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August 25, 2021

 

400 US troops drawdown from Kabul airport along with another 19,000 Afghanistan evacuees About 5,400 U.S. service members remain at the airport evacuating thousands of Americans and Afghans seeking special immigrant visas to enter the U.S. before the Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw. READ MORE

1,500 Americans remain in Afghanistan, Blinken vows to get them out even after Aug. 31 deadline In total, 6,000 Americans were in Afghanistan on Aug. 14, when the Taliban overthrew the Afghan government and took control of Kabul, its capital. As of Wednesday, 4,500 Americans have been evacuated from the country. READ MORE

Biden won’t extend Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw from Afghanistan for now, orders Pentagon to make contingency plans The president stuck to his deadline on Tuesday, citing among other concerns the growing fears of the potential for a terrorist attack on the Kabul airport, primarily from the Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate, known as ISIS-K. READ MORE   US woman under Taliban’s watch won’t leave Kabul without her staff and hundreds of rescue animals Charlotte Maxwell-Jones, an American who founded Kabul Small Animal Rescue, was recently told by the Taliban to leave Afghanistan. But she doesn’t intend to go until she’s secured the departure of about 125 people, including her employees and their family members, and as many as 250 animals, she said. READ MORE   Pentagon says US troops must get their coronavirus vaccines ASAP More than 800,000 service members have yet to get their shots, according to Pentagon data. And now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the Defense Department is adding it to the list of required shots troops must get as part of their military service READ MORE

Japan starts work on new section of Marine Corps airfield over Okinawa’s objections The Japanese government completed the relocation of 830 colonies of endangered coral off the coast of Okinawa this week and plans to start construction on a new portion of a contentious Marine Corps airfield, according to local media reports. READ MORE   Soldiers at Fort Hood line up for coronavirus vaccines as Pentagon mandates the shots The clinics at the Texas base have been going on all month — reaching more than 500 people — but operations have increased since Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Aug. 9 that the vaccine would be mandatory for troops by mid-September or when the shots received full federal approval. READ MORE   ‘Moral responsibility’: South Korea is airlifting hundreds of Afghans out of Kabul The Afghan evacuees include people who worked at the South Korean embassy in Kabul, hospitals, vocational training centers and provincial reconstruction teams. READ MORE   Marine veteran scores hat trick for US wheelchair rugby team in Paralympics opener READ MORE   Study finds link between coronavirus infection and suicidal thoughts in veterans Among the nearly 3,100 veterans who took part in the study, the prevalence of suicidal thoughts fell from 10.6% prior to the pandemic to 7.8% 10 months into it, bucking predictions that coronavirus lockdowns and limits on travel and gatherings could leave veterans feeling lonelier and increase suicidal behaviors among them, the study said. READ MORE   US military in Japan reports 55 new coronavirus cases as nation broadens state of emergency A government task force is expected to made the addition of more prefectures to the state of emergency official Thursday; the emergency will begin Friday and last until Sept. 12. READ MORE

 

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