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September
IFRC urges urgent global humanitarian support for Afghanistan
Written by Nur Yasmin
Conflict, drought and the pandemic have rendered 18 million Afghans in need of humanitarian assistance, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on Tuesday, calling for urgent international action.
Foreign governments have pledged continued humanitarian support, but there is no clarity on how this help will be delivered following the fall of Kabul to the Islamist militant Taliban movement last month.
"Some 18 million Afghans – half the population – are in need of humanitarian assistance as severe drought compounds hardships caused by years of conflict and the pandemic," an IFRC statement said.
It added that tens of thousands of families have left their homes, seeking food and shelter in urban areas where some are staying in relief camps without food or income.
The Taliban, too, have appealed to the international community to continue support for Afghanistan. On Sunday, a Taliban spokesman said the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, Martin Griffiths, had promised to maintain assistance to the Afghan people. read more
Western countries pulled out their diplomatic presence as international forces withdrew from the country and the Western-backed government capitulated as a lightning Taliban offensive culminated in the capture of Kabul in mid-August.
But, foreign governments have yet to recognise the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan.
Asked whether the United States would recognise the Taliban, U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House late Monday: “That’s a long way off."
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, whose country has increased its aid budget for Afghanistan, said last week that humanitarian assistance would flow through agencies and not to the Taliban directly.
Western countries fear that the looming humanitarian crisis and economic collapse could result in hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees.
The IFRC said it is scaling up its appeal to more than 36 million Swiss francs ($39.34 million) to support the Afghan Red Crescent to deliver emergency relief and recovery assistance to 560,000 people in 16 provinces worst affected by drought and compounding conflict-induced displacement.
September
New Zealand COVID-19 cases steady ahead of decision on easing curbs
Written by Nur Yasmin
New Zealand reported 20 new cases of COVID-19 for a third day in a row on Monday, ahead of a decision on whether coronavirus restrictions would be eased in most of the country.
All new cases were in Auckland, the epicentre of the current outbreak, and took the total number of infections to 821, the health ministry said in a statement.
The government is set to decide on Monday whether coronavirus restrictions enforced in the country will be eased. (Reuters)
September
Myanmar junta agrees to ASEAN call for ceasefire to distribute aid -Kyodo
Written by Nur Yasmin
Myanmar's military rulers have agreed to an ASEAN call for a ceasefire until the end of the year to ensure distribution of humanitarian aid, Japan's Kyodo news agency said, citing the envoy of the southeast Asian bloc to the crisis-torn nation.
Following a coup in February, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been trying to end violence in which hundreds have been killed in Myanmar, and open a dialogue between the military rulers and their opponents.
The envoy, Erywan Yusof, proposed the ceasefire in a video conference with Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, and the military had accepted it, he told the agency.
"This is not a political ceasefire. This is a ceasefire to ensure safety, (and) security of the humanitarian workers" in their effort to distribute aid safely, Erywan said, according to Sunday's report.
"They didn't have any disagreement with what I said, with regards to the ceasefire," it quoted the envoy as saying.
Erywan had also passed his proposal indirectly to parties opposed to rule by the military, it added.
A military spokesman did not answer calls from Reuters to seek comment.
The junta could not be trusted to honour the deal, however,
Myanmar pro-democracy activist Thinzar ShunLei Yi told Reuters, adding, "Ceasefires buy more time for the military to reload bullets."
Maw Htun Aung, a deputy minister in the National Unity Government formed of opponents of military rule, said ASEAN needed to tell the junta to stop "killing and terrorising" its own people.
In an interview with Reuters on Saturday, Erywan said he was still negotiating with the military over the terms of a visit he hoped to make before late October, and had sought access to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. read more
"What we are calling for now is ... for all sides to undertake a cessation of violence, especially with regards to distribution of humanitarian assistance," he said.
ASEAN nations and dialogue partners had pledged $8 million in aid for Myanmar, he added.
The military seized power after alleging irregularities in an election swept by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party. International monitors and the electoral commission at the time said the army accusations were wrong. (Reuters)
September
Australia sees strong future for coal beyond 2030 despite U.N. call
Written by Nur Yasmin
Coal will be a major contributor to Australia's economy well beyond 2030 given growth in global demand, the country's resources minister said on Monday, a day after a United Nations envoy called on the country to phase out the fossil fuel.
Without greater efforts to cut coal, climate change will dramatically damage Australia's economy, Selwin Hart, the United Nations special adviser on climate change, said in a speech in the capital Canberra on Sunday.
Australia's heavy reliance on coal-fired power makes it one of the world's largest carbon emitters per capita, but its conservative government has steadfastly backed fossil fuel industries, saying tougher action on emissions would cost jobs.
Australia's latest export figures show "the reports of coal's impending death are greatly exaggerated and its future is assured well beyond 2030," Resources Minister Keith Pitt said in a statement.
In the three months to July, Australian coal exports grew 26% in value to A$12.5 billion ($9.3 billion), he noted. Coal prices have climbed as global economies recover from COVID-19 restrictions.
"The future of this crucial industry will be decided by the Australian government, not a foreign body that wants to shut it down costing thousands of jobs and billions of export dollars for our economy," Pitt added.
The U.N. has called for phasing out coal by 2030 in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, which include Australia.
In July, energy and environment ministers from the Group of 20 big economies failed to deliver a deal to phase out coal by 2025. But some experts said there were chances of progress at U.N. climate talks in Glasgow in November.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said Australia is on a path to net zero carbon emissions but has stopped short of committing to a timeline. He has said that Australia would update its 2030 emissions projections going into the Glasgow talks. (Reuters)
September
Taliban tells Berlin it will welcome German companies, aid
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Taliban would welcome German investment in Afghanistan and help in areas including humanitarian aid, health care, education and infrastructure, the group's spokesman told Bild newspaper.
The Taliban took power in Afghanistan last month as foreign forces pulled out after a 20-year mission, and the country is facing an economic collapse and humanitarian crisis while donors and governments weigh up how to deal with the new leaders.
Germany, acting in concert with the European Union, has laid out conditions to resume a diplomatic presence in Kabul and unfreeze development aid, urging the Taliban to respect human rights, particularly those of women. read more
"The German government could encourage its entrepreneurs to come and invest in our country," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an interview with Bild published on Monday.
The Taliban would pave the way for investments and ensure companies' security, he said.
Germany maintained close relations with Afghanistan in the past and after the fall of the first Taliban government in 2001 hosted a conference in Bonn that was supposed to lay the foundation for a democratic Afghanistan.
The hardline Islamist group has sought to present a more moderate face this time. read more
"We would like to revive the friendly atmosphere that existed between Afghans and Germans. The next government will be based on a friendly relationship with Germany," Mujahid said.
"We would like Germany to support us in the humanitarian sector, and we need help in the health care sector, in the area of education and with the infrastructure," he added
He also said the Taliban would be "very happy" to welcome Chancellor Angela Merkel - who is about to step down as Germany's leader - for a visit in Afghanistan.
German citizens living in the country and Afghans who have cooperated with Germany in the past should not be afraid of the Taliban and there would be no problems, Mujahid said. Those among them who wanted to leave the country will have to take the legal route, he added.
The German military evacuated more than 5,000 people from Kabul airport at the end of August, but thousands of former local staff and their families are still in the country. Berlin has promised to get them out.
Germany's designated ambassador to Kabul, Markus Potzel, has been negotiating with the Taliban in Doha to gain safe passage for them. (Reuters)
September
Japanese automakers' China car sales tumbled in August
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japanese automakers Honda Motor (7267.T), Nissan Motor (7201.T) and Toyota Motor (7203.T) saw their sales in China tumble in August as a chip shortage hit vehicle production in the world's biggest car market.
Honda said it sold 91,694 vehicles in China last month, down 38.3% from a year earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a shortage of components.
Nissan said it sold 113,166 cars in China in August, down 10.6%, due to "external headwinds including on-going pandemic, material shortage and natural disasters across the country".
Toyota said it sold 144,800 cars last month there, down 11.9% from the same month last year.
A prolonged global chip shortage has caught major automakers including Ford Motor (F.N), General Motors (GM.N) and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) off guard, forcing many to idle or curtail production.
The shortage was unlikely to be resolved soon as the pandemic rages on in many parts of the world, China's top auto industry body said last month. (Reuters)
September
Dollar shakes off jobs report blues in big central bank week
Written by Nur Yasmin
The U.S. dollar on Monday clawed back some of the losses sustained after last week's poor U.S. jobs report, helped by firmer U.S. Treasury yields in a big week for major central banks.
The dollar index , which measures the currency against six rivals, edged 0.1% higher to 92.23, after dipping to 91.941 for the first time since Aug. 4 on Friday, when a closely watched U.S. labour report showed the world's largest economy created the fewest jobs in seven months in August. read more
But the weak jobs report did not spark a new wave of dollar selling on Monday as the greenback spent the Asian session pushing higher against its rivals, prompting some major currencies including the euro and the Australian dollar to move back to pre-Friday jobs report levels.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields firming to more than one-week highs also boosted the dollar. U.S. markets are shut for a holiday, contributing to lower volumes.
While analysts remain bearish on the outlook for the greenback with Citibank strategists expecting it to weaken in the coming months as the Fed postpones tapering plans to November, hedge funds have quietly ramped up bullish bets.
Latest data showed they have increased bets on the greenback versus the euro for a second consecutive week, boosting net bets to their highest since March 2020.
Most of the dollar's gains was focused on the Australian dollar which weakened 0.17% to $0.7435 ahead of a central bank decision on Tuesday where analysts remain divided on whether the Reserve Bank of Australia will call time on its stimulus plans.
National Australia Bank predicts the central bank will reduce asset purchases again, "although the optics of tapering amid protracted lockdowns means it is likely to be a close decision," NAB analyst Tapas Strickland wrote in a report.
The euro also failed to extend its gains on Monday after rising above the $1.19 levels for the first time since the end of July. It was trading 0.1% weaker at $1.1873 before an European Central Bank policy decision on Thursday.
Economists reckon it is still too early for the ECB to call time on emergency stimulus, but it could agree to slow the pace of its bond buys after euro area inflation surged to a 10-year high at 3% last week.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was about flat at $51,785.60, after earlier touching $51,920, a level not seen since May 12. Smaller rival ether traded little changed at $3,942.77 after topping $4,000 last week for the first time since mid-May. (Reuters)
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)