Panjshir Valley | Sep. 6, 2021

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

Anti-Taliban resistance fighters train in Panjshir province on Sept. 2.​

Panjshir Valley, last resistance holdout in Afghanistan, falls to the Taliban

Sep. 5 - The Taliban on Monday seized Panjshir province, a restive mountain region that was the final holdout of resistance forces in the country, cementing its total control over Afghanistan a week after U.S. forces departed the country.

​Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the Islamist group had “completely conquered” the Panjshir Valley. “Our last efforts for establishing peace and security in the country have given results,” he said.

Taliban officials shared a photo on social media Monday that purported to show their fighters taking control of local administrative buildings.

A senior official of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed that the Taliban had taken over. “Yes, Panjshir has fallen. Taliban took control of government offices. Taliban fighters entered into the governor’s house,” the person said...     more

The Panjshir Valley (also spelled Panjsheer or Panjsher; Pashto/Dari: درهٔ پنجشير – Dare-ye Panjšēr; literally Valley of the Five Lions) is a valley in north-central Afghanistan, 150 kilometres (93 mi) north of Kabul, near the Hindu Kush mountain range.[1] It is divided by the Panjshir River. The valley is home to more than 100,000 people, including Afghanistan's largest concentration of ethnic Tajiks.[2] In April 2004, it became the heart of the new Panjshir Province, having previously been part of Parwan Province.[3]

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Afghan resistance movement and anti-Taliban forces stand on the back of a pickup truck as they gather in Abshar district, Panjshir province on Aug. 28, 2021.

Afghan Resistance Says Taliban Claims of Victory in Panjshir Valley Are ‘False’

Sep. 6 - Anti-Taliban resistance group, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA), on Monday shut down the terrorist group’s claims of victory in the Panjshir Valley—the last Afghan province holding out against the group after it seized control of Kabul on Aug. 15.

​“Taliban’s claim of occupying Panjshir is false,” the NRFA said on Twitter. “The NRF forces are present in all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight. We assure the ppl [sic] of Afghanistan that the struggle against the Taliban & their partners will continue until justice & freedom prevails.”

The resistance group’s statement came shortly after Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Monday said that the terrorist group has taken complete control of Panjshir province, located north of Kabul.

“With this victory, our country is completely taken out of the quagmire of war,” the spokesman said.     more

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美制武器流向伊朗？美军仓皇撤离阿富汗留隐患 20210905 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
​Sep 6, 2021

WATCH ABOVE: As Afghans try to escape the Taliban's wrath, the European Union is bracing itself for a potential influx of migrants. But as Redmond Shannon reports, EU leaders can't decide how to avoid a chaotic repeat of the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis.

New Taliban-led Afghanistan government to be announced amid economic meltdown

​Sep 5 - ​Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will lead a new Afghan government set to be announced soon, sources in the group told Reuters on Friday, as its fighters battled forces loyal to the vanquished republic in the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul.

But the new government’s most immediate priority would be to avert the collapse of an economy grappling with drought and the ravages of a 20-year conflict that killed around 240,000 Afghans before U.S. forces completed a tumultuous pullout on Aug. 30.

At stake is whether the Taliban can govern a country facing economic meltdown, a humanitarian disaster and threats to security and stability from rival jihadist groups, including a local offshoot of Islamic State.

​Baradar, who heads the Taliban’s political office, will be joined by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban co-founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, in senior positions in the government, three sources said.      source from

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Armoured vehicles are seen in the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul, on Aug 25, 2021. The Taliban said on Sep 6 that they had taken control of Panjshir province, the last holdout of anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

​Taliban say resistance holdout Panjshir Valley 'completely captured'

KABUL: The Taliban said on Monday (Sep 6) that they had captured the last pocket of resistance in Afghanistan, the Panjshir Valley, as the top American diplomat flies to Qatar to try and handle the aftermath of the chaotic United States withdrawal.

​Following their lightning-fast rout of Afghanistan's army last month - and celebrations when the last US troops flew out after 20 years of war - the Taliban turned to crush the forces defending the mountainous Panjshir Valley.     more

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NBC Nightly News Full Broadcast - September 5th, 2021​
Sep 6, 2021
Louisiana still debilitated from Hurricane Ida, Hurricane Ida leaves devastating aftermath in Northeast, and Afghan women are protesting for equal rights for themselves and their daughters.

Caldor Fire | Sep. 2, 2021

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

Reporter: Green card holders left in Afghanistan feel they ‘got screwed’

Sep. 2, 2021

Associated Press correspondent Matt Lee laid into State Department spokesman Ned Price during Wednesday’s briefing, saying “it defies logic” that officials have not been able to provide an estimate of the number of legal permanent US residents left in Afghanistan following the US military’s botched withdrawal from that country.

The Biden administration has estimated that between 100 and 200 American citizens remain in Afghanistan following the completion of the US evacuation mission Monday. However, they have not been forthcoming with the numbers of legal permanent US residents or holders of visas permitting resettlement in America who remain in Taliban-controlled territory.

After Price confirmed to Lee that the “100 to 200” number cited by officials referred to US passport holders, the reporter said, “you must have some estimate of LPRs [legal permanent residents] who are still there who want to get out, and if you don’t, why not?”

​Price ignored the question and focused on the US citizens left behind...     more

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Afghan crisis: US 'actively working' to evacuate 500 Americans, says Ned Price
The State department says it has been in contact with and is actively working to evacuate around 500 Americans remaining in Afghanistan, as the U.S.- led airlift continued even as commanders and officials were recovering from Thursday's deadly suicide bombing. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Friday that 8,500 evacuees had been flown out of Kabul aboard U.S. military aircraft in the previous 24 hours, as well as about 4,000 people on coalition flights.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price holds a news briefing
Sep. 1, 2021

The Caldor Fire is an active wildfire burning in El Dorado County, California, about 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Placerville. By September 1, 2021, it had burned 204,390 acres with 20% containment

The Caldor Fire started on August 14, 2021, near Little Mountain, south of Pollock Pines in El Dorado County,[3] about two miles East of Omo Ranch and four miles south of Grizzly Flats.[4][5] It initially burned slowly, but exploded in size on August 16 due to high winds. By the night of August 16 it was 6,500 acres (2,600 ha).[6] On August 17 the fire grew to 30,000 acres (12,000 ha) as it expanded rapidly north and east, crossing the North Fork Cosumnes River and approaching Sly Park Reservoir. By August 20 the fire had burned nearly to Highway 50, forcing a closure of the highway.[7] Over the next few days, the fire crossed Highway 50 in the vicinity of Kyburz. Starting on August 27 winds drove the fire rapidly east towards the Lake Tahoe Basin. By August 30, it had reached Echo Summit, less than 5 miles (8.0 km) from South Lake Tahoe.     from Wikipedia

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塔利班新政府组建将启 美称继续反恐是何用意？20210901 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
Sep 2, 2021

Taliban soldiers talk, in Kabul
Explainer-What leverage do U.S., allies have over Taliban in Afghanistan?

Sep. 2 - The United States and its allies may have left Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban but they still have “leverage” to make the Islamist militants honor commitments to allow people out of the country, according to U.S. President Joe Biden.

This was echoed by U.S. officials and other Western leaders, who believe the Taliban can be pressured into abandoning their past violence and support for terrorism with carrot and stick measures given Afghanistan’s outsized dependence on imported energy, food and foreign aid – and its shaky economy https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSKBN2FX39Q
Here are some of the most important levers the West has to press the Taliban into honoring women’s rights and cooperating with other countries:

BILLIONS IN GOLD, FOREIGN EXCHANGE AND SPECIAL RESERVES

The United States has an outsized role to play in deciding what happens to Afghanistan’s $9 billion in gold and foreign currency reserves. Of that, $7 billion is held in the United States, with $1.3 billion in other international accounts and some $700,000 by the Bank for International Settlements, the Afghan central bank governor tweeted https://twitter.com/aahmady/status/142788300916495564 after fleeing the country.

Washington quickly blocked After the Taliban takeover, the U.S. government blocked the group from accessing any central bank assets held by the Afghan government by the New York Federal Reserve or elsewhere in the United States, an administration official said the Taliban from accessing any central bank assets held by the Afghan government by the New York Federal Reserve or elsewhere in the United States, and the assets remain frozen.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) suspended https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/biden-administration-seeks-block-taliban-accessing-reserves-imf-new-york-times-2021-08-18 Afghanistan’s access to IMF resources on Aug. 18, including $440 million in new emergency reserves.

Washington is under pressure from some humanitarian groups, Afghan central bank officials https://www.reuters.com/article/afghanistan-conflict-banking/afghanistan-central-bank-board-member-urges-biden-imf-to-release-funds-idUSL4N2Q31YG and foreign governments, including Russia, to ease the freeze in assets and allow some dollar shipments, a move that would likely come with stiff conditions.

​The Taliban is likely to turn to narcotics or weapons trafficking instead, a Russian official said on Monday...     more

Taliban | Aug. 29, 2021

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

Who are the Taliban? | Start Here
May 30, 2021
Who are the Taliban? The Taliban have been fighting the Afghan government and its allies for decades. Now the US is pulling its soldiers out of Afghanistan and the Taliban seem stronger than ever. Who are the Taliban really? And how is it that they have so much power?

Taliban move to seal off Kabul airport as Biden warns attack 'highly likely'
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The Taliban has deployed extra forces around Kabul's airport to prevent large crowds from gathering after a devastating suicide attack two days earlier, as the massive US-led airlift winds down ahead of its August 31 deadline.

Aug. 29 - New checkpoints have appeared on roads leading to the airport, some manned by uniformed Taliban fighters with Humvees and night-vision goggles captured from Afghan security forces.

It comes as Joe Biden said another terrorist attack on Kabul's airport is "highly likely in the next 24-36 hours"

The US Embassy in Kabul issued a security alert saying "Due to a specific, credible threat, all U.S. citizens in the vicinity of Kabul airport (HKIA), including the South (Airport Circle) gate, the new Ministry of the Interior, and the gate near the Panjshir Petrol station on the northwest side of the airport, should leave the airport area immediately."

Areas where large crowds of people had gathered over the past two weeks in the hope of fleeing the country following the Taliban takeover are now largely empty...     more

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The Taliban (/ˈtælɪbæn, ˈtɑːlɪbɑːn/; Pashto: طالبان‎, romanized: ṭālibān, lit. 'students' or 'seekers'),[60][61] which refers to itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA),[62] is a Deobandi Islamist religious-political movement and military organization in Afghanistan. It is currently one of two entities claiming to be the legitimate government of Afghanistan, alongside the internationally recognized Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The Taliban's ideology has been described as combining an "innovative" form of Sharia Islamic law based on Deobandi fundamentalism[63] and militant Islamism, combined[63] with Pashtun social and cultural norms known as Pashtunwali,[1][2][64][65] as most Taliban are Pashtun tribesmen.

1996 to 2001, the Taliban held power over roughly three-quarters of Afghanistan, and enforced a strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law.[66] The Taliban emerged in 1994 as one of the prominent factions in the Afghan Civil War[67] and largely consisted of students (talib) from the Pashtun areas of eastern and southern Afghanistan who had been educated in traditional Islamic schools, and fought during the Soviet–Afghan War.[68][10][11][69] Under the leadership of Mohammed Omar, the movement spread throughout most of Afghanistan, shifting power away from the Mujahideen warlords. The totalitarian[6][70] Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was established in 1996 and the Afghan capital was transferred to Kandahar. It held control of most of the country until being overthrown after the American-led invasion of Afghanistan in December 2001 following the September 11 attacks. During the group's previous rule parts of the northeast were held by the Northern Alliance, which largely maintained international recognition as a continuation of the interim Islamic State of Afghanistan.[71] At its peak, formal diplomatic recognition of the Taliban's government was acknowledged by only three nations: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The group later regrouped as an insurgency movement to fight the American-backed Karzai administration and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the War in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have been condemned internationally for the harsh enforcement of their interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, which has resulted in the brutal treatment of many Afghans.[72][73] During their rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban and their allies committed massacres against Afghan civilians, denied UN food supplies to 160,000 starving civilians, and conducted a policy of scorched earth, burning vast areas of fertile land and destroying tens of thousands of homes.[74][75][76][77][78][79] While the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, they banned activities and media including paintings,[80] photography,[81] and movies that depicted people or other living things.[82] They also prohibited music using instruments, with the exception of the daf, a type of frame drum.[83] The Taliban prevented girls and young women from attending school,[84] banned women from working jobs outside of healthcare (male doctors were prohibited from treating women),[85] and required that women be accompanied by a male relative and wear a burqa at all times when in public.[86] If women broke certain rules, they were publicly whipped or executed.[87] Religious and ethnic minorities were heavily discriminated against during Taliban rule. According to the United Nations, the Taliban and their allies were responsible for 76% of Afghan civilian casualties in 2010, and 80% in 2011 and 2012.[88][89][90][91][92][93] The Taliban also engaged in cultural genocide, destroying numerous monuments including the famous 1500-year-old Buddhas of Bamiyan.[94][95][96][97]

​The Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and military are widely alleged by the international community and the Afghan government to have provided support to the Taliban during their founding and time in power, and of continuing to support the Taliban during the insurgency. Pakistan states that it dropped all support for the group after the 11 September attacks.[98][99][100][101][102][103] In 2001, reportedly 2,500 Arabs under command of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden fought for the Taliban.[104] Following the Fall of Kabul on 15 August 2021, the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan.     from Wikipedia

U.S. President Joe Biden arrives for a virtual briefing with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on preparations for Hurricane Ida at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 28, 2021. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

Biden says he has coordinated with governors, electric utilities on Hurricane Ida
​
WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday said he has spoken to governors of states in the Gulf of Mexico region and has coordinated with electric utilities in preparation for Hurricane Ida, the powerful storm expected to make landfall late Sunday.

"We've prepositioned food, water, generators and other supplies in the area. Power restoration and mobile communications support teams are also en route. We've also closely coordinated with the electric utilities to restore power as soon as possible," Biden said at a briefing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Hurricane Ida intensified on Saturday and the reach of its winds expanded over warm Gulf of Mexico waters, prompting tens of thousands to jam Louisiana highways as they fled the seashore. Utilities were bringing in extra crews and equipment to deal with expected power losses from the storm. read more

Biden said FEMA deployed 500 emergency response personnel in Texas and Louisiana ahead of the storm, in addition to 2,000 FEMA workers already supporting the COVID response in the region.     source from

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Republicans hit Biden over Afghanistan, with eye on midterms

Aug. 29 - ​Republicans in Congress want President Biden out of office after 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 others were killed in a terrorist attack during the Afghanistan evacuation.

They’re calling for his resignation, impeachment and even for the 25th Amendment to be invoked to end his presidency.

​Some of the GOP lawmakers pushing for Biden’s ouster are familiar Trump loyalists like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who called for impeachment; Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), who urged Biden’s Cabinet to remove him from office via the 25th Amendment; and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who demanded Biden resign...     more

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美警告恐袭威胁加剧 阿富汗会否再陷乱战深渊？20210828 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
Aug 29, 2021

I’ve been insulted!
《花生漫畫》西元1953八月/"Peanuts" on August 30, 1953
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