The appointments add to the roster of hardliners in the main group of ministers, which included figures like Sirajuddin Haqqani, head of the militant Haqqani network, blamed for a string of attacks on civilian targets.
But the appointments also appear to reflect concern within the Taliban to secure unity by balancing the regional and personal differences that have surfaced as the movement transitions from a wartime guerrilla force to a peacetime administration.
Month: September 2021
Taliban Say No Al Qaeda Or ISIS In Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers said on Tuesday there was no evidence of Islamic State or al Qaeda militants being in the country, days after Islamic State claimed responsibility for bomb attacks in the eastern city of Jalalabad.
GOP Operatives Charged With Funneling $25,000 From Russian Citizen To Trump Campaign In 2016
CNN:
There is no indication in the court filings that the case is connected to the special counsel investigation, which examined the many ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. The indictment says Trump’s campaign wasn’t aware that the money came from a foreign national.
New Zealand Cops Arrest Men Entering Locked-Down City With ‘Large Amounts’ Of Illicit KFC
Two men have been arrested in New Zealand for allegedly attempting to bring a “large amount” of illicit KFC into Auckland, where a lockdown has forced all fast-food outlets to shut their doors. According to The Guardian, the men were attempting to speed away with a trunk full of chicken and coleslaw when they were pulled over by police. Cops said they found at least three buckets of chicken, 10 tubs of coleslaw, and a big stash of fries on the side. Police also found $100,000 in cash and a number of empty ounce bags. Cops posted a photo of the delicious evidence, and a spokesperson said: “The vehicle was searched and police located the cash, alongside empty ounce bags and a large amount of takeaways.” The Guardian reports that the men are expected in court for breaching COVID rules and could face prison for up to six months or a fine of up to $4,000.
This actually happened.
Space Force Reveals Uniforms And Twitter Can Only See ‘Star Trek’ And ‘Battlestar Galactica’
The newest military branch, the U.S. Space Force, has released prototypes of uniforms for its Guardians.
The uniforms, revealed during a conference in Maryland on Tuesday, feature a dark navy coat, grey pants and six buttons, which are meant to symbolize Space Force being the sixth branch of the U.S. military, Gen. John Raymond told Military.com. In 2019, President Trump created the new branch, the first in seven decades.
Lt. Col. Alison Gonzalez, the Space Force deputy chief of strategy, was among two Guardians who modeled the new uniform.
“Guardians?” Is that for real what they’re going with?
Allegations First ‘Superspreader’ Covid Event Occurred In Wuhan Military Games In October 2019
Chinese authorities confirmed the first cases were identified in Wuhan in mid-December 2019, with that information being released to the public weeks later.
But defector and democracy campaigner Wei Jingsheng made a stunning accusation in Sky News’ new documentary, What Really Happened In Wuhan, telling reporter Sharri Markson – who has also penned a book by the same name – that he believed the first Covid superspreader event could have occurred as early as October.
And in a horrifying revelation, he suggested it may have been intentional.
The World Military Games – likened to the Olympic Games for military athletes – were held in Wuhan from October 19-27, 2019.
More than 9000 athletes from over 100 countries across the globe attended – and soon after, reports emerged that some had fallen ill from a mystery sickness.
85 Americans Have Left Afghanistan Since U.S. Completed Its Withdrawal
CNBC:
In total, at least 85 American citizens and 79 lawful permanent residents have left Afghanistan since the U.S. ended a massive humanitarian evacuation and completed the withdrawal of its troops in August, according to State Department figures.
The precise reason why US citizens are still in Afghanistan is because the US never “completed its withdrawal.”
Some Afghans Who Helped UK Troops During War Will Be Left Behind, Defence Minister Admits
In a parliamentary exchange Defence minister James Heappey told MPs it was “not possible” for everyone MPs considered to be at risk to be granted assistance under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap).
U.S. Troops Are Still Deploying To Iraq, Even As Afghan War Ends
Though the mission may have dropped from public attention, the United States still has boots on the ground in the other nation it invaded in the wake of 9/11. About 2,500 American troops are in Iraq now, the embers of what was once a scorching and divisive war, now carefully scattered to protect a few strategic bases. For the next nine months, roughly 2,000 soldiers from First Brigade will take over much of that duty.
Taliban Deny Allegations Of Torturing Civilians In Panjshir Valley
Asadullah Wahdat, a Panjshir resident, said: “We ask the Islamic Emirate forces to evacuate residential areas and go where there are military forces of the former government.”
Safora Amiri, another Panjshir resident, said: “The areas are full of military forces. The Taliban are using people’s houses, this has caused civilians to evacuate their homes.”
Highlighting the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Panjshir Valley, former Afghanistan Vice President Amrullah Saleh early this month had called on the UN to do its utmost to prevent the Taliban’s onslaught into the resistance stronghold.
Raising an alarm over the situation in Panjshir, Saleh in a letter to the UN had said a large-scale humanitarian crisis is occurring across Panjshir province and three Andrabs districts in Baghlan province due to the economic blockade and telecommunication blackout by the Taliban.
The Afghan Republic lives on, in the areas occupied by Afghan National Army forces who have not surrendered. Meanwhile the Taliban are taking the fight to the civilians.
Russian Pro-Putin Party Wins Big Majority After Crackdown; Foes Cry Foul
Thomson Reuters Foundation News:
Russia’s ruling United Russia party, which supports President Vladimir Putin, won an emphatic parliamentary majority after its most vociferous critics were prevented from contesting an election that opponents said was marred by large-scale fraud.
With 98% of ballots counted on Monday, the Central Election Commission said United Russia had won nearly 50% of the vote, with its nearest rival, the Communist Party, at just under 20%. United Russia won 54% in 2016, the last time a vote was held.
Paying The Price For Obama’s Drone War
To put it into perspective, London-based Airwars, which has been methodically cataloging strikes across the Middle East, released a report earlier this month claiming that the United States has killed at least 22,679 civilians — and potentially as many as 48,308 — in 91,340 strikes across seven major conflict zones since 2001.
Of course, there is a wide discrepancy between the civilian deaths that the Pentagon has acknowledged and those reported by Airwars and other groups that painstakingly sift through public source information, interview people on the ground, and gather evidence from non-governmental organizations working in the places where these attacks occur. Airwars claims that the reality is many times higher than the Pentagon’s recent attempts to do their own reckoning of civilian casualties.
As the Nobel Peace Laureate President Barack Hussein Obama proudly boasted of himself, after turning two wars into seven, “Turns out I’m really good at killing people. Didn’t know that was gonna be a strong suit of mine.”
Big Cold Front Finally Arrives In Oklahoma
The timing on the front has it rolling across OKC around 5 pm. As the front moves thru, it will be bumping up against a lot of heat and humidity. If a storm fires, the threat for a severe storm will be there.
The threat of hail to golf balls and wind gusts to 70 mph will accompany any isolated storm.
Confrontation Leads To Arrest Of Oklahoma Students; Girls Claim Incident Started With The National Anthem
KFOR:
“The teacher got right in her face and told her, ‘No, you need to stand up,’” said Woods. “So then when my kids get agitated, and they get loud with her, that’s when she went and got the principal and police.”
Woods told KFOR her daughters were handcuffed and charged with disturbing the peace. She claimed the teacher told police her daughters made threats against the teacher.
“There would have been no behavior if she didn’t ask them to stand,” said Woods. “They told her no, and she should’ve just kept going.”
Linde Oktoberfest Tulsa Updates
KOKI:
Oktoberfest is back after last year’s cancellation due to COVID-19 health concerns. The festival is set to return from Oct. 19 to Oct. 24.
The layout and events of the festival are modeled after the Oktoberfest celebrations in Munich, Germany.
Families Flock Back To Oklahoma State Fair One Year After COVID-19 Cancellation
A year after the 2020 fair was canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, families with children flocked back to one of the state’s largest annual events as it opened Thursday. With the theme “Back 2 Fun in ’21,” the fair continues through Sept. 26 at the OKC Fairgrounds.
Korean War Soldier, Oklahoma Native’s Remains To Be Buried At Arlington National Cemetery
The remains of Army Sgt. Billy V. Rodgers, a Panama, Oklahoma native, will be buried at the iconic cemetery on Sept. 27.
Rodgers, 19, was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division when he was reported missing in action Dec. 2, 1950 after an attack near North Korea’s Chosin Reservoir.
North Korea turned over Rodgers’s remains on July 27, 2018 and he was identified and accounted for almost two years later using DNA analysis.
COVID-19 In Arkansas: Active Cases Fall Below 16,000 For The First Time Since July
The last time that active cases were less than 16,000 was July 28. On that day the active case count was 15,801.
Hospitalizations are also down slightly. The number of Arkansans hospitalized due to COVID-19 is 1,015, which is 12 less than Saturday.
Brewing Hops Research Finds Two Good Varieties For Arkansas
A three-year research and evaluation project has shown there are two varieties of hops that can be grown successfully in Arkansas, said Renee Threlfall, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station research scientist, during the 2021 Arkansas Hops Webinar.
Preliminary results from the study were presented during an August 19 webinar by Threlfall, along with assistant professor and fruit and vegetable extension specialist Amanda McWhirt, and other experiment station and cooperative extension service faculty and staff. The experiment station and cooperative extension service are the research and extension arms of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Willie Nelson’s Tulsa Show Postponed
KTUL:
Willie Nelson’s Tulsa show has been postponed, with plans to reschedule in March 2022, concert promoters announced later Monday. The show had been announced hours earlier for Nov. 19.