08-09-2021

The Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan over Monday after claiming to have wiped out the last
pocket of armed resistance, while they vowed to form a new government soon. Photo : Courtesy
Taliban claim control of whole
country, say war is over
ISLAMABAD : The Taliban declared
the war in Afghanistan over Monday
after claiming to have wiped out the last
pocket of armed resistance, while they
vowed to form a new government soon,
reports UNB.
"War has ended," Taliban spokesman
Zabihullah Mujahid told a press
conference in Kabul, local broadcaster
TOLONews reported three weeks after
the group swept to power in the Afghan
capital.
His remarks came just hours after the
Taliban announced its forces had
completely captured Panjshir, a small,
mountainous valley province northeast
of Kabul, from opposition forces led by
Ahmad Massoud.
But the opposition forces, which call
themselves the National Resistance
Front, earlier denied the Taliban claim,
saying in a Twitter post that they
"continue the fight" from strategic
positions across the valley.
Massoud, in a message to the nation
posted later Monday on Twitter, issued
a call for a general uprising throughout
Afghanistan.
"Stand up, seize the moment, and
accept our call for resistance! For those
who want to take up arms, we are with
you.
For those who will resort to protests,
we will stand next to you, and will join
you," he said.
The Taliban was previously in power
between 1996 and 2001, before being
ousted by a US-led invasion in the
months after the September 11 terrorist
attacks orchestrated by al-Qaeda,
which was then under the protection of
the Afghan group.
The seizure of Panjshir, the last
holdout among 34 provinces, would
complete the Taliban's takeover of
Afghanistan.
They captured Kabul on August 15,
two weeks ahead of the withdrawal of
the last US and NATO troops.
Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman,
said the group initially wanted to
resolve the issue of Panjshir via
dialogue with the resistance forces, but
the talks failed.
Massoud, for his part, accused the
Taliban of ignoring Islamic clerics' call
for a ceasefire and negotiations, and
instead of initiating "a full-scale
military offensive on people which led
to numerous victims." The Taliban
media showed a video of the Taliban
flag being raised at the alleged Panjshir
governor's office.
The province has historically been
difficult to capture, and the Taliban
were unable to control it when they
were previously in power.
On the future government, Mujahid
said it would be announced soon but
would likely act as a caretaker
government to usher in changes and
reforms, according to TOLONews. He
said he would be an Islamic and
accountable government.
When asked about the fate of the
Afghan security forces, Mujahid
reportedly responded that those
trained in the last 20 years would be
asked to rejoin security departments
alongside Taliban forces.
On Afghanistan's foreign relations,
Mujahid said the Taliban wants good
relations with the world, especially with
China as it is a big economic power and
it can help Afghanistan in
reconstruction and development, the
local broadcaster reported.
Taliban fire shots
to disperse
protests in Kabul
KABUL : The Taliban on
Tuesday fired shots into the
air to disperse hundreds of
people who had gathered at
several rallies in Kabul, the
latest signs of defiance by
Afghans against the hardline
Islamist movement which
swept to power last month.
Afghanistan's new rulers
have yet to form a
government, but many in
the capital are fearful of a
repeat of the Taliban's
previous brutal and
repressive reign between
1996 and 2001.
At least three rallies were
held across Kabul in a show
of resistance that would
have been unthinkable
during the Taliban's last
stint in power-when people
were publicly executed and
thieves had their hands
chopped off.
"Afghan women want
their country to be free. They
want their country to be
rebuilt. We are tired,"
protester Sarah Fahim told
AFP at one rally outside the
Pakistani embassy, where
more than 70 people, mostly
women, had gathered.
"We want that all our
people have normal lives.
How long shall we live in
this situation?"
WeDneSDAY, SePTeMbeR 8, 2021
7
Lake Tahoe residents relieved
homes spared from wildfire
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE : Connor Jones
sunbathed with his dog on the otherwise
empty beach at Ski Run Marina on Monday,
as residents trickling back into town filled up
their cars at a gas station behind him and
employees of a water sports rental company
docked jet skis and boats they had anchored
away from the shores of Lake Tahoe to
prevent them from igniting from wildfire.
He and others living in the resort city of
South Lake Tahoe breathed a collective sigh
of relief on Sunday when officials
downgraded a mandatory evacuation order
put in place a week ago to a warning.
"I figure they wouldn't take repopulation
lightly and, if they made the decision to allow
people to come back, then they were probably
confident that they're not going to have any
issues," he said.
When the Caldor Fire gobbled up pine trees
and crossed the Sierra Nevada last week,
South Lake Tahoe, a scenic community of
22,000 people on the California-Nevada state
line, transformed into a smoke-choked ghost
town.
After worrying throughout all of last week
about the fire approaching their homes and
landmarks they hold dear, residents who
returned on Monday said they were thankful
firefighters had stopped the blazes on the
town's doorstep. But it appeared most
residents remained away and most shops
remained closed in usually thriving Labor
Day destination town.
While many large wildfires have ripped
through large swaths of Northern California
in recent years, it's the first time in more than
a decade that South Lake Tahoe residents saw
a blaze get this close. As of Monday evening,
5,072 firefighting personnel were battling the
Caldor Fire, which had scorched roughly 338
square miles (876 square kilometers).
The threat to the region hasn't entirely
vanished, with mandatory evacuation orders
remaining for parts of unincorporated El
Dorado County south of South Lake Tahoe,
including Meyers and Christmas Valley. And
questions remain about the smoke blanketing
the region and how long it may take for the
clean air and crystalline waters that draw
millions of tourists to the area annually to
return.
Authorities warned residents, that in the
absence of humans, bears had gone to town,
spreading trash. "The delicate balance
between humans and bears has been upset,"
and anyone who thinks a bear may have
entered their home should call law
enforcement, El Dorado County Sheriff's Sgt.
Simon Brown said. Chirawat Mekrakseree
said he had seen signs. of bears sifting
through the trash at his restaurant on Lake
Tahoe Boulevard, My Thai Cuisine.
Mekrakseree plans to reopen and start
serving curries and noodle dishes on
Wednesday but worries the tourists he
depends on may not come back while the
smoke lingers. And he doesn't know what to
tell his staff about when business will return
to normal after an already uncertain year with
the pandemic, he said.
"Everybody has expenses, rent, car
payments," he said as he power-washed ash
off outdoor picnic tables.
UN ramps up Afghan aid
appeal as 'catastraphe' looms
GENEVA : The United
Nations appealed for almost
$200 million in extra funding
for life-saving aid in
Afghanistan after the
Taliban's takeover sparked a
host of new issues, reports
BSS.
The UN humanitarian
agency OCHA said the extra
sum meant a total of $606
million in aid was now
needed for Afghanistan until
the end of the year.
"Basic services in
Afghanistan are collapsing
and food and other life-saving
aid is about to run out," said
OCHA spokesman Jens
Laerke.
The issue will be discussed
next Monday at a ministerial
meeting in Geneva hosted by
UN chief Antonio Guterres.
The country, now under the
control of the Taliban after 20
years of war, is facing a
"looming humanitarian
catastrophe", Guterres's
spokesman Stephane
Dujarric warned last week
when announcing the
conference.
OCHA voiced hope that
countries would pledge
generously at the conference,
saying $606 million was
needed to provide critical
food and livelihood assistance
to nearly 11 million people,
and essential health services
to 3.4 million.
The funds would also go
towards treatment for acute
malnutrition for more than a
million children and women,
water, sanitation and hygiene
interventions, and protection
of children and survivors of
gender-based violence.
Most of the requested funds
had already been asked for at
the end of last year as part of a
$1.3-billion humanitarian
appeal for Afghanistan, which
remains
severely
underfunded.
Even before the Taliban
victory, Afghanistan was
wearing inappropriate
dress shoes to the scene.
But Merkel defended
him during a visit to the
city of Hagen on Sunday,
telling reporters he was
"leading the largest state
in Germany very
successfully". The CDU-
heavily aid-dependentwith
40 percent of the
country's GDP drawn from
foreign funding.
New Orleans: Seniors left in
dark, hot facilities after Ida
NEW ORLEANS : Officials in New Orleans
will thoroughly inspect senior living
apartments in the city in the aftermath of
Hurricane Ida after finding people living in
buildings without working generators, which
left residents trapped in wheelchairs on dark,
sweltering upper floors, Mayor LaToya
Cantrell said Monday.
Hundreds were evacuated Saturday and the
city later said five people had died in the
privately run buildings in the days after the
storm. The coroner's office is investigating
whether the deaths will be attributed to the
hurricane, which struck land nine days before.
The managers of some of the homes for
seniors evacuated out of state without making
sure the residents would be safe after the
storm, New Orleans City Council member
Kristin Palmer said at a news conference.
"They're hiding under the loophole of
'independent living,'" Palmer said. "It's not
independent living if there's no power and
you're in a wheelchair on the fourth floor."
The city is creating teams of workers from
the health, safety and permits, code
enforcement and other departments. Their
first focus is to make sure the senior homes are
safe and evacuate people if necessary, Cantrell
said. But after that, management will be held
accountable, and the city will likely add
requirements that include facilities having
emergency agreements in place with
contractors who will make sure generator
power is available at the sites, the mayor said.
Crews in Louisiana have restored power to
nearly 70% of greater New Orleans and nearly
all of Baton Rouge after Hurricane Ida, but
outside those large cities, getting lights back
on is a complex challenge that will last almost
all of September, utility executives said
Monday.
It's going to involve air boats to get into the
swamps and marshes to string lines and repair
the most remote of about 22,000 power poles
that Ida blew down when it came ashore on
Aug. 29 as one of the most powerful
hurricanes to hit the U.S. mainland, Entergy
Louisiana President and CEO Phillip May
said.
More than 530,000 customers still don't
have power in Louisiana, just under half of the
peak when Ida struck eight days ago. In five
parishes west and south of New Orleans, at
least 98% of homes and businesses don't have
power, according to the state Public Service
Commission.
UN denies Sudan refugee camps
used as bolthole for Tigray rebels
ADDIS ABABA :The UN on Tuesday denied
claims that refugee camps in Sudan were
being used by Ethiopian rebels as a bolthole
after Ethiopian officials said fighters had been
caught with refugee ID cards, reports BSS.
Tens of thousands of Ethiopian refugees have
streamed across the border into Sudan since
war broke out 10 months ago in Ethiopia's
northernmost Tigray region, exacerbating
tensions between the two Horn of Africa
neighbours.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into
Tigray to topple the regional ruling party, the
Tigray People's Liberation Front, saying the
move came in response to TPLF attacks on
army camps.
Although the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize
winner vowed a swift victory, the war has
dragged on and spread into the neighbouring
Afar and Amhara regions.
In recent days, Ethiopian officials have said
TPLF fighters recently crossed from Sudan to
Ethiopia carrying IDs issued by the UN
refugee agency UNHCR.
"The TPLF has tried to expand the conflict
by entering Benishangul Gumuz and Amhara
regions crossing the long Sudanese border,"
Ethiopia's foreign ministry said late Monday.
"All of its attempts in these areas have proven
futile but new evidence has come to the
surface. Some TPLF soldiers infiltrating from
the Sudanese side, have been captured
carrying UNHCR ID cards."
A UN official told AFP Tuesday that
UNHCR was aware of reports alleging
Ethiopian refugees registered in Sudan were
now involved in the conflict but said the
agency was "not in a position to verify" them.
Connor Jones sunbathed with his dog on the otherwise empty beach at Ski Run Marina on Monday, as residents
trickling back into town filled up their cars at a gas station behind him and employees of a water
sports rental company docked jet skis and boats they had anchored away from the shores of Lake Tahoe
to prevent them from igniting from wildfire.
Photo : AP
Germany's Merkel backs
Laschet as party lags in polls
BERLIN : German
Chancellor Angela Merkel
on Tuesday endorsed
Armin Laschet as the best
choice to succeed her,
ahead of September 26
elections that polls show
her CDU party losing
under its gaffe-prone new
leader, reports BSS.
"It is a special election,
not only because for the
first time since 1949 no
incumbent chancellor is
running for re-election,"
Merkel said in what was
likely her last speech in
parliament ahead of the
vote.
"It is also a special
election because it is a
decision on the direction
of our country in difficult
times-and it is not
irrelevant who governs
this country," she said.
"The best way for our
country is a CDU/CSU-led
federal government with
Armin Laschet as
chancellor, because his
government stands for
stability, reliability,
moderation and
centrality." Laschet, the
chancellor candidate for
Merkel's CDU and its
Bavarian CSU ally, was
long the favourite to
replace her as chancellor,
but his ratings have
plummeted following a
series of gaffes.
As the head of North
Rhine-Westphalia state,
one of the areas worst
affected when deadly
floods swept western
Germany in July, Laschet
was criticised for his
lacklustre response to the
disaster. The 60-year-old
Rhinelander was caught
on camera joking with
local officials during a
tribute to flood victims,
and was also mocked for
CSU alliance has seen
some of its worst poll
results in years as Merkel
prepares to bow out of
politics after 16 years in
power.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday
endorsed Armin Laschet as the best choice to
succeed her, ahead of September 26 elections
that polls show her CDU party losing under its
gaffe-prone new leader.
Photo : AP
One survey for the Bild
daily on Sunday showed
the conservative alliance
on 20 percent, its worst
score in the post-war
period. The bloc won 33
percent at the last election
in 2017 under Merkel.
The frontrunner is now
Vice Chancellor and
Finance Minister Olaf
Scholz, whose centre-left
Social Democrats (SPD)
scored 25 percent in the
poll.
Turkey says 'no need to
rush' recognising Taliban
ISTANBUL : Turkey said on
Tuesday there was "no need
to rush" in recognising the
Taliban's rule in
Afghanistan, adding that
Ankara was still holding
discussions about operating
Kabul's strategic airport.
In a wide-ranging
television interview, Foreign
Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
sounded a cautious note
about Turkey's future
relations with the
fundamentalist Islamist
group, reports BSS.
He said Afghanistan's new
government needed to be
"inclusive", adding that
women and a range of ethnic
groups should be given
ministerial posts.
The Taliban on Monday
claimed total control over
Afghanistan, saying they had
won the key battle for the
Panjshir Valley, the last
remaining holdout of
resistance against their rule.
But Cavusoglu said the
international community
should take a wait-and-see
approach before recognising
its rule, sounding a similar
tone to one adopted by the
European Union at a
meeting last Friday.
"There is no need to rush,"
he said. "This is our advice to
the entire world. We should
act together with the
international community."
Turkey has been holding
talks with the Taliban in
Kabul, where it still has a
diplomatic presence, about
the conditions under which
it could help operate the
Afghan capital's airport.