Fire breaks out at building near White House, no injuries

Table Of Content

• Latest Afghanistan evacuation numbers from the White House show slowing pace
• Kremlin condemns terrorist attacks in Afghanistan
• French and Tajik Presidents reaffirm commitment to regional security near Afghanistan
• Map Shows Where Internet Service Fees Are Due to Rise
• It's Time to Act Against Antisemitic Behavior on Campus

The source said the evacuation operation – although already winding down -- would end Friday. The source added the British were departing on Thursday night. The Danish Ministry of Defense told CNN Thursday that the flight to Islamabad took off close to 6 p.m. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also now advised against travel to Kabul airport, following suit with the US and UK due to an ongoing terror threat from ISIS-K.

Latest Afghanistan evacuation numbers from the White House show slowing pace

Germany will leave a plane housing an intensive care unit, called 'MedEvac,' in the Uzbekistan capital of Tashkent for 24 hours in order to support American forces if necessary, Germany’s defense ministry tweeted Friday. That brings the total number of people evacuated via US military and coalition flights to 105,000 since August 14, and 110,600 since late July, per the White House. Our Operation Allied Rescue [Allies Refuge] ended up getting more than 5,500 Americans out. We got out thousands of citizens and diplomats from those countries that went into Afghanistan with us to get bin Laden. We got out locally employed staff of the United States Embassy and their families, totaling roughly 2,500 people. We got thousands of Afghan translators and interpreters and others, who supported the United States, out as well.

Kremlin condemns terrorist attacks in Afghanistan

“What we are seeing is the prospect for more significant escalation against U.S. forces and personnel across the region in the very near term coming from Iranian proxy forces and ultimately from Iran,” said Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary. A 2007 fire at the executive building damaged then Vice President Dick Cheney’s ceremonial suite of offices and led to the evacuation of 1,000 federal workers, including a marine who suffered cuts after punching through a fifth-floor window to escape, according to a New York Times article. Access to the base is increasingly difficult, the source said. The source added that all the gates on the base were now closed, apart from the one that Afghan security forces were unofficially using to bring in their evacuees. The statement suggests the operational total of Americans needing to be evacuated is smaller than the broader totals provided by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

French and Tajik Presidents reaffirm commitment to regional security near Afghanistan

Now we believe that about 100 to 200 Americans remain in Afghanistan with some intention to leave. Most of those who remain are dual citizens, long-time residents who had earlier decided to stay because of their family roots in Afghanistan. As a result, to safely extract American citizens before August 31st — as well as embassy personnel, Allies and partners, and those Afghans who had worked with us and fought alongside of us for 20 years — I had authorized 6,000 troops — American troops — to Kabul to help secure the airport. We were ready when they and the people of Afghanistan watched their own government collapse and their president flee amid the corruption and malfeasance, handing over the country to their enemy, the Taliban, and significantly increasing the risk to U.S. personnel and our Allies. But I still instructed our national security team to prepare for every eventuality — even that one. The 13 service members that we lost were heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of our highest American ideals and while saving the lives of others.

August 27 Afghanistan-Taliban news

The Taliban officials said one sticking point was the insistence of the National Resistance Front that a national holiday in Afghanistan honoring Masoud's father – Ahmad Shah Masoud – continue to be recognized. The Netherlands meanwhile expects its last evacuation flight out of Afghanistan will leave on Thursday, the government said in a letter to parliament. "I can only say that the threat is severe. We will do our best to protect those who are there. There is every chance that as further reporting comes in, we may be able to change the advice and process people anew, but there is no guarantee of that. As thousands of Afghan citizens flee the country ahead of the United States' self-imposed August 31 deadline to wrap up its operation in the country, the world is braced for what will become a huge refugee crisis. This isn't the first time a drone has prompted a reaction from the Secret Service. In January 2015 a man crashed a drone on the grounds of the White House after losing control of it.

The leaders discussed Rafah and the President reiterated his clear position. A growing number of leaders and organizations have called on Columbia University and its president to protect students amid reports of antisemitic and offensive statements and actions on and near its campus, which has been the site this week of a pro-Palestinian encampment and protest. President Biden and his national security team see a narrow window to finally seal an agreement that would at least temporarily halt the war in Gaza and possibly end it for good even as they deflect pressure from college campus protests to abandon Israel in its fight against Hamas. Rear Adm. Peter Vasely called the outreach a “distraction” that “created competition for already stressed resources.” His comments appear in sworn testimony provided for a U.S. Army investigation of the Aug. 26 suicide bombing that killed an estimated 170 Afghan civilians and 13 U.S. service members outside Kabul’s international airport.

But the way to do that is not through endless military deployments, but through diplomacy, economic tools, and rallying the rest of the world for support. Because we were attacked by Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda on September 11th, 2001, and they were based in Afghanistan. The Taliban has made public commitments, broadcast on television and radio across Afghanistan, on safe passage for anyone wanting to leave, including those who worked alongside Americans. We don’t take them by their word alone but by their actions, and we have leverage to make sure those commitments are met. The extraordinary success of this mission was due to the incredible skill, bravery, and selfless courage of the United States military and our diplomats and intelligence professionals. Opt in to send and receive text messages from President Biden.

Protesters have decried Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which has displaced over 75% of the estimated 2.3 million people in the enclave and killed over 34,000 people there, according to Gaza health officials. They have also called on Columbia to divest from companies connected to Israel. “Echoing the rhetoric of terrorist organizations, especially in the wake of the worst massacre committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, is despicable,” Bates continued, referring to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, where 1,200 were killed. In a statement to the university community, Shafik said she was “saddened” by the events on campus, and denounced antisemitic language, and intimidating and harassing behavior. The President updated Speaker Pelosi about increasing progress made evacuating American citizens, our allies, Afghans who aided American military and other efforts, and additional vulnerable Afghans as rapidly as possible.

Powdery substance found at White House sent for further testing, Secret Service says - CNN

Powdery substance found at White House sent for further testing, Secret Service says.

Posted: Tue, 04 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

The White House was partially evacuated early on Wednesday morning after a drone reportedly entered a restricted area, leading Secret Service agents to carry out a sweep. "Promise you there is going to be a reckoning," McCarthy, who spoke to Biden by phone on Thursday, told members on the GOP conference call, according to sources. More than 18,700 evacuees from Afghanistan have come through Ramstein US Air Base in southwestern Germany so far, according to the air base's Public Affairs Office (PAO). The planes also carried four Portuguese soldiers and 85 Afghans and their families who had worked with NATO countries.

The president was told that there are no initial reports of major infrastructure damage, including at airports and nuclear facilities and that there were currently no requests for assistance. Mr. Obama asked for regular updates on the situation and was also provided an update on preparations for Hurricane Irene. However, Park Police spokesperson Sgt. David Schlosser told CBS News that officers gave preliminary reports of a stone falling off the exterior of the Washington Monument.

Our strategy has to change too.We will maintain the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and other countries. We have what’s called over-the-horizon capabilities, which means we can strike terrorists and targets without American boots on the ground — or very few, if needed.We’ve shown that capacity just in the last week. We struck ISIS-K remotely, days after they murdered 13 of our servicemembers and dozens of innocent Afghans. The situation on the ground continues to be extremely dangerous, and the threat of terrorist attacks on the airport remains high.

Blinken added there were another 1,000 who might need help, but whose citizenship or desire to leave were uncertain. Given the rate of evacuation overnight, the 150 operational total may be a revised update on Blinken’s total of 500, and may even include some of the 1,000 uncertain cases. The source said the estimate is the number known to need assistance to reach the airport as of 8 a.m. They had been operating in Afghanistan under UN, NATO and bilateral agreements since 2002 to provide the "peace, welfare and stability of the Afghan people," according to a statement from Turkey's National Defense Ministry Wednesday. According to a top Turkish official, Turkey could stay on and help provide technical support to the Taliban in operating Hamid Karzai International Airport after its troops withdraw, Turkish state-run media Anadolu reported Thursday. Tajikistan, which shares a border with Afghanistan to the latter’s northeast, is approaching the 30-year anniversary of its independence on September 9.

Ryder said several new force protection measures are now underway, including the deployment of air defense systems. He said a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and additional Patriot missile battalions have begun to move to undisclosed locations in the Middle East. Biden said last week he believed that Hamas was motivated to attack Israel in part by a desire to stop that country from normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia. At the Pentagon, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the U.S. is preparing for an increase in violence, noting that there have already been at least 13 attacks against troops and installations in Iraq and Syria.

The two presidents also agreed to continue their exchanges moving forward in order to ensure regional “stability and security,” according to the Elysée. This brings the Belgian evacuation total to 23 flights and 1,400 passengers. This brings the total number of British evacuations in the last week to 12,279, he added.

There were people at the top of the structure, and they were immediately escorted out. The entire National Mall area around the monument was evacuated and will not open again until park service confirms the safety of the structure. "I am no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken," Kraft posted to social media. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.