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Sunday, July 25, 2021

Canada to relocate Afghans who assisted in war amid ‘rapidly deteriorating’ security situation (Washington Post) Canada announced plans Friday to resettle Afghans who aided the Canadian military and the country’s embassy and could face danger because of their work, as the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan nears completion and the Taliban mounts offensives to regain territory. Canada’s “path to protection” will be open to Afghans with a “significant and enduring relationship” with the Canadian government, although officials did not elaborate on how that would be defined. Those eligible, they said, could include interpreters, locally engaged embassy staff members, as well as a host of other locals who assisted the war effort such as cooks, drivers, cleaners, security guards and their families. The announcement followed weeks of pressure on Ottawa from lawmakers and advocates to resettle Afghan interpreters and other locals. Some veterans said they were so frustrated by the lack of a government plan that they were using their own money to relocate former Afghan colleagues to safer parts of Afghanistan. The governments of other NATO allies who fought alongside U.S. forces have also faced calls to do more to aid Afghan interpreters or to expedite their resettlement. In Australia, a retired army general burned his service medals in protest of what he said was a lack of government action.

The days of vaccine lotteries are waning. Here come the mandates. (USA Today) Getting a COVID-19 vaccine in summer 2021 could have given you a shot at a million dollars. Soon, not getting one could cost you your job. Health officials and politicians have tried to stay positive in recent months as vaccination rates plummet, turning to ad campaigns touting giveaways and lottery drawings. And then the ultra-contagious delta variant arrived. Now health officials say the nation’s lagging vaccine rates are creating a spiraling public health crisis as the unvaccinated rapidly get sick and the protective power of vaccines is given a “stress test.” A growing chorus of voices say people who resist vaccinations should face pressure—and consequences. Some hospital administrators agree, and healthcare workers who refused to get vaccinated have been fired or quit in New Jersey and Texas. In New York City, public health workers who refuse to get vaccinated will face weekly COVID tests. “Getting the vaccine (should be) the easy choice,” Dr. Leana Wen, a proponent of vaccine mandates, told USA TODAY. “Opting out has to be the hard choice.” Wen, an emergency physician and public professor at George Washington University, is among experts who say vaccine requirements should be seen as akin to laws against drunk driving and other reckless behavior.

Covid Explodes in Cancun, Los Cabos as New Wave Hits Mexico (Bloomberg) A third coronavirus wave fueled by the highly contagious delta variant is battering two of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations on opposite coasts, Los Cabos in the Pacific and Cancun on the Caribbean. In Cancun, cases have soared to a point where the Hard Rock hotel has set aside two floors for guests with symptoms. Some hotels say they offer discounts for those in quarantine until they’re no longer contagious. In Baja California Sur, where Los Cabos is located, authorities are again rushing to add beds to strained hospitals, which reached 75% capacity last week before improving to 62% on Thursday. Beaches in the town of La Paz were ordered closed, though local media show many ignoring the order. Since Mexico hasn’t limited who can fly during the pandemic, both domestic and international tourists have flocked to the resort areas. Like much of Latin America, Mexico has been slammed by Covid, among the worst hit in the world.

Venezuelans Enduring Day-Long Waits to Fill Gasoline Tanks (Bloomberg) Venezuela’s capital city is once again rationing gasoline after output at state-owned refineries slumped, forcing motorists to endure day-long queues to top off tanks. Shortages have returned to Caracas, prompting drivers to prowl the streets for open filling stations as lines stretch for blocks in some areas. Because of breakdowns at Petroleos de Venezuela SA fuel-making plants, gasoline output has crashed by more than 40% since the end of June, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. Struggling with the impact of U.S. sanctions and scant foreign investment, PDVSA has been hit by failures at several of its largest plants. Just two of six refineries are currently operational, according to three people with direct knowledge who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the situation.

Germany: Devastating floods raise fears for future (The Week) Entire towns in western Germany were devastated last week by “the flood of the century,” said Susanne Scholz at Express, and the whole country is in shock. The images on TV news looked like they were coming from a tropical monsoon zone, not our first-world nation. Never did we think we would see our own citizens “trapped in houses on the verge of collapse, in danger of being swept away by masses of water.” Days of torrential rain caused rivers to burst their banks in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, and in neighboring Belgium and the Netherlands. While authorities say it’s too early to put a price tag on the damage, the images of submerged homes and electrical stations, obliterated bridges, and cars crumpled by fallen trees tell a tale of vast material loss. “The German language hardly knows any words for the devastation that has been wrought,” said Chancellor Angela Merkel. She praised the thousands of volunteers who came to bail water, load sandbags, and search for survivors. “Disaster control clearly failed,” said Peter Tiede at Bild. State and local authorities responsible for evacuation warnings relied on smartphone apps that many Germans don’t have—and service was out anyway because the storms had downed the cell towers. Only old-fashioned sirens work in such emergencies, yet our few loudspeaker vans never left the depots. Public radio, meanwhile, “was playing pop music while hundreds of people were being washed away, houses collapsing, villages razed to the ground.” It’s simply inexcusable. “How bad will it get when such a flood hits a major city like Cologne or Hamburg instead of villages and small towns?”

To reach a peace deal, Taliban say Afghan president must go (AP) The Taliban say they don’t want to monopolize power, but they insist there won’t be peace in Afghanistan until there is a new negotiated government in Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani is removed. The Taliban have swiftly captured territory in recent weeks, seized strategic border crossings and are threatening a number of provincial capitals—advances that come as the last U.S. and NATO soldiers leave Afghanistan. Memories of the Taliban’s last time in power some 20 years ago, when they enforced a harsh brand of Islam that denied girls an education and barred women from work, have stoked fears of their return among many. Afghans who can afford it are applying by the thousands for visas to leave Afghanistan, fearing a violent descent into chaos. The U.S.-NATO withdrawal is more than 95% complete and due to be finished by Aug. 31.

Heavy rain in India triggers floods, landslides; at least 125 dead (Reuters) Rescue teams in India struggled through thick sludge and debris on Saturday to reach dozens of submerged homes as the death toll from landslides and accidents caused by torrential monsoon rain rose to 125. Maharashtra state is being hit by the heaviest rain in July in four decades, experts say. Downpours lasting several days have severely affected the lives of hundreds of thousands, while major rivers are in danger of bursting their banks. In Taliye, about 180 km (110 miles) southeast of the financial capital of Mumbai, the death toll rose to 42 with the recovery of four more bodies after landslides flattened most homes in the village, a senior Maharashtra government official said. Parts of India’s west coast have received up to 594 mm (23 inches) of rain, forcing authorities to move people out of vulnerable areas as they released water from dams about to overflow.

Vietnam locks down capital Hanoi for 15 days as cases rise (AP) Vietnam announced a 15-day lockdown in the capital Hanoi starting Saturday as a coronavirus surge spread from the southern Mekong Delta region. The lockdown order, issued late Friday night, bans the gathering of more than two people in public. Only government offices, hospitals and essential businesses are allowed to stay open. Earlier in the week, the city had suspended all outdoor activities and ordered non-essential businesses to close following an increase in cases.

Thousands protest lockdown in Sydney, several arrested (AP) Thousands of people took to the streets of Sydney and other Australian cities on Saturday to protest lockdown restrictions amid another surge in cases, and police made several arrests after crowds broke through barriers and threw plastic bottles and plants. There was a heavy police presence in Sydney, including mounted police and riot officers in response to what authorities said was unauthorized protest activity. Police confirmed a number of arrests had been made after objects were thrown at officers. Greater Sydney has been locked down for the past four weeks, with residents only able to leave home with a reasonable excuse. In Melbourne, thousands of protesters without masks turned out downtown chanting “freedom.” Some of them lit flares as they gathered outside Victoria state’s Parliament House. They held banners, including one that read: “This is not about a virus it’s about total government control of the people.”

Power outages cripple parts of the Middle East amid record heat waves and rising unrest (Washington Post) Record heat waves and crippling energy shortages across much of the Middle East are plunging homes and businesses from Lebanon to Iran into darkness and stirring unrest as poor families swelter while many of the rich stay cool with backup generators. Power outages have pushed hospitals to a crisis point. Family businesses are struggling to survive. In some cities, the streetlights barely work. Temperatures in several Middle Eastern countries this summer have topped 122 degrees Fahrenheit—50 degrees Celsius—including in Iran, which hit 123.8, and Iraq, which nearly matched last year’s record of 125.2. Decades of neglect and underinvestment have left power grids unable to cope. Drought has crippled hydroelectric generation. Economic crises roiling several countries mean governments are now even struggling to purchase the fuel needed to generate power.

Over 71% of Lebanon’s population risks losing access to safe water—UNICEF (Reuters) The United Nations warned on Friday that more than four million people in Lebanon, including one million refugees risked losing access to safe water as shortages of funding, fuel and supplies affect water pumping. “UNICEF estimates that most water pumping will gradually cease across the country in the next four to six weeks,” a statement by the U.N. body said. Lebanon is battling an economic meltdown that has propelled more than half of its population into poverty and seen its currency lose over 90% of its value in less than two years. The financial crisis has translated into severe shortages of basic goods such as fuel and medicine as dollars run dry. UNICEF said that should the public water supply system collapse, water costs could jump by 200% a month as water would be secured from private water suppliers.

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