is also a policy with consequence.

What is absurd is to believe the choice is between what we did in the first decade after 9/11 and the retreat we are witnessing now; to treat the full-scale 2001 military intervention as of the same nature as the secure-and-support mission in Afghanistan of recent times.

Intervention can take many forms. We need to do it learning the proper lessons of the past 20 years, according not to our short-term politics but to our long-term strategic interests.

But intervention requires commitment. And not time-limited by political timetables but by obedience to goals. For Britain and the US, these questions are acute. The absence of consensus and collaboration, and the deep politicisation of foreign policy and security issues, is visibly atrophying American power.

And for Britain, out of the EU and suffering the end of the Afghanistan mission by our greatest ally with little or no consultation, we have serious reflection to do. We don't see it yet. But we are at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers. Maybe we don't mind. But we should at least take the decision deliberatively.

There are, of course, many other important issues in geo-politics: Covid 19, Climate, the rise of China, poverty, disease and development. But sometimes an issue comes to mean something not only in its own right but as a metaphor, as a clue to the state of things and the state of peoples. If the West wants to shape the 21st Century, it will take commitment. Through thick and thin.

It will require parts of the Right in politics to understand that isolation in an interconnected world is self-defeating; and parts of the Left to accept that intervention can sometimes be necessary to uphold our values.

It requires us to learn lessons from those 20 years from 9/11, in a spirit of humility, and the respectful exchange of different points of view. It also requires a sense of rediscovery that we in the West represent values and interests worth being proud of and defending. And that commitment to those values and interests needs to define our politics  and not our politics define our commitment.

This is the large strategic question posed by these last days of chaos in Afghanistan. And on the answer will depend the world's view of us and our view of ourselves.

This is an edited version of an article originally published on the Tony Blair Institute website.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken didn't deny on Sunday that the U.S. has to ask the Taliban for permission to get Americans out of Afghanistan as the developing situation in Kabul continues to present obstacles for evacuations.

'Someone in our audience might listen to you, Mr. Secretary, and say, 'Oh, so we have to ask the Taliban for permission for American citizens to leave.' True or not true?' CBS News' Face the Nation fill in host Major Garrett asked Blinken of the 'agreement' between the Islamic militant group and Washington.

'They are in control of Kabul. That is the reality,' Blinken responded without denying the claim Garrett detailed.

'That's the reality that we have to deal with,' he added.

'How comfortable are you with that, Mr. Secretary?' the host questioned the State Department chief.

He continued to deflect in saying: 'What I am focused on, what we're all focused on, is getting people out and making sure that we're doing everything possible to do that.'

'And in this case, it is, I think, a requirement of the job to be in contact with the Taliban, which controls Kabul,' Blinken explained.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not deny on Sunday that the U.S. has to 'ask permission' from the Taliban to evacuate Americans from Afghanistan

'Someone in our audience might listen to you, Mr. Secretary, and say, 'Oh, so we have to ask the Taliban for permission for American citizens to leave.' True or not true?' Major Garrett (right) asked Blinken of the 'agreement' between the Islamic militant group and Washington. 'They are in control of Kabul. That's the reality that we have to deal with,' Blinken said

The comments from Blinken are surprising considering the current administration's harsh criticism of predecessor Donald Trump's team for negotiating with the Taliban about terms for withdrawal during his time in office.

Blinken's comments are in response to questions over why Biden would trust the Taliban to just let Americans gain passage to the Kabul airport for evacuation.

Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan detailed to NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that the president has an agreement with the Taliban that they will allow all American citizens access to the evacuation site  including through any checkpoints along their travel to the Hamid Karzai International Airport.

But critics wonder if that is actually happening, especially after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revealed over the weekend that Americans in Kabul are being beaten and assaulted by Taliban fighters.

On many occasions, Biden and his team have assured Americans stranded in Afghanistan that if they have the correct paperwork and passport, the Taliban has agreed to give them passage to the airport.

Blinken defended the fact that the administration and Pentagon has to speak with Taliban leaders in order to coordinate evacuations, claiming they are now in control of Afghanistan.

He assured, however, that this doesn't give the militant group legitimacy.

Blinken said that Biden negotiated with the Taliban to make sure Americans were given safe passage to the Kabul airport. Here Taliban fighters search a vehicle at a checkpoint in Kabul

'The President said that we have an agreement with the Taliban. Mr. Secretary, that implies we are negotiating with them. Does that not confer upon them already legitimacy?'Garrett asked.

'No, we've had for a long time contact with the Taliban both at a political level in Doha going back some years, as well as now on the ground in Kabul a working relationship in order to deconflict, in order to work through any problems with people getting to the airport,' Blinken detailed.

'That's been very important to making sure that we can actually advance our own interests in getting people out safely and effectively as possible,' he added. 'So that's the nature of the relationship.'

The Taliban was able to take over the capital city of Kabul last Sunday  the same day Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
The mayor of Orlando called on residents to stop watering their lawns and washing their cars immediately because liquid oxygen normally used by water treatment plants is now being diverted to hospitals to treat patients amid the recent surge of COVID-19 cases.

'We acknowledge that the No 1 priority for the liquid oxygen should be for hospitals,' Mayor Buddy Dyer said at a news conference on Friday.

The Orlando Utility Commission typically goes through 10 trucks of liquid oxygen a week in the process of cleaning the city's drinking water in a process known as ozonation.

But its supplier recently said that it would be cut back to five to seven trucks a week to accommodate hospitals, said Linda Ferrone, OUC's chief customer and marketing officer.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer (pictured) asked residents to stop watering their lawns and washing their cars for a least a week, saying water usage needed to be cut back because of the recent surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations

About 40 percent of the utility commission's potable water is used for irrigation so any strains on the water supply will be greatly reduced if residents stop watering their lawns, washing their cars or using pressure washers, she said.

On its website, the utility said residents should prepare to follow the conservation measures for at least two weeks.

'We realize this is drastic and unprecedented,' Ferrone said. 'If worse came to worse, we would have to look at a boil water alert.'

Since the 1990s, the utility has used liquid oxygen to remove the slight discoloration and rotten-egg smell that is found naturally in Florida's water supply.

Nationally and locally the demand for liquid oxygen is high as COVID-19 has surged and Dyer said there could be impacts to the water quality if the city doesn't reduce the amount of water it needs to treat.

'We're trying to get out ahead of this,' he said.

Florida is one of the state's bearing the brunt of the nation's COVID-19 surge as it became the third state in the U.S. to reach 3 million cases of COVID-19, now surpassing 15 countries in the world

'It's another result of what happens when people don't get vaccinated, become critically ill and require medical treatment,' Dyer said 'If you haven't been vaccinated, now is the time.'

Officials at one of the Orlando area's largest health care systems said this week that they had 1,620 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, twice the level of what it was during last winter's peak high for AdventHealth.

Recognized as one of the best hospital's in Florida, AdventHealth Orlando hospital officials reported they were elevating to level red with a full ICU and more than 900 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Central Florida.

The hospital system's inpatient totals have risen to near January's record as the delta variant surges in the state

AdventHealth hospital officials reported they were elevating to level red with a full ICU and more than 900 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Central Florida. The hospital system's inpatient totals have risen to near January's record as the delta variant surges in the state

'This is unfortunately a crisis of unprecedented proportions,' said Dr. Vincent Hsu, executive director of infection prevention and epidemiologist at AdventHealth.

Florida became the third state in the U.S. to reach three million coronavirus cases, a total surpassed by only 15 countries in the world.

Cases in the state slightly dipped this past week, with 150,740 compared to 151,764 two weeks ago, but deaths were on the rise.

The Sunshine state saw 1,486 COVID-related deaths this last week compared to 1,071 two weeks ago.

Florida reported an all-time death record, with 1,486 deaths in the past week  nearly 15% above the previous record of 1,296 deaths in a week of January, according to USA Today.
A 41-year-old Apple II computer manual signed by late Apple founder Steve Jobs himself fetched a whopping $800,000 at an auction last week, and the buyer happened to be Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.

RR Auction, a firm based out of Boston, sold the 1980 manual on Thursday for $787,484, according to CNN.

The computer's 196-page manual, which was signed by Jobs and early investor in Apple and the company's second CEO, Mike Markkula, was dated just three years after the computers release back in 1977.

'Julian, Your generation is the first to grow up with computers. Go change the world! Steven jobs, 1980,' a then- 25-year-old Jobs wrote.

The 'Julian' in question is Julian Brewer, the son of an former Apple product distributor in the United Kingdom. In a statement announcing the sale, RR Auction stated Jobs and Markkula had signed the manual during a promotional trip to the UK.

Pictured: the signed Apple II manual by Steve Jobs from 1980, which was addressed to 'Julian'

'Julian, Your generation is the first to grow up with computers. Go change the world! steven jobs, 1980' Jobs' inscription read

Pictured: a different angle of the signed Apple II reference manual, which was sold at auction on Thursday

Steve Jobs, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., unveils the iCloud storage system at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 in San Francisco, California, on June 6, 2011

'I was sitting in my bedroom writing games on my Apple II when Dad called me down to meet some guests,' Brewer said of receiving the manual as a child.

'To my amazement it was Steve Jobs and Mike Markkula. I had the manual with me and only later understood how rare it was for Jobs to sign anything, let alone to write an inscription like this. He got on well with Dad, so I feel the inscription was made with care.'

The Apple II proved to be a monumental product for the then-struggling computer company, and became one of the first computers made for the consumer market.

The second generation hardware also became a hit in the business sector, after VisiCalc, a computer spreadsheet, was coded for the Apple II back in 1979.

'Whereas the Apple I was primarily for hobbyists, with less than 200 units made, the Apple II truly 'changed the world' by giving around 6 million homes and businesses their first taste of personal computing,' RR Auction said.

'Apple II's revenues supported Apple's successful floatation, the biggest tech IPO of the time.'

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay (pictured) was the one to purchase the signed manual for nearly $800,000

Pictured: Jobs gracing the cover of the inaugural issue of the MacWorld magazine, also signed by the late Apple founder, was also up for auction by RR Auction and was bought for $201,021

The Apple II (pictured) proved to be a monumental product for the then-struggling computer company, and became one of the first computers made for the consumer market in 1977

The company would eventually go public, offering IPOs in December 1980 - just three years after the release of Apple II.

Meanwhile, the winning bidder revealed what the manual meant for him after paying nearly $1 million for it.

'When we think of the greatest, most innovative minds of the past two centuries, Steve Jobs must certainly be included among them,' Irsay wrote in a statement to RR Auction.

'Jobs was a truly transformative figure who changed the way in which human beings think, do business and interact on a daily basis.'

The three most expensive auction items were the Steve Jobs signed Apple II manual, a Jobs signed typed letter that went for $479,939, and an Apple I computer that fetched $464,876.

The inaugural 1984 issue of the MacWorld magazine, also signed by the late Apple founder, was also up for auction by RR Auction and was bought for $201,021 after 33 bids, according to the auction house website.

Meanwhile, Jobs' original business card went for $12,905, and his NeXT bomber jacket went for just $3,110, according to the news outlet.
A man is due to appear in court charged with the murder of his wife.

Mark Barrott, 54, from Leeds, was detained by police in Scotland in the early hours of Thursday. He will appear at Leeds Magistrates Court on Monday.

Barrott is charged with the murder of Eileen Barrott, 50, who was found dead at the couple's home in Naburn Fold, Whinmoor, Leeds, on August 15.

Mark Barrott, 54, from Leeds, was detained by police in Scotland in the early hours of Thursday

Following Barrott's arrest, senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Vanessa Rolfe said: 'We would like to thank all the members of the public who contacted us with information, and also our colleagues in Police Scotland for their assistance and support with this investigation.'

The force had previously urged Barrott to hand himself in, and issued appeals after he was seen in Edinburgh and Aberdeen. He was traced to an address in Elgin, but had left.

Neighbours of the couple said they had lived in their terraced house for about 20 years and have two grown-up children, a son and a daughter.

Barrott is charged with the murder of Eileen Barrott, 50, who was found dead at the couple's home in Naburn Fold, Whinmoor, Leeds, on August 15
A landlord has been mocked for trying to rent out his tiny toilet as an office in Glasgow.

In an advert posted on Gumtree, pictures show a desk and filing cabinet pushed up against the wall, right next to the toilet.

On a shelf just inches away, a kettle and a selection of teas and coffees can be seen among hygiene products.

The property owner is offering the miniature space, in Patrick, for 50 a week.

The advert reads: 'Small and compact space ideal for solo working.

'Located on the 1st floor of a tenement building in Partick, the space has its own private entrance.

In an advert posted on Gumtree, pictures show a desk and filing cabinet pushed up against the wall, right next to the toilet

On a shelf just inches away from the toilet, a kettle and a selection of teas and coffees can be seen among hygiene products

'Included is fibre broadband connection, 2 x desks, mini fridge, toilet and sink, underfloor heating, lamps, mains supply, kettle.

'It's a nice quiet spot and was recently converted.

'Available from 8am to 6pm Mon to Fri and would provide keys to longer term renters.'

One Twitter user who caught sight of the bizarre offer shared it with the caption: 'Someone in Partick is renting their s*****r out as an office.'

The images show how a chair placed in front of the desk barely fits inside the room.

One Twitter user joked: 'Report to Elf and Dafty because of inability to leave desk space rapidly in case of emergencies!', while another chimed in: 'Zoom calls on the throne.'

The advert was first posted 44 days ago, with availability starting from August 1.

The landlord chose not to comment when contacted by the Mail Online - and has since deleted the posting.

Cameron Hastings recently took to Twitter after spotting shocking snaps of another property in Glasgow (pictured) which was listed for 950 - excluding bills

It comes after another landlord in Glasgow caused outrage for their 950-per-month two-bedroom home which had missing kitchen cabinets and what appeared to be 'damp' on the wall.

Cameron Hastings, from Glasgow, took to Twitter after spotting shocking snaps of the property, located in the trendy Finnieston area.

One snap shows one of the bedrooms with no bed or storage space - despite the property being advertised as having new furniture. Instead, one corner of the room is filled with clutter, including two uninstalled sinks and boxes.
A veterans group is helping Afghan interpreters evacuate the amid the Taliban's insurgence, via an online network of allies.

The campaign, known as 'digital Dunkirk,' is comprised of a network of 'hundreds of thousands of people' and utilizes satellite imagery and other intel to locate Taliban checkpoints.

The militant group, who now rules the country, is targeting the interpreters and has ordered them to be shot.

Matt Zeller, an Afghanistan war veteran and former CIA analyst, told Fox News the interpreters were essential allies to U.S. troops, serving as America's 'eyes and ears on the battlefield'.

President Joe Biden, who recently withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan, has been under fire for not making the evacuation of interpreters a priority.

A veterans group is working to help Afghan interpreters who served as U.S. allies during the war evacuate the nation safely amid the Taliban's takeover (Pictured: Hundreds run alongside a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane as it moves down a runway at Kabul airport on Aug. 16)

Afghanistan war veteran and former CIA analyst Matt Zeller (pictured) is a member of the 'digital Dunkirk' network and actively communicating with interpreters seeking evacuation

According to Zeller, the 'digital Dunkirk' campaign started out as an army of veterans but has not grown to include hundreds of thousands of individuals from all backgrounds who want to help the translators evacuate safely.

'It's incredible,' he said. 'It's not just veterans. Literally it's pastors, it's my mom, it's my relatives, people who have never served in Afghanistan  widows, widowers, children of people who served.'

'We've had intel analysts who have come and started doing satellite imagery analysis and actually putting together products for people where they're mapping out Taliban checkpoints in real time using social media data to provide safe routes to the airport,' Zeller explained.

He said he spends the majority of his nighttime communicating with interpreters sharing the latest checkpoint locations.

'I'm spending most of my nighttime texting with Afghans, telling them 'no, this is the gate you now got to try and get to. Oh, well here's where this Taliban checkpoint is, you gotta take this street to literally get around them,'' Zeller said.

The Taliban has reportedly said they would 'forgive' any Afghans who aided the U.S. during the war, however, according to Zeller, the group has been stopping people at checkpoints and either 'recording or killing' anyone that has 'allied against them'.

'If you have an English document on you in that checkpoint, they take that document,' Zeller stated.

'And they make note that you're now on their list.'

Zeller (pictured with an Afghan interpreter) says the campaign utilizes satellite imagery and other intel to locate Taliban checkpoints and provide allies with safe routes to the Kabul airport

The Taliban (soldiers pictured) has reportedly said they would 'forgive' any Afghans who aided the U.S. during the war, however, according to Zeller, the group has been stopping people at checkpoints and either 'recording or killing' anyone that has 'allied against them'

The former CIA analyst explained that the Taliban is actively seeking vengeance.

'From the Taliban's perspective, they won. [The Afghan interpreters] are the people who have been helping us to kill them over the last 20 years,' Zeller said.

'They want revenge, they want retribution. There's no place for these people in Afghanistan.'

The U.S. military took control of the Kabul airport for evacuations a week ago as the capital fell to the Taliban.

However, Zeller notes that getting past the checkpoints and to the Kabul airport is only the first part of the challenge as Taliban forces controlling the streets around the airport, and the throngs of people gathering outside in hope of escape, have made it difficult and dangerous to get through.

He also shared that once individuals make it to the airport they are forced to endure unbearable conditions for hours on end.

'If you get people who get there, they need to be prepared to wait up to nine, ten hours, in horrifically hot, humid conditions, with no water, no food no bathroom. Just the worst possible conditions you can think of,' he shared.

'On top of that, the Taliban are shooting indiscriminately into the crowd and over everybody's head. It's just complete and total chaos.'

Thousands have crowded outside the airport entry points and fight for seats on flights out of the capital city (Pictured: Evacuee children wait for the next flight after being manifested at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Aug. 19, 2021)

Afghans continue to wait around the Hamid Karzai International Airport as they try to flee the Afghan capital of Kabul, Afghanistan on August 21, 2021.

The veteran also expressed his disappointment in the Biden Administration, arguing that the U.S. has an obligation to evacuate the interpreters.

'If they aren't evacuated now, then they're gonna be dead, and we'll regret for the rest of our lives having failed them,' Zeller told Fox News.

He called out Biden saying: 'the campaign to evacuate the interpreters is a whole of America effort  minus the one guy, the only guy, who can give the order to actually truly save these people.'

He also singled out the secretary of defense, arguing: 'I was appalled that the secretary of defense said he didn't have the ability to guarantee the safe movement of Americans to the airport in Kabul. He absolutely does.'

'He has the United States military. What he doesn't have is the orders to move those people.'

Meantime, a week after the Taliban's seizure of Kabul, thousands crowd outside the airport entry points and fight for seats on flights out of the capital city.

Zeller (pictured) has called out President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for their lack of action regarding the evacuation of interpreters

Pictured: A full flight of 265 people supported by members of the UK Armed Forces on board an evacuation flight out of Kabul airport, Afghanistan on Aug. 21, 2021

The U.S. military is considering 'creative ways' to get Americans and others into Kabul's international airport for evacuation from Afghanistan amid 'acute' security threats, Biden administration officials have said.

The Pentagon, on Sunday, ordered six U.S. commercial airlines to help move evacuees from temporary sites outside of Afghanistan.

3,900 people had been airlifted out of Kabul on U.S. military flights over the past 24 hours.

A U.S. defense official said those people were flown on a total of 23 flights  14 by C-17 transports and nine aboard C-130 cargo planes.

This represented an increase from 1,600 flown out onboard U.S. military planes in the previous 24 hours, but remained far below the 5,000 to 9,000 the military said it had the capacity to airlift daily.

The Biden administration has given no firm estimate of the number of Americans seeking to leave Afghanistan. Some have put the total at between 10,000 and 15,000.
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President Joe Biden turned his back on a reporter who asked about the threats Americans in Afghanistan face in the wake of his chaotic withdrawal from the country.

Biden turned on his heel and ignored a reporter who shouted 'Mr President what about ISIS and the threat Americans face now?' at the conclusion of Sunday evening's press conference about the crisis.

Moments before the reporter asked her question, the president said 'Thank you,' in an apparent signal that the press conference had ended.

But he has since taken heat from viewers and commentators who said the question was a sufficiently important one to merit an answer.

Biden's snub came just hours after his own national security adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC News that there is a 'genuine threat' ISIS could attack the evacuation effort at Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul.

Sullivan, who also raised the prospect of sending US troops back into Kabul, said: 'I know that the scenes around the airport are heartbreaking, large crowds of people wanting to leave

'I know that there is complexity and there is turbulence on the ground and in Kabul, and it's very risky and dangerous because there's a genuine threat from ISIS. That is the reality of what we are up against, and I'm not going to sugarcoat that reality.'

The gaffe came after Biden revealed U.S. forces may stay beyond his deadline of Aug. 31 during a speech on Sunday evening he tries to accelerate the operation to rescue Americans after days of chaos and crushes at Kabul airport.

He said that U.S. forces had expanded the perimeter around the airport amid fears terrorists may seek to exploit the operation by attacking Americans or Afghan civilians.

But things were moving in the right direction with some 33,000 people brought to safety, he said.

'Let me be clear - the evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul is going to be hard and painful,' Biden said during a speech in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

'No matter when it started, when we began, it would have been true if we had started a month ago, or a month from now.

'There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss and heartbreaking images you see on television.

'It's just a fact.'

His speech marked the latest attempt by the White House to seize control of a crisis that is rapidly turning into a humanitarian and political disaster.

A similar effort on Friday backfired when Biden claimed that he knew of no cases of Americans being stopped from reaching Kabul airport - only to be flatly contradicted by the Pentagon.

Things have only worsened since then, with reports that seven people died in the crush around the airport, including a two-year-old.

President Joe Biden says the United States is 'working hard' and as 'fast as we can' to get Americans and U.S. allies out of Afghanistan, noting that 33,000 people have been evacuated from the country since July

Speaking in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, he said U.S. forces had extended the perimeter around the airport to improve security

Thousands of people surrounded the Kabul airport Sunday, desperate to take the steps needed to cross the threshold to sanctuary

The crowds have made it difficult and dangerous for Americans and Afghans with the correct paperwork to reach the airport

Biden said that as many as 33,000 people had been evacuated since July, including some 11,000 during a single 36-hour period.

Defense officials 'hope' they will not have to extend the evacuation operation, he added, but 'there are going to be discussions I suspect on how far along we are in the process.'

He also said troops were maintaining constant vigilance against terrorist threats, particularly from the local affiliate of ISIS, sworn enemies of the both the U.S. and the Taliban.

'The security threat is changing rapidly,' he said.

'There are civilians crowded at the airport, although we have cleared thousands of them.

'We know that terrorists may seek to exploit the situation and target innocent Afghans or American troops .'

Every day that American troops and civilians are at the airport is another day of risk that terrorists launch an attack from distance.

But he said the Taliban had been helpful.

'We discussed a lot with the Taliban,' he said. 'They've been cooperative in extending some of the perimeter.'

But he declined to describe further 'technical changes' designed to improve security.

'So far the Taliban has not taken action against U.S. forces,' he said, rapping his knuckles on the lectern as if knocking on wood.

'So far they have, by and large, followed through on what they said in terms of Americans to pass through .

'And I'm sure they don't control all of their forces. It's a rag tag force.

'And so we'll see if what they say turns out to be true.

Conditions deteriorated further at the weekend. The U.S. was forced to tell Americans not to try to brave the chaos around the airport unless they have been told to report.

And it emerged that evacuation flights were dropping flares and making steep combat landings after warnings that terrorists of the Islamic State might try to shoot down a plane.

Biden is still facing questions about why his administration did not have a better evacuation plan after being warned that the Taliban could sweep into Kabul within days.

Against that backdrop of criticism, the White House tried to show a president hard at work on a Sunday.

The Afghan interim council, formed to assist in the power transfer following President Ashraf Ghani's escape, has met several Taliban leaders to discuss issues related to control and security during the transition process

President Biden met with his national security in the White House Situation Room on Sunday morning as they faced fresh questions about how much they knew of intelligence assessments that said the Taliban could be in Kabul within days

At least seven people have been killed at Kabul airport by stampeding crowds, as thousands of panicked Afghans try to flee the country, the British military said on Sunday

Afghans trying to flee are surrounding Kabul airport where the Taliban are using live rounds and beatings to maintain order. Americans were told not to try to reach the airport on Saturday

It sent out a situation room photograph of Biden meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other members of his national security team.

And earlier the Pentagon ordered six U.S. commercial airlines to help move evacuees from temporary sites outside of Afghanistan.

'Our first priority in Kabul is getting American citizens out of the situation as quickly and safely as possible,' Biden said.

'Any American that wants to get home will get home.'

He also said the government was 'looking to move our Afghan allies' out of the country as well, noting that citizens of NATO allies and Afghan allies were amongst the 11,000 individuals evacuated this past weekend.

The president stated that as evacuation efforts are underway he wanted to be clear about three things: 'One, planes taking off from Kabul are not flying directly to the United States,' said Biden, explaining that the planes are landing at U.S. Military bases and transit centers around the world where security screenings will take place for non-citizens.

'Two, at these sites where they are landing we are conducting scrutiny security screening for everyone who is not a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident.

'Anyone arriving in the United States will have undergone a background check.'

He also noted that the government will welcome these individuals into the U.S.

'Three, once screened and cleared we will welcome these Afghans we helped us in the war effort over the last 20 years,' said Biden.

The Biden administration has given no firm estimate of the number of Americans seeking to leave Afghanistan. Some have put the total between 10,000 and 15.000.

A White House official said U.S. planes flew 3900 people out of Kabul in the previous 24 hours. Coalition aircraft rescued a similar number.

It marked a busier weekend for Biden than last, when he was slammed by allies and opponents for staying at Camp David last weekend as the crisis deepened.

And even international partners such as the United Kingdom have voiced their frustration this weekend at the way Biden pushed ahead with such a rapid withdrawal.

A former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan said the hasty retreat would embolden enemies, including terrorist groups.

'It has damaged our alliances, emboldened our adversaries and increased the risk to our own security. It has also flouted 20 years of work and sacrifice,' said Ryan Crocker in a New York Times essay.

This week Biden will join a virtual meeting of the G7 to discuss cooperation between the nations as the Taliban overruns Afghanistan, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in her statement on the upcoming meeting.

'The leaders will discuss continuing our close coordination on Afghanistan policy and evacuating our citizens, the brave Afghans who stood with us over the last two decades, and other vulnerable Afghans,' Psaki's statement reads.

The call comes after Biden received a slew of backlash last week for not talking with any world leaders in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover. Hours after reports came out attacking him for his inaction, Biden spoke with Johnson.

The G7 intergovernmental group includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

On Sunday afternoon, Biden will deliver remarks on Afghanistan  and Hurricane Henri response  at the White House.

Britain currently holds the rotating leadership of the G7 and announced earlier on Sunday that it called for the group to meet virtually this week.

The meeting comes as chaos in Afghanistan continues to unfold, and nations scramble to evacuate their citizens from Kabul.

So far, Biden has sent in 6,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan to help with evacuation efforts after the Taliban was able to take over the country in just over a week. This means the U.S. has deployed more troops into Afghanistan than the number of American citizens it has extracted from the country since the Taliban swept into power on August 14.

The Pentagon said Saturday they were only able to evacuate 2,500 Americans from Kabul in the past week.

Overall, the U.S. was able to evacuate 7,000 people from the pandemonium at the Kabul airport since last weekend, including 3,800 in the last day.

Up to 15,000 Americans still need to be evacuated and the administration hopes to get out 50-60,000 more Afghan allies and their families.

President Joe Biden will participate in a virtual meeting with G7 leaders on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing situation in Afghanistan

The G7 intergovernmental group includes leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S.
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Extinction Rebellion has launched a two-week wave of protests which is set to disrupt London two years after bringing parts of the capital to standstill in similar demonstrations.

London's police warned the protests will distract officers from dealing with crime while they focus on minimising disruption.

Extinction Rebellion said it will target the capital's financial district in protests which are due to start tomorrow.

The group accuses financial firms of helping to fuel climate change and it brought much of central London to a standstill during 11 days of action in 2019.

Those protests brought its cause to the fore and also provoked criticism from some politicians who said police had been too tolerant.

Ahead of next week's protests, London's police force said it would have to divert resources from other activities and some investigations might slow as a result.

London's police warned the protests will distract officers from dealing with crime while they focus on minimising disruption. Pictured: Smoke bombs are let off at protests today at the entrance to Guildhall

Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion protest

A man points in the face of a police officer as members of Extinction Rebellion stage a protest outside the Guildhall, London

Extinction Rebellion climate activists drop a banner from the Guildhall in London today

People hold a banner in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion protest today

Police officers detain an Extinction Rebellion climate activist during a protest at the Guildhall earlier today

A man climbs a ladder as members of Extinction Rebellion stage a protest outside the Guildhall today

A woman sprays red paint onto the outside of the Guildhall, London, during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion

'Every police officer committed to a large demonstration is a police officer abstracted away from their local borough and community,' said Matt Twist, deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

Extinction Rebellion's planned 'Impossible Rebellion' protests - which come ahead of talks on climate change involving world leaders in Scotland in November - will include site occupations and marches through London's financial district.

The group is demanding an emergency response to climate change from governments and a mass move away from polluting industries to avert the worst scenarios outlined by scientists.

Stephen Fry has voiced support for the Extinction Rebellion protests in a video shared on Twitter in which the actor and comedian praised the group for attempting to 'make politicians really recalibrate, realign, revolutionise politics' through their 'mucky' and 'disruptive' demonstrations.

In the two-minute video shared by Extinction Rebellion, Mr Fry, 61, said: 'I know Extinction Rebellion, XR, are mucky and they make a fuss, they're loud, they're disruptive, they sometimes throw paint and other such things and they block traffic.

'But what else is going to make politicians really recalibrate, realign, revolutionise politics so that it faces the horrors of climate change and all the damage we're doing to our planet?

'It's a very complex and very difficult situation, but unless we recognise that everything has to change then nothing will change, it seems to me.

Police officers detain an Extinction Rebellion climate activist during a protest at the Guildhall earlier today

Police officers stand in formation as Extinction Rebellion climate activists protest at the Guildhall

A woman sprays bright red spray paint on to the entrance of Guildhall in London earlier today

Game of Thrones actor Jerome Flynn takes part in an Extinction Rebellion protest at Guildhall today

A protester from Extinction Rebellion is moved by the police outside the Guildhall during a protest at the opening ceremony of the organisation's two-week protest

Police form a ring around the Guildhall during a protest at the opening ceremony of Extinction Rebellion's 'Two Week Impossible Rebellion'

'I know that you can point the finger of hypocrisy at everybody who owns an object and drives a car, but we're all going to have to re-think the way we live our lives and the way we dispose of all the things we buy and the way society works.

'It's much better if we think about it together and without enmity, but understanding a common purpose for the common good - is that so much to ask?

'XR, Extinction Rebellion, seem to be the only people who are sensibly, even if angrily, even if energetically, trying to move society and the world towards this.

'It's going to be a heck of a fight, but unless we get together, it's a fight we'll lose.'

The Metropolitan Police force said it is engaging with Extinction Rebellion leaders on Friday, two days before the protests are due to begin in Trafalgar Square in central London.

Extinction Rebellion protesters hold banners which read, 'Co-liberation freedom together,' and, 'Coliberation = togetherness,' outside Guildhall earlier today

Police move in to clear people protecting the ladder propped against the side of Guildhall earlier today

Police form a ring around the Guildhall during a protest at the opening ceremony of Extinction Rebellion's 'Two Week Impossible Rebellion' today

They added that three similar demonstrations by the group in 2019 and 2020 cost more than 50 million to police in total, and that millions more will be spent in the response to this year's demonstration.

Commander Rachel Williams said: 'Three large previous events from Extinction Rebellion have cost the Metropolitan Police service in excess of 50 million.

'I'm in no doubt this year's policing operation will run into the millions and will result in many police officers sacrificing their time off to help mitigate any disruption and bring order and safety to the streets of London.'

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said the Met made an 'unprecedented' 3,762 arrests during the previous three demonstrations, bringing 1,938 prosecutions of which 73 per cent resulted in convictions.

Commissioner Twist recognised this but said it does not 'preclude officers from taking action to prevent disruption on London's road network where that disruption is wilful and unreasonable'.

He told the briefing on Friday: 'The disruption we witnessed in 2019 and 2020 is unacceptable, and we share London's outrage on the impact that this activism had on their businesses and their communities.'

He added that police response will be 'proportionate' to the disruption, adding that 'every police officer committed to a large demonstration in central London is a police officer abstracted away from their local community'.

He sympathised with activists' aims but urged them to 'consider the consequences' of their actions on the people of London.

'Like many, I understand what drives Extinction Rebellion, particularly in light of some of the major climate events we are seeing with increasing regularity including here in London,' he said.

'We get it. However, I must urge Extinction Rebellion to consider the consequences of their actions and of the direct and indirect effect on the people and communities of London itself.'
Police have tonight launched a murder investigation after a fatal stabbing in northeast London.

The victim, a 32-year-old man, suffered stab wounds at a house in Lea Bridge Road, Waltham Forest, earlier today.

Police, paramedics and the air ambulance rushed to the scene and the man was taken to hospital in east London.

However police say he died shortly after arriving. A murder investigation has now been launched.

A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: 'Police were called at 4.30pm on Sunday, 22 August following reports of a stabbing in a property on Lea Bridge Road, E10.

The victim, a 32-year-old man, suffered stab wounds at a house in Lea Bridge Road, Waltham Forest, earlier today. Pictured: Police and paramedics at the scene

'Officers attended with London Ambulance Service paramedics and the London Air Ambulance.

'They found a 32-year-old man with life threatening injuries.

'He was treated at the scene before being transported to an east London hospital. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.'

Police say the man's next of kin are yet to be informed of his death.

Officers say an investigation is under way 'but at this early stage there have been no arrests'.

Anyone with information about the incident, who has not already spoken to officers, should call 101, giving the reference 4806/22AUG.

Information can also be provided to Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
The eastern leg of the HS2 will 'never be built in our lifetimes' and is set to be axed to save the high-speed railway project 40billion, a Government source has claimed.

The comments come after several leaks from Whitehall this summer which have suggested plans to extend the HS2 to Leeds will be scrapped - despite the northern city having already started work on a 500million station.

Other projects in the Yorkshire capital are also relying on the project - which one Tory MP dubbed a 'hugely expensive white elephant.'

Last month the prime minister was warned voters in 'Red Wall' constituencies would be furious at the idea of the Leeds leg being shelved.

The Leeds line would run through the east Midlands and through Nottingham and Sheffield - but a Whitehall source claims it is to be scrapped to save HS2 40billion

An artist's impression of the HS2 train on the Birmingham and Fazeley viaduct

But a source told the Sunday Mirror: 'They might make some announcement about doing the work in the future but everyone involved knows the truth.

'They have run out of cash and there's no way we're going to see this built in our lifetimes.'

Meanwhile the Department for Transport insists the eastern leg has not been shelved, saying the much-delayed integrated rail plan will 'soon' outline the way ahead for major rail projects - including HS2's western leg to Manchester.

It comes as northern leaders warned the goal of levelling up the economy would be made difficult to achieve if HS2 did not extend to the likes of Leeds, Sheffield and north-east England.

Henri Murison, the director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, which represents northern businesses, said: 'Without the western and eastern legs to Manchester and Sheffield on to Leeds as well as into north-east England, the whole of HS2 will be undermined in achieving its full economic benefits.'

CGI image of proposed Old Oak Common station in west London, which will be part of HS2 route connecting the capital to Birmingham and Manchester

The HS2 eastern leg was set to link the first phase of the project  a rapid rail line from London to Birmingham  with Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds.

Initially, phase two was set to extend the line from Birmingham to Manchester via Crewe  the so-called western leg.

Tracy Brabin, the mayor of West Yorkshire, said: 'The government cannot talk about levelling up and a commitment to the north without addressing the decades of underinvestment across our transport networks.

'The eastern leg of HS2 is essential to providing the rail services that work for our communities, as part of a joined-up transport system that connects people to better jobs, better education, and more opportunities.'

Planning and consultation for the eastern route lasted 10 years and won cross-party support.

Leader of Leeds city council James Lewis said: 'I will be hugely disappointed if we are back to the drawing board.

Florence - the largest ever tunnel boring machine used on a UK rail project - was unveiled in May this year

The Prime Minister was previously warned voters in 'Red Wall' constituencies would be furious at the idea of the Leeds leg being shelved (Pictured: PM Boris Johnson on site of a part of HS2)

'The constant pipeline of projects in London moving forward suggests that levelling up isn't in operation.'

But his sentiment is not shared by all in Yorkshire, with Conservative MP for Rother Valley Alexander Stafford content with the idea of the eastern leg being shelved.

Mr Stafford said: 'What we need is the money invested in transport infrastructure that might actually bring a tangible benefit to seats like mine.

'We need a better bus service and better links to Manchester across the Pennines rather than a hugely expensive white elephant that is sucking resources out of areas like mine and will only benefit a tiny number of people living in central Leeds.'

The total cost of HS2 has risen from 32.7 billion when the project was approved in 2012 to 107.7 billion.

And Transport for North revealed in October that scenarios the Government was considering 'all fall short of what is needed for full funding of HS2' - before the company constructing HS2 (HS2 Ltd), was ordered to pause work on the eastern line in July this year.

Mr Murison said the prime minister, chancellor and transport secretary have not yet formally discussed the integrated rail plan - meaning the eastern leg is not officially dead yet.

'A number of advisers in Whitehall have never liked this project, and told newspapers regularly on Sundays the project would be cancelled before the prime minister fully recommitted to it,' he said, adding that the Government should complete the whole project as planned, but 'building from the north down.'

Mark Goldstone, of the West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said earlier this month: 'It's time for the Prime Minister to be honest with communities and businesses across the North about what his intentions for levelling up actually mean.

'HS2 is a key component of wider infrastructure plans.'

Businesses have been urging the Government to publish the much-delayed Integrated Rail Plan, which is expected to reveal intentions for a string of projects including HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and the Midlands Rail Hub.

Darren Caplan, chief executive of the Rail Industry Association, said: 'We need publication as soon as possible.

'If we are to level up all parts of the UK, it is essential HS2 is delivered in its entirety.'
According to a new poll, only 25 percent of Americans said they support President Joe Biden's handling of the situation in Afghanistan, while a vast percent disapproved.

Released by NBC News Sunday, the poll was conducted from August 14 to 17, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

Of the one thousand U.S. adults interviewed for the survey, 60 percent of individuals said they disapproved of the president's actions when it came to withdrawing troops from Afghanistan after two decades of conflict.

According to a new poll, only 25 percent of Americans said they support President Joe Biden' s handling of the situation in Afghanistan , while a vast percent disapproved

In addition to Biden's handling of Afghanistan, the poll also highlighted the president's overall approval rating, which dipped to 49 percentdown from 53 percent in April.

The president's disapproval rating jumped to 48 percent, a 9 point increase from 39 percent back in the spring.

Paired with the country's split views on COVID-19 vaccines, Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, said the crisis produced a 'summer of discontent' for the president.

But just two weeks before Biden's withdrawal deadline, the Taliban seized near total control of Afghanistan last Sunday, taking the U.S completely off guard.

Of the one thousand U.S. adults interviewed for the survey, 60 percent of individuals said they disapproved of the president's actions when it came to withdrawing troops from Afghanistan after two decades of conflict

Horwitt, who conducted the poll with Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies, said: 'The promise of April has led to the peril of August,' Horwitt said has dented Biden's numbers. 'It is the domestic storm, Covid's delta wave, that is causing more difficulties at this stage here at home and for President Biden.'

In regards to COVID-19, 37 percent of individuals say the worst is behind us, while 42 percent say the worst is yet to come.

Thats a drastic change from April, when 61 percent of Americans said the worst was behind us, as opposed to 19 percent, who said the worst was yet to come.

In February 2020, the Trump administration signed the Afghanistan peace deal with the Taliban, initially agreeing to withdraw all troops by May 1 of this year.

Number of US infections per day for July and August, showing a gradual and steady increase

Health experts say the majority of new COVID cases are among unvaccinated people

However, after assuming office, Biden chose to extend the deadline to September 11, moving it forward to August 31.

But just two weeks before Biden's withdrawal deadline, the Taliban seized near total control of Afghanistan last Sunday, taking the U.S completely off guard.

In the midst of the crisis, Biden has faced immense criticism as the U.S. scrambles to evacuate Americans remaining in Afghanistan, in addition to thousands of Afghans who worked with the U.S. and its NATO allies during the past 20 years.

Of those Many Afghans, many have faced death threats and fear for their safety under Taliban rule.

On Tuesday, Biden will speak with G7 leaders in a virtual meeting on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing chaos in Afghanistan the White House announced on Sunday.

The world leaders will talk about continued cooperation between the nations as the Taliban overruns Afghanistan, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in her statement on the upcoming meeting.

'The leaders will discuss continuing our close coordination on Afghanistan policy and evacuating our citizens, the brave Afghans who stood with us over the last two decades, and other vulnerable Afghans,' Psaki's statement reads.

'They will also discuss plans to provide humanitarian assistance and support for Afghan refugees,' she continued.

'The meeting will build on President Biden's calls this week with G7 leaders Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France, and Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy.'
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Hundreds of people recently evacuated from Afghanistan stepped off of a bus outside a temporary housing center in Chantilly after arriving on a flight at Dulles International Airport in North Virginia just a day prior, with a throng of overwhelmed volunteers waiting to assist them.

Upwards of 270 refugees were flown into the US by National Airlines on Saturday, following the government's efforts to evacuate as many as possible amidst the ongoing Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and its capital, Kabul.

However, the mad dash out of Kabul has separated many family members as the Biden Administration works to bring refugees to safety.

One man, Zamir Sultani, who was awaiting the plane's arrival, told WUSA9 that his family had been stuck on the plane for hours, receiving little to no information regarding when the aircraft would take off and leave Afghanistan.

'My sister is a type I diabetic, and she's not feeling that good. They've been sitting there hours and waiting to get out. And my dad is a dialysis patient, and he's also stuck there,' Sultani said.

'All of them are sitting in the plane, and nobody is even telling them what's going on.'

A family member evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, left, is greeted by a relative as they arrive at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Virginia on Saturday

Another family arrives at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va. on Saturday

Meanwhile, housing for said refugees has been by-the-day, with NOVA Community College Annandale Campus providing them temporary accommodations on Saturday

The Afghani man revealed he had worked for the US government as an interpreter for years before coming to the United States back in 2010.

Sultani added that his family had finally reached customs as of 9:30 pm, however it would still take more time for processing before she will able to see him.

The outlet reports that another unnamed woman was also waiting for her sister, who had been on a plane from Qatar where she worked on an airbase. That woman said refugees were being lined up in a separate line at customs.

However, housing for said refugees has been by-the-day, with NOVA Community College Annandale Campus providing them temporary accommodations on Saturday.

One man, Mahmood (pictured) holds his 9-month-old daughter Darya and his family, who were evacuated from Kabul

Families evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, are loaded into a buses after they arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport

Refugees were flown into the US by National Airlines following the government's efforts to evacuate as many as possible amidst the ongoing Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and Kabul

Hasina Shah, a nurse who originally emigrated from Afghanistan as a refugee in the 1980s, told the outlet that she was forced to take the first plane she could get after recently visiting her home country, leaving her family behind in the process.

'Very overwhelming. I mean, everybody was in tears, joy, sadness, happiness, everything all at once,' Shah said.

'They couldn't sleep. Most of them were very depressed. They had so many people left behind their wife. There's a husband that was with an 18-month-old. The mother left behind. There is a 11-year-old there. But no mother. No father.'

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden revealed US forces may stay beyond his deadline of Aug. 31 during a speech on Sunday evening he tries to accelerate the operation to rescue Americans after days of chaos and crushes at Kabul airport.

He said that US forces had expanded the perimeter around the airport amid fears terrorists may seek to exploit the operation by attacking Americans or Afghan civilians.

'Let me be clear - the evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul is going to be hard and painful,' Biden said during a speech at the White House on Sunday.

People evacuated from Afghanistan step off a bus as they arrive at a temporary housing center in Chantilly

Two refugees evacuated from Afghanistan stand outside a temporary housing center on Saturday

'No matter when it started, when we began, it would have been true if we had started a month ago, or a month from now.

'There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss and heartbreaking images you see on television.

'It's just a fact.'

His speech marked the latest attempt by the White House to seize control of a crisis that is rapidly turning into a humanitarian and political disaster.

Ahead volunteer at the temporary housing shelter attested the difficulty Biden spoke if, lamenting the poor record-keeping when came to refugees staying there, which is creating confusion among those volunteering to help resettle them.

The outlet reports that many refugees do not have proper paperwork for customs, having left in a rush as the Taliban stormed into Kabul on Tuesday.

The airport became the only way out of the Afghan capital after insurgents blocked off all major border crossings.
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A team of Special Air Service soldiers who were surrounded by Taliban hordes in Kandahar have been rescued in a dramatic desert operation.

Around 20 elite SAS troops were left stranded in the province hundreds of miles from friendly forces when the militants took over.

As enemy fighters closed in they sent an SOS request to Special Forces bosses back in Britain calling for immediate extraction.

But they could not use Kandahar airfield  once home to 26,000 international troops at the height of the military campaign  because it had already been overrun by Taliban. So the SAS soldiers fought their way to a secret desert location where they went into hiding. The coordinates of the location were then relayed back to Special Forces headquarters in a series of coded messages.

It comes as Boris Johnson prepares to hold a meeting with the leaders of G7 countries to push Joe Biden to delay the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan to allow more time for people to be evacuated.

The UK wants to double its Kabul airlift numbers to 12,000 this week, but the PM accepts that the success of the mission is reliant on US troops maintaining control of Kabul airport.

Mr Johnson said last night: 'It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years.'

Despite the entreaties from fellow leaders, Mr Biden has been non-committal, saying yesterday he 'hopes not to' extend his current deadline. He made a pledge to US citizens that 'any American who wants to get home will get home' but pointedly failed to mention his allies.

Members of the Taliban patrol in Kandahar in Afghanistan earlier today. The city fell to the Taliban just over a week ago

The SAS rescue mission was one of the most dramatic moments of the West's withdrawal from Afghanistan so far.

As part of the operation, RAF chiefs planning the evacuation of British nationals and entitled Afghans from Kabul airport had to find a transport aircraft capable of landing and taking off again in the desert.

On Wednesday night online flight trackers picked up a UK Hercules transport aircraft flying over the Gulf, until it turned off its Identification Friend or Foe sensors.

This ensured flight radars could not follow its route towards the area of desert scrub which SAS troops had identified as a possible landing strip.

The aircraft, from the RAF's Special Forces wing, made a dramatic landing in the dead of night with the crew wearing digital night-vision goggles.

A source said: 'It was a very hush, hush mission. Kandahar had fallen to the Taliban on Friday and the guys were down there for five days after that. The enemy were rampant and killing a lot of Afghan Special Forces whom the SAS had been working with. So it was a very urgent mission.

Evacuations have been underway in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country on August 13 after American troops were pulled from the country

'Credit to the Hercules crew from 47 Squadron for landing the aircraft at night on rough terrain and getting her airborne again with the guys and their equipment aboard. It was textbook.'

The aircraft reappeared on Thursday morning on flight trackers as it approached an international military base in Dubai.

Frustratingly for SAS chiefs the C-130J which rescued their troops is due to be retired as part of the latest reorganisation of the RAF.

The Hercules is the RAF's major tactical transport aircraft and in its current versions, has been the backbone of UK operational mobility since it was brought into service in 1999. Praised as 'highly flexible' by the RAF, it has the ability to airdrop a variety of both stores and paratroopers, while landing and taking off from natural surfaces, such as a desert strip.

A US Navy corpsman hands out water to children during an evacuation at the airport in Kabul

A US Airman embraces a mother after she helped to reunite their family at the airport in Kabul

A US Airman high fives a child after helping to reunite their family at the airport in Kabul

To conduct these missions, Hercules crews are highly skilled in low-level flying and trained to perform in both day and night.

The plan to rescue the stranded SAS troops was put together by the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing. The aircraft and crew came from the RAF's 47 Squadron. It comes as Taliban fighters were on the move last night to take over a key Afghanistan province currently outside of their control.

Hundreds of troops are heading towards Panjshir Valley, an area above Kabul long known for its opposition to extremists.

In a statement, the insurgents said their soldiers were planning to take control of the region 'after local state officials refused to hand it over peacefully'. But they are expected to meet significant resistance from thousands of ex-government troops who have joined forces with local militia.

An RAF plane was filled to capacity with embassy staff, British nationals and any Afghans able to settle in the UK

Thousands of Afghans could be left behind in Kabul as ministers push to extend the deadline for the last British evacuation flight beyond Tuesday. Pictured: British citizens catching a flight earlier this week

Taliban fighters stand guard on their side at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in Torkham, in Khyber district, Pakistan

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, right, and Taliban fighters stand guard on their respective sides at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in Torkham, in Khyber district, Pakistan

A U.S. Navy Corpsman with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Central Command, hands out water to children during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport

They are led by Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, who warned that a new civil war is inevitable without a comprehensive power-sharing agreement.

Massoud claims to have some 9,000 fighters and has openly conducted training exercises showing recruits performing fitness routines. He also claims to have hundreds of military vehicles as well as five helicopters.

Pictures have emerged of a string of armoured vehicles lining up on the banks of the Panjshir River.

Defences are being bolstered at entrances to the Panjshir Valley, the south of which is guarded by a narrow gorge. Massoud said his group wants to push for a new system of government, but is prepared to fight if needed.

'The Taliban will not last long if it continues on this path,' he said. 'We are ready to defend Afghanistan and we warn of a bloodshed.'

Inspired by past victories against the Soviets and the Taliban, Panjshiri soldiers have spoken in recent days about 'a fight to the death'.

Don't cut and run, Joe: Boris Johnson will plead with Biden not to leave UK troops at mercy of ISIS suicide bombers in Kabul - after President said he 'hopes not to' extend US mission beyond August 31

by JAMES ROBINSON for MailOnline and JOHN STEVENS and MARK NICOL for the Daily Mail

Boris Johnson and G7 leaders will plead with Joe Biden to delay the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, amid fears mercy flights could be halted within 48 hours.

The Prime Minister will use a virtual meeting of world leaders tomorrow to push for more time so thousands are not left behind in the clutches of the Taliban.

However they could be facing an uphill battle, with the US President refusing to commit to an extension.

Nearly 6,000 UK citizens and Afghan staff had been airlifted out by the RAF by last night, and, according to reports last night, a further 6,000 people will be flown out this week.

But the rescue mission is reliant on the American military retaining control of Kabul airport. Along with losing key air support, British military officials fear Islamic State (IS) may also target UK soldiers at Kabul airport in suicide bomb attacks.

'It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years,' Mr Johnson said last night.

But, while the PM last night issued his plea for co-operation, last night there appeared little hope of US troops remaining in Afghanistan beyond the end of this month.

President Biden said yesterday he 'hopes not to' extend his current deadline. He made a pledge to US citizens that 'any American who wants to get home will get home' but pointedly failed to mention his allies.

It came as dramatic pictures emerged of Taliban fighters and British troops, once sworn enemies, working just yards apart at Kabul airport.

Downing Street insiders said Mr Johnson will ask the US President at the G7 meeting not to leave Western allies in the lurch.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace have also been in contact with their opposite numbers in Washington on the issue.

A Whitehall source said last night: 'The situation on the ground is in flux  it would be unwise to impose a rigid deadline at this stage.'

Mr Biden has set a deadline of August 31 for all Americans to have left the country, but UK military sources said another fortnight was needed.

Asked what he would say if G7 leaders pushed him, Mr Biden said: 'I will tell them we will see what we can do.'

British military commanders are understood to have pencilled in August 25 as the last day they can process refugees, including former British interpreters, before the focus shifts to getting about 1,000 British troops and government officials home safely.

It could mean the last British evacuation flight may have to leave as soon as tomorrow or Wednesday to allow soldiers enough time to withdraw. Reports in the Times today suggested the final date could be pushed back to Friday or Saturday.

Meanwhile, furious former generals last night urged the Prime Minister to continue the UK's Afghanistan evacuation mission even if the US leaves, in the hoping of getting 'every last Britain out'.

It came as:

The Ministry of Defence confirmed seven Afghan civilians died in the chaos outside Kabul airport over the weekend, with at least 20 killed in the past week;

Britain pledged to work with Moscow and Beijing to exercise a 'moderating influence' over the Taliban, despite a deep mistrust of both regimes;

Vladimir Putin rejected the idea of airlifting people from Afghanistan to countries near Russia, saying he did not want 'militants showing up here under cover of refugees';

Tony Blair stressed that Britain's involvement in Afghanistan has not been a 'hopeless endeavour', as he accused Mr Biden of following an 'imbecilic policy';

Only a last-minute concession by the Taliban and a change of heart by Mr Biden can save the thousands of vulnerable Afghans who face being left behind.

Boris Johnson (pictured left) will attempt to persuade US President Joe Biden (pictured right) to keep American troops in Afghanistan beyond his August 31 deadline when the two leaders take part in a G7 meeting this week

There are fears that the 1,000 UK troops taking part in Britain's rescue operation will have to pull out when America's remaining group of 6,000 leave, due to a lack of air support. Pictured: Evacuees from Afghanistan as they arrive in an Airbus A400 transport aircraft of the German Air Force Luftwaffe in Tashkent, Uzbekista

Afghan families enter into Pakistan through a border crossing point in Chaman, Pakistan

Afghan nationals arrive in Pakistan through the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman today

People stand on a barrier outside Kabul airport, Afghanistan, after the Taliban takeover of the city last week

A man instructs people to queue as they stand with their belongings outside Kabul airport, Afghanistan

US military plans are doing rapid diving combat landings to beat the threat of a missile attack, with video showing a French transport plane yesterday deploying flares designed to confuse heat-seeking technology

Over recent days, the President has remained stubbornly opposed to any plan to extend the rescue operation into September.

His stance means UK nationals and Afghans eligible to relocate to Britain would have to escape themselves to a third country, such as Pakistan, from where they could travel to the UK on commercial aircraft.

Such journeys would be fraught with danger. Scores of interpreters are hiding in Kabul following beatings and shootings by the Taliban; punishment for their service to a foreign power.

Planes drop flares and make 'diving combat landings' amid fears of ISIS missile attacks as twenty die at airport Military planes making evacuation runs into Kabul are dropping flares and carrying out nosedive combat landings amid fears that Islamic terrorists may try to shoot one down as Afghans trying to flee the Taliban have described at least 20 civilians being killed in the chaos. US military planes are doing rapid diving combat landings to beat the threat of a missile attack, with video showing a French transport plane yesterday deploying flares designed to confuse heat-seeking technology which may have been stolen by Islamic State in Afghanistan. Taliban forces controlling all access points to Hamid Karzai International Airport are not thought to be attempting to shoot down military aircraft during the Western evacuation effort, as such an action could trigger another American-led intervention in Afghanistan. It is feared Islamic State in Afghanistan - also known as ISIS-K - could use stolen heat-seeking missiles to bring down a rescue plane carrying hundreds of refugees including women and children. ISIS militants have been fighting the Taliban for the last six years as they attempt to annex their own piece of Afghanistan following the collapse of their caliphate in Syria and Iraq following Western airstrikes and raids targeting the terror group. Afghans at Kabul airport have described seeing more than 15 people including a two-year-old girl shot and beaten to death by the Taliban or trampled to death in the melee as thousands of locals desperately try to escape the new regime. One family described night-time crowd surges outside the airport gates and people killed in the stampede as they pleaded: 'We are trapped in a hell.' A NATO official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters at least 20 people have been killed in the past seven days in and around Kabul airport during the evacuation effort. The British Ministry of Defence said seven Afghans had died while trying to flee the Taliban. British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey has said that more than 1,700 people have been airlifted out in the past 24 hours with the help of the Taliban, adding that the militants were marshalling people into separate UK and US evacuation queues. However, Taliban militants surrounding Kabul airport fired in the air and used batons to beat back the crowds and make people line up in orderly queues on Sunday, witnesses said. The crude crowd-control methods, together with reports that Taliban gangs have marauded conquered territory to enslave female Afghans, fly in the face of the group's stated claims to be going 'moderate'. Advertisement

Tonight Mr Biden appeared to push back on extending, saying: 'Let me be clear - the evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul is going to be hard and painful,' Biden said.

'No matter when it started, when we began. It would have been true if we had started a month ago, or a month from now.

'There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss and heartbreaking images you see on television. It's just a fact.'

He said about 11,000 people were lifted out of Kabul in less than 36 hours and said defence officials 'hope' they will not have to extend the evacuation operation.

However in a glimmer of hope that an extension was still possible, he added: 'There are going to be discussions I suspect on how far along we are in the process.

'Our first priority in Kabul is getting American citizens out of the situation as quickly and safely as possible,' Biden said.

'Any American that wants to get home will get home.'

He also said the US government is 'looking to move our Afghan allies' out of the country as well, noting that citizens of NATO allies and Afghan allies were amongst the 11,000 individuals evacuated this past weekend.

Meanwhile, Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons defence committee, last night stressed the importance of Mr Johnson convincing Mr Biden that the rescue mission should be extended.

He said: 'Time is unquestionably running out and unless there is movement politically on that cut-off point of August 31, we could see flights for former interpreters, other eligible Afghans and refugees ending in the coming days.

'After that, the main effort must switch to the safe withdrawal of our military personnel.

'It simply isn't possible to do both at the same time; the folding up of the military mission cannot be done amid the mayhem and chaos we are currently witnessing; in particular given genuine fears of a terrorist attack.

'Boris Johnson must get the support of other G7 leaders and present a united front to President Biden. More time must be made available.

'I dread to think what the scenes will be at the airport this week as the deadline approaches. There could be carnage. We are perhaps fortunate that more lives haven't been lost and no British troops have been wounded.'

The threat of a terrorist attack is being factored into all military plans as the chaos is thought to provide an 'open goal' opportunity for the Islamic State terror group to strike British and other international forces.

Military aircraft have been seen dropping anti-missile flares and carrying out nosedive combat landings amid fears that terrorists may try to shoot down an aircraft.

Armed Forces minister James Heappey conceded the UK would not be able to rescue everyone who has been promised sanctuary here.

Asked how important it was that Mr Biden approved an extension of the deadline, Mr Heappey said: 'We are assuming nothing... If the programme is extended, then there is the opportunity to continue with flights.

'But the Taliban get a vote in that too  it's not just a decision made in Washington.'

Meanwhile, a former British Army general last night said the UK should go it alone if the US does not push back its leaving date.

Retired Major General Tim Cross, who served in Iraq and Kosovo, told the Sun: 'What's the point of having armed forces if we cannot hold a single airfield? It makes the whole global Britain idea a joke.'

Another, Colonel Richard Kemp, a retired officer who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, told the paper: 'We are one of the most powerful military nations in the world. We should stay until we have got every last Brit, and everyone we need, out.'

The Minister of Defence last night said it would be 'impractical' to secure Kabul Airport and to continue the evacuation mission 'without the partnership (with the US)'.

Meanwhile, fears have been raised about UK and US troops being targeted by IS terrorists as the evacuation at Kabul airport continues. Fears of an Isis attack on the have prompted the US to warn its citizens not to travel to the site without instructions from its officials.

Former British Army generals last night said the UK should go it alone if the US does not push back its leaving date. Colonel Richard Kemp, a retired officer who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, told the Sun: 'We are one of the most powerful military nations in the world. We should stay until we have got every last Brit, and everyone we need, out.'

Tobias Ellwood (pictured left), chairman of the Commons defence committee, last night stressed the importance of Mr Johnson convincing Mr Biden that the rescue mission should be extended. Armed Forces minister James Heappey (pictured right) conceded the UK would not be able to rescue everyone who has been promised sanctuary here

Evacuations have been underway in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country on August 13 after American troops were pulled from the country

A porter pushes a wheelbarrow carrying Afghan children as family members enters into Pakistan through a border crossing point in Chaman, Pakistan

The 19th century struggle for power in Afghanistan between the UK and Tsarist Russia was called the Great Game. As the US and the UK pull its troops and the Taliban retake control by force, who will Afghanistan's new leaders cosy-up with? Turkey, the only Muslim-majority member of Nato, could benefit, partly because it can control the flow of Afghan refugees into Europe. The mullahs in Iran are delighted by the departure of the US and will recognise the new Kabul regime. Russia will also be pleased to see the US leave, but has its own concerns about Islamic extremism. China and Pakistan have also made early noises of support, while Qatar hosted Taliban leaders in its capital Doha since 2013. However India is dismayed by the Taliban's victory. Here Michael Burleigh looks at where each countries vested interests lie, and which countries will be happy and who will be angry at the Taliban takeover

Former top British military officials urge UK to 'go it alone' in Afghanistan rescue mission if the US pulls out as planned on August 31 Former top British military officials last night urged the UK to go it alone in its Afghanistan rescue mission if the US does not push back its pull-out date. President Joe Biden last night said he 'hoped not to' extend the date for pulling his 6,000 remaining US troops from Kabul. The current date is August 31. UK defence bosses say it is unlikely British troops will be able to remain in Kabul once the US pulls its forces. However a former British Army general last night said the UK should go it alone if the US does not push back its leaving date. Retired Major General Tim Cross, who served in Iraq and Kosovo, told the Sun: 'What's the point of having armed forces if we cannot hold a single airfield? It makes the whole global Britain idea a joke.' Another, Colonel Richard Kemp, a retired officer who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, told the paper: 'We are one of the most powerful military nations in the world. We should stay until we have got every last Brit, and everyone we need, out.' The Minister of Defence last night said it would be 'impractical' to secure Kabul Airport and to continue the evacuation mission 'without the partnership (with the US)'. Advertisement

A government source told the Times last night: 'We know they (IS) would love to get a suicide bomb into the crowd and take out some Brits or Americans.

'There is a serious threat of an Isis suicide bomber. The soldiers are having to keep their fingers on the trigger in one hand while holding a baby in the other. It's very fragile.'

It comes as Sir Laurie Bristow, Britain's ambassador to Afghanistan, last night said the UK had managed to evacuate more than 5,700 people, including 1,000 in the previous 14 hours.

And British troops could be given extra time to evacuate more people out of Afghanistan. The Times suggest that the military has now managed to push back the final evacuation date to Friday or Saturday, in order to help more people.

The evacuation missions has also been expanded, according to the paper. The expansion is reportedly due to a rise in the number of people who have come forward with eligibility claims to the UK.

The figure is thought to have raised from 6,000 last week to around 12,000. Part of the rise is due to the inclusion of Afghan politicians, civic leaders and humanitarian workers, as well as their families, the Times reports.

Lord Richards, the former chief of defence staff, meanwhile, said extending the evacuation window would 'undoubtedly' save lives if the Taliban agreed to it.

He added: 'Western politicians [are] sleepwalking through this, coming out with all sorts of statements of regret and recrimination,' he told BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House. It's so important that we now get a grip of it.

'I think there could be an international consensus and the Taliban ironically might well welcome it, because the alternative is some very bad headlines come September 1 when we see starving Afghans, and worse potentially, simply because they don't have the capacity to deal with it.'

Sir Nick Kay, the former British ambassador to Afghanistan, told LBC radio: 'If you can extend that deadline you can release the Afghan people from the panic that they're in that this is all going to end within a matter of days and hours.'

Former Tory party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said Mr Biden 'needs to be told categorically, you can't go off by this ridiculous artificial date'.

A U.S. Navy Corpsman with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Central Command, hands out water to children during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport

Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan

The fighters were all seen carrying weapons as they spoke to passing Afghans at the checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul

Taliban fighters were seen carrying automatic weapons and with ammo strap to their chest at the checkpoint in Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood of Kabul

US President Joe Biden refuses to rule out extending August 31 deadline to withdraw from Afghanistan President Joe Biden said U.S. forces had extended the perimeter around Kabul airport on Sunday as they try to accelerate the evacuation of American nationals after days of chaos and crushes. At the same time he warned that terrorists of ISIS may seek to exploit the operation by attacking Americans or Afghan civilians. The result is that discussions are under way to extend the president's August 31 deadline for the full troop withdrawal. 'Let me be clear - the evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul is going to be hard and painful,' Biden said. 'No matter when it started, when we began. It would have been true if we had started a month ago, or a month from now. There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss and heartbreaking images you see on television. 'It's just a fact.' He said about 11,000 people were lifted out of Kabul in less than 36 hours and said defense officials 'hope' they will not have to extend the evacuation operation, but 'there are going to be discussions I suspect on how far along we are in the process'. 'Our first priority in Kabul is getting American citizens out of the situation as quickly and safely as possible,' Biden said. 'Any American that wants to get home will get home.' Biden says for security reasons, he cannot share what plans entail for moving Americans safely to the Kabul airport. He also said the government is 'looking to move our Afghan allies' out of the country as well, noting that citizens of NATO allies and Afghan allies were amongst the 11,000 individuals evacuated this past weekend. The president stated that as evacuation efforts are underway he wanted to be clear about three things: 'One, planes taking off from Kabul are not flying directly to the United States,' said Biden, explaining that the planes are landing at U.S. Military bases and transit centers around the world where security screenings will take place for non-citizens. 'Two, at these sites where they are landing we are conducting scrutiny security screening for everyone who is not a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. 'Anyone arriving in the United States will have undergone a background check.' He also noted that the government will welcome these individuals into the U.S. 'Three, once screened and cleared we will welcome these Afghans we helped us in the war effort over the last 20 years,' said Biden. Advertisement

He told LBC: 'The idea that in the next couple of days there will be the last flights is abominable.'

During last night's national address from the White House, Mr Biden said it did not matter when the Afghan evacuation began, it was always 'going to be hard and painful'.

The President added: 'No way of evacuating this number of people would be without pain and loss. It is just a fact.

'We are bringing out citizens, Nato allies, Afghani allies... but we have a long way to go and a lot can still go wrong.'

It comes as today Tony Blair blasted President Biden's 'imbecilic' decision to withdraw US troops from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, calling the President's scuttle 'tragic, dangerous and unnecessary' and claiming the move had 'every Jihadist group round the world cheering'.

Mr Blair, who was in Downing Street when London sent UK troops to the Middle Eastern country 20 years ago following the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington DC, said Britain has a 'moral obligation' to stay until 'all those who need to be are evacuated'.

In a 2,700 article on the threat of 'radical Islam', the former British prime minister said the exit was not in the West or Afghanistan's interest as he lamented the likely reversal of gains made during the occupation, with the Taliban reasserting itself across most of the country in recent days.

Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Mr Blair said he has 'enormous respect' for Mr Biden, but suggested the President - who campaigned on a slogan of ending 'forever wars' and is likely to be keeping an eye on next year's midterms - had withdrawn US troops for domestic political reasons.

He repeated his assertion that the withdrawal was a 'serious mistake' and 'not something we needed to do' and said there had been 'a lot of gains' made in the past two decades, stressing that the deaths of British Armed Forces personnel were 'not in vain'.

Mr Blair also issued a stark warning to Boris Johnson that the manner of the US' handling of the exit indicated the UK could be relegated from the top division of international powers, with reports Britain was largely kept in the dark about when American armed forces would leave.

He added that countries including China and Russia are likely to applaud the withdrawal and occupy the 'vacuum' in Afghanistan left by the NATO powers.

Both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab have suggested Britain will now have to turn to Beijing and Moscow to assist with exercising a 'moderating influence' over the Taliban post-withdrawal.

Cabinet insiders have suggested the President was 'gaga' and 'doolally' for withdrawing so quickly, while the Prime Minister has allegedly privately referred to Mr Biden as 'Sleepy Joe', the nickname coined by Donald Trump. Mr Johnson also allegedly remarked Britain 'would be better off with Trump' - allegations branded 'categorically untrue' by Downing Street.

'For Britain, out of Europe and suffering the end of the Afghanistan mission by our greatest ally with little or no consultation, we have serious reflection to do,' said Mr Blair. 'We don't see it yet, but we are at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers.'

His comments come as the US President signalled he wanted evacuations from Kabul airport completed by the end of the month as he prepares to withdraw all American troops - a move that would likely force Britain to wrap up its operation at the same time.

Tony Blair has branded Joe Biden an 'imbecile' over his 'tragic, dangerous, unnecessary' decision to withdraw the US troops from Afghanistan, and claimed that the move had 'every Jihadist group round the world cheering'

Mr Blair issued a stark warning to Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the manner of the US' handling of the exit indicated the UK could be relegated from the top division of international powers, with reports Britain was largely kept in the dark about when American armed forces would leave

Mr Blair told Sky News on Sunday: 'I've enormous respect for Joe Biden, I've known him for many years - he is a good man and he's a decent man. But on the other hand ... I think it is important to realise this was not something we needed to do.

'I understand the political pressure but our footprint had really been reduced to a much smaller level, and by the end of 2019 we were in a situation whereby we could have held firm for some considerable time and helped the Afghan people through the next stages of their progress.'

Mr Blair said there had been 'a lot of gains' made in the past two decades and stressed that the deaths of UK armed forces personnel were 'not in vain'.

Terror threat level should be raised to severe with threat of attack on UK soil 'highly likely', ex-head of British forces warns A jihadist atrocity on British soil is now 'highly likely' following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the UK's terror threat level should be raised to 'severe', the former head of British forces in Afghanistan and Government counter-terrorism adviser has warned. Colonel Richard Kemp claimed that the Taliban regime will allow al-Qaeda and so-called Islamic State terrorists to operate on Afghan territory they control - a key provision of the US withdrawal deal negotiated by Donald Trump last year - and launch attacks on the UK. He warned there is an 'immediately increased threat from British jihadists inspired and motivated by events in Afghanistan' and urged the Government to 'consider raising the UK threat level and increasing counter-terrorist assets available to the intelligence services and police'. It is understood British and US Special Forces will establish secret bases in neighbouring countries which will be used to target any terrorist bases in Afghanistan in the weeks and months ahead. The current national threat level - which is set by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which works with MI5 - is 'substantial' and the next level is 'severe'. It was lowered from 'severe' in February following a spate of atrocities in Austria and France, including the murder of a teacher in Paris who showed a class a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. Advertisement

He added: 'Our troops were fantastic in Afghanistan, and a lot of them made the ultimate sacrifice, a lot of them were injured. And it's really important that they know that this wasn't a hopeless endeavour, and it wasn't a bad cause.

'What I'd say to them is the sacrifice was not in vain, that those 20 years matter. What we achieved in Afghanistan matters today. I think it's really important that people realise this, the story of Afghanistan, the story of the Taliban takeover, it's not over. It's tragic what's happened, I think it's unnecessary, I think we've made a serious mistake in doing this in this way, but it isn't over yet.'

In his article, Mr Blair urged for there to be 'no repetition of arbitrary deadlines' - a reference to Washington's Doha agreement with the Taliban, committing to vacate Afghanistan in time for the 9/11 anniversary - in the rescue mission.

'We must evacuate and give sanctuary to those to whom we have responsibility - those Afghans who helped us and stood by us and have a right to demand we stand by them,' said the former Labour Party leader.

'There must be no repetition of arbitrary deadlines. We have a moral obligation to keep at it until all those who need to be are evacuated. And we should do so not grudgingly but out of a deep sense of humanity and responsibility.'

Mr Blair defended his own decision making in 2001 when he worked with former US president George Bush and NATO allies to avenge the New York World Trade Centre attack. After the Taliban refused to evict al Qaeda, the terror group that masterminded the hijacking of the planes in 2001, Mr Blair said Western allies, who feared worse attacks were to come, felt there was 'no safer alternative' than to strike.

He continued: 'There is no doubt that in the years that followed we made mistakes, some serious. But the reaction to our mistakes have been unfortunately further mistakes.

'Today we are in a mood which seems to regard the bringing of democracy as a utopian delusion and intervention virtually of any sort as a fool's errand. The world is now uncertain of where the West stands because it is so obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this way was driven not by grand strategy but by politics.

'We didn't need to do it. We chose to do it.

'We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending 'the forever wars', as if our engagement in 2021 was remotely comparable to our commitment 20 or even 10 years ago, in circumstances in which troop numbers had declined to a minimum and no allied soldier had lost their life in combat for 18 months.'

The former Middle East envoy said that, although 'imperfect', the 'real gains over the past 20 years' were likely to be lost following the Taliban victory, including advances in living standards, education particularly of girls, and other freedoms.

He called for the UK, in its role as president of the G7 this year, to help coordinate an international response to 'hold the new regime to account'.

The UK Government has been working diplomatically to ensure there is no unilateral recognition of a Taliban government in Afghanistan, with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab refusing to rule out applying sanctions if the militants renege on their promise to be more inclusive, especially in their attitudes towards women, than when last in control.

Mr Blair said: 'We need to draw up a list of incentives, sanctions, actions we can take including to protect the civilian population so the Taliban understand their actions will have consequences. This is urgent. The disarray of the past weeks needs to be replaced by something resembling coherence and with a plan that is credible and realistic.'

The Prime Minister's feelings about America's withdrawal from Afghanistan have been variously described by sources as 'furious', 'a betrayal' and 'let down'.

Downing Street dismisses the claims - it is in neither country's interests to stoke tensions when the future of Afghanistan hangs in the balance - but there is little question that the UK has been left exposed by the speed of Washington's pull-out.

No 10 also denies claims that the Prime Minister was disappointed by Mr Biden's victory in the Presidential elections and had declared that it would have been 'better' if Mr Trump had won a second term, and say it is 'categorically untrue' that Mr Johnson employs the President's derogatory nickname of Sleepy Joe during jocular conversations.

However, one minister denounced US isolationism and warned the Government would have to 'revisit' the recent review on defence and foreign policy because the US was no longer a reliable ally.

They told the Sunday Times: 'America has just signalled to the world that they are not that keen on playing a global role. The implications of that are absolutely huge. We need to get the integrated review out and reread it. We are going to have to do a hard-nosed revisit on all our assumptions and policies.

Pakistan's soldiers check the documents of Afghan and Pakistani nationals for crossing into Afghanistan at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman

People gather outside the Pakistani embassy, to obtain a visa. after Taliban took over in Kabul

A soldier carries someone amid the chaos at Kabul airport in Afghanistan yesterday, with thousands desperate to flee the country

Hundreds of Afghans desperately trying to flee the Taliban are pictured outside Kabul airport

'The US had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the First World War. They turned up late for the Second World War and now they are cutting and running in Afghanistan.'

Speaking to Sky News today, Mr Blair said 'the only people really cheering this decision are the people hostile to Western interests' - listing among them the Chinese and Russian regimes.

'We've got to realise we were in a situation where... we could've managed the situation,' he said. 'The problem with what's happened now is that it's not just about the Afghan people and our obligation to them... it's about us and our security.

'Because you've now got this group back in charge of Afghanistan. They will give protection and succour to al Qaeda, you've got ISIS (Islamic State) already in the country trying to operate at the same time. You look round the world and the only people really cheering this decision are the people hostile to Western interests.'

Mr Blair said the UK and its G7 allies will need to come up with a 'strategy' to deal with the Taliban regime to make sure 'we don't end up with a security threat'.

UN warns Afghanistan faces 'absolute catastrophe' of famine, homelessness and economic ruin The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan faces an 'absolute catastrophe' of famine, homelessness and economic ruin, as the Tory chairman of the Commons Defence Committee urged the organisation's 'immediate' intervention before Kabul descends into 'complete disorder'. Mary-Ellen McGroarty, the UN's World Food Programme's country director for Afghanistan, told the Observer swift coordinated action was critical 'otherwise, an already horrendous situation is just going to become an absolute catastrophe, a complete humanitarian disaster'. She added: 'We need to get supplies into the country, not only in terms of food, but the medical supplies, the shelter supplies. We need money and we need it now. Delay for the next six or seven weeks and it's going to start becoming too late. People have nothing. 'We have to get food in now and get it to the communities in the provinces, before roads are blocked by snow.' Ex-Army officer Tobias Ellwood, who together with Tom Tugendhat and Johnny Mercer has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the scuttle, told Sky News: 'If you do want to withdraw from a country you don't pull out your military first and then choose to allow the civilians to depart. 'This is the wrong order in which we've done things, and this situation is simply not sustainable, it's getting worse every single day. The airport cannot manage this and with the terrorist threat growing the chances are the airport will implode. 'What I will say is the United Nations and its agencies must be brought in immediately before complete disorder breaks down. The relationship between the US and the Taliban is very very fragile indeed, the US has frozen Afghanistan's assets, the economy is in freefall. 'Many of the civil servants that help run the country and indeed run the airport have already departed. We require some serious international leadership immediately.' Advertisement

He added: 'We should be putting together the leading countries who are part of this coalition in the first place and who have supported Afghanistan in the last 20 years and we need to work out what our strategy and tactics are going to be in respect of the Taliban government.

'We need to be drawing up a list of incentives and sanctions and other things we can do in order to use the leverage we have, which is not insignificant. The Taliban will find that governing is a lot harder than they thought. The population of Afghanistan is different.

'There's going to be a lot that we can still do but it's important that we mobilise now after the disarray frankly of the last few weeks, that we mobilise as the leading countries and make it clear that we still understand we have an obligation in our own interests to try and resolve this situation and to put as much pressure on the government in Afghanistan as possible to make sure that we don't end up either with a security threat in play for us or with the Afghan people losing the gains they've made over the last 20 years.'

Across Whitehall and in British embassies around the world, officials and diplomats are adjusting to the fact that Mr Biden has adopted an America First policy every bit as isolationist as his predecessor's.

There are also whispered concerns that the 78-year-old might be, in the words of one Government source, 'a bit doolally' - unable to exert full executive grip on the White House and with a world view forged decades ago and out of step with the demands of leadership in the 2020s.

The Times claimed yesterday that Mr Johnson finds Mr Biden 'lightweight and inward-looking'.

Observers of the two men's relationship believe that there is a degree of wariness, with Mr Biden regarding Mr Johnson as a 'mini-Trump' because of his personality-driven style of politics and the pair talking far less frequently than Mr Johnson and Mr Trump did.

There are also policy differences, with Washington reluctant to accede to the UK's demand to ramp up spending on 'green' policies ahead of the COP26 climate change summit being hosted by the UK in November.

Of particular irritation in London during the Afghan endgame has been the fact that British military commanders have been cut out of discussions between the US and the Taliban.

But a No 10 source said yesterday that Mr Johnson had not expressed any anger over the US withdrawal, and said the two men had enjoyed a 'warm and constructive' phone conversation on Tuesday evening.

A Downing Street spokesman said: 'These claims are categorically untrue. The Prime Minister has not criticised President Biden, and they have a very strong working relationship.

The President's first call to a leader outside of North America after his election win was to the Prime Minister.

They have worked together on a range of issues, including at the recent G7, where they secured an additional one billion Covid vaccine doses for developing countries, and signed the Carbis Bay Declaration to improve global health co-operation and prevent future pandemics'.

President Biden cancelled plans to spend the weekend at his home in Delaware. Instead he is meeting his national security team 'to hear intelligence, security and diplomatic updates on the evolving situation in Afghanistan,' the White House said.

Lord Ricketts, who served as the Government's first national security adviser from 2010 to 2012 under former prime minister David Cameron, said the UK will need to 'rethink' its foreign policy stance following the United States' handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Speaking to Times Radio, he said: 'It has been a humiliating period for the UK. I'm afraid we've learnt that (US President) Joe Biden has put US politics ahead of NATO alliance solidarity and Britain hasn't counted for much in that decision, if anything at all.

'The hard fact is we are going to need to continue to work with the Americans in all sorts of areas and this has been a difficult experience, but we need to bring the Americans back to working with their allies, taking account of our views.

'But we can't somehow invent a foreign policy without the Americans so we've got to take a deep breath and do some frank talking to Joe Biden and then get back to work with him.'

The former chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee continued: 'We need to rethink a lot of that rhetoric in the integrated review published by the Government a few months ago about Britain as an independent sovereign operator, turning the dial on international crises.

'We have shown actually that we are pretty impotent in a situation where the Americans take a decision - we have little choice but to follow.'
Sixty people arrived at a church in Covid-hit western Sydney to hear their pastor 'declare lockdowns over in the name of Jesus' shortly before they were busted by police.

Marvin Osaghae delivered a spirited sermon to Christ Embassy Sydney parishioners on Sunday in which he vowed to 'refuse every lockdown in our cities'.

Fed-up neighbours reported the service to New South Wales police on Sunday night, who arrived at the Blacktown church in Sydney's west at 7.30pm and issued $35,000 worth of fines.

Blacktown is one of 12 Sydney local government areas under particularly strict lockdown due to the rapid spread of Covid-19.

Police allege there were also no mandatory QR codes at the church entrance.

The Sydney branch of the global church, which was founded in Nigeria, is run by local couple Marvin (pictured) and Isioma Osaghae

The Sydney branch of the global church, which was founded in Nigeria, is run by local couple Marvin and Isioma Osaghae.

During Sunday's sermon, Mr Osaghae discussed the Covid crisis, praying that businesses would soon return to normal and streets would 'come back alive'.

'In the name of Jesus we refuse every lockdown in our cities,' he said in widely distributed footage of a sermon he delivered on Sunday.

'We declare the lockdowns are over in the name of Jesus. Lockdowns are over in the cities of New South Wales.'

Footage of police at the scene shows many of the parishioners without face masks, which are mandatory across NSW unless a person is exercising or at home.

Thirty adult attendees at the church sermon held in Blacktown were issued $1,000 penalty infringement notices on Sunday night

Marvin Osaghae delivered a spirited sermon to Christ Embassy Sydney parishioners on Sunday in which he vowed to 'refuse every lockdown in our cities'

Extra officers were called to the church to help break up the gathering and obtain attendees' details. Early indications suggest many had travelled from other locked-down suburbs, including the Canterbury-Bankstown and Fairfield LGAs.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller told the Today show the illegal gathering was 'disappointing to say the least', adding that officials are relying on community leaders to ensure compliance with government orders.

'We rely on our leaders, whether it's a business leader or our premier or our church leaders, to do the right thing,' he said. 'This is just sending the wrong message in the communities.

'At the moment, we are struggling with Covid in NSW, and these type of events are one of the reasons why. I mean, these people then go back to their homes and spread it to their broader family members and then we get the house-to-house transmission.'

Meanwhile the Police Minister, David Elliott, questioned how and why anybody would be willing to 'endanger their community'.

'I'm actually quite stunned,' he told 2GB on Monday morning.

'When you consider that churches are there to profess the message of hope and love, and to have those people just endanger communities because they are potentially going to spread a virus is extraordinary.'

'If cathedrals can stream online their services, I don't understand why suburban churches in Blacktown can't.'

Mr Elliott said he wouldn't tolerate any excuses, particularly concerning cultural differences.

'I'm not going to cop that it's cultural for them, it's cultural for everyone,' he said. 'We all want to spend afternoons with our family and friends, but we're making sacrifices.

Police were called to a church in Blacktown on Sunday night, where 60 adults were children were participating in a sermon inside

Pastor Osaghae denied hosting the event but admitted he was there for 'the party'.

Sunday night's event was held just hours after the church posted an online sermon.

The church also advertised its afternoon sermon on Instagram on Sunday, which people could attend 'online or onsite.'

The church has already been inundated with online backlash.

'Unbelievable! A law unto yourselves! Living in your own little entitled bubble. Shame on you for dragging your city further down in to lockdown,' one man posted on the church's Facebook page.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Christ Embassy Sydney for comment.

Christ Embassy Church advertised its afternoon sermon on Instagram on Sunday, encouraging people to attend 'online or onsite.'

Blacktown is one of the 12 Sydney local government areas where tough new restrictions came into effect from midnight Monday in a desperate attempt to curb Sydney's Covid-19 outbreak.

New restrictions include a one hour exercise limit and evening curfew between 9pm and 5am.

Service NSW-issued permits will be required for authorised workers travelling in and out of the 12 LGAs of concern for work from August 28.

It's also one of the worst areas in terms of Covid-19 infections as NSW recorded 830 cases on Sunday, the highest number of daily new cases in Australia since pandemic began in early 2020.

More than 1,200 cases have been recorded in Blacktown in the last month, including almost 700 without a known source of infection.

Police allege there were no mandatory QR codes when they were called to Christ Embassy Sydney (pictured) in the Covid-19 hotspot of Blacktown on Sunday night
Exhausted, frustrated and crushed by the mass of people desperate to reach Kabul airport, ex-military translators and their families told of their failed bids to escape yesterday.

Some approved for evacuation failed to make it through Taliban checkpoints  one held at gunpoint and photographed, another beaten and turned back.

Others complained of spending more than 60 hours in the crush of people where at least seven died and dozens were carried away unconscious.

Dozens of those who risked their lives as interpreters beside UK troops were said to have been notified for flights over the weekend but some were too scared to pass Taliban checkpoints. Pictured, former translator Salim and his wife Brekhna

Those that did make it spoke of the kindness of paratroopers manning the gates, which at times had to be closed. British soldiers gave food, water and even clothes to those in need. Women tried passing their children above their heads to soldiers to escape the crush.

The Taliban had fired in the air and used batons to force crowds to form orderly queues outside the airport so for the first time in a week long lines of people snaked back towards the city.

Dozens of those who risked their lives as interpreters beside UK troops were said to have been notified for flights over the weekend but some were too scared to pass Taliban checkpoints.

One 48-year-old, known by Helmand soldiers as MS, fell asleep in a taxi with his family after waiting for hours at the airport. He woke to a Taliban fighter demanding to see his papers.

When they saw he had a British visa in his passport, they became angry branding him a bloody interpreter...spy of the infidel.

They put the muzzle of the gun to my chest and photographed me three times, once in front and once from each side and warned it was being sent to all airport checkpoints and if ever I tried to go to there again I would be separated from my family and taken away, MS said from his Kabul hideout.

I was sitting in the front next to the driver, my seven-year-old daughter was crying and asking the man with the gun please do not fire on my daddy, please dont shoot, MS said.

My wife was crying too and we were all frightened, people are being killed for nothing. They took my passport and took the picture (out) and my wife pleaded for it to be given back, they did as she asked with the warning never to try to approach the airport again.

I dont know what to do, we need to escape but it is very dangerous for me now. A member of the Hazara ethnic minority, he said he told British officials about the incident but despite being summoned again yesterday he was too scared to risk the Taliban checkpoints.

We are so afraid, every time there is a knock on the door we wonder if it is the Taliban, my daughter hugs on to me and says not to answer. Everyone thinks they are coming for me. It is too big a risk to go to the airport.

Wazir, 30, a father of five, was another ex-interpreter to feel the anger of the Taliban.

Some approved for evacuation failed to make it through Taliban checkpoints  one held at gunpoint and photographed, another beaten and turned back

We had waited near the airport to be called forward for a flight and were told to move, Wazir, who spent four years on the frontline, said. I tried to explain we had nowhere to go and would fly soon but they began to strike me with a stick, they hit other people too.

Despite the beating, he said he was determined to try again to reach the rendezvous point. We must escape for a new life, he said, I will try again even if they beat me.

Ahmad, 31, an ex-interpreter who has twice been turned back at the airport, called on Britain to organise pop-up rendezvous points in Kabul that only those chosen for specific flights would be told of.

The US has a similar system using helicopters but there are grave security concerns because they are highly vulnerable. We know the clock is ticking to when the airport will close, Ahmad said. I am a clear target and collection centres would save so much anguish.
Hundreds of thousands of white-collar workers will carry on working from home well into the autumn, a Daily Mail audit has found.

Despite the change to Government guidance in July, the vast majority of firms had no plans to compel staff to return to the office when surveyed.

The businesses sticking with remote working are some of Britain's biggest and span a variety of sectors, from banking giant HSBC to energy firm BP, telecoms provider Vodafone, British Gas owner Centrica and publisher Pearson.

Most said they would leave it for workers and managers to decide, with some planning to downsize their offices or introduce hot-desking.

It comes as it was revealed this month by research from the Centre for Cities think-tank that fewer than one in five workers had returned to their offices after Freedom Day on July 19.

At housebuilder Redrow, some offices have even been scrapped altogether and replaced with conference rooms.

And at online grocer Ocado, travel agent Tui and Pearson, staff will potentially be allowed to work from anywhere in the world.

Last week Apple became the latest big firm to delay a return to the office as it told staff  including 7,000 in the UK  not to come back until next year.

It means that vast swathes of office workers will still be able to choose where they work following the shift to remote working during the pandemic.

But yesterday business leaders and MPs warned that the trend risks hollowing out towns and cities.

More and more employers are expected to persist with flexible working arrangements going forward (stock image)

Vodafone is among those not rushing to bring all employees back to the office

High street chains last year issued a cry for help, warning that working from home had triggered an 'economic emergency'. Bosses also said that the shift could lead to job losses.

And the Government has been criticised for withdrawing its work from home guidance on Freedom Day but not replacing it with a recommendation to return.

Meanwhile, one Cabinet minister suggested this month that civil servants who refuse to return to the office should be paid less than those back at their desks.

They claimed it is unfair that those still at home should get the same benefits as those commuting in.

And Kevin Ellis, boss of accountants PwC, said endless working from home will 'blight the careers of the young', who will miss out on mentoring from older colleagues.

The businesses sticking with remote working are some of Britain's biggest and span a variety of sectors, including banking giant HSBC (Pictured: HSBC London headquarters)

British Gas owner Centrica and publisher Pearson are among the big companies opting to keep levels of working from home

Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader, said offices were vital for building company culture and added managers should tell staff 'if you don't come in, then go and find another job'.

He said: 'It's up to management to decide how to get people back, not the Government.'

And Richard Bernstein, a veteran fund manager in the City, said activity in the Square Mile still resembled 'a Sunday' during the week as many banks and financial firms have avoided ordering staff back in.

But he added: 'It is hard for managers because the lockdowns and the uncertainty around the government guidance have caused this culture change and some workers may say "I don't need to come into the office any more, so why should I risk getting Covid?"'

Several industry leaders have voiced support for office working as a way to build stronger teams, boost creativity and instil company culture.

However, their employees  who have saved on commuting costs and can now spend more time with their families  have pushed back, leading many employers to change tack.

Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader, said offices were vital for building company culture and added managers should tell staff 'if you don't come in, then go and find another job' (File photo of man working from home)

British Gas owner Centrica will maintain working from home

More than 30 firms surveyed by the Mail, employing 600,000 office staff between them, said they will now move to a hybrid model, where staff spend part of their week working from home and part in the office.

Only six firms said they would require staff to come back in September and mostly for only two to three days per week.

They were BP, easyJet, Taylor Wimpey, Rightmove, KPMG and PwC.

Sir Douglas Flint, chairman of investment giant Abrdn, has voiced his opposition to home-working, saying that it 'morphs into sleeping in the home office', adding: 'Life needs to be compartmentalised.'

But despite this, the company has not set a date for when it wants its 5,000 office-based staff to return.

And Mr Ellis of PwC said staff can work from home for a maximum of three days per week from September because it is important 'to observe, network and socialise' in the office.

The Government said it 'expects and recommends a gradual return [to the office] over the summer'.

Additional reporting by Mark Shapland
Migrants suspected of smuggling guns on boats heading for the South Coast sparked a major security alert in the English Channel this weekend.

Amid a record-breaking number of arrivals on Saturday, the French alerted British intelligence agencies to the possibility of firearms on one or more of the vessels which had left northern France.

The warning was relayed to Border Force and British coastguards by the National Crime Agency, Britains equivalent of Americas FBI.

The French alerted British intelligence agencies to the possibility of firearms on one or more of the vessels which had left northern France. Migrants are seen being brought into Dover last week on August 15

The Kent coastguard helicopter stayed two miles away from migrants boats as a safety precaution several times during the day.

Lifeboats along the South Coast were also ordered to stay a distance from inflatables they were trying to rescue.

At 4pm, off Hastings in East Sussex, a lifeboat bringing a migrant vessel to shore was advised by coastguards to drop the tow line and move away following suspicions about the occupants.

Earlier in the day, an inflatable acting strangely off Dover was also put under emergency surveillance by Border Force when its occupants  a group of men and one woman  hid their faces as a lifeboat approached it.

In a maritime radio conversation on public airwaves about the inflatable, a Dover lifeboat crewman told the coastguard: Its very odd, I have to say.

They are very reluctant to look at us. Its all heads down in the boat. Theres something funny about this one.

The crewman said the inflatable was slowly going round in circles after reducing its outboard power. A second radio conversation, again on public airwaves between authorities co-ordinating rescue efforts, said a boat was suspected of dropping a package or bag overboard when it was approached by a Border Force vessel.

The numbers that were stopped at sea, apart from those who reached beaches and ran away, were so high that by 5pm, the Border Forces migrant processing centre at Dover port was stretched to the limit. Migrants are seen above last month

Film footage given to the Mail shows one migrant inflatable off Folkestone, Kent, just after 10am, with 13 men and a woman in a white hijab on board crouching around a tarpaulin in the vessel.

A sailor who filmed the boat said: I have seen hundreds of migrant vessels in the Channel. I have never seen this before.

They were trying to hide something. The mystery tarpaulin was not being used to protect them from seawater as it was at the back of the boat. It is not known what happened to the boat or its occupants.

Saturday saw up to 800 migrants arrive on scores of boats, reaping hundreds of thousands of pounds for people-trafficking gangs. The previous daily record  also set this month  was 592.

Some boats reached beaches without being picked up at sea by the lifeboats or Border Force. In chaotic scenes, migrants with children were seen sitting at a bus stop, eating berries from bushes, climbing up cliffs, smiling on promenades, walking along the A20 road out of Dover towards London and heading for the Folkestone railway station along a suburban street.

At Broadstairs in Kent, migrants also slipped past Border Force and lifeboats at sea.

They came in on a large inflatable to a tourist beach near sunbathers, some of them nudists, and ran up the beach towards undergrowth where they are thought to have been caught by police and immigration enforcement officers.

The numbers that were stopped at sea, apart from those who reached beaches and ran away, were so high that by 5pm, the Border Forces migrant processing centre at Dover port was stretched to the limit.

Border Force vessels were left to queue up at the dockside with migrants on deck in Covid masks as they waited for space.

Migrant boats continued to come across the Channel until 8pm, with traffickers using a day-long window of calm and windless weather.

The firearms warning from French security services followed surveillance of boats on the French beaches before they left.

The National Crime Agency said last night that it did not comment on intelligence, such as whether firearms were found.
Paratroopers were yesterday seen just yards from the Taliban at Kabul airport  even relying on their bitter enemy to keep the peace.

The British troops were searching the thousands of Afghans desperate to leave while armed Taliban kept watch over the crowds for suspicious activity.

A Taliban fighter even took up an observation position atop a container while Paras processed refugees and provided food, water and first aid.

Sources said the British and the Taliban appeared to be working well together and communicating effectively.

The British troops were searching the thousands of Afghans desperate to leave while armed Taliban kept watch over the crowds for suspicious activity. A Taliban fighter even took up an observation position atop a container while Paras processed refugees and provided food, water and first aid

They have been thrust together by the Doha deal, signed by former US President Donald Trump last year, committing to the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.

With the US pulling out, Nato forces, including Britain, had no alternative but to follow.

The deal saw the Taliban agree to help facilitate the withdrawal of Western forces, not to attack and to also prevent others, such as Al Qaeda, from doing so.

UK defence minister James Heappey yesterday attributed the acceleration in the flow of evacuees through the airport to Taliban marshalling of the crowds.

The Taliban have been accused of being on a 'PR offensive' while the world's eyes are on Kabul  but images of beatings have also emerged, which the militant group has blamed on rogue elements.

Paratroopers were the first British troops to set up camp in Helmand in 2006.

Taliban fighters (circled) are seen standing on top of shipping containers while British troops help the evacuation process in Kabul

A French Air Force A-400M plane triggered flares while departing from Kabul airport today amid heightened security alerts

There was not supposed to be an offensive operation but in the subsequent six months the soldiers experienced some of the most intense fighting involving British troops since the Korean War.

Nobody would have predicted then that 15 years later the paratroopers and the Taliban would be effectively on the same side; for the time being at least.

Commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Will Hunt told Sky News: 'The main thing for us is making sure that we have a smooth system to get those entitled people through. At the moment that involves an element of the Taliban being here alongside us.

'We have to put our thoughts about previous tours aside because everyone is trying to get the safest situation here.'

Last night, commander Brigadier Dan Blanchford added: 'My men and women on the front line have witnessed harrowing scenes and shown professionalism and compassion in challenging circumstances. I am proud of their work.'
A US Air Force F-15 fighter jet shot down a drone said to have come from Iran after it was deemed a threat to troops stationed in eastern Syria Saturday.

'Coalition aircraft successfully engaged and defeated a UAS through air to air engagement in the vicinity of Mission Support Site Green Village,' US Army Colonel Wayne Marotto, who heads the US-led coalition against ISIS, told Reuters, using an acronym for an unmanned aircraft system.

Fox News reporter Lucas Tomlinson said an F-15E shot the 'Iranian' drone, which flew 'too close' to the 900 US troops in the area, according to a tweet citing US officials.

Green Village is an outpost where US troops are housed in former oil industry villas next to a major Syrian oil field, according to the Washington Post.

Iran is blamed for supplying drones used to attack US and Israeli forces from Syria and Palestinian territory. Above, an Iranian drone launched during a combat exercise in January

The unmanned 'kamikaze' drone was taken down by a F-15E, pictured above in October 2020

Separately, officials told Aviation Week that the drone was 'deemed a threat and self-defense measures were taken.'

The Pentagon last month said it was deeply concerned about attacks on U.S. personnel in Syria and Iraq.

Just last month, two US service members were wounded after 14 rockets hit an Iraqi air base hosting US forces, according to Reuters.

Iraqi militia groups aligned with Iran had vowed to retaliate after US strikes on the Iraqi-Syrian border killed four of their members in June.

The latest show of force in Syria took place as the US manages a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, where the terrorist Taliban have taken over most of the country and the US does its best to evacuate American citizens and allies.

The international coalition against ISIS, named Operation Inherent Resolve, was established in October 2014 under President Barack Obama. It currently consists of 77 countries and five international organizations operating in Iraq and Syria.

US Army Colonel Wayne Marotto, who heads the US-led coalition against ISIS, said the drone was close to Green Village in Syria, where the US has about 900 troops

Earlier this month, the US, the UK, Israel and other countries blamed Iran for a 'kamikaze' drone that killed a Romanian and a British national aboard an Israeli-operated merchant ship off the coast of Oman on July 30.

The vertical fin of the drone recovered from the MV Mercer Street was similar to other Iranian killer drones, the US military said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told DailyMail.com at the time that 'Iran should face up to the consequences of what they've done,' adding that it was 'clearly an unacceptable and outrageous attack on commercial shipping.'

Since February, at least three other Israeli-linked ships have been attacked in the same region - including MV Helios Ray on February 25, off the coast of Oman, MV Hyperion Ray on April 13 off the coast of UAE, and CSAV Tyndall on July 2 in the Persian Gulf.

In May, the Israeli military released video of an F-16 fighter jet shooting down another armed suicide 'kamikaze' drone from Gaza.

A US-led coalition is fighting against ISIS in Syria amid an ongoing civil war. Above, volunteers with the Syrian Civil Defense help put out a fire caused by Syrian regime forces on August 18

That drone contained an 11-pound explosive payload, according to the Times of Israel.

Hamas, which controls the territory, says the drones are assembled in Gaza, but the the Isareli military believes that many of the components are smuggled in.

Also in May, another Iranian drone was taken down near the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, about 19 miles west of Jerusalem, according to the Jerusalem Post.
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Joe Biden was hit by another on-air gaffe Sunday when he appeared to forget the name of his FEMA director just moments after speaking with her.

In 10-to-12-second video clips that have sparked widespread discussion about the president's wellbeing, Biden said, 'There's no one better to lead this operation than...than....umm...uh...Deanne....uh....Criswell.'

Critics say the flub - which came during a press conference on his withdrawal from Afghanistan, and Tropical Storm Henri, is further evidence of Biden's cognitive decline.

Last week, the 78 year-old president - the oldest man ever elected to the United States' highest office - made a series of contradictory statements, including a claim that no Americans were being harassed by the Taliban that was rubbished by Department of Defense Director Lloyd Austin moments later.

The president has previously suffered two brain aneurysms and a heart condition, which makes the muscle beat too fast and causes dizziness and confusion. Biden also suffers from a well-documented stammer.

But anytime Biden has been asked if he's physically able to carryout such a taxing position, he been quick to knock any notion that he can't.

But a recent poll of American voters concluded that 52 percent said they are not confident Biden is up to the most powerful job in the world while more than a third - 41 percent - said they are 'not confident at all.'

President Joe Biden appeared to forget FEMA Director Deanne Criswell's name during an emergency press conference on Afghanistan and Tropical Storm Henri

Deanne Bennett Criswell is the American emergency management officer currently serving as the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). She was confirmed on April 22, 2021

The Afghan interim council, formed to assist in the power transfer following President Ashraf Ghani's escape, has met several Taliban leaders to discuss issues related to control and security during the transition process

Thousands of people surrounded the Kabul airport Sunday, desperate to take the steps needed to cross the threshold to sanctuary

As the president downplays questions about his physical and mental well being, the country is facing a historic debacle in Afghanistan and a surging tropical storm threatening the East Coast.

During Sunday's press conference, Biden said U.S. forces extended the perimeter around Kabul airport as they try to accelerate the evacuation of American nationals to protect them from long-range attacks.

Terrorists of ISIS may seek to exploit the failing operation by attacking Americans or Afghan civilians, Biden warned

The result is that discussions are under way to extend the president's August 31 deadline for the full troop withdrawal.

'Let me be clear - the evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul is going to be hard and painful,' Biden said.

'No matter when it started, when we began. It would have been true if we had started a month ago, or a month from now. There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss and heartbreaking images you see on television.

'It's just a fact.'

He said about 11,000 people were airlifted out of Kabul in less than 36 hours and said defense officials 'hope' they will not have to extend the evacuation operation, but 'there are going to be discussions I suspect on how far along we are in the process'.

He said troops were maintaining constant vigilance against terrorist threats, particularly from the local affiliate of ISIS, sworn enemies of the both the U.S. and the Taliban.

'The security threat is changing rapidly,' he said.

'There are civilians crowded at the airport, although we have cleared thousands of them.

'We know that terrorists may seek to exploit the situation and target innocent Afghans or American troops .'

Every day that American troops and civilians are at the airport is another day of risk that terrorists launch an attack from distance.

But he said the Taliban had been helpful.

'We discussed a lot with the Taliban,' he said. 'They've been cooperative in extending some of the perimeter.'

But he declined to describe further 'technical changes' designed to improve security.

'Our first priority in Kabul is getting American citizens out of the situation as quickly and safely as possible,' Biden said.

'Any American that wants to get home will get home.'

He also said the government is 'looking to move our Afghan allies' out of the country as well, noting that citizens of NATO allies and Afghan allies were amongst the 11,000 individuals evacuated this past weekend.

Speaking in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, he said U.S. forces had extended the perimeter around the airport to improve security

More than half the people surveyed think someone else is pulling the strings at the White House

More Americans think Biden is not physically or mentally capable of being president than those who think he is

The president stated that as evacuation efforts are underway he wanted to be clear about three things:

'One, planes taking off from Kabul are not flying directly to the United States,' said Biden, explaining that the planes are landing at U.S. Military bases and transit centers around the world where security screenings will take place for non-citizens.

'Two, at these sites where they are landing we are conducting scrutiny security screening for everyone who is not a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. Anyone arriving in the United States will have undergone a background check.'

He also noted that the government will welcome these individuals into the U.S.

'Three, once screened and cleared we will welcome these Afghans we helped us in the war effort over the last 20 years,' Biden said.

His speech marked the latest attempt by the White House of a crisis that is rapidly turning into a humanitarian and political disaster.

A similar effort on Friday backfired when Biden claimed that he knew of no cases of Americans being stopped from reaching Kabul airport - only to be flatly contradicted by the Pentagon just minutes after his speech.

President Biden met with his national security in the White House Situation Room on Sunday morning as they faced fresh questions about how much they knew of intelligence assessments that said the Taliban could be in Kabul within days

At least seven people have been killed at Kabul airport by stampeding crowds, as thousands of panicked Afghans try to flee the country, the British military said on Sunday

Afghans trying to flee are surrounding Kabul airport where the Taliban are using live rounds and beatings to maintain order. Americans were told not to try to reach the airport on Saturday

The situation worsened over the weekend.

The U.S. Embassy told Americans to brave the chaos around the airport unless they have been told to report there after at least seven people died, including a two-year-old, in the pandemonium.

And it emerged that evacuation flights were dropping flares and making steep combat landings after warnings that terrorists of the Islamic State might try to shoot down a plane.

The Biden administration has given no firm estimate of the number of Americans seeking to leave Afghanistan. Officials have put the total between 10,000 and 15.000.

A White House officials said U.S. planes flew 3,900 people out of Kabul in the previous 24 hours. Coalition aircraft rescued a similar number.

Biden is still facing questions about why his administration did not have a better evacuation plan after being warned that the Taliban could sweep into Kabul within days.

He was also slammed by allies and opponents for staying at Camp David last weekend as the crisis deepened.

And even allies such as the United Kingdom have voiced their frustration this weekend at the way Biden pushed ahead with such a rapid withdrawal.

President Joe Biden will participate in a virtual meeting with G7 leaders on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing situation in Afghanistan

A former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan said the hasty retreat would embolden enemies, including terrorist groups.

'It has damaged our alliances, emboldened our adversaries and increased the risk to our own security. It has also flouted 20 years of work and sacrifice,' said Ryan Crocker in a New York Times essay.

Against that backdrop of criticism, the White House tried to show a president hard at work.

It sent out a situation room photograph of Biden meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other members of his national security team.

Earlier, the Pentagon ordered six U.S. commercial airlines to help move evacuees from temporary sites outside of Afghanistan.

And this week Biden will join a virtual meeting of the G7 to discuss cooperation between the nations as the Taliban overruns Afghanistan, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in her statement on the upcoming meeting.

'The leaders will discuss continuing our close coordination on Afghanistan policy and evacuating our citizens, the brave Afghans who stood with us over the last two decades, and other vulnerable Afghans,' Psaki's statement reads.

'They will also discuss plans to provide humanitarian assistance and support for Afghan refugees,' she continued.

'The meeting will build on President Biden's calls this week with G7 leaders Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France, and Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy.'

The G7 intergovernmental group includes leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

The call comes after Biden received a slew of backlash last week for not talking with any world leaders in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover. Hours after reports came out attacking him for his inaction, Biden spoke with Johnson.

The G7 intergovernmental group includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

On Sunday afternoon, Biden will deliver remarks on Afghanistan  and Hurricane Henri response  at the White House.

Britain currently holds the rotating leadership of the G7 and announced earlier on Sunday that it called for the group to meet virtually this week.

The meeting comes as chaos in Afghanistan continues to unfold, and nations scramble to evacuate their citizens from Kabul.

So far, Biden has sent in 6,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan to help with evacuation efforts after the Taliban was able to take over the country in just over a week. This means the U.S. has deployed more troops into Afghanistan than the number of American citizens it has extracted from the country since the Taliban swept into power on August 14.

The Pentagon said Saturday they were only able to evacuate 2,500 Americans from Kabul in the past week.

Overall, the U.S. was able to evacuate 7,000 people from the pandemonium at the Kabul airport since last weekend, including 3,800 in the last day.

Up to 15,000 Americans still need to be evacuated and the administration hopes to get out 50-60,000 more Afghan allies and their families.
When Jade Pankhurst was told she was in the menopause at just 28, her dream of another baby seemed over.

She was told she had nil chance of having a baby again and given hormone replacement therapy.

But a year on she discovered, to her disbelief, she was pregnant. But there was yet more drama to come  she almost died after giving birth when she lost two litres of blood.

When Jade Pankhurst was told she was in the menopause at just 28, her dream of another baby seemed over

Perhaps in light of this, she called her baby daughter Mireya  a name meaning miracle in Spanish.

Mrs Pankhurst, now 30, who lives with yard operative husband Gary, 40, and her children Aaron, twelve, and Kaiden, nine, in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, said: It was so upsetting to think that Id gone into the menopause at such a young age when I hadnt completed my family.

Mrs Pankhurst came off the contraceptive pill when the couple decided they wanted to add to their family. But instead of her cycle returning to normal, she started to suffer from hot flushes.

A year on she discovered, to her disbelief, she was pregnant. But there was yet more drama to come  she almost died after giving birth when she lost two litres of blood

After tests, doctors told her she had premature ovarian failure aged 28. She was put on HRT treatment but in autumn last year she started to feel sick.

Her monthly cycles, which returned with the HRT, had stopped. She was told to take a pregnancy test, which said she was four weeks pregnant.

Mireya was born in April. But hours after the birth Mrs Pankhurst started haemorrhaging as part of the placenta had been left inside her. She said: I lost two litres of blood and nearly died.

Now fully recovered, Mrs Pankhurst said: Our family is now complete against all the odds. We still dont know how it happened and neither do the doctors.
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The hopes of holidaymakers holding out for a late-summer foreign break look set to be dashed this week with few countries expected to be added to the green list.

Analysts said only a handful of countries look likely to go green, while popular destinations such as Croatia, Madeira and Antigua could slip off the list and turn amber.

Caribbean islands Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Dominica could be heading for the red list. The analysis also suggests Turkey, which Britons visited more than 2million times a year pre-pandemic, will stay red.

There had been hopes it would be moved to amber, opening up quarantine-free holidays for the double-jabbed.

Tiers for fears: Some of the countries that could move on the government's 'traffic lights' list

The hopes of holidaymakers holding out for a late-summer foreign break look set to be dashed this week with few countries expected to be added to the green list. The island of Madeira (pictured) is one of the areas which could be moved to amber

Analysts said only a handful of countries look likely to go green, while popular destinations such as Croatia, Madeira and Antigua (pictured) could slip off the list and turn amber

Croatia was only moved on to the green list at the end of last month, but it could be among the countries set to go to the amber list

Caribbean islands Jamaica (pictured), Saint Lucia and Dominica could be heading for the red list from the amber list next week

St Lucia, a Caribbean island located between Martinique, Barbados and St Vincent, is one of the destinations which could go on the UK's red list

Dominica, between the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, is one of the destinations which could go on to the red list

Covid travel test 'cowboys' face being purged by Javid Health Secretary Sajid Javid (pictured) said 57 private firms on the Government website will be removed immediately as they 'no longer exist' or do not provide the relevant post- holiday Covid tests Dozens of traveller testing firms are to be purged from the official list or face being booted off within days, Sajid Javid warned last night. The Health Secretary said 57 private firms on the Government website will be removed immediately as they 'no longer exist' or do not provide the relevant post- holiday Covid tests. A further 82 have been given a 'two-strike warning' for advertising 'misleading' prices designed to lift them to the top of the list to lure travellers in. Until last night there were more than 400 private test firms on the official website, advertising single and two-test post-holiday packages for between 20 and 400. But the Department of Health found some had lower prices on than are actually available to most travellers when users click through to their websites. If they fail to come clean about the true cost, the culprits will be booted off the list. The Daily Mail has repeatedly highlighted the underhand tactics of some firms in the 1billion industry. These include advertising tests at 20 which end up being only available to NHS workers or miles away. Mr Javid said the action 'clamps down on this cowboy behaviour'. Advertisement

Government sources last night stressed no decisions have yet been made ahead of the review this week. But they indicated additions to the green list will be limited.

Ministers will not make any final decisions until looking at the most recent data tomorrow or Wednesday.

There are 36 destinations on the green list, 16 of which are on a 'watchlist' meaning they could turn amber at short notice.

It is thought some families, particularly those with adult children not yet double-jabbed, have been holding out for more countries going green and potentially booking last-minute break before the end of the school summer holidays.

Children will start returning either next week or the week after.

Non-fully vaccinated people can only enjoy quarantine-free holidays to green countries.

Travel chiefs say the failure to expand the green list significantly throughout summer has dented confidence in booking trips.

According to analysis by Paul Charles of travel consultancy The PC Agency, Croatia, Madeira and Israel are at risk of turning from green to amber, along with the Caribbean islands of Anguilla and Antigua and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Meanwhile Jamaica, St Lucia, Dominica and Morocco could go on the red list, meaning anyone returning would have to quarantine in hotels for 11 nights at a cost of more than 2,000.

Just a handful of countries look set to go green from amber, including Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

'There have been so many opportunities for the Government to widen the green list and give consumers more confidence to book and travel,' Mr Charles said.

'But they continue to dash the hopes not only of families wanting late summer getaways but also airlines and travel firms, which desperately need the Government to expand overseas travel options.'

Martin Chalk, of the pilots' union Balpa, said the Government had 'destroyed confidence' in international travel by not placing more countries on the green list, in turn hitting the beleaguered industry's ability to recover.

Tel Aviv in Israel, which is among the countries at risk of turning from green to amber

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, who sits on the Commons transport committee, said: 'With Covid rates in Britain still near the highest in Europe and vaccination rates in most popular holiday destinations having caught up or overtaken the UK's, we should be seeing a big expansion of the green list.

'But this Government has shown time and again that it couldn't care one iota about jobs in the travel industry, families desperate to see each other again or people just hoping for a break.'

It comes as it was today revealed free Covid antibody tests will be given to thousands of people every day in a first-ever UK-wide surveillance programme in the latest weapon against the virus.

Up to 8,000 adults who test positive will be offered the tests each day to reveal how their immune systems respond.

The massive programme begins this week and will help estimate the proportion of people who got Covid despite developing antibodies from a vaccine or a previous infection.

The announcement came as Covid infections continued to rise yesterday

It will also provide doctors with an insight into any groups who do not develop an immune response in the first place.

But sources said the data would also feed into the debate about autumn booster jabs amid continuing doubts over who will get them.

The announcement came as Covid infections continued to rise yesterday, sparking fresh appeals for people to get vaccinated. The UK recorded 32,058 new cases  a rise of just over ten per cent in the last seven days.

In a joint announcement yesterday, Ministers announced that from Tuesday anyone over 18 will be able to opt into the antibody surveillance programme to boost understanding of immunity against Covid from vaccination and prior infection.

Under the scheme, launched by the UK Health Security Agency (HSA), up to 8,000 people who agree to take part and then receive a positive PCR test will be sent two finger-prick antibody tests over 28 days to take at home and send back for laboratory analysis.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: Our new national antibody testing will be quick and easy to take part in, and by doing so youll be helping strengthen our understanding of Covid-19 as we cautiously return to a more normal life.

Im proud to see all parts of the UK uniting around this new initiative and working together to arm ourselves with even more valuable insights into how Covid-19 vaccines are protecting people.

Mr Javid added that the phenomenal vaccination programme had already built a massive wall of defence across the country by preventing about 24million infections and more than 100,000 deaths in England alone.

He said: I urge everyone across the UK to get both vaccinations as soon as possible.

Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the HSA, said: We are rolling out antibody testing across the UK to gain vital data into the impact of our vaccination programme and on immune responses to different variants of Covid-19.

People taking part in the programme must have their first test as soon as possible after a positive PCR result  before they have time to develop antibodies in response to the new infection.

The second test 28 days later will measure what level of antibodies they develop to fight the virus.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid (pictured during a visit to Milton Keynes Hospital on August 10) said the new national antibody testing will be 'quick and easy to take part in'

Officials say that by comparing the two tests, the NHA will be able to see how well vaccinated individuals boost their immunity when infected and also how this might change with Covid variants.

But Department of Health sources also privately conceded that the data will feed into the debate about who gets a third booster jab later this year.

That comes amid conflicting reports about whether the over-50s would be included in the autumn third jab drive alongside older groups and people classed as most vulnerable.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is awaiting results of research into the effectiveness of booster jabs as well mixing and matching different vaccines.

However, a well-placed Government source said it was still likely that all over-50s would be offered the booster.

UK Covid cases continue to grow: Infections increase by 20% in a week to 32,253 but deaths fall by a FIFTH to 49

By Henry Martin for MailOnline

Britain has recorded 49 coronavirus deaths today and 32,253 new positive tests.

Last Sunday had seen 61 deaths, meaning today's figures represent a drop of 20 per cent, but there were 26,750 cases - a number which grew by 20 per cent.

Most recent vaccination data, from August 21, shows 87.7 per cent of the population aged 16 and over have received their first dose, and 76.7 per cent have had two.

The new positive test rate over the last seven days is 227,391 - an increase in 13.5 per cent on the previous seven-day figure.

There were 687 deaths within 28 days of a positive test recorded in the last week, up by 52 from the last week's number.

The data comes as the Government announced a UK-wide antibody testing programme to be launched for people who have contracted coronavirus.

Britain has recorded 49 coronavirus deaths today and 32,253 new positive tests

The programme, which will offer tests to thousands of adults per day, aims to improve understanding and gain 'vital' data about antibody protection following Covid infection and vaccination.

From Tuesday, anyone over 18 from any of the four UK nations can opt in to the programme when receiving a PCR test.

Of those who test positive for coronavirus, up to 8,000 will be sent two finger prick antibody tests to complete at home and send back for analysis.

The first must be taken as soon as possible after the positive result, and the second must be taken 28 days later.

The UK Health Security Agency, which is running the programme, will work alongside NHS test and trace services in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and use the results to monitor levels of antibodies in positive cases across the UK.

Mother-of-three, 31, dies of Covid after two-week battle against virus 'despite receiving first dose of vaccine' Katie Gill, 31, from Moreton, passed away on August 14 after she was admitted to Arrowe Park Hospital with breathing difficulties A mother-of-three who 'lived for her family' has tragically died of Covid-19 following a two week battle against the virus in hospital. Katie Gill, 31, from Moreton, Merseyside, was admitted to Arrowe Park Hospital with breathing difficulties after contracting the virus earlier this month. However Ms Gill, who had received her first dose of the Covid vaccine and had no underlying health conditions, deteriorated quickly and passed away on August 14, leaving behind her husband and three children. Best friend Karen Rotheram, who described Ms Gill as 'the loveliest, kindest, funniest person', said her health declined within just ten days. She said: 'Katie was the loveliest, kindest, funniest person, who would do anything for anyone. 'She went into hospital at the start of August and had been struggling with Covid at home before that. 'It was her breathing, the usual, so she had to go to hospital and she deteriorated from there. 'It was really quick, within just 10 days. 'Katie was one of those people when there's been lockdowns who was totally careful, would do everything she could to keep her family healthy. 'Because of her age, because she was just 31, that's why it was so much more of a shock. 'She'd had a jab and was keeping safe.' Ms Rotheram has now urged others to remain cautious of the dangers of Covid which is 'still there'. She continued: 'I think that's what people don't understand. 'Okay, we're out of lockdown and we're getting back to the new normal but Covid's still there. 'It doesn't have an age, some people recover some people don't but everyone should be aware. 'Although you can do a lot of things now, you still need to be aware and get your jabs. 'Katy was due to get her second one this month. She took her first jab to protect herself and her family.' Advertisement

The Department of Health and Social Care says it will be the first time antibody tests have been made available to the general public, and the scheme could also provide insight into any groups of people who do not develop an immune response.

The data will be used to inform the ongoing approach to the pandemic and give further insight into the effectiveness of vaccines on new variants.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the programme will build on the 'massive wall of defence' that is the UK vaccination programme.

'Our new national antibody testing will be quick and easy to take part in,' he said.

'By doing so you'll be helping strengthen our understanding of Covid-19 as we cautiously return to a more normal life.

'I'm proud to see all parts of the UK uniting around this new initiative and working together to arm ourselves with even more valuable insights into how Covid-19 vaccines are protecting people up and down the UK.'

Those taking part must take the first antibody test as soon as possible after receiving a positive PCR result so the body does not have time to generate a detectable antibody response to the infection.

The second test should be taken 28 days later and will measure antibodies generated in response to the infection.

UK Health Security Agency chief executive Dr Jenny Harries said: 'We are rolling out antibody testing across the UK to gain vital data into the impact of our vaccination programme and on immune responses to different variants of Covid-19.

'This innovative programme is only possible thanks to the thousands of people who continue to help with studies on vaccine and treatment effectiveness each week.

'The best way to protect yourself and those around you is by getting vaccinated.

'I encourage anyone who has not yet come forward to book their first and second jabs.'

The announcement comes amid ongoing debate over the rollout of booster jabs in the UK.

Dr Chris Smith, consultant virologist and lecturer at Cambridge University, warned the UK must not take its 'eye off the ball' with Covid-19 vaccinations and that the virus could come 'roaring back'.

Dr Smith said a decision on booster jabs should not be 'rash, (or) rushed', and that the Government is considering a more 'strategic' approach.

Mr Javid has said he is 'confident' a booster vaccine campaign can start next month despite reports that experts want more time to consider whether they are needed.

The Government said a further 104 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Saturday, and there had been a further 32,058 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Dr Smith said: 'We all agree that (the pandemic) is not over until it is over in every corner of the world, because otherwise it will just come roaring back.

'But one must not take one's eye off the ball here because it would be very easy to unstitch all of the good work we've done so far if it turns out with time we do lose immunity because the vaccines wane in their effectiveness.

'As we go into winter, now is a critical period and I think that is why we haven't seen a rash, rushed decision by the JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) and the Government.'

He added: 'While other countries are embarking on booster programmes, people are taking stock, they are looking at the data and maybe making a decision on how to intervene strategically in certain groups.'

Research by the National Office for Statistics (ONS) recently found more than three-quarters of adults in every age group say they would be likely or very likely to get a booster jab if offered.

Overall, 87% of adults surveyed by the ONS said they would be likely or very likely to get a third coronavirus jab.

Likelihood increased with age, with 96% of those aged 70 and over indicating their interest, down to 78% of 16 to 29-year-olds.
The chief medical officer says Australia is on track to reopening when the country reaches its 80 per cent vaccination rate - regardless of the NSW outbreak.

Paul Kelly has remained firm on plans made by National Cabinet to start easing restrictions when the majority of residents have been jabbed by December.

The end-of-year target is based on modelling provided by the Doherty Institute to state, territory and federal leaders.

It shows that lockdowns will be unnecessary when 80 per cent of the country is vaccinated - and expects the goal to be achieved before the start of 2022.

Though the modelling works on a series of assumptions that don't apply to the current situation in NSW, including outbreaks that begin in the 10s of cases, not hundreds, and ongoing low-level social restrictions.

The chief medical officer says Australia is on track to reopening when the country reaches its 80 per cent vaccination rate - regardless of the NSW outbreak

Paul Kelly has remained firm on plans made by National Cabinet to start easing restrictions when the majority of residents have been jabbed by December

NSW is currently grappling with the worst Covid outbreak in the country, recording a worrying 830 cases on Sunday.

Mr Kelly was asked by reporters whether National Cabinet would have to go back to the 'drawing board' and possibly consider pushing back plans to reopen the country this year.

'The answer is absolutely not,' Mr Kelly said. 'The model itself remains the same. It's a tweak to the assumption.'

'So that's the work that's being done this week. As I said in the previous answer to the same question, I don't think it will materially change things a lot.'

Mr Kelly insisted that the focus would shift from case numbers to hospitalisation rates once most of the country was vaccinated.

Thirty per cent of residents have been fully vaccinated with 17 million doses administered since the start of the rollout.

Mr Kelly was asked by reporters whether he thought zero-Covid was a sustainable long-term target, and the answer was a blunt 'no'.

Western Australia premier Mark McGowan, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews have implied they would lock out NSW if it opened before its outbreak was quelled.

Mr Kelly said the only places in the world that can claim to have zero cases could be some Pacific Islands countries because they have not seen COVID-19 at all and have essentially been cut off from the rest of the world for last 18 months.

It shows that lockdowns will be unnecessary when 80 per cent of the country is vaccinated - and expects the goal to be achieved before the start of 2022

Prime Minister Scott Morrison this weekend confirmed the National Cabinet plan was still in effect and called on state leaders to stick to what they agreed to

'Even in New Zealand, which I would say would be the poster jurisdiction of elimination - and they have very clearly and recently stated that remains their aim - are now coping with an outbreak in Auckland and beyond,' Professor Kelly said on Sunday.

Mr Kelly said Western Australia has done extremely well relying on the very strong border controls, both to the rest of the world and to the rest of Australia.

'The matters of how WA see themselves working through the pandemic over time is really a matter for them, but I will say that the whole of national cabinet, including the West Australian premier, did sign up to the plan only a couple of weeks ago,' he said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison this weekend confirmed the National Cabinet plan was still in effect and called on state leaders to stick to what they agreed to.

University of Melbourne professor of mathematical biology James McCaw, who contributed to the modelling, warned NSW still needed to bring down its case numbers.

University of Melbourne professor of mathematical biology James McCaw, who contributed to the modelling, warned NSW still needed to bring down its case numbers

He said the modelling assumes there will be 'optimal' testing and tracing, along with very efficient isolation and quarantine systems to keep cases under control.

'At high caseloads the public health units are under a lot of stress and obviously those things are not working optimally,' he said.

'They are just not as effective (and so) obviously it's harder to control the spread of the virus, so something else has to help and what that other thing is, is stronger social measures and stronger versions of lockdowns rather than weaker.'

He said NSW must drive case numbers down and questioned the relevance of the modelling if that didn't occur.

'There is a very, very clear and coherent relationship between the targets Doherty puts forward and the response required by NSW to help us get there,' he said.
Selfish drivers in loud supercars and motorbikes may soon get their comeuppance as cameras triggered by excessive noise are to be deployed.

Celebrity residents of the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea including Anthea Turner have complained of the nightly 'torture' of boy racers' loud engines.

Acoustic cameras, which photograph number plates of offenders, are expected to be brought in across the borough following a consultation and trial.

Areas across Britain are expected to follow if successful.

Broadcaster Miss Turner has spearheaded calls for a wider adoption of the noise cameras.

Celebrity residents of the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea including Anthea Turner (pictured) have complained of the nightly 'torture' of boy racers' loud engines

She said: 'I am not one of life's complainers and fully take on board that if you choose to live in a city there are consequences, one of which is, to a greater or lesser degree, traffic noise.

'But what is happening here is becoming a daily and I'm afraid nightly torture.'

She said bikers use a part of the borough by the Thames as a racetrack, adding: 'I've even witnessed some performing stunts.'

She added: 'The majority of the traffic uses Chelsea as a cut-through and whether they rev their engines, speed, honk their horns, turn their music up, they give not a second thought or have any respect for our lives.

'This truly is anti-social behaviour and it needs to be stopped.'

Acoustic cameras, which photograph number plates of offenders, are expected to be brought in across the borough following a consultation and trial (Pictured: Lamborghini supercar in London)

The trials of the new technology will determine whether the legal noise limit has been breached by taking into account the class and speed of the vehicle relative to the location of the noise camera (Pictured: Ferrari in London)

The Department for Transport carried out trials of acoustic cameras in a different setting  along A roads, but a DfT source said the trials were 'inconclusive' as along busy main roads it is difficult identifying which vehicle is making the racket.

But in quieter streets it is easier to identify noise offenders.

Lead Member for environment, planning and place at Kensington Council, Councillor Johnny Thalassites said: 'Residents have had enough of drivers using our streets as a racetrack.

'Piloting new noise camera technology last year has helped us catch some of the worst offenders of noisy and inconsiderate driving.

'We want our borough to be the best place to live, work and learn in London and we are always looking for ways to make it a great place to be while keeping the community safe.

'We now wish to hear from those living and working in the borough to see if they would benefit from boroughwide enforcement against this issue.'

Studies have found that exposure to noise can have significant physical and mental health implications  with heart attacks, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and stress all linked to long-term contact with loud environments.

Currently, enforcement is mainly reactive and relies on subjective judgement.

The trials of the new technology will determine whether the legal noise limit has been breached by taking into account the class and speed of the vehicle relative to the location of the noise camera.
It is news likely to have middle Britain choking on its avocado on sourdough.

According to research, food delivered from upmarket chain Waitrose is likely to go off quicker than items bought from its main rivals.

Consumer champion Which? assessed the freshness of groceries ordered online from the big six supermarkets.

Waitrose came bottom, with food and drink going off around two-and-a-half days earlier on average

All the supermarkets say they train staff to pick food with the longest possible dates but some workers told Which? that targets put them under pressure

Waitrose came bottom, with food and drink going off around two-and-a-half days earlier on average than top performer Tesco.

Twelve undercover shoppers ordered more than 1,000 groceries including the same 16 perishable items from each online store.

They totalled up the number of full hours remaining from the time of delivery to midnight on the use-by date for each item, calculating an average time per supermarket.

Tesco came top, with items lasting 11 days on average while it also delivered no food which had gone off or in damaged packaging.

Waitrose groceries lasted an average 8.6 days. The high-end supermarket also delivered two packets of beef which appeared to have gone off, despite being within their use-by dates.

Which? also found stark differences in use-by dates. The longest-lasting mince from Asda had 13.4 days left but mince from Morrisons had just 2.1 days left. The time left for semi-skimmed milk ranged from 18.3 days with Asda to 4.7 days for a Waitrose bottle.

Tesco came top, with items lasting 11 days on average while it also delivered no food which had gone off or in damaged packaging

A packet of bacon rashers from Asda lasted just 13 hours while one from Ocado lasted 28.6 days.

All the supermarkets say they train staff to pick food with the longest possible dates but some workers told Which? that targets put them under pressure.

Undercover shoppers took delivery of two items  both pots of single cream from Sainsburys and Ocado  where the use-by date had passed. Three items from Asda, Morrisons and Sainsburys arrived on their use-by dates.

The study found food from three stores within the use-by date but which looked to have gone off, including minced beef and bagged salad. Ten items arrived with packaging so badly damaged that the food was probably unsafe to eat, such as pasta salad and milk.

A spokesman for Waitrose said that any problems were being looked into.
Victoria has recorded 71 new cases of coronavirus, its biggest increase in a single day since the tail end of the state's second wave last September.

Mystery cases have also blown out to double Sunday's numbers with 22 not yet linked to the outbreak and an unknown number infectious in the community.

Only 16 new cases were isolating for the entirety of their infectious period, which Premier Daniel Andrews described as a 'significant concern.'

They were diagnosed from 46,446 test results, and 22,191 vaccine doses were administered on Sunday.

A baby is among the 29 cases in hospital and a quarter of the state's cases are children.

Mr Andrews urged Victorians to book an vaccination appointment as soon as they can with 52,566 available spots in the next seven days.

Victoria has recorded 71 new cases of coronavirus , its biggest increase in a single day since the tail end of the state's second wave last September. Pictured are health workers at a drive-through COVID-19 Vaccination Centre in Campbellfield.

Health officials are concerned the latest Melbourne outbreak has spread into new suburbs. Pictured are Melburnians in St Kilda on Saturday as a host of new restrictions were announced

Appointments are available at hubs including the Ford factory in Geelong, Sandown Racecourse, Wyndham Civic Centre, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, the drive-in site at Melton and Melbourne Showground.

'Every one of those visits and appointments takes us a step closer in the race to 70 and then 80 per cent of our community having been vaccinated,' Mr Andrews said.

'That means we don't have to be locked down and certainly not state what we don't have to have many of the rules that are essential and our only option at this time.

'At those vaccination numbers give us many other options and they are all much better than the very limited set of options that every state and national government have reluctantly and with a heavy heart had to sign up to.'

He and health officials expressed concern about the 10,000 vaccine appointments that have been either cancelled or were no shows in the past week.

'People have to turn up. You have an appointment, use it to date because there is an actual shot in your arm today and it is far preferable than a booking in a few weeks time,' Mr Andrews said.

Victoria's latest outbreak has spread to the regional town in Shepparton, where there are now 34 cases

Nine patients are in intensive care and five require ventilation.

Of those in ICU, one person is aged in their 20s, one in their 30s, five in their 40s, and two in their 50s. None of them have been vaccinated.

More than 14,000 Victorians are isolating as primary close contacts, on top of another 9,000 secondary close contacts with more than 600 exposure sites across the state.

An outbreak at Royal Melbourne Hospital has so far infected at least 10 people - a mix of patients, staff, and one visitor - is also worrying health authorities.

Officials are also concerned about the cluster linked to the MyCentre Child Care centre in Broadmeadows, which has grown to 50 cases after eight new infections.

The outbreak in Shepparton that sparked the lockdown expansion to the entire state now stands at 34 after eight new cases.

The regional outbreak has closed Notre Dame College, Greater Shepparton Secondary College, and St Mels Primary School.

Ten of Monday's cases were linked to the Newport cluster, taking that outbreak to 61.

A Covid-positive patient from Shepparton was transferred to the hospital on August 12 and gave it to a cardiac patient in the bed next to him.

He was not tested for Covid-19 before his operation, which happened before the Shepparton cluster surfaced.

Hundreds of staff from Royal Melbourne Hospital (pictured) have been plunged into isolation as the outbreak grew to 10 cases

The patient was in various parts of the hospital including ICU and a cardiac ward before he tested positive. He remains there.

The premier warned outbreaks in hospitals will have knock-on effects.

'Our public hospital system operates on one fundamental principle, and that is the sickest patients get treated the quickest, and that's the only way that it can go,' Mr Andrews said.

'So, if we have more and more really acute patients, then we will reprioritise, we will move resources and add to resources. But you're right, furloughing is tough.

'That's [why we've] got to clean this out of hospitals as best we possibly can.'

Health officials are also concerned the outbreak has spread into new suburbs across Melbourne, including Essendon West, Camberwell, Thornbury, Fitzroy North, Maidstone and as far as Sorrento.

More than one fifth of the state's 494 active cases are under the age of 10, 100 are between the ages of 10 and 19, and 79 are in their 20s.

'It's a very, very young age profile,' Victoria's Covid-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said.

'What we have seen in this outbreak, going back to the beginning two-and-a-half weeks ago is we have seen kids get Covid-19 in kids spreading it in their families.

'Nobody in the state is safe or immune.

'Where we find one case, we're likely to find more. That shows a growing pattern of coronavirus cases.'

'The urgency is for people to realise that this is now really close to everybody. It is no longer a Newport and Glenroy problem and it is not a Shepparton problem.

'We have a case in Mansfield, a man in his late 60s, a million miles away from Melbourne and a fair way from Shepparton, so we cannot be complacent.'

Victorians have been urged to roll up their sleeves in the coming days with 52,566 available spots for the next week. Pictured is a drive-through vaccination clinic in Melbourne on Monday

The outbreak at MyCentre Child Care Centre at Broadmeadows has grown to 50 cases

Mr Andrews was asked on Monday if he was comfortable with the current settings after plunging the entire state into lockdown and enforcing a string of tougher restrictions on Saturday.

'There are not too many more restrictions we can put on,' the Premier replied.

'The thing that will make the difference in bringing these numbers down further is compliance with these current rules.'

Mr Andrews also refused to rule out lifting restrictions once 80 per cent of the state are vaccinated.

'I can't rule out masks or some other measure,' he said.

'If we had a really nasty outbreak in a vulnerable community in a suburb or part of the state, for instance, in an aged care facility  we might lock down a whole lot of aged care facilities if we had a problem in aged care.

'Could I rule it out? I'd love to be able to rule out lots of things. Because I could get advice and what people know about me is that if I get advice from the doctors to do it, I'll do it.

'I won't second-guess them and I won't turn this into a political game. It is a public health matter.'

More than 22,191 Victorians were vaccinated on Sunday. Pictured are motorists being directed at a vaccination drive-though in Melbourne on Monday

All hospital emergency staff are now required to wear tier-three personal protective equipment.

'It's unpleasant, it's hot, it's hard work, and this is the implication of seeing these rumbling cases,' Mr Weimar said.

'We now have to step up again, to deal with the growing number of cases we're seeing in the community and be prepared for these cases coming through.

'My thanks to [health services and] their leadership and their frontline staff for all the work they're doing to make sure we get through the coming days and weeks, as well as we possibly can.'

The premier described the scenes at Saturday's anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne's CBD as 'disgusting' and 'absolutely unlawful'.

'None of us should ever act in that way towards members of Victoria Police  they're there to keep us safe, and put themselves in harm's way,' Mr Andrews said said

'The full force of the law will be upon those people [who attended the protests].'
Musicians have sung their praises as some of the finest violins ever made  often with a multi-million-pound price tag to match.

And now 12 Stradivarius violins  worth a combined 146million  have been brought together for what is believed to be one of the most expensive recordings in the world.

The instruments, which have a combined age of more than 3,000 years, were flown to London from their homes across Europe, America and Asia to record the album 12 Stradivari.

The once in a lifetime opportunity was almost scuppered when violinist Janine Jansen contracted Covid.

Elbphilharmonie Orchestra with Janine Jansen (l), violinist, plays the pre-opening concert of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival

But the once in a lifetime opportunity was almost scuppered when violinist Janine Jansen contracted Covid.

The violins  which were made by Italian craftsman Antonio Stradivari between 1680 and 1734  had formerly belonged to virtuosi including Ida Haendel, Fritz Kreisler and Joseph Joachim, a close collaborator of Brahms.

They were all loaned to the project, many from private collections, with strict contracts and expensive insurance cover in place.

All travelled first class to London and had to be accompanied by costly security.

But the project had to be delayed for three weeks after Miss Jansen, 43, was struck down with Covid.

Steven Smith, of violin dealers J&A Beare, who devised the project, said that despite the difficulties it had absolutely been worth it

The violins  which were made by Italian craftsman Antonio Stradivari between 1680 and 1734  had formerly belonged to virtuosi including Ida Haendel, Fritz Kreisler and Joseph Joachim, a close collaborator of Brahms. (Album: 12 Stradivari)

The Dutch violinist was so weak by the time she returned that she struggled to climb the concert hall steps with a violin in her hand.

But she was able to continue with the recording, which took place over four days at Chelseas Cadogan Hall, with Royal Opera House supremo Sir Antonio Pappano accompanying on piano.

Steven Smith, of violin dealers J&A Beare, who devised the project, said that despite the difficulties it had absolutely been worth it.

The album 12 Stradivari is released on Decca Classics on September 10.

The accompanying film Falling for Stradivari is at UK cinemas from September 2nd.
John Travolta spoke about what he told his son Ben after his wife Kelly Preston passed away in 2020.

The Pulp Fiction actor, 67, recently appeared on Kevin Hart's talk show Hart to Heart and told the comedian about how he had to discuss mortality with his 10-year-old child following his spouse's death.

The actress previously passed away in July of 2020 after undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Being honest: John Travolta spoke about having to discuss mortality with his son Ben after Kelly Preston's passing during a recent episode of the talk show Hart to Heart

Travolta pointed out that his son broached the topic during a conversation and expressed that his child was very honest about his feelings.

The Grease star recalled that Ben 'said to me once, "Because mom passed away, I'm afraid you're going to."'

The performer pointed out that he and his wife were two different individuals and attempted to explain the situation to his son.

'I said, "Well, it's a very different thing." And I went through the differences about my longevity and her limited life,' he recalled.

Tough topic: The Pulp Fiction actor recalled that his son wanted to discuss death following the death of the actress in 2020

Talking it out: Travolta told Hart that he 'went through the differences about my longevity and her limited life' with his son; he is seen with Preston in 2018

Travolta then told Hart that he had to explain the challenges of living with grief to his son, which he attempted to do in an easy-to-understand manner.

The actor recalled that he 'said, "But you know, Benyou always love the truth and I'm going to tell you the truth about life. Nobody knows when they're gonna go or when they're going to stay."'

The Saturday Night Fever star then told his son to keep his chin up and to embrace loss as part of living, as he had already done so.

He told Ben: '"I could die tomorrow. You could. Anybody can. So let's look at it like it's part of life. You don't know exactly. You just do your best at trying to live the longest you can."'

Being supportive: Travolta told his son to not worry about death and keep on living as best as he could

Travolta also spoke about how Ben was interested in how his father viewed his life going forward.

The performer recalled: 'He said, "Does 30 years ago seem like a long time?" I said, "Yeah." He said, "Don't you think you have 30 more years in your life to live?" I said, "Yeah, I do."

The actor then pointed out that Ben's response to his statement was unexpectedly positive and that he was impressed with his son's maturity.

'He said, "What's wrong with that?" This is a 10-year-old telling me that! It changed my viewpoint,' Travolta said.

Proud father: Travolta also expressed that Ben's view on longevity 'changed my viewpoint' on the matter; he is seen with Preston in 2018

The actor and Preston were initially romantically linked in 1989 after they met during a screen test for the comedy film The Experts.

The pair moved quickly with their relationship and went on to become engaged and tie the knot in 1991.

Travolta and his wife welcomed their first son, Jett, the following year and added their daughter Ella and Benjamin to their lives in 2000 and 2010, respectively.

Working together: The former couple originally met while working on the 1989 comedy feature The Experts, in which they appeared; they are seen with Ben in 2012

Tragedy struck the family in 2009 when the couple's oldest child passed away during a vacation in the Bahamas.

The family stayed together for just over a decade before Preston died as a result of complications from breast cancer.

The actress' passing was initially announced through a post made to Travolta's Instagram account in July of 2020.
She and her husband Jim Toth, along with a slew of other well-intentioned celebrities, appeared during Saturday's hour-long Stand Up To Cancer telethon.

And Reese Witherspoon, who is serving as executive producer alongside Toth, was seen running some last minute errands in Los Angeles.

The 45-year-old Academy Award-winner was seen just outside Hotel Bel Air in a pair of blue drawstring pants and a white v-neck t-shirt.

Great cause: Reese Witherspoon, 45, was hard at work when she was spotted leaving the Bel Air Hotel ahead of Stand Up To Cancer telethon

Seemingly in 11th hour prep mode, the Oscar-winning actress also wore white sneakers and had her long blonde locks pulled back off her face and into a bun.

She concealed her eyes with a pair of black sunglasses and fastened several chains around her neck.

And with COVID-19 on another surge in recent months, the mother of three made sure to wear a protective mask over her mouth and nose whenever she was in the vicinity of others in and outside of the hotel.

Casual before glamorous: The Oscar-winning actress kept it casual in blue drawstring pants and a white t-shirt before slipping into a more glamorous ensemble for the televised event, which helps raise money for cancer awareness and research

Non-profit work: Witherspoon and husband Jim Toth donated their time to Stand Up To Cancer as co-executive producers for the hourlong televised event on Saturday, August 21

The hourlong special is being hosted by Modern Family alum Sofia Vergara, Black-ish star Anthony Anderson and the husband-and-wife duo of comedian Ken Jeong and Tran Ho.

SU2C co-founder and special guest Katie Couric will also appear, and there will be performances from Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard and Common with Stevie Wonder.

Some of the celebrity guests include Matthew McConaughey, Chandra Wilson, Kate del Castillo, Jennifer Garner, MJ Rodriquez, Tony Hale, Deon Cole, Cecily Strong, Max Greenfield.

Working the phones and internet: On Friday, Witherspoon took to Instagram to promote the telethon with calls to celebrities donating their time to the event

Funny: The actress called comedian Ken Jeong, who will take part in the charity telethon and show as co-hosts with his wife Tran Ho

An 11-year-old boy with leukemia will be among the families directly affected by the disease who will have their stories told during the event, which raises money for cancer research.

Stand Up To Cancer will be shown commercial-free on dozens of U.S. and Canadian broadcast, cable and streaming outlets, including the ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC networks.

The statistic used most often by SU2C is from the American Cancer Society: one out of every two men and one out of every three women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.

Uplifting: Modern Family lum Sofia Vergara is also playing the role of co-host for the hourlong special that airs on a number of bnroadcasts on Saturday

More star power: Witherspoon also placed a call to Black-ish star Anthony Anderson, who's also serving as host

Performances: Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard is among the artists set to perform for the non-profit's telethon

Launched in May 2008, Stand Up to Cancer aims to raise awareness and bring about an understanding that everyone is connected to cancer.

Part of its mission is to 'raise funds to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now.,' according to its website: standuptocancer.org.

In those 13 years, the non-profit has raised more than $603 million for research that has contributed to federal approvals for nine new cancer therapies and 258 clinical trials.
Bella Hadid pulls her sheer tank top over her bra to show off her 24inch waistline

The Vogue cover girl, 24, wore a sheer tank top that was pulled up over her white sports bra to reveal her tiny waistline as she stepped out in New York
They bought an architect-designed weekender in Berowra Waters two years ago.

And now Larry Emdur, 56, and his wife Sylvie have made another purchase in the area according to the Daily Telegraph: a 'derelict bushland block' in Neverfail Bay.

The reclusive property is only accessible by boat.

Big spenders: Larry Emdur, 56, and his wife Sylvie (pictured in 2019) have made another purchase in the Berowra Waters area according to the Daily Telegraph : a 'derelict bushland block' in Neverfail Bay

The block of land, which last sold for $575,000 in 1999, was purchased by Emdur and his wife of 26 years for $1 million.

Their other riverfront property was purchased in 2019 for $1.1 million, and included a home with 5m-high ceilings and an almost entirely glass wall facing the river.

The lavish purchase comes after Emdur reportedly signed a new seven-figure contract with the network after stepping in to replace Andrew O'Keefe as host of The Chase.

The great escape: The block of land, which last sold for $575,000 in 1999, was purchased by Emdur and his wife of 26 years for $1 million. Pictured: Berowra Waters

Million-dollar man: The Morning Show host reportedly signed a new seven-figure contract with Seven after stepping in to replace Andrew O'Keefe on The Chase

'Between The Morning Show and The Chase, Emdur is now on the big bucks,' an insider told New Idea.

'After rounds of negotiations, he's sitting very pretty. He has effectively saved the network's most successful game show  so he's worth every penny!' the source said.

Seven execs are now reportedly even considering Emdur as a possible candidate to replace David 'Kochie' Koch when he retires as host of breakfast show Sunrise.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Seven for comment.

Valuable asset: 'Between The Morning Show and The Chase, Emdur is now on the big bucks,' an insider told New Idea. 'After rounds of negotiations, he's sitting very pretty. He has effectively saved the network's most successful game show  so he's worth every penny!'

Emdur signed on to take over O'Keefe's position in February after Seven refused to renew the latter's contract amid his legal problems.

O'Keefe recently had assault charges against him dropped on mental health grounds.

According to court proceedings, the former TV host allegedly had a manic episode when he struck an ex-partner who claims he brought an ice pipe to a party.

Court battle: O'Keefe (pictured) recently had assault charges against him dropped due on mental health grounds. According to court proceedings, the former host allegedly had a manic episode when he struck an ex-partner who claims he brought an ice pipe to a party

Emdur's first episode of The Chase went to air last Monday during Seven's coverage of the Olympics.

He said ahead of his debut: 'I'm thrilled to be the host of The Chase and I can't wait to see the look on my mum's face when she hears me saying all those big words.

'I'm excited to be starting on Monday during the Olympics. Mind you, any of the Chasers will happily tell you this show is the Olympics of quizzing.'

Crucial role: In an interview with The Daily Telegraph last month, Emdur explained that game shows like The Chase are 'super important' because they are lead-ins to news bulletins, which are often the highest-rated programs of the evening

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph last month, Emdur explained that game shows like The Chase are 'super important' because they are lead-ins to news bulletins, which are often the highest-rated programs of the evening.

He added that he didn't make the decision to host the series lightly.

'We've got a beautiful thing happening on The Morning Show, top of the ratings for 14 years and I love working with [co-host] Kylie Gillies and the team,' he said.

'I hope people continue to enjoy the show the way that they have over the years and I hope I bring something different to it as well.'

Emdur is no newbie to hosting game shows, having previously hosted The Price Is Right and Wheel of Fortune.
Lisa Rinna was spotted out shopping at the upscale boutique towne by elysewalker at the glen center in Los Angeles.

The 58-year-old Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star opted to go braless under a black tank top when she was seen on Saturday.

The television personality tucked her tank top into a pair of charcoal-colored Free City sweatpants with the California brand's signature dove in lime green.

Out and about: Lisa Rinna was spotted shopping at the upscale boutique towne by elysewalker at the glen center in Los Angeles

She also donned a long gray and white tie-dye striped cardigan. The Oregon native sported gray sneakers and carried a black shopping bag with the store's logo.

Lisa added a touch of glamour to her casual ensemble with a Gucci crossbody bag. She wore her short locks tousled and appeared to go makeup-free as she went about her errands.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise due to the spread of the Delta variant, Rinna covered her face with a black surgical mask.

Comfortable: The 58-year-old Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star opted to go braless under a black tank top when she was seen on Saturday

Before becoming a reality star, Lisa was primarily known for her successful acting career.

And Rinna will return to her roots as a performer when she reprises her role as Billie Reed in the upcoming soap opera miniseries Days Of Our Lives: Beyond Salem.

Lisa is currently set to lead the cast of the upcoming spinoff of the longstanding series, which will premiere next month.

Back at it: Lisa will reprise her role as Billie Reed in the forthcoming miniseries Days Of Our Lives: Beyond Salem

Development on the Days Of Our Lives spinoff began earlier this year, with several outlets reporting the news about its impending debut last month.

In addition to Rinna, several longstanding cast members will reprise their roles as their respective characters on the forthcoming program.

Deidre Hall will return to the show as Marlena Evans, while Drake Hogestyn is set to portray John Black.

James Reynolds and Jackee Harry will reprise the roles of Abe Carver and Paulina Price, respectively.

Moving quickly: Development on the series was initially announced this past July

Familiar faces: Numerous performers from the longstanding soap opera series, including Eileen Davidson and Jackee Harry, will reprise their roles from the original series in the spinoff

The show will be centered around the exploits of various characters as they spend time away from Days Of Our Lives' traditional setting of Salem, Illinois.

However, all of the travelers become involved in a dangerous mystery involving stolen jewels that could spell dire consequences for the town.

Reed then steps up and embarks on a globe-trotting search for the goods that could very well determine the fate of Salem.

Physical production on the forthcoming miniseries initially commenced earlier this year after it was officially greenlit.

Storyline: Days Of Our Lives: Beyond Salem will be centered on several characters who find themselves involved in a mystery concerning stolen jewels

Days Of Our Lives: Beyond Salem is set to run for five episodes, and it will premiere on the Peacock streaming service on September 6th.

Rinna began portraying Reed in 1992, and her first run on the show lasted a total of three years.

She then departed the program and the character was eventually recast, with Krista Allen playing the secret agent from 1996 until 1999.

The Real Housewife went on to return to the show in 2002, although her time playing Reed proved to be short-lived when she left the following year.

Multiple reprisals: Rinna began playing Reed in 1992 and has returned to the show in order to portray the character on several occasions

Keeping it brief: Rinna's most recent run on the longstanding soap opera series began and ended in February of 2018

Julie Pinson then filled the role for a total of four years, with her run ending in 2008.

Rinna went on to play Reed for two more short stints, which lasted from 2012 until 2013 and for a few episodes in February of 2018.

She initially confirmed that she would be returning to the program earlier this year with a post made to her Instagram account.

In her post's caption, she wrote that the forthcoming series would bring fans all of the 'romance, action, drama and surprises that only DAYS can deliver.'
Hollywood father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy announced on Friday, August 20 that they had made the 'difficult decision' to cancel the Schitt's Creek Farewell Tour.

The Canadian sitcom stars took to social media to reveal the news as they spoke about concerns over the 'health and safety' of their fans amid the COVID-19 surge.

The multi-city tour had first been announced back in March 2020  at which point it was postponed on account of the pandemic  but in their joint statement they teased they would 'try and find a way' to make it happen 'in the future.'

'Difficult decision': Dan and Eugene Levy announced in a joint statement on Friday, August 20 that they would be cancelling the Schitt's Creek Farewell Tour amid a COVID-19 surge after a previous postponement

The statement was addressed to their 'incredible Schitt's Creek fans' and spoke to their sadness at having to let their loyal viewers down again.

'When we postponed Schitt's Creek: The Farewell Tour we had every hope and intention of traveling to see you later this year. However, despite our best efforts to reschedule while keeping your health and safety at the forefront, we've found that state and local mandates vary too widely to do so in the near future.

'So, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all tour dates that were scheduled pre-pandemic,' the statement continued, while promising a full refund 'immediately.'

The pair signed off: 'We're so sorry to be missing you, and we will continue to try and find a way to see you in the future.'

Statement: 'We have made the difficult decision to cancel all tour dates that were scheduled pre-pandemic,' their joint statement read in excerpt as they promised a full refund for those who had bought tickets

The stars of the multi-award winning show  including The Levys, Catherine O'Hara (Moira), Annie Murphy (Alexis), Emily Hampshire (Stevie Budd), and Noah Reid (Patrick)  were set to make appearances in cities such as Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Phoenix and Washington, D.C.

Though the series was a bit of a sleeper hit that first premiered on CBC (a local Canadian broadcasting network) in 2015, the show quickly built momentum and garnered a huge following once it hit Netflix.

The sitcom tells the story of the Rose family: a wealthy family who goes broke and moves into a motel they purchased as a joke in a small town called Schitt's Creek.

The once upper echelon foursome is forced to adapt to small town life and integrate with blue collar folks, as they continue to navigate an existence they thought was beneath them.

New life: The sitcom tells the story of The Roses: a once wealthy family who goes broke and move into a motel they purchased as a joke in a small town called Schitt's Creek

Award wins: In 2020 the show cleaned up at the Emmys with seven wins, breaking the record for most wins for a comedy series in a single year, and snagged an additional two for casting and costume design

The sixth and final season of the show premiered in 2020 and coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which helped to bring more eyeballs to the show which provided immense comic relief.

In 2019 the show was nominated for four Emmys but won none, however in 2020 it cleaned up at the award show with seven wins, breaking the record for most wins for a comedy series in a single year.

It won two more Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Costume and Outstanding Casting bringing the total to nine.

At the 2021 Golden Globes the cast walked away with Best TV Series - Musical or Comedy and O'Hara picked up one for Best Actress.
Nightclub king and co-owner of The Island Julian Tobias has denied claims he's using Tinder.

The 42-year-old was forced to respond to rumours he's joined the dating app after The Sydney Morning Herald alleged his profile surfaced on Sunday.

The Tinder account reportedly has a blue tick which indicates the person is verified on the app and is a genuine user.

'It must be a prank!' Nightclub king and co-owner of The Island Julian Tobias (pictured) denied claims he's using Tinder - after being 'spotted on the dating app'

However, the profile states Tobias' age is 36 when he is actually 42.

He told the publication: '[It] must be some kind of prank.'

'I don't know what that means but it must be someone messing with me somehow,' Tobias said.

'It must be someone messing with me somehow': He was forced to respond to rumours he's using the dating app after The Sydney Morning Herald alleged his profile surfaced. Pictured Julian with his ex-girlfriend, Charlotte Coquelin

It comes after Tobias splashed out $5.5million on a Bondi penthouse with stunning beach views.

The pad has three bedrooms and he purchased it during an online auction earlier this month, The Wentworth Courier reported last month.

The apartment features a large balcony, hardwood floors and three cosy bedrooms.

It was last on the market in 1998 for $1.2million.

New pad: It comes after Tobias splashed out $5.5million on a Bondi penthouse with stunning beach views

Julian also made headlines in May when he made a bizarre comment about his ex-girlfriend Charlotte Coquelin as she walked the runway at Fashion Week.

He raised eyebrows by hinting he still had a crush on the French model as she strutted her stuff during the Rebecca Vallance showcase.

He filmed Charlotte parading down the catwalk at Sydney's Carriageworks and captioned the clip on Instagram, 'When your ex is all sex.'
Things are continuing to take a dark turn for embattled Girardi Keese lawyer Tom Girardi.

On Friday the 82-year-old former high powered attorney was federally disbarred according to documents filed under the Central District of California, which were obtained by PEOPLE.

Girardi  who was placed under a conservatorship on account of a Dementia diagnosis  reportedly 'did not contest the decision,' and a state disbarment is still pending.

Hot water: The Girardi Keese lawyer, 82, was officially disbarred according to documents filed under the Central District of California on Friday August 20 but a state disbarment is still pending; pictured 2019

News of Girardi's federal disbarment was first revealed by a podcast host by the name of Emily Baker on Twitter.

In March the State Bar of California filed discipline charges against him as they accused him of misappropriating millions in client funds and cited more than 100 lawsuits filed, alleging 'financial wrongdoing and theft,' according to the LA Times.

On May 27 legal documents showed that the Central District of California issued an order 'to show cause' why he 'should not be disbarred' which was due 30 days from the date of issue.

After failing to receive any response, Girardi was deemed 'not eligible to practice law' in a federal court but the state bar disbarment is still pending per Baker.

Breaking news: A podcast host by the name of Emily Baker was the first to reveal the news of his federal disbarment

Followup: Despite a federal court disbarment his state bar disbarment is still pending

Baker added that he 'has not responded to either action' at this time.

Tom  who was last seen out in public on August 3 with a massive bruise under his eye  was placed under the conservatorship of his younger brother Robert who first petitioned in February.

In June, Robert was made the permanent conservator of his estate and person after he was diagnosed with Dementia and late onset Alzheimer's  both characterized as 'major neurocognitive disorders.'

Girardi's legal troubles first started in December 2020, when a federal judge in Chicago froze his assets, and said the famed LA based lawyer had 'misappropriated at least $2 million' meant for the families of those killed in the Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia.

One month prior his estranged wife, Real Housewife Erika Jayne, had filed to divorce him  which many took as a ploy to preserve whatever remaining assets the former multi-millionaires had.

Down the drain: The former couple is in the midst of a massive embezzlement scandal after it was revealed that he had misappropriated millions in funds from victims of the Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia and countless other victims

In legal testimony from September 2020 Girardi confessed 'At one point, I had about $80 million or $50 million in cash' but said it was 'all gone'.

In an early Edelson lawsuit it was said that Tom and his firm Girardi Keese were on 'the verge of financial collapse and locked in a downward spiral of mounting debts and dwindling funds.'

Girardi's disbarment news come fresh on the heels of reports that Erika  who claimed to have no involvement in the ongoing embezzlement scandal as she was 'kept away from the books'  had spent $25 million on personal expenses from 2008 to 2020.

The breakdown of her hefty spending bill  which seemingly utilized settlement money intended for orphans and widows  reads as such:

$14,259,012.84 charged to her American Express card, $1,532,774.88 spent at the McDonald Selznick Associates Agency (which represents dancers and choreographers) and an additional $1,417,587.50 on unknown purchases.

His firm Girardi Keese has now begun to auction off a handful of Jayne's personal memorabilia and collectibles including art and furniture to pay creditors amid the bankruptcy case.
Lauren Phillips has spoken about her personal life following her divorce from Lachlan Spark after one year of marriage.

The KIIS FM star bared all while speaking to the Herald Sun this week, calling herself a 'disaster of a human'.

'The first thing I learnt in this job is basically your privacy is gone and you talk about your personal life a lot which is different to any job I have had before,' she said.

Personal: KIIS star Lauren Phillips (pictured in 2017) has called herself a 'disaster of a human' as she spoke to the Herald Sun about her split from ex Lachlan Spark after just one year of marriage

Lauren explained she was happy to part of a team where nothing was off the table, before adding she was also in the right headspace for it.

'It is no secret I had a pretty rough two years but it is really nice to be back in Melbourne in a job I have dreamt of having for a long time,' she said.

'Life is not what it seems on the surface to most people. It certainly was not polished and it was not perfect but I have come out the other side.

'The first thing I learnt in this job is basically your privacy is gone and you talk about your personal life a lot which is different to any job I have had before,' she said. Here: with Lachlan in March 2017

'I have tried to do it in good humour and stay as positive as I can.'

Lauren hit the headlines when she split with Lachlan Spark back in 2018, after just one year of marriage.

She is now dating private jet operator Paul OBrien, who is also believed to be the ex of former Sunrise star, Samantha Armytage.

Tough: 'Life is not what it seems on the surface to most people. It certainly was not polished and it was not perfect but I have come out the other side,' she added

She admitted on KIIS 101.1's Jase & Lauren in the Morning the relationship ended badly after she 'sacrificed her own health' trying to make things work.

'It didn't end well. When you're an adult it's not a hard exit; it was a really slow, drawn breakdown process. We were together for seven years,' Lauren said this month.

'We decided to buy a house, renovate a house, start a new business and get married at the same time, so there was this extensive pressure bubble we had put ourselves in, and there was a myriad of other issues playing along with that.'

Brief marriage: The former Weekend Today star was married to Lachlan, a TV producer who now runs his own creative agency, for just one year before calling it quits in December 2018

Lauren continued: 'That made me break down very quickly, but I was determined to try everything I possibly could and that meant sacrificing my own health in the end, and that is why I almost had a nervous breakdown.'

She went on to say she was 'proud' of how she handled the break-up - in what was perhaps a subtle swipe at Lachlan for criticising her publicly after their split.

The former Weekend Today presenter was married to Lachlan, a TV producer who now runs his own creative agency, before calling it quits in December 2018.

Bitter: Following their break-up, Lachlan accused Lauren of 'caring more about herself' during their relationship and said he'd wasted years of his life with the wrong person

The pair had dated for six years before tying the knot on the Mornington Peninsula in 2017.

Lauren then became emotional as she admitted it took her 'a really long time to talk about' her marriage breakdown.

'I had a really tough eight months that took a lot of support from people around me to get through... I'm just so grateful I've come out of the other side,' she said.

Following their break-up, Lachlan accused Lauren of 'caring more about herself' during their relationship and said he'd wasted years of his life with the wrong person.

Lauren began dating aviation tycoon Paul O'Brien last year while she was living in Melbourne.

The Nine personality recently sparked rumours they were secretly engaged after she was spotted sporting a ring at Sydney Airport.
Just one week shy of the one-year anniversary of husband Chadwick Boseman's death, Simone Ledward Boseman was wrought with emotion.

The widow of the Black Panther star made an appearance at the Stand Up To Cancer telethon where she performed the emotional ballad I'll Be Seeing You by Eddie Heywood.

Chadwick passed away on August 28 at the ripe age of 43 following a private four year battle with colon cancer that progressed to Stage IV.

In his memory: Chadwick Boseman's widow Simone Ledward Boseman gets visibly emotional as she performs at the Stand Up To Cancer telethon just shy of the one year anniversary of his passing

Simone took the stage in a pink plaid pantsuit and heels as she sat herself down on a stool near a full band during the Los Angeles based broadcast.

Behind her sat a large framed photo of the pair during one of his final moments before he ultimately passed away surrounded by loved ones in the comfort of his home.

Though she tried to smile in his honor and belt the song out on a handheld microphone, at certain points she was moved to the verge of tears, understandably.

Performance: Simone took the stage in a pink plaid pantsuit and heels as she sat herself down on a stool near a full band

'Finding a way forward': Ahead of her performance Anderson cued up her entrance as he said she would be performing a song about 'living with the reality of loss and finding a way forward'

Advocacy: Since his passing Simone has remained a fierce advocate of Stand Up To Cancer

She choked back tears several times as she sang the song which included lyrics such as: 'I'll be seeing you in all the old, familiar places that this heart of mine embraces.'

Before she took the stage Black-ish star Anthony Anderson introduced her and made a moving speech of his own to honor Chadwick's life.

'Many of us were devastated to learn of Chadwick Boseman's tragic passing after he privately grappled with cancer for several years. The world lost an incredible artist and a true hero. But before he was a public figure, he was a person like you or me: a son, a brother, uncle, cousin, friend, colleague, husband,' he said in his speech.

Performance: Simone sang I'll Be Seeing You by Eddie Heywood

Intimate moments: Behind her sat a large framed photo of the pair during one of his final moments before he ultimately passed away

'Many of us are all too familiar with the fracture a dearly loved one's passing leaves in the lives of those who love them. Here to perform a song about living with the reality of loss and finding a way forward is Chadwick's wife, Simone.'

Other stars at the event included Sofia Vergara, Paul Rudd, Chris Evans, Common, Reese Witherspoon and Katie Couric.

Since his passing, Simone has been a fierce advocate for Stand Up To Cancer and even cautioned a message about getting screened for colon cancer early, when she accepted his NAACP Image Award back in March.

Shortly before: Boseman passed away on August 28, 2020 following a private four year battle with colon cancer which progressed to Stage IV; pictured February 16

Holding it in: She choked back tears several times as she sang the song which included lyrics such as: 'I'll be seeing you in all the old, familiar places that this heart of mine embraces'

'Black people in this country are 20 percent more likely to be diagnosed with colon cancer and 40 percent more likely to die from it. The age for routine screening has recently been lowered to 45 so if you are 45 years of age or older, please get screened. Don't put it off any longer, please get screened,' she pleaded.

'This disease is beatable if you catch it in its early stages so you don't have any time to waste even if you have no family history and even if you think nothing is wrong...Know the signs, know the science, listen to your body,' she continued, as she plugged Stand Up To Cancer for a full list of symptoms.

Lovers: Boseman had proposed to Ledward in October 2019 and they got married shortly thereafter in a private ceremony; pictured November 2019

The news of Chadwick's passing came in the form of a tweet on his official twitter on August 28, 2020  which became the most 'liked' tweet in the site's history with 7.3M impressions.

'It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman. Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and battled with it these last four years as it progressed to stage IV. A true fighter he persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much.'

It was added that he filmed 'Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and several more' 'during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy,' and that he died 'in his home with his wife and family by his side.'

Simone had married the Ma Rainey's Black Bottom actor sometime after he proposed in October 2019 and he tragically passed away just months ahead of their one year anniversary.
Ashley Benson was seen going for a coffee run in the trendy Los Angeles neighborhood of Los Feliz on Saturday.

The 31-year-old actress cut a stylish figure in a distressed white tee and a pair of high-waisted light wash jeans.

Benson, who was joined by a female friend on her outing, rocked a noticeably makeup-free face and opted to go braless.

Caffeine fix: Ashley Benson was seen going for a coffee run in the trendy Los Angeles neighborhood of Los Feliz on Saturday

The Pretty Little Liars star had several shiny gold chains layered around her neck, as well as a pair of gold hoop earrings.

She also had on a variety of antique rings and an edgy black manicure.

Ashley's brunette hair was styled into a messy bun and she often concealed her face with a pair of sunglasses and a black mask.

She strolled out of the coffee shop in a pair of black loafers as her female friend carried their tray of drinks.

Casual: The 31-year-old actress cut a stylish figure in a distressed white tee and a pair of high-waisted light wash jeans

Benson appeared to be in a chipper mood while chatting with her pal outdoors, eventually returning to her park SUV and heading towards home.

Just days prior, Ashley put on a glamorous display at director Taika Waititi's star-studded 46th birthday bash at his girlfriend Rita Ora's home in Los Angeles.

The Spring Breakers actress displayed her toned midriff in a black satin crop top for a series of snaps uploaded to Instagram on Thursday, August 19.

Accessorize: The Pretty Little Liars star had several shiny gold chains layered around her neck, as well as a pair of gold hoop earrings

Heading home: Benson appeared to be in a chipper mood while chatting with her pal outdoors, eventually returning to her park SUV and heading towards home

She paired her satin top with a black leather skirt and some black and white striped strappy stilettos.

The star kept jewelry to a minimum, accessorizing with a diamond ring and her green manicured hand and gold earrings.

Her gorgeous balayage locks were styled in loose waves and her glam makeup included a bold red eyeshadow color.

Party gal: Just days prior, Ashley put on a glamorous display at director Taika Waititi's star-studded 46th birthday bash at his girlfriend Rita Ora's (right) home in Los Angeles
Karl Stefanovic became emotional as he reunited with his former Today show co-star Jessica Rowe, 14 years after she was sacked from the breakfast program.

Jessica left the Today show in 2007 and she cited it was due to 'payment issues' but scandal struck when it was later revealed that Channel Nine's chief executive Eddie McGuire allegedly asked when he could 'bone' her.

Karl, 47, made an appearance on Jessica's podcast, The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show, and discussed her brutal sacking for the first time.

'I wish I'd been a better man': Karl Stefanovic (pictured) became emotional as he discussed former Today show co-star Jessica Rowe's sacking from the show in 2007

'You didn't have a guy next to you who could have helped you and protected you,' Karl said.

'I'm here to apologise to you, and I wish I'd been a better man. A stronger man. Not just for you, but for myself.'

'Years later, when I was going through my third and fourth wave of [criticism], I was thinking, how did Jess Rowe survive?'

Candid: Karl, 47, made an appearance on Jessica's podcast, The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show , and discussed her brutal sacking from the program, admitting: 'I'm here to apologise to you, and I wish I'd been a better man. A stronger man. Not just for you, but for myself'

In 2006, Jessica was thrust into the spotlight when she moved from Channel 10 to the Nine Network to replace Tracy Grimshaw as co-host of the Today show.

But scandal struck when Nine's chief executive Eddie McGuire allegedly asked when he could 'bone' Jessica, with reports suggesting at the time he meant to 'sack' her.

He reportedly made the comments during a conversation with his then deputy Jeffrey Browne and Nine's head of news and current affairs, Mark Llewellyn.

Move: In 2006, Jessica was thrust into the spotlight when she moved from Channel 10 to the Nine Network to replace Tracy Grimshaw as co-host of the Today show

'What are we going to do about Jessica? When should we bone her? I reckon it should be next week,' McGuire had reportedly asked.

Llewellyn then allegedly told McGuire the network might risk also losing Jessica's husband, Nine News reporter Peter Overton, if they sacked her.

McGuire is said to have replied, 'Maybe we have to take that risk,' before Browne added: 'She's a laughing stock and if we keep her on air we'll be the laughing stock.'

Headlines: In 2006, Channel Nine's then-CEO Eddie McGuire (right) allegedly asked fellow executives when he could 'bone' (i.e. sack) Jessica as co-host of the Today show. McGuire has since denied using the term 'bone' in the conversation

McGuire has since denied using the term 'bone' in the conversation, which was laid out by Llewellyn's sworn affidavit (made public after he left the network for rival station Seven).

Discussing the 'boning' incident years later, Jessica said that people forget 'how powerful words can be and how they can hurt like hell', adding that she was still 'terribly upset' by what happened.

'That year was a terrible time in my life and it was not helped by public abuse, abuse from within the network that I worked at and abuse from someone who was in charge of that particular network,' she told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2016.

'It was horrific and it pre-empted then a very dark period in my life. A whole lot of factors contributed to a perfect storm... and it just makes me terribly sad.'

Jumping ship: Jessica left the Today show in 2007 following her return from maternity leave. At the time, she cited payment issues as the reason for her departure. She later joined Channel Seven as a newsreader and presenter on Weekend Sunrise

Jessica left the Today show in 2007 following her return from maternity leave. At the time, she cited payment issues as the reason for her departure.

She then joined Channel Seven as a presenter for Seven News in Sydney, before taking part in Dancing with the Stars.

Jessica moved to Weekend Sunrise in late 2010 and stayed there for three years.

In 2013, she signed with Network Ten and hosted morning show Studio 10 alongside Ita Buttrose, Joe Hildebrand, Sarah Harris and Denise Drysdale.

In March 2018, she announced she was resigning from the program to spend more time with her family.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck took their blended family on a trip to the Magic Castle, a clubhouse for magicians and magic enthusiasts, in Hollywood on Saturday.

But J-Lo, 52, proved she was just like any other mother on a day out when she appeared to scold her son Max, 13.

While the circumstances were unclear, Jennifer was pictured pointing her finger at her son while furrowing her brow.

Jennifer Lopez pointed her finger and appeared to scold son Max, 13, as she and Ben Affleck took their blended family to the Magic Castle in LA on Saturday

Thick as thieves: Ben and Jennifer continued to encourage quality time spent between all five of their children but proved to be just like any other family

The singer shares Max and his twin sister Emme with her ex-husband Marc Anthony.

Bennifer took their kids to the Magic Castle a day after the pair were seen bringing their children to a production of Hamilton at the Pantages Theatre.

Clinging on to her man, Jennifer was seen tightly grasping Ben's hand as they strolled into the famed establishment ahead of all five of their children.

Ben, Jennifer, and their children were also joined by Affleck's mother Christopher.

Not happy? Jennifer had a furrowed brow as she appeared to chastise one of her children

Blissful: The power duo arrived together in Affleck's Range Rover as both could not contain their smiles

The smiling duo were seen arriving in Affleck's Range Rover as they continued to spend the weekend in each other's company.

And though the high profile couple has been known to often arrive separately in a fleet of SUVs, they were seen pulling up together.

As they continue to be utterly enamored with each other after rekindling their romance mere months ago, they appeared to have a conversation that caused the Hustlers star to have a smitten look on her face.

Loved up: Though the duo has been known to often arrive separately in a fleet of SUVs they were seen together

Blended brood: The duo were seen walking ahead of their five children who have become somewhat accustomed to the new family dynamic

Continuing to bridge their blended families, they were spotted with he and ex Jennifer Garner's kids: Violet, 15, Seraphina, 12 and Samuel, nine, as well as she and Marc Anthony's twins: Max and Emme, 13.

Rolling up in style the Hustlers star was seen in a tailored powder blue dress with lace cutouts on the bottom and a pair of matching blue heels.

She carried a stylish white bag and left her caramel locks down while suited up in a patterned face mask.

Her look: Looking demure for the outing she modeled a powdered blue dress with lace cutouts on the bottom and a pair of matching heels

Keeping close: The pair were not shy about PDA as they clasped hands while walking inside the members-only/invite-only club

Suave: Ben looked smart for the outing as he donned a navy suit with a light collared shirt underneath and a pair of dressier brown boots

Jennifer also rocked several pieces of gold jewelry, including a few pendant necklaces and a shiny bracelet.

And Ben looked smart for the outing as he donned a navy suit with a light collared shirt underneath and a pair of dressier brown boots.

He continued to show his affection for his former fiancee as he grasped her hands back as they made their entrance into the exclusive clubhouse which is invite only or for members.

All five children followed swiftly behind them, with each of them sporting their signature - and diverse - styles for their family day out.

Enamored: He continued to show his affection for his former fiancee as he grasped her hands back as they made their entrance into the exclusive clubhouse

Gang's all here! Continuing to bridge their blended families, they were spotted with he and ex Jennifer Garner's kids: Violet, 15, Seraphina, 12 and Samuel, nine, as well as she and Marc Anthony's twins: Max and Emme, 13

It comes just one day after Ben, Jen, and the gang swung by the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood to see the beloved Lin-Manuel Miranda created musical Hamilton.

As as the pair continue to seriously work towards a life together, they've been spotted house hunting in Los Angeles together, despite previous reports Jennifer was looking for a place of her own.

Last week they were seen viewing a Toluca Lake property which belonged to Bob Hope before they checked out an $85 million mansion, complete with 12 bedrooms  plenty of room for their combined five children.

Jennifer, who has been based in Florida, has reportedly enrolled her daughter Emme in the same school attended by Ben's daughter Seraphina in the Los Angeles area - further committing to life on the West Coast.

Safety first: Ben kept a mask over his face as he instructed his children to head towards the clubhouse's entrance

Golden girl: Jennifer also rocked several pieces of gold jewelry, including a few pendant necklaces and a shiny bracelet

Even Grandma! Ben, Jennifer, and their children were also joined by Affleck's mother Christopher

It was said in June that her kids were 'onboard with starting fresh in Los Angeles,' just months after she and ex-fiance of two years Alex Rodriguez called it quits, per PEOPLE.

Bennifer celebrated both their birthdays together  despite being wildly different in scale.

The pair were seen sailing on a super-yacht in Europe to ring in her 52nd birthday in mid-July where he gifted her with a few custom necklaces, one of which was said to be a symbol of their 'wild, abundant, and untamed' love for each other.

And as Ben rang in his 49th birthday on August 15 with a lowkey celebration she found a way to make it special.

Rekindled: Ben and Jennifer rekindled their romance in late April, after having called off their engagement in 2004

Cool kids: Jennifer's daughter Emme and Ben's daughter Seraphina walked beside one another in trendy outfits

Follow along: All five children followed swiftly behind them, with each of them sporting their signature - and diverse - styles for their family day out

Jennifer had a cake for him. Ben is not one for big celebrations, so he thought it was perfect,' a source told PEOPLE. 'It was exactly what he wanted.'

And as she continues to only have eyes for her former fiance  who she had previously been engaged to for two years until they split in 2004  she has officially wiped A-Rod off her social media and unfollowed him.

Despite there being some past chatter about his heartbreak it seems he has finally come to terms with the partnership being over as he told ET in an interview this week that he's now in a 'great place.'

'I had five years of an incredible life and partnership and also with my daughters, we learned so much. And now we have the opportunity to take that and move forward and say, "You know what? We're so grateful for the last five years, how do we make the next five years better because of lessons learned?",' he told the outlet.
Married At First Sight star Booka Nile has taken aim at anti-lockdown protestors, after chaos erupted on the eastern states of Australia on Saturday.

The Perth-based star, 32, mocked those who attended rallies in Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland in an Instagram Stories post, questioning how they bizarrely thought they could end stay-at-home orders by causing havoc on the streets.

Booka also played out a mock scenario in which New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian chose to end the lockdown and make it 'illegal to go inside'.

Vocal: Married At First Sight star Booka Nile (pictured), 32, took aim at anti-lockdown protestors on Saturday, and hilariously imitated NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian

Appearing on her Instagram shortly after the riots made news, Booka asked: 'Just wondering if you're somebody who went to the anti-lockdown protests today.

'Just wondering what your end goal was here and if you believed that it was likely that going to this protest would somehow make the state Premiers in either New South Wales or Victoria go, "might stop the lockdown ey"?'

The musician went on to suggest that by attending the protests, the likelihood of Covid-19 cases surging would be high, resulting in an extended lockdown.

Baffled: The Perth-based star mocked those who attended rallies in Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland in an Instagram Stories post on Saturday afternoon, questioning how they bizarrely thought they could end stay-at-home orders by causing havoc on the streets

Hilarious: Booka then hilariously enacted a mock scenario in which NSW Premier Gladys made the decision to end Sydney's lockdown, following nine weeks with tough restrictions

Booka then hilariously enacted a mock scenario in which NSW Premier Gladys made the decision to end Sydney's lockdown, following nine weeks with tough restrictions.

'She's going to think, "this is not in any way a colossal pain in the a***, no no no no, in fact I'm glad they've done this because it's shown me that people don't like lockdowns",' she said, imitating the Premier.

'"They actually don't really enjoy it [lockdowns], I'd have had no idea otherwise, so f**k it. Let's start a rebellion baby... and let's ban lockdowns, you know what? It's actually illegal to go inside now",' Booka continued.

Comic value: '"They actually don't really enjoy it [lockdowns], I'd have had no idea otherwise, so f**k it. Let's start a rebellion baby... and let's ban lockdowns, you know what? It's actually illegal to go inside now",' Booka said as she imitated the NSW Premier (pictured)

Police arrested more than 200 people in Melbourne on Saturday after the anti-lockdown rally descended into a riot.

More than 4,000 people turned up in the morning, and by late afternoon, six officers were hospitalised and 218 protestors were arrested.

Victoria recorded 61 new cases on Saturday - its highest daily figure since the mammoth 112-day lockdown last year.

Dramatic scenes: Police arrested more than 200 people in Melbourne (pictured) on Saturday after the anti-lockdown rally descended into a riot

Smaller protests erupted in Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns.

There was an estimated crowd of 700 in Cairns, with protestors descending on Cairns Esplanade.

Sydney saw 1,500 police officers deployed on the day which recorded its highest case numbers - 825.
She's recently returned home from a family holiday in Crete, Greece.

And Millie Mackintosh is making the most of her downtime at her London home by stripping down to something more comfortable - her bra and joggers.

The 32-year-old expectant mother took to Instagram to showcase her all-white ensemble, and her growing bump.

Comfortable: Millie Mackintosh, 32, is making the most of her downtime at her London home after returning from Crete by stripping down to something more comfortable - her bra and joggers

The Made In Chelsea star looked stunning in her loungewear set, which featured cuffed ankle jogging bottoms with a drawstring waist and a plunging cross-front bra.

The natural beauty threw her auburn tresses up into a high ponytail, and appeared to be makeup-free as she spent the day chilling at home.

Millie then took to the social media platform once again to share a close-up mirror snap of her blossoming bump.

Second trimester? The star added a Gif of a papaya over her tummy - suggesting her baby is the size of the fruit, and therefore signalling the star could be 22 weeks along her pregnancy

The star added a Gif of a papaya over her tummy - suggesting her baby is the size of the fruit, and therefore signalling the star could be 22 weeks along her pregnancy.

She later shared a pic of her bump as she tucked into a homemade burger, chips and a pot of sauce whilst she popped her feet up onto a stool.

Millie announced that she is expecting a second daughter with husband and former co-star Hugo Taylor earlier this summer.

Yum! She later shared a pic of her bump as she tucked into a homemade burger, chips and a pot of sauce whilst she popped her feet up onto a stool

The influencer took to Instagram recently to detail her second pregnancy journey as she discussed her new attitude to her changing shape.

Sharing a slew of bump snaps, the beauty explained how when she was expecting her first child she found seeing her figure change 'hard' but that now she is 'welcoming her curves'.

She penned in the caption: 'Let's talk about body changes during pregnancy - When I was pregnant with Sienna I didn't really know what to expect from pregnancy or my body, and to be totally honest seeing my shape change past recognition was hard at times.'

Family holiday: Millie recently enjoyed quality time with her daughter Sienna, 15 months, and husband Hugo Taylor on holiday in Greece

'I am incredibly grateful of what my body is doing, but when I first found out I was pregnant for the second time some of the thoughts I had were 'am I strong enough to go through this journey again so soon?' and 'but I only just lost the weight I gained carrying sienna!'

'But it turns out that time around I'm way less freaked out about watching my body changing each week and I'm welcoming the return of my bump and curves with open arms, I'm particularly happy that my boobs are back, I missed my pregnancy cleavage!'

She went on to explain that she was finding pregnancy during the summer 'easier' as she can wear comfortable dresses instead of putting together winter outfits.

The former reality star added that she is trying to stay active with daily walks and Pilates.
The Kid Laroi has seen his career go from strength to strength.

And on Sunday, the 18-year-old, who rang in his milestone birthday on Monday, celebrated with a shopping trip in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

The Australian pop star was accompanied by his glamorous girlfriend, TikTok star Katarina Deme.

Lovebirds: The Kid Laroi, who rang in his milestone 18th birthday on Monday, celebrated with a shopping trip in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles on Sunday. The Australian pop star was accompanied by his glamorous girlfriend, TikTok star Katarina Deme. Both pictured

The smitten couple held hands as they strolled down the street in the upmarket district.

The Kid Laroi, real name Charlton Kenneth Jeffery Howard, looked casually cool in an oversized white t-shirt.

He added a black and white bucket hat to the ensemble, along with shorts featuring a graphic letter print.

Cool: The Kid Laroi, real name Charlton Kenneth Jeffery Howard, looked casually cool in an oversized white t-shirt

Sweet: The smitten couple held hands as they strolled down the street in the upmarket district

The teenage star added a pair of matching socks and Nike sneakers in the same colour scheme.

Katarina opted for a long-sleeved black shirt and a pair of loose grey track pants, as well as Converse sneakers.

She covered up her face with a mask, and wore her long, blonde hair down, while opting for a natural makeup palette.

A look: He added a black and white bucket hat to the ensemble, along with shorts featuring a graphic letter print

Doing well: Laroi has enjoyed huge success and has already hit several major career milestones

The Australian rapper and his social media star girlfriend celebrated their one-year anniversary in July.

Laroi has enjoyed huge success and has already hit several major career milestones.

He has been sitting at the top of the U.S. and Australian charts for five straight weeks with his hit single Stay ft. Justin Bieber.

Hit: He has been sitting at the top of the U.S. and Australian charts for five straight weeks with his hit single Stay ft. Justin Bieber

Stay and Laroi's F**k Love mixtape reached No. 1 on the global Billboard charts in early August, making him the youngest Australian artist to achieve this.

He is also the youngest artist to top the Australian ARIA album charts in February 2020 with his mixtape.

Laroi has 51 million monthly listeners on Spotify, while Stay has reached more than 316 million streams on the platform.
Doctor Who star Karen Gillan has pulled out of Wales Comic Con just days after shamed actor John Barrowman was announced in the line-up.

The Dancing on Ice judge, 54, was revealed to be attending the major event on August 10 and insiders claim it was this which caused Karen to cancel.

John apologised in May after it was revealed he would expose himself on the set of the Sci-Fi hit, which led to a video of the screen star being removed from an immersive Doctor Who theatre show.

Not this time: Doctor Who star Karen Gillan has pulled out of Wales Comic Con just days after shamed actor John Barrowman was announced in the line-up (pictured in 2020)

Karen, 33, recorded a video message for disappointed fans, where she claimed a scheduling clash with the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie was the reason behind her withdrawal.

Despite saying she was 'gutted' to be missing the major fan event, sources close to the Scottish star told The Sun she was opposed to joining forces with John.

'Karen has been vocal in speaking up against systemic sexual harassment in the workplace in the past,' they said.

'It continues to be an issue that she feels very strongly about. So the prospect of appearing alongside John publicly left her very conflicted.'

Regretful: John apologised in May after it was revealed he would repeatedly expose himself on the set of Doctor Who, which led to his removal from its theatre show this year (pictured in 2019)

The Amy Pond actress graced the small screen alongside Matt Smith between 2010 and 2013 but never worked alongside the actor behind Captain Jack Harkness.

The allegations came to light following a resurfaced video where fellow-shamed actor Noel Clarke, 45, who portrayed Mickey Smith in the BBC One cult drama, said John would expose himself 'every five seconds'.

Clarke then joked with a live audience not to do this at their workplace or they might go to prison.

In an interview with Weekend magazine, Barrowman said his behaviour on set was to 'defuse awkwardness' whenever he was filming a sex scene in spin-off Torchwood.

He said: 'As Captain Jack Harkness I was the star of Torchwood, so I felt it was down to me to lead the company and keep them entertained.

Pals: The Amy Pond actress graced the small screen alongside Matt Smith between 2010 and 2013 but never worked alongside the actor behind Captain Jack Harkness (pictured in 2010)

'When I was doing a nude scene or a love scene it was clear in the script I'd be naked and everyone would have known about that at least 48 hours in advance.

'So I'd be waiting in my trailer wearing just a robe with a sock over my ''parts''.

'Then, if I were standing waiting to film a scene where I needed to be nude and someone came into view, I'd make a joke to put them and myself at ease.

'My actions were simply designed to defuse any potential awkwardness among the cast and crew.'

Barrowman revealed he was called for a meeting with Doctor Who and Torchwood executive producer Julie Gardner who told him to reign in his behaviour.

The actor added he can now see his behaviour was 'juvenile' and it would not be something he would do today.

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Karen and John for comment.
Ollie Locke has spoken out about how he is staying positive after his first attempt to have a baby via IVF with husband Gareth was unsuccessful.

The Made In Chelsea star, 34, announced earlier this year they were planning to have a baby via a surrogate and have documented their journey so far on social media.

When asked if their IVF journey had been tougher than they expected, he told the Mirror: 'It has. I think its because we all expected that everything would be okay. We had a positive mental attitude. We were really excited, and in the end, it didnt work.

Dads to be: Ollie Locke, 34, has spoken out about how he is staying positive after his first attempt to have a baby via IVF with husband Gareth, 31, was unsuccessful

'We are going back there in a couple of weeks and it will all be sorted. But yeah, life isnt as easy as it seems sometimes.'

Ollie and Gareth, 31, have been in touch with 'a community of people who are also struggling to have children', with Ollie saying everyone helps and supports one another.

He added: 'Its nice because, in that environment, no one is famous or in the public eye.

Happy times: The Made In Chelsea star, 34, announced earlier this year they were planning to have a baby via a surrogate and have documented their journey so far on social media.

'Everyone joins this one community where were all in the same boat together. Everyone wants to help each other and try to reach that final goal. Its actually really sweet.'

The couple spoke to Hello! magazine last month after the pregnancy had not gone as planned, saying they remained 'optimistic' and would try again.

Ollie said: 'I think our expectations were very high and we really thought it was going to work, but nature's nature and we can't do anything about it.

'We have to think that it wasn't meant to be and we are going to go ahead in a month or so and do it again. We're optimistic.

Tough time: The pair spoke out last month to say they were remaining optimistic after the pregnancy had not gone to plan

'Sometimes it just doesn't work. But that's not going to stop us from trying again and again.'

Gareth added: 'The feeling of not being pregnant this time really made us realise how much we want to become parents and we are determined to do that.'

Ollie also took to Instagram at the time to announce to his 476,000 followers who have all been following his journey that sadly their round of IVF had been unsuccessful.

In a heartfelt note, he penned: 'We wanted to share an update with all our amazing supportive followers who have been with us on our surrogacy journey.

Brave: Ollie also took to Instagram last month to announce to his 476,000 followers who have all been following his journey that sadly their round of IVF had been unsuccessful

'Im sorry I have been quiet, sadly we found out last week our first attempt at IVF hasnt worked and after the heartbreaking news we have come to terms with the situation and are now looking forward to getting out to go for a second attempt very soon.

'Doing surrogacy and IVF is not a straight forward thing and there are a lot of ups and downs and testing times that really make you appreciate what it means to achieve the end result of having children.

'Our heart goes out to everyone who have been through this and still going through it and hope that sharing this journey and experience will highlight how difficult and emotional the journey really is.

'The support we have had has been amazing and we will continue to keep you all a part of our journey. I adore all you and all your kind messages, we are being super positive and looking forward to the next round!

'Our surrogate is the best human I have ever met and we love her so very much, thank you for being our superstar Xxxx.'

In June, Ollie spoke about his excitement at becoming a father and starting a family with his new husband Gareth.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia, Ollie said that fatherhood is his top priority right now, first and foremost.

He opened up on their surrogacy plans, teasing: 'I can say we are leaving quite soon to head across the world to become pregnant.'

'There is nothing in my life that I am more excited or ready for,' he said.

In March, Ollie told The Times about their plans to use a surrogate to have a baby. They will use an American egg donor and a British surrogate.

The pair will also both provide sperm, but won't know whose ends up being used.

'We're mixing it up, so it'll be whoever's swims best on the day and we'll never know. Although if it comes out with yellow hair, it'll be Gareth's,' Ollie told the publication.
The Block's Josh and Luke Packham are certainly making their presence felt, just two weeks into the competition.

On Sunday night's episode, the 27-year-old twins were caught learning styling tips from YouTube just hours prior to the bathroom reveal.

However it was judge Neale Whitaker's harsh critique of the space, which he described as 'cold and dated', that had the former Love Island Australia stars furious.

'You learn a lot': The Block's Josh and Luke Packham (both pictured) learned styling tips from YouTube just hours ahead of the reveal on Sunday's episode - before they unleashed on judge Neale Whitaker for calling their bathroom 'cold and dated'

'There's nothing you can't learn on YouTube. Obviously I've never styled a bathroom before. My bathroom has a toothbrush, toothpaste,' Josh said in a piece to camera.

Footage panned to Josh crouched over on a bed and scrolling through YouTube for tips on how to style a bathroom - in particular, rolling up hand towels.

'[You] can't go wrong with glass and marble. I'm trying to learn how to style the bathroom properly,' he said.

'I'm trying to figure out how these towels should be presented. I looked up one, I quite liked the look of that. You learn a lot,' Josh added in a piece to camera.

Learning on the job: Footage panned to Josh scrolling through YouTube for tips on how to style a bathroom - in particular, rolling up hand towels. 'I'm trying to figure out how these towels should be presented. I looked up one, I quite liked the look of that,' he said

Online: 'There's nothing you can't learn on YouTube. Obviously I've never styled a bathroom before. My bathroom has a toothbrush, toothpaste,' Josh said alongside Luke

Luke chimed in: 'That's what we're doing, we're learning as we go along.'

However when it came to judging, Josh and Luke were frustrated over the judges' harsh critique, particularly with their expensive Venetian plaster ceiling.

'I think it's a really weird choice to do this with the ceiling. That would have cost a lot of money. I don't know if the ceiling is going to be something that appeals to the buyer,' Darren Palmer said.

Shaynna Blaze agreed, saying: 'Having this shiny ceiling, it doesn't really add anything. So wasting that money... that would not have been easy because it's absolutely beautifully done.'

Wanting more: However when it came to judging, Josh and Luke were frustrated over the judges' harsh critique, particularly with their expensive Venetian plaster ceiling. Neale described the space 'as incredibly dated' and 'cold'

However, it was Neale's critique that had the boys furious.

'It just feels to me incredibly dated. I just say cold. I feel like I never want to see this grey, grey, grey palette again in a bathroom,' the interior design guru stated.

The twins made their feelings clear, disagreeing '100 per cent'.

'We disagree, we think it's ultra modern. Everyone that's seen the bathroom, all of our tradies liked it, so we'll disagree with them. Totally disagree. 100 per cent,' they said.

The Block continues Monday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine.
A member of the London Fire Brigade was given a retirement present he is unlikely to forget - a surprise visit from Hollywood megastar Harrison Ford.

The LFB's Blue Watch had just finished roll call at around 8pm on Saturday evening when the Star Wars actor, 79, got out of a car outside the station.

Station Officer Ryan Osborne struck up conversation with the Indiana Jones actor before introducing him to Andrew Shaw, who has carried out 31 years of service for the fire service.

Surprise! A member of the London Fire Brigade was given a retirement present he is unlikely to forget - an unexpected visit from Hollywood megastar Harrison Ford, 79, on Saturday

Harrison, who is in the UK capital to film Indiana Jones 5, spoke with Mr Shaw for a while and wished him well with his retirement.

After the encounter, Mr Osborne said: 'It was a pleasure to be able to say farewell to Andrew on his last shift with the impromptu help of Han Solo.

'Being based at a busy central London location we do sometimes see famous faces passing by, and this just happened to be perfect timing.'

Chance meeting: The LFB's Blue Watch had just finished roll call at around 8pm evening when the Star Wars actor got out of a car outside the station in London's Soho

The LFB Twitter account later tweeted: 'Woah, not often Indiana Jones pops by to wish you well on your retirement!

'A treat for crews at @LFBWestminster when Hollywood star Harrison Ford paid them a surprise visit.'

The Westminster LFB account added: 'Han Solo comes to Soho!! Mr Ford was kind enough to congratulate Firefighter Andrew Shaw on his last night shift for 31 years of service.'

A-list: The Westminster LFB account posted: 'Han Solo comes to Soho!! Mr Ford was kind enough to congratulate Firefighter Andrew Shaw on his last night shift for 31 years of service'

Harrison has been on a lengthy break after injuring his shoulder during filming Indiana Jones 5.

Filming for the fifth and final Indiana Jones movie in the series was originally due for release in 2022, however that was before filming was pushed back by three months due to Harrison's injury.

It's been a fresh blow for the movie - which sees James Mangold taking on directing duties from long-time helmer Steven Spielberg - after shooting was previously pushed back as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

An insider told The Sun's Bizarre column because it's Harrison's last outing as Indiana, everybody was expecting it to be plain sailing.

They said: 'After the initial delays everyone was raring to go. But now Harrison is injured and it is worse than first thought.

'The film's bosses have come together to work out the scheduling and it's chaos. The earliest they think they can restart the production is September.

'It was not what anyone was expecting so to have to change everything is a huge blow. Everyone was concerned for Harrison and they are glad he is on the mend.'

Raiders Of The Lost Ark director Steven Spielberg famously branded himself 'an idiot' for allowing Harrison to do his own stunts, including one where the starring actor had to outrun a prop weighing 300 pounds.
Hamish Macdonald was back on The Sunday Project this weekend after his abrupt departure from ABC's Q+A.

And his co-star Tommy Little took every opportunity to poke fun at the returning star, first joking that he'd mistaken him for The Project's Peter van Onselen on the staff Zoom call.

'Hamish Macdonald, that makes so much sense. In our meeting today, I was like, damn, PVO is looking hot!' Tommy joked.

On the panel: Hamish Macdonald (pictured) was back on The Sunday Project this weekend after his abrupt departure from ABC's Q+A

Later, he ribbed Hamish for throwing 'spa parties' following a segment which questioned whether people would want to know when they were going to die.

'Think of your last week. The things you would do! It would be like one of Hamish's spa parties for a whole week,' Tommy prodded.

'Imagine what that man was going to do if he knew when he would die! It would make the dark web blush.'

Laughs: And his co-star Tommy Little (pictured) took every opportunity to poke fun at the returning star, first joking that he'd mistaken him for The Project's Peter van Onselen on the staff Zoom call. 'In our meeting today, I was like, damn, PVO is looking hot!' Tommy joked

Jokes: Later, Tommy ribbed a laughing Hamish for throwing 'spa parties'. 'You didn't get this on Q+A, mate. After those spa parties, there's a lot of Q and a bit of A!' he said

As the rest of the cast giggled helplessly, Tommy, 36, continued: 'You didn't get this on Q+A, mate. After those spa parties, there's a lot of Q and a bit of A!'

Hamish himself was in stitches at that point and clearly delighted to be back on the panel.

The journalist has returned to The Project on Friday and Sunday nights - and told the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday that his comeback to the Channel Ten program is a 'genuine privilege'.

Over: Hamish, 40, quit the ABC less than 18 months after taking over as Q&A host - and almost a month since he last fronted the show with flagging ratings

'The Project is part of my DNA... it's something I really believe in, it's a show that I love, it's an ecosystem of people that I love and get along with,' he told The Sydney Morning Herald.

'Tommy [Little], Carrie [Bickmore], Lisa [Wilkinson], Waleed [Aly], Pete [Helliar], they are genuinely my friends. They're people I talk to all the time'.

Hamish, 40, quit the ABC less than 18 months after taking over as Q&A host - and almost a month since he last fronted the show with flagging ratings.
Angelina Jolie had sharp words for the United States' ongoing withdrawal from Afghanistan in an op-ed published by Time on Friday.

The 46-year-old Eternals star and activist wrote that the US military was 'appearing to cut and run' amid the Middle Eastern country's turmoil as the Taliban regains control.

She worried that the ongoing chaos could strip away any social progress that had been made for women and young girls in Afghanistan.

'Whatever your views on the war in Afghanistan, we probably agree on one thing: it should not have ended this way,' Jolie presumed.

Speaking out: Angelina Jolie, 46, criticized the United State's ongoing withdrawal from Afghanistan and noted the precarious situation for women in the country in a Time op-ed from Friday; seen in 2018 in Brussels, Belgium

She called it a 'betrayal and a failure impossible to fully understand' that the US had given up trying to facilitate a peace agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

Adding to the chaos among the government was the departure of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled to exile in the United Arab Emirates.

The country's ambassador to Tajikistan has accused Ghani of stealing $169 million on his way out of the country, though Ghani insisted that he 'left with just a waistcoat and some clothes' in a video he filmed after his whereabouts became known.

Jolie recounted meeting injured servicemen and women at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and noted 'how proud they felt to be a part of helping the Afghan people gain basic rights and freedoms.'

No agreement: She called it a 'betrayal and a failure impossible to fully understand' that the US had given up facilitating a peace agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government; President Joe Biden seen with Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on August 20

Bad days: She also noted how tenuous the situation is for young girls, who are have been targeted for attacks at school, and for women in government, who have seen assassinations triple in 2020; people evacuated from Afghanistan seen arriving in New Delhi, India on Sunday

She also noted how tenuous the situation is for young girls, who are have been targeted for attacks at school, and for women in government, who have seen assassinations triple in 2020, according to the United Nations.

The actress wrote that journalists and activists were 'in hiding' in Afghanistan and were 'deleting their social media profiles and burning documents in a bid to keep themselves and their families safe.'

'After all the bloodshed and effort and sacrifice and time, America seems to have lacked the will to plan this transition in a managed way,' she continued.

'It was never going to be easy or perfect but could have been better, more decent and safer.'

Jolie wrote that she believed 'that we were doing the right thing' and 'that we were fighting in a noble cause,' but it was difficult to continue to believe that as the US left Afghanistan after two decades.

Shame: 'As an American I am ashamed by the manner of our leaving,' Jolie continued. 'It diminishes us'; seen July 30 in Venice

'As an American I am ashamed by the manner of our leaving,' Jolie continued. 'It diminishes us.'

She warned of the ways the Taliban might punish women, including 'banning girls from school, confining women to the home, and inflicting brutal physical punishments, including public lashing, on any woman perceived to have stepped out of line,' and she bemoaned what she said was the US' failure to monitor the conditions for women.

The star also wrote that there would be a 'new refugee crisis' due to the US' withdrawal.

She added that the current strategy to get Americans and Afghans out of the country wasn't enough.

'It is only the beginning of what we need to do if all the years of effort and sacrifice in Afghanistan arent going to be wasted.'

Jolie concluded by prioritizing an Afghan government focused on 'human rights.'

'Any future Afghan government should be judged not only on their attitude to terrorism, but on their behavior on human rights and  in particular  whether Afghan women and girls maintain the rights they have gained.'

Judgment: 'Any future Afghan government should be judged not only on their attitude to terrorism, but on their behavior on human rights and  in particular  whether Afghan women and girls maintain the rights they have gained,' she wrote; a scene from Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday

Also on Friday, Jolie joined Instagram and made her first post a photo of a letter sent to her by an Afghan girl.

'This is a letter I was sent from a teenage girl in Afghanistan,' she wrote alongside an image of the letter.

'Right now, the people of Afghanistan are losing their ability to communicate on social media and to express themselves freely,' she continued. 'So I've come on Instagram to share their stories and the voices of those across the globe who are fighting for their basic human rights.'

The teenage girl expressed a desire to continue her education in the heartbreaking letter, even as she feared that the Taliban would curtail those opportunities.

A source told People that Jolie joined Instagram to help spread awareness about the potential oppression of women in Afghanistan as their own abilities to communicate are being cut off.

'Angie felt compelled to join in a moment when women and young people in Afghanistan are losing the ability to communicate on social media and express themselves freely,' the source said. 'From her point of view, if she's able to be a part of the effort to amplify their voices, then she felt it was reason enough to join and use her platform.'

Taking action: Jolie made her Instagram debut on Friday with a moving letter sent to her from a teenage girl in Afghanistan, who wrote about the Taliban taking over the country after US forces withdrew; seen in 2019
Sophie Anderton has described her wedding to Polish aristocrat Count Kazimierz 'Kaz' Balinski-Jundzill, 53, as 'the happiest day of my life'.

The model, 44, who found fame as the face of Gossard bras in the 1990s, tied the knot in Ireland on August 5 after the couple postponed their wedding three times due to the pandemic.

However the star admitted she 'never thought marriage was on the cards' and had been nicknamed 'the runway bride' but added: 'Love comes into your life when you're not looking for it.'

Romantic: Sophie Anderton, 44, has described her wedding to Count Kazimierz 'Kaz' Balinski-Jundzill, 53, as 'the happiest day of my life' despite 'marriage never being on the cards'

Sophie, who wore an ivory lace wedding gown designed by Irish couturier Helen Cody, told HELLO! magazine: 'I've waited all my life to meet the person I wanted to marry. Although I've loved, I've never been in love until now.'

She added: 'Kaz kept telling me it [marriage] would suit me, and he was right.'

The couple had a civil ceremony in the village of Laragh earlier this month, with Balinski-Jundzill's daughter, Charlie's Angels star Ella Balinska, acting as ring bearer.

The ceremony was followed by a wedding reception at their family home, Glendalough House.

Happy couple: The couple had a civil ceremony in the village of Laragh earlier this month, with Balinski-Jundzill's daughter, Charlie's Angels star Ella Balinska, acting as ring bearer

Balinski-Jundzill - who works in the extractive oil industry - told the magazine he was 'in awe' of Sophie on their special day and even had to 'look away' to prevent himself from crying.

Speaking with The Daily Mail's Richard Eden after her wedding, Sophie said: 'Yesterday, I married my best friend, soulmate and lifetime partner in crime.

'I cannot believe after so many obstacles and date changes, I am officially Mrs Kaz Balinksi.'

Kaz owns a 1,500-acre estate, Glendalough House, in County Wicklow.

Newlyweds: The model tied the knot with the Polish aristocrat in Ireland, where he owns a 1,500-acre estate Glendalough House in County Wicklow (pictured in 2020)

Sophie and Kaz had to postpone their nuptials twice last year due to Covid  and then again at the end of July when one of Kaz's four children fell ill.

One of Kaz's children is actress Ella Balinska, 24, who he shares with TV chef ex-wife, Lorraine Pascale. Ella starred in the 2019 Charlie's Angels film.

The happy newlyweds have been together for more than four years, with Sophie often gushing about their relationship.

In 2018 she shared her excitement about the future and told blog Beautiful Thinking: 'I'm really looking forward to getting married and having children. I've been waiting for someone to be an amazing father to my children, and it was so worth the wait'.

While in February 2020, before having to push her nuptials back to 2021, Sophie also shared some of her plans with The Daily Mail's Sebastian Shakespeare.

She said: 'We feel our life together is moving forwards after the standstill of the past eight months. It will only be a civil wedding in February  a very small affair.

'But we'll have a big blessing ceremony in the summer that Kaz's children can attend and all my family and friends who are all around the world.'

And speaking about relocating to Ireland, Sophie added: 'The best thing I ever did was get out of London  much as I love London. I've now got the mountains.'

Sophie Anderton's romance history 1998 - Matt Goss She dated Bros singer Matt Goss briefly between January and February in 1998 Fling: Sophie briefly dated Bros singer Matt Goss in 1998 Late 1990s - Lord Robert Hanson Sophie dated Old Etonian Robert Hanson, 60, who is the son of the late Lord Hanson, in the late 1990s. Former love: Sophie and Old Etonion Robert Hanson dated in the late 1990s 2002 - Mark Bosnich Sophie went on to date former Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Bosnich in 2002. They were together for two years until 2004. Famous ex: Sophie and former footballer Mark Bosnich dated for two years 2005 - Mark Alexiou Sophie was previously engaged to businessman ex Mark Alexiou. He popped the question in 2005 but the pair split shortly after. Ex-fiance: Sophie was previously engaged to businessman ex Mark Alexiou 2006 - Simon Jordan The following year Sophie was romantically linked to multi-millionaire and former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan Love: Sophie dated multi-millionaire Simon Jordan in 2006 after her failed engagement 2007 - Ed Buxton Sophie dated businessman and property developer Ed Buxton between 2007 and 2008. Things came to an end following a row at Sophie's home where police cautioned Buxton. Rocky road: Sophie split from ex-boyfriend Ed Buxton following a row at her home 2010 - James Simpson Sophie went on to meet and date internet entrepreneur James Simpson in 2010 - the pair were together for two-and-a-half years, with reports revealing at the time the relationship had 'ran its course'. Romance: Sophie dated internet entrepreneur James Simpson for over two years Advertisement

Sophie previously dated a string of stars including singer Matt Goss and former Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Bosnich.

She was previously engaged to businessman ex Mark Alexiou, who popped the question in 2005, but the pair split shortly after.

Since being in the spotlight Sophie has transformed her lifestyle and now prioritises her health and wellness following her highly publicised battle with drink and drugs.

Throwback: Sophie shot to fame as the face of Gossard bras and was often seen out in the 90s and 00s (pictured at the Top Of The Pops Awards in Manchester in 2002)

Family: Count Kaz has four children, including actress Ella Balinska, 24, who he shares with TV chef ex-wife, Lorraine Pascale (Ella pictured in July 2021)

Speaking to The Daily Mail in 2015, the media personality dismissed her past as 'light years from where I am now.'

She explained: 'I was very unhappy [in my 20s]. I had no control over who I was or how I looked.

'I was a model but at some point modelling became only one part of what was required of us, and suddenly to be successful we had to be celebrities.

'It's not something that came naturally. I was terrible at being famous.'

Read Sophie's full interview in HELLO!, out now.
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Ashley Graham put her growing baby bump on display while vacationing with her family in Jamaica on Friday.

The 33-year-old television presenter soaked in the sun wearing an array of sexy swimsuits.

And at one point was seen doing a bit of yoga before chatting with her husband and son.

The model shares her toddler, Isaac Menelik, with her husband of over a decade, Justin Ervin, and the two are currently prepping for the arrival of their newest child.

Summertime fun: Ashley Graham was seen spending time with her family while vacationing in Jamaica on Friday

Graham was first seen wearing a bright orange bikini top while playing with her son in the water.

The social media personality also sported a matching bottom, as well as a single gold waist chain that added a bit of shine to her outfit.

She accessorized with a stylish pair of sunglasses and several earrings during the beach trip.

The model also covered up part of her beautiful brunette hair with a bandana, which she later removed.

Starting strong: Graham and Ervin initially met during a church service and eventually tied the knot in 2010

Stretching out: The reality television figure was also seen doing a bit of yoga while enjoying the tropical climate

Luscious locks: Graham's beautiful brunette hair remained free-flowing as she stretched out

Graham later changed into an eye-catching neon pink bikini during her yoga session.

Her luscious locks remained free-flowing as she stretched out and got a bit of sun.

The reality television figure wore two anklets and kept a stylish pair of aviator-style sunglasses next to her as she hit a few poses.

At one point, she was seen talking to her husband, who held Isaac Menelik close to him as the happy couple chatted.

Mommy: The model shares her toddler, Isaac Menelik, with her husband of over a decade, Justin Ervin, and the two are currently prepping for the arrival of their newest child

Switching out: Graham was also seen wearing a bright orange bikini at one point. The model also sported a pair of tinted sunglasses and several articles of jewelry

Graham and Ervin initially met over ten years ago when the two were attending a church service.

The pair moved quickly with their relationship and eventually tied the knot in 2010 after roughly a year of dating.

The happy couple remained together for nearly a decade before they announced that they would be welcoming a child into their lives in 2019.

The model revealed that she was expecting a boy that November, and she gave birth to Isaac Menelik last January.

Starting a family: The pair announced that they were expecting a child in 2019, and the model gave birth the following year

Graham went on to announce her second pregnancy through a post that was made to her Instagram account this past July.

She also wrote a brief message, which she began by expressing that she had learned plenty of new things in the recent months.

Specifically, it read: 'the past year has been full of tiny surprises, big griefs, familiar beginnings and new stories.

The television presenter then wrote that she was excited to welcome her new child into her life and to see what the future held for her family.

Making it known: Graham went on to announce that the couple was expecting a second child through her Instagram account this past July

Looking back: The reality television figure wrote that her past year was full of 'tiny surprises, big griefs, familiar beginnings and new stories' in the post's caption

'I'm just beginning to process and celebrate what this next chapter means for us,' she noted.

Graham has taken to sharing various shots featuring her growing baby bump to her Instagram account in the weeks since the announcement.

She later spoke to Elle and told the media outlet that her second pregnancy has taken up much more energy than her first.

'I'm not working out as much, I'm eating a lot more, I'm sleeping a lot more, I'm running after one kid and then when he's napping, I'm napping,' she said.

Letting everyone see: Graham has taken to showing off various pictures featuring her growing baby bump to her Instagram account in the recent past

Things change: The model recently spoke to Elle and told the media outlet that her second pregnancy has felt much different as compared to her first

However, the model pointed out that the process felt much more expedited to her, for which she was happy.

Graham noted that her second pregnancy was 'going by a lot faster, which I did hear was going to be happen, so I'm thankful for that.'

She went on to note that she would be welcoming her child into the world in her house and expressed that her first child's birth was eye-opening.

'I had a fabulous experience. And I'm going to do it at home again...I know what to expect: it's great pain, and it's a lot of determination and focus,' she said.

Keeping it consistent: The television presenter also spoke about giving birth at home and expressed that she was 'going to do it...again'

Graham also shared a set of clips to her Instagram Story on Sunday to give her followers a better look at her baby bump,

Her first video showed her relaxing on a lounge chair while holding up what appeared to be a frosty tropical drink.

The model sported a green plaid bikini top and a bright pink bottom in the shot.

The television presenter also shared a video of herself making her way along a greenery-lined walkway while taking in a majestic ocean view.
She often details her children's journey with autism.

And mother-of-three Christine McGuiness looked delighted on Saturday as she embarked on a charity walk for the National Autistic Society in Manchester.

The 47-year old, who shares twins Penelope and Leo, eight, and daughter Felicity, five, with presenter husband Paddy, 45, proudly sported the charity's branded merchandise for the walk.

Let's go! Christine McGuinness looked delighted as she started the charity walk for the National Autistic Society in Manchester - after detailing her children's journey with autism

Wearing the charity's white logo tee, Christine cut a sporty figure by teaming the top half with pale gym leggings and white Nike trainers.

For one beaming snap, she held up a grey emblazoned hoodie before wrapping it around her waist.

The television personality ensured not a single lock of her long blonde tresses was out of place and applied a glam face of makeup.

She also carried a crimson shoulder bag for the spectrum night charity walk.

Proud: The 47-year old, who shares twins Penelope and Leo, eight, and daughter Felicity, five, with presenter husband Paddy, 45, proudly sported the charity's branded merchandise for the walk

Close to her heart: For one beaming snap, the television personality held up a grey emblazoned hoodie before wrapping it around her waist

Founded in 1962, The National Autistic Society are the UK's leading charity for people on the autism spectrum and their families.

All three of Christine and Paddy's children have the developmental disability, which affects how people communicate and interact with the world.

Christine took to Instagram on Sunday to share her pleasure at taking part in the poignant event.

'Spectrum night walks are back  I loved walking with @nationalautisticsociety around Manchester raising awareness and much needed funds to help support those affected by autism ', she penned.

Poignant: Founded in 1962, The National Autistic Society are the UK's leading charity for people on the autism spectrum and their families

Grateful: Christine took to Instagram on Sunday to share her pleasure at taking part in the poignant event

Twins Leo and Penelope were diagnosed with autism when they were three-and-a-half.

Christine foresaw Felicity's diagnosis years before it was given, as when she was six months old, she started tensing her body - known as 'stimming' when autistic children get excited.

She detailed the challenges of parenting autistic children in lockdown to The Mirror in April, but maintained a positive outlook: 'Because autistic children can be non verbal, I thank God every day that my children can speak - even when they argue with each other, at least they can speak.

'We waited four years to hear them say, "mummy". And when they did it was the best sound in the world,' she revealed.
Longtime CSI star William Petersen had to be taken to a hospital via ambulance on Friday after he fell ill on the set of his iconic CBS series.

The 68-year-old actor was hard at work filming the limited series epilogue CSI: Vegas at the time, TMZ reported on Sunday.

A representative for Petersen said he was on the show's Los Angeles set when he started feeling under the weather.

Under the weather: CSI star William Petersen, 68, was rushed to a hospital on Friday after falling ill on the Los Angeles set of his limited series CSI: Vegas, TMZ reported on Sunday.; seen in 2019 in Santa Monica

Petersen then reportedly told the episode's director that he had to stop working.

His condition apparently seemed serious enough to warrant an ambulance ride to a nearby hospital, though the actor's representative said it was mainly called to be on the safe side.

Since then, the CSI mainstay has been released from the hospital and seems to be on the mend.

His representative attributed the health scare to 'overexertion or exhaustion,' as he's been working for the past 12 weeks on his series, and film and television crews tend to work long hours.

On the mend: A rep for Petersen said he has been released and is doing better now. They attributed his illness to 'overexertion or exhaustion' from working 12 weeks straight of long days; still from CSI

Petersen is most identified with his lead role on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which he began starring on in 2000.

He played CSI graveyard shift supervisor Gil Grissom for the show's first nine seasons, and later returned several times throughout later seasons, including for the finale TV movie Immortality.

Although the series featured plenty of traditional police work, it also showed the investigators using their brains and science to help solve crimes through their detailed physical investigations.

Iconic: Petersen is most identified with his lead role on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which he began starring on in 2000, after making a name for himself in 1980s crime film classics

Petersen initially rose to fame with lead roles in the crime classics To Live And Die In L.A. (1985) and Manhunter (1986) the first film to feature the character Hannibal Lecter.

Although he committed to television with the CSI franchise in the past two decades, he still appeared sporadically in films, with his most recent role being in the apocalyptic rom-com Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World.

Petersen has also maintained a stable presence in live theater as a member of the prestigious Chicago-based Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and he co-founded the Remains Theater Ensemble.

Last month, CBS announced that his series CSI: Vegas would premiere on the network on October 6, 2021.
Nicole Kidman looks in the best shape of her life on the cover of this month's issue of Marie Claire Australia.

The Oscar winner, 54, stuns in a short playsuit comprising white bottoms and a plunging black top on the front of the subscribers-only edition.

She teams the ensemble, which features a diamond-encrusted bow detail at the front, with fishnet stockings and pointed heels.

Ageless: Nicole Kidman, 54, stuns in a short playsuit comprising white bottoms and a plunging top on the cover of the subscribers-only edition of this month's issue of Marie Claire Australia

Nicole rocks a more conservative outfit for the retail edition, opting for a black dress with a sequinned longsleeve and knee-high boots.

The Moulin Rouge! star spoke about her family life in the accompanying interview.

She admitted she 'would've loved 10 children' but was grateful for the 'miracle' of finding the love of her life, husband Keith Urban.

Another look: The Oscar winner rocks a more conservative outfit for the retail edition, opting for a black dress with a sequinned longsleeve and knee-high boots

'I wish I'd had more children but I wasn't given that choice,' she said.

'But that's okay. I get to mother other children. I have six nieces and nephews and I'm godmother to 12. I love mothering. I love kids and what they say.'

'They're quirky, funny, unfiltered. And then you get to see them grow and send them on their way.'

'I wanted 10 kids': The actress spoke about her family life in the accompanying interview

Nicole and Keith share two daughters, Sunday, 13, and Faith, 10.

She has two adopted children, Bella and Connor, from her marriage to Tom Cruise.

Bella and Connor are now grown up and reportedly have limited contact with their mother due to their ties to the Church of Scientology.
The actress Lydia Hearst is set to become a mother for the first time.

The 36-year-old Z Nation star and her husband Chris Hardwick, 49, confirmed the news on Sunday with Just Jared.

The couple's joyous announcement came just days after they celebrated five years of marriage on August 20.

Baby on board: Actress Lydia Hearst, 36, and her comedian husband Chris Hardwick, 49, are expecting their first child together, Just Jared reported on Sunday

'We are beyond thrilled!' the couple gushed to the publication. 'We have wanted a family for awhile now, and are so incredibly excited about this!'

According to the couple, their baby is set to arrive early next year.

On Friday, the lovebirds both shared photos of them on the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife.

Chris gazed lovingly into Lydia's eyes while she smiled back at him in her photo, while he shared a glimpse of the two touching foreheads while dancing.

'It's been five years, and yet it feels like only yesterday. I love you @hardwick,' she wrote.

Over the moon: 'We are beyond thrilled!' the couple gushed to the publication. 'We have wanted a family for awhile now, and are so incredibly excited about this!'

Special moment: On Friday, the lovebirds celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary with photos from their first dance as husband and wife

'Happy 5 Year Anniversary @lydiahearst!!! Holy cats! Five years! You are the absolute best,' he wrote lovingly in his caption.

'Fun slideshow time! The first pic is our first married dance,' he continued.

Fittingly for the Nerdist Industries founder and pop culture obsessive, he had a Star Wars droid featured during the ceremony.

'the second [photo] is our ring bearer, R5-D4,' he wrote of the red-and-white rolling droid whose main claim to fame is being the droid that Luke Skywalker selected in the original Star Wars film, only to be replaced by R2-D2 when it blew a fuse.

For the wedding cake, the Doctor Who fan had half of it designed to look like a TARDIS, a space- and time-traveling device designed to look like a 1960s-era London police box.

The other half of the cake featured lovely roses and was topped with frosted cowboy boots, with Chris explaining that 'the party was Western-themed.'

'Such an amazing night!' he added.

Brave new world: The nerd-friendly nuptials featured a Star Wars droid as ring bearer

His and hers: The wedding cake was half Dr. Who's TARDIS and half western-themed cowboy boots

Lydia originally began a modeling career starting in 2004 before transitioning to film and television acting later in the decade.

She's the great-granddaughter of legendary newspaper publisher and yellow journalism purveyor William Randolph Hearst, as well as the daughter of Patty Hearst.

Chris is a popular stand-up comedian and podcaster who hosts the Walking Dead after show Talking Dead.

He was embroiled in controversy in 2018 after his ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra alleged in a Medium post from June of that year that one of her ex-boyfriends had emotionally and sexually abused her.

She didn't name Hardwick, but the dates and clues led readers to assume he was the target of her post.

Serious allegations: In 2018, Hardwick's ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra wrote that she had been emotionally and sexually abused by an unnamed boyfriend, but fans assumed she referred to Chris based on the dates listed; seen in 2019 in Hollywood

Hardwick denied the allegations in a statement: 'Our three year relationship was not perfect  we were ultimately not a good match and argued  even shouted at each other  but I loved her, and did my best to uplift and support her as a partner and companion in any way and at no time did I sexually assault her.'

Hearst also defended her husband on Instagram after the accusations went public.

'This is not a statement in defense, this is a statement of defense,' she wrote. 'Defense for all the women who have been sexually abused, raped, trafficked, and tortured; defense of all the people who this movement was started for.'

Although she wrote that stories of women in the #MeToo Movement 'need to be told,' she said her husband had done nothing wrong.

'I have made the decision to come out in support of my husband not out of obligation, but out of necessity to speak the truth about the person I know,' she continued. 'Chris is nothing but loving and compassionate and is the only person who has stood by me, never judged me, helped me heal, and feel whole.'

She concluded: 'To defend my husband would be giving credence to any of these accusations. I will not do that. Chris Hardwick is a good man.'

Hardwick was later cleared of wrongdoing in investigations launched by AMC, which broadcasts Talking Dead and his other talk shows, and Nerdist.

Dykstra opted not to be interviewed for the investigations.
She shot to stardom on the Netflix reality dating show, Too Hot To Handle.

And Nicole O'Brien looked every inch the star as she headed to the pub in London on Sunday.

The reality star, 26, displayed her toned legs in a pair of tiny denim shorts and knee-high boots as she posed up a storm in the street.

Wow: Nicole O'Brien looked every inch the star as she headed to the pub in London on Sunday

She teased a glimpse of her cleavage in a white corset top and accessorised with a nude handbag.

Her newly-red tresses were styled in soft waves and she sported a rich palette of make-up.

She was joined by Love Island 2020 star Eva Zapico, who flaunted her midriff in a white crop-top paired with jeans.

Leggy: The reality star, 26, displayed her toned legs in a pair of tiny denim shorts and knee-high boots as she posed up a storm in the street

Pose: Her newly-red tresses were styled in soft waves and she sported a rich palette of make-up

In May, Nicole announced that she had signed a new record deal with I Saw It First and Sengge Zangbo Records on Instagram.

Posting a gorgeous snap of herself singing a contract in the clothing brand's offices, Nicole told fans: 'Today was a pinch me moment.'

She went on: 'I've just signed a deal with @isawitfirst X @senggezangborecords. No pressure that their previous artist was @emelisande featuring @stonebwoyb.

Pals: She was joined by Love Island 2020 star Eva Zapico, who flaunted her midriff in a white crop-top paired with jeans

Smile: The reality stars looked the best of mates as they walked along

Pose: Eva wowed in her casual ensemble as she strolled down the street

'To say I'm excited is an understatement!! This wouldn't be possible without any of you lovely people supporting me, can't thank you enough I have so much love for you all.'

She concluded: 'Big things are coming.'

While Nicole did not find love on Too Hot To Handle, she went on to date her co-star Bryce Hirschberg after the show wrapped, making their relationship public last April.

They called it quits later in the year due to the travel restrictions posed by COVID-19, as Bryce lives in Marina Del Rey, California, and Nicole calls the UK home.

A representative for Bryce, 30, told People at the time: 'I can confirm that Bryce and Nicole decided mutually to split early last week after months of trying to make a long-distance relationship work.'

Bryce also made a statement: 'After the many failed attempts to reunite due to quarantine and border restrictions, we decided that moving on and remaining friends would be our best option for the time being.

'Nicole is so lovely and if under less unusual circumstances I'm sure that we could've had an amazing relationship! I wish her the best because she deserves it.'
Nacogdoches, TX (75965)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 98F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 73F. Winds light and variable.
Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan was injured recently, during the shoot of the Hindi remake of Tamil film Oththa Seruppu Size 7 directed by R. Parthiban. He hurt his right hand.

The actor has been advised rest and told to keep the hand in a sling, says a source. Abhishek is the only actor on the sets and just voices of others are used in the rest of the film. He is reportedly the producer of the film. It will be some time before he gets well and goes back on the sets.

He completed Dasvi recently, says the source, adding, Abhishek is prone to hand injuries. He had fractured a finger as well as his left hand earlier. He had his left hand in a sling during the promotion of Dhoom 3 with Aamir Khan.
The education department expects more children will take admission to government-run schools. Representational Image. (DC Image)

Anantapur: Beautification of government schools under Nadu-Nedu has helped stop migration of children from border areas to nearby Karnataka private schools. At least 200 children, who were studying in private schools of Karnataka, joined government schools in their native villages.

At least seven students of Somagatta interior village in Rolla mandal located in Sira taluk borders of Karnataka are back. All of them were studying in a private school in Baraguru town in Karnataka.

Not only Somagatta, many children from border areas are now returning having taken TCs from Karnataka schools.

G. Dhananjaya, a fourth standard student in Dhabaspeta recently shifted to his native village Pilligundlu. His father Narasimha Murthy, a farm labourer, said the reason for bringing back his son to study in a government school was because of the attractive environment that is present now.

My son will get a quality education and we can benefit from the welfare schemes of the state government, he said.

The corporate style look, thanks to the Nadu-Nedu scheme, is drawing parents. At least 29,402 students from private schools have joined government schools of mandal parishad, zilla parishad and municipal schools for the 2020-21 academic year from various parts of the district. At least eight per cent increase in admissions was recorded as against the normal trend.

The education department expects more children will take admission to government-run schools. A total of 1,254 upper primary and high schools were selected under its phase-I.

Rolla mandal educational officer S.N. Sridhar told this correspondent that children were enjoying the climate and facilities in the renovated schools. Somagatta upper primary school in Rolla mandal located closer to Sira taluk borders of Karnataka had a building in a deplorable condition a year ago. Now the school has totally changed and has facilities like attractive wall paintings, TV, RO plant for drinking water and toilets with water facility.

Even during holidays, the students visit schools and prefer to spend more time, Sridhar said.

While students from Madakasira, Rayadurgam, Hindupur and Kalayandurgam were earlier studying in private schools in Karnataka, they are now moving to government schools nearer home.

Thimmanna, a parent from Agali mandal said that his son was studying at a Rentavala private school but has joined government school this year.
Though there was a scope for increasing the strength of students, parents are not willing to admit their students in P.R. Government School as the school has not been developed.  DC file photo

KAKINADA: Many students from government, zilla parishad and municipal schools are shifting from Telugu to English medium as the state government has focussed on the latter and is distributing bilingual textbooks free of cost to facilitate an easier learning process. It has been so effective that students from private schools are also joining ZP high schools.

According to sources, some private schools, especially those in rural areas, are on the verge of closure. Meanwhile, some municipal high schools have stopped the enrollment drive due to poor infrastructure facilities and where development works are in progress.

There are 4,403 government schools, including 685 high schools, 25 high school plus, 3,367 primary schools and 326 upper primary schools in East Godavari district where the total number of schools are 4,78,706.

District education officer S. Abraham told Deccan Chronicle that more than 40,000 new students were enrolled in government schools, out of which 98 per cent preferred English medium of instruction. He said that there was no scarcity of teachers as many have been appointed to teach both mediums and also the bilingual textbooks were coming in handy for them. He said that admissions would be increased as the schools can take admissions till this month-end.

However, some schools are unable to take new admissions.

The student strength has increased to 1,490, including 250 new admissions. But, some rooms are being constructed and there is no space for more new students in our school said J. Subba Lakshmi, headmistress of Kakinada Salipeta Municipal High School. She said that many students are opting for English medium. She said that previously nearly 250 to 500 students were in Telugu medium but now it has dwindled to 150.

Kakinada Gandhinagar Mahatma Gandhi Municipal High School headmaster A. Suryanarayana said that there is no possibility for new admissions as the strength of faculty is inadequate.

Meanwhile, though there was a scope for increasing the strength of students, parents are not willing to admit their students in P.R. Government School as the school has not been developed. Whenever it rains, the ground gets inundated. The school still managed to get 74 admissions in the present drive.

Many parents feel that English mediums can give a better future to their children.

I had to stop my education after class V. I want to give education to my two children. Earlier I joined them in English medium in private schools. Now that government schools are having English medium, I admitted my daughter in a government school, said Yalla Rambabu, a daily-wage labourer from Pedapudi. He said that he had to pay a considerable amount to private schools, but he need not pay school fees hereafter.
Hyderabad: Gellu Srinivas Yadav shot into the limelight all of a sudden on August 11, when the TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao announced him as party's candidate for the Huzurabad bypoll. When political heavyweights were waiting for the party ticket and bigwigs who joined TRS from other parties recently (P. Kaushik Reddy from Congress, L. Ramana from TD and E. Peddi Reddy from BJP) with the aim of contesting this bypoll, Rao chose Yadav, a student leader, who turned 38 on Saturday and who never contested any election.

Yadav is president of the TRS student wing (TRSV) and faced 200 police cases and was jailed several times during Telangana statehood agitation. At a time when it is widely believed in political circles that Huzurabad bypoll outcome will define the future politic of Telangana, Yadav is making his electoral debut in the most fiercely fought election by TRS is something which is keenly watched at national-level.

In an exclusive interview to Deccan Chronicle, Yadav said his victory in the bypoll is anybodys guess. Excerpts:

Q. Did you expect to get the TRS ticket to contest Huzurabad bypoll?

A: I never expected. In fact, when KCR garu announced my name, it came as a shock as well as a pleasant surprise for me I feel KCR garu rewarded me for my sincere efforts and hard work in the TRS over the past 20 years.

Q: Your opponent Etala Rajendar is a political heavyweight in Huzurabad is a four-time MLA and two-time minister. You have never contested any election. What do you think are your winning chances?

A: I may be contesting my first direct election but I am not a political novice. The party had entrusted me with responsibilities for a series of polls held in Telangana since 2001. I have vast experience of fighting elections as a party worker and emerged victorious. When the TRS fielded 37-year-old Nomula Bhagat against the Congress heavyweight K. Jana Reddy, who was seven-time MLA and longest serving Cabinet minister, the same doubts were raised but everyone knows what happened finally. Bhagat won with nearly 20,000 majority, more than double the majority secured by his father in the 2018 Assembly polls.

Q: How can you say your victory is certain so confidently?

A: KCR's name and patronage is enough to win this bypoll. Huzurabad people voted for KCR and the TRS since 2001 due to which Rajendar could become four-time MLA and two-time minister. It's not Rajendar's own achievement. It's because of the love and affection being shown by Huzurabad people towards KCR and the TRS since 2001. TRS was formed in 2001 and Rajendar joined in 2003. When Rajendar was not there, the TRS swept local body polls. This is ample proof that Huzurabad people love KCR and the TRS. I am not rich like Rajendar who owns 200 acres and crores of rupees. I own just 2-guntas of land but I have the blessings of people and KCR.

Q: Rajendar is fighting this election on the plank of 'self-respect'. What issues do you want to raise to seek votes?

A: The TRS itself stands for self-respect of Telangana. People identify the TRS as their home party. For these reasons, they are giving big victories to the TRS in all the elections from gully-level to Delhi-level. The rest of the parties are outsiders. They have political interests in other states. But for the TRS, the only interest is Telangana and Telangana people. I will seek votes on this plank and also to develop Huzurabad expeditiously in the remaining two-and-a-half tenure of this Legislative Assembly before the 2023 December Assembly polls. The condition of Huzurabad constituency is pathetic with no development all these days.

Q: Is it not the failure of the TRS government if Huzurabad is still in bad shape today as it was represented by your own MLA and minister Rajendar all these days?

A: Definitely not. The Chief Minister sanctioned a good amount of funds and schemes to Huzurabad like all other constituencies. But Rajendar failed to utilise them and develop the constituency. He was only interested in increasing his wealth, remained focussed on his poultry business, assigned lands, temple land encroachments etc. The Chief Minister sanctioned 4,000 2BHK houses for the poor in Huzurabad but Rajendar failed to execute the project like TRS MLAs and ministers in other districts. Huzurabad people already decided to vote for the TRS with a strong belief that this constituency will develop only if the TRS wins.

Q: Why should people vote for TRS?

A: Because the TRS is the ruling party. If Rajendar wins, the BJP will not form a government in Telangana and if the TRS loses, the government will not fall. Etala could not develop Huzurabad despite being a ruling party MLA and minister for seven years. What will he do if he wins from the Opposition BJP? If TRS wins, I can get more funds and schemes for the development of Huzurabad.

Q: You have been a student leader for a long period. But unemployed youth and students are angry at the TRS government for failing to release job notifications promptly in the last seven years?

A: This is a false propaganda by the Opposition parties. The TRS government has filled over 1.30 lakh vacancies in various government departments in the past seven years. If students and unemployed youth were really angry, how could the TRS win two Graduate MLC seats very recently that too wresting a seat from the BJP and the other seat which we retained? This itself is clear proof that students and unemployed youth are also with the TRS.
Colombo: Indian naval ship Shakti carrying 100 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen reached Sri Lanka on Sunday to help the island nation combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country's ports minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena was at the port here to receive the cargo and hailed India's assistance to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

The deployment of the Indian naval vessel for the delivery of oxygen was in response to a personal request for assistance by Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for an urgent supply of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO), the Indian High Commission here said.

Camaraderie and coordination between Navies and various other stakeholders in India and Sri Lanka were on display as Sri Lankan Naval Vessel Shakthi with 40 tonnes of LMO on board also commenced its journey from Chennai to Colombo around the same time as INS Shakti.

It was a rare instance wherein two Shakti vessels commenced their journey from two different ports in India to the same destination almost at the same time for a common purpose, it said.

India's assistance to Sri Lanka during the pandemic has been varied and need-based in nature. Close to 26 tonnes of essential medical supplies were gifted in April-May 2020. Currency swap of USD 400 million was provided in July 2020.

The first consignment of vaccines, which was donated by India in January 2021, enabled Sri Lanka to roll out their vaccination programme ahead of the schedule, the Indian High Commission said.

Sri Lanka is currently experiencing a rapid rise in infections.

The death toll exceeded 7,000 with nearly 200 fatalities, the health authorities said on Sunday.

There has been a 30 per cent increase in the demand of oxygen to handle the rapid rise in the number of fresh patients, according to officials.
Adding more fire to the already-frenzied IPO market, three insurance sector companies are entering the primary market with initial public offerings in coming months to mop up over Rs 10,000 crore.

These companies are  PB Fintech, which runs the insurance brokerage Policybazaar; standalone health insurer Star Health & Allied Insurance Company; and third-party administrator Medi Assist Healthcare Service. They have already filed their draft prospectus with markets regulator Sebi.

Already over 40 companies have hit the IPO market so far this year, raising close to Rs 70,000 crore.

August alone saw four listings, and the fifth one (Nuvoco Vistas Corp, which raised Rs 5,000 crore) is slated for Monday and as many as 24 more have filed their IPO papers so far this month, seeking to mop up over Rs 4,000 crore.

Investment bankers are expecting more than 100 issues this year, making it the best-ever for the IPOs.

PB Fintech, the parent company of online insurance distributor Policybazaar, is looking to raise Rs 6,017 crore, which will make it the second-biggest issue so far this year after the Rs 9,375-crore Zomato issue last month. PB Fintech is backed by Tiger Global and Tencent Holdings.

Star Health, the largest standalone private health insurer, is planning to raise Rs 3,000 crore; while Medi Assist, which is the largest third-party administrator, is lining up a Rs 840-1,000 crore issue, according to their draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with the market watchdog.

Also read: IPO bandwagon getting bigger and bigger; August sees 23 filings so far

While PB Fintech has filed the DRHP on August 4 (a day when four companies launched their IPOs), and Star Health did so on July 28 and Medi Assist on May 11.

Star Health, backed by billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and Westbridge Capital, is the largest standalone private health insurer with a market share of 15.8 per cent in the health insurance market in the financial year 2021.

Its public offering will consist of a fresh issue of shares aggregating Rs 2,000 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 60.1 million shares by shareholders.

Safecrop Investments India is looking to offload 30.68 million shares, followed by Apis Growth, which is looking to sell 7.68 million shares. Other investors such as the University of Notre Dame, Mio Star, Roc Capital, Sai Satish, Venkatasamy Jagannathan, Konark Trust, Bejris Minoo Desai, and MMPL Trust are also selling shares through the OFS.

PB Fintech addresses the large and highly underpenetrated online insurance and lending markets in the country through its Policybazaar and online lending platform Paisabazaar, the largest digital insurance marketplace with a 93.4 per cent market share based on the number of policies sold. In the financial year 2020, 65.3 per cent of all digital insurance sales by volume was transacted through the Policybazaar platform.

Its Rs 6,017.5-crore public issue comprises a fresh issue of Rs 3,750 crore and an offer-for-sale of Rs 2,267.5 crore by existing selling shareholders. The OFS consists of sale by investor SVF Python II (Cayman) for Rs 1,875 crore, and Rs 392.5 crore worth of shares by other shareholders.

Medi Assist is the country's largest third-party insurance administrator in terms of revenue and premium serviced. It operates a pan-India network comprising over 11,000 hospitals across 722 cities and towns.

Medi Assist has been the most popular third-party administrator (TPA) for most large hospital chains such as Apollo Hospitals, Manipal Hospital, Fortis Healthcare, Narayana Hrudayalaya and Max Healthcare, among others.

Its IPO consists only of OFS of 2,539,092 shares by Vikram Jit Singh Chatwal, Medimatter Health Management, Bessemer Health Capital LLC, and Investcorp Private Equity Fund I. The offer constitutes 40.70 per cent of the post-offer paid-up equity share capital of the company.
Xiaomi is bringing in offerings like gold loans, credit line cards and insurance products as it looks to provide the full spectrum of financial services across payment, lending and insurance in India, its India head Manu Jain said.

Speaking with PTI, Jain said these financial services will be offered in partnership with organisations like Axis Bank, IDFC Bank, Aditya Birla Finance Ltd, Stashfin, Money View, Early Salary and Credit Vidya.

He stated that Mi Credit, a curated marketplace for personal loans of up to Rs 1 lakh, in 2019 witnessed a lot of euphoria, and more than one lakh loans have already been disbursed.

However, as the pandemic hit, its lending partners took a backseat.

"Many quarters went into re-thinking about the future of Mi Credit or Mi Financial Services should look like. We are now back to growing this particular platform. Q1 2021 versus Q4 2020, we grew 95 per cent, and Q1 2021 versus Q1 2020, we saw 35 per cent growth," he added.

Read | Xiaomi to launch new line of IoT devices this month

Jain highlighted that the company is working on building a full spectrum platform with respect to overall financial services as well as credit perspective.

He said Xiaomi is adding insurance vertical to its platform as well as expanding lending category with the addition of offerings like gold loans and credit line cards.

The top executive said Mi Credit will now offer a higher pre-approved loan of Rs 25 lakh (against Rs 1 lakh previously) and tenure of up to 60 months.

Besides, the company has started offering SME Loans and credit line cards as well.

"Mi Credit, in partnership with Stashfin, has launched Credit Line cards.

"It is a unique product that comes with a proposition of Buy Now Pay Later combined with personal loan in order to enable the customer to utilise the offering across channels without any limitations," Xiaomi India Financial Services Head Ashish Khandelwal said.

Another service that will be launched in the next few weeks is gold loan, he added.

Jain said 40 per cent of the company's credit product users are self-employed and the remaining 60 per cent are salaried employees.

"In 2021, we are planning to further diversify and provide 20 per cent of the loans to MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises). We have launched business loan to meet the emerging needs of entrepreneurs and MSMEs," he added.

Xiaomi's Mi Pay service, which was launched in 2018, had touched 20 million registered users in a year's time. This number has now crossed 50 million users.

Talking about the insurance segment, Khandelwal said Xiaomi has partnered with ICICI Lombard to curate a health insurance product.

This was piloted in July, and will continue to be offered.

Xiaomi also gas a cyber insurance offering, and more than 25,000 customers have been covered so far.

"Going ahead, insur-tech is another proposition that we are working on in a curated manner in partnerships," he added.
Three days after the Titanic sank in April 1912, about 700 survivors shuffled into New York off another ship, the Carpathia, which had scooped them up from the icy North Atlantic.

Some reunited with loved ones. Others received medical care or simply breathed in relief to be back on solid ground after a disaster that killed 1,500 people.

But not everyone got off the Carpathia.

Six of the survivors, all Chinese sailors, had to stay on the ship, prohibited from entering the United States under an anti-immigration law called the Chinese Exclusion Act. The next day, immigration officials escorted them across Manhattan and put them aboard a Cuba-bound cargo ship they had been contracted to work on. And then they seemingly vanished.

Although the Titanic disaster and the lives of many of its survivors have been exhaustively documented, the story of its Chinese passengers has long been overlooked. The Six, a documentary now heading to international film festivals after a theatrical release in China, seeks to trace the lives of those who survived: Lee Bing, Fang Lang, Chang Chip, Ah Lam, Chung Foo and Ling Hee.

I thought, Its just not possible that six guys just went on and never got married, never had children, never told anyone about this story, Steven Schwankert, the films lead researcher, said in an interview from Beijing.

Surviving the Titanic was just one of many obstacles the six men faced as Chinese migrants in the early 20th century, when they were the specific targets of discriminatory policies in countries like Britain, Canada and the United States. The impact of those policies continues to be felt generations later, including in the wave of anti-Asian racism and xenophobia unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Its not something that started with the last president saying things about our relationship with China, Schwankert said, referring to policies and remarks of former President Donald Trump. These are issues that we were addressing over 100 years ago.

The sailors story is little-known even in China, where the 1997 James Cameron film was a huge hit and a life-size replica of the ship is being built at a theme park. When a trailer for The Six was posted in 2017 on the Chinese social media site Weibo, it got millions of views and quickly drew the attention of distributors who offered a nationwide theatrical release.

Much about the Chinese sailors lives was influenced by the currents of history, including their presence on the Titanic to begin with. Labor strikes in Britain had left them without work, so their employer reassigned them to a North American route. The Titanic was supposed to take eight sailors as third-class passengers from Southampton, England, to their new ship in New York.

When the liner struck an iceberg late on April 14, the eight men acted quickly. Five made it into lifeboats, but the other three fell into the subzero water with hundreds of others as the ship was swallowed by the sea.

Two of those three sailors, Lee Ling and Len Lam, are believed to have died in the water. The third, Fang, clung to a piece of debris and waited until a single lifeboat returned to search for survivors, making him among the last to be saved.

Fangs rescue was the inspiration for the end of the movie Titanic and was even portrayed in a deleted scene. (Cameron, an executive producer of The Six, is interviewed in the film.) But for decades after the sinking, the Chinese survivors were painted by the ships owner and the news media in a negative light, which may have been one reason their story remained unknown even to some of their descendants.

As the liner sank, four of the men reached a crowded, but not full, lifeboat that included J. Bruce Ismay, the Titanics owner, who was later criticized for not going down with his ship. Speaking to investigators after the disaster, Ismay described the Chinese men as stowaways. News reports also accused them of dressing as women so their rescue would be prioritized.

Although the filmmakers planned to report whatever they discovered, it turns out we didnt find any direct evidence of them doing things they were accused of, and there was a much better explanation, said Arthur Jones, the Shanghai-based director of the film.

As part of their investigation, the filmmakers built a replica of the lifeboat the four Chinese sailors were in and filled it with people to simulate what happened. They concluded that Ismay and others at his end of the boat simply could not see everyone else who was in it.

In making The Six, a team of researchers in China and around the world looked for clues about the survivors, who were most likely from Guangdong province or elsewhere in southern China. In the years after the Titanic disaster, some of the survivors most likely ended up back in Britain, where sailors were scarce because men working on merchant ships had been drafted during World War I.

After World War I and again after World War II, when their labor was no longer needed, thousands of Chinese sailors were forcibly repatriated by the British government, sometimes leaving the families they had started in Britain with no explanation for their disappearance. According to the filmmakers, it is possible that this is what happened to some of the Chinese survivors of the Titanic sinking.

Instead of using an Exclusion Act, they just used contract law to get rid of thousands of Chinese men, Jones said of British authorities.

The British government said last month that it would investigate the repatriation program, which has received greater scrutiny in recent years.

Other Chinese survivors made their way to the United States or Canada despite laws against the immigration of Chinese laborers that would not be not repealed until decades later.

To get around the laws, thousands of people born in China entered with false documents. Protecting their new identities often required keeping their past lives secret even from partners and children.

Theres still people for whom this is intimate family history, Schwankert said.

Fangs son, Tom Fong, said his father, who died in 1985 at age 90, never spoke much about his life, but Fong knew he had been in a shipwreck.

In 2003, a cousin told Fong that it was the Titanic. When Fong and his son researched online, they found their family name on the passenger list, spelled slightly differently, as can happen when Chinese names are romanized. Then they found a description of the man clinging to a piece of debris until he was rescued, which matched Fangs story.

But Fong met with skepticism from Titanic enthusiasts and experts until more than a decade later, when he heard from Schwankert and Jones. Fong, 61, who owns the Cozy Inn in Janesville, Wisconsin, one of the nations oldest Chinese restaurants, said he shared his familys story partly for vindication.

And then on top of that, he said, I just wanted the truth to be known.
The Taliban's lightning takeover of Afghanistan forced Hariss to bring forward his escape plan, only to find himself stranded on a Qatari airbase packed with evacuees yearning for new lives in the US.

US officials confirmed evacuation operations from Afghanistan stalled for several hours on Friday because the receiving base in Qatar was overcrowded and could receive no further evacuees.

"There are thousands of Afghans in horrific conditions," Hariss told AFP via WhatsApp.

"This is our third day here and there is no WiFi, only one washroom and one toilet," said the 31-year-old, who landed at the base on Wednesday and asked to be identified only by his first name for fear of retribution.

"Still here at the base, apparently waiting to be boarded onto a plane but not sure how many more hours. We don't get any accurate info right away. Finding info is impossible."

Qatari officials have stressed that "all evacuated people are provided proper accommodation and all other required resources".

Also read: 'Impossible' to evacuate all allied Afghans by Aug 31: EU

But Hariss complained that he and other evacuees "have been awake for days" with him and his countrymen offered scant information about their next destination.

At a villa complex 10 minutes from the heart of Doha, another group of refugees recently arrived from Afghanistan began to settle in following their exodus.

"I saw a Taliban member hitting someone trying to climb the airport fence, and I felt so scared, I couldn't look him in the eye... I was terrified," said one woman on Saturday after travelling with her brother.

They now hope to settle in the US.

"We have family and friends and we want to help them, but the problem is getting to the airport... At the beginning they let everyone enter without documents, but now it is very difficult," she said.

"My family is still there and I am afraid for them, and my father is now hiding somewhere in Afghanistan."

The US State Department has faced criticism for fielding insufficient staff to process the number of Afghans seeking to travel to the United States as well as erecting bureaucratic hurdles.

Major General Hank Taylor said on Friday that US aircraft flew out of Kabul with some 6,000 people until the bottleneck halted flights.

Operations from Kabul resumed late Friday after US forces in Qatar arranged for onward flights for many evacuees to the US military base in Ramstein, Germany.

Unlike most of his fellow countrymen Hariss, the Afghan at the airbase, has a US residency permit and his family lives in Virginia.

He had planned to leave Kabul on a commercial flight when Taliban forces reached the outskirts of the capital.

But the sudden fall of the city forced him to abandon his initial plan and board a US military flight.

Also read: Americas Afghan war: A defeat foretold?

At the vast Al-Udeid base in Qatar, which houses the biggest US airbase in the region, Hariss said many children, men and women were sleeping on the floor.

"I have given hundreds of people my (data) hotspot -- and I don't know how much will I be charged later," he told AFP.

Six days after the Taliban took back power in Afghanistan, the flow of people trying to flee the Islamist hardliners continued to overwhelm the international community's efforts.

Conditions outside Hamid Karzai International Airport have been chaotic amid the crush of people hoping to flee.

US President Joe Biden has warned he could not predict the outcome of one of the "most difficult airlifts in history".

Washington says that the evacuation is now being assisted by an array of countries including Bahrain, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Qatar, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, the UAE and Uzbekistan.

Qatar said that more than 7,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan to the Gulf emirate so far, while the UAE said Friday it had helped 8,500 to safety.

Hariss described "chaotic" scenes at the US base in Qatar.

"Everyone is pushing and creating havoc worse than (at) the airport gates," he said, adding that he tried to calm the Afghans and guide them, but a US soldier questioned his authority and called him "delusional".

"I think they are delusional for losing the war from a bunch of motorcyclists with sandals," he told AFP.
It was 8 a.m., and the sleepy Afghan sergeant stood at what he called the front line, one month before the city of Kunduz fell to the Taliban. An unspoken agreement protected both sides. There would be no shooting.

That was the nature of the strange war the Afghans just fought, and lost, with the Taliban.

President Joe Biden and his advisers say the Afghan militarys total collapse proved its unworthiness, vindicating the U.S.' pullout. But the extraordinary melting away of government and army, and the bloodless transition in most places so far, point to something more fundamental.

The war the Americans thought they were fighting against the Taliban was not the war their Afghan allies were fighting. That made the U.S.' war, like other such neocolonialist adventures, most likely doomed from the start.

Recent history shows it is foolish for Western powers to fight wars in other peoples lands, despite the temptations. Homegrown insurgencies, though seemingly outmatched in money, technology, arms, air power and the rest, are often better motivated, have a constant stream of new recruits and often draw sustenance from just over the border.

Read | How Taliban turned social media into a tool for control

Outside powers are fighting one war as visitors  occupiers  and their erstwhile allies who actually live there, something entirely different. In Afghanistan, it was not good versus evil, as the Americans saw it, but neighbour against neighbour.

When it comes to guerrilla war, former Communist Chairman Mao Zedong once described the relationship that should exist between a people and troops. The former may be likened to water, he wrote, the latter to the fish who inhabit it.

And when it came to Afghanistan, the Americans were a fish out of water. Just as the Russians had been in the 1980s. Just as the Americans were in Vietnam in the 1960s. And as the French were in Algeria in the 1950s. And the Portuguese during their futile attempts to keep their African colonies in the 60s and 70s. And the Israelis during their occupation of southern Lebanon in the 80s.

Each time the intervening power in all these places announced that the homegrown insurgency had been definitively beaten or that a corner had been turned, smoldering embers led to new conflagrations.

The Americans thought they had defeated the Taliban by the end of 2001. They were no longer a concern. But the result was actually far more ambiguous.

Most had essentially melted away, and we werent sure where theyd gone, wrote Brig. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, as quoted by historian Carter Malkasian in a new book, The American War in Afghanistan.

In fact, the Taliban were never actually beaten. Many had been killed by the Americans, but the rest simply faded into the mountains and villages or across the border into Pakistan, which has succored the movement since its inception.

By 2006, they had reconstituted sufficiently to launch a major offensive. The end of the story played out in the grim and foreordained American humiliation that unfolded over the past week  the consecration of the U.S. military loss.

In the long run all colonial wars are lost, the historian of Portugals misadventures in Africa, Patrick Chabal, wrote 20 years ago, just as the Americans were becoming fatally embroiled in Afghanistan.

Also read: Anti-Taliban forces say they've taken three districts in Afghanistan's north

The superpowers two-decade entanglement and ultimate defeat was all the more surprising in that the America of the decades preceding the millennium had been suffused with talk of the supposed lessons of Vietnam.

The dominant one was enunciated by the former majority leader of the Senate, Mike Mansfield, in the late 1970s: The cost was 55,000 dead, 303,000 wounded, $150 billion, Mansfield told a radio interviewer. It was unnecessary, uncalled-for; it wasnt tied to our security or a vital interest. It was just a misadventure in a part of the world which we should have kept our nose out of.

Long before, at the very beginning of the misadventure, in 1961, President John F. Kennedy had been warned off Vietnam by no less an authority than Charles de Gaulle. I predict that you will sink step by step into a bottomless military and political quagmire, however much you spend in men and money, de Gaulle, the French president, later recalled telling Kennedy.

The American ignored him. In words that foreshadowed both the Vietnam and Afghan debacles, de Gaulle warned Kennedy, Even if you find local leaders who in their own interests are prepared to obey you, the people will not agree to it and indeed do not want you.

By 1968, American generals were arguing that the North Vietnamese had been whipped, as one put it. The problem was, the enemy refused to recognize that it had been defeated and went right on fighting, as foreign policy analysts James Chace and David Fromkin observed in the mid-1980s. The Americans South Vietnamese ally, meanwhile, was corrupt and had little popular support.

The same unholy trinity of realities  boastful generals, an unbowed enemy, a feeble ally  could have been observed at all points during the U.S. engagement in Afghanistan.

Kennedy should have listened to de Gaulle. The French president, unlike his American counterparts then and later, distrusted the generals and would not listen to their blandishments, despite being Frances premier military hero.

He was at that moment extricating France from a brutal eight-year colonial war in Algeria, against the fervent wishes of his top officers and the European settlers there who wanted to maintain the more than century-old colonial rule. His generals argued, rightly, that the interior Algerian guerrilla resistance had been largely smashed.

But de Gaulle had the wisdom to see that the fight was not over.

Massed at Algerias borders was what the insurgents called the army of the frontiers, later the Army of National Liberation, or ALN, which became todays ANP, or National Peoples Army, still the dominant element in Algerian political life.

What motivated de Gaulle was, they still had an army on the frontiers, said Benjamin Stora, the leading historian of the Franco-Algerian relationship. So the situation was frozen, militarily. De Gaulles reasoning was, if we maintain the status quo, we lose a lot. He pulled the French out in a decision that still torments them.

The ALN chief, later Algerias most important post-independence leader, Houari Boumediene, incarnated strains in the Algerian revolution  dominating strains  that will be familiar to Taliban watchers: religion and nationalism. The Islamists later turned against him over socialism. But the mass outpouring of popular grief at Boumedienes funeral in 1978 was genuine.

Read | As Kabul turmoil mounts, Taliban's PR offensive falters

Boumedienes hold on the people emanated from his own humble origins and his tenacity against the hated French occupier. Those elements help explain the Talibans virtually seamless infiltration across Afghan territory in the weeks and months preceding this past weeks final victory.

The United States thought it was helping Afghans fight an avatar of evil, the Taliban, the running mate of international terrorism. That was the American optic and the American war.

But the Afghans, many of them, were not fighting that war. The Taliban are from their towns and villages. Afghanistan, particularly in its urban centers, may have changed over 20 years of U.S. occupation. But the laws the Taliban promoted  repressive policies toward women  were not so different, if they differed at all, from immemorial customs in many of these rural villages, particularly in the Pashtun south.

There is resistance to girls education in many rural communities in Afghanistan, a Human Rights Watch report noted soberly last year. And outside provincial capitals, even in the north, it is rare to see women not wearing the burqa.

This is why for years the Taliban have been dispensing justice, often brutally, in the areas they have controlled, with the acquiescence  even the acceptance  of the local populations. Disputes over property and cases of petty crime are adjudicated expeditiously, sometimes by religious scholars  and these courts have a reputation for incorruptibility compared with the former governments rotten system, Human Rights Watch wrote.

It is a system focused on punishment, often harsh. And despite the Talibans protestations this past week of forgiveness for those who served the now-defunct Afghan administration, they have not shown anything like tolerance in the past. The groups system of clandestine prisons, housing large numbers of soldiers and government workers, inspired fear in local populations all over Afghanistan.

The Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Gani Baradar, was reported to have received an enthusiastic welcome when he returned this past week to the southern city of Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban. That should be another element of reflection for the superpower that, 20 years ago, felt it had no choice but to respond with its military to the crimes of Sept. 11.

For Malkasian, the historian who was himself a former adviser to Americas top commander in Afghanistan, there is a lesson from the experience, but it is not necessarily that America should have stayed away.

If you have to go in, go in with the understanding that you cant wholly succeed, he said in an interview. Dont go in thinking youre going to solve it or fix it.
Thousands of people have swarmed around the airport, desperate to escape amid fears of reprisals by the insurgents and harsh Islamic law now that they are back in power.

It has presented one of the toughest tests yet for the movement's communications strategy, which has grown into a sophisticated operation in recent years and yet is struggling to calm widespread panic.

Read more
The Taliban on Sunday blamed the United States for the chaotic evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans and foreigners from the capital, one week after the hardline Islamist group returned to power in a rapid victory that stunned the world.

The United States has warned of security threats and the European Union admitted it was "impossible" to evacuate everyone at risk from the Taliban, who have vowed a softer version of their brutal rule from 1996-2001.

But terrified Afghans continue to try to flee, deepening a tragedy at Kabul airport where the United States and its allies have been unable to cope with the huge numbers of people trying to get on evacuation flights.

"America, with all its power and facilities... has failed to bring order to the airport. There is peace and calm all over the country, but there is chaos only at Kabul airport," Taliban official Amir Khan Mutaqi said.

Britain's defence ministry said Sunday seven people had died in the crowds, without giving further details.

Read | Taliban to meet former governors, aim to ensure safety, security

A journalist, who was among a group of other media workers and academics lucky enough to get to the airport on Sunday for a flight, described desperate scenes of people surrounding their bus on the way in.

"They were showing us their passports and shouting 'take us with you... please take us with you'," the journalist told AFP.

"The Taliban fighter in the truck ahead of us had to shoot in the air to make them go away."

Britain's Sky News on Saturday aired footage of at least three bodies covered in white tarpaulin outside the airport. It was not clear how they had died.

Reporter Stuart Ramsay, who was at the airport, called the deaths "inevitable" and said people were being "crushed", while others were "dehydrated and terrified".

The footage was the latest imagery of utter despair, after video of a baby being lifted over a wall at the airport and horror scenes of people hanging onto departing planes.

The United States, which has thousands of troops trying to secure the airport, has set a deadline to complete the evacuations by August 31.

But there are up to 15,000 Americans and 50,000 to 60,000 Afghan allies who need to be evacuated, according to the Biden administration.

Countless others fear repression under the Taliban and are also trying to flee.

US President Joe Biden has described the evacuation operations as "one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history".

The situation was further complicated on Saturday when the US government warned its citizens to stay away from the airport because of "security threats".

No specific reason was given, but a White House official later said Biden had been briefed on security threats, including from the Islamic State jihadist group.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell gave a bleak assessment of whether the airlift would succeed.

"They want to evacuate 60,000 people between now and the end of this month. It's mathematically impossible," he told AFP.

Borrell added that "we have complained" to the Americans that their airport security was overly strict and hampering attempts by Afghans who worked for the Europeans to enter.

On Saturday, the Pentagon said 17,000 people had been taken out since the operation began on August 14, including 2,500 Americans.

Thousands more have left on other foreign military flights.

The Taliban have been publicly content with the US military overseeing the airlift, while focusing on forming a government.

The group's co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar flew into Kabul and planned to meet jihadi leaders, elders and politicians in the coming days, an official told AFP.

Among them are leaders of the Haqqani network, a US-designated terrorist organisation with million-dollar bounties on its leadership.

The Taliban stunned the world when they swept into Kabul last week, ending two decades of war, facing virtually no opposition from government forces that had been trained and equipped by the US-led alliance.

However, there have been since been flickers of resistance with some ex-government troops gathering in the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul, long known as an anti-Taliban bastion.

One of the leaders of the movement, named the National Resistance Front, is the son of famed anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.

The NRF is prepared for a "long-term conflict" but is also still seeking to negotiate with the Taliban about an inclusive government, its spokesman Ali Maisam Nazary told AFP in an interview.

"The conditions for a peace deal with the Taliban is decentralisation, a system that ensures social justice, equality, rights, and freedom for all."
Some of the Taliban's top leaders are gathering in Kabul to discuss the formation of a new Afghan government -- including a representative from the Haqqani network, the country's most feared militants.

The Haqqanis have been blamed for some of the deadliest attacks in recent years, claiming the lives of civilians, government officials and foreign forces.

Despite their reputation, they are expected to be powerful players in the new regime following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan last week.

The shadowy group was formed by Jalaluddin Haqqani, who gained prominence in the 1980s as a hero of the anti-Soviet jihad. At the time, he was a valuable CIA asset as the United States and its allies such as Pakistan funnelled arms and money to the mujahideen.

During that conflict and following the Soviet withdrawal, Jalaluddin Haqqani fostered close ties with foreign jihadists -- including Osama bin Laden.

He later allied with the Taliban who took over Afghanistan in 1996, serving as a minister for the Islamist regime until it was toppled by US-led forces in 2001.

Read | Americas Afghan war: A defeat foretold?

Jalaluddin Haqqani's death after a long illness was announced by the Taliban in 2018, and his son Sirajuddin formally became the network's chief.

Thanks to their financial and military strength -- and a reputation for ruthlessness -- the Haqqani network is considered semi-autonomous while remaining within the Taliban fold.

Mainly based in eastern Afghanistan -- with alleged bases across the border in Pakistan's northwest -- the group became more visible in the Taliban leadership in recent years, and Sirajuddin Haqqani was appointed deputy leader in 2015.

His younger brother Anas, once imprisoned and sentenced to death by the previous Afghan government, has held talks with former president Hamid Karzai and ex-chief executive Abdullah Abdullah since the fall of Kabul last weekend.

The Haqqani network is blamed for some of the deadliest and most shocking attacks in Afghanistan during the last two decades.

They have been designated a foreign terrorist group by the United States, and are also under United Nations sanctions.

The Haqqanis have a reputation for frequently using suicide bombers -- including drivers in cars and trucks packed with huge amounts of explosives -- and have demonstrated the ability to carry out complex, high-casualty assaults on major targets including military installations and embassies.

In October 2013, Afghan forces intercepted a Haqqani truck in eastern Afghanistan that contained nearly 28 tonnes (61,500 pounds) of explosives, according to the US National Counterterrorism Center.

The Haqqanis have been accused of assassinations -- including an attempt against then-president Karzai in 2008 -- and kidnappings of officials and Western citizens, for ransom and forcing prisoner exchanges.

Read | How Taliban turned social media into a tool for control

They have also long been suspected of links with the Pakistani military establishment -- US Admiral Mike Mullen described them as a "veritable arm" of Islamabad's intelligence in 2011.

Pakistan denies the allegation.

The Haqqanis have also hugely contributed to the Taliban's fighting ranks, and are the group's "most combat-ready forces", UN monitors said in a June report.

The monitors also described the network as the "primary liaison" between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

The Haqqanis have emerged as serious players in the Taliban's political project with at least two of their leaders in Kabul as talks begin on forming the next government.

Sirajuddin Haqqani's formal elevation to the deputy leader position six years ago cemented that role, analysts say.

And the release of his brother Anas from Afghan custody in 2019 was seen as a move to help kickstart the direct US-Taliban talks that eventually led to the troop withdrawal.

Sirajuddin Haqqani even wrote an op-ed in The New York Times last year, outlining the Taliban's position on the US talks and the conflict in Afghanistan -- though in diplomatic tones that belied the network's violent reputation.

While Anas Haqqani has held talks with Karzai, his uncle Khalil Haqqani was seen leading prayers in Kabul on Friday.

Sirajuddin and Khalil are both still listed as wanted by the United States, with millions of dollars in bounties on offer.
Former President Donald Trump launched on Saturday a sustained attack on President Joe Biden's handling of the retreat of US forces from Afghanistan, which he called "the greatest foreign policy humiliation" in US history.

Trump, a Republican who has dangled the possibility of running again for president in 2024, has repeatedly blamed Biden, a Democrat, for Afghanistan's fall to the Islamist militant Taliban, even though the US withdrawal that triggered the collapse was negotiated by his own administration.

"Bidens botched exit from Afghanistan is the most astonishing display of gross incompetence by a nations leader, perhaps at any time," Trump said at a boisterous rally packed with his supporters near Cullman, Alabama.

Read | Biden admin may compel civilian airlines to carry Afghan evacuees: Officials

Taliban leaders are trying to hammer out a new government after their forces swept across the country as US-led forces pulled out after two decades, with the Western-backed government and military crumbling.

For his part, Biden has criticized the Afghan military for refusing to fight, denounced the now-ousted Afghan government and declared he inherited a bad withdrawal agreement from Trump.

At the rally, Trump blamed the situation on Biden not having followed the plan his administration came up with and bemoaned US personnel and equipment being left behind as troops withdrew.

"This is not a withdrawal. This was a total a surrender," he said.

Trump said the Taliban, with whom he had negotiated, respected him. He suggested the quick takeover of Afghanistan would not have happened if he was still in office.

"We could have gotten out with honor," Trump added. "We should have gotten out with honor. And instead we got out with the exact opposite of honor."
The US military says an Afghan woman gave birth aboard an Air Force C-17 that flew from the Middle East to Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

The base is being used as a transit post for people being evacuated from Afghanistan.

The military's Air Mobility Command tweeted that the mother began having complications during the flight on Saturday. It says: The aircraft commander decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilise and save the mother's life."

On arrival at Ramstein, US medical personnel came aboard and delivered the child in the aircraft's cargo bay. The baby girl and mother were transported to a nearby medical facility and are in good condition, the military said.
"All achievements of the last 20 years in Afghanistan have been lost. Nothing is left. It's zero now," said Afghan lawmaker Narender Singh Khalsa soon after his arrival along with 167 others at the Hindon airbase on Sunday as part of India's evacuation mission from Taliban besieged Kabul.

Khalsa and senator Anarkali Honaryar as well as their families were among those flown out of Kabul in a C-17 heavy-lift aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) this morning.

The Sikh lawmaker thanked the Indian government for rescuing him, his family and several other members of his community following the Taliban's takeover of Kabul and most parts of Afghanistan.

"India is our second home. Even if we are Afghans and live in that country, people often call us Hindustanis," the lawmaker told reporters at the airbase near Delhi.

Asked about the current situation in Afghanistan and how he felt about the latest developments in the country, Khalsa, with tears in his eyes, said all the gains of the past 20 years have been undone.

"I feel like crying. Everything is finished. It is a very difficult and painful decision to leave the country. We have not seen such a situation. Everything has been snatched away. It's all over," he said.

Read | Baby passed over barbed wire at Kabul airport reunited with family

The Taliban took control of Kabul and almost all major cities and provinces of Afghanistan 20 years after it was ousted by a US-led military coalition following the 9/11 attacks.

Recalling the harrowing experience of the past seven days after the Taliban took control of Kabul, Khalsa said the situation is "very bad" and appealed to the Indian government to rescue the remaining stranded Hindus and Sikhs from the war-torn country.

"Situation is very bad. We had to face a lot of difficulties. Thank God for saving our lives as we had to face harrowing times in the last few days. My expectation from the Indian government is that all those who are still stuck are brought back," he said.

"The Taliban used to ask us to remain in Afghanistan saying your security is our responsibility. As there are so many groups of Taliban, we do not know whom to speak to and whom to believe. That's why we decided to leave as the situation is serious," he added.

Khalsa said almost all Indians and Afghan Sikhs were taking shelter at gurudwaras in Kabul and elsewhere and that some 200 other Indians and Indian-origin people are waiting to be rescued.

"The gurudwaras are serving people by providing shelter and food. We are worried about our people who are still staying there," he said.

Also Read | Taliban attacked ITBP contingent, soldier tells family on return from Afghanistan

Asked about the brief detention of Indians and the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus on Saturday by the Taliban when they were on their way to the Kabul airport, he said all of them had to face harrowing experiences.

"They separated us from the Indians...In each of the gates at the airport, 5000-6000 people were standing. Initially, we could not go inside," he said.

"A person from Taliban harassed us. Then we left the place and came to a gurudwara. Our Indian friends were also harassed. It was difficult to understand who was a good person and who was bad. Then around 8 at night, we entered the airport by a VIP entry point," he added.

Khalsa said the temples and gurudwaras in Afghanistan are unharmed and safe so far.

India on Sunday brought back nearly 400 people, including 329 of its nationals, in three different flights as part of its efforts to evacuate its citizens from Kabul.

A total of 168 people including 107 Indians and 23 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, were flown from Kabul to Hindon airbase near Delhi in a C-17 heavy-lift military transport aircraft of the IAF.

Follow live Afghanistan news updates here

Another group of 87 Indians and two Nepalese nationals were brought back in a special Air India flight from Dushanbe, a day after they were evacuated to the Tajikistan capital in an IAF aircraft, officials said.

Separately, a group of 135 Indians who were earlier evacuated from Kabul to Doha in the last few days by the US and NATO aircraft, were flown back from Doha to Delhi on a special flight, they said.

India carried out the evacuation missions in coordination with the US and several other friendly countries.

Two days after the Taliban seized control of Kabul, India evacuated 200 people including the Indian envoy and other staffers of its embassy in Kabul in two C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft of the IAF.

The first evacuation flight brought back over 40 people, mostly staffers at the Indian embassy, on Monday last.

The second C-17 aircraft evacuated around 150 people including Indian diplomats, officials, security personnel and some stranded Indians from Kabul on Tuesday.

The Taliban swept across Afghanistan this month, seizing control of almost all key towns and cities including Kabul in the backdrop of the withdrawal of the US forces.

Following the evacuation, the MEA said the focus now would be to ensure the safe return of all Indian nationals from the Afghan capital.
The Taliban have extended their amnesty to deposed Afghan President and Vice President Ashraf Ghani and Amrullah Saleh, respectively, allowing the two to return to Afghanistan if they so wished.

In an exclusive interview with Geo News, senior Taliban leader Khalil ur Rahman Haqqani said: "there is no enmity" between the group and Ghani, Saleh and former National Security Advisor, Hamdullah Mohib.

"We forgive Ashraf Ghani, Amrullah Saleh and Hamdullah Mohib," said Haqqani, adding that enmity between the Taliban and the three was only on the basis of religion.

"We forgive everyone from our end; from the general (who fought in the war against us) to the common man," he said.

Also Read | Corruption: Afghan govt's Achilles heel, Taliban's boon

Haqqani urged people fleeing the country not to do so, adding that the "enemy" was spreading propaganda that the Taliban will exact revenge on them.

"Tajiks, Balochs, Hazaras and Pashtuns are all our brothers," he added.

Haqqani said the Taliban were not the ones who went to war against the US, adding that the group had decided to take up arms against the US after it invaded their homeland and fought against its culture, religion, and country.

"The Americans were using weapons against us, on our homeland," he said, adding that God gave the Taliban American weapons as the spoils of war.

He said that the Taliban had achieved a huge victory over their enemies, adding that the Afghanistan Army consisted of 350,000 troops and was supported by the US, NATO and other countries.

Haqqani said the Taliban wanted all Muslim countries to reconcile with one another. He advised countries worldwide to provide due rights to their citizens, adding that an inclusive Afghan government will be formed in Afghanistan.

"Highly capable, educated people will form the government in Afghanistan," he vowed. "People who unite the masses will be included in the new government."

Promising a government that would represent all groups within Afghanistan, Haqqani said people from all schools of thought were pledging their allegiance to the Taliban.

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As China and Pakistan mull a joint strategy to push for global recognition of the Taliban regime in war-torn Afghanistan to further their interests, experts have warned the all-weather allies of long-term losses, especially a blowback effect from the US which may turn its ire on Beijing and Islamabad to avenge its Afghan imbroglio.

Since the Talibans takeover of Kabul on August 15, China and Pakistan have stepped up contacts amidst a sense of their delight over a humiliating defeat of the US after a 20-year war in Afghanistan despite lingering concerns over the return of the Taliban with all its baggage of the al-Qaeda and the Islamic State terror groups.

Contrary to its oft-stated diplomatic position that it has no favourites in Afghanistan, the Pakistani government is clearly comfortable with the return of the Taliban, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Posted quoted some Pakistani analysts as saying.

Within hours of Kabuls fall, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said the Afghan people had broken the shackles of slavery to the West.

Pakistan has lobbied the international community -- close allies China and Russia in particular -- to garner support for a collective diplomatic engagement with the Taliban as a means of ensuring that the group keeps its promises to form an inclusive administration, prevent terrorist attacks from Afghanistan and allow women access to education and employment, the Post report said.

Also read: All achievements made in past 20 years lost, painful to leave country, says Afghan lawmaker

Pakistan has the most to gain from peace in its neighbour and the most to lose from strife and instability, said Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the UK, the UN and the US.

Pakistan only stands to gain in terms of stability on its western border if the Taliban were able to govern effectively, accommodate other ethnic groups and establish a lasting peace, she said.

Conversely, if they are unable to do so, Afghanistan could face an uncertain and unstable future which will not be in Pakistans interest, she said.

Abdul Basit, an associate research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, said the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban is a marriage of convenience based on tactical divergences in Afghanistan.

Also read: China both worries and hopes as US departs Afghanistan

For Pakistan, it was to keep India out of Afghanistan by helping the Taliban. For the Taliban, it was to resist the US presence and eventually force it out of Afghanistan by availing itself of sanctuaries in Pakistan, he told the Post.

Beyond this marriage of convenience, the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban had its own ups and downs, disagreements and divergences, Basit said.

For instance, Islamabad was frustrated by the Talibans lack of action against the thousands of Pakistani Taliban fighters in eastern Afghanistan, he said.

At a confidential parliamentary briefing of Pakistans politicians on July 2, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed described the Taliban and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group as sides of the same coin.

Also read: Baby passed over barbed wire at Kabul airport reunited with family

Also, the analysts said both Pakistan and China will face a strong push back from the US, which may feel more liberated after withdrawing its troops as it could focus its attention more on China and the region.

The US-Pakistan ties would remain strained, with Washington asking for counterterrorism support and pressure on the Taliban, Stanford University analyst Asfandyar Mir said.

If the Taliban behave responsibly and run their government moderately, US-Pakistan relations will stay afloat without showing any improvement, Basit said, adding that if the situation in Afghanistan deteriorated, the US-Pakistan ties will nosedive.

Chinese analysts too had a similar warning for China.

Americas longest war has ended in a catastrophic failure and it has given Beijing a propaganda coup at the time of adversarial nature of bilateral ties with Washington, Wang Xiangwei, former Editor-in-Chief of the Post, wrote in his column in the newspaper.

Understandably, Chinese official media reports and commentators have been relentless in mocking the American defeat in Afghanistan, a country known as the Graveyard of Empires.

There is no doubt that the American debacle in Afghanistan has given Chinas massive propaganda machine a field day, allowing it to pour scorn on American decline, but the claims of some overseas analysts that this has given China a strategic win are premature, Wang said.

Follow live Afghanistan news updates here

From a Chinese point of view, having US troops bogged down in Afghanistan has far greater geopolitical benefits, he said.

Now the American withdrawal will not only create uncertainties and risks in regional stability and the balance of power but will also allow Washington to focus more attention and resources on countering China, he said.

US President Joe Biden made that sentiment clear in his speech this week when he said our true strategic competitors, China and Russia would love nothing more than the United States to continue to funnel billions of dollars in resources and attention into stabilising Afghanistan indefinitely.

Evidently, Beijing sees both risks and opportunities after the Taliban returns to power, Wang said.

On the one hand, Beijing has legitimate worries that Afghanistan could again become a staging ground for terrorists because of the Talibans historical links with extremists including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a group of Uygur militants blamed by China for terror attacks in Xinjiang, he said.

Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in his visit to China last month, had assured Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that the Taliban will not allow foreign fighters to operate from Afghanistan.

But Beijing remains unconvinced and Wang used that meeting and others since then to stress that the Taliban must take concrete actions to make a clean break with all terrorist forces including the ETIM, Wang Xiangwei said.

Also read: Taliban attacked ITBP contingent, soldier tells family on return from Afghanistan

Shi Yinhong, an international affairs specialist from Renmin University, said there must be some strategic benefits for the US after withdrawing from a 20-year war as Washington has made it clear that it would concentrate strategic forces against China.

I believe China is listening and watching, he told the Post.

Lu Xiang, a US affairs specialist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the Asia Pacific could be high on the agenda for the White House.

The US always wants to create a kind of discomfort for China through the issues of the South China Sea issue and Taiwan because this could divide Chinas political and diplomatic resources, he added.
In the six days since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, Afghans have negotiated a terrifying new reality after enduring 20 years of war and suicide bombings. Their world has been upended, and something as prosaic as a trip to the airport now inspires terror. Just stepping outside the front door can be jarring and disorienting.

To cope with the expected flood of Afghan refugees, the Biden administration wants to enlist commercial airlines to ferry those arriving in Gulf states from Kabul to countries willing to offer them resettlement.

UNCHR estimates that 90 per cent of the 2.6 million Afghan refugees outside of the country live in neighbouring Iran and Pakistan. Both countries also host large numbers of Afghans who left in search of better economic opportunities.

Read | Plight of Afghan asylum seekers in UK is not recent

Several other countries have openly said that they would be willing to take in refugees from the country. Heres a look at the countries admitting refugees from Afghanistan.

United States

The United States has agreed to take in over 10,000 Afghans according to reports, many of whom would be those who helped the American governments during their presence in the country.

As many as 6,000 people  including former interpreters and cultural and political advisers  were on standby to be flown out of Kabuls airport as of early Friday morning, after a days-long pause in the processing of visas for Afghans who had worked for the American military or embassy during the 20-year war, the State Department said.

Thousands more are expected to be vetted and evacuated on a daily basis after a small influx of consular officers and other diplomats. About 100,000 Afghans were seeking evacuation through a US visa program meant to provide refuge to Afghans who had worked with Americans, as well as family members, said Rebecca Heller, head of the US-based International Refugee Assistance Program.

Uganda

At the request of the United States, Uganda has agreed to temporarily take in 2,000 refugees from Afghanistan. Esther Anyakun, Ugandas state minister for relief, disaster preparedness and refugees said that the President of the African country, Museveni, has asked her to prepare for the arrival of 2,000 refugees.

Media reports had suggested that Uganda -- already home to the biggest refugee population in Africa -- had agreed to take about 2,000 refugees but this was not confirmed in the ministry statement.

"Following the events of last weekend in Afghanistan, the government of the United States of America reached out to several of its international partners including Uganda to assist in the likely event of the need to temporarily host some of the Afghans and international citizens that may be evacuated," a statement said.

United Kingdom

Britain announced a resettlement scheme for Afghans fleeing the Taliban after their return to power, offering an initial 5,000 places in the first year, rising to up to 20,000 in the long term.

"This resettlement scheme will be kept under further review for future years, with up to a total of 20,000 in the long term," the Home Office said in a statement.

The scheme is modelled on that which resettled 20,000 refugees from the Syria conflict from 2014 to this year.

London said priority would be given to those most at risk, including Afghan women, children and others forced to flee or facing threats and persecution from the hardliners, offering them a chance to remain in Britain indefinitely.

Canada

Canada would consider taking in additional Afghan refugees on behalf of the United States or other allies if asked to do so, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said on Friday.

Canada is part of a coalition of countries frantically trying to evacuate Afghan citizens who supported Western missions in Afghanistan over the years, amidst a Taliban takeover of the country that occurred in days, rather than months as expected.

The independent tribunal that assesses asylum claims in Canada has agreed to expedite Afghan refugee applications, a crucial step for asylum claimants to reunite with their families, the minister said.

Separately, last week Canada committed to resettling 20,000 Afghan refugees who have already fled the country, and on Friday Mendicino said the government was keeping "an open mind" about potentially increasing that number.

Europe

Haunted by a 2015 migration crisis fuelled by the Syrian war, European leaders desperately want to avoid another large-scale influx of refugees and migrants from Afghanistan.

Except for those who helped Western forces in the country's two-decade war, the message to Afghans considering fleeing to Europe is: If you must leave, go to neighbouring countries but don't come here.

EU officials told a meeting of interior ministers this week that the most important lesson from 2015 was not to leave Afghans to their own devices, and that without urgent humanitarian help they will start moving, according to a confidential German diplomatic memo obtained by The Associated Press.

EU Council President Charles Michel acknowledged the challenges facing Europe when he visited Madrid on Saturday to tour Spain's emergency hub for Afghan refugees.

Also Read | Pakistan took in most Afghan refugees in 2020, India at 12th place after UK

Iran and Pakistan

According to data by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for 2020, Pakistan housed the most refugees from Afghanistan, nearly 14.3 lakh, followed by Iran which took in 7.8 lakh refugees, Germany which took 1.4 lakh Afghans.

Both countries have not made clear the number of refugees they are willing to take, however, due to geographic proximity, ease of access and similarities in culture, it is likely that both countries will take in the highest number of refugees from the strife-torn state.

Prime Minister Imran Khan also said the country is unprepared for an influx, but the government is thinking up a comprehensive strategy to isolate refugees near the border.

Iran, which shares a 900-km border with the war-torn nation, plans to house refugees in three provinces, where it has set up tents. But it will emphasise repatriating once conditions improve in the country.

India

India stands at 12th place, having taken only 8,275 Afghan refugees in 2020 behind Australia and United Kingdom. United States took in 1,592 refugees in the same year.

India is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention on Refugees or the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees and hence, there is no set process to accept refugees and is decided on an ad-hoc basis.

India announced that it will issue an emergency e-visa to Afghan nationals who want to come to the country in view of the prevailing situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban captured power there.

All Afghans, irrespective of their religion, can apply for the 'e-Emergency X-Misc Visa' online and the applications will be processed in New Delhi.

Officials said since Indian missions in Afghanistan are shut, the visa can be applied online and applications will be examined and processed in New Delhi. The visa will initially be valid for six months, they said.

(With inputs from agencies)
Israel on Sunday launched antibody testing for children aged as young as three, seeking information on the number of unvaccinated youths who have developed protection against coronavirus ahead of the new school year.

Despite surging daily infections caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant, Israel's government insists it wants to avoid the hardships and developmental setbacks caused by school closures.

Israel has already begun vaccinating children aged 12 and above.

The national serological survey is focused on pupils between the ages of three and 12 who are not yet eligible for the jab, nearly 1.5 million children.

It is aimed at discovering how many children developed strong antibody protection against coronavirus after having an unrecorded or latent case, according to the education ministry.

Those children with sufficient antibodies will not be forced to quarantine when exposed to a Covid patient, a move aimed at limiting school-year disruptions.

In a statement Sunday from the Jerusalem municipality announcing Israel's "largest serological operation", Mayor Moshe Leon urged parents to bring their children for the free 15-minute test done by finger pin-prick.

The survey is being conducted jointly by the health and education ministries and by the army's Home Front command, which told AFP Sunday that its antibody testing operation had begun.

In Pics | Israel asks children above 3 and up to undergo Covid-19 antigen test

At a serological testing site in the coastal city of Netanya, Zohar was pleasantly surprised to discover that her son had been infected with Covid.

"My son got a positive result for Corona antibodies, apparently he was sick and we did not know about it," she told AFP.

"That means now that he will get a 'green pass' and be able to go to school safely," she said.

Her younger daughter, also tested on Sunday, did not have the antibodies.

A pilot programme conducted last week focused on mainly ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities found that roughly a fifth of children had developed antibodies, army radio reported Sunday.

Education ministry director general Yigal Slovik said in a statement last month that last year's school closures caused "emotional and social damage" to students.

"The lockdowns and remote learning caused a 44 percent increase in referrals for suicidal risk diagnosis," among other impacts, he said.

Israel was one of the first countries to launch a vaccination drive in mid-December via an agreement with Pfizer to obtain millions of paid vaccine doses in exchange for sharing data on their effectiveness.

The inoculation campaign was hailed as a success story that helped drastically reduce infections, but Israel is again registering thousands of daily cases.

As it launches the serological survey, Israel is also pushing forward with vaccinations, offering a third, or booster, shot to everyone over 40 while urging the unvaccinated to get the jab.

More than 5.4 million of Israel's roughly 9.3 million people have received two doses of the vaccine, while 1.2 million have had a third jab.

Israel has recorded nearly 980,000 coronavirus infections since the pandemic started early last year, and over 6,700 deaths.

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An officer of the Pakistan Army has been killed and two soldiers injured in a terrorist attack in the restive southwestern Balochistan province, the Army said on Sunday.

Captain Kashif was killed while two soldiers were injured after their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by terrorists in Balochistan's Gichik area, it said.

Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, senior military official sand people from various walks of life attended the funeral prayer of Captain Kashif, the Army said in a statement.

Resource-rich Balochistan for a long time has witnessed violence by the Taliban and Baloch nationalists, but recently there has been an increase in attacks.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives on Friday close to a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals, killing at least two children and wounding three persons, including a Chinese, in the second such attack in over a month.

Also read: Suicide bomber in Pakistan kills Chinese national in roadside attack: Chinese embassy

Last month, at least 13 people, including nine Chinese, were killed in a terrorist attack in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last month.

The bus carrying Chinese engineers and workers to the site of the under-construction Dasu Dam exploded on July 14. The bus fell into a deep ravine after the explosion in the Upper Kohistan district.
Kiev sees the soon-to-be-completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline carrying Russian gas to Europe and bypassing Ukraine as "a dangerous geopolitical weapon", President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday.

The Ukrainian leader was speaking at a joint press conference in Kiev with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has spearheaded the pipeline fiercely opposed by Russian neighbours Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states.

The $12-billion pipeline beneath the Baltic Sea is set to double Russian natural gas shipments to Germany, Europe's largest economy. It avoids Ukraine, depriving Kiev of essential gas transit fees.

"We view this project exclusively through the prism of security and consider it a dangerous geopolitical weapon of the Kremlin," Zelensky said.

He added that the main risks after its completion will be "borne by Ukraine" but that the pipeline will also be dangerous "for all of Europe".

The pipeline "will only play into the hands of the Russian Federation," he said.

For her part, Merkel said Berlin agrees with Washington that "gas must not be used as a geopolitical weapon".

"It will come down to if there is an extension to the transit contract via Ukraine -- the sooner the better," she said, referring to the expiry of Moscow's agreement with Kiev in 2024.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday described as incredibly volatile the situation at the overcrowded Kabul airport where many people have died as thousands of foreign nationals and Afghans try to flee the Talibans takeover of Afghanistan.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on Sunday, two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war.

The insurgents stormed across the country, capturing all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the US and its allies melted away.

Thousands of Afghan nationals and foreigners are fleeing the country to escape the new Taliban regime and to seek asylum in different nations, including the US and many European nations, resulting in total chaos at Kabul airport and reportedly seven fresh deaths.

Crowds have massed at the gates outside the airport. It's an incredibly volatile situation, it's an incredibly fluid situation. We've seen wrenching images of people hurt, even killed that hit you in the gut. And it's very important to make sure to the best of our ability, because it's such a volatile situation, that we do something about the crowding at the gates of the airport, and that's exactly what we're doing, Blinken told Fox News in an interview.

Read | Ashraf Ghani can return to Afghanistan: Taliban leader Khalil Haqqani

First, the more we move people out of the airport who are already in, the more we alleviate what has been overcrowding inside the airport, the more we can get people inside the airport and reduce some of the crowding at the gates. But second and most important, we're in direct contact with Americans and others to help guide them to the airport, right place, right time, to get in more safely and effectively, he said.

Defending the decision of US President Joe Biden to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, which many say was unplanned and done in haste resulting in the Taliban grabbing power, Blinken said more than two dozen countries were working with the US in moving people out of Kabul.

We've reached an agreement with about two dozen countries over four continents who are now helping or soon going to help with the transit of people out of Kabul and this is one way to make sure we have enough flight capacity to move people from those places to their ultimate destinations, he said.

We are moving them to places where we can finish processing them, finished doing security checks and that too will make things run more smoothly. It will get the flow to a point where we hope and expect that some of these scenes of overcrowding, which are so dangerous, can be alleviated, Blinken said.

In the last 24 hours, about 8,000 people on about 60 flights have evacuated from Kabul airport.

Also Read | At least 20 deaths in last week during Kabul airport evacuation effort: NATO official

About 30,000 people on military flights and on charter flights that the US helped organise have got out of the airport since the evacuation effort began at the end of July.

We've now asked through the authority that the president has airlines to help participate in moving people not (out) of Kabul, but from these third country sites where we are taking them as we finish processing them, going through security checks, Blinken said.

He said there will be plenty of time to look back to figure out who was saying what and when, and what should have happened differently.

There's going to be plenty of time to figure out exactly what happened, what might have been done differently, to learn the lessons from this chapter, and to take account of them, he said.

I got to tell you right now, I'm focused on one thing and one thing only - and that's the mission to get people out of Afghanistan, to get our people out, to get our partners out, to do it as fast as we can, to do it as effectively as we can, to do it as safely as we can, he asserted.

Follow live Afghanistan and Taliban news updates here

Blinken said the Biden administration was not avoiding accountability. This is not about avoiding accountability. In our system, thankfully, there is accountability, there always will be accountability, but there is a time and place for everything at the time and place right now is this mission, and I'm seeing people around this country rally to it. I'm seeing allies and partners around the world rally to it. That's got to be our focus, he said.

Blinken said the US went to Afghanistan 20 years ago with one mission and one purpose in mind which was to deal with the people who carried out the 9/11 attack and bring al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to justice.

He said this was accomplished a decade ago and to diminish the capacity of al-Qaeda to attack the US again from Afghanistan.

And that, to the president's point, has been successful. We got bin Laden a decade ago... Al Qaeda's capacity to do what it did on 9/11, to attack us, to attack our partners, our allies, from Afghanistan, is vastly, vastly diminished, he said.

Are there al-Qaeda members and remnants in Afghanistan? Yes, but what the president was referring to was its capacity to do what it did on 9/11, and that capacity has been very successfully diminished, he said.
Sweden's beleaguered Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said Sunday he would step down in November to allow a successor time to prepare for the country's September 2022 general election.

Lofven, who was reinstated as prime minister by parliament in early July just weeks after being ousted in a historic vote of no confidence, told a political rally he would "leave my position as party chairman at the party's congress in November and thereafter also resign as prime minister."

Lofven, 64, has served as party leader for almost 10 years and as prime minister since 2014.

"Everything has an end and I want to give my successor the best possible chances," he said.

The former welder and union leader has led a weak minority government together with the Greens Party for the past three years, struggling to find a workable coalition following inconclusive elections in September 2018.

The announcement of his resignation came nonetheless as a surprise, as Lofven had previously indicated he wanted to lead the party in the next election campaign.

But Ewa Stenberg, political commentator at Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, said it was a wise decision on his part.

"Lofven's not a good election campaigner or debater, he's not the leader the Social Democrats need in a tough election campaign where rhetoric is important," she wrote.

"Against that background, it's logical that that he hands over to someone who's better with words and who can spark enthusiasm."

It is not yet known who will succeed Lofven as party leader, though Stenberg speculated that Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson was a hot tip.

The person elected to succeed Lofven as party leader would have to be approved by parliament in order to take over as prime minister.
The Russian ambassador in Kabul says the Taliban have asked his embassy to convey their offer of a deal to a remaining pro-government holdout in northern Afghanistan.

Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov said on Saturday that a senior member of the Taliban's political leadership has asked Russia to tell fighters in the Panjshir Valley that the Taliban hope to reach a political agreement to settle the situation there.

FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES ON AFGHANISTAN, HERE

The diplomat says the Taliban claim they don't want bloodshed in the region.

The Panjshir Valley north of Kabul, a stronghold of the Northern Alliance militias that were allied with the US during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, is the only area that hasn't fallen to the Taliban.

Afghan government figures who have sought refuge there as Kabul and the rest of the country fell to the Taliban include Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who asserted on Twitter that he's now the country's rightful president, after President Ashraf Ghani fled to the United Arab Emirates.

Moscow, which fought a 10-year war in Afghanistan that ended with the Soviet troops' withdrawal in 1989, has made a diplomatic comeback as a mediator during the past years, reaching out to various Afghan factions, including the Taliban.
The Taliban said on Sunday that "hundreds" of its fighters were heading to the Panjshir Valley, one of the few parts of Afghanistan not yet controlled by the group.

Since the Taliban overran Afghanistan, flickers of resistance have begun to emerge with some ex-government troops gathering in the Panjshir, north of Kabul, long known as an anti-Taliban bastion.

"Hundreds of Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate are heading towards the state of Panjshir to control it, after local state officials refused to hand it over peacefully," the group wrote on its Arabic Twitter account.

Since the Taliban took control of the country following a lightning charge into the capital Kabul, thousands of people have made their way to Panjshir according to a spokesman for anti-Taliban forces.

Follow live Afghanistan news updates here

In Panjshir, Ahmad Massoud, the son of legendary mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud who was assassinated by Al-Qaeda two days before the September 11, 2001 attacks, has sought to assemble a force of around 9,000 people to counter the militants, the spokesman, Ali Maisam Nazary, told AFP.

Pictures taken by AFP during training exercises show dozens of recruits performing fitness routines, and a handful of armoured humvees driving across the valley northeast of Kabul.

Nazary said the group wants to push for a new system of government, but is prepared to fight if needed.

"Government forces came to Panjshir from several Afghan provinces," Massoud told Saudi Arabia's Al-Arabiya broadcaster Sunday.

"The Taliban will not last long if it continues on this path. We are ready to defend Afghanistan and we warn of a bloodshed."
Concern is mounting over freedoms in Tunisia as President Kais Saied presses ahead with a "purge" that has seen politicians, judges and businessmen arrested or banned from travel, activists say.

On July 25, Saied sacked the government and suspended parliament for one month citing powers he says were granted by the constitution, but he has yet to reveal a "roadmap" for his decisions despite repeated demands by political parties.

Saied's shock move has sparked uncertainties for Tunisia, where the Arab Spring began a decade ago, setting in motion pro-democracy revolts across the region that unseated autocratic leaders.

Tunisia, hailed as a rare democratic success story in the Middle East and North Africa, is mired in a political crisis compounded by dire economic woes and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Several politicians, businessmen and judges, as well as members of parliament -- who lost their immunity after Saied suspended the legislature -- have said they were banned from travelling abroad or put under house arrest without prior warning.

Their claims have sparked a chorus of condemnation, with critics denouncing "arbitrary" and "unjustified" measures.

But Saied offered a stiff response to his critics during a recent visit to the Tunis-Carthage International Airport.

"The freedom to travel is a constitutional right which I promise to guarantee," he said.

"But some people will have to answer to the judicial authorities before being able to travel".

Saied insists that his actions are guaranteed by Article 80 of the constitution, which stipulates that the head of state can take "exceptional measures" in case of an "imminent danger" to national security.

Constitutional law professor Salsabil Klibi believes the terms of the controversial article "are more dangerous for rights and freedoms than a state of emergency".

"It implies the suspension of rights and freedoms and other guarantees linked to them," she said.

Sana Ben Achour, a professor specialising in public law, was among many Saied critics who had accused the president of staging a "coup".

The president's measures "violate the constitution", she said.

"He holds power and, as far as he is concerned, he is the only one capable of interpreting the constitution," she said.

By doing so, he is effectively holding all power in his hands, Ben Achour told local media outlets.

But Saied, a former university professor and legal expert who had vowed to revamp the political system through his views of the law after his landslide election in 2019, has brushed aside such criticism.

"We will continue to uphold our principles within the framework of the law, and the laws allow us to take measures to protect the state," he said on Friday.

A group of 45 judges have penned a joint statement denouncing Saied's travel bans as "authoritarian drift".

They also condemned what they called "the awful and unprecedented" moves by the president's travel ban that bars judges from going abroad.

Saied's nemesis, the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party -- the largest bloc in parliament -- said one of their leaders, Anouar Maarouf, was among those held under house arrest.

The opposition Democratic Current party also accused authorities of barring one of its deputies from travelling to France.

Like Ennahdha, the party said the move was arbitrary and did not rest on any "judicial decision".

On Friday night, the former head of Tunisia's anti-corruption body, Chawki Tabib, said he had been ordered under house arrest.

A former head of Tunisia's bar association, Tabib said in a Facebook post that the move was "a flagrant violation" of his rights as guaranteed by the constitution.

Former human rights and civil society minister Kamel Jendoubi agreed, saying Saied cannot go on "violating human rights with impunity".

"Removing Ennahdha and its allies from power does not entitle Saied to feel that he is free" to act, he said in an online statement Saturday.

I Watch, a Tunisian non-government group that battles corruption, said at least 14 members of parliament face legal proceedings or have been sentenced over a range of crimes.

Among the MPs is Yassine Ayari, who was found guilty by a military court in 2018 of criticising the army, and Faycal Tebbini, sentenced in a libel case.

Media outlets have also been targeted since Saied's shock July measures, including Al Jazeera television.

The Qatari broadcaster was shut by police in the Tunisian capital and the keys to the premises confiscated. No reason was given for the closure.

With the deadline on his month-long suspension of parliament looming, Saied is due to address the nation in the coming days.

According to Ben Achour, he is expected to extend this suspension.

"And this can go on for years," she said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that the conflict in Afghanistan directly affects the security situation in Russia, Russian news agencies reported.

Putin criticised an idea of some Western countries to send refugees from Afghanistan to neighbouring Central Asian countries while their visas to the United States and Europe are being processed.

Follow live Afghanistan news updates here

He said Russia does not want Afghanistan militants arriving under cover of refugees, RIA news agency quoted him as saying.
India on Sunday brought back nearly 400 people, including 329 of its nationals and two Afghan lawmakers, in three different flights as part of its efforts to evacuate its citizens from Kabul in the backdrop of the deteriorating situation in the city after its takeover by the Taliban.

A total of 168 people including 107 Indians and 23 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, were flown from Kabul to the Hindon airbase near Delhi in a C-17 heavy-lift military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Another group of 87 Indians and two Nepalese nationals were brought back in a special Air India flight from Dushanbe, a day after they were evacuated to the Tajikistan capital in an IAF aircraft, officials said.

Evacuation continues!

IAF special repatriation flight with 168 passengers onboard, including 107 Indian nationals, is on its way to Delhi from Kabul. pic.twitter.com/ysACxClVdX  Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) August 22, 2021

Read | Americas Afghan war: A defeat foretold?

Separately, a group of 135 Indians, who were evacuated from Kabul to Doha in the last few days by the US and NATO aircraft, were flown back from Doha to Delhi on a special flight, they said.

India carried out the evacuation missions in coordination with the US, Qatar, Tajikistan and several other friendly countries.

The group of 168 people, who were evacuated from Kabul, included Afghan lawmakers Anarkali Honaryar and Narender Singh Khalsa and their families, people familiar with the evacuation mission said.

"Evacuation continues! IAF special repatriation flight with 168 passengers on board, including 107 Indian nationals, is on its way to Delhi from Kabul," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted hours before the plane landed at Hindon.

It is learnt that the Indians evacuated to Doha from Kabul were employees of a number of foreign companies that were operating in Afghanistan.

"Bringing Indians home from Afghanistan! AI 1956 carrying 87 Indians departs from Tajikistan for New Delhi. Two Nepalese nationals also evacuated.Assisted and supported by our Embassy @IndEmbDushanbe. More evacuation flights to follow," Bagchi tweeted at around 1:20 am.

India evacuated 200 people including the Indian envoy and other staffers of its embassy in Kabul in two C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft of the IAF after the Taliban seized control of Kabul.

The first evacuation flight brought back over 40 people, mostly staffers at the Indian embassy, on Monday last.

The second C-17 aircraft evacuated around 150 people including Indian diplomats, officials, security personnel and some stranded Indians from Kabul on Tuesday.

The passengers were earlier evacuated from Kabul by an IAF aircraft. pic.twitter.com/03ZBOZEpvQ  Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) August 21, 2021

The Taliban swept across Afghanistan this month, seizing control of almost all key towns and cities including Kabul in the backdrop of the withdrawal of the US forces.

Following the evacuation, the MEA said the focus now would be to ensure the safe return of all Indian nationals from the Afghan capital.

The MEA said the immediate priority for the government is to obtain accurate information about all Indian nationals currently staying in Afghanistan.

It also requested the Indians as well as their employers to urgently share the relevant details with the special Afghanistan cell.

According to a rough estimate last week, the number of Indians stranded in Afghanistan could be around 400 and India has been looking at ways to evacuate them including by coordinating with the US and other friendly countries.
Within months of becoming the Chief Justice of India, Justice N V Ramana looks firmly in the saddle, in the backdrop of judicial and administrative decisions taken by him.

He led from the front to end the 21-month impasse in the Supreme Court Collegium. Taking the helm from Justice S A Bobde, Justice Ramana created a record of sorts by sending nine names for appointment in the top court.

If those names are approved by the government, it would end the deadlock in the Collegium in view of reported insistence by Justice R F Nariman to include the name of Justice Akil Kureshi, Chief Justice of Tripura High Court in the list of elevation of judges.

Read | 'Very unfortunate': CJI N V Ramana upset with reports on Supreme Court judges' appointments

Though eyebrows were raised over the absence of Justice Kureshis name, no formal protest has been launched so far. Justice Kureshi was in the news as the Gujarat High Court judge for remanding current Home Minister Amit Shah to the CBI custody in 2010 in the fake encounter case.

In a strategic move, legal experts feel, Justice Ramana waited for Justice Nariman to retire on August 12 before convening the Collegium meeting to avoid the prolonging of the stalemate on appointments. The non-controversial list of judges is likely to get the Centres nod.

After taking the charge as the CJI, Justice Ramana agreed to a long-pending demand of the Supreme Court Bar Association to ensure the nomination of lawyers practising in the SC for appointment as High Court judges, by allowing the Bar body to form a search committee. He assured the Association of convincing the Chief Justices of the High Courts to include the SC lawyers for consideration for appointment as judges.

The CJI has taken several remarkable decisions. Presiding over a bench, he decided to examine a bunch of petitions for an independent probe into controversy surrounding the alleged use of Pegasus spyware to snoop on activists, journalists, politicians and members of the judiciarya case that is likely to put the Centre on the dock.

Justice Ramana, who has been hearing a case for speeding up the trial against former and sitting MPs and MLAs, ordered that no case against them can be withdrawn without a nod from the High Court.

In his Independence Day speech, the CJI, without reading from written text, showed his concern over the lack of debate in Parliament on the passage of laws. A day later, when a case came up before a bench led by him, Justice Ramana put the Union government on the mat for passing Tribunal Reforms Act without any debate in Parliament and with provisions already struck down by the top court.

For all these reasons, former Supreme Court judge, Justice V Gopala Gowda is all praise for him.

Read | Pay heed to CJIs criticism

So far, the tenure of Justice Ramana as the CJI has been excellent. His decisions have been very courageous. He is reviving the lost glory, dignity, majesty and independence of the Supreme Court. It is not only my view but feelings of cross-sections of society. This is the impression he has created over four months, Justice Gowda said.

Justice Ramanas speeches and observations are very relevant. He has dealt with cases listed before him in a befitting way and he should go on like this, the former judge added.

SCBA president Vikas Singh echoed similar sentiments. So far his term has been encouraging. He is trying to put the Institution back on track and I hope he succeeds.

Asked about the Collegium recommendations, he said, I definitely have my reservations but for that I cant blame Justice Ramana alone as

there are four other judges who have also agreed on the names. Really speaking, I cant say it is his recommendations.

Activists, however, feel the CJI has to speed up the listing of cases related to the validity of farms laws, the Citizenship Amendment Act, and Article 370, to restore the real faith of the people in the top court.

Justice Ramana, who had a brief stint as a journalist, revived the public relation office of the top court by ensuring the availability of text of speeches, a practice, hitherto, rarely observed among judges.

He ensured seamless access of courts to scribes by ordering the creation of a Mobile App for watching the proceedings conducted in virtual mode since March 2020.
The Assam government alleged on Sunday that Mizoram officials entered its territory in Hailakandi and started constructing a bridge, in a fresh escalation between the two Northeastern states.

The incident took place on Friday when a few workers from Mizoram were trying to construct a bridge at Kachurthal in the Ramnathpur police station area, Hailakandi's Superintendent of Police Gaurav Upadhyay told PTI.

"The Officer In-Charge (OC) of Ramnathpur police station and his patrolling team immediately reached the spot and stopped the construction work, calling it a trespass by Mizoram as they had no authority to build a bridge on the Assam side," he said.

Upadhyay alleged that around 40-50 security personnel from Mizoram reached the bridge site on Saturday and few of them crossed to the Assam side "in complete violation of the joint statement issued by both states on August 5 to maintain peace in the border area".

The local police team from Assam urged the Mizoram security personnel to leave the Assam land, but they refused to do so, he alleged.

Also Read | Mizoram says case filed against Assam Police for 'theft' of bridge construction materials

"In order to assert the position of Assam and to ask Mizoram forces to retreat from the Assam side of the bridge, a party of around 200 Assam Police personnel and commandos under my leadership and other senior officials reached Kachurthal on Sunday morning," Upadhyay said.

He, however, stated that being a responsible force, the Assam Police did not confront and gave the respective civil administrations a chance to amicably resolve the matter by stopping the construction on the unauthorised bridge and remove the force of Mizoram.

"The allegation of any theft by a disciplined force like Assam Police is absolutely concocted, baseless, malafide and devoid of any facts and is an attempt by Mizoram administration to divert the attention from main issue, that is illegal construction by Mizoram authorities on Assam soil," Upadhyay asserted.

The Mizoram government said that it has filed a case against personnel of the Assam Police for allegedly "stealing" construction materials from the bridge site, which it claimed to be in its territory.

Mizoram's Kolasib deputy commissioner H Lalthlangliana told PTI that personnel of the Assam Police entered the state's territory at Zophai near Bairabi town and allegedly stole some construction materials, including iron rods, from the bridge construction site on Friday.
A sense of relief and gratitude was palpable among the evacuees from Afghanistan as they landed at Ghaziabad's Hindon airbase on Sunday morning, after days of uncertainty following Kabul's fall to the Taliban.

A total of 168 people, including 107 Indians and 23 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, were flown from Kabul to the Hindon airbase in a C-17 heavy-lift military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The group included Afghan lawmakers Anarkali Honaryar and Narender Singh Khalsa and their families, people familiar with the evacuation mission said.

Terming India his "second home", Khalsa narrated his horror story which unfolded as their vehicle was separated from a convoy of those being taken to the Kabul airport for rescue.

"They (Taliban) separated us from others while going to Kabul airport yesterday (Saturday) as were are Afghan nationals. We fled from there because small children were with us," he told reporters at Hindon.

The lawmaker, a resident of Kabul, expressed hopes that he will manage to go back to his country after it rebuilds itself.

"India is our second home. We have been living there since generations. We pray to God that Afghanistan is rebuilt, and we can go back there to tend to our gurdwaras and temples and serve the people," Khalsa added.

Also Read | At least 20 deaths in last week during Kabul airport evacuation effort: NATO official

Explaining the ground situation in Afghanistan and its new rulers, Khalsa said, "The Taliban is not one group. There are 10-12 sections. It is hard to find who is a talib and who is not."

Honaryar, a member of the Upper House of Afghan Parliament, in a video message, said "I thank the government of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Air Force for lifting us from Kabul and saving my life."

All the evacuees arriving at Hindon and the IGI airport in the national capital underwent RP-PCR tests, officials said.

Alladad Qureshi, an Afghan national whose wife hails from Kashmir, expressed a sense of relief as he interacted with media persons at Hindon.

"I have two daughters. We thank the government of India, Modiji, MEA and air force for saving us," he said.

Manik Mandal, a young jeweller who had gone to Afghanistan six months ago in search of livelihood, smiled as he said, "We faced a lot of problems in Kabul, but our government saved us."

India on Sunday brought back nearly 400 people, including 329 of its nationals, in three different flights as part of its efforts to evacuate its citizens from Kabul against the backdrop of a deteriorating situation in the city after its takeover by the Taliban.

Another group of 87 Indians and two Nepalese nationals were brought back in a special Air India flight from Dushanbe, a day after they were evacuated to the Tajikistan capital in an IAF aircraft, the officials said.

Separately, 135 Indians evacuated from Kabul to Doha in the last few days by US and NATO aircraft were flown back to Delhi on a special flight, they said.
Indian naval ship Shakti carrying 100 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen reached Sri Lanka on Sunday to help the island nation combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

The countrys ports minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena was at the port here to receive the cargo and hailed Indias assistance to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

The deployment of the Indian naval vessel for the delivery of oxygen was in response to a personal request for assistance by Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for an urgent supply of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO), the Indian High Commission here said.

Camaraderie and coordination between Navies and various other stakeholders in India and Sri Lanka were on display as Sri Lankan Naval Vessel Shakthi with 40 tonnes of LMO on board also commenced its journey from Chennai to Colombo around the same time as INS Shakti.

It was a rare instance wherein two Shakti vessels commenced their journey from two different ports in India to the same destination almost at the same time for a common purpose, it said.

Also Read | Sri Lanka announces lockdown as coronavirus cases surge; president to address nation

Indias assistance to Sri Lanka during the pandemic has been varied and need-based in nature. Close to 26 tonnes of essential medical supplies were gifted in April-May 2020. Currency swap of $400 million was provided in July 2020.

The first consignment of vaccines, which was donated by India in January 2021, enabled Sri Lanka to roll out their vaccination programme ahead of the schedule, the Indian High Commission said.

Sri Lanka is currently experiencing a rapid rise in infections.

The death toll exceeded 7,000 with nearly 200 fatalities, the health authorities said on Sunday.

There has been a 30 per cent increase in the demand of oxygen to handle the rapid rise in the number of fresh patients, according to officials.
The next edition of the Malabar naval exercise involving the Quad countries is set to commence from August 26-29 off the coast of Guam for which two Indian warships INS Shivalik and INS Kadmatt reached the island in the western Pacific.

With participation from the US Navy, Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force and Royal Australian Navy, the high-tempo exercises would involve intense wargaming by destroyers', frigates, corvettes, submarines, helicopters and long-range maritime patrol aircraft of the participating navies.

Complex surface, sub-surface and air operations including live weapon firing drills, anti-surface, anti-air and anti-submarine warfare drills, joint manoeuvres and tactical exercises will be conducted during the exercise, said an Indian Navy spokesperson.

The Malabar series of exercises began in 1992 as a bilateral drill between the Indian and US Navy but grew in its stature over the years involving Japanese and Australian navies to turn into a strategic convergence of the countries aligning against China. The latest entrant was Royal Australian Navy who joined last year completing the Quad.

To be conducted at sea, the exercise will provide an opportunity for common minded navies to enhance interoperability, gain from best practices and develop a common understanding of procedures for maritime security operations.

As part of the Exercise, Vice Admiral AB Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command will have operational discussions with Rear Admiral Leonard "Butch" Dollaga, Commander, CTF-74 -- a part of the 7th Fleet -- focussing on developing an action plan and coordinated operations in the maritime domain.

Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, Rear Admiral Tarun Sobti would embark on board INS Shivalik during the conduct of sea phase.

The participating Indian ships are the latest indigenously designed and built, multi-role guided missile stealth frigate and anti-submarine corvette respectively. They are part of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam. The two ships are equipped with a versatile array of weapons and sensors and can carry multi-role helicopters.

INS Shivalik is commanded by Captain Kapil Mehta whilst INS Kadmatt is commanded by Commander RK Maharana.
A ban under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act may be imposed on both factions of the secessionist conglomerate Hurriyat Conference which has been spearheading the separatist movement in Jammu and Kashmir for over two decades, officials said.

They said a recent probe into the granting of MBBS seats to Kashmiri students by institutions in Pakistan indicates that the money collected from aspirants by some organisations which were part of the Hurriyat Conference conglomerate was being used for funding terror organisations in the union territory.

The officials said both the factions of the Hurriyat are likely to be banned under Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or the UAPA, under which "if the Central Government is of opinion that any association is, or has become, an unlawful association, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare such association to be unlawful."

They said the proposal was mooted in accordance with the Centre's policy of zero tolerance against terrorism.

Read | UAPA in its present form poses serious threat to citizens freedom, democracy: 108 ex-bureaucrats

The Hurriyat Conference came into existence in 1993 with 26 groups, including some pro-Pakistan and banned outfits such as the Jamaat-e-Islami, JKLF and the Dukhtaran-e-Millat. It also included the People's Conference and the Awami Action Committee headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.

The separatist conglomerate broke into two factions in 2005 with the moderate group being led by the Mirwaiz and the hard-line headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

So far, the Centre has banned the Jamaat-e-Islami and the JKLF under the UAPA. The ban was imposed in 2019.

The officials said a probe into funding of terror groups indicated alleged involvement of secessionist and separatist leaders, including the members and cadres of the Hurriyat Conference who have been acting in connivance with active militants of proscribed terrorist organisations Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

The cadres raised funds in the country and from abroad through various illegal channels, including hawala, for funding separatist and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir, they said.

The funds collected were used for causing disruption in the Kashmir Valley by way of pelting stones on security forces, systematically burning schools, damaging public property and waging war against India as part of a criminal conspiracy, they claimed.

Supporting the case for banning the two factions of the Hurriyat Conference under the UAPA, the officials cited several cases related to terror funding, including the one being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in which several of the conglomerate's cadres were arrested and jailed.

Many of the second-rung cadres of both the factions are in jail since 2017, they said.

Among those in jail are Altaf Ahmed Shah, the son-in-law of Geelani; businessman Zahoor Ahmed Watali; Geelani's close aide Ayaz Akbar, who is also the spokesperson of the hardline separatist organisation Tehreek-e-Hurriyat; Peer Saifullah; Shahid-ul-Islam, spokesperson of the moderate Hurriyat Conference; Mehrajuddin Kalwal; Nayeem Khan; and Farooq Ahmed Dar alias 'Bitta Karate'.

Read | UAPA, sedition law misused to stifle dissent, needed to be repealed, say former SC judges

Later, JKLF chief Yaseen Malik, DeM head Asiya Andrabi and pro-Pakistan separatist Masarat Alam were also named in a supplementary charge sheet in a case of terror financing.

Another case which is likely to be cited for banning the two Hurriyat Conference factions is the one against PDP youth leader Waheed-ur-Rahman Parra, who is alleged to have paid Rs 5 crore to the son-in-law of Geelani for keeping Kashmir in turmoil after the death of Hizbul Mujahideen terror commander Burhan Wani in 2016, the officials said.

The NIA has alleged that after the death of Wani, who was killed in an encounter with the Army in July 2016, Parra got in touch with Altaf Ahmad Shah, alias Altaf Fantoosh, and asked him to ensure that the Valley was kept on the boil with widespread unrest and stone pelting.

Also, the Counter Intelligence (Kashmir), a branch of CID department of Jammu and Kashmir Police, registered a case in July last year following information that several unscrupulous persons, including some Hurriyat leaders, were hand in glove with some educational consultancies and are selling Pakistan-based MBBS seats and admission in other professional courses in various colleges and universities.

At least four persons, including Mohammad Akbar Bhat alias Zaffar Bhat, self-styled chairman of Salvation Movement which is part of moderate Hurriyat Conference, were arrested in this case.

It is alleged that the constituents of Hurriyat Conference were "selling" MBBS seats in Pakistan to Kashmiri students and using the money collected, at least partly, to support and fund terrorism.

During the probe, it had surfaced that individual Hurriyat leaders had their quota of seats which were sold to people desiring to obtain MBBS and other professional degrees in one way or the other, the officials said.

The officials said evidence showed that the money was "put into channels that ended up in supporting programmes and projects pertaining to terrorism and separatism like payment for organising stone pelting."

Citing investigation, the officials said that average cost of an MBBS seat in Pakistan was anything between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 12 lakh. In some cases, the fee was brought down on the intervention of Hurriyat leaders. Depending upon the political heft of the Hurriyat leader who intervened, concessions were extended to aspiring students, the officials said.
On a day when the entire country is celebrating 'Raksha Bandhan', there are some villages in the state where the festival is considered taboo for various reasons.

In Satha Chaurasi, a cluster of about 60 villages in Hapur district, people have not celebrated Raksha Bandhan in the traditional manner for almost four and a half centuries.

Women in this village do not tie 'rakhi' on their brothers' wrist but tie it on wooden sticks instead.

Majority of the residents here claim to be the 17th generation of Maharana Pratap, the Hindu Rajput king known for his valour.

"In 1576 during the battle of Haldighati, all men were on the battlefield and could not be present for 'Raksha Bandhan'.

The women decided to tie 'rakhis' to wooden sticks as a symbol and that tradition has continued till date," said Raghuvir Singh, a local resident.

The local people call this 'Chhadi Puja' and a local fair is also organised on the occasion.

Read | Raksha Bandhan: The story of Rani Karnawati and Emperor Humayun

In another village Surana in Meerut, women do not celebrate 'Raksha Bandhan' because of a 'curse'.

"In the late 12th century, on the day of the festival, Muhammad Ghori had attacked the village and killed every resident, except a woman and her two sons who were not present there. Later, when the residents tried to celebrate the festival, a village boy got crippled. The incident was seen as a curse, and ever since, the festival has not been celebrated here," said Umesh Tyagi, a local teacher.

Sukesh Yadav, another resident of the village, said, "A woman of Chabbaiya gotra was saved as on that day she was not present in the village. Later, her sons Lakhan and Choonda returned and resettled the village. They were accompanied by 100 Ranas. Even today the population of the village comprises 50 per cent Chabbaiya Yadavas. The name of the village was also rechristened as Sohrana (100 Ranas) that was later twisted to become Surana village."

In Bainipur Chak village of Sambhal district in Uttar Pradesh, 'Raksha Bandhan' is not celebrated for a different reason.

The people here believe that if their sisters demand property as a gift, they will have to part with it. The village has not celebrated Raksha Bandhan for almost 300 years now because of this fear.

The local people explain the reason behind this belief.

There was a local zamindar who did not have any daughters. His sons started getting 'rakhi' tied from girls of other castes and one year, one of the girls demanded his 'zamindari'.

Also Read | Tagore's message of communal harmony with a Rakhi

The family left the village after handing over the zamindari of the village to the girl who belonged to another caste and honouring the sanctity of the festival.

Since then, the people of Bakia gotra do not celebrate Rakhi.

Meanwhile, some villages in Gunnaur in Sambhal also do not celebrate the festival.

"About two decades ago, a sister had tied a rakhi to her brother and the brother died a few hours later. The tradition was stopped for a few years but when it was restarted, there was an accident on Raksha Bandhan and several men died. After this, the local people felt that the festival was cursed and did not celebrate it," said Rampher Pandey, a local resident.

Similar incidents have been reported from Bhikhampur Jagat Purwa village in Gonda district and people have stopped celebrating Raksha Bandhan.

"Whenever we have celebrated this festival, something untoward has happened so we have stopped celebrating Raksha Bandhan," said a local teacher Surya Kumar Mishra.

Villagers believe that if a child is born on Raksha Bandhan day, the 'curse' will be lifted.
The Supreme Court has sought a report from Ajmer's TADA court as to why charges could not be framed for about 10 years against a Lucknow resident arrested in a case linked to serial blasts in Rajdhani and other trains on the first anniversary of Babri mosque demolition in 1993.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah took a grim view of the situation as petitioner Hameer Ui Uddin alias Hamid alias Hamiduddin contended that the speedy trial is a fundamental right implicit in the guarantee of life and personal liberty enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Advocates Shoeb Alam and Farrukh Rasheed, appearing for the petitioner, sought bail for their client saying he has remained confined in jail since March 18, 2010 and the trial had not yet commenced in the case. They challenged the validity of the Special Court's order of March 27, 2019, refusing him the relief.

Taking their plea into consideration, the bench said, "The Special Judge, Designated Court, Ajmer, Rajasthan is directed to submit a report to this court, within a period of two weeks on the status of TADA Special Case. The report shall clarify why charges have not been framed."

To facilitate the submission of the report expeditiously, the bench requested the Supreme Court's Registrar (Judicial) to communicate a copy of the order to the Special Judge, Designated Court, Ajmer, Rajasthan directly as well as through the Registrar (Judicial) of the High Court of Rajasthan.

During the hearing, the Rajasthan government, for its part, submitted that after preliminary investigation, the case was transferred to the CBI on January 4, 1994.

The CBI, which registered the FIR under the provisions of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, the Explosives Act and the IPC, filed a charge sheet against the petitioner on August 25, 1994.

The petitioner-accused, however, remained absconding for 15 years before his arrest by the Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh police in Lucknow in 2010.

According to the prosecution, on the intervening night of December 5-6, 1993, serial bomb blasts took place in Rajdhani Express, Flying Queen Express, and AP Express, causing the death of two passengers and injuries to 22 others.

Five separate cases, registered by GRP Kota, Valsad, Kanpur, Allahabad, Malkajgiri, were clubbed together after the CBI took over the probe, on the ground that bomb blasts in those prestigious trains were the outcome of a single conspiracy.

The CBI claimed the petitioner-accused carried the bomb devices and explosives to Kanpur on December 5, 1993 along with co-accused M Jamal Alvi and Irfan Ahmed and stayed in a hotel with fictitious names of Ram Kumar and Ramesh.
Narender Singh Khalsa won a seat in Wolesi Jirga or the lower House of Parliament in Afghanistan in January 2019  just six months after his father Awtar Singh Khalsa and 10 other Afghan Sikhs had been killed in a terror attack. His win in parliamentary elections was hailed as one of the many small steps democracy took in Afghanistan over the past 20 years.

But as the Talibans imminent return to power suddenly put in peril all the gains Afghanistan made in its struggle against the lethal cocktail of fanaticism, extremism and terrorism, Narender Singh and his family joined over 167 others to board a military aircraft at the chaotic and overcrowded Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul and flew out to India.

Another group of 146 evacuees were flown to Doha from Kabul and they are likely to be flown to New Delhi by Monday morning.

Everything is finished in Afghanistan, said Narender, as he broke down, after landing at the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Hindon near Delhi early on Sunday. We are back to square one now.

Also in tears was Anarkali Kour Honaryar. Its not easy to leave ones own country, said the member of the Meshrano Jirga or the upper House of the National Assembly of Afghanistan.

Anarkali has been a passionate participant in democracys struggle over the past two decades to regain the lost ground in Afghanistan. She was a member of the Loya Jirga or the grand assembly that appointed the interim government led by Hamid Karzai after the Taliban was ousted from power in 2001. She was also a member of the committee that drafted the new constitution of Afghanistan.

Also Read | Ashraf Ghani can return to Afghanistan: Taliban leader Khalil Haqqani

She had scripted history when she entered the Meshrano Jirga as the first non-Muslim member of Afghan Parliament in 2011. She saw the Talibans atrocities on women when it ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001. That was why she was not convinced when the leaders of the militant organization promised to pursue a different policy and respect the rights of women when they would return to power. There is no guarantee at all, said the dentist-turned-human-rights-activist, who, along with her ailing mother, father and siblings, left Kabul onboard the Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft early on Sunday. The situation is now too bad in Afghanistan.

The IAF aircraft evacuated several Afghan Sikh and Hindu families, along with 107 Indians. The youngest of the evacuees was an infant girl, Iknoor Singh.

The Taliban militants had detained some of the evacuees when they had reached close to the airport in Kabul on Saturday. They had been released later though.

I still cannot believe I could finally arrive in India, said Anarkali, as she thanked the Government of India and the IAF for evacuating her and her family. I have seen (such evacuations) in Hollywood and Bollywood films, but never thought it could really happen.

Another Air India aircraft on Sunday brought to New Delhi 87 evacuees, who were earlier flown to Dushanbe by an IAF aircraft from Kabul.

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Rakhi, or Raksha Bandhan, symbolises love and unity between a girl and her brother, as she ties an amulet on her wrist. But 114 years ago, Rabindranath Tagore used the sacred thread of Rakhi to conjoin two lands divided by the then Imperial British administration, a stroke that carried with it the burden of political strategy.

The Bengal Presidency, as the region was known, comprised of Bengal with modern-day Bihar, parts of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, and Assam and was the largest province with a population of 78.5 million. Bengal was the furnace of India's independence movement and its huge geographical area made life difficult for the British administration, which is why they brought in the infamous policy of divide and rule. Initially, they planned to divide just based on language, but then Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, decided to create a new region for the Muslim population.

The orders were passed in August 1905 and came into effect on October 16. It resulted in a great uproar in the Bengali society, with a visible Hindu-Muslim rift. Muslim leaders, who initially thought the partition disadvantageous, gave their assent after the Muslim majority province of Eastern Bengal and Assam were created. The Hindu protest against the partition was seen as interference in a Muslim province. While the Hindu Bengali leaders feared that they would be reduced to a minority in Muslim-dominated regions, Muslim Bengali leaders saw that as an opportunity to have their separate land and create an independent identity.

When the British government trying to divide Bengal and the Hindu-Muslim unity, Rabindranath Tagore appeared as the beacon of peace. Always a visionary, the bard decided to use the occasion of Raksha Bandhan which coincided with the partition as a weapon against the prevalent loathing in a society.

In the month of Shravan, the 'Kobiguru' (as he is affectionately called in Bengali) gave a clarion call to the two communities, Hindus and Muslims, to tie Rakhi on each others hand. The act sent out a message of unity and brotherhood laced with defiance against the British order.

Tagore was by then was already a prominent figure in the Bengali society (he would win the Nobel Prize in 1913), and hundreds from both communities responded to his call. The streets of Kolkata, Dhaka, Barishal, Chittagong, Rangpur, Sylhet were thronged with enthusiastic people tying rakhi on each other's hands. Though the move failed to deter the British administration, it shed new light on Raksha Bandhan.

Fresh protests arose that refused to die down, resulting in the unification of Bengal when King George announced in December 1911 that eastern Bengal would be assimilated into the Bengal Presidency. Bengali-dominated districts were once again unified and Assam, Bihar, and Orissa were separated..
Kalyan Singh might have been a Hindutva icon, under whose watch the Babri Masjid was demolished, but some Muslims in and around his native village in Aligarh district remember the veteran BJP leader for his other qualities.

The two-time Uttar Pradesh chief minister died in Lucknow on Saturday evening following a prolonged illness. He is to be cremated at Rajghat in Narora near here on Monday with full state honour.

Babuji enjoyed deep love and respect from Muslims too here, said Haider Ali Asad, referring to Singh as Babuji as what the veteran leader was known.

Asad, who belongs to a prominent family of Pindrawal near neighbouring Atrauli, also recalled an incident involving Singhs prompt help and assurance to Muslims near his village during the simmering communal tension in 1991 over the Ayodhya dispute.

Also read: Kalyan Singh, the man who showed BJP the 'Hindutva' way

Babu Ji had just become the chief minister and was on a visit to his village. As he was entering Madhuli village, he noticed some fear-stricken Muslim families migrating from the village, said Asad, a former AMU Students Union leader.

He immediately called those families and assured them of complete safety and security in their village, urging them not to leave their village, said Asad, also a long-time associate of Singh and a key activist of his short-lived political outfit formed in 2000.

The then chief minister also called the local police officials immediately and warned them that they would be personally held accountable if any harm was done to the Muslim families, he added.

He also cautioned the families not to move out of their village till the tension ended, he said, adding it was not an isolated incident.

"There are several Muslim families who stay in the neighbourhood of Singhs bungalow in the Civil Lines area in Aligarh, Asad said.

"Babu Ji always made it a point to have cordial relations with all these families, he added.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Javed Sayed, a prominent Aligarh-based businessman and grandson of the erstwhile Nawab of Charri.

"In 1991, a prime property belonging to our family in Bulandshshar was being illegally confiscated by some local officials. When I and my father met Babu Ji over the issue, he immediately ordered a probe and assured us that no injustice would be done, said Sayed.

I can never forget how promptly the justice was meted out to us, he said.

Singh who was elected to the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly nine times since 1967, is credited with pitchforking the saffron party in the crucial state.
Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court imposed penalties, Rs 17 lakh in all, on nine political parties, holding them guilty of contempt. According to the court, two national parties were in total violation of the earlier orders of its Constitution Bench that required them to publicly disclose the reasons for selecting individuals accused of serious crimes as electoral candidates. In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, seven other national and regional parties had also not only fielded men wanted in crimes like murder, attempt to murder, rape, rioting, kidnapping, using illegal fire arms and explosives, extortion, theft and cheating but also explained away their choice claiming that those police cases were either politically motivated or not serious in nature. Perhaps our understanding of heinous crimes needs to align now with such liberal views of those who seek to represent us as lawmakers.

While penalising these political parties, the court agonised over Parliaments failure to pass a law to disqualify suspects of serious crimes from contesting elections, despite its repeated recommendations, as well those from the central governments own Law Commission, to do so.

Not only legislatures, where political parties often look after their self-interests very energetically, to the detriment of the larger public interest, but the executive also defers to their desire to be opaque and unaccountable to the people by instituting deceptive measures couched in the language of transparency. For example, in 2017, the central government announced Electoral Bonds (EBs) as a mode of ensuring unlimited funding for political parties from individuals, desi corporates and desi subsidiaries of foreign companies. Donor identity, however, is guarded closely, as if it were a matter of national security. The challenge to the legality of this manner of making political donations -- unparalleled anywhere else in the world -- is languishing in the Supreme Court since 2018.

That is not all, government records of the decision-making process to float Electoral Bonds are also sarkari secrets. My RTI appeal on this issue has been pending since January 2018. In another case, the SBI with its State-guaranteed monopoly over the sale and redemption of these bonds, is resisting public disclosure of those transactions by claiming customer confidentiality. Next, the Income Tax Department has refused to reveal the income tax returns of political parties claiming -- believe it or not -- personal privacy.

Political parties, it seems, are now entitled to privacy just like individuals, even though the Central Information Commission ruled 13 years ago that these are public documents.

This is not how political party finances are treated in other countries. Take the example of the Pacific island of Fiji. Since 2013, a special law is in place to regulate political parties, their finances and activities. It empowers citizens to walk into the head office or the district office of any political party and demand inspection of their records.

On the other side of the globe, South Africa, earlier this year, brought into force a law to regulate political party funding. Political donations are not only capped, source-wise, but parties are also required to regularly publish their income and expenditure details through the Electoral Commission. Further, South Africa simultaneously amended its RTI law (locally known as PAIA) to require all political parties to proactively disclose their funding sources to the people. Additionally, any person can demand access to their records by submitting a formal PAIA application to them directly. The public scandal involving the controversial Gupta brothers, who are said to have bribed their way into the upper ranks of the ruling African National Congress, is often cited as a major push factor for these reform measures.

Nepal, which we take seriously only when the government of the day leans towards Beijing, has covered political parties squarely under its RTI Act, since 2007.

I have chosen only these examples, out of several, because there are many amongst us who are acutely allergic to all ideas foreign, unless they are transformed into top-brand mobile phones, laptops, automobiles, TV sets, air-conditioners, refrigerators or bullet trains that can be brandished as symbols of their status. Some 38% of Fijis population is of Indian origin, as is the very accomplished 2.5% of South Africas. According to official statistics, more than 80% of Nepals population is Hindu. If these countries with large Indian populations can take resolute steps toward making political parties transparent and accountable during and between elections, why cant we expect and do the same in India from our Vishwaguru rulers?
Seven people have safely returned to Karnataka from Afghanistan, after the Taliban takeover of that country, authorities said on Sunday.

According to officials, of the seven people who returned, five are from Mangaluru and one each from Ballari and Bengaluru.

Two people are still stranded in Kabul airport, they added.
Alaya F is 'ready for Freddy', gets a sweet welcome from Kartik Aaryan as she joins the team

Actor Alaya F recently confirmed that she has joined the cast of the upcoming Kartik Aaryan-starrer 'Freddy'.

The 'Jawaani Jaaneman' actor took to her Instagram handle to share the news.

She posted a picture of herself holding the movie's clapperboard with a caption that reads, "Ready for Freddy! Sooooo happy to be on board with the most wonderful team!"

Lead actor Kartik Aaryan also welcomed his co-star on board for the movie.

"Welcome @alayaf From Freddy :)," Kartik wrote in the caption with a monochrome picture featuring Alaya cutting a cake on the film sets.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by ALAYA F (@alayaf)

'Freddy' went on floors on August 1 in Mumbai. Kartik announced the news on his Instagram Story and shared a picture from the sets.

The forthcoming film is being helmed by Shashanka Ghosh and is produced by Ekta Kapoor (Balaji Telefilms) and Jay Shewakramani (Northern Lights Films).

The romantic thriller is said to be packed with unpredictable twists and sharp turns. The characters in the movie are set to take the movie buffs on a dark and chilling roller-coaster ride, where the lines between love and obsession will blur.

'Freddy' marks Ekta and Shashanka's second film after the hit flick 'Veere Di Wedding', which had released in 2018.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by KARTIK AARYAN (@kartikaaryan)

Apart from 'Freddy', Kartik has Ram Madhvani's 'Dhamaka', Anees Bazmee's 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2', and Hansal Mehta's 'Captain India'. Kartik will also be seen in Sameer Vidwans' directorial venture, which was earlier titled 'Satyanarayan Ki Katha'.

On the other hand, Alaya, who made her Bollywood debut with the 2020 rom-com 'Jawaani Jaaneman' starring alongside Saif Ali Khan and Tabu, has Ekta Kapoor's upcoming Hindi remake of the 2018 blockbuster Kannada thriller 'U-Turn' in the pipeline.
Helmet: Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee praises Aparshakti Khurana after watching the trailer

The trailer of Aparshakti Khurana's upcoming film, Helmet has left the audience in splits. The film which features Aparshakti as the lead talks about the social taboo of asking for male contraceptives in the traditional setup of Indian society. Aparshaktis superb comic timing and impeccable dialogue delivery is the highlight of the trailer. It has earned overwhelming praises from all corners. And now, renowned Bengali actor; Prosenjit Chatterjee has also come forward with his thoughts on the films asset.

The actor took to Twitter as he shared the trailer and heaped praises on it, he wrote, "Wishing my younger brother and the talented actor, @Aparshakti all the very best for his new project #Helmet ." See the post here:

Wishing my younger brother and the talented actor, @Aparshakti all the very best for his new project #Helmet.https://t.co/WuFKXGuP9h  Prosenjit Chatterjee (@prosenjitbumba) August 19, 2021

This gesture from Prosenjit is heartwarming and a classic case of artists supporting each other within the community. Helmet stars Aparshakti Khurana, Pranutan Behl, Abhishek Banerjee and Ashish Verma. The film is directed by Satram Ramani, and is produced by Dino Morea and Sony Pictures Networks.
Warina Hussain: "20 years ago, it was because of this war and turmoil that my family was forced to flee Afghanistan"

The situation in Afghanistan has now gotten everyone thinking and contemplating how we have reached the situation. Thousands of families are now fleeing the country and seeking shelter elsewhere. Now Loveyatri actress Warina Hussain, who actually hails from Afghanistan has opened up about the situation and recalled how a similar circumstance 20 years back had forced her family to flee the country.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by WARINA HUSSAIN (@warinahussain)

Talking to HT, Warina Hussain said, Its a difficult time for me and my family. Its eerily similar to 20 years ago. It was because of this war and turmoil that my family was forced to flee Afghanistan, and now, many years later, I see other families losing their homes.

Warina revealed she was a child when they left. Talking of the memories she cherishes, she said. My memories will always be of family picnics, food, and a beautiful spring in Kabul, which I doubt will ever be the same again; the only air one will now breathe will be of suppression.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by WARINA HUSSAIN (@warinahussain)

She also added, I was fortunate that India accepted me and became my home but Im afraid that isnt the case for everyone right now. Such a countrys conditions result in emergency immigration, resulting in thousands of refugees and asylum seekers arriving in neighbouring countries, where immediate accommodation may be difficult.

All we can now do is pray for Afghanistan.
AS PART of Irelands National Heritage Week celebrations, Irish International Trading Corporation (IITC) has handed over an extensive collection of archive material to Cork City Library, ensuring that the rich history of the 101-year-old company will be maintained.

The archive material includes minutes from board meetings, cash books, ledgers, letters, and notes, all dating back to the companys inception during the Burning of Cork in 1920.

These materials, as well as an exhibition of photographs, will remain on display in the public areas of the library until September 17.

Local historian and Cork City Independent councillor, Kieran McCarthy, has also presented to the library copies of his new book, Irish International Trading Corporation (Cork), Celebrating 100 Years, which details the companys growth from 1920 to the present day.

Speaking at the handover of the archive material, Lord Mayor of Cork Colm Kelleher said: The handover of these historic documents and copies of Cllr Kieran McCarthys book is an opportunity to celebrate the legacy of IITC and its shared history with Cork, whilst also highlighting the important role that Cork City Library plays as a custodian of the citys rich history.

IITC was founded by a collective of Cork business families at the Grand Parade in Cork city in 1920.

The company has played a key role in the development of Cork: From supplying materials to aiding the rebuilding of the city after its burning in 1920 to supporting local enterprise today, it has grown to become a national business with a global reach, employing over 120 people and with annual sales of 60m.

IITC managing director, David Heffernan, said the handover of archive material marked another significant milestone in the history of IITC.

The duty of care for these documents now falls upon Cork City Libraries, and the newly appointed city librarian, David OBrien.

Mr OBrien said: We are delighted to have this opportunity to preserve these materials in our archives.

IITC was founded at a time of enormous historical significance in Cork, so it is truly fascinating to be able to reflect on the work that was done in setting up a company that fostered crucial trading links to Europe and America.
SINN FEIN TD Thomas Gould and Councillor Mick Nugent have called on the Government to distribute a 3m training fund to Debenhams workers, as agreed earlier this year.

The Cork North Central TD described the treatment of the Debenhams workers by the Government as a disgrace.

They were let down time and again, and it would appear theyre being let down again, he said.

In May, Debenhams workers voted to end a 406-day industrial dispute after the chain closed its doors. Debenhams announced the end of its Irish operations in April 2020, with the loss of around 1,200 jobs.

Deputy Gould said there is still no sign of the fund that was agreed, with less than a month until most courses are set to begin.

Constituents have contacted me deeply upset and feeling as though they have been misled by Government officials, he said.

Upskilling these workers was a firm commitment given by the Government, they cannot backtrack on that now. Its time to show the workers some respect and deliver what was promised.

Mr Gould said he has contacted Tanaiste, Leo Varadkar, for clarity on the situation.

The Debenhams workers now need to have access to their training fund, Mr Nugent said.

With courses starting up now, its simply not good enough that the fund isnt up and running. Many of the workers have courses picked out but its looking less and less likely that theyll be able to take them up.
IMAGINE a group of armed men walking into the South Mall offices of the AIB and ordering female employees to leave.

Imagine these women being driven home at gunpoint and informed that male relatives  husbands, sons, cousins, etc  would now fill their professional roles. Doesnt matter if the men had no actual knowledge of banking, accounting or IT; they were male and that would suffice.

About five weeks ago, Taliban fighters entered a bank in the southern city of Kandahar, and ordered the female employees there to leave. Since, there have been widespread claims about what members of this brutal extremist group have doing to women. An example is the letter, reportedly in the name of the Talibans cultural commission, which ordered all imams and mullahs in captured areas to provide a list of girls above 15 and widows under 45 to be married to Taliban fighters.

The Taliban has since denied issuing any such statement and dismissed it as propaganda. Maybe it was? At this point, who can tell?

The sight of terrified people clinging to the outside of a U.S plane flying out of Kabul and then falling to their deaths as Taliban fighters stalked the streets of Kabul was enough for most of us.

Lets choose not to be seduced by the cosy promise that women in Afghanistan will be allowed to keep the rights they currently have in relation to work and study, though only within the limits of Islam, which means women will retain their rights only within the limits of the Taliban interpretation of Islam. Which means, virtually none.

When they last ruled Afghanistan, between 1996 and 2001, the Taliban trampled womens civil rights into dust. Females couldnt work, girls were not allowed to attend school, and women had to cover their face and be accompanied by a male relative if they as much as ventured to the shop. Women who broke the rules  by as much as a glimpse of ankle being inadvertently shown, say by a billowing burka  suffered public beatings, stoning or execution by the Taliban. Girls and women were distributed in forced marriages as wives to fighters.

That was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the destruction caused by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

We are rightly horrified by this insane death cult and its culture of repression and brutality which is notorious for the torture, rape and defilement of women. Yet while were forcefully expressing our outrage, lets not forget that Irish society has its own thriving culture of misogyny and abuse. Were not as white as wed like to be painted, not when it comes to the abuse of women.

We have our own dark history, from the infamous church and societal abuse of women and children in the past to the widespread violence against women now, in the home, the education sector, the workplace and on the streets.

Were notorious for not dealing with sex trafficking, for example. And were beginning to earn a reputation for the amount of violence against women in politics.

More than one-third of women councillors have experienced sexual harassment or misconduct in their political role. This week, female TDs reported being repeatedly harassed by a stranger. A sexually violent, explicit letter with references to rape and incest was sent to one politicians home. A man felt quite entitled to turn up uninvited at her house and send her peculiar messages.

Another female politician said she was forced to contact gardai after sustained harassment. Then theres the guy who had to be ordered to stay away from Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill after being charged with harassing her last year.

And then, of course, we have those untold legions of men who feel perfectly entitled to lose the rag and to scream at, bully and threaten women, even in public, at the drop of a hat  male drivers for example are notorious for this, particularly when theyre in the wrong.

Theres a disturbing sense of chauvinistic entitlement and societal complicity behind this behaviour. One female politician said she hadnt gone public with the harassment she suffered because she felt it would be used against her in the public and media. What does that say about our society and its attitude to women?

We might have the Incitement to Hatred Act dating back to 1989 but its high time we did something specific in law to address the widespread misogyny in our society.

Because, really, whats the deal here?

Im interested to know why so many men threatened by the sight of a successful, or even just confident, woman that they are spurred to harass, frighten, bully or demean her, feel so complacently entitled to do it. It needs to be stopped.

Will we wait until a high-profile female politician or TV presenter, or, for example, a female motorist or pedestrian who dares to answer back to a male bully, is stalked, attacked and injured or even killed?

Specific, powerful legislation to deal with the widespread misogyny across Irish society would be a really good idea now, especially when were so happy to be pointing the finger at the Taliban.

And we need focused, determined enforcement of this legislation to get the message across. At least to give these entitled male chauvinist pigs pause for thought.
CONTACT: Pamela D. Wilson +1 303-810-1816

Email: Inquiry_For_Pamela@pameladwilson.com

Golden, Colorado  August 22, 2021

The Caring Generation Effects of Caring for an Older Spouse

Golden CO- Caregiver subject matter expert Pamela D. Wilson hosts The Caring Generation podcast show for caregivers and aging adults. This coming Wednesday, August 25, 2021, Wilson answers questions from caregivers about caring for an older spouse and how to manage age-gap caregiving relationships.

Age gaps seem insignificant when young and in love. However, with aging arrives the practicalities of talking about retirement timing, what happens when an older spouse needs care, and how to pay for care. Caregivers wonder how marriages change when an age gap of 10 or more years exists between spouses and caregiving becomes a job.

While spousal caregivers remain dedicated, resentment to dedicating life 24/7 to care for a sick spouse quickly arises. Often, the sick spouse becomes overly controlling of the healthy spouse caregiver's time. As a result, caregiving spouses can find it challenging to maintain friendships and participate in social activities outside of care responsibilities and duties.

Caregiving for a spouse becomes work that places prior intimate relationships and closeness at a lower priority. Being a spousal caregiver becomes something that spouses do as a result of marital commitments. Few spouses discuss how to manage the relationship imbalances that occur when one spouse becomes sick and needs ongoing care and assistance.

In this week's mini-podcast, Wilson shares tips for all couples regardless of age about the practicalities of retirement planning and discussions about who, where, and how care will be provided. Younger spouses, especially women, are at risk of lengthy time spent in caregiving activities, while marital assets are spent on the care for a husband.

Few couples talk about financial planning or purchasing long-term care insurance for the younger spouse. Husbands fail to consider the short and long-term economic impact of caregiving on a spouse. While the assumption exists that the older spouse will pass away first, few couples plan for this eventuality.

Wilson works with family caregivers, groups, and corporations worldwide to educate about the role strain that caregivers experience, managing, and planning for health and aging issues. More about Wilson's online courses for elderly care, individual elder care consultations, caregiver support, webinars, and speaking engagements are on her website www.pameladwilson.com. Pamela may also be contacted at +1 303-810-1816 or through the contact Me page on her website.

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A pack of dogs killed dozens of deer at a Porter game ranch Thursday night, according to the Montgomery County Police Reporter.

John Christlieb, a game rancher permitted by Texas Parks and Wildlife, heard barking and went outside with his gun to find six dogs attacking his deer, he told the media outlet. The rancher shot one dog and scared off the others.
Esther Hernandez received an email from Castle Hills Elementary School weeks after classes began, stating one of her two daughters had been exposed to someone at the North East Independent School District campus who had tested positive for the coronavirus.

The question she had was: Which one? Was it her kindergartner or her third grader?

Hernandez got the bigger picture when she later watched a video from Superintendent Sean Maika warning the NEISD community about a spike of student-to-student transmissions at Castle Hills, which has an early calendar and started the school year July 19.

But the vagueness of the letter, sent at the school level, rattled her.

We feel like we arent getting enough information about the outbreak if it is at the school, Hernandez said last week. That is very scary. Where was this positive case?

Local school districts have been grappling with what to tell parents and how. Theyre taking different approaches to this, with some moving away from the schoolwide notices required by state officials last year.

School districts said those decisions could make or break parental trust, and as the pandemic rages through San Antonio with renewed fury, the stakes for education are high.

For the school year now starting, Texas Education Agency guidance didnt require parental notifications at all until last week. It did suggest that districts notify the families of those it finds have had close contact with someone who tests positive for the virus.

Updated guidance issued Thursday now says teachers, staff and families of all students in a classroom or extracurricular or after-school program need to be told of COVID-19 cases identified among students, teachers or staff who participated in those classrooms or cohorts.

North East ISD was already doing that. But it also is among several area districts trying to lessen what educators see as notification fatigue out of concern that parents were tuning out last years drumbeat of emails from larger schools.

Last year, we were mandated to send notification of any instance of a positive case on campus, and we had to send that in writing and it had to go to everyone at the school, regardless of whether or not your child was in school or a virtual learner, said Barry Perez, the Northside ISD communications director.

Now that the requirement is not there, we are going to make it different this year so that we are not creating a situation where families are ignoring these notices, he said.

Other districts, such as San Antonio ISD, chose to continue to issue schoolwide notices. For Superintendent Pedro Martinez, keeping the same communication protocols is part of an effort to maintain a level of trust that the district had gained.

As a parent myself, I want a personal phone call, Martinez said. And we will still send out in writing anytime theres cases to the whole community of the school.  Because, again, that level of transparency  as well as publishing our cases  that is what built the trust for us.

To keep schools safe, local educators agree, parents must feel comfortable telling teachers and principals about things happening in their family: illness symptoms, exposures to the coronavirus outside the schools or positive tests.

Top hits: Get San Antonio Express-News stories sent directly to your inbox

We would hope that the communication between the campus and parents is enough that they would notify the campus about having to be out for COVID-19, said Keyhla Calderon Lugo, Edgewood ISDs spokeswoman.

The TEA guidance puts some of the responsibility on parents, stating they must ensure they do not send a child to school on campus if the child has COVID-19 symptoms or is test-confirmed with COVID-19.

But compliance very much rests on an honor system, officials said.

Is there a penalty? No, there is no penalty to the parents, said Dr. Rita Espinoza, chief of epidemiology at the Metropolitan Health District. The handbook given to parents  says if your child is diagnosed with any conditions, please inform the school and please make sure the student is excluded for this time period.

Pulling the fire alarm

A key test of a school districts transparency will come when it finds the virus rapidly spreading in a particular campus. It happened early at Castle Hills Elementary, prompting Maika, the NEISD superintendent, to issue a video pleading for students to wear masks and warning of the possible need to close schools if the situation worsens.

That Maika decided to, in effect, shout it from the rooftops drew an approving nod from Dr. Junda Woo, the medical director of Metro Health.

It is important to note the video from North East ISDs superintendent, pulling the fire alarm and warning people that we can get to that point this year, where it is hard to function and schools might close, Woo said.

On ExpressNews.com: Citing early spike in cases, North East ISD warns COVID spread could close schools

She has worked closely with school districts on how to respond to the pandemic, though they didnt always follow her advice when cases peaked last winter.

The idea really is for kids to be able to stay in school, in person, as much as possible, and it is disruptive to have to send kids home to quarantine and isolate, Woo said. So, if nothing else, it is just more convenient for parents, and masking is a way to prevent that.

Unlike last year, when uniform compliance with mask-wearing was credited with keeping schools open for those who wanted to be in classrooms, the use of face coverings now varies from district to district.

That might be changing. Concerned by the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, a growing number of school systems are defying Gov. Greg Abbotts executive order against requiring masks in schools this year.

The decisions have sparked court battles that might take weeks or months to resolve, but the latest ruling by the Texas Supreme Court has allowed mask mandates to continue.

On ExpressNews.com: More children with severe COVID symptoms being admitted to San Antonio hospitals

Other tools that some school districts offer to try to control the spread of the virus  weekly testing on campus and student vaccination clinics  are on a voluntary basis.

Educators are thinking about their communication strategies for that, too. They know parents may choose to test more or less often, depending on how bad the pandemic becomes. Or they may prefer to test outside the school district.

All of it affects contact tracing, which most school districts in Bexar County are preparing to continue, even though the latest TEA guidance still does not require it.

Chasing the cases

When school leaders identify someone who has the virus, they can find others who are infected, if contact tracers are alert and aggressive. But its especially challenging in high schools, where students change classrooms and it might be harder to send individualized notices to parents.

Mask mandates make contact tracing easier and make it possible to provide clearer answers to families on possible exposures, risk levels and quarantine requirements, officials said.

With the number of cases that we have currently and in a mask-optional environment, contact tracing does become quite more difficult, Emma Kelley, assistant director of health services at NEISD, said during a board presentation Thursday evening in which trustees adopted a mask requirement.

Most districts that posted districtwide numbers of coronavirus cases on their websites last year are doing so again  including San Antonio, North East, East Central, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City, Southside, Alamo Heights and Somerset, along with IDEA Public Schools, a charter network. Northside ISD plans to restart the practice after its classes begin Monday.

Data on the number of positive cases reported for each school in every district in Texas is available on the Texas Department of State Health Services website by downloading a spreadsheet. However, it leaves out case counts at certain schools  suppressing the data, in agency parlance  when the ratio of cases to student enrollment is low, out of privacy concerns.

Some get afraid by the numbers, and some are relieved by the numbers because they like the transparency, said Natalie Martinez, spokeswoman for Somerset ISD. This year, instead of posting about positive cases on its Facebook page, Somerset is building a COVID-19 dashboard on its website that parents can check daily.

We found it to be successful last year. We hope it is just as successful this year, Martinez said.

Schools will likely continue to adjust to requests by Metro Health and the state. Those changes will have to be communicated to families, and districts websites will be one place they can look.

East Central ISD Superintendent Roland Toscano said the pandemics constant changes  new rules, zig-zagging court battles and whatever educators can find out about how far the virus has spread in a single school or the community at large  have made it important to communicate in real time, communicate frequently.

And sometimes even overcommunicate, he said.

danya.perez@express-news.net | @DanyaPH
Lets talk for a minute about Lollapalooza. After canceling in-person events last year, a few weeks ago Chicago once again hosted the long-running music festival, drawing more than 385,000 people. Many feared that the huge, raucous crowds could produce a coronavirus superspreader event.

But the festival required proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test for entry, and it introduced indoor mask requirements halfway through. And very few people appear to have been infected.

What does this tell us? That the return to more or less normal life and its pleasures many expected COVID vaccines to deliver could have happened in the United States. The reason it hasnt is that not enough people have been vaccinated and not enough people are wearing masks.

Its possible to have sympathy for some of the unvaccinated, especially workers who find it hard to take time off to get a shot and are worried about losing a day to aftereffects. But theres much less excuse for those who refuse to get their shots or wear masks for cultural or ideological reasons  and no excuse at all for MAGA governors like Ron DeSantis in Florida, Greg Abbott in Texas and Doug Ducey in Arizona who have been actively impeding efforts to contain the latest outbreak.

So how do you feel about anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers? Im angry about their antics, even though Im able to work from home and dont have school-age children. And I suspect that many Americans share that anger.

The question is whether this entirely justified anger  call it the rage of the responsible  will have a political impact, whether leaders will stand up for the interests of Americans who are trying to do the right thing but whose lives are being disrupted and endangered by those who arent.

To say what should be obvious, getting vaccinated and wearing a mask in public spaces arent personal choices. When you reject your shots or refuse to mask up, youre increasing my risk of catching a potentially deadly or disabling disease and also helping to perpetuate the social and economic costs of the pandemic. In a very real sense, the irresponsible minority is depriving the rest of us of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Furthermore, to say something that should also be obvious, those claiming that their opposition to public health measures is about protecting freedom arent being honest.

Most notably, ever since masks became a front in the culture war, it has been clear that many opponents of mask mandates arent merely demanding the right to go unmasked themselves; they want to stop others from acting responsibly. Tucker Carlson has called on his viewers to confront people they encounter who are wearing masks, and there have been scattered reports of violent attacks on mask-wearers.

Also, its striking how quickly supposed conservative principles have been abandoned wherever honoring those principles would help rather than hurt attempts to contain the pandemic.

For decades, conservatives have insisted that business owners should have the right to do as they please  to hire and fire at will, to deny service to whomever they choose. Yet here we have Abbott threatening to pull the liquor licenses of restaurants that ask for proof of vaccination, even as Texas runs out of ICU beds.

Conservatives have also championed local control of education  except, it turns out, when school districts want to protect children with mask rules, in which case MAGA governors want to seize control and cut off their funding.

So the friends of COVID-19 arent motivated by love of freedom. I could offer some hypotheses about their real motives, but understanding whats driving these people is less important than understanding how much harm theyre doing. That goes double for politicians who are cynically playing to the anti-vax, anti-mask crowd.

Recent polling suggests that the public strongly supports mask mandates and that an overwhelming majority of Americans opposes attempts to prevent local school districts from protecting children. I havent seen polling on attempts to prevent businesses from requiring proof of vaccination, but my guess is that these attempts are also unpopular.

But politicians like Abbott and DeSantis are catering to the anti-public health minority because its loud and angry, and they dont think theyll pay any political price.

Well, I think the pro-public-health majority is also getting increasingly angry, and rightly so. It just hasnt been vocal enough  and too few politicians have sought to tap into this righteous rage.

So its time to stop being diffident and call out destructive behavior for what it is. Doing so may make some people feel that theyre being looked down on. But you know what? Your feelings dont give you the right to ruin other peoples lives.
Re: Masks, vaccines only way residents will truly be free, Another View, Tuesday:

Many thanks to Dr. Ronald Stewart for explaining the plight of our health care professionals and hospitals as we find ourselves nearing the January peak of hospitalizations. I also value his statement that freedom without responsibility is unsustainable.

For the folks who are unvaccinated because they work crazy long shifts, dont have child care, believe they will be charged or are afraid their citizenship status will be checked, I hope Metro Health is showing up at shift changes and in neighborhoods to provide vaccines and information that addresses their concerns.

For the folks who are unvaccinated and dont wear masks because they think its their right to not follow public health guidelines, I ask them to just walk a mile in Dr. Stewarts shoes.

Dr. Deborah McNabb

Shield nursing homes

I fully support President Joe Bidens recently announced initiative to require nursing home staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Nationwide, in those nursing homes that participate in Medicare and Medicaid, approximately 62 percent of nursing home staff members are vaccinated, but that varies from 44 percent to 88 percent from state to state.

My 75-year-old Air Force retiree husband has dementia and multiple health problems. He was vaccinated early this year, but he is still at the mercy of those staff members at his memory care facility who choose not to be vaccinated.

A staff member recently tested positive for COVID-19, so the facility is locked down per state guidelines until residents and staff test negative for 14 days. When will that happen, given the spread of the delta variant?

This federal mandate to require staff to be vaccinated for the nursing home to continue to receive Medicare and Medicaid funding is absolutely essential. It will help to protect the vulnerable populations who are at the mercy of those caregivers who choose not to vaccinate.

Karen W. Currie, retired colonel, U.S. Air Force

War Bidens problem

While withdrawal from Afghanistan was the correct thing to do, there are some glaring issues.

Withdrawing at the height of the fighting season facilitated the Taliban takeover. The winter would have at least slowed down the Taliban.

Leaving billions of dollars in equipment for the Taliban, but more importantly leaving behind those who helped us, is tragic. Who will help us in the future, anywhere?

Blaming the disaster on someone else is wrong. President Joe Biden should be thoughtful of the consequences of his actions. He inherited it. This is his problem. Just like the U.S. border.

Please try to make things better in the future.

David King

Put country first

Re: Vets in House loyal to a lie, not to their oath, by Brandon Lingle, Other Views, Aug. 15:

The Republican military veterans in the U.S. House of Representatives are a cowardly, shameful lot who seem more interested in getting re-elected than discovering the truths behind the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Except for the courageous Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., who has denounced the Big Lie and serves on the House Select Committee investigating the Trump-inspired attack on the nations Capitol by domestic terrorists.

Kinzinger is a retired Air Force officer who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and continues to serve in the Air National Guard.

Its scary that so many veterans  and active-duty members  of our own military are loyal to a disgraced and disgraceful, twice-impeached president who has lied thousands of times to the American people.

They show blatant disregard for the oath they took to support and defend the Constitution ... against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

A high crime, if ever there was one.

Jeff Devens, San Marcos

Yes, Straus, run!

Re: ORourke should run, by Cary Clack; Abbott should remain, by Nancy Palmer; and Time for a bipartisan, compassionate leader  Joe Straus, by Josh Brodesky, Other Views, Aug. 15:

I found this to be an interesting trinity of commentaries concerning the upcoming governors election. I agree with Clack and Brodesky, and I disagree with Palmer about her views on re-election for Gov. Greg Abbott.

My preference for governor is Straus, who is a bipartisan compassionate leader. Abbott is only concerned about his base. I would hope ORourke will challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who is a card-carrying Trump-et.

The sky will fall if the current state leadership does not stop thinking about their own egos and start representing the concerns of all Texans and those seeking asylum. With all of the major issues facing the world, nation and state, it seems that some political leaders have lost the vision of what the world can be; they only want the world to benefit them.

The Rev. Dr. James Schellenberg

Past is prologue, Beto

Re: ORourke should run, Other Views, by Cary Clack, Aug. 15:

Go ahead, Beto, take a shot at running for governor of Texas. Make my and the conservative Republican electorates day.

I suggest, however, you consult with the two previous losers, former state Sen. Wendy Davis and former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, before you make a fool of yourself.

While youre at it, consult with former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, who lost a bid for lieutenant governor, since all four of you mirror the same old rejected progressive views.

Texas voters will vigorously oppose your candidacy. A trouncing will result, just like with the previous two Democratic candidates for governor.

Go ahead, Beto, make our day.

Mike Gonzales
U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls is the latest member of Congress to contract COVID-19.

The Sugar Land Republican and former Fort Bend County sheriff told his Facebook followers on Saturday he was experiencing symptoms after a close family member had become ill with COVID earlier in the week. He tested positive and on Saturday started receiving the Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatment that Gov. Greg Abbott also received earlier in the week to avoid more serious complications from the virus.

It took a little over an hour to complete but were already starting to feel better, said Nehls, who is in his first year in Congress after winning the Fort Bend County-based 22nd Congressional District.

Just in the last few weeks, several members of the U.S. House and Senate have tested positive. U.S. Sens Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina; Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi; Angus King, I-Maine; and John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado, are among those who tested positive this month, according to public reports.

U.S. Reps Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler; Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, and Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, also tested positive for COVID in the last year. U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, R-Fort Worth, also tested positive and died earlier this year. He had been battling cancer.

As part of Abbotts response to the latest COVID surge, he has been opening up monoclonal antibody treatment centers around the state. The centers use Regeneron's monoclonal antibodies to treat patients at no cost with therapeutic drugs that can prevent their condition from worsening and requiring hospital care. Patients need a referral from a doctor to receive the treatment.

The state has already opened treatment centers in Austin, Corpus Christi, Conroe, Fort Worth, Harlingen, Laredo, Lubbock and Odessa. Beaumont is expected to get one on Monday.

Abbott said getting people treated in those centers is freeing up hospital beds for COVID patients as the state nears a record high since the pandemic began.

Nehls, 53, lauded the staff at St. Michaels Elite Care and is touting the antibody treatments to help keep people from getting the worst of COVID.

If youre suffering from a COVID-19 infection, Id recommend contacting your physician to see if this treatment is right for you, Nehls said on his social media accounts.

Nehls said otherwise he will quarantine at home until recovered. He said he was vaccinated and encourages others to get it too.
Another 18 women with similar allegations have contacted the four plaintiffs or lawyers involved in filing a Title IX gender discrimination and harassment lawsuit against the University of Montana and Montana University System, according to an amended complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Missoula.

The amended complaint requests a class certification for female employees who have experienced harassment, discrimination and retaliation at UM: Upon information and belief, the defendants have discriminated against multiple dozens, if not hundreds, of women, limiting and adversely impacting their career paths and opportunities.

Describing a good ol boys club, the four named plaintiffs  former high-ranking UM administrators Cathy Cole, Barbara Koostra, and Rhondie Voorhees, and current associate professor Mary-Ann Sontag Bowman  allege a hostile educational environment and retaliatory culture against women. First filed on August 4, the complaint also cites John Doe defendants 1-50.

Thursday, UM spokesperson Dave Kuntz said the campus and university system disagree with all the allegations, including the argument the case should be certified as a class. Under the leadership of UM President Seth Bodnar, Kuntz said the majority of the deans at the campus are women, and since Bodnar took the helm in January 2018, 78 percent of all promotions at UM have been female, and 59 percent of all new hires have been female.

The Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon via voicemail. However, UM and MUS earlier said the claims are baseless and without merit.

We look forward to vigorously defending our institutions in court, said UM and MUS. The University of Montana is committed to providing a working and learning environment that is free from all forms of discrimination.

Title IX of the federal Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

The amended complaint doesnt name additional female staff or former employees, nor does it identify John Does. However, it notes the plaintiffs or legal counsel have been advised that another six women, in addition to the 18 who contacted them directly, have shared experiences with harassing, discriminatory and retaliatory conduct.

The lawsuit describes the class as individuals employed by the university at any point since 2013; as having experienced harassment, retaliation, and/or discrimination on the basis of sex; and who were forced to resign, had their position terminated, and/or had their options for professional advancement limited.

Defendants culture of retaliation and intimidation against women who speak out continues today, said the court document, arguing for class certification. Defendants disingenuous attempts to discredit the named plaintiffs directly threatens and discourages other potential plaintiffs from joining this lawsuit. Understandably, many women fear publicly joining this lawsuit because of these threats, which makes joinder of all class members impracticable.

The nature of the threats was not clear in the complaint.

Lawyers Hillary Carls and Sherine Blackford of Blackford Carls in Bozeman could not be reached for comment Thursday via email.
Image: Twitter Both of Rutherfords parents are also pilots and served as her inspiration. She began her flight training at the young age of 14, and received her pilots license just last year. In preparation of this journey, she has practised different aspects such as getting in and out of the plane underwater, and learnt the technical maintenance of her plane.Rutherford used to study at St Swithuns School in Belgium, which is now one of the sponsors of this trip. The headmistress of the school, Jane Gandee, described Rutherford as a young woman who models determination, and has a disregard for stereotypes. She has become aware of how girls and women are under-represented in some areas of life, particularly aviation, science and technology and she wanted to do something to counter this, Gandee told a news portal.Rutherford hopes that her step will encourage more girls and women to pursue STEM and get them interested in the field of aviation. Her journey is set to be completed on November 4, and we hope that it goes by smoothly without any difficulties.
Everyone is aware of whats happening in Afghanistan since the American troops withdrew and the Taliban took over the country. The visuals from Kabul have sent chills down the spine of every individual. Actor Warina Hussain, who lived in Afghanistan over two decades ago spoke to an online portal about how the current situation reminds her of the time the war resulted in her family fleeing the country.

Speaking about the anarchy, Warina said it was the war that made her leave Afghanistan for a better life and even though it's been ten long years since shes been living in India, finding a home that could accept her was very hard. She also added that the move from one country to another for a better life can sometimes lead to thousands of refugees left without a place to call home.

She concluded by saying that the UN must intervene and save the people of Afghanistan as the Taliban will take the country back by several years, resulting in the loss of life, living standards and human rights.




AMSTERDAM (dpa-AFX) - ING said that it has appointed Marnix van Stiphout as chief operations officer and chief transformation officer and member of the Management Board Banking. Marnix takes up his position on 1 September 2021, succeeding Roel Louwhoff, who stepped down from the Management Board Banking on 1 August 2021. Marnix joined ING in 1998. He started in Global Equity Markets Sales and Research in London and in 2008 became global head of Value Chain Management for ING Financial Markets. In 2014, Marnix was appointed COO of ING Wholesale Banking, where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations and global transformation. Since October 2020, Marnix has been COO of Retail Banking. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
C3(Creating Culinary Communities), a Miami, FL-based global food tech platform, received a $10m strategic investment from TriArtisan Capital Advisors and its investors.

TriArtisans investment is part of an $80m in Series B funding that C3 secured this past month and co-led by Brookfield Asset Management and REEF Technology with participation from Egon Durban and Greg Mondre, managing partners and co-CEOs of Silver Lake Partners.

Founded by Sam Nazarian, C3 has developed digital culinary brands that can be cooked out of any restaurant kitchen, each generating an estimated additional $1m per outlet. Currently, C3 operates more than 250 digital kitchens and has developed 40 restaurant brands including Umami Burger, Krispy Rice, and Katsuya with Chef Katsuya Uechi, SaMoto with Chef Masaharu Morimoto, Cicci di Carne by globally-renowned butcher Dario Cecchini, and El Pollo Verde by Chef Dani Garcia.

As part of this strategic investment, select TriArtisan-supported brands will have access to the GO by CITIZENS app, a digital food hall experience where consumers can order from multiple C3 digital restaurant brands in one transaction, with no hidden delivery fees and all orders arriving in one basket.

FinSMEs

22/08/2021
Companyon Ventures, a Boston, MA-based venture capital firm, closed its $27.5m second fund midway through the second quarter.

Limited Partners (LPs) include a diverse group of wealth managers, family offices, and high net worth individuals.

Led by Co-Founders and General Partners Firas Raouf and and Tom Lazay, Companyon Ventures will continue to execute its focused strategy of investing in post-seed, pre-Series A B2B software companies that have found early product-market fit and aim to build repeatable and scalable go-to-market (GTM) infrastructure. The firm deploys its team of B2B SaaS GTM experts to help its companies implement the necessary leadership, tools, and playbooks used by top-performing expansion-stage startups.

To date, Companyon Ventures has invested in 14 startups across its two funds, delivering operational support through its Platform Team and Venture Partners. The Platform Team consists of a curated group of stage-specific consultants that specialize in scaling operations and GTM strategy while the Venture Partners, a select group of B2B software executives, engage in advisory and fractional support roles.

This year, the firm added Operating Partner, David McFarlane, and Director, Ronny Chatterjee, who joined from OpenView Venture Partners and Cambridge Associates before that.

The first few investments from Fund II include RoadSyncs $30M Series B led by Tiger Global and Aptys $7.5M Series A led by 645 Ventures.

FinSMEs

22/08/2021
Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Partly cloudy with isolated thunderstorms possible. High 91F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. A few clouds. Low 83F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Tickets on sale from David Dallas

10 years ago, I did something with my mates that changed my life. Much thanks to everyone who has showed love since

A decade on from its release, The Rose Tint remains one of the most enduring works of David Dallas career.

To mark its tenth anniversary, David Dallas and friends The Daylight Robbery are coming together for a special run of shows built around the album that changed Davids life.

The four-date tour will celebrate The Rose Tint, and will be the first and only chance people will have to see some of these songs performed live.

A must-see event.
The animal origin of SARS-CoV-2

The available evidence suggests that animal-to-human transmission associated with infected live animals is the most likely cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Science Perspective article by the CVR's Professor David Robertson and Spyros Lytras.

Since its emergence, sampling has revealed that coronaviruses genetically close to SARS-CoV-2 are circulating in horseshoe bats, which are dispersed widely across China and Southeast Asia.

Although it is possible that a virus spillover occurred through direct horseshoe battohuman contact, the first detected SARS-CoV-2 cases in December 2019 have been associated with Wuhan wet markets.

No evidence exists for SARS-CoV-2 being created in a research laboratory.

It is currently not possible to be certain of the animal source of SARS-CoV-2; however, live animals, including civet cats, foxes, minks, and raccoon dogs - all susceptible to bat coronaviruses - were for sale in Wuhan markets, including the Huanan market, throughout 2019.

The evidence suggests a central role for live intermediate host animals as the primary source of the SARS-CoV-2 progenitor that humans were exposed to, as was the case with the origin of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2002.

In order to discover the exact animal source of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to keep sampling and interviewing people connected to the sources of wildlife which were sold in the Wuhan markets in October and November 2019.

There is an urgent need for us to increase surveillance for coronaviruses at the humananimal interface to minimize the threat of both established and evolving variants evading vaccines, and to stop future spillover events

The animal origin of SARS-CoV-2
Portland, OR, Aug. 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As per the report published by Allied Market Research, the global next generation biofuels market was accounted for $6.0 billion in 2020, and is projected to garner $59.4 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 26.4% from 2021 to 2030.

Rise in concern toward reducing carbon emissions and increase in necessity to produce sustainable and clean energy with negligible environmental impact have boosted the growth of the global next generation biofuels market . However, high cost of production hinders the market. On the contrary, growing emphasis on biofuel blends and favorable government policies for cleaner and greener sources of energy are expected to open lucrative opportunities for the market players in the future.

Download Report Sample (335 Pages PDF with Insights) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/1918

Covid-19 scenario:

The Covid-19 pandemic hampered the development of the next-generation biofuel sector due to ban on import & export and manufacturing and processing activities across power generation and other industries.

There has been a halt in building & construction of new electric utility infrastructure, grid network, and renewable power plants, due to lack of workforce and rise in the demand-supply gap. However, the market is expected to get back on track due to rise in Covid-19 vaccinations across several economies.

The report segments the global next generation biofuels market on the basis of biofuel type, process, raw material, application, and region.

Based on biofuel type, the biodiesels segment held the largest share in 2020, contributing to nearly one-third of the market. However, the biogas segment is estimated to register the highest CAGR of 27.7% from 2021 to 2030.

Get detailed COVID-19 impact analysis on the Next Generation Biofuels Market Request Here

On the basis of process, the thermochemical process segment dominated the market in 2020, accounting for nearly three-fifths of the market. However, the biochemicals process segment is projected to register the highest CAGR of 26.7% during the forecast period.

The global next generation biofuels market is analyzed across several regions such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. The market across North America held the largest share in 2020, accounting for more than three-fourths of the market. Moreover, the market across LAMEA is anticipated to register the highest CAGR of 29.4% during the forecast period.

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The global next generation biofuels market includes an in-depth analysis of the prime market players such as Chemtex Group, Algenol Biofuels, Enerkem, Abengoa S.A., GranBio, Gevo, POET-DSM, Joule United, Inc., Solazyme, and Sundrop Fuels Inc.

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Similar Reports:

(Pre-Book Now with 10% Discount)

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Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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Dublin, July 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Offshore Wind Energy Market 2020-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global offshore wind energy market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of around 14.6% during the forecast period. A variety of factors such as growing awareness towards green energy, diversified wind energy application, and so on are significantly contributing to the growth of the offshore wind energy market. The market is growing rapidly as offshore winds are much steadier than on land implicating a more reliable source of energy. Offshore wind farms are providing renewable energy without consumption of water and not emitting environmental pollutants or any harmful gases. The future growth of an offshore wind energy market is predicted to increase due to the rising technological advancement and innovation of offshore wind farms and government incentives across the globe. However, some factors are limiting the growth of the market such as technological and economic challenges, lack of energy storage and transportation facility and unpredictable water calamity such as storms. Moreover, the government supportive initiatives and investment related to wind energy generation further projected to create a significant opportunity in the market.



Segmental Outlook



The global offshore wind energy market is segmented based on the turbine of the foundation, depth of turbine and application. Based on the component market is segmented into the turbine, electrical structure, support structure, and others. On the basis of the depth of the turbine, the market is segmented into shallow, transitional, and deep water. Further on the basis of application, the market is segmented into the commercial, industrial, household.



Global Offshore Wind Energy Market Share by Component, 2020 (%)



Among component, the turbine segment is estimated to have a significant share in the global offshore wind energy market. The wind turbines are generally a wind turbine that turns wind energy into electricity using the aerodynamic force from rotor blades which work like an aeroplane wing or helicopter rotor blade. Some of the advantages of wind turbines are that Wind power is cost-effective, the Land-based utility-scale wind is one of the lowest-priced energy sources available today, costing 1-2 cents per kilowatt-hour after the production tax credit. Further, Wind turbine energy does not pollute the environment in the same way that power plants that burn fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, do, emitting particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and Sulphur dioxide, which cause public health issues and economic losses. Additionally, wind is a form of solar energy. Wind turbines are caused by the sun's heating of the atmosphere, the Earth's rotation, and the irregularities on its surface. On existing farms or ranches, wind turbines may be built.



Regional Outlooks



The global offshore wind energy market is further segmented based on geography including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World. Europe projected to dominate the global offshore wind energy market. Contracts for difference were implemented by the UK government to ensure reliable long-term returns from electrical infrastructure ventures, lowering barriers to entry for industry participants.

Market Players Outlook



The key players of the offshore wind energy market include ABB Ltd. Siemens AG, Hitachi, Ltd., Vestas Wind System A/S, General Electric Co., and others. The market players are considerably contributing to the market growth by the adoption of various strategies including mergers, and acquisitions, collaborations, and new product launches, to stay competitive in the market. For instance, in December 2020, siemens Gamesa made an announcement that It will provide wind turbines for the Haystack wind farm in Nebraska, which has a capacity of 298 megawatts with Orsted. Following the global success of their offshore wind energy partnership, this is the first onshore project for both companies in the United States.



The Report Covers

Market value data analysis of 2020 and forecast to 2027.

Annualized market revenues ($ million) for each market segment.

Country-wise analysis of major geographical regions.

Key companies operating in the global offshore wind energy

market. Based on the availability of data, information related to new product launches, and relevant news is also available in the report.

Analysis of business strategies by identifying the key market segments positioned for strong growth in the future.

Analysis of market-entry and market expansion strategies.

Competitive strategies by identifying 'who-stands-where' in the market.

Key Topics Covered:



1. Report Summary



2. Market Overview and Insights

2.1. Scope of the Report

2.2. Analyst Insight & Current Market Trends

2.2.1. Key Findings

2.2.2. Recommendations

2.2.3. Conclusion

2.3. Regulations



3. Competitive Landscape

3.1. Key Company Analysis

3.1.1. Overview

3.1.2. Financial Analysis

3.1.3. SWOT Analysis

3.2. Key Strategy Analysis

3.3. Impact of COVID-19 on key players



4. Market Determinants

4.1. Motivators

4.2. Restraints

4.3. Opportunities



5. Market Segmentation

5.1. Global Offshore Wind Energy Market by Component

5.1.1. Turbine

5.1.2. Electrical Structure

5.1.3. Support Structure

5.1.4. Others

5.2. Global Offshore Wind Energy Market by Depth of Turbine

5.2.1. Shallow

5.2.2. Transitional

5.2.3. Deep Water

5.3. Global Offshore Wind Energy Market by Application

5.3.1. Commercial

5.3.2. Industrial

5.3.3. Household



6. Regional Analysis

6.1. North America

6.1.1. United States

6.1.2. Canada

6.2. Europe

6.2.1. UK

6.2.2. Germany

6.2.3. Italy

6.2.4. Spain

6.2.5. France

6.2.6. Rest of Europe

6.3. Asia-Pacific

6.3.1. China

6.3.2. India

6.3.3. Japan

6.3.4. South Korea

6.3.5. Rest of Asia-Pacific

6.4. Rest of the World



7. Company Profiles

7.1. ABB Ltd.

7.2. Asociacion Empresarial Eolica

7.3. Damen Shipyards Group

7.4. Orsted Wind Power North America LLC

7.5. Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction

7.6. EDF Renewables, Inc.

7.7. Envision Energy USA Ltd.

7.8. General Electric Co.

7.9. Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd.

7.10. Hitachi, Ltd.

7.11. London Aaray Ltd.

7.12. Mingyang Smart Energy Group Co., Ltd.

7.13. Nordex SE

7.14. Sinovel Wind Group Co. Ltd.

7.15. Siemens AG

7.16. Navingo B.V.

7.17. Vestas Wind System A/S,

7.18. XEMC Darwind BV

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rgj9zv
NYC, Aug. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nobody can deny the crypto space has absolutely exploded over the last year with new innovations like and Defi, NFTs, and Memecoins rivaling staples like Bitcoin and Ethereum by exceeding all-time highs and paving the way for new assets and altcoins to follow their path to the moon. With success stories like DOGECOIN, SAFEMOON, SHIBA INU, AND MORE providing retail investors with exponential returns and genuine opportunities to build life-changing wealth, everyone is scrambling to find the next big thing. In fact, many investors still seem to be kicking themselves for missing out on what may have been the best financial plays of the current bull cycle. However, returns like those experienced by holders are virtually commonplace for experienced crypto investors, and one asset, Daemon Doge, has risen to the top of many trusted retail investors watchlists in recent days while beginning to garner attention from some of the biggest names in the altcoin space.



Having amassed over 18k Twitter followers and 5k + telegram members in the first 24 hours of their community launch, The Daemon Doge team recently announced its plans to offer an exclusive private sale to a blossoming community. The event begins August 19 with additional details that can be found on their official telegram. https://t.me/DaemonDoge

But what makes this DOGE special?

Billed as the first cross-chain community token with the highest rewards in the crypto-verse Daemon Doge not only aims to provide their holders an out of this world return but strives to build a true long term asset supported ecosystem for its community that goes beyond the typical rewards system.

The Daemon Doge Team are no strangers to decentralized finance and are familiar and passionate about building and maintaining a safe and robust investment platform that eliminates the pitfalls that plague investors in the DEFI arena. Composed of some of the best and brightest minds in the crypto space, the Daemon Doge team features a successful mixture of experienced entrepreneurs, software engineers, marketing gurus, financial experts, and deep-pocket investors from top colleges with a steadfast commitment to transparency and security.

While incredible returns are paramount to any decision to invest in digital assets, the safety, security, and confidence of the investor should always be at the forefront of any credible digital asset. Daemon Doge delivers a focused effort to maintain investor confidence that begins with the project's transparent and community-oriented nature. Dev wallets are often the subject of heavy scrutiny; however, a clear and concise breakdown of the tokens planned distributions is currently featured on their website allowing the community to understand and monitor the tokens as they are minted and placed into circulation; Additionally, the team has committed to locking the LP and initiating consistent audits from the best in the biz including TechRate, Solidity Finance and more immediately upon launch.

Putting all this together, in conjunction with anti-whale tokenomics, mind-bending 20% holder rewards rate (which means you can double your investment very quickly by just holding), and clear roadmap utility-focused products like a dedicated dex, NFT marketplace, and cross-chain compatibility experienced altcoin investors are beginning to recognize Daemon Doges clear potential to be a true 100x gem and long term contender in the altcoin space.

How To Invest

While Daemon Doge is still in its pre-launch phase, their team recently began rolling out a strategic marketing campaign and launched a whitelisting competition to prepare for their exclusive private presale that will be open on August 20th for a select number of vetted retail investors. With a community of over 25k and the team offering over 500k in prizes (including a 1000hp Dodge Demon and a yacht) to token holders we expect it to fill up fast! (Upon last speaking with the team they have stated that the whitelist is over 50% full).

If you wish to participate in the private sale, visit their telegram referral bot here and follow the instructions. Don't forget to tell a few friends about the project in order to rack up their referrals and give yourself the best chance to get in early and take home some awesome prizes. t.me/DaemonDogeReferral_BOT

For the latest updates, visit their Daemon Doge website, https://www.DaemonDoge.com as well as join their community Telegram, https://t.me/Daemondoge to stay in the loop with all of the upcoming news and announcements.

Media Contact

Company Name :- Daemon Doge

Email Id :- DaemonDogeMarketing@gmail.com

Company Website :- https://daemondoge.com/

Source Link
Governor Northam Announces Public Health Order to Require Universal Masking in K-12 Schools

Order reinforces state law SB 1303

RICHMONDGovernor Northam today announced a Public Health Emergency Order requiring universal masking in all indoor settings in Virginias K-12 schools. This order reinforces current state law, which requires Virginia schools adhere to mitigation strategies outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As of July 28, CDC guidelines include universal masking for all students, teachers, and staff. Governor Northam today announced a Public Health Emergency Order requiring universal masking in all indoor settings in Virginias K-12 schools. This order reinforces current state law, which requires Virginia schools adhere to mitigation strategies outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As of July 28, CDC guidelines include universal masking for all students, teachers, and staff. SB 1303 was passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority of the General Assembly earlier this year.

We all share the same goal of keeping our schools open and keeping our students safe, said Governor Northam. Thats why the General Assembly passed this law with overwhelming bipartisan support. This Public Health Order makes it very clear that masks are required in all indoor K-12 settings, and Virginia expects all schools to comply. Im grateful to the work of the General Assembly and the Health Department, and I look forward to a safe start to the school year.

73 percent of all adults in Virginia have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. As of August 10, 40.3 percent of 12-15 year-olds in Virginia and 51.7 percent of 16-17 year olds in Virginia are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Children under 12 are not yet eligible to receive any available vaccination, which is one reason CDC updated its guidance to recommend universal masking in all K-12 schools. Masks are a proven tool to reduce in-school transmission, even in communities with high levels of spread.

We know that masking is an effective tool to prevent the spread of COVID-19, particularly among children who are not yet eligible for vaccination, said Virginia Health Commissioner Dr. Norm Oliver. As cases rise in our communities, universal masking and other mitigation measures will ensure our schools continue to be the safest place for Virginias children.

The vast majority of school districts have chosen to follow the CDC and keep their school communities safe, said State Superintendent Dr. James Lane. Universal masking has worked in school settings across Virginia for the past year and a half, and it remains a critical part of our safety protocols. Im grateful to Governor Northam and Dr. Oliver for this order, which will ensure uniformity across all school districts and keep students safely in their classroomsno matter where they live in Virginia.

In addition to this Public Health Order, Governor Northam has dedicated significant resources to improve the safety of K-12 schools. On Tuesday, Governor Northam signed House Bill 7001 , which provides a total of $500 million to improve ventilation and air quality in public schools. Ventilation systems clean and disperse air, decreasing the risk of various airborne illnesses including COVID-19.

In 2020, Governor Northam directed $492 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to public schools and PreK-12 state-level education initiatives. This year, Virginia received approximately $939 million in ESSER II funds under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act of 2021. Additionally, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) III funds directly allocate $1.9 billion to school divisions, with an additional state set aside of $211 million.

The Public Health Emergency Order is available here

# # #
The Scottish Hydrogen Fuel Cell Freight Trial (SHyFT), led by Arcola Energy, has secured funding from the Department for Transports Zero Emission Road Freight program for the design of a trial of hydrogen fuel cell trucks, supported by a green hydrogen refueling infrastructure in Scotland.

The project will asses the opportunity for zero-emission fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) with key freight operators who are looking to decarbonize operations in emission sensitive sectors such as utilities, forestry, wholesale food and drink logistics, including cold chain.

The project partners include NewCold, which will provide a deep-dive study on cold chain logistics; The Scottish Wholesale Association; St Andrews University; BOC; and Scottish Power. SHyFT will also make use of Scotlands green hydrogen supply and expanding refuelling infrastructure by incorporating long-distance routes in its testing.

The key objective of the project is to identify early adopters in heavy-duty freight sectors with a strong drive to decarbonize operations. By understanding their use cases, we can specify vehicle and infrastructure requirements for what they need now with a view to expanding capacity and capabilities in other sectors and vehicle types over time. Richard Kemp-Harper, Strategy Director, Arcola Energy

Arcola will model and integrate these early adopter vehicle requirements into a trial concept design and vehicle development program. Based on the outcome of the study, a future trial could involve a test fleet of 20-30 trucks, using three existing refuelers with the potential to add new installations during the trial. The project will also include a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis to help operators evaluate sustainability.

As the lead partner, Arcola is the vehicle OEM integrating the companys scalable fuel cell powertrain platform into a glider chassis. Scottish Power and BOC will provide insight into green hydrogen production, supply and refueling for the trial.

Arcolas proprietary A-Drive technology platform is a production-ready hydrogen fuel cell powertrain platform that can be adapted and scaled to different heavy-duty vehicles and fleets, reducing both cost and development time.





The A-Drive platform integrates and optimizes the performance of all the systems in a fuel cell powertrain: fuel cell, battery, hydrogen storage, power electronics, thermal management, motor and brakes. Each component can be sized and specified for a particular vehicle, and to deliver the performance requirements of the application.

In operation, the A-Drive control systems manage all components to ensure safety and to maximise efficiency, reliability and durability. The platform also communicates the data required by drivers and fleet managers to keep vehicles running and costs down.

The Hydrogen Accelerator at the University of St Andrews will coordinate the feasibility study with the support of Arup.
Sinopec (China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation) has proved another 34.029 billion cubic meters of natural gas at the Zhongjiang Gas Field, bringing the total known natural gas reserves in the Sichuan Basin to 106.1 billion cubic meters.

The Zhongjiang Gas Field (Zhongjiang County of Deyang City) main gas reservoir has a depth of 2,000-3,000 meters and covers an area of 404.9 square kilometers. The gas field is a typical compact sandstone gas reservoir characterized by low porosity, low permeability and strong concealment.

Developed through R&D, Sinopecs integrated evaluation and key supporting technologies strongly buttress the high-quality exploration of Zhongjiang Gas Field, which has a cumulative gas production of 5.29 billion cubic meters with annual production exceeding 1 billion cubic meters for two consecutive yearsthe equivalent to meeting the daily gas consumption of 5.5 million households every year.

The Sichuan Basin is rich in ultra-deep natural gas and deep shale gas resources and is a main front for increasing natural gas reserves and production in the future. In recent years, Sinopec Southwest Oil & Gas Company has successively solved three major problems in oil and gas exploration and development, including narrow-channel tight gas fields; ultra-deep and high-sulfur gas fields; and deep shale gas fields.

It has made China one of the few countries in the world to own the complete exploration and development technologies of ultra-deep, high-sulfur organic reef gas fields, taking the lead in ultra-deep natural gas and deep shale gas exploration and development.

Background. Chinas natural gas production has been steadily rising during the past several years as the country tries to fill the growing need for natural gas, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Chinas NOCs produced an estimated 6.3 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas in 2019, 8% higher than in 2018.

Although still in its early phase, Chinas shale gas production rose substantially by 14% from 2017 levels to about 365 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 2018.

Chinas 13th Five-Year Plan targets natural gas production to reach 6 Tcf for conventional gas, 1.1 Tcf for shale gas, and less than 0.6 Tcf for coalbed methane by 2020.

To promote domestic upstream development of unconventional natural gas, China introduced financial incentives for producers. The government reduced the resource tax on shale gas production from 6% to 4.2% starting in April 2018 through March 2021. In addition, China extended subsidies on all unconventional production through 2023 and, for the first time, included tight gas (low-permeability natural gas found in reservoir rocks) as an unconventional natural gas source eligible to receive subsidies.

Chinas NOCs accelerated their investments in upstream natural gas developments to respond to the governments call in 2018 to ease future natural gas shortages and to make China more self-sufficient in natural gas resources.

Chinas offshore natural gas production increased 10.5% from 2018 to 335 Bcf in 2019, mostly from growth in the South China Sea. CNOOC, Chinas major offshore producer, plans to commission the countrys second deepwater natural gas field, Lingshui 17-2, and the newly explored large Bozhong 19-4 natural gas and condensate field in the Bohai Bay in northeastern China by 2022.

Resources
GREENWICH  One of the towns top shopping destinations, Greenwich Avenue, is showing renewed signs of life, as two new retail stores opened this week and filled some recent vacancies among the storefronts.

Rebag opened at noon Friday, promising consumers a different kind of resale market. The Rebag store located along the middle of the Avenue is the first Connecticut outlet for the brand outside of New York City, California and Miami. The business is looking to take an innovative approach to the consignment field, in which a customer drops off merchandise and waits for it to sell at a price they are hoping to achieve.

Rebag is working on a different model, said Allison Kopp, director of marketing.

Technically, its not consignment, its sell, trade and shop. Its taking the friction out of the resale process, making it effortless, Kopp said.

The business has a large database on the resale prices of various kinds of luxury goods, and that database gives clients the expectation of transparency about an items actual resale value, according to the company.

The company is tapping into the circular market, the trendy term for selling used items, that has become a preferred term in the field. The concept promotes sustainability and environmental awareness, and re-shifting consumer and spending priorities.

Our customers can enjoy the circular fashion experience with minimal friction thanks to our proprietary technology that makes buying, selling, and trading items super simple and easy to do, Charles Gorra, CEO and founder of Rebag, said in an email.

Unlike consignment or peer-to-peer alternatives, we buy items outright with quick and upfront payment. You can get an instant offer online or visit us in stores to sell in less than an hour for cash or Rebag credit, Gorra said.

For shoppers, he said, all of the stores items have been thoroughly vetted, and new items are coming in every week. The store also offers a trading option, as well, so a client can can buy and sell in just one transaction and only pay the difference.

The store offers handbags, jewelry and accessories to shoppers.

The new business replaces an Orvis outlet, which closed earlier this summer.

The local location seemed like a natural progression for Rebag, Gorra said.

Greenwich has always been a luxury shopping destination for local communities in Connecticut and New York. Plus, due to COVID-19, many consumers have been moving out to more open suburbs still within access to New York, driving many of our customers to the Connecticut area, he said.

Opening a physical location in Greenwich is a natural next step to meet our customers where they are, and it builds on our retail strategy of penetrating local markets where our customers dwell, while serving as a convenient drop off point for sellers, Gorra said.

Less than a block away, Faherty, a clothing store, has opened on the corner of Lewis Street, replacing a former Anne Klein shop. The store bills itself as a modern American heritage brand committed to creating comfortable and high-quality staple.

It is the first Connecticut store for the brand. Faherty also has stores in California, Florida, New York and New Jersey as well as in Chicago, Boston, Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard, and more.

rmarchant@greenwichtime.com
Back in 2018, when there was talk he might run for president, Andrew Cuomo insisted there was only one reason he would leave office early. And it wasn't the White House. The only caveat, he said, is if God strikes me dead.

Another possibility will be realized this week, when the Democrat resigns in disgrace, his allies gone, his legacy stained by allegations of sexual harassment. This ending was not brought about by a bolt from the heavens, but by 11 women who told their stories to investigators.

For those who watched Cuomo's daily COVID-19 briefings and saw a beacon of strength and competence, Cuomo's departure from the governor's mansion may seem a stunning reversal. For New Yorkers, and especially those who butted heads with Cuomo, it is a story about how his drive to dominate made him the master of New York politics and brought about his downfall.

My natural instinct is to be aggressive, and it doesnt always serve me well, Cuomo acknowledged in a recent memoir detailing his response to the pandemic. I am a controlling personality. ... But you show me a person who is not controlling, and Ill show you a person who is probably not highly successful.

But if equating control with success led to Cuomo's accomplishments, it also precipitated his undoing. Many of Cuomo's accusers told investigators that the governor used his power, and the threat of retaliation, to harass them, believing they would never report him.

The Andrew Cuomo Ive known since 1995 has always been about power and control, said Karen Hinton, a former aide to Cuomo when he was housing secretary under President Bill Clinton. His bullying, his flirting, his sexual overtones are largely about controlling the person. He thought he'd get away with it because of that power and control."

Hinton is not among the 11 women at the center of the attorney general's report, but she has said Cuomo once gave her an uncomfortable hug in a hotel room that was too long, too tight, too intimate.

The investigation overseen by New York Attorney General Letitia James and led by two outside lawyers substantiated accusations that Cuomo touched women inappropriately, commented on their appearance or made suggestive comments about their sex lives. Most of the women worked in state government.

Cuomo has apologized for some of his actions, and said others were misunderstood. He has said some of the accusations are unfair and untruthful and driven by politics. While he was initially defiant, he announced earlier this month that he plans to resign Monday. He will be replaced by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is set to become New York's first female governor.

But not before one last emergency to challenge Cuomo in his final days. The arrival of Tropical Storm Henri on Sunday put Cuomo back in the familiar role of responding to a natural disaster. Whether it was Superstorm Sandy, winter storms in Buffalo or just a typical upstate snowstorm, Cuomo the executive always seemed to be most engaged in times of natural disaster, sometimes even personally responding to motorists stranded in snowstorms (always captured on film, of course).

The son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo, Andrew seemed destined to follow in his father's steps. As a young man, he served as aide and campaign manager for his father before joining Clinton's cabinet. He returned to New York for a failed bid for governor in 2002, then won the attorney general's office four years later. In 2010, he ran for governor again and won.

Almost immediately, he began to leave his imprint on the state. He angered progressives by making deals with Republicans. He announced big economic development programs designed to turn around the upstate economy. He corralled votes for gay marriage, gun control and tax caps.

If he had won a fourth term in 2022, he would have surpassed his father's three terms in office.

Though he excels at the backroom deal-making culture of Albany, Cuomo never seemed as comfortable with the personal side of politics. He's not a baby kisser, but rather a political operator who knows how the sausage gets made and seems to enjoy the work.

Cuomo also appeared to delight in diminishing opponents and critics, be they reporters or political rivals. He mocked one GOP opponent as short, dismissed 2018 Democratic Primary challenger Cynthia Nixon as a prosecco sipping" actress and regularly bedeviled his one-time friend turned nemesis, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Cuomo declined to comment to The Associated Press through a spokesman, who also declined to comment on his behalf. Cuomo's remaining loyalists have instead taken to social media to defend his accomplishments as governor, a list that includes the very sexual harassment laws he is accused of violating.

It's not the only contradiction in his long career.

He built more new bridges, train stations and airport facilities than any governor in decades, but he slashed funding to local governments struggling to pay for aging sewers and roads.

He bragged about investments in new businesses and in western New York, but many programs generated little besides state-funded commercials featuring Cuomo. Two of Cuomo's closest advisers were sentenced to jail for corruption related to spending on economic development. Investigations into Cuomo's role ended without charges.

He won an Emmy for his daily COVID-19 briefings and was so proud of the state's response that he wrote a book  even as his administration was accused of covering up deaths in nursing homes after it forced them to accept virus patients.

The country was mesmerized by Gov. Cuomo's blunt talk about the pandemic, but he didn't even follow the experts, said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause, a good government group that has long butted heads with Cuomo. That's emblematic of his style: The performance looks great, but when you get into the details, there are big holes and very little substance.

State Sen. Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, said it's too soon to review Cuomo's performance as governor, given that there are criminal investigations into the harassment allegations and questions about his handling of nursing homes during the pandemic.

New Yorks attorney general is also examining whether Cuomo improperly had state employees help with his book about the pandemic

Lawmakers will know more once Cuomo leaves office and they can assess whether his administration exaggerated some of its accomplishments.

His legacy will also be based on what we learn, Krueger said.

Cuomo hasnt said where he will live after vacating the governors mansion in Albany. The Westchester County home that he once shared with ex-partner Sandra Lee has been sold. Lee, the cookbook author and television chef, has since moved to California, though she's been seen recently in Europe with a new boyfriend.

His next professional steps are also unclear. With a law degree and deep experience in brokering deals, Cuomo could work as an attorney or a real estate development executive.

Could he try for a comeback? His campaign coffers remain flush, with $18 million. Former Rep. Anthony Weiner and former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who both stepped down amid sex scandals, tried to run for office in New York City. Both lost.

In todays post #MeToo climate, the public may be even less forgiving, according to Doug Muzzio, a political scientist at Baruch College.

It will overshadow most voters' thinking, Muzzio said. He has a lot of accomplishments. He has been a master builder. When he got elected, the state was in a $10 billion budget hole. And he solved it without raising taxes. But will anyone remember that?
WESTERLY, R.I. (AP)  Tropical Storm Henri socked the Northeast with strong winds as it made landfall Sunday on the coast of Rhode Island and sent lashing bands of rain westward, knocking out power to over 140,000 homes and causing deluges that closed bridges, swamped roads and left some people stranded in their vehicles.

The storm was downgraded from a hurricane before reaching New England, leaving many to breathe a sigh of relief, but the National Hurricane Center warned the slow-moving storm would continue dumping heavy rains on wide swaths of the region well beyond the weekend.

Over two days, heavy, sustained rains flooded areas as far southwest as New Jersey, even as it took on tropical depression status.

The storm threatened to stall near the New York-Connecticut border overnight, before pivoting east and moving out toward the Atlantic Ocean on Monday. Some of the highest rain totals were expected inland. There were few early reports of major coastal damage due to wind or surf.

President Joe Biden on Sunday promised to provide federal help to the residents of affected states. The president declared disasters in much of the region, opening the purse strings for federal recovery aid.

Biden earlier had offered his condolences to the people of Tennessee, after severe flooding from an unrelated storm killed at least 22, including young children and elderly people, and left dozens of others missing.

When it made landfall near Westerly, Rhode Island, Henri had sustained winds of about 60 mph and gusts of up to 70 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. By late Sunday, Henri had sustained winds of about 30 mph (48 kph) as it moved across Connecticut toward the New York state line.

Some of the worst rain arrived well before the storm's center. In Helmetta, New Jersey, some 200 residents fled for higher ground, taking refuge in hotels or with friends and family, as flood waters inundated their homes.

It came so quick  in the blink of an eye, said the town's mayor, Christopher Slavicek, whose parents were spending the night after fleeing their home.

Now there's clean up. So this is far from over, the mayor said.

Some communities in central New Jersey were inundated with as much as 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain by midday Sunday. In Jamesburg, television video footage showed flooded downtown streets and cars almost completely submerged.

In Newark, Public Safety Director Brian OHara said police and firefighters rescued 86 people in 11 incidents related to the storm. He said significant flooding led to multiple vehicles submerged in flooded areas.

This could have been a lot worse, particularly as it relates to wind, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Sunday evening.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said Henri was close to being in the rear view mirror, but said theres still more work to do, even as mandatory evacuations were being lifted in some communities. About 250 residents from four nursing homes on the shoreline had to be relocated to other nursing homes.

Several major bridges in Rhode Island, which stitch together much of the state, were briefly shuttered Sunday, and some coastal roads were nearly impassable.

In Newport, Paul and Cherie Saunders rode out the storm in a home that her family has owned since the late 1950s. Their basement flooded with 5 feet of water during Superstorm Sandy nine years ago.

This house has been through so many hurricanes and so many things have happened, said Cherie Saunders, 68. Were just going to wait and see what happens.

Rhode Island has been hit by hurricanes and tropical storms periodically  including Superstorm Sandy in 2012, Irene in 2011 and Hurricane Bob in 1991. The city of Providence sustained so much flooding damage from a hurricane in 1938 and Hurricane Carol in 1954 that it built a hurricane barrier in the 1960s to protect its downtown from a storm surge coming up Narragansett Bay. That barrier  and newer gates built nearby  were closed for hours Sunday before reopening.

The National Weather Service recorded what could be the wettest hour ever in Central Park, with 1.94 inches of torrential rainfall pelting the park between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday. Earlier in the evening, thousands attending a Homecoming concert at the park were forced to disperse because of heavy rainfall.

After passing back through New England and sweeping out into the Atlantic over the next couple of days, the hurricane center predicted, Henri "will lose its identity.

Until then, areas from northeast Pennsylvania through New England braced for heavy rains.

Marshall Shepherd, director of the atmospheric sciences program at the University of Georgia and former president of the American Meteorological Society, said Henri was reminiscent in some ways of Hurricane Harvey, a slow-moving storm that decimated the Houston area in 2017.

To the west side of the storm, you have a banding feature that has literally been stationary  sitting there and dumping rain. That will be a significant hazard for the New York and New Jersey area," Shepherd said.

After Tropical Storm Irene roared up the coast in August 2011, many were relieved when the New York City area largely was spared. But then the storm settled over the Green Mountains, and Irene became the biggest natural disaster to hit Vermont since an epic 1927 flood. Parts of the state got 11 inches of rain in just 24 hours. Irene killed six in Vermont, left thousands homeless, and damaged or destroyed more than 200 bridges and 500 miles of highway.

I remember Irene and media outlets outside Vermont brushing it aside as if no big deal while it hit Vermont, Robert Welch, a podcaster, tweeted Sunday. Ill relax when I see it at sea on radar.

In one of his final appearances as governor before he is set to step down at the end of Monday over a sexual harassment scandal, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the states primary concern were inland areas like the Hudson River Valley, north of New York City, which was projected to get inches of rain over the next few days.

In the Hudson Valley you have hills, you have creeks, the water comes running down those hills and turns a creek into a ravaging river," Cuomo said.

Major airports in the region remained open as the storm approached, though hundreds of Sundays flights were canceled. Service on some branches of New York Citys commuter rail system was suspended through Sunday, as was Amtrak service between New York and Boston.

Power outages affected power to 130,000 homes across Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York.

Connecticut's largest electric utility said it had restored 20,000 customers but thousands like Linda Orlomoski, who lives in Canterbury, remained without power.

I havent seen any trucks at all in my neighborhood but the opposite end of my road had their power restored before 6 p.m. So close and yet so far! she said. Its supposed to get nasty hot and humid again on Tuesday. So if we still have no power by then, that will be miserable.

___

Kunzelman reported from Newport, Rhode Island. Porter reported from New York. Associated Press writers William J. Kole in Warwick, Rhode Island, Michelle Smith in Providence, Rhode Island, Michael R. Sisak and Julie Walker from East Hampton, Will Lester in Washington, Philip Marcelo in Boston, Michael Melia in Hartford, Connecticut, Susan Haigh in Norwich, Connecticut, and Bobby Caina Calvan in New York contributed to this report.

___

This story has been corrected to show that a quoted utility customers last name is Orlomoski, not Oski.




Haiti - Earthquake : Switzerland mobilizes specialists, equipment and funds





Following the earthquake on August 14 in Haiti https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34525-haiti-flash-the-toll-is-growing-nearly-15-000-victims-partial-assessment.html , Switzerland has mobilized specialized staff and equipment to support the Haitian Civil Protection. Switzerlands humanitarian assistance is facilitated through its embassy in Haiti.



A plane with members of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Corps (CSA) on board took off from Berne-Belp regional airport (south of the capital) for Haiti on Thursday (August 19th). The team consists of a logistician, two water and sanitation specialists, two structural engineers, a disaster area advisor and a team leader.



This secondment supports actions already initiated by the Swiss Embassy in Port-au-Prince, which immediately mobilized its staff on site after the earthquake, in particular architects, emergency shelter and risk reduction specialists, to support the Haitian civil protection in the needs assessment.



Currently located in Port-Salut, in the district of Les Cayes near the epicenter, the Swiss teams are hard at work to deploy 3,250 tarpaulins and two drinking water distribution modules of 5,000 liters each, in the areas affected. Equipment was already stored on site, for deployment during such a disaster.



The Development and Cooperation Directorate (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs - FDFA) plans to allocate a total of one million Swiss francs ( US $ 1.1 million) to support emergency aid. Among other things, 500,000 francs will be used for appeals from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and the UN and 100,000 francs for the activities of the Swiss Red Cross. The FDFA, through its humanitarian aid, also plans to make other CSA specialists available to UN organizations.



Read also about the earthquake :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34554-icihaiti-earthquake-the-army-to-protect-humanitarian-convoys.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34551-haiti-earthquakethe-ccrif-will-pay-nearly-$40m-compensation-to-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34545-haiti-earthquake-the-private-sector-is-mobilizing-to-come-to-the-aid-of-the-victims.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34543-haiti-flash-at-least-266-national-schools-damaged-or-destroyed.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34540-haiti-earthquake-the-international-community-continues-to-mobilize.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34538-haiti-flash-at-least-3-aftershocks-between-47-and-51-in-48-hours.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34537-haiti-earthquake-more-than-half-of-churches-are-destroyed.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34525-haiti-flash-the-toll-is-growing-nearly-15-000-victims-partial-assessment.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34522-haiti-humanitarian-update-on-international-aid.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34520-haiti-unicef-nearly-540-000-children-in-haiti-were-affected-by-the-earthquake.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34516-haiti-flash-nearly-2-000-dead-and-10-000-injured-partial-assessment.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34512-haiti-earthquake-rain-of-messages-of-sympathy-part-2.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34509-haiti-earthquake-mexico-chile-taiwan-japan-venezuela-international-aid-is-coming.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34507-haiti-flash-1-417-dead-6-975-injured-84-225-houses-destroyed-or-damaged-partial-assessment.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34501-icihaiti-earthquake-food-for-the-poor-in-action.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34500-haiti-usa-american-aid-arrives-in-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34498-haiti-flash-the-partial-death-toll-increases-nearly-1-300-dead-and-5-700-injured.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34496-haiti-flash-the-toll-is-increasing-724-dead-international-aid-is-arriving.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34493-haiti-earthquake-rain-of-messages-of-sympathy-part-1.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34492-haiti-earthquake-the-international-community-has-started-to-show-its-solidarity.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34488-haiti-flash-more-than-300-dead-nearly-2-000-injured-very-significant-material-damage-provisional-assessment.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34487-haiti-flash-the-human-toll-promises-to-be-heavy-already-227-dead-and-hundreds-injured.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34486-haiti-flash-7-new-aftershocks-in-the-southern-peninsula.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34480-haiti-flash-second-earthquake-in-haiti-magnitude-52.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34479-haiti-flash-magnitude-72-earthquake-in-the-nippes-updated-10am.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





USA : Haiti is already talking about reconstruction aid

Edmond Bochitt, Ambassador of Haiti to Washington D.C., spoke with the leader of the majority bloc of the United States Senate, Senator Chuck Schumer. Discussions focused on US aid following the earthquake and the need for long-term, sustainable US support for reconstruction.



MSF sends 100 tonnes of aid

In response to the August 14 earthquake, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) prepared two planes containing 100 tonnes of humanitarian aid in total. A first plane left Brussels (Belgium) should arrive in Haiti early this Saturday, August 22, the second should take off soon. These planes contain, among other things, equipment to purify water, produce energy and medical treatment supplies for 30,000 people, as well as dozens of tents.



Government steps up aid transport

The Haitian government continues to strengthen its aid delivery strategy to the southern region to accelerate the distribution of assistance to the population affected by the August 14 earthquake. Shipping will now be done by sea, air and land.



Sunrise Airways : 17 additional flights in 7 days

Since August 14, in 7 days, the Haitian company Sunrise Airways has added 16 additional flights to scheduled flights, either chartered by organizations or courtesy of the company.



The Minister of Tourism distributes food kits

The Minister of Tourism, Mrs. L. K. Cassandra Francois proceeded Friday August 20, with the distribution of food kits in the locality of the 4th communal section of Fond des Negres.



The American special envoy is against a two-headed executive

Washington's special envoy to Haiti, Daniel Foote, completed a series of meetings in Haiti with, in particular, political actors on the crisis. On the proposal of a two-headed (unelected) executive as part of a transitional period, Foote replied "to prefer one unconstitutional ruler over two unconstitutional rulers at the head of the country."



HL/ HaitiLibre


















At 12:00, a Turkish drone launched an attack on a car in front of the House of the War-Wounded in the city of Qamishlo.

This is not the first time that the car of the leader of the People's Protection Units, Rinas Roj, and the headquarters of the Military Council in the Tel Tamer district have been targeted.

The co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, SDC, Riad Darar, made it clear that the crimes committed by Turkey and its mercenaries are "not justified in the first place, and they are no longer counted among their many."

Riad Dirar indicated that the attack that targeted the House of the War-Wounded in the city of Qamishlo is a war crime in the full sense. He stressed that in the Syrian Democratic Council, they will prepare a statement condemning these attacks, and calling on the international community and the guarantor countries, whether Russia or America, to condemn these acts.

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ANHA
This week's Arab newspapers covered the situation in Afghanistan, in addition to the Iraqi division over Syria's invitation to the Baghdad summit, as well as the situation in Libya.

Armed opposition to the Taliban gather in the Panjshir Valley

Regarding the situation in Afghanistan, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper said: Ahmed Masoud, son of Ahmed Shah Masoud, who was one of the main leaders of the resistance to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the eighties of the last century, pledged to stand firm in the face of the Taliban from his stronghold in the Panjshir Valley, where armed opponents gather to rule movement in Kabul.

Ahmed Masoud, 32, whose father was assassinated by al-Qaeda in 2001, demanded in an article published by the "Washington Post" newspaper, on Wednesday, for American support with weapons and ammunition for the militia he leads in Afghanistan in order to resist the "Taliban." The Taliban has never been able to control the hard-to-reach Panjshir Valley.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the resistance against the "Taliban" is concentrated in Panjshir with former Vice President Amrullah Saleh and the son of Ahmed Shah Massoud. "(The Taliban) does not control all the Afghan territory," Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow. Information arrives on the situation in the Panjshir Valley, northeast of Kabul, where the resistance forces of Vice President (Amr Allah) Saleh and Ahmed Masoud are stationed. Lavrov called again for a "national dialogue that would allow the formation of a representative government," stressing that Russia was mainly insisting on such a mechanism to end the Afghan conflict before the Taliban took control of Kabul and most of the country.

"America can still be a great arsenal of democracy" by supporting his fighters "who are once again ready to confront (the Taliban)," Ahmed Masoud said in his article in the "Washington Post" newspaper. The French Press Agency indicated that his father, Ahmed Shah Massoud, was one of the heroes of the anti-Soviet resistance and fought the "Taliban".

Ahmed Masoud, who leads a political party called the "Resistance Front", published a column on Monday in the French magazine "La Regal de Jo", founded by writer Bernard-Henri Levy, in which he asserted that he wanted to make his father's battle his "war". He called on Afghans to join him in our stronghold of Panjshir; It is the last free zone in our dying country.

In his article in the Washington Post, Ahmed Masoud said Afghan army soldiers "outraged at the surrender of their leaders" as well as some members of the Afghan Special Forces, have moved to Panjshir.

This article came on the heels of Amrullah Saleh, a close aide to Ahmad Shah Massoud and later vice president, declaring that he was the legitimate president of Afghanistan after Ashraf Ghani fled Kabul with the Taliban taking control of the Afghan capital on Sunday.

Indicators of disagreement between the Iraqi government and the PMF over Syria's invitation to the Baghdad Regional Summit

Regarding Syrias invitation to the Baghdad summit, Al-Arab newspaper said: Signs of a dispute have surfaced between the Iraqi government and the Popular Mobilization, which is classified as an official body within the Iraqi state institutions, regarding Syrias invitation to attend the regional summit hosted by Baghdad later this month, and the government of Mustafa Al-Kazemi hopes to make Among them is a diplomatic achievement that counts as a major step towards restoring Iraq to its previous position among the countries of the region and the world.

The Iraqi government overlooked Syria's invitation to the summit due to the fact that invited forces, including France, did not recognize the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but the Popular Mobilization Committee took the initiative to send the invitation that was carried to Damascus by its head, Faleh al-Fayyad.

On Monday, the Iraqi government denied sending an official invitation to Assad to attend the summit and repudiated any invitation that might have been directed at it.

Iraqi sources ruled out that sending this invitation resulted from a mere misunderstanding or weakness in coordination between the PMF and the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, stressing that it was made on the basis of the tripartite alliance between Syria, the PMF militias and Iran, and it is expected that the latter knew in advance of Fayyads move and might be behind the invitation with the aim of embarrassing the Al-Kazemi government.

The same sources considered that the early emergence of al-Assad's invitation sows doubts about the Iraqi government's ability to make the summit a success in the absence of an internal consensus on who will attend it, expecting that the PMF in the coming days will escalate its pressure out of its disagreement with the presence of regional powers that it classifies as its enemy in return for the absence of its ally, Damascus.

It pointed out that the PMF does not have the luxury of accepting the exclusion of Syria from the summit, because for it this means accepting Iraq's involvement in isolating Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement commenting on what was reported by Arab media outlets regarding Fayyad's handing over an invitation to Assad to attend the summit, during a meeting they gathered on Sunday in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

The ministry said in the statement, "Some media outlets circulated news that the Iraqi government submitted an invitation to the Syrian government to participate in the summit meeting of neighboring countries, which is scheduled to be held at the end of this month in Baghdad."

They added that she "is not concerned with this invitation, and that the official invitations are sent by an official letter and in the name of the Iraqi Prime Minister, and no other party has the right to submit the invitation in its name."

On the Syrian side, the official news agency, SANA, said that President al-Assad had received a message from the Iraqi Prime Minister regarding the conference of Iraqs Neighboring Countries to be held in Baghdad at the end of August.

The agency stated that the message conveyed by Al-Fayyad also touched on the importance of Syrian-Iraqi coordination on the conference and the topics on its agenda.

It added that during the meeting, they "discussed the measures taken to enhance joint bilateral cooperation in all fields, especially with regard to combating terrorism and controlling border security."

Brotherhood of Libya .. A desperate defense for the survival of mercenaries

As for the Libyan issue, Al Bayan newspaper said: "The Brotherhood of Libya and their allies launched a sharp attack on the Military Committee of the Joint Committee "5 + 5", because of its call to freeze all agreements and memoranda of understanding with foreign countries and to evacuate foreign fighters from all regions of the country. Libya affiliated with the Brotherhood in the attack on the Military Committee Observers stressed that the attack on the Joint Military Committee is the strategy of the Brotherhood and those in their orbit, in reference to militia leaders, warlords, corruption lobbies, and some leaders associated with the Brotherhood movement.

The Military Committee directed a letter to the Presidential Council, the Government, the House of Representatives, and the UN mission, in which it demanded the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2510 with the exit of mercenaries and foreign fighters from Libyan territory, and the freezing of military agreements and memoranda of understanding with any foreign country or foreign entity throughout Libya and announcing this officially to When the head of state is directly elected by the people, so that the joint military committee can begin the procedures for implementing the exit and departure of mercenaries, fighters and foreign forces from the country.

The committee warned the Presidential Council, the Interim Government of National Unity and the House of Representatives against the outbreak of war due to the seriousness of the situation and the vacancy of the position of the Minister of Defense so far. ".

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ANHA
Saleh Muslim said that the Turkish state-led war coalition was based on hostility towards the Kurds, and added, "This coalition must shed blood in order to protect itself, and it will collapse if the war stops."

Member of the co- chairmanship of the Democratic Union Party, the PYD, Saleh Muslim, spoke to ANHA agency about Turkish state attacks on Shengal and North and East Syria, and the silence of the Iraqi Government and international forces.



Saleh Muslim offered the beginning of his condolences to the Shengal people and the Kurdish people in general, and said about the recent attacks on Shengal: "This attack took place on the anniversary of the Shengal massacre, on the anniversary of the August 15th, and on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Mam Zaki. The Turkish state insists on implementing what ISIS has not been able to do. It was aimed at exterminating the Kurds and the vanguard, and undoubtedly the execution of this attack on August 15th is a message to the Kurdish people in general that you cannot expand August 15th and claim your rights.

Shengal Agreement concluded between the Governments of Baghdad and Erbil is a continuation of the annihilation of the Yazidi people; The Turkish state states that the agreement was signed under its supervision; However, the resistance of the Shengal people prevented its implementation, as the Shengal people prevented their army from entering Shengal. "



Muslim referred to the martyrdom of the commander of the Shengal Resistance Units, Saeed Hassan, and the massacre at the Sakena Hospital, and said: "On the way that Saeed Hassan was supposed to meet with Kazemi, he was targeted. This is a message addressed to Baghdad and to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK) to the effect that "if you do not eliminate the Yazidi people, I will eliminate them."

They should have responded to the martyrdom of someone like Saeed Hassan, but unfortunately there is no response yet. That's bad. The Iraqi Government must assume its responsibility for this and say that this is unacceptable, Shengal province is far away hundreds of kilometres from the Turkish border and poses no danger to it. The Turkish state was violating Iraq's sovereignty by such attacks and had bombed the wounded who had been taken to the hospital.



There is no law in the world that allows hospitals to be bombed, even military ones, but everyone is silent on that. Because they find no one to stop them, especially international powers. International forces must shoulder their responsibilities towards humanity and towards its principles. "

Muslim said that the failure to take any position by Kazemi was a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, adding on the subject: "Above all, there must be sovereignty in order to reinforce trust with citizens and with internal forces. Turkey itself says, "Our borders are our honor." Aren't people's borders also its? It must respect Iraq's honour and not compromise it. "



Attacks on Shengal coincided with similar attacks on north and east Syria, and around attacks on north and east Syria, Muslim said: "Since 2014, the Turkish state has been planning to exterminate Kurds, and eliminate the Kurdish People's Liberation Movement. Supporting ISIS and sending it to north and east Syria was part of the plan. So far its plan hasn't been foiled. It founded ISIS as well as other factions, such as Jabhet al-Nusra, in order to send them to attack areas in north and east Syria, occupying our territory through ISIS and other mercenary gangs.

The difference between them and the current attacks is that the Turkish state attacks itself and openly. Our regions, such as, Shahba, Tal Raffit, Ain Issa, Tal Tamr, Zergan and Qamishlo are attacked on a daily basis. It wants to intimidate the residents of the area and displace them, also added is the special war that it runs and the attempts to recruit and use agents and spies to kill people. All these things are linked.



Noting that the attacks were escalating as a result of the internal problems of the Turkish state, he said that the war coalition, it was leading was based on hostility towards the Kurds, adding "This alliance must shed blood in order to protect itself, and it will collapse if the war stops. They also have many internal problems, in order to hide them and prolong it; They have to fight in every direction. It tried to fight in Libya, Azerbaijan, etc. Currently it can do nothing in Libya and Azerbaijan, so there's only Kurdistan left. It therefore fights from Afrin to Iran's borders.

Wherever you find a weakness you'll attack. It's fighting at random. As is known, there are standards of war that state that hospitals and civilians are not targeted, all of which have been violated by the Turkish state. it doesn't even care about ethical standards either. Water is cut off from the people of the region in order to force their surrender. It cut off Afrin for months. And now it is cutting the water from al-Hasakah. These are all crimes against humanity."

Muslim noted that both Russia and the Damascus Government remained silent about the Turkish attacks, and said in this regard: "The Turkish state is a member of NATO and generally violates NATO standards. So far, no one has raised their voices. It also violates the truce held with Russia. Before the attack on the headquarters of the military junta in Tal Tamr, the people demonstrated in front of the headquarters of the Russian forces. An hour later, it was attacked, they see but they are ignoring the violations. Neither the United States nor Russia are telling the Turkish state that it is violating the agreement. The result of this agreement was that the Syrian Democratic Forces withdrew 30 miles away.

Referring to relations with Russia, Muslim said: "There has been contact between the region and the Russians since 2012. We have always explained our goals to them and are well aware of our plans within Syria. In 2015, Russians entered the region to protect the Damascus Government. Sometimes they also look at the Kurd and say hello. But they didn't say or do anything serious for the Kurdish people. All their negotiations with the Kurd were against either Turkey or the Damascus Government, they're trading Turkey in Kurd, and they're doing the same thing with the Damascus Government. They're not serious about the Kurd. Especially since someone like Putin knows the Kurdish issue very well and he has to focus on this one himself. The Russians are required to take this case seriously. What are our demands, we want Russia to do in Syria what it did for its people inside Russia, building a democratic Syria? Today Turkey is undergoing demographic change in Kurdish areas. And Syria wants the same thing. The Damascus Government has no objection to the existence of hard liners gangs, but it does not want to have Kurds in those areas. The Damascus Government must abandon this mentality, which will give it nothing.

Its views have brought Syria to this point. Hopefully you'll give that up. We look positively at Bashar al - Assad's statements, and no one can eliminate this authentic people. Since 1963, the Damascus Government has sought this goal, but it has not succeeded. The Government is turning a blind eye to the recent attacks.

And a Muslim predicted that the Afghan crisis would cast a shadow everywhere. "ISIS showed up with a few. When did ISIS manage? When it seized the Iraqi army's weapons, it acquired the power of a state. There is also a force behind ISIS that has contributed to its power, seeking to establish an Islamic state in Iraq and Syria. Then gradually expand. This project was for the Middle East: But the project hasn't implemented.

Now they're applying the same project in Afghanistan. Afghans have been displaced and the Taliban have seized Government arms, American weapons, helicopters and air power, and become a State by surprise. It was not a week that I took control of Kabul.



What they have not been able to achieve in the Middle East is sought in Afghanistan. To date, States have stressed the need to establish relations with the Taliban and have prepared for their recognition. It gives legitimacy to the establishment of an Islamic succession in Afghanistan. That's a bomb. There are a lot of doctrines in Afghanistan, and they have problems with China, Iran, Russia and its allies such as Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. America left the bomb in Afghanistan and withdrew.

Muslim called for the support of Shengal and the escalation of the struggle "who does not embrace the Shengal resistance is not Kurdish, Kurdistan is not possible without Shengal. Because the original roots of the Kurd are in Shengal. The Yazidis resist attacks and must be protected because it is a matter of honour. We have to support them. And we'll do what's needed. Why is the enemy seeking to occupy Shengal? In order to isolate Southern Kurdistan from Rojava. We need to strengthen our organization to win. That's just how we can stand up to enemy schemes. "

T/S

ANHA
Layla, 11, is among top Braille readers in the U.S.

Layla Hildenbrand, shown taking one of the tests in the Braille Challenge, finished third in the national competition.

MILLS RIVER  Layla is a typical 11-year-old, if a precocious one. She likes to read, play piano and in her free time hang out with friends at the neighborhood pool.



Because of a condition called leber congenital amaurosis, Layla has been blind since birth, though lacking sight has not slowed her down. She finished third in her age category last month in the National Braille Challenge, held virtually this year from the Braille Institute Los Angeles.

The daughter of Jason and Stacie Hildenbrand of Mills River, Layla learned Braille very early and began reading at around age 2 or 3. She started school at Helping Hands preschool, where she first met Rachel Harris. Harris is Laylas TVI, or teacher of students with visual impairments.

Shes still her TVI today, Stacie Hildenbrand said. Shes a fabulous TVI.

Hildenbrand also credits Angie Russell, a Braille specialist for the Henderson County school system, for helping Layla.

She is the one who makes sure all print material is put in Braille for Laylas school work, she said. She is another fantastic resource and reason why Layla has been successful in her education career.

Mainstreamed at Glenn Marlow Elementary School in Mills River, Layla has thrived. Harris regularly monitors classes to make sure all Laylas material was in Braille or a tactile form.

She also helps teach teachers how to adapt material for Layla and then at Glenn Marlow, all the teachers and John Hart, the principal, were amazing at challenging her, taking blindness out of the situation and still teaching the child like they would all the other kids and then Rachel kind of adapted the materials, Hildenbrand said. They really challenged her, shes been in the AIG classes. Academically, shes top of her class.

After winning the Braille Challenge for all of North Carolina in February, Layla competed at the national level along with the 49 other finalists from across the U.S. Canada. The challenge tests reading comprehension, speed and accuracy, proof reading and charts and graphs. Layla is a veteran of the national challenge; this year was the third time shes made it.

She was shocked (that she won) because she said the tests were very hard and she was very very proud to score third place, her mom said. In addition to a trophy, she won an iPad that is adapted for use by blind students.

Layla has been taking piano since she was four, and also enjoys swimming and has taken gymnastics in the past. She has a younger sister, Natalie, who is 8. She is definitely a great role model and Natalie wants to be just like her big sister, Hildenbrand said. Tracie works as a substitute teacher at Glenn Marlow and Rugby and Jason is a sales rep for a national roofing products company.

Layla starts classes next week to Rugby Middle School, where Harris and Russell will continue to monitor her courses.

We have always believed that her blindness would not limit her abilities and success, Hildenbrand said. And we are beyond proud of her for placing third in the Braille Challenge national competition and we know that despite her blindness she will be able to achieve any goal she sets her mind to.

Layla has already formed some ideas about what those goals might be.

She wants to be an author or a dolphin trainer, Hildenbrand said. On a trip to Clearwater, Florida, the family met Winter, the inspiration for Dolphin Tale, the 2011 movie about a dolphin that loses her tail in a crab trap and gets a prosthetic one.
IT has been hailed as a mini Glastonbury-on-Thames  a riotous festival of Englishness whose attractions include a Tetbury-sized antique market and a Portobello Roads worth of assorted clothes, jewellery and bric-a-brac.

Not to mention the worlds largest gathering of traditional boats that one spectator has likened to a river version of Danny Boyles 2012 Olympic opening ceremony.

Now, following a year unavoidably spent in dry dock, the Thames Traditional Boat Festival is returning to Fawley Meadows in Henley over the August bank holiday weekend.

Popularly known as the Trad the event was first held in 1978 as the Thames Traditional Boat Rally.

In 2015 the organisers decided to change the name from Rally to Festival to emphasise that the Trad is for everyone and not just people who happen to own boats.

This inclusive approach paid off handsomely, with successive increases in the number of visitors each year since then.

For logistical reasons, the event always takes place two weeks after Henley Royal Regatta, meaning this years Trad is happening a month and a half later than usual.

But with plans in place for an even more riotously enjoyable event, the organisers are hoping last years absence will have made Trad-goers hearts grow fonder still.

Festival secretary Clive Hemsley said: We are returning with an even bigger and better range of attractions aimed at creating an exciting and fun-filled weekend for families and traditional boat owners alike.

Following on from the highly acclaimed 2019 event, Trad 21 features a gathering of more than 150 traditional boats, making this the largest event of its type in the world, with all the quintessential English eccentricity that makes it so utterly unique.

The star of the show is the 1893 steam passenger launch Alaska. She is the oldest such craft still operating on the Thames and will be running a full schedule of trips up and down the Henley reach throughout the weekend.

A flotilla of 18 Dunkirk Little Ships will be on parade, commemorating the daring 1941 evacuation of British and French troops trapped under heavy bombardment on the beaches of northern France.

We also have vintage flying displays from the Bremont Great War Team and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flights, classic cars and bikes, wartime military and amphibious vehicles, traditional fairground attractions and a great selection of top quality food and drink outlets.

Rounding off the Saturday evening is the Illuminated Parade  a shimmering display of boats and veteran bicycles lit up in the twilight of a summers evening.

As in previous years, there will be a family dog show on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Prizes will be awarded each day for the visitor judged to be wearing the most appropriate period costume.

The fun starts next Friday with what the festivals co-chairman Lady Judy McAlpine called a soft opening but a party night.

This year the Trad is offering evening tickets costing 5 for Trad-goers who want to dance, listen to the music, have dinner or simply enjoy a drink or two.

On the music front, the festivals pop-up pub the Crooked Billet is hosting gigs by The Covered (Friday and Saturday), Night Train (Sunday) and Andy Crowdys Led Zeppelin Project, featuring an all-star line-up of guest musicians (bank holiday Monday). These are free to enjoy with a general admission tickets.

For more information, visit www.tradboatfestival.com
In order to examine the potential ramifications of the re-establishing of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, one must first address the speed of the reconquest. While US intelligence reports up until only a few days ago were suggesting that the Afghan government could hold up for another 3 months or so, the Taliban rampaged to the Presidential Palace in Kabul in about a week.

The second coming of the Taliban has similarities to its rapid conquest in the mid-1990s, marked by Mullah Omar donning the rarely seen cloak of Prophet Muhammed that is housed in a Kandahar mosque. The fact that the Taliban could conquer the country in a weeks time shows that it cemented its position during its 20 years out of power, and had broad support within large sections of the population.

There are a few key lessons for various stakeholders.

For the US, the lesson is that no amount of physical and intellectual development (education) assistance in building up state capacities is capable of overpowering an armed force that has wide support within the population. The US poured trillions into Afghanistan to help build the State but paid no serious attention to reforming the mindsets that helped bring the Taliban to the forefront. Nation building is an idea that should firmly be cast to the dustbin.

The takeaway for Indian liberals (the true liberals, not the anti-Modi, anti-Hindu bigots) should be that Muslims in the region see no boundary between religion and state. According to a Pew survey from 2017, 99% of Afghanis support making Sharia the official law in their country. This support is not unique to Afghanistan, as an overwhelming majority of Muslims within Pakistan (84%), Bangladesh (82%), and India (74%) support this position. For India to progress as one nation, critical work needs to be done to forge the Muslim identity into the Indian one. Madrassa reform, removal of special rights that minorities enjoy over the majority, and an iron hand when dealing with violence regardless of the originator are just some of the priority areas.

The takeaway for Indian defence and foreign affairs thinkers is that contrary to popular belief, the re-establishment of Taliban rule can lead to positive outcomes for India. Many commentators are lamenting the surge in support for jihadi terror including the setting up of training camps within Afghanistan that will accompany the new Taliban. However, Pakistan is a fully functioning terror factory with state sponsorship for an alphabet soup of terror groups. A much poorer country such as Afghanistan will not add much weight to the support already in place.

Pakistans glee at the return of the Taliban will be short-lived, as the Pashtun nationalism sentiment will be reinvigorated and demands for a fully Sharia-compliant Pakistani government will become louder. Look for a resurgence of the bad Taliban, Tehrik-I-Taliban on the Pakistan side. India would be well served to overtly and covertly support the demands of an independent Pashtun state (along with a Baloch, Sindhi, and other carved-out nations) while breaking off all formal relationships with Pakistan.

For the Hindu right in India, the return of the Taliban should be seen within the broader landscape of losses of dharmic lands and peoples for several centuries now. While there have been sparks of resurgence, the demographic tide, and with it, the geographical losses continue. There needs to be a recalibration of both offensive and defensive strategies to bring more people to the Hindu fold, while more directly countering the rhetoric and conversion push of the Abhramic religions.

The US was able to keep a lid on the Taliban over the past 20 years due to its overwhelming military superiority. The Talibans resurgence should drive introspection on how to counter an ideology that makes people prefer the Talibans brutality over a US-backed, semi-functioning state. It is this ideology that needs to be countered, and urgently, by all stakeholders.

Source : OpIndia
In a counter to a virtual conference titled Dismantling Global Hindutva, scheduled to be held from September 1012, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has written to all 41 universities listed as event co-sponsors urging them to distance themselves from the politically motivated Hinduphobic event.

Launching a grassroots campaign, the HAF has called for students, alumni and concerned citizens to send their own letters to every university sponsoring the aforementioned event.

Today, @HinduAmerican announced that it will launch a grassroots campaign to enable students, alumni and concerned citizens to send their own letters to every university ostensibly co-sponsoring the DGH event. Details released shortly. Please join @HinduAmerican & take action! pic.twitter.com/b783DgbRGi  Hindu American Foundation (@HinduAmerican) August 19, 2021

The Foundation has also expressed concerns over potential attacks on Hindu students for opposing Hinduphobic content and has demanded security.

We demand that the safety of Hindu students be ensured leading up to the DGH event. @SuhagAShukla: Hindu students are targeted and report feeling under attack for opposing Hinduphobic depictions of their religion in the classroom and for opposing anti-Hindu hate on campus. 7/ pic.twitter.com/OEEy2KACUK  Hindu American Foundation (@HinduAmerican) August 19, 2021

The HAF in its letter to the universities also highlighted the potential threat to the reputation of the institution for hosting a highly partisan event. The DGH organizers trade on the prestige of your institutions name to host, not an academic conference, but a partisan event related to politics in India. The event platforms activists with extensive histories of amplifying Hinduphobic discourse even while denying the existence of Hinduphobia. reads the letter.

Many of these activists equate the whole of Hinduism with caste bigotry and other social ills; deny the subcontinental indigeneity of Hindus and Hinduism; and support or minimize violent extremist and separatists movements and deny the resulting genocides and ethnic cleansings of Hindus, the letter states further.

In a series of Tweets, the HAF also brought out the problematic content of the Hinduphobic event. -Deny the internal unity of Hindu traditions followed by 1.2 billion people calling it: continuously under contestation contradictory. -conflate Hinduism with caste. -erase Hinduisms inherent pluralism asserting that Sufis made ancient Hinduism syncretic! it said in a Tweet highlighting the objective of the Dismantling Global Hindutva event.

DGH #Hinduphobia:

-Deny the internal unity of Hindu traditions followed by 1.2 billion people calling it: continuously under contestation" "contradictory.

-conflate Hinduism with caste.

-erase Hinduism's inherent pluralism asserting that Sufis made ancient Hinduism syncretic!  Hindu American Foundation (@HinduAmerican) August 19, 2021

The HAF further elaborated on the esteemed speakers and their background of Hindu hate. Attaching screenshots of speakers known to peddle misinformation and Hinduphobia, the HAF Tweeted, Speaker list includes activists who: -equate Hinduism with caste bigotry -deny indigeneity of Hindus to South Asia -support the violent Kashmir militancy -deny Hinduphobia & systemic oppression Hindus face throughout South Asia (Pak, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Kashmir).

Speaker list includes activists who: -equate Hinduism with caste bigotry

-deny indigeneity of Hindus to South Asia

-support the violent Kashmir militancy

-deny Hinduphobia & systemic oppression Hindus face throughout South Asia (Pak, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Kashmir) 6/ pic.twitter.com/Rh5h9bGGvc  Hindu American Foundation (@HinduAmerican) August 19, 2021

Concluding the letter the organization said that it promotes free speech and while academics at institutions may choose to engage in political partisan activism concerning India, we hope you would agree that your institution should not.

The Foundation has also asked for the removal of the universitys branding saying, The use of your universitys name and logo, in this regard, implies overt institutional partisanship and endorsement of the events political and discriminatory motive.

Source : OpIndia
Miles Segun-Oside started coughing in December 2018.

It would come and go but didnt seem like a big deal. He was told it was bronchitis, and the treatment made him feel better. But when the cough came back, worse this time, he returned to an emergency room. Again, he was told it was bronchitis. Then pneumonia, until tests revealed his liver and kidneys werent properly functioning.

It made sense. Segun-Oside was always tired. Not a good look for the promising young rapper known as Kilometers, who was born in Germany and lived in London and Albuquerque, N.M., before coming to Houston in 2008.

There were more tests, and doctors eventually diagnosed nonischemic cardiomyopathy, or congestive heart failure. It was a frighteningly familiar situation. He was just 11 when his mother died of heart disease at 34 years old.

The left side of my heart had really enlarged. That just made me think of my mom cause thats what she passed away from, Segun-Oside, 28, says. I was like, Wow, thats so crazy.

It was Feb. 20, 2019, when Segun-Oside finally received the proper diagnosis. He was told the way things were going, he likely had only a week left to live.

Dr. Sriram Nathan, a cardiologist at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, says Segun-Oside was in dire straits when he arrived there in March 2019.

All this was slowly building. He had so much swelling in his ankles, feet. He was not able to lay flat. He had fluid in his lungs. His blood pressure was low, and it was all driven by his heart not pumping enough blood to the other organs of his body, Nathan says. In medical terms, he was in cardiogenic shock. He had the sensation as though he was being drowned in his own secretions.

Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Dont panic, dont worry

An ultrasound of Segun-Osides heart found multiple blood clots in the chambers and that it was not pumping effectively. Through surgery, he was fitted with a left ventricle assist device (LVAD), an artificial heart pump that delivers blood to other organs. Even then, it had to be immediately replaced because of potential blood clots. After six months in the hospital, he was discharged.

Through that whole process, I dont know how I did it, but I remained calm and just kept a smile on my face, Segun-Oside says. I had God with me, and I had my family with me. Them being there at the hospital, sleeping there with you, keeping you comfortable, telling you, Hey, its gonna be OK. Dont panic, dont worry.

The LVAD includes a driveline that came out of his stomach and was connected to a pump controller and two lithium batteries. It stayed with him 24/7, inside a bag he wore across his chest, even during live performances. His Instagram account, @realkilometers, features several photos and videos of Kilometers onstage with the bag.

During his time in the hospital, Segun-Oside continued to focus on music. He was first inspired as a teenager in England, seeing English grime artist Lethal Bizzles Pow! (Forward) video flash across the screen after school. His first song was a remix of Ice Cubes It Was a Good Day recorded on an iPhone 4.

courtesy

He currently runs Leading Legacy, a local recording studio and label. His 2020 album Emotions was released while he was still in the hospital. The cover features a photo of him superimposed atop a drawing of a heart. He calls his music uplifting, positive, energetic and fun. Its reflected throughout the album, particularly opening track Yay We Made It, a chronicle of his journey from sick to healthy.

Its the best outlet for me to express myself cause Im a quiet person. I really dont talk a lot, he says. I figured, Hey, let me write something and see what comes from it. It just gives me hope that even with anything you go through, theres always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

A new heart

But the LVAD was only a temporary fix, a bridge to something more definite, Nathan says. The next step? Deciding if Segun-Oside was a good candidate for a heart transplant. There were scans, blood tests and a rigorous medical review board. Status 1 patients are considered in dire need of a heart, according to Nathan. Segun-Oside was right in the middle, at a 3. As of July, he had spent more than a year on the waiting list.

He released another album, Night Vibes, in March, again while he was in the hospital. This time it was for a life-threatening infection from where the LVAD driveline exited his stomach. He was, as always, in good spirits, cheesing in a hospital gown for his 16,000 Instagram followers. The album release was already in the works, so he stuck with the release date.

Hes an enterprising gentleman. Ive had the opportunity to listen. Hes very innovative and has something unique and special, Nathan says. Miles was so sick that he was hardly able to catch his breath, to the point now, hes back to his normal self, and hes able to fulfill his dreams as a rapper. We are wholeheartedly supporting his dreams to come true.

Segun-Oside also got back onstage. He won a regional competition that qualified him for the national finals of the Raising the Bar Showcase in Atlanta this weekend, where he would perform for record execs in hopes of getting a contract.

The room was shocked and, like, Wow, says TreaDot, Raising the Bar founder. People called me about working with him.

But everything changed, again, three weeks ago. Segun-Oside got the call that a heart was available. Hes been in recovery through August, went home this week and, incredibly, has stayed in touch through social media.

Im good, still in hospital but able to move around and do things on my own, he wrote.

Hell go through physical therapy to regain strength. Hell continue pursuing music as a rapper and a businessman. And he plans to return to school to study phlebotomy.

And, best of all, the LVAD is gone after more than a year of lugging it around.

It hasnt fully hit me yet. But its a blessing, and Im just grateful, he says. Honestly, just being free and being able to get back to life.
Ongoing

Preserving the Bounty: Virtual Workshops

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Family and Community Health in Fort Bend County will host Preserving the Bounty: Virtual Workshops. Workshops on Salsa and Relish, Pickling and Pressure Canning, Tomatoes, Freezing and Drying, and Jams and Jellies are available. The workshops are available online and you can complete them at your own pace. The cost for each workshop is $10 or $35 for all five classes. Each virtual workshop includes handouts, slide presentation with video and a demonstration video. Instructor for each workshop is Dianne Gertson, FCH agent-Fort Bend County. For registration information go to https://fortbend.agrilife.org/fch/preserving-giving-the-bounty or call 281-342-3034.

Aug. 24

Sugar Land City Council

The Sugar Land City Council is scheduled to meet for its workshop session at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24, at Sugar Land City Hall, 2700 Town Center Blvd. N. For more information go to www.sugarlandtx.gov.

Rosenberg City Council

The Rosenberg City Council is scheduled to meet for its workshop session at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24, at Rosenberg City Hall, 2110 4th St. Council meetings may be viewed live on YouTube, the city of Rosenberg website, or by Rosenberg Comcast customers on channel 16. For more information go to www.rosenbergtx.gov.

Richmond City Commission

The Richmond City Commission is scheduled to meet in special session at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24, at the City Hall Annex at 600 Morton St. in Richmond. The meeting will be held via teleconference and in person. For more information go to www.richmondtx.gov.

Aug. 26

City Council Budget Meeting

The Sugar Land City Council is scheduled to hold a budget meeting at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, at Sugar Land City Hall, 2700 Town Center Blvd. N. For more information go to www.sugarlandtx.gov.

Developing Educational Leaders

In this informative event hosted by the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerces Education Division, participants will see how The Holdsworth Center is working to mold future leaders. The event will be held 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 26, at the Fort Bend Chamber office, located at 445 Commerce Green Blvd. in Sugar Land. Pauline Dow, vice president of The Holdsworth Center, will share insights into vision, mission and approach. $25 for an individual member reservation and $35 for an individual prospective member reservation. Register for the event at tinyurl.com/fuf2hj77. For more information, visit fortbendchamber.com.

Aug. 27

Town Square Tribute: Van Halen

The Town Square Tribute: Van Halen is scheduled for 7:30-9:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, at Sugar Land Town Square, at Highway 6 and U.S. Highway 59. This Van Halen Tribute Band plays the best of Van Halen and the 80s, including hits from the David Lee Roth-era albums with a few surprises thrown in for the die hard Van Halen fans and other rock and roll cover music and general cover tunes. For more information go to www.sugarlandtownsquare.com.

Aug. 28

Town Square Tribute to George Strait

The Town Square Tribute to George Strait featuring Derek Spence is scheduled for 7:30-9:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, at Sugar Land Town Square, at Highway 6 and U.S. Highway 59. Sponsored by Sewell Audi Sugar Land. Having spent time at the Grand Ole Opry, Derek Spence shared the stage with folks including Shania Twain, Diamond Rio, Kenny Rogers, Trisha Yearwood, and Restless Heart. For more information go to www.sugarlandtownsquare.com.

Aug. 29

Health effects associated with Climate Change

In August, join Dr. Brett Perkison of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston for an online discussion of the health effects of climate change at 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29. Perkisons talk will cover heat stress and health effects associated with flooding in communities. He will also address approaches individuals, communities, policy makers, and public resources are taking to reduce the extent of these health effects. Time will be provided for interactive discussion with the audience after his talk. Register for this talk at https://tinyurl.com/64s24r8n. Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com with any questions.

Sept. 3

Movies At Wessendorff Park

The city of Richmond's Movies At Wessendorff free outdoor film features Field of Dreams at 7:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 3, at Wessendorff Park, 500 Preston St., in Richmond. The free family event is for residents and visitors. Rotary Club of Richmond will provide free popcorn and the city will provide water. Viewers are encouraged everyone to bring their own chairs and/or blankets. Food and dessert trucks will be on site for food purchase, but attendees are welcome to bring their own food and drink.

Sept. 4-12

Walk, Run, Stroll, or Roll for Autism

Hope For Three Autism Advocates is holding its Second Annual Walk, Run, Stroll, or Roll. In this nine-day affair from Sept. 4-12 which offers family fun, race challenges, seasoned strollers, or wheelchair rollers to lace up and step out, anytime, anywhere during these dates. The nonprofit group encourages fun-raising for families but is not required. $25 adults / $15 kids donation required to participate. Great for families, neighbors, team-building and more. To register now, visit www.hopeforthree.org/events.

Sept. 6

Labor Day

Area cities will be closed observing a city holiday for employees on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6. All city offices will be closed though essential personnel, including fire and police service, will be working to serve residents.

Sept. 7

Sugar Land City Council

The Sugar Land City Council is scheduled to meet for its regular session at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7, at Sugar Land City Hall, 2700 Town Center Blvd. N. For more information go to www.sugarlandtx.gov.

Rosenberg City Council

The Rosenberg City Council is scheduled to meet for its regular session at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7, at Rosenberg City Hall, 2110 4th St. Council meetings may be viewed live on YouTube, the city of Rosenberg website, or by Rosenberg Comcast customers on channel 16. For more information go to www.rosenbergtx.gov.

Found and Not Forgotten reset

A program on the Sugar Land 95 and the Texas convict leasing practice, postponed from Aug. 17, will highlight the rescheduled third-quarter meeting of the Fort Bend County Historical Commission on Tuesday, Sept. 7. Presenter will be Chassidy Olainu-Alade, Fort Bend ISD Coordinator for Community and Civic Engagement. The remains of 95 state prison inmates said to have been in the convict leasing system were discovered in unmarked graves during construction on school district property in February 2018. The commission meeting, which is free and open to the public, will take place beginning at 3 p.m. in Patton Hall at the Gus George Law Enforcement Academy, 1511 Eugene Heimann Circle in Richmond.

Sept. 8

Richmond City Commission

The city of Richmond will hold a special commission meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 8, at 4:30 p.m. via teleconference and in person at the City Hall Annex located at 600 Morton St. in Richmond. For questions, contact the City Manager Terri Vela at tvela@richmondtx.gov or 281-342-5456.

Sept. 10

Patriot Day holiday

Patriot Day is a National Day of observance for those killed or injured in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. This day was established through Congress, by House Bill 2113, as a holiday for all firefighters in lieu of another holiday and recognized as a day of mourning and remembrance.

Sept. 11

Patriot Day

Patriot Day is a National Day of observance for those killed or injured in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. This day was established through Congress, by House Bill 2113, as a holiday for all firefighters in lieu of another holiday and recognized as a day of mourning and remembrance.

Ride to Rosenberg Car Show

The Ride to Rosenberg Car Show is scheduled for 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, in Historic Downtown Rosenberg at 800 3rd St. Presented by the Rosenberg Arts Alliance, the show is open to all classes of vehicles. Pre-registration is $25 and onsite registration is $30. Registration is open to the first 150 vehicles. There is a free T-shirt with registration. Awards show is at 3 p.m. For questions email Renee Butler at reneebnr@yahoo.com.

Sept. 12

Renewable power at church

Does going renewable for power at your house of worship seem unattainable? In this online talk at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12, youll learn about options from solar panels and beyond. Youll learn about community solar projects, solar co-ops, pricing discounts available to put solar on your buildings roof, a new renewable energy power aggregation for houses of worship in the Centerpoint service area, and renewable power plans from area providers. Join Dori Wolfe, founder of Wolfe Energy, and Lisa Brenskelle, Climate Communication Coordinator for Texas Interfaith Power & Light, to learn about your options to go renewable. Register for this event at https://tinyurl.com/awmfuf4s. Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com for more information.

Sept. 20

Richmond City Commission

The city of Richmond will hold a regular commission meeting on Monday, Sept. 20, at 4:30 p.m. via teleconference and in person at the City Hall Annex located at 600 Morton St. in Richmond. For questions, contact the City Manager Terri Vela at tvela@richmondtx.gov or 281-342-5456.

Sept. 21

Sugar Land City Council

The Sugar Land City Council is scheduled to meet for its regular session at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, at Sugar Land City Hall, 2700 Town Center Blvd. N. For more information go to www.sugarlandtx.gov.

Rosenberg City Council

The Rosenberg City Council is scheduled to meet for its regular session at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, at Rosenberg City Hall, 2110 4th St. Council meetings may be viewed live on YouTube, the city of Rosenberg website, or by Rosenberg Comcast customers on channel 16. For more information go to www.rosenbergtx.gov.

Sept. 28

Sugar Land City Council

The Sugar Land City Council is scheduled to meet for its workshop session at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 28, at Sugar Land City Hall, 2700 Town Center Blvd. N. For more information go to www.sugarlandtx.gov.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  Animal control and police rescued eight rabbits from an Omaha home where more than 25 others were found dead Thursday.

Two dogs also were saved, the Omaha World-Herald reported. The Nebraska Humane Society is taking care of the rescued animals.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)  A Nebraska man on Friday pleaded no contest to reduced charges in a shooting that killed a 69-year-old woman as she rode on a Lincoln city bus.

Lincoln resident Joel Jones Jr., 28, pleaded no contest to manslaughter, an unintentional killing during the commission of a crime, and use of a firearm by a prohibited person as part of a plea agreement, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.
MAUMELLE, Ark. (AP)  A man has died and a suspect is in custody following a shooting Saturday on Interstate 40 in central Arkansas, according to Arkansas State Police.

Kindylen Roberts, 21, of Marion died at a Little Rock hospital after being shot while riding in a vehicle on I-40 near Maumelle on the outskirts of Little Rock, according to a statement from state police.
CRANSTON, R.I. (AP)  Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee urged state residents stay at home all day Sunday and into Monday morning during what's expected to be the worst of Hurricane Henri.

We consider this a serious matter," the Democrat said at a news conference Saturday at state emergency management headquarters in Cranston.

While he stopped short of issuing a shelter-in-place order, he said he strongly recommends staying home.

State residents should spend Saturday properly squaring away their emergency plans and making sure they have enough supplies so they can hunker down Sunday, he said.

McKee and state Emergency Management Director Marc Pappas said they are most concerned about power outages. With the storm currently expected to make landfall to the west of the state, that puts Rhode Island in line to receive high winds that could gust to 80 mph and heavy rains that could lead power outages, Pappas said.

State police commander Col. James Manni has spoken to police chiefs in every coastal community to urge them to close coastal roads to everyone except residents to prevent what he called storm sightseeing which could lead to tragedy.

The state in conjunction with the Red Cross has also set up five emergency shelters in Providence, Warwick, South Kingstown, Cumberland and Middletown that are all scheduled to open at 8 p.m. Masks will be required at all the shelters and other COVID-19 safety protocols will be in place, McKee said.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP)  Two North Carolina men are accused of impersonating federal law enforcement officers, restraining a group of people inside a home and robbing it, authorities said.

The Forsyth County Drug Task Force said Freddie Wayne Huff II, 41, of Lexington and Rahain Antoine Deriggs, 27, of Jacksonville face multiple charges, including robbery with a dangerous weapon and kidnapping, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.
Jay Jordan

A man was taken by Life Flight to the hospital after authorities Tased him at the end of a police chase that started with a car chase in Montgomery County.

The man fled the scene of a crash early Sunday at Hardin Store and Decker Prairie roads. He jumped into a maroon pickup at a Chevron station and fled, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
After tireless months of fighting rising crime, longtime New Orleans detective Everett Briscoe took a much-needed vacation to Houston. While he was dining al fresco at a posh Galleria-area restaurant Saturday, an armed robber shot him dead.

The brazen and seemingly random shooting at the Tilman-Fertitta-eatery Grotto Ristorante at 4715 Westheimer enraged police brass in Houston, who are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the two suspects in Briscoes death.

From over the patio fence at the restaurant, the robbers demanded valuables from Briscoe and another man. Though Briscoe and the man were complying, one of the suspects opened fire, killing the off-duty officer and critically wounding the other man, police said. The robbers fled in a four-door Nissan Altima with paper license plates, apparently leaving behind the items they originally sought.

The shooting put Houstons growing homicide tally this year at more than 280. Homicides, as of Friday, have increased 27 percent from 2020, police officials said

More Information Anyone with information about the fatal shooting on Aug. 21, 2021, should call the Houston Police Department's Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS. See More Collapse

New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson choked up as he explained that the increase in crime amid the pandemic is what motivated Briscoe to travel to Houston.

He was just going out there to have fun with friends, getting some much-needed rest and relaxation, Ferguson said during a news conference. He was just trying to get away for a bit.

Briscoe joined the New Orleans police force in 2008 and was most recently assigned as a persons crimes detective in the First District.

He was pursing a bachelors degree at Southern University and leaves behind a wife and two sons, ages 16 and 10, the police superintendent said. He was a member of the New Orleans-based fraternal group Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club.

We lost a good one, Ferguson said.

We keep doing this

Ferguson and his Houston counterpart, Chief Troy Finner, decried the shooting as senseless violence.

Im very upset, Finner said hours after the shooting. And not just because its an off-duty police officer. That hurts. Every victim of a violent crime in  our city means something to me.

He called on Houston to do better at preventing crime  a topic that Jay Banks, a New Orleans City Council member and longtime friend of Briscoe, touched on Sunday with other officials. Banks hoarsely denounced the nationwide increase in violence that intensified during the pandemic and the exhaustion from the repeated grief it causes.

We keep doing this, Banks cried. I dont know how to stop it, but I sure wish somebody would tell me. I would do it immediately.

Banks said he went to Briscoes home Saturday to meet with the slain officers wife. Her attention turned toward her oldest son. She asked Banks, Who is going to teach him to tie his tie?

There was no answer because the only answer she wanted to hear was, Everetts going to walk through the door, but hes not, Banks continued. This cancer of senseless violence has to stop.

Another politician, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, also expressed his condolences to Briscoe and his family.

Praying for his family and the other victim in this senseless act of violence, Carter said in a tweet. A tragic day for our community. Rest in Peace.

Somebody knows

Surveillance footage is one of the few clues as of Sunday in tracking Briscoes killers.

The two men wanted in connection with Briscoes death were last seen wearing white and black hooded sweatshirts, one in black pants and the other in denim. The pair got into a silver or gray Altima with paper plates.

Workers at a CVS in the same strip as the restaurant did not hear the shooting but soon noticed police swarm the parking lot.

The employees later looked at their security footage and saw a gray Altima pull out of a garage. They couldnt tell which way the vehicle went.

Somebody knows them, Finner said. I want every person in every neighborhood to stand up, give us some information so we can get these individuals into custody.

The shooting is the second deadly incident at a Fertitta-owned restaurant this year  the first happened in July during an apparent murder-suicide at the Downtown Aquarium restaurant.

Fertitta, the billionaire owner of Landrys restaurants and the Houston Rockets, has offered his support to Houston police during the investigation, Finner said.

Hes concerned, but hes concerned with not only his restaurant, the chief said.

Rebecca Carballo contributed to this report.

nicole.hensley@chron.com
Two suspects are on the run after fatally shooting an off-duty New Orleans police officer and critically injuring another man at a Galleria-area restaurant.

Still daylight, authorities responded around 5:17 p.m. Saturday to The Grotto Ristorante at 4715 Westheimer. Two men were reportedly down at the Tilman Fertitta-owned spot, just inside the 610 West Loop.

The shooting visibly enraged Houston Police Chief Troy Finner, who spoke at a nighttime news conference and lambasted the men behind the robbery-turned-slaying. A family visiting from New Orleans had been sitting on the patio enjoying dinner when two suspects approached them from the side, holding firearms and demanding some of their belongings, he said.

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"Im very upset," he said. "And not just because its an off duty police officer. Every victim of a violent crime in  our city means something to me."

Houston and New Orleans police did not identify the names or ages of the deceased officer and the other victim, who is at a local hospital. The lawman who was killed has two children, Finner said.

"We are certain the Houston Police Department will work diligently to find the perpetrators of this terrible crime," NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said in a statement. "We are praying for the family of our fallen officer. We are also praying for the family of the second victim in this incident."

The shooting unfolded even as everyone at the table complied with the suspects' demands, Finner said. One of them fired his weapon, shooting the two diners.

The gunmen fled, and it is believed they left behind the items they originally sought.

One of the suspects is a male wearing a black hoodie and black pants, and the other is a male wearing a white hoodie and black pants, according to the chief. Police also shared surveillance images of the escape vehicle, a gray or silver four-door Altima with paper license plates.

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Finner said he has been in contact with the New Orleans police superintendent, a personal friend. He put out a call for Houston to be "better than this," saying he was "not going to let a few little thugs tear down our city."

"Yall know Im very respectful of people," Finner said. "But right now Im damn mad."

Fertitta, the billionaire owner of Landry's restaurants and the Houston Rockets, has offered his support to Houston police, the chief said.

Authorities were urging people to avoid the area.

This story is developing.
2 1 of 2 Courtesy / Twitter Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Ricardo B. Brazziell, MBR / Associated Press Show More Show Less



Gov. Greg Abbott announced Saturday he had tested negative for COVID-19, less than a week after his office revealed he had tested positive.

I am told that my infection was brief & mild because of the vaccination I received, Abbott said in a tweet Saturday. I will continue to quarantine as recommended by doctors. And, I will keep working on issues affecting Texas.
Jamal Cyrus grew up in Third Ward. Not literally speaking, perhaps  the 48-year-old was raised in Missouri City  but its where he found himself as an artist and gained an appreciation for the rich culture and history that help define Houstons Black community.

As Third Ward continues to change amid gentrification, losing longtime residents and cultural institutions that make up the fabric of the neighborhood, Cyrus felt there was no better time to present Levels and Layers: An Artists Reflections on Third Ward. He and co-curator Alvia Wardlaw put together the exhibition as a way of celebrating the history of Third Ward through the eyes of the people who made it what it is.

Its important to me, because like so many aspects of Houstons history, its disappearing and I really feel that the people who made my experience possible are no longer there, Cyrus said. I dont know if that cultural mix will ever happen again in the neighborhood because of gentrification and other things that are happening, so I just thought it was time to recognize that myself and also bring it to the attention of others.

Levels and Layers is on display at the University Museum at Texas Southern University through Sept. 19, and is being presented in partnership with the Blaffer Museum at the University of Houston, which is showing a concurrent mid-career survey of Cyrus work titled The End of My Beginning.

The University Museums doors open into a main hall of sorts lined with photographs of Third Ward scenes and its characters, some taken as recently as this year and other that stretch back decades. At the top of one wall reads a sign that says Your Third Ward Here. Residents are invited to bring in their own photographs of the neighborhood to have them photocopied and hung among the other artwork.

Other quadrants of the gallery feature works from legendary Houston artists such as John Biggers, Carroll Simms and Earlie Hudnall, among others. Like those three, many of the featured artists are former students or professors at the historically Black Texas Southern University, a cornerstone of Third Ward since the mid-20th century.

Im so pleased with it overall because it literally provides a narrative of how Third Ward has grown, how it has changed and what it is trying to be now, and I just think its such a smart exhibition, said Stephanie Richardson, a Northside native and volunteer at the University Museum.

Growing up here, Third Ward was always the community you gravitated to. There was always something going on and its always been such a center of Houstons Black community, and when I walk through and see these pictures, it strikes all the memories of what Third Ward was and how it has evolved, Richardson said.

The exhibition is meant to be a celebration of Third Ward, but also an educational tool for old and new residents alike, according to community historian and museum docent William North.

There are definitely challenges in terms of gentrification and displacement, but the community is transforming and [the curators] wanted to be mindful of that, knowing the people that have been here for years and allowing them to have a greater appreciation and understanding of whats around them, and for the people who arent as familiar with it and might be new, having an engagement with it, North said.

Levels and Layers is part of a broader effort that Cyrus is coordinating to preserve Third Ward history, though its not without its challenges. Thats why the pieces already on display at the museum are so important, and why the curators hope that residents will come in to share their own photos and memories.

Coming up with a photographic history of what the neighborhood looked like, and documenting the trajectory of the neighborhood, is very difficult, so I wanted to approach that same idea but kind of from another angle, Cyrus said. Its going to take a real collective effort to make that happen.

sam.kelly@chron.com

twitter.com/sgonzalezkelly
Ben Johnson was rummaging around his fathers house in July, looking for a book, when he found a rusty metal box buried in a dresser drawer.

Johnson, who lives in Minnesota, forgot about the Loretta Lynn book he was desperately searching for just moments before. He opened the box, marked by decades of wear and tear, to find screws, keys and other odds and ends. And underneath a removable tray, he discovered a Purple Heart, which is presented to service members who have been wounded or killed in enemy action.

He began to search for the family of the named military man etched into the medal, Edward J. Ryan.

On Saturday, that medal was returned to Kirt Ashman, Cpl. Ryans great-nephew.

To have this come back into the family means a lot, to not just my family but my grandmother, Ashman, 58, said. Shes gone, but this was her little brother, and she loved him tremendously.

Ashman never knew his great-uncle but his grandmother always spoke of how much she loved Edward.

Whenever she would talk about her brother, it would make her said, Ashman said. I never wanted to ask her any more than that.

After reading Stephen Ambroses book D-Day about five years ago, Ashman started researching his great-uncle.

He learned that Ryan served in the 717th Tank Battalion during World War II and was killed in the Netherlands on March 27, 1945, when an artillery shell hit his tank. Ryan had just celebrated his 22nd birthday.

He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart for his service.

Ashman placed Ryans name on the Lost Hearts database run by Purple Hearts Reunited, a nonprofit that works to return medals of valor to veterans and their families.

Thats where Johnson found him. He alerted Purple Hearts Reunited, which went to work verifying that Ashmans great-uncle was the same Edward J. Ryan on the medal.

Its really cool when (the Lost Hearts database) works, said Erin Faith Allen, operations director for the organization. We can reach straight out to the family and give them the surprise of a lifetime.

Johnsons father, Scott, said Saturday that he had purchased the metal box at a flea market for a dollar or two about seven years ago. He lives on a lake in Cotton, Minn., and planned to use it as a tackle box.

But it was left forgotten in a drawer. Until Ben Johnson found it.

Scott Johnson lives just 20 miles from Makinen, Minn., where Ryan grew up.

The modern Purple Heart first was issued in 1932, but the precursor to it  the Badge of Military Merit  was established by Gen. George Washington in 1782, according to the U.S. Armys website.

Since then, the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor estimates that more than 1.8 million Purple Hearts have been awarded.

Ashman struggled to express how much it meant to finally have the medal back.

For me, I feel like Ive accomplished something for (my grandmother), getting it back in the family, he said. Im positive my grandmother is very happy.

alex.stuckey@chron.com
The pharmacy tech who approaches me at the Consultation window looks to be about 18. William, his name tag says. Unruly strands of dark hair hang over his forehead. The CVS is swarming with customers, but William exudes calm, youthful competence. How can I help you? he asks brightly.

Id like to get a third COVID shot, I say. Im a transplant patient. A few days earlier, federal health agencies had authorized a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for certain people with weakened immunity. Ive been taking anti-rejection drugs, which work by suppressing the immune system, since undergoing a liver transplant in 1998. My doctors advised me to get a booster. Yet the prospect of more antibodies churning through my bloodstream hasnt ended my struggle to distinguish between prudence and panic as I grope my way through a changing public health landscape.

Dont let it dominate you. Dont be afraid of it, then-President Donald Trump said last October after he emerged triumphantly from a hospital where he received COVID treatment unavailable to most Americans. I am not among those inclined to heed Trumps advice, but the sentiment he expressed is not uncommon  particularly after a moment when it seemed that the worst was over. Nor is it limited to vaccine skeptics or anti-mask crusaders. People appear determined to reclaim their old lives, COVID be damned. Look at the crowds at Astros games, the long lines at airports. Kids are going back to school  kids have to go to school, right?  leaving parents conflicted and terrified as political fights rage over mask requirements.

At the CVS, William doesnt ask for any proof that Im eligible for a third dose; its an honor system, apparently. He pulls out a form and starts asking questions: Have I been infected with COVID, have I recently been around anyone known to be infected, have I taken certain medications. I sign the form.

Have a seat behind the blue screen, William says. Ill be right over.

Demand for third shots has been high since the announcement, William tells me. Are some people cheating? Perhaps. But the once-scarce vials are now so abundant that Harris County officials are offering $100 to people who get their first dose. Soon, boosters will become available to the general population.

William jabs me like a pro. While waiting the required 15 minutes afterward, I consider the moral implications of Americans getting third doses while so much of the world lacks a first. Im reminded of childhood moments when I left food uneaten on my plate, and my mother told me that children in China were starving. I remember thinking: If only there were some way I could get this creamed spinach to those hungry kids 

Im grateful for my vaccinations  all three of them. But the additional dose, I know, is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. Gov. Greg Abbott reportedly got a third shot, and he got COVID. The delta variant has changed the calculus. At the end of July I took my first flight since the pandemic started  Houston to Boston, for an 11-day visit to Cape Cod. Around the time I left, news emerged that a series of July 4 celebrations in Provincetown, at the tip of the Cape, had led to the infections of roughly 1,000 people, almost all of them vaccinated. The discovery led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to advise vaccinated people to resume wearing masks indoors. Delta, it was now clear, could infect the vaccinated  though most cases were not severe  and they could spread the virus to others.

Because of my health issues, I cant afford even a mild case of COVID. I had planned a second trip, later in August, to Washington state  my first visit to the Pacific Northwest. I was scheduled to leave a week after returning from the Cape. After much agonizing  and consultation with doctors, who were maddeningly noncommittal  I canceled my flight and hotel bookings. I got a COVID test a few days after spending time in crowded airports; the result was negative. Days after getting my third vaccination, I told friends I had misgivings about attending a planned indoor social gathering; its a monthly get-together that we had conducted via Zoom during the first year of the pandemic. A few months ago, when everyone in our circle was vaccinated and the danger seemed to have subsided, we happily resumed meeting in person. Now what?

Its hard to make a sound risk-benefit calculation without sufficient data. Statistics assure us that airline travel (under normal circumstances) is safe, that texting while driving is reckless. A pandemic caused by a new, rapidly mutating virus is fraught with uncertainty; as scientific knowledge grows, public health guidance changes. In some ways, the decisions were easier back at the start, when we all worried about picking up the virus from sitting on a park bench or touching a doorknob. Vulnerable people like me just stayed home. It wasnt fun, but I didnt constantly second-guess my decisions. Now, a voice in my head asks if Im depriving myself of rich life experiences based on fear. Is a plane trip to Washington state, or an evening with vaccinated friends, really more dangerous than, say, driving a few miles in my car? I have no idea. But it feels different.

Whenever this nightmare ends  or perhaps evolves into an endemic problem like the flu or the common cold  its legacy will be more than the lives it claimed (4 million and counting), the economic calamity it caused or the suffering it inflicted on infected patients and their loved ones. For me, at least, the nagging sense of uncertainty, of doubt, will linger like the bitter aftertaste of a bad cup of coffee.

Snyder is a Houston writer who retired from the Chronicle in 2019 after 40 years as a reporter, editor and columnist.
Last week, at least two men fell from a U.S. military plane as it climbed into the skies above Afghanistan.

In video taken from the ground, they are so small you almost have to squint to see them. They seem roughly the size of a period, the end to some sentence no one wrote. But no, we are told those figures are Afghan men, plunging to their deaths.

One can only marvel at the desperation captured in footage of the chaos at the airport in Kabul as the United States began evacuating its personnel from Afghanistan. People climbed on a jet bridge like ants on sugar. Dozens ran down the runway alongside the taxiing plane. And then there were the men who clung to the airship as it lifted from the ground.

I know Im supposed to think of all this in big-picture terms, to understand that while what happened was surely tragic, the real issue is what it means for foreign policy and domestic politics. But just now, that question feels greasy and unclean. Sometimes, the big picture is overwhelmed by the small one. Tiny dots of men plummeting down from the sky.

It is a grisly, miserable bookend to an image that began this misadventure 20 years ago: tiny human dots plummeting down the side of a burning New York skyscraper, collateral damage in an asymmetric war between Islamic fundamentalists and the West. Twenty years later, the people who leapt from the World Trade Center are a defining memory of that awful day. But do we remember  did we ever even know  their names?

Probably not on both counts. Individual lives tend to get ground up in the giant gears of geopolitics and history. Last week, the process was underway even before the bodies hit the ground, the punditocracy united in debating the question that, for many, was foremost in importance: Who gets the blame for this debacle?

Does it go to the Bush, Obama or Trump administrations for mishandling the war? To the Biden administration for bungling the pullout? To Afghanistans hapless government, which we spent over $2 trillion and over 2,000 American lives to install, maintain and defend? Should it go to the Afghan army, 300,000 men trained and equipped at a cost of $83 billion, which melted away like a sandcastle in the waves when faced with a ragtag force one quarter its size? Or to U.S. military leaders who kept assuring us things were going well when, clearly, things were not?

Well, the answer is: Yes, all of the above. The answer is also, who cares?

Not that those are not critical questions. Not that they do not demand answers and accountability. Not that there are not grave geopolitical implications here.

And yet  when you are a girl now forced at gunpoint to hide your face, your aspirations, your very self, beneath a veil to appease some fanatics version of faith, when you are an ordinary man stranded with your family at a Taliban checkpoint for lack of some document, while the Americans whose mission you served fly off without you, when you are chasing a transport plane on a runway, when you are tumbling through space, the ground coming up fast  yeah, the answer is also, who cares?

Our hubris and our failures, they echo. They ramify. That was the story of last week, of tiny dots that fell from a U.S. transport plane as it cleaved the sky. Reports identified them as Fida Mohammad and Safiullah Hotak.

Just so we all know: The dots had names.

Pitts is a columnist for the Miami Herald.
Republican candidate for governor Allen West on Sunday slammed Dallas police for arresting his wife for allegedly driving while intoxicated Friday night.

West said he can prove the charges are false and is demanding they be dropped, the officer fired, and a public apology from the Dallas police chief and mayor.

Im highly pissed off right now, West said in a video he posted on social media recounting the arrest.

Police said the 61-year-old Angela West was arrested after taking a standardized field sobriety test. The Dallas Morning News reported that she was booked into the Dallas County jail on a charge of driving while intoxicated with a child under 15 years of age, according to a police report.

West said his grandson was in the car, but that his wife only had lemonade and water that evening. He said he has the receipts to prove it.

This is crap, West said in a social media posting. Now I support the thin blue line, but this is insidious. They put my grandson at risk  in jeopardy  left him with a couple of police officers and carted his grandmother into jail when she had water and lemonade for dinner.

West was not with his wife that evening. He said he was in Waco having dinner with rock and roller Ted Nugent when he learned of her arrest.

West said that if corrective actions arent taken by Tuesday he will end up becoming your worst nightmare.

West is challenging Gov. Greg Abbott in a Republican primary in 2022. The former Florida Congressman lives in Garland and spent almost a year as the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas before announcing his run for Abbotts seat.
This article originally published on The Texas Tribune.

The wife of Texas Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen West was arrested in Dallas County for allegedly driving while intoxicated Friday night, according to the Dallas Police Department and West himself.

Angela Graham-West, 61, was driving home from dinner at P.F. Changs with her three-month-old grandson when she was pulled over and arrested for a suspected DWI. She was charged with driving while intoxicated with a child under 15 years old.

Graham-West was released from jail around 1 p.m. Saturday, according to West, who posted a video on Instagram early Saturday morning from the Dallas County jail. In the video, West angrily denied his wife had been drinking.

West, the former head of the Texas Republican Party, said he had been in Waco having dinner with Ted Nugent when he returned to Dallas to find his wife had been arrested.

He said in the video that he had spoken with people who had dinner with his wife and grandson who told him she only had water and lemonade. West provided a photo of the receipt to the Tribune, which shows a lemonade, but lists no alcoholic beverages.

In the video, West said he was especially angry that his grandson was left on the side of the road with a police officer while officers took his wife to jail.

I support the thin blue line, but this is insidious, West said. They put my grandson at risk, at jeopardy, left him with a couple of police officers and carted his grandmother to jail and she had water and lemonade Im beyond livid.

Dallas police said in a statement to the Tribune that they stopped Graham-West in the 2300 block of West Northwest Highway at 8:44 p.m. and that the officer had reasons to believe the driver may be intoxicated.

Police said Graham-West went through a field sobriety test, "which subsequently led to her arrest for DWI.

In a text message to the Tribune, Allen West said his wife was stopped for failing to use a turn signal to change lanes but had no issues with field sobriety or breathalyzer tests. He said she refused a blood test, but an officer got a warrant for it.

Dallas police said Wests grandson was released to his father. West said his daughter and her husband picked up his grandson from the car on the side of the road.

West announced he was running for governor on July 4, a few days before resigning his position with the state party to start his challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott, a fellow Republican.

Graham-West ran for Garland City Council earlier this year, but did not advance to the runoff election.

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
When Texas had its first big surge of COVID hospitalizations, Gov. Greg Abbott responded by shutting down bars and mandating masks.

As the second surge hit, Abbott put in place an automatic trigger to restrict the operating capacities of businesses and halt non-emergency surgeries to free up hospital beds in areas with high hospitalizations.

But now as the state hits a third surge, Abbott  who faces re-election early next year  is doing none of that. Instead, he is suggesting that people wear masks when appropriate and get vaccinated, but only if they want, and vowing not to enact any more mandates.

Theres no more time for government mandates, Abbott declared last month in an interview with KPRC in Houston. This is time for individual responsibility.

While that has confounded health officials and many big-city leaders as hospitals fill up with patients with COVID-19, the election results for 2020 offer a glimpse into why Abbott, who tested positive for the virus this week, isnt about to change course.

HEADED FOR TROUBLE?: Abbott faces his toughest political challenge yet  a local mask rebellion, with federal support

A Hearst Newspapers analysis shows a strong correlation between the counties with the lowest vaccination rates for COVID-19 and counties that voted heavily for former president Donald Trump, whose supporters Abbott will need to win his primary next spring.

Trump won 80 percent or more of the vote in each of the 10 Texas counties with the lowest vaccination rates.

No county demonstrates that vaccine hesitancy better than King County (population 300) near the Texas Panhandle. President Joe Biden won just 5 percent of the vote in a county that only had 17 percent of people 12 and older vaccinated  the worst in the state, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

On the flip side, the counties with the highest vaccination rates in Texas almost all went overwhelmingly for Biden, led by Presidio County on the border in West Texas. Over 90 percent of the countys 6,700 residents are fully vaccinated. Biden won 66 percent of the vote.

It all means Abbott  facing two GOP primary opponents who have been highly critical of his business shutdowns and mask orders early in the pandemic  has little political incentive to impose new restrictions with absentee voting starting as early as mid-January.

These voters are done with mandates, said State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Republican from Houston.

And the lack of mandates doesnt mean people wont get vaccinated or wear a mask, Bettencourt said, but Texas Republicans are tired of being told how to protect themselves.

Whatever the next mandate is, the answer is already no, he said.

Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News

It aint working

Instead of requiring masks or shutting down businesses, Abbott has asked hospitals to consider postponing non-vital surgeries to free up beds for COVID patients and ordered the Texas Division of Emergency Management to open anti-body infusion centers that can treat patients with the coronavirus to keep them out of the hospital.

Hes also taken steps to bring in an expected 5,500 medical personnel from other states to support strapped Texas hospitals.

The state of Texas is taking action to combat the recent rise in COVID-19 cases and ensure that our hospitals and communities have the resources and support they need to mitigate the virus, Abbott said.

But Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has been pleading with Abbott and state leaders to give local governments the authority to put in mandates that tamped down the last two big surges.

Personal responsibility is great, but as a disaster response strategy, it aint working, Hidalgo said last week as COVID numbers climbed to a 7-month high. This is Houstons fourth wave.

As for his own COVID infection, Abbott put out a video update on his condition Thursday in which he didnt appear to have any symptoms. He said he continues to quarantine and his wife, Cecilia, continues to test negative.

But Abbotts messaging hasnt changed: new mandates are non-negotiable.

Going forward, in Texas, there will not be any government-imposed shutdowns or mask mandates, Abbott said earlier this month in Dallas. Everyone already knows what to do.

ATEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Abbotts stand has eroded one of his key political liabilities heading into 2022, which could be his first serious primary challenge since he first rose to statewide office in 1995 as a Texas Supreme Court justice. Abbott has not been seriously challenged in a primary in his two previous campaigns for governor and never faced a primary opponent in three elections for attorney g eneral, the office he held before becoming governor.

His opponents, former Republican Party of Texas chairman Allen West and former state Sen. Don Huffines have both tried to appeal to GOP voters by targeting Abbott for his earlier mask restrictions and vowing to oppose other mandates  the very message Abbott has sent since March.

Abbotts mask stance has sucked the oxygen out of the room for those guys, Bettencourt said.

Still, the challengers arent giving up on it.

If you dont want to wear a mask you shouldnt have to wear a mask, West, a Republican from Garland, told supporters in a video conference on Wednesday. Were supposed to be governed, not ruled over by edicts, mandates, orders and decrees.

Huffines, another primary opponent, continues to highlight mask requirements too, blaming Abbott for not doing more to stop school districts that are defying Abbotts orders by requiring students to wear masks.

While Greg Abbott brags about banning mask mandates in Texas, the largest and most populous counties in the state are imposing them on citizens, Huffines said.

Godofredo A. Vasquez, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Beto ORourke wades into mask fight, too

Internal polling by the Abbott campaign shows he has been watching his numbers closely  particularly those related to COVID and the border.

Public polling shows 85 percent of Texas Republican voters approve of how Abbott has handled the states response to the virus, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released in late June. That poll also showed that while 51 percent of all Texans believe schools should be able to require masks, just 21 percent of Republicans agree. And there is a huge divide based on where people live. Almost 60 percent of respondents in cities supported schools requiring masks; in rural Texas, its under 40 percent.

Bettencourt acknowledged Abbott may be opening himself up to attacks in the general election, but the matter at hand right now is the primary.

Former El Paso Congressman Beto ORourke hasnt announced if hes running for governor, but the Democrat has been on national television questioning Abbotts leadership and blasted him on social media for not doing more to protect Texans.

Gov. Abbott, it is long past time to act to protect the lives of Texans, especially children, ORourke said earlier this week, echoing President Joe Bidens recent criticism of Abbott. Lead, or get out of the way of the county judges, mayors and school boards who are willing to do the right thing.

But a political reality remains in Texas: Democrats havent won a governor's race in more than 30 years. The bigger concern among incumbent Republicans in Texas remains primary challengers, not Democrats.

Which is just the sort of politics that frustrates state Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston. Standing in Houstons East End, she said Abbott made a lot of good decisions last year, but now seems bent on stopping communities like hers from taking steps to stop the spread of the disease.

Alvarado said it almost sounds like Abbott is trying to keep up with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in some battle over who can do the least at a time when the public needs them to step up. Like Abbott, DeSantis is battling local school districts that are trying to impose mask mandates over his objections.

Now hes in this competition with DeSantis and it's almost like who can be the most hands-off, Alvarado said. I think he needs to go back to being responsive as he was back then.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com
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Joseph Grillo, a veteran of the Marine Corps, is at home now on Williams College's campus. He's helping lead the way to higher education for other veterans through the Warrior-Scholar Project.

Warrior-Scholar Project Prepares Veterans to Succeed in College



Williams College alumnus Wick Sloane has been an advocate for colleges doing a better job to serve veterans. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  After eight years on active duty in the Marine Corps, Joseph Grillo was ready for a new challenge.

But he also knew that a college education posed different challenges for veterans like himself than it might for the "traditional" undergraduate.

"It's not the academics or rigor or the late night study," Grillo said recently. "It's the loss of camaraderie, the fear of fitting in. Then COVID hit, and the fear only doubled: What was I stepping into? Was this going to work for me?

"But I realized that courage isn't the absence of fear. It's putting one foot in front of the other when you're scared as hell."

That realization allowed Grillo to enroll at Williams College as a freshman in the fall of 2020, and it allowed him this summer to help lead the way for other veterans through the Warrior-Scholar Project.

Since 2011, the project has been working to "ensure that every degree-seeking enlisted veteran and transitioning service member succeeds in the transition to higher education and beyond."

This month, Williams hosted a Humanities Academic Boot Camp. Ten recent or soon-to-be-veterans participated in a series of remote seminars under the direction of Warrior-Scholar Project fellows.

The intensive program includes directed readings, workshops, research projects and lectures to help the veterans acquire the skills they will need to succeed in academia.

The Williams boot camp also included a guest speaker, journalist and author James Fallows, a national correspondent for The Atlantic.

The co-author (with wife, Deborah) of 2018's "Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America," told the class that the current decade, like the 1860s, the 1930s and the 1960s, will be a pivotal point in American history and that their generation of veterans will play a crucial role.

"I believe the 2020s will be seen as another of those times with what the pandemic is doing to the economy, with political tensions in the middle of a rise from where they were 20 or 25 years ago, when economic extremes are increasing again  it's not the worst we've seen, but it's nearing it.

"The American fabric, the way we all respond this year or the next five years is going to be part of the history book. And the military's role is going to be part of that.  You'll be ambassadors for what is still a minority part of the population. You'll be able to say, 'Here is what we stand for.' "

Davey Liu, six-year veteran of the Navy and current Columbia University student, was one of the fellows at last week's boot camp. He echoed Fallows' point about that ambassador role.

"In a lot of discussions in classrooms, my veteran background brought a fresh perspective that average college students couldn't offer," Liu said. "I think their perspective about the military was often negative. They never spent a big chunk of their time looking at how the U.S. military works.

"From what I've seen, a lot of their negative opinion is from a place of ignorance  not in a negative way, they just didn't know. Once I started explaining, it was a great way to integrate our perspective."

Fallows told the WSP participants that "non traditional" routes to a college degree are nothing new for veterans. He reminded them of the GI Bill that allowed millions of World War II veterans to attend college and the V-12 program that allowed Fallows' own father to earn his medical degree in an 18-month accelerated program during the Second World War.

Hearing that several of the veterans in the Zoom meeting are attending community colleges, Fallows noted that those schools play an important role in providing opportunities for deserving men and women like themselves.

"We're used to thinking about the big research institutions as being the crown jewels of American education  the Harvards, Yales, Princetons, Berkeleys, Michigans," Fallows said. "And in one way, they are, in terms of research heft and attracting students from around the world.

"Deb and I have come to think that the systems you all are involved in matter more. I'm talking both about community colleges and four-year institutions for people who are not age 18. These are schools that equip people who have more talent and potential than they have immediate opportunity. If you grew up in a fancy suburb of New York City and go to Brown right after prep school, you have more opportunities in front of you. If, on the other hand, you have more skill and potential than instant opportunity  this is the story of America: connecting people with skills to the needs of the moment."

Those "crown jewels" of academia have not always been focused on educating men and women who have served the nation in uniform.

Williams alum Wick Sloane participated in Thursday's virtual session and told the group about his experience as a teacher at Boston's Bunker Hill Community College, where encountered a number of veterans in his classroom.

"I called my schools, Williams and Yale, and asked them how to teach them, and they said, 'Why are you asking us? We don't have any veterans as underclassmen,'" Sloan said. "I asked why not. And they said, 'Why should we?' That was 2008."

Sloane, who taught at BHCC from 2006 through his retirement in 2019, wrote extensively about the issue of educating veterans in the publication Inside Higher Ed.

In November 2019, his Veterans Day column for the publication reported his findings from a survey of the nation's 36 most selective colleges. He found that just one, Columbia University, had veteran enrollments in triple figures (477). By contrast, Harvard had just 17 and Williams fewer than 10.

On the other hand, Sloane's survey showed those numbers trending up. The aggregate for the 36 schools in 2013 was 180; six years later, it was 885. Williams reported no veterans among its underclassmen in 2013 and 2014 but some number less than 10 in the following five years.

This summer marked the second straight year Williams has hosted a Warrior-Scholar Project boot camp.

"Williams is thrilled to continue working with Warrior-Scholar Project to support student veterans on their journey to and through college," Williams President Maud Mande said in a news release from the WSPl. "Student veterans are highly valued members of our campus community and have had an outsized impact on all areas of academic and community life on campus. Through ongoing work with WSP and other dedicated partners, we look forward to supporting even more student veterans in their educational and life pursuits."

Grillo said last year there were three veterans, including himself, on the Williams campus. This year, he expects that number to jump to five. He said there is a support system among the small veteran and non-traditional student community on the Williamstown campus, but there is only so far it can go.

"It's a support structure, and it's there to help you, but they're also struggling," Grillo said. "So if I bring my problems to them, I'm doubling down on their problems. So I have to balance that."

The good news is that he has found more support from his "traditional student" peers than he expected.



Joseph Grillo celebrates his acceptance to Williams College while serving in the Marines at Camp Pendleton in California. "Another of my biggest fears: Living in first-year dorms I was really nervous about living with a bunch of 18-year-olds with limited life experience and me coming in as a 30-year-old," said Grillo, who was serving as a fellow in a WSP boot camp at Notre Dame this month. "That was nerve-wracking. But I made some really good friends. Some of those 18-year-olds are incredible human beings, and we've formed a support system among ourselves.

"Even though I felt at first like I was moving into a junior barracks  there's a huge difference here in the caliber of individuals. Those 18-year-olds, 19-year-olds are so intelligent."

And Grillo found that his life experience could benefit some of his classmates in ways he did not anticipate.

"An individual I knew was starting to struggle in his classes and every day I would give him grief because his room was super disorganized," Grillo said "I told him, 'Dude, if you're having trouble keeping things in order and making deadlines, clean your room. Start there.' One morning, I showed up with trash bags, cleaned his room, taught him how to make his bed.

"He sent his parents pictures of his bed, and they said, 'We have to meet this guy.' "
At least 20 people have died in the last week near Kabul airport during attempts to flee Afghanistan by plane after Taliban insurgents took over the capital, a Nato official has said.

Reports of stampedes and crushing injuries, triggered in part by Taliban fighters firing into the air to control the crowds, have highlighted the chaotic and at times deadly situation in Kabul as thousands seek sanctuary before the airlift operation comes to an end.

The deteriorating situation at Hamid Karzai International Airport was confirmed earlier on Sunday by the UKs Ministry of Defence (MoD), which said seven people had been killed in the area as large crowds gathered in an attempt to flee the Taliban takeover.

Western nations are hurriedly trying to rescue thousands of people after the Islamist group gained control of Afghanistan in little more than a week.

The unnamed Nato source, who was speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said: The crisis outside the Kabul airport is unfortunate. Our focus is to evacuate all foreigners as soon as we can.

Crowds have grown at the airport every day over the past week, hindering operations as the United States and other nations attempt to evacuate thousands of their diplomats and civilians as well as numerous Afghans.

Our forces are maintaining strict distance from outer areas of the Kabul airport to prevent any clashes with the Taliban, the Nato official added.

The UK MoD said in a statement: Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible.

Our sincere thoughts are with the families of the seven Afghan civilians who have sadly died in crowds in Kabul.

It comes as the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said no nation will be able to get everyone out of the country, with US president Joe Bidens 31 August target date making the rescue mission even more time-pressured.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, the Cabinet minister said: If the US timetable remains, we have no time to lose to get the majority of the people waiting out.

Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer, and they will have our complete support if they do.

Mr Wallace said there were too many people in the airport on Saturday, forcing the US side of the operation to suspend access.

Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said Labour MPs had been hearing of people being shot at, beaten and raped while they wait to be called forward at the airport, while the Baron Hotel in the city, where many British nationals are being told to go for processing, is being blockaded by the Taliban.

The MoDs Operation Pitting evacuation mission is being supported by 1,000 British troops with nearly 4,000 people repatriated from Afghanistan since 13 August.
 Close Tobias Ellwood says special relationship between UK and US is not what it was

Joe Biden asks his defence chiefs every single day whether they need more troops or other resources to ensure safe evacuations of Americans and non-US citizens from Kabul airport, his national security chief said today.

Jake Sullivan told NBCs Chuck Todd on Meet the Press that so far that the US presidents top generals have not indicated a need for more forces beyond the 6,000 deployed to assist with evacuations and securing the perimeter at Hamid Karzai International Airport.

He left open the possibility that such an assessment could change.

Mr Sullivans comments came as a Nato official confirmed that at least 20 people had been killed near Kabul airport following chaotic scenes as large crowds gathered to escape from the country.

Meanwhile, a senior Tory MP has warned that the crisis in Afghanistan showed that there had been a demise in the so-called special relationship between the UK and US.

Tobias Ellwood, the chair of the Commons Defence Committee, said on Sunday that the UK had not been included in the conversations around the withdrawal of US troops  which has led to the takeover of the country by the Taliban.
A former Royal Marine-turned charity director in Afghanistan who vowed not to leave the country until his staff were guaranteed sanctuary in the UK is now in talks with the Foreign Office following sustained pressure on the government to provide help.

Paul Pen Farthing had been told by British authorities that he had a seat on a flight back to the UK, but not for the staff from his animal welfare charity Nowzad and their families.

On Saturday, Mr Farthing said he was hopeful that his 25 staff plus relatives will be permitted to leave.

The Foreign Office said it had been in contact with Mr Farthing and was working closely with the Home Office to offer assistance.

Late last week, Mr Farthing told the BBC that he was disgusted at the situation, and warned that the humanitarian crisis is now getting out of control.

We can't leave the country because we can't get into the airport without putting our lives at risk. he said. You've all seen the scenes  it is not different today to any other time, it is just getting worse.

I've got women and young children here. I'm not leaving without them, they're coming with me.

Right now, they're terrified, absolutely terrified. There's no assurances that they're going to be OK if they stayed here.

He said he was past angry and just completely numb at the incompetence of this operation.

Separately, Dominic Dyer, who has been campaigning for Mr Farthing, told PA on Friday that all 68 people in his group should have visas within the next 24 hours and that an aeroplane with significant capacity for them and the animals the charity is looking after, including dogs and cats, is being deployed in the coming days.
Twin toddlers are among those who tragically lost their lives as the city of Waverly, Tennessee and surrounding counties were devastated by catastrophic flooding that struck without warning on Saturday.

On Sunday, Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said that the death toll in the county is now 22.

In one particularly tragic incident, two of the dead appeared to be twin toddlers who were swept away from their father, Sheriff Davis told NBC affiliate WSMV in Nashville. The twins were swept underwater as flooding hit their apartment complex, the Daily Mail reported. The bodies of siblings Ryan and Rieligh Rigney have been recovered.

Waverlys mayor says that 42 people are currently missing. Search efforts continue, with most people saying that they were caught totally off guard when 17 inches of rain fell on the country in 24 hours  much of it within a six-hour period.

Mayor Wallace Frazier said: It was something like the quickness of a tornado I guess. Someone described it as a tidal wave.

The rainfall total shattered the Tennessee record for a single day by more than three inches, according to the National Weather Service.

President Joe Biden began remarks at the White House intended to address the Afghan evacuation and Tropical Storm Henri by first addressing the tragedy in Tennessee.

Weve reached out to the community and we stand ready to offer them support, the president said after offering his sincere condolences. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been asked to reach out to Governor Bill Lee.

More severe weather hit the area later that night, further complicating the situation. The Tennessee National Guard was activated to assist with water rescues.

Images on social media show damaged buildings and cars overturned having been swept away by the floodwaters.

At the Cash Saver grocery in Waverly, employees stood on desks, registers and a flower rack as the waters from the creek thats usually 400 feet (120m) from the store rushed in after devastating the low-income housing next door.

The flooding in rural areas took out roads, cellphone towers, and telephone lines, leaving families uncertain about whether their loved ones survived the unprecedented deluge.

Emergency workers were searching door to door, said Kristi Brown, a coordinator for health and safety supervisor with Humphreys County Schools.

Cellular service remains spotty and a boil water order is in effect for both Waverly and Bon Aqua.

Several roadways are closed due to flooding and debris and three schools were impacted by the flooding.

Governor Lee has toured the impacted area, stopping on Main Street in Waverly where some homes were washed off their foundations and people were sifting through their water-logged possessions.

In addition to the National Guard, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Department of Transportation, and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency are assisting local officials with search and response and traffic control operations.

The hardest-hit areas saw double the rain that area of Middle Tennessee had in the previous worst-case scenario for flooding, meteorologists said.

Lines of storms moved over the area for hours, wringing out a record amount of moisture  a scenario scientists have warned may be more common because of global warming.

With additional reporting by the Associated Press
Smoke from wildfires burning in North America have travelled across the Atlantic Ocean and made their way as far as Spain and Portugal.

Images taken from the European Unions Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, found large quantities of smoke moving across the Atlantic, towards the Iberian peninsular, bringing with it high levels of Carbon Monoxide (CO).

Satellite imaging has indicated that a cloud of polluting wildfire emissions has made its way 8,000km (nearly 5,000 miles) through the atmosphere from California to Europe, even reaching parts of France, Belgium and the UK.

Wildfires have been raging across the US with over 20,000 firefighters battling to put out at least 100 large wildfires in the west of the country.

The largest of these is the historic Dixie fire in California, which is the largest the state has ever seen, has been burning since mid-July and continues to affect large swathes of land there.

The fires are thought to have been made worse due to hot, dry weather and heatwaves, a result of climate change, which have in turn made the vegetation more flammable and the flames harder to contain.

Ongoing damage surveys have estimated that the Dixie fire has caused over 1,100 buildings to be destroyed, this has included 630 homes.

Its not just America which has been affected by wildfires, swathes of the Mediterranean including Greece, Turkey, Spain and most recently southern France have experienced unusually large fires this summer, as have Canada and parts of Siberia.

Smoke produced by wildfires can be damaging if inhaled, with research indicating that it can worsen Covid case numbers in areas where there are particularly high levels.

It is thought that this is due to emitted pollutants being able to spread infection, together with lung damage caused by exposure to them.
Dwarfed by the silhouette remains of a torched forest, Giorgios explains how he has lost 50 years  or two whole generations  of income to the wildfires that burned his home for seven days and seven nights.

The father of three lives on Greeces second-largest island, Evia, a quarter of which is now a devastated, burnt wasteland.

The tidal wave of flames consumed Giorgioss home, his warehouse of tools, and all of his nearly 3,000 pine trees, whose resin he cultivated for a living.
A listing for an nice, quiet office space located inside someones bathroom has been posted online, drawing ridicule from social media users.

The property is located in Glasgow, north of the River Clyde, and features two desks, a chair and mini fridge crammed inside narrow bathroom, right next to the toilet.

The landlord, known only as Josh on Gumtree, created the listing more than a month ago and intends to rent out the space for 50.

A Twitter user who goes by the name Ponder Stibbons shared the listing on social media, writing: Someone in Partick is renting their s***ter out as an office.

According to the listing, anyone who rents out the office space will benefit from their own private entrance, as well as fibre broadband connection, underfloor heating, lamps, a kettle. The toilet and sink is also available for the renter to use.

Describing the property as an small and compact space ideal for solo working, Josh added: Its a nice quiet spot and was recently converted. Available from 8am to 6pm Mon to Fri and would provide keys to longer term renters.

Photographs of the space show that it includes shelving to hold the kettle, coffee and tea, and other office supplies. The walls feature framed prints and Josh added a photograph of the floor tiles to help renters make their decision.

Social media users reacted in disbelief to the listing, and made jokes about the idea of working out of a bathroom.

One person wrote: Ok, where is the shower? What about wet paperwork? There a proclaim [sic] there waiting to happen.

Zoom calls in the throne, added another, with a series of laughing emojis.

It comes as businesses across the UK are considering whether to have employees return to the office full-time or adopt a hybrid approach that would allow people to split their time between working from home and in the office.

Scotland lifted most coronavirus restrictions earlier this month, including the guidance to work from home. Business leaders have encouraged workplaces to decide how they operate post-lockdown, and said bringing people back to the office will help city centres thrive again.
Covid patients in the UK are to be treated with man-made antibodies that prevent and fight coronavirus infection after approval was granted by the medicines regulator.

Health secretary Sajid Javid said the treatment, which was used on former US president Donald Trump after he fell ill with Covid-19, would be rolled out through the NHS as soon as possible.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the clinical trial data they had assessed has shown Ronapreve may be used to prevent infection, treat symptoms of acute Covid-19 infection and can reduce the likelihood of being admitted to hospital due to the virus.

The drug, administered by injection or infusion, acts at the lining of the respiratory system and combines two antibodies that bind to different places on the coronavirus spike protein, the part of the virus responsible for gaining entry to human cells. This neutralising process blocks infection and helps to accelerate the clearance of the virus.

Its hoped that the dual antibody approach will maintain the effectiveness of the treatment if a new coronavirus variant emerges with notable mutations to its spike protein.

Scientists believe the treatment will be most likely used to prevent hospitalisation among people becoming sick with Covid who are at higher risk of hospitalisation and death from the virus.

This could include immunocompromised individuals, such as those with an autoimmune disorder or receiving cancer treatment, who might not have responded as well to vaccination.

The drug is the first monoclonal antibody combination product approved for use against Covid-19 in the UK.

Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that act like natural human antibodies in the immune system.

The health secretary said the treatment was a significant addition to our armoury to tackle Covid-19, alongside the UKs vaccines and life-saving therapeutics such as dexamethasone and tocilizumab.

We are now working at pace with the NHS and expert clinicians to ensure this treatment can be rolled out to NHS patients as soon as possible, he added.

UK trials for the drug, developed by pharmaceutical firms Regeneron and Roche, took place before widespread vaccination and the emergence of virus variants.

Martin Landray, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Oxford, said there have been a number of studies into the treatment in an out-of-hospital setting, each with positive results  reducing viral clearance and reducing the risk of hospitalisation. He added: There have been no major safety concerns.

Dr Samantha Atkinson, interim chief quality and access officer at the MHRA, said the regulator had conducted a meticulous assessment of the clinical trial data and was satisfied that this treatment is safe and effective.

The US has approved a number of monoclonal antibody products throughout the pandemic, including a Regeneron-made treatment that was used on President Trump last autumn.

But patients in America have struggled to access the drug, which is expensive, and Prof Landray said the NHS would also be restricted by costs when determining which people will be offered the treatment.

The challenge going forward will be in determining which patients should be prioritised for this treatment, he said. Covid is not a rare disease and many people get better of their own accord after a few days of a nasty flu-like illness.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. 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It would be hard to justify giving what are likely to be limited supplies of a relatively expensive treatment to huge numbers of people who are likely to get better on their own.

On the other hand, it may play an important role in patients who are at higher risk of developing severe infection and who are more likely to end up in hospital.

The MHRA said the government and NHS will confirm how the treatment will be deployed to patients in due course.

Penny Ward, a visiting professor in pharmaceutical medicine at Kings College London, said the drug could reduce hospitalisation risk by about 70 per cent  depending on how much the treatment is used throughout the NHS.

With this additional tool at our disposal we stand a greater chance of being able to prevent the toll of Covid on hospital services and save more lives, she said. Its a good news day.
A former senior interpreter for the British Army in Afghanistan who worked with Prince Charles said he felt let down by the UK's repatriation scheme, as it has left his family facing the Taliban.

Nazir Ayeen, who has lived in Britain for nearly a decade, but only formally won permission to stay in Britain in 2019, said the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy does not allow all of his family to be relocated to the UK despite fearing Taliban reprisals.

He told Times Radio: It is not generous enough to include our family members.

I really feel let down. I worked for the UK government, for the UK civilian mission in Afghanistan, and our service and work has direct links with the UK's national security.

At the moment, our only request for the Home Office is to act quicker and sooner so that we don't lose our loved ones and our family members, and they don't face the Taliban's justice because of our service for this country.

Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in Kabul (AP)

Mr Ayeen said life was terrifying and worrying for his family since the Taliban regained control over the central Asian country.

Mr Ayeen, who is now in his early 30s, helped the British Army for three years in Helmand Province, and acted as a translator for visiting dignitaries including the Prince of Wales, the foreign secretary and the defence secretary.

He fled to Britain in 2013 and was at first only granted a five-year visa, after which he was granted permanent leave to remain.

Since arriving in the country he has enrolled at Birkbeck, University of London, and took a job with a construction company.

Britains Ambassador to Afghanistan Laurie Bristow speaks with a man as officials facilitate the UK evacuation effort in Kabul (via REUTERS)

The home secretary, Priti Patel, has vowed to do right by those who need us most in this darkest of hours  but has faced criticism that the government has not been generous enough in its offer of taking Afghans fearing Taliban reprisals.

The government has said it would take up to 20,000 refugees, with 5,000 in the first year.

Ms Patel told Sky News the UK cannot accommodate 20,000 people all in one go, but then hinted that the scheme could be expanded to admit double the initial figure for the first year.

There could be up to 10,000. We are expanding categories of people, she said.
Thousands of Afghan asylum seekers who have already reached the UK are stuck in a nightmarish limbo amid mounting calls to give them the right to stay in Britain permanently.

The Home Office has refused to say if it has halted the processing of more than 3,000 live asylum applications from Afghans in the UK, despite deleting all key guidance documents that are used to decide them a week ago.

The government said the documents were no longer relevant to the current situation, after the Taliban seized power following a rapid advance, but has not yet published replacements.

Labour accused the government of endangering lives with its chaotic handling of Britains withdrawal from the country and subsequent Taliban takeover.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, said: As the situation in Afghanistan deteriorates even further, the Home Office needs to  urgently  publish clear new guidance for people who have arrived in Britain and are currently in the asylum process.

The Conservatives chaotic handling of the exit from Afghanistan has put lives in danger and their resettlement scheme does not meet the scale of the challenge.

The Independent has backed calls for ministers to be more ambitious in their plan to resettle Afghans. Our Refugees Welcome campaign is calling for the government to offer sanctuary to as many people as possible.

The government has paused deportations of failed asylum seekers to Kabul but made no further commitment, despite championing a new resettlement scheme that aims to bring 5,000 Afghans to the UK over the coming year.

Ministers are still pushing to criminalise migrants who cross the English Channel, although Home Office figures show Afghans make up the fourth-largest group of asylum seekers arriving by boat.

Several MPs have joined calls by humanitarian groups for an amnesty for those who are already in the UK.

In a parliamentary debate on the Taliban takeover, Home Affairs Committee chair Yvette Cooper urged the government to recognise the position of those who are currently here, whose applications for asylum may have been turned down before circumstances escalated.

Home Office statistics show 2,881 Afghan asylum seekers are awaiting an initial decision on their claim and a further 236 cases are under review. The vast majority have been waiting for more than six months.

Tim Naor Hilton, the chief executive of Refugee Action, said: As this government loudly proclaims its generosity to those fleeing Afghanistan with its limited Afghan citizens resettlement scheme, thousands of Afghans are stuck in the UKs damaging and dehumanising asylum system right now.

In stark contrast to the warm words on refugee protection weve heard from the home secretary this week, Afghans in the asylum system are stuck in a nightmarish limbo.

Jamie Bell, a solicitor who specialises in Afghan asylum cases, said he was notified of an Afghan refugee awaiting removal from the UK as recently as last month, although he was later freed.

Bella Sankey, the director of Detention Action, said she knew of at least one Afghan man who was still being held in immigration detention despite the governments pause on deportations.

Its obviously incredibly traumatising for Afghan people in the UK trying to learn whats happening and whats going to happen to their loved ones, she told The Independent.

The fact that even now the Home Office is not conceding that they need to grant them asylum shows how deeply dysfunctional and problematic that department is. Its not a reasonable and rational response to whats happening.

Ms Sankey said the government has been taking a harsh and unreasonable approach to Afghan asylum seekers for years, as it has insisted that Kabul was safe for many despite refugees own accounts showing the deteriorating security situation.

So often children come whose parents were killed by the Taliban, she added. When they turned 18 the Home Office would start removal proceedings; some of them became suicidal and started self-harming.

Until it was deleted on Monday, official security guidance used by officials said there was no general risk of harm in Afghanistan and the proportion of the population affected by indiscriminate violence is small.

It meant that asylum seekers had to prove that they were personally at risk through their individual circumstances because the general security situation was not considered dangerous enough to grant them protection in Britain.

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigration said there was now no excuse for delay.

Policy and advocacy manager Zoe Gardner added: Given the current situation in Afghanistan, it is out of the question that any asylum seeker could be safely returned there for the foreseeable future.

The government must therefore act immediately to grant all Afghans in the asylum system protection. Any Afghan currently held in detention must similarly be released immediately and provisions must be made to facilitate the swift recognition of any Afghans making new or bringing fresh asylum claims.

The government has announced a new scheme to resettle 20,000 Afghans in the UK over a five-year period, but there are questions about how refugees will be able to access it or get out of the Taliban-controlled country.

Announcing the plans, Priti Patel said the government would do everything possible to provide support to the most vulnerable fleeing Afghanistan so they can start a new life in safety in the UK.

But charities accused the home secretary of hypocrisy as the government backs a controversial bill that would criminalise all asylum seekers crossing the English Channel or otherwise arriving in Britain without official permission.

Refugee Action and other advocacy groups have called for ministers to scrap the Nationality and Borders Bill, which would also make it easier to jail migrants for steering boats.

Ms Sankey accused the home secretary of pushing a false and disingenuous narrative that only refugees who arrive via formal routes deserve protection.

What she needs to do to is throw out that bill and accept that some people in the world are in such terrible circumstances they will travel to safety irregularly, she added.

A Home Office spokesperson said: Due to the ongoing situation in Afghanistan we have temporarily suspended our guidance on in-country asylum claims and are working at pace to update it.

Our immediate priority is to evacuate those in danger in Afghanistan, and in the last week alone we have relocated hundreds of vulnerable individuals in addition to the thousands of people eligible under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.

In addition, all enforced returns to Afghanistan have stopped.
A nurse has issued a warning against coronavirus misinformation after her anti-vaxxer mother died of the disease aged just 57.

Amy Crosby said her mother Geraldine Mount, who had no pre-existing health conditions, passed away from the virus at the same hospital where she has been working on the vaccine rollout.

In a Twitter post on Thursday, the 34-year-old nurse, who works at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, admitted that her relationship with her mother had become strained in the past 18 months due to her belief that the virus didnt exist.

Amy said she was sharing the post in the hope it may prevent others from falling prey to dangerous misinformation around coronavirus and vaccines.

She wrote: We have had a strained relationship over the last 18 months and some of this was due to her beliefs that Covid-19 isnt real and that vaccines are dangerous.

Today in hospital she died of complications caused by Covid, she spent the last month of her life without any family around her and her last memories were of sheer terror at having to be intubated and not knowing if she would wake up.

As a nurse whose been working on the Covid vaccine rollout at the same hospital she died at today, I cant tell you how painful this preventable loss is for our family.

If any good can come from this, it is that hopefully in sharing her story and our pain, even just one person with these ludicrous dangerous beliefs can rethink, reconsider sharing this warped evidence and get the vaccine to prevent their families having to go through what we are now.

I will be eternally thankful for the staff of James Cook Hospital who battled so desperately to save her. You are all heroes.

She finished her message by writing: Good night Mam, I love you and will remember the happier times, I hope you are at peace now.

Around 87.4 per cent of British adults have received at least one coronavirus jab, and some 76.4 per cent are now fully vaccinated.

It follows the story of Leslie Lawrenson, a healthy 58-year-old who died from the virus after refusing to get vaccinated. Leslie, from Bournemouth, died at his home on July 2 after downplaying his symptoms and denying he needed to go to hospital.

His long-term partner Amanda Mitchell, 56, who was severely ill with the virus at the time, said he believed the vaccines were too experimental and put his family at risk.
Dominic Raab was reportedly advised by No 10 officials to return from his holiday on 13 August as the Afghanistan situation deteriorated but stayed for a further two days after Boris Johnsons approval.

The claim comes after calls for the foreign secretary to resign for failing to make a call to his Afghan counterpart over the evacuation of interpreters while he was on the Greek island of Crete.

A government official told The Sunday Times that Mr Raab was told to come back on Friday 13 August, the day the prime minister held the first emergency Cobra meeting on the crisis in Afghanistan.

On Sunday, there was a sense of disbelief among everyone at the most senior levels in No 10 that he wasnt there, the official added. He seems to have nobbled Boris after he was told to come back.

Allies of the foreign secretary, however, told the newspaper he was to, begin the process of coming home, and it was agreed with the prime minister that Mr Raab would return on Sunday  the day the Afghan capital Kabul fell to the Taliban insurgents.

In response to the report, the SNPs Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, posted on social media: This makes it impossible for Dominic Raab to stay in office.

The shadow foreign secretary, Lisa Nandy, said: Its staggering that the foreign secretary found the time to pick up the phone to lobby the prime minister to extend his own holiday but refused to call the Afghan government in the hours before Kabul fell to the Taliban.

Its little wonder that the prime minister wasnt able to order others back to Westminster when he chose to go on holiday himself as the Taliban were advancing in Kabul, the Labour frontbencher said.

The report came as a poll for The Observer by Opinium found that just 23 per cent approved with the job the foreign secretary is doing compared with 41 per cent disapproving.

However, speaking on Friday after a Cobra meeting, Mr Johnson defied calls to sack Mr Raab, insisting he absolutely had confidence in the foreign secretary.

The prime minister stressed: I can tell you that the whole of the government has been working virtually around the clock, hitting the phones to do what we can to sort it out, to deal with the situation that has been long in gestation and to make sure that we get as many people as back as possible.

Elsewhere, it also emerged Lord Ahmad, a foreign office minister for South Asia, whose responsibilities include Afghanistan, was on staycation until Sunday  the day Kabul fell.

According to Sky News, the Conservative peer had been in regular contact the former foreign minister in Afghanistan, Haneef Atmar, as talks were underway with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar.

A foreign office spokesperson, however, insisted Lord Ahmad had been working closely with the foreign secretary and the FCDO [the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office] team throughout the response to events in Afghanistan, including engaging with international partners.

The Independent has contacted No 10 and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office for comment.
Dominic Raab and Ben Wallace have made representations to the United States in a bid to extend the Afghanistan evacuation deadline beyond the end of August, the armed forces minister has said.

As Britain continues to navigate the complexities of airlifting UK citizens and Afghans out of Kabul, James Heappey echoed comments from cabinet ministers that the government cannot confidently say all British nationals will be evacuated.

The minister revealed, however, that 1,721 people had been airlifted out of the country in the past 24 hours by the royal air force, which he added was currently increasing its capacity.

Despite several deaths occurring in the vicinity of the airport over the weekend, Mr Heappey said the queue was now flowing better, insisting that individuals with instructions from the UK government to come forward should have the confidence to do so.

Boris Johnson said on Sunday he will convene a meeting of the G7 leaders on Tuesday for urgent talks on the situation in Afghanistan, stressing it was vital the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations from Hamid Karzai international airport.

The announcement comes amid concerns that US troops pulling out of the airport by 31 August could jeopardise efforts to evacuate all British nationals and Afghans provided with visas by the government.

Last week, according to Bloomberg, a Pentagon press secretary said the mandate by the president is to complete the mission by 31 August and Joe Biden has previously vowed to remove all troops from the region by the 20th anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Speaking on Thursday, however, the US president suggested the end of the month deadline may be extended, insisting: If theres American citizens left, were going to stay until we get them all out.

Pressed on Sky News on how important it was that Mr Biden approves an extension of the deadline, the armed forces minister Mr Heappey said: We assume nothing.

You know the foreign secretary has made representations to his opposite number and the secretary of defence likewise. If the programme is extended, then there is the opportunity to continue with flights.

Mr Heappey added, however, that the Taliban insurgency that seized the countrys capital, Kabul, seven days ago, would get a vote in that too.

Its not just a decision made in Washington, and so I think its important, to make another point, is people shouldnt despair that whenever the airbridge, the military airbridge, ends, that that is the end of their chances leaving Afghanistan.

The home secretary [Priti Patel] has announced that there will be other routes into the resettlement programme from around the wider region, through maybe handling centres in refugee camps, through embassies, through high commissioners, he said.

Mr Heappey also rejected assertions from the former prime minister Tony Blair, who used a 2,700-word article at the weekend to suggest Britain could be relegated to a second division of global powers as he criticised the lack of UK involvement in the US decision to withdraw troops.

No, I think that is not absolutely true and if I look around the world at what the UK is doing now, theres evidence to the contrary, the minister said.

He added: What is happening in Afghanistan right now in terms of the humanitarian challenge is clearly very distressing, but the withdrawal from Afghanistan is something that we have been expecting for some time, which is a consequence of Donald Trumps Doha agreement which meant a decision needed to be taken this year.

Everywhere else around the world  the United States and the United Kingdom are working together to be the force of good that we want to be. And I dont think we should allow what is going on in Afghanistan to somehow persuade us that all of that wider international effort has relegated us somehow. I dont recognise that at all.
Several thousand people demonstrated Sunday in Montenegro over the planned inauguration of the new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the small Balkan state.

Ethic tensions have soared over the scheduled ceremony for Metropolitan Bishop Joanikije II. The protesters in Montenegros former capital, Cetinje, where the Sept. 5 inauguration is to take place, waved Montenegrin flags and chanted slogans against the country's government, accusing it of being pro-Serb.

Hundreds of police officers were deployed in the city and the U.S. Embassy warned Americans to avoid the protest.

Despite calls to respect COVID-19 health measures, most protesters did not wear masks while chanting Treason! and accusing the government of setting the stage for the occupation of Montenegro by Serbia.

Montenegro declared independence from the much larger Serbia in 2006. The country is deeply split between residents who consider themselves Montenegrins and those who deny the existence of the Montenegrin nation. About 30% of the country's population of 600,000 identifies as Serb.

Joanikije II is to succeed the Serbian church's previous most senior cleric in Montenegro, Metropolian Bishop Amfilohije, who died in October after contracting coronavirus. The inauguration ceremony is set for the Cetinje Monastery, which is considered the historic cradle of Montenegrin statehood.

Protest leaders said they do not oppose the naming of a new church leader but are against his enthronement in a shrine that symbolizes Montenegro's centuries-old struggle for sovereignty and independence.

We will not allow further desecration of Montenegrin shrines by those who dont recognize Montenegro as a state and Montenegrins as a nation, Predrag Vusurovic, a protest organizer, told the crowd.

Joanikije said in a statement that it's a shame" that his inauguration is being challenged.

I'm not being sent by the church in Serbia, nor by its state," he said. I'm not a foreigner. I was born in Montenegro, I'm a citizen of this country."

The Serbian Orthodox Church, the largest religious institution in Montenegro, played a key role in a movement that helped defeat a long-ruling pro-Western government last year. The church led months of protests against alleged plans by that government to take away its property, which Montenegrin officials denied.

The former government had steered Montenegro away from Serbian as well as Russian influence. The Adriatic nation joined NATO in 2017 and is seeking European Union membership.

___

Dusan Stojanovic contributed from Belgrade Serbia.
The parents of a British woman who went missing in the US Virgin Islands, have written to foreign secretary Dominic Raab asking for help to locate their daughter.

Sarm Heslop, aged 41, went missing from her boyfriends boat in the Caribbean on 8 March and has not been seen since.

In a letter released on Saturday, Ms Heslops parents called on the UK government to help with their daughters case.

Brenda Street and Peter Heslop said they had not given up hope of finding their daughter.

In a BBC interview, Ms Street said: I still do not feel shes gone.

Local police officers questioned Ms Heslops American boyfriend, Ryan Bane, with reports suggesting he was urged to cooperate fully with the investigation after he refused to allow coastguards to search his boat.

Coastguard officials told local media that when they visited Mr Bane on his boat during a search and rescue operation, they found him drunk and he refused to answer questions while physically preventing them from searching the vessel.

He told officers he woke up at 2am on the yacht they were on to discover she was missing. Detectives have said it is not certain Ms Heslop ever made it back to the boat as she was last seen eating dinner.

Mr Bane has said he is desperate for her to be found while his attorney, David Cattie, said: Ryans only hope is that Sarm is found alive and well.

He has since left the US Virgin Islands and it is not clear whether local police are aware of his current location.

In an appeal to Mr Raab, who is currently under fire for his handling of the situation in Afghanistan, Ms Heslops parents asked him to put more pressure on authorities in the US Virgin Islands and to up their investigation into her disappearance.

In the letter to the foreign secretary, Ms Heslops parents expressed their frustration at the lack of support provided to them by the Foreign Office.

Disappointingly, we feel that there has been only minimal support from the UK government and the Foreign Office and we are now requesting your involvement to do all you can to assist us, they wrote in the letter, seen by The Telegraph.

Ms Heslop is described as being 5ft8in tall and of slim build. She has a brightly coloured tattoo on her left shoulder of a seahorse, bird, butterfly and pink flower.
Tony Blair has criticised the decision of western forces to withdraw from Afghanistan as a tragic, dangerous, unnecessary move in his first public comments since the Taliban insurgency seized control.

The former prime minister said the country had been returned to the same group which from the carnage of 9/11 arose and in a manner which seems almost designed to parade our humiliation.

He added troops were withdrawn by US President Joe Biden in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending the forever wars, and urged caution in likening the situation this year to that of 20 or even 10 years ago.

Mr Blair, who took Britain to war in Afghanistan against the Taliban almost two decades ago in 2001, said that troop numbers had declined to a minimum and that no allied soldier had lost their life in combat for [the] 18 months into 2021.

He claimed that the decision to pull out of the region was not driven by grand strategy but by politics.

The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours, he said.

In a 2,700 word article  published on Saturday evening  Mr Blair, the prime minister between 1997 and 2007, said the UK must also evacuate and give sanctuary to those whom we have responsibility.

It comes after Boris Johnson described formidable logistics involved in airlifting British nationals and Afghans granted visas out of the region from Hamid Karzai International Airport in the capital.

Speaking on Friday, Mr Biden also suggested that troops involved in the evacuation mission may stay longer than the 31 August deadline, pledging to get all American citizens out.

But Mr Blair warned against the repetition of arbitrary deadlines in his article. He also said that we should evacuate people not grudgingly but out of a deep sense of humanity and responsibility.

The former PM also hit out at the deal reached between the US government under Donald Trumps administration and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, in February 2020 to withdraw American troops.

The world is now uncertain of where the west stands because it is so obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this way was driven not by grand strategy but by politics, he wrote.

We didnt need to do it. We chose to do it. We did it when the sacrifices of our troops had made those fragile gains our duty to preserve.

We did it when the February 2020 agreement, itself replete with concession to the Taliban, by which America agreed to withdraw if the Taliban negotiated a broad based government ... we did it with every jihadist group round the world cheering.

Claiming Britain had little or no consultation on the decision by the US  the countrys greatest ally  to the withdraw troops, Mr Blair said Britain had serious reflection to do.

We dont see it yet. But we are at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers. Maybe we dont mind. But we should at least take the decision deliberatively.

His intervention follows the call from the Labour MP, Zarah Sultana, who wrote in an article this week that the Labour Party should apologise for leading Britain into war with Afghanistan alongside the United States, and also described the intervention as a mistake of catastrophic proportions during an emergency Commons debate.

Addressing his own role, Mr Blair said: As the leader of our country when we took the decision to join America in removing the Taliban from power, who saw the high hopes we had of what we could achieve for the people and the world, subside under the weight of bitter reality, I know better than most how difficult are the decisions of leadership and how easy it is to be critical and how hard to be constructive.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Mr Blair went on: We forget this now, but the world was spinning on its axis.

We feared attack, possibly worse. The Taliban were given an ultimatum: yield up the al-Qaeda leadership or be removed from power so that Afghanistan could not be used for further attacks. They refused. We felt there was no safer alternative for our security than keeping our word.

However, he added: We held out the prospect backed by substantial commitment of turning Afghanistan from a failed terror state into a functioning democracy on the mend.

It may have been a misplaced ambition, but it was not an ignoble one. There is no doubt that in the years that followed we made mistakes, some serious ones.

After Mr Johnson suggested the UK would work with the insurgent group if necessary  as the evacuation of British nationals and Afghans granted visas continues  Mr Blair also said the government needs to work out a means of dealing with the Taliban and exerting maximum pressure on them.

Ahead of a meeting of the G7 leaders  chaired by the UK  he said governments should commit to coordinating help to the people of Afghanistan and holding the new regime to account.

We need to draw up a list of incentives, sanctions, actions we can take including to protect the civilian population so the Taliban understand their actions will have consequences, he added.
Iranian president met Sunday with Japan's foreign minister in the capital of Tehran and the two discussed de-escalation of tensions in the region, Iranian news agencies reported.

The presidents official website, president.ir, said that Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi discussed bilateral, regional and international issues with President Ebrahim Raisi

The two-day visit is the first by a Japanese official since Raisi became Irans new president and the first since the Japanese prime minister visited Iran in 2019. ISNA said Motegi is in Tehran at the official invitation of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

The report said Motegi would meet with other Iranian officials, including Raisi's nominated foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian and other high-ranking officials during his two-day visit.

Irans state-run IRNA news agency reported Saturday that Motegis visit to Tehran is aimed at boosting bilateral relations with Iran and furthering diplomatic efforts to de-escalate and stabilize the Middle East.

During Sunday's meeting, Raisi welcomed efforts by Japan and other countries to help establish peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region. Iran has always supported peace and stability in Afghanistan. Of course, we believe that Afghans should make their own decisions in Afghanistan.

Raisi said he is opposed to the creation of insecurity in the region, adding: The presence of Americans in the region, including Afghanistan, has not provided security.

Motegi said Tokyo also supports diplomatic efforts by regional countries to achieve peace and stability in the region. He said Japan believes problems should be resolved peacefully and through dialogue.

Earlier on Sunday, Motegi met with Zarif and the two also discussed de-escalation of tensions in the region.

Semi-official ISNA news agency report Sunday said Motegi discussed bilateral, regional and international issues with Mohammad Javad Zarif.

In 2019, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Irans top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as an interlocutor for former U.S. President Donald Trump, hoping to ease tensions between Washington and Tehran. But Khamenei did not consider Trump worthy of an exchange of messages.

Recently, Japan donated some 3 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Iran, which has suffered the worst virus outbreak in the Middle East.
Former United States Navy SEAL Robert ONeill has claimed he could rescue Americans trapped in Afghanistan by grabbing them and killing everyone else he saw.

Mr ONeill, who was part of SEAL Team Six that killed Osama bin Ladan in 2011, told Fox News what his strategy would be if he was in command.

Look, I dont want to be in charge, but if I was  oh I want to get the Americans? Cool. Give me nine guys. Im gonna walk through the streets and Im gonna kill everyone I see, and Im gonna grab the Americans. said Mr ONeill. It is not difficult.

Mr ONeills previous claim that he was the sole individual to execute Bin Laden was disputed by members of his team. It was also highly controversial due to the Navy SEALs code of silence that prevents them from publicly taking credit for their actions.

His comments on Fox News appeared to bear little relation to reports of the realities on the ground in Afghanistan  while authorities are unsure exactly how many Americans still need evacuating from Afghanistan, the number is in the thousands.

"I don't want to be in charge, but if I was ... give me 9 guys, I'm gonna walk through the streets [in Afghanistan] and I'm gonna kill everyone I see, and I'm gonna grab the Americans. It is not difficult" -- Rob O'Neill



This is the sort of commentary Fox News platforms. Yikes. pic.twitter.com/LwFrgxQ1XM  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 20, 2021

The Biden administration has also committed to helping tens of thousands of Afghan citizens who have been US allies in the two-decade fight against the Taliban leave the country.

On Friday, President Joe Biden told reporters: Theres no one more important than bringing American citizens out, I acknowledge that. But theyre equally important, almost.

The evacuation efforts from Kabul have been chaotic so far. Reports of Taliban fighters blocking passage to the Hamid Karzai International airport, and footage of crowds outside subjected to tear gas, crushes, beatings and gunfire, have shocked observers.

Adding to the profound urgency to get those at risk out, The New York Times reported on Thursday that a UN intelligence document warned the Taliban was, intensifying a search for people they believe worked with US and NATO forces, including among the crowds of Afghans at Kabuls airport.
A propaganda photo released by the Taliban shows members of an elite commando unit recreating an iconic World War Two image of US Marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima.

The staged photo shows the special unit, called the Badri 313 Battalion, hoisting the Taliban flag while wearing head-to-toe US kit. It was part of a collection of promotional images and footage of the militants released this week.

The Badri 313 are thought to be named after the 624 CE Battle of Badr, described in the Quran, in which the Prophet Mohammed defeated an enemy force with an army of just 313.

Considered the Talibans top fighting unit, the group are reportedly highly trained and are now equipped with state-of-the-art military gear.

US officials estimate that $28 billion worth of weaponry that America gave the Afghan forces between 2002 and 2017 is now in the hands of the Taliban.

The haul is thought to include seven brand new helicopters delivered to Kabul last month, 600,000 assault rifles, 2,000 armoured vehicles, and 40 aircraft, including Black Hawks, reports the New York Post.

Pictures of Taliban fighters on the streets of Afghanistan wearing US combat gear, and carrying US weapons have been widely shared on social media this week.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said: We dont have a complete picture, obviously, of where every article of defense materials has gone, but certainly a fair amount of it has fallen into the hands of the Taliban.

And obviously, we dont have a sense that they are going to readily hand it over to us at the airport, he added.
Donald Trump was booed by crowds in Alabama at his Save America rally when he recommended they get vaccinated against Covid.

The former president told his supporters: I believe totally in your freedoms, I do, youve got to do what youve got to do. But I recommend take the vaccines.

His suggestion was met with boos, as can be heard in a video shared by Vox journalist Aaron Rupar on Twitter.

Mr Trump still insisted that vaccines are good and encouraged them to get the jab.

Youve got your freedoms, he said. But I happened to take the vaccine.

Trump advises his audience in Alabama to take the Covid vaccine pic.twitter.com/aaxQfnnxoh  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 22, 2021

After the booing died down, Mr Trump, who was vaccinated at the White House in January 2021, assured the crowd: If it doesnt work youll be the first to know, to a ripple of laughter.

lll call up Alabama and say hey, you know what? he continued. But it is working.

According to the Daily Beast, Mr Trumps allies have encouraged him to run a pro-vaccination campaign, which he has been reluctant to do, fearing  correctly if the response in Alabama is any indication  that the position would be unpopular with his supporters.

Although the former president was vaccinated while still in office at the start of the year, he did so privately, and the American public were not made aware of it until March.

More than 400,000 Americans had died of coronavirus when Trump left office, and that number has since increased to more than 600,000.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel sat down for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after traveling to Kyiv on Sunday.

The two leaders were expected to discuss relations between the countries, reforms in Ukraine and implementation of the 2015 peace deal designed to end the fighting with Russia-backed separatist in the eastern Ukraine.

Merkel's trip came two days after she went to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin The chancellor is not running in Germanys national election next month and is nearing the end of her almost 16-year-long leadership of Germany

After meeting Putin on Friday, Merkel made it clear that she hasn't given up hope of progress on the long-stalled efforts to bring peace to eastern Ukraine, where fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 14,000 people since 2014.

Germany and France have worked to help broker a peaceful settlement to the conflict, including a since-violated 2015 ceasefire agreement reached in Minsk Belarus.

I will work until my last day in office so that the territorial integrity of Ukraine can be ensured, Merkel said.

Its not clear when she will step down, because Germany's outgoing government will remain in place until a new one is formed after the election.

Putin asked Merkel to reaffirm to Ukrainian authorities during her Kyiv visit the importance of honoring their obligations under the 2015 deal.

Merkel acknowledged that the parties involved have not yet achieved the aims we wanted to achieve in the Minsk agreement" and that there have been disappointments of the most varied kind."
President Joe Biden continued to defend the overall concept of his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan and make peace with the Taliban on Sunday, while most of his US critics have centered their ire on his management of the situation rather than the pullout itself.

At a news conference, the president addressed continued criticism of his administration over the issue, which grew over the weekend following an address on Friday in which Mr Biden appeared to deny many of the realities on the ground in Kabul.

While speaking to reporters on Sunday, Mr Biden contended that US adversaries in Moscow and Beijing would have been the only true victors had the US committed to more years of warfare in Afghanistan.

"I think history is going to record this was the logical, rational, and right decision to make, said Mr Biden.

If youre sitting in Beijing ... if youre sitting in Moscow, are you happy we left? Cmon, he quipped.

His defences differed little from the responses he and his top officials gave throughout last week in response to the shocking images that played on TV screens and across social media last Sunday and Monday, when Afghan civilians including teenagers were killed attempting to escape from the country by clinging to departing US military aircraft.

Those images of hundreds of desperate Afghans on the airport tarmac quickly dispelled the White Houses assertions last weekend that the situation was not comparable to the evacuation from Saigon  a comparison that has now been all but officially acknowledged as accurate  and drove a flurry of appearances from the president over the last few days as the Biden administration attempts damage control.

On Friday, the president again sought to reassure Americans that the evacuations were under control, even while wrongly asserting that Al Qaeda had no presence in the country and that all Americans were able to reach Hamid Karzai International Airport unobstructed by Taliban forces.

His top officials were forced to defend those misstatements on Sunday, and asserted that the US was helping individual Americans reach the airport safely on a case-by-case basis.

The White House has offered few explanations beyond an unwillingness to damage confidence in the now-toppled Afghan government for why more Americans and vulnerable Afghan civilians were not airlifted out of the country before the Taliban took over last weekend.

On Sunday Mr Biden addressed those questions to some degree, arguing confusingly that an evacuation would have been chaotic even had it occurred a month ago when Kabul was still in the hands of Afghanistans US-backed government.

The evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul is going to be hard and painful no matter when it started, when we began, said Mr Biden on Sunday, adding: It would have been true if we had started a month ago, or a month from now. There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain.
Senator Lindsey Graham claimed Joe Biden should be impeached if any Americans or Afghan allies are left behind in the US withdrawal.

Mr Graham said the US was duty-bound to evacuate every US citizen and honour-bound to do likewise for the Afghan interpreters and contractors who aided the American occupation.

If we leave one American behind. If we dont get all those Afghans who stepped up to the plate to help us out then Joe Biden, in my view, has committed a high crime and misdemeanor under the Constitution and should be impeached, the Republican Senator from South Carolina told Fox & Friends on Friday.

If we leave any Americans behind, or if we leave thousands of Afghans who fought bravely alongside us behind, President Joe Biden deserves to be impeached for a High Crime and Misdemeanor of Dereliction of Duty.  Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) August 20, 2021

The chaotic US withdrawal from its 20-year occupation of Afghanistan in the face of a Taliban onslaught is being described as a humanitarian disaster.

Scenes at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Friday showed Afghans on the perimeter trying to pass their babies over razor wire to US troops in order for them to be rescued.

President Biden was due to address the deteriorating security situation at 1pm on Friday afternoon ET.

The Biden administrations National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has committed to evacuating the estimated 6,000 US citizens remaining in the country.

CNNs chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward reported on Friday morning that she had not seen a single flight depart Kabul airport in the past eight hours.

Mr Graham said the French and British Governments had made commitments to bring out all of their citizens and allies.

In 2019, Mr Graham criticised the Trump administration for shamelessly abandoning the Kurds by withdrawing from Syria, but stopped short of calling for impeachment.
Tony Blair the British prime minister who deployed troops to Afghanistan 20 years ago after the 9/11 attacks, says the U.S. decision to withdraw from the country has every Jihadist group round the world cheering.

In a lengthy essay posted on his website late Saturday, Blair said the sudden and chaotic pullout that allowed the Taliban to reclaim power undermined everything that had been achieved in Afghanistan over the past two decades, including advances in living standards and the education of girls.

"The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours, said Blair who served as prime minister and Labour Party leader during 1997-2007, a period that also saw him back the U.S.-led war in Iraq in 2003.

The world is now uncertain of where the West stands because it is so obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this way was driven not by grand strategy but by politics," he added.

Blair also accused U.S. President Joe Biden of being in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending the forever wars, as if our engagement in 2021 was remotely comparable to our commitment 20 or even 10 years ago."

The former prime minister, whose reputation in the U.K. never recovered from the failure to find the alleged weapons of mass destruction that were cited as justification for U.S. coalitions invasion of Iraq, said Britain has a moral obligation to stay in Afghanistan until everyone who needs to be evacuated is taken out.

We must evacuate and give sanctuary to those to whom we have responsibility  those Afghans who helped us and stood by us and have a right to demand we stand by them," he said.

Like other nations, Britain is trying to evacuate Afghan allies as well as its own citizens from Afghanistan, but with a U.S.-imposed Aug. 31 deadline hovering into view, its a race against time. In addition to the 4,000 or so U.K. citizens, the country is thought to have around 5,000 Afghan allies, such as translators and drivers, earmarked for a seat on a plane.

Blair conceded that mistakes were made over the past two decades but added that military interventions can be noble in intent.

Today we are in a mood which seems to regard the bringing of democracy as a utopian delusion and intervention virtually of any sort as a fools errand." he said.

Blair also warned that the decision by the U.S. to keep Britain largely in the dark about the withdrawal risks relegating the country to the second division of global powers.

However, he said the U.K., in its role as the current president of the Group of Seven nations, was in a position to help coordinate an international response to hold the new regime to account.

The British government has been working diplomatically to ensure there is no unilateral recognition of a Taliban government in Afghanistan.

We need to draw up a list of incentives, sanctions, actions we can take including to protect the civilian population so the Taliban understand their actions will have consequences," Blair said.

___

Follow all AP stories on developments in Afghanistan at https://apnews.com/hub/Afghanistan
Here are the APs latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. For up-to-the minute information on APs coverage, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom.ap.org.

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TOP STORIES

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AFGHANISTAN  A panicked crush of people trying to enter Kabuls international airport killed seven Afghan civilians in the crowds, the British military says, showing the danger still posed to those trying to flee the Talibans takeover of the country. By Ahmad Seir, Tameem Akhgar and Jon Gambrell. SENT: 810 words, photos.

TROPICAL-WEATHER-ATLANTIC  Hurricane Henri kept on course to crash into a long stretch of northeastern coastline, as millions on New Yorks Long Island and in southern New England braced for flooding, toppled trees and extended power outages. SENT: 920 words, photos. By Michael Hill. With US-TROPICAL WEATHER-ATLANTIC-EXPLAINER  What to know as rare cyclone heads north (sent).

VIRUS-OUTBREAK  Japan, Australia and New Zealand all got through the first year of the coronavirus pandemic in relatively good shape  but now are taking diverging paths in dealing with new outbreaks of the fast-spreading delta variant. The difference in emphasis on lockdowns and vaccines could have far-reaching consequences for the economies of those nations and the health of their citizens. By Nick Perry, Mari Yamaguchi and Rod Mcguirk. SENT: 1,180 words, photos. With VIRUS-OUTBREAK-THE-LATEST.

GREECE-WILDFIRES-RESIN-COLLECTORS  Residents in the north of the Greek island of Evia have made their livings from the dense pine forests surrounding their villages for generations. Tapping the pine trees for resin has been a key source of income for hundreds of local families. But hardly any forests are left after one of Greeces most destructive single wildfires in decades rampaged across northern Evia for days. By Elena Becatoros. SENT: 930 words, photos.

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MORE ON AFGHANISTAN

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CHINA-AFGHANISTAN  China is facing heightened risks, along with potential political and economic opportunities following the Talibans rapid rise to power. China shares a narrow remote, border with Afghanistan and has long hoped for a reduction of U.S. influence in the area. But the Talibans core philosophy is diametrically opposed to Beijings vision of atheist rule under the Communist Party that holds social stability and economic development above all. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.



TRENDING NEWS

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GERMANY-RESTORED-MUSEUM  Berlins Neue Nationalgalerie reopens after 6-year overhaul. SENT: 260 words, photo.

CHINA-POLITICS  Top official in eastern Chinas Hangzhou under investigation. SENT: 300 words.

IRAN-JAPAN- Reports: Japanese FM in Iran to discuss de-escalation. SENT: 210 words.

PORTLAND-PROTESTS  Portland, Oregon, preps for protests between opposing groups. SENT: 150 words.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-CRUISES  A cruise ship headed for the Mexican Riviera set sail from the Port of Long Beach  the first cruise ship to depart from California in 17 months. SENT: 340 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-JESSE JACKSON  The Rev. Jesse Jackson a famed civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate, and his wife, Jacqueline, have been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a statement. SENT: 190 words, photos.

VIRUS-OUTBREAK-RADIO-HOST  A conservative talk radio host from Tennessee who had been a vaccine skeptic until he was hospitalized from COVID-19 has died. He was 61. SENT: 300 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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UKRAINE-CRIMEAN-TATARS  Russias annexation of of Ukraines Black Sea peninsula in 2014 evoked tragic memories for Crimean Tatars. Seventy years earlier, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ordered the mass deportation of their people. Fears of more discrimination and persecution following the Russian takeover have materialized. Some Crimean Tatars have been convicted of extremist charges and sentenced to prison terms ranging from eight to 19 years. The fate of the Muslim ethnic group is one of top issues during an inaugural meeting Monday of the Crimean Platform, an international forum called by Ukraine to build up pressure on Russia. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.

ROMANIA-LGBT-RIGHTS  The 20th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Romania provided cause for celebration during the gay pride parade and festival held in Bucharest this month. People danced, waved rainbow flags and watched performances at an event that would have been unimaginable a generation earlier. Yet many members of Romanias LGBT community remain frustrated by the Central European nations failure to go further and legalize same-sex unions or marriages. SENT: 520 words, photos.

ISRAEL-FESTIVAL-STAMPEDE  An Israeli government commission investigating a deadly accident at a Jewish pilgrimage site in April held its first day of hearings, almost four months after the stampede at Mount Meron left 45 people dead. SENT: 360 words

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS  Israels military bombed Palestinian militant weapons sites in the Gaza Strip in response to a violent demonstration on the perimeter fence that left an Israeli police officer critically injured, the army said. SENT: 260 words, photos.

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NATIONAL

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WESTERN-WILDFIRES  Crews were digging in and burning out fire lines amid another round of high winds that contributed to the fury to a Northern California wildfire. SENT: 710 words, photos.

TENNESSEE FLOODING  Catastrophic flooding in Middle Tennessee left at least ten people dead and dozens missing as record-shattering rainfall washed away homes and rural roads, authorities said. SENT: 780 words, photos.



SPORTS



BOX--PACQUIAO-UGAS  Yordenis Ugas beat Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision. The Cuban champion put on an impressive technical performance on 11 days notice and retained his WBA welterweight title. Ugas seized his opportunity as the late injury replacement for Errol Spence Jr.. He frustrated Pacquiao (67-8-2) throughout what might be the final fight of the 42-year-old Filipino senators career. By Sports Writer Greg Beacham. SENT: 940 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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At the Nerve Center, Vincent K. Willis can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, (ext. 7636). Expanded AP content can be obtained from http://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 844-777-2006.
Israeli military have carried out airstrikes on several Palestinian militant weapons sites in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces said the action was in response to a demonstration at the perimeter fence which became violent, leading to an Israeli police officer being critically injured.

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered to take part in a demonstration on Saturday which was organised by Gazas Hamas rulers. The attack was intended to draw attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the territory, but grew increasingly violent with a number of individuals injured, including a teenage girl.

In total, at least 24 Palestinians were injured by gunfire from the Israeli side, according to the Gaza health ministry. These included a 13-year-old. An Israeli Border Police officer was also critically injured, having been shot.

Dozens of people approached the fortified border fence, throwing rocks and explosives towards Israeli soldiers from behind a black smoke screen, which was caused by a number of burning tyres.

In a statement, the army said that fighter planes from Israel had hit four weapons and storage manufacturing sites which belong to Gazas Hamas rulers. This was in response to the violent demonstrations. They added that the military had deployed extra troops to the region near to the border with Gaza.

There were no immediate reports of injuries in the air strikes.

Addressing Cabinet on Sunday, prime minister Naftali Bennett said Israel will settle the score with those who harm our soldiers and Israeli civilians, adding that the military is ready for any scenario.

Bitter enemies Israel and Hamas have fought four wars against each other and have had countless skirmishes since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in a 2007 coup, just one year after having won a Palestinian election.

Most recently, an 11-day war in May ended with an inconclusive ceasefire while 254 people were killed in Gaza. These included 67 children and 39 women, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Hamas acknowledged that 80 of its militants died.

In Israel, 12 civilians, including two children, and one soldier were killed.

Gaza is currently kept under a blockade by Israel with heavy restrictions on movement both in and out of the territory, home to two million Palestinians. Restrictions are also maintained by Egypt on the enclave.

Both countries say that restrictions are in place due to threats from Hamas.

Additional reporting by AP
On a warm Friday night in July, the sun seemed to linger behind Amsterdams low, 16th century skyline. In the red light district, the crush of tourists that was common before the pandemic had long since vanished, making it easy for a delivery worker to cycle past a handful of gawkers around the old towns notorious storefronts.

While six German men in matching T-shirts ignored signs warning of a 95 (81) fine as they swilled beers on a nearby footbridge, they were the exception. Mostly, only small groups of sedate strollers were about on this midsummer evening.

Centuries before its more lurid attractions took hold, Amsterdam was already a tourist draw. As far back as 1345, when a communion wafer at a local church apparently proved indestructible, pilgrims flocked to see the miracle host. In modern times, decidedly fewer spiritual activities have drawn millions to the citys quaint, canal-lined quarters. And the noise, garbage and violence followed.

The city was already scrambling to find ways to restrain the tourist trade before the coronavirus struck. Hefty fines for public drinking, tight restrictions on short-term rentals and outright bans on certain types of shops were implemented. But more visitors kept coming. By 2019, their numbers approached nine million  more than ten per resident.

Then it all stopped. For months, tourists were nowhere to be found as borders were sealed tight. Later, as infection waves receded, only a trickle returned. Overall, almost 25 per cent fewer tourists have visited Amsterdams commercial establishments since Covid-19 arrived.

Even in the red light district, the lack of drunken revellers remains apparent despite many restrictions having been lifted. Locals wander wide-eyed through a part of town they rarely visit, amazed at its architectural beauty. Among city officials, this tiny silver lining to a global health catastrophe planted a seed. While Amsterdam, arguably, needs tourism to survive, maybe this once-in-a-century pandemic could be used to remake how the city embraces it.

As it turns out, other tourist hotspots across Europe have the same idea.

Cities want to mould visits into shapes less onerous for residents and perhaps more lucrative for business. Optimally, a virtuous circle can be created where loud partiers are supplanted by museum-goers with more money to spend  or so the thinking goes.

We need to focus on what residents need and show a city thats not a film set but alive with people from Prague

Call it curated tourism.

Hana Trestikova, Pragues councillor for tourism, says: We met representatives from Amsterdam, Barcelona and Florence during the pandemic and all of us were thinking the same thing. Before Covid, over-tourism had become almost unbearable and Covid gave a pause to try to make some changes in what our cities represent, how we promote ourselves and how we must focus on quality of visits not quantity.

Not so long ago, these cities marketed themselves to everyone. But Amsterdams widely available cannabis and legal prostitution, Barcelonas urban beaches and Pragues famous beer halls increasingly attracted tourists who brought what Geerte Udo, director of Amsterdam & Partners, diplomatically calls negative effects.

When much of Europe shut down last year, the medieval centre of Amsterdam  a Unesco World Heritage Site  took on a breathtaking beauty, says Udo, whose non- profit concern serves as a civic booster. The emptiness also revealed how few locals actually live there, she says: You feel its not [much] more than a theatre backdrop.

But the pandemic also made clear how important tourist euros are to the livelihood of these cities. About 13 per cent of Barcelonas economy and 11 per cent of Amsterdams jobs can be tied to visitors.

Lenia Marques, assistant professor of cultural organisation and management at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, says cities are thinking: Who is the tourist were inviting? Do we want this mass needing more hotels, or do we seek tourists more interested in our culture, a tourist who will appreciate more of what we have  and be able to spend more?

In recent years, Pragues tourist problem started to resemble Amsterdams, Trestikova says. The Czech capital was getting eight million visitors a year, almost doubling between 2012 and 2019 and like Amsterdam, most headed to the same neighbourhoods. In Pragues case, they clog the Old Town Square and Charles Bridge.

Trestikova says: The city centre is not a residential locality any more. There are not many apartments and those are largely occupied by expats or converted to hotels and short-term rentals. We need to focus on what residents need and show a city thats not a film set but alive with people from Prague.

No tourists shop for postcards in Amsterdam (Bloomberg)

But reshaping a citys tourist trade is harder than just changing marketing firms. Trestikova says the biggest factors behind low-quality visits arent in the citys control. The cost of tickets on budget airlines, the number of Airbnb units and even the price of beer can only be changed at the national level, she said.

A spokesperson for the Czech Ministry of Regional Development acknowledged that taxes on alcohol and air travel are determined by parliament but noted Pragues city council can submit legislative proposals. A bill from the city that would provide municipalities with more power to regulate short-term rentals is currently under consideration, he said.

Situated in the most-visited part of the second-most-visited country in the world (after France), Barcelona faces a unique challenge when it comes to transforming tourism. While the citys negative effects are less extreme than those endured by Amsterdam or Prague, Xavier Marce, councillor for tourism and creative industries, says he wants to attract tourists interested in more than just its seaside location.

He says: When I visit New York, I am interested in what New Yorkers do. Its much better to have a tourist model linked to culture or science because it means that there is a connection with the resident.

Barcelona has designed a network of bus stops to spread visitors more evenly around the city while also freezing new licences for short-term rentals  the abuse of which has been a key cause of over-tourism, Marce says.

Marce says Airbnb, advertises apartments but they dont check the legal status of those apartments. Its when we let them know that the apartment is illegal when they remove it immediately.

Andreu Castellano, an Airbnb spokesperson, says the company has worked with Barcelona officials since 2018 to drop operators who don't respect the rules. He added that, more than 7,000 bad actors have been removed as a result.

In Italy, some Venetians want to do the opposite of what Barcelona is trying. Melissa Conn, director of US charity Save Venice, says: Spread out tourism? Thats worse. She says she prefers visitors stick to Piazza San Marco so residents can have the rest of the city to themselves. Save Venice vice president Alberto Nardi agrees but warns that tourism is critical to the citys survival. The owner of a jewellery shop on the piazza, Nardi says Venices population has been declining, its cost of living rising and non-tourism jobs vanishing.

Venice must, develop businesses that are different from tourism, he says.

For cities looking to change who comes calling, any effort requires an advertising campaign. Amsterdam has launched such an effort, spending 160,000 to stimulate desired behaviour by tourists  namely by attracting different ones. Deputy mayor for economic affairs Victor Everhardt announced the initiative in June, which includes ads geared to urban residents in nearby countries such as France, Belgium and the UK.

An empty bank, apart from ducks, on Vltava river near the Charles Bridge in March last year in Prague (Getty)

He says: Were focusing on people who have interest in culture in the broadest sense of the word. We try to persuade them to visit all these other beautiful parts of the city.

Even before Covid, Prague officials hired an agency that sought to persuade tourists, to come for more than two nights. During the short-lived summer 2020 reopening, the city introduced Prague Unlocked, a campaign aimed at a Czech audience, since foreign travellers were still rare. It was a success. Usually, just 15 per cent of Pragues tourists are domestic (compared with 20 per cent in Vienna and almost 50 per cent in Paris). But in 2020, the number of Czech visitors rose by 16 per cent, with many staying in three- and four-star hotels, Trestikova says.

Then theres the other side of the equation. Udo of Amsterdam & Partners says her group is lobbying the Dutch government to impose a minimum price on plane tickets, while others want to ban Airbnb from the city altogether. Barcelona has instituted a new tax on stays in tourist establishments that goes to the municipal government. It could raise as much as 16.5 million annually with the revenue used to promote less-visited neighbourhoods.

Technology is also being leveraged to redirect tourist flows. Amsterdam works with phone companies to know how many people are in certain areas, then they can take measures to stop more people coming in, said Lenia Marques of Erasmus University. As areas become too crowded, visitors will receive a text message with an offer for an attraction in a different part of town. If things get really bad, stanchions will be erected to stop more people from entering and overcrowded area, she says.

But any plan that risks cutting tourist cash  even for a short time  is likely to run into trouble with businesses already deeply hurt by the pandemic. For curated tourism to have a chance, says Barcelonas Marce, a citys hospitality sector must be on board.

He says: Barcelonas hospitality sector is very strong. You cant suddenly say there will be half as many tourists.

 The Washington Post
The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours. In the aftermath of the decision to return Afghanistan to the same group from which the carnage of 9/11 arose, and in a manner that seems almost designed to parade our humiliation, the question posed by allies and enemies alike is: has the west lost its strategic will? Meaning: is it able to learn from experience, think strategically, define its interests strategically and on that basis commit strategically? Is long term a concept we are still capable of grasping? Is the nature of our politics now inconsistent with asserting our traditional global leadership role? And do we care?

As the leader of our country when we took the decision to join America in removing the Taliban from power, who saw the high hopes we had of what we could achieve for the people and the world subside under the weight of bitter reality, I know better than most how difficult are the decisions of leadership, and how easy it is to be critical, and how hard to be constructive.

Twenty years ago, following the slaughter of 3,000 people on US soil on 11 September, the world was in turmoil. The attack was organised out of Afghanistan by al-Qaeda, an Islamist terrorist group, given protection and assistance by the Taliban. We forget this now, but the world was spinning on its axis. We feared further attacks, possibly worse. The Taliban were given an ultimatum: yield up the al-Qaeda leadership or be removed from power so that Afghanistan cannot be used for further attacks. They refused. We felt there was no safer alternative for our security than keeping our word.

We held out the prospect, backed by substantial commitment, of turning Afghanistan from a failed terror state into a functioning democracy on the mend. It may have been a misplaced ambition, but it was not an ignoble one. There is no doubt that in the years that followed we made mistakes, some serious. But the reaction to our mistakes has been, unfortunately, further mistakes. Today we are in a mood that seems to regard the bringing of democracy as a utopian delusion, and intervention  virtually of any sort  as a fools errand.

The world is now uncertain of where the west stands because it is so obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this way was driven, not by grand strategy, but by politics.

We didnt need to do it. We chose to do it. We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending the forever wars, as if our engagement in 2021 was remotely comparable to our commitment 20 or even 10 years ago, in circumstances in which troop numbers had declined to a minimum and no allied soldier had lost their life in combat for 18 months.

We did it in the knowledge that, though worse than imperfect, and though immensely fragile, there had been real gains over the past 20 years. And for anyone who disputes that, read the heart-breaking laments from every section of Afghan society as to what they fear will now be lost. Gains in living standards, education  particularly of girls; gains in freedom. Not nearly what we hoped for or wanted. But not nothing. Something worth defending. Worth protecting.

We did it when the sacrifices of our troops had made those fragile gains our duty to preserve.

We did it when the February 2020 agreement, itself replete with concession to the Taliban, by which America agreed to withdraw if the Taliban negotiated a broad-based government and protected civilians, had been violated daily and derisively.

We did it with every jihadi group round the world cheering.

Russia, China and Iran will see and take advantage. Anyone given commitments by western leaders will understandably regard them as unstable currency.

We did it because our politics seemed to demand it. And thats the worry of our allies and the source of rejoicing in those who wish us ill.

They think western politics is broken.

Unsurprisingly, therefore, friends and foes ask: is this a moment when the west is in epoch-changing retreat?

I cant believe we are in such retreat, but we are going to have to give a tangible demonstration that we are not.

This demands an immediate response in respect of Afghanistan. And then measured and clear articulation of where we stand for the future.

We must evacuate and give sanctuary to those to whom we have responsibility  those Afghans who helped us and stood by us and have a right to demand we stand by them. There must be no repetition of arbitrary deadlines. We have a moral obligation to keep at it until all those who need to be are evacuated. And we should do so, not grudgingly, but out of a deep sense of humanity and responsibility.

We need then to work out a means of dealing with the Taliban and exerting maximum pressure on them. This is not as empty as it seems. We have given up much of our leverage, but we retain some. The Taliban will face very difficult decisions and likely divide deeply over them. The country, its finances and its public sector workforce are significantly dependent on aid, notably from the USA, Japan, the UK and others. The average age of the population is 18. A majority of Afghans have known freedom and not known the Taliban regime. They will not all conform quietly.

The UK, as the current G7 chair, should convene a contact group of the G7 and other key nations, and commit to coordinating help to the Afghan people and holding the new regime to account. Nato  which has had 8,000 troops still in Afghanistan alongside the USA  and Europe should be brought fully into cooperation under this grouping.

We need to draw up a list of incentives, sanctions, actions we can take, including to protect the civilian population, so that the Taliban understand their actions will have consequences.

This is urgent. The disarray of the past weeks needs to be replaced by something resembling coherence, and with a plan that is credible and realistic.

But then we must answer that overarching question: what are our strategic interests, and are we prepared any longer to commit to upholding them?

Compare the western position with that of President Putin. When the Arab spring convulsed the Middle East and north Africa, toppling regime after regime, he perceived that Russias interests were at stake. In particular, in Syria, he believed that Russia needed Assad to stay in power. Whilst the west hesitated and then finally achieved the worst of all worlds  refusing to negotiate with Assad, but not doing anything to remove him, even when he used chemical weapons against his own people  Putin committed. He has spent 10 years in open-ended commitment. And though he was intervening to prop up a dictatorship and we were intervening to suppress one, he, along with the Iranians, secured his goal. Likewise, though we removed the Gaddafi government in Libya, it is Russia, not us, who have influence over the future.

Afghanistan was hard to govern all through the 20 years of our time there. And of course, there were mistakes and miscalculations. But we shouldnt dupe ourselves into thinking it was ever going to be anything other than tough, when there was an internal insurgency combining with external support  in this case Pakistan  to destabilise the country and thwart its progress.

The Afghan army didnt hold up, once American support was cancelled, but 60,000 Afghan soldiers gave their lives, and any army would have suffered a collapse in morale when effective air support vital for troops in the field was scuttled by the overnight withdrawal of maintenance.

There was endemic corruption in government, but there were also good people doing good work to the benefit of the people.

Read the excellent summary of what we got right and wrong from General Petraeus in his New Yorker interview.

It often dashed our hopes, but it was never hopeless.

Despite everything, if it mattered strategically, it was worth persevering, provided that the cost was not inordinate  and here it wasnt.

If it matters, you go through the pain. Even when you are rightly disheartened, you cant lose heart completely. Your friends need to feel it and your foes need to know it.

If it matters.

So: does it? Is what is happening in Afghanistan part of a picture that concerns our strategic interests and engages them profoundly?

Some would say no. We have not had another attack on the scale of 9/11, though no one knows whether that is because of what we did post-9/11 or despite it. You could say that terrorism remains a threat, but not one that occupies the thoughts of a lot of our citizens, certainly not to the degree it did in the years following 9/11.

You could see different elements of jihadism as disconnected, with local causes, and containable with modern intelligence.

I would still argue that even if this were right and the action in removing the Taliban in November 2001 was unnecessary, the decision to withdraw was wrong. But it wouldnt make this a turning point in geopolitics.

But let me make the alternative case  that the Taliban is part of a bigger picture which should concern us strategically.

The 9/11 attack exploded into our consciousness because of its severity and horror. But the motivation for such an atrocity arose from an ideology many years in development. I will call it radical Islam for want of a better term. As a research paper shortly to be published by my institute shows, this ideology  in different forms and with varying degrees of extremism  has been almost 100 years in gestation.

Its essence is the belief that Muslim people are disrespected and disadvantaged because they are oppressed by outside powers and their own corrupt leadership, and that the answer lies in Islam returning to its roots, creating a state based not on nations but on religion, with society and politics governed by a strict and fundamentalist view of Islam.

It is the turning of the religion of Islam into a political ideology, and of necessity an exclusionary and extreme one, since in a multi-faith and multicultural world, it holds there is only one true faith and we should all conform to it.

Over the past decades and well before 9/11, it was gaining in strength. The 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution and its echo in the failed storming of Mecca in late 1979 massively boosted the forces of this radicalism. The Muslim Brotherhood became a substantial movement. The Russian invasion of Afghanistan saw jihadism rise.

In time, other groups have sprung up: Boko Haram, al-Shabab, al-Qaeda, Isis, and many others.

Some are violent. Some not. Sometimes they fight each other. But at other times, as with Iran and al-Qaeda, they cooperate. But all subscribe to basic elements of the same ideology.

Today, there is a vast process of destabilisation going on in the Sahel, the group of countries across the northern part of sub-Saharan Africa. This will be the next wave of extremism and immigration which will inevitably hit Europe.

My institute works in many African countries. Barely a president I know does not think this is a huge problem for them, and for some it is becoming THE problem.

Iran uses proxies like Hezbollah to undermine moderate Arab countries in the Middle East. Lebanon is teetering on the brink of collapse.

Turkey has moved increasingly down the Islamist path in recent years.

In the west, we have seen sections of our own Muslim communities radicalised.

Even more moderate Muslim nations like Indonesia and Malaysia have, over a period of decades, seen their politics become more Islamic in practice and discourse.

Look no further than the Pakistani prime ministers congratulations to the Taliban on their victory to see that, although of course many of those espousing Islamism are opposed to violence, they share ideological characteristics with many of those who use it, and a worldview that is constantly presenting Islam as under siege from the west.

Islamism is a long-term structural challenge because it is an ideology utterly inconsistent with modern societies based on tolerance and secular government.

Yet western policy-makers cant even agree to call it radical Islam. We prefer to identify it as a set of disconnected challenges each to be dealt with separately.

If we did define it as a strategic challenge, and saw it in whole and not as parts, we would never have taken the decision to pull out of Afghanistan.

We are in the wrong rhythm of thinking in relation to radical Islam. With revolutionary communism, we recognised it as a threat of a strategic nature which required us to confront it both ideologically and with security measures. It lasted more than 70 years. Throughout that time, we would never have dreamt of saying, Well, we have been at this for a long time, we should just give up.

We knew we had to have the will, the capacity and the staying power to see it through. There were different arenas of conflict and engagement, different dimensions, varying volumes of anxiety as the threat ebbed and flowed.

But we understood it was a real menace and we combined across nations and parties to deal with it.

This is what we need to decide now with radical Islam. Is it a strategic threat? If so, how do those opposed to it, including within Islam, combine to defeat it?

We have learnt the perils of intervention in the way we intervened in Afghanistan, Iraq and indeed Libya. But non-intervention is also policy with consequence.

What is absurd is to believe the choice is between what we did in the first decade after 9/11 and the retreat we are witnessing now; to treat the full-scale military intervention we carried out in November 2001 as of the same nature as the secure and support mission in Afghanistan of recent times.

Intervention can take many forms. We need to do it learning the proper lessons of the past 20 years: according not to our short-term politics, but our long-term strategic interests.

But intervention requires commitment. And not to be time-limited by political timetables, but by obedience to goals.

For Britain and the USA these questions are acute. The absence of across-the-aisle consensus and collaboration, and the deep politicisation of foreign policy and security issues, are visibly atrophying American power. And for Britain, out of Europe and suffering the end of the Afghanistan mission by our greatest ally with little or no consultation, we have serious reflection to do. We dont see it yet. But we are at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers. Maybe we dont mind. But we should at least take the decision deliberatively.

There are of course many other important issues in geopolitics: Covid-19, climate, the rise of China, poverty, disease and development.

But sometimes an issue comes to mean something not only in its own right, but as a metaphor: as a clue to the state of things and the state of peoples.

If the west wants to shape the 21st century, it will take commitment. Through thick and thin. When its rough as well as easy. Making sure allies have confidence and opponents caution. Accumulating a reputation for constancy, and respect for the plan we have, and for our skill in its implementation.

It will require parts of the right in politics to understand that isolation in an interconnected world is self-defeating; and parts of the left to accept that intervention can sometimes be necessary to uphold our values.

It requires us to learn lessons from the 20 years from 9/11 in a spirit of humility, and the respectful exchange of different points of view; but also with a sense of rediscovery that we in the west represent values and interests worth being proud of and defending.

And that commitment to those values and interests needs to define our politics, and not our politics define our commitment.

This is the large strategic question posed by these last days of chaos in Afghanistan. And on the answer will depend the worlds view of us, and our view of ourselves.

Tony Blair is the founder and executive chair of the Institute for Global Change, and the original article can be found here
Aug 22: Della Leaders Club (DLC) that was launched globally on 7 August 2021, Virtually launched the 15 Chapters of Wines, Spirits and Cigars in the first of 8 phases, during which over 100 new honourary members from across the globe were officially introduced, 4 of them from Delhi being by Cav. Subhash Arora who is the Chairman of the Delhi Chapter and reports

After he was introduced to the global audience as the Chairperson of the Delhi Wine, Spirits and Cigar Chapter of the Della Leaders Club (DLC) by Anish Trivedi, the Master of Ceremony of the virtual Zoom meeting and the founder Jimmy Mistry, Subhash Arora shared his thoughts on the DLC as a vibrant organisation with around 2000 members already on board from across the globe, and introduced 4 members of the Delhi Chapter:

Arun Kumar - This seasoned wine and spirits professional also has the distinction of being a Keeper of the Quaich. He is the co-Founder Director of Aspri Spirits, which has now become the go-to Company for star hotels, clubs, restaurants and Duty Free Shops pan India.

Anand Virmani - Credited to set up 3 coffee, wine and cocktail bars in Delhi and moonlighting as a whiskey ambassador, this co- Founder and CEO of Nao Spirits & Beverages, enjoys the sole distinction of being Indias first craft gin distiller.

Shantanu Upadhaya - Co-founder and CEO of this interestingly-named craft beer brand Kati Patang evokes unfettered freedom. The beer is brewed with the happiest water on the planet, originating from Bhutan.

Ankur Chawla  A renowned Sommelier and the Beverage Director at the Taj and J W Marriott Hotels, Ankur was chosen the Best Sommelier at the delWine Excellence Awards 2016. He is now an entrepreneur and a Speaker on platforms like TEDx, Josh Talks and delWine Excellence Awards etc. He also authored 14 Hours- a bestseller book, based on the fateful night at The Taj Hotel in 2008, dubbed as 26/11.

The Chapter heads of 15 cities from 7 countries, including New York. London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad also introduced their members. One of the objectives of the evening was to create a bond within the committee members for the future meetings of each Chapter.

Some of the other members of the WSC (Wine, Spirits and Cigars) Club from India seen in the Presentation were Rojita Tiwari, Jackie Matai, Sumedh Singh Mandla, Abhay Kewadkar and Chinmaya Arjun Raja.

With Francois Chartier, who won the prestigious Best Sommelier of the World award (Grand Prix Sopexa Paris in Wines and Spirits of France in 1994) at the helm as the Global Chairman, a lot of exciting times are ahead for this Vertical which is all about creating happiness in the field of business.

There are 15 cities already activated. 15 more are to be added every 6 months. Della Leaders targets 120 cities in 8 phases.

The enigmatic Jimmy Mistry, who is CMD of Della group- a multi million-dollar enterprise, is the brain behind the concept of Della Leaders Club. He is a self-made millionaire, who admits to have dropped out of mechanical engineering course before finishing the diploma, but because of his immense passion and business acumen and sheer hard work, made his millions- mainly in hospitality design and real estate with Della Resort in Lonavala.

For the current project he designed what he calls the worlds 1st business platform for which he is collecting gems from different sectors of business. He has divided the complete business spectrum in 15 Verticals with another 15 in the lifestyle segment. WSC is only one of the 26 so-far identified verticals, that boasts of several Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers and even a Best Sommelier of the World.

As we are launching our 1st out of the 13 Lifestyle Committees, our mission at DLC is simple- to bring together the best and be the catalyst to transform people from a Life of Success to a Life of Significance, said Jimmy.

Each Chapter will have 3 events in the city where it is based with an annual meeting at a central point which he indicated would be at Lonavala. More details will be shared as they unfold. There will also be an event where all the 26 Chapter Heads will congregate, based on their availability.



Global Launch

Della Leaders Club was launched globally earlier this month on 7 August with Dr. Shashi Tharoor as the Chief Guest and Suhel Seth steering the virtual meeting where a select gathering including Arora were invited to introduce the 26 Verticals including Yoga, Happiness and Health and the Wine, Spirits and Cigars (in the Lifestyle segment) for which Arora had been made the Chairman of the Delhi Chapter, based on his credentials.

As Jimmy had explained, there would be around 2000 men and women in this community with each forum having up to 6 members. The DLC will disrupt the world of forums which have been democratised by it. Each committee will give out knowledge with a focus on at least 2 social impacts at the world stage-54 social causes are already listed to be espoused. Jimmy says with confidence that no one offers the kind of platform DLC offers and is thus the first business platform of its kind.

All these actions would involve an extensive technology back-end operation, the infrastructure for which is already in progress. According to a Report in ET last month, the company has been in the final stage of organising funds to the tune of $7 million, that would make the enterprise value at an impressive $70 million. The platform expects to generate revenues of $380 million in the next 5 years. Jimmy believes in expanding in a systematic manner with a focus on not diluting the quality, thus making it the first unique global business platform.

There are exciting times ahead-for the Global Wine, Spirits and Cigars Chapter and in fact, the Della Leaders Club.

Subhash Arora
Dharmendra is one of the most emotional veteran actors in the industry. The actor often makes his fans worried with his posts on social media. Today, he shared a picture of a young girl tying Rakhi to a soldier with the most important message.



Sharing the picture he captioned, Happy Raksha Bandhan.Tehwaar ye . Kisi pooja se kam nahin.





Dharmendra and his family indeed give a lot of importance to this festival where brothers and sisters worship each other.

Other Bollywood celebs too celebrated this festival with all the love and happiness.

Sara Ali Khan shared the video of annoying her brother Ibrahim Ali Khan on this day too.

Amitabh Bachchans granddaughter Navya Nanda shared their childhood picture with the most adorable caption.

Well, this is truly the most special festival.
Swara Bhasker is one of the actresses who never shies away from speaking her mind and she faces the wrath for the same but doesnt give much damn about it. But she is only human and sometime she too does get affected.



Shamita Shetty is having a tough a time in the Bigg Boss OTT house. She claims that people are being biased because she comes from a filmy background.



Twitter

Pooja Bedi has been ranting on social media about the discrimination that is taking place between vaccinated and unvaccinated people. She fails to understand why unvaccinated people are not allowed in the public places as vaccination doesnt come with a guarantee of spreading COVID 19.



Dharmendra is one of the most emotional veteran actors in the industry. The actor often makes his fans worried with his posts on social media. Today, he shared a picture of a young girl tying Rakhi to a soldier with the most important message.



Twitter

Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif have left for shooting the third instalment of Tiger. The actors left for Russia to begin their shooting schedule. And now the pictures of Salman Khan are doing the rounds on social media.
Pakistan has decided to allow Sikh pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur from next month amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

The decision to open Kartarpur shrine was taken by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday due to the approaching death anniversary of Sikhism founder Baba Guru Nanak Dev on September 22.

AFP

Dawn newspaper reported that the NCOC meeting unanimously decided to allow Sikh pilgrims to visit Kartarpur next month under strict COVID-19 protocols.

Due to the Delta variant, India had been in category C in Pakistan from May 22 till August 12, and special approval was required for people coming from the country, including Sikh pilgrims.

According to the rules, fully vaccinated persons with certificates will be allowed to enter Pakistan provided they show real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test reports which should not be more than 72 hours old.

bccl/representational image

Apart from this, Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) will also be conducted at airports and in case of a positive result, the individual will not be allowed to enter Pakistan.

Guidelines also say that a maximum of 300 people will be permitted to assemble at a time at the darbar.
India on Sunday successfully airlifted a total of 168 people, from Afghanistan, that was been ran over by the Taliban last week.

Among this, 107 are Indian nationals, while others are from the Sikh and Hindu religious minorities in Afghanistan.

AP

As the IAF transport aircraft arrived at the Hindan airbase on Sunday, one of them thanked India for helping people like her.

"Situation was deteriorating in Afghanistan, so I came here with my daughter & two grandchildren. Our Indian brothers and sisters came to our rescue. They (Taliban) burnt down my house. I thank India for helping us," the unidentified woman told ANI.

"Situation was deteriorating in Afghanistan, so I came here with my daughter & two grandchildren. Our Indian brothers & sisters came to our rescue. They (Taliban) burnt down my house. I thank India for helping us," says an Afghan national at Hindon Air Force Station, Ghaziabad pic.twitter.com/Pmh1zqZZCB  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2021

The situation in Afghanistan is very dangerous for people, with firings and bombings all around. The Taliban cannot be trusted. They are beating up people. We were living in fear," Dipen Sherpa, another evacuee said.

The situation in Afghanistan is very dangerous for people, with firings and bombings all around. The Taliban cannot be trusted. They are beating up people. We were living in fear: Dipen Sherpa, one of the evacuees from Afghanistan, in Delhi pic.twitter.com/Xdv2zFSSXC  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2021

An Afghan Sikh parliamentarian was also among those evacuated from Kabul.

MP Narender Singh Khalsa broke down as he told reporters that "everything is now finished."

"I feel like crying...Everything that was built in the last 20 years is now finished. It's zero now," he said.

Reuters

"Situation is very bad. We had to face a lot of difficulties. Thank God for saving our lives as we had to face harrowing times in the last few days. My expectation from the Indian government is that all those who are still stuck are brought back," he said.

"The Taliban used to ask us to remain in Afghanistan saying your security is our responsibility. As there are so many groups of Taliban, we do not know whom to speak to and whom to believe. That's why we decided to leave as the situation is serious," he added.

India had earlier said that members of religious minorities in Afghanistan - Sikhs and Hindus will be welcomed into the country.

Among the evacuees were several children and an infant too. "An infant has also landed in a special IAF flight to India without a passport," an evacuation co-ordinating official told ANI.

#WATCH | An infant was among the 168 people evacuated from Afghanistan's Kabul to Ghaziabad on an Indian Air Force's C-17 aircraft pic.twitter.com/DoR6ppHi4h  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2021

Since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, India has flown several evacuation flights to the country.

The first evacuation flight brought back over 40 people, mostly staffers at the Indian embassy, on Monday.

Reuters

The second C-17 aircraft evacuated around 150 people including Indian diplomats, officials, security personnel and some stranded Indians from Kabul on Tuesday.

Another group of 87 Indians and two Nepalese nationals were brought back in a special Air India flight from Dushanbe, a day after they were evacuated to the Tajikistan capital in an IAF aircraft, officials said.

Separately, a group of 135 Indians who were earlier evacuated from Kabul to Doha in the last few days by the US and NATO aircraft, were flown back from Doha to Delhi on a special flight.
Nearly five years ago, in 2017 they created history when they won a medal at an international robotics competition held in the US.

The all-girls Afghan robotics team was hailed as pioneers and was widely seen as an inspiration for many girls in the country who wanted to get educated and build a career.

UNICEF

But the world came crashing down for them, like many in Afghanistan in the past few days after the Taliban takeover of the country.

Unlike most Afghan women, these girls can consider themselves lucky as they got out of the country in the nick of time.

The nine-member team and their teacher fled to Doha, Qatar, in a US evacuation flight.

One of them, who helped the girls to leave Afghanistan is Allyson Reneau, a 60-year-old Harvard graduate with a master's degree in international relations and US space policy.

According to The New York Post, Reneau was previously in contact with the team in 2019 when she worked on Explore Mars' board of directors.

While her attempts to reach out to politicians for help did not work out, another friend who worked in the US Embassy in Qatar stood with her and completed all the formalities, to get them out.

Oklahoma mom of 11 rescues members of Afghan all-girls robotics team https://t.co/awrsW3aANt pic.twitter.com/IqWY3Caaum  New York Post (@nypost) August 20, 2021

The girls reached Qatar on August 12, just three days ahead of Kabul's capture by the Taliban.

"It's a very narrow window of opportunity," she said. "I knew that if I didn't run through that door now  it's now or never. Sometimes you only get one chance."

The young women were able to fly out of the Kabul airport and were transported to a "secure location" in the United States, where they will pursue higher education.

UNICEF

Kimberly Motley, a US lawyer who has represented them for years told NPR that she's in close touch with the girls and their families.

"We're hopeful that they're safe. But we're really concerned with the reports that we're seeing," Motley said.

"Several members of the girls Afghan robotics team have safely arrived in Doha, Qatar, from Kabul, Afghanistan," a statement from the Digital Citizen Fund and Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The team was founded with over a dozen girls, with the support of the DCF.

According to the DCF, while most of the girls have reached Qatar, some are sill in Afghanistan.
Putting up a fierce fight against Taliban, local resistance forces have claimed that they have re-captured Pol-e-Hesar, Deh Salah and Banu districts in Afghanistan's Baghlan from the Taliban on Friday, as per local reporters.

The Public's Resistance Forces under Khair Muhammad Andarabi also reportedly killed and injured a number of Taliban fighters, according to Afghan news agency Asvaka.

Agencies

Up to 60 Taliban fighters killed, injured

According to sources, up to 60 Taliban fighters have been injured or killed. The resistance forces have said that they are also advancing towards other districts. They said that the Taliban "did not act in the spirit of a general amnesty".

In a video posted by the news agency Asvaka, people can be seen waving an Afghan flag from a rooftop.

Publics Resistance Forces under Khair Muhammad Andarabi claim that they have captured Pol-e-Hesar, Deh Salah and Banu districts in #Baghlan and advancing towards other districts. They are saying that the Taliban did not act in the spirit of a general amnesty. #Taliban pic.twitter.com/AS8isXlwNC  Asvaka -  News Agency (@AsvakaNews) August 20, 2021





Afghan resistance mustering its forces from Panjshir valley

Pol-e-Hesar district, which was reportedly recaptured by local resistance forces on Friday, is located to the north of Kabul and is close to the Panjshir valley. It is the Panjshir valley from where the Afghan resistance is mustering its forces against the Taliban. The Panjshir province of Afghanistan is still free from the Taliban, even as the extremist group has taken over the country after the exit of US forces.

File

Afghanistans former vice-president Amrulla Saleh, claiming to be the caretaker president of the nation, is attempting to form a resistance front against the Taliban from the Panjshir province. Ahmed Massoud, son of slain anti-Taliban leader Ahmed Shah Massoud, is considered the commander of the resistance forces. According to some sources, Taliban representatives will be meeting Ahmed Massoud.



"Resistance is still alive"

Taking to Twitter, former acting minister of defence Bismillah Muhammadi said, "Resisting the Taliban terrorists is our duty # Pul-e-Hesar, Deh Salah and Banu districts in Baghlan have been occupied by the resistance forces. Resistance is still alive."

The militant group on Thursday imposed a curfew in Kabul ordering residents to not leave home after 9 pm apart from emergencies. The Taliban entered the presidential palace in Kabul soon after President Ashraf Ghani left the country.

The militant group's control has frightened people to flee the nation. Meanwhile, the Taliban are also in talks with the local Afghan leaders in an attempt to form the government and fill the power vacuum.
The Taliban are back in power in Afghanistan after two decades of war against the NATO forces and the Afghan security forces. It initially drew members from so-called mujahideen fighters who, with support from the United States, pushed back Soviet troops in the 1980s. The group emerged in 1994 as one of the factions that fought a civil war and then took control of much of the country in 1996 when it imposed Sharia, or Islamic law. Western opponents and countries accuse the group of brutally enforcing Islamic law and repressing religious minorities.



Tailban's founder and leader was Mullah Mohammad Omar, who went into hiding after the Taliban were overthrown by local US-backed forces following the 9/11 attacks on the US.

Since foreign troops began withdrawing, the Taliban have seized large swathes of the country and now control 10 of the capital's 34 provinces. Here are some Taliban leaders who now control the entire country:

Haibatullah Akhundzada, supreme commander

Reuters

Known as the "Leader of the Faithful", the Islamic law scholar is the Taliban's supreme leader who wields ultimate authority over the group's political, religious and military affairs.



Akhunzada took over when his predecessor, Akhtar Mansour, was killed in a US drone strike by US near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in 2016.

Before he suddenly disappeared in May 2016, Akhunzada for 15 years taught and preached at a mosque in Kuchlak, a city in southwest Pakistan. He is believed to be around 60 years old and his whereabouts are unknown. During the 1980s Akhundzada fought against the Soviet Union with a brigade of young Mujahideen students from the Quran, who would later form the hardline Taliban.

Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy leader of the Taliban

TOI

Co-founder of the Taliban, Baradar now heads the Taliban's political office and is part of the negotiating team the group has in Doha to try and work out a political deal that could pave the way for a ceasefire and more. lasting peace in Afghanistan. The process has failed to make any significant progress in recent months. Baradar, reportedly one of Mullah Omar's most trusted commanders, was arrested in 2010 by security forces in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi and released in 2018.

He was said to have been one of the first in the fundamentalist group to encourage discussions with Washington, an extremely sensitive subject within the group. His status as co-founder of the movement allowed him to tackle this subject. History has it that, during the American invasion, he fled with his friend Mullah Omar on a motorcycle. Captured in 2010 during a joint CIA and Pakistani intelligence operation, he was released in 2018 at the request of the United States so he could lead a Taliban delegation to peace talks..

Sirajuddin Haqqani

TOI

The son of prominent mujahideen commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, Sirajuddin founder and head of the Haqqani network, a loosely organized group that oversees the Taliban's financial and military assets on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.



Haqqani is believed by some experts to have introduced suicide bombings into Afghanistan and has been blamed for several high-profile attacks in Afghanistan, including the attack on a top Kabul hotel, the assassination attempt on then-President Hamid Karzai and the suicide attack on the Indian embassy. Haqqani is believed to be in his late 40s or early 50s.

Sirajuddin Haqqani leads the network and serves as deputy leader of the Taliban. He is wanted by the FBI for questioning in connection with a 2008 attack on a hotel in Kabul that killed six people, including one American.

Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, Mullah Omars son

The son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, Yaqoob oversees the group's military operations, and local media reports say he is inside Afghanistan. He was proposed as leader of the movement as a whole during various succession struggles. A new face in the group, which quickly rose to prominence after the death of his father in 2013, Yaqoob is seen by some as a moderate member of the Taliban.

When the Taliban seized control of swathes of territory quickly last week, Yaqoob urged Taliban fighters not to harm members of the Afghan military and government, and refrain from looting empty houses and ensuring markets and shops remain functioning.

Abdul Hakim Haqqani, top negotiator

TOI

He is the head of the Taliban's negotiating team. The former head of the Talibans shadow court heads a powerful council of clerics and is widely believed to be Akhunzadas most trusted person.



Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, key diplomat

TOI

A former deputy minister in the Taliban government prior to his ouster, Stanikzai has lived in Doha for nearly a decade and became head of the group's political office there in 2015. He has taken part in negotiations with the Afghan government and has represented the Taliban on diplomatic trips. to several countries.



Zabihullah Mujahed, the main spokesman

AP

After the Taliban conquered Afghanistan the first press conference was addressed by Zabihullah Mujahed who was seen for the first time in public in Kabul. He played a significant role in conveying the group's message to the International community. He used to communicate with journalists only over the phone or via text messages.
THE global closure of pubs and restaurants drastically hit Irelands drinks industry in 2020. However, there has been a remarkable turnaround in the first half of 2021  led by resurgent demand in export markets, in particular the rampant consumer demand in the US, according to CSO data.

This bounce back to sales of 754m for the six months, is an upswing of 25% on the same period last year and takes industry exports back above the pre-pandemic levels recorded in the first six months of 2019.

Healthy growth in US market The US market, the main market for Irish whiskey and beer, accounting for 40% of export sales in the period, provided the biggest boost to exports, with sales up one third on the first six months of last year. Analysts attribute some of the growth to the significant shift to home drinking, and an element of restocking following disruption in Ireland-US shipping routes. Traditionally, the sales in pubs and restaurants, or the on-trade, have accounted for two thirds of industry sales. This trend has been reversed through the pandemic. The main exporter from Ireland, Diageo  which makes Guinness, Baileys, and Hophouse 13  pointed to strong demand at retail stores in the US making up for weak business at bars and restaurants in Europe as it reported a surprise rise in underlying net sales growth. The US accounts for nearly 45% of group profits and has been a bright spot for the worlds largest spirits maker, with 80% of its sales coming from retail stores. In other markets, bars and restaurants make up most of the sales.

Exports within EU slow to recover

Beverage exports to the EU, the second largest market, with sales of 171m in the six months, while increasing over last year, still remained below stable market 2019 conditions.

This is particularly worrying for the industry, which has seen the nearest and dearest UK market collapse last year and remained down by one third in the six months to June this year. Export sales to Britain in the first half of the year recovered to 102m, but remained a long way off the 2019 sales volume of 146m.

Covid restrictions on pubs and restaurants hit the EU beer market particularly hard. Big brewers across Europe have been rolling out welcome back campaigns in the hope of attracting back customers to pubs, as the

restrictions are lifted.

Diageo has spent 83m on its Raising the Bar campaign across 35,000 pubs in 11 countries in Europe, including Ireland and the UK.

Targeting China and Japan Perhaps most disappointing for Irish producers is the lack of penetration in the Chinese market. Scotch whisky continues to dominate the market with sales last year of 120m compared to 8m of Irish whiskey. This picture has not changed so far this year. The market is one of the worlds largest, with an attractive low import tariff currently at 5%. However, Irish producers have so far not been able to navigate its complicated distribution channels, not to mention multiple language barriers. The fastest-growing spirits category in Japan is Irish whiskey. Although the pandemic affected some business channels, the outlook within the industry remains positive. The Bord Bia research found that Japan was the largest Asian market for Irish alcohol in 2019, the value of exports rising by 9% to 10m. The signing of an EU-Japan economic partnership agreement in 2018 means that Irish whiskey is legally protected in Japan and brands such as Tullamore Dew, Jameson, Bushmills, and Teeling are spearheading the success of Irish whiskey there. Irish brewers have also penetrated the Japanese market, recording exports to the market worth 2.5m.

Industry sales to the rest of the world were also very buoyant, with year-on-year export sales up 43% to 166m and a near doubling of the volume in 2019. Of particular note were increased sales in South Africa.

 John Whelan is managing partner of the Linkage Partnership.
Health Minister Robin Swann has said he is encouraged by the response to a major push to get more people in Northern Ireland vaccinated against Covid.

The Big Jab Weekend has seen walk-in vaccination centres opening again for first doses for all adults, amid concerns over the high number of Covid cases in the region.
There's a story behind every vacant historic building in County Waterfords towns and villages.

There are reminders of long-ago holidays or family outings, whether in the Grand Hotel in Tramore or Bride Valley Stores in Tallow, while other areas are throwbacks to our largely defunct railway network.

There have been small drops in a number of towns population over the past decade, but the most pronounced has been in Cappoquin, where some of the most prominent vacancy is also found. There, the population dropped by almost 8% up to the last census in 2016.

Waterford is the lead local authority for homeless services in the South East region, and recorded 62 adults as homeless in the city and county in late June.

However, 305 people contacted the council's integrated homeless centre that month, with 88 presentations. There were 58 single people, as well as 25 children across nine families, in emergency accommodation at the time.

While there are 33 properties registered on the derelict sites register, the council is also faced with doing up old stock among its housing.

These are known as voids, which are local authority properties that have previously been let and have been vacated, and require refurbishment before re-letting.

"Our target at any one time is to have voids at less than 2% of overall stock," said a council spokeswoman. "As of the end of July, the level of voids was at 1.5% of overall stock; 80 properties out of 5,320.

At present, council housing stock accounts for approximately one in 10 of Waterford's overall housing, which puts the voids at around 0.15% of overall housing stock.

Summing up the current situation in the county, a spokesman for Focus Ireland's Waterford office said an "offset of the housing crisis" has seen people forced out of the city into towns and villages across the county.

"The housing crisis in Waterford has continued especially in the last three years as rents are now comparable with prices in larger cities," he said.

"The lack of one-bedroom apartments is also a serious contributor to the number of adults who are homeless in Waterford, particularly single people."

Focus is involved in supporting 120 homes and apartments across Waterford, including 30 located in the city's Housing First project, which is managed by South East Simon alongside the city and county council.

Anne O'Leary, who leads Housing First, said that owing to the lack of single-bed accommodation, the charity has purchased two-bed accommodation to house clients.

She noted that while the programme is city-based, several clients hail from the county and that, due to "family dynamics", it has often been preferable for those tenants to remain in the city rather than return home.

"It depends on people's circumstances but a high percentage of the people we have housed through Housing First would have been living on the street before."

In terms of tackling dereliction and vacancy, the local authority has carved County Waterford into different sections, rather than targeting specific properties, according to Waterford City and County Councils head of enterprise Richie Walsh.

The areas of Cappoquin, Lismore, Tallow, Villierstown and Ballyduff Upper make up the Blackwater Valley Economic Development Zone, while the mid-county, taking in Kilmacthomas, Portlaw and Bonmahon are linked in with the likes of the Greenway, the Copper Coast and the Comeragh Mountains.

"We're looking at them - the towns - as groups rather than as individual units, with the thinking being that its the development zone that is important rather than the individual town, says Walsh.

The derelict Woolen Mills building just off main street, Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford. Kilmacthomas along with Portlaw and Bonmahon are categorised in the mid-county section by Waterford City and County Council. Photo: Dan Linehan

"This is healthier from a planning perspective too. It stops one town grabbing everything for itself and allows for better planning."

Walsh admits that it takes time to "break up the idea of every town and village wanting something for itself" but believes it's working.

Since the amalgamation of the city and county councils in 2014, the council structure has changed to allow an overarching group to oversee the countys towns and villages.

Morris Conway, a council architect whose responsibilities cover Tramore and West Waterford, is part of a four-strong group; two other architects and an engineer feature.

"We've 27 towns and villages and all of them need work. All of them need attention," he says.

"It will take a while but we will get there. It's incremental work. Each building has a story, there's a reason why it's vacant and there's a reason why it's derelict. But I will say that with more regeneration funding coming through the National Planning Framework and the Project Ireland 2040 document, there is a major funding stream that can be tapped into."

We are suffering from a lack of precise information

There has been a push on to make the council take more direct action towards prominent vacant and derelict buildings.

Una Dunphy, a People Before Profit activist based in Tramore, sits on the local authority's Housing, Culture and Community Strategic Policy Committee.

She says she has pushed for the council to form a group examining vacancy and dereliction and now sits on the panel alongside councillors and officials; some recent work has involved meeting with researchers from Trinity College who are examining urban vacancy.

"We're suffering from a lack of precise information at the moment," Dunphy says. "We need a door by door audit carried out of each urban centre in each town - some places have this work done, like Cappoquin, but that's thanks to a really strong local community group. Other places don't necessarily have that and the council needs to step in and help them get that part done."

A number of these audits, which the council calls "health checks", are in the offing over the next 12 months. Some are completed, such as in Lismore, but the council hopes to engage with the owners of vacant properties ahead of releasing the information.

The old Moore's Hotel building in Cappoquin's Main Street, Co. Waterford. A door by door audit has been carried out in the town thanks to the local community group who don't see tourism as a way forward for the area. Photo: Dan Linehan

Walsh says there is quite often ongoing engagement with owners, auctioneers and potential developers to progress inactive sites.

Any plan to bring a vacant or derelict site back into use can quickly face complexities that bedevil the system, including title difficulties which need to be resolved, or if there are multiple owners, or if the site is intertwined in a legal dispute.

"It's obvious that people own these properties and in some cases they are choosing not to do anything with them. The council has to be willing to meet that head on," Una Dunphy says.

Compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) are used by the councils to tackle vacant homes, though these have often been concentrated on properties in Waterford city.

The council's most recent spate of CPOs has seen 16 orders confirmed by An Bord Pleanala targeting 20 individual properties. These properties were all identified as vacant and in private ownership.

Sean Tobin heads up the Tallow Enterprise Centre and has found there can be a lack of focus towards towns that aren't in immediate plans.

"Our message is you have got to do it yourself. We have a community hub costing around 1m when all investment is done but it's taken some time to get it to this point. We also have the old large Bridevalley Stores here and it's been waiting for over two decades to be developed.

Denis McCarthy, Ben Murphy and Tom Feerick the three directors of the Cappoquin regeneration project in front of three of the buildings which are part of the project. "We need to have the facilities in the town right first." Photo: Dan Linehan

"What is really needed is an audit of the listed buildings and other types across the town. A number of prime properties have been revamped but you still have these vacants that have potential which just isn't being met."

Something noted by members of Cappoquin's Regeneration Company, which includes pharmacists, undertakers and a former TD among its committee, is that they are less eager for tourism as a way forward for their area.

The group is setting out plans for a multimillion euro reworking of the town centre which will bring four major buildings back into use.

While tourism has proved a boon for many parts of Co. Waterford, they note that the pay is often lower than with the types of jobs which may be attractive to remote working offices, so their "initial plan" for Cappoquin is to attract higher earners.

"Our view is, if its attractive for people to live in, it will be attractive for people to visit," says secretary Denis McCarthy, a former manager of the old Waterford County Council.

"We're not exclusively looking for salaried people but that would be the initial interest and more tourism can then follow. We already have St Declans Way, Cappoquin House and Mount Melleray so we're not short on those offerings either, but we need to have the facilities in the town right first."

Recreating the heart of Cappoquin

With its thoroughfare blighted by empty premises, Denis McCarthy hopes a plan to "recreate the heart" of Cappoquin will regain its purpose and provide an example for how to revive rural towns and villages.

Under proposals announced in April, the Government intends to bring life back to struggling parts of the country via relocation grants, shared ownership schemes for local amenities and a 1bn fund to convert long vacant properties.

But in Cappoquin, a town of 700 people in West Waterford, plans are already underway thanks to a 1.6m mission to bring key buildings at the centre of the town back into use as remote working offices.

The project is being driven by the Cappoquin Regeneration Company, a volunteer outfit made up of retired locals, of which McCarthy is a secretary.

An ex-manager of the old Waterford County Council, he outlines how the buildings will be bought and designed thanks to funding provided through the Governments Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, with further funding provided by Waterford City and County Council, philanthropic group Tomar Trust and Waterford Leader Partnership.

Some of Cappoquin's properties that will be restored include Blackwater House (pink building) which will turn into a digital hub to encourage some of the 120 people from the town and surrounding area who are commuting away fromthe town. Photo: Dan Linehan

It seems like a lot of money but when you have a significant amount of derelict buildings in the town it wont take long to use it up, he says. "The key thing for any rural town or village is sorting the dereliction and vacancy, surveying your needs, replacing what's in the past and creating a new community.

The Regeneration Company, whose members have already built a self-sustaining community centre with a creche on the premises, is hoping to "create a new town centre" and regain its purpose.

Nestled between the Knockmealdown Mountains, River Blackwater and West Waterfords healthy farmland, the town had been on a downward spiral for years. Once the home of historical bacon and chicken processing factories, their closures saw Cappoquin lose over 200 jobs.

"[Cappoquin] has essentially lost its function or purpose," said a 2018 Prescience report commissioned by the Regeneration Company to analyse the towns fortunes.

"The traditional economic activities that it was founded upon and which sustained its population and supported a range of local services have been lost."

Despite this, "thriving businesses" remain in the town centre, with the local Supervalu and Barron's Bakery among them.

Private dwelling vacancy rates for Main Street were 34% in 2016, while the older housing stock found in Main Street was mainly built pre-1919.

Work is underway on Blackwater House on the corner of the towns Main Street, a three-storey former pub, while the long-vacant Moores Hotel at the opposing corner is also part of the plan. The buildings are listed structures and will be preserved through the regeneration work.

McCarthy recounts some of the company's survey work: Would you believe we found theres 120 people from the town and surrounding area who are commuting away from Cappoquin? Were aiming to bring some of those into the future 40 offices in the converted hubs.

Included in the town's regeneration plans is a housing pilot scheme which will see Cappoquin, as one of six towns, having been selected by the Department of Rural and Community Development, tasked with encouraging town centre living.

This will see a number of properties extending from Upper Main Street onto Green Street being restored and reconfigured to provide energy efficient homes.

The Greenway has changed what Kilmacthomas is about

While the success of the Greenway has changed the fortunes of Kilmacthomas, locals hope more can be done for the area's Main Street.

Some of Kilmac's most notable vacants lie away from the centre and include an old railway station and an out-of-use woolen plant, with planning permission in place to construct a distillery on the site of the former.

Gortinore Distillers & Co acquired the site, which dates back to the 1850s, from Waterford City and County Council in 2016.

The railway station meanwhile is part of a regeneration works programme and is to be converted into a museum and information hub.

The D. Lynn public bar in Kilmacthomas which, along with a number of other properties in the town, has been vacant for a number of years. Photo: Dan Linehan

The Greenway has changed what Kilmacthomas is about over the past five years," says Richie Walsh, head of enterprise with Waterford Council.

"The council's work around Kilmacthomas has been focused on those outlier projects like the old derelict railway station, while the private sector has been charged with bringing Main Street back to life."

This has been somewhat successful, thanks to the increased footfall of the Greenway, while Ger Cusack, chairman of the Kilmacthomas voluntary social enterprise group, says "it's done a lot to preserve the existing businesses and has led others to upgrade" their current offerings.

Still, there are properties which have remained empty for some time with little sign of improvement. It's a mixed picture, says Cusack.

He has one building himself that was rented out as a restaurant until it closed a year ago. While offers have come for it to be turned into a takeaway, he is reluctant to go down that road.

"There's no place to eat at night seated in Kilmacthomas and that's something that's needed. I've had enquiries but I don't think a takeaway would be a good fit. The place is kitted out as a restaurant."

He adds: "There's limited demand, other properties are just sitting there then."

Susan Veale a member of the Social Enterprise Group and Tidy Towns Committee looking after the flowers on Kilmacthomas' Main street. Ger Cusack, chairman of the group believes a one-way system could be brought in to open up a lot more space on the street. Photo: Dan Linehan

Housing is limited. AirBnb has been an option for some while there are around a dozen council homes being built, but there has been no major private development since before the Celtic Tiger. One way forward, reckons Cusack, is for the Main Street to be rerouted into a one-way system while trying to pedestrianise some of the thoroughfare.

"I know there would be opposition but it would be a lot easier to do in Kilmac than in other places. We already have two parallel roads and the old N25 going around the village, so it wouldn't be difficult to redirect the traffic.

"It would give a lot more street space, possibly make it more attractive to cyclists who aren't coming towards the Main Street and we could bring properties back into use."

Lismore is a gem, but its been pretty quiet

Waterford City and County Council is to "quietly engage and coax out" owners of properties on Lismore's Main Street over the coming months.

The plan has arisen out of concerns that a number of properties are going unused, whether for commercial or residential use.

The council declined to provide figures from its own recent 'health check' survey of the town centre, however a spokesperson for the local authority's rural development department said that while Lismore has a strong tourism offering, it is struggling economically.

"The concern is that Main Street is dead and so we are trying to coax owners out to engage with the council. Everybody thinks Lismore is a gem and the reality is that it's been pretty quiet over the last three or four years.

Richie Walsh, head of enterprise at Waterford City and County Council, in Lismore which is part of the Blackwater Valley Economic Development Zone. Photo: Dan Linehan

"We're trying to do something long-term here where we'll actually work with people who are holding onto vacant properties. In some cases theres a fear and they don't know what to do, in other cases they're now living upstairs over what was a commercial unit which is now vacant."

Former Mayor of Waterford John Pratt, who sits on the town's heritage board, believes the town is due a "bump" to help revitalise it.

"There's some really lovely offerings around Lismore on the tourism side but we do need to see more take place at getting properties occupied and bringing that bit of life back into the town centre."

While there is little new residential property on the market, Councillor Pratt says the relaunching of the Lismore House Hotel will be a game changer that can help kickstart the next phase of the town's development.

Waterford City and County Council is to "quietly engage and coax out" owners of properties on Lismore's Main Street over the coming months. Photo: Dan Linehan

It is understood that the 29-room building, originally built by the Duke of Devonshire in the late 1700s, will reopen in November following its purchase by a hotel group.

The council has submitted an application for a remote working hub which it is hoped will be a catalyst for further works in the town, according to the council.

It has stressed to the Department of Rural and Community Development that its remote work application will be the beginning of it placing an "emphasis" on a renewal scheme for Lismore and tackling its vacant properties.

"The intention is that phase one - the remote working application - will be an enabler for an overall programme for Lismore for significant public realm works and relooking at how Main Street works for the town. A lot of traffic tends to pass it and the way it's configured is the main reason for that."

Pandemic a boon for seaside Tramore

The pandemic has been a boon for Tramore as people have flocked to the seaside town to make use of its spacious beach and promenade, however frustrations remain.

They arise particularly among locals and focus on notable empty buildings away from the seafront, sitting among a number of independent businesses.

The prime example is the landmark Grand Hotel. It's the "elephant in the room for Tramore", according to Sandra Power, who runs the nearby Lady's Slip clothing store.

"So much is being done around the centre of town but that still needs to be tackled. It's hard to watch as it is here."

Closed since 2014, the 80+ bedroom property was built in the 1700s and gives an impressive view of the town and its beach.

It was sold to Chinese businessman Guoqing Wu in 2014 but has lain empty and in poor state for much of the past six years. A derelict sites notice was issued in 2018 and the council has been trying to force action by pursuing Wu through the courts.

The Grand Hotel in Tramore, Co Waterford, which has been described as the "elephant in the room" for the town. Photo: Dan Linehan

The council's struggles to even make contact with the owner were notable on previous occasions, as it hired tracing agencies in a bid to track him down as part of the derelict sites process, without success.

Councillors previously voted to place a compulsory purchase order on the building but, late last year, a works schedule was agreed between the local authority and the owner to avoid the building falling into further dereliction.

Fears remain that the works may not proceed beyond a "spruce up" of the property though.

Paul Horan, who lives and trades across the road from the Grand, thinks too much is made of the problems around the property, instead viewing it as just one example of how the town has underdeveloped.

He feels that the hotel owner, who did not respond to a request for comment, has been unfairly characterised by some and instead places blame at the council for a "weakness" in failing to develop this section of Tramore.

"I moved here from Dublin 40 years ago and I feel it suffers from a lack of interest when you compare it to elsewhere. There's a county council office still based in Dungarvan which helps them thrive while Tramore is often a feeder town for Waterford city."

Regeneration and pedestrianisation of Main Street in Tramore, but where is the centre of the town? Photo: Dan Linehan

When contacted, the council said it met with the owners on Tuesday, July 20, where it detailed "works outstanding" from its Derelict Sites Notice and which must be finalised ahead of the matter coming back before the courts in September.

Morris Conway, architect for Waterford City and County Council, says there are a number of plans for the town aimed at tackling vacancy and dereliction, which partly arise from the question, where is the centre of Tramore?

"It's something that's confusing for people. You have a very steep main street, a maze of smaller streets off that, but where is the centre? Now most people felt that the Queen Street-Broad Street junction was the centre so we've been carrying out public realm works to link up those parts with the rest of the town in a better way."

There are three identities in Tramore which need to be linked too.

"There's the seaside, the town proper and there's a dormitory of Waterford which sits around the ring road. There's a physical disconnect, not helped by the main commercial centre's hilly geography, and that's something we're trying to work on by connecting the main streets to the seafront and drawing people down from the residential areas to the town centre."

Homes can be tricky to rent or purchase, with several dozen options listed instead on AirBnB for anyone looking for a quick hit of the seaside. However the council expects to provide approaching 100 homes in the next 18 months through a mixture of direct builds, purchases and long-term leases.

The derelict former Tramore Hotel. Photo: Dan Linehan

A management group was formed to manage the town centre and a public realm scheme aiming to upgrade the Queen Street-Broad Street area and to give it pedestrian priority, adds Conway.

The town's derelict Victorian railway station is to get a new purpose through a regeneration programme, with over 200,000 drawn down to date through renewal schemes so the protected structure can be converted into a community space.

Between its 5km long beach, the promenade and nearby amusements park, Tramore has a "festival atmosphere" throughout summer, says Conway, but he says planners need to spread visitors around into the centre.

"Tramore can take an influx of about 30,000 people over a weekend without it rattling the town. It won't be overwhelmed [at those numbers].

"We don't have another town that can do it and it's a success story akin to the Greenway really."

As part of its plans, the council has purchased No 9 Main Street and will use it as an experiment in above-the-shop living, with the ground floor earmarked as a retail space.
A British officer working in Kabul has told of his pride at how UK troops have dealt with an unprecedented and complex situation in the Afghan capital.

Lt Col Justin Baker, of 16 Air Assault Brigade, was speaking from Kabul on Sunday, as British armed forces had evacuated more than 5,000 people from Afghanistan since August 13.

Every passenger flying on a British aircraft goes to a passenger handling centre in Kabul where members of the Brigade have been working tirelessly on the evacuations, according to the MoD.

Lt Col Baker said: It is the operating environment here which is so complex that it is making the operating environment so challenging, I think this is something that nobody has experienced before.

We are facing challenges that nobody has experiences for but I have been really impressed by how agile and adaptable that the whole force has been and how well they have coped with those challenges.

Pictures of desperate and fearful crowds trying to leave Afghanistan are among the distressing scenes which have been captured at Kabul airport in an area packed with Taliban militants.

By Sunday afternoon, Laurie Bristow, the UK Ambassador to Afghanistan, tweeted from the evacuation handling centre: Its a huge effort. So far we have managed to get over 5,000 people on to planes and in the last 14 hours alone weve managed to get a thousand people on their way. But there is still a huge amount of work to do.

He thanked the soldiers, diplomats and other officials both in Kabul and abroad who are working around the clock to get our British nationals, Afghan colleagues and Embassy staff to safety.

The Brigade is aiming to provide as much comfort and reassurance as possible to those people who are entitled to leave as they are going through a really stressful time, said Lt Col Baker.

UK armed forces taking part in the evacuation of entitled personnel from Kabul airport (Ben Shread/MoD/Crown Copyright/PA)

His colleague Major Rob Scharick, also of of 16 Air Assault Brigade, said: I think as a Brigade we have done the best we possibly can do.

We are trained to deploy at short notice to complex environments and to tackle a range of functions from war fighting to something like this, a non-combatant evacuation operation.

I am amazed with the way, how the guys have dealt with the challenges of doing it.

He said the Brigade is taking the people from the streets of Kabul who have formed up outside and then determining whether they are eligible to leave as British citizens or eligible under the Afghan relocation assistance programme.

Further checks are carried out by UK Foreign Office officials before they are moved to the airport to travel to the UK.

Armed Forces minister James Heappey said: Scenes of the crush in crowd yesterday were desperate.

Amidst all that chaos, young British soldiers are showing themselves to be every bit as tough & professional as wed expect. But its their compassion thats really shining through.

His comments come after journalist Jane Ferguson praised the British military at Kabul airport for its breathtaking levels of toughness, professionalism and  rare in war times I must say  compassion.

Ms Ferguson, a correspondent for PBS NewsHour, tweeted: Ive been moved to tears by their actions, diving into dangerous crowds to pull visa-holders into the base guarding sleeping women and children, helping them find the right transportation to the US air strip for their flights, pulling their own food out of their pockets and handing it to refugees in need, sleeping out on the cement, little supplies, parched in the sun.

There are young men here who have lost their voices days ago, sunburned faces, dusty uniforms, exhausted, still working to help people in what is. humanitarian mission few soldiers are really prepared for.

She said that one soldier had told her we want to help people too as she recalled a moment of kindness.
Becky and I have been baking in our 104-degree summer, and the heat sparked a deepening desire to get cold, chilled, and maybe even a bit wet. So last week we left our home in the fire-prone California foothills in search of chill-lax.

Four and a half hours later, at the end of a winding highway, we found our weekend retreat on Californias Mendocino coast. Where water temperature and air temperature came to an agreement at 52 degrees, we discovered the intersection of beauty and chill.

Its here the coastal waters accelerate their Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation from the still waters of the Santa Barbara coast to the ship-crushing waves of the Oregon border.

After we checked into our hotel room, we sat staring at the ocean blue until the hypnotizing waves of the Pacific lulled us into a long afternoon nap.

Rest was important if we hoped to fulfill the nighttime mission I had planned. Wed come to glimpse the falling stars of The Perseids, the annual meteor shower, peaking in mid-August.

To see them, only the blackest of midnight would suffice. Our celestial treasure hunt sent us up a narrow road, out of the foggy coast and deep into the coastal redwoods.

The roadway darkened quickly. It was the kind of dark that could make it easy to lose ones soul if it werent divinely anchored. The kind of void that Harry Potter and his classmates would seek.

Our cars adaptive headlights swung from side to side, searching for signs of life. Foxes darted deeper into the forest and a masked bandit dove for ditch cover. An ambling black bear moved like a shadowed tumbleweed, giving no hints he would yield. We did, however, and gave a skunk a wide berth while braking for deer silhouetted by the forest glow.

Just before midnight, we pulled into a clearing and stepped from our car. As our passenger-compartment lights faded, a meteor scratched the night sky like someone cutting diamonds.

With the giddiness of celestial prospectors, we scurried out to set up beach chairs and blankets. During the next 75 minutes, we watched icy droplets rip the heavens open like a zipper. We counted 30 of the little sky-scratchers as they etched straight lines across the near moonless night, flying a perky 18 miles per second. It was as if God was busy sketching architectural plans for another universe.

We ahd and oohd and whoad like children watching a circus act and, at times, jumped in startled wonder as if someone had dropped an ice cube down the back of our shirts. Eventually, we quieted. Speaking only in whispers, fearing wed be unable to hear Gods voice otherwise. Nothing manmade could ever match the stunning show God gave us from the frosty slivers sailing across the night sky.

As we drove back to our hotel that morning, I reflected on what Id heard God say.

Wait, you ask, does God really talk to you, Chaplain?

No, not in audible tones. However, I do think I heard something divine that night. Something detected only in stillness and quiet.

That is to say, up there on that clearing, nothing ever sounded so sacredly wonderful. It was as if I could hear the planets spin. As if I could hear myself aging. As if I could hear the stars greeting each other. I held the hallowed moment in my heart and heard the scripture, Be still and know that I am God.

Suddenly, I knew once again that Im not alone. God is with me.

Portions excerpted from Norriss book Thriving Beyond Surviving. Read past columns at www.thechaplain.net. Contact Norris at comment@thechaplain.net or 10556 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 or voicemail (843) 608-9715. Twitter @chaplain.
Squint at your screen no more with the Epos Expand Vision 3T. This Android-based Microsoft Teams conferencing system turns any HDMI-based display into a conference room, whether at home or in the office. It provides the camera, speaker, and smarts; you provide the screen and Wi-Fi or ethernet.

Epos has 115 years of audio engineering excellence but entered the enterprise audio market only 12 months ago. Its rapidly made a strong name for itself with its premium headsets and Bluetooth audio conferencing equipment. This trend continues with the Expand Vision 3T video collaboration bar bringing not only sound but two-way video, to any HDMI-based screen near you.

As a video collaboration bar, the Expand Vision 3T looks as you might expect - its fundamentally a camera that you can clamp onto the top of your television or monitor or place under it. The bar has an HDMI output, works with either ethernet or Wi-Fi and provides audio via USB-C or Bluetooth. The box includes a stylish and crisp portable Bluetooth speaker/microphone, and a lengthy USB-C cable to connect them. For best performance, youd use ethernet for the network connection and USB-C for the speaker/microphone connection, but youre not constrained if connectivity is an issue, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth available.

Fundamentally, it is an Android-based device to bring Microsoft Teams to any display you want, no matter how dumb that device may be. In fact, its a tremendous alternative to otherwise costly video-conferencing products bundling licensed software with a screen. Unlike those options the Expand Vision 3T allows you to do whatever else you want with the display when not conferencing - simply change your HDMI input as needed, and the Expand 3T lets you do with a single one-off fee. There is no ongoing licensing required.

You can easily connect the Expand Vision 3T to any TV in your office and make a boardroom or conference room setup with ease. In this scenario you might log into Microsoft Teams as a generic boardroom user, being sure to invite that user to your meetings.

Of course, in this world of work from home, you can also transform your own living room into your own conference room. Its not good for your eyes or your neck to focus on your laptop screen all day. With the Expand Vision 3T, you can mix it up, plugging the video collaboration bar into a spare input on your TV. Sign in with your own Microsoft Teams account, throw in a nice virtual background of your choosing, and you now have a super-professional setup that will have everyone believing youre in a real office.

Whats more, the unit has a sharp wide-angled 4K camera and will intelligently frame individual speakers, tracking voices through built-in AI. It doesnt only look good, but it makes you look good, helps you and your fellow collaborators focus, all while recreating the in-person experience despite being apart.

Ive been using it myself and it has made my onslaught of meetings much more comfortable. It also helps mask my typing away on the laptop and thankfully, allows me to position the camera in a far more flattering position than my MacBook Pros built-in camera pointing right up at my chin.

There is a lot to like. Setup was easy. Plug it into a TV, plug it into power, connect ethernet and the speaker, done. Power it on and sign in to Microsoft Teams. Using my Logitech Harmony remote I could easily assign a new activity, conveniently switching the input, letting me move from Expand Vision 3T to Apple TV to other devices, and other audio outputs, at will. After that, answering Teams calls, joining meetings, muting myself, all these things were effortless and intuitive. The Bluetooth speaker comes with a nice carry case also, so you can pack it up and take it with you to run audio conferences anywhere.

Not everything is perfect; while the USB-C cable to connect the device and the speaker is enormous, the power cable for the unit itself is not so lengthy. Depending on where your powerpoint is, and how large your TV is, you may need an extension cable if youre going to position the video bar on top of your TV. I ended up putting mine underneath.

Additionally, I would have liked to sign in to multiple Teams accounts at once or switch between accounts. This is no big deal for an individual at home, though if you have a Teams account from more than one organisation, you can only use one of them unless you sign out and re-enter credentials for the other. Similarly, for a business, you cant so easily switch between users, hence my suggestion for a generic boardroom account.

Of course, you can sign and sign in again, and use the remote control for typing on the on-screen keyboard. Given the device is on the network, it would have been helpful if you could connect to it via HTTP or HTTPS and configure things there. However, no such web portal exists.

However, these are the only gripes I had, and even then, they're not necessarily significant. Ultimately, the Expand Vision 3T provides a terrific video-conferencing facility with a single payment and a fast, effortless setup. Provided you have a TV, a Microsoft Teams account, and Internet access, you can be up and running in 10 minutes.

For a business, it's a great way to make a conference room, and for remote workers, its a terrific way to use your bigger screen and get a break from the laptop.

The Epos Expand Vision 3T is available through Epos dealers and resellers.

See it in action here:
Mobile satellite services firm Iridium Communications' Tempe Arizona facility in the US has been awarded the 2021 Cogswell Award by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA).

The award is given to cleared U.S. defense contractors who consistently, and at the highest level, demonstrate a commitment to excellence and leadership in the Industrial Security community.

The award announcement was made during the annual Society of Industrial Security Professionals (NCMS) training seminar.

Selection criteria for the annual award includes establishing and sustaining security programs that exceed industry requirements and providing leadership to other cleared facilities while establishing best practices to maintain the highest security standards.

Facilities are nominated by a DCSA industrial security representative and are required to have at least two consecutive superior industrial security review ratings to be considered.

"Iridium is hoored to be recognised as a leader in establishing and maintaining a security program that exceeds National Industrial Security Program requirements as a DoD contractor, said Cindy Sims, director of compliance and security Iridium. .

The Iridium security team is committed to upholding and surpassing the highest standards for Industrial Security excellence.

Iridium is one of 40 companies out of 13,000 considered to receive the prestigious Cogswel Award for exemplifying outstanding leadership in the Industrial Security community.
FILE - In this April 7, 2021, file photo, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks to reporters at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky. The Kentucky governor's efforts to aggressively combat COVID-19 suffered a landmark legal defeat Saturday, Aug. 21, as the state's high court cleared the way for new laws to rein in his emergency powers.
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
Mike has reported on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem's wildlife, wildlands and the agencies that manage them since 2012. A native Minnesotan, he arrived in the West to study environmental journalism at the University of Colorado.
Bolivias jailed former president Jeanine Anez attempted to take her own life in prison on Saturday, her lawyer said, a day after prosecutors charged her with genocide over the 2019 deaths of protesters.

Anez has been jailed since March, originally on charges  trumped up, her defenders say  of staging a coup against her predecessor and rival, former president Evo Morales.

One of Anezs lawyers, Jorge Valda, said the former leader, despondent over her legal situation, had attempted to take her own life an attempt in which, thank God, she failed.

Bolivian officials had announced Anez tried to harm herself, with Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo saying she had suffered only scratches on her arm in the attempt early Saturday and is in stable condition.

The opposition deplored the governments treatment of Anez and called for her release.

Former centrist president Carlos Mesa said official explanations of her injury were not serious and demanded an end to her political jailing.

Anezs family has repeatedly asked the government to transfer the 54-year-old to a hospital for treatment of hypertension and other conditions.

That request has been denied, as have her lawyers requests that she be granted home detention.

The conservative Anez came to power in November 2019 after Morales resigned and fled the country following weeks of violent protests over his controversial re-election to an unconstitutional fourth term.

The specific accusation against Anez relates to two incidents in November 2019 in which a total 22 people died.

Attorney General Juan Lanchipa said Friday he had presented documents against her in which the incidents were provisionally classified as genocide, serious and minor injury and injury followed by death.

After Morales resigned, Anez, as the most senior parliamentarian left, was sworn in as interim president, but her political opponents denounced this as a coup.

Under Anezs administration, Bolivia held peaceful, transparent elections in October 2020 in which Moraless leftist protege Luis Arce stormed to a landslide victory.

He subsequently vowed to pursue those he accused of staging a coup.

Anez, arrested in March on accusations of leading a coup, also faces charges of terrorism, sedition and conspiracy.

Bolivias opposition has decried the lack of separation of powers in the country, saying the courts, electoral body and public prosecutors office are all loyal to leftist President Arce.

Anezs detention has elicited widespread international condemnation.
In the two decades since the Taliban lost control of Afghanistan, living conditions have improved significantly, including huge improvements in healthcare, education, life expectancy and child mortality.

But local corruption and violence have slowed the pace of progress, and the reduction in military and aid in recent years has reduced one of its biggest sources of income and has had economic consequences.

Ajmal Ahmady, the former governor of Afghanistans central bank, fled the country last weekend when the Islamic organization regained power. Tell the financial times Anyone who downplays the improvement in the lives of Afghans will downplay the changes that have taken place.

But Dr. Gareth Price, a senior researcher at the Chatham Institute, a think tank, said that although Afghanistan has have undergone tremendous changes in society, except for illegal mining.

Economic growth-but now stagnant

Living standards benefited from the double-digit economic expansion as of the mid-2010s. But with the reduction of international financial support, output has stagnated in the past decade.

According to data from the World Bank, aid flows have fallen from about 100% of GDP in 2009 to 42.9% in 2020, thus restricting service industry activities and employment.

Under the rule of the Taliban, international funds are expected to be completely exhausted, threatening the survival of Afghanistans legitimate economy.

Capital Economics Asian economist Gareth Leather warned: As most of the economic progress in the past 20 years has been based on external support, Afghanistans return to global untouchability is likely to allow The economy is out of trouble. The sharp contraction of GDP and the regression of socio-economic development seems almost certain.

Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank, said that cutting off aid may weaken a large part of the work of the modern economy and the service industry. He questioned how Afghanistan can create a legal economy if aid is cut off.

According to data from the International Trade Center, a multilateral agency, Afghanistan only legally exported about $1 billion worth of goods in 2020-less than neighboring Tajikistan, even though its population is four times its size.

Although the importance of agriculture has declined with the expansion of the service industry, half of its official exports are grapes and other fresh fruits.

But Leather warned that official data should be reserved, because one of Afghanistans biggest products is illegal opium, which of course will not appear in the national accounts.

Experts come to a conclusion The informal economy accounts for 80% of Afghanistans overall economic activity, which means that official growth estimates are of limited use.

Improved living standards

Despite the uneven overall economic performance, the daily lives of many Afghans have improved significantly. Healthcare and education have become more common, mortality rates have fallen, and technology use has become widespread.

According to data from the World Bank, about 60 children under the age of 5 died for every 1,000 babies born in 2019-this number has been halved since the turn of the century, and is the fastest drop in child mortality in all low-income countries once.

Over the same period, the proportion of underweight children has been reduced by more than half, and the risk of maternal death in Afghanistan has also been similarly reduced.

Medical care has also been improved through a series of measures. Nearly half of the population has access to sanitation facilities, compared with a quarter in the early 2000s.

As a result, Afghans now live nearly 10 years longer than they were 20 years ago.

Educational performance has also improved significantly. Compared with 2001, the number of children in school has increased by approximately 8.2 million, and the proportion of children enrolled in secondary schools has jumped from 12% in 2001 to 55% in 2018.

The number of Afghan youths who are really educated is much higher, Cordesman said.

However, he emphasized that limited information means that the available data are sometimes estimates.

Women especially benefit

Womens lives have improved on a series of indicators. The education enrollment rate of girls has soared, the fertility rate of adolescents has plummeted, and more women are working.

Susanna Hares, co-director of education policy at the Think Tank Global Development Center, said: The education of girls has made great progress in the past two decades. But she warned, These are now facing a huge risk of a rapid rollback We may see. Many Afghan girls have been forced to drop out of school.

The number of women entering the labor market is also much higher than before.Last year, about one-fifth of Afghan civil servants Yes Women and a quarter of parliamentary seats are held by women-zero in 2001.

But violence and poverty are still widespread

Despite the progress, the Taliban still control one of the most vulnerable economies in the world. Few countries are less friendly to business or more corrupt.

Afghanistan is 165 of Transparency Internationals 180 countries Corruption Index 2020-although it has risen 11 places since 2012.

The development and diversification of the private sector is constrained by insecurity, political instability, weak institutions, inadequate infrastructure, widespread corruption, and difficult business environments, according to The World Bank rated 173 of 190 countries in its 2020 Doing Business Survey.

Life expectancy is still 8 years below the world average and 5 years below the South Asian average.

The standard of living is the lowest in the region, with more than half of the population living below the poverty line. In terms of health, personal freedom, living conditions, trust in institutions, safety and security, Afghanistan remains one of the worst countries in the world.

Nonetheless, former central bank governor Ahmadi warned that the reversal of progress in the past two decades will have a major impact on the lives of ordinary Afghans.

In Afghanistan, everyone has a mobile phone, which is the lifeline of many people, he said. The economy has made significant progress, [the coming deterioration] I think this will be a shock for most of them. 
Costa Rican lawmakers will restart the debate bill (Expediente N. 21.388) Legalize marijuana and medical marijuana. The bill was approved by the Environmental Committee of the Legislative Assembly in November last year, but its submission to the plenary session of the Parliament was delayed.

The author of the bill is the independent legislator Zoila Rosa love it, one agronomist And lawyers, who has Waving Economic and health arguments supporting legalization. In addition to ensuring that Costa Ricans have access to cannabis treatment, the development of the cannabis industry is seen as a potential driver for growth and increasing government revenue.

According to the proposed law, cannabis is defined as cannabis with a THC content of less than 1%. The bill distinguishes between therapeutic (Therapeutic use) And medical (Medical use) product.This is interesting because the terms Cure cannabis with Medicinal cannabis Sometimes they can be used interchangeably. However, according to the definition of the Act, therapeutic use does not require medical supervision or authorization, and medical use does require medical supervision. Despite this distinction, these terms are used in tandem throughout the Act, with the exception of Article 13.2, which only provides for the licensed manual production of products for therapeutic use.

In addition to the requirements for general agricultural activities, the Act does not establish any licensing requirements for hemp cultivation. As for medical marijuana, growers must obtain permission from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. For their part, those seeking to produce finished products need to obtain permission from the Ministry of Health. The bill does not involve the permission of foreign parties. Given the discussions surrounding the proposed law and the overall openness of the Costa Rican economy, this omission may indicate the intention of allowing foreign participation in the emerging cannabis industry.

According to the provisions of the Act, the qualification of a medical marijuana patient is determined by the persons doctor. Patients will be authorized to grow their own cannabis.

The new law will impose a 1% tax on medical marijuana (but not marijuana) transactions. If the bill becomes law, the executive branch will have six months to issue regulations.

Overall, the bill seems to strike a good balance between the governments desire to obtain budgetary gains from the legalization of marijuana and to provide the industry with room for growth as it sees fit. The reduced regulatory burden on cannabis and smart adjustments are commendable.

Given Costa Ricas success in attracting investment from foreign companies, especially electronics and medical equipment manufacturers, there are reasons to be hopeful about the prospects of its cannabis industry-assuming the legislative assembly votes!
After the fall of Kabul, the 20-year-long Western intervention in Afghanistan is doomed to fail. This is a strong temptation. There is no military solution to deal with the countrys challenges. This is a version of the analysis. It is true: in a war where peace cannot be won, you will not win in the end.

However, there is a similar fatalism regarding the possibility that Afghanistan could have won peace. Some people say that a society that is too tribal and traditional will never become a functioning democracy. Others say that the foundation of outsiders is always doomed to failure.

Building a country is undoubtedly the work of its people. However, after the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, the establishment of a functioning country and economy is something that the West can not only do but also have the responsibility to do. The sad truth is that we never really tried.

Although Afghanistans per capita income today is higher than in the 1990s, it has remained flat at around US$600 over the past decade. According to the World Bank. As the economist Jeffrey Sachs Point out, The United States expenditure on the countrys economic development pales in comparison with military expenditures-even the nominal funds for reconstruction are mainly used for security.

Of course, a resilient state structure and economic activities require a stable and safe environment. But dependence is two-way. A country and economy that served the Afghan people could have made any amount of military spending more effective because it would give the Afghan army something worth fighting for, and the Taliban could reduce the fertile ground for recruitment.

Most importantly, its not just how much you spend, but how you spend it, Sarah Chayes said. She served as an adviser to the U.S. military leadership in Afghanistan for ten years and wrote a copy of Book About the corruption there. Corruption, weakening of loyalty and contributing to economic failure eventually led to military failure.

People keep telling me that the Taliban regime is authoritarian in what they hate  but it is not corrupt, Chayes said. Other research supports her.According to a Investigation by Afghan Integrity Watch A survey conducted last winter showed that more than half of citizens believe that the level of corruption in Taliban-controlled areas is lower than that in government-controlled areas.

The same report estimated that the total amount of bribes paid by Afghans to state officials was US$2.25 billion. This is nothing new.United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2010 report The bribes paid by Afghans reached 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in a year, close to a quarter of the countrys official GDP. The report stated: Those who are entrusted to uphold the law are regarded as the most guilty of violating the law.

These bribes are the bottom layer of what Chayes describes as a vertically integrated system, like a mafia.

To say that the emphasis on corruption is to blame the Afghans for not hitting the point. The corruption of the Afghan nation should be blamed on its financial and security guarantors: the US-led coalition.

We have all the power, Chayes said, and almost stubbornly enforced and contributed to this corruption. The way to do this is to provide funds through favorable intermediaries and only interact with those in power, thereby intimidating ordinary Afghans not to speak out, and there is no real mechanism of checks and balances, such as training independent police to master investigative skills.

Roughly speaking, corrupt countries are the product of American power.U.S. Congresss own Special inspector general Afghanistan reconstruction Said the same: Lack of patience caused the US government to make a choice [that] Increased corruption and reduced the effectiveness of the plan. .. When US officials finally realized this dynamic, they just found a new way to ignore the local situation. 

Now it is said that efforts to establish a functioning Afghan country are always doomed to failure. This is an improper reduction of responsibility. The United States and its allies could have taken different actions. They could have distributed the funds as a separate cash payment instead of installing a local gatekeeper for the resource. They could have introduced strong transparency, supervision and supervision mechanisms. They could have quickly imposed sanctions on corrupt officials at all levels.

Last weeks dramatic events highlighted the end of what some have called an unwinnable war, pointing to Afghanistans disgraceful history of foreign intervention. The real shame is the Western neglect of the peace that can be won for 20 years.

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LAFAYETTE LA -- Hospitalization rates are reaching its highest numbers during this fourth surge leaving limited space for non covid-patients. Among those, soon to be mom's seeking a safe place to bring new life into the world, now have a new option to give birth right here in Lafayette parish.

Shatamia Webb is making her mark as the first African American woman in Louisiana to be the owner of a freestanding birth center.

My biggest fear is going to the hospital and not walking out, just because of the statistics that are out there. Shatamia Webb Said.

Webb wanted to dive deeper into her purpose as a Certified Professional Midwife with opening up a safe and warm building to those soon to be mothers starting their journey.

I see them throughout their pregnancy. I see them just like they would normally see a doctor every month. Every month and every two weeks, until they deliver. they come to me in labor, they usually stay about five hours after they have their baby here and then i go to see them the very next day. Shatamia Webb Said.

The Baby-Catcher Birth Center has two suites to house those families in need to give birth in the midst of Covid-19.

I've seen a lot of the social media groups ; moms are very concerned with birthing at hospitals and just the covid protocols. Just not having their significant other there for even their appointments lending up. Cassie Cully Said.

Cassie Cully , a mother who started her journey with The Baby-Catcher Birth Center , encourages those to educate themselves about home births

Home birth is the way to go, research it, and check it out. It's great! moms are like but the pain? No , you are so much more relaxed. The pain doesn't feel anywhere near like when you are in the hospital. Cassie Cully Said.

Webb has helped with over 130 births so far and she does not plan on stopping there. She is hoping to make a difference during this fourth surge of Covid-19.

The Baby-Catcher Birth Center will be opening services up as soon as Monday for anyone who is interested.
K-dramas will never be complete without its lead actors, especially when most of them are your favorite Korean celebrities. 2021 has offered a variety of Korean dramas since the first quarter of the year. And now that we are in the second half of 2021, some of the biggest K-drama actors are finally making their return to the spotlight.

Brace yourselves because actors Gong Yoo, Park Hyun Sik, Lee Jong Suk, and Kim Woo Bin are about to steal the spotlight again with their upcoming projects that are expected to be released in the second half of this year.

Gong Yoo

A-list actor Gong Yoo has the power to dominate the industry, may it be in his movies or dramas. Aside from brand endorsements, his portfolio is packed with major projects which receive recognition both in South Korea and other international countries.

Following his drama "Goblin" in 2016, Gong Yoo will be returning on the small screen with Netflix's original series "The Silent Sea." It will illustrate the journey of the specialist's team, who will go on a mission to the Moon to look for the missing piece to their research.

Even though there's no specific date yet, the drama is scheduled to meet the viewers in the second half of this year.

Actors Bae Doona and Lee Joon are also part of the lead cast. This marks Gong Yoo's first drama after almost five years of break. That's why fans are really excited for his small-screen return!

Park Hyung Sik

Following his discharge from the military service, actor Park Hyung Sik is now ready to see his fans. The "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" star will be making a drama return with the thriller series "Happiness." It will depict the story of the spread of an infectious disease through a city.

On his return, Park Hyun Sik will be sharing the screen with actress Han Hyo Joo and actor Jo Woo Jin. This will be his first drama project in 2021. His last series was in the Korean spin-off of "Suits" in 2018.

"Happiness" is set to be released in the second half of 2021. A specific date is yet to be confirmed.

Lee Jong Suk

K-drama heartthrob is currently filming his action movie "Decibel" along with actors Kim Rae Won and "True Beauty" star Cha Eun Woo. As a lead actor of the film, Lee Jong Suk takes the role of a navy captain. His silver screen comeback will premiere at the end of 2021.

The "Pinocchio" star is also confirmed to lead the upcoming legal series "Big Mouth," where he will be playing the role of an aspiring lawyer. The filming schedule is set to happen in the second half of 2021. SNSD member and "Miracle" actress Yoona will be his new leading lady. Meanwhile, actors Kwak Dong Yeon, Yang Kyung Won, Kim Joo Hun, and Ok Ja Yeon are also confirmed to star in the drama.

Kim Woo Bin

K-drama actor Kim Woo Bin will be returning on the big screen with the sci-fi movie "Alien." In fact, the film just finished its production and is now focusing on the post production. Apart from the big budget for the project, "Alien" also has a star-studded cast namely So Ji Sub, Ryu Jun Yeol, and Kim Tae Ri.

He is also in talks to lead the forthcoming K-drama "Delivery Knight." "Taxi Driver" actress Esom was also in discussion to join Kim Woo Bin in the project. If they accept the roles, this will be their reunion project after 10 years.

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news and updates, keep your tabs open here at Kdramastars.

Kdramastars owns this article.

Written by Shai Collins.
In The Devil Judge Episode 15, the truth behind every lie starts to reveal itself. Jung Sun Ah (Kim Min Jung), who has taken over the Social Responsibility Foundation, becomes more ambitious and wants Kang Yo Han (Ji Sung) to be punished for not taking her side.

The Devil Judge Episode 15: Kang Yo Han Resigns as Chief Judge

Due to Min Jung Ho's (Ahn Nae Sang) idea, Kim Ga On (GOT7 Jinyoung) turns his back on Kang Yo Han. At an emergency press conference, he announced that the chief judge manipulated the law for his own good in punishing the criminals.

In The Devil Judge Episode 15, Kang Yo Han tried to think of what to say to the citizens after the electrocution to Juk Chang (Lee Hae Woon). While contemplating, Kim Ga On visited him in his office.

The chief judge told Kim Ga On that he still chose to stab him without even knowing the truth after all the things they have been through.

At that point, Yo Han was about to kill Ga On, but to his surprise, the young judge was willing to sacrifice his life.

Before leaving the office, Kim Ga On wished Kang Yo Han would finally surrender himself to the police for all his wrongdoings inside the court.

The next day, Kang Yo Han faced the public and admitted that he was a criminal, and all the accusations against him were true. After speaking his side, Kang Yo Han resigned as chief judge.

But the people who were loyal to him went to protests and wanted him to stay in court. Some even want him to run for president.

Jung Sun Ah, Min Yong Sik, and Park Du Man Join Forces to Get Rid of Heo Joong Se

President Heo Joong Se (Baek Hyun Jin) became greedy for his position and the public's attention. He overused his power as a high-ranking official to manipulate the people around him.

Because of his selfishness, his allies Min Yong Sik (Hong Seo Jun) and Park Du Man (Lee Seo Hwan) teamed up with Jung Sun Ah to go against the president.

During their next meeting, Heo Joong Se was confident about his plan of manipulating the public. He even planned on spreading the real virus in the country. Jung Sun Ah couldn't stand Joong Se's decisions anymore.

The Social Responsibility Foundation's Chairwoman showed her superiority in front of Heo Joong Se and slapped him in the face. The president was caught off guard. He tried to ask for help from his secretary but he was also on Jung Sun Ah's side. That was when he realized Min Yong Sik and Park Du Man had betrayed him.

Kim Ga On Suspects Kang Yo Han as the Mastermind Behind Yoon Soo Hyun's Death

Min Jung Ho once again opened to Kim Ga On the secret investigation that Yoon Soo Hyun (Park Gyu Young) did before. He gave the small notebook that belonged to Soo Hyun, which contains information about Joseph, the man who has the CCTV footage during the fire incident 20 years ago.

On behalf of Yoon Soo Hyun, Kim Ga On went to visit all the possible places where Joseph hid. When he found him, Joseph got scared, knowing Ga On worked with Kang Yo Han.

Joseph was hesitant at first to tell the truth to Kim Ga On, but after the young judge assured him that he would protect him, Joseph trusted Ga On and started to reveal that he has the CCTV footage, but Kang Yo Han asked for a copy and so he gave it.

But he confessed that before handing the footage to Yo Han, Joseph had produced another copy so he could use it in exchange for money in the future.

Joseph didn't expect that someone would harass him before just to get that spare copy of the CCTV footage. And that person introduced himself as someone who worked for Kang Yo Han.

Kim Ga On asked where his bruises came from. Joseph confessed that he got it just a couple of days ago when Yoon Soo Hyun tried to ask for information about Kang Yo Han. On the same day, a man came to his house and warned him about Soo Hyun.

This gave Kim Ga On a strong suspicion that Kang Yo Han was the mastermind behind Yoon Soo Hyun's death.

Jung Sun Ah Uses Her Power to Manipulate the People Involved with Kang Yo Han and Kim Ga On

Furious, Kim Ga On rushed to the mansion without hesitation and stabbed Kang Yo Han. But he was quick to avoid the knife.

Kang Yo Han tried to convince the young judge he didn't kill Yoon Soo Hyun. Until a group of police came, professor Min Jung Ho also appeared. Kim Ga On and Kang Yo Han were surprised to see Jung Ho team up with Jung Sun Ah.

That was when they realize that everything that happened was manipulated by Jung Sun Ah. She was also the one who killed Yoon Soo Hyun.

Jung Sun Ah made sure to get her revenge on Kang Yo Han. And seeing the chief judge struggling made her think that she won against him.

On the other hand, Kim Ga On was still puzzled.

Jung Sun Ah is the real devil in Kang Yo Han and Kim Ga On's lives.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Exciting Twists to Anticipate in the Last Two Episodes of tvN's 'The Devil Judge'

Have you watched The Devil Judge Episode 15? How's the plot so far? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news and updates, keep your tabs open here at Kdramastars.

Kdramastars owns this article.

Written by Shai Collins.
The federal government on Monday declared a water shortage on the Colorado River for the first time, triggering mandatory water consumption cuts for states in the Southwest, as climate change-fueled drought pushes the level in Lake Mead to unprecedented lows.

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US by volume, has drained at an alarming rate this year. At around 1,067 feet above sea level and 35% full, the Colorado River reservoir is at its lowest since the lake was filled after the Hoover Dam was completed in the 1930s.

Lake Powell, which is also fed by the Colorado River and is the country's second-largest reservoir, recently sank to a record low and is now 32% full.

"It's very significant," Brad Udall, senior water and climate scientist at Colorado State University, told CNN. "It's something that those of us in the climate community have been worried about for over a decade, based on declining flows due to climate change."

With the lake expected to remain at around 1,066 feet of elevation into 2022, according to the US Bureau of Reclamation's latest monthly projections, the agency announced that the Colorado River will go into the first tier of water cuts beginning January 1.

"Given ongoing historic drought and low runoff conditions in the Colorado River Basin, downstream releases from Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam will be reduced in 2022 due to declining reservoir levels," the report said.

Lake Mead provides water to roughly 25 million people in Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico, according to the National Park Service. Under the complex priority system, Arizona and Nevada will be affected by the tier-1 shortage.

Arizona will see an 18% reduction in the state's total Colorado River supply, primarily impacting agriculture. Although Nevada will need to adhere to a 7% reduction in its Colorado River water supply in 2022, the state had already reduced its deliveries and no change is expected due to the shortage, according to John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

Additional cuts -- each tier with worsening impact on agriculture and municipal water -- are expected if Lake Mead continues to fall. The second tier of cuts, triggered at 1,050 feet, could come as soon as 2023.

Snaking its way through the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California, the Colorado River's volume have been dwindling due to extreme heat and drought.

T.J. Atkin, a cattle rancher in Utah and Arizona, described the toll the drought was taking on his family's business and his animals.

"Everyone else I've talked to says in 85 years, it has not been this bad," Atkin told CNN in June. "We have 85 years' worth of our own drought data that says we've never done this ... not to this extent."

At a news conference announcing the cuts, US officials said climate change is behind the West's water shortage.

A UN report released last week emphasized the role human-caused climate change plays in drought frequency and intensity. Globally, droughts that may have occurred only once every 10 years or so now happen 70% more frequently, according to the report. The link is particularly strong in the Western US, scientists said, which is currently in the grips of a historic, multi-year drought.

More than 95% of the West was in drought as of last week, the largest area in the history of the US Drought Monitor.

"There's no doubt that climate change is real -- we're experiencing it every day in the Colorado River Basin and in other basins in the West," said Tanya Trujillo, assistant secretary for water and science at the US Department of the Interior. "I think the best strategy for planning is to think about a broad range of scenarios and a broad range of potential hydrology, and to work closely with our partners in the basin to try to think through all of those scenarios."

On average, the Colorado River's flow has declined by about 20% over the last century, according to a 2020 study by US Geological Survey scientists. Over half of that decline can be attributed to warming temperatures across the basin, researchers said.

Without any significant reductions to planet-heating emissions, particularly from the burning of fossil fuels, the study found the Colorado River's average discharge could shrink by 31%, compared to the historical average, by the middle of this century -- a theme consistent with the UN climate report.

The significance of the reservoirs' rapid decline cannot be overstated. The Colorado River supplies water to more than 40 million people living across seven US states and Mexico.

Lake Mead and Lake Powell provide a critical supply of drinking water, hydropower and irrigation for many communities across the region including rural farms and tribal nations.

As the climate rapidly changes, Udall said the West should prepare for more shortages.

"Climate change is water change, and many of the worst impacts we're going to see out of climate change are through changes in the water cycle," Udall said. "Not only do we have to plan for these undesirable water outcomes, but we also have to get our act together and reduce greenhouse gases as fast as we can."

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Those unvaccinated against Covid-19 aren't just risking their own health -- they're also jeopardizing medical care for others and fueling a surge that's forcing more students to quarantine, doctors say.

Covid-19 hospitalizations have doubled over the past three weeks, with 83,693 people hospitalized this week, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

No ICU beds are left in the entire state of Alabama, the Alabama Hospital Association told CNN on Tuesday.

"We in fact are in a negative 11," Dr. Don Williamson, president of the association, told CNN affiliate WSFA. "In the Montgomery area we have eight more patients who are getting ICU care than we have designated ICU beds here. In other parts of the state, we have over 30 patients in hospitals, needing ICU care, who are not in a designated ICU bed."

Alabama has 1,557 staffed intensive care unit beds and on Tuesday, there were 1,568 patients in need of ICU care, Williamson said. The Alabama Department of Public Health said 2,631 people are hospitalized with Covid-19 complications.

In Tennessee, "We are prepared to deploy additional medical personnel from the Tennessee National Guard to our hospitals in greatest need of assistance," the state health department wrote in a letter Monday.

In Kentucky, hospitals are starting to cancel or postpone surgeries that would require post-operative admission to the hospital, state Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said.

"ICU and ventilator data -- it is a vertical climb," Stack said Tuesday. "There's no sign it is abating. We are already just shy of our all-time record. Another day or two, we'll be past that record for ICUs."

Thousands more students are forced to stay home

More than 3,000 students and employees have been quarantined in the New Orleans Public School District due to Covid-19 cases in the past week, according to the district's latest tally.

That represents 5.89% of all students and teachers in the school district.

In Florida, 5,599 students and 316 employees in Hillsborough County Public Schools, which includes Tampa, were in isolation or quarantine as of Monday morning because of Covid-19 cases, according to the school district.

The Hillsborough County School Board said it will have an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss Covid-19 mitigation strategies -- which may include "mandatory face coverings for all students and staff."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' office has said the state could withhold salaries of officials who impose mask mandates in schools.

But most Americans -- 69% -- support local school districts requiring everyone to wear masks when inside schools, according to Axios-Ipsos poll results published Tuesday.

A majority, 77%, oppose state governments withholding funding from school districts or local governments that implement mask mandates.

The poll, which was conducted August 13 to 16 and made up of a nationally representative sample of 1,041 US adults, also found that 64% of Americans support state and local governments requiring masks in all public places.

Booster shots might be available in the coming months

Fully vaccinated people might be able to get more protection against Covid-19 in the form of a booster shot in the coming months.

On Monday, Pfizer and BioNTech said they submitted initial data to the US Food and Drug Administration to support the use of a booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The dose elicited a significantly higher antibody response against the initial strain of coronavirus and the Delta and Beta variants compared to what was seen among people who got two doses, they said.

The booster dose seemed to be equally protective against the Delta and Beta variants as against the original strain of novel coronavirus.

But "that's actually ... not answering the key question we have remaining right now," CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen said. "The key question is: How quickly does immunity wane after the first two doses?"

With the more transmissible Delta variant spreading, top officials in the Biden administration are coming to an agreement that most Americans should get a booster shot eight months after being fully vaccinated, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

The Biden administration's plan, which is still being developed, would involve administering third shots beginning in mid- to late September, one source told CNN, pending authorization from the FDA.

Because health care workers and nursing home patients were first to receive their shots, the administration expects they'll be first to receive boosters as well.

Last week, the FDA authorized third doses for some people who are immunocompromised. The CDC almost immediately recommended giving those doses.

White House expected to share first US data on waning immunity

President Joe Biden plans to speak Wednesday about Covid-19 vaccine booster shots, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

Top health officials in the Biden administration are coalescing around an agreement that most Americans should get Covid-19 booster shots eight months after becoming fully vaccinated, two sources familiar with the discussions told CNN's Kaitlan Collins.

Wednesday's planned announcement of a Covid-19 booster shot plan for the general population will include details on the first data on waning immunity among the vaccinated inside the United States, a senior federal health official tells CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Officials have previously said they were closely monitoring such data from Israel and Europe, but had not yet seen evidence from the US supporting the need for a booster. That is expected to change in Wednesday's briefing.

The US is 'flying blind' on the full extent of Covid-19 and kids

Doctors say one way to help students stay in classrooms is to have students -- particularly those who are not vaccinated -- wear masks in school, health experts say.

"It shouldn't be for months. It shouldn't be forever. But right now, when people are coming back in, masking is a reasonable public health step," said Dr. Brett Giroir, former assistant secretary for health in the Trump administration.

"I support it and encourage parents to encourage their children to do it."

During this Delta variant surge, Covid-19 hospitalizations have soared among children. But the total number of severe pediatric cases is unknown.

"Only 23 states and New York City actually report the number of children in hospitals," said Giroir, a pediatrician. He said Texas and Florida are among the states where the total number of child Covid-19 hospitalizations are unknown.

"Talking about flying blind, relative to children," Giroir said. "We need better data, and that's got to be the basis for action."

Giroir said it's important to remember the risk of long Covid for some who get Covid-19 -- "meaning for months they'll be in pain, they'll be fatigued, they'll have brain fog, because their memory centers in their brain shrink."

Because Covid-19 vaccination is available only for Americans 12 and older, face masks play a key role in helping children avoid the Delta variant -- and keeping students in school instead of quarantine, Wen said.

If students are going to be in a room before they can all be vaccinated, it is crucial to have proper testing, ventilation and masking, Wen said.

"Why wouldn't we want every single tool at our disposal to help to keep our children safe at this point?" she said.

'The Delta variant ... is because of unvaccinated reservoirs'

About 50.9% of Americans have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That leaves plenty of chances for the highly contagious Delta variant to spread, send more people to hospitals and prevent more students from learning in classrooms.

"The Delta variant that we're dealing with is because of unvaccinated reservoirs," said Dr. Chris T. Pernell, fellow at the American College of Preventive Medicine.

"When we have a significant portion of the population (unvaccinated) ... the virus runs amok. It has free course to mutate and to try to get ahead of the interventions and immune system."

Hospitals feeling the weight of the increase

Thirty-seven states are seeing a surge in the average number of new cases compared to the week before, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And the impact can be seen in strained health care systems.

Cases in Mississippi have continued to rise, with the latest data from the state department of health showing 7,839 new cases and 52 new deaths in the three days to August 15.

In response to the record number of Covid-19 hospitalizations, the University of Mississippi Medical Center said a second field hospital is being constructed in one of its parking garages.

The field hospital will have critical care capacity and care for up to 32 patients at a time, the medical center said.

In Texas, following a review of the rise in fatalities, the Department of State Health Services submitted a request for five mortuary trailers as "a normal part of preparedness to have these available to support local jurisdictions in case they need them," DSHS Press Officer Douglas Loveday said.

Like the governor of Florida, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order banning school districts from requiring masks.

Texas and Florida lead the nation in pediatric hospitalizations.

As of Monday, 239 Texas children were hospitalized with Covid-19, according to HHS data. Florida had 170 children hospitalized with Covid-19.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed which state had 170 pediatric Covid-19 hospitalizations. As of Monday, Florida had 170 children hospitalized with Covid-19.

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MT. SHASTA, Cal. -- A series of mud and debris flows have been closing roads and trails around Mt. Shasta in recent weeks. The cause of these debris flows is high up on the mountain, its seven melting glaciers.

These debris flows are known also as lahars. I think every major drainage at this point on the north and east sides of Mt. Shasta has experienced some kind of flooding, hyper-concentrated flow or a debris flow or a mud flow this year, says Tyanna Blaschak. She is a hydrologist with the Shasta-Trinity Forest Service and says these flows are due to the melting of Mt. Shasta's glaciers from a lack of insulating snowpack and the heat this summer. "What will often happen is we'll get a debris dam or something like that kind of backed up behind an area where the glacier is melting, and you get some ponding and pooling and what happens at a certain point is that debris dam is going to release that water," says Blaschak. As that water comes down the mountain it has so much mud and sediment in it that it really isn't like water anymore. The flow is able to easily pick up big boulders, logs and other debris making it a threat to people on the mountain. It is concerning and we justonce things kind of became active this summer, we've just had these continuous like surges coming through on sometimes a daily basis," says Blaschak.

Nick Meyers is the lead climbing ranger on Mt. Shasta and says you can actually hear the debris flows rumbling down the mountain. "We had the chance first hand to see a flow come down, a little pulse to come down on Whitney Creek. We thought it was a jet at first and realized it was the rocks tumbling down the drainage." He says these debris flows have been larger and more frequent this summer than normal, explaining "main impact has been on roads. A number of forest roads have been completely taken out and are impassable by vehicles." Meyers warns, if you're parked next to one of the drainages or walking along it just being mindful of your location and what could happen if a big flow did come down."

The flows have not crossed over Highway 97 yet near the Whitney Creek drainage but the forest service is concerned with more heat and also thunderstorms in the forecast.

"Further mud flows are certainly possible. If we continue to see what we have been seeing, most of the mudflows have been small to medium in size, but if a big one were to come down, obviously it could do more damage to roads and trails and highways, says Meyers. Thunderstorms with their heavy rainfall can greatly increase the chances for mud and debris flows. "Anytime we get a rain event, you know situated over the mountain. That definitely exacerbates things and can essentially lubricate everything up there and can cause another mud flow."

These debris flows can be very powerful and can even be picked up by the USGS seismic network on Mt. Shasta. The U.S. Forest Service is working with the USGS to verify these debris flow signals on the seismic network. Scientists and forest officials hope to use the seismic data to better understand these debris flows and hopefully develop an early warning system for people on the mountain. In the meantime, the exact timing of these flows can be hard to predict so the rangers with the Shasta-Trinity Forest Service recommends that if you're spending time on the mountain, be aware of your surroundings. If you hear the rumbling, quickly get to higher ground.

Mt. Shasta is home to seven glaciers and are the largest in the state of California. A study back in 2008 showed that these glaciers were actually growing, overcoming warming average temperatures. This was due to increased snowfall thanks to a warmer Pacific Ocean providing more moisture on the mountain in the form of snow.

But now scientists say this period of growing has ended. "Since then it's actually been shrinking both in terms of migrating further up the mountain and in terms of volume as well, says hydrologist Tyanna Blaschak. Lead climbing ranger Nick Meyers agrees, the glaciers are definitely shrinking, and that statement is simply from just a basic photo comparison." Blaschak says weve has successive years on Mt. Shasta where we havent gotten the snowpack that weve needed to protect and insulate the glaciers during the summer. The window has gotten shorter and shorter, and we've had fewer and fewer storms within that window."

"Right now just about the entire south and west side of the mountain is totally bare and free of snow. Ive worked here 20 years. My mother-in-law has grown up here her whole life and she said she's never seen it this bare, says Meyers.

This extreme lack of snow has lead to more melting of the glaciers this summer and recent debris flows and lahars. With more future melting of the glaciers, more of these flows are likely along with impacts to hiking, fishing and groundwater. "Ground water is really important to the upper Sacramento River , including the McCloud River and the Shasta River which feeds into the Klamath River, says Blaschak.

The Shasta-Trinity U.S. Forest Service says we need to see some healthy winters with a healthy snowpack to grow the glaciers, but it also needs to happen year over year. "We're kind of just maintaining at this point based on what Ive seen over the last two decades," says Meyers. Blaschak explains, "if we keep seeing conditions like this, if we keep having further years where we have drought more often than not, more stretches of long periods of hot weather, just everything is more intense. These are all things that will continue to put pressure on the glaciers on Mt. Shasta."
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On April 5, 2021, the federal government mandated that health care providers provide free electronic access to patients clinical notes, as part of the 21st Century Cures Act. This includes 8 types of notes spanning outpatient and inpatient arenas. If providers/organizations do not comply with this mandate, they will be subject to fines due to information blocking.

This was borne from the OpenNotes movement  which declares itself to promote and study transparent communication in health care by sharing notes with clinicians and patients. They hypothesize that with increased patient access to notes  quality and safety of care will improve. They suggest patients reading their own notes will add a second set of eyes. But is that the way we want to shape health care? How did we get to a point where patients are now the targeted audience of clinical notes?

The first signs of a modern medical record started in the early 19th century in Paris and Berlin. These written records involved recording disease states and remedies primarily for advancing the treatments in medicine. It became clear to practitioners that keeping a record improved medical advances as well as patient outcomes. At this point, the record was kept by and for clinicians for the purpose of providing improved care.

Fast forward to the late 19th century  the delivery of health care changed. With the creation of Medicare and Medicaid came a dramatic increase in health care spending. Various regulatory departments (utilization, coding, quality, etc.) were thus created to address these rising costs. The medical note, which was now shifting to become electronic, was a targeted way to track these changes. For example, utilization is a department that is born out of rising medical costs. This department was tasked with looking at how health care utilizes services. Providers would need to document the justification of why a patient needed a certain test like an MRI instead of an X-ray, a medication when others were available, a hospital stay instead of an outpatient visit, etc. These new requirements of documentation caused the medical note to shift once more. Now kept by physicians not only to provide care but to track the effectiveness, utility, and quality of care provided.

Now  we are shifting the purpose and audience of the medical note even further. Notes have already become an increasing point of contention and cause of burnout for physicians. Less time is spent with patients, and more and more spent next to a computer. If patients now have open access to all notes, how will this change the content and purpose of the medical note even further?

I have watched my organization send out information about how to comply with this new policy. Providers have been educated on this change and told that it should not change the workflow or content of a note. But is that realistic? I had a patient come in for weight loss recently and considered cancer as a differential. But I found myself hesitant to write this in a note that my already anxious patient could immediately see. I considered this could be due to a thyroid condition rather than malignancy, but I was trained to consider every possible differential. The differential and the medical note is a large portion of the art of practicing medicine. There is immense value in it. This point was ingrained in me throughout my medical training.

If OpenNotes does, in fact, lead to a change in the way physicians document, what could be the downstream effects? The quality of care may suffer. Some providers may choose not to include information they feel the patient may perceive in a negative light. This may be to persevere the doctor-patient relationship or to avoid negative patient satisfaction  which doctors are already tracked on. Some may be hesitant to include information they normally include to convey to other treating providers. For example  a patient with suspected drug-seeking tendencies or family members suspected of secondary gain? Within OpenNotes regulations, exceptions are noted for psychiatric notes, and notes that the physician believes are likely to cause harm to the patient. What constitutes harm seems unclear, and if providers do not comply with this rule, they will be subject to fines due to information blocking.

Ultimately, if we devalue the documentation aspect of patient care well then, patient care will suffer. While I understand the need for health care transparency and the possible benefits of increased coordination and health care literacy  I cant help but feel the pitfalls have not been properly addressed. With each change in health care, it is difficult to truly anticipate the downstream effects it causes to the industry. Time and time again, we have put forth further regulations from outside bodies to improve care that have led to anything but. Now in a predictable fashion, health care providers must comply with further regulations dictating the way in which they provide care  and who can be surprised.

Sneha Tella is an internal medicine physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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As a parent who also happens to be a hospital-based pediatrician, lots of people have asked me my opinion on back to school and/or daycare.

I am sharing my thoughts. Im only one person. These are just my thoughts. Feel free to take what is helpful to you and trash the rest. It wont hurt my feelings.

I think its important to frame this conversation by stating loudly and clearly that there is no perfect decision. Every decision we make every single day has risks and benefits. Every choice in parenting is a complex calculation of variables. What seems obvious to one person may not be so clear to another. I witness many different approaches to parenting through my work as a pediatrician. While I believe there are boundaries around what is acceptable parenting behavior, for the most part, most things people choose for their children fall within what I categorize as probably fine.

Because I know in my heart that most things are probably fine, as a parent, I try my best to really focus on what is best for my family and me and not compare or judge.

As a pediatrician, I will always share the evidence and best practices, but I understand that people have to make their own decisions with that information. Everyone is doing the best that they can with the information that they have.

And so I think it is important to add here that because we are all here in this circus trying our best, there is never any reason to feel guilty. Guilt is pretty much the most useless feeling that exists. Feeling guilty doesnt make us better people, so I dont waste my energy feeling it, I recommend no one waste their energy there. Literally, no one has time for that.

With that being said, how do we decide to send out kids back to school or daycare during a pandemic, while kids under 12 are still unable to get vaccinated, and our leaders are making all kinds of decisions that may or may not have kids health and safety as a priority.

As a pediatrician, I learned a long time ago to trust a parents instinct. I cannot count the number of times a parent has said to me, Im not sure; something just doesnt feel right, and that was the first clue leading to a diagnosis.

As a parent, I sometimes have to remind myself to trust myself. There is so much value in trusting ourselves. Ive found instincts are a grounding place to start from.

For me, my instincts tell me that my kids benefit tremendously from being in school. I will not get into all of the reasons why, because frankly, they do not matter for any other family.

So once I have that established, there are pros and cons and evidence to weigh. And a solid reminder that there is no perfect decision. Here is my thought process.

Is there a risk of kids getting sick in school? Absolutely.

Daycare and school have always been full of germs. RSV, hand foot and mouth, gastroenteritis, rhinovirus, etc. have been around forever. These are illnesses that have circulated through our home many times in the last 3.5 years. And yes, we are seeing more of them this summer than we normally do.

Can kids get very sick with these illnesses? Yes.

Can kids have serious complications? Yes.

Can kids die? Yes.

I see bad things happen to kids every single day. I see the worst-case scenario over and over again. Over the years, I have seen complications with common illnesses that I didnt even know were possible. I am constantly running worst-case scenarios in my head for my own kids.

But as a hospital-based pediatrician, I often remind myself that I do not see the vast majority of kids who get sick and recover at home just fine.

The risk of getting hospitalized from RSV (or other common viruses) has always been there. We see surges of these viruses all the time. Usually during the winter and some years worse than others, but this is something we have dealt with many many times before.

When it comes to these illnesses, the vast majority of the time, there is nothing parents could have done differently. I find myself telling parents all the time, There is nothing you could have done differently to prevent this. There is nothing you did wrong. Its mostly just bad luck.

What about COVID?

I dont have any easy answers for what it means to have COVID thrown in the mix. The delta variant does seem to be impacting kids at a higher rate than plain ol 2020-style COVID.

There are plenty of articles that talk about numbers and risks and hospital beds. This is not one of those articles.

Is there a chance kids will catch COVID at school?

Absolutely.

But we also know a lot more now than we did 18 months ago. We have some tools on our side, and there are things we can control.

Here are some of those things:

Masks. There is evidence they work. No one loves wearing masks around, but kids and adults are fully capable of rising to the occasion. My very opinionated three-year-old wears one all day at school. I wore one while in labor and delivered a freaking baby.

Kids are so much more capable than adults give them credit for. Ive been so impressed by their understanding of the importance of masks and their ability to wear them without complaint. I believe there is significant benefit and no risk to kids wearing masks in schools.

Vaccination. I got myself vaccinated the first day it was available to me. All of the adults in our immediate families got the vaccine as soon as they were able to. Because most kids seem not to get super sick, we have always been most worried about our kids catching COVID and spreading it to a high-risk loved one. Now that all of our high-risk loved ones are vaccinated, we feel a little less concerned about this. Vaccinated people can still catch COVID but are less likely to get super sick or to die.

I will be first in line with my kids the day they are eligible.

Everything I have read clearly indicates the vaccine is safe, and there is significant benefit not only to the individuals being vaccinated but our entire communities. For me, this is an easy decision, and Im counting the days until the two youngest members of my house can be protected in this way.

Stay home when sick: Any cough/cold/congestion/fever/allergy can be COVID. Staying home and away from others and getting tested goes a long way to preventing the spread, even when its disappointing. Even when its inconvenient, I think its the right thing to do.

Ultimately, we have decided to send our kids to school/daycare for now. Could that change? Of course. In all parenting decisions, I reserve the right to change my mind at any time. I know not everyone agrees with the decision, but right now, it is the right one for us.

The author is an anonymous physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
EUGENE, Ore.-- Many hospitals across the state are seeing an influx of COVID-19 patients right now.

RELATED: EXHAUSTED HOSPITAL WORKERS FACE OVERFLOWING EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS

Some of the nurses said who are often working long hours and at times under-appreciated.

KEZI spoke to Caitlyn Mccarron-- an ICU nurse at Samaritan Albany General Hospital, who said it's scary behind hospital doors.

She said they are using all the resources they possibly can, but it's painful to watch patients suffering.

"It's exhausting, it's frustrating--it's every kind of emotion that you can sum up into one--there's no word for it," Mccarron said. "It's taxing. We are already maxing our nurses out on their hours and our other health care workers, and it's just hard. When is the end?"

Mccarron said one of the hardest parts is seeing these patients so sick and isolated and not even giving them a single facial expression of compassion because everyone is garmented up.

Nurses said it's getting to the point where they can't help everyone.

MORE: COVID-19 PATIENT DIES WAITING FOR HOSPITAL BED TO OPEN UP IN ROSEBURG

With the overwhelming majority of patients in ICU beds being unvaccinated, nurse Mccarron urges everyone right now to get their shot.

Mccarron said the hospital staff is going through their rotations so quickly that they don't even have a chance to fill their cup back up.

The Oregon Health Authority modeling suggests there will be bigger increases in daily cases and hospitalizations through September 7.

In fact, researchers believe that the daily cases will increase to more than 5,000 per day and 300 new hospitalizations a day starting this coming Wednesday.

They said getting vaccinated as soon as possible can prevent the situation from getting worse.

KEZI heard from one local doctor who said if you want to feel safeget your shot.

He said in part, "I am holding up just fine. These last weeks have been busier than usual, but I feel safebecause I am vaccinated and because my hospital has done a great job providing Personal Protective Equipment."

Overall, ICU beds are filling up quickly. Oregon Health Authority is tracking the number of ICU beds available in each region of the state.

Four ICU beds available in region three right now, which includes Lane, Douglas, and Coos counties. In region two, which includes Linn and Benton counties--there are only seven beds available.
The public consultation on the draft interventions proposed for the 2023-2027 CAP Strategic Plan is being extended by one week and Fine Gael TD John Paul Phelan is encouraging farmers in Carlow and Kilkenny to have their say.

Deputy Phelan said: Farmers now have until Friday 3rd September to make submissions under the consultation process for the 2023-2027 CAP Strategic Plan. The previous deadline was 27th August, but it has now been extended by one week by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue.

It is important that all farmers in Carlow and Kilkenny have their say in what is such a crucial consultation on the future of farming in this country.

With the impact of Brexit and the ongoing work on climate mitigation, this will be the most important CAP in living memory.

The Government launched this consultation at the end of July and there have been a series of public meetings on it. However, we want to ensure that every farmer can have their say on how best to achieve the economic, environmental and social objectives of the CAP.

I am encouraging Kilkenny and Carlow farmers to make their views known. They can send a written submission marked Draft interventions for CAP Strategic Plan to CAPStrategicPlan@agriculture. gov.ie or by post to CAP Rural Development Division, Agriculture House, Kildare Street, Dublin, D02 WK12,  concluded. Deputy Phelan.

Minister McConalogue also confirmed there will be a further widescale consultation process later in the year before the final CAP programme is sent to the European Commission for scrutiny no later than 1st January 2022.
ALBERT LEA, Minn.  Stealing from a vacant home is sending a Freeborn County man to prison.

Keng Hang, 31 of Albert Lea, has been sentenced to two years behind bars, with credit for 430 days already served, for pleading guilty to third-degree burglary.

Hang was arrested in June 2020 and charged with of second-degree burglary and third-degree possession of methamphetamine. He was accused of illegally entering a vacant home on Stevens Street in Albert Lea and stealing many personal items, including checkbooks, clothing, and jewelry.

Albert Lea police say the burglary was discovered when luggage was found at Motel 6 containing the stolen property. Hang was identified as a person seen with the luggage, which was also found to hold 10.7 grams of meth.
MASON CITY, Iowa  A stolen ATV means jail time and a fine for a northwest Iowa man,

Brian Delmar Peterson, 40 of Knierim, has pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle without owners consent and possession of methamphetamine-1st offense.

Peterson was arrested January 11 in Mason City and law enforcement said he had possession of a 2014 ArticCat ATV that had been reported stolen out of Hamilton County in 2019. Investigators say Peterson also had methamphetamine in his possession.

Hes been sentenced to two days in jail and fined $430.
MASON CITY, Iowa  A man accused of trying to buy his way out of an arrest is pleading not guilty.

Michael Patrick Reich, 34 of Manly, is facing one felony count of bribery.

Law enforcement says Reich was in custody for another offense when he allegedly offered an officer $500 to let him go.

His trial is scheduled to start on September 28.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa  A member of the Sons of Silence Motorcycle Club is going to federal prison.

Justin Carlson, 38 of Sheffield, has been sentenced to 10 months behind bars after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Authorities say Carlson, other Sons of Silence members, and another affiliated group confronted a motorcyclist on April 5, 2020. Prosecutors say the group told the motorcyclist, an off-duty police officer, he needed permission to wear one of the patches on the motorcyclists jacket. The incident led to a search of Carlsons home, where law enforcement said it found Carlsons Sons of Silence motorcycle vest, which had brass knuckles in the pocket, numerous items of Sons of Silence paraphernalia, and two firearms.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force, Clarion Police Department, Franklin County Sheriffs Office, Waverly Police Department, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Algona Police Department, and the Wright County Sheriffs Department.

After getting out of prison, Carlson will spend two-years on supervised release.
CLEAR LAKE, Iowa  Investigators say theyve identified the sunken car pulled out of Clear Lake on August 9.

The 1982 Oldsmobile Firenza with Cerro Gordo County license plates was raised from the water and found empty except for some ice fishing equipment. The Cerro Gordo County Sheriffs Office says an investigation found the car had been reported stolen to the Mason City Police Department in February 1996.

The owner said the car had been stolen from a parking lot in Mason City while the owner was inside a business. The owner says the Firenza had been left unlocked and running when it disappeared. The Sheriffs Office says the car may have been submerged in Clear Lake for several years.

An investigation is continuing but no criminal charges are expected.
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.  The Board of Directors of Winnebago Industries has approved the official move of the companys corporate headquarters from Forest City, Iowa to Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

The executive offices of Winnebago Industries have been in Minnesota since 2016 but this will shift the corporate HQ address on December 1. The company says there is no planned loss of jobs as a result of this transition and no physical implication on any manufacturing assets.

Winnebago Industries has transformed into a broad outdoor lifestyle company with a premium portfolio of brands and products, says President and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Happe. Over the past several years, through strategic growth investments, we have expanded our companys footprint to now include locations in Iowa, Indiana, Florida and Minnesota. Our Twin Cities location has been and will continue to be an effective resource for executing our vision as a premier outdoor recreation enterprise, as it supports the growth of all of our strong brands. We are genuinely proud of our historical roots in Forest City and the incredible contributions of all our past and current Iowa employees to the companys success through the years.

Winnebago Industries says it will remain strongly rooted in North Iowa, location of the manufacturing hub of Winnebago motorhome and specialty vehicles products, and plan to add North Iowa employees to meet increased demand for RV products. The company says it is working on major infrastructure and economic investments to support employees, training, and job growth at its North Iowa campuses including:

 Providing multi-year support totaling $500,000 to the John V. Hanson Career Center, an initiative to provide students with educational opportunities and skills in high-demand areas including advanced manufacturing.

 Initiating a hiring campaign to meet increased demand in Winnebago RVs and the need to add additional new team members in North Iowa over the next year.

 Implementing facility improvements and expanding motorhome manufacturing capacity

North Iowa has been home to Winnebago Industries for 63 years and it will remain a critical community for current operations and future growth, says Huw Bower President, Winnebago Outdoors. We are committed to supporting North Iowa and being active contributors to the community as we strive to further develop our storied Winnebago brand by driving it to new heights through a relentless focus on quality, service, and innovation.

Winnebago Industries also announced Wednesday its quarterly cash dividend would go up 50% to 18 cents a share, marking the 29th straight quarter the company has paid out a cash dividend to common stockholders.


US, allies strengthen confrontation against China, Russia, NK



By Nam Hyun-woo



The deepening tension between the United States and China has shed new light on the geographical and strategic importance of Korea, as each of them stage military drills with their allies in and around the Korean Peninsula.



According to Russia's Interfax news agency, the country's Ministry of Defense said two Tupolev Tu-95 MS strategic bombers conducted a nine-hour routine flight over the East Sea, the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, on Tuesday.



The agency reported the bombers were escorted by Sukhoi Su-35 fighters, but did not elaborate on the route. And it was unknown whether South Korean fighter jets were scrambled in response to the flight.



The movement came amid the strengthening military ties between Russia and China. The two countries held large-scale joint military exercises in China's north-central Ningxia region last week, involving more than 10,000 ground troops and air forces. It was the first case of the Russian military conducting exercises in Chinese territory.



The pair's strengthening military ties are interpreted as a countermeasure against military exercises by the U.S. and its allies, including the ongoing combined military exercises between Seoul and Washington.



"The Russian bombers' flight, which came amid the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise, can be interpreted as a signal that the tension is intensifying a bloc of the U.S. and its allies and another bloc comprised of China, Russia and North Korea," said Choi Kang, acting president of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.



"The U.S. and its allies are confronting the bloc of China, Russia and North Korea in terms of economic, political and diplomatic issues, and it remains to be watched whether this dynamic will be realized in concrete military actions."



The South Korean military and the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) began their combined military exercises on Aug. 16. Dubbed 21-2 Combined Command Post Training, the annual exercise will last until Aug. 26, with most of the activity taking place in computer simulation.



South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the exercise is "regular and defensive training, which does not pose a threat to a certain country." But it is widely accepted as a rhetorical description, given the content of the exercise.



According to sources, the exercise is comprised of two parts. The first part is focused on defense, while the second part is aimed at practicing counterattack scenarios, which include operations on advancing troops to northward.



Due to this, North Korea as well as China have been making sensitive responses against the drills. And this year the exercises are gaining greater attention due to the rising tensions between the U.S. and China.





The HMS Artful, a nuclear-powered fleet submarine of the British Royal Navy's HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, is docked at a naval base in Busan, Aug. 12. The submarine entered the country ahead of a port call by the 64,000-ton aircraft carrier, reportedly set for the end of the month. Yonhap
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Ballyfermot College of Further Education (BCFE) offers fantastic courses which lead directly to employment, or which are the foundation for further study and creative development in BCFE or in other further or higher education colleges.

BCFE is a creative, innovative and student-centred college. All courses are open to Leaving Certificate students and to mature applicants.

From animation, media, film, art and music, to social care, business, and travel and tourism, BCFE offers a wide range of top-class one and two-year, Level 5 and 6 programmes.

In addition, BCFE has three top-up degree programmes in Media Production, Animation and Computer Games.

Cecilia Munro, Principal of BCFE, says, BCFE has an excellent reputation of providing quality first choice courses, which prepare students for employment, or further or higher education progression within their chosen career area. Students are educated and trained by highly qualified staff who have relevant industry experience.

Class sizes are small and students are supported through their educational journey in BCFE with specific guidance, learning, pastoral care and ICT supports. Graduates of BCFE are highly sought after by employers both nationally and internationally. Students attending BCFE can uniquely avail of courses from Level 4 to Level 8, all of which are fully quality assured and recognised on the National Framework of Qualifications.

This year BCFE will be offering a choice of one of four Traineeships programmes which are open to all students even those who have just completed their Leaving Certificate of those who are seeking to upskill and retrain.

These Traineeship programmes, containing 14 weeks work placement, are specifically created with employer needs in mind and are focused on gaining employment. BCFE sources the work placement and trainees are supported during this period so that they will succeed and impress BCFEs sponsoring employers.

BCFE is offering the following Traineeships:

l Accountancy /Payroll Pathway Level 6 in conjunction with ACCA

l Creative Media for Production (Visual Effects/Animation/Video Production) Level 5

l Irish Traditional Music Performance, Instrument making, repair and maintenance Diploma (HND) Level 6 higher

l Logistics and Distribution Level 6

Visit www.bcfe.ie
BEECH Lodge Care Facility in Bruree is located close to the county bounds and confidence is sky high on both sides of the border.

Ann Ryan, Bruff, and Margaret Cusack, both residents, are sure of wins for Limerick but Charlevilles Julie Biggane, a health care assistant, is backing Cork all the way.

Cork will win, of course! said Julie.

I have supported the team for 40 years. My favourite memories include watching the OMahony boys play hurling. It was great stuff, adds Julie, whose favourite current players are Patrick Horgan and Charlevilles own Darragh Fitzgibbon.

But Ann, from Bruff, and Margaret, Croom, are having none of this Cork cocksureness.

Limerick will definitely win the All-Ireland this year! I have been supporting Limerick all my life and I have many fantastic memories of the team. Ciaran Carey comes to mind with that brilliant winning point scored at the Gaelic Grounds against Clare in 1996. I was privileged to be one of the many fans there that day, said Ann.

She describes the end of a 45 year wait for Liam MacCarthy in 2018 as a fantastic year.

We may not have got to the final in 2019 but they were still brilliant. Another All-Ireland in 2020 - two in three years - its looking good for 2021! Their skill and determination is just second to none. They are all just super!, said Ann, who wished her local clubman, Sean Finn, and all the Limerick team the very best.

Margaret casually dismisses the question of who will triumph at Croke Park.

Limerick will win the All-Ireland, of course, need you ask! Forever and always, through thick and thin I have supported Limerick. One particular memory that comes to mind is the 1973 win. I was just 14 and have many marvelous memories of that day.

Eamonn Grimes, a super-hero, is one of my all-time favourite players. Luimneach Abu! said Margaret.
THEIR feet will tread the small roads around Shanagolden, Ardagh and Loughill or the streets of Belfast but in their minds eye, they will be travelling through two continents and eight countries to reach Johannesburg in South Africa.

And with every step they take, they will carry in their hearts the memory of Sr Bridget, sister, aunt and friend of the needy.

Sr Bridget Ambrose from Shanagolden died on June 23 but family members, are now undertaking their very own African Odyssey to help raise money for the outreach centre that was at the heart of her work in South Africa.

The walkers, some 30 or so of them, will walk a total of 11,553km or 7179 miles and, as of last weekend, they have already touched down on African soil, according to Sr Bridgets niece, Katie Liston, who is keeping tabs on everybodys distances. And they hope to reach Johannesburg by Christmas.

She was passionate about those whom she met through her outreach work at Nazareth House Johannesburg, Katie said of her aunt. This work involved support for disadvantaged children, women and families affected by HIV transmission and domestic violence as well as pastoral support.

Called Mama Mosa (kind, graceful mother) by the children, Sr Bridget continued with her outreach work right through the pandemic. Just days before she died, she was once again filling up her little blue car with food and clothes to bring to people in need in Yeoville. But she contracted Covid-19 and died in hospital.

Who will tell the people of Yeoville Sr Bridget is dead? was the response of a policeman who cried when told of her death.

She died in the service of her community and, even though it has been immensely sad for her siblings not to be able to be with her in her sickness, they have taken great solace from the messages they have received, Katie continued.

Her loss is felt deeply by family and friends in Ireland but especially by those in South Africa whose lives were touched by her generosity and lifelong commitment, and whose loss is impossible to quantify.

Born the eldest of 12 in Ballycormack Shanagolden, and known to her family as Biddy, Sr Bridget joined the Order of Nazareth sisters at a very young age and trained as a nurse. In 1965, just months before her mother died, Sr Bridget was sent by her order to South Africa, and worked in various cities and townships until the very end.

She worked up to the end, her sister in life and in religion, Sr Mary said this week. Both she and another sister, Nora, also a member of the Order of Nazareth described Bridget as a very able, efficient and down-to-earth person who loved coming home to Ireland and kept up contact with her large, extended family.

That family is now once again rallying to Bridgets aid by organising their Walk to Joburg in her memory.

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THE Mayor of the City and County of Limerick has led the tributes to the Limerick hurlers who have successfully retained their All-Ireland title with a pulsating win over Cork in Croke Park.

It is the first time in the history of Limerick hurling that they have won back-to-back titles and it is their third crown in four years.

Commenting following the victory Mayor Daniel Butler said: "This is a tremendous win for the team. Huge congratulations must go to each and every one of the team, the panel, the management team and backroom staff, who have dedicated themselves to Limerick retaining the Liam MacCarthy Cup."

He said this win "fills all Limerick people with such a great sense of pride".

"The players are a credit to their families, friends, communities and to the green jersey of Limerick.

"Credit must also go to Cork who provided us with a competitive test, but luckily for us, we were the stronger team today."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Limerick Leader (@limerickleader)

Mayor Butler said these players are role models for the next generation, "who see that your hard work, skill, determination and a healthy mind-set are the ways to achieve success".

"You have done Limerick proud. I would like to thank them for this amazing All-Ireland journey, as we welcome Liam MacCarthy back home.

"Unfortunately we are not in a position to host an official homecoming for the victorious team due to Covid-19 restrictions.

"Discussions took place with Limerick City and County Council, Limerick GAA, HSE Public Health Mid-West and An Garda Siochana about plans for after the match, but it is not permitted to have any large scale public events.

"Irrespective of having a homecoming or not, all the supporters have left the team in no doubt how happy and proud we are of their achievements and of how much we respect them.

"I would also urge all Limerick supporters to celebrate this magnificent win in a safe manner and continue to follow the guidelines around Covid-19.

"Luimneach Abu!"

And now they will believe...



Limerick are a great hurling team!

Big yes, physical yes but most importantly masters of the hurling craft and as skillful a hurling team ever.#LLSport #Limerick #GAA  Jerome O'Connell (@JeromeSport) August 22, 2021

Limerick is so proud of our hurlers! Huge congratulations must go to each and every one of the team, the panel, the management team and backroom staff #LuimneachAbu @LimerickCLG



Photo credit: @sportsfile pic.twitter.com/Y97wu5YtSp  Limerick.ie (@Limerick_ie) August 22, 2021
LIMERICK will have heroes on the pitch and in the stand in Croke Park this Sunday afternoon.

The bravery shown by our hurlers is more than matched by young Daithi Lawless, from Cush, Martinstown.

In April 2020, Daithi was involved in a road traffic accident outside his home while riding his bicycle, said Jack O'Shea, who chaired the Rise4Daithi fundraising group, formed exactly a year ago.

"Suffering horrific injuries, he was airlifted to Cork University Hospital and from there he was transferred to Dublin,

"The outlook was not good and the family, while distraught had to come to terms with a bleak outlook as surgeries were required with an unknown outcome at the end of them and with neurological uncertainties. It was the most testing and stressful of times for Daithi, his family and the community," said Jack.

The last thing on their minds was going to matches but Daithi will be in Dublin this afternoon to cheer on his beloved Limerick with brothers Liam and Anthony and parents Antoinette and Liam.

Last year, Limerick hurlers and management gave a kit bag to Daithi. Inside was a signed jersey and card by all the players; Declan Hannons socks and togs; sliothars and grips from Aaron Gillane Sports; GAA books; mugs; water bottles and more.

A year on from the formation of Rise4Daithi, Jack said they wanted to once again sincerely thank everyone for their generosity throughout and continued support for Daithi and his family.

"Defying the odds became the resolve of Daithi and to this day, he is holding to that philosophy. As it became a little more clear that we had a true warrior and fighter in our midst, attention drew to the uncertain future and challenges that Daithi and his family would face. For this reason, Rise4Daithi was formed to try and raise funds to aid the family in such a distressing time," said Jack.

He said 16 months ago, a familys world was turned upside down.

"There was little hope and no light at the end of an endless tunnel. Its a nightmare scenario that no family would ever want to visit their door. The tragic event brought a close family even closer, and a community wrapped itself around them akin to a butterflys cocoon transformation.

"Were now seeing the emergence from the cocoon and the once bubbly, lively, roguish 10-year-old boy is emerging as a more determined, limitless, bubbly, lively, extra roguish young man and that was made possible by the local and wider community showing what they do best," said Jack.

He continued: "The family would like to once again sincerely thank everyone for their generosity and support over the past 16 plus months and their continued positive messages and well wishes  it has played and continues to play a pivotal part in Daithis road to recovery."

That journey will lead Daithi to Croke Park to cheer on his heroes. He is one himself.
Xiaomi is planning to expand its presence in the country's credit market with the help of offerings such as gold loans, credit line cards. The company is also planning to introduce insurance products.

Xiaomi India chief, Manu Kumar Jain, in an interview with PTI shared some details about the upcoming financial services planned by the Chinese company. Jain claimed that they will be offering these financial services in partnership with organisations like Axis Bank, IDFC Bank, Aditya Birla Finance Ltd, Stashfin, Money View, Early Salary and Credit Vidya.

The company had first launched its micro-credit offering Mi Credit in 2019 and since then the company claims to have disbursed over a lakh loans. The maximum credit available via Mi Credit is 1 lakh. However, the pandemic last year impacted the participation of investors.

Jain explained, "Many quarters went into re-thinking about the future of Mi Credit or Mi Financial Services should look like. We are now back to growing this particular platform. Q1 2021 versus Q4 2020, we grew 95 per cent, and Q1 2021 versus Q1 2020, we saw 35 per cent growth."

Jain claimed that Xiaomi is working on building a full spectrum platform with respect to overall financial services as well as credit perspective.

Xiaomi will not only extend its lending business via gold loans and credit line cards, it is also stepping into the insurance industry which has gained a lot of traction since the Covid outbreak in 2020.

Jain claimed that Mi Credit will now offer a higher pre-approved loan of 25 lakh (against 1 lakh previously) and tenure of up to 60 months. Additionally, the company has started offering SME Loans and credit line cards as well.

The credit line cards by Mi Credit will be introduced in partnership with Stashfin.

"It is a unique product that comes with a proposition of Buy Now Pay Later combined with personal loan in order to enable the customer to utilise the offering across channels without any limitations," Xiaomi India Financial Services Head Ashish Khandelwal said.

Khandelwal claims the gold loan service is expected to launch in the next few weeks.

Manu Jain stated that 40% of the company's credit product users are self-employed and the remaining 60% are salaried employees.

"In 2021, we are planning to further diversify and provide 20 per cent of the loans to MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises). We have launched business loan to meet the emerging needs of entrepreneurs and MSMEs," he added.

According to the company chief, Xiaomi's Mi Pay service, which was launched in 2018, had touched 20 million registered users in a year's time. This number has now crossed 50 million users.

For insurance, Xiaomi has partnered with ICICI Lombard to curate a health insurance product. This was piloted in July, and will continue to be offered.

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As per Geo News, state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which was the sole commercial airline that had been operating flights to and from Kabul, suspended operation due to a lack of facilities and heaps of garbage at Hamid Karzai International Airport tarmac.

PIA was helping the evacuation of diplomats and foreign nationals from Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in the war-torn country last week.

Media reports state that there are no immigration officials, security checks and sanitation workers present at the Kabul airport currently.

The garbage at the airports tarmac could cause a tragic accident, feared the sources.

The security of Kabul airport is with the US. They were interested in military aircraft only," the reports quoted sources as saying.

Radio Pakistan also reported that PIA has "temporarily" suspended its flight operation to Afghanistan due to the unavailability of necessary facilities at Kabul airport.

Quoting PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez, the report said the flight operation will remain closed for a couple of days.

"We have talked to Afghan Civil Aviation Authority for restoration of all required facilities at Kabul airport as soon as possible so that PIA could resume its flight operation," Hafeez said, adding that PIA has so far evacuated 1,500 people, including journalists, UN officials and Pakistani national, in five flights.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on last Sunday, two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a two-decade war.

The insurgents stormed across the country, capturing all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the US and its allies melted away.

With inputs from agencies.

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Every Monday, Mints Plain Facts features key data releases to keep an eye on during the week. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will release the fortnightly data on credit and deposits of commercial banks. Gross domestic product (GDP), goods trade, and business activity data for the US will be out. And the euro areas flash composite purchasing managers index (PMI) print will also be keenly watched. Here are the big numbers to track:

Credit Growth

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will release data on credit and deposits of commercial banks this week for the fortnight ending 13 August. Loan offtake has largely disappointed, reflecting weak demand and uncertain outlook across the economy. Bank credit grew 6.2% in the previous fortnight compared with the year-ago period, on a lower base. Much of the growth came from retail and agri-related activity as the slump in industrial credit continued. This trend is expected to continue, but if signs of industrial credit growth emerge, that will be seen as a positive signal by markets.

With easing restrictions, business activity is inching back to pre-pandemic levels, raising hopes of businesses and consumers regaining their optimism. Yet, analysts expect a significant recovery in credit growth only by the end of this fiscal.

Deposit growth has been increasing at a faster clip than credit growth during the pandemic, and this trend is also expected to persist for a while.

2. US GDP

Thanks to rising consumption expenditure and strong government spending, US real GDP grew at an annual rate of 6.5% in the second quarter of 2021. Easing curbs led to a significant pickup in activity. Still, supply and capacity constraints pulled growth below the Bloomberg consensus estimates of 8.5%. But the two drivers of growthrising consumption and government spendingremain strong and are expected to continue to power the US economy. A recent note from Fitch suggests corporate investments could add a third leg to the economic revival, as firms build up capacity to address growing demand.

There are two major headwinds that the US economy faces: the fast-spreading Delta variant that has led to a resurgence in covid cases and the waning impact of the governments massive fiscal stimulus that could slow down growth. The revised estimate for the second quarter due on Thursday, will give a more meaningful glimpse into the sustainability of the US economic boom.

3. US PMI

The flash reading of the US composite PMI will be released on Monday. Signs of peaking momentum in the economy emerged soon after a record spurt in May. The pace of economic growth slowed for the second straight month with a composite PMI print of 59.9 in July against 63.7 in the previous month. Moderation in the services output after the initial reopening of the economy pulled down the overall index. Now a more balanced growth is visible across both manufacturing and services.

But concerns are rising over inflationary pressures and supply constraints, which could cap economic momentum over the coming months. Further, the resurgence of infections has dampened business optimism, pushing it to the lowest levels seen so far this year. Still, the PMI reading has been in expansionary territory, and is expected to remain above the 50 mark.

4. Euro PMI

With easing restrictions in July, Eurozone business activity expanded at its fastest monthly pace in over two decades. Services drove this acceleration as manufacturing output softened during the month. Germany saw the quickest rise among the four largest Eurozone economies, registering a record high expansion. The rapid pace of vaccination and booming consumer demand across major Eurozone economies is fuelling hopes of a rapid economic recovery. The impressive strength of the services sector and sustained elevated growth seen in manufacturing are expected to underpin strong GDP growth in the ongoing quarter. The flash reading of Eurozone composite PMI, due on Monday, will tell us if the economy is indeed progressing at the expected pace.

This preliminary reading would reveal if the strong upturn can be sustained, or whether the threat of the Delta variant has dented economic momentum. Investors would watch out for any signals on disruptions in production, which could push up prices.

5. US Trade

Surging demand for inbound shipments of industrial supplies including petroleum saw the US merchandise trade deficit widen to its second-highest level in June. Imports saw a sequential rise of 1.5% to $237.4 billion, while exports remained flat at 0.2%. As businesses step up their spending and investments, the demand for goods is expected to have climbed further in July. The merchandise trade data due on Friday would tell us how far imports have climbed, and whether or not the trade gap continues to widen.

While the Delta variant has emerged as a threat all across the globe, it seems to have impacted the US trade partners more than the US. As a result, it is likely that US exports will continue to remain weak even as imports continue to grow, riding on the back of strong domestic demand, thereby widening the deficit.

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DUBAI : Ahmad Massoud, leader of Afghanistan's last major outpost of anti-Taliban resistance, said on Sunday he hoped to hold peaceful talks with the Islamist movement that seized power in Kabul a week ago but that his forces were ready to fight.

"We want to make the Taliban realise that the only way forward is through negotiation," he told Reuters by telephone from his stronghold in the mountainous Panjshir valley northwest of Kabul, where he has gathered remnants of regular army units and special forces as well as local militia units.

"We do not want a war to break out."

However, he said his supporters were ready to fight if Taliban forces, which have so far stayed out of Panjshir, tried to invade.

"They want to defend, they want to fight, they want to resist against any totalitarian regime."

Massoud, son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, one of the main leaders of Afghanistan's anti-Soviet resistance in the 1980s, said the forces did not just come from Panjshir, which also held out against the Taliban prior to 2001.

"We are defending the whole country in one province."

He called for an inclusive, broad-based government in Kabul representing all of Afghanistan's different ethnic groups and said a "totalitarian regime" should not be recognised by the international community.

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LONDON : British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had called a G7 leaders meeting on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan and urged the international community to find ways to prevent it from escalating.

"It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years," Johnson said on Twitter on Sunday.

I will convene G7 leaders on Tuesday for urgent talks on the situation in Afghanistan. It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years.  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) August 22, 2021

The United Kingdom currently occupies the chair of the grouping of wealthy nations comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, and Johnson has been pushing for a meeting for the past week.

The Western allies have faced mounting criticism over their handling of the crisis in Afghanistan amid chaotic scenes as thousands of Afghans and foreigners try to flee Kabul following the hardline Islamist group's return to power.

Following a virtual meeting Thursday G7 foreign ministers urged the Taliban to provide safe passage for those trying to flee the capital, the bloc's first formal statement on the crisis.

In June, the G7 held its first in-person summit in nearly two years, in Cornwall southwest England, when coronavirus and confronting China's increasing assertiveness dominated the agenda.

Since then, the Taliban has launched a nationwide offensive and surprised the West by recapturing most of Afghanistan within weeks, as the United States and its allies withdrew from its two-decade military involvement there.

The US, which has sent thousands of troops temporarily to try to secure the airport and help evacuate its nationals and Afghans who helped them, has set a deadline to complete the airlifts by August 31.

However, allies including the UK have suggested they would support extending the deadline, an issue likely to feature prominently at Tuesday's discussion.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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The Taliban now hold the keys to an untouched trillion-dollar trove of minerals including some that could power the world's transition to renewable energies, but Afghanistan has long struggled to tap its vast deposits.

The Taliban are already in a financial bind since they returned to power 20 years after their ouster, as major aid donors halted their support for Afghanistan.

Endless wars and poor infrastructure have prevented the country from getting its hands on the metals that could brighten its economic fortunes.

The resources include bauxite, copper, iron ore, lithium and rare earths, according to a January report by the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Copper, which is needed to make power cables, became a hot commodity this year as prices soared to more than $10,000 per tonne.

Lithium is a crucial element to make electric car batteries, solar panels and wind farms.

World demand for lithium is expected to grow by over 40 times by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency.

And Afghanistan "sits on a huge reserve of lithium that has not been tapped to this day," said Guillaume Pitron, author of the book "The Rare Metals War".

Afghanistan is also home to rare earths that are used in the clean energy sector: Neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium.

The country's untapped mineral riches have been estimated at $1 trillion by the USGS, though Afghan officials have put it three times as high.

Afghanistan has done better digging for precious stones such as emeralds and rubies as well as semi-precious tourmaline and lapis lazuli, but the business is plagued with illegal smuggling to Pakistan.

The country also mines for talc, marble, coal and iron.

- China investment -

While the Taliban's takeover may deter foreign investors, one country that appears willing to do business with them is China.

The world's second-biggest economy has said it was ready to have "friendly and cooperative" relations with Afghanistan after the Taliban entered Kabul.

The state-owned China Metallurgical Group Corporation won rights in 2007 to lease the giant Mes Aynak copper ore deposit for 30 years and extract 11.5 million tonnes of the commodity.

The project to tap the world's second-largest unexploited copper deposit has yet to start operations "due to safety issues", according to Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times.

But Global Times cited a source at the group as saying that it would "consider reopening it after the situation is stabilised, and international recognition -- including the Chinese government's recognition of the Taliban regime -- takes place."

While Chinese leaders are "not enthusiastic" about the Taliban takeover, "they will not allow principle to stand in the way of pragmatism," Ryan Hass, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution think tank, said in a blog.

"Beijing's lack of development at its major investment in the Mes Aynak copper mine demonstrates its willingness to exercise patience in pursuit of return on investment," he wrote.

French expert Pitron said: "The Chinese don't condition their business deals on democratic principles."

He warned there is no certainty that Afghanistan will become a mineral El Dorado.

"For that, you need a very stable political climate," Pitron said.

It can take as long as 20 years between the discovery of a mineral deposit and the start of mining operations, he said.

"No company will want to invest if there is no stable political and legal system," he said.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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Sometime in the 1980s, a police officer ordered a phone tap on a band of thieves, and when he asked his cops to bring him the data, they arrived with a phone booth on a truck. That India is gone forever; today, India bumbles in more sophisticated ways. But generally, Indian intelligence has vastly improved, and is even much deadlier.

That is a message in a recent book, Spy Stories: Inside the Secret World of the R.A.W. and the I.S.I by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark, who portray Indias Research & Analysis Wing as a cunning, ruthless, and an underrated organization that is not only good at stealing informing, but also in manufacturing tragedies to harm Pakistan. This comes through in another new release, The Lover Boy of Bahawalpur by Rahul Pandita. The books also demonstrate that the RAW is not shy anymore to portray itself as a brutal shadowy force with a persuasive moral excuse.

The idea that the intelligence agency of a democracy is run by humane patriots who make a valiant compromise with their own conscience to kill and maim, and fund merciless terrorists for the greater good, is one of the most successful myths our times.

Stories about these subterranean agencies would often feature melancholic patriarchs who appear pained by their own practical games that have destroyed many lives. But what I gather, and what I suspect, is that a secret agency is usually a magnet for people addicted to the thrill of intrigue, and also sociopaths and sadists, whose psychological framework helps them thrive here. But they perform an extraordinary collateral servicethey do protect millions of lives from other mad men who, too, kill for moral reasons.

The fact is, all of us are beneficiaries of the suspension of human rights in many dark spaces in this world, where horrible things are done to mine information.

Days after 11 September 2001, Levy and Scott-Clark write, Pervez Musharraf, who was the president of Pakistan then, wrote down his thoughts in a classified document. We think classified documents must contain complex stuff we cannot think up, but most of them are simple, like this: The US will go to war over al Qaeda at some point, and the Taliban will become casualties for shielding them Then, Pakistan will have to choose. And if Pakistan chooses Taliban, while this decision will be popular, it will also be disastrous. Let us consider: 1. Taliban are mostly beyond ISI influence. 2. The task is capturing their attention and maintaining influence over the US. But also reaching out to India."

This is interesting for several reasons. Pakistans president had a view at odds with popular journalistic opinion even todaythat the ISI controls the Afghan Taliban. Also, Musharraf wanted to reach out to India. But the RAW, the authors point out throughout their book, had become adept in portraying Pakistan as a rogue aggressor eroding the patience of a mature India.

After 9/11, the US treated Pakistan with very little respect; its Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) wanted directly access to the ISIs counter-terrorism wing, whose chief Azmat Hyat said, I now had two bossesThe I.S.I. chief, General Ehsan ul-Haq, and the C.I.A.s counterterrorism chief, Jose Rodriguez."

In 2003, something strange occurred, even by ISI standards. The CIA instructed its counter-terrorism centre to raid a house in Rawalpindi but refused to give any further details. It was a house in an upscale area, fit for a general. As Pakistani officers broke down the door, they were blindly following an American instruction with no idea what lay at the end of their search. It was possible that an irate Pakistani general could be standing akimbo there. But what they found was a sleeping Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was widely known then as the mastermind" of the 9/11 attacks. It took some effort to wake him up. When they did, he scrutinized their faces, and immediately offered them cash for his freedom."

Soon after his capture, he was taken to secret CIA prisons in Afghanistan and Poland. There he was brutalized in various ways. He was also subjected to waterboarding, a form of torture in which a person is immersed in water so long that he feels he is drowning; in some instances, the subject takes water into his lungs. In Poland, Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times. Mohammed had been filled with so much water that there was a danger that the electrolytes in his blood had become dangerously diluted," Dexter Filkins wrote in the New Yorker, The officer requested that C.I.A. interrogators use salted water during the waterboarding sessions."

Nusrat Naeem, an ISI officer who helped create the Hurriyat, an organization that has fought for the independence of Kashmir, told Levy and Scott-Clark, Human rights are a construct used in times of peace to choke U.S. competitors."

The confluence of several games of several intelligence agencies in Pakistan reduced it to anarchy where even its president was not safe. After one of many attempts on his life, he said, with sorrow, though it might sound hilarious to Indians, Some leaders get to visit the scenes of tragedy and pass on condolences. Instead, it was me who continually received commiserations."

Meanwhile, RAW carried out several operations to make Pakistan look dangerous and untrustworthy in the eyes of the world. The authors hint that there might be some substance to theories that Indian agents had a connection to the 13 December 2001 attack on Indian Parliament. All for the greater good of law-abiding Indians.

Manu Joseph is a journalist, and a novelist, most recently of Miss Laila, Armed And Dangerous

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The Taliban engaged in overnight battles with the budding resistance forces in northern Afghanistan as political negotiations on a broader government moved ahead in Kabul and access to the citys U.S.-run airport remained difficult for thousands of Afghans trying to flee the countrys new regime.

While most of Afghanistans army and security forces collapsed, some of the Talibans most dedicated foes have retreated to the Panjshir valley northeast of Kabul, pledging to continue the fight. They include the fallen Afghan republics defense minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi; Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who claims to be Afghanistans legitimate leader after President Ashraf Ghani abandoned his duties and fled the country last Sunday; and Ahmad Massoud, a son of famous Panjshiri commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.

Video posted on social media showed casualties and fighting between Taliban forces and anti-Taliban militias in the Andarab valley of the northern Baghlan province, and large convoys of Taliban reinforcements in U.S.-bought Ford Rangers and Humvees flying the Islamist movements white flag. It isnt clear whether the clashes heralded a nascent civil war or were just a way by the Panjshiri establishment, which played a powerful role in post-2001 Afghanistan, to press the Taliban for a share of a new government. Without outside support or access to a border with a friendly nation, the anti-Taliban militias would find it difficult to hold out for long.

We will fight. Our resistance will continue," prominent Tajik warlord Atta Mohammad Noor, who fled to Uzbekistan when the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif fell on Aug. 14, promised in a video address. It was in the Talibans interest, he added, not to repeat the mistakes of the past and to create a meaningful" inclusive government. We will not become slaves of outsiders," he added. We will not go to others tables for decoration, we want to be a partner in power."

Though the Taliban have never dismantled the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan that they proclaimed in 1996, they are pursuing consultations with major Afghan politicians who have remained in Kabul. A broader administration stands a much better chance of achieving international diplomatic recognition, something that would allow Afghanistan to be reconnected to the global financial system, resume commercial flights abroad, or regain access to foreign aid.

The head of the Talibans political office, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, arrived in Kabul on Saturday after first stopping in Kandahar, the Islamist movements birthplace. Taliban leaders have been engaged in talks with Afghan politicians who have remained in Kabul after Mr. Ghanis Aug. 15 escape, such as former President Hamid Karzai, former Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and former Islamist warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

As part of a public-relations push, the Taliban have released videos of some of the deposed Afghan republics key personalities pledging allegiance to the Islamist movement in the presence of fighters and clerics. On Sunday, Gul Agha Sherzai, a longtime U.S. ally, minister and governor, appeared in one such video, following a similar appearance by Mr. Ghanis brother Hashmat Ghani.

Another prominent politician of the fallen Afghan republic, former finance minister Omar Zakhilwal, returned from a trip abroad this week, posting pictures of himself sipping tea with Taliban fighters southeast of Kabul, and then meeting with Messrs. Karzai and Abdullah in the capital. Agreed that we would work closely together & tirelessly to help with the creation of an environment in which all the Afghans, regardless of their background, are comfortable," he tweeted. I remain optimistic for the future of our country!"

Many other Afghans dont share this optimism. Tens of thousands are trying to leave via the U.S.-run Kabul airport. Inside the facility, families who have been kept for days in holding areas without food or shelter awaited their flights Sunday. There was sporadic gunfire at the gates overnight. The U.S. military was on edge after receiving reports that Islamic State may have infiltrated the perimeter.

One woman, a 27-year-old accountant called Muska, was on the run with her husband and one-year-old baby after having spent several days at the U.S.-run side of the airport.

Muska said they had run out of food, and the soldiers on duty there had told her there was no formula available for the baby. Her phone battery was on 13 percent, there was no access to electricity and she was worried that her son needed medical attention after days in the heat without shelter.

I need to breast-feed him, but because I didnt eat anything I dont have milk to breast-feed my baby. I can see my baby has lost weight, he is not well," she said.

Seven people have been killed amid the chaos at the airport, the British Ministry of Defense said Sunday, calling the conditions on the ground extremely challenging." The U.K. said it had evacuated 4,000 people from Kabul since Aug. 13.

In the face of mounting challenges at the airport and uncertainty over how long the air bridge would stay open, U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace on Sunday acknowledged that the country wouldnt be able to get out all Afghan citizens eligible for evacuation.

Writing for the U.K. newspaper the Mail on Sunday, Mr. Wallace said the 1,000 British troops currently in Kabul to assist in evacuation efforts would work with the U.S. to help get people out as long as the security situation allows," but added that no nation will be able to get everyone out" of Afghanistan.

European officials have complained about U.S. troops blocking access to Kabul airport for some of their Afghan allies and staff, even those with the required paperwork.

The problem is access to the airport," European Union foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell said Saturday. The American control and security measures are very strict. We protested. We asked them to show more flexibility. We do not manage to pass our own partners."

Some allies raised the situation at a video meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization foreign ministers on Friday, according to officials present. One diplomat called it a fiasco," the officials said.

Others said the situation had improved in recent days, and that the main complaints were among smaller allies who have limited resources on the ground.

Still, European allies are concerned that they wont be able to complete evacuations before the U.S. withdrawal deadline at the end of the month.

The largestthe U.K., France and Germanyurged the U.S. at the NATO meeting to retain a military presence as long as necessary for evacuations.

European officials said they hadnt received a clear signal from President Biden whether he was prepared to extend the U.S. deadline.

If the Americans leave, the Europeans will not have the military capability to seize and secure the military airport and the Taliban will take control," Mr. Borrell said.

The Biden administration is planning a dramatic ramp-up of its airlift from Kabul by making preparations to compel major U.S. airlines to help with the transportation of tens of thousands of evacuees from Afghanistan, while expanding the number of U.S. military bases that could house Afghans.

The White House is expected to consider activating the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, or CRAF, created in 1952 in the wake of the post-World War II Berlin Airlift, to provide nearly 20 commercial jets from up to five airlines to augment U.S. military efforts to transport Afghan evacuees from bases in the region, according to U.S. officials.

Currently, many of the Afghans at risk are flown by U.S. and Qatari aircraft from Kabul to the Persian Gulf nation. Qatar has facilitated, among others, the evacuation of 76 Afghan staff of The Wall Street Journal and their families. The United Arab Emirates said that it would take 5,000 Afghans for processing to third destinations, and Spain and Germany have allowed the use of U.S. bases there to temporarily house Afghan refugees.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text

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A colorful shot of nebula and stars in deep space. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

When you look up at the night sky, it's easy to think that the universe is a never-ending sea of blackness. But if you measured the visible light from all of the luminous celestial bodies out there, what would the average color of the universe be?

Let's get this out of the way first: It's not black.

"Black is not a color," Ivan Baldry, a professor at the Liverpool John Moores University Astrophysics Research Institute in the U.K., told Live Science. "Black is just the absence of detectable light." Instead, color is the result of visible light , which is created throughout the universe by stars and galaxies , he said.

Related: How many atoms are in the observable universe?

In 2002, Baldry and Karl Glazebrook, a distinguished professor at the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing at the Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, co-led a study published in The Astrophysical Journal that measured the light coming from tens of thousands of galaxies and combined it into a singular spectrum that represented the entire universe.

In doing so, the pair and their colleagues were able to work out the average color of the universe.

The cosmic spectrum

Stars and galaxies emit waves of electromagnetic radiation , which is separated into different groups based on the length of the waves emitted. From shortest to longest wavelength, the groups include gamma-rays , X-rays , ultraviolet light , visible light, infrared radiation , microwaves and radio waves .

Visible light makes up a tiny portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in terms of the range of wavelengths, but it is the only part the naked eye can see. What we perceive as colors are actually just different wavelengths of visible light; reds and oranges have longer wavelengths, and blues and purples have shorter wavelengths.

The visible spectrum of a star or a galaxy is a measure of the brightness and wavelengths of light that the star or galaxy emits, which, in turn, can be used to determine the average color of the star or galaxy, Baldry said.

In 2002, Australia's 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey  which was the largest survey of galaxies ever carried out at the time  captured the visible spectra of more than 200,000 galaxies from across the observable universe. By combining the spectra of all these galaxies, Baldry and Glazebrook's team was able to create a visible light spectrum that accurately represented the entire universe, known as the cosmic spectrum.

The comic spectrum "represents the sum of all the energy in the universe emitted at different optical wavelengths of light," Baldry and Glazebrook wrote in a separate non-peer-reviewed online paper in 2002 based on their discovery. The cosmic spectrum, in turn, allowed them to determine the average color of the universe.

Color conversion

The researchers used a color-matching computer program to convert the cosmic spectrum into a single color visible to humans, Baldry said.

Our eyes have three types of light-sensitive cones, each of which helps us perceive a different range of visible light wavelengths. This means that we have certain blind spots where we cannot properly register certain colors of wavelengths between these ranges, Baldry and Glazebrook wrote in their online paper. The colors we see also depend on what our reference for white light is as we are observing an object. For instance, the color of an object may appear different in a brightly lit room compared with the outdoors on an overcast day.

Related: What color is the sunset on other planets?

However, the CIE color spaces , created by the International Commission on Illumination in 1931, compensate for our visual limitations by attributing a color to different wavelength combinations as seen by a standardized human observer, which is what the team's computer models used.

The team determined that the average color of the universe is a beige shade not too far off from white. Although this is a rather boring finding, it is not a surprising one, considering that white light is the result of combining all the different wavelengths of visible light and the cosmic spectrum includes such a wide range of wavelengths.

The new color was eventually named "cosmic latte," based on the Italian word for milk, after a poll of the whole research team. Other suggestions included cappuccino cosmico, Big Bang beige and primordial clam chowder.

The color 'cosmic latte' (Hex triplet = #FFF8E7) (Image credit: NASA)

Unshifting the red

A key concept of the cosmic spectrum is that it represents the light of the universe "as originally envisaged," Balrdy and Glazebrook wrote in their online paper. This means that it represents the light as it was emitted throughout the universe, not just as it appears to us on Earth today.

Like all waves, light gets stretched over vast distances because of the Doppler effect . As light gets stretched, its wavelength increases and its color moves toward the red end of the spectrum, known by astronomers as redshift. This means that the light we see is not the same color it was when it was first emitted.

"We removed the effect of redshift from the spectra of the galaxies," Baldry said. "So, it is the spectra of the galaxies when they emitted the light."

Cosmic latte is, therefore, the color you would see if you could look down on the universe from above and see all the light coming from every galaxy, star and gas clouds all at once, Baldry said.

Originally published on Live Science.
When Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was asked about the surge in coronavirus cases during a Thursday night appearance on Fox News, the Republican said "African Americans who have not been vaccinated" are "the biggest group in most states" contributing to the spike.

Laura Ingraham had asked Patrick to respond to criticism from Democrats that covid-19 cases and deaths were on the rise in Texas due to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's policies. The governor has resisted public health mandates aimed at mitigating the highly contagious delta variant's spread and announced on Tuesday that he had tested positive for the virus despite being fully vaccinated.

Patrick acknowledged that "covid is spreading" and that infections are largely among people who have not received the vaccine.

"Democrats like to blame Republicans on that," Patrick said. "Well, the biggest group in most states are African Americans who have not been vaccinated. The last time I checked, over 90% of them vote for Democrats in their major cities and major counties."

Patrick's comments, one video clip of which had been viewed more than 845,000 times on Twitter as of early Friday morning, drew immediate criticism, with some calling the lieutenant governor's assertion unfounded. His office did not respond to a request for comment late on Thursday.

The latest data from the Texas Department of State Health Services shows that the African American population there is not driving the increase in cases. Black residents in Texas accounted for 16.4% of the state's cases and 10.2% of deaths as of Aug. 13. While vaccination rates are low among Black Texans, the highest coronavirus case rates are among Whites and Hispanics, who make up 34.9% and 35.8% of the state's cases respectively, according to the latest data.

"Making a statement that casts blame on a racial or ethnic minority for the spread of disease is a well-known racist trope that predates most of us," Jorge Caballero, a former instructor at the Stanford University School of Medicine who is now working as health data scientist, told The Washington Post. "People are already getting hurt by this virus, and it makes absolutely no sense for us to add insult to injury."

On Thursday night, Caballero cast doubt on Patrick's claims on Twitter, referencing U.S. Census Bureau data collected in July and August that suggests unvaccinated White Texans outnumber unvaccinated Black Texans roughly three to one. Texas's vaccination and case numbers are so stark, he said, "there's just no room for misinterpretation."

About 46% of Texans are fully vaccinated, according to The Post's tracking. The nationwide rate is about 51%.

The Texas Tribune reported this month that Black Texans hold the lowest vaccination rates among racial groups statewide, at 28%. For that population, the paper noted, a "lack of trust" in health care can be common based on generations of disparities in the American system.

Hispanics and White conservatives in rural areas also have low vaccine rates in Texas, according to the Tribune.

Covid-19 cases there have risen 17% in the last week, and deaths are up nearly 60%, according to The Post's coronavirus tracker. Meanwhile, Abbott has sought to ban mask mandates, and tensions continue to play out. At one Texas school, a superintendent detailed instances of parents verbally and physically assaulting educators over masks, including one parent pulling off a teacher's face covering.

The day before Abbott announced his positive coronavirus diagnosis, videos posted online show the governor delivering remarks and interacting with a maskless crowd at an indoor event. Earlier this month, the Texas Department of State Health Services requested five mortuary trailers in anticipation of a possible surge in deaths related to the state's ongoing spike, driven by the highly transmissible delta variant.

"Whether we're talking about a deep red or deep blue state, we really need all of our leaders to actually focus on the problem and to stop trying to score political points," Caballero said. "Because we are our own worst enemy at the moment - and the delta variant is just having a field day with us."
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Rock legends Journey delivered a blistering performance of their 1980 classic Any Way You Want It followed by their 1981 hit Dont Stop Believin' at We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert on Saturday.

The New York City concert comes as the veteran professionals have been experiencing a renaissance following the release of the Woodstock 99 documentary. At the top of the month, the classic rock group delivered a timely, headlining show at Lollapalooza where they performed a career-spanning set.

Journey joins a slew of artists performing at We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert. The evenings star-studded lineup includes Paul Simon, Jennifer Hudson, The Killers, Polo G, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Wyclef Jean, Kane Brown, Jennifer Hudson, Cynthia Erivo, Elvis Costello, LL Cool J, Jon Batiste, Andrea Bocelli, Earth, Wind & Fire, Lucky Daye, Kenny Babyface Edmonds, Barry Manilow, the New York Philharmonic, and Carlos Santana, who will be reuniting onstage with Rob Thomas.

Following the Homecoming show, Journey is set to travel by helicopter to Long Islands Jones Beach for the Tunnel to Towers Foundations Never Forget Concert later Saturday evening.
Dont call it a comeback, since it wasnt quite that.

On Saturday evening, the long-awaited We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert in New Yorks Central Park became an unintentional metaphor for the ongoing pandemic when the all-star show was shut down and later cancelled less than halfway through by a vicious rainstorm. Amid confusion over whether the concert would continue, more than 60,000 concertgoers were told to exit the park before theyd had a chance to see headliners like Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello and the Killers.

Announced earlier in the summer, the concert was intended to celebrate the reopening of the city, which had been especially slammed during the early months of the pandemic. Other acts included Barry Manilow, Journey, Earth Wind & Fire, Carlos Santana, Jennifer Hudson, and LL Cool J, who were all able to perform before the storm. Despite Covid hospitalizations and rising cases in New York over the last month, the show went ahead.

Ironically, Manilow was about to begin his vintage hit I Made It Through the Rain around 7:30 p.m. when an announcer cut into the feed, telling the crowd that it would have to leave the park immediately due to inclement weather. Concertgoers were only advised to seek shelter, including in their cars, and there was initially no word about whether the show was officially cancelled. Park rangers told some attendees that the night was over, but Mayor Bill de Blasio  who had been booed by some in the crowd as he was introducing Earth, Wind and Fire  was seen onstage announcing that the concert would resume. By then, thousands were streaming out of the crowd in the downpour.

De Blasio conceived the concert, then enlisted veteran music exec Clive Davis to pull the show together. Despite the ongoing pandemic as well as an incoming hurricane, everything was orderly at the outset. Attendees had to present proof of Covid-19 vaccinations to enter the park (most did not wear masks once they entered, however), and a casual, feel-good vibe wafted through the audience. (At concession stands, chicken salad wraps were also a reasonable $9.)

The concert opened with the New York Philharmonic playing George Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue and instrumental renditions of Big Apple anthems like New York, New York, New York State of Mind and Christopher Cross Arthurs Theme (Best That You Can Do). During that extended opening segment, during which the sun finally burst through a cloudy day, the orchestra accompanied Jennifer Hudson. Rather than sing one of her own hits, Hudson, who currently stars as Aretha Franklin in Respect, opted for an impressive rendition of Nessun Dorma  the same classical piece Franklin had performed at the Grammys in 1998.

Due to logistics or schedules, only about half of the performers were associated with New York and its boroughs. Journey offered up revved-up versions of Any Way You Want It and Dont Stop Believin, and Earth, Wind and Fire sounded splendid doing September. Those moments were tight and professional but  as with Carlos Santana and the Product G&B reprising their 1999 hit Maria Maria with Wyclef Jean  they seemed more like moments out of any generic all-star concert regardless of location. (Oddly, many of the introductions of these and other acts mentioned their sales figures: Hearing Senator Chuck Schumer tell us that Journey has sold 80 million records was one of the evenings several surreal moments.)

The most memorable moments before the shutdown came from the hometown talent. An LL Cool J and Friends segment became a trip down hip-hop memory lane: Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Fives Scorpio and Melle Mel reprised their landmark early-rap classic The Message (it makes me wonder how I keep from going under sounded especially relevant during a pandemic). LL himself spit Mama Said Knock You Out with more ferocity than hes summoned in his music in years. Brooklyn homeboy Manilow introduced Copacabana as being about the most famous nightclub in the world.

Organizers had hoped to resume the concert around 10 p.m., but as the storm began to intensify, organizers eventually capitulated to the elements. At 10:30 p.m., after hed spoken with an understandably wary Patti Smith about the chances of resumption, Anderson Cooper of CNN, which had broadcast the show, announced that the night was officially over.

Nature rules, Smith told Cooper shortly before the shows cancellation. We have abused nature to the point where she is chaotic and unpredictable.
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After a stellar year picking up awards at Berlin, South by Southwest, Edinburgh and Melbourne, Ninjababy continued its prize-winning streak at Norways top plaudits for national movies, the Amanda Awards. Their prize ceremony kicked off the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund on Saturday night.

The second feature from TV-film director Yngvild Sve Flikke (Women in Oversized Mens Shirts), the ebullient comedy-drama film won out in four major categories: director, actress (Kristine Kujath Thorp), supporting actor (Nader Khademi) and screenplay (Johan Fasting, Flikke and Inga H. Stre).

Flikkes sophomore feature is based on the graphic novel by Stre, The Art of Falling, which itself won numerous youth literature awards in 2012 for the Norwegian illustrator. The film follows aspiring artist Rakel, 23, who unexpectedly discovers she is six months pregnant and that the father is not her boyfriend, The story then pursues a series of comedic, yet grounded, twists and turns.

Im a restless person, the Nordic filmmaker told Variety. If Im working on something knowing exactly where its going, Ill get an itch in my back, telling me to change it up. I wanted to make [a film] that was as crazy as life can be.

The nights other standout winner proved to be The Painter and the Thief, which won best film  the first documentary to claim the Amanda Awards top kudo since 2002. It also swept prizes for editing and documentary, adding to its successful fest circuit run taking in the Creative Storytelling Award at last years Sundance and best documentary feature at the BFI London Film Festival.

Directed by Benjamin Ree and produced by Ingvil Giske, the Norwegian film documents the extraordinary but true tale of a painter befriending the thief who stole two of her paintings.

Ree initially found the subject matter for the film after spending years researching the art heist world. The painter is Czech artist Barbora Kysilkova, who now resides in Sweden after spending some time in Oslo, where two huge works of hers were taken at her first solo show.

The film has been widely hailed as one of the best international documentaries in the last couple years for its original storytelling, and sticking to the facts which are, however, presented in a wholly inventive way, notably by making the films subjects active participants.

Incredible. Thats the word that comes to mind with Benjamin Rees The Painter and the Thief, a stranger-than-fiction friendship story in which verite techniques produce unbelievable results, Varietys Peter Debruge said in his review.

Another notable winner at the 37th edition of the Norwegian industrys top film awards, which were streamed live on Norwegian television, is Betrayed. It scored nine nominations, just behind Ninjababys top trawl of 11. The first Norwegian feature to address the persecution of Jews in Norway during WWII in Betrayed won two acting prizes: Actor for Jakob Oftebro, one of the stars of Saturdays affair after Kon-Tiki, 1864 and Hamilton; and supporting actress for Nader Khademi (Beforeigners).

The Amanda Committee Honorary Award was given to veteran Norwegian filmmaker Oddvar Bull Tuhus, a prominent film director in the 1970s who Maria Marusjka (1973) won the Norwegian Film Critics Prize, while 1974s Streik! won a berth at the Cannes Festival. Tuhus went on to a second career heading as manager NRK Drama from 1994 to 2000.

Art department mechanical specialist Horst Molkenbur won the Amandas Golden Clapper.

Saturdays Audience Award, called the Peoples Amanda, was given to Generasjon Utya, a documentary following four young women who survived the 2011 domestic terrorist attacks in Norway and continue their political activism ten years on, following events that rocked and dramatically changed the Nordic country.

2021 Amanda Awards

Best Film

The Painter and the Thief, (Benjamin Ree, Norway)

Director

Yngvild Sve Flikke, (Ninjababy, Norway)

Actress

Kristine Kujath Thorp, (Ninjababy)

Actor

Jakob Oftebro, (Betrayed, Norway)

Supporting Actress

Pia Halvorsen, (Betrayed)

Supporting Actor

Nader Khademi, (Ninjababy)

Screenplay

Johan Fasting, Yngvild Sve Flikke, Inga H. Stre (Ninjababy)

Documentary

The Painter and the Thief

Cinematography

Egil Haskjold Larsen, Victor Kossakovsky (Gunda, Norway, U.S.)

Editing

Robert Stengard, (The Painter and the Thief)

Sound Design

Alexander Dudarev, (Gunda)

Original Score

Thomas Dybdahl, (Sisters: The Summer We Found Our Superpowers, Norway)

Costume

Ingjerd Meland, Marianne Stranger, Itonje Simer Guttormsen, Birgitte Larsen, Nina Buer Brun, (Gritt, Norway)

Make-Up

Maria Bjrnnes Hermansen and Fie Baro for (Prosjekt Z, Norway)

Production Design

Ulrika Axen and Tobias Eiving, (Betrayed)

Visual Effects

Dennis Kleyn and Peer Lemmers (Dragon Girl, Norway)

Childrens Film

Sisters: The Summer We Found Our Superpowers, Silje Salomonsen, Arild stin Ommundsen)

Short Film

What is a Woman? (Marin Haskjold, Norway)

Foreign-Language Film

Another Round (Thomas Vinterberg, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands)

The Peoples Amanda

Generation Utoya, (Aslaug Holm, Sigve Endresen, Norway)

The Amanda Committees Golden Clapper

Horst Molkenbur

The Amanda Committee Honorary Award

Oddvar Bull Tuhus

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Rachel Maddow will stay at MSNBC, according to two people familiar with the matter, after negotiating a new pact that will keep her at the cable-news outlet beyond 2022.

Maddow, who is the linchpin of the networks primetime lineup, had been considering her own independent content ventures, and had enlisted top executives at Endeavor to make her case to MSNBC and senior managers at NBCUniversal. MSNBC declined to make executives available to comment on the renewal.

Under terms of the new pact, described as multi year, Maddow will develop other projects in a new partnership with NBCUniversal. She has already established a track record for doing so. She has found success in other ventures, such as Bag Man, a seven-episode podcast series centered on the story of former U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew. MSNBC in 2018 featured her documentary special, Betrayal, which focused on the darker side of the 1968 election and how President Nixon seemed willing to collude with a foreign government to win it. She is also the author of Blowout, a book that examines the effects of the oil and gas industries on the world.

MSNBC has reason to keep Maddow at her post. The Rachel Maddow Show, which has aired at 9 p.m. since launching in 2008, snared nearly $66.2 million in advertising in pandemic-ridden 2020, according to Kantar, a tracker of ad spending  only a little less than the $69.2 million it captured in 2019. The shows top sponsors in 2021 include advertisers like Procter & Gambles Tide and Mazda. Business Insider previously reported the anchors new deal.

The network has no clear successor for her program, though it continues to count on primetime colleagues Chris Hayes and Lawrence ODonnell, and under Rashida Jones, the networks new president, has built a new beachhead of weekend perspective programs led by anchors including Mehdi Hassan, Jonathan Capehart, Tiffany Cross, Joshua Johnson and Alicia Mendez. Ali Velshi has served as a frequent fill-in host for MSNBCs weekday primetime offerings.

In the second quarter of 2021, Maddows program reached an average of 2.6 million viewers, topping CNNs Cuomo Prime Time, but falling behind Fox News Channels Hannity, according to figures from Nielsen.

There was no immediate word on whether Maddow had gained what appeared to be a salient point in her talks with MSNBC. People familiar with the negotiations had suggested the anchor might be interested in pulling back from the five days a week she devotes to the program. Maddow is known to invest significant time on reporting and researching the topics she discusses each weekday evening. She is known to hold rigorous meetings with her producers, trying to nail down such details as what kind of cheese went missing from a semi-trailer in Germantown, Wisconsin, or the plot of the 2014 film Kingsman: The Secret Service. The best part of the story might be a very small detail, the host told Variety in 2016.

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Serbian director Stefan Arsenijevic is competing for Karlovy Vary Film Festivals Crystal Globe with his second feature, As Far As I Can Walk. Its a surprising and exhilarating blend of contemporary refugee story, love triangle and medieval Serbian poem.

Arsenijevics hometown Belgrade marks an important point on the Balkan migrant route. A few years ago, he could see thousands of new refugees arriving every day. He says, Having my own experience of war and poverty in the 90s, I could easily identify. I started talking with migrants, hearing their experiences. There was this moving story of epic proportions happening right in front of me. It was just important to find the right angle to tell it.

As Arsenijevic considered compelling ways to put the migrants experience on film, he also thought about the epic poem, Strahinja Banovic. He says, This poem is a very important part of the Serbian cultural heritage and Ive always wanted to make my own version. I was thinking about turning it into a contemporary story.

As the migrant crisis grew, many locals promulgated paranoid fears that migrants would take over European culture by imposing their own. National identity and national heritage are touchy subjects in my country, says Arsenijevic. So, it occurred to me: what if I replace Serbian national heroes with contemporary African migrants? I thought this could provide some interesting perspectives.

At first, Arsenijevic considered using real migrants as his main actors, but soon it was clear that it was too big and too complex of a task for non-pros. He says, We started an extensive casting process. We had three different casting agents, two in Europe and one in Africa. By the end they had their leads: Ibrahim Koma, a French actor with Malian roots and theater performer Nancy Mensah Offei, who was born in Ghana and lives in Austria.

Together, helmer Arsenijevic, his co-writers Bojan Vuletic and Nicolas Ducray and the two leads invented a back story for their characters, describing how they met, fell in love and lived together in Ghana before deciding to start a new life in Europe. The back story didnt wind up in the film, but it enriches their performances. Koma even moved to Belgrade for two months before the shoot to get to know the language and culture and to understand the migrant life.

Accomplished Syrian actor Maxim Khalil, a war refugee now living in France, plays the third character in the love triangle. Arsenijevic says, Maxim is a huge star in the Arab world. We witnessed it the first day he came on set. You could physically feel the wave of excitement among the migrants who were playing extras in our film. Everyone wanted to be in front of the camera with him.

Unable to shoot in a real refugee camp, the production found a similar location and recreated a camp. Says Arsenijevic, All the extras you see in the film are real migrants from several refugee camps. We had great help and support from the workers in refugee camps who connected us with the migrants and offered them to be on film. The fact that we had real migrants on the set all the time helped us to be as authentic as possible. If we were depicting something wrong, they were correcting us.

At first, Arsenijevic was a bit nervous about how the extras would react to the shoot, given that it is a long process full of repetition and waiting. I was afraid they would lose patience, he says. But actually, these were people who are used to waiting. They wait all the time. Their life is on hold.

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When youre driving an RV  a vehicle with a price tag anywhere from about $35,000 to $300,000  you want to know its properly insured. Thats an issue more than 11 million U.S. households should confront.

Like insurance policies for the cars parked in your garage or driveway, insurance policies for RVs vary based on factors such as where you live and what kind of RV you own. Heres what you need to know about insuring your RV so that your adventures arent tripped up by financial woes due to accidents and mishaps.

Related: Compare Rates On Car And RV Insurance With EverQuote

Do You Need RV Insurance?

Whether you need RV insurance depends on what kind of RV you own.

In nearly every state, you need to buy insurance for an RV if its considered a motorhome. In short, a motorhome is a home on wheels that can be driven. Only two states, New Hampshire and Virginia, dont mandate RV insurance, just as they dont require liability insurance for cars. However, its smart to buy both auto and RV coverage in those two states.

Its worth noting that if you finance the purchase of a motorhome, the lender generally will insist that you carry liability insurance as well as comprehensive and collision coverage.

Now, if you can tow your RV, such as a camper or trailer, you normally dont need to buy a standalone RV insurance policy. Thats because auto insurance likely covers this type of RV. You can, however, buy extra coverage for a towable RV.

RV Insurance Basics

If youre buying RV insurance, what sort of coverage can you expect to get? Normally, its the same sort of coverage youve purchased for your cars. Heres a rundown of the basic coverage:

Liability insurance . This pays other people when you cause injuries to them or damage their property. In addition, it can cover legal bills if somebody who was injured or whose property was damaged takes you to court.

. This pays other people when you cause injuries to them or damage their property. In addition, it can cover legal bills if somebody who was injured or whose property was damaged takes you to court. Collision coverage . This pays for damage to your own vehicle when you crash into an object such as a utility pole, tree or another car.

. This pays for damage to your own vehicle when you crash into an object such as a utility pole, tree or another car. Comprehensive coverage. This pays for theft of your RV, or damage to the vehicle due to fire, falling objects, vandalism, weather such as hail and collisions with animals.

Related: Compare Rates On Car And RV Insurance With EverQuote

Aside from that broad-based coverage, your insurance might offer optional RV coverage such as:

Roadside assistance, including jump-starts and towing.

Total loss replacement coverage, which pays to replace your RV with a comparable make and model if its been declared a total loss.

Coverage for injuries of you and your passengers caused by uninsured or underinsured motorists.

Personal effects coverage for belongings inside your RV, such as dishes.

Vacation liability, which pays for your liability when your RV is parked at a vacation site.

Emergency expense coverage. Lets say you need to spend a couple of nights in a hotel after your RV is mangled in a wreck. In this case, the coverage can pick up the tab for your hotel stay and other transportation.

Accessories coverage, which pays for damage to items like satellite dishes and awnings.

Full-timer coverage, which would apply if you live full-time in your RV and cover your liability when youre parked for an extended period of time.

Pet coverage, which can kick in if your dog or cat is injured in an accident while theyre riding in your RV or your pet is stolen along with the RV.

How Much Does RV Insurance Cost?

An auto insurance company (like Allstate, Farmers, Nationwide, Progressive or State Farm) or a specialty insurer will weigh several factors when figuring out how much itll cost to insure your RV. These include:

Where you live.

What kind of RV you own.

The age of your RV is. (A new RV may cost more to insure than a used RV.)

Whether you use the RV for road trips or as a permanent residence.

One key to determining the cost of your coverage is the class of RV that you own: A, B or C.

Class A describes large motorized RVs that look similar to tour buses and measure up to 75 feet in length.

Class B includes small-scale RVs that are similar in size to an oversized van.

Class C splits the difference between RVs in Class A and Class B. Class C RVs have an overcab sleeping area.

Class A RVs cost the most to insure, followed by Class C and Class B.

The yearly insurance premium for an RV may range from $200 to more than $2,000. You may qualify for a variety of discounts if, for instance, youve maintained a clean driving record or youve got more than one policy with the same insurer (known as bundling).

Related: Compare Rates On Car And RV Insurance With EverQuote

Keep in mind that if you file a claim under the comprehensive or collision portions of your RV policy, youll have a deductible (such as $500 or $1,000). That dollar amount will reduce the claim payout. So, if an insurer agrees to pay $10,000 for a collision claim and youve got a $1,000 deductible, your claim check would total $9,000.
Almost all local veterans of the war in Afghanistan expressed anger when asked about the withdrawing of troops as they compared it to the Vietnam War.

This is an absolute travesty, former Army SPC Joshua Alvarez said. Avoidable. Mishandled. Political maneuvering. Cost the lives of thousands and is an embarrassment to this country and a strong indicator of the failure of this administration.

Alvarez said the withdrawing of troops was not the main reason for the Taliban taking over. He said there was a lack of preparedness without removing equipment and making agreements with local leaders before withdrawing. He believes the way Former President Donald Trump wanted to withdraw with agreements made between tribal leaders and others was better than what is unfolding under the current administration.

Original missions, yes we completed. Standing missions, no. We abandoned our allies and broke our promises, Alvarez said. Those obligations were binding and standing, and although the war needed to end, the way we went about it was the absolute worst way possible, not even an attempt to end those obligations under Biden. Trump had negotiated the end of them, but Biden broke those agreements. So, the U.S. went back on our side of the deal.

Another veteran said the abrupt end to the conflict and the withdrawal of American troops brings about mixed emotions. Ricardo Quijano, who was deployed to Jalalabad, Afghanistan from May 2005 to 2006, said it was a conflict he truly enjoyed as he got to know people while serving, but he is also sad the Taliban have returned to power.

My thoughts in regards to the Taliban taking over Afghanistan has brought back mixed emotions, Quijano said. I feel distraught for the reason that service members gave their lives and others lost limbs and others came back with internal injuries for what?

Quijano was in awe at how quickly and easily the Taliban took back control from the Afghani forces which the United States had trained for more than a decade.

In a way, the Taliban taking over was foreseeable as the time frame was given when coalition forces were going to be pulled out of Afghanistan, Quijano said. It gives an advantage to the Taliban to place their fighters in key positions and move when given the order. As for the Afghanistan forces, I just have no words. They lost the will to fight.

Alejandro Martinez served 17 years in the Marine Corps and 22 in the Texas National Guard, and he is a veteran of both the Vietnam and Afghanistan wars. Now a retired captain with the Laredo International Airport police, he has been outspoken about the withdrawing of troops.

Martinez was 18 when he was serving in Vietnam and was 59 when he formed part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2005. He said the mission to help provide freedom and stability in the area was not completed at all.

I think we pulled out of there too soon, Martinez said. There was no plan to pull everybody out of there before we pulled out our military. I think it is the biggest mistake that President Biden could have made, because we can never retreat our military without rescuing our American citizens.

Martinez also said the mission was not completed because the United States had a clear message to bring newfound freedoms and to protect the interpreters and other allies during the war effort.

Right now, we just turned our back on them, and this is exactly what happened with the South Vietnamese when we were in Vietnam, Martinez said. We just turned our back to the South Vietnamese, and this happened here as well. History repeated itself as we also got out of there before the job was supposed to be done.

Quijano disagreed saying the original mission was completed as it was to eliminate Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden. However, he also believed the complete defeat of the Taliban would be a major mission.

Martinez is so angered by the result that he feels the United States is the laughingstock of the world.

We are the laughingstock of the world as nobody trusts us anymore, but I do believe in our armed forces, our Navy, our special forces, our Army National Guard and all of them as I know you send these people to fight, but they dont let them fight no more, Martinez said. They will fight, and they will win, but I am sorry to say that it is time to give back the power to the generals and people on the ground. If we would let our armies fight the war and let the generals do their stuff, we would be in a different situation.

We have won two wars, World War I and World War II, but we have lost two, Vietnam and Afghanistan, and the reason why we lost in Afghanistan is because the politicians had the generals hands tied.

Martinez believes another failure in Afghanistan was that military equipment like tanks, helicopters and planes were left behind and that these could now be used by the Taliban or sold to terrorist organizations to attack the United States.

That is very, very sad, because terrorist groups will get ahold of them, and all of it is top-of-the-line equipment that we used against them, Martinez said. Now they are going to turn around and use them against us.

None of the veterans asked were sure if there will be another conflict in the country, but they believe there was a glimmer of hope as the people of the country got a taste of freedom.

While we were there, the people loved that the United States of America was there protecting them, Quijano said. The mission was to win the hearts and minds of the people, taking Department of State personnel around so schools can be built for both females and males. What is going to happen now with the Taliban in control? When I was in Jalalabad and what I have seen from news media is that they do not want the Taliban there. So that brings comfort.

Although the war is over for now, Alvarez said he feels the U.S. will enter into a conflict in the country again in the near future due to Chinas potential influence in the area.

China is in position to have strong influence in the region, and following this disaster, any future politician I believe would jump at an opportunity to correct the matter, Alvarez said. I say a follow-up invasion is 75% likely.

The veterans all agreed their service was worthwhile despite the outcome.

It was worth it, but I do believe we turned our backs on what we were really going there for as we left our allies back in the cold, Martinez said.

Alvarez said his time in Afghanistan helped shape his life and is an experience he will never forget that he would do again.

Service there was amazing and very worthwhile, Alvarez said. I believe it defined me both as a person and my outlook on life. I have regrets, but nothing to say I regret the actual deployment; 10 out of 10 experience.

Quijano said he feels his service was worth it, but he hoped for a much different outcome.

We gave the people of Afghanistan a taste of freedom from Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, he said. The taste of freedom that was given, hopefully they can fight for their own freedom as it is being taken away by the Taliban. The people of Afghanistan must have the will power to defend their own country.

As a history major, one must understand their religious beliefs and culture, but Im not going to get into it as it can cause disagreements. Another reason that makes me understand that we did a great job out there is that we havent been attacked.

jorge.vela@lmtonline.com
LES CAYES, Haiti (AP)  A Haitian gang leader on Sunday offered a truce and help for communities shattered by a devastating earthquake  potentially offering a break for a relief effort that has been plagued by hijacked aid trucks and disorder.

The offer came as many Haitians resumed services in or outside damaged churches, sometimes for the first time since the magnitude 7.2 quake of Aug. 14. The country's Civil Protection Agency also raised toll of dead to 2,207.

It wasn't immediately clear how much impact the truce offer might have: While powerful, Jimmy Cherizier, alias Barbecue, is far from the only gang leader in Haiti and widely repeated social media reports of an earlier gang truce failed to prevent attacks on the expanding relief effort.

Gangs have blocked roads, hijacked aid trucks and stolen supplies, forcing relief workers to transport supplies by helicopter. In places, desperate crowds have scuffled over bags of food.

Cherizier addressed a Facebook video on Sunday to the hardest-hit parts of the Haiti's southwestern peninsula, saying We want to tell them that the G9 Revolutionary Forces and allies, all for one and one for all, sympathize with their pain and sorrows."

"The G9 Revolutionary Forces and allies ... will participate in the relief by bringing them help. We invite all compatriots to show solidarity with the victims by trying to share what little there is with them.

The increase in the death toll was the first since late Wednesday when the government put it at 2,189. The government said Sunday that 344 people were still missing, 12,268 people were injured and nearly 53,000 houses were destroyed by the quake.

In Les Cayes, many attended church to mourn those lost and give thanks for their own survival.

At an evangelical church in the Bergeaud neighborhood, parishioners sang hymns under beams of sunlight streaming through holes in the roof and walls.

Pastor Sevrain Marc Dix Jonas, said Sunday's service was special because until now his congregation had been unable to meet since the quake.

Today was a must, Dix Jonas said, standing below a gaping opening high in his church's facade. To thank God. He protected us. We did not die.

His church was one of the few where congregants could worship inside. At many others, services were held in the street outside collapsed sanctuaries.

Taking that into account, the Roman Catholic church in Les Cayes moved its morning service to 6:30 a.m. to avoid the heat of day.
NEW YORK (AP)  Pop-up restaurants, many started as stopgap measures by struggling chefs and owners, may have staying power as consumers continue to embrace takeout and delivery and the delta variant threatens to make dining in less of an option.

Pop-up restaurants can take a variety of forms, from a ramen maker appearing for one-night only at an established bar or restaurant, to a taco maker using an unused space to temporarily host diners, to a chef offering meatballs for delivery only.

Cheaper to operate than regular restaurants because they have less overhead and staffing costs, pop-ups let chefs and owners keep working and making a living during the early part of the pandemic when dining rooms were closed and the economy was teetering. Theyve helped bring buzz to existing restaurants that host them. And some have even morphed into permanent new businesses.

Now, as re-openings across the country are threatened by a rise in COVID-19 cases, pop-up creators and hosts are asking, What next?

The restaurant industry has been one of the hardest-hit during the pandemic. It is still down 1 million jobs from the pre-pandemic employment level of 12.3 million. Restaurant sales in 2020 totaled $659 million, down $240 million from expected levels, according to the National Restaurant Federation. Sales rebounded this year as the economy recovered and restrictions were lifted, but now some economists are paring back expectations for U.S. economic growth, partly because they expect fewer people to dine out.

2021 is definitely a year of transition for the restaurant industry, said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research for the National Restaurant Federation. The industry is still being substantially challenged by the COVID situation.

The flexibility of the take-out and delivery model helped Alex Thaboua meet those challenges. Thaboua is co-owner of Electric Burrito, which began as a pop-up at Mister Paradise bar in New York in 2020. A permanent location opened in May and is focused on take-out and delivery, so even if there is another lockdown, the restaurant will be able to operate, he said.

This flexibility was something we found very important during our pop-up stages, when the world was getting locked down and heavy restrictions were being placed on businesses, he said. Weve designed our operations in a way that we can continue to operate with a lean team, with every safety precaution taken, to be able to serve guests in both a to-go and delivery capacity.

Hathorne, a restaurant in Nashville, has hosted about 10 pop-ups featuring local area chefs since the pandemic began. For the pop-ups, it is a way to get exposure and have access to a full kitchen. For Hathorne, its a way to fill seats on nights theyd ordinarily be empty. Since reopening for in-person dining in October, the restaurant is open just Wednesday through Saturday.

We knew, when we reopened, we were not going to be able to be open six or seven days a week because staffing and business wasnt going to be there, said John Stephenson, Hathornes owner. I knew that I wanted to utilize the space.

A Nashville chef for decades, Stephenson knew a number of chefs who were trying to stay afloat during the pandemic with projects like creating take-out dinners or starting food trucks, he said.

The first pop up at Hathorne started in October, with a Mexican theme from Julio Hernandez centered around his homemade tortilla. It was a success, and more pop ups followed. Currently, Hathorne hosts Michael Hannas focaccia-based pizza company, St. Vito Focacciaria, every Sunday.

Hanna and his staff get work and it keeps people coming in our doors, Stephenson says. The arrangement with St. Vito is long-term, so he hired Hanna as a chef. Hanna gets a percentage of the Sunday sales; Hathorne pays for all products and labor.

Stephenson said he plans to keep on having pop ups even after the pandemic wanes rather than reopening full time.

Pop-ups can be a way to attract attention for new projects. William Eick bought a building to start his own restaurant earlier this year, but initially had trouble finding investors.

Most people worried about getting involved in restaurants during the pandemic, he said. So, we had to get creative. I thought, if we can run a pop up, we can put the proceeds and profits into building the restaurant.

In May he started Naegi, a pop-up serving fried chicken sandwiches from a window in the building he bought. The pop-up helped bring awareness to the permanent restaurant, Matsu, a more traditional Japanese restaurant with a tasting menu, which will open in a few weeks.

It helped bring a lot of awareness, it helped start spreading word of mouth more than what we ever thought it would do, he said. He doesnt anticipate another lockdown coming to Oceanside, California, but if it does, he will just continue to operate Naegi, he said.

For Marisa Iocco, who co-owns Italian restaurant Spiga Ristorante in Needham, Mass., a pop-up was a way to stay positive during the pandemic. She opened Polpettiamo in April 2021 in Providence, R.I. It serves only meatballs, and just for takeout.

During the pandemic it was a very challenging to survive, she said. The meatballs  which are also offered as appetizers at Spiga  are created in the kitchen at her main restaurant and finished in a kitchen in Providence, which has a staff of three.

She is considering a brick-and-mortar location in Providence and another delivery-only location in Boston and doesnt expect rising cases or future lockdowns will change those plans. But more than anything, creating something new during the pandemic gave her a vitamin B12 shot of energy.

It really helps keep your mood positive, she said.
Jupiter presented a stunning gift last weekend, at least to those who had a clear view from Earth. On Aug. 15, Jupiter's largest moons, known as the Galilean moons, aligned to give two stunning, rare astronomical events.

First, Earthlings could see three of Jupiter's Galilean moons - Europa, Ganymede and Callisto - simultaneously crossing in front of the planet, known as a triple transit. Then, a dance among Europa, Ganymede and their shadows delighted sky watchers with displays known as "mutual events."

Amateur astronomer Christopher Go captured the marvels from the Philippines around midnight in what might be the one of the best documentations to date. Each second of the above animation represents 30 minutes of the event.

"This is a very difficult data to capture, and I am convinced that this is the best movie ever made of Jupiter's triple transit event," Kunio Sayanagi, a planetary scientist at Hampton University and an affiliate of the Imaging Science Team of NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn, wrote in an email. Sayanagi helped assemble the above animation from Go's frames.

Jupiter has four Galilean moons, Europa, Io, Callisto and Ganymede, which were discovered by Galileo Galilei in the 1600s. A transit occurs when one of these moons or its shadow passes in front of the planet as seen from Earth. 2021 has more than 600 transit events.

Single and double transits are fairly common and have several occurrences just this month. Three moons passing at the same time, however, is rarer. Before 2021, the last triple transit occurred in 2015; the next one will occur in 2032.

Sayanagi explains that triple transits are rare because only two of the three innermost Galilean moons (Io, Europa and Ganymede) ever line up due to their orbital periods.

Therefore, a triple transit only occurs when two of these moons happen to line up with the fourth moon, Callisto. Callisto, the farthest Galilean moon from Jupiter, is not in "orbital resonance" with the rest of the moons though.

"In the triple transit on Aug. 15, Europa and Ganymede were having the usual regularly-occurring alignment, and Callisto just happened to pass by them during that time," wrote Sayanagi.

Due to the differences in orbital resonance, all four moons will never cross in front of Jupiter simultaneously.

During the transit, the moons can be difficult to distinguish from the light colors on Jupiter. The moons' shadows, though, clearly darken the planet.

The triple transit was not visible from North America, but Go could see it from Cebu Island in the Philippines. However, good weather conditions were not a given. August falls within monsoon season in the Philippines and can bring winds from the mountains that interfere with astrophotography. Go said the winds from the mountain make everything look like mush and the planet "will dance around like a jellyfish."

The winds shifted the night of the event though, which helped produce good photos. Rain also fell every day that week but miraculously cleared up the night before the event.

"I was so lucky. The sky was clear all throughout the event," said Go, who shot the event from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. "I was just so shocked because the following day it was raining again."

Shortly after the triple transit ended, two of the moons put on another show. Europa passed under Ganymede, appearing to hide behind the large moon from our perspective on Earth (known as an occultation). As Europa reappeared, Ganymede cast its shadow on Europa (known as an eclipse). Astronomers refer to these occultations and eclipses as "mutual events."

"This thing this is so surreal," said Go, who captured these photos using a consumer-grade camera. "Ganymede is projecting a shadow toward Jupiter, but part of the shadow hit Europa."

Mutual events are scientifically important because they allow researchers to easily record the moons' positions, said Sayanagi. Researchers have been able to record the precise positions of Jupiter's moons as far back as 1881.

Today's instruments do not rely on mutual events for those position measurements. Sayanagi said NASA and the European Space Agency's upcoming Europa Clipper and JUICE missions will use more sophisticated techniques to measure the moons' orbital evolution. However, the older measurements from the 19th and 20th centuries provide valuable reference points.

Amateur photographs and data like Go's are extremely valuable to planetary scientists and shared with the science community. Although he is not a professional astronomer (he works in furniture manufacturing full-time), he has made discoveries through his images and has been listed as an author on numerous studies, along with professional astronomers. He has also helped NASA process images of Jupiter from the Hubble Space Telescope.

"They're actually a lot of us doing very good images of the planets all over the world from Australia to Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Africa," said Go, who describes himself as a citizen scientist. "We need to get people to understand science, and this is one of the ways."
Met Eireann is forecasting a big change in the weather for Ireland this week with hot weather set to return.

Met Eireann is forecasting that there will be plenty of settled weather this week with sunshine and above normal temperatures.

Through Wednesday and Thursday, temperatures will hit as high as 25 degrees with the settled weather set to continue right into next weekend.

The weather forecast for Ireland for Monday from Met Eireann is for any mist and fog to quickly clear on Monday morning. It will be a warm day with good spells of sunshine and just well scattered light passing showers developing into the afternoon. Top temperatures of 19 to 23 degrees Celsius, best values in the west, in light easterly breezes.

Monday night will be dry with clear spells but mist and fog is likely to develop in light easterly or variable breezes. Lowest temperatures of 11 of 14 degrees.

The weather forecast for Ireland for Tuesday from Met Eireann says that mist and fog will quickly clear on Tuesday morning leaving a largely dry day with warm spells of sunshine. Some isolated light showers may develop in the afternoon. Highest temperatures of 20 to 24 degrees generally but a little cooler on eastern and southern coasts in the light easterly breeze.

Dry with clear spells on Tuesday night but patches of mist and fog will develop in light easterly or variable breezes. Lowest temperatures of 10 to 14 degrees.

According to Met Eireann, Wednesday will be warm and dry with long spells of sunshine. Temperatures will reach 20 to 25 degrees and winds will be light and variable. Dry with clear spells and patches of mist and fog on Wednesday night. Lowest temperatures of 10 to 14 degrees with light northerly or variable winds.

Thursday will be dry and mostly sunny with highest temperatures of 20 to 25 degrees. Possibly cloudier in the northeast, keeping highs around 17 to 19 degrees. Winds will continue light and will be north to northeast or variable in direction. Thursday night will be another dry night with mist and fog patches and lowest temperatures of 9 to 14 degrees, coolest in the east and northeast.

According to the latest weather forecast from Met Eireann, Friday will be another mostly dry and sunny day although a few showers may develop in the afternoon. Maximum temperatures of 18 to 22 degrees in light easterly or variable winds.

Met Eireann says that early indications suggest that the settled spell will continue into next weekend, with mostly dry weather and near or above average temperatures. Showers may develop at times.
Health & Wellness

By Chris Boyle Published: August 23 2021

Department of Health issues Section 16 orders to hospitals, long-term care facilities requiring all employees are vaccinated.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced that all healthcare workers in New York State, including staff at hospitals and long-term care facilities (LTCF), including nursing homes, adult care, and other congregate care settings, will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Monday, September 27. The State Department of Health will issue Section 16 Orders requiring all hospital, LTCF, and nursing homes to develop and implement a policy mandating employee vaccinations, with limited exceptions for those with religious or medical reasons. To date, 75% of the state's ~450,000 hospital workers, 74% of the state's ~30,000 adult care facility workers, and 68% of the state's ~145,500 nursing home workers have completed their vaccine series. Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul's administration was briefed prior to the announcement.

"When COVID ambushed New York last year, New Yorkers acted, while the Federal Government denied the problem," Governor Cuomo said. "Now, the Delta variant is spreading across the nation and across New York -- new daily positives are up over 1000% over the last six weeks, and over 80 percent of recent positives in New York State are linked to the Delta variant. We must now act again to stop the spread. Our healthcare heroes led the battle against the virus, and now we need them to lead the battle between the variant and the vaccine. We have always followed the science, and we're doing so again today, with these recommendations by Dr. Zucker and federal and state health experts. But we need to do more. I have strongly urged private businesses to implement vaccinated-only admission policies, and school districts to mandate vaccinations for teachers. Neither will occur without the state legally mandating the actions -- private businesses will not enforce a vaccine mandate unless it's the law, and local school districts will be hesitant to make these challenging decisions without legal direction."

Governor Cuomo also announced that the Department of Health has authorized a third COVID-19 vaccine dose for New Yorkers with compromised immune systems, following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation last week. Eligible New Yorkers can receive their third dose 28 days after the completion of their two-dose vaccine series, effective immediately.

The CDC is currently recommending that moderately to severely immunocompromised people receive an additional dose, including people who have:

Been receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood;

Received an organ transplant and are taking medications to suppress the immune system;Received a stem cell transplant within the last 2 years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system;Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome);Advanced or untreated HIV infection;

Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids, cancer chemotherapy that causes sever immunosuppression, or other medications that may suppress your immune response.

New Yorkers should contact their healthcare provider about whether getting an additional dose is appropriate for them at this time.

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said, "While we have made tremendous progress in getting New Yorkers vaccinated, this pandemic is far from over and more must be done. The data and science tell us that getting more people vaccinated as quickly as possible is the best way to keep people safe, prevent further mutations, and enable us to resume our daily routines. This mandate will both help close the vaccination gap and reduce the spread of the Delta variant. I want to thank all New York State's healthcare workers for stepping up once again and showing our state that getting vaccinated is safe, easy, and most importantly, effective."

These steps follow Governor Cuomo's August 2 announcement that MTA and Port Authority employees working in New York facilities will be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by Labor Day, and his July 28 announcement that state employees and patient-facing employees in state-run hospitals will be required to get vaccinated for COVID-19 by Labor Day. State employees who choose to remain unvaccinated will be required to undergo weekly COVID testing.
(Alliance News) - British shoppers could be in line for cheaper wine as the UK government said "good progress" is being made in efforts to secure a free trade deal with New Zealand.

Trade Secretary Liz Truss said her team is working to finalise an agreement with the Commonwealth country "in the coming weeks".

A post-Brexit free trade deal could see prices lowered on New Zealand wine, including Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, which currently face tariffs of up to 20 pence per bottle.

The price of apples and Manuka honey could also be slashed, with more than GBP42 million of the fruit imported from New Zealand in 2020 and more than GBP32 million of honey brought in, despite coming with tariffs of 8% and 16% respectively.

The associated tariffs could be wiped out as part of a free trade agreement, the government said.

Officials said "good progress" had been made following the end of the sixth round of trade talks with Wellington last month as confidence grows about striking a deal.

The Department for International Trade talked up what fresh trading terms could mean for British exporters, suggesting they could "gain an advantage over international rivals in the New Zealand import market", which is expected to grow by 30% by 2030.

British-made products such as Beefeater gin and Belvoir soft drinks currently face a tariff of 5% when entering New Zealand, as do products from chocolate to cheese and crisps.

The UK's fashion industry sold GBP30 million worth of clothes to New Zealand last year, with negotiators looking to ensure the 10% tariffs on clothing is scrapped as part of a new agreement.

Cars are the UK's biggest export to New Zealand, with GBP133 million worth sold last year.

Buses, motorhomes and caravans are in line to also see tariffs up to 10% removed entirely under a deal with Jacinda Ardern's administration, the department said.

The figures comes after a survey by consumer group Which? found that more than two-thirds of the UK public feel "left in the dark" about the impact that post-Brexit trade deals struck by the government will have.

A quarter of the 3,000 consumers who took part in the poll said they felt the government was "not at all open" about the impact new trade deals will have a a finding ministers seem keen to reverse with its latest assessment of the potential benefits of a future New Zealand deal.

It also follows criticism being levelled at the government's trade deal agreed with Australia, with British farmers predicting it could see them undercut by imported produce that does not match the same standards as UK-grown produce.

Truss said: "We are working round the clock to get this deal done in the coming weeks.

"We are both big fans of each other's high-quality products, so this could be a huge boost that allows British shoppers to enjoy lower prices and British exports to be even more competitive.

"New Zealand and the UK are natural partners united by modern values.

"An agreement would reflect those ideals and is a win-win for both countries.

"It would also be an important step towards our accession to [the Comprehensive & Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership], helping the UK gain access to 11 of the world's biggest and fastest-growing economies across the Pacific region and opening doors to dynamic markets across the world."

Trade between the UK and New Zealand was worth GBP2.3 billion last year, according to Government data, with the potential to rise following a bilateral concord, officials said.

Dominic Goudie, head of international trade at the Food & Drink Federation, said: "We hope to see the UK conclude an ambitious trade deal with New Zealand which removes tariffs facing UK exports of quality manufactured food and drink.

"This would provide a welcome boost for producers and exporters of iconic UK products including chocolate, coffee, biscuits and soft drinks, where UK sales in New Zealand are currently GBP10 million each year.

"Our sector has significant untapped potential for export growth and removing existing tariffs will make UK products more competitive, creating the conditions to drive future growth in New Zealand."

By Patrick Daly, PA Political Correspondent

source: PA

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Coming to the end of his extended stay in Mallorca, Michael Douglas says that he and the family have spent "wonderful months" on the island, "but we have to get back to life", his involving filming in the UK for the third Ant-Man movie

Covid, he says, forced the family to "regroup" and that this was itself wonderful. "The pandemic has united us very much and we are very grateful to have been able to spend all this time with our children. Our jobs require us to travel a lot. When I'm working, I do so surrounded by 150 people. This family time has given us a lot."

"Having a happy woman by your side makes life happy. I love coming back to Mallorca. I have been coming for more than 30 years and I have learned over time that 'Happy wife is a happy life'. Catherine is very happy here; more so now that we no longer share the house with my first wife, Diandra. She now feels much more comfortable. She is decorating the house in her own way. That makes me happy, to see her really happy here, in our house and with our friends."

Over the years, he has seen governments come and go and the changes that have occurred, but he hasn't lost sight of the fact he comes to Mallorca "because it is the place I love the most in the world" and to support the island.

His property is in the Tramuntana Mountains, and it is the mountains with which he most identifies. "I worked with this part of the island to make it a World Heritage Site. The Costa Nord follows the trail of the Archduke Louis Salvador. His world inspired me. His landscapes and his works marked and still mark my way. I am now very involved with Tramuntana XXI, which is fighting to keep the ancient olive trees on the farms. We don't want the mountains to be built on. They should remain as they are; Deya the village it has always been.

"Being a United Nations Messenger of Peace has helped me make the mountains' heritage something for the whole world. This means a great deal to me. From Banyalbufar to Pollensa, the Tramuntana, at least for me, has not changed much, but then I don't have the problems that governments do. I focus on preserving the part of the heritage that has to do with history and beauty. But I do of course go out of my comfort zone; I travel around the island and I know its problems."

He admits that there was a time when he might have left Mallorca forever. "Yes, it was very uncomfortable to share S'Estaca with my ex-wife, Diandra. Six months each was not a pleasant thing for anyone. Everything is now sorted out. The house is one hundred per cent ours - Catherine's and mine. I never wanted to leave, and my children will continue to come and my grandchildren and their children. I am sure that for generations this island will be theirs. This house belongs to my family and it will continue to be - Cameron, Dylan and Carys love it, and my daughter speaks Spanish perfectly.

Now aged 77, he acknowledges that he has started to worry about his work. "In my last movie I had to do a stunt act and I got injured. My knees are not what they used to be. But I take care of myself much more physically. I can't complain about anything else. I'm working, I get roles that I like to play. My wife works. We are at a very good moment of our life.

"Catherine sends you all her love. She is so happy and now she is on her way to New York to prepare for filming her role as Morticia Addams. That'll be in Romania. Just imagine!

"In the future I want to focus on my work at the UN. I am passionate about it. The US can be the worst enemy of the United Nations and I will try to do what I can. Our planet is so small and so precious that we have to come together to take care of it. We must fight to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, which is increasing; we must work together.

"Every time I return to Europe, I am more aware of which countries take care of their citizens, something that doesn't happen in the US. However, it is a country that offers opportunities. I believe in the American dream; I am part of it. Think of me as the grandson of a junkman. I am the son of a Hollywood star and I am Michael Douglas; for this reason, I believe that I am the patriot that I am."

Looking back at his career, he speaks about the advantage of being "second generation". "When you enter the industry, you already know what happens behind the scenes. I grew up watching my father become a great movie star, but I also saw the less wonderful roles. You keep quiet, you watch from behind the camera and see everything that goes on. Most actors arrive in Hollywood without knowing what the industry is about, so I had already gained a great deal when I started acting."

But acting wasn't initially for him. "I wanted to be a screenwriter and producer, acting didn't interest me. But I started doing The Streets of San Francisco - non-stop recording, eight months in a row. It was a great success, but I quit and everyone told me I was crazy. My first Oscar was as a producer; television was taboo. In the cinema they didn't want me because I came from TV. My Oscar didn't count for anything. I wanted to be different from my father; I chose the roles of sensitive men. With Fatal Attraction and Wall Street, this was when I felt like an actor. I had come out of my father's shadow."

In Mallorca, he explains that they are "early risers". "We drink coffee, we read the press, the Majorca Daily Bulletin first of all and also the international press. I spend at least two hours reading the news. Then we do sport. Some days friends come for lunch. We take naps and when we wake up, people in in Los Angeles are up. I can work from here with LA.

"Other than this, we love going on days out, taking a small boat along the coast to Cala Deya for example. Time flies. Catherine and I look at each other and wonder where our time goes when we're here."
New study details importance of COVIDome Explorer for real-time COVID-19 data analysis, visualization and sharing.

He adds, "We expect that this online portal will rapidly accelerate COVID-19 data sharing, hypothesis testing and discoveries worldwide."To create the COVIDome Explorer, experts in different areas of biomedical research across the CU Anschutz Medical Campus created multidimensional datasets in their labs. Those were collected and combined to be shared through the online portal. The datasets include demographics and clinical data, along with matched analysis of the whole blood transcriptome, analysis of the plasma and red blood cell metabolomes, deep immune phenotyping by mass cytometry and seroconversion assays.The COVIDome datasets and corresponding Explorer were modeled after similar ongoing efforts in the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, where members of the COVIDome team previously developed the Human Trisome Project and its TrisomExplorer data portal. Leveraging the leading-edge tools and technologies of the TrisomExplorer, the team was able to create the COVIDome Explorer in a matter of weeks and make it available to the public to help advance COVID-19 research."The global health crisis imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic further emphasizes the need for rapid collaboration, open access to manuscripts under review and data sharing," said Thomas Flaig, MD, vice chancellor of research at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. "Now more than ever, with the rise of the COVID-19 Delta variant and breakthrough infection rates rising, it's critical to have easy and timely access to COVID data to combat the pandemic and advance the best scientific data available."The paper, which users are encouraged to read, details how to use the online dashboards and links to data files that guide users, such as catalogs of proteins, metabolites, cytokines and immune cells present in each dataset.For example, to facilitate quick and broad access to the COVIDome dataset, each dataset (after data curation and quality control) is linked at the sample level with a unique identifier, enabling cross-referencing among platforms. Additionally, the COVIDome Explorer hosts six dashboards: Cohort, Transcriptome, Proteome, Cytokines, Metabolome, and Immune Maps. And each dashboard runs within its own isolated and protected environment.The COVIDome Project is a partnership between the CU School of Medicine and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, co-led by Joaquin Espinosa, PhD, and Thomas Flaig, MD. To learn more, visit www.covidome.org.Source: Eurekalert
Afghan MP Narendra Singh Khalsa was amongst the people who were evacuated from Afghanistan by the Indian Air Force today morning. After his arrival at the Hindon airbase near Delhi, he broke down tasing to reporters saying that every progress that was made in the past 20 years has now been completely lost. ANI shared a video of the interview on Twitter.

 Twitter_ANI

"I feel like crying...We have never seen this kind of situation in Afghanistan and now that we are seeing it, everything is over. Even the government that was built in the last 20 years is finished. Everything is zero now, Singh said talking to the press.



#WATCH | Afghanistan's MP Narender Singh Khalsa breaks down as he reaches India from Kabul.



"I feel like crying...Everything that was built in the last 20 years is now finished. It's zero now," he says. pic.twitter.com/R4Cti5MCMv  ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2021

The Afghan senator was amongst the 168 passengers that were evacuated from Afghanistan today morning. Out of the 168 passengers, 107 were onboard the aircraft. All passengers that arrived from Kabul will be undergoing a mandatory COVID-19 RT-PCR test before being allowed to leave the airport.

#BREAKING: Afghan MP Narender Singh Khalsa thanks Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi, Indian Government & Indian Air Force for rescuing him and Afghan Sikh minority community from Taliban in Kabul tonight. His father Avtar Singh was killed in a 2018 terror attack in Jalalabad. pic.twitter.com/c5UaNJH8tu  Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) August 21, 2021

Narender Singh Khalsa also thanked Prime Minister Modi, the Indian Air Force and the Indian government for rescue him and the Afghan Sikh community from the Taliban. Singh was one of two minority MPs that were evacuated from Afghanistan from a group of 72 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus. Khalsas father, Avtar Singh was killed in a 2018 terror attack by the Islamic State in Jalalabad. Narender Singh Khalsa was running for elections that year.

India has already enacted 200 of its citizens from Afghanistan including diplomats, embassy staff and civilians. India has been allowed to operate two flights per day from Hamid Karzai International Airport to evacuate its citizens from Afghanistan.

 Wikipedia Common

The first evacuation flight rescued over 40 people and were transported in a C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft. The second flight evacuated 150 people that included stranded Indians, journalists, diplomats and security personnel earlier this week.



Yesterday it was reported that over 150 people were picked up the Taliban near the airport out of which most were Indian nationals. They were taken to a nearby police station for questioning and inspection of travel documents.

Source: ANI
A Tesla driver left the wing doors open of a Model X which then collided with a double-decker bus in North London. The Model costs about 100,000 (~Rs 1,01,28,661) and we can only imagine what it might cost to repair the car and the bus as well.

On the Tesla Model X, the cars doors open up like a falcons wing, However it seems like the driver did not notice the door was still open. In the video, shot by a bystander, you can see the Tesla Model X crash into the front windscreen of the bus mere seconds after the camera starts rolling.

The Tesla Model X apparently has at least three warnings when the cars door is open however it is unclear whether the driver was aware of alarms or chose to ignore them. What makes this incident horrific is that the car smashed into the same side of the windscreen where the bus driver sits.

 Youtube_Screengrab

According to Business Insider, a spokesperson for Transport for London (TFL) confirmed that the accident happened in Southgate, London.



"We are aware of an incident involving a route 125 bus on Saturday in Southgate, and a video on social media of the incident that shows what happened from an onlooker's perspective," Tom Cunnington, TfL's head of bus business development, said in a statement to Insider. "It must have been a really nasty shock for the bus driver, who we wish well, and we are supporting the bus operator's ongoing investigation.

Telsas Emergency Response Guide says that the falcon-wing doors on the Falcon X can be raised and lowered with the push of a button.

Other users on Twitter also pointed out that the Model Xs dashboard beeps continuously and even gives a visual warning if your door is open while driving.

Because the car beeps continuously and displays warnings on the screens. pic.twitter.com/TA0fJD0VIv  Raffael  (@raffaeru) August 14, 2021

Its unclear whether this particular Model X had malfunctioned or did not give the driver any warnings at this point in time. However, it is also possible that the driver may have been distracted or ignored the warnings.

Last week, a Tesla crashed into a set of petrol pumps where the driver narrowly escaped the car before the crash. However, in this case, the driver was driving under the influence of alcohol and has since been arrested.

Source: Business Insider
PHOENIX (AP)  The Hawaii lieutenant governor watched in horror as protesters showed up outside his condo, yelled at him through bullhorns and beamed strobe lights into the building to harass him over vaccine requirements.

A parent in Northern California barged into his daughter's elementary school and punched a teacher in the face over mask rules. At a school in Texas, a parent ripped a mask off a teacher's face during a Meet the Teacher event.

A Missouri hospital leader was approached in a parking garage this week by a man from Alabama who handed him papers accusing him of crimes against humanity, and it was not the only in-your-face encounter over vaccines and masks. School board members, county commissioners, doctors and local leaders are regularly confronted at meetings and in public with angry taunts that compare them to the Taliban, Nazis, Marxists and the leaders of Japanese internment camps.

Across the country, anti-vaccine and anti-mask demonstrations are taking scary and violent turns, and educators, medical professionals and public figures have been stunned at the level at which they have been vilified for even stating their opinion. And they have been terrified over how far protesters will go in confronting leaders outside their homes and in their workplaces.

The heat definitely got turned up this week," said Shannon Portillo, a county commissioner in Kansas who was berated at a meeting Wednesday in which the board mandated masks indoors for unvaccinated children. "It got much more hostile than anything I had seen.

The pandemic rage has coincided with a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, a growing movement to require vaccines and a new round of mask requirements, most notably in schools where exhausted families had hoped the worst days of the virus were over. Now, the country is averaging nearly 1,000 coronavirus deaths a day.

Anger from parents over masks has been simmering in rural Amador County in Northern California, and it reached a peak earlier this month when for the first time a teacher was attacked. A father became irate when he saw his daughter come out of school wearing a mask but teachers in a lounge were unmasked. Vaccinated staff are allowed to take off their masks if students aren't present, said Amador County Unified School District Superintendent Torie Gibson. The father was told this and left, but returned later to speak with the principal.

A concerned male teacher went to the principal's office. An argument ensued and the father struck the teacher.

The teacher had some lacerations and bruising on his face and a knot on the back of his head, Gibson said.

He was treated at a hospital and returned to work the following day. Still, the incident has shaken teachers and the community.

The teachers have definitely been on edge. They are fearful because the last thing they want is to have an issue with a parent, Gibson said. They definitely looked over their shoulder for quite a few days, but I think things are now a little bit more calm.

Meanwhile, the father is prohibited from entering the school and could face prosecution.

Since Hawaii announced a mandate earlier this month that state and county workers would have to show proof of vaccination or face weekly tests, 50 to 100 unmasked vaccine opponents have gathered almost nightly outside the downtown Honolulu condominium building where Lt. Gov. Josh Green lives with his wife and two children, ages 14 and 10.

Some yell into bullhorns and shine strobe lights into apartment units, Green said. Flyers with his photo and the words Jew and fraud" have been plastered around the neighborhood. Green, who is Jewish, has been tearing them down and turning them over to the state attorney generals office.

He understands the right to protest, but not why demonstrators subject bystanders to such rage.

They should protest me at my place of work, where Im the lieutenant governor, Green said. But its different than flashing a strobe light into a 90-year-old womans apartment or a strobe light into a familys apartment, where they have two kids under age 4.

Ironically, Green wasn't home during a recent intense weekend of protests. He was on the Big Island working on his other job as an emergency room doctor and treating mostly COVID-19 patients during a record surge in coronavirus hospitalizations in the state.

I will personally be taking care of these individuals in the hospital as their doctor when they get sick from refusing to wear masks and refusing to be vaccinated, he said.

In Kansas, commissioners in Douglas County in the Lawrence area were confronted with an angry, mostly unmasked crowd Wednesday before they mandated indoor public masks for 2- to- 12-year-olds who are too young to be vaccinated. During four hours of public comment, opponents invoked the Holocaust, the Taliban and Japanese internment camps.

As the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, Portillo was outraged at the comparisons.

It is really insulting to families all over who lost loved ones in genocides, she said.

Researchers, professors and political experts have varying opinions about how and why discourse seems to keep plunging to new lows over the pandemic, but many agree that social media is a big factor.

Barbara Rosenwein, professor emerita at Loyola University Chicago and author of Anger: The Conflicted History of an Emotion, said social media can make minority views look more like the majority. On the many social media platforms, people validate each other's anger as being from a just and righteous place.

Over time the possibility of feeling righteous anger has become democratized. Everybody feels almost obligated to feel it, Rosenwein said. That locks you into a position that will allow for no compromise, which is terrible for our country.

That anger also makes it seem OK to buck authority such as teachers and government at a time of heightened culture wars on topics like education. Getting punished or even arrested might feel like a badge of courage," she said.

I dont think these people are running into old-age homes and telling granny she better not get vaccinated, Rosenwein said. I think theyre telling the school teachers because teachers represent an elite thats teaching their kids.

Rosenwein said there's no grand, one-size-fits-all solution to talking to a friend or family member who may be taking an anti-mask and anti-vaccine stance to extreme levels.

You have to start where they are ... 'Lets hear your reasons and try to go from there,' Rosenwein said.

Dr. Cadey Harrel, who practices family medicine in Tucson, Arizona, was among four health care workers who testified in favor of mask mandates earlier this month at a local school board meeting. She recently transferred her children out of that school district over the issue but still felt compelled to speak. An anti-mask group of four or five followed them out of the building after the meeting.

They started saying things along the lines of we were paid actors, we were paid to be there, that masks dont work, Harrel said. They were getting right in our face.

Harrel was unnerved but felt better after a few teachers thanked them for talking. And that motivated her to keep testifying at public meetings to provide a voice of science and reason amid all the outrage from mask and vaccine opponents.

The thing is that somebodys got to speak up," she said.

___

Kelleher reported from Honolulu, Tang from Phoenix and Rodriguez from San Francisco. Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth contributed from Mission, Kan.
PHOENIX (AP)  Private Arizona businesses can require their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 but must allow reasonable religious and medical exemptions under state and federal law, state Attorney General Mark Brnovich wrote in a legal opinion.

And they can impose vaccine requirements on patrons as well, as long as they provide reasonable accommodation for customers who can't take a vaccine because of a disability or don't discriminate against someone who won't take a vaccine for religious reasons, the Republican wrote in Friday's opinion.

Public schools and universities and local and state government agencies are different because of laws enacted this year by the Republican-controlled state Legislature and signed by GOP Gov. Doug Ducey. They are not allowed to require employees or students to get a vaccine, once the new laws take effect on Sept. 29. But private schools can, if they allow exemptions for religious or health reasons.

Ducey last week issued an executive order barring state and local governments from requiring vaccines, based on an existing law that says health agencies cant force people to be treated if they comply with sanitary or quarantine rules. A violation carries criminal sanctions.

Brnovich, who is running in the 2022 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Mark Kelly, also weighed in on whether airlines can require patrons to be vaccinated. The answer is no, sort of.

Airlines are covered by federal laws and regulations, Brnovich wrote, and currently are not allowed to refuse service unless a person actually is sick, a risk to other customers and can't get a medical certificate that outlines preventative measures.

It will be difficult for a carrier to establish that proof of vaccination is now a required preventative measure for COVID-19 when airline service has continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with masking and ventilation as the primary preventative measures, the opinion said.

In a statement and summary accompanying the legal opinion, Brnovich argued that the coronavirus is a threat to constitutional rights.

"We must hold the Constitution close in times of crisis because thats when our rights are most at risk, Brnovich's statement said. In all medical and health decisions, Americans have the right to try and the right not to try; we cannot have one without the other.

The attorney general also gave himself some political cover for the parts of the opinion where he says private businesses in many cases can require vaccines, a position vocally opposed by some in his own party.

Americans should be allowed to choose which risks they are comfortable taking and which they are not, Brnovich wrote. The law does not always reflect good public policy and our role with respect to an Attorney General opinion is to say what the law is, not what it should be.

The opinion comes as health officials in Arizona and much of the nation are dealing with a resurgence of COVID-19 brought on by the new delta variant. Hospitals and many medical professionals and some politicians are practically begging people to get vaccinated, since the vaccine in most cases prevents severe infections.

State health officials on Sunday reported more than 3,000 new coronavirus cases and an additional three deaths as a surge driven by the delta variant continued for the sixth week.

The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 3,307 new infections, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 986,082. The total number of people who have died in the state from COVID-19 is now 18,600.

On Saturday, the health department reported 3,195 news cases and 36 additional deaths.

The number of new infections each day had dropped below 1,000 for several months in the spring and early summer until the new variant began hitting Arizona in July. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Arizona has risen over the past two weeks from 2,311 new cases per day on Aug. 6 to 2,452 on Aug. 20.

That has led to a slightly greater number of people deciding to get a COVID-19 vaccine in recent weeks.

More than half of Arizonas population has received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Hospitalizations due to the virus have climbed to the highest number since mid-February.

More than 1,800 people are hospitalized with the virus, 462 of them in intensive care.
While Tropical Storm Henri promised devastating intensity Sunday, its erratic path, which shifted with every forecast before making landfall just outside the states border, may have spared Connecticut from a historic disaster.

When Gov. Ned Lamont told residents to stay safe, stay home Saturday evening, Henri was on course to slam into the central Connecticut coastline as a Category 1 hurricane, threatening wind gusts up to 75 mph and upwards of 6 inches of rain.

But some cold ocean water and a last-minute move to the east sent the center of the storm into the Rhode Island coast, where the impact was much more severe.

In an address not long after the storm made landfall in Westerly, R.I., which borders Connecticut, Lamont said the neighboring state had three times the power outages.

Where it hits land is an incredibly important detail, Lamont said. Its path away from the mouth of the Long Island Sound meant the storm surges that threatened the coast were less intense, he noted.

Look, the storm did us a bit of a favor. It did Rhode Island no favors by veering a little bit to the northeast, Lamont said Sunday evening.

The threat from the storm prompted a massive response from the power companies in Connecticut. Lamont said 6,500 beds in Connecticut were filled Saturday night with crews.

It was better to be over prepared than under prepared, Lamont said.

Despite all the circumstances that played in Connecticuts favor through the day Sunday, about 60,000 homes and businesses lost power, largely focused in the southeastern part of the state, nearest to where Henri made landfall. However, utility companies said they expected most of the outages to be restored by Monday night.

The models for the storm, which informed decisions from forecasters and officials to issue dire warnings to residents, showed Henri having the power necessary to fight high pressure steering it east.

In the end, it didnt quite meet expectations and it was easier to be pushed off to the east because it was weaker. It didnt have the same intensity that was expected, said Gary Lessor, chief meteorologist for the Western Connecticut University Weather Center.

The storm was expected to remain a Category 1 hurricane when it hit land, but the cold water drained the energy and it was downgraded to a tropical storm while still at sea.

We knew there was colder water once it got away from everything, because of the colder water and the system not being as strong as anticipated, it fell apart quicker and faster, Lessor said.

And while coastal communities were spared from the flooding that made Superstorm Sandy in 2012 so devastating, some inland areas saw heavy rains briefly inundate roads.

But rain totals for most fell well below the 3 to 6 inches predicted. Both New Haven and Bridgeport saw less than an inch of rain, while Hartford and Meriden received about 2 inches. The highest official total, Lessor said, was in Groton, where 2.79 inches of rain fell.

In shoreline communities, officials braced for a direct hit Sunday, asking some residents to evacuate, but the day passed without major incident.

We prepare for the worst and hope for the best. We got the best. No injuries. No loss of life. No property damage, said Rick Fontana, New Havens emergency operations director.

Other towns and cities along the coast also rode out the storm without much issue.

We are pleased to see overnight the storm track for Henri shifted farther to the east, Fairfield First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said Sunday afternoon. As a result, storm impacts in our area are less serious than the National Weather Service and the state of Connecticut guidance indicated last night.

By Sunday afternoon, when the threat had diminished, those who had hunkered down ventured out to watch the surf in Stonington.

When do you get the opportunity to see big waves at DuBois Beach? said Janis Mink, of Stonington. Its exhilarating when its not dangerous.

Though rain was a major concern for the storm, given that Connecticut has seen above average precipitation that has left the ground saturated, the strength of the wind is what sets these storms apart.

When it hit in Rhode Island, Henri had sustained winds of 60 mph. But by the time it reached Connecticut, the wind speed dropped from 50 mph in southeastern Connecticut to 40 mph in the central part of the state.

The highest gust recorded was 53 mph in Groton, which was not far from where Henri hit land.

Given that forecasts called for much stronger winds and a substantially higher volume of rain, the power companies prepared for it to be among the most damaging storms in recent memory.

Eversource, the states largest power company, had braced for a level 2 storm, meaning upwards of 69 percent of its customers could be without power and restoration could take up to 21 days.

In terms of the duration, [Saturday] we really thought it was going to be a much more significant storm and we declared what we said was a level 2, and a level 2 is very significant with a duration of approximately eight to 21 days [for restoration]. And I know the 21 days has been spoken a lot about, said Craig Hallstrom, Eversources president for regional electric operations. So we wake up [Sunday] morning, and clearly it is not that level of storm. Its more of a level 4 storm for us, which is about five days.

That said, Hallstrom believes most customers will be restored by Monday night.

United Illuminating, which provides power to customers in parts of New Haven and Fairfield counties, made similarly stark predictions, saying it estimated as many as half its customers would lose power.

Henri was predicted to be one of the first major tests since power companies faced withering criticism for the response to Tropical Storm Isaias last August when 800,000 homes and businesses lost power and thousands remained in the dark for days.

In response to the storm, Eversource, which weathered the harshest backlash, brought in hundreds of crews from out of state this weekend, promising customers its singular goal was to quickly restore power.

Ultimately, the companys response was not challenged at the same level, with outages remaining well below predictions.

Tropical Storm Henri was expected to stall out along the states border with New York late Sunday. Lessor said it will then get absorbed into a frontal system moving through the region.

Unlike Henri, Isaias hit warm water before moving through the state, giving it a boost of strength.

Thankfully, this time that wasnt the case and spared everyone major headaches, Lessor said.
SHELTON  A 43-year-old Shelton motorcyclist died from injuries sustained in a crash with a car Friday evening, according to police.

Police said the accident occurred as the motorcycle, driven by Robert Kimmer, was headed south on Meadow Street and a car was traveling north on the same street.

The Shelton Police and Fire departments were dispatched to the 100 block of Meadow Street around 7 p.m.

Kimmer was transported to a hospital and he was later pronounced dead.

The driver of the car, a 34-year-old Shelton man, was not injured, police said.

Witnesses or anyone with information pertaining to the accident should call the Shelton Police Traffic Division at 203-924-1544.
BEIJING (AP)  In the U.S. departure from Afghanistan, China has seen the realization of long-held hopes for a reduction of the influence of a geopolitical rival in what it considers its backyard.

Yet, it is also deeply concerned that the very withdrawal could bring risk and instability to that backyard  Central Asia  and possibly even spill over their narrow, remote border into China itself and the heavily Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang.

The Taliban's takeover could certainly present political and economic opportunities for China, including developing Afghanistan's vast mineral riches, and Beijing has said it is ready to help rebuild the impoverished nation. But stability will be required to reap most of those benefits, and the immediate result of the American withdrawal has been more instability, not less.

I think Beijing will play up the narrative of American fecklessness and decline of Empire, painting this as evidence of why Beijing will be a better steward for the Eurasian heartland, said Raffaello Pantucci, an expert on the region at the Royal United Services Institute in London. But in reality, I am not clear that I see that many huge upsides for Beijing at the moment.

Like many nations, China is concerned about the risk of terrorism from a Taliban-led Afghanistan. Beijing has repeatedly told the Taliban that the country cannot become a breeding ground for militants to launch attacks in Xinjiang, much as Osama bin Laden used it as a base to prepare his 9/11 attacks on the U.S.

A more proximate threat may be the spillover of militancy into Pakistan and Central Asia, where China has invested heavily and sought to build alliances.

The Afghan Taliban have promised that they will break from international terrorist forces, but we still havent seen how they will do this because they are not officially in power, said said Li Wei, an international security expert retired from the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

The Taliban could be an incongruent partner for China since their religion-based philosophy is diametrically opposed to Beijings vision of atheist rule under the Communist Party that puts social stability and economic development above all. That, however, has not prevented Chinas ultimately pragmatic leaders from reaching out to them.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted a delegation led by the Taliban's political leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, late last month and pressed China's hopes for stability and an end to violence and terrorist threats.

Chinese officials and state media have been critical of what they call Americas hasty retreat from Afghanistan. Talibans rapid victory embarrasses U.S., smashes image, arrogance, read a headline in the state-owned Global Times newspaper.

Despite the rhetoric, Wang told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that China was willing to work with the U.S. to promote the soft landing of the Afghan issue.

However, he added that the U.S. cannot, on the one hand, deliberately curb and suppress China to damage Chinas legitimate rights and interests, and on the other hand, count on China to offer support and coordination.

President Joe Biden has said leaving Afghanistan will prepare America to deal with bigger potential threats, including from China.

Our true strategic competitors  China and Russia  would love nothing more than the United States to continue to funnel billions of dollars and resources and attention into stabilizing Afghanistan indefinitely, he said this week.

Yin Gang, a researcher in Middle Eastern Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the two countries share a common interest in a stable Afghanistan.

If Afghanistan achieves stability, it will make the U.S. look good and China will be invited to participate in reconstruction, Yin said.

China has chased commercial ventures in Afghanistan, but the prospects of such projects reaching fruition appear no closer now than they were over the past 20 years of the U.S. presence.

A consortium led by China Metallurgical Group Corp. bid $3 billion to develop what is one of the world's largest copper deposits at Mes Aynak, promising also to build a power plant, railway and other infrastructure. Years later, work has yet to start, largely because of insurgent activity in surrounding Logar province.

Chinas state-owned National Petroleum Corp. suspended oil drilling in the Amu Darya basin because of a delay in the signing of a transit agreement with Uzbekistan to allow crude oil to be trucked to China. The Afghan government later voided the drilling agreement.

China has invested heavily in Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan, in hopes of extending its Belt and Road Initiative to broaden Chinas overseas reach by improving trade routes, but Afghanistan appears far from ready to serve as a link in that chain.

China's extensive economic interests in Pakistan and Central Asia could clearly be impacted by any terrorist resurgence in Afghanistan, said Henry Storey, a political risk analyst based in Melbourne, Australia,

At the same time, China is loath to get involved with any boots on the ground presence, as it does not want to repeat the mistakes of the U.S.  or be distracted from more pressing issues like Taiwan," Storey said, referring to the island China claims as its own and threatens to invade.

Chinese scholars echoed the government line that China will not insert itself into Afghanistan's domestic affairs, regardless of how the situation develops. At a briefing this week, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said China would provide assistance to Afghanistan within its means.

While hawkish Chinese state media have portrayed events in Afghanistan as a win for Beijing and loss for Washington, that reflects a false sense of confidence, said Meia Nouwens, a China expert with the International Institute for Strategic Studies

China might not be as interested in exploiting the U.S. withdrawal as an opportunity to engage economically with Afghanistan as some have suggested, she said, noting that Beijing has been slowing its foreign infrastructure investment.

The question of how to safeguard security of Chinese investment and personnel also looms large.

For the moment ... Beijing will do the same as most other countries, she said. Wait and see how things develop in Afghanistan.

___

Associated Press writer David Rising contributed to this story from Bangkok.
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Video files have a standard set of video controls: - Reset to start, - Skip back, - Play, - Pause, - Skip forwards. Keyboard shortcuts: You can stop/start video play with the P key.

Controls - Animation (Spin Rotation)

Animation (usually 360 degree spin rotations) have their own controls: - enable spin mode. Note that while images are loading this option will not be available but will be automatically activated when the animation has loaded. Once active you can spin the image/change the animation by moving your mouse or finger on the image left/right or by pressing the [ or ] keys.

The button switches to move mode so that you can use your mouse/fingers to move the image around the screen as with other media types.

The button, or the P key will start playing the animation directly, you can interrupt this by using the mouse or finger on the image to regain manual movement control.

Controls - 3D Stereoscopic images

If a stereoscopic 3D image is opened in the viewer, the 3D button appears in the bottom right corner giving access to "3D settings" menu. The 3D images can be viewed in several ways:

- without any special equipment using cross-eyed or parallel-eyed method

- with stereoscope

- with anaglyph glasses.

- on a suitable 3D TV or monitor (passive 3D system)

For details about 3D refer to: Mindat manuals: Mindat Media Viewer: 3D

To enable/disable 3D stereo display of a compatible stereo pair image press the 3 key. If the left/right images are reversed on your display (this often happens in full-screen mode) press the 4 key to reverse them.

Controls - photo comparison mode

If a photo with activated comparison mode is opened in the viewer, the button appears in the bottom right corner giving access to "Comparison mode settings" menu.

Several layouts are supported: slider and side by-side comparison with up to 6 photos shown synchronously on the screen. On each of the compared photos a view selector is placed, e.g.: Longwave UV . It shows the name of currently selected view and allows to select a view for each placeholder.

Summary of all keyboard shortcuts
The Nationals are activating right-hander Austin Voth from the COVID-19 injured list, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). Reliever Javy Guerra has been designated for assignment to open space on the active roster.

Washington has a vacancy on the 40-man roster, but Guerra couldnt be optioned to the minors. Bumping him from the big league club required exposing him to waivers, and the veteran right-hander hasnt shown well over six appearances this year. Guerra has been tagged for thirteen runs on twelve hits (including three homers) with three walks and four strikeouts over six innings. He now seems likely to wind up on the free agent market in the coming days. Guerra has enough major league service time to reject an outright assignment if he passes through waivers unclaimed.

Guerra has appeared in the big leagues in each of the past eleven seasons, logging time with the Nats in the last two-plus years. The 35-year-old has bounced around the league after breaking in as the Dodgers closer a decade ago and should find interest elsewhere via minor league deals.

Voth has been out of action for a little more than three weeks. He landed on the COVID-19 IL alongside Trea Turner, Daniel Hudson and Alex Avila in late July. Turner and Hudson have since been traded and activated to their new clubs rosters, while Avila remains on Washingtons injured list. Voth has worked almost exclusively in relief this season, posting a 4.81 ERA over 43 innings.
The Rays announced theyve designated right-hander David Hess for assignment. The move clears space on the active and 40-man rosters for Chris Archer, who has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list as expected.

Its a quick turnaround for Hess, who was just selected to the roster yesterday. He didnt make an appearance in Tampa Bays 8-4 win over the White Sox and will now find himself on waivers. It could be a very brief second tenure in the organization for Hess, who signed a minor league deal on Thursday.

Hess began the year with Tampa Bay on a different minor league pact. He pitched very well for Triple-A Durham, working to a 2.81 ERA across 32 innings. Along the way, the 28-year-old punched out a strong 28.9% of opponents while posting a minuscule 3.9% walk rate. That caught the attention of the Marlins, who acquired him in early July and immediately added him to the big league club. Hess posted an even 8.00 ERA over 18 innings with the Fish before being designated for assignment.

Hess cleared waivers last week, so there would seem to be a good chance hell do so again. He has the right to elect free agency if he passes through unclaimed, which he did after being outrighted by Miami.
The Rays designated first baseman Mike Ford for assignment. The move opened up a 40-man roster spot for righty David Hess, whose contract was selected earlier today.

Tampa Bay acquired Ford in a trade with the Yankees back in June, and Ford could now potentially move on (via trade or waiver claim) without ever appearing in a big league game in a Rays uniform. Ford has done his part to attract attention, hitting .243/.346/.529 with 11 home runs over 162 PA with the Rays Triple-A affiliate. He also played a few games at third base, adding some defensive versatility to his resume after spending the large majority of his career as a first base-only type.

Ford broke into the majors in impressive fashion in 2019, hitting .259/.350/.559 with 12 homers over his first 163 PA in the Show. Since the start of the 2020 season, however, Ford has only a .526 OPS over 156 PA at the MLB level, all with New York.

Between Fords strong minor league numbers, his left-handed power potential, and the fact that he is controlled through the 2025 season, it wouldnt be a surprise to see another team take a flier on a waiver claim. The Blue Jays could be a speculative team to watch, as they reportedly had interest in Ford before the Yankees moved him to Tampa.
Backstreet's Back in the Summer of 69, Bon Jovi is living on a prayer and girls just wanna have funThats right, More FMs Annual High School Hit Countdown is back - counting down the 100 best High School Hits EVER!

All thanks to our friends at Novus, For every repair or replacement Novus glass donate towards planting native trees around New Zealand.

So get your scrunchies out of storage, slap your N*SYNC poster back on your wall, put your mood ring on, and feed your tamagotchi because were taking you back to High School!

More FMs Annual High School Hit Countdown will bring you the best high school hits from the 80s, 90s and 2000s!

Vote for the 10 songs that create the nostalgic soundtrack to your youth below! Everyone who votes is in the draw to win $1,000 cash!

Well be Mmmbopin and dancing with somebody on Friday 17 September when we countdown the 100 best High School Hits EVER!

For more - check out More FM's High School Hit on rova
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP)  The last person jailed for being gay in Romania walked free in 1998.

The country decriminalized homosexuality three years after that, in 2001, while reforming its laws to qualify for membership in the European Union.

The 20th anniversary of the abolishment of Article 200, which authorized prison sentences of up to five years for same-sex relations, was one cause for celebration during the gay pride parade and festival held in Romania's capital this month. People danced, waved rainbow flags and watched performances at Bucharest Pride 2021, an event that would have been unimaginable a generation earlier.

Yet many members of Romania's LGBT community remain frustrated by the Central European nation's failure to go further and pass laws that would legalize same-sex unions or marriages. There are also fears of a conservative backlash to the gains achieved so far.

Some Romanians, influenced by the Orthodox church, reject the growing social acceptance of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people, especially among young people.

We live in a society that is ever more polarized, in which the opportunities for real dialogue, for education or learning are very hard to create, said Accept Association Executive Director Teodora Ion-Rotaru, whose LGBT rights group organizes Bucharest's annual pride festival. This horrible cultural war which dominates Western societies is becoming very visible and real here as well.

Tension accompanied the planning of this year's festival, Ion-Rotaru said. The local government originally denied the organizers their usual venue, one of the oldest boulevards in the Romanian capital, Calea Victoriei. Officials cited difficulties in protecting an area closed to car traffic on weekends.

They reversed the decision following protests and an appeal by the British Ambassador to Romania, Andrew Noble, who joined a demonstration outside Bucharest City Hall.

Before the pride march, about 100 people held a counter-demonstration while holding religious icons and banners expressing their opposition to civil partnerships demonstrated-- and to the British ambassador. The participants included supporters of New Right, a political party whose slogan is Orthodoxy and Nationalism.

Romanian authorities have limited attendance at cultural and sporting events due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the pride festival, like protests, capped at 500 people. Some festival supporters argued the limit was unfair since religious gatherings do not have such restrictions; a recent pilgrimage drew tens of thousands.

LGBT rights have come under attack recently elsewhere in Central Europe. A new law that took effect in Hungary this summer banned the depiction of homosexuality in films, books and other content intended for audiences under 18. Dozens of communities in Poland have passed largely symbolic anti-LGBT resolutions amid a conservative backlash that began more than two years ago.

In Romania, lawmakers from two parties, including a junior partner in the country's governing coalition, plan to introduce legislation next month that would ban so-called gay propaganda in schools.

While there is growing support for LGBT rights among young Romanians, too many Romanians do not know anyone who openly identifies as gay, Ion-Rotaru said.

This shows that we are still the prisoners of invisibility, she said, and that our fight must be about stating our identity, acknowledging it, and about being known.

___

Andreea Alexandru contributed from Bucharest. Gera contributed from Warsaw.
JERUSALEM (AP)  Israel's military bombed Palestinian militant weapons sites in the Gaza Strip early Sunday in response to a violent demonstration on the perimeter fence that left an Israeli police officer critically injured, the army said.

Saturday's violence erupted after hundreds of Palestinians took part in a demonstration organized by Gazas Hamas rulers to draw attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the territory. The demonstration grew violent after dozens of people approached the fortified border fence and threw rocks and explosives toward Israeli soldiers from behind a black smoke screen billowing from burning tires.
Japanese FM discusses de-escalation with Iranian officials View Photo

TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  Iranian president met Sunday with Japans foreign minister in the capital of Tehran and the two discussed de-escalation of tensions in the region, Iranian news agencies reported.

The presidents official website, president.ir, said that Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi discussed bilateral, regional and international issues with President Ebrahim Raisi.

The two-day visit is the first by a Japanese official since Raisi became Irans new president and the first since the Japanese prime minister visited Iran in 2019. ISNA said Motegi is in Tehran at the official invitation of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The report said Motegi would meet with other Iranian officials, including Raisis nominated foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian and other high-ranking officials during his two-day visit.

Irans state-run IRNA news agency reported Saturday that Motegis visit to Tehran is aimed at boosting bilateral relations with Iran and furthering diplomatic efforts to de-escalate and stabilize the Middle East.

During Sundays meeting, Raisi welcomed efforts by Japan and other countries to help establish peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region. Iran has always supported peace and stability in Afghanistan. Of course, we believe that Afghans should make their own decisions in Afghanistan.

Raisi said he is opposed to the creation of insecurity in the region, adding: The presence of Americans in the region, including Afghanistan, has not provided security.

Motegi said Tokyo also supports diplomatic efforts by regional countries to achieve peace and stability in the region. He said Japan believes problems should be resolved peacefully and through dialogue.

Earlier on Sunday, Motegi met with Zarif and the two also discussed de-escalation of tensions in the region.

Semi-official ISNA news agency report Sunday said Motegi discussed bilateral, regional and international issues with Mohammad Javad Zarif.

In 2019, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Irans top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as an interlocutor for former U.S. President Donald Trump, hoping to ease tensions between Washington and Tehran. But Khamenei did not consider Trump worthy of an exchange of messages.

Recently, Japan donated some 3 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Iran, which has suffered the worst virus outbreak in the Middle East.
Israeli probe into deadly holy site stampede opens hearings View Photo

JERUSALEM (AP)  An Israeli government commission investigating a deadly accident at a Jewish pilgrimage site in April held its first day of hearings Sunday, almost four months after the stampede at Mount Meron left 45 people dead.

The April 29 incident at the Jewish festival in northern Israel was the deadliest civilian disaster in the countrys history. Around 100,000 worshippers, mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews, attended festivities despite coronavirus regulations limiting outdoor assemblies to 500 people, and in spite of longstanding warnings about the safety of the site.

Hundreds of people bottlenecked in a narrow passageway descending the mountain, and a slippery slope caused people to stumble and fall. The resulting human avalanche killed 45 people and injured at least 150.

In June, the Israeli government approved the formation of an independent state commission of inquiry to investigate safety shortcomings at the Lag Baomer celebrations at Mount Meron.

A panel headed by former Supreme Court justice Miriam Naor began proceedings with testimony from Northern District police chief Shimon Lavi, the officer who was in charge of managing the event.

Lavi said the Mount Meron festivities are the Israel Polices most significant annual event, requiring extensive resources, planning and preparation. He said that out of safety concerns there has been no limitation on attendance at Meron, thats how it has been done for the last 30 years. Any attempt to limit entry and put up barricades could result in bottlenecks and much greater disasters, he said.

The site in northern Israel is believed to be the burial place of celebrated second-century sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. The tomb complex and adjoining structures are managed by the Religious Services Ministrys department for holy places. Experts had long warned that the Mount Meron complex was inadequately equipped to handle the enormous crowds that flock there during the springtime holiday, and that existing infrastructure was a safety risk.

But Aprils gathering went forward this year nonetheless as powerful ultra-Orthodox politicians reportedly pressured then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other government officials to lift attendance restrictions.

Lavi said there had been neglect for many years and a lack of understanding that the event grew over time and that the infrastructure was not adequate, rather a kind of band-aid.

By ILAN BEN ZION

Associated Press
Mask, vaccine conflicts descend into violence and harassment View Photo

PHOENIX (AP)  The Hawaii lieutenant governor watched in horror as protesters showed up outside his condo, yelled at him through bullhorns and beamed strobe lights into the building to harass him over vaccine requirements.

A parent in Northern California barged into his daughters elementary school and punched a teacher in the face over mask rules. At a school in Texas, a parent ripped a mask off a teachers face during a Meet the Teacher event.

A Missouri hospital leader was approached in a parking garage this week by a man from Alabama who handed him papers accusing him of crimes against humanity, and it was not the only in-your-face encounter over vaccines and masks. School board members, county commissioners, doctors and local leaders are regularly confronted at meetings and in public with angry taunts that compare them to the Taliban, Nazis, Marxists and the leaders of Japanese internment camps.

Across the country, anti-vaccine and anti-mask demonstrations are taking scary and violent turns, and educators, medical professionals and public figures have been stunned at the level at which they have been vilified for even stating their opinion. And they have been terrified over how far protesters will go in confronting leaders outside their homes and in their workplaces.

The heat definitely got turned up this week, said Shannon Portillo, a county commissioner in Kansas who was berated at a meeting Wednesday in which the board mandated masks indoors for unvaccinated children. It got much more hostile than anything I had seen.

The pandemic rage has coincided with a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, a growing movement to require vaccines and a new round of mask requirements, most notably in schools where exhausted families had hoped the worst days of the virus were over. Now, the country is averaging nearly 1,000 coronavirus deaths a day.

Anger from parents over masks has been simmering in rural Amador County in Northern California, and it reached a peak earlier this month when for the first time a teacher was attacked. A father became irate when he saw his daughter come out of school wearing a mask but teachers in a lounge were unmasked. Vaccinated staff are allowed to take off their masks if students arent present, said Amador County Unified School District Superintendent Torie Gibson. The father was told this and left, but returned later to speak with the principal.

A concerned male teacher went to the principals office. An argument ensued and the father struck the teacher.

The teacher had some lacerations and bruising on his face and a knot on the back of his head, Gibson said.

He was treated at a hospital and returned to work the following day. Still, the incident has shaken teachers and the community.

The teachers have definitely been on edge. They are fearful because the last thing they want is to have an issue with a parent, Gibson said. They definitely looked over their shoulder for quite a few days, but I think things are now a little bit more calm.

Meanwhile, the father is prohibited from entering the school and could face prosecution.

Since Hawaii announced a mandate earlier this month that state and county workers would have to show proof of vaccination or face weekly tests, 50 to 100 unmasked vaccine opponents have gathered almost nightly outside the downtown Honolulu condominium building where Lt. Gov. Josh Green lives with his wife and two children, ages 14 and 10.

Some yell into bullhorns and shine strobe lights into apartment units, Green said. Flyers with his photo and the words Jew and fraud have been plastered around the neighborhood. Green, who is Jewish, has been tearing them down and turning them over to the state attorney generals office.

He understands the right to protest, but not why demonstrators subject bystanders to such rage.

They should protest me at my place of work, where Im the lieutenant governor, Green said. But its different than flashing a strobe light into a 90-year-old womans apartment or a strobe light into a familys apartment, where they have two kids under age 4.

Ironically, Green wasnt home during a recent intense weekend of protests. He was on the Big Island working on his other job as an emergency room doctor and treating mostly COVID-19 patients during a record surge in coronavirus hospitalizations in the state.

I will personally be taking care of these individuals in the hospital as their doctor when they get sick from refusing to wear masks and refusing to be vaccinated, he said.

In Kansas, commissioners in Douglas County in the Lawrence area were confronted with an angry, mostly unmasked crowd Wednesday before they mandated indoor public masks for 2- to- 12-year-olds who are too young to be vaccinated. During four hours of public comment, opponents invoked the Holocaust, the Taliban and Japanese internment camps.

As the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, Portillo was outraged at the comparisons.

It is really insulting to families all over who lost loved ones in genocides, she said.

Researchers, professors and political experts have varying opinions about how and why discourse seems to keep plunging to new lows over the pandemic, but many agree that social media is a big factor.

Barbara Rosenwein, professor emerita at Loyola University Chicago and author of Anger: The Conflicted History of an Emotion, said social media can make minority views look more like the majority. On the many social media platforms, people validate each others anger as being from a just and righteous place.

Over time the possibility of feeling righteous anger has become democratized. Everybody feels almost obligated to feel it, Rosenwein said. That locks you into a position that will allow for no compromise, which is terrible for our country.

That anger also makes it seem OK to buck authority such as teachers and government at a time of heightened culture wars on topics like education. Getting punished or even arrested might feel like a badge of courage, she said.

I dont think these people are running into old-age homes and telling granny she better not get vaccinated, Rosenwein said. I think theyre telling the school teachers because teachers represent an elite thats teaching their kids.

Rosenwein said theres no grand, one-size-fits-all solution to talking to a friend or family member who may be taking an anti-mask and anti-vaccine stance to extreme levels.

You have to start where they are  Lets hear your reasons and try to go from there, Rosenwein said.

Dr. Cadey Harrel, who practices family medicine in Tucson, Arizona, was among four health care workers who testified in favor of mask mandates earlier this month at a local school board meeting. She recently transferred her children out of that school district over the issue but still felt compelled to speak. An anti-mask group of four or five followed them out of the building after the meeting.

They started saying things along the lines of we were paid actors, we were paid to be there, that masks dont work, Harrel said. They were getting right in our face.

Harrel was unnerved but felt better after a few teachers thanked them for talking. And that motivated her to keep testifying at public meetings to provide a voice of science and reason amid all the outrage from mask and vaccine opponents.

The thing is that somebodys got to speak up, she said.

___

Kelleher reported from Honolulu, Tang from Phoenix and Rodriguez from San Francisco. Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth contributed from Mission, Kan.

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER, TERRY TANG and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ

Associated Press
Biden says US-led evacuation from Kabul is accelerating View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden said Sunday the U.S.-led evacuation of Americans, at-risk Afghans and others from the Kabul airport accelerated this weekend, although it remains vulnerable to threats posed by the Islamic State extremist group.

One week after the Taliban completed its takeover of Afghanistan by capturing Kabul, Biden said discussions are underway among military officials about potentially extending the airlift beyond Bidens Aug. 31 deadline. Our hope is we will not have to extend, but there are discussions, he said, suggesting the possibility that the Taliban will be consulted.

Since Aug. 14, one day before the Taliban entered Kabul, the airlift has evacuated 28,000 people, Biden said. He said that included 11,000 who had departed from Kabul in a 36-hour period this weekend, but he did not provide details. The number appeared to include flights by charter and non-U.S. military aircraft as well as the U.S. Air Force C-17 and C-130 transport planes that have been flying daily from the capital. The U.S. military is controlling air traffic on both the civilian and military sides of the airport.

Tens of thousands of people remain to join the airlift, which has been slowed by security issues and U.S. bureaucracy hurdles.

Biden asserted, without a full explanation, that U.S. forces have managed to improve access to the airport for Americans and others seeking to get on flights. He suggested that the perimeter had been extended, widening a safe zone.

What Im not going to do is talk about the tactical changes were making to make sure we maintain as much security as we can, he said. We have constantly, how can I say it, increased rational access to the airport, where more folk can get there more safely. Its still a dangerous operation but I dont want to go into the detail of how were doing that.

Later Biden added: Weve discussed a lot with the Taliban. Theyve been cooperative in extending some of the perimeter.

He said groups of Americans in Kabul are being moved more efficiently and safely to the airport, but he provided no details.

Any American who wants to get home, will get home, he asserted.

Earlier Sunday, administration officials said the U.S. military is considering creative ways to get Americans and others into the Kabul airport for evacuation from Afghanistan amid acute security threats, and the Pentagon on Sunday ordered six U.S. commercial airlines to help move evacuees from temporary sites outside of Afghanistan.

Addressing a criticism cited by many Republicans, Biden said no Afghan evacuees are being flown directly to the United States from Afghanistan without prior screening. He said they are being screened in third countries.

Biden and his top aides have repeatedly cited their concern that extremist groups in Afghanistan will attempt to exploit the chaos around the Kabul airport.

The threat is real, it is acute, it is persistent and something were focused with every tool in our arsenal, said Bidens national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.

Sullivan said on CNNs State of the Union that 3,900 people had been airlifted out of Kabul on U.S. military flights over the past 24 hours. A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public, said those people were flown on a total of 23 flights  14 by C-17 transports and nine aboard C-130 cargo planes.

That represents an increase from 1,600 flown out aboard U.S. military planes in the previous 24 hours, but remains far below the 5,000 to 9,000 that the military says it has the capacity to airlift daily. Sullivan also said about 3,900 people were airlifted on non-U.S. military flights over the past 24 hours.

The Biden administration has given no firm estimate of the number of Americans seeking to leave Afghanistan. Some have put the total between 10,000 and 15.000. Sullivan on Sunday put it at several thousand.

Speaking on ABCs This Week, Austin said that as Bidens Aug. 31 deadline for ending the evacuation operation approaches, he will recommend whether to give it more time. Tens of thousands of Americans and others have yet to be flown out of the country.

Austins interview with ABC aired Sunday but was taped Saturday. In a notice Sunday, the State Department urged people seeking to leave Afghanistan as part of an organized private evacuation effort not come to the Kabul airport until you have received specific instructions to do so from the U.S. Embassys flight organizer. The notice said that others, including American citizens, who have received specific instructions from the embassy to make their way to the airport should do so.

Austin said the airlift would continue for as long as possible.

Were gonna try our very best to get everybody, every American citizen who wants to get out, out, Austin said in the interview. And weve got  we continue to look at different ways to  in creative ways  to reach out and contact American citizens and help them get into the airfield.

The British military said Sunday another seven people had been killed in the unceasing crush of crowds outside the airport.

Republicans in Congress stepped up their criticism of Bidens response. If the Taliban is saying that Americans can travel safely to the airport, then there is no better way to make sure they get safely to the airport than to use our military to escort them, GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, an Army veteran, said on ABCs This Week.

Ryan Crocker, who served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan under Presidents George W, Bush and Barack Obama, told CBS Face the Nation that Bidens management of the withdrawal was catastrophic and had unleashed a global crisis.

A central problem in the evacuation operation is processing evacuees once they reach other countries in the region and in Europe. Those temporary waystations, including in Qatar, Bahrain and Germany, are sometimes reaching capacity, although new sites are being made available, including in Spain.

In an attempt to alleviate that, and to free up military aircraft for missions from Kabul, the Pentagon on Sunday activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet. The Defense Department said 18 aircraft from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, Omni Air, Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines will be directed to ferry evacuees from interim waystations. The airlines will not fly into Afghanistan. The six participating airlines have agreed to assist for a little less than two weeks, which roughly coincides with the currently planned duration of the airlift, which is to end Aug. 31.

The civil airline reserve system was last activated in 2003 for the Iraq War. The commercial airliners will retain their civilian status but the militarys Air Mobility Command will control the flights.

___

Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Lolita C. Baldor, Ellen Knickmeyer, Hope Yen and Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

By ROBERT BURNS and DARLENE SUPERVILLE

Associated Press
The nation's roiling tensions over vaccination against covid-19 have spilled into an unexpected arena: lifesaving blood transfusions.

With nearly 60% of the eligible U.S. population fully vaccinated, most of the nation's blood supply is now coming from donors who have been inoculated, experts said. That has led some patients who are skeptical of the shots to demand transfusions from only the unvaccinated, an option blood centers insist is neither medically sound nor operationally feasible.

"We are definitely aware of patients who have refused blood products from vaccinated donors," said Julie Katz Karp, who directs the blood bank and transfusion medicine program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia.

Emily Osment, an American Red Cross spokesperson, said her organization has fielded questions from clients worried that vaccinated blood would be "tainted," capable of transmitting components from the coronavirus vaccines. Red Cross officials said they have had to reassure clients that a coronavirus vaccine, which is injected into muscle or the layer of skin below, doesn't circulate in the blood.

"While the antibodies that are produced by the stimulated immune system in response to vaccination are found throughout the bloodstream, the actual vaccine components are not," Jessa Merrill, the Red Cross director of biomedical communications, said in an email.

So far, such demands have been rare, industry officials said. Louis Katz, chief medical officer for ImpactLife, an Iowa-based blood center, said he has heard from "a small handful" of patients asking for blood from unvaccinated donors. And the resounding answer from centers and hospitals, he said, has been "no."

"I know of no one who has acceded to such a request, which would be an operational can of worms for a medically unjustifiable request," Katz wrote in an email.

In practical terms, blood centers have only limited access to donated blood that has not in some way been affected by covid-19. Based on samples, Katz estimated that as much as 60% to 70% of the blood being donated is coming from vaccinated donors. Overall, more than 90% of current donors have either been infected with covid or vaccinated against it, said Michael Busch, director of the Vitalant Research Institute, who is monitoring antibody levels in samples from the U.S. blood supply.

"Less than 10% of the blood we collect does not have antibodies," Busch noted.

In addition, outside of research studies, blood centers in the United States don't retain data noting whether donors have been infected with or vaccinated against covid-19, and there's no federal requirement that collected blood products be identified in that manner.

"The Food and Drug Administration has determined there's no safety risk, so there's no reason to label the units," said Claudia Cohn, chief medical officer for AABB, a nonprofit group focused on transfusion medicine and cellular therapies.

Indeed, the FDA does not recommend routine screening of blood donors for covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Respiratory viruses, in general, aren't known to spread by blood transfusion and, worldwide, there have been no reported cases of the coronavirus being transmitted via blood. One study identified the risk as "negligible."

All donors are supposed to be healthy when they give blood and answer basic questions about potential risks. Collected units of blood are tested for transmissible infectious diseases before they are distributed to hospitals.

But that hasn't quelled concerns for some people skeptical of the vaccines.

In Bedford, Texas, the father of a boy scheduled for surgery recently asked that his son get blood exclusively from unvaccinated donors, said Geeta Paranjape, medical director at Carter BloodCare. Separately, a young mother fretted about transfusions from vaccinated donors to her newborn.

Many patients expressing concerns have been influenced by rampant misinformation about vaccines and the blood supply, Paranjape said. "A lot of people think there's some kind of microchip or they're going to be cloned," she said.

Other patients have balked at getting blood from people previously infected with covid-19, even though federal guidance greenlights donations two weeks after a positive test or the last symptom fades.

Some industry experts were hesitant to discuss the vaccine-free blood requests, for fear it would fuel more such demands. But Cohn and others said correcting widely spread misinformation outweighed the risk.

Patients are free to refuse transfusions for any reason, industry officials said. But in dire situations - such as trauma and emergency surgery - saving lives often requires using the available blood. For patients with chronic conditions requiring transfusion, alternative treatments such as medication or certain equipment may not be as efficient or effective.

People who require transfusions also may donate their own blood in advance or request donations from designated friends and family members. But there's no evidence that the blood is safer when patients select donors than that provided by the volunteer blood system, according to the Red Cross.

Earlier in the pandemic, many blood donations were tested to see whether they contained antibodies to covid-19. The hope was that blood from previously infected people who had recovered could be used to treat those who were very sick with the disease. Tens of thousands of patients were treated with convalescent plasma under a Mayo Clinic-led program and through authorization from the FDA.

But the use of convalescent plasma largely fell flat after studies showed no clear-cut benefits for the broad swath of coronavirus patients. (Research continues into the potential benefits of treating narrowly targeted patient groups with high-potency plasma.) Most hospitals stopped testing blood and labeling units with high levels of antibodies this spring, Busch said. "It's really no longer a germane issue because we're not testing anymore," he said. "There's no way we can inform recipients."

Busch stressed that the studies also have shown no harm associated with infusing antibody-containing blood plasma into coronavirus patients.

Past health crises have raised similar concerns about sources of donor blood. In the mid-1980s, recipients scared by the AIDS epidemic didn't want blood donated from cities such as San Francisco with large gay populations, Busch recalled. Even now, some recipients demand not to receive blood from people of certain races or ethnicities.

Such requests, like those for vaccine-free blood, have no medical or scientific basis and are soundly refused, blood center officials said.

The most pressing issue for blood centers remains the ongoing shortage of willing donors. As of the second week of August, the national blood supply was down to two days' worth or less at a third of sites affiliated with America's Blood Centers. That can limit the blood available for trauma victims, surgery patients and others who rely on transfusions to survive.

"If for some reason we didn't want vaccinated people to donate blood, we'd be in a real problem, wouldn't we?" Karp said. "Please believe us when we tell you it's fine."

- - -

This report is a product of Kaiser Health News, a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
Tom Hall, one of country music's most prolific songwriters who penned a number of popular hits recorded by other artists - including the Grammy Award-winning "Harper Valley P.T.A." in 1968 - before showcasing his own vocals and guitar picking as a popular headline entertainer, died Aug. 20 at his home in Franklin, Tenn. He was 85.

His son, Dean Hall, confirmed the death but didn't immediately provide a cause.

The plain-spoken Hall was first and foremost a gifted writer, which led to his nickname, "The Storyteller." He was listed among Rolling Stone magazine's 100 greatest songwriters. In a career that spanned five decades, Hall composed unflinching songs about working-class life in small towns that are by turns poignant, insightful and sardonic.

"He, Dolly Parton and a handful of others really lifted the craft of country song writing to a new level of sophistication, insight and sensitivity that generations of fans will still respond to," author and music historian Robert Oermann said in an interview. "His songs are so extraordinary . . . He just tells you the tale and by doing so makes you feel passionately whether it's war or love or politics. At his finest, he is deeply insightful on the human condition."

Hall wrote 12 songs that reached No. 1 one on Billboard's country music chart and more than 25 Top 10 songs. His biggest hits as a performer included "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died," "I Like Beer," "Faster Horses (The Cowboy and the Poet)," "(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine," "A Week in a Country Jail," "That's How I Got to Memphis," and "I Love," in which he recounted all the things he cherished from "little baby ducks, old pickup trucks . . . I love coffee in a cup, little fuzzy pups."

Hall had some early success writing songs for country performers such as Dave Dudley, Johnnie Wright and Jimmy C. Newman. His first song to reach No. 1 was Wright's recording of the war ballad "Hello Vietnam" in 1965. Newman had Top 10 country hits with Hall's "D.J. for a Day" (1963) and "Back Pocket Money" (1966), which recounts the story of a man whose wife controls the family purse strings to keep her husband faithful.

- - -

[Begin italics]

My Baby won't give me

No back pocket money

She's afraid I'll spend it

On the girls downtown

Front pocket money

Just the nickel and dime stuff

Sure cuts down on the runnin' around

[End italics]

- - -

Thomas Hall was born on May 25, 1936, in Olive Hill, a small town in eastern Kentucky. He was one of eight children. His father was a laborer and part-time minister who worked at a brick plant, and his mother was a homemaker.

From an early age, Hall was a prolific reader and was captivated by music broadcasts on the radio, including Ernest Tubb's "Midnite Jamboree." He wrote in his autobiographical "The Storyteller's Nashville" - originally published in 1979 and expanded in 2016 - that he knew from the age of 4 that he would someday be a songwriter in Nashville. A Christmas poem he wrote when he was 8 provided an early glimpse of the imagery and emotion he would later convey in his songs:

- - -

[Begin italics]

Walking through fields of snow

Lonely and Dejected

While the real Christmas

Shimmered somewhere

Far off in the City

- - -

[End italics]

When he was about 9, Hall visited the home of a friend who had a guitar but no interest in playing it. He seized the opportunity and learned to play chords on his own. Around the same time, he began to write songs. Overhearing a young married couple arguing next door, the line "Haven't I been good to you?" stuck in his head as a lyric that he would build his first song around.

Hall's teen years were marked by tragedy. His mother died of cancer when he was 13, and his father was severely injured in an accidental shooting, leading Hall to drop out of school in the ninth grade. He cared for his father and siblings, worked in a textile factory and as a gravedigger while performing with a bluegrass band that had a lot of airtime on radio stations in the region.

He went on to serve in the Army for four years beginning in 1957. Stationed in Germany, he performed original songs on the Armed Forces Radio Network, traveled with a western swing band and earned a high school diploma.

After the Army, Hall studied at Roanoke College in Virginia worked as a disc jockey for a number of radio stations, including WBLU in Roanoke. It was there that he met Jimmy Key, a music publisher with NewKeys Publishing. He sold several songs to Key before the publishing company offered to pay him a weekly draw of $50 to move to Nashville. The weekly draw was an advance payment against the royalties Hall hoped to earn on the sale of songs.

He arrived in Nashville on New Year's Day of 1964 and treated songwriting as a full-time job. He wrote five or six songs per week in longhand on yellow legal pads, later transitioning to an antique typewriter. Despite some early success, Hall said he was making so little money after a year in Nashville that he contemplated returning to radio.

Key encouraged him to stick it out. What followed was a decades-long career as a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist, weaving his narrative storytelling, philosophy and poetry with toe-tapping melodies. Over the years, some of the biggest names in country music would record Hall's songs, including Johnny Cash, George Jones, Loretta Lynn and Waylon Jennings.

He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and was named to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019.

Hall's biggest hit as a songwriter was the cultural touchstone "Harper Valley P.T.A.," recorded by Jeannie C. Riley, who won a Grammy in 1968 for best female country vocal performance. "Harper Valley P.T.A." sold millions of copies, hit No. 12 on the Billboard pop chart and No. 1 on the country chart and spawned a movie and a television series starring Barbara Eden.

The song tells the story of a widowed woman, Mrs. Johnson, who receives a letter from the PTA criticizing her for wearing short dresses and for "drinking and a-running 'round with men and goin' wild." Mrs. Johnson shows up at the next PTA meeting wearing a miniskirt and highlights the hypocrisy of the other board members, concluding:

- - -

[Begin italics]

And then you have the nerve to tell me

You think as the mother I'm not fit

Well, this is just a little Peyton Place

You're all Harper Valley hypocrites

[End italics]

- - -

Hall said that he wrote the song two years before it was published but had the idea for 20 years. Much like his first song, it captured a scene from his childhood in Olive Hill.

"When I was a small boy, there was a lady in town who had taken on the entire PTA for their indiscretions," he wrote in "A Storyteller's Nashville."

"The idea stuck with me for years," he added. "It was on this balmy afternoon in 1966, sitting at my checkered tablecloth, that I came up with the actual song. It was not hard to write, and I don't recall that it took more than an hour or so."

His first marriage, to Opal "Hootie" McKinney, ended in divorce. Survivors include thier son.

Hall's second wife, the former Iris "Dixie" Lawrence, died in 2015 after 45 years of marriage. They wrote bluegrass songs together and were named bluegrass songwriters of the year 12 times by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America. Both were inducted into the Bill Monroe Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

In 1972, Hall won a Grammy for best album notes for "Tom T. Hall's Greatest Hits." He expanded his writing to include two novels and the book "How I Write Songs, Why You Can."

"Most of my songs are biographical," Hall said at a live show at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville in 2011. "I was not very good at making up songs. I was a very proficient liar, you'd think I could have made up a song . . .. It didn't work for me so I just wrote down things I knew about."
SpongeBob Squarepants has a better chance of getting his boating license than this Houston pop-up has of getting away with knocking off the franchise.

Houston's own The Rusty Krab Experience has been slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit from Viacom, the media corporation that owns Nickelodeon and the under-the-sea cartoon. The company wants upwards of $250,000 from Kefi HTX and Sanju Chand, the company and owner behind the experience.

The pop-up, located at 711 Main Street in downtown, bills itself as an "artistic adaptation recreation" of the beloved kids series that offers slightly altered references to the show. Of course, Krusty Krab is changed to "Rusty Krab."

SpongeBob is instead called "The Big Sponge," Patrick is now "Pinky," and Bikini Bottom is called "Bottom of the Bikini." Squidward is "Octoward," Mrs. Puff is "Professor Pufferfish" and Plankton is "Tiny Cyclops."

Worst of all? Fictional Texas native Sandy Cheeks was changed to the "Cheeky Texan."

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas

The pop-up even has this disclaimer (or admission of guilt, depending on who you ask) at the bottom of its website:

"We are not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with NICKELODEON, or the SPONGEBOB BRAND DIRECTLY, or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates. This is Kefi HTX's artistic adaptation recreation of an amazing series that added value to our childhood! Enjoy the story telling from OUR eyes in the most FUN WAY!"

Charging for someone's child to have a knock-off experience sure sounds like a "fun way" to make a quick buck. The rest of the website is a treasure trove of red flags.

Viacom caught wind of the pop-up and filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Kefi HTX violated the law and Viacom's own licensing guidelines, particularly by associating the brand with alcoholic drinks, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by Chron.

Viacom has a strict policy against using its SpongeBob Squarepants brand, marketed to kids six and up, to sell alcohol. It also said the name and logo design of Rusty Krab was "confusingly similar" to the actual Krusty Krab name.

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas

Attorneys tried to settle things out of court by sending the company a cease and desist letter in May 2021, but the company didn't comply.

Chand, the owner being sued, instead reached out to Viacom to "partner up," according to the lawsuit. Viacom declined.

It's unclear who exactly the experience is marketed to. Its drink menu is just as large as its food menu, but tickets for kids are discounted.

Parents complained in online reviews, one saying that her child was "verbally and then physically assaulted" by a large group of adults who were apparently intoxicated, according to the lawsuit.

Other reviews on Facebook were just as negative:

Kefi HTX has yet to formally respond to the lawsuit, and an employee at The Rusty Krab Experience told Chron the pop-up had no comment when reached by phone. Viacom is seeking a $250,000 payout from the company, a transfer of all assets and all of the profits the pop-up has made so far.

What do you think? Is this good parody or blatant infringement? Let me know on Twitter: @jayrjordan
Navigating refunds for canceled travel plans in the era of the coronavirus has been an ongoing headache since March 2020. Last week, one frustrated traveler took to social media to share his recent Airbnb issue, unearthing a policy most users are likely to overlook.

In the Reddit discussion group r/travel, user u/markvauxhall posted about his experience struggling to get a full refund from a canceled reservation. Here's the gist: Mark needed to cancel a September 2021 Airbnb booking he made for his family in April. He had chosen a listing that promised a full refund if he canceled before 4 p.m. on Sept. 13, but when he went to cancel, it said he could get a full refund, minus a $200 service fee.

Because so many other travelers are probably booking and later canceling reservations because of the pandemic - especially now with the delta surge - we wanted to dig into what happened here.

Mark was familiar with the platform's fees. He, his wife and newborn baby had been traveling back and forth from the U.K. to the United States to see family. But ever-evolving travel restrictions kept complicating their plans. Their first cancellation, a November 2020 booking in southwest Florida, yielded only a 50% refund.

"We just swallowed that on the basis of we're trying to travel during a pandemic and these things happen," Mark, who wasn't comfortable sharing his last name, told The Washington Post.

After learning their lesson, the couple made sure their future reservations were more flexible. In the following months, they had no problem getting refunds from two other bookings for June and July 2021. When they had to cancel a fourth reservation because of rapid changes with British travel restrictions, Mark was confused to see that Airbnb was going to withhold the service fee.

Mark looked back at his original email and saw the confirmation clearly stated he would get a full refund if he canceled by the 4 p.m. Sept. 13 deadline - no other caveats, no mention of service fees (which are set by Airbnb, not the host). What he didn't realize was in the fine print.

According to the Terms of Service found in Airbnb's Help Center, "if the canceled reservation overlaps with another of your reservations or if you've already received 3 service fee refunds in the last 12 months, [the service fee] won't be refunded." There is no risk of getting your account banned for canceling too much or canceling an overlapping reservation; you will just stop getting the service fee back. Airbnb says these rules have been around well before the pandemic.

Normally, if a customer had already reached the limit of three cancellations in 12 months, that person would see they were ineligible for a service fee refund when browsing for listings. Airbnb customer service told Mark that because he'd canceled three reservations in nine months, he was no longer eligible for the cancellation policy he confirmed back in April. He assumed he just hadn't been aware of or alerted about the change because he had made the reservation before his cancellations.

But, Mark said, he didn't get three service fee refunds, just the two from his June and July bookings. What he had done, it turned out, was trigger the other part of the service fee policy, by canceling an overlapping reservation.

"Everyone knows that their travel plans are at risk," Mark said. "People are trying to protect themselves, paying a premium for the better cancellation policy. So it feels like when people are trying to do the right thing ... hidden terms feel unreasonable."

After a 25-minute-long phone call with customer service, Mark got the full refund.

We asked Airbnb about Mark's situation, and a spokesperson said in a statement: "While we recognize that this guest was not fully aware of the terms impacting his cancellation, we were able to ensure that he received a full refund. We encourage consumers to review the terms of the cancellation policy prior to booking their stay."

The moral of the story: Always read the terms of service.

Unless you read the terms or keep track of your cancellations and service fee refunds from the past 12 months, you might not know that you aren't getting your service fee refunded until you go to make that fourth cancellation, even if the booking was fully refundable. (Also, service fees can vary greatly.)

Don't forget the other factors that could impact a refund amount. One is the cleaning fee, which Airbnb says customers will always get back if they cancel before check-in. The other is their on-site property fee policy that states: "If a hotel or other professional Host collects property fees on-site, any refund of those fees is at the discretion of the Host."

As of late, Airbnb fees have been incurring the wrath of customer complaints on the Internet - not just service fees (which usually cost a customer about 14 percent of the booking subtotal), but occupancy taxes and cleaning fees. After a handful of angry tweets went viral, Airbnb has said a team will review the company's fees and make recommendations "with the objective of making pricing even more transparent and easy for hosts and guests to navigate."

Mark's story is a warning to travelers to read terms of service and book with scrutiny, particularly while the coronavirus keeps our day-to-day lives in flux. It's a reminder to double-check your reservation to make sure you're getting what you paid for - or can get what you paid for back.

"My philosophy is that you have to be ready for changes," Mark said after his experience. "Whenever you're booking a trip right now, the pandemic can throw out a surprise. Your travel plans have to be flexible."
DALLAS (AP)  Pleas for help from Afghans have been filling up Caroline Clarins phone for days as she works from her rural Minnesota home and tries to provide hope to those who ping heart-wrenching messages of desperation from a world away.

Since 2017, Clarin, who ran a U.S. Department of Agriculture program in Afghanistan, and her wife, Sheril Raymond, have helped get five Afghans and their families from her program into the U.S. Now they are trying to help more than a half dozen other Afghans and their families leave Afghanistan.

Ive been getting messages about hopelessness, and waiting to be killed by the Taliban, and I said its not over til its over," Raymond said. "And as best as I can from sitting in my comfy chair in Minnesota where Im safe, I am trying to say please do not give up hope, think of your children, and hold on."

Across the U.S., Americans are scrambling to help Afghans fleeing their country after the Taliban's speedy takeover. Driven by compassion, those pitching in include everyone from volunteers at refugee resettlement agencies to people like Clarin and Raymond, who are helping on their own.

Russell Smith, CEO of Refugee Services of Texas, said people are calling agencies like his and offering to help as it scrambles to prepare for the arrivals. Normally, he would get at least a week's notice that families are arriving in the cities where they'll be resettled, but that's accelerated.

It is a little faster than we kind of were ready for, I think, probably than anybody was ready for really, Smith said of the arrivals.

Since late July, more than 2,000 Afghans have been flown to Fort Lee Army base in Virginia and thousands more are still expected. The Afghans who worked for the U.S. government and their families can qualify for special immigrant visas. Tens of thousands of others who also qualified have been left behind because of a backlog of visa applications.

From Fort Lee, the goal is to move them as quickly as possible to the communities where they will start their new life, said Jennifer Sime, a senior vice president at the International Rescue Committee.

Refugees receive temporary food and housing assistance, typically for their first 90 days, from nonprofit organizations operating with a combination of government grants and private donations. They can also get some long-term services such as language classes and citizenship classes, but they are expected to become self-sufficient.

They have to be very resilient. Its not easy, said Stephen Carattini, the CEO of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, which for more than 15 years has been annually settling hundreds of Afghan refugees in Northern Virginia. The basics, being employed, paying their rent, that has to happen very, very quickly.

The Afghans who worked for Clarin's program in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2011 are eligible for the special immigrant visa as well since their salaries came from the U.S. military.

The program hired Afghans with college degrees in agriculture and other related fields to become trainers who would help provincial governments and farmers improve their productivity and relieve poverty.

But many of their visa applications had not moved forward for years until Clarin fired off emails to senators pointing out the cases. She diligently tracks cases and solicits letters of recommendation.

Clarin also used her retirement funds to pay for the trip so Ihsanullah Patan, a horticulturist, and his family could get out of Afghanistan. They arrived in Minnesota in May.

Its the best investment Ive ever made, Clarin said, tearing up as she stood next to Patan, who has a wife and four children, ages 4 to 11.

Patan, who had applied in 2016 for the visa, is grateful for the couple he calls family and says without them, it would have been impossible" to get out.

Thank God that we are here now, Patan said, adding that his friends were being killed because they had worked for the U.S.

Krish OMara Vignarajah of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, which provided Patan's apartment after the couple contacted them, said Clarin and Raymond embody the best of the American spirit and the higher call to love our neighbors."

We couldnt be more grateful for the outpouring of support from volunteers, advocates, and donors from all walks of life, OMara Vignarajah said.

People can help in many ways, from greeting Afghans at airports and help the families navigate their new life, resettlement agencies say.

Megan Carlton, who works at Refugee Services of Texas, also volunteers her time to set up homes for refugees in the Dallas area. She just finished filling an apartment for a family from Afghanistan who moved in Tuesday.

Over the years, shes created her own network of people who donate items to furnish the homes, filling them with necessities like pots and pans in addition to extra items like paintings and vases to make it feel like home.

None of us can control whats going on over there, but we can control this, she said. We can create this home.

___

Watson contributed to this report from San Diego. Associated Press writers Ben Fox in Washington, Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin, Jim Salter in St. Louis and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON - The era of perpetual presidential impeachment is probably upon us.

Six months after the conclusion of the last impeachment, Republicans have begun calling for President Joe Biden to be removed from office over his handling of the evacuation of Americans and allies from Kabul.

"If we leave one American behind, if we don't get all those Afghans who stepped up to the plate to help us out, then Joe Biden, in my view, has committed a high crime and misdemeanor under the Constitution and should be impeached," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Friday on Fox News.

On Monday, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, the No. 3 Republican in House leadership, called for Biden's ousting amid the evacuation chaos at Kabul's airport. "Joe Biden is unfit to serve as President of the United States of America," Stefanik wrote on Twitter, a phrase she has reiterated several times since.

Add those comments to the sentiment from GOP provocateurs who draw outsize attention on conservative news, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who announced Thursday night that she would introduce articles of impeachment related to Afghanistan.

It's now increasingly clear: If Republicans win the House majority, Biden is very likely to be impeached.

He would be the third of the last five presidents to be impeached, after just one of the first 41 commanders in chief, Andrew Johnson, faced an impeachment trial in the Senate in 1868.

Mature analysts in both parties will call that outlandish to predict at this point, barely seven months into a presidency that, as of a few weeks ago, remained fairly popular.

As chaotic as things seem in Afghanistan, the U.S. coalition there has not lost an ambassador, as happened in Libya during a 2012 siege that also cost three other American lives. Nor has there been a months-long hostage siege at the U.S. Embassy, as occurred in Tehran in 1979.

Neither of those crises prompted the impeachment of Barack Obama or Jimmy Carter, respectively. And even if they face a drubbing during the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats will maintain a healthy enough minority to easily to assure Biden's acquittal in the Senate, making a House-led impeachment mostly symbolic.

But today's Congress operates on warp speed compared with even a decade ago, with congressional leaders often unable to resist demands from their ideological bases.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., spent the first eight months of 2019 defiantly opposed to impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, lecturing fellow Democrats that they needed strong public support that could compel the Senate to convict before she would support the move.

Pelosi feared that a partisan impeachment with a partisan acquittal in the Senate would weaken the constitutional check against a president to something resembling a censure resolution.

"People think all you do: Vote to impeach, bye-bye, birdie. It isn't that - it's an indictment. So you need the best possible indictment," she told reporters in June 2019.

When she first became speaker, in 2007, she resisted calls to impeach President George W. Bush when liberals wanted to hold him accountable for taking the nation into the Iraq War under the false pretense that the Hussein regime had weapons of mass destruction.

"I didn't believe in it then, I don't believe in it now. It divides the country, unless there's some conclusive evidence that takes us to that place," Pelosi told reporters in March 2019.

Less than two years later, Pelosi had presided over two impeachments of Trump, the first for his pressure campaign against Ukraine officials to investigate Biden's family and the second focused on whether the president incited the rioters that stormed the Capitol Jan. 6 trying to block certification of Biden's victory.

Both Senate trials ended with an acquittal, although seven Senate Republicans joined 50 Democrats in the Feb. 13 vote for the most bipartisan vote ever against a president, falling 10 votes shy of the two-thirds majority required to win a conviction.

Most Senate Republicans said they opposed the second Trump impeachment because he had already left office. And they also warned that, once back in power, they would return the favor.

"If it is a good idea to impeach and try former Presidents, what about former Democratic Presidents when Republicans get the majority in 2022? Think about it," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in late January.

But some Republicans have already begun to call for the impeachment of Biden.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, reminded an interviewer Thursday that he has already called for the impeachment of Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the surge of undocumented immigrants across the southern border.

"I've already said that they should be impeached for their lack of ability to secure the border, and now, because of their complete incompetence, their willful disregard for enforcing what we should be doing in Afghanistan," Roy said on Newsmax.

Taylor Greene and Roy are both allies of Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who stands to become House Judiciary Committee chairman if Republicans win the majority.

Jordan has been careful not to call for impeachment, but he has blasted the president repeatedly on Afghanistan and his handling of the border.

A former political adviser to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., made the case that Trump's first impeachment provides grounds for Republicans to move against Biden.

"The trouble with Dems lowering the bar when impeaching Trump over Ukraine is that Biden has certainly now tripped over it himself. Same elements at play," Scott Jennings wrote Thursday in a long Twitter thread. Jennings served in George W. Bush's White House, and is now a commentator on CNN.

With that rationale, the question might be when, not if, Jordan launches impeachment proceedings if Republicans take over in January 2023.

That would be the third impeachment proceeding in less than four years - matching the total number of impeachments in the previous 243.

Those first two had consequence: Johnson survived the Senate trial but was politically weakened and lost his party's nomination a few months later, and Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, before the full House voted on three articles of impeachment against him.

But Bill Clinton fought his impeachment to a 50-50 draw in the Senate and left office in January 2001 one of the most popular presidents of modern times.

By the time the Senate acquitted him in February 2020, Trump saw his highest approval ratings of his one term, only to lose support for his handling of the pandemic crisis.

While his presidency ended at his lowest popularity levels following the insurrection, Trump's hold on Republican voters remains strong. He is the clear favorite to win the 2024 nomination should he run again, despite being doubly impeached.

Based on that recent evidence, it seems clear that, as a congressional tool, impeachment grows less powerful the more often it's deployed against a president.

Yet some Republicans are ready to jump go straight down that path.

"Joe needs to go if he does this," Graham said Friday.
International

As China, Pak weigh recognising Taliban, experts warn long-term losses, US ire

BEIJING, AUG 22 | Publish Date: 8/22/2021 11:45:03 AM IST

As China, Pakistan mull a joint strategy to push for a global recognition of the Taliban regime in war-torn Afghanistan to further their interests, experts have warned the all-weather allies of long-term losses, especially a blowback effect from the US which may turn its ire on Beijing and Islamabad to avenge its Afghan imbroglio.

Since the Talibans takeover of Kabul on August 15, China and Pakistan have stepped up contacts amidst a sense of their delight over a humiliating defeat of the US after a 20-year war in Afghanistan despite lingering concerns over the return of the Taliban with all its baggage of the al-Qaeda and the Islamic State terror groups.

Contrary to its oft-stated diplomatic position that it has no favourites in Afghanistan, the Pakistani government is clearly comfortable with the return of the Taliban, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Posted quoted some Pakistani analysts as saying.

Within hours of Kabuls fall, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said the Afghan people had broken the shackles of slavery to the West.

Pakistan has lobbied the international community -- close allies China and Russia in particular -- to garner support for a collective diplomatic engagement with the Taliban as a means of ensuring that the group keeps its promises to form an inclusive administration, prevent terrorist attacks from Afghanistan and allow women access to education and employment, the Post report said.

Pakistan has the most to gain from peace in its neighbour and the most to lose from strife and instability, said Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the UK, the UN and the US.

Pakistan only stands to gain in terms of stability on its western border if the Taliban were able to govern effectively, accommodate other ethnic groups and establish a lasting peace, she said.

Conversely, if they are unable to do so, Afghanistan could face an uncertain and unstable future which will not be in Pakistans interest, she said.

Abdul Basit, an associate research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, said the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban is a marriage of convenience based on tactical divergences in Afghanistan.

For Pakistan, it was to keep India out of Afghanistan by helping the Taliban. For the Taliban, it was to resist the US presence and eventually force it out of Afghanistan by availing itself of sanctuaries in Pakistan, he told the Post.

Beyond this marriage of convenience, the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban had its own ups and downs, disagreements and divergences, Basit said.

For instance, Islamabad was frustrated by the Talibans lack of action against the thousands of Pakistani Taliban fighters in eastern Afghanistan, he said.

At a confidential parliamentary briefing of Pakistans politicians on July 2, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed described the Taliban and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group as sides of the same coin. Also, the analysts said both Pakistan and China will face a strong push back from the US, which may feel more liberated after withdrawing its troops as it could focus its attention more on China and the region.

The US-Pakistan ties would remain strained, with Washington asking for counterterrorism support and pressure on the Taliban, Stanford University analyst Asfandyar Mir said.

If the Taliban behave responsibly and run their government moderately, US-Pakistan relations will stay afloat without showing any improvement, Basit said, adding that if the situation in Afghanistan deteriorated, the US-Pakistan ties will nosedive.

Chinese analysts too had a similar warning for China.

Americas longest war has ended in a catastrophic failure and it has given Beijing a propaganda coup at the time of adversarial nature of bilateral ties with Washington, Wang Xiangwei, former Editor-in-Chief of the Post, wrote in his column in the newspaper.

Understandably, Chinese official media reports and commentators have been relentless in mocking the American defeat in Afghanistan, a country known as the Graveyard of Empires.

There is no doubt that the American debacle in Afghanistan has given Chinas massive propaganda machine a field day, allowing it to pour scorn on American decline, but the claims of some overseas analysts that this has given China a strategic win are premature, Wang said.

From a Chinese point of view, having US troops bogged down in Afghanistan has far greater geopolitical benefits, he said.

Now the American withdrawal will not only create uncertainties and risks in regional stability and the balance of power but will also allow Washington to focus more attention and resources on countering China, he said.

US President Joe Biden made that sentiment clear in his speech this week when he said our true strategic competitors, China and Russia would love nothing more than the United States to continue to funnel billions of dollars in resources and attention into stabilising Afghanistan indefinitely.

Evidently, Beijing sees both risks and opportunities after the Taliban returns to power, Wang said.
By Brett Wilkins. Originally published at Common Dreams

As Floridas Republican-led Board of Education warned school districts they would face fines for not complying with Gov. Ron DeSantis ban on mask mandates, leaders in the states fourth-largest city issued a plea that vividly illustrated the consequences of the governors refusal to follow public health guidance.

On Friday, the state Board of Education ordered school boards in Alachua and Broward counties to disclose the salaries of all their members so that the DeSantis administration can begin withholding 1/12 of their pay each month. The move is retaliation for the districts implementation of mandatory mask requirements for all staff and students in defiance of DeSantis ban on such sweeping mandates.

The Republican administration accuses the districts of running afoul of a rule requiring public schools to allow for a parent or legal guardian of the student to opt-out the student from wearing a face covering or mask.

State Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran explained in a press release that these are the initial consequences to [the districts] intentional refusal to follow state law and state rule to purposefully and willingly violate the rights of parents. This is simply unacceptable behavior.

Proponents argue that mask mandates will save lives in a state with one of the nations lowest coronavirus vaccination rates, and some of its highest Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations. Public health experts say the former is a direct cause of the latter.

Youre having a very difficult situation because of the low level of vaccination that you have, not only in Florida but some of the other states, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said earlier this month. Florida is really one of the worst in the sense of the number of new cases and now the number of new hospitalizations.

President Joe Biden responded to Floridas threat against the school boards by vowing to cover any salary shortfalls caused by punitive withholding.

Let me be clear: We will do everything we can to support local school districts in safely reopening schools. American Rescue Plan funds can be used to backfill the salaries of the brave Florida school board members, superintendents, and other educators keeping our children safe. https://t.co/sDoZHm3MMH  President Biden (@POTUS) August 20, 2021

The Biden Administration is fully committed to a safe and healthy return to in-person learning for all students this fall, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. It is deeply troubling to see state leaders putting politics ahead of the health and safety of our students, and that instead of supporting our educators for doing the right thing, state leaders are trying to punish them.

In another unintended consequence of Floridas largely preventable Covid-19 surge, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and the Orlando Utilities Commission on Friday urgently appealed to residents of the states fourth-largest city to dramatically cut back on their water usage due to a pandemic-driven shortage of liquid oxygen, an essential component of water purification.

Our partners at @OUCreliableone are asking residents and businesses to limit the watering of lawns and washing of cars. Many unvaccinated, critically-ill patients require liquid oxygen (which OUC uses to treat our water) at hospitals and its in great demand nationally. pic.twitter.com/bLGtLdmWke  Mayor Buddy Dyer (@orlandomayor) August 20, 2021

According to The Orlando Sentinel:

If commercial and residential customers are unable to reduce water usage quickly and sufficiently, Orlando Utilities Commission may issue a system-wide alert for boiling water needed for drinking and cooking. Without reductions in water usage, a boil-water alert would come within a week, utility officials said. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer asked residents to immediately stop watering their lawns, washing their cars, and using pressure washers. Landscape irrigation consumes about 40% of the water provided by OUC.

This is another unfortunate impact of the pandemic continuing to surge in our community, Dyer, a Democrat, said at a news conference. And its another result of what happens when residents do not get vaccinated, become critically ill, and need dire medical support and treatment.
The Arc of History Bends Toward Emotional Support Peacocks Year Zero

IN THESE COZY MYSTERIES, FURRY SIDEKICKS ARE THE REAL STARS Crime Reads

Americas Most Flamboyant Private Eye and the 8,000-Mile Manhunt Narratively (Anthony L)

Are the English exceptionally gullible? The Spectator (Anthony L)

No one comes here any more: the human cost as Covid wipes out tourism Guardian

Four hundred years of melancholywhy Robert Burtons masterpiece speaks to our pandemic age Prospect

The World Is All That Is the Case The Millions

Police leave disabled Colorado woman with nearly $1,600 toll bill after using her stolen license plate The Gazette

#COVID-19

Its pretty dire: Vancouver Island salmon under threat from climate change-induced droughts The Narwhal

NATOs southern flank is under attack  from wildfires The Hill

Henri vs. Sandy: How this hurricane stacks up against 2012s killer storm NY Post

Hurricane Henri: What to know as rare cyclone heads north AP

Hurricane Henri already flooding NYC streets, subways NY Post. Lots of rain here in Brooklyn last evening, which started just before we sat down to dinner. Its now paused ,with the worst expected later today. I just hope my basement doesnt flood  nor anything else, for that matter.

Groves of Academe

New York Dems brace for a new era in the state party Cuomo made his own Politico

Lebanon

Syraqistan

David Remnick: The Forever Editor https://t.co/T8Cf5E2iuF  Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) August 21, 2021

Wonder why these guys didnt want to sacrifice their lives so Ashraf Ghanis nephew can enjoy himself in Dubai and some generals and newspaper columnists in DC can feel less humiliated. https://t.co/zAK21Hkeev  Murtaza Hussain (@MazMHussain) August 21, 2021

Class Warfare

If Obama had tried to keep his promises and failed due to GOP obstinacy his early followers would have understood. The record is different  he bailed on promises and executed crooked deals like the PhRMA giveaway and the Citi bailout before Republicans even entered the picture. https://t.co/IeZutkyaeb  Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) August 19, 2021

Biden Administration

Vietnam

Myanmar

India

JUST CHILLING: Rescue workers attempted to recover a reported dead body from the Arkansas River in in Tulsa, Oklahoma, only to find the man alive and well. Please stay safe and find alternate ways to stay cool, the fire department urged. https://t.co/KyjPZoaDr1 pic.twitter.com/2TWvnRxw9o  ABC News (@ABC) August 21, 2021

Antidote du Jour (Tracie H):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
(Natural News) The Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) sued the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the unredacted portion of the April 18th, 2020 email. The original email was released under a prior Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request resulting in the release of thousands of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony Faucis emails.

(Article by Natalie Winters republished from TheNationalPulse.com)

The email  titled Thank you for your public comments re COVID-19s origins  reveals EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak offering a robust thank you to Fauci for affirming a natural origin for COVID-19. The National Pulse has previously highlighted Daszaks financial and personnel ties to the Chinese Communist Party, which ultimately led to his recusal from the Lancets COVID-19 commission.

Despite Faucis insistence the NIAID never funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology  a longtime collaborator of Daszaks EcoHealth Alliance  the redacted portion of the email indicates otherwise. Daszak acknowledges the work weve been doing in collaboration with Chinese virologists, adding that the work focused on bat-origin coronaviruses.

In full, the redacted portion of the email reads:

Its been a very hard few months as these conspiracy theorists have gradually become politicized and hardened in their stance. Especially because the work weve been doing in collaboration with Chinese virologists has given us incredible insight into the risks that these viruses represent, so that we can directly help protect our nation from bat-origin coronaviruses. Were fighting to keep the communications open with our Chinese colleagues, so that we can better address future pandemics like COVID-19.

The news will now raise further questions as to why that part of the e-mail was redacted in the first instance.

In recent months, Fauci has clashed repeatedly with Senator Rand Paul who alleged that NIAID cash was being spent on gain of function experiments. This latest e-mail yet again disproves Faucis denials, and shines more light on the collaboration between Americas elites and the Chinese Communist Party which may have led to the outbreak of COVID-19.

Read more at: TheNationalPulse.com
(Natural News) Several years ago while working in Germany I visited the Dachau Concentration Camp. I will tell you if you ever get the opportunity to do so, I highly recommend it. Not because it is a tourist attraction, but because it is about our history  a history we never want to repeat. I will also tell you, it is one of the most gut-wrenching, soul-piercing, things I have ever experienced. You can feel the death in this place and as you walk the grounds and there are images, newspaper archives, clothing, as well as smells you will never forget. It is also a very large complex. From one end to the other it felt like a mile. When you leave the main building, you walk past the foundations of what was once 32 barracks which at one time resembled chicken coops. Given Himmlers background as a chicken farmer, it certainly makes you wonder if that wasnt the premise behind the design. At the end beyond the barracks, there was a path that veered off to the left that made the visit, which already seemed dark, turn extremely dark. What was hidden just out of sight of the main camp, were the gas chambers and crematories and this, is where over *41,500 people, mainly Jews, were exterminated. (* this number was a calculated guess by officials and cannot be verified).

(Article republished from MonkeyWerxUS.com)

Dachau was established in 1933 to originally hold political prisoners and hardened criminals and was the first concentration camp by which all others were modeled. In 1935 it was repurposed to hold Jews, homosexuals, Christians, and migrants. Over the course of the next 10 years (1935-1945), an undetermined amount of people, mostly Jews, were murdered in Dachau alone as there were trainloads of stacked bodies, mass graves of crematory ashes, and other activities outside of the camp by which no number was ever calculated.

While walking the halls, I read a few newspaper headlines, one that said Madchen u. Frauen, heraus, aus ver Finsternis! Which translated means, Women and children out of the darkness! The other said, Unsere letzte Hoffnung: Hitler. which says Our last hope. Hitler. I found it interesting that we are hearing similar things today from our politicians and the like.

Intro the CDC Green Zone plan. If you havent read this jewel, I encourage you to do so. This plan is called the Interim Operational Consideration for Implementing the Shielding to Prevent COVID-19 Infections in Humanitarian Settings. Indeed that was a mouthful, and to think it is the interim plan (meaning it is the plan between plans transitioning from one phase to another). The intent of the plan is to locate and isolate individuals who have COVID to stop the spread. This is merely the kick-off as we have yet to see the end plan  or have we? Intro The Great Reset by Klaus Schwab  more on that shortly.

Back to the CDC plan  it is somewhat short and to the point and lays out exactly how they will handle people who are infected. It begins with home isolation, then quickly goes to the neighborhood level, and then into camps. Thats right, camps  called green zones. Now, the home is in essence a lockdown while the neighborhood is something I havent quite gotten my head around as that would require some level of external policing and enforcement. The camps however are pretty clean cut. Just like Dachau, they will have one entry point which will be used to exchange food and supplies and bring in the infected, and there will be no movement inside or outside the green zone. According to the plan, inside the neighborhood and camps, they will separate children and genders. One thing that is glaringly missing in this plan is the exit of healthy people, it isnt even mentioned. How they will know you are infected will be via the contract tracing apps that have been pushed to your mobile devices which have yet to be activated (just note the capability is already there). There are also socio-demographics to be considered within this plan which takes us over to The Great Reset with Klaus Schwab.

Now if you havent read this book, I will tell you that it has an eerie tone of Hitlers Mein Kemph. Klaus Schwab is Chairman of the World Economic Forum and is an avid believer of a New World Order that includes one money and one government, along with one world leader to run it all. However, instead of wiping the world of the Jews, he takes a swipe at humanity in its entirety. In fact, Klaus plan dovetails the entire COVID scenario and emphasizes the need for this all to take place now. Remember, never let a crisis go to waste. Now according to Schwab, the world is on the brink of collapse and all it needs is a little nudge. In comes the delta variant and a government mandate worldwide  mission complete. Klaus points out the conditions around the world relative to social unrest, global supply chain issues, etc. In fact, he even states that the first indicator of the supply chain woes will be automobiles. Which if you have looked at the car dealership lots lately you may have noticed there arent very many new cars and if you try to buy one, there is a 90- 1 20-day lead time for it to arrive.

It doesnt just stop with these two plans, there is actually a website out there called endcoronavirus.org that also seems to be pushing the green-zone approach with analytics on the spread by country. Clearly, a coordinated effort with the CDC and the WHO, which Klaus also states is a must-have for his one-world approach. One very interesting data point with regard to the country list is that Central and South America seem to have the biggest outbreaks right now. Yet, we dont seem to care about them coming into our country at our southern border. Maybe thats because this isnt about a virus?

Now lets take a look at the workplaces where they are coming out with plans on how to identify those who havent been vaccinated with different color badges, stickers, armbands, etc. Not to mention they are mandating people get the vaccine and if you fail to comply, you are out of a job, cannot travel, and shunned by society.

Remember folks, this has absolutely NOTHING to do with a vaccine. This is about ushering in their new world order which will ultimately be the beast system as described in Revelation 13. That is why none of this makes any sense when it comes to getting the vaccine. Between Klas Great Reset, the rollout of the CDC Green Zone plan, the coordinated virus tracking, and world leaders who are all stating we need a one-world solution, we seem to be headed down a very slippery slope of not only repeating history, but repeating it on an unprecedented scale.

Adolf Hitler wrote, The receptivity of the masses is very limited, their intelligence is small, but their power of forgetting is enormous. In consequence of these facts, all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan. This is exactly what is being done right now.

Without a doubt, it is not a coincidence we are hearing echoes of Nazi Germany. History, if forgotten, is bound to be repeated.

One last thing in closing to keep in mind, the Bible tells us this is exactly how it all goes down:

Revelation 13:15-17 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.

So buckle up, because I do believe we are in for a bumpy ride in the months ahead.

Read more at: MonkeyWerxUS.com
(Natural News) Maine recently issued an order for healthcare workers in the state: Get a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine or lose your job. The vaccine mandate has increased worries among behavioral health agencies and paramedics as staffing shortages continue.

Healthcare workers, as defined in the mandate, includes any individual who is employed by a hospital, multilevel healthcare facility, home health agency, nursing facility, residential care facility and intellectual disabilities licensed by the State of Maine.

Surge of new COVID cases compounds staffing shortage woes

Maine Gov. Janet Mills said that her mandate to require immunizations by Oct. 1 across the state meant to guard against staffing shortages and ensure patient safety. (Related: Thousands of health and nursing home workers face unemployment amid vaccine mandates at the workplace.)

But in healthcare industry that competes with others in offering wages, the risks of having a shortage of workers are higher as many contemplate complying or quitting.

The stakes are also rising as new COVID-19 cases surged in Maine and the rest of the U.S. because of the delta variant. The governors mandate for healthcare workers was one of the strongest, with no apparent alternative. The Biden administration also recently said that nursing homes will lose critical federal funding if they do not require workers to get vaccinated.

It remains unclear how many will leave the workforce due to the mandate, and opposition has been vocal. Healthcare workers and politicians that opposed the mandate have rallied in Portland, Bangor and Augusta.

OHI Maine, which is based in Bangor, had 82 job openings across 380 positions. The agency is providing support and direct care services for people with intellectual disabilities and autism had to close four of its group homes because it could not fill the vacancies. Some staff members are also almost living in the homes to care for their charges with complex needs.

Maine has one of the highest vaccination rates in the U.S., and most of its healthcare professionals have been vaccinated. Over 80 percent of hospital workers in the state were fully vaccinated as of July 31. The rates in nursing homes and intermediate care facilities were at 73 and 68 percent, respectively.

Maine Health, the states biggest healthcare provider based in Portland, has seen no turnover yet due to the vaccine. At Northern Light Health in Brewer, a spokesperson said a number of employees have tendered their resignations as they chose not to be vaccinated.

Were trying to provide as much support and education and information to respond to questions that employees might have to minimize any folks who feel that they need to leave healthcare as a profession, said Paul Bolin, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Northern Light Health.

Healthcare workers oppose mandate

Healthcare workers have their own reasons for refusing vaccination. Elizabeth Mink, a nursing assistant from Warren, said that she felt the vaccines have been developed too quickly.

Brianna Jipson, a Bangor-area nurse who works at a hospital near Augusta, said that she would rather get fired than vaccinated. She added that a lot of them are angry at the vaccine mandate. (Related: Healthcare workers fight back against dangerous flu vaccine mandates.)

Another healthcare worker stated: Im not anti-vax per se but we all should have a choice. We live in America and we have a right to our freedom, and we shouldnt be forced to get anything that we dont feel comfortable doing.

Protest organizer Emily Nixon, who led a group of about 300 outside Maine Medical Center in Portland said to a crowd: We are not anti-anything. We support the right to vaccinate. We support the right to choose.

Read more COVID-19 related updates at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

BangorDailyNews.com

WGME.com

PressHerald.com
(Natural News) A Holocaust survivor is sounding the alarm over the encroachment of so-called public health measures to counteract the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. She believes the policies are similar to the tactics Nazi Germany used to control entire countries.

Vera Sharav is a Romanian-born Holocaust survivor and medical activist. She has dedicated her life to advocating for the rights of medical research subjects in the United States.

In her career, she has successfully pressured the National Institutes of Mental Health to rewrite its protocols for dozens of psychiatric studies to better protect patients. She has successfully lobbied American drug regulatory bodies to be open about the risks of giving antidepressants to teenagers.

She has exposed illegal experiments that tested HIV drugs on toddlers in New Yorks foster care system. She has also prevented the government from conducting research that would have paid low-income Florida families $970 to test their childrens reactions when exposed to certain household pesticides.

Today, Sharav uses her experience in medical activism to fight anybody that did not put the rights and protection of medical patients first. Her opponents have included academic researchers, pharmaceutical executives, drug regulators and all other kinds of so-called authorities.

Now, Sharav is turning her attention to making sure peoples rights are respected during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Related: Second Holocaust? CDC covid camps have no plans to allow healthy people to leave.)

Holocaust survivor sees parallels with Nazi Germany and todays public health policies

Sherav recently appeared on the podcast of author Trish Wood, Trish Wood is Critical. Wood brought Sherav on to the podcast to discuss the formers concerns regarding the terrifying direction public health measures are going.

According to Wood, she can see a lot of parallels between the narrative being used to justify COVID-19 measures such as lockdowns and the narrative employed by the Nazis in Germany to justify the subjugation of other people.

Sharav agreed with Wood and said it was logical to see the similarities between then and now. Of particular concern to both Wood and Sharav is how many physicians and other healthcare workers today and in Nazi Germany became instrumental in harming a lot of people.

Specifically, Sharav pointed to how doctors during the lead-up to the Nazi takeover of Germany were used to justify eugenics using the Darwinian idea of survival of the fittest.

In the early part of the [20th] century, the entire academic establishment was infused with eugenics, stemming out of Darwin, said Sharav. What happens with a public health policy is that public health officials decide who shall live and who shall die. She explained that this kind of mentality  that the government should get to decide who lives and dies  eventually led to the Holocaust.

She is worried that this kind of mentality is still pervasive today. I have come to the conclusion that when doctors become aligned with government  [and] corporations for that matter  they discard their moral and professional responsibility to the individual patient, she explained.

Sharav said it is nonsense for these doctors to suggest that the right thing to do is sacrifice the rights of individuals in pursuit of a so-called greater good. She mentioned this in reference to the mainstream acceptance of lockdowns.

As public officials, they talk about the greater good. Who has the authority to decide what is the greater good? said Sharav. If the individuals are oppressed or relegated to third-class citizens  what kind of society is it?

Sharav said she believes modern society is on the cusp of turning more Nazi-like. Governments all over the world have used the pandemic and the fear of getting infected as a major weapon. She argued that this has prevented people from thinking critically. Instead, people are taught to distrust other people and to isolate themselves from their communities.

Instead of thinking critically, people are being taught to blindly trust public health officials and so-called experts.

Hitler then, as rulers now, deferred to the health officials, said Sharav. We are constantly being told, we are following the science.' She warned that this will eventually lead to the complete overthrow of human civilization.

Learn more about how governments are using the pandemic to take away peoples rights by reading the latest articles on Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

StatNews.com
(Natural News) Laos recorded its highest number of new coronavirus (COVID-19) infections of 381 on Wednesday, Aug. 18, as the country scrambles to contain an alleged outbreak that has spilled over from neighboring Thailand, where a severe outbreak has reportedly been raging for months.

Interestingly, the spike in the number of new cases coincided with the lockdown imposed by Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith. The nationwide lockdown started on July 19 and was initially set to end on Aug. 2. It was extended by the government and was set to expire on Wednesday.

Along the way, the number of new infections steadily climbed. On the day the lockdown started, the seven-day rolling average of new infections was seven. As of Wednesday, the seven-day rolling average was 267.

Thipphakone Chanthavongsa, deputy head of the Prime Ministers Office, announced the extension of the lockdown on Aug. 2 as the countrys National Taskforce Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control reported 237 new imported cases and 13 locally transmitted cases.

Among the imported cases, 78 were reported in the countrys capital Vientiane, 63 in Savannakhet, 48 in Champasak, 30 in Khammuan, 16 in Saravan and two in Vientiane province.

Returning migrant workers trigger COVID-19 outbreak in Laos

The countrys migrant workers returning from Thailand are believed to have triggered the outbreak, which has been worsened by the arrival of the highly contagious delta variant. (Related: Second wave of coronavirus reaches Singapore  majority of cases come from migrant worker communities.)

Nearly a quarter-million Laotian migrant workers have returned from Thailand since the pandemic began, according to the latest figures. Many returned in the past few weeks following a comprehensive and prolonged lockdown in Thailand that shut down numerous workplaces.

Officials estimated that as many as 30 percent of the latest returnees were infected with the virus.

A lot of migrant workers have evaded official crossings by passing through porous borders illegally, which made health screening procedures between the two countries more complicated.

Large-scale outbreaks of COVID-19 could prove disastrous for Laos, where modern healthcare provision is still in its early stages, especially across the rural areas. Those living in remote villages, including many minority Christians, lack access to modern medical treatment or even basic medical provisions.

Laos has no facilities for major medical emergencies. The state-run hospitals and clinics are among the most basic in Southeast Asia in terms of the standards of hygiene, staff training, supplies and equipment, stated Pacific Prime, an international health insurance broker.

Widespread poverty, lack of proper sanitation and water supply, malnutrition and poor health awareness contribute to the countrys health problems.

Traditional medicines may be behind the low number of COVID-19 deaths in Laos

Laos is actually doing better than most countries in this pandemic so far with only nine deaths on record related to COVID-19. It may have something to do with the fact that traditional medicine remains widespread in the country.

In an address to the National Assembly in Vientiane this week, Minister of Health Bounfeng Phommalaisith said a plant extract recommended by the Institute of Traditional Medicine was being piloted as a potential treatment for COVID-19. The plant extract could boost patients immune systems and help them recover better, Bounfeng said.

In Thailand, some medical practitioners have also recommended using the extract of the green chiretta (Andrographis paniculata)  a herbaceous plant known locally as fah talai jone. Related: (Related: Thai government approves green chiretta herb as treatment for covid.)

We are confident that fah talai jone can cure COVID-19 patients who have mild symptoms and are asymptomatic, said Dr. Kwanchai Wisitthanon, deputy director-general of the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine.

The herb extract is now being mass-produced in Thailand for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Researchers say herbal medicines may slow COVID transmission

Researchers in the United States and China have actually called for more research into the potential prophylactic effects of natural products and herbal medicines on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

In an article published last year in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology, the team discussed natural products that have exhibited an inhibitory effect on SARS-CoV-2 and herbal medicines that have been tested as potential therapies for COVID-19. The researchers suggested that the repurposing of natural products and herbal medicines as prophylactics represents a promising approach to at least slow the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

They noted that natural products and herbal medicines have been used for the prevention of viral infections and generally show favorable efficacy and acceptable toxicity.

The team published a review summarizing some recent findings regarding the potential effectiveness of natural products and herbal medicines in the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the interest of public health, this will lend health officials better control on the current pandemic, the researchers wrote.

They discussed compounds derived from natural products that may be effective against the cellular receptor heat shock protein A5 (HSPA5).

Some studies have reported that HSPA5 is recognized by the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and one 2020 study showed that the phytoestrogens daidzein, genistein, formononetin, and biochanin A have binding affinities with HSPA5. The researchers said these medicinal, plant-derived compounds may disrupt the attachment of SARS-CoV-2 to host cells, although their antiviral bioactivity requires further investigation.

Follow Pandemic.news for more news and information related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sources include:

UCANews.com

XinhuaNet.com

News-Medical.net
(Natural News) ONE: A bombshell. Alex Berenson, former New York Times reporter, August 6: Covid vaccine maker Moderna received 300,000 reports of side effects after vaccinations over a three-month period following the launch of its shot, according to an internal report from a company that helps Moderna manage the reports.

(Article by Jon Rappoport republished from Blog.NoMoreFakeNews.com)

That figure is far higher than the number of side effect reports about Modernas vaccine publicly available in the federal system that tracks such adverse events.

BOOM. 300,000 vaccine adverse effects NOT reported to VAERS, the federal database.

Berenson: The 300,000 figure comes from an internal update provided to employees by IQVIA, a little-known but enormous company that helps drugmakers manage clinical trials. Headquartered in North Carolina, IQVIA has 74,000 employees worldwide and had $11 billion in sales last year.

Earlier this week, Richard Staub, the president of IQVIAs Research & Development Solutions division, sent a Q2 2021 update which was labeled Confidential  For internal distribution only.

A person with access to the presentation provided screenshots of the relevant slide, which clearly explains the 300,000 side effect reports were received over a three-month span  not since the introduction of the vaccine in December

TWO: Independent researcher Virginia Stoner has issued a stunning new report on the VAERS numbers, and the effort by mainstream scientists to minimize the destructive effects of the COVID vaccines. Here are key quotes from her report:

More deaths have been reported to VAERS from the covid shots than from all other vaccines combined for the last 30 years.

Theres a code of silence shielding the massive increase in deaths (and other serious injuries) reported to VAERS from the covid shots. Not only do CDC web pages and press releases omit that inconvenient factvaccine research studies omit it as well.

The number of covid shots [in the US] administered so far in 2021 (309 million) is roughly the same as all other vaccines administered in 2020 (316 million). But a shocking 36-times more deaths were reported this year from the covid shots than were reported last year from all other vaccines.

Someone died from a vaccine they [a medical provider] administeredcould it potentially call their professional judgment into question, or result in a malpractice lawsuit? If you were a doctor, or supervisor at a drive-thru covid vaccination clinic, and you were given a choice between spending the evening filing a VAERS report, or having dinner with friends, which would you choose?

There are reasons to think death may be one of the most underreported vaccine injuries of allmainly because the victim is dead, and cant file a VAERS report. Nor can they prod their doctor into filing a VAERS report. Unless theyre fortunate enough to have a relative or doctor who knows they got the vaccine, knows about VAERS, understands the potential for vaccine injury, and is willing to go through the onerous process of filing a VAERS report, it wont happen.

THREE: Open letter from Doctors for COVID Ethics accusing governments and media of lying to the people:

Official sources, namely EudraVigilance (EU, EEA, Switzerland), MHRA (UK) and VAERS (USA), have now recorded more Injuries and Deaths from the Covid vaccine roll-out than from all previous vaccines combined since records began.

TOTAL for EU/UK/USA  34,052 Covid-19 injection related deaths and over 5.46 million injuries reported as at 1 August 2021.

It is important to be aware that the official figures above (reported to the health authorities) are but a small percentage of the actual figures. Furthermore, people continue to die (and suffer injury) from the injections with every day which passes.

This catastrophic situation has not been reported by the mainstream media, despite the official figures above being publicly available.

The Signal of Harm is now indisputably overwhelming, and, in line with universally accepted ethical standards for clinical trials, Doctors for Covid Ethics demands that the Covid vaccine programme be halted immediately.

Continuation of the programme in the full knowledge of ongoing serious Harm and Death to both adults and children constitutes a Crime Against Humanity/Genocide for which those found to be responsible or complicit will ultimately be held personally liable.

Governments worldwide are lying to you the people, to the populations they purportedly serve.

The figures above demonstrate that the mRNA vaccines are deadly.

FOUR: The well-known 2010 Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Inc. study of VAERS bluntly stated: Adverse events from vaccines are common but underreported, with less than one percent reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Low reporting rates preclude or delay the identification of problem vaccines, potentially endangering the health of the public.

Following the finding of that study, you would multiply the number of reported vaccine injuries by 100 to arrive at a proper figure.

FIVE: In view of the massive number of vaccine injuries and deaths, how would we expect the public to react? Here is a major clue. Stat News, July 21: Millions of unused Covid-19 vaccines are set to go to waste as demand dwindles across the United States and doses likely expire this summer, according to public health officials

Currently, states have administered 52.36 million fewer doses than have been distributed to them, according to federal data.

A significant tranche of Pfizer doses is expected to expire in August Given waning domestic vaccine demand, those doses are unlikely to be fully used before they must be tossed.

Were seeing demand [for the vaccine] falling off across all the states, said Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

SIX: Understanding this, government, media, and corporate criminals are ramping up vaccine mandates wherever and however they can, to force the needle into your arm.

Youre aware that our product is highly dangerous and destructive? Well make you take it.

SEVEN: RESIST. REBEL

Read more at: Blog.NoMoreFakeNews.com
(Natural News) A cardiologist who treated a child suffering from myocarditis  an inflammation of the heart muscle  after getting vaccinated against the coronavirus (COVID-19) told the childs mother that no case of myocarditis is mild.

Fourteen-year-old Aiden Jo received his first dose of Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine on May 12. On June 10, he woke up in the middle of the night complaining of chest pain and difficulty breathing. The boys mother, Emily, rushed him to the hospital where he was ultimately treated for myocarditis. Emily said she had been under the impression that the adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines are rare and mild.

What they didnt explain is that mild means hospital care and follow-up care indefinitely, she told activist group Childrens Health Defense. Emily adds: Theyre not explaining what mild myocarditis means. Aidens cardiologist told us no case of myocarditis is mild. Thats like saying a heart attack is mild.

Myocarditis deprives people of normal life

Aiden is now forced to sit out gym activities, skip recess and avoid running around and playing outside with his friends due to how easily he gets tired and how poorly his heart can handle the stress of activity. His mother also faces thousands of dollars in medical care. (Related: Exclusive: Athlete who recovered from COVID facing very different future after second dose of Pfizer vaccine triggers myocarditis.)

Parents need to understand that myocarditis is not covered under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, Emily said. And the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program only covers if youre incapacitated, wheelchair-bound or dead. We have incurred thousands and thousands of dollars in medical bills. We have insurance but they dont pay all. It does not account for tests down the road that we still have to get.

Myocarditis reduces your hearts ability to pump and can cause rapid or abnormal heartbeats. Severe cases of myocarditis can lead to heart attack, stroke, heart failure and sudden cardiac arrest. Signs of myocarditis in children include chest pain, breathing problems, abnormal heartbeats, rapid breathing, fever and fainting.

A study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on July 30 found that 397 children between the ages of 12 and 17 were diagnosed with myocarditis after receiving Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine.

The condition occurred mostly in young boys. Heart inflammation was not identified as an adverse reaction during the safety trials for the vaccine, but the CDC announced in June that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would add a warning to the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines about a possible link to cases of myocarditis in teenagers and young adults.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), CDCs vaccine advisory group, met in June to discuss cases of myocarditis in people aged 30 and younger who have received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

Pfizer and Moderna use mRNA technology in their COVID-19 vaccines, while Johnson & Johnson uses the more traditional virus-based technology.

The COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical (VaST) Work Group, which is part of ACIP, assessed the reported cases and noted that the risk of myocarditis following vaccination with the mRNA-based vaccines in adolescents and young adults is notably higher after the second dose, particularly in males.

Data suggests likely association of myocarditis with mRNA vaccines

In June, the CDC said a higher-than-expected number of young men had experienced heart inflammation after their second dose of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, with more than half the cases reported in people between the ages of 12 and 24.

The higher-than-expected rate of myocarditis cases among Americans below 30 is consistent with the data from Israel.

Israels Ministry of Health identified over 200 cases of myocarditis in men between 16 and 30 years old, a vast majority of those happening at the younger end of that range. That equates to a risk of between 1 in 3,000 and 1 in 6,000 of suffering from heart inflammation.

According to VaST, the data suggests a likely association of myocarditis with mRNA vaccination in adolescents and young adults.

As of July 16, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) received a total of 9,246 reports of adverse reactions among children. The 397 reports of heart inflammation made up 4.3 percent of the total. However, the system wasnt designed to capture all cases of heart inflammation and only counted the reports which used the term myocarditis.

Reuters reported Friday, Aug. 20, that health officials in the U.S. are reviewing reports that Modernas COVID-19 vaccine may be linked to a higher risk of heart condition in younger adults than previously thought.

The review was focused on Canadian data suggesting that there might be a 2.5 times higher incidence of myocarditis in those who get the Moderna vaccine compared with Pfizers vaccine, especially in men below the age of 30. (Related: Exclusive: Dad says life not the same for 21-year-old student who developed myocarditis after second Moderna shot.)

While we wont comment on internal meetings or discussions, we can say that FDA is absolutely committed to reviewing data as it becomes available to us, the FDA said.

Pfizer, whose vaccine has been authorized for use in Americans as young as 12, previously said it had not observed a higher rate of heart inflammation than would normally be expected in the general population. Moderna said it also could not identify a causal association with the heart inflammation cases and its vaccine.

Follow Immunization.news for more news and information related to adverse effects of coronavirus vaccines.

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NaturalHealth365.com

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(Natural News) Scientists have spoken out against the White Houses decision to allow fully vaccinated Americans to get booster doses of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines.

The White House recently announced on Wednesday, Aug. 18, that starting Sept. 20 everyone over the age of 18 who has been fully vaccinated with either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines will be eligible to receive a third dose eight months after their second dose.

Public health officials tried to justify giving third doses of the experimental and side effect-riddled COVID-19 vaccines using several studies recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These studies suggest that the so-called protection the vaccines give against COVID-19 diminishes after several months.

Taken together, you can see that while the exact percentage of vaccine effectiveness over time differs depending on the cohort and settings study, the data consistently demonstrate a reduction of vaccine effectiveness against infection over time, claimed CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. (Related: Surgeon General: People who have taken TWO covid vaccine shots may lose their fully vaccinated status as booster shots get approved and required.)

But the CDCs own data shows that COVID-19 is still dangerous for fully vaccinated individuals.

One of the studies released by the CDC showed that, for one part of New York, there were 9,675 infections among fully vaccinated adults. Of these breakthrough COVID-19 cases, roughly 15 percent  or 1,271 people  were hospitalized.

Listen to this special Situation Update episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how public health authorities like the CDC are pushing for people to take the booster doses immediately to accelerate their plans.

Scientists believe booster doses are not necessary

One of those scientists criticizing the White House for its decision is Dr. Anna Durbin, a professor of international health at Johns Hopkins University. She believes the push to allow booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines is not based on scientific evidence but rather on fear and panic regarding the post-vaccine variants.

She added that she believes her colleagues in medicine are themselves contributing to this panic about the variants, notably regarding the delta variant.

I think theres this tidal wave building thats based on anxiety, said Durbin. And I dont think its based on scientific evidence that a booster is needed.

I dont think the data indicates that booster shots are needed, she added. Booster shots are not going to stop the spread of delta.

Unfortunately, Durbins objection to booster doses lies in the mistaken belief that the COVID-19 vaccines work well enough against the variants.

Durbin believes that just because the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines may decrease over time, this does not necessarily mean that the vaccines are failing.

We cannot keep boosting and say, were going to prevent colds in everybody,' she said.

Its important to understand that vaccines are not designed to prevent infection. Theyre designed to prevent you from getting seriously ill, claimed Durbin. People are still highly protected against severe disease, hospitalization and death. This is what vaccines are supposed to do.

Durbin believes the actual solution is not to give booster doses to Americans, but for public health authorities to vaccinate more people.

They have to vaccinate everyone in the world, she said. Durbin even believes that the United States should take its stockpile of vaccines and distribute it to other countries. For example, Durbin suggested providing some COVID-19 vaccines to Haiti, where less than 0.1 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.

Despite Durbins assertion that the COVID-19 vaccines work, the CDCs own data attempting to justify the use of booster doses proves her wrong.

Learn more about the push to keep vaccinating people in the U.S. and the rest of the world by reading the latest articles on Vaccines.news.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

CNBC.com

StatNews.com

NYTimes.com
(Natural News) The Scottish government has made public a set of proposals to make some coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency powers permanent, including the ability to impose a lockdown.

Under current emergency powers granted to the incumbent Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), the government is able to enact temporary laws forcing businesses and educational establishments to close their doors, as well as release prisoners from incarceration early if ministers deem the cause necessary.

The government proposed that Scottish ministers should be given the same powers to protect the people of Scotland from any incidence or spread of infection or contamination, which presents or could present significant harm to human health in Scotland, not just COVID.

Consultation established to seek opinion on proposed extension of emergency powers

A new consultation has been established to seek the publics views on extending a host of ministerial powers in relation to public health measures far beyond their March 2022 expiration. John Swinney, Scotlands deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for COVID recovery, insisted that some measures should be kept where there is demonstrable benefit to the people of Scotland.

This is an opportunity to maintain changes that have been welcomed by people who now dont want to lose transformations that have been innovative, beneficial and increased access to service, Swinney said.

Ministers are looking at whether new legislation should be passed to make some of the ministerial powers permanent. (Related: Tyrannical judges order coronavirus patients in Kentucky to wear tracking devices like prisoners, but how far do emergency powers go?)

Many of the proposals are aimed at future COVID-19 outbreaks, or the spread of any other infectious virus that poses a serious risk to public health. The governments consultation said this would mean ministers can respond effectively and rapidly to any future threats to public health in Scotland.

The 12-week consultation will close on Nov. 9.

Government can shut down schools any time

Under the guise of attempting to protect Scotland against future public health threats, the government has sought to enshrine powers to make directions to close educational establishments that would allow legislators to close schools during the remainder of the pandemic and at any future date in which keeping them open is considered a threat to public health by the chief medical officer.

In the event of a future pandemic, the broad nature of the powers will provide ministers with the flexibility to take the action needed to address the specific circumstances of the health emergency, the consultation document stated.

Prisoners can be released early

Among the plans for the justice system are calls for continued powers to permit the early release of prisoners and allowing people to take part in court cases remotely. The consultation has also suggested a permanent shift to more digital options, including the remote registration of deaths or still births, council meetings and electronic court documents.

The government argued that it would be prudent to extend the powers established towards the start of the pandemic so ministers can choose to order the release of groups of prisoners to alleviate pressure on the prison system.

Nondoctors can administer vaccines

Regarding the implementation of vaccination programs, the government has proposed that the relaxation on those who are permitted to administer the vaccines be extended indefinitely.

According to the consultation document, this would allow nurses, midwives and paramedics to be enlisted as vaccinators for the COVID-19 vaccines and other routine vaccinations, such as those against the flu, to make it easier to quickly protect the population from infectious disease.

Opposition: Government is unwilling to give up control over peoples lives

Opposition party members criticized the proposals, with Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Murdo Fraser of the Scottish Conservative Party characterizing the effort as a dangerous route to go down. Fraser, who is the COVID recovery spokesman for the Scottish Tories, said the extension of special powers during the COVID-19 crisis was intended to be temporary measures to deal with the pandemic.

The fact that SNP ministers are now seeking to make many of them permanent is a clear sign they are unwilling to give up their control over peoples lives, Fraser said. (Related: For decades, U.S. Presidents have signed Executive Orders that activate a DICTATORSHIP during a national emergency.)

With the vast majority of COVID restrictions having now been eased, Scots will be asking serious questions over why these laws would need to remain in place permanently. It is a dangerous route to go down to allow ministers to implement sweeping powers upon society on a whim.

The current emergency powers were set to expire on Sept. 30, but the SNP managed to push through a six-month extension weeks before the Parliament closed for its summer recess at the end of June.

Swinney originally told MSPs that there would likely be a follow-up request to extend provisions by another six months, prolonging the emergency powers to September 2022, before setting out the proposal for no time limit on the provisions.

Fraser noted that the government had already steamrolled its previous request for an extension to emergency powers, and now theyve snuck this consultation out while it is still in recess. He said the government is clearly keen to avoid scrutiny over their plans which would include releasing prisoners early and controlling how schools operate.

Yet again, the SNP are making rash decisions over COVID-related laws, when the focus should be on accelerating our recovery from the pandemic, Fraser said.

Follow Pandemic.news for more news related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

BBC.com
(Natural News) A study from the Francis Crick Institute in the United Kingdom has found that the Pfizer-BioNTech Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine destroys T cells and weakens the immune system. But pharmaceutical corporations are trying to suggest that the only way to prevent this from happening is for people to get third or booster doses of their vaccines.

T cells are immune cells that can focus on targeting specific foreign particles. They are most commonly studied in relation to their ability to fight cancer and infectious diseases, but they are also essential for other aspects of the bodys immune response.

There are two kinds of T cells: killer T cells and helper T cells. Killer T cells directly attack cells that have already been infected by foreign particles. Helper T cells aid other cells to develop killer cells and stimulate other cells to create neutralizing antibodies.

This study from the Francis Crick Institute focuses on the neutralizing antibodies created by T cells. It analyzes whether the Pfizer vaccine helps the T cells create enough antibodies to fight off the COVID-19 variants.

Pfizer vaccine barely produces antibodies to fight against COVID-19

The Francis Crick Institute, in collaboration with the British National Institute for Health Research, released a study that showed that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine produced fewer neutralizing antibodies against COVID-19s variants. (Related: Spanish study finds Pfizer vaccine contains high levels of TOXIC graphene oxide.)

The scientists analyzed the antibodies from the blood of 250 healthy adults who have received either one or two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine up to three months after their first dose.

The researchers used a test specially developed by the Francis Crick Institute to figure out the ability of the neutralizing antibodies to prevent the entry of the COVID-19 variants.

It found that only 50 percent of the people who received a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine had a quantifiable neutralizing antibody response against the alpha variant of COVID-19. This number decreased even further to just 32 percent and 25 percent for the delta and beta variants, respectively.

The situation gets worse for older individuals who have weaker immune systems. The researchers found that older vaccine recipients generated even fewer antibodies. Coupled with the vaccines ability to destroy T cells and weaken the immune system even further, getting vaccinated could spell disaster for many people.

No correlation was observed for gender or body mass index. The authors of the study want to pursue further studies to check the capabilities of other vaccines, starting with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

So, the key message from our finding is we found that recipients of the Pfizer vaccine, those who have had two doses, have about five- to six-fold lower amounts of neutralizing antibodies, said David Bauer, head of the Bauer Lab in the Francis Crick Institute. He continued:

Now, these are the, sort of, gold standard, private security antibodies of your immune system which block the virus from getting into your cells in the first place. So, weve found that that is less for people with two doses. We also found that for people with only one dose of the Pfizer jab that they are less likely to have high levels of these antibodies in their blood.

Instead of recommending that people stay away from the COVID-19 vaccines to protect their natural immune systems, Bauer instead said people should get booster doses of the vaccines. He also said older people should be prioritized in the distribution of booster doses.

And perhaps most importantly for all of us going forward is that we see that the older you are, the lower your levels are likely to be. And the time since youve had your second jab, as that time goes on, the lower your levels are also likely to be, he said. So, thats telling us that we are probably going to be needing to prioritize boosters for older and more vulnerable people.

Learn more about the inability of the COVID-19 vaccines to prevent coronavirus infections and the push for booster doses by reading the latest articles at Vaccines.news.

Sources include:

InfoWars.com

News-Medical.net

CancerCenter.com

LiveMint.com
Califonia lake - Lake Tahoe - has experienced mostly bad quality of air through this summer's second half and new data shows the air quality in this lake is at its worst levels of this decade.

The severe wildfire season California has undergone as yet and the geography surrounding Lake Tahoe which is bowl-like, prompting pollutants to stay around after getting stuck in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range, in some certain way, are accountable for the poor air quality in the lake this year, San Francisco Chronicle made this report.

Joe Curtis, AccuWeather Meteorologist, said: "The second half of summer has been especially bad for air quality around Lake Tahoe. The first half of summer was not as bad, but things rapidly deteriorated by late July and August."

Per AccuWeather Forecast Manager whose mane is Bryan Sausman, summer is likely to be the worst time for air quality because of decreased airflow. Additionally, the wildfires all over the state of California have contributed to this.

Also Read: Raging Wildfires in Canada Impact Air Quality in US, Prompting Warnings

Wildfire

Currently, the Caldor Fire is impacting El Dorado County situated directly southwest of Lake Tahoe and it keeps burning more than 68,000 acres.

As of Thursday, the fire has been burning for five days and is 0% contained. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday that the state of emergency is ongoing for El Dorado County because of the fire.

Curtis said any amount of smoke in the atmosphere will cause poor air quality.

Both the Dixie Fire and Tamarack Fire which became active through Northern California this summer, have also contributed to the reduction in the air quality of the lake. So far, the Tamarack Fire has consumed more than 68,000 acres and as of Thursday, it is 82% contained while the great Dixie Fire is still just 35% contained with over 699,000 acres already consumed.

Air Pollution at Lake Tahoe

An air pollution control officer for the El Dorado County Air Quality Management District named Dave Johnston told the Chronicle that "It's been bad in the past, it's bad now and it will be bad again in the future. Lake Tahoe is in a basin surrounded by mountains, so it is difficult for smoke to dissipate without some wind behind it."

2021 air pollution at Lake Tahoe has been much greater than in past years.

Particulate matter (pm) is one way of measuring pollution. As per the California Air Resources Board, pm is an airborne combination of chemicals. Most of pm 2.5 comprise emissions emanating from the combustion of oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, and wood, and its name was derived from being below 2.5 microns in diameter.

Last year, data from the board shows that the air basin of Lake Tahoe possesses an average level of 5.3 pm 2.5 between the 1st of June and the 17th of August. The year before, the basin possessed an average level of 1.1 pm 2.5 at the same period of time.

Related Article: Billowing Smoke From Wildfires Trigger Dangerous Air Quality Levels in Canada

For more news, updates about air pollution and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News!
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 79F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low near 55F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
Although the world is focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many other dangerous pathogens still out there, like Yersinia pestis, which causes plague  the deadly disease that killed tens of millions of people during the infamous Black Death in the 14th century. Although plague has been largely eradicated in the developed world, it still affects hundreds of people globally each year.

When a human is infected with bubonic plague from a flea bite and it goes untreated, the infection can progress and spread to the lungs, resulting in pneumonic plague. The most feared clinical form of plague, pneumonic plague is typically lethal if not quickly treated, and infected patients can transmit the disease to others via respiratory droplets. A team of scientists from Northern Arizona University's Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, led by professor Dave Wagner, recently published their findings from a remarkable study involving antimicrobial resistant (AMR) plague.

Although pneumonic plague outbreaks are now extremely rare, scientists consider plague to be a reemerging and neglected disease, particularly in the East African island country of Madagascar, which reports the majority of annual global cases. With no vaccine against it, preventing mortality from plague requires rapid diagnosis followed by treatment with antibiotics. An AMR strain of Y. pestis  resistant to the antibiotic streptomycin, usually the first-line treatment for plague in Madagascar  was isolated from a pneumonic plague outbreak that occurred there in 2013, involving 22 cases, including three fatalities.

Wagner's team, including PMI senior research scientists Dawn Birdsell and Nawarat Somprasong, PMI assistant director Amy Vogler, professor Herbert Schweizer, associate professor Jason Sahl and senior research coordinator Carina Hall, conducted a study of this outbreak, together with long-term research partners at the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar and scientists at the Institute Pasteur Paris and the Madagascar Ministry of Public Health. The results of the study, "Transmission of antimicrobial resistant Yersinia pestis during a pneumonic plague outbreak," were recently published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

By characterizing the outbreak using epidemiology, clinical diagnostics and DNA-fingerprinting approaches, we determined  for the first time  that AMR strains of Y. pestis can be transmitted person-to-person. The AMR strain from this outbreak is resistant to streptomycin due to a spontaneous point mutation, but is still susceptible to many other antibiotics, including co-trimoxazole. Luckily, the 19 cases that were treated all received co-trimoxazole in addition to streptomycin, and all of them survived." Professor Dave Wagner, Northern Arizona University's Pathogen and Microbiome Institute

"The point mutation, which also is the source of streptomycin resistance in other bacterial species, has occurred independently in Y. pestis at least three times and appears to have no negative effect on the AMR strain, suggesting that it could potentially persist in nature via the natural rodent-flea transmission cycle. However, AMR Y. pestis strains are exceedingly rare and the mutation has not been observed again in Madagascar since this outbreak," he said.
Buildings in the U.S. are responsible for 40% of the country's total energy consumption. By improving the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings, the emissions generated from heating and cooling them could be reduced  preventing thousands of premature deaths every year.

A new paper, published in Science Advances, authored by Yale School of the Environment Economics Professor Kenneth Gillingham and colleagues at Yale's SEARCH Center and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, lays out two building efficiency improvement scenarios alongside estimates for how many premature deaths in the U.S. would be prevented in each case.

The burning of fossil fuels, in addition to greenhouse gasses, releases large amounts of harmful airborne particulate matter called PM 2.5 (particles with diameters of less than 2.5 micrometers), which can cause heart and lung disease and aggravate conditions like asthma. The reduction in premature deaths is primarily due to the reduction in PM 2.5 .

The "optimistic" scenario envisions a 50% increase in appliance efficiency (everything from refrigerators to boilers) and a 60 to 90% increase in the efficiency of buildings' outer shells by 2050. The researchers estimate that up to 5,100 yearly premature deaths would be prevented if those conditions were met. The "intermediate" scenario  still "a big step up" from what is being undertaken today, says Gillingham  could still save up to an estimated 2,900 lives every year.

These estimates of lives saved, however, are focused on changes in outdoor air pollution.

"It is important to also consider the impacts on indoor air quality that may accompany changes in building ventilation," says study co-author Drew Gentner, associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering and the environment at the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science.

The potential drawback of the increased energy efficiency of buildings, says Gillingham, is that when buildings are more tightly sealed to prevent leakage of heated or cooled air, the total amount of circulation between indoor and outdoor air also decreases.

"While tighter buildings can partially isolate you from outdoor pollution, it requires greater attention to indoor pollutant emissions," Gentner says.

For example, inside a home, emissions from cooking or appliances can impact indoor air quality.

If you close the building shell and don't accompany it with recirculation and filtration upgrades, then you can actually face some health impacts." Kenneth Gillingham, Economics Professor, Yale School of the Environment

But even without additional indoor air filtration upgrades, the researchers found that improved building efficiency would still save about 3,600 per year under the "optimistic" scenario, and 1,800 under the "intermediate" scenario.

The researchers also note that some outdoor air pollution factors  like ozone and wildfire smoke  would be reduced indoors if buildings were made more efficient and there was less circulation between outdoor and indoor air. While average outdoor PM 2.5 levels have been continually decreasing over time in the U.S., wildfires can sometimes drastically increase outdoor air pollution. And as recent years have shown, wildfire smoke can spread across large swaths of the country, causing harmful levels of air quality from coast to coast.

"These results, including effects on outdoor and indoor air pollutants, are quite interesting because no one's modeled both before. People have examined similar questions narrowly in small regions, but no one's done it broadly over the entire country," says Gillingham.

Another factor that Gillingham and his colleagues modeled was the possible effect of a carbon tax. They found that a carbon tax, combined with building efficiency improvements, would save even more lives.

The study helps make clear to people, Gillingham says, that forgoing opportunities to reduce emissions can truly harm people's health.
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors in Wuhan noticed something surprising. Many of the elderly patients who survived the virus were poor: not exactly the demographic you would expect to fare well in a health crisis.

A review of the survivors' medical records revealed that a significant number suffered from chronic heartburn and were taking an inexpensive drug called famotidine, the key ingredient in Pepcid. (Wealthier patients tended to take the more costly drug omeprazole, found in Prilosec.)

Was an over-the-counter acid suppressant helping people survive COVID-19?

This is how many medical studies begin, said biomedical engineering professor Phil Bourne, who serves as founding dean for the School of Data Science. "There's often a phenomenon that doctors report anecdotally, or that's mentioned in passing in a particular research paper, and that provides a clue -; a hook," he said.

Typically, to find out whether a drug is effective in treating a particular medical condition, scientists develop prospective clinical trials. But this method is expensive and can take years, Bourne pointed out. When faced with a global pandemic, it's helpful to explore other options.

That's where data scientists come in. Bourne and UVA senior scientist Cameron Mura worked with an international team of researchers to analyze information from a database that holds the medical records of millions of COVID-19 patients living in 30 different countries. The team winnowed that number down to around 22,000 people, the largest sample size for a study on famotidine and the disease to date.

The power of the electronic health record, which is really yet to be fully realized as a research tool, is that you've suddenly got all this data you can mine to see whether what you determined in passing or anecdotally has any basis." Phil Bourne, Biomedical Engineering Professor

The team's analysis, which appeared in the journal Signal Transduction & Targeted Therapy (from the Nature publishing group), showed that the data supported findings from other smaller-scale studies. When delivered at high doses (the equivalent of about 10 Pepcid tablets), famotidine appears to improve the odds of survival for COVID-19 patients, especially when it is combined with aspirin. It also seems to hinder the severity of disease progression, making patients less likely to reach the point where they require intubation or a ventilator.

The next challenge was to figure out why. Data scientists like Mura and Bourne perform extensive detective work for medical analyses like this one, looking at existing information and drawing upon biochemical and molecular principles to propose a cohesive theory that helps elucidate the population-scale patterns they identify.

Mura calls this "weaving a story" based on the data. He needed to work backwards from massive groups of people and draw some possible conclusions about what was happening at a totally different scale -; the scale of proteins that are "one millionth the size of an ant," he said.

One of the most dangerous phenomena COVID-19 can trigger in your body is something called a cytokine storm, which is a potentially fatal amplification of an immune response. When you become sick, your immune system releases inflammatory proteins called cytokines that tell your immune cells how to fight the infection. But in more severe illnesses, cytokine production can spiral out of control, becoming dysregulated.

"Basically, your immune system goes haywire and starts attacking things like your otherwise healthy lung tissue because it's so desperate to kill off the invading virus," Mura said. "Your own physiology essentially uses a sledgehammer against the pathogen when a fly swatter would suffice."

The team's theory is that famotidine suppresses that reaction. Although it was developed with a specific purpose in mind -; blocking the histamine receptors that help produce acid in your stomach -; famotidine, like all other medications, can cause side effects. Mura and his colleagues believe that interfering with cytokine storms might be one of them.

"It may well be a case of famotidine having a beneficial off-target effect," Mura said. We generally think of side effects as a bad thing, but in some cases, they can be harnessed to treat other conditions. In the future, it's possible that famotidine could be re-purposed in this way.

But the team's findings are far from conclusive. Other studies have offered conflicting pictures of what famotidine can do for COVID-19 patients: Some have found that it has a neutral effect and one has even suggested that it might be detrimental. Mura, Bourne and their colleagues recently published a review of existing research on the subject, along with suggestions for a framework that could help reconcile the contradictory reports.

Still, with its unique focus on combining famotidine with aspirin and its impressively large sample size, the team's study has shed further light on an inexpensive and safe potential treatment that would be easy for doctors to prescribe. In the midst of an international health crisis, the study has also laid important groundwork for further research.

"Scientific studies are sometimes viewed as the end-all, be-all, but they're really just a starting point or a springboard," Mura said. "Any good study raises more questions than it answers, and data science is often what kick-starts that process."
Innovators at Purdue University and Houston Methodist Research Institute have created a novel strategy for developing an effective vaccine for a widespread form of tuberculosis.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a leading cause of death worldwide, leading to over 1.5 million fatalities annually. Approximately one-third of the global population is infected with the latent form of Mtb. Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is widely used as a vaccine against tuberculosis but has a variable protection against neonatal and adult pulmonary TB. That protection can, however, range from zero to 80% among infants. Children are routinely vaccinated, yet Mtb dissemination into brain and tuberculosis meningitis continues to occur.

Purdue and Houston Methodist researchers have created this novel TB vaccine formulation by incorporating autophagy-mediated antigen presentation, which initiates an enhanced T cell response. Chinnaswamy Jagannath, professor of pathology and genomic medicine at the Houston Methodist Research Institute, which is an affiliate of Weill Cornell Medical College, showed that the novel formulation improves the development of tuberculosis-specific immune responses. Jagannath collaborates with Dr. Suresh Mittal, Distinguished Professor of Virology in Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine.

"Our vaccine approach is equally effective without or with prior vaccination with BCG," Mittal said.

"It is vital since the majority of people in Mtb-endemic countries are already immunized with BCG," Jagannath said.

Mittal's lab studies delivery platforms for vaccines, and Jagannath's lab used the nasal delivery route for this TB vaccine development.

The great thing about this work with TB is that it can translate to other infectious diseases and possibly cancer immunotherapy." Dr. Suresh Mittal, Distinguished Professor of Virology, Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine

The innovators have worked with the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization to patent their technology. The innovators and OTC are looking for partners to continue developing it. The next step for the vaccine formulation is to conduct a vaccine efficacy study in a nonhuman primate model. Mittal said the successful completion of the study will form the basis for a human trial, though no human trial is currently planned.

A manuscript describing this work is published in the August 2021 issue of the peer-reviewed Cell Reports Medicine. This research was conducted with research awards from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Internal Funds.
The level of public acceptance of evolution in the United States is now solidly above the halfway mark, according to a new study based on a series of national public opinion surveys conducted over the last 35 years.

From 1985 to 2010, there was a statistical dead heat between acceptance and rejection of evolution. But acceptance then surged, becoming the majority position in 2016." Jon D. Miller, Lead Researcher, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan

Examining data over 35 years, the study consistently identified aspects of education-;civic science literacy, taking college courses in science and having a college degree-;as the strongest factors leading to the acceptance of evolution.

"Almost twice as many Americans held a college degree in 2018 as in 1988," said co-author Mark Ackerman, a researcher at Michigan Engineering, the U-M School of Information and Michigan Medicine. "It's hard to earn a college degree without acquiring at least a little respect for the success of science."

The researchers analyzed a collection of biennial surveys from the National Science Board, several national surveys funded by units of the National Science Foundations, and a series focused on adult civic literacy funded by NASA. Beginning in 1985, these national samples of U.S. adults were asked to agree or disagree with this statement: "Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals."

The series of surveys showed that Americans were evenly divided on the question of evolution from 1985 to 2007. According to a 2005 study of the acceptance of evolution in 34 developed nations, led by Miller, only Turkey, at 27%, scored lower than the United States. But over the last decade, until 2019, the percentage of American adults who agreed with this statement increased from 40% to 54%.

The current study consistently identified religious fundamentalism as the strongest factor leading to the rejection of evolution. While their numbers declined slightly in the last decade, approximately 30% of Americans continue to be religious fundamentalists as defined in the study. But even those who scored highest on the scale of religious fundamentalism shifted toward acceptance of evolution, rising from 8% in 1988 to 32% in 2019.

Miller predicted that religious fundamentalism would continue to impede the public acceptance of evolution.

"Such beliefs are not only tenacious but also, increasingly, politicized," he said, citing a widening gap between Republican and Democratic acceptance of evolution.

As of 2019, 34% of conservative Republicans accepted evolution compared to 83% of liberal Democrats.
(Newser)  Forty years later, Brad Cavanagh is still trying to process what happened to him on the high seas when he was a 21-year-old sailor. In Boston Magazine, Kevin Koczwara tells the harrowing tale. Cavanagh was one of five peoplethree men and two women, all crew membersaboard a 58-foot yacht named the Trashman that sank in a storm off the coast of North Carolina in 1982. All five barely made it to a dingy as the yacht sank, at first remaining in the water as they clung to ropes from the craft. It was when they eventually flipped it over and got in that they noticed the sharks circling. They had no supplies, only hope, because they had managed to put out mayday calls from the yacht and heard a plane circling. In fact, a Coast Guard boat was on the way to their location, but the search was "either forgotten or called off," writes Koczwara. Why remains unclear to this day.

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After three days adrift, their new hope was that they would wash up on shore somewhere. "What they werent aware of was that a current was pulling them even farther out to sea," writes Koczwara. Two began drinking seawater and began to go mad. First, John Lippoth, their captain, slipped into the water after declaring he was going to get a car and drifted away. "Cavanagh could hear Lippoths last howls as the sharks attacked." Mark Adams drifted away next, and Meg Mooney died in the dinghy, ravaged by infections. Both were eaten by sharks, too. When a Soviet vessel finally spotted the dinghy after five days, only Cavanagh and Deborah Scaling were left to rescue. Scaling, who wrote a memoir about the ordeal, died in 2009, leaving Cavanagh as the Trashman's last survivor. He continues to stop at Coast Guard bases along the coast, "still searching for answers." (Read the full story.)
(Newser)  An outspoken nationally syndicated conservative radio show host who openly expressed skepticism about the coronavirus vaccine has died following a battle with COVID-19. Per WKRN, Phil Valentine's death was announced Saturday afternoon by his station in Tennessee, SuperTalk 99.7 WTNthe same platform the 61-year-old once used to broadcast a parody he'd recorded called Vaxman, which mocked the vaccine. Per WTVF, Valentine first revealed his diagnosis in July when he suggested he'd recover quickly. As time went on, those who knew Valentine began to paint a grimmer picture. After Valentine was hospitalized, his family posted a message for him that expressed regret over not being more "pro-vaccine" in his radio show, where he'd often criticize mask mandates and question vaccine safety to his listeners across Tennessee and nationwide.

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The family's statement closed with the plea: "PLEASE GET VACCINATED." Valentine himself came close to telling listeners the same thing after first being diagnosed. Per the AP, prior to being hospitalized, he told listeners to ask themselves, If I get this COVID thing, do I have a chance of dying from it? If so, he advised them to get vaccinated--but that he chose not to do so because he believed he was unlikely to die from it. After Valentine was moved into a critical care unit, Mark Valentine said his brother had regrets. I know if he were able to tell you this, he would tell you, Go get vaccinated. Quit worrying about the politics. Quit worrying about all the conspiracy theories," Mark Valentine told The Tennessean on July 25. (Read more phil valentine stories.)
(Newser) 

Catastrophic flooding in Middle Tennessee left at least ten people dead and dozens missing Saturday as record-shattering rainfall washed away homes and rural roads, authorities said. Business owner Kansas Klein watched in horror from a bridge Saturday morning as cars and entire houses were swept down a road in Waverly, a town of about 4,500 people that Klein, 48, has called home for more than half his life, per the AP . Two girls who were holding on to a puppy and clinging to a wooden board swept past, far too fast for Klein and other onlookers to go down and grab hold of them. After being told by authorities to go back, Klein returned a couple hours later, shocked that the floodwaters had almost entirely receded and aghast at the destruction that was left behind. It was amazing how quick it came and how quick it left, Klein said.
(Newser)  Now a tropical storm, Henri hit the coast of Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon, with high winds that knocked out power to thousands of homes and rain that has brought flash flooding to the Northeast. Even as a tropical storm, Henri had wind gusts up to 70mph, the AP reports, and forecasters' expectations didn't change much. In addition to high winds, storm surge and flooding rain are predicted for the region, per ABC; tropical storm warnings have been issued for the stretch from New York to Massachusetts. By noon, thousands of people in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts had already lost power. Inland areas could be hit hardest by rainfall.

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Heavy rain in the beach towns of southern Rhode Island has made some coastal roads almost impassable, per the AP. The center of the storm moved past Block Island, which reported 65mph winds, in late morning. Gov. Dan McKee warned residents Sunday to prepare for flooding and the loss of power. "I'm asking you, Rhode Island, to stay home until this storm passes," McKee said. In Massachusetts, tourists were stuck in their cars waiting for a ferry to take them from the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket after the Coast Guard closed ports on Cape Cod and New Bedford. The ports weren't likely to open until after the worst of the storm.

East Hampton Mayor Jerry Larsen said mass evacuations are impractical on the eastern end of Long Island because of the lack of major roads. "We have one lane of travel leaving the Hamptons, so it's a little difficult to order evacuations," Larsen said. "So most people will shelter in place." Gov. Ned Lamont called on Connecticut residents to do the same from Sunday afternoon through at least Monday morning. Major airports in the Northeast were still open, but hundreds of flights have been canceled. Heavy rain caused rail service on Long Island and in southern New England to be shut down, per the New York Times. "I love storms," a 20-year resident of Westerly, RI, said Sunday. "I think theyre exciting, as long as no one gets hurt." (Read more Tropical Storm stories.)
(Newser)  The Defense Department on Sunday ordered US airlines to contribute planes for use in evacuating Afghan refugees. The 18 aircraft will transport evacuees to and from military bases in Germany, Qatar and Bahrain, the Wall Street Journal reports. They will not go into Kabul. So far, C-17 cargo planes have been used to take civilians out of the Kabul airport, where tens of thousands of people have tried to get through security to board flights. Those planes aren't designed for passengers and don't work well for long trips such as the ones to bases in the US; they don't carry food, or have enough restrooms or even seats. In some cases, more than 400 people have packed together on the floors of the C-17.

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Although the airlines were given an order, not a request, United supported the move. "We embrace the responsibility to quickly respond to international challenges like these," the airline said in a statement, per CNBC. Four planes will be turned over by United; three each by American, Atlas Air, Delta, and Omni Air; and two by Hawaiian Airlines, per the Washington Post. The Pentagon's authority for the order comes from the Defense Production Act, which created the Civil Reserve Air Fleet in the 1950s after the Berlin airlift. It provides for ordering commercial carriers to contribute planes as a backup during a "major national defense emergency." The Pentagon previously activated the program in 1990 and 2002.

The flights, which the Pentagon said will ferry passengers "from temporary safe havens and interim staging bases," will be operated by the military's Transportation Command, but still will be considered civilian and will be subject to FAA rules. The Pentagon did not say whether it would go beyond 18 planes, but part of the idea of using commercial airliners is to be able to use places other than military bases for the flights, per the Journal. On ABC's This Week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday that troops are working to get Americans safely to the Kabul airport and onto planes, per the Guardian. "Were gonna try our very best to get everybody, every American citizen who wants to get out, out." (Read more Afghanistan exit strategy stories.)
(Newser)  US Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida eloped to Southern California, marrying his girlfriend Ginger Luckey on Saturday in a small ceremony on Catalina Island. The 39-year-old Republican, who is under investigation as part of a sex trafficking probe, announced the wedding on his personal Twitter page, the AP reports. He posted "I love my wife!" along with a photo of them togetherhe in a sport coat, she in a white dress. Vanity Fair reports that Sergio Gor, a former staffer for Sen. Rand Paul, performed the ceremony, which was attended by about 40 people, few of them politicians. The couple had previously announced they would marry next year. Luckey, 26, is from Southern California and works for a company that focuses on extending the life of products made from plant-based materials.

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Gaetz had been in Iowa on Thursday with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, speaking at a rally that is part of a national tour on which they falsely claim the 2020 election was stolen from President Trump and play down the COVID-19 pandemic. He's under investigation as part of a probe that led to the arrest and plea deal of his close friend, Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector. Greenberg pleaded guilty last May to six federal crimes, including sex trafficking of a child, identity theft, stalking, wire fraud and conspiracy to bribe a public official. His plea agreement with prosecutors requires continued cooperation with an ongoing probe into sex trafficking.

(Read more Matt Gaetz stories.)