Tag: Extend

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World News

Biden Sticks to Afghan Deadline, Resisting Pleas to Lengthen Evacuation

Biden Sticks to Afghan Deadline, Resisting Pleas to Extend Evacuation

“People will die and they will be left behind,” said McCaul.

Mr Biden has stressed that he takes the threat to American security in Kabul seriously. In a closed meeting with the leaders of the Seven Nations Group on Tuesday, the president told them the risk of a terrorist attack was “very high,” according to a senior American official.

A deadly attack by ISIS-K on American and Afghan civilians would be a catastrophe not only for the United States but also for the Taliban, who want to consolidate control over Kabul. The Taliban and the Islamic State were enemies and fought for control of parts of the country on the battlefield.

Understanding the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan

Map 1 of 5

Who are the Taliban? The Taliban emerged in 1994 amid the unrest following the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989. They used brutal public punishments, including flogging, amputation and mass executions, to enforce their rules. Here is more about their genesis and track record as rulers.

Who are the Taliban leaders? These are the top leaders of the Taliban, men who for years have been on the run, in hiding, in prison and dodged American drones. Little is known about them or how they plan to rule, including whether they will be as tolerant as they say they are.

What is happening to the women of Afghanistan? When the Taliban was last in power, they banned women and girls from most jobs or from going to school. Afghan women have gained a lot since the Taliban was overthrown, but now they fear that they are losing ground. Taliban officials are trying to reassure women that things will be different, but there are indications that they have begun to reintroduce the old order in at least some areas.

ISIS-K refers to the Khorasan offshoot of the Islamic State in Afghanistan.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who chaired the meeting, tried to put the discussions on a good face and said the evacuation had been remarkably successful. He said the leaders had agreed on a roadmap for long-term dealings with the Taliban and vowed to use Afghan funds in Western banks as leverage to put pressure on the Taliban.

“Condition # 1 is that they must guarantee safe passage for those who want to get out by August 31st and beyond,” Johnson told the BBC after the meeting.

But Mr Johnson failed in his efforts to persuade Mr Biden to extend the evacuation beyond August 31, and it was not clear what other options the allies had to protect their own citizens and Afghan allies without American military power.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said there were plans to find a way to ensure that “we can still get as many local workers and vulnerable people to leave the country” afterwards. But her sober tone exposed the sense of futility Western leaders felt about Afghanistan.

“How can it be that the Afghan leader left the country so quickly?” said Mrs. Merkel. “How can it be that Afghan soldiers who we trained for so long gave up so quickly? We will have to ask ourselves these questions, but they were not the most urgent today. “

Categories
Politics

Biden sticks to Aug. 31 Afghanistan withdrawal deadline, regardless of stress to increase

Biden sticks to Aug. 31 Afghanistan withdrawal deadline, despite pressure to extend

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden told G-7 leaders during an emergency meeting on Tuesday that he would adhere to the pre-established timetable for the full withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, although the US is also putting in place contingency plans if an extension proves necessary should prove.

“We are currently well on the way to being finished by August 31,” said Biden from the west wing of the White House in his third televised address on Afghanistan since the country fell to the Taliban.

“I also asked the Pentagon and the State Department for contingency plans in order to adjust the schedule should this be necessary,” said Biden.

The president faced political pressure to extend the withdrawal period from US allies in Europe, such as Britain, as well as from his own party in Washington. However, Biden made it clear on Tuesday that he believes the sooner the U.S. can complete the evacuation operation, the better.

The president warned that staying for long periods posed serious risks to Allied troops and civilians. ISIS-K, an offshoot of the terrorist group based in Afghanistan, poses a growing threat to Hamid Karzai International Airport, the president said.

“Every day we are there is another day we know that ISIS-K is trying to attack the airport and target both US and Allied forces and innocent civilians,” he said.

Biden also described US relations with the Taliban on the ground in Kabul as “poor”. The militants have worked with the US in the evacuations, the president said, but the longer the US stays, the greater the risk that fighting will break out.

According to the White House Tuesday evening, the US has evacuated or helped evacuate approximately 70,700 people from Afghanistan since August 14. The US has relocated nearly 75,900 people since the end of July.

As of Tuesday, approximately 4,000 American passport holders and their families had been flown out of Afghanistan, although several thousand Americans are believed to be awaiting evacuation.

Biden said the leaders of the world’s seven major industrial democracies, the European Union, NATO and the United Nations, have agreed to “stand together in our dealings with the Taliban.”

“We will judge them [Taliban] through their actions and we will stay in close coordination on any steps we take in response to the Taliban’s behavior, “Biden said.

In a joint statement following their virtual meeting, the G7 leaders expressed “serious concern” about human rights, especially for women, in Afghanistan and called on countries around the world to support efforts to relocate vulnerable Afghans.

A Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit walks with the children during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 24, 2021.

Sgt. Samuel Ruiz | US Marine Corps | via Reuters

The Taliban said Tuesday that the group would no longer allow Afghan nationals to leave the country on evacuation flights, nor would they accept an extension of the exit period beyond the end of the month.

“We are not in favor of allowing Afghans to leave the country,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday.

“She [the Americans] have the opportunity, they have all the resources, they can take all the people who belong to them with them, but we will not allow Afghans to leave and we will not extend the deadline, “he said. Evacuations by foreign forces after August .31 would be a “violation” of the Biden government’s promise to end the US military’s mission in the country, Mujahid said.

Read more about developments in Afghanistan:

Although the Biden government tried to complete the evacuation by the end of the month, members of the president’s own party have expressed doubts.

House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Said Monday after a secret briefing with intelligence officials that it was “very unlikely” that the US would remove all remaining American citizens, special immigrant visa applicants and vulnerable Afghans US could evacuate land by August 31st.

A U.S. Marine provides assistance with an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan, Aug. 22, 2021.

US Marines | Reuters

“I am encouraged to see how many people have been evacuated, to the point where we have evacuated 11,000 people in a single day,” Schiff said.

“Still, given the logistical difficulties involved in transporting people to the airport and the limited number of workarounds, I can hardly assume that this will be fully completed by the end of the month. And I certainly believe that we have a military.” Presence as long as it is necessary to get all US people out and to honor our moral and ethical obligations to our Afghan partners. “

Crowds gather in front of the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, 23 August 2021.

Asvaka News | via Reuters

More than 5,000 US soldiers are on site in Kabul and are helping with the evacuation efforts. Almost 200 aircraft are in some way earmarked for evacuation.

The Pentagon announced Monday that evacuees were flying from Kabul to temporary safe havens in the Middle East and Europe, including U.S. installations in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Italy, Spain and Germany.

To date, Afghan nationals arriving in the United States have been accommodated at either Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, Fort Lee, Virginia, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, or Fort Bliss, Texas.

Categories
Health

Germany set to increase lockdown on issues over new coronavirus variants

Germany set to extend lockdown on concerns over new coronavirus variants

Chancellor Angela Merkel wears a protective face mask when leaving the country after speaking to the media at her annual summer press conference in Berlin on August 28, 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.

Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Chancellor Angela Merkel will announce that Germany will extend its lockdown until March 14, amid concerns about new strains of the coronavirus.

A draft document appeared early Wednesday setting out plans between Merkel and state officials to maintain the lockdown and urge citizens to maintain socially distant rules, but gradually lift some restrictions in the coming weeks.

The reopening of schools is a priority for the German leadership, although due to the federal system of the country the individual federal states can be expected to be able to decide how to do this. Stores and hotels could start reopening next month in areas where infection rates are also low. The restrictions should end on February 14th.

There are concerns in Germany about the spread of more contagious variants of the virus, particularly the mutation that was first discovered in the UK last fall. However, the daily number of new infections in Germany has fallen as public life continues to be blocked across the country.

The Robert Koch Institute, a public health institution, reported 8,072 new coronavirus cases and 813 deaths on Wednesday. This brought the total number of infections to around 2.3 million and the death toll to 62,969.

German lawmakers reportedly described the situation as “very fragile” on Wednesday.

Slow rollout of the EU

The slow introduction of coronavirus vaccines in Germany and the rest of the EU is a problem for the federal government, which is an important pillar of the bloc. The EU has been slower than the UK and US to order vaccines from major drug manufacturers and has faced supply shortages.

The longer the introduction of vaccinations, the longer the economic damage is expected from lockdowns. According to the GDP data published in January for the full year (gross domestic product), the German economy contracted by 5% in 2020.

Ludovic Subran, Allianz’s chief economist, told CNBC on Wednesday that the slow roll-out of vaccinations could seriously hurt the EU’s growth prospects in 2021.

“I’m getting a little nervous and we are only in February that we miss the boat here, that the vaccination is the best investment and we should put all our forces (efforts) there,” he told CNBC’s “Street Signs Europe”.

“Our projections show that Europe won’t return to pre-crisis (growth) levels until 2022. Then we saw the vaccination chaos and started thinking, ‘OK, we’re really jeopardizing the recovery here’ … the problem is we’re vaccinating four times here slower than the UK and US, “he said, adding,” This is really a big problem as it will make or break the 2021 GDP recovery for Europe. “

—CNBC’s Annette Weisbach contributed to this article.

Categories
World News

Dow futures prolong losses after J&J says vaccine much less efficient in opposition to some Covid variants

Dow futures extend losses after J&J says vaccine less effective against some Covid variants

U.S. stock futures were significantly lower in early Friday trading after Johnson & Johnson said its one-off coronavirus vaccine showed less effectiveness in some regions.

The average Dow Jones Industrial futures lost 160 points, or 0.5%. S&P 500 futures lost 0.3%. Nasdaq 100 futures were down 1.5%.

Futures accelerated losses after JNJ said its single-dose vaccine had shown an overall 66% effectiveness in protecting against Covid-19. The vaccine was 72% effective in the US, 66% in Latin America, and 57% in South Africa at four weeks. The vaccine provided full protection against hospital stays related to Covid. JNJ’s shares fell 3.7% in the pre-market.

Stocks had rebounded to hit record highs in hopes that vaccines against Covid would be effective to allow for a smooth economic reopening before the end of the year. New mutations that are more resistant to vaccines could improve the bright outlook for investors.

Increased speculative trading by private investors also continued to worry the market. GameStop’s shares doubled in premarket trading after Robinhood announced it would restrict purchases of the stock and other heavily shortened names after restricting access the previous day. Robinhood raised more than $ 1 billion overnight from its existing investors and also used the banks’ credit lines to ensure that the capital was in place to start trading the volatile stocks again.

Investors are concerned that if GameStop continues to rise in such volatility, it could penetrate financial markets and cause losses at brokers like Robinhood and force hedge funds that bet against the stock to sell other stocks to raise cash.

There are also fears that the GameStop mania is a sign of a bigger bubble in the market, and that its dissolution could also create turmoil and hit retail investors hard. Several e-brokers took steps Thursday to curb intentional buying of highly speculative names. A number of lawmakers also called for an investigation into the chaotic trade.

“Between calling for hearings and reports in Washington, Robinhood was forced to not only draw on its credit lines but also raise $ 1 billion from existing investors. The whole situation continues to undermine market confidence,” said Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, note in a Friday.

It’s been a volatile week on Wall Street. The Dow lost more than 600 points on Wednesday and suffered its worst sell-off in three months. Then the blue chip benchmark rallied 300 points on Thursday amid a broad market rally. All three major averages have lost at least 1% this week.

The market also saw its highest trading volume in years as the mania heated up. On Wednesday, the total market volume reached more than 23.7 billion shares, surpassing the level at the height of the financial crisis in 2008. On Thursday, there was also extremely strong trading with more than 19 billion shares that changed hands.

A wave of retailers motivated each other on the red-hot WallStreetBets Reddit forum to pile into the most hated names of hedge funds, resulting in massive short-bruising of stocks. GameStop is up more than 900% in January, while AMC Entertainment is up over 300% this month.

“This smaller capitalization rally would likely destabilize and lead to inefficiencies,” Christopher Harvey, senior equity analyst at Wells Fargo, said in a note. “Stocks are ultimately fundamentals – and reversals can be very painful, both up and down.”

However, some believe that the impact on the overall market should be limited as the retail crowd is focused on only a handful of names.

“While we believe there will be more pain, we remain optimistic that it will likely stay local,” said Maneesh Deshpande, head of equity derivatives strategy at Barclays. “Long-short hedge funds have relatively little market exposure, which indicates little impact on the overall market due to deleveraging.”

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Categories
Politics

Kremlin Welcomes Biden’s Supply to Lengthen Nuclear Treaty

Kremlin Welcomes Biden’s Offer to Extend Nuclear Treaty

MOSCOW – The Kremlin on Friday welcomed the Biden government’s offer to renew a nuclear disarmament treaty due to expire next month and, as expected, signaled that, despite President Biden’s pledges to cooperate with the United States, Russia would work on nuclear safety working together wants to pursue a tougher line with Moscow than its predecessor.

The agreement was last updated in 2010 and limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads that either side can deploy. It does not limit the number of stored strategic weapons or smaller nuclear explosives that are intended for tactical use on a battlefield.

The Trump administration had refused to approve a five-year extension under a provision of the original treaty while attempting to extend the deal to China’s arsenal. That approach broke up when Beijing refused to negotiate.

Mr Biden has long been in favor of approving a simple extension of the existing treaty, as has the Kremlin.

“We can only welcome the political commitment to expand this document,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov told journalists on Friday in a conference call.

The treaty limits the number of strategic nuclear weapons the sides can use to 1,500 warheads each. This is symbolically important as the last disarmament treaty from the late Cold War era is still in force despite poor relations between Russia and the United States.

Other contracts fell by the wayside. The United States pulled out of a treaty banning nationwide missile defense systems under the Bush administration, citing new threats from Iran and North Korea.

In response, Russia withdrew from a treaty on conventional troop operations in Europe. The Trump administration, citing what betrayed Russia, pulled out of a treaty that banned medium-range missiles, weapons with short flight times that had made Cold War opponents hair-trigger for nuclear war.

Mr Biden requested a full five-year extension, the most available time under the treaty, in hopes of preventing a nuclear arms race while the United States anticipated continued low-level competition with Russia around the world to his adjutants.

“This expansion makes even more sense when the relationship with Russia is controversial, as it is at the time,” said Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, on Thursday.

The Biden government and the Kremlin have only two weeks to negotiate the extension before the contract expires on February 6. As a complication of the talks, Mr Biden has announced that he will take revenge on Russia for a major hacking operation last year that violated government and corporate computers in the United States.

Mr Biden is also expected to take a stronger position on Russia’s military interventions in Libya, Syria and Ukraine, as well as the poisoning and arrest of the country’s most prominent domestic opposition figure, Aleksei A. Navalny.

Mr Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said Russian officials would consider the Biden government’s offer before officially agreeing to an extension. He noted that Ms. Psaki had said the contract could be renewed without new terms.

“So far, this has not been the conversation,” said Peskov. “Certain renewal terms were proposed, some of which were absolutely not suited to us. So let’s first familiarize ourselves with what the Americans have to offer, ”before answering.