Biden Team Sees Narrow Window for Deal on Cease-Fire and Hostages in Gaza The New York Times

Table Of Content

• Remarks by President Biden on Tropical Storm Henri and the Evacuation Operation in Afghanistan
• Spain ends evacuation mission in Afghanistan, says the Spanish government
• Turkey might stay on to provide technical support at Kabul airport, Turkish state media reports
• Biden Team Sees Narrow Window for Deal on Cease-Fire and Hostages in Gaza

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. White House officials have renewed discussions about potentially declaring a national climate emergency, an unprecedented step that could unlock federal powers to stifle oil development. As part of that deal, however, the Saudis insist that Israel commit to a concrete plan for an eventual Palestinian state within a certain deadline, something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has adamantly rejected so far.

Remarks by President Biden on Tropical Storm Henri and the Evacuation Operation in Afghanistan

“This information prompted us to engage in a great deal of contact with our allies and ultimately cease all flights from Kabul to Islamabad,” he added. An asylum seeker, on the other hand, is a refugee who has arrived in the country they wish to live and has formally applied for asylum via that country’s formal channels. The country may ultimately decide that the individual does not meet the UN’s definition of refugee or that they should have applied for asylum in a different country. In this instance, the person might be sent to another country or in some instances back to the place from where they fled. A good example of how refugees differ is the current crisis in Venezuela.

Spain ends evacuation mission in Afghanistan, says the Spanish government

President Joe Biden and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by phone on Tuesday about the deteriorating situation. It was the two leaders’ first interaction since before the Hamas attack on Israel. The White House addressed the contingency plans amid growing concerns that the 18-day-old Israel-Hamas war could further escalate. The U.S. has advised Israel that postponing a possible ground invasion of Gaza could be helpful as the U.S. and other partners in the region try to secure the release of more than 200 hostages who were captured in the Oct. 7 attack on Israeli soil. The contingency planning was first reported by The Washington Post. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stressed there are currently no “active efforts” to evacuate Americans from the region beyond charter flights the U.S government began operating earlier this month out of Israel.

Turkey might stay on to provide technical support at Kabul airport, Turkish state media reports

3.9 million Venezuelans are currently displaced overseas, but most of them had fled because of political unrest and the resultant issues like food shortages. There is often confusion over the terms used when talking about refugees, asylum seekers and people who have a special status to live in certain countries under specific schemes, such as the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program in the US. The latest 24-hour period evacuation numbers from the White House show a slowing pace as the airlift effort enters what is expected to be its final days. Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground. "A small private plane entered restricted airspace, all indications are by mistake, and precautionary measures were taken," a White House official said at the time. The North Lawn was evacuated as a precautionary measure and a lockdown was imposed but lifted not long afterward, with no reported injuries arising from the incident.

Remarks by President Biden on the End of the War in Afghanistan

That prompted a security alert and a temporary lockdown at the complex. Similar incidents have occurred at the White House in the past. In May 2016 the building was placed on lockdown after an armed man approaching a checkpoint was shot by a Secret Service agent.

White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement Sunday that protesters in and around Columbia cross the line if they say violence should befall Jewish students. The protest and encampment on campus have drawn attention to the right of free speech and the rights of students to feel safe from violence, with a campus rabbi recommending Jewish students return home for their own safety. On Friday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby discussed the challenges of evacuating the embassy, saying it’s "not as simple as jumping in a taxicab" and that all U.S. government personnel had not yet been consolidated in a single location. But while mass evacuations of private citizens may not be standard practice for the American government, they’re not unheard of.

Belgium ends evacuation efforts amid "imminent suicide bomb attack" threat

There are an estimated 150 American citizens left in Afghanistan whom the United States need to get to the airport, according to a source familiar with the situation. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Thursday that a credible suicide bomb threat was the instigator behind his decision to end Belgium’s Red Kite evacuation operations from Kabul Airport on Wednesday. The problem many of these people are currently facing in Afghanistan is that the Taliban are preventing them from entering the airport; Afghan citizens leaving the country is bad PR for the militant group, who are claiming to have become more moderate. The directive comes in an official document from the office of the district magistrate, which was issued right after the deadly Kabul airport attacks. The Kremlin condemned the terrorist attacks in Afghanistan and said the situation continues to be a cause of “grave concern” for Russia. And by the time I came to office, the Taliban was in its strongest military position since 2001, controlling or contesting nearly half of the country.

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I refused to continue in a war that was no longer in the service of the vital national interest of our people. I was not going to extend this forever war, and I was not extending a forever exit. The previous administration’s agreement said that if we stuck to the May 1st deadline that they had signed on to leave by, the Taliban wouldn’t attack any American forces, but if we stayed, all bets were off.

Their bravery and selflessness has enabled more than 117,000 people at risk to reach safety thus far. May God protect our troops and all those standing watch in these dangerous days. The FAA put ground stops in place for Reagan National Airport, as well as airports in New York, Newark and Philadelphia. Amtrak said train service between Baltimore and Washington was operating at reduced speeds while crews inspected stations and railroad infrastructure, CBS News Producer Carter Yang reports. Our efforts have not been limited to the United States alone. Government (USG) has been the largest single donor of vaccines, having shared nearly 700 million doses with 117 countries as of March 2023.

"As a precaution, the White House grounds were evacuated, and the DC Fire Departments Hazmat team responded," the spokesperson said. The quake was centered near Mineral, Virginia, home of Dominion Power's Lake Anna nuclear power plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the plant had both reactors shut down automatically after the quake.

It added that the Spanish Armed Forces has "evacuated a total of 1,900, Afghans and their families," who had worked with Spain, other countries, and international bodies. The defense ministry said German soldiers were among the 5,347 people evacuated since August 16. More than 4,000 of that figure were Afghan nationals, it tweeted. As evacuations from Afghanistan approach their final days, the White House says approximately 12,500 people were evacuated in 24 hours. If you take the number of $1 trillion, as many say, that’s still $150 million a day for two decades. And what have we lost as a consequence in terms of opportunities?

White House staff 'relocated' after pro-Palestinian rioters damage anti-scale fencing, hurl objects at cops - Fox News

White House staff 'relocated' after pro-Palestinian rioters damage anti-scale fencing, hurl objects at cops.

Posted: Sat, 13 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

It will include ongoing efforts in Afghanistan to reopen the airport, as well as overland routes, allowing for continued departure to those who want to leave and delivery of humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan. And still, the men and women of the United States military, our diplomatic corps, and intelligence professionals did their job and did it well, risking their lives not for professional gains but to serve others; not in a mission of war but in a mission of mercy. Twenty servicemembers were wounded in the service of this mission. For weeks, they risked their lives to get American citizens, Afghans who helped us, citizens of our Allies and partners, and others onboard planes and out of the country. And they did it facing a crush of enormous crowds seeking to leave the country. And they did it knowing ISIS-K terrorists — sworn enemies of the Taliban — were lurking in the midst of those crowds.

Since March, we reached out 19 times to Americans in Afghanistan, with multiple warnings and offers to help them leave Afghanistan — all the way back as far as March. After we started the evacuation 17 days ago, we did initial outreach and analysis and identified around 5,000 Americans who had decided earlier to stay in Afghanistan but now wanted to leave. Despite the treacherous situation in Kabul, we are continuing to evacuate civilians. Yesterday, we brought out another 6,800 people, including hundreds of Americans. And today, we discussed the ongoing preparations to help people continue to leave Afghanistan after our military departs.

The source added there was another 36 hours until the end of the operation to evacuate, and the focus was now on local Afghan staff who worked for the US Embassy. “American citizens are still trickling in but their priority has shifted to local staff,” the source said. Sporadic fighting between the Taliban and the Panjshir-based National Resistance Front, led by Ahmad Masoud, has continued for a week. Taliban officials told CNN both sides had agreed to stop offensive actions.

Now, some say we should have started mass evacuations sooner and “Couldn’t this have be done — have been done in a more orderly manner? In the 17 days that we operated in Kabul after the Taliban seized power, we engaged in an around-the-clock effort to provide every American the opportunity to leave. Our State Department was working 24/7 contacting and talking, and in some cases, walking Americans into the airport. We remain committed to get them out if they want to come out. Secretary of State Blinken is leading the continued diplomatic efforts to ensure a safe passage for any American, Afghan partner, or foreign national who wants to leave Afghanistan. As General McKenzie said, this is the way the mission was designed.