Month: March 2020

The United States is calling on warring sides in Afghanistan to start a prisoner swap without further delay, citing urgency in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. 

U.S. reconciliation envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in a series of tweets Wednesday appeared frustrated at the delay in the next steps outlined in Washington’s peace-building agreement with the Taliban insurgency. 

“No prisoners have been released to date despite the commitment to do so expressed by both sides,” said Khalilzad, who negotiated and signed the Feb. 29 U.S.-Taliban pact in Qatar. 

“The time has come to move forward on prisoner releases,” he stressed. 

The accord required Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to free 5,000 Taliban prisoners in exchange for 1,000 detainees, mostly government security forces, in insurgent custody. The swap had to take place by March 10, when Afghan parties to the war were scheduled to open direct peace talks. 

The delay is largely blamed on the Afghan government that was not part of the U.S.-Taliban negotiations and the eventual agreement. 

Conditional prisoner swap 

Last week, Ghani allowed for a conditional release of 1,500 prisoners, saying the remaining inmates would be freed in batches, subject to a reduction in Taliban violence and opening of the peace talks. He also sought assurances the released men would not return to the battlefield. 

But the Taliban rejected the plan as a violation of its agreement with Washington, saying all the insurgent detainees were to be released at once, unconditionally, before the start of intra-Afghan negotiations. 

The differences prompted Kabul to halt the release process altogether while sticking to its stance.

A spokesman for the Afghan national security adviser, however, has rejected Khalilzad’s call for the prisoner swap, saying there is no change in Kabul’s stance.

“The Taliban will have to stop killing Afghans and provide guarantees that those getting released shall not be returning to war. Time for them to end violence and commit to a dignified peace,” said spokesman Javid Faisal in a video message.

Khalilzad said the U.S. was obligated to its commitments under the pact to help both sides in reaching an understanding to move the Afghan peace process forward. 

“The Taliban commit that released prisoners will abide by the commitments made in the peace agreement and not return to the battlefield. A violation will undermine the peace process,” the U.S. envoy noted. 

Washington last week began a “conditions-based” drawdown of U.S. forces from the country under the agreement to bring the troop level to 8,600 from the roughly 13,000 stationed in Afghanistan. 

The Trump administration has agreed to withdraw all American and allied forces within 14 months. In return, the Islamist Taliban has pledged not to harbor on Afghan soil terrorist groups that seek to target the U.S. 

Coronavirus outbreak 

Wednesday’s statement by Khalilzad came as war-ravaged Afghanistan has confirmed around two dozen coronavirus cases in the country, blaming them on returnees from neighboring Iran, where the virus has killed hundreds and infected thousands. 

“Coronavirus makes prisoner releases urgent; time is of the essence,” Khalilzad stressed in his tweets. He went on to note that the pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions likely would require “virtual engagement for now” between rival Afghan parties to work together “to begin prisoner releases as soon as possible.” 

Meanwhile, the U.S. military Wednesday dismissed reports that the coronavirus has disrupted the troop drawdown process. 

“Protecting the force is our top priority,” tweeted Col. Sonny Leggett, who speaks for the mission in Afghanistan.

“We continue to execute the ordered drawdown to 8600,” he wrote.

‘Decree of Allah’ 

Afghan officials and politicians fear the number of coronavirus infections could be much higher, citing extremely limited testing and capacity issues facing the deteriorated national public health care system thanks to years of conflict. 

On Monday, 38 patients fled a hospital in western Herat province with the help of relatives. Afghan health officials said one of them had tested positive for the coronavirus. 

The radical Taliban in a statement issued Wednesday said Afghans to must consider COVID-19 as a “decree of Allah (God).” It said the disease has been sent by Allah “because of the disobedience and sins of mankind or other reasons.” 

The insurgent group advocated a religious approach to dealing with the coronavirus and offered a safe passage to international relief organizations in Taliban-controlled areas to send medical aid, equipment and medicine. 

The Taliban controls or contests nearly half of Afghan territory.    

“The safety guidelines issued by health organizations, doctors and other health experts must be observed and all safety precautions followed to the best of one’s abilities,” the Taliban statement said. It also warned Afghan businessmen to refrain from “unlawful profit, price hikes and hoarding.”  

Political crisis  

But prisoner release is not the only issue holding up the Afghan peace process, critics say.  

A lingering dispute over Afghanistan’s contentious Sept. 28 presidential election has crippled the governance in Kabul.   

The election commission late last month declared incumbent Ghani the winner, but his rival Abdullah Abdullah rejected the outcome as fraudulent, and both held competing presidential inaugurations last week  

The political rivalry has blocked efforts to put together a united Afghan team of negotiators to engage in talks with the Taliban. Khalilzad urged Ghani and Abdullah to end the impasse, warning the political crisis is undermining security in Afghanistan.   

“It is time for Afghans to compromise and put their differences aside to resolve the political crisis resulting from elections and dual inaugurations,” the U.S. envoy said in subsequent tweets. 

…

School closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic mean many parents are trying to come up with ways to educate and entertain their children at home. While there are many online options, some parents worry about too much screen time. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details on a couple of applications that combine the physical and digital so students learning at home get the best of both worlds.

…

In Chinese communities across New York City, the local economy has also been hit hard by the outbreak of the coronavirus. Business leaders in Chinatown in New York have called on the government to introduce emergency rescue measures to help Chinese businessmen survive the difficult times. Zhang Zhen reports from New York. 

…

Missouri’s health department on Tuesday reported 15 positive cases of coronavirus as state and local governments took additional steps to limit large gatherings in an attempt stem the virus’ spread. Meanwhile, the state’s governor warned that he expects the crisis to last for “months.”

The agency has reported cases of COVID-19 in Boone, Cass, Cole, Greene, Henry, Jackson and St. Louis counties, as well as one case in the city of St. Louis.

Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday ordered the closure of Missouri’s 13 casinos as of midnight through March 30. Meanwhile, some nonviolent jail inmates are being freed to reduce the risk of transmission behind bars.

Parson, speaking during an evening video posting on Facebook, said Missourians should expect a long crisis.

“I believe we have to consider that this is going to be here for months,” Parson, a Republican, said. “And I believe we have to prepare for that every day.”

The news came the same day that neighboring Kansas announced it was closing state-owned casinos through March 30. Illinois closed casinos on Monday for at least two weeks.
Missouri Gaming Commission Chairman Mike Leara said the impact of the shutdown could mean up to $1 million a day in lost revenue for the state. He said once local governments began taking actions in recent days to limit public gatherings to no more than 50, it became apparent that the casinos couldn’t remain open.

Leara said he felt especially bad for the thousands of casino workers in Missouri.
“These people, they love their jobs, they make good money,” Leara said. “Man, that’s really tough to tell them they can’t come to work.”

The virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, for most people, but severe illness is more likely in the elderly and people with existing health problems. Worldwide, COVID-19 has killed over 7,800 people so far, while more than 80,000 have recovered.

Across the state, other steps were being taken to protect people from the virus.
At least six members of Kansas City, Missouri’s 12-member city council will self-quarantine this week because of possible COVID-19 exposure. a spokeswoman for Mayor Quinton Lucas told the Kansas City Star on Tuesday.

Officials in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County announced that effective midnight Thursday, restaurants and bars are prohibited from offering dine-in service. Kansas City enacted a similar ban that began Tuesday.

Columbia Mayor Brian Treece said to expect an order from the city’s public health director Tuesday directing bars and restaurants in the college town to cut their capacity in half or limit occupants to 50 people, including staff.  

At St. Louis’ Gateway Arch, the visitor center, museum and grounds remained open, but the tram that transports visitors to the top of the Arch was shut down until further notice.

At St. Louis City Hall, visitors were being scanned for fevers before entering the building. The scan involved non-contact infrared thermometers. St. Louis Circuit Court suspended all jury trials through April 10.

Meanwhile, the top prosecutors in St. Louis city and county took actions to ease jail crowding and reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said in a statement that anyone arrested for a nonviolent crime who does not appear to pose a threat will be released with a summons to appear in court, rather than be jailed. People already housed at the county justice center awaiting trial will be considered for release if they are accused of a nonviolent or “low-level” crime, Bell said.

The decision is part of a cooperative agreement between his office, judges, the county health department and other county entities, Bell said.

Bell, who took office in January 2019, has made reducing the jail population a priority and said the population has fallen by 30% since he took office.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner said detention will be sought only for suspects who pose a threat to public safety. She also said her office is seeking “cash bail alternatives” and is taking steps to push back most court cases for 60 days to reduce courtroom contact during the health crisis.
Parson said decisions on releasing nonviolent inmates are up to local officials.

St. Louis Public Schools and St. Louis-area charter schools announced a program to provide free “grab-and-go” meals at 33 school sites while the schools are closed. The district has shut down classrooms until at least April 3. The meals will be available from 8 a.m. to noon for anyone age 18 and younger who lives in St. Louis city, but because of social distancing recommendations, the meals cannot be eaten on-site.

Parson’s office said 432 of Missouri’s 555 public school systems have or will soon close.

…

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is threatening to worsen labor shortages experienced by Pacific Northwest farms and food processors. 

On March 16, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico said it would suspend routine immigrant and non-immigrant visa services due to COVID-19, potentially cutting off seasonal and migrant agricultural workers through the H-2A visa program. 

Dan Fazio, CEO of Wafla — formerly the Washington Farm Labor Association — told the Capital Press that the USDA is working with the State Department to obtain an emergency designation for H-2A visas, which would allow temporary farmworkers to continue entering the country. 

“We’ve got to get these people here in May so we can have a harvest in October,” Fazio said. 

Washington state had over 25,000 H-2A labor certifications in 2019, which accounted for 25% of seasonal workers, Fazio said. So far this year, Wafla has brought in more than 5,000 H-2A workers, with the biggest wave still to come in late May for the start of cherry harvest. 

Agriculture is a baseline industry, Fazio said, and any disruptions would trickle down throughout the economy.  

Spring is also peak shipping season for Oregon’s $995 million greenhouse and nursery industry. Jeff Stone, executive director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, said it is already difficult to find workers willing to package products and load trucks. With coronavirus potentially stalling the H-2A program, he said it only adds to the pressure. 

“All this really shows is the fragility of the workforce,” Stone said. “This adds a layer of worry. I feel for every business.” 

…

It’s a sunny day in Miami, Florida with no chance of rain. But according to environmental scientist Margarita Kruyff, even on days like this, low-lying coastal communities like Miami and nearby Miami Beach may experience periodic flooding because of the porous bedrock underground that leaks water.

“On the roads it means water could be coming up our drainage systems,” said the City of Miami Beach environmental scientist, who explained that the annual seasonal King Tides, or very high tides, also take their toll.  

“Water may be coming up over seawalls for our residents, causing flooding in their homes and back yards,” she said.

Rising seas linked to climate change are triggering chronic inland flooding in many parts of the world. In southern Florida, high tides are also threatening drinking water and causing soil erosion.  

Scientific studies differ on how much farther the tides will rise there, but the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, or NOAA, projects the sea level could increase as much as two meters by 2100. The elevated sea levels eventually could put vast stretches of Florida under water.  

“We’re trying to project how fast we’re expecting them to rise so we can plan how we’re going to protect our communities for the future,” said Kruyff.

To help control the damage from flooding, some roads and buildings have been elevated and seawalls are being reinforced.

Beyond man-made solutions, Mother Nature is lending a hand to hold back the tides.

Natural resources like restoring coral reefs and preserving mangrove forests can help with flood protection. Mangroves are trees that live in marshes or tidal shores and grow in salty water.  Their roots form dense thickets that help prevent erosion and provide a natural buffer against storm surges.

Miami Beach’s Oleta River State Park is a kayaker’s paradise where a forest winds around a creek. As marine scientist Laura Geselbracht dipped her paddle into the water, she said, “Even though this area is surrounded by a lot of high development, the mangroves will help reduce flooding.”   

Mangroves also combat the biggest driver of climate change, said the senior marine scientist who works for the Nature Conservancy in Florida.  

“Mangroves sequester more carbon than any other trees on Earth because they have quite a large underground root structure. So, by storing carbon it takes it out of the atmosphere which can reduce our greenhouse gases in our atmosphere,” she said.

Florida’s mangrove forests, however, are under threat, a problem that conservationists hope to reverse.

Geselbracht pointed out that “most of our mangroves have been eliminated for development. As sea level rises, some areas will no longer be habitable and maybe some homes and other structures will be removed,” she added.

Kruyff recalled when Miami Beach used to be a mangrove island, and said, “We recognize that bringing back mangroves is going to help us be better protected in the future.”

She has this advice for other places worldwide with rising seas.

“In areas that are undeveloped see how you can preserve nature, rather than trying to bring it in once you’ve developed those areas.”

…

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who has been repeatedly accosted by protesters on the campaign trail, is receiving U.S. Secret Service protection beginning this week, the agency said. 

Biden made the request earlier this month after a handful of testy interactions with protesters at recent campaign events, including one in which two protesters rushed a stage in Los Angeles and came within a few meters of Biden during a Super Tuesday victory speech. Biden’s wife, Jill, and several staff members, including one trained security officer employed by the campaign, restrained the women and carried them from the stage. Neither the former vice president nor his wife was hurt. 

The leading candidates in the 2012 and 2016 presidential contests had Secret Service protection by this point in those races. Neither Biden nor Democratic primary rival Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders had requested protection until now. Sanders still has not made a request. 

The Secret Service protects, by statute, the president and vice president and their families, as well as some other senior government officials. It is also authorized to provide protection to major party presidential candidates, an authority granted after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. 

The process for assigning a security detail to a candidate generally requires that campaigns initiate the request for protection. The Secret Service does a threat assessment and consults with Department of Homeland Security officials and a congressional commission made up of the majority and minority leaders of both chambers, plus another member. The ultimate decision on whether to provide protection is made by DHS. 

Earlier this month, Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., said the House Homeland Security Committee had asked the Secret Service to provide protection to all remaining major presidential candidates. 

Richmond, one of Biden’s campaign co-chairmen, said members of Congress were “very worried” about the March 3 episode, when the protesters rushed the stage at the Biden speech in California. 

At an event in New Hampshire, a man approached Biden from behind. When the man tried to interrupt Biden, Biden’s wife put her arms around the man, turned him around and helped push him away. 

Biden isn’t the only candidate to have been accosted at a campaign event. Topless demonstrators crashed a Sanders rally in Nevada in February. 
 

…

The priority for most university students in the United States is clear: to move their belongings off campus as quickly as possible and set up to take classes online. 

As campuses and their satellites abroad close — many of them incrementally — students and parents are wondering how to pay for this rapid shift in learning. 

“They’re being very intentionally vague with their emails, because we can tell they don’t have much figured out themselves,” Lucia Macchi, a freshman at Pennsylvania State University, told VOA. 

While we spoke, Macchi, who had been staying in Florida with her family over the spring break holiday, was on her way back to her dorm room at Pennsylvania State University to gather her belongings — especially materials she would need to continue her classes remotely. 

But while Penn State, like most schools across the country, is shutting down to quell the spread of the coronavirus, students say the policy on reimbursement for room and board is still unclear. 

“They said that they could have a partial reimbursement or credit applied to next year,” Macchi said. “They’re not sure what exactly their programs are going to look like.”  

“But it won’t be automatic,” she said. “It will be something that the students have to be proactive about.” 

Room and board costs are not the only fees students and parents worry about losing. Besides meal plans, on-campus jobs, and campus activities fees, students also bear the financial burden of storing their items and buying expensive last-minute tickets to go home. 

A glance at many university websites about coronavirus shows a number of plans for reimbursements of costs. 

American University in Washington, D.C., has detailed its plans to financially assist students.  
 
“Students do not need to apply for refunds. Student accounts will automatically produce an ACH refund to all students with banking information on file,” the school’s website reads, under a list of which costs will be refunded. 

Many students trying to evacuate less-organized universities on short notice say they don’t have time to wait in line at the financial aid office to have all their questions answered. 
 
“Going into the financial aid office itself is a very time-consuming and exhausting thing for students to consider right now,” Jordan Barton, class of 2023 at Harvard University in Massachusetts, told VOA. 

Harvard said it will pro-rate room and board costs for students and apply a $200 credit for storage or travel. 
 
But for students like Barton, who has to purchase a last-minute ticket to Middleton, Texas, $200 won’t be enough. He says it’s not clear whether students like him will see more of a reimbursement. 
 
“I hope I can shoot an email here in a few days and see if I can get any reimbursement because otherwise it’s going to be significantly difficult to have stable income over the course of the next few months,” Barton added. 

Parent groups on Facebook are sharing advice about how to apply for reimbursements through university websites. 

Aside from all the costs and potential reimbursements, college students across the U.S. have taken to social media to remind universities that there are numerous barriers to simply shifting classes online. 

“Not every college student has broadband at home. Not every college student can eat without the meal plan/work study,” Em Ballou, a junior at Middlebury College in Vermont, wrote on Twitter. 

– not every college student has a home they can go to
– not every college student can buy a plane ticket for THIS FRIDAY
– not every college student has broadband at home
– not every college student can eat without the meal plan/work study
– not every college student can cope

— Em? (@em_ballou) March 10, 2020

“Coming to college is a source of humongous economic and housing stability for several months out of the year. Going home…puts an enormous strain on our families,” Barton said. 
 
Barton is still unsure how his work-study job will be affected at Harvard and is concerned about the burden he will place on his father, a single parent of two, without an additional income. 

Some students have noted that online classes generally cost less than in-person ones. A petition started by a student from Indiana’s Purdue University to reimburse tuition costs as well as room and board fees has more than 600 signatures. 
 
Of course, in a few rare cases, students are praising their school’s quick handling of the situation. 

“Gotta say im super impressed with the way @DavidsonCollege is handling this situation,” Ashly, class of 2022, wrote on Twitter, detailing that the North Carolina school which serves under 2,000 students is ensuring full pay for work-study students, providing laptops, free storage units, and airport shuttles among other amenities. 

students are getting $ back for room/board, full pay for work-study students, laptops/wifi-hotspots are being made available, dining services will stay open, airport shuttles to those going home, free storage units and much more..administration is truly looking out for EVERYONE.

— Ashley Ip (@AshleyIp1) March 14, 2020

In most cases, U.S. universities and colleges followed similar trajectories, first announcing they would move classes online but that campus facilities would remain open, and then either all at once or through a rapid series of announcements, finally deciding the campuses would close entirely. 
 
In the California Bay Area, six counties have issued a shelter-in-place order, meaning that students on campus are encouraged to remain in their dorms as opposed to moving out, even though the University of California, Berkeley has said all instruction will be remote for the rest of the semester. 

Still, those choosing to move off campus for the rest of the semester are able to apply for a pro-rated refund of their room and board costs. 

How quickly and efficiently colleges and universities will be able to deliver on promises of reimbursement is yet to be seen. 
 

…

The Rolling Stones are postponing its 15-city North American tour because of the growing coronavirus outbreak.

The band announced Tuesday that its No Filter Tour, originally expected to kick off in San Diego on May 8, is postponed. The band’s tour was also planned to visit some North American cities they haven’t played in years, including Cleveland, St. Louis, Austin, Texas, Louisville, Kentucky, Charlotte, North Carolina and Tampa, Florida.

“We’re hugely disappointed to have to postpone the tour. We are sorry to all the fans who were looking forward to it as much as we were, but the health and safety of everyone has to take priority. We will all get through this together — and we’ll see you very soon,” the Stones said in a statement.

Tour promoter AEG is advising concertgoers to hold onto their original tickets and wait for more information.

The Stones’ tour through North America last year was postponed after Mick Jagger had heart surgery, but the band rescheduled those dates and returned triumphantly to the road with a show in Chicago. Another of the rescheduled shows featured the announcement that NASA had named a tiny tumbling stone spotted on the Martian surface after the band.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus, but for some, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. 
 

…