Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 3 July 2019
All-Afghan peace summit set for July, but on Taliban terms

By KATHY GANNON ing all-Afghan dialogue,
AMIR SHAH Germany's special rep-
Associated Press resentative Ambassador
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A sur- Markus Potzel said Tuesday
prise announcement by that those attending "will
President Donald Trump participate only in their per-
seemed to accelerate the sonal capacity and on an
expected time frame for equal footing."
U.S. troop withdrawal from The Taliban have flatly re-
Afghanistan ahead of an fused to meet with Afghan
all-Afghan peace summit President Ashraf Ghani's
planned for July 7-8 in Qa- government, which they
tar. The gathering appar- consider a U.S. puppet,
ently will be held on Taliban while repeatedly offer-
terms as there will be no of- ing talks with anyone who
ficial Afghan government comes to the table as an
representation. ordinary Afghan. The Tal-
Trump told Fox News Chan- iban have already twice
nel's Tucker Carlson Tonight met with prominent Af-
on Monday that nearly half ghans, including former
of all American troops have president Hamid Karzai and
already been pulled out. In this file photo taken on Tuesday, May 28, 2019, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban group's even members of the gov-
top political leader, left, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban's chief negotiator, second
That pullout was expected left, and other members of the Taliban delegation speak to reporters prior to their talks in Moscow, ernment's peace council
to be announced as part Russia. as well as opposition politi-
of a time frame being ne- Associated Press cians. Those meetings have
gotiated by Washington's both been held in Moscow.
peace envoy Zalmay ly in Afghanistan, which I estimated 20,000 service wanted to leave a strong The announced talks come
Khalilzad, who is in the mid- don't talk about very much, personnel, nearly 14,000 of intelligence gathering a day after the Taliban
dle of talks with the Taliban and that's okay," Trump whom are Americans. force behind in Afghani- claimed responsibility for a
in Qatar. added. Trump's comments Mon- stan. devastating attack in the
"I've wanted to pull them The Taliban's spokesman in day would seem to contra- "I'll tell you the problem is, Afghan capital of Kabul
out. And you know, I have Doha, Suhail Shaheen, has dict a statement made by look, I would like to just get that killed at least six peo-
pulled a lot out. We were said that talks with Khalilzad U.S. Secretary of State Mike out. The problem is, (Af- ple and wounded more
at 16,000. We're down to are focused on a timetable Pompeo during a visit to ghanistan) just seems to be than 100 others, many of
about 9,000, which a lot of for withdrawal of U.S. and Kabul on June 25. Pompeo a lab for terrorists. It seems them children attending
people don't know," Trump NATO troops from Afghani- said then that Washington — I call it the Harvard of ter- two schools in the area, ac-
said, according to the stan. In a tweet on Mon- had made no decision on rorists. ... But I would leave cording to the Education
transcript of the interview day, Shaheen had said a timeframe for withdraw- very strong intelligence Ministry.
shared with The Associated talks would come with an al. there," he said, according Ghani has not responded
Press. "So we've reduced announcement of a time- Trump also said in the Mon- to the transcript. to the announcement of
the force very substantial- table for withdrawal of the day TV interview that he Meanwhile, on the upcom- next week's talks.q

Multiple walls collapse in India monsoon rains, 27 killed

killed and 66 others injured wall collapsed and fell onto at partial service Tuesday
after a 10-meter (35-foot) huts, killing three people after thousands of passen-
wall demarcating an urban and injuring one, said Lak- gers had been stranded
forest collapsed during the shman Pawar, a local civic overnight.
night in Mumbai, police of- official. Millions of passengers com-
ficer Sunil Deshmukh said. The monsoon season in In- mute daily on a network of
Rescue teams with sniffer dia brings heavy rains from famed railways in Mumbai.
dogs were searching the June to September that The city has witnessed in-
area afterward, and res- cause flooding and other cessant rainfall over the
cuers from the Indian navy damage. Building collaps- past few days and flood-
also fanned out to help es are common as the rains waters have entered
and rescue residents of the weaken the foundations of homes. A public holiday
waterlogged city that is poorly built structures. On was declared for Tuesday
India's financial and enter- Saturday, another wall col- and the Maharashtra gov-
tainment capital. lapse in Pune had killed 16 ernment said only emer-
Nine deaths were caused people living in a cluster gency services would be
by two wall collapses else- of tin-roofed huts housing functional.
Rescuers and onlookers stand at the spot of a wall collapse in where in Maharashtra migrant workers and their Maharashtra's chief min-
Mumbai, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2019. state. families. ister Devendra Fadnavis
Associated Press Six migrant construction Monday's rains also flood- tweeted: "People are ad-
workers were killed and five ed roads in Mumbai and vised to stay indoors unless
By RAFIQ MAQBOOL killing at least 27 people injured when a wall col- waterlogged train tracks. there is any emergency."
MUMBAI, India (AP) — and injuring dozens of oth- lapsed on their tin-roofed India's Central Railway said Weather officials said Mum-
Heavy monsoon rains in ers, officials said Tuesday, huts in Pune early Tuesday, in a tweet that "nature's bai received the highest
western India caused at as forecasters warned of an officer in the city's Police fury" made operating trains rainfall in a decade over
least three walls to collapse more rains. Control Room said. a "safety hazard" in some a two-day period since
onto huts and city shanties, At least 18 people were In Thane district, a school areas. Trains were running Sunday.q