BLINKEN IN AFGHANISTAN TO SELL TROOP WITHDRAWAL
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN» U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Thursday to sell Afghan leaders and a wary public on President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw all American troops from the country and end America’s longest war.
Blinken sought to assure senior Afghan politicians that the United States remains committed to the country despite Biden’s announcement a day earlier that the 2,500 U.S. soldiers remaining in the country would be coming home by the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that led to the U.S. invasion in 2001.
“I wanted to demonstrate with my visit the ongoing commitment of the United States to the Islamic Republic and the people of Afghanistan,” Blinken told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as they met at the presidential palace in Kabul. “The partnership is changing, but the partnership itself is enduring.”
“We respect the decision and are adjusting our priorities,” Ghani told Blinken, expressing gratitude for the sacrifices of U.S. troops.
Later, in a meeting with Abdullah Abdullah, who leads the National Reconciliation Council, Blinken repeated his message, saying, “We have a new chapter, but it is a new chapter that we’re writing together.”
Iran talks resume, gingerly, after attack on nuclear site.
Iran and the other signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal resumed negotiations in Vienna on Thursday to revive the accord, although the atmosphere was fraught in the aftermath of the apparent Israeli attack on a major uranium enrichment site in Iran.
Senior diplomats involved in the talks have agreed that the working groups meant to bring Iran and the United States into compliance with the deal had made progress.
But after the meeting Thursday, the leader of China’s delegation, Wang Qun, called for a faster pace and fewer distractions.
“We do think that all these developments have reinforced our conviction that what is needed most now as a top priority is to do away with any disruptive factors and pick up the pace of negotiation here,” said Wang, China’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The talks have been overshadowed in recent days by Iran’s response to an attack at its Natanz uranium-enrichment facility Sunday. Tehran decided to further increase enrichment to 60%, a major step toward the 90% enrichment that is considered suitable for a nuclear bomb and a flagrant breach of the limits of the 2015 accord. Iran also said it would replace damaged centrifuges at the Natanz facility with more advanced models that were banned under the accord.
Pence, suffering from sluggish heartbeat, undergoes surgery for pacemaker.
WASHINGTON» Former Vice President Mike Pence underwent surgery Wednesday to implant a pacemaker in his chest in suburban Washington, after experiencing a slow heart rate, his office said in a statement Thursday.
“The routine surgery was successful, and he is expected to fully recover and return to normal activity in the coming days,” Pence’s office said.
Pence, 61, was found in 2016 to have an abnormality in the electrical impulses of his heart, known as a left bundle branch block. The condition reduces the heart’s pumping capacity and can sometimes result in a dangerously low heartbeat.
No response as divers knock on capsized ship’s hull.
PORT FOURCHON, LA.» Families anxiously awaited news of the 12 people missing from a capsized oil industry vessel Thursday while divers searching for survivors knocked on the ship’s hull without response.
Rescuers don’t know whether any of the missing might be caught inside the lift boat called the Seacor Power that flipped Tuesday in hurricane-force winds and high seas about 8 miles off the coast of Louisiana, Coast Guard spokesmen said.
Six people from the Seacor Power were rescued alive and one person’s body was recovered from the water Wednesday as searchers scanned an area approximately the size of Hawaii, the Coast Guard said.
William, Harry won’t walk side by side at funeral.
LONDON» Prince William and Prince Harry won’t walk side by side Saturday as they follow their grandfather’s coffin into the church before Prince Philip’s funeral, minimizing the chances of awkward moments between the brothers, who are grappling with strained relations since Harry’s decision to step away from his royal duties last year.
Buckingham Palace on Thursday released the broad outlines of the funeral program for Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, who died April 9 at 99. The palace revealed that William and Harry’s cousin, Peter Phillips, will walk between the princes as they escort the coffin to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, west of London.
Prince Charles, the heir to the throne and the father of the princes, together with his sister, Princess Anne, will lead the 15-member procession.
Lopez, Rodriguez have split. LOS ANGELES» Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez told the “Today” show Thursday in a joint statement that they are calling off their two-year engagement. The couple started dating in 2017. They issued a statement in March that disputed reports they were breaking up.