A surge in calls to a clergy abuse hotline in Pennsylvania is breathing new life into a vast investigation of “predator priests” and Roman Catholic Church leaders accused of protecting them.

The hotline has drawn more than 300 calls since the release of a withering grand jury report last week claiming church leaders protected hundreds of accused priests at the expense of more than 1,000 abuse victims.

“We’re answering every call and following up every lead,” Joe Grace, spokesman for state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, told USA TODAY on Sunday.

The redacted report detailed the latest in a decades-long series of claims of abuse and protection leveled against the church across the nation and around the world. The report accuses church leaders in the state of discouraging victims from reporting to prosecutors the abuse claims that spanned more than 60 years.

Shapiro acknowledged “surging” claims in a social media post, adding that the investigation did not end with the release of the grand jury report.

“We have trained, dedicated agents on the line to listen to survivors and help,” Shapiro said on Twitter. “This is an active and ongoing investigation.”

More: ‘Men of God hid it all’: Church protected more than 300 ‘predator priests’

More: After 2 days of silence, Vatican condemns priest sex abuse

Some of the accused have died, and statute of limitations laws prevent many others named in the report from facing criminal charges. Shapiro said the statute of limitations was a key tool in the  “systematic coverup” by senior church officials in Pennsylvania and at the Vatican.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, now the archbishop of Washington, D.C., led the Pittsburgh diocese from 1988 until 2006. Wuerl is targeted in the report, but he issued a statement after its release and said it “confirms that I acted with diligence, with concern for the victims and to prevent future acts of abuse.”

Shapiro said  Wuerl “is not being truthful and forthright.” He said Wuerl’s statements contradict the church’s own documents.

The grand jury compiled the information during a two-year investigation. Shapiro, in a news conference Tuesday, called the report an “honest and comprehensive accounting of widespread sexual abuse” in the dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton that minister to more than 1.7 million Catholics.

Previous investigations found widespread abuses in the Philadelphia Archdiocese and Altoona-Johnstown Diocese.

Despite statute of limitations laws,  the grand jury did issue presentments against two priests. One pleaded guilty last month to charges that he sexually abused a 10-year-old boy more than 20 years ago. Another has been charged with felony child sex crimes.

The Vatican on Thursday condemned the activity cited in the report as “criminal and morally reprehensible.”

“Those acts were betrayals of trust that robbed survivors of their dignity and faith,” Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said in a statement. “The church must learn hard lessons from its past, and there should be accountability for both abusers and those who permitted abuse to occur.”

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Former captain Michael Vaughan has criticised the “fragility” of England’s batting after they were bowled out in a session against India at Trent Bridge.

Joe Root’s team slipped from 54-0 to 161 all out, losing all 10 wickets in a session for the third time in two years having not done so in the previous 78.

India closed the second day of the third Test on 124-2, a lead of 292.

“Having to fight for a few overs or a session… England’s mindset can’t seem to cope with that,” said Vaughan.

“When it does a bit or when the game is going against them, they find it difficult.

“The top order got a good start today, they were 54-0, then there were two wickets in two balls and you close the curtains and hide.”

England began day two in confident fashion, claiming the final four India wickets for only 22 runs and then reaching 46-0 at lunch.

But in an extended afternoon session because of the rain-delayed start, they were all out in under 30 overs.

“I said I was looking forward to seeing how England batted once the opposition had a score on the board,” Vaughan told BBC Test Match Special.

“It’s been an issue for the Test team for a while now. Yes, they weren’t ideal conditions for batting but they made the same mistakes they have made consistently for a number of years. I am learning nothing about the Test team in this series. Absolutely nothing.

“Streetwise cricketers would have seen [Ravichandran] Ashwin was injured and would have struggled to bowl. Let’s see off [Mohammed] Shami and Ishant [Sharma] and take them into another session because they don’t have a spinner.

“This is England’s deepest batting line-up but the collapse doesn’t surprise me because of the way that they play. As soon as they are under pressure and there is a little bit there in the pitch they have so much fragility. They have so much talent but the collapses are happening on a regular basis now.”

From 54-0 to 128-9 – how England collapsed

• Cook c Pant b Ishant 29 (54-1, 11.6 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Alastair Cook will say he got a good ball but if Alastair is honest, if you do your homework on Ishant Sharma bowling to left-handed batsmen, I reckon 10% of balls are going to hit the stumps. You can leave most balls on or around off stump and wait for one on the hips.”

• Jennings c Pant b Bumrah 20 (54-2, 12.1 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Keaton Jennings, technically, was all over the place to Bumrah. He was squaring up too much on the back foot. He was an outside edge waiting to happen.”

• Pope c Pant b Sharma 10 (75-3, 19.1 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Pope was a bit unfortunate down the leg side.”

• Root c Rahul b Pandya 16 (86-4, 24.1 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Joe Root’s dismissal wasn’t a bad ball but real quality Test batsmen – when the ball bounces or does a bit – release the bottom hand on the bat so it doesn’t give momentum to the ball and it doesn’t carry. Joe put momentum into the ball with his shot.”

• Stokes c Rahul b Shami 10 (108-5, 29.2 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Stokes got a decent cherry from Shami but again he put momentum into the ball with his hands.”

• Bairstow c Rahul b Pandya 15 (110-6, 30.1 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Jonny was driving at a ball which was full and swinging away.”

• Woakes c Pant b Pandya 8 (118-7, 31 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Chris Woakes played the hook shot – it can only have been the fifth ball he faced.”

• Rashid c Pant b Pandya 5 (128-8, 32.1 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Rashid got a good ball but, again, he was pushing at it.”

• Broad lbw b Pandya 0 (128-9, 32.5 overs)

Vaughan’s verdict: “Broad had a man on the hook, thinks it’s going to be a bouncer, jumps across his crease and it’s an inswinging lbw.”

‘Their brains are trained to be 100-4’

It was the third time in the past two years England have been dismissed in a session.

At the same venue last year against South Africa, they were all out for 205 which prompted Vaughan to suggest “they lack respect about what the game is” and likening their style to that of a Twenty20 innings.

The batting problems resurfaced in Nottingham again on Sunday and in their last 61 innings’, England have been 100-4 or worse on 30 occasions.

“It’s not always in conditions like this where the ball is moving around,” Vaughan said. “Their brains are trained to be 100-4. There has been a reliance on the engine room for a while – that somebody at five, six or seven will get a score.

“They’ve all got fancy cars which go into fifth gear so quickly. They need an old banger. They need a car which only has gears one and two. Play low-risk cricket shots and try to bat for a period of time.

“They don’t realise that a bowler is allowed to bowl well and you have to fight for a five-over period.

“Technically and mentally, a lot of those dismissals were very poor.”

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh – Bangladesh has for years struggled to cope with a surging drug epidemic, at the heart of which is a wildly popular meth pill smuggled into the country from neighbouring Myanmar.

Known as Yaba, or “crazy medicine” in Thai, the highly-addictive stimulant is a mix of methamphetamine and caffeine that usually comes in the form of colourful, candy-like tablets.

The usage of the drug has risen to an alarming rate, with  authorities striving to stem the flow of tens of millions of pills pouring in from Myanmar – where they’re manufactured – and ripping through Bangladesh’s cities and villages.

The illicit trade has long relied on drug trafficking cartels smuggling yaba across the border – and more recently, men living in the Bangladesh-based camps hosting vulnerable Rohingya refugees are also being recruited as drug mules.

Since the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees fleeing a brutal crackdown by Myanmar’s army in August 2017, authorities in Bangladesh have seized more than 10 million yaba pills from local drug peddlers and the Rohingya living in makeshift camps in Cox’s Bazar, according to Dhaka Tribune, a Bangladeshi daily.

“At the beginning of the influx, we couldn’t search every Rohingya man for possession because of the miserable conditions of the camps,” said Md Saiful Hasan, senior assistant to the special commissioner of Cox’s Bazar’s district.

“We gave them open access to our borders, and that’s why some drugs have come in.” 

‘I cannot lead a fair life’

Last year, Bangladeshi authorities seized almost 15m yaba pills and arrested 649 people, including 15 Myanmar nationals.

A. was not one of them.

The 35-year-old fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably, only relaxing after dragging on his cigarette, his thin body dwarfed by the large chair he sat on. A. is a carrier of yaba, receiving 5,000 Bangladeshi taka ($60) for every 1,000 pills he manages to shift from Kutupalong camp to Cox’s Bazar, a popular tourist destination 40km away.

“I carry yaba to survive,” he said, speaking in a measured tone. “I am compelled to do this job because I have to provide for my family.”

“Since I am suffering financially, I cannot lead a fair life.”

In October 2016, A,  his mother, wife and three sons fled to Bangladesh, taking with them with nothing but a few clothing items – just like many others from the long-persecuted, mostly Muslim minority did before and after them in their bid to escape a number of violent campaigns against them in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

Despite having lived for centuries in the majority Buddhist Myanmar, the Rohingya are not considered one of the country’s 135 official ethnic groups and have been denied citizenship since 1982, which has effectively rendered them stateless. 

Today, more than one million Rohingya have taken shelter in Bangladesh. They live in bleak conditions in overcrowded camps, which are rife with sanitary woes and at risk of dangerous landslides during torrential rains.

Upon arriving in the Ukhiya upazila (sub-district) almost two years ago, A. and his family were prevented from entering Kutupalong camp by the Bangladeshi soldiers manning its entrances.

“We hid at different local people’s residences,” he said. “Once we were allowed to settle in the camp, we found life to be very difficult. We were hit with water shortages and shelter crises.”

His family, A. said, struggled a great deal to cope in their new environment. There was no money and food was enough for just a meagre meal once a day. Without any belongings, they had nothing of value to sell to buy sustenance.

A. said he tried to open a small shop, but that failed as no one would loan him the money he needed. Growing desperate by the day, he decided to meet a group of men in the camp who he knew transported yaba pills to Cox’s Bazar.

“I was compelled to engage with them,” he said, his eyes expressionless.

“When I sat with them, I found how they collect yaba, how it is consumed and how they deliver it to other parts of the country.”

Bringing in yaba was cheap, but selling it was lucrative.

A. confirmed that some of the Rohingya men, especially those who are fluent in Bengali, cross the border from the southern sub-district of Teknaf to Myanmar. They come back with the drugs, which they then supply to Bangladeshi peddlers.

A. said that at the beginning of the year he travelled with around two dozen men to the border to see how the operations ran.

“We knew which checkpoints we would be searched by police, so we travelled separately, either on foot or motorcycles or bicycles,” he said. “But if you travel in a microbus or three-wheeled rickshaw, you would definitely be checked.”

Yaba trend increase

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, yaba was first introduced to East Asia during World War II to boost the performance of troops. Since then, the strong stimulant has grown in popularity across the region, including in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar, where Bangladeshi authorities believe there are more than 50 drug factories.

Although concrete figures are hard to come by, in 2012 it was estimated that there were 4.6 million yaba users in Bangladesh, with numbers increasing by the day.

In 2014, the Department of Narcotics Control said the consumption of the drug had jumped by 77 times over the course of a six-year period. 

Nongovernmental organisations, however, have compiled their own figures, with DNC Director General Md Jamal Uddin Ahmed stating in May 2018 that “according to [the NGOs], the number of drug addicts is about seven million” – with five million of them hooked on yaba.

Drug abuse has been on the rise in Bangladesh since early 2000, prompting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in May to launch an anti-drug campaign.

Since then, more than 17,000 drug traffickers have been arrested by the police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a paramilitary body.

“The yaba trend has increased in Cox’s Bazar, but law enforcement agencies are working on a 24/7 basis on this issue,” Hasan, the assistant SP, said.

Shahriar Alam, Bangladesh’s state minister of foreign affairs, said the government has taken on a more “holistic approach” to tackling the drug issue.

“The NGOs [in Cox’s Bazar] are feeding information to the law enforcement agencies if there are any suspicious activities going on,” he said.

However, Hasan said that some of the Rohingya involved in drug-peddling are working “under the banner of some NGOs or independent workers”.

Smuggling pills out of the camp

A. has been shifting yaba for about a year now. But it’s far from regular work, ranging from once a weekly to twice a month, or even more rare.

“On average, if the supply is flowing, I make between 8,000 to 10,000 taka ($94-$118) a month. But in dry spells, I don’t earn any money,” he said, adding that the proceeds are spent on paying back loans, grocery shopping and health expenses.

He went on to describe how the operation is run.

The drug peddlers would drop off a batch off pills either inside his shelter or to an undisclosed part deep within the camp. At times, the delivery would contain the maximum 1,000 pills, while in others smaller quantities.

“Sometimes we hide the pills inside our shoes,” A. said. “Or we cover them with polythene and stick them on the inside of our belts.

“If the pills are a small amount, like 100 or 200, we carry them in our hands. We fold them in paper, and place our mobile phones on top of them. That way, people will think we are only carrying our phones in our hands.”

The refugee camps operate on a curfew basis, with no Rohingya allowed to leave after dark. Those caught outside are penalised, which makes the journey from Kutupalong to Cox’s Bazar all the more challenging.

For A., returning to the camp is easier than leaving.

“I exit the camp and take the hilly routes, not the roads, to Marine Drive,” he said, referring to the road along the Bay of Bengal that stretches 80km from Cox’s Bazar to Teknaf.

“After that, it’s fairly easy going to Cox’s Bazar. I have heard of some carriers being caught at flying check-posts, where they got found out because they don’t speak Bengali fluently. But I always managed to escape.”

Once in town, A. would deliver yaba to the locations specified beforehand by the peddlers, usually in the Baharchara area near the airport or the fishery ghat (landing station/fish market).

He would then board a bus bound to Teknaf, and get off once in Kutupalong.

To stave off questions from the camp’s guards, who interrogate everyone coming in late, A. would buy a few goods before entering.

“That way, if anyone asks me where I am coming from I tell them I had to do some emergency shopping,” he said.

Penalties, imprisonment and lack of choice

A. estimated that there are some 400-500 yaba carriers in the Rohingya camps, but they do not know each other for security reasons.

“We are not connected, otherwise we would risk bringing attention and unwanted surveillance from the law enforcement agencies,” he explained. “If we all knew each other, then the police can easily arrest us all.”

According to Hasan, Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies have arrested more than 600 Rohingya over the past year for their role in the drug-related business.

Carriers or peddlers who are caught with a small amount of yaba pills, between 20-50, go through a summary or instant trial.

“We don’t prosecute them because it’s a lengthy process, and sentence them up to six months in jail or a fine,” Hasan said.

“The highest penalty is hanging, but the government is thinking of amending this,” he added.

There have also been cases of shoot-outs, with at least 211 people killed across the country since the launch of the anti-drug drive. Law enforcement agencies have been accused by the victims’ families of using the drug war as a cover to get rid of political activists.

A. admitted he is afraid of being caught.

“I heard about those killed in gunfights or caught in crossfires,” he said, expressing his worry of being suspected or people from his community bad-mouthing him. “I also heard about imprisonments. Fear is on everyone’s mind.”

“But what choice do I have? If I had money, I would not do this work or be engaged in such crimes.

“If I had money, I could live out my life in nice way and ethical way, open a small shop. Nothing else.”

In November last year, the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh reached a repatriation deal for the Rohingya, but A. said he is not hopeful that this will take place.

“If it really happens, I will go back to my country,” he said. “Here, we are restricted. There we have lands and properties where we can farm and grow crops.

“Here we cannot farm even a chicken.”

Follow Linah Alsaafin on Twitter: @LinahAlsaafin

Image: Getty Images/alex  wong

Another day, another Trump aide gaslighting the American public.

The latest: Rudy Giuliani’s declaration Sunday that “truth isn’t truth,” which is mind-numbingly WTF and yet somehow perfect for our post-“fake news” era.

Speaking to Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet the Press, President Donald Trump’s lawyer was attempting to explain why his client hasn’t spoken with the special counsel’s office regarding its probe into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election, citing fears that the president may get “trapped into perjury.” 

“When you tell me that, you know, he should testify because he’s gonna tell the truth and he shouldn’t worry, well that’s so silly because it’s somebody’s version of the truth, not the truth,” Giuliani said.

“Truth is truth,” Todd interjected.

“No, it isn’t truth. Truth isn’t truth,” Giuliani retorted.

In addition to somehow topping Kellyanne Conway’s infamous “alternative facts” statement (which, coincidentally, also happened in a Meet the Press interview), the comment is also the perfect phrase to describe what’s unfolded on the internet over the last year. 

Trump, who has long attacked media with whom he disagrees as “fake news,” has recently taken to describing journalists as the “enemy of the people.”  Giuliani’s comments serve as a timely reminder that not only does the Trump Administration like to single out journalists — it also has zero interest in actual facts.

All this, it seems, was not lost on Todd, who was clearly taken aback by the comment. He visibly cringed and covered his face in exasperation, appearing to be at a loss for words.

“This is going to be a bad meme,” he said.

WASHINGTON – Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney on Sunday said factors other than its costs likely contributed to the cancellation of President Donald Trump’s planned military parade.

“If the parade had been canceled purely for fiscal reasons, I imagine I would have been in the room when that decision was made, and I wasn’t,” Mulvaney said on Fox News. “So my guess is there were other contributing factors.”

He did not detail those other reasons.

In a tweet Friday, Trump blamed local officials, saying their “ridiculously high” cost estimates forced his administration to scuttle the parade plans. He accused them of price-gouging.

A day earlier, CNBC and ABC News, citing unnamed officials, reported that cost estimates for the parade had grown to $92 million, up from an initial estimate of $12 million last year.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser pushed back on Trump’s complaints about Washington officials, tweeting that the city’s estimate for its share of the expense was $21.6 million.

On Sunday, Mulvaney indicated that he had seen higher estimates from the city and suggested local officials might be playing politics.

“I mean, I like the mayor. She seems like a nice lady,” Mulvaney said. “But, face it, this is a city that voted probably, I don’t know, 70, 80 percent against the president. So to think that maybe the city council of Washington, D.C., is not trying to help the president accomplish what he wants to accomplish shouldn’t be news to anybody.”

The parade had been planned for Nov. 10. Pentagon officials say they now are exploring “opportunities” to hold the event in 2019.

More: DC Mayor Muriel Bowser says District’s parade cost estimates lower than Trump’s claims

More: Pentagon says Trump’s military parade postponed until 2019 amid reports costs jumped 666%

 

 

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An awful England batting collapse gave India complete control of the third Test on day two at Trent Bridge.

The home side were bundled out for 161, surrendering all 10 wickets in the period between lunch and tea.

At one stage they lost nine for 74 runs in the space of 20.5 overs, with India all-rounder Hardik Pandya claiming 5-28.

The tourists themselves had lost their last four first-innings wickets for six runs to be dismissed for 329.

When they batted for a second time, India moved to 124-2 to end a chaotic day with a lead of 292 and the perfect opportunity to cut their deficit in the five-match series to 2-1.

England exposed again

Though England won the first two matches of the series, in the second innings of the first Test at Edgbaston they found themselves 87-7 and at Lord’s they were 131-5.

Indeed, in 61 innings since the beginning of 2016, they have lost their fourth wicket having scored 100 runs or fewer on 30 occasions.

On this ground in 2017, as England were being trounced by South Africa, former captain Michael Vaughan suggested they did not “respect” the way to bat in Test cricket.

This latest capitulation was not as a result of recklessness, but technical deficiencies against a ball that consistently moved in the air and off the seam.

In England’s big win at Lord’s, India were found wanting as the hosts enjoyed perfect bowling conditions. Here, the tourists gave the home side a taste of their own medicine.

After tumbling from 54-0 to 128-9, England were dragged past 150 by the hitting of Jos Buttler, who cracked 39 from 32 balls.

Still, England were bowled out in the space of a session for the third time in less than two years.

Pandya leads rampant India

India actually began poorly, bowling too short before lunch, only to improve after the break with a fuller length, bustling pace and assured slip catching.

Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings were caught behind off consecutive deliveries – Cook drawn into playing by a lovely delivery from Ishant Sharma, Jennings needlessly poking at Jasprit Bumrah.

After Ollie Pope tickled Ishant down the leg side, Pandya took over, swinging the ball to claim his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket.

The crowd booed when the third umpire adjudged that Joe Root’s edge carried to second slip, but there was no doubt when Jonny Bairstow was dismissed in the same fashion.

Chris Woakes gloved a hook, Adil Rashid gave debutant wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant his fifth catch and Stuart Broad was indisputably lbw.

At the other end, Ben Stokes prodded Mohammad Shami to KL Rahul, who claimed three catches at second slip, as England’s batting was left in tatters.

Buttler briefly brought carnage of a different kind, entertaining the crowd in a last-wicket stand of 33 with James Anderson before holing out off Bumrah.

So complete was the destruction brought by the India pace bowlers, the tourists were unaffected by a hip injury that restricted off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to only one over.

India’s two innings in one day

Pandya’s dismissal to the final ball of the first day left India resuming on Sunday on 307-6.

Drizzle kept the players off the field for half an hour, after which Anderson and Broad swung a nearly new ball under grey skies.

Pant played on off Broad, who also bowled Ashwin before Anderson accounted for Shami and Bumrah in successive deliveries. England took their four wickets in 7.5 overs.

England were bowling again straight after tea but, this time, were flat, loose and punished as the ball ceased moving in the evening sunshine.

At one stage, Anderson was conceding five runs an over, Broad six and Stokes seven, even if the Durham all-rounder did manage to bowl Rahul for 36.

Cook’s drop of a straightforward Dhawan edge did not prove too costly – the left-hander stumped off leg-spinner Rashid for 44, leaving India skipper Virat Kohli to accompany Cheteshwar Pujara to the close.

‘England have to be honest with themselves, but keep the faith’ – what they said

Former England spinner Graeme Swann on Test Match Special: “I hope England say ‘we were awful today and went too hard at the ball’.

“I hope they don’t say the Joe Root catch changed the game.

“The batsmen have let down the bowlers. To be bowling again by teatime on day two – no wonder they look grumpy.

“To be putting your bowling shoes on 38 overs later when they are still warm and sweaty is a horrible feeling.

“However, they have got to keep the faith and believe they can still win this game. If the sun comes out tomorrow this will be a good pitch to bat on.”

England batsman Jos Buttler: “It is very disappointing after a really good start with the ball and being 50-0. In testing conditions, unfortunately we weren’t good enough to ride it out.

“We have to talk and improve. We need to make sure these things don’t happen often. There have been honest conversations and hopefully some learnings.

“It is down to us come back tomorrow and dust ourselves down.”

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has declared a conditional ceasefire with the Taliban ahead of Eid al-Adha, effective from Monday.

In a televised address on Sunday, Ghani said the truce would be “until the prophet’s birthday provided that the Taliban reciprocate”, referring to the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday which is celebrated on November 21 in Afghanistan.

Ghani, who was speaking during a ceremony to mark the 99th Independence Day of Afghanistan at the iconic Darul Aman palace in the capital, Kabul, said the decision was reached after extensive consultation with different segments of the Afghan society and Islamic scholars worldwide.

The Taliban did not respond to requests for comment immediately but released a statement saying that they planned to free “hundreds of prisoners” on the occasion of Eid.

Ghani’s ceasefire announcement was limited to the Taliban and excluded other armed groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS).

It was immediately welcomed in neighbouring Pakistan.

“Pakistan fully supports all such efforts that contribute to achieving durable stability and lasting peace in Afghanistan, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement.

“The people of Afghanistan deserve it. Coinciding with the Independence Day of Afghanistan, the announcement has an even greater significance.”

Record number of civilians killed

The Afghan government had previously announced a ceasefire with the Taliban during the Eid al-Fitr holiday in June.

That truce, the first formal, nationwide ceasefire since the 2001 US invasion. was indirectly accepted by the Taliban for three days, but the group later rejected a call by the president to extend it, with attacks resuming shortly after.

Ghani’s announcement follows a bloody week of fighting across Afghanistan which saw the Taliban launch a massive assault against the provincial capital Ghazni – just a two-hour drive from Kabul.

At least 150 soldiers and 95 civilians were killed in a five-day siege, which eased last week when Afghan soldiers backed by US forces pushed back the group’s heavily armed fighters.

Blasts, suicide attacks and clashes between the Taliban and Afghan forces killed over 1,600 civilians in the first six months of the year, the highest number in the past decade, despite June’s truce, the United Nations said in a statement on Sunday.

Published by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, the report attributed 42 percent of civilian casualties to the Afghan Taliban and 18 percent to the ISIL, noting a fourfold increase in deaths and injuries caused by both the armed groups.

Afghan security forces have struggled to battle the Taliban and ISIL since the US and NATO formally concluded their combat mission in the country in 2014 and shifted their focus to a “support and counterterrorism” role.

Meanwhile, pro-government forces, including Afghan national security troops and international military forces, caused a fifth of the civilian casualties so far this year. 

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

Angel Almaguer backed a waste truck into the middle of a trash storage building the size of a high school gymnasium. 

The gate on the back of the truck swung open and everything from tiny baitfish to massive Goliath grouper, huge snook, untold numbers of eels and puffed up puffer fish fell to the concrete ground.

With horseshoe crabs flanking the main pile, the mass of dead fish and sea critters looked like a seafood Sundae from a horror film. 

It smelled worse. 

This was the 90th truckload of dead fish and sea debris that’s been processed in the last three weeks at the Lee County Solid Waste facility on Buckingham Road. From here the carcasses will be transported to the incinerator and burned. 

“We make things go away,” said Molly Schweers, Lee County Solid Waste spokeswoman. “If you think about (trash from) a restaurant, it’s just the remains of food.” 

Florida’s algae crisis: Here’s the latest update on what we know

‘It’s like a bad nightmare’: Florida water crisis slams wildlife, hurts businesses

Millions of pounds of dead fish have been processed at the facility this month since a strong red tide bloom came ashore and brought untold numbers of dead fish, sea turtles, manatees and dolphins. 

“Here we have the opportunity to mix it with other material that will have a higher heat value,” Schweers said. “It’s the same after a hurricane.” 

Experts say that only a fraction of the dead wildlife is washing up on local shorelines. Most of the carcasses are either floating at the surface offshore or are at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. 

About 2.8 million pounds of fish and sea debris has been collected by Lee County this month. Add Sanibel’s 600,000 pounds or so and the total jumps to more than 3 million pounds of aquatic wildlife that have been burned at the county facility this month. 

Red tide counts along the Southwest Florida coast in recent weeks have been at 1 million cells per liter and higher. Fish kills and breathing irritation in humans can begin when levels reach 10,000 cells per liter, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 

Besides the droves of workers collecting dead critters, human activity at the beach has been sparse in recent weeks, and the National Weather Service has extended a red tide beach hazard advisory through Saturday evening for Lee, Collier, Charlotte and Sarasota counties.

Related: Governor Rick Scott declares state of emergency for red tide outbreak in Southwest Florida

Related: Strong red tide may leave lasting impression on turtle populations

“It’s the worst in recent history,” said Keith Williams, public works director for the City of Sanibel, of the bloom. 

Sanibel has used between 30 and 100 contracted workers per day to help collect dead fish and debris, most of which was hauled off the island and taken to the Lee County waste facility, Williams said. 

Some larger animals have been buried on location. 

The bloom started in October but has been particularly strong since June. 

“Some canals were holding about 2,000 pounds of fish right beside people’s homes,” said Jesse Lavender, with Lee County Parks and Recreation. “You had neighborhoods surrounded by rotting, smelly fish and we needed to do something about it.”

The county recently purchased two raking machines for about $118,000 to help clean local beaches. 

More: Florida’s toxic algae crisis: Are Gulf and freshwater seafood safe to eat?

More: Environmental experts say Southwest Florida’s algae blooms may not ease until winter

Work with the mechanized rakes started Thursday on Boca Grande, and Lavender said the machines will be loaned out to municipalities like the Town of Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Springs soon.

Westerly winds pushed the bloom onshore at the beginning of August. 

The National Weather Service is calling for light winds out of the east and southeast over the next week. 

That type of weather pattern should push the bloom and the dead animals offshore, the thinking goes. 

But just because fish and sea turtles are washing up at slower rates in recent days doesn’t mean the red tide has gone away. 

A University of South Florida College of Marine Science forecasting model shows red tide moving out of local bay areas over the next three days. 

Beyond that no one knows exactly what the toxic red tide bloom will do next. 

“Conditions have improved over what we had last week but any shift in winds or current could push red tide toward our shore again,” Williams said. 

Connect with this reporter: Chad Gillis on Twitter. 

More about red tide

What: Karenia brevis is the organism that causes red tide and is naturally found at background concentrations in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Where: The current bloom stretches from the Tampa Bay area to Marco Island. 

How much: Counts along Southwest Florida beaches have largely been 1 million cells per liter and higher, which is enough to cause fish kills and breathing issues in humans. 

When: The bloom started in October and has since lingered along the Southwest coast.

Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Stay updated: go to myfwc.com/redtidestatus and continue to check news-press.com for the latest news.

 

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