Eight hatchlings from one of the world’s rarest crocodile species are found in the Sre Pok Wildlife Sanctuary in eastern Cambodia, raising hopes for the continuing survival of the species in the wild. Conservationists found the baby Siamese crocodiles in a river earlier this month, according to a statement from Cambodia’s Environment Ministry and the World Wildlife Fund. (9 News) 

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021 

King Salman of Saudi Arabia insists on the “importance of keeping the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction … and support international efforts aiming at preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons”. Salman also accused Yemen’s Houthis of launching attacks against the kingdom despite proposed ceasefires by Saudi Arabia. (Reuters) 

French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Joe Biden agree to meet in Europe soon to repair the strained relations following the security pact between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. France also agrees to send back its ambassador to the United States. (Al Jazeera) 

Two more energy companies have entered bankruptcy and ceased trading, bringing the total since the gas crisis began to seven with dozens more still at risk. More than one million customers have now been affected by the collapse of energy companies in the United Kingdom this month. (BBC) 

Houthi forces capture the Bayhan District in Yemen’s Shabwah Governorate where oil fields are located and continue their advance into neighboring Usaylan District. (Xinhua via The Manila Times) 

Authorities in Germany link a belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories and far-right extremism as motives behind the killing of a cashier in Idar-Oberstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, four days ago. The 20-year-old was murdered at the shop where he worked by a man who refused to wear a mask. Far-right extremists praised the killing and made denigratory comments against the victim. (BBC) 

Gunmen open fire against a vehicle carrying Serhiy Shefir, one of the officials closest to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, near the village of Lisnyky, outside of Kyiv, wounding the driver of the car. The attack is deemed an assassination attempt against Shefir. (Al Jazeera) 

Chinese property giant Evergrande announces that it has agreed on a method of payment for a 4 billion yuan ($620 million) bond denominated in Chinese yuan. Sources for the payment were unclear as it was “settled in negotiations outside the market.” (DW) 

A Russian An-26 transport aircraft, believed to have six people on board, disappears while flying at an ultralow altitude of 600 meters. The plane went off radar some 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Khabarovsk airport in southeastern Russia. (DW) 

Singapore reports a record 1,457 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, surpassing the previous record of 1,426 cases set in April 2020, and thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 81,356. (Yahoo! News) 

The U.S. FDA announces the approval of a booster dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 65 and older. (CNET) 

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune orders the prohibition of all Moroccan-registered aircraft on Algerian airspace after the two countries broke off diplomatic ties on August 24. (AFP via The Times of Israel) 

The Derbyshire Constabulary charges a 31-year-old man with four counts of murder following a suspected mass murder in Killamarsh, Derbyshire, England, on Sunday. (BBC) 

Protesters return to the Melbourne CBD for the third day straight, albeit in lesser numbers than yesterday. The protests end with a three hour stand-off with riot police firing non-lethal rounds and teargas at the Shrine of Remembrance. Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemns the protests. (The Guardian) 

President Kais Saied declares that he will rule by decree. (AFP via Radio France Internationale) 

After Germany’s uncontested nomination of current World Health Organization chief, Ethiopian Tedros Adhanom, he poses for a second term as the head of the United Nations body. Tedros refused to comment when questioned about his undisputed reelection amid accusations by the government of Ethiopia that he has lobbied for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front in the ongoing Tigray War. (France24) 

The United States will require athletes to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to compete in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing. (Axios) 

Biden promises U.N. a ‘new era’ of diplomacy President Biden told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that the United States was “opening a new era of relentless diplomacy,” determined to work closely with other world powers to address global threats following the American military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden, in his first address to the U.N. since taking office, said his administration would dedicate its resources to ending the pandemic, fighting terrorism, and adjusting to shifting global power dynamics to better collaborate with other nations on matters of common concern, such as trade and cyber threats. “Our security, our prosperity, and our very freedoms are interconnected, in my view, as never before,” Biden said. “And so, I believe we must work together as never before.” POLITICO 

J&J says its booster significantly increased COVID protection Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that a second dose of its one-shot coronavirus vaccine significantly increased protection against COVID-19 in a clinical trial. Researchers found that the booster showed 94 percent efficacy against mild to severe COVID-19 in U.S. trial participants, up from 74 percent efficacy from the first shot. The two doses were 100 percent effective at preventing severe COVID cases, although that figure came with a wide range of statistical uncertainty. Johnson & Johnson said in a news release that it had submitted the data to the Food and Drug Administration. An FDA advisory committee on Friday recommended authorizing the Pfizer-BioNTech booster to recipients of the Pfizer vaccine who are at least 65 years old or highly vulnerable to COVID. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

House passes stopgap bill aiming to prevent shutdown The House on Tuesday passed legislation seeking to raise the debt limit and avert a potential government shutdown by funding the government through Dec. 3. No Republicans joined the Democratic majority in the 220-211 vote. Senate Democrats need at least 10 Republican votes to beat a GOP filibuster. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said Republicans wouldn’t help Democrats raise the debt ceiling. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the debt limit was a “phony issue,” because it merely lets the federal government pay bills Congress has approved. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said allowing a government shutdown would be “catastrophic” for American families. House Republicans said the bill would provide a blank check for “socialist” programs. NBC NEWS 

Lava flow forces more evacuations in Canary Islands Lava blasted out of a new vent that opened in a volcano on the island of La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands on Tuesday. Rivers of lava, in some areas nearly 20 feet high, rolled down hillsides toward the tourist haven’s more densely populated coastal areas, burning everything along the way. The lava flows have destroyed 190 houses and forced 6,000 people to evacuate. The island is home to about 85,000 people. The lava’s speed slowed to about 400 feet an hour, and was expected to reach the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, according to the head of the Canary Island Volcanic Emergency Plan, Miguel Ángel Morcuende. When the lava, heated to more than 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, hits water, it could set off explosions and release toxic gas.THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

European court finds Russia responsible for killing of Kremlin critic The European Court of Human Rights said Tuesday that Russia was responsible for killing Kremlin critic and former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London by polonium poisoning in 2006. Litvinenko died in London weeks after drinking tea later determined to have been laced with the deadly radioactive compound. In its ruling, the court said it “cannot but conclude” that two Russian intelligence agents, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, committed the assassination “acting as agents” of Russia. A 2016 British inquiry said Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably approved” the killing. Litvinenko said from his death bed he was certain Putin was responsible. The Kremlin has denied any involvement.  CNN 

Trump sues niece, NYT over tax story Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against his niece, Mary Trump, and The New York Times over a 2018 story based on tax records and other financial documents. The article said Trump “participated in dubious tax schemes … including instances of outright fraud.” The article said tax dodging helped Trump make $413 million from his father’s real estate empire. Trump’s lawsuit, filed in a Dutchess County, New York, argued that his niece, the Times, and three of the newspaper’s reporters “engaged in an insidious plot to obtain confidential and highly-sensitive records.” The Times reporters won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for their work detailing the Trump family’s tax history. Trump has declined to release his returns, unlike other major party presidential nominees. THE DAILY BEAST 

Tuesday,  September 21st, 2021 

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid says that girls will return to school soon, adding that “We are finalizing things … it will happen as soon as possible”. The announcement came as the Taliban banned girls from grades six to 12 from attending school, to which Mujahid said that this was only “temporary” and that new announcements would be made soon. (Deutsche Welle) 

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, South Korean president Moon Jae-in asks for a formal end to the decades-long conflict between the two Koreas. (Reuters) 

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announces that Michigan will build an electrified road to charge wireless vehicles, becoming the first U.S. state to do so. (USA Today) 

The number of adult population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Malaysia surpasses 80%. (The Straits Times) 

Singapore reports 1,178 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of new cases since April 2020. (Business Times) 

The government announces that public servants will soon be a target of the “no jab, no job” policy and that they will have to either resign or receive half-pay if they refuse to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. (RNZ) 

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announces that the San Francisco International Airport will mandate COVID-19 vaccines, making it the first U.S. airport to do so. (Los Angeles Times) 

Haiti reports the first outbreak of the African swine fever in 37 years when an operation in Anse-à-Pitre near border with the Dominican Republic suffered an outbreak that began on August 26. (Reuters) 

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen suspends negotiations for a free trade agreement with Australia over Australia’s recent cancellation of a submarine contract with France, demanding that Australia must apologise to France before the agreement can continue. (The Guardian) 

Argentine President Alberto Fernández asks Iran to “cooperate with the Argentine justice” regarding an investigation into the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires and demands that countries where the Iranian officials wanted by Argentina are currently residing are welcome to comply with the red notices that Argentina issued through Interpol. (Infobae) 

In a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs requests representation at the seventy-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly. The Emirate’s Foreign Minister Ameer Khan Muttaqi also requests that Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations Ghulam Isaczai be replaced by Mohammad Suhail Shasheen. The Taliban also note that former President Ashraf Ghani had been “ousted and [countries across the world] no longer recognize him as president.” (CNN) 

A coroner in Teton County, Wyoming, confirms that the remains found on September 19 were that of Petito, who disappeared from Grand Teton National Park on August 27, and rules her death a homicide. (AFP via Today) 

The Court of Justice of the European Union imposes a daily fine of €500,000 (2.31M zł) on Poland for its refusal to close the Turów Coal Mine, which was declared illegal by a temporary injunction from the court in May. (WIAT-TV) 

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announces a two-week suspension of construction work in the state after yesterday’s riot at the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) office. Rioters claimed that they were construction workers, although CFMEU officials and others claim that there were only a few construction workers present. (ABC News Australia) 

FIFA sanctions the Hungarian Football Federation with a US$216,000 fine and orders the Hungarian national team to play their next two World Cup qualification home matches behind closed doors, following incidents of racist behavior among their fans during a match against England on September 2. (CNN) 

Sudanese forces thwart a coup d’état attempt against the ruling civilian-military government from loyalists of former president Omar al-Bashir that began overnight. Interrogations of instigators were to begin today, sources close to the government say. (Reuters) 

Harbin bans visits at retirement homes, closes spas, cinemas and mahjong salons, reducing the tourist attraction capacity to 50%, and suspending religious activities to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in poorly ventilated spaces after one community transmitted case was found. (Al-Arabiya English) 

The government announces in the week that public servants will soon be target of the “no jab, no job” policy and that they will have to step down or receive half-pay if they refuse to get their COVID-19 vaccine. (RNZ) 

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stalls a free trade agreement with Australia over the latter’s recent cancellation of a submarine contract with France, demanding Australia must apologise to France before the agreement can continue. (The Guardian) 

The European Court of Human Rights rules that agents acting on behalf of the Russian state were responsible for the fatal poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. (BBC) 

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announces a two-week halt to construction work after yesterday’s riot at the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union office. Rioters claimed they were construction workers, although CFMEU officials and others have doubted that the majority were. (ABC News Australia) 

Protesters return to the Melbourne CBD for the second day straight, assaulting journalists and blocking the West Gate Freeway. Riot police respond with rubber bullet rounds. (New Zealand Herald) 

Pfizer, BioNTech say their vaccine is safe, effective for children Pfizer and BioNTech said Monday that a low dose of their coronavirus vaccine proved safe and effective in children aged 5 to 11 years. Children account for more than 20 percent of new infections, and more of them have wound up in hospitals and intensive care units in recent weeks due to the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant. The Pfizer-BioNTech trial results raised hopes among many parents, teachers, and doctors that younger children soon will be able to get vaccinated, reducing the chances of infections in schools. “We’ve been waiting for these kids to be protected,” said Dr. Kristin Oliver, a pediatrician and vaccine expert at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. CNN 

United Nations General Assembly starts amid deep divisions World leaders return to the United Nations on Tuesday for the first time in two years for the General Assembly as tensions rise between the U.S. and China, and concerns mount over Afghanistan’s future following the U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban’s return to power. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres “will pull no punches in expressing his concern about the state of the world, and he will lay out a vision to bridge the numerous divides,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. President Biden is scheduled to address the assembly on Tuesday. Biden will “drive home the message that ending the war in Afghanistan closed a chapter focused on war and opened a chapter focused on purposeful, effective, intensive American diplomacy,” a senior U.S. official said Monday. THE WASHINGTON POST 

U.S. coronavirus death toll equals that of 1918 Spanish flu The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has now reached more than 675,000 people, surpassing that of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic to become the deadliest disease event in American history, based on raw numbers. Proportionally, the Spanish flu death toll remains considerably greater because the U.S. population is now more than three times what it was in 1918. The grim milestone comes as the country struggles to contain a new surge of infections driven by the highly infectious Delta variant, with the daily death toll now back to about 2,000 per day. Some hospitals are having to ration care because they have been overwhelmed with coronavirus cases. CNN 

DHS investigates use of agents on horseback to drive out migrants The Department of Homeland Security on Monday announced an investigation after video surfaced showing Border Patrol agents on horseback using what appeared to be whips to drive away Haitian migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the images “horrific.” She said she didn’t know the full context of the videos, but couldn’t “imagine what context would make that appropriate.” In one video, mounted agents charged migrants shouting, “Let’s go! Get out now! Back to Mexico!” About 14,000 migrants, most of them from Haiti, have crossed the border and waited under the international bridge in Del Rio, Texas, to apply for asylum. The U.S. already has sent several planeloads of migrants to Haiti. USA TODAY 

U.S. stocks dive in S&P 500’s biggest drop since May U.S. stocks fell sharply on Monday in Wall Street’s worst day in months. The S&P 500 fell by 1.7 percent, its biggest drop since May. At one point the benchmark index was down by 2.9 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down by 1.8 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2.2 percent. The losses came after Hong Kong’s main index plunged on concerns about weakness among property stocks. U.S. investors also are increasingly worried about signs of economic damage from the Delta-variant-fueled surge in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations. “What’s happened here is that the list of risks has finally become too big to ignore,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors. Futures for the three major indexes rose by about 0.7 percent early Tuesday. CNBC 

Trudeau holds onto power as Liberals win snap election Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held onto power on Monday as his Liberal Party won a snap election. Trudeau, his popularity up due to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, called the vote, hoping his party would take back the majority in Parliament. The Liberals appeared to have won only a few more seats than before, signaling a status quo Parliament and leaving Trudeau open to renewed criticism from Canadians who opposed making people vote as the highly infectious Delta variant spread. As of early Tuesday, the Liberals led in or had won 155 seats, the Conservatives had 121, the Bloc Québécois had 33, and the NDP had 27. Trudeau said the vote provided “a clear mandate” as the government leads the country through the pandemic. THE GLOBE AND MAIL 

2 GOP operatives charged with funneling Russian’s money to Trump campaign Federal prosecutors have charged two longtime Republican operatives with helping a Russian national illegally contribute $25,000 to former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, keeping another $75,000 for themselves, according to a grand jury indictment unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The two men, Jesse Benton, 43, and Doug Wead, 75, pleaded not guilty to six felony counts in a remote hearing. The indictment “alleges that Benton and Wead worked together to accept $100,000 from an unidentified Russian national in order to get the foreigner a meeting with then-candidate Trump at a fundraiser in Philadelphia on Sept. 22, 2016,” Politico reported. There was no indication that Trump or his campaign aides knew the money came from the Russian donor.  POLITICO 

Biden hikes refugee cap to 125,000 President Biden intends to raise the number of refugees the United States will accept to 125,000 in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, the State Department announced Monday. Biden promised during his 2020 campaign to increase the refugee cap from the historically low level of 15,000 set by former President Donald Trump. In May, Biden raised the number for the current fiscal year to 62,500, vowing to double it in his first full fiscal year as president. Ned Price, the State Department spokesman, said Biden had sent Congress a report detailing his plan to raise the cap to “address needs generated by humanitarian crises around the globe.” The increase is not expected to affect people fleeing the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, or the thousands of Haitians seeking asylum in a makeshift camp on the U.S.-Mexico border. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

FBI searches Brian Laundrie’s home in Gabby Petito investigation  The FBI on Monday searched the Florida home of the parents of Brian Laundrie, a day after search crews in Wyoming found human remains believed to be those of his fiancée, Gabby Petito. The remains were found at a campsite in Bridger-Teton National Forest on the eastern edge of Grand Teton National Park. Laundrie’s parents were escorted away from their North Port, Florida, home during the search, then brought back in for questioning. Laundrie had returned home alone from a cross-country trip he and Petito made in her small van, then disappeared after declining to talk to police. Petito went missing days after a witness reported seeing Laundrie slapping her outside a Wyoming restaurant. CNN 

 

Monday,  September 20th, 2021 

A court in Rwanda finds Paul Rusesabagina, a former hotel manager portrayed as a hero in the Hollywood film about the genocide, guilty of terrorism-related charges. Rusesabagina, who remained handcuffed in court, denounced president Paul Kagame and said that he was abducted from exile in Dubai in order to stand trial in Rwanda. (Reuters) 

Volkswagen submits an offer of €2.5 billion for French car rental firm Europcar. The deal, which would give Volkswagen 66% of Europcar’s shares, has been accepted by the board but still needs to be accepted by regulators in France. Volkswagen previously owned Europcar and sold it to French investment firm Eurazeo for €3.3 billion in 2006. (RTE) 

Twitter agrees to pay $809.5 million to settle a shareholder class action lawsuit that accused the social media company of painting an overly rosy picture of its future. (Bloomberg) 

More than 100 homes on the island of La Palma in the Spanish Canary Islands are destroyed by lava flows, and 5,000 people are evacuated. Several schools on the island suspend classes. (El Mundo)  

England and Scotland begin the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for children between the ages of 12 and 15 as part of an expansion of their vaccination programme in order to protect more people from COVID-19 during the winter. (BBC) 

The Austrian government announces that it will require protective face masks and COVID-19 passes for users of ski lifts this winter in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as the country will allow foreign skiers for the first time in two years. (Reuters) 

Switzerland begins to implement a mandatory negative COVID-19 test result for travellers who have not been vaccinated or who have not recovered from COVID-19 upon entering the country in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. (Schengen Visa Info) 

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announces that COVID-19 vaccines will be required for all teachers and students in the district by November 1. (The Washington Post) 

The CDC releases a study which finds that 99.4% of all current cases of COVID-19 in the United States are of the highly transmittable Delta variant. (The New York Times) 

The total number of deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. surpasses the total number of deaths from the Spanish flu in the U.S. in 1918-1919. (ABC News) 

Pfizer says that their vaccine candidate is effective for children between the ages of 5 and 11 years. (CBS News) 

Six people are killed and around 20 more are wounded in a mass shooting at Perm State University in Perm, Perm Krai, Russia. The gunman, an 18-year-old student at the university, has been arrested. (BBC) 

Poland accuses Russia and Belarus of “orchestrating a wave of illegal immigration” after four people were found dead yesterday at the Polish–Belarusian border. (Al Jazeera) 

Three former U.S. intelligence operatives, who worked as senior managers at a United Arab Emirates–based company, have been ordered by the Department of Justice to pay $1,685,000 in fines for “leveraging zero-click exploits to illegally obtain and use access credentials for online accounts issued by U.S. companies, and to obtain unauthorized access to computers globally, including in the United States”. (Fox Business News) 

Voters in Canada go to the polls to elect members of the House of Commons to the 44th Canadian Parliament, with pollsters predicting a tight race between Justin Trudeau’s incumbent Liberal Party and Erin O’Toole’s opposition Conservative Party. (CTV News) 

The parliament of Lebanon approves the government formed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati. (AFP via France 24) 

Members of Melbourne’s far-right violate lockdown laws and riot at the office of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, damaging windows and assaulting state secretary John Setka before being dispersed by police. The rioters were dressed in the high-visibility clothing associated with the construction industry and presented themselves as Union rank-and-file protesting a bureaucracy which they claimed was working to impose mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations. Setka said that the Union opposes mandatory vaccinations and blamed the riots on “outside extremists”, stating that only a minority of those in attendance were Union members. (The Guardian) 

The End Tuesday 

The CDC releases a study which finds that 99.4% of all current cases of COVID-19 in the United States are of the highly transmittable Delta variant. (The New York Times) 

Six people are killed and about 20 more wounded in a mass shooting at Perm State University in Perm, Perm Krai, Russia. The gunman, an 18-year-old student at the university, has been arrested. (BBC) 

Three former U.S. intelligence operatives, who worked as senior managers at a United Arab Emirates–based company, have been sentenced by the Department of Justice to pay $1,685,000 in fines for “leveraging zero-click exploits to illegally obtain and use access credentials for online accounts issued by U.S. companies, and to obtain unauthorized access to computers, like mobile phones, around the world, including in the United States”. (Fox Business News) 

Anti-vaxxers riot at the offices of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union in Melbourne before being dispersed by police. CFMEU state secretary John Setka says the Union opposes mandatory vaccination and blames misinformation spread by “outside extremists” for the riot. (The Guardian) 

U.S. starts sending home Haitian refugees who crossed from Mexico The United States on Sunday stepped up its effort to clear out a massive makeshift camp housing about 14,000 Haitian refugees who crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico to get to the Texas border town of Del Rio. U.S. officials blocked the Mexican border there, and sent three flights of Haitians back to their impoverished Caribbean homeland. The government plans to increase the pace to six planeloads per day soon, one U.S. official said. Many of the migrants have been in Brazil and other Latin American countries for years, but recently headed through Mexico to seek asylum in the U.S. Haiti, already struggling to respond to an earthquake and presidential assassination, protested the forced return, saying it wasn’t prepared to handle so many deportees. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Senate parliamentarian rules against immigration measure in budget bill  Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled on Sunday that it is “not appropriate” for Democrats to include a pathway to citizenship for 8 million people in their budget reconciliation bill, which only needs a simple majority to pass the Senate. Democrats argued the policy would help the economy. The Senate parliamentarian is nonpartisan and rules on technical issues, and MacDonough wrote that such a “tremendous and enduring policy change … dwarfs its budgetary impact.” MacDonough said the move would “set a precedent” that could be used to defend rescinding people’s immigration status, too. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats were “deeply disappointed,” and would consider alternate proposals to “provide lawful status for immigrants in budget reconciliation.” THE WASHINGTON POST 

Democrats say they might have to cut back $3.5 trillion spending bill Congressional Democrats said Sunday that they probably would have to reduce the size of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion social spending bill. They can’t afford to lose a single Democratic vote in the evenly divided Senate, and West Virginia moderate Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin has said he would not vote for the bill unless it is scaled down considerably. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) might have to push passage of a bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill beyond a Sept. 27 deadline so it can be passed alongside the bigger spending bill, House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth said on Fox News Sunday. Both bills are critical parts of Biden’s agenda, but face reluctance from some moderate Democrats and staunch opposition from Republicans. REUTERS 

Russian opposition parties allege fraud in parliamentary elections Russian opposition parties and independent observers on Sunday reported widespread ballot fraud on the third and final day of parliamentary elections. President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party was expected to win the official count but with weakened control in the State Duma — the lower house of the Russian Parliament. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny remained in jail after Moscow declared his network an extremist organization in June, effectively banning it from participating in the campaign. Navalny’s organization appealed to Russians to go out to vote against United Russia. “Today is the day your vote really matters,” the network said under Navalny’s name via his Instagram account. “Because today is the day that each of us can be especially efficient in convincing the doubters.”  CNN 

Biggest post-U.S.-withdrawal evacuation flight yet leaves Kabul A chartered Qatar Airways flight carrying more than 230 passengers, including Afghan and American citizens, took off from Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Sunday, Qatari Assistant Foreign Minister Lolwah Al-Khater announced. The plane’s trip to Doha was the largest such evacuation flight since the U.S. military withdrawal from the country was completed on Aug. 31 after 20 years of war. The flight came as concerns continued about the Taliban’s willingness to allow the departures of Afghans and foreigners desperate to leave Afghanistan rather than stay under the Islamist group’s control. A Qatari official told Reuters the country “will continue its collaboration with international partners on efforts that ensure freedom of movement in Afghanistan.” CBS NEWS 

Searchers find body believed to be Gabby Petito Search crews in northern Wyoming on Sunday found human remains matching the description of Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old who went missing during a cross-country trip in a van with her boyfriend, the FBI in Denver announced. The body was found by law enforcement agents who looked for Petito at camp sites on the eastern border of Grand Teton National Park. The North Port Police in Florida, where Petito lived, issued the following statement saying they were “saddened and heartbroken to learn that Gabby has been found deceased.” Investigators have identified the boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, as a person of interest in the case. Laundrie, 23, returned to his family’s home in Florida but disappeared on Tuesday after declining to talk to investigators. Police are continuing to search for him. DESERET NEWS 

Chinese version of TikTok places limits on kids’ use TikTok parent company ByteDance plans to limit children’s access to Douyin, the Chinese version of the short-video app, to 40 minutes a day. Douyin said in a blog post over the weekend that its “youth mode” would restrict use by people under age 14 to between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Douyin introduced some limits as an optional feature in 2018, but made them mandatory to protect young users from harmful content. The company also said that its youngest users would get educational content, including science experiments and history lessons. Douyin appealed to parents to help with enforcement by making sure their kids were registered with their real ages. The changes followed a crackdown by the Chinese government on social media firms over alleged problems regarding data-security, labor, and competition. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Thousands evacuated after volcano erupts in Canary Islands A volcano on one of Spain’s Canary Islands off Africa’s western coast erupted on Sunday, forcing about 5,000 people to flee as lava flows destroyed 20 homes and threatened more. The eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma island (pop. 85,000) came after a weeklong buildup of seismic activity as molten lava built up inside. The strongest of the several earthquakes felt before the eruption measured 4.2 on the Richter Scale. The volcano last erupted in 1971. “We call on people to exercise extreme caution and to stay away from the eruption area in order to avoid unnecessary risks,” the local government tweeted on Sunday. “Likewise, it is very important to keep roads clear so that they can be used by our land operatives.” CNN 

Fauci: FDA should get Moderna, J&J booster data within weeks Federal regulators should receive the test data they need on Moderna’s and Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine boosters within weeks, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s top medical adviser, said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Friday recommended Pfizer’s booster be given to people aged 65 and up or at high risk of severe COVID-19, but stopped short of advising that it be administered more broadly. Fauci urged fully vaccinated Americans to wait to seek an additional shot until the FDA recommends it for a group they fall into. Fauci noted that the FDA panel’s decision is not binding, so the agency might take other factors into consideration to determine whether to offer boosters more broadly. “This is not the end of the story,” Fauci said on CNN’s State of the Union. REUTERS 

The End

Sunday, September 19th, 2021 

Three Taliban members and two civilians are killed when a bomb, planted by ISIL–K, explodes near a Taliban vehicle in Jalalabad, Nangarhar. (The Guardian) 

A recently declassified Australian intelligence report from 1998 reveals that the government was fully aware that the Indonesian military had massacred peaceful protesters from the Free Papua Movement, which was not publicly acknowledged or condemned by Australia at the time. Guardian Australia speculates that supporting photographic evidence may have been destroyed by Australian authorities. (The Guardian) 

Iran reopens museums in Tehran and other large cities with sanitary protocols after a year-long closure due to the pandemic. (AFP via Radio France Internationale) 

The Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, erupts for the first time in fifty years. A few hours later, the first preventive evacuations of people with reduced mobility from nearby towns took place after the declaration of a state of pre-eruption. (Reuters)  

Sixty-three African penguins are dead after being stung by a swarm of bees in Simon’s Town, South Africa. The African penguin is an endangered species. (BBC) 

The United States closes the Mexico–US border near the Texas city of Del Rio after thousands of Haitian migrants arrived at the International Bridge near the city. The U.S. will also begin flying the migrants back to Haiti. (AP) 

A body “consistent with the description” of missing social media personality Gabby Petito is found in Bridger–Teton National Forest in Wyoming. (CBS News) 

The Israel Defense Forces announces that all six Palestinian fugitives have been recaptured, after the last two, who are part of the Islamic Jihad Movement, were arrested in the Palestinian city of Jenin through a joint operation with the Yamam. (AFP via The Times of India) 

The new Taliban mayor of Kabul, Hamdullah Nomani, asks women to stay at home in case their job can be filled by a man. Nomani also added that the Taliban “finds it necessary to stop women from working for a while” and instead urged them to work in places where men cannot go due to gender segregation. (BBC) 

Australian Industry, Science and Technology Minister Christian Porter resigns amid criticism for receiving anonymous donations in his defamation case against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, who reported on historical rape allegations against him. (The Guardian) 

Hundreds of protesters call to “kick out” prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on the 15th anniversary of the 2006 Thai coup d’état, which ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. (Al Jazeera) 

Australia PM: France would’ve been aware of submarine concerns Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday said France “would have had every reason to know that we have deep and grave concerns” about the French-built submarines Canberra had initially agreed to purchase before canceling the contract and reaching a separate agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom. The move sparked surprise and anger in Paris, and French President Emmanuel Macron recalled France’s ambassadors to the U.S. and Australia in response. It doesn’t appear the French government will be satisfied with Morrison’s latest words — on Saturday, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian accused its allies of “duplicity, a major breach of trust, and contempt.” BBC 

Rally in support of Jan. 6 rioters draws sparse crowd in D.C. United States Capitol Police estimate the “Justice for J6” rally, a demonstration in support of the hundreds of rioters charged with crimes during the Capitol breach on Jan. 6, drew about 400-450 attendees in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. Organizers were hopeful the crowd would reach about 700, but it appears a heavy security presence likely contributed to the smaller gathering. The Washington Post reports that the right-wing activists were outnumbered by police, journalists, and counter protesters. The event was mostly without incident, though police did make four arrests throughout the day, seizing two weapons.  THE WASHINGTON POST 

Kabul mayor says female city employees must stay home In yet another sign that the Taliban may continue to restrict women’s rights in Afghanistan, female employees in the Kabul city government must stay home unless their work cannot be replaced by men, the capital’s interim mayor said Sunday. The latest development follows announcements that limit the ability of girls and women to continue their education, despite previous Taliban rhetoric suggesting that would not be the case. The group also shutdown Afghanistan’s Women’s Affairs Ministry and replaced it with a ministry for the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice,” which will enforce Sharia law. Just over a dozen women staged a short protest against the Taliban’s rules on Sunday, while other activists held a news conference in the basement of a private home and said they would demand the Taliban re-open public spaces to women. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

First all-civilian crew returns from space The first fully amateur, private space crew returned to Earth on Saturday night, their SpaceX Dragon capsule splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast. Inspiration4 launched on Wednesday and spent three days in orbit. The crew members, none of whom were astronauts, didn’t share many updates with the public while they were up there, and the first live audio or visuals from inside the capsule came two days after launch, so it’s not entirely clear how they were feeling during the mission. Many astronauts have reported motion sickness symptoms after arriving in space, CNN notes, though it’s also possible the crew members simply wanted to enjoy their experience privately, a luxury that astronauts on government-funded missions don’t have. CNN

Putin’s party poised to retain power as Russians vote Russians took to the polls on Sunday for the final stretch of a three-day parliamentary election that will almost certainly keep President Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party in power. Ahead of the vote, the Kremlin barred certain opponents from running and cracked down on jailed Putin critic Alexey Navalny’s movement. United Russia, which holds nearly three quarters of the State Duma’s 450 seats, has taken a ratings hit of late due to a drop in living standards, but it was still polling ahead of its closest rivals on the ballot, the Communist Party and the nationalist LDPR party, both of which often back the Kremlin anyway, Reuters notes. Meanwhile, Navalny and his allies have accused Google and Apple of caving to Putin and limiting access to their tactical voting campaign, which amounts to supporting the candidate most likely to take down the United Russia candidate in any electoral district. REUTERS 

Texas doctor pens op-ed explaining why he violated new abortion ban Dr. Alan Braid, a San Antonio-based physician, wrote an op-ed published by The Washington Post on Saturday explaining why he violated Texas’ recent abortion ban just five days after it went into effect earlier this month. The law prohibits nearly all abortions after six weeks into a pregnancy, but Braid said he “had a duty of care to this patient,” who was in her first trimester, but beyond the new limit. He said that during his residency in 1972, a year before the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, he saw “three teenagers die from illegal abortions,” and he fears similar situations will happen again. While Braid understands he could face legal consequences, he added that he wants to ensure Texas doesn’t “get away with its bid to prevent this blatantly unconstitutional law from being tested.”  THE WASHINGTON POST 

Notre Dame ready for restoration work Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral remains on course to reopen in 2024, authorities said Saturday. The landmark, which suffered damage after an incidental fire in 2019, is finally ready to undergo restoration after workers completed efforts to secure the structure. Before things get underway, however, companies will bid for contracts to work on the restoration process. The goal is to hold the cathedral’s first full Mass on April 16, 2024, five years after the fire. Paris will also host the Olympic Games that year, so there’s likely motivation to have one of the city’s most visited tourist sites back open to the public. The cathedral will be restored to its previous design, including the 315-foot spire that collapsed during the blaze. THE GUARDIAN

Saturday, September 18th, 2021 

Two bombings in Jalalabad and two more in Kabul kill seven people and injure 30 others: one of the attacks targeted a vehicle carrying Taliban members. (Al Jazeera) 

A Guinea junta spokesman for leader Mamady Doumbouya says that Doumbouya shrugged off threats of economic sanctions by ECOWAS when confronted with them, saying that “as soldiers, their work is in Guinea and there is nothing to freeze in their accounts.” Talks are also ongoing to allow ousted president Alpha Condé to leave Guinea, a petition to which the junta has refused permission. (Reuters) 

Indonesian soldiers and police kills the East Indonesia Mujahideen leader Ali Kalora and commander Jaka “Ikrima” Ramadhan during a joint operation at a village in Sulawesi. (Al Jazeera) 

One person is killed and seven more wounded during a grenade attack at a volleyball match in Datu Piang, Maguindanao, Philippines. (Manila Standard) 

ISIL claims responsibility for an attack on a gas pipeline and power station in Deir Ali, Syria, that caused power outages in Damascus and other areas of the country. (Reuters) 

French authorities say that the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris will reopen in 2024. (France24) 

American Samoa announces the first recorded case of COVID-19 in the territory. The patient tested positive after returning from Honolulu, Hawaii, on September 13. In response, the American Samoan government suspends all flights to Pago Pago International Airport. (RNZ)(Samoa News)(Civil Beat) 

Finland reports its first case of the SARS-CoV-2 Mu variant, which was first detected in Colombia. (Yle) 

A rally is held near the United States Capitol to express solidarity with the people arrested for their roles in the January 6 riot. A fence is erected outside the building amid fears of violence, with four participants being arrested. (WRC-TV) 

Over the last 48 hours, Del Rio, Texas, sees an increase in border crossings with approximately 10,000 migrants, primarily from Haiti who traveled through Central and South America. The migrants are currently being kept in a camp underneath an overpass bridge and provided emergency supplies before being sent to either a Border Patrol station or Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Migrants are reportedly using instructions circulated on WhatsApp to evade border security based on interviews conducted at the camp. (Reuters) 

Houthis in Yemen execute nine men by firing squad over their connection with the death of Saleh Ali al-Sammad, who was killed in a Saudi airstrike on Yemen‘s west coast in April 2018. (Reuters) 

The Taliban replaces the Ministry of Women’s Affairs with a new ministry named the Ministry for Preaching and Guidance and the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, in what analysts say is a setback for women’s rights in the country. (Al Jazeera) 

Activists in Italy say that they have gathered enough signatures in order to trigger a referendum on liberalising the use of cannabis. (Reuters) 

SpaceX‘s Inspiration4 mission lands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida, completing the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight. (AFP via Mint) 

In nine-ball pool, Carlo Biado of the Philippines defeats Aloysius Yapp of Singapore, 13–8, in the final to win the championship held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (ESPN) 

Pentagon admits August drone strike killed 10 Afghans The Pentagon on Friday admitted that a drone strike in Kabul on Aug. 29 — initially calculated to target ISIS-K and prevent an attack on Americans troops — resulted in the deaths of 10 civilians, including seven children. United States Central Command Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said the “strike was taken in the earnest belief that it would prevent an imminent threat to our forces and the evacuees at the airport, but it was a mistake and I offer my sincere apology.” He added that he is “fully responsible” for the fatal error. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Zemari Ahmadi, the driver of the targeted vehicle, “was just as innocent a victim as were the others tragically killed,” while Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley, who had previously defended the Aug. 29 drone operation, also condemned the “horrible tragedy.” THE WEEK 

France recalls ambassador to the U.S. France has recalled its ambassadors to both the U.S. and Australia in protest of the countries’ controversial nuclear submarine partnership. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Friday that the “exceptional decision,” apparently made by President Emmanuel Macron, “is justified by the exceptional gravity of the announcements made on 15 September by Australia and the United States.” On Wednesday, the U.S. announced a new nuclear submarine partnership with Australia and the U.K. that effectively cancels out an existing defense deal between Australia and France. Le Drian called the arrangement a “stab in the back.” The White House, for its part, will “continue to be engaged [with France] in the coming days to resolve our differences, as we have done at other points over the course of our long alliance,” an official told CNBC. France does not appear to have recalled its ambassador from the United Kingdom. CNBC 

D.C. prepares for “Justice for J6” rally Washington, D.C., is bracing for a Saturday rally in support of the hundreds of people who were charged with crimes after breaching the Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attempt to overturn President Biden’s election victory over former President Donald Trump, who pushed baseless claims of widespread voter fraud. Hundreds of police officers will be on duty in the nation’s capital, an eight-foot-high fence is again surrounding the Capitol complex, and 100 National Guard troops are on standby in case extra security is needed. Organizers of the “Justice for J6” rally said the event will be peaceful. Earlier this week, Trump expressed sympathy for his supporters who are now being prosecuted, describing them as “political prisoners. REUTERS 

Taliban replaces Afghanistan’s Women’s Affairs Ministry The building that once housed Afghanistan’s Women’s Affairs Ministry will now be the office of the Taliban’s ministry for the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice.” It’s yet another sign that, despite rhetoric suggesting otherwise, the group will again restrict women’s rights. Relatedly, the Taliban announced that boys in grades 7-12 should return to school alongside their male teachers, but there was no mention of girls or female teachers. Previously, the Taliban’s higher education minister said girls could continue their studies, including at the university and post-graduate level, in gender-segregated settings. The latest declaration appears to contradict that, which left Mabouba Suraj, who heads the Afghan Women’s Network, to speculate whether more moderate, pragmatic voices within the Taliban are losing out to hard-liners at the moment. BBC 

Images suggest North Korea expanding uranium enrichment facility Satellite images captured by commercial imaging company Maxar earlier this week appear to reveal that North Korea is expanding a facility capable of enriching uranium for nuclear weapons. The renovations likely suggest Pyongyang is aiming to ramp-up production at the site, which has been dormant, in the near future. Jeffrey Lewis, a weapons expert and professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, told CNN that the facility’s new area is enough space to house 1,000 additional centrifuges, which could eventually increase the plant’s capacity to produce highly enriched uranium by 25 percent. The images line up with U.S. intelligence assessments about North Korea’s commitment to its weapons program, as well as a recent report from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the fact that Pyongyang has been conducting missile tests in recent days. CNN 

Bureau of Land Management returning to D.C. The headquarters for the Bureau of Land Management will again be in Washington, D.C., after the Trump administration moved operations solely to Grand Junction, Colorado, in 2019. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland informed staffers of the news during a phone call Friday. The move out West caused upheaval in the agency, resulting in the departure of 90 percent of staff who worked at the D.C. headquarters, The Washington Post reports. The Trump administration said the decision was made because the vast majority of lands managed by the agency are in the Western United States, though current and former employees have said they believe the previous White House sought to weaken the bureau because it does environmental assessments and regulates the fossil fuel industry. The Grand Junction office will remain as the Western headquarters. THE DENVER POST 

Longtime Algerian President Bouteflika dies at 84 Former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika died on Friday after years of ill health. He was 84. Bouteflika rose to prominence during after Algeria’s war of independence from France and eventually became president in 1999 following a 10-year period of political violence in the country. He stayed in power until 2019 when he resigned in response to large scale protests against corruption and economic mismanagement. By that point, Bouteflika had rarely been seen in public since 2013 when he was incapacitated by a stroke. In 2014, he was elected to a fourth consecutive term despite not appearing in person on the campaign trail. While Bouteflika oversaw an era of calm in Algeria, things were often rockier behind the scenes as he fought to maintain ultimate authority and economic stability remained reliant on soaring oil prices. When they dropped in 2014, the public mood changed. THE FINANCIAL TIMES 

Jury finds Robert Durst guilty of 1st-degree murder A Los Angeles jury found Robert Durst guilty of first-degree murder for the killing of his longtime friend Susan Berman more than 20 years ago. Berman was murdered in 2000 at her home in Beverly Hills hours before she was set to talk to investigators about the disappearance of Durst’s first wife, Kathleen McCormack Durst, who was last seen in 1982 and declared legally dead in 2017. The jurors agreed Durst’s crime met “special circumstances” under California law that allow the 78-year-old to be sentenced to life without parole. A judge is scheduled to set the terms next month. Durst, a millionaire real estate heir, was the subject of a 2015 HBO documentary miniseries called The Jinx. CNN 

Friday,  September 17th, 2021 

Marine Corps General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. acknowledges that a drone strike conducted by the U.S. military on August 29 near Kabul International Airport killed 10 civilians instead of ISIL-K militants. (The New York Times) 

Eighty telecommunication towers owned by Mytel have been destroyed in Myanmar, leaving 700,000 people without communication. The People’s Defence Force has claimed responsibility for the destruction. (CNA) 

South Korea approves the Celltrion antibody COVID-19 treatment for infected adults in high-risk groups and adults with severe symptoms. (Reuters) 

A five-month survey finds that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is the most effective vaccine against hospitalization due to COVID-19. The study found that Moderna’s vaccine candidate had a 93% effectiveness in reducing hospitalizations, compared to 88% for Pfizer’s, and 71% for Johnson & Johnson’s. (CBS News) 

Guinea declares an end to the outbreak of the Marburg virus disease in the country. (CNN) 

The Australian Defence Minister announces that the new strategic partnership will also include increased numbers of U.S. bombers and airplanes being based out of Australia. In addition, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace notes that the deal has revealed a loophole in nuclear policy that does not bar states without nuclear weapons from obtaining nuclear technology for submarines and that this falls outside of IAEA inspections. (ABC News Australia) (Foreign Policy) 

France recalls its ambassadors from the United States and Australia in protest of the security pact, which also includes the United Kingdom. The French Foreign Ministry says that the “exceptional decision” was justified by the seriousness of the pact, which has replaced its own security agreement with Australia. (BBC) 

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization grants membership status to Iran. (Nikkei Asia) 

In escalating tensions over the past week, North Korea accuses the United States of double standards when it comes to condemning missile tests, saying that the U.S. only condemned North Korea the same day that South Korea also tested missiles. North Korean state media cited its chief as saying that the American response was a “vivid revelation of the American-style double-dealing attitude” and also says that unless “the U.S. drops its hostile policies towards North Korea, denuclearization can never be put on the table” of negotiations. (Reuters) 

Ukraine and the United States announce that they will begin joint military exercises involving 15 other countries in western Ukraine next week. (VOA) 

Ank Bijleveld, the Minister of Defence of the Netherlands, resigns following a motion of censure for her handling of the Dutch evacuation during the Fall of Kabul, a day after the resignation of Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigrid Kaag. (NOS) (Radio France Internationale) 

Thousands of Haitian migrants shelter in impromptu Texas camp About 10,000 Haitian migrants are sheltering under a border bridge in South Texas after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico. Authorities in Del Rio said they expected more people to arrive at the camp in the coming days, exacerbating an unprecedented humanitarian and logistical crisis. Many people in the wave of Haitians heading north spent years in Brazil or other South American nations following Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake, and have resorted to using smuggling operations to get into the United States. Customs and Border Protection said “drinking water, towels, and portable toilets have been delivered for migrants to use while they await to be transported to a facility.” The sudden influx comes as illegal crossings are already at a 20-year high. ABC NEWS 

Idaho expands health care rationing as COVID cases strain hospitals 

Idaho public health leaders announced Thursday that they were expanding health care rationing statewide because a huge increase in coronavirus patients has overwhelmed hospital resources. The policy previously applied only to northern parts of the state. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare said hospitals should observe “crisis standards of care,” allotting ICU beds and other limited resources first to patients most likely to survive. Individual hospital systems in Alaska and Montana have enacted similar policies. Hospitals lack resources to adequately treat patients, “whether you are there for COVID-19 or a heart attack or because of a car accident,” Idaho Department of Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen said. About 40 percent of Idaho residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, making it one of the least vaccinated states. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Judge orders Biden to stop using health law to expel migrant families A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Biden administration from continuing to expel migrant families with children caught at the Mexican border under a public health order aiming to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The ruling amounted to a significant defeat for the administration. Judge Emmet Sullivan of the District of Columbia District Court acknowledged that the ruling would create difficulties for the government, but said that “in view of the wide availability of testing, vaccines, and other minimization measures, the Court is not convinced that the transmission of COVID-19 during border processing cannot be significantly mitigated.” President Biden has faced criticism from immigrant advocates for continuing the policy, which was launched under former President Donald Trump. CNN 

France vents anger over nuclear-submarine deal for Australia French officials expressed outrage Thursday against a pact President Biden announced that will help Australia deploy nuclear-powered submarines. Biden said when he announced the agreement with Australia and the U.K. that it would reinforce U.S. alliances, a goal as the U.S. seeks to counter China’s influence in the Pacific. But France’s foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said the pact would prompt Australia to withdraw from a $66 billion deal struck in 2016 to buy submarines from France, calling it a “unilateral, brutal, unpredictable decision” similar to unpredictable and destabilizing policy changes made by former President Donald Trump. Nicole Bacharan, a researcher at Sciences Po in Paris, said this could mark the start of a “very hard” period in the longstanding alliance between Paris and Washington. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Roger Stone served with Capitol riot lawsuit during radio interview Roger Stone, a longtime confidant of former President Donald Trump, reportedly was served with papers related to a lawsuit over the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol attack while he was being interviewed on a St. Louis radio show, Tomorrow’s News Today with Joe Hoft & Kell Brazil. As the hosts asked Stone whether Trump would run for president again in 2024, he said, “Hold on a second, I have a process server at my front door.” Stone, a self-described “dirty trickster,” paused to answer his front door and talk to the process server. The complaint, filed by seven Capitol Police officers, accuses Stone, Trump, far-right “violent extremist groups,” and others of responsibility for the siege of the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters trying to block Congress from certifying his election loss. THE WASHINGTON POST 

Ohio Republican who voted for Trump impeachment won’t seek reelection Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio) said Thursday that he will retire from Congress at the end of his second term rather than face an ugly primary challenge from a challenger backed by former President Donald Trump. Gonzalez was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over his role in encouraging supporters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, hoping to prevent Congress from certifying Trump’s election loss to President Biden. Gonzalez, a Cuban-American former Ohio State football star, called Trump “a cancer for the country.” He said he could have beaten a primary battle against Max Miller, a former Trump White House aide that Trump endorsed in February, but preferred to get out of the “toxic” political environment of a party still enthralled with the former president. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Retail sales rise unexpectedly despite Delta-variant spread U.S. retail sales rose by 0.7 percent in August, bouncing back unexpectedly from a decline in July, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The gains came despite concerns that a coronavirus surge driven by the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant was dragging down the economy. Restaurant sales were flat after rising for most of 2020. Initial jobless claims, a key indicator of layoffs, rose by 20,000 last week but remained near pandemic-era lows. “Delta? What Delta?” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomic Advisers, said in a note to clients. He later added in an interview that the Delta-variant surge wasn’t ending the recovery. “Absolutely not,” he said. “It’s an external shock that’s denting it temporarily.” THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Special prosecutor charges former Clinton adviser with lying to FBI Washington attorney Michael Sussman, a cybersecurity attorney who advised Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, was indicted Thursday on charges that he lied to the FBI during its investigation of ties between Russia and former President Donald Trump’s campaign. Sussman represented the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign in connection with Russia’s hack of their computer system. He is accused of falsely telling the former FBI general counsel, James Baker, in September 2016 that he wasn’t representing any client when he gave the FBI evidence of cyber connections between the Trump Organization and a Russian bank. The charges mark the second criminal case filed as a result of U.S. Special Counsel John Durham’s inquiry into the origins of the FBI investigation of Russia’s election meddling and its ties to Trump’s campaign. REUTERS 

Sears to close last store in Illinois, its home state Long-troubled retailer Sears is closing its last store in its home state of Illinois in November, CNBC confirmed Thursday. Sears, which was founded in Chicago in the 1890s, still had 34 stores in operation in August, down from about 700 when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2018. Sears’ parent company, Transformco, acquired the company after the bankruptcy filing. Transformco said it would continue to manage the space after the last Illinois Sears shuts down, but hasn’t found a tenant yet. “This is part of the company’s strategy to unlock the value of the real estate and pursue the highest and best use for the benefit of the local community,” Transformco said in a statement. CNBC 

Trump calls Saturday rally a ‘set-up’ for Jan. 6 defendants’ supporters Former President Donald Trump told The Federalist on Thursday that the Saturday “Justice for J6” rally was “a setup” for supporters of the 600-plus people charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot by a mob of Trump’s supporters. “If people don’t show up they’ll say, ‘Oh, it’s a lack of spirit.’ And if people do show up they’ll be harassed,” Trump said. Authorities in Washington, D.C., are bracing for hundreds of far-right demonstrators expected to attend the planned Saturday event. The Department of Homeland Security issued an internal memo warning of the possibility of violence. Trump issued a statement Thursday expressing support for “people being persecuted so unfairly relating to the January 6th protest concerning the Rigged Presidential Election.” REUTERS 

Thursday, September 16th, 2021 

Human Rights Watch accuses Ethiopian and Eritrean forces of raping and killing refugees in northern Ethiopia and also of looting. The director of the organization for the Horn of Africa says that there are “horrific war crimes” taking place in the region. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front distances itself from the accusations, saying that the war crimes are committed by local militias. (Al Jazeera) 

According to both the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), LNA forces attacked FACT positions in southern Libya. FACT also claimed that the LNA received support from Sudanese mercenaries and French troops. (Reuters) 

A newly discovered sketch by Vincent van Gogh entitled “Worn Out“, depicting an old man (believed to have been a friend, Jacobus Zuyderland) sitting in a chair with his head in his hands, is shown for the first time at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. (RTÉ) 

Nine swimmers drown in the Mediterranean Sea off Southern France when the water turns choppy in high winds, and five are rescued. (BBC) 

The number of people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in China surpasses one billion, or 71% of its population. (The New York Times) 

The Iranian Food and Drug Administration approves the usage of the single-dose Janssen and Sputnik Light vaccines. (RFE/RL) 

France suspends 3,000 healthcare workers because they have not been vaccinated against COVID-19, a day after mandatory vaccination for health-related sector employees was implemented. (BBC) 

The Italian government approves a decree that would make the usage of a digital “Green Pass” mandatory for all public and private sector employees, becoming the first country in Europe to mandate a COVID-19 health pass for all workers. This requirement will be in effect from October 15 until the end of the year. (Euronews) 

China condemns yesterday’s formation of a new security alliance between the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian saying that the alliance risks “severely damaging regional peace… and intensifying the arms race”. (BBC) 

The French embassy in Washington, D.C. cancels a gala commemorating the Battle of the Chesapeake on September 18 amid the announcement of the security pact. (AFP via Deccan Herald) 

Indonesia‘s foreign affairs ministry expressed unease about Australia’s dramatic expansion of its navy and using U.S. technology to build eight nuclear-powered submarines. A statement issued stated “Indonesia is deeply concerned over the continuing arms race and power projection in the region”. (Brisbane Times) 

During a summit in Accra, the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States announce that it will impose individual sanctions on members of the Guinean military junta and their family members, including travel bans and asset freezing, until the junta restores constitutional rule. (Anadolu Agency) 

The Armenian government files charges against Azerbaijan at the International Court of Justice for violating the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. (AFP via New Straits Times) 

Norfolk Island representatives threaten to create a government in exile in protest to the loss of autonomy five years ago. (RNZ) 

Sigrid Kaag, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, resigns following a motion of censure for her handling of the Dutch evacuation during the Fall of Kabul. (DW) 

Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed suspends Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble‘s powers to hire and fire officials, in an ensuing and escalating tension between the two men which began when the president extended his term in office. Roble has said that he will abide by the president’s decision. (Reuters) 

A recent paper in the journal Nature reports that although the 2019–20 Australian brushfires produced 700 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, they also resulted in a massive phytoplankton bloom larger in size than all of Australia that absorbed carbon dioxide as part of the photosynthesis process. The smoke also deposited approximately three times the amount of iron normally found in the ocean. (9 News) (Nature) 

Nine people are dead after being swept out to sea and drowning in the Mediterranean Sea in Southern France, while swimming in choppy waters amid high winds. (BBC) 

Michelle Wu leads as historic Boston mayoral race narrows Boston city councilors Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George were projected Wednesday as the two candidates who will advance to the city’s November mayoral election. The contest will be historic, with two women of color vying for the job in a city that has elected only white men as mayor for two centuries. “It’s been an honor to be part of this historic field,” Wu told reporters early Wednesday after the Tuesday nonpartisan primary. Wu, an Asian American, led the field with 33 percent of the vote, followed by George, a first-generation American whose father emigrated from Tunisia, who took 22.5 percent. Both are Democrats. “For the last year, we have seen an incredible conversation all across every neighborhood, across every community, so I am humbled to be part of this moment in Boston,” said Wu. CNN 

Thursday, September 16th, 2021 

Biden unveils military pact with U.K., Australia to counter China President Biden on Wednesday announced a new military pact with Britain and Australia, called AUKUS, to share advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, cyber operations, submarine systems, and long-range strike capabilities. The agreement was widely interpreted as a bid to counter China’s expanding regional influence. “This is about investing in our greatest source of strength, our alliances, and updating them to better meet the threats of today and tomorrow,” Biden said at the White House. He was joined virtually by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Australia will get nuclear-powered submarines under the alliance. “We must now take our partnership to a new level,” Morrison said. POLITICO 

Human Rights Watch accuses Ethiopian and Eritrean forces of raping and killing refugees in northern Ethiopia and also of looting. The director of the organization for the Horn of Africa says that there are “horrific war crimes” taking place in the region. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front distances itself from the accusations, saying that the war crimes are committed by local militias. (Al Jazeera) 

The number of people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in China surpasses one billion, or 71% of its population. (The New York Times) 

President Rodrigo Duterte repeats he will not allow the International Criminal Court (ICC) to enter the country to investigate alleged extrajudicial executions of drug dealers over his war on drugs. The Philippines had previously withdrawn from the ICC. (Reuters) 

More ministers resign in a mass resignation in the center-left government of Argentina after the defeat to more rightist parties in the primaries. Among the ministers to resign today are Luana Volnovich, Fernanda Raverta, Pablo Ceriani, and Martín Sabbatella. (MercoPress) 

Biden backs Milley after report of calls to China President Biden said Wednesday that he has “great confidence” in Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, who has faced criticism from conservatives over a report that he secretly spoke to his Chinese counterpart late in the Trump administration to prevent tensions from leading to war. Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa say in their forthcoming book, Peril, that Milley called Chinese Gen. Li Zuocheng in October and January because he was “fearful Trump might spark war,” according to the Post. Milley’s spokesperson said the communications were part of Milley’s normal duties to “maintain strategic stability.” Former President Donald Trump told conservative television network Newsmax that Milley’s actions, if true, amounted to “treason.” He added: “I did not ever think of attacking China.” NPR 

FDA staff declines to take clear stand on Pfizer booster Food and Drug Administration staff on Wednesday declined to take a position on whether to endorse Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine booster shots. “There are many potentially relevant studies, but FDA has not independently reviewed or verified the underlying data or their conclusions,” they wrote in a document posted on the agency’s website. The officials said that later this week they will review some of the studies, including one from Israel’s vaccination program. Pfizer, arguing for FDA approval of its booster, has said the Israel date indicates that a third shot restores protection from infection to 95 percent. But the FDA staff wrote that data overall “indicate that currently U.S.-licensed or authorized COVID-19 vaccines still afford protection against severe COVID-19 disease and death.” CNBC 

SpaceX sends 1st all-tourist crew into orbit  SpaceX on Wednesday launched the first space mission with an all-civilian crew, a milestone in private spaceflight. The company founded by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk used a reusable Falcon 9 rocket to send tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, geoscientist Sian Proctor, aerospace data engineer Chris Sembroski, and physician assistant Hayley Arceneaux into orbit. They will spend three days in space before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule. Isaacman, the 38-year-old founder and CEO of payment processor Shift4 Payments, paid an unspecified amount for his spot in the Inspiration4 mission, which took off from the same Cape Canaveral, Florida, launchpad as NASA’s Apollo moon missions. Isaacman also donated the other three seats and donated $100 million to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. NBC NEWS 

2nd Oath Keeper pleads guilty to Capitol riot conspiracy A second Oath Keepers member pleaded guilty Wednesday in a conspiracy to participate in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters. Jason Dolan, a former security guard at the Four Seasons resort in Palm Beach, Florida, admitted to being part of a group that forced its way through the Capitol’s East Rotunda doors wearing camouflage vests and helmets, and to stashing weapons at a hotel in case they were needed by a “Quick Reaction Force.” Dolan, 45, is one of 18 alleged associates of the Oath Keepers, a loosely organized right-wing anti-government group, who were charged in the conspiracy. He could face a sentence of 63 to 78 months, but agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, hoping to get a reduced prison sentence.  THE WASHINGTON POST 

Pope Francis urges bishops to be ‘pastors,’ not politicians, on abortion Pope Francis said Wednesday that Catholic bishops should not let politics determine who should receive Communion, telling them to minister to politicians who support abortion rights with “compassion and tenderness.” The remarks came in response to a question about an agreement by U.S. bishops to draft a “teaching document” expected to rebuke President Biden and other Catholic politicians who receive Communion despite the church’s position against abortion. He did not take a direct position in the debate on whether Biden should receive communion, but said he had “never refused the Eucharist to anyone.” Francis reiterated his belief that abortion is “murder,” but said bishops should be “pastors, and not go condemning.” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney declares a public health emergency and introduces vaccine passport system that will give businesses the choice between tough restrictions or demanding customers show proof of vaccination or a negative test due to rising number of COVID-19 cases. (The Globe and Mail) 

Mongolia reports its first animal death from COVID-19 in two beavers from the Beaver Breeding Center at the Environmental Department of the capital Ulaanbaatar last month. (Xinhuanet) 

Slovenia begins to implement a mandatory COVID pass for people aged over 12, containing proof of vaccination, a negative test, or have recovered from COVID-19 in the previous six months in order to enter all service establishments and workplaces with the exception of emergency medical service, grocery stores, and chemists. (Euractiv) 

U.S. President Joe Biden, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announce the formation of a new security alliance, named AUKUS, aimed at countering China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. They also announce, as part of the alliance’s first initiative, the Royal Australian Navy will be acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. (BBC) 

The Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court authorizes the Prosecutor to launch an investigation into the Philippine government under President Rodrigo Duterte for possible crimes against humanity committed during the drug war. (The Washington Post) 

Allies of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, especially Leonid Volkov, call to vote for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in the upcoming parliamentary election in order to hurt the ruling United Russia party. Navalny and his allies’ party was barred from the election after being branded as “extremist” last June. (Reuters) 

Interior minister and Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s ally Eduardo de Pedro offers his resignation following the defeat of the ruling center-left government in last Sunday’s midterm primaries. Culture minister Tristán Bauer, environment minister Juan Cabandié and science and technology minister Roberto Salvarezza, all close to Kirchner, also resign. (Reuters) 

Simone Biles and three other U.S. gymnasts testify before Congress about the long-term sexual abuse of women in USA Gymnastics by team doctor Larry Nassar and the lack of investigation by the FBI after the abuse was initially reported in 2015. (AP News) 

Russia demonstrates the use of unmanned ground vehicles in combat formations during the weeklong Zapad joint military exercises with Belarus. The two vehicles demonstrated were the Uran-9, a tracked vehicle equipped with a 30 mm autocannon, machine gun, anti-tank missiles and a flamethrower; and the Nerekhta, equipped with a mounted machine gun and a grenade launcher as well as cargo capacity. (Military.com) 

The End

Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 

Newsom survives California recall effort California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) defeated a Republican-led effort to remove him from office on Tuesday in the second gubernatorial recall election in the state’s history. Early returns showed that 66 percent of voters opposed the recall while 34 percent supported it. “No is not the only thing we said tonight,” said Newsom, who had faced criticism from conservatives over his early coronavirus lockdown and other policies. “We said yes to science. We said yes to vaccines. We said yes to ending this pandemic.” Republican talk show host Larry Elder, who led the field of candidates seeking to replace Newsom, conceded defeat after claiming voter fraud in the days ahead of the vote. “We may have lost the battle, but we are going to win the war,” Elder said. SACRAMENTO BEE 

North, South Korea conduct missile tests within hours of each other North and South Korea test-launched ballistic missiles on Wednesday, escalating tensions as a push to renew nuclear talks with Pyongyang remained stalled. South Korea said it fired a domestically-built missile from a submarine in its first underwater-launched ballistic missile test, making it the seventh nation with that capability. Hours earlier, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions banning such tests. On Monday, North Korea fired a newly developed cruise missile, its first weapons test in six months. Experts said Pyongyang appeared to be pressuring the United States to resume nuclear negotiations. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called North Korea’s missile launch “outrageous,” saying it threatened peace. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Haitian prosecutor says prime minister linked to president’s assassination  One of Haiti’s top prosecutors, Bed-Ford Claude, asked a judge on Tuesday to charge Prime Minister Ariel Henry in connection with the July assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Claude, the chief prosecutor in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, said in the two-page indictment request that Henry had conducted two phone calls with a central suspect, former Justice ministry official Joseph Badio, on the night of the killing. “There are enough compromised elements against the prime minister to indict him, pure and simple,” Claude wrote. Moïse appointed Henry to the post shortly before his death, but he had not taken office yet. He won a power struggle and took over less than two weeks after the assassination.  THE WASHINGTON POST 

New book says top general, alarmed by Trump rhetoric, secretly called China  Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, twice called his counterparts in China after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack out of concern that then-President Donald Trump might start a nuclear war, according to a new book by Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward and national political reporter Robert Costa. The Post reported Tuesday that Milley, then Trump’s top military adviser, made the calls to avert a potential war by assuring Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army that U.S. forces would not attack China despite Trump’s belligerent rhetoric and push to overturn his election loss to President Biden. “General Li, I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be okay,” Milley told him, according to the book. Some conservatives said Milley should resign or be fired if the report is true. THE WASHINGTON POST 

Prices rise in August, but less than expected  Inflation eased but remained elevated in August, the Labor Department reported on Tuesday. The consumer-price index rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent in August from July, down from a 0.5 percent in July compared to June. The increase in June was even higher, at 0.9 percent. Economists had expected a 0.4 percent August rise. The price increases have come as the latest surge in coronavirus cases slowed the economic recovery and extended labor and supply shortages. Prices were up by 5.3 percent in August from a year earlier, down from 5.4 percent adjusted annual increases in June and July. Real wages adjusted for inflation fell by 0.5 percent in August, as rising prices more than offset pay increases, according to data from the Labor Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. CNBC 

Broadway blockbusters return after coronavirus closures Some of Broadway’s biggest shows, including The Lion King, Wicked, and Hamilton, resumed performances on Tuesday after an 18-month shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some other shows restarted earlier, but the return of the musical-theater powerhouses represented a big step for the industry, even as a coronavirus surge driven by the highly contagious Delta variant slows the economic recovery. “Broadway, and all of the arts and culture of the city, express the life, the energy, the diversity, the spirit of New York City,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference Tuesday. “It’s in our heart and soul. It’s also so much of what people do to make a living in this town … So, this is a big night for New York City’s comeback.” THE NEW YORK TIMES 

California ski resort drops controversial name The Squaw Valley ski resort near Lake Tahoe announced Tuesday that it is changing its controversial name following complaints from Native American tribes. The leaders of the California resort said they made the decision to change the name last summer because the word “squaw,” in modern usage, is widely considered “offensive, derogatory, racist, and misogynistic.” The resort, formerly called Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, will now be known as Palisades Tahoe. The Washoe Tribe, whose ancestral lands include the resort’s valley, praised the decision. Darrel Cruz of the Washoe Tribe Historic Preservation Office said the word was “a constant reminder of the unjust treatment of the Native people, of the Washoe people.” NPR 

Tuesday,  September 14th, 2021 

An al-Shabaab suicide bomber blows himself up at a tea shop near a military base in Mogadishu, killing six soldiers and three civilians and injuring 11 others. (Al Jazeera) 

Prosecutor Bed-Ford Claude asks a judge to forbid prime minister Ariel Henry from leaving Haiti “by air, sea or road” due to “serious presumption relative to the assassination of the former president”. (Reuters) 

Seven people are killed when a King Air 360 crashed shortly after takeoff in Piracicaba, Brazil. Among the victims is the Brazilian energy company Cosan shareholder Celso Silveira Mello Filho and his family. (Nasdaq) 

Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte announces that the 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) social distancing requirement will be lifted on September 25 and instead, a “Corona pass” will be required in order to enter bars, restaurants, and large-scale events and festivals as the number of COVID-19 cases declines. (MedicalXpress) 

President Vladimir Putin enters self-isolation after several members of his inner circle tested positive for COVID-19. (AP) 

The Parliament of Zimbabwe bans anyone who is unvaccinated against COVID-19 from attending church service in order to increase the vaccination rate. (AFP via Barron’s) 

More than 1,400 atlantic white-sided dolphins are killed during hunting in the Faroe Islands, the biggest ever slaughter in the history of the annual hunt known as the Grindadráp. (The Guardian) 

At the end of a European Union summit, representatives threaten to fine Poland on a daily basis and withhold part of the EU’s budget from Hungary over their laws against the gay and LGBT communities. (Bloomberg) 

Chinese ambassador Zheng Zeguang is banned from entering the Parliament of the United Kingdom while sanctions remain in place on a number of British MPs and officials. Zheng was due to attend a Commons reception on Wednesday. China says that this was a “despicable and cowardly” decision. (BBC) 

France says that a planned deal between Mali’s military junta led by Assimi Goïta and the Wagner Group to bring Russian private military contractors into Mali was “incompatible” with the current French military presence. (Reuters) 

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich files a lawsuit against President Joe Biden and his administration over the vaccine mandate, making Arizona the first U.S. state to do so. (KTAR) 

A Mexican court sentences Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, a former leader of the Juárez drug cartel, to 28 years in prison on the charges of organized crime and drug trafficking. (AFP via RFI) 

Governor Gavin Newsom survives the recall election, making him the second governor to survive a recall after former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in 2012. (Business Insider) 

Tuesday,  September 14th, 2021 

The United States will send $64 million in aid to Afghanistan. (The Hill) 

Experts argue general population doesn’t need COVID booster shots A group of international experts said in a new paper published Monday in the Lancet that it wasn’t necessary to offer the general population coronavirus vaccine booster shots. The Biden administration plans next Monday to start offering third doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and later Moderna’s. But the World Health Organization has called for delaying broad booster programs until countries that lack sufficient vaccine supplies have obtained enough to give their populations the initial two doses. The paper’s authors, who included two outgoing Food and Drug Administration vaccine regulators, said boosters aren’t necessary for most people because there is no evidence the vaccines’ protection against hospitalization or death from COVID-19 has weakened significantly over time. Most experts agree that people with compromised immune systems should get the extra shot. STAT NEWS 

Most Americans support Biden vaccine mandate  Fifty-eight percent of participants said in a new Morning Consult/Politico survey that they support the White House’s latest vaccination mandate for companies with more than 100 employees. The supporters said President Biden’s recently unveiled vaccine policy, which is part of a multi-pronged plan to fight the pandemic, will reduce nationwide COVID-19 infection rates, and increase vaccination. The respondents were sharply split along partisan lines, with 80 percent of Democrats supporting the mandate compared to just 33 percent of Republicans. Sixty-six percent of Republicans said they consider federal vaccine mandates to be a violation of their rights. Sixty-seven percent of Democrats said they believed such policies protected their rights. MORNING CONSULT 

Biden urges California voters to back Newsom in recall election President Biden on Monday made a last-minute appeal to California voters to back Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in the state’s Tuesday recall election. Biden praised Newsom and called leading Republican candidate Larry Elder “the clone of Donald Trump.” Biden said the election could determine the nation’s direction on issues that were at the center of his 2020 election victory over Trump, such as the pandemic, reproductive rights, and the fight against climate change. “The eyes of the world are on California,” Biden said. Voters will be asked whether Newsom should be recalled and, if so, who should replace him. The latest polls show Newsom is favored to keep his job. A website backed by Elder is already claiming fraud resulted in a Newsom win. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Democrats unveil tax hikes proposed in spending bill House Democrats on Monday unveiled details on the tax increases they are proposing to impose on corporations, investors, and high-earning business owners to help pay for their $3.5 trillion spending plan. The proposal would increase the corporate tax rate to 26.5 percent from 21 percent. It also would add a 3-percentage-point surtax for people making more than $5 million. It additionally would hike capital-gains taxes, while leaving out changes to taxation at death that the Biden administration wants. The proposals would raise more than $2 trillion to help cover the spending legislation’s expansion of Medicare and other social safety net programs, and measures to fight climate change. Democrats plan a committee vote on the plan this week. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Blinken defends Biden’s handling of Afghanistan withdrawal Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday defended President Biden’s handling of the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops from Afghanistan, saying Biden “inherited” a looming disaster from former President Donald Trump. “We inherited a deadline. We did not inherit a plan,” Blinken testified to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Blinken said if Biden hadn’t kept Trump’s promise to leave, Taliban forces would have resumed attacks on American and allied forces. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the top Republican on the committee, said America’s “standing on the world stage has been greatly diminished” by the withdrawal and the “betraying” of Afghan allies. Democrats on committees investigating the withdrawal and the Taliban’s return to power are seeking to broaden the focus to include mistakes made under Republican and Democratic presidents alike. POLITICO 

Capitol Police arrest man found with knives near DNC headquarters U.S. Capitol Police on Monday arrested a California man found near Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., with a bayonet and a machete inside his Dodge Dakota pickup truck. The vehicle had “a swastika and other white supremacist symbols painted on it,” the department said. It had a picture of an American flag where its license plate should have been. The suspect, 44-year-old Donald Craighead, was charged with possession of prohibited weapons. Craighead reportedly said he was “on patrol,” and “began talking about white supremacist ideology and other rhetoric pertaining to white supremacy,” the Capitol Police said. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger praised officers for spotting Craighead and making the arrest. “This is good police work plain and simple,” Manger said in a statement. FOX NEWS 

Trump pushes back against Bush over domestic terror threat Former President Donald Trump on Monday sharply criticized former President George W. Bush for saying in his 9/11 commemoration speech over the weekend that international and domestic terrorists and violent extremists are “children of the same foul spirit.” Both, he suggested, pose significant threats to the United States, despite their contrasting worldviews. Bush didn’t specify which domestic terror groups he meant, but many listeners assumed that some of those he was referring to were in the mob of Trump supporters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6. Trump said Bush was saying that domestic terrorists “on the right” are “a bigger problem” than “those from foreign countries that hate America,” and added that Bush shouldn’t be “lecturing” anybody because 9/11 happened “during his watch.” CNN 

Report says climate change could force millions to move A World Bank report released Monday found that climate change could force more than 200 million people to leave their homes over the next three decades. The Groundswell report, in its second part, looked at the impact of gradual climate change on water scarcity, falling crop yields, and rising sea levels, and found that rising temperatures could trigger a wave of “climate migrants,” depending on different levels of development and climate action. Up to 216 million people could be pushed to move within their own countries in the six regions analyzed in the report — Latin America; North Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Eastern Europe and Central Asia; South Asia; and East Asia and the Pacific. Even the most climate-friendly scenario could result in 44 million climate migrants. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Monday,  September 13th, 2021 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken defends the U.S. withdrawal during a testimony congressional hearing. (Reuters) 

A report by Amnesty International citing other organizations says that an increasing number of children are being killed and abducted as the conflict in Niger, mainly in the Tillabéri Region, worsens near the border with Mali and Burkina Faso. The report says that “a generation is growing surrounded by death and destruction” and denounces “gross abuses” by ISIL and Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin. The report urges the government and international partners to “take action”. (Al Jazeera) 

The BBC documents and reports that the Taliban deliberately targeted civilians in Panjshir Province despite promises to avoid retaliatory attacks on local civilians. One of the documented cases was that of a shopkeeper as the news agency says that up to 20 civilians were killed by Taliban fighters during their advance on the last anti-Taliban stronghold. (BBC) 

Pakistan International Airlines operates the first international commercial flight to Kabul International Airport since the city’s takeover by the Taliban on August 15. (AFP via Manila Bulletin) 

The United Nations begins a fundraising event to collect $600 million in emergency funds for various Afghani agencies by the end of the year. (UPI) 

A Dutch court rules that Uber drivers are entitled to the same employee benefits afforded to taxi drivers. The court also orders the company to pay a €50,000 fine for damages.  (CNBC) 

American international consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion agrees to purchase American technology company Neustar for $3.1 billion. (Fox Business) 

Greece begins to implement mandatory weekly COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated people. Public and private employees are required to pay for tests for their unvaccinated employees while unvaccinated high school students will be given test kits distributed at the government’s expense. (Euronews) 

The United Kingdom cancels a deal to purchase vaccines developed by Valneva SE following accusations of breaching the agreement. (BBC) 

The four Chief Medical Officers recommend universal COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 12 to 15 years using the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in order to reduce the possible disruption to schools. (The Guardian) 

South Africa moves to adjusted level 2 restrictions that will allow licensed establishments to serve alcohol until 10 p.m. Additionally, the curfew will begin one hour later at 11 p.m. (Business Insider South Africa) 

Schools reopen for the first time since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. (The New York Times) 

North Korea confirms it has tested a new long-range cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The missiles are a “strategic weapon of great significance”, according to state media. (BBC) 

Emily Claire Hari, the leader of an Illinois-based, anti-government militia group, is sentenced to 53 years in prison for masterminding the August 2017 bombing of the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. (AP) 

Norwegians go to the polls to elect the new Storting. The opposition Labour Party led by Jonas Gahr Støre wins the most seats and is expected to form a left-wing dominated government. The Centre Party, Red Party, Socialist Left Party and Green Party also gained seats. Prime Minister Erna Solberg concedes defeat. (Reuters) 

North Korea conducts 1st missile test in months North Korea successfully launched newly developed long-range cruise missiles over the weekend, state media Korea Central News Agency reported Monday. The report said the launch met leader Kim Jong Un’s defense goals, hinting at the missiles’ possible nuclear capabilities. It was the country’s first missile test in six months, escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The development came as President Biden’s nuclear envoy, Sung Kim, is scheduled to travel to Tokyo to meet with Japanese and South Korean officials. Kim said last month in South Korea that he was ready to meet with North Korean counterparts “anywhere, at any time” to restart stalled negotiations on curbing Pyongyang’s nuclear program. THE WASHINGTON POST 

Surgeon general defends Biden vaccine requirements Surgeon General Vivek Murthy defended the Biden administration’s new coronavirus vaccine requirements in schools and big businesses. “We know these kind of requirements actually work to improve our vaccination rates,” Murthy said on ABC’s This Week. President Biden is using the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to make companies with more than 100 workers mandate employee vaccinations. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said on NBC’s Meet the Press that the new vaccine requirement was “an unprecedented assumption of federal mandate authority” that “hardens the resistance” to vaccinations by overstepping federal authority and “increasing distrust with the government.” POLITICO 

Taliban minister unveils gender-segregated education policy The Taliban’s new government in Afghanistan will let women continue studying in universities, but only in gender-segregated classrooms, the interim government’s higher education minister, Abdul Baqi Haqqani, said Sunday. Women on campus will have to wear traditional Islamic dress, he said. The announcement came a day after the Taliban raised its flag over the presidential palace in a sign that the new government was getting to work. Also on Sunday, Qatar’s foreign minister reportedly arrived in the Afghan capital of Kabul. He is the highest-level visitor since the Taliban last week unveiled its interim Cabinet, which includes many Islamist stalwarts. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Video emerges of Al Qaeda leader believed dead Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who has been rumored dead for months, appeared in a video marking Saturday’s 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist websites. In the clip, al-Zawahiri praised Al Qaida attacks, including one in January that targeted Russian troops in Syria. He also mentioned the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, but said nothing about the Taliban’s takeover in the country last month, raising questions about how recently the recording was made. “He could still be dead, though if so, it would have been at some point in or after Jan. 2021,” tweeted Rita Katz, SITE’s director. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

NYC school year starts with no remote-learning option New York City public school students return to class on Monday in what amounts to the biggest experiment yet for in-person learning during the coronavirus pandemic. Teachers are under a vaccine mandate requiring them to get their first doses no later than Sept. 27, with no test-out option. The city’s roughly 1 million students won’t have to be vaccinated, except those participating in contact sports. All students must wear masks. Unlike some school districts, New York City schools won’t offer a remote-learning option despite the Delta-variant-fueled coronavirus surge. “Our kids need to be in school and it’s unbelievable that some kids haven’t seen the inside of a classroom for a year and a half,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Barrett says Supreme Court justices aren’t ‘partisan hacks’ U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Sunday pushed back against criticism of partisanship on the high court. “My goal today is to convince you that this court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks,” Barrett said at a Sunday celebration of the 30th anniversary of the McConnell Center, which provides scholarship opportunities at the University of Louisville. Barrett, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump in 2020 just before his November election loss, said the justices’ “judicial philosophies,” not their political parties, matter most. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who founded the center, played a key role in pushing through Barrett’s confirmation to widen the court’s conservative majority. LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL 

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