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September
Taliban claim control of Panjshir, promise formation of government 'soon'
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Taliban claimed victory on Monday over opposition forces in the Panjshir valley northeast of Kabul, declaring that it completed the Islamist group's takeover of Afghanistan and promising to announce a new government soon.
Pictures on social media showed Taliban members standing in front of the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor’s compound after fighting over the weekend with the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA), led by Panjshiri leader Ahmad Massoud.
"Panjshir, which was the last hideout of the escapee enemy, is captured," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference.
Earlier, he had said: "With this victory and latest efforts our country has come out of the whirlpool of the war and our people will have a happy life in peace, liberty and freedom."
The Taliban assured the people of Panjshir, who are ethnically distinct from the Pashtun-dominated Taliban and fought against the Islamists during their rule from 1996 to 2001, that there would be no "discriminatory act against them".
"They are our brothers and would work together for a joint purpose and welfare of the country," Mujahid said.
Massoud, who leads a force drawn from remnants of regular Afghan army and special forces units as well as local militia fighters, said in a Twitter message he was safe, but gave no details.
Mujahid said he had been told that Massoud and former vice president Amrullah Saleh had escaped to neighbouring Tajikistan.
Ali Maisam Nazary, head of foreign relations at NRFA, said the Taliban's claim of victory was false and opposition forces continued to fight.
"The NRF forces are present in all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight," he said on his Facebook page.
Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, denied there were any disagreements within the movement about the formation of a new government and said it would be announced soon, but he did not set a date.
He also said women were back at work in the health and education sectors and "other fields will be provided, one by one, once the system has been established for them".
LAST POCKET OF RESISTANCE
The militants, who swept to power last month as the United States withdrew its troops after a 20-year war, banned girls and women from schools and most work when they last ruled the country, from 1996 to 2001.
The group has now said women would be allowed to work across important sectors of society, in line with Islamic law, and their rights would be protected.
The Taliban seized control of most of Afghanistan three weeks ago, taking power in Kabul on Aug. 15 after the Western-backed government collapsed and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
Panjshir, the last pocket of armed resistance against the Taliban, has a history of being difficult for enemies to take.
The rugged mountain valley is still littered with the wreckage of tanks destroyed during the long war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
The Panjshir fighting has been the most prominent example of resistance to the Taliban. But some cities have also witnessed small, isolated protests for women's rights or in defence of the green, red and black flag of the vanquished Afghan republic.
U.S.-led foreign forces evacuated about 124,000 foreigners and at-risk Afghans in the weeks before the last U.S. troops left Kabul, but tens of thousands who fear Taliban retribution were left behind.
About 1,000 people, including Americans, have been stuck in northern Afghanistan for days awaiting clearance for their charter flights to leave, an organiser told Reuters, blaming the delay on the U.S. State Department.
Reuters could not independently verify the details of the account.
Western powers say they are prepared to engage with the Taliban and send humanitarian aid to people displaced by drought and war, but that formal recognition of the government and broader economic assistance will depend on action, not just promises, to safeguard human rights.
The United Nations said it would convene an international aid conference on Sept. 13 to help avert what U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called a looming humanitarian catastrophe. (Reuters)
September
Japan minister Kono popular with voters for PM, may get heavyweight backing - media
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taro Kono, Japan's minister in charge of fighting COVID-19 and a top choice of voters for Japanese prime minister, may also pick up the backing of a popular ruling party heavyweight in the race for party leader, broadcaster TV Asahi said on Monday.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's shock Friday announcement he was stepping down has thrown a ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership race set for Sept. 29 wide open, with an array of candidates - including two women - considering runs.
The LDP's majority in parliament guarantees the winner will become prime minister.
Former foreign minister Fumio Kishida, 64, is the only candidate to throw his hat into the ring so far.
Kono has yet to formally declare his candidacy but media reports say his intention to run is strengthening.
Former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is popular among LDP grassroots members, is considering backing Kono instead of running himself, TV Asahi reported, without citing sources or further details - a move that could significantly increase Kono's chances of winning.
Kono sidestepped the issue at a Monday news conference on Japan's vaccination drive, saying only that in the case he did run he would make sure it had no impact on his current duties, including a vaccine rollout in a nation where not quite half have been fully inoculated.
Ishiba, 64, had such strong support among rank-and-file party members in the past that he defeated Suga's predecessor Shinzo Abe in the first round of a 2012 leadership race. He lost in a later round, when only lawmakers could vote, and has since lost two more leadership contests.
Two public opinion polls over the past few days have said Kono is the top choice of voters to assume the premiership, with 23% telling the Yomiuri Shimbun daily in a poll published Monday that they favoured him.
But he was just a hair ahead of Ishiba at 21%.
A former foreign and defence minister, the 58-year-old Kono, educated at Georgetown University and a fluent English speaker, has built a popular following among young voters with an active social media presence in two languages and 2.3 million followers on his Japanese page alone.
Kono has long been a favoured candidate among voters for prime minister and has made no secret of wanting the job, but party elders are wary of him for his outspokenness and reputation as a maverick.
Others feel he is still too young for the job, though media reported at the weekend he had secured Suga's backing.
Kishida was seen as the likely heir when Abe quit last year due to illness, his low-key, soft-spoken style typically lands him low in voter surveys - such as the Yomiuri's, in which he trailed at only 12%.
Unlike last year's leadership race, when Suga emerged the winner, this time ordinary party members at the prefectural level will also be able to vote, making the outcome harder to predict.
Potential candidates spent a busy weekend meeting with other lawmakers, sounding them out for support, media said. Each needs to gather 20 supporters by Sept 17 to become a formal candidate, with the vote on Sept 29.
Should the results be close, a second round would be held with only lawmakers allowed to vote.
Abe's actions are being closely watched since he, as Japan's longest-serving prime minister, still retains influence in the party's two largest factions and among conservative lawmakers.
Japanese media has reported that Abe will be backing former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi, who hopes to become Japan's first woman prime minister.
But Monday's Yomiuri survey had Takaichi trailing badly at 3% - just behind Abe himself, at 5%. (Reuters)
September
OIC vehemently denounces ballistic missile attacks by Houthis
Written by Nur Yasmin
Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Dr Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen has expressed strong condemnation to the ballistic missile attacks on the Eastern Province and the cities of Najran and Jazan in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The ballistic attacks were thwarted by forces of the coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen and resulted in two children suffering injuries and property being damaged, according to a statement from OIC received in Jakarta, Monday.
The OIC secretary-general also denounced the continued escalation of attacks by the terrorist Houthi militia that targeted civilians and civilian objects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with explosive-laden drones. He lauded the capabilities and efficiency of the Saudi Air Defense Force that managed to intercept and destroy three explosive-laden drones before they reached their targets.
Al-Othaimeen affirmed OIC's support for all measures taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to protect its land, security, and stability.
The secretary-general stressed that the OIC condemns terrorist acts committed by the Houthi militia and those supporting them and providing them money and weapons, considering that these acts are "war crimes." (Antaranews)
September
Missile attack on Saudi oil region foiled: Saudi-led coalition
Written by nuke
A general view of an oil installation in Saudi Arabia's northeastern Gulf port of Jubail. (AFP PHOTO/Bilal QABALAN) -
A ballistic missile attack aimed at Saudi Arabia's oil-rich eastern region was intercepted on Saturday (Sep 4), the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi group in Yemen said in a statement carried by Saudi state media.
The missile was intercepted over the city of Dammam, according to a source familiar with the matter who declined to be named and social media reports.
The shrapnel of the missile scattered over the Dammam Suburb neigbourhood, injuring two Saudi children, while 14 residential houses suffered light damages, Saudi state news agency SPA said, citing a statement by the defence ministry.
The coalition blamed the attack on the Iran-aligned Houthi forces. There was no immediate claim of responsibility in Houthi-run media.
The coalition also said it intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles heading towards Jazan and Najran, both in the southern part of the country.
The coalition earlier also reported the interception of three explosive-laden drones headed towards the Kingdom.
Eastern Saudi is home to significant oil infrastructure which has previously been targeted and hit by aerial attacks. An attack in September 2019 on two Aramco plants in the east temporarily knocked out half the country's oil production.
Yemen's Houthis, who regularly launch drones and missiles into the kingdom, have claimed responsibility for several attacks on Saudi oil installations in the past.
A source familiar with the matter said there was no impact on facilities belonging to state-controlled oil giant Saudi Aramco and that the attack happened outside of Aramco facilities.
"The Ministry of Defense will take the necessary and deterrent measures to protect its lands and capabilities, and stop such hostile and cross-border attacks to protect civilians, in accordance with international humanitarian law," the ministry said in a statement according to SPA.
The Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing forces of the ousted government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fighting the Houthis//CNA
September
Australia's Victoria reports 183 local COVID-19 cases
Written by nuke
FILE PHOTO: A lone passenger sits at a tram stop on a mostly-empty city centre street on the first day of a lockdown as the state of Victoria looks to curb the spread of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Melbourne, Australia, July 16, 2021. REUTERS/Sandra Sanders -
Australia's Victoria, home to more than a quarter of the country's 25 million population, reported 183 new locally acquired coronavirus cases on Sunday (Sep 5) as the outbreak of the highly transmissible Delta variant grows.
Of the infections, 101 were linked to existing outbreaks, the health department said on its Twitter account. There are 1,417 active cases now in the state.
More than 15 million people in Victoria, neighbouring New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory have been in a weeks-long lockdown to quell Australia's worst wave of the coronavirus pandemic so far.
The lockdowns, which keep internal borders between states and territories closed, are part of a federally advised strategy to manage the outbreaks until at least 70 per cent of those 16 and older get fully vaccinated.
The plan also envisages that Australia might start gradually reopening its international borders, closed since March 2020, when 80 per cent of its people receive the shots.
Due to the scarce supply of the Pfizer vaccine and public unease about AstraZeneca, only about 37 per cent have been vaccinated so far. The pace has picked up considerably with the federal government racing to secure more Pfizer shots.
Based on current rates, the 70 per cent target may be achieved in late October or early November.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison reiterated on Sunday that the current Delta outbreak cannot be fully eliminated - a successful strategy used by states and territories in earlier waves - but that achieving the vaccination targets can allow for travel.
"And everyone can make plans for a family Christmas, with all our loved ones at the dinner table, cracking bon-bons and bad jokes together," Morrison told the Sunday Herald Sun.
"Nobody wants COVID to be the virus that stole Christmas, and we have a plan and the vaccinations available to ensure that's not the case."//CNA
September
Afghanistan a 'wake-up call' for Europe on defence, leadership: France
Written by nuke
FILE PHOTO: French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire attends a news conference after a meeting with business federations at the Bercy Finance Ministry in Paris, France, August 30, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier -
The challenges to security emerging from the upheaval in Afghanistan should be a wake-up call for the European Union, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Saturday (Sep 4), urging the EU to be more ambitious on defence and on global leadership.
"Europe has to become No 3 super-power besides China and the United States. Let's open our eyes, we are facing threats and we cannot rely anymore on the protection of the United States," Le Maire told reporters during an annual business conference in Cernobbio on Lake Como.
"Afghanistan is a wake-up call," he said, adding Europe also faced security threats in the Middle East and in Africa.
The French minister said Paris had decided to invest €1.7 billion (US$2.02 billion) more in defence this year and would like to see other European countries to do the same.
The minister also called other EU member states to invest and to deepen their single market to achieve technological independence from big overseas companies and third countries.
"EU member states have to build the single market for finance and also they need to reach a political agreement on the banking union, in order to have more funds for new technologies," Le Maire said.
He added that France will work toward these goals when it takes the rotating presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2022.
"You cannot be sovereign on the political point of view if you depend from foreigners for semiconductors, electric batteries, satellites ..." he said, echoing similar comments from Italy's Innovation Minister Vittorio Colao, who was also in Cernobbio.
Europe should invest to win the leadership in sectors including hydrogen, the digital cloud, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, space exploration, satellites and bio-technologies, Le Maire said//CNA
September
Taliban, opposition fight for Afghan holdout province, top US general warns of civil war
Written by nuke
Members of National Resistance Front observe by a house near Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan in this still image obtained handout. NATIONAL RESISTANCE FRONT OF AFGHANISTAN HANDOUT/Handout via REUTERS -
Taliban and opposition forces battled on Saturday (Sep 4) to control the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul, the last Afghan province holding out against the militant group, as the top US general warned of a "civil war" if the Islamists failed to consolidate power.
Both sides claimed to have the upper hand in Panjshir but neither could produce conclusive evidence to prove it. The Taliban, which swept through the country ahead of the final withdrawal of US-led forces this week, were unable to control the valley when they ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said the districts of Khinj and Unabah had been taken, giving Taliban forces control of four of the province's seven districts.
"The Mujahideen (Taliban fighters) are advancing toward the centre (of the province)," he said on Twitter.
But the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, grouping forces loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud, said it surrounded "thousands of terrorists" in Khawak pass and the Taliban had abandoned vehicles and equipment in the Dashte Rewak area.
Front spokesman Fahim Dashti added "heavy clashes" were going on.
In a Facebook post, Massoud insisted Panjshir "continues to stand strongly". Praising "our honourable sisters", he said demonstrations by women in the western city of Herat calling for their rights showed Afghans had not given up demands for justice and "they fear no threats".
US General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, underscored the tenuous situation.
"My military estimate is, is that the conditions are likely to develop of a civil war. I don't know if the Taliban is going to be able to consolidate power and establish governance," Milley said.
Speaking to Fox News from Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Milley said if they cannot that will "in turn lead to a reconstitution of Al Qaeda or a growth of ISIS or other myriad of terrorist groups" over the next three years.
Emergency, an Italian medical aid organisation, said Taliban forces had pushed further into the Panjshir Valley on Friday night, reaching the village of Anabah where the group has medical facilities.
"We have received a small number of wounded people at the Anabah Surgical Centre," Emergency said in a statement, adding that many people fled in recent days.
It was not immediately possible to get further independent confirmation of events in Panjshir, which is walled off by mountains except for a narrow entrance.
Celebratory gunfire resounded in Kabul on Friday as reports spread of the Taliban's takeover of Panjshir. News agencies said at least 17 people were killed and 41 hurt.
Pakistan's spy chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed flew into Kabul on Saturday. It was not clear what his agenda was, but a senior official in Pakistan said earlier in the week that Hameed, who heads the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, could help the Taliban reorganise the Afghan military.
Washington has accused Pakistan and the ISI of backing the Taliban in the group's two-decade fight against the US-backed government in Kabul, although Islamabad has denied the charges.
In Kabul, Taliban fighters broke up a demonstration by about a dozen women urging the group to respect women's rights to education and jobs, according to private broadcaster Tolo news.
A Taliban source said the announcement of a new government would be pushed back to next week.
Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, reported by some Taliban sources to be in line to lead the new government, said in remarks on Qatar's Al Jazeera channel that the new administration will include all factions of Afghans.
"We are doing our utmost efforts to improve their living conditions. The government will provide security, because it is necessary for economic development," he said.
Some signs of normality returned to Kabul.
Qatar's ambassador to Afghanistan said a technical team was able to reopen Kabul airport to receive aid, according to Al Jazeera, which also cited its correspondent as saying domestic flights had restarted.
The airport has been closed since the United States on Aug 30 completed US-led evacuations of more than 120,000 US citizens, other foreigners and Afghans deemed at risk from the Taliban, and withdrew the last of its troops.
The Taliban's main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, also said one of the main foreign exchange dealers in Kabul had reopened.
Afghanistan's economy has been thrown into disarray by the Taliban's takeover. Many banks are closed and cash is scarce.
The United Nations said it will convene an international aid conference on Sep 13 to help avert what UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called a looming humanitarian catastrophe.
Western powers say they are prepared to engage with the Taliban and send humanitarian aid, but that formal recognition of the government and broader economic assistance will depend on action - not just promises - to safeguard human rights//CNA
September
Ex-UK PM Brown accuses West of 'moral outrage' over COVID-19 vaccine stockpiling
Written by nuke
FILE PHOTO: Britain's former Prime Minister Gordon Brown speaks at an event in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain January 17, 2019. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/File Photo -
Former British prime minister Gordon Brown accused rich countries of committing a "moral outrage" by stockpiling COVID-19 doses while poor countries are struggling to get supplies.
Brown, who is a United Nations special envoy, called on US President Joe Biden and other Group of Seven leaders to urgently ship vaccines from warehouses in America and Europe to Africa.
Western countries are hoarding nearly 300 million shots while only 70 million people in Africa have so far been vaccinated, Brown said in an opinion piece published in the Sunday Mirror newspaper, citing research by data firm Airfinity.
By Christmas, the West is set to have 1 billion surplus doses even if every European and American adult has received a booster shot and all children over 12 are injected, he said.
"We are in a new 'arms' race – to get vaccines into people as quickly as possible – but this is an arms race where the West have a stranglehold on the vaccine supplies," Brown said.
The grip of rich countries on vaccine stocks was stopping Covax, the international facility for buying vaccines, from meeting its promise to send 2 billion vaccines to poorer countries this year, he added.
The stockpiling has also delayed dose-sharing by G7 countries with Africa and low-income countries, Brown said//CNA
September
New Zealand tried to deport extremist Samsudeen for years
Written by nuke
Police respond to the scene of an attack carried out by a man shot dead by police after he injured multiple people at a shopping mall in Auckland, New Zealand, Sep 3, 2021. (Photo: Stuff Limited/Ricky Wilson via REUTERS) -
New Zealand has tried for years to deport the knife-wielding militant who wounded seven people at a mall in Auckland last week, the government said after it released more details on the attacker following the lifting of a court suppression order.
Court documents made public on Sunday named the attacker as Ahamed Aathil Mohamed Samsudeen, 32, a Tamil Muslim from Sri Lanka. He had arrived in New Zealand 10 years ago on a student visa seeking refugee status, which was granted in 2013.
Samsudeen came to the attention of the police and security services in 2016 after he expressed sympathy on Facebook for militant attacks, violent war-related videos and comments advocating violent extremism.
It was later discovered that his refugee status was fraudulently obtained, the government said in a statement, adding that the process had begun to cancel his refugee status.
Police shot dead Samsudeen, who had been convicted and imprisoned for about three years before being released in July, moments after he launched his stabbing spree on Friday.
"In July this year I met with officials in person and expressed my concern that the law could allow someone to remain here who obtained their immigration status fraudulently and posed a threat to our national security," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.
"This has been a frustrating process."
The attack by Samsudeen has led to questions about why the he was allowed to remain free if the authorities had decided he needed to be watched so closely.
Ardern vowed on Saturday to pass legislation that would criminalise planning a terror attack and tighten other counter-terrorism laws.
Samsudeen's family issued a statement to the local New Zealand media, describing their shock on the attack.
"We are heartbroken after this terrible event," said the statement released by his brother Aroos, carried by state broadcaster 1NEWS.
"We hope to find out with you all, what happened in Aathil's case and what we all could have done to prevent this," the statement said//CNA
September
Brazil health regulator suspends use of 12 million Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine shots
Written by nuke
FILE PHOTO: An employee handles vials containing CoronaVac, Sinovac Biotech's vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Butantan biomedical center in Sao Paulo, Brazil January 12, 2021. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli -
Brazil's federal health regulator Anvisa on Saturday (Sep 4) suspended the use of more than 12 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech that were produced in an unauthorised plant, it said in a statement.
Anvisa said it was alerted on Friday by Sao Paulo's Butantan institute, a biomedical centre that has partnered with Sinovac to locally fill and finish the vaccines, that 25 batches, or 12.1 million doses, sent to Brazil had been made in the plant.
"The manufacturing unit ... was not inspected and was not approved by Anvisa in the authorisation of emergency use of the mentioned vaccine," the regulator said. The ban was "a precautionary measure to avoid exposing the population to possible imminent risk", it added.
Butantan also told Anvisa that another 17 batches, totalling 9 million doses, had been produced in the same plant, and were on their way to Brazil, the regulator said.
During the 90-day ban, Anvisa will seek to inspect the plant, and find out more about the security of the manufacturing process, it said.
During Brazil's vaccine rollout earlier this year, the vast majority of administered vaccines were from Sinovac. More shots from other manufacturers have since come online.
Brazil on Saturday reported 21,804 new coronavirus cases, and 692 COVID-19 deaths//CNA