Many people are still mystified by what an SEO agency does and how their work translates to raising awareness of a brand in the marketplace.
SEO is simply one function of a digital marketing agency, but it’s a crucial function. Before a website can be used to host an ecommerce platform or be the target destination of users responding to advertising, it has to be able to support the vast increase in user traffic that digital marketing typically generates.
Product catalogues, transactional abilities and online shopping carts can all combine to slow down the operation of your brand’s website. It probably wasn’t set up to handle digital marketing if it was built very long ago. And it’s most certainly suffered a drop in the rankings if it hasn’t been upgraded until now.
Getting Your Site Ready for Digital Marketing
An SEO agency prepares your site for the demands of digital marketing first by performing an audit of both the site’s capabilities and its shortcomings. The SEO team goes through an extended checklist that looks through the architecture and the performance standards of the site. They look for broken internal links that would get a user lost on the site. They check the content and the keywords to ensure there is no plagiarism in the content and the keywords are accurate and high-ranking. They also check all the technical elements to ensure they’re not slowing down the loading or operational speeds of the site.
They fix whatever problems they encounter and set up the site to be robust enough to handle all the user traffic and functions that several simultaneous marketing activities can entail.
Getting Proactive
The SEO agency also gets proactive in refreshing your site’s content to increase the informational value of the content and increase the scope of the keywords describing your brand’s products and services.
This content will take the form of onsite content, external blogs, and outreach content that contains links directing users back to pages on your site. These blogs and outreach articles will appear on related websites that present logical paths to follow by visitors seeking your brand’s type of products and services.
By relying heavily on providing the broadest scope in the keywords used to describe your brand, the SEO agency creates an organic interest in your website and your brand name. They increase brand awareness by making your name, message and your products and services easier to find among the scores of competitors on the internet.
With the combination of the improvements to your site because of the audit and upgrades they provide, and the proactive services they provide in drawing more users to your site, they are an invaluable part of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.
To find out more about the world of SEO and digital marketing, make an appointment for a consultation with an award-winning digital marketing and SEO agency in Bangkok. A representative of Primal will explain all the services we offer.
No one wants to put their elderly loved ones in an assisted care facility. But at some point, your family member may require the kind of care you’re unqualified or unable to provide. You must begin the process of choosing an elderly care facility for your loved one.
Choosing the Right Facility
Don’t be in a hurry to choose the closest or the cheapest facility. With the loved one included, the whole family should be able to offer their ideas as to what the elderly care facility should offer. Your family knows the loved one’s habits and preferences well, so they can offer valuable insight into making the best choice that will provide the happiest outcome for your loved one.
But beyond the comfort and happiness of your family member, the right elderly care facility will be able to provide for all the health needs and medical issues of the loved one.
They will have a dedicated team of caregivers available 24/7 to attend to any needs or emergencies that may arise. They’ll also be able to provide a daily routine of physiotherapy if your family member’s condition calls for it. The facility will be expected to provide the care that your family was unable to. You’ll want to ensure they get this aspect of your family member’s residency correct from the beginning.
Meals and Activities
They’ll also provide plenty of fresh and healthy food and take careful notes of any food allergies, nutrient requirements and eating habits.
Meals are a social time. Your loved one may enjoy getting to know their fellow residents, and they should be encouraged to eat with the other residents, as much to avoid loneliness as to make new friends.
Between mealtimes, your family member’s time will be their own, except for medical routines, of course. They’ll be encouraged to stroll around the garden in the sunshine, engage in a session of yoga, Tai Chi or Chee Kung or pursued their own personal exercise routine.
They should also be free to pursue their own hobbies, pastimes and games, as this helps keep their mind’s sharp and engaged with the world.
Short-term or Long-term Residency
It may be that your loved one has recently had a condition or procedure performed from which you expect them to recover. But until they’re completely recovered, it’s not advisable for them to remain at home because of the lack of proper care facilities.
There are elderly care facilities that offer this level of professional care on a temporary basis. These facilities will keep in close contact with your loved one’s doctor to provide anything prescribed or recommended in the recovery phase of their treatment.
Quality Elderly Care Facilities
Luckily, there are many quality elderly care facilities all over the Klang Valley that can offer professional assistance for your loved one. To find one near your home that suits the needs of your family member and your family, contact Metro Eldercare to learn more about the range of facilities they offer.
Booking a hotel in Vientiane that offers a view of the Mekong River provides you with an evening’s relaxing entertainment for as long you’re in town. There is just something hypnotic about watching the sun go down over such a prominent landmark in Southeast Asia as the Mekong that it can take your breath away.
The area along the river is as popular with the town residents as it is with visitors to the city. Cooling breezes waft in off the water as the sun slowly sets over the river and provide relief from the tropical heat. The setting sun bathes everything in its amber glow as the city’s residents gather along the riverfront to take in the sights along with a street snack and a cold drink at a street-side stall or enjoy a stroll along the riverfront promenade that stretches for kilometers.
Popular Restaurant Area of Vientiane
A riverfront location is the most valuable spot to have for the restaurants and hotels of the city. And booking a hotel room in Vientiane that provides a view of the Mekong River along with all the other attractions along the river provides you with the makings of a memorable stay in Vientiane.
Many of the best-known cafes and restaurants serving the best food are within a short distance of the Quai Fa Ngum, the road that runs along the riverfront. You’ll find the freshest Lao food along with a large range of international restaurants, all vying for the dining attention of the browsers wandering along the streets and enjoying the sunset.
One of the most popular pastimes is taking advantage of the tradition of coffee-drinking culture in Laos and simply pulling up a chair at an outdoor table and watching the world go by as you drink a rich coffee beverage. You can perhaps sample some Khanom Khuu, a type of Lao donut, or one of the pastries you’ll be invariably tempted with.
But save room for dinner as the area is the heart of the city’s culinary district, with some excellent choices in both local and foreign food often being served by talented chefs in the same establishment.
Hotels in Vientiane with a Mekong View
The best hotels in Vientiane can be found in this area as well, as a Mekong view is a special thing to be able to offer tourists and business visitors. It serves as a magnet for attracting guests of all kinds who appreciate a beautiful view of a tropical sunset.
Two of the best hotels offering a Mekong view in Vientiane are the La Seine Hotel by Burasari and the Vientiane Crowne Plaza. La Seine Hotel by Burasari offers rooftop dining with a panoramic view of the river. It’s an ideal place to enjoy a light meal and a glass of wine while you watch the sunset over the river.
The luxurious Vientiane Crowne Plaza offers river views from some of their upper floor suites and guest rooms. Relax in comfort while you watch the sun go down from the comfort of your sumptuous living room when you book a stay at the Vientiane Crowne Plaza.
In this frame grab from video, people attend to a wounded man near the site of a deadly explosion outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. Photo: AP
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport Thursday, transforming a scene of desperation into one of horror in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover. The attacks killed at least 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops, Afghan and U.S. officials said.
The U.S. general overseeing the evacuation said the attacks would not stop the United States from evacuating Americans and others, and flights out were continuing. Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said there was a large amount of security at the airport, and alternate routes were being used to get evacuees in. About 5,000 people were awaiting flights on the airfield, McKenzie said.
The blasts came hours after Western officials warned of a major attack, urging people to leave the airport. But that advice went largely unheeded by Afghans desperate to escape the country in the last few days of an American-led evacuation before the U.S. officially ends its 20-year presence on Aug. 31.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the killings on its Amaq news channel. The IS affiliate in Afghanistan is far more radical than the Taliban, who recently took control of the country in a lightning blitz. The Taliban were not believed to have been involved in the attacks and condemned the blasts.
In an emotional speech from the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden said the latest bloodshed would not drive the U.S. out of Afghanistan earlier than scheduled, and that he had instructed the U.S. military to develop plans to strike IS.
“We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay,” Biden said.
U.S. officials initially said 11 Marines and one Navy medic were among those who died. Another service member died hours later. Eighteen service members were wounded and officials warned the toll could grow. More than 140 Afghans were wounded, an Afghan official said.
One of the bombers struck people standing knee-deep in a wastewater canal under the sweltering sun, throwing bodies into the fetid water. Those who moments earlier had hoped to get on flights out could be seen carrying the wounded to ambulances in a daze, their own clothes darkened with blood.
Emergency, an Italian charity that operates hospitals in Afghanistan, said it had received at least 60 patients wounded in the airport attack, in addition to 10 who were dead when they arrived.
Wounded Afghans lie on a bed at a hospital after a deadly explosions outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. Photo: Mohammad Asif Khan / AP
“Surgeons will be working into the night,” said Marco Puntin, the charity’s manager in Afghanistan. The wounded overflowed the triage zone into the physiotherapy area and more beds were being added, he said.
The Afghan official who confirmed the overall Afghan toll spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said one explosion was near an airport entrance and another was a short distance away by a hotel. McKenzie said clearly some failure at the airport allowed a suicide bomber to get so close to the gate.
He said the Taliban has been screening people outside the gates, though there was no indication that the Taliban deliberately allowed Thursday’s attacks to happen. He said the U.S. has asked Taliban commanders to tighten security around the airport’s perimeter.
Adam Khan was waiting nearby when he saw the first explosion outside what’s known as the Abbey gate. He said several people appeared to have been killed or wounded, including some who were maimed.
The second blast was at or near Baron Hotel, where many people, including Afghans, Britons and Americans, were told to gather in recent days before heading to the airport for evacuation. Additional explosions could be heard later, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said some blasts were carried out by U.S. forces to destroy their equipment.
A former Royal Marine who runs an animal shelter in Afghanistan says he and his staff were caught up in the aftermath of the blast near the airport.
“All of a sudden we heard gunshots and our vehicle was targeted, had our driver not turned around he would have been shot in the head by a man with an AK-47,” Paul “Pen” Farthing told Britain’s Press Association news agency.
Farthing is trying to get staff of his Nowzad charity out of Afghanistan, along with the group’s rescued animals.
He is among thousands trying to flee. Over the last week, the airport has been the scene of some of the most searing images of the chaotic end of America’s longest war and the Taliban’s takeover, as flight after flight took off carrying those who fear a return to the militants’ brutal rule. When the Taliban were last in power, they confined women largely to their home and widely imposed draconian restrictions.
Already, some countries have ended their evacuations and begun to withdraw their soldiers and diplomats, signaling the beginning of the end of one of history’s largest airlifts. The Taliban have insisted foreign troops must be out by America’s self-imposed deadline of Aug. 31 — and the evacuations must end then, too.
Even so, the airlift continued Thursday, though the number of evacuees fell for a second day as the terror attack and further threats kept people away.. From 3 a.m. to 3 p.m., Washington time, about 7,500 people were evacuated, a White House official said. Fourteen U..S. military flights carried about 5,100, and 39 coalition flights carried 2,400.
Smoke rises from a deadly explosion outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. Photo: Wali Sabawoon / AP
The total compared to 19,000 in one 24-hour period toward the start of the week.
In Washington, Biden spent much of the morning in the secure White House Situation Room where he was briefed on the explosions and conferred with his national security team and commanders on the ground in Kabul.
Overnight, warnings emerged from Western capitals about a threat from IS, which has seen its ranks boosted by the Taliban’s freeing of prisoners during its advance through Afghanistan.
Shortly before the attack, the acting U.S. ambassador to Kabul, Ross Wilson, said the security threat at the Kabul airport overnight was “clearly regarded as credible, as imminent, as compelling.” But in an interview with ABC News, he would not give details.
Late Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy warned citizens at three airport gates to leave immediately due to an unspecified security threat. Australia, Britain and New Zealand also advised their citizens Thursday not to go to the airport.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied that any attack was imminent at the airport, where the group’s fighters have deployed and occasionally used heavy-handed tactics to control the crowds. After the attack, he appeared to shirk blame, noting the airport is controlled by U.S. troops.
Before the blast, the Taliban sprayed a water cannon at those gathered at one airport gate to try to drive the crowd away, as someone launched tear gas canisters elsewhere.
Nadia Sadat, a 27-year-old Afghan, carried her 2-year-old daughter with her outside the airport. She and her husband, who had worked with coalition forces, missed a call from a number they believed was the State Department and were trying to get into the airport without any luck. Her husband had pressed ahead in the crowd to try to get them inside.
“We have to find a way to evacuate because our lives are in danger,” Sadat said. “My husband received several threatening messages from unknown sources. We have no chance except escaping.”
Aman Karimi, 50, escorted his daughter and her family to the airport, fearful the Taliban would target her because of her husband’s work with NATO.
“The Taliban have already begun seeking those who have worked with NATO,” he said. “They are looking for them house-by-house at night.”
The Sunni extremists of IS, with links to the group’s more well-known affiliate in Syria and Iraq, have carried out a series of brutal attacks, mainly targeting Afghanistan’s Shiite Muslim minority, including a 2020 assault on a maternity hospitalin Kabul in which they killed women and infants.
The Taliban have fought against Islamic State militants in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have wrested back control nearly 20 years after they were ousted in a U.S.-led invasion. The Americans went in following the 9/11 attacks, which al-Qaida orchestrated while being sheltered by the group.
Amid the warnings and the pending American withdrawal, Canada ended its evacuations, and European nations halted or prepared to stop their own operations.
The Taliban have said they’ll allow Afghans to leave via commercial flights after the deadline next week, but it remains unclear which airlines would return to an airport controlled by the militants. Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said talks were underway between his country and the Taliban about allowing Turkish civilian experts to help run the facility.
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Story: Sayed Ziarmal Hashemi, Rahim Faiez, Lolita C. Baldor and Joseph Krauss. Faiez reported from Istanbul, Baldor reported from Washington and Krauss from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London; Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Sylvie Corbet in Paris; Jan M. Olsen from Copenhagen, Denmark; Rahim Faiez, Tameem Akhgar and Andrew Wilks in Istanbul; James LaPorta in Boca Raton, Florida; Mike Corder at The Hague, Netherlands; Philip Crowther in Islamabad; Colleen Barry in Milan; and Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee and Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.
Two of five police officers who are accused of jointly accused of murdering a suspect are brought to Nakhon Sawan Provincial Court to request a remand in Nakhon Sawan province, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. Photo: Surat Sappakun / AP
BANGKOK (AP) — Thai authorities arrested a fifth police officer in connection with the death of a drug dealer who was allegedly killed while being shaken down in custody for cash, but were still searching Thursday for two others, including the suspected ringleader, a police colonel accused of funding a lavish lifestyle through corruption.
A police sergeant from the Muang district station, in a province north of Bangkok, was apprehended late Wednesday. All five suspects in custody, including a major and a captain, were brought Thursday before a judge who was to rule on whether they should be held on charges of dereliction of duty, torture and murder.
Authorities are still searching for a police lieutenant as well as Col. Thitisan Utthanaphon, who was chief of the station in Nakhon Sawan province and disappeared shortly before a video surfaced on social media that appears to show him directing the assault on the suspect that lead to the 24-year-old’s death.
The colonel, who earned the nickname “Jo Ferrari” due to his penchant for sports cars, had a collection of 29 luxury automobiles worth more than 100 million baht ($3 million), some of which he kept at a home in Bangkok worth about 60 million baht ($1.8 million), Thai media reported.
One of the cars found at the house, a yellow Lamborghini, was purchased by Thitisan from a car company that was involved in a tax evasion investigation two years ago, the police Department of Special Investigation said. Thitisan was not charged in that case.
In their search for him and Lt. Thoranin Matwanna, Thai police have asked neighboring countries to be on the lookout in case they have already managed to get across the border.
Allegations of police brutality and corruption are not uncommon in Thailand, and Human Rights Watch called Thursday for a transparent, outside investigation.
Three of five police officers who are accused of jointly murdering a suspect are brought to Nakhon Sawan Provincial Court to request a remand in Nakhon Sawan province, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. Photo: Surat Sappakun / AP
“A prosecution fully independent of the Thai police is needed if there is any hope of justice,” said Brad Adams, the group’s Asia director.
“Successive Thai governments have a long history of failing to ensure accountability for even the most ghastly police abuses against people in custody,” he said.
Police started investigating the case only after a well-known lawyer, Decha Kittiwittayanan, published an account of it on his Facebook page on Sunday.
Decha said he had received a complaint from a junior policeman in Nakhon Sawan who said that police had arrested two drug suspects, the 24-year-old man and his female companion, with more than 100,000 methamphetamine tablets.
The policemen first demanded 1 million baht ($30,560) from the suspects, which they agreed to pay for their release, according to the account. But then Thitisan demanded double that amount and ordered his subordinates to cover the male suspect’s head with a plastic bag and beat him until he agreed, said the junior policeman, whose name was not revealed.
When the suspect died, Thitisan allegedly ordered his men to take the body to the hospital and tell the doctor the death was caused by a drug overdose. The junior policeman said the woman was released but told not to say anything about it, and that Thitisan paid the victim’s father to remain silent.
The initial police response to the furor over the story posted by the lawyer was to transfer Thitisan to another post.
On Tuesday, however, a video clip of the incident was shared on the Facebook page of another lawyer, Sittra Biabanggerd, who said he had received it from a police officer at the Nakhon Sawan station where all but one of the suspects worked.
It shows the male suspect in handcuffs being led into a room, his head covered with a black plastic bag.
He is then assaulted and thrown to the floor by officers who put more bags on his head. One of them appears to briefly kneel on him until he goes limp.
Police on Thursday urged people to stop sharing the video, saying it harms “the victim’s dignity and affects an ongoing investigation.”
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Story: David Rising. Associated Press reporters Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul and Tassanee Vejpongsa contributed to this report.
Yum Brands’ KFC Thailand works with “Meat Zero” to create new plant-based fried chicken menus aimed at attracting new generations who become more conscientious about their health and sustainable consumption. The plant-based menus, that satisfy consumers’ demand and offer the taste of real meat, will be initially served at two KFC Green Stores in Thailand.
Ms. Waewkanee Assoratgoon, general manager of KFC for Yum Restaurants International (Thailand) Co., Ltd., said that the demand for plant-based diets has been on the rise in several countries including Thailand, posing challenges to food companies including KFC in presenting alternative plant-based menus for Thai consumers.
Experimentations showed that Thailand’s “Meat Zero”-branded plant-based chicken offers the look, taste, texture and smell of real meat. Cooked with KFC recipes for the Thai market, the plant-based chicken promises the exquisite delicacy that KFC has been offering for years.
“Opting for Meat Zero as the material for our plant-based Chicken Pop and spicy rice bowl with plant-based Chicken Pop menus, we can create very delicious products. Consumers will barely notice that the chicken they are eating is made from plants. Whenever they want to skip real meat, they can come to us and they will still enjoy the familiar delicacy. Part of KFC’s green concept, the special menus will be initially served at both of our KFC Green Stores,” Ms. Waewkanee said.
Mr. Prasit Boondoungprasert. Chief Executive Officer of Charoen Pokphand Foods PLC (CPF), added that the Meat Zero innovation has witnessed warm responses from consumers. It is a major milestone that Meat Zero is selected for the first plant-based menus of KFC, Thailand’s top fast-food chain, that offers good taste and concurrently helps save the environment. That the product successfully makes its way to KFC green stores coincides with CPF’s aspiration to create food innovations that are both friendly to the environment and satisfying to the vegans and flexitarians on their quest to reduce real meat consumption
Starting from today, consumers are invited to show their environmental concerns and taste the Plant-based Chicken Pop and spicy rice bowl with plant-based Chicken Pop menus at KFC Green stores, at Saengsom Building and Wanachai Depot Chachoengsao. The green stores are now serving 6 sets: 1) 7 pieces of Plant- Based Chicken Pop for 49 baht 2) plant-based Zabb Rice Bowl for 75 baht 3) Chick N’ Share plant-based Pop for 119 baht 4) Combo plant-based Pop for 79 baht 5) Combo plant-based Zabb Rice Bowl for 119 baht and 6) The box plant-based at 179 baht.
The plant-based menus are part of KFC’s sustainability roadmap built on the three pillars of Planet (Earth-friendly supply chain through selective construction materials, energy saving, lower consumption of single-use plastic), Food (quality and responsibly-produced menus), and People (feeding people’s potential to fight inequality.
Australia's Paige Greco wins the Gold Medal in the Track Cycling Womens C3 3000m Individual Pursuit at the Izu Velodrome in Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Wednesday, August 25, 2021. Photo: Thomas Lovelock for OIS via AP
TOKYO (AP) — Australian cyclist Paige Greco earned the first gold medal of the Tokyo Paralympics, winning the 3,000-meter pursuit on Wednesday on the track at the velodrome.
It was the first of 24 gold medals up for grabs on Wednesday as the Paralympics got underway in the middle of a pandemic that has seen new cases in Tokyo soar since the Olympics opened just over a month ago.
Medals were also contested in swimming and wheelchair fencing on Wednesday.
Greco was born with cerebral palsy, which mostly affects the right side of her body. It was her first Paralympic Games medal, winning her race in 3 minutes, 50.815 seconds.
“It feels amazing,” Greco said. “I still can’t believe it. I keep looking down and seeing (the gold medal). It’s not really sunk in yet.”
Wang Xiaomei of China was second and bronze went to Denise Schindler of Germany.
Greco took up cycling just over three years ago after competing in track and field for seven years.
Australian teammate William Martin also won gold in the first swimming final of the Paralympics, taking the 400-meter freestyle in the S9 class in 4:10.25 seconds. Ugo Didier of France took silver and Alex Tuckfield of Australia won bronze.
In the first wheelchair fencing final, Li Hao of China won gold in the men’s individual saber. He defeated Artem Manko of Ukraine 15-12 in the final.
Away from the competition, organizers confirmed Wednesday that two more athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Paralympic Village. That brings to three the total of positive tests by athletes in the village over the last two days.
Daniel Brazil’s De Faria Dias in action during the swimming Men’s 200m Freestyle S5 heats at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021. Photo: Joel Marklund for OIS via AP
Organizers have confirmed nine positive tests in the village over the last three days. The additional six, who are not athletes, are described as “Games-related personnel.”
Organizing committee spokesman Masa Takaya said the athletes were “from different sports and different countries.” But he gave few details and said the athletes have been placed in isolation.
He was asked if there was a COVID-19 cluster in the village.
“Whether or not there is a cluster should be based on the advice from specialists,” he said.
Japan is expanding its coronavirusstate of emergency for a second week in a row, adding several more prefectures as a surge in infections fueled by the delta variant strains the country’s health care system.
The Japanese capital has been under the emergency since July 12, but new daily cases have increased more than tenfold since then to about 5,000 in Tokyo and 25,000 nationwide. Hospital beds are quickly filling and many people must now recover at home, including some who require supplemental oxygen.
Japan has weathered the pandemic better than many other countries, with around 15,600 deaths nationwide since the start, but its vaccination efforts lag behind other wealthy nations. About 40% of the population has been fully vaccinated, mainly elderly people.
Dr. Shigeru Omi, a medical advisor for the government, criticized International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach for returning to Tokyo to attend Tuesday’s opening of the Paralympics.
“Right now, the government is requesting people to telework and (Bach) is coming back just for that,” Omi said, responding to a question from an opposition lawmaker in parliament.
“When the government is making those requests to the people, why is the Olympic leader, President Bach, coming all the way to Tokyo. Anyone with normal, common sense should be able to think that he has already come once and even visited Ginza.”
International Paralympic Committee spokesman Craig Spence confirmed the IPC is in contact with two Paralympic athletes from Afghanistan who have left the country. He declined to speculate whether they might eventually reach Tokyo for the Paralympics.
“There’s a lot of speculation going on where these Afghan athletes are,” Spence said. “I’m not going to tell you where they are because this isn’t about sport, this is about human rights and keeping people safe.”
He added they were in a “safe place.”
Several reports say the two athletes — Hossain Rosouli and Zakia Khudadadi — may have arrived in Australia.
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Story: Stephen Wade. Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.
In this image provided by the Department of Defense, two paratroopers assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division conduct security while a C-130 Hercules takes off during a evacuation operation in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021. Photo: Department of Defense via AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as many as 1,500 Americans may be awaiting evacuation from Afghanistan, a figure that suggests the U.S. may accomplish its highest priority for the Kabul airlift — rescuing U.S. citizens — ahead of President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline despite growing concerns of terror threats targeting the airport.
Untold thousands of at-risk Afghans, however, were still struggling to get into the Kabul airport, while many thousands of other Afghans already had been flown to safety in 12 days of round-the-clock flights.
On Wednesday, several of the Americans working phones and pulling strings to get out former Afghan colleagues, women’s advocates, journalists and other vulnerable Afghans said they have seen little concrete U.S. action so far to get those Afghans past Taliban checkpoints and through U.S-controlled airport gates to promised evacuation flights.
“It’s 100% up to the Afghans to take these risks and try to fight their way out,” said Sunil Varghese, policy director with the International Refugee Assistance Project.
Blinken, echoing Biden’s earlier declarations during the now 12-day-old evacuation, emphasized at a State Department briefing that “ evacuating Americans is our top priority.”
He added, “We’re also committed to getting out as many Afghans at-risk as we can before the 31st,” when Biden plans to pull out the last of thousands of American troops.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued a security alert warning American citizens away from three specific airport gates, but gave no further explanation. Senior U.S. officials said the warning was related to ongoing and specific threats involving the Islamic State and potential vehicle bombs, which have set U.S. officials on edge in the final days of the American drawdown. The officials insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss ongoing military operations.
Blinken said the State Department estimates there were about 6,000 Americans wanting to leave Afghanistan when the airlift began Aug. 14, as the Taliban took the capital aftera stunning military conquest. About 4,500 Americans have been evacuated so far, Blinken said, and among the rest “some are understandably very scared.”
In this image provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, board a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. Photo: Sgt. Isaiah Campbell/U.S. Marine Corps via AP
The 6,000 figure is the first firm estimate by the State Department of how many Americans were seeking to get out. U.S. officials early in the evacuation estimated as many as 15,000, including dual citizens, lived in Afghanistan. The figure does not include U.S. Green Card holders.
About 500 Americans have been contacted with instructions on when and how to get to the chaotic Kabul airport to catch evacuation flights.
In addition, 1,000 or perhaps fewer are being contacted to determine whether they still want to leave. Blinken said some of these may already have left the country, some may want to remain and some may not actually be American citizens.
“We are providing opportunity,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of those Afghans, who include dual Afghan-American citizens. “We are finding ways to get them to the airport and evacuate them, but it is also their personal decision on whether they want to depart.”
On a lighter note, the U.S. military said an Afghan baby girl born on a C-17 military aircraft during the massive evacuation will carry that experience with her. Her parents named her after the plane’s call sign: Reach.
She was born Saturday, and members of the 86th Medical Group helped in her birth aboard the plane that had taken the family from Kabul to Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
Two other babies whose parents were evacuating from Afghanistan have been born over the past week at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the U.S. military hospital in Germany.
In Washington on Wednesday, Blinken emphasized that the U.S. and other governments plan to continue assisting Afghans and Americans who want to leave after next Tuesday, the deadline for Biden’s planned end to the evacuation and the two-decade U.S. military role in Afghanistan. “That effort will continue, every day, past Aug. 31,” he said.
Biden has cited what he U.S. says are rising security threats to U.S. forces, including from an affiliate of the Islamic State terror group, for his determination to stick with Tuesday’s withdrawal deadline. Germany has said Western officials are particularly concerned that suicide bombers may slip into the crowds surrounding the airport.
The U.S. Embassy has already been evacuated; staff are operating from the Kabul airport and the last are to leave by Tuesday.
Biden said this week he had asked his national security team for contingency plans in case he decides to extend the deadline. Taliban leaders who took control of Afghanistan this month say they will not tolerate any extensions to the Tuesday deadline. But Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen tweeted that “people with legal documents” will still be able to fly out via commercial flights after Tuesday.
U.S. troops are anchoring a multinational evacuation from the airport. The White House says the airlift overall has flown out 82,300 Afghans, Americans and others on a mix of U.S., international and private flights.
The withdrawal comes under a 2020 deal negotiated by President Donald Trump with the Taliban.
Refugee groups are describing a different picture than the Biden administration is when it comes to many Afghans: a disorganized, barely-there U.S. evacuation effort that leaves the most desperate to risk beatings and death at Taliban checkpoints. Some Afghans are reported being turned away from the Kabul airport by American forces controlling the gates, despite having approval for flights.
U.S. military and diplomatic officials appear to still be compiling lists of eligible Afghans but have yet to disclose how many may be evacuated — and how — private Americans and American organizations said.
“We still have 1,200 Afghans with visas that are outside the airport and haven’t got in,” said James Miervaldis with No One Left Behind, one of dozens of veterans groups working to get out Afghans who worked with the U.S. military during America’s nearly 20 years of combat in the country.. “We’re waiting to hear from the US. government and haven’t heard yet.”
Marina LeGree of Ascend, a U.S.-based nonprofit that worked to develop fitness and leadership in Afghan girls and young women, described getting calls from U.S. officials telling the group’s interns and staffers to go to the airport for evacuation flights, only to have them turned away by American forces keeping gates closed against the throngs outside.
One Afghan intern who went to the airport with her family saw a person killed in front of them, and a female colleague was burned by a caustic agent fired at the crowd, LeGree said.
“It’s heartbreaking to see my government fail so badly,” said LeGree, the group’s American director, who is in Italy but in close contact with those in Kabul.
U.S.-based organizations, speaking on background to discuss sensitive matters, cite accounts from witnesses on the ground as saying some American citizens, and family members of Afghans with green cards, still were having trouble pushing and talking their way into the Kabul airport for flights.
Kirby said the U.S. military will preserve as much airlift capacity at the airport as possible in the coming days, ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. The military will “continue to evacuate needed populations all the way to the end,” he said. But he added that in the final days and hours there will have to be a balance in getting out U.S. troops and their equipment as well as evacuees.
Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor, the deputy director of regional operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had conducted another helicopter mission beyond the perimeter of the airport to pick up people seeking to evacuate.
The number of U.S. troops at the airport has dropped by about 400, to 5,400, but the final withdrawal has not begun, Kirby said Wednesday.
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Story: Robert Burns, Ellen Knickmeyer and Matthew Lee. Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and James LaPorta in Boca Raton, Florida, contributed to this report.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen receives her first shot of the island's first domestically developed coronavirus vaccine made by Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp. at the Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. (Image: Taiwan Presidential Office)
By Jaushieh Joseph Wu Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan)
After more than 200 million infections and over 4 million deaths and counting, the COVID-19 pandemic has raged across the globe. This has created a profoundly devastating socio-economic impact on our interconnected world, with virtually no countries spared. The pandemic has disrupted global trade, exacerbated poverty, impeded education, and compromised gender equality, with middle to low income nations bearing the brunt of the burden.
As many countries brace for another spike of the virus, prompted by the highly contagious Delta variant, the world looks up to the United Nations (UN) to ramp up comprehensive efforts to resolve the crisis. This is a daunting task that requires all hands on deck. It is time for the global body to welcome Taiwan, a valuable and worthy partner that stands ready to lend a helping hand.
Over the past few months, Taiwan has been dealing with a surge of COVID-19 cases after almost a year of success in containing the virus. Yet, it got a handle on the situation and emerged even more ready to work with allies and partners to tackle the challenges posed by the pandemic.
Jaushieh Joseph Wu
Taiwan’s effective response to the pandemic, its rapid capacity expansion to meet global supply chain demand, and its substantive assistance toward partner countries around the world all stand as compelling reasons for Taiwan to play a constructive role in the UN system.
However, the absurdity of excluding Taiwan from the UN system also obstructs the participation of Taiwan’s civil society. Taiwanese passport holders are denied access to UN premises, both for tours and meetings, while Taiwanese journalists cannot obtain accreditation to cover UN events. The only reason for this discriminatory treatment is their nationality. Barring Taiwan’s civil society from the UN defeats the ideal of multilateralism, contravenes the UN’s founding principles of promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and hampers the UN’s overall efforts.
For six decades, Taiwan has been providing assistance to partner countries around the world. Since the adoption of the UN 2030 Agenda, Taiwan has focused on helping partners achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and, more recently, engage in antipandemic response and postpandemic recovery. Meanwhile, at home, Taiwan has fulfilled its SDGs in gender equality, clean water and sanitation, and good health and well-being, among others. Our innovative, community-based solutions are harnessing public-private partnerships for the benefit of society as a whole.
The World Happiness Report 2021, released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, ranked Taiwan the happiest in East Asia, and 24th in the world. The ranking indicates how the people of a country feel about the social support they receive, and reflects in large part a country’s implementation of the SDGs. Taiwan is willing to pass on its experience and work with global partners to build a better and more resilient future for all.
At a time when the world is sounding the clarion call for climate actions and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, Taiwan is actively charting a roadmap toward the goal, and has drafted dedicated legislation to facilitate this process. Climate change knows no borders, and concerted efforts are a must for a sustainable future. Taiwan knows this, and is working on the best ways to turn the challenges of carbon reduction into new opportunities.
In his oath of office in June this year, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed our shared vulnerability and interconnectedness. He said that the UN, and the states and people it serves, can only benefit from bringing others to the table.
Denying partners that have the ability to contribute is a moral and material loss to the world as we seek to recover better together. Taiwan is a force for good. Now is the time to bring Taiwan to the table and let Taiwan help.
Four police officers wanted in connection with the murder of a suspect in their custody arrive at the Nakhon Sawan police station for interrogations in Nakhon Sawan province, Thailand, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021. Photo: Surat Sappakun / AP
BANGKOK (AP) — Four Thai police officers charged with murder in connection with the deadly shakedown of a suspected drug dealer in custody were arrested Wednesday after a video clip of the incident shared on social media caused a public furor.
Three other officers were still being sought in connection with the Aug. 5 incident at their police station in the province of Nakhon Sawan, north of Bangkok, said police Col. Kissana Phathanacharoen, deputy national police spokesman. They include a police colonel with the nickname “Jo Ferrari” because of his collection of expensive sports cars, Thai media reported.
Allegations of police brutality and corruption are not rare in Thailand, but the leaked video showing the suspected drug dealer suffocating after officers placed plastic bags over his head in an alleged extortion effort and an initial dilatory investigation stoked outrage.
Police have also come under harsh criticism recently for their use of force in trying to quell anti-government street protests in Bangkok. While some demonstrators employ violent tactics, police have been accused of overreacting and using dangerous methods of crowd control, including firing rubber bullets at close range.
“This case of police torture and murder is shocking. But this is not the first case and it is unlikely to be the last case until and unless the police conduct serious interrogations and investigations and leave no stones unturned,” said Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch.
Police started investigating the case only after a well-known lawyer, Decha Kittiwittayanan, published an account of it on his Facebook page.
Decha said he had received a complaint from a junior policeman in Nakhon Sawan who said that police had arrested two drug suspects, a 24-year-old man and his female companion, with over 100,000 methamphetamine tablets.
The policemen first demanded 1 million baht ($30,560) from the suspects, which they agreed to pay for their release, according to the account. But the senior officer at the scene, police Col. Thitisan Uttanapol, demanded double that amount and ordered his subordinates to cover the male suspect’s head with a plastic bag and beat him until he agreed, said the junior policeman, whose name was not revealed.
When the suspect died, Thitisan allegedly ordered his men to take the body to the hospital and tell the doctor the death was caused by a drug overdose. The junior policeman said the woman was released but told not to say anything about it, and that Thitisan paid the victim’s father to remain silent.
The initial police response to the furor over the story posted by the lawyer was to transfer Thitisan to another post.
On Tuesday, however, a video clip of the incident was shared on the Facebook page of another lawyer, Sittra Biabanggerd, who said he had received it from a police officer at the Nakhon Sawan station.
It shows the male suspect in handcuffs being led into a room, his head covered with a black plastic bag. He is then assaulted and thrown to the floor by officers who put more bags on his head. One of them appears to briefly kneel on him. The man, identified by Thai media as Jeerapong Thanapat, then goes limp. Police try in vain to revive him with a jug of water and CPR.
“We are proceeding with this case, pursuing both criminal cases and disciplinary action,” police spokesman Kissana said Wednesday.
Small-scale corruption, such as soliciting bribes from motorists, is not rare among poorly paid police officers. Some also have a reputation for beating suspects to elicit confessions
But cases occasionally emerge of corruption at a higher level. A case known as the “Blue Diamond Affair,” involving the 1989 theft of jewelry by a Thai overseas worker from the palace of a Saudi prince, cast a harsh spotlight on the police force after much of the loot went unrecovered and a police general was convicted of kidnapping and killing relatives of a witness in the case.
Human Rights Watch’s Sunai charged that Thai police often act with total impunity, protecting each other.
“This is no longer an individual issue. It’s a corrupt system that allows abusive acts,” he said.
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Story: Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul. Associated Press video journalist Tassanee Vejpongsa contributed to this report.
