U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, are traveling Thursday to Surfside, Florida, where search-and-rescue teams are working for an eighth day at the site of a partially collapsed condominium building.Local officials said late Wednesday the number of dead from the collapse had risen to 18, including two children.White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president and first lady would be meeting with family members “who have been forced to endure this terrible tragedy,” as well as thanking the first responders and rescue teams.When asked if the Bidens would go to the building site itself, Psaki said those details were not yet decided, but that the president had stressed that every part of his visit needs to be coordinated with officials on the ground.“There is still an ongoing search and rescue effort on the ground, and we want to ensure we’re not doing anything to pull away from those resources,” she told reporters at a Wednesday briefing.Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced the latest toll from the collapse in a series of tweets late Wednesday, including that 145 people remained unaccounted for.“Our community, our nation, & the world mourn with the families of those we have lost. We grieve with them and we lift them up as one community united by loss, standing together as we never have before in the very worst of times. We pray for all the families missing loved ones,” she wrote.Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the ongoing operation is the largest non-hurricane response in the state’s history. He spoke at a Wednesday news conference about the “overwhelming amount of grief,” but also the “apprehension about not knowing for sure” as families wait for answers about their loved ones.“You have some people that have lived remarkable lives, have tremendous families, and to be able to see the real, raw pain and emotion that this has caused is something that I don’t think any of us are going to ever forget,” DeSantis said.He added that mental health resources are being made available to help family members.Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Alan Cominsky highlighted the dangerous nature of the day-and-night effort to try to find someone who may still be alive underneath the rubble and said crews are “exhausting every avenue.”“It’s absolutely still a search-and-rescue mission,” he said Wednesday.Cominsky said the teams are using search dogs, video and sonar, and in particular are looking for signs of voids within the rubble where a person might be found.About half of the 12-floor, 136-unit Champlain Towers South collapsed June 24.Florida emergency response officials said they are monitoring the potential development of tropical cyclones that could threaten the area by early next week and are preparing to be able to continue work at the collapse site and to fulfill emergency response efforts elsewhere in the state.
…
Month: July 2021
US Vows to Speed Up Visa Processing for Afghans who Helped Americans
The United States on Wednesday reaffirmed ongoing support to relocate tens of thousands of Afghans who helped American forces during the nearly two-decade war in Afghanistan. “We’ve identified a group of SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) applicants who served as interpreters and translators, as well as other individuals who have assisted us and that are at risk. They and their families would have the options to be relocated outside of Afghanistan before we complete our military drawdown by September, in order to complete their Special Immigrant Visa processing,” State Department deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter told VOA during a Wednesday phone briefing. The deputy spokesperson declined to elaborate which third country would provide temporary relocation for Afghan SIV applicants. “Due to security constraints, we will be limited in how much we can share in terms of numbers, locations and timing of these operations,” Porter said. The Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program was created by the U.S. Congress in 2009 to provide safety for Afghan interpreters, contractors, security personnel and others affiliated with U.S. troops and missions. At the White House, spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. is “expediting that processing” and taking steps to evaluate options “for moving individuals to another location so that they could complete” the visa process.Former Afghan interpreters hold placards during a demonstrations against the US government, in front of the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June 25, 2021.There are approximately 18,000 Afghan SIV applicants waiting for approval to come to the U.S. U.S. officials’ comments came after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a proposal Tuesday that would temporarily waive the requirement for SIV applicants to undergo a medical examination while in Afghanistan. They would be allowed to do so after entering U.S. soil. The medical examination requirement has been cited as one of the reasons for serious delay in the visa process because there is currently only one facility in Kabul that conducts all immigrant visa examinations, forcing applicants to travel to Kabul in often dangerous circumstances. The House legislation will now go to the Senate. The SIV process involves more than a dozen steps and a role for the Departments of State and Homeland Security. There are approximately 18,000 Afghan principal applicants at some stage of the SIV application process. As of May, approximately 50% of these applicants are at an initial stage of the process, pending applicant action, according to a State Department spokesperson. In other words, approximately 9,000 of these applicants need to take action before the U.S. government can begin processing their case. Approximately 30% of applications are awaiting a decision at the Chief of Mission stage. The final 20% were approved by the Chief of Mission and are moving through the immigration process, either in the petition or visa processing stages. Some critics said the SIV program has been “plagued by backlogs for more than a decade.” The International Rescue Committee (IRC), an organization that has resettled more than 15,000 Afghan SIV recipients since the U.S. Congress established the program, said it would take an Afghan applicant two to three years or more to reach safety in the U.S. IRC said in a statement that the U.S. government needs to develop an efficient adjudication process “that addresses the longstanding challenges in SIV processing that have resulted in years-long backlogs.” In April, U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the al-Qaida attacks on the U.S., despite the growing threat by Taliban rebels to seize power. Since May, Taliban rebels have escalated attacks and seized dozens of districts in the Afghan countryside, sparking concerns the insurgents could gain control of Kabul as it did in 1996.
…
Pelosi Poised to Appoint Panel to Investigate Jan. 6 Capitol Attack
After months of disagreement, the U.S. House is set to vote on a select committee to investigate the events of Jan. 6, when supporters of former President Donald Trump rioted at the U.S. Capitol. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.
…
Somalia Opposition Welcomes Election Plan, but Security Threats Remain
Somalia’s opposition politicians and the public have welcomed a deal to hold delayed indirect presidential elections in October, with lawmakers chosen in July and August. But analysts note unrest and terrorist attacks are still a risk.Somalia’s opposition politicians welcomed the new election schedule reached Tuesday in Mogadishu after a meeting of federal and state leaders.Lawmaker Mohamed Hassan Idris said the opposition was looking forward to a quick implementation to avoid further delays and unrest.”So far, we have no concerns,” Hassan said. “It is on a very welcoming stage; the schedule has been agreed by the leaders and the electoral committees, both from the federal and member states levels.” He said leaders would need to continue discussions, “and we hope they continue to solve any likely obstacles.”Process stalledSomalia’s indirect elections were to take place in February, but the process was stalled over opposition concerns about free elections.The opposition accused President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo, of stacking poll committees with his allies.FILE – Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed addresses delegates at the Somali election negotiation in Mogadishu, May 27, 2021.Farmajo denied the allegation but raised international eyebrows in April when he signed into law a two-year extension of terms in office, including his.The move sparked days of street clashes in April in Mogadishu between split loyalty security forces, renewing fears of a return to clan violence.Under international pressure, Farmajo nullified the extension and returned to talks with the opposition for holding elections.The deal reached Tuesday was largely applauded by Mogadishu residents like university student Hassan Ahmed, 27.He said he was happy and excited about the new election schedule. Some worried about the previous timeline, he said, and the disagreements between the leadership of the federal government and the regional states.Election scheduleThe indirect elections will begin in July with delegates chosen by clans selecting members of the lower house of parliament.State governments will select senators beginning in August. The chosen lawmakers will then vote for the next president on October 10.Despite the breakthrough, there is still a threat from al-Shabab militants, said independent security analyst Dahir Korow.”Al-Shabab is trying to disrupt the Somali election process through suicide bombings and IED [improvised explosive device] attacks, mainly the venues of the process across the regions,” Korow said. “However, it is also very significant to note that the democratic process will attract high-security alert both from Somali security agencies and their international peacekeeping partners such as AMISOM. Remember, the training and capacity building for Somali security agencies have been improving in recent years while al-Shabab’s have been decreasing.”The U.S. Embassy in Somalia urged continued constructive dialogue among Somali leaders to achieve peaceful and transparent elections.Somalia originally planned to hold direct, one-person-one-vote elections, which would have been the first in decades. But the plan was scrapped in September because of a lack of infrastructure and concerns about security.
…