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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005133

APEC countries work on strengthening general immunisation schemes

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The 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) have developed a 10-year strategy to support the region’s routine vaccination efforts and enhance the resilience and sustainability of immunisation programmes in the region through 2030.

The ongoing health and economic crises have disrupted global routine immunisation programmes. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), around 23 million children missed out on their basic childhood vaccines. Another study found that 95 per cent of economies in the Asia-Pacific region reported disruption to routine vaccination, with infancy and school-entry age vaccinations most impacted.

A vaccine task force was established last year, comprised of policymakers and private sector representatives, to work on vaccine-related issues, and to identify the best approach to immunisation so member economies can better prevent infection and disease.

“Vaccination is one of the world’s most important and cost-effective public health measures,” said Dr Michelle McConnell, planning group chair of the APEC Life Sciences Innovation Forum. “While the priority now is to vaccinate as many people as possible against Covid, we still need to be able to provide robust immunisation programmes against other vaccine-preventable diseases, so Covid’s impact is not compounded by additional outbreaks.”

The APEC Action Plan on Vaccination across the Life-Course details key pillars for a successful immunisation programme and policy targets. With a collective goal that by 2030, all 21 APEC member economies will have implemented resilient and sustainable immunisation programmes to protect the health and well-being of all populations. This will enable economies to achieve the WHO Immunisation Agenda 2030.

“A life-course approach to vaccination requires that immunisation schedules and access to vaccinations respond to an individual’s stage in life, their lifestyle and specific vulnerabilities or risks to infectious disease that they may face,” added Dr McConnell.

She further highlighted that taking a life-course approach will improve equity in health outcomes, reduce burdens on social systems, lower treatment costs, and ease economic burdens such as illness-induced wage and productivity loss.

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The document puts forth a series of recommendations that will help move the region forward toward resilient and sustainable immunisation programmes by:

• Promoting recognition of vaccination and vaccine innovation

• Prioritising access to and uptake of vaccinations

• Building government capacity in health security and pandemic preparedness

• Strengthening confidence in vaccination and building a resilient immunisation programme

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• Enabling investment and innovation in vaccine research and development, manufacturing and delivery

• Accelerating regulatory harmonisation for vaccines across APEC economies, and

• Establishing proven and innovative mechanisms for sustainable immunisation financing.

“It has never been more apparent that vaccination is critical to the strength of our economies,” said Dr Rebecca Sta Maria, executive director of the APEC Secretariat. “APEC has a unique role to play in supporting the region’s effective trade, regulation and investment in vaccines to protect our population, both in the midst of Covid-19 and far beyond.”

The APEC Life Science Innovation Forum in collaboration with the APEC Health Working Group will host the virtual 11th High-Level Meeting on Health and the Economy on Tuesday.

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APEC comprises Thailand, Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Chile, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, South Korea, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, the US and Vietnam.

Published : August 23, 2021

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005113

Syria opens 1st cafe run by people with Down Syndrome

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Syria opens its first cafe run by people with Down Syndrome. The cafe will help break the stereotype about people with Down Syndrome while helping the special group achieve themselves.

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.

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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.

Young Syrians with Down Syndrome work at a cafe called Sucette in the capital Damascus on Aug. 21, 2021.

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.

Young Syrians with Down Syndrome work at a cafe called Sucette in the capital Damascus on Aug. 21, 2021.

“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. 

Young Syrians with Down Syndrome work at a cafe called Sucette in the capital Damascus on Aug. 21, 2021.

Published : August 23, 2021

By : xinhua

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005111

UK records another 32,253 coronavirus cases

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The UK 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.

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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 UK 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.  

Children run in front of the Tower Bridge in London, Britain, on Aug. 13, 2021.

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. People walk near the Tower Bridge in London, Britain, on Aug. 13, 2021.

Published : August 23, 2021

By : xinhua

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005109

Death toll from earthquake in Haiti rises to 2,207

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The agency said on Twitter that a week after the earthquake, which also left at least 12,268 injured, the number of damaged homes exceeded 77,000, while almost 53,000 were destroyed.

The number of people killed by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake on Aug. 14 in Haiti has risen to 2,207, with 344 still missing, the country’s civil protection agency reported on Sunday.

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The agency said on Twitter that a week after the earthquake, which also left at least 12,268 injured, the number of damaged homes exceeded 77,000, while almost 53,000 were destroyed.

The earthquake had its epicenter some 125 kilometers west of Port-au-Prince and had a depth of 10 kilometers, which is why at the time a tsunami alert was issued, but was later canceled.

Published : August 23, 2021

By : xinhua

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005107

People evacuated from Afghanistan arrived in European countries

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As Western powers were scrambling to evacuate from Afghanistan, some of the evacuated people have arrived in several European countries in the last days.

Romanians and Bulgarians evacuated from Afghanistan are seen on the tarmac after landing with a C-130 Hercules aircraft 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.

Romanians and Bulgarians evacuated from Afghanistan are seen on the tarmac after landing with a C-130 Hercules aircraft 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.

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A C-130 Hercules aircraft carrying Romanians and Bulgarians evacuated from Afghanistan lands near Bucharest, Romania, on Aug. 21, 2021.

A C-130 Hercules aircraft carrying Romanians and Bulgarians evacuated from Afghanistan lands near Bucharest, Romania, on Aug. 21, 2021.

A couple who is evacuated from Afghanistan by a flight of Lufthansa is interviewed upon their arrival at Frankfurt International Airport, in Frankfurt, Germany, Aug. 20, 2021.

An Afghan woman evacuated from Afghanistan by a Spanish military plane receives PCR test in Madrid, Spain, on Aug. 19, 2021.

An Afghan woman evacuated from Afghanistan by a Spanish military plane receives PCR test in Madrid, Spain, on Aug. 19, 2021. 

Published : August 23, 2021

By : xinhua

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005105

Scare, uncertainty grip Afghanistans Kabul although peace prevails in city

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Afghan residents, regardless of the comparatively stable picture in the country, are worried that a “vacuum of power” could lead to a chaotic situation” amid daunting challenges faced by the new administration.

“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.

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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.

Afghans gather near a gate of Kabul airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 22, 2021.

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.

Afghans gather near a gate of Kabul airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 22, 2021.
 

Published : August 23, 2021

By : xinhua

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005101

Tropical Storm Henri makes landfall in Rhode Island

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Tropical Storm Henri weakened as it washed over Northeastern coastal communities Sunday, but its winds were still strong enough to knock spectators off their feet and cut power from more than a hundred thousand homes.

And it was heavy rains that ultimately became the most significant weather hazard across the Eastern United States this weekend. By Sunday afternoon Henri had dumped 4 to 9 inches of rain between central New Jersey and New York City, including a record 1.89 inches in a single hour in New York Saturday, triggering flash-flood warnings.

The National Hurricane Center has stressed that the storm may cause “considerable” flooding as it comes inland. It left more than 120,000 homes without power in three states by mid-afternoon on Sunday, according to PowerOutage.us, although many were back online by early evening.

Apparently-unrelated severe weather events caused problems elsewhere, too. Trees toppled and a bridge collapsed in Murchison, North Carolina amid violent flooding there. And flash floods in central Tennessee turned streets into rivers, leaving 21 dead and dozens missing as of Sunday afternoon.

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President Joe Biden, seeking to project competence and control in the face of dueling crises at home and abroad, said he has deployed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to prepare for possible widespread damage from Henri.

Speaking from the White House’s Roosevelt Room, Biden said he spoke with governors from states likely to be affected, and approved emergency declarations for Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York. He warned that Henri could compound with rainfall that has already affected the region over the past several days.

“While New Englanders are used to dealing with tough weather, this storm has the potential for widespread consequences across the region, with significant flooding and power outages that could affect hundreds of thousands of people,” Biden said. “So we are doing everything we can now to help those states prepare, respond, and recover.”

Henri weakened from a hurricane to a strong tropical storm Sunday morning, making landfall at 12:15 p.m. near Westerly, R.I. It unleashed wind gusts over 70 mph and produced coastal and inland flooding as it buffeted the coast.

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Residents and tourists in some picturesque New England beach towns saw conditions shift from calm and drizzly into full-bore tropical storm mode in the space of about a half hour.

In Narragansett, R.I., a man who had been standing against a metal post to take pictures was bowled over by a sudden gust of wind, raindrops whizzing horizontally past an onlooking camera, according to footage posted by the local news station WCVB.

Sustained high winds and driving rain pummeled the asphalt from normally-crowded, now-deserted Soundview Beach near Old Lyme, Conn., where the Connecticut River empties into Long Island Sound. The water there was already hubcap-deep on streets even before the storm intensified around noon.

By late afternoon, the storm had further moderated as it moved inland. The National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. advisory found Henri’s peak winds had declined to 40 mph, making it a minimal tropical storm. It was centered about 20 miles southeast of Hartford, Conn., drifting west-northwest at 7 mph. All tropical storm warnings were discontinued as Henri is expected to weaken to a tropical depression Sunday night.

Despite the projected weakening, the Hurricane Center warned that heavy rainfall and flooding are expected to continue through Monday across portions of southern New England into the northern Mid-Atlantic. The storm’s very slow movement, or even a halt in forward progress, will allow heavy rain to linger over some areas, increasing the flood threat.

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“[T]he cyclone will still continue to be a prolific rain producer, resulting in significant flooding across southern New England and portions of the northern Mid-Atlantic states for the next day or two,” the Hurricane Center wrote.

Flash flood warnings continued in effect around New York City into Sunday evening, as 2 to 4 inches of rain had fall since Sunday morning with up to another 2 to 4 inches possible. That’s on top of several inches of rain that fell Saturday night. Other areas that could experience flooding rain through Sunday night into Monday include northern New Jersey, the Poconos, Catskills, western Connecticut and Massachusetts, and southern Vermont.

The National Weather Service has placed much of the Northeast in an elevated-risk zone for flash flooding through early Tuesday, with the highest risk covering the Poconos, northern New Jersey, New York City, the Catskills, Connecticut and western Massachusetts. This entire zone is expected to see at least 3 to 6 inches of rain, with isolated double-digit totals.

Tropical Storm Henri makes landfall in Rhode Island

Making matters worse, many of these areas already had record rainfall in July and downpours from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred late last week. The ground is saturated, which will increase the threat not only of flooding but also tree falls due to the loose soil.

Even as the president urged people to abide by local evacuation orders, some weather-hardened New Englanders made clear they aren’t going anywhere.

“Where’s the storm?” joked Ralph Stanley as he walked his dog near the seawall in the Morris Cove section of New Haven on Sunday. Parts of New Haven are under a recommended evacuation.

Further up the street, Arthur DiAdamo used a lull in the rain to pull weeds in the front yard of his Dutch colonial home close to the Long Island Sound. The city recommended residents evacuate his area – the mayor himself knocked on doors Saturday urging people to leave – but DiAdamo was having none of it.

“Here I am” DiAdamo said. “I’m not scared. I’ve been here for 50 years. Never had a problem.”

Nathan Hale School just north of the evacuation area, designated as a shelter, was empty save for a lone firefighter with a bag of equipment and three packages of bottled water.

Newport, R.I. seemed to be spared the worst projected impacts of the storm as Henri made landfall. The area is a popular boating destination, with docks, wharves and restaurants dotting the shore of the harbor.

An approximately 30-foot sailboat, named “Paws,” had washed up to the shore just below the park and tilted on its right side. A group of passersby gathered to gawk, but its owner appeared nowhere in sight.

A bit farther down the beach local resident Greg Hunter was stationed by his 22-foot Sea Fox, which appeared to have floated a couple hundred feet from its anchor spot in the channel onto the sand.

Hunter was counting his luck – in part, because another boat within view had flipped over entirely, its blue and white hull bobbing up and down in the water.

“The good news is that it missed those rocks,” Hunter said of his boat – named “Lynne Marie” – pointing to a cluster of rocks about 20 feet away. “It’s weird that that’s all that happened.”

The storm provided only a brief dip in an otherwise-booming tourist economy here, as tourists desperate for post-pandemic getaways have flocked to Newport. Few businesses bothered to board up their storefronts even though Henri had been classified as a category 1 hurricane ― similar to Hurricane Sandy that devastated areas around New York in 2012.

The Bouchard Inn and Restaurant lost 80 percent of the weekend’s reservations, according to George Williams, a front desk associate there. The Marshall Slocum Inn, about a mile to the northwest, lost eight reservations this weekend from tourists worried about the storm, according to owner Mark Spring.

To Allison Pagani, who was strolling down Thames Street in Newport with two friends, “everyone is being dramatic.” She added: “The fact that everything’s closed – it feels like an abandoned town. Like, where is everyone?”

7-Eleven, which is across a narrow road from the beach, boarded up its windows in preparation for a bad storm but was busy with customers late Sunday afternoon. The convenience store used orange spray paint to write “OPEN” on the protective plywood.

Published : August 23, 2021

By : The Washington Post · Aaron Gregg, Jason Samenow, Julianne McShane

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005100

New Covid-19 cases across Asean see a drop

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The number of Covid-19 cases in Southeast Asia crossed 9.31 million, with 81,948 new cases reported on Sunday, lower than Saturday’s tally of 91,399.

However, the region saw 2,549 additional deaths, an increase from Saturday’s 2,400, taking total coronavirus deaths in Asean to 206,174.

Vietnam reported 11,352 new cases and 687 deaths, bringing cumulative cases in that country to 348,059 patients and a total 8,277 deaths.

Ho Chi Minh City residents lined up at department stores on Sunday to buy food and necessities before the city could go into strict lockdown.

Residents are under stay-at-home orders from Monday, with the army and police deployed to curb the surge of Covid-19 cases in the city of 13 million people.

Meanwhile, Myanmar’s State Administration Council has further extended the public holiday period to the end of August to curb the spread of Covid-19.

During this period, all basic education schools will be closed. The Central Bank of Myanmar and its subordinate government banks and private banks will be exempted from public holidays.

Published : August 23, 2021

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005098

Biden says safe zone around Kabul airport to expand, as Pentagon enlists commercial airlines to aid evacuations

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WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden said Sunday that the U.S. military is “executing a plan” to move stranded American citizens to the Kabul airport in greater numbers, including through an expansion of a safe zone around the facility and by creating conduits for people to access the compound “safely and effectively.”

“Our first priority in Kabul,” Biden said in remarks at the White House, “is getting American citizens out of the country as quickly and as safely as possible.”

The president would not say how the plan for “increased rational access to the airport” is being carried out or whether U.S. troops have expanded their perimeter outside the airport and further into Kabul, which could put them at heightened risk of attack from Taliban factions manning security checkpoints and Islamic State operatives who, U.S. officials warn, pose a serious threat.

In recent days, the Qatari ambassador to Afghanistan has escorted small groups of Americans into the airport, according to two people familiar with the effort who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operation. American citizens have been instructed to meet at rally points in the city, and the ambassador then accompanies them to guarantee safe passage, these people said. Qatar has served as an intermediary between the United States and the Taliban at several stages of the American withdrawal, sponsoring peace talks and serving as the first point of refuge for many evacuees.

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The operational shift comes as U.S. commanders gear up for what officials hope will be a dramatic acceleration of evacuations from Afghanistan in the coming days, enlisting domestic commercial airliners and a number of foreign allies to aid the effort.

Evacuations had slowed over the past couple days, as backlogs in waystations like Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar prevented planeloads of people from departing Kabul, grounding planned flights out and degrading humanitarian conditions at the already overcrowded airport.

The addition of 18 commercial airplanes – activated, the Pentagon announced Sunday, as part of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet – is intended to address those bottlenecks. The jetliners, contracted from domestic airlines United, American, Atlas, Delta, Omni and Hawaiian, will not be flown into Kabul, but used instead to move those taken to places like Qatar on to other destinations in Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Persian Gulf. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier in the weekend that 13 countries had pledged to temporarily host evacuees, while an additional 12 had agreed to serve as transit points.

Biden said Sunday that the mobilization represented a “first stage,” leaving the possibility that more flights could be added to the effort.

On Saturday, the U.S. military operated 14 evacuation flights that took about 3,900 people out of the country, while 35 other planes evacuated approximately the same number, according to White House and Pentagon officials. That’s up twofold from Friday – but still short of the 5,000 to 9,000 people per day that senior military officials have said they have the capability to evacuate themselves.

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About 28,000 people have been evacuated since Aug. 14, including 11,000 over the weekend, Biden said. “We see no reason why this tempo will not be kept up,” the president told reporters.

Yet the backlog remains significant – particularly at the Kabul airport, where people have been waiting for days in increasingly squalid conditions to learn when it might be their turn to board a plane to safety. Over 10,000 people had crammed themselves inside the airport perimeter on Sunday, as more clamored to get in.

The crush and chaos outside the airport killed seven Afghan civilians, including a toddler, on Saturday, according to the British military. Although it appears the Taliban has tried to reason

those crowds, some Afghans stayed anyway, according to a senior U.S. official. The gates to the airport remain closed to most people Sunday, the official said, though U.S. citizens and Afghans with approved special immigrant visas are being let through.

Many American citizens and U.S.-approved Afghans, however, are still sheltering in place, awaiting instruction for when it is safe to come to the airport. Over the weekend, the State Department issued a warning to U.S. citizens, telling them not to approach the airport unless expressly notified by a U.S. government official.

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Last week, the Biden administration estimated there were up to 15,000 Americans remaining in Afghanistan. Officials said Saturday that about 2,500 had left the country.

U.S. officials are in contact with Taliban leaders to try to negotiate assurances of peaceful passage to the airport. But as Blinken noted during a television appearance Sunday, the Taliban “are in control of Kabul. That is the reality.”

The Taliban’s leaders are presently in Kabul, discussing how to form a government. On Sunday, a senior member of the Taliban’s ruling council said that although the militant group would respect an amnesty for Afghan citizens, including those who cooperated with the United States, it would not apply to “troublemakers” or those “who are creating law and order situations.”

The State Department’s warning also was motivated in part by threats that the Islamic State might be targeting Americans.

“The threat is real. It’s acute. It is persistent. And it is something we’re focused on with every tool in our arsenal,” Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said Sunday on CNN. During remarks later in the day, the president added that “we’re under no illusions” about the severity of the threat posed by the Islamic State.

The Islamic State has long been at odds with the Taliban. But the Taliban remains aligned with al-Qaida, the group behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks that prompted the United States to invade Afghanistan 20 years ago. Blinken acknowledged during an interview on Fox News that remnants of al-Qaida remain in Afghanistan, though he insisted that the group’s capacity to launch a similar attack on the U.S. homeland “is vastly, vastly diminished.”

Neither Blinken nor Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who appeared Sunday on ABC News, would say whether U.S. forces would be allowed to go beyond the narrow perimeter of the Kabul airport – or whether they thought Biden should extend the Aug. 31 deadline for U.S. forces to leave Afghanistan, to ensure that the maximum number of American citizens and Afghans eligible for U.S. entry are evacuated. The president indicated that such conversations are underway within the administration but that he remains hopeful it won’t be necessary to stay there any longer.

Published : August 23, 2021

By : The Washington Post · Karoun Demirjian, John Hudson, Dan Lamothe, Adela Suliman

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40005097

At least 21 dead, dozens missing after catastrophic flooding in central Tennessee, officials say

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The family of six woke Saturday to floods bursting into their new duplex, relatives said. The water outside was up to their chests. Soon it tore them apart.

Danielle Hall, 25, was swept to a tree, where she clung for hours, waiting to be rescued, family members said. Her partner, Matt Rigney, tried to grab their four kids, but a current pulled them away.

Two of the young children resurfaced unscathed, said their grandparents, who heard the story later. But Hall and Rigney’s 7-month-old twins never came up.

They are among 21 known victims of the historic rain and flash flooding that swept central Tennessee on Saturday, devastating the small city of Waverly, about 60 miles west of Nashville. Rescuers were still searching Sunday for 45 people, as families desperate for answers filled Facebook groups and comment chains with the names of their missing loved ones. Receding waters left behind wrecked homes and flipped cars.

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The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) called the torrential rain and flooding “catastrophic.” One observation site recorded 17 inches of rain in 24 hours, blowing past the state’s nearly 14-inch record set in 1982, a meteorologist said. A flash flood watch issued Friday quickly became a “flash flood emergency” Saturday as some people yelled for help from their rooftops while others found themselves trapped in vehicles.

Flash flood emergency alerts are saved for “the most dire circumstances,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Krissy Hurley, who described Waverly as “pretty much underwater” Saturday. “Yesterday was definitely one of them.”

The destruction unfolded as other extreme weather events around the country stoke concerns that the changing climate is making natural disasters more frequent and more intense. The Northeast braced for an unrelated pummeling from Tropical Storm Henri; the West is battling wildfires; and flooding in North Carolina recently left several people dead. Although Hurley could not say whether climate change played a role in the devastation in Tennessee, she said the area has been battered by three fearsome floods in less than a year. The last one, in March, was also deadly.

“This is unusual,” she said, calling the weekend’s rains more reminiscent of a hurricane on the coast than a flash flood in central Tennessee. A thunderstorm kept hitting the same spots, she said, and “when you get that amount of rainfall in a short amount of time, you are going to have devastating consequences.”

Chris Davis, the sheriff in hard-hit Humphreys County, offered a mix of sorrow and resolve on Sunday.

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“Small town, small community. We know each other, we love each other,” he told local TV station News 4 Nashville in an emotional interview. One of his best friends drowned, he said.

“It’s tough, but we’re going to move forward,” he said. “I slow down and I talk about it, and I get emotional. If I stay – you know, if I stay working and focused, we work through it.”

President Joe Biden said he has spoken with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, R, and stands “ready to offer them support.”

Joey Hall, the grandfather of the two 7-month-olds, said his daughter called him worrying about how she would afford to bury her babies. The young couple had lost nearly everything – and even before the floods swept through, they were spread thin, said Hall and his wife, Jeanna Hall, who live about an hour away from Waverly in Ashland City, Tenn.

Joey Hall said his daughter’s family had just moved into their duplex weeks ago, seeking somewhere closer to relatives – and cheaper, as they tried to get by on Rigney’s factory night-shift salary.

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Danielle Hall got to hold her deceased children briefly in the hospital before they were taken away, the family said. The twins were reportedly found together.

“Every time they’d put them apart in the bed, they would cry,” their grandfather said. “You put them next to each other, they’re holding each other’s hands and arms. Sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Sunday was full of tears as person after person called to offer help. A GoFundMe drive for the family has raised more than $20,000.

“God is good,” said Jeanna Hall, 38. “He sees us hurting, and how broke we are right now.”

By Sunday, the waters had receded, and the torrential rain had given way to showers. But officials were still pleading for caution and announced an 8 p.m. curfew.

“We are asking that residents please stay out of neighborhoods and roadways while the rescue effort is underway,” Waverly Chief of Public Safety Grant Gillespie said in a statement.

On Sunday, TEMA said, more than 10,000 customers in the storm area lacked power. Teams were still working after conducting more than 20 rescues and evacuations on Saturday and searching about 100 homes and 25 businesses, the agency said. Waverly, home to several thousand people, reported that its water treatment facility was down, and residents there and in nearby Bon Aqua were told to boil their drinking water.

Others counties affected include Dickson, Hickman and Houston, according to TEMA. The sheriffs in those counties have yet to report fatalities but had urged people to stay home as they warned of downed trees and roads made impassable by water and debris.

The disaster came on quickly. Communication became difficult as cell service faltered. Staffers stranded in the gym of an elementary school asked for prayers Saturday.

A 20-minute drive from Waverly, in McEwen, Tenn., Tamara Woodward said she and her boyfriend woke up early Saturday to strong rain but “didn’t think much of it” at first. Then her boyfriend tried to get to the farm he runs next door. He couldn’t get through the driveway, Woodward said.

They stayed inside all day as the news grew more dire. Alerts pinged on their phones; they saw a picture of a car floating by and listened to sirens. “We’ve lived here three years, and yeah, we’ve seen the creek rise maybe three times. . . . But nothing like this,” Woodward said.

They were not immune to the damage – their basement flooded and their farm fences toppled – but they feel intensely lucky, Woodward said. As soon as they could, they brought supplies down to donation centers, including bags of clothes, masks and sanitizer, because Woodward worries about another threat: the spread of the coronavirus.

“We’re mostly focused on just helping the people of Waverly,” she said.

When she read about the 7-month-olds, she burst into tears.

Another woman told local news station WKRN that her 2-year-old nephew, Kellen Burrow Vaughn, was also swept away and missing.

The Tennessee National Guard said Saturday night that its soldiers and airmen were helping other emergency responders. A Black Hawk helicopter was assisting with water rescues, officials said, while medics were airlifted to a hospital as support staff and others were setting up emergency cellular, Internet and radio communications.

“Our first priority is to assist with getting responders access to the area and conduct rescue operations,” Maj. Gen. Jeff Holmes, Tennessee’s adjutant general, said in a statement shared by the Guard.

McEwen High School’s gym is acting as a reunification center, officials said, and three churches in Waverly are offering shelter: Waverly Church of Christ, First Baptist Church and Compassion Church.

Waverly Mayor Buddy Frazier told WKRN that the floods were “the most devastating disaster that we’ve ever experienced in this area,” striking with “the quickness of a tornado.”

Frazier said authorities were hoping the number of people unaccounted for would decline as more were found safe.

“Normally, on a Sunday morning like this, people are going to church,” he said. “But this Sunday, our churches are shelters for those who were left homeless.”

One Waverly couple told the Tennessean that they were rescued from their attic by a bulldozer after spending several hours stuck.

“Hell. That’s what we had to go through,” Cindy Dunn, 48, told the newspaper.

“I have no credit cards,” she said as she and her husband planned to stay with family in Clarksville. “I have no bank cards. No IDs. I have nothing.”

Published : August 23, 2021

By : The Washington Post · Hannah Knowles