Alberta NDP calls for mandatory COVID-19 vaccine rules on non-essential businesses

EDMONTON — Alberta’s Opposition New Democrats are urging Premier Jason Kenney to bring in new rules to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for anyone attending non-essential businesses and mass gatherings.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

RACHEL AND DOUGH BOY 

NDP Leader Rachel Notley says the province should also return to mandatory masking for anyone unvaccinated entering essential places, including grocery stores.

Notley says it’s critical Kenney act now to arrest rapidly rising infection rates and to protect hospitals from being overwhelmed.

Ontario, Manitoba, British Columbia and Quebec are phasing in or already have requirements for people to show a vaccine card, online image or smartphone verification for many activities deemed non-essential, including visiting bars, restaurants, casinos and sports events.

“This is coming and if we don’t act now, I fear we will reach a place where Albertans will be scrambling to catch up with the rest of the world, and our health care and our economy will have been needlessly injured in the process,” Notley said Thursday in Calgary.

“No one wants to go back to restrictions. That’s why we’re proposing a better way.”

Notley suggested Alberta could develop a QR digital code that would be available on smartphones or for downloading online to prove vaccination status.

Kenney’s United Conservative government, citing health privacy as one reason, has repeatedly said it will not mandate proof of vaccination.

Many municipalities, schools, universities, sports teams and businesses developed their own rules on masking, testing and vaccinations.

On Friday, Edmonton officially reinstates a requirement to wear face coverings in indoor public areas, including stores and restaurants.

Kenney’s government lifted almost all health restrictions July 1. It said it was time to stop treating COVID-19 as a crisis and instead manage it long term, which would free up health workers and resources for other health issues.

In recent weeks, case counts have been rising sharply, averaging more than 1,000 new infections a day for the past week. On Thursday, there were 1,339 new cases and 487 people in hospital, 114 of whom were in intensive care.

The caseload is putting renewed pressure on health care. Surgeries have been delayed, patients have been transferred and some emergency room beds have been temporarily closed.

Kenney, Health Minister Tyler Shandro and Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health, haven't met with the media in weeks to say what — if anything — they will do.

Kenney took self-selected questions from Albertans for about 70 minutes Wednesday night on Facebook. In the online chat, he said his government would be using more incentives to get people vaccinated, but didn’t give details.

He also said his government is considering renewed public health measures.

“We have always looked at restrictions as a last and limited resort,” said Kenney. “If indeed we do see this wave jeopardizing the health-care system, we may have to take some very targeted actions.”

Kenney read aloud multiple comments from Facebook viewers lauding his leadership, but another accused him of hiding by not holding a news conference.

Kenney rejected that.

“I’m hiding in plain view,” he said.

“This (online chat) goes straight to ordinary Albertans, gives you a chance and others a chance to ask a question. I think that’s public accountability right there.”

When Kenney announced in mid-June that all health restrictions would be lifted, he said the plan was predicated on more people getting vaccinated.

Kenney said he hoped 75 per cent of eligible Albertans — those 12 and older — would be fully immunized by fall. The government organized three $1-million prize draws along with other gifts to spur Albertans to get their shots.

On Thursday, the province announced 70 per cent of those eligible were fully vaccinated.

Kenney renewed his call for Albertans to get vaccinated and noted that the majority in hospital with COVID-19 were not. He cautioned his Facebook watchers to be aware of false information.

“Please don’t believe every crazy Facebook page you might stumble upon.”

LIKE HIS

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2021.

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press

Afghanistan resistance fighters clash with Taliban in Panjshir valley

Both sides claim they inflicted casualties in skirmishes in the last province to resist Taliban takeover

An Afghan resistance movement has clashed with Taliban

 fighters in Panjshir province. 

Photograph: Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP/Getty Images

Staff and agencies
Fri 3 Sep 2021

Taliban forces and fighters loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud battled in Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley on Thursday, more than two weeks after the Islamist militia seized power, as Taliban leaders in the capital, Kabul, worked to form a government.

Panjshir is the last province resisting rule by the Taliban, who retook control of the country as US and foreign troops withdrew after 20 years of conflict following the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Each side made competing claims about territorial gains and inflicting heavy casualties.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said: “We started operations after negotiation with the local armed group failed.” Taliban fighters had entered Panjshir and taken control of some territory, he said. “They [the enemy] suffered heavy losses.”


‘Panjshir stands strong’: Afghanistan’s last holdout against the Taliban

A spokesman for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA) rebel grouping said it had full control of all passes and entrances and had driven back efforts to take Shotul district.

“The enemy made multiple attempts to enter Shotul from Jabul-Saraj and failed each time,” he said, referring to a town in neighbouring Parwan province.

The Afghan resistance movement takes part in military training in the Dara district of Panjshir province on Thursday. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Panjshir valley, north of Kabul in the Hindu Kush, was a resistance stronghold for decades, first against the Soviets in the 1980s, then against the Taliban in the 1990s. It is still dotted with rusting tanks from the fights of those decades.

The vice-president, Amrullah Saleh, who was born and trained to fight there, vowed it would reprise the role of stronghold, after he declared himself “caretaker” head of state after the Taliban takeover.

Afghanistan’s ambassador to Tajikistan, Lt Gen Zahir Aghbar, a former senior security official before becoming an envoy, earlier promised Panjshir would form a base for those who wanted to fight on. “Panjshir stands strong against anyone who wants to enslave people,” he said.

Since the Taliban swept into Kabul on 15 August, several thousand fighters from local militias and remnants of the government’s armed forces have massed in Panjshir under the leadership of Massoud, the son of a former Mujahideen commander.

They have been holding out in the steep valley where attacks from outside are difficult.

Efforts to negotiate a settlement appear to have broken down, with each side blaming the other for the failure.

Mujahid said the announcement of a new government was a few days away, while Taliban official Ahmadullah Muttaqi said a ceremony was being organised at the presidential palace.

The legitimacy of the government in the eyes of international donors and investors will be crucial for the economy as the country battles drought and the ravages of a conflict that killed an estimated 240,000 Afghans.

With Reuters

Taliban says it captured key entrance to Panjshir valley, local resistance denies it – as both claim heavy losses on other side

2 Sep, 2021 

Afghan resistance forces patrol Darband area in Anaba district, Panjshir province, September 1, 2021 © AFP / Ahmad Sahel Arman

The Taliban has claimed its fighters seized a key position at the entrance to the Panjshir valley – the only Afghan province still out of the group’s control. Local resistance has denied the Taliban made any advances.

The Taliban launched a major operation to take the Panjshir valley on Thursday, after the negotiations with the local resistance movement failed, according to spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. He said the Taliban fighters entered the province and captured eleven “important” positions along the main road leading to the eastern province of Badakhshan. Among them was the town of Shattal in the Parwan province, at the southwestern entrance to the valley.

Representatives of the National Resistance Front (NRF) denied the Taliban made any advances into the valley, however, and claimed they were still in full control of all the passes leading into Panjshir. The Taliban’s “multiple” attempts to enter the area were thwarted, the militia claimed.

ALSO ON RT.COM Mujahideen v Taliban: Battle for strategic valley looms as anti-Taliban warlord & remnants of Afghan military refuse to surrender

“They did not succeed in their offensive and they did not advance even a kilometer,” said Fahim Dashti, a NRF spokesman.

Both sides claimed to have inflicted heavy losses on their enemies, but the claims were impossible to verify independently.

The Taliban’s Mujahid said the fighting started after the talks with the Panjshir militia failed. According to some reports, the Taliban was ready to accept any governor the local militias would appoint but demanded that the flag of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” be raised over the valley – something the NRF refused to do.

ALSO ON RT.COM  7 Taliban fighters killed in clashes with Panjshir valley resistance, as challenges remain for new rulers after US exit

According to Amrullah Saleh, who now styles himself the “acting president” of Afghanistan, the flags of the Islamic Republic – the former, US-backed government – are still flying in Panjshir.

Saleh was the deputy to Ashraf Ghani, the NATO-backed president who fled the country on August 14, as the Taliban approached Kabul, triggering the mad scramble of the US-organized airlift.

The standoff between the Taliban and the Panjshir resistance has been shaping up since then. On August 31, Reuters reported that at least eight Taliban fighters were killed as they tried to move on the NRF positions. The Taliban did not comment on the losses at that time, as the group apparently was still seeking a negotiated solution to the conflict with the militias.

Last week it was reported that local militias in the northern Baghlan province had evicted Taliban members from three districts, only for one to be recaptured soon after. The Taliban now claims to have recaptured all three.

Afghanistan's last holdout against Taliban suffers heavy casualties

Following the fall of Kabul on Aug. 15, several thousand fighters from local militias and the remnants of army and special forces units have massed in Panjshir.

By REUTERS
SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 

Taliban fighters march in uniforms on the street in Qalat, Zabul Province, Afghanistan, in this still image taken from social media video uploaded August 19, 2021
(photo credit: REUTERS)
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Taliban forces and fighters loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud battled in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley on Thursday, more than two weeks after the Islamist militia seized power, as Taliban leaders in the capital, Kabul, worked to form a government.

Panjshir is the last province resisting rule by the Taliban, who retook control of the country as US and foreign troops withdrew after 20 years of conflict following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Each side said it had inflicted heavy casualties.

"We started operations after negotiation with the local armed group failed," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.

Taliban fighters had entered Panjshir and taken control of some territory, he said. "They (the enemy) suffered heavy losses."

MEMBERS OF TALIBAN forces sit at a checkpoint in Kabul earlier this month. (credit: REUTERS)

A spokesman for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA) rebel grouping said it had full control of all passes and entrances and had driven back efforts to take Shotul district.

"The enemy made multiple attempts to enter Shotul from Jabul-Saraj, and failed each time," he said, referring to a town in neighboring Parwan province.

Since the Taliban swept into Kabul on Aug. 15, several thousand fighters from local militias and remnants of the government's armed forces have massed in Panjshir under the leadership of Massoud, son of a former Mujahideen commander.

They have been holding out in the steep valley where attacks from outside are difficult.

Efforts to negotiate a settlement appear to have broken down, with each side blaming the other for the failure.

Mujahid said the announcement of a new government was a few days away, while Taliban official Ahmadullah Muttaqi said a ceremony was being organized at the presidential palace.

HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE

The legitimacy of the government in the eyes of international donors and investors will be crucial for the economy as the country battles drought and the ravages of a conflict that killed an estimated 240,000 Afghans.

Humanitarian organizations have warned of impending catastrophe and the economy - reliant for years on many millions of dollars of foreign aid - is close to collapse.

Many Afghans were struggling to feed their families amid severe drought well before the Taliban militants seized power and millions may now face starvation with the country isolated and the economy unraveling, aid agencies say.

"Since the 15th of August, we have seen the crisis accelerate and magnify with the imminent economic collapse that is coming this country's way," Mary-Ellen McGroarty, World Food Programme country director in Afghanistan, told Reuters from Kabul.

In a positive development, a senior executive of Western Union Co said it was resuming money-transfer services to Afghanistan - a decision he said was in line with a US push to allow humanitarian activity to continue there.

"Much of our business involving Afghanistan is low-value family and support remittances that support basic needs of the people there, so that's the grounding that we have and why we want to reopen our business," said Jean Claude Farah, Western Union's president in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Western Union and MoneyGram International Inc had suspended services in Afghanistan after the Taliban captured Kabul.

RECOGNITION

The Taliban enforced a radical form of sharia, or Islamic law, when it ruled from 1996-2001 but have tried to present a more moderate face to the world this time, promising to protect human rights and refrain from reprisals against old enemies.

The United States, the European Union and others have cast doubt on such assurances, saying formal recognition of the new government - and the economic aid that would flow from that - is contingent on action.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Thursday that Germany was ready to resume a diplomatic presence in Kabul if the Taliban met certain conditions.

"We want to see an inclusive government (in Kabul), the respect for fundamental human and women's rights - and Afghanistan must not again become a breeding ground for international terrorism," Maas told reporters in Slovenia, where he met his EU counterparts to discuss Afghanistan.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told Le Figaro newspaper that Paris had yet to see positive signals the group had changed.

A source with direct knowledge of the move said Afghan diplomats had been asked to stay in overseas posts for the time being. The Taliban wanted to maintain a sense of continuity, the source said.

The Taliban have promised safe passage out of the country for any foreigners or Afghans left behind by the huge airlift that ended when US troops withdrew on Monday. But with Kabul airport still closed, many were seeking to flee over land.

Thousands of Afghans - some with no documentation or pending US visa applications, others in families with mixed immigration statuses - are also waiting in "transit hubs" in third countries following the chaotic scramble to evacuate.

Afghan resistance fighters hold out against Taliban in Panjshir

Issued on: 03/09/2021 - 

An anti-Taliban resistance fighter in a military training exercise in the Malimah area of Dara district in Panjshir province on September 2, 2021. © Ahmad Sahel Arman, AFP

Text by: FRANCE 24
Video by: FRANCE 24

Anti-Taliban resistance fighters loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud claimed they have full control of the passes into their stronghod Panjshir Valley following clashes against the Taliban on Thursday, more than two weeks after the Islamist militia swept into the captial, Kabul. But the Taliban claimed they inflicted heavy casualties in the battle.

A spokesman for the National Resistance Front (NRF) comprising anti-Taliban militia fighters and former Afghan security forces said the movement had full control of all the passes and entrances into the Panjshir Valley and had driven back Taliban efforts to take Shotul district.

"The enemy made multiple attempts to enter Shotul from Jabul-Saraj, and failed each time," he said, referring to a town in neighbouring Parwan province.

Surrounded by towering snow-capped mountains, the rugged Panjshir Valley, which begins around 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of the capital Kabul, is a stronghold of resistance after the Taliban swept into Kabul on August 15 and seized power.

But the Taliban also said it had inflicted heavy casualties on the NRF.

"We started operations after negotiation with the local armed group failed," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Thursday.

Since August 15, several thousand fighters from local militias and remnants of the government's armed forces have massed in Panjshir under the leadership of Massoud, son of the Afghan resistance hero, Ahmad Shah Massoud.

Efforts to negotiate a settlement appear to have broken down, with each side blaming the other for the failure.

Anti-Taliban leader Massoud wants to talk but ready to fight

01:40

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)

Taliban claim capture of district in Panjshir, resistance forces deny

By Sadaf Shinwari / in Afghanistan / on Friday, 03 Sep 2021 1



Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan claims to have captured the Shutul district of Panjshir province but resistance forces have denied the claim.

Acting minister of culture and information and spokesperson of the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid said that eleven outposts have also been taken and over 30 resistance forces have been killed.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports by the Taliban read that the districts of Paryan and Onaba districts of the province have also been taken.

It has been the fourth day since the heavy conflicts erupted in Panjshir province between the resistance forces of the province and the Taliban.

A spokesperson of resistance forces Fahim Dashti in a voice clip denied the capture of Shutul district and claimed to have driven back the Taliban fighters in the district.

Dashti claimed that tens of dead bodies of the Taliban fighters are left on the ground and the latter asked tribal elders of Parwan province to mediate and let them take their dead bodies.

Pictures leaked from the Panjshir province show that the fighters in Panjshir province are using rocket launchers, missiles, and other weapons from the era of the Soviet Union.

The resistance forces also claim to have killed 350 Taliban fighters and wounded 290 more.

The heavy and deadly fight between the warring sides erupted after peace negotiations between the two sides failed.

Afghanistan’s anti-Taliban resistance is growing. Is it enough to retake the country?


The anti-Taliban resistance movement is growing in Afghanistan, but experts aren't convinced they can retake the country

.

© Provided by Global News Afghan resistance movement and anti-Taliban uprising forces take rest as they patrol on a hilltop in Darband area in Anaba district, Panjshir province on September 1,2021. - Panjshir -- famous for its natural defences never penetrated by Soviet forces or the Taliban in earlier conflicts -- remains the last major holdout of anti-Taliban forces led by Ahmad Massoud, son of the famed Mujahideen leader Ahmed Shah Massoud. (Photo by Ahmad SAHEL ARMAN / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD SAHEL ARMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, also known as the Panjshir resistance, has been making waves after seven Taliban fighters were killed attempting to enter the Panjshir valley earlier this week.

The military group, comprised of former Northern Alliance and anti-Taliban fighters, was formed in August after the Taliban overtook Afghanistan in a stunning week-long rout that saw seven people die rushing to the tarmac of Kabul's international airport in a desperate bid to escape.

The NRF is run by Ahmad Massoud, son of a former Mujahideen commander and former Afghanistan vice-president Amrullah Saleh.

Read more: ‘We need your solidarity’: What the Taliban takeover means for Afghanistan’s women and girls

On Wednesday, the Taliban said it had the group surrounded and called on them to negotiate a settlement. According to experts, no resistance movement inside the country stands much of a chance.

"I don't think there will be successful anti-Taliban resistance movement at all," said, Erika Simpson, president of the Canadian Peace Research Association.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced he would begin withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan in April. The U.S. flew its last soldier out on Aug. 30, ending the country's longest war that spanned two decades.

When the U.S. began withdrawing its troops, Simpson said the U.S. withdrew equipment that helped support the Afghan National Defence Forces, which helped prevent the resistance from fighting a high technology war.

But Simpson, who is also an associate professor of international relations with Western University, said this could have actually given the Taliban, which are typically a low-technology group, an edge.

If an anti-Taliban resistance movement is to pick up speed, Simpson debated whether they would have enough arms to topple the Taliban.

"Who would arm them?" she said. "Who would risk it?"

Video: Learn how UNICEF is helping women and children in Afghanistan

She added that any real resistance would likely come from the hundreds of thousands of refugees who will eventually fight to return to their homes and dismantle the organization that displaced them.

Simpson said it would be smarter to "forget" about trying to arm resistance movements in Afghanistan, and focus on the "resistance movement" happening outside.

Adding to that, Aurel Braun, an international relations and political science professor at the University of Toronto, said even if the NRF have some equipment, they would be desperately short of food, medicine and weapons — "and I don't see how that would be provided to them."

Afghanistan is a landlocked country, meaning it is surrounded by land but no oceans, making it difficult to trade. The country also shares borders with Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, which Braun said would make airlifting supplies "a very difficult task" for Afghanistan.

Even resistance in the form of ongoing protest in Afghanistan may be futile, Nader Hashemi, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver.

Read more: Hunger crisis looms in Afghanistan under new Taliban regime

"The Taliban is not known for its toleration and moderation," Hashemi said.

He added Afghan women, who have been at the centre of protests demanding gender equality rights throughout the country, will likely be "repressed very severely, in the way that the Taliban have done in the past."
The Taliban are in power. What's next?

What comes next for Afghanistan appears to be a series of hardships, in-fighting and financial woes.

Politically, the Taliban may have to deal with challengers such as ISIS-K, who claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing last week that killed 182 people including 13 U.S. service members at Kabul's international airport.

ISIS-K is an extremist organization at war with the Taliban, comprised mainly of disgruntled Taliban members, radical extremists from neighbouring countries and leftover remnants of ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

It's much more extreme, much more radical," Hashemi said.

"If (the Taliban) wants the type of diplomatic recognition and engagement with the international community that it's been talking about over the last couple of weeks, it will be dependent on them being able to control the territory of Afghanistan, including controlling and preventing ISIS-K from manifesting itself, from attacking other targets, whether they're in Afghanistan or a part of Afghanistan."

Shortly after the Taliban took control of Kabul on Aug. 15, Afghanistan's president Ashraf Ghani fled the country to the United Arab Emirates. Afghanistan’s ambassador to Tajikistan has since accused Ghani of stealing $169 million from state coffers, while the Russian Embassy claimed he'd escaped with four cars and a helicopter full of cash.

But Simpson said his return is unlikely.

"Ashraf Ghani has no legitimacy or credibility to organize a government in waiting outside Afghanistan. No legitimacy or credibility. People will spit on his grave," she said.

Simpson also noted that anyone hoping to see the formation of a coalition government may be waiting a long time.

The National Coalition of Afghanistan party is led by Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan's former foreign minister, while former Afghan president Hamid Karzai is also angling for a political role. Simpson said the pair could try to form a coalition with the Taliban but "they don't have any leverage. They don't have any bargaining power."

In the meantime, the Taliban are pushing for international recognition as the country's official government from the West. Braun said this is to secure aid from the U.S., which the Taliban will need if they hope to stabilize Afghanistan's economy without significantly increasing taxes.

Read more: With Kabul airport closed, Afghans fearful of Taliban reprisals rush for borders

According to the World Bank, Afghanistan is one of the world's top receivers per country of financial aid, rivalled only by Syria, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Yemen. In 2019, the World Bank said Afghanistan received more than $4.2 billion in international aid, while the country's GDP remained just over $19.2 billion.

"Foreign aid was crucial in keeping the Afghan economy alive and so they would like to maintain that," he said.

But for residents who remain in Afghanistan -- particularly women and girls -- Braun predicted "desperation."

Braun pointed to emerging reports of residents taking dangerous routes to leave Afghanistan now that Kabul's airports have closed. There has also been an increase in food insecurity with more people being prohibited from going to work and school, particularly in households where women are the breadwinners.

"Women have been forced to stay at home (from work)," he said. "Once they run out of supplies -- ordinary things, household goods and so on, that's going to be a huge, huge problem."

The Taliban so far has publicly promised "amnesty" for anyone who fought against them and have said they would allow women to return to work.

But Hashemi said he is "deeply skeptical," given the Taliban's prior track record, which saw women barred from working or attending school, forced marriages and banned women from leaving their homes without a male escort.

In addition to this, Hashemi said the country is expected to suffer a massive "brain drain" as educated women, along with interpreters and Western administration staff and their families flee the country in droves.

As a result of U.S. military intervention, Hashemi said a "civil society" was formed. "Millions of Afghan girls and women were able to go to school."

"There was an intellectual class that emerged," he said. "Unfortunately, most of that international class has now fled."

— with files from the Associated Press

Taliban co-founder Baradar to lead new Afghanistan govt

Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar currently heads the group's political office.

PHOTO: AFP


KABUL (REUTERS) - Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar will lead a new Afghan government set to be announced shortly, sources in the Islamist group said on Friday (Sept 3), as it battled rebel fighters in the Panjshir Valley and strived to ward off economic collapse.

Mr Baradar, who heads the Taliban's political office, will be joined by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban co-founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, in senior positions in the government, three sources said.

"All the top leaders have arrived in Kabul, where preparations are in final stages to announce the new government," one Taliban official said on condition of anonymity.

Haibatullah Akhunzada, the Taliban's surpreme religious leader, will focus on religious matters and governance within the framework of Islam, another Taliban source said.

The Taliban, which seized Kabul on Aug 15 after sweeping across most of the country, have faced resistance in the Panjshir Valley, north of the capital, with reports of heavy fighting and casualties.

Several thousand fighters of regional militias and remnants of the government's armed forces have massed in the rugged valley under the leadership of Ahmad Massoud, the son of former Mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.

Efforts to negotiate a settlement appear to have broken down, with each side blaming the other for the failure.

Humanitarian catastrophe

The government's legitimacy in the eyes of international donors and investors will be crucial for an economy grappling with drought and the ravages of a conflict that killed an estimated 240,000 Afghans.

Humanitarian groups have warned of impending catastrophe and the economy, reliant for years on many millions of dollars of foreign aid, is close to collapse.

Many Afghans were struggling to feed their families amid severe drought well before the Taliban took power and millions may now face starvation, aid agencies say.

"Since August 15, we have seen the crisis accelerate and magnify, with the imminent economic collapse that is coming this country's way," Ms Mary-Ellen McGroarty, the director of the World Food Programme in Afghanistan, said from Kabul.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has no plans to release billions in Afghan gold, investments and foreign currency reserves parked in the United States that it froze after the Taliban's takeover.

In a positive development, a senior executive of Western Union Co said the firm was resuming money-transfer services to Afghanistan in line with a US push to keep up humanitarian work.

Recognition

The Taliban enforced a radical form of sharia, or Islamic law, when it ruled from 1996 to 2001.

But this time around, the movement has tried to present a more moderate face to the world, promising to protect human rights and refrain from reprisals against old enemies.

The United States, the European Union and others have cast doubt on such assurances, saying formal recognition of the new government, and the resultant flow of economic aid, was contingent on action.

The Taliban have promised safe passage out of the country for any foreigners or Afghans left behind by the huge airlift that ended when U.S. troops withdrew ahead of an Aug 31 deadline. But, with Kabul airport still closed, many were seeking to flee over land.

Thousands of Afghans, some without documents, others with pending US visa applications or whose families have mixed immigration status, also wait in "transit hubs" in third countries.

List Of Aircraft And Helicopters Captured by Taliban Forces At Kabul Airport
Oryx Thursday, September 02, 2021 'Phrog' , A-29B


By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

This list aims to comprehensively catalogue the Afghan aircraft captured at Kabul International Airport (IAP) but rendered disabled by U.S. forces. United States forces stationed at Kabul during the withdrawal efforts from Afghanistan are reported to have rendered 73 aircraft and helicopters inoperable for future use. Although the full extent of damage the aircraft suffered remains unknown, it can be expected that U.S. forces damaged them sufficiently to prevent their use in the near future.

Aircraft captured at Kabul International Airport but rendered disabled by U.S. forces:

Aircraft (27)
12x A-29B light attack aircraft: (1) (2) (3, 4 and 5) (6, 7, 8 and 9) (10 and 11) (12)

12x C-208/AC-208 utlity/attack aircraft: (1 and 2) (3, 4 and 5) (6) (7, 8, 9, 10 and 11) (12)
2x C-130 transport aircraft: (1) (2)

1x PC-12NG special mission aircraft: (1)

Helicopters (43)
12x UH-60A 'Blackhawk' transport helicopter: (1 and 2) (3) (4) (5 and 6) (7, 8, 9 and 10) (11 and 12)

5x CH-46 transport helicopter: (1, 2, 3 and 4) (5)
14x MD 530F attack helicopter: (1 and 2) (3) (4 and 5) (6) (7) (8 and 9) (10, 11 and 12) (13 and 14)

14x Mi-8/Mi-17 transport helicopter: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7, 8 and 9) (10) (11, 12 and 13) (14)

This list is constantly updated as new photos become available.


Oryx Blog (oryxspioenkop.com) COVERING GLOBAL WEAPON SYSTEMS

Analysis

The crypto revolution is failing
It was supposed to destroy the financial elite — but has only made them stronger

BY GREG BARKER

. Silicon Valley has won (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via GettyS)

September 3, 2021

Wall Street, the Federal Reserve and the financial arm of Silicon Valley can’t believe their luck. The cryptocurrency movement, the very rebellion that set out to defeat their hegemony, has provided them with the necessary technology to become even more dominant.

When Bitcoin, the first ever cryptocurrency, was launched in 2008, it was hoped its “Blockchain” technology — which records transactions and cannot be hacked — would spark a digital revolution. If a transaction could be carried out securely without the need for an established bank, it would, we were promised, mark the end of corporate capitalism — and the dawn of a new era of decentralisation.

Just over a decade later, however, Blockchain has become the centre of the financial elite’s new-age banking system. Indeed, behind the scenes, they’re going all in on crypto.

Using its very own cryptocurrency, the world’s largest bank JPMorgan has completed its first “interbank crypto trade” with fellow Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs. They carried out the transaction of JPMCoin, JPMorgan’s version of a digital dollar, using its new blockchain system. And with more than a dozen institutions now signed up to it, exchanging more than $1 billion daily, a digital financial revolution is in the making.

Ordinary citizens, however, won’t be part of it. When it was first conceived, crypto’s leading advocates insisted that we had entered a new era of financial autonomy: all you needed to defeat crony capitalism was a Bitcoin wallet and an internet connection.

But in reality, the crypto rebellion has failed to liberate us, or achieve anything else its founder Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned. Rather than producing a more open, more liberating, more financially free society, the crypto movement has empowered not just another cabal of corrupt financiers, but a hidden cartel of criminals, Wall Street rejects, and what U.S Senator Liz Warren has described as “shadowy super-coders”.

Its prominent members continue to run rampant around the globe, circumventing laws, regulations and ethics to accumulate multi-billion dollar fortunes. Not a single country appears to want to host crypto-billionaire “CZ” and his company Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange platform in the world. Meanwhile, Brock Pierce, the billionaire co-creator of cryptocurrency Tether, is currently using his wealth to engage in “crypto colonialism” in Puerto Rico, where dozens of “entrepreneurs” hope to build a new city that only uses virtual money

.

A cryptocurrency mining farm in Norilsk, Russia (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sensing this rising elite is getting a free pass, the world’s financial power structures have responded with a regulatory hailstorm. And as it has intensified, the more “controversial” outlets have tried to meet regulators’ demands.

Binance has tried to appear more credible by “looking at the potential IPO route” and appealing to regulators, while BlockFi, a cryptocurrency lender that matches all the Securities and Exchange Commission’s criteria for a Ponzi scheme, has had to obey securities laws to continue operating in the US, with five states  —  New Jersey, Alabama, Texas, Vermont and Kentucky  —  striking the fintech company with either cease and desists (requests to stop alleged illegal activity) or show-cause notices (proof that they are not a scam).

As for the bosses of ill-famed Tether, they recently appeared on CNBC, trying to convince everyone that their currency has a one-to-one backing — for each Tether in circulation, they claim to have $1 in their reserves backing it up (though still won’t perform an audit of their reserves).

Since the US Government has come down hard on any entity not playing ball, some of the crypto elite have started to question whether true decentralisation is a delusion. Indeed, they are starting to realise that it is a lot easier to build a fortune  —  and keep it  —  when they participate in the “official” system and follow the rules.

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It’s the same realisation Peter Thiel had in 1999. Back then, his original vision for PayPal was to create a truly anonymous money-transfer system, free from state influence and control. “It will be nearly impossible for corrupt governments to steal wealth from their people through their old means,” he declared, before quickly backtracking and rising through the ranks of Silicon Valley.

Fast forward to today, and the crypto elite have mimicked Thiel’s change of direction. Rather than simply throwing in the towel and admitting the game is up, they have abandoned their cyber-libertarian roots and merged with their enemy: the financial behemoths of Wall Street, the Federal Reserve and Silicon Valley.

It’s easy to see why this would seem appealing; a number of crypto elites are already reaping the rewards of cosying up to the establishment. Jeremy Allaire’s Circle — the company behind the huge, unaudited cryptocurrency USDC — has partnered with Silicon Valley payment giants, Mastercard and Visa. Meanwhile, Brian Armstrong, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, revealed in a tweet in May that he’d held meetings in D.C with high-ranking state officials, including Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell.

All of which raises a peculiar question: Why is the Federal Reserve’s head honcho, Bitcoin’s supposed arch-enemy, collaborating in undisclosed meetings with the CEO of crypto’s main cashier? In Bitcoin Gospel, that’s heresy.

The answer lies in what I suspect are the crypto elite’s real intentions: namely, that they were never really in it for the freedoms Bitcoin could offer, but more for the untold riches it promised. Now they’ve succeeded, it’s all about wealth preservation, and in the age of bailout capitalism, becoming “too big to fail” is the ultimate protection. That is why getting in the good books of Wall Street and the Federal Reserve seems to be the top priority for crypto billionaires. If a crisis emerges, and they threaten to bring down the existing power structure’s financial order, guess what? They’re first in line for a taxpayer-funded bailout.

Right now, it seems inconceivable that the financial elites would bail out the crypto market. But as the bubble gets bigger and becomes tied to Wall Street through its investments, the likelihood increases.

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Take Tether, for example. On top of its $63 billion market cap, half of its reserves are now backed by real-world debt securities issued by Wall Street companies. Given it is a modern wildcat bank, one that issues its own currency, and has failed to provide any proof its assets exist, it is unlikely we will ever know how much debt Tether owns. But if it’s revealed that Tether’s value is, in fact, a swindle, Wall Street could eventually face losses amounting to more than a slight haircut.

In which case, don’t be surprised when the Federal Reserve comes to its rescue. It’s easy to forget that Wall Street can’t be distinguished from the Federal Reserve; the financial elites know that if something goes wrong, Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, will be there to step in and bail them out at whatever cost.

And if the next crypto crash does threaten to bring down their system, if wildcat banks like Tether become too big to fail, our current financial power structures will do everything they can to ensure that the status quo is maintained. Two classes of elites will become one, with the “less desirable” parts of the crypto world —  and likely the taxpayer’s purse  —  becoming collateral damage.

What happens next is anyone’s guess. But with the likes of Goldman Sachs combining forces with such unsavoury characters in the crypto elite, it is not impossible to imagine them wreaking havoc around the globe: charging clients obscene crypto fees and betting against their own Bitcoin products to make even more money. The rest of us, meanwhile, will watch on from afar, knowing that we’re powerless to stop or escape yet another era of financial repression.

Greg Barker is an independent journalist and quant, who also writes under the name Concoda. You can find him on Substack and Twitter at@concodanomics.

 CRIMINAL CRYPTO CAPITALI$M

SEC charges BitConnect founder with $2B scam as promoter pleads guilty

Steve Kaaru 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed new charges against the founder and promoters of BitConnect, one of the digital currency industry’s largest scams to date. BitConnect founder Satish Kumbhani and the exchange’s lead U.S. promoter Glen Arcaro are facing charges in connection with their alleged roles in defrauding over $2 billion from thousands of investors.

BitConnect was a Ponzi scheme founded in 2016, which reportedly lured investors with promises of exorbitantly high returns. Kumbhani led the team that promised investors the company would utilize its proprietary “volatility software trading bot” to trade their money and make on average 40% in returns. On its website, the now-defunct exchange claimed that it guaranteed 1% in daily returns or 3,700% annually.

However, authorities said BitConnect executives siphoned the investor funds and used them for their own benefits—and paid off earlier investors with new investors’ money.

“We allege that these defendants stole billions of dollars from retail investors around the world by exploiting their interest in digital assets. We will aggressively pursue and hold accountable those who engage in misconduct in the digital asset space,” Lara Shalov Mehraban, the Associate Regional Director of SEC’s New York Regional Office said.

Authorities identified Kumbhani, 36, an Indian national whose whereabouts are currently unknown, as the brains behind the scam.

Arcaro, on the other hand, was the lead promoter of the scam in the United States, investigators said. According to the SEC charges, Arcaro undertook the promotion through his company Future Money, which he incorporated in Hong Kong. The SEC claims that he received more than $24 million in referral commissions and developing funds.

Arcaro has pleaded guilty to fraud charges in connection with his role in BitConnect, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. His sentencing is set for November 15, 2021.

In total, BitConnect is alleged to have made off with 325,000 BTC from thousands of investors. This BTC was worth $2 billion at the time but at today’s prices, it’s worth more than $15 billion.

This is the latest action against the BitConnect scam leaders and promoters by the SEC. As CoinGeek reported a week ago, the watchdog entered a $3.7 million and 190 BTC (worth $8.9 million) settlement with two promoters.

North Atlantic right whales critically endangered by climate crisis, new study finds

Warming sea and shifting food sources drive whales into areas where they risk ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear

A North Atlantic right whale entangled in fishing ropes in the Gulf of St Lawrence. Severely entangled whales cannot feed and often starve to death.

 Photograph: Nature Picture Library/Alamy

Hallie Golden
Fri 3 Sep 2021 

Climate change-induced warming in the Gulf of Maine has resulted in the population of the North Atlantic right whale to plummet, leaving the species critically endangered and conservationists desperate for safeguards, according to a study published this week in the journal Oceanography.


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Right whales have long been known for foraging fatty crustaceans in the Gulf of Maine. But in the past decade the water there has been warming faster than 99% of the global ocean, and the whale’s main food source, which thrives in cold water, has deteriorated.

The result – based on a years-long analysis of plankton, right whale sightings and ocean temperature fluctuations – was that the species now travels north-east to the Gulf of St Lawrence in Canada to forage for food, and there is a major decline in the number of female whales reproducing.

“When they can’t build those thick layers of blubber, they’re not able to successfully get pregnant, carry the pregnancy and nurse the calf,” explained Erin Meyer-Gutbrod, an author of the study and a marine ecologist at the University of South Carolina.

She highlighted the fact that in 2009 39 calves were born, a record for the right whale. But birth rates dropped significantly starting in 2010 and in the beginning of 2018, no right whale calves were born.

A significant increase in right whales in the Gulf of St Lawrence was first observed in 2015, according to the study. The whales were probably searching for more food. But instead they found themselves facing a deadly situation.

The policies in place in the Gulf of Maine to protect the whales, including modified fishing gear and vessel speed limits, weren’t in place in the Gulf of St Lawrence. As a result, these creatures started getting hit by ships and entangled in fishing gear.

In the past decade, the population has decreased by about 26%, leaving only 356 North Atlantic right whales on Earth.

With the population reduced to such devastating numbers, in July 2020 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature reclassified the species as critically endangered.

The study, titled “Ocean Regime Shift is Driving Collapse of the North Atlantic Right Whale Population”, was initially prompted by one major right whale death event in 2017, explained Meyer-Gutbrod. In that year, 17 right whale carcasses were discovered, 12 of which were found in the Gulf of St Lawrence.

“We normally see three or four whale carcasses in a year,” she said. “So three or four to 17 is a huge jump.”

Canadian government officials implemented a crisis management plan, which initially looked to be a success when in 2018 there were no reported right whale deaths in the southern Gulf of St Lawrence, according to the study. But the following summer that number jumped again, with 10 deaths recorded.

Meyer-Gutbrod recommended rope-less fishing gear as one good way to address this situation. But on a broader scale, she said it’s important to remember that we don’t know exactly how species are going to respond to the changing climate. And as a result, officials need to increase monitoring efforts and work to predict movements when conditions change.

“What we don’t want to happen is to have the right whale shift to yet a new foraging habitat, and find ourselves unprepared again to protect them in this new environment,” she said. “So that’s true I think for right whales, and I think broadly, we need to think about other species and how they’re managed and try to be more proactive about predicting the impacts of climate change on their distribution.”

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M PRIVACY INVASION
Ireland watchdog fines WhatsApp record sum for flouting EU data rules

Messaging app calls €225m fine for breaking data protection rules ‘entirely disproportionate’

The watchdog said WhatsApp had committed ‘severe’ and ‘serious’ infringements of the general data protection regulation Photograph: Patrick Sison/AP


Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent
@rorycarroll72
Thu 2 Sep 2021 1

Ireland’s data privacy watchdog has slapped WhatsApp with a record €225m (£193m) fine for violating EU data protection rules.

The Dublin-based Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced the decision on Thursday after a three-year investigation into the messaging app, which is owned by Facebook. It ordered WhatsApp to remedy its policies to protect personal data.


WhatsApp called the fine “entirely disproportionate” and said it would appeal.

It is the biggest fine imposed by the DPC, which has pan-European powers, and the second-biggest levied against a tech company under EU laws.

The watchdog said WhatsApp had committed “severe” and “serious” infringements of the general data protection regulation (GDPR), a landmark rule on transparency that became enforceable in 2018.

“This includes information provided to data subjects about the processing of information between WhatsApp and other Facebook companies,” it said in a statement.

In the 266-page ruling the commissioner, Helen Dixon, said the company provided only 41% of prescribed information to users of its service. Non-users – whose messages sent on other apps could be forwarded to the platform by WhatsApp users – got no information, denying them the right to control their personal data.

Four “very serious” infringements violated the core of GDPR, said Dixon. “They go to the heart of the general principle of transparency and the fundamental right of the individual to protection of his/her personal data which stems from the free will and autonomy of the individual to share his/her personal data in a voluntary situation such as this.”

The violations affected an “extremely high” number of people, said the watchdog.


What is GDPR and why does the UK want to reshape its data laws?

WhatsApp, which was bought by Facebook in 2014, contested the ruling. “WhatsApp is committed to providing a secure and private service. We have worked to ensure the information we provide is transparent and comprehensive and will continue to do so. We disagree with the decision today regarding the transparency we provided to people in 2018 and the penalties are entirely disproportionate.”

The messaging app is used by a quarter of the world’s population. Since Facebook’s takeover digital rights advocates have accused Mark Zuckerberg of breaking a promise to respect the data privacy of WhatsApp users.

The DPC is the lead data privacy regulator in the EU for Facebook and other big tech firms that have their European headquarters in Ireland. Last year it had 14 major inquiries into Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, which is also owned by Facebook.

Some other European watchdogs have alleged that the Irish agency is under-resourced, slow and weak when it comes to punishing privacy breaches, accusations Dixon has rejected.

The record fine does not necessarily indicate sharper teeth in Dublin. When Dixon finished her investigation into WhatsApp last year she proposed a much more modest fine reportedly ranging from €30 to €50m.

Eight data regulators in other EU countries rejected that. The issue was referred to the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), which oversees the GDPR. It made a binding ruling in July, which the Irish watchdog must now enforce.

“This decision contained a clear instruction that required the [Irish data protection commission] to reassess and increase its proposed fine on the basis of a number of factors contained in the EDPB’s decision and following this reassessment the DPC has imposed a fine of €225m on WhatsApp,” Dixon’s office said.

“In addition to the imposition of an administrative fine, the DPC has also imposed a reprimand along with an order for WhatsApp to bring its processing into compliance by taking a range of specified remedial actions.”

John Magee, a data privacy specialist with the law firm DLA Piper, said: “An eye-catching aspect of that process was the increase in the size of the fine from a range of €30m-€50m first proposed by the DPC.

“The fine highlights the importance of compliance with the GDPR’s rules on transparency in the context of users, non-users and data sharing between group entities.”

SOUTH AFRICAN RUGBY TEAM TOURS NZ

40 years on: Photographer Ans Westra in the thick of the 1981 Springbok protest

Zoë George05:00, Aug 28 2021


ANS WESTRA/SUITE GALLERY
Police and protestors face off during the Springbok tour protest in Wellington

The 1981 images are “grunty”. They capture a moment in time that divided the country, but also brought to light the issues New Zealand was facing too.

It was August 29, the day of the second test between the All Blacks and Springboks. There had been protests up and down the country, including violent clashes in Wellington, on Molesworth Street, exactly a month before.

On this day, thousands of people were marching from all over Wellington towards Athletic Park in Newtown to protest. There were anti-tour demonstrators with placards and wearing helmets, and they were facing off against police with batons drawn.

In the middle of them was Ans Westra, a 45-year-old who had made a name for herself as a photographer, notably for her images of Māori.

She wasn’t much interested in rugby, but she was very interested in social documentary.

So on that day in 1981, Westra set out with her trusty Rolleiflex camera, and rolls upon rolls of black and white film – her preferred medium because it allowed her to focus entirely on the image or scene without distraction of colour. She headed first to the Hutt Road, then up towards the game.

She took some of the most dramatic photos of the clashes that day.

One such scene included a lineup of police with batons, poised ready to advance against protestors.

JOSEPH KELLY
Suite Gallery's David Alsop with photographer Ans Westra.

“It's a very dramatic, telling image. In isolation that is really tough content and a difficult thing for New Zealand society to handle as being something we were part of,” said David Alsop, Westra’s friend, Suite Gallery owner and archive manager. “But she captured it in such an elegant and direct, honest way, which is what she is known for.”

Westra, now 85, lives a quiet life in Wellington, but her legacy, and of what happened on that day 40 years ago, will live on through her work.

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Westra had photographed rugby previously when the British Lions visited Athletic Park in 1971. “In one of her classic images of the All Blacks versus the British Lions ... the rugby ball is nowhere to be seen,” Alsop said.

ANS WESTRA/SUITE GALLERY/SUPPLIED
Ans Westra wasn’t interested in rugby, but photographed the All Blacks and British Lions in 1971

But the Springbok tour was something else. It brought together a key component of New Zealand culture with pressing societal questions.

“It was that event that became a catalyst for New Zealand actually trying to get our head around our own mess,” Alsop said. “The way we were able to do that was because we started to support a cause for someone else that was different, but it gave people … a voice and momentum grew from that.”

ANS WESTRA/SUITE GALLERY
Ans Westra took thousands of photos of the Springbok tour protest in Wellington

For New Zealanders old enough to remember the tour, even vaguely, the photos are a reminder of the heightened tensions at this important cultural and national moment.

“We were on one side or the other. We knew someone who was a protester or had gone to a game. It was a divisive episode for New Zealand,” Alsop said.



ANS WESTRA/SUITE GALLERY
Police with batons and helmets during the 1981 Springbok tour protest in Wellington

Two of Alsop’s other favourites involve police and protestors coming face to face. “Here Ans is at the battle-line, right in the thick of it,” he said.

ANS WESTRA/SUITE GALLERY
Ans Westra photographed the battle lines during the 1981 Springbok tour protest in Wellington

Westra was never one to shy away, Alsop said, but she knew her limits. “Ans was always courageous, and she remains that now,” he said.

“She was extremely courageous with her willingness to get into situations many people would have shied away from,” he said.

“The protests. She wasn’t scared of being there. She was staunch. If she knew she was in danger, she would have moved and avoided any tricky situations. For the most part, she rolled her sleeves up and just got in there.”

ANS WESTRA/SUITE GALLERY
Police and protestors during the 1981 Springbok tour in Wellington

Another image that speaks to Alsop is of a young boy in Newtown with a motorcycle helmet perched on his head. Newtown was a “real hotbed” of protest activity, being just a stone’s throw away from Athletic Park.

The image brought back memories of his childhood and the tour. He was just nine when the Springboks came to visit his hometown of Rotorua. He and his family liked rugby. They followed it. He came from a school that had a strong, “ingrained” rugby culture.

ANS WESTRA/SUITE GALLERY
An image from Ans Westra's 1981 collection, documenting the 1981 Springbok tour protest in Wellington.

He vividly remembers cars lining the streets close to his home in the city the day the Springboks played Bay of Plenty, of hearing stories about how people ran onto the runway at Rotorua airport trying to block the plane carrying the Springboks.

Being so young at the time of the tour, it’s almost like Alsop could put himself in the child’s shoes, imagining children watching the action, possibly from behind the safety of fences.

ANS WESTRA/SUITE GALLERY/SUPPLIED
Ans Westra photographed children who were part of the Springbok tour protest in Wellington in 1981

“I wondered if these kids knew what was going on. I wondered if they knew why people had placards. I wonder if they knew why people had cycle helmets on, cricket batting gloves on and protective items,” he said.

“The photographs show kids playing amongst the debris of the aftermath of the protests and I wondered how they felt about that and how affected those kids would have been about the events that had just unfold before their eyes.”


ANS WESTRA/SUITE GALLERY/SUPPLIED
Protestors photograhed by Ans Westra during the 1981 Springbok tour

One of Westra’s goals was to return the “precious objects” back to the subjects of her images – the New Zealand public. That’s been done through the digitisation of her images, available via the National Library online.

There’s still thousands more images to go. Alsop’s best guess is there’s between 300,000 and 350,000 in all, which will take another two to four years to digitise.

“The far-reaching aspects of it and all the benefits and opportunities that came with the project, I didn’t really have a sense of the magnitude of what we were doing when we started. Ans had always talked about returning her images to the people, and now we’ve done that,” he said.

“We’ve completed the circle through the images being digitised and accessible to the public.

“People are able to ... see families, see events, see a whole side of New Zealand they would not be able to see if we hadn’t done that work.”

Actor Jet Li rumoured to be the next star on the chopping block after Vicki Zhao

Chinese d Director Zhou Guogang speculated on Douyin that Jet Li will be cancelled soon.

PHOTO: JET LI/INSTAGRAM

Suzanne Sng
PUBLISHED AUG 31, 2021,

BEIJING - Rumours are swirling online that the next star to be blacklisted by the Chinese authorities is martial arts actor Jet Li.

A list of seven names has been circulating online in the wake of actress Vicki Zhao's scandal. Last week, all mentions of the top actress, 45, was scrubbed from the Internet.

Chinese director Zhou Guogang, who had in the past posted celebrity gossip on his Douyin account, jumped in with speculation that Li, 58, will be cancelled soon.

He called out stars such as actor Huang Xiaoming and actress Li Bingbing, who had deleted their pictures with Zhao from their Weibo accounts and sounded a warning to Li earlier this week.

"Quickly flee. Next month, the house may just collapse on you," he said.

The unverified list allegedly from China's National Radio and Television Administration claimed that there will be new restrictions on celebrities who hold foreign citizenship.

Besides Li, who holds Singapore citizenship, others on the list include actress Liu Yifei (American), actors Nicholas Tse (Canadian), Zhang Tielin (British) and Mark Chao (Canadian), and singers Will Pan (American) and Wang Leehom (American).

Zhao, who is a Singapore permanent resident, owns a vineyard in Bordeaux with her billionaire husband, Huang Youlong, and is rumoured to have fled there.

Netizens have speculated that the power couple's business association with beleaguered tech tycoon Jack Ma could be a reason for her being blacklisted.

She posted three mundane photos on Instagram on Sunday (Aug 29), with a caption which seemed to imply that she was in Beijing, but swiftly deleted them.

Later, she changed her bio to just three words in Chinese: "Ha ha ha."