WASHINGTON: It’s too early to tell if training or other changes must be made in light of an insider attack in Afghanistan that killed one American soldier and wounded two others, because there’s some uncertainty about whether the assailant was a disgruntled Afghan soldier or an insurgent infiltrator, the Army’s top officer says.
Gen. Mark Milley, Army chief of staff, said Friday that the three soldiers who were shot last weekend were protecting members of the new US advisory brigade that deployed to Afghanistan for the first time just five months ago. He said the Army is moving ahead with plans to create more of the training brigades and use them primarily in Afghanistan, although other locations could be considered in the future.
According to officials, the attacker fired on the soldiers at the airfield on the base at Tarin Kowt, in southern Uruzgan Province, a hotbed of Taliban activity. He was taken into custody on the day of the attack, July 7.
It was the first death involving the advisory brigade, and the first insider attack in about a year. Cpl. Joseph Maciel of South Gate, California, was shot by small arms fire and killed. The other two soldiers are in stable condition.
In a message to the media last Saturday, Taliban spokesman Qari Yosuf Ahmadi said the shooting was carried out by a member of the Afghan security forces who acted alone, but the militant group “appreciated” his attack.
The military, said Milley, is still trying to determine if the shooter was from the Taliban or another insurgency or just an angry Afghan soldier. Either way, he said, it doesn’t change the mission of the new advisory teams, working closely with their Afghan partners. Those jobs carry risk.
“Those guys are out there, and they’re in exposed positons and it is a high-risk situation,” Milley said in an interview Friday with The Associated Press. “So casualties are going to occur.”
That’s a reminder of the challenges facing US forces in Afghanistan in the 17th year of America’s military involvement there. The Trump administration is trying to boost the capabilities of Afghan security forces and increase military pressure on the Taliban in the hope of forcing them to negotiate a peace.
During a surge in the US military presence in Afghanistan under the Obama administration, when American forces had a greater combat role, there were dozens of so-called insider attacks.
Despite additional precautionary steps since then, the threat has continued. Last June, there were two insider attacks — in which a soldier in an Afghan uniform turns his weapon on US or other coalition troops — within a two-week period, killing three US soldiers and wounding another seven.
Speaking to reporters last month, Col. Scott Jackson, commander of the new Security Force Assistance Brigade, acknowledged the possible threat of a friendly fire attack.
“I will tell you honestly, we have had our Afghan partners come to us with intelligence that pre-empted potential attacks, and they have been proactively taking care of their own problems,” Jackson said during a June 13 briefing.
Jackson said that when the assistance brigade arrived in Afghanistan, they began vetting the higher-level Afghan forces and steadily worked their way down to the smaller units. That vetting, said Jackson, goes on continually as soldiers rotate in and out of the units, and has not delayed operations.
Just six months ago, Jackson was at Fort Benning, Georgia, pulling together the new training brigade, working to make real the vision of senior Army leaders.
The idea was formed early last year, as officials recognized the need for permanent military training teams that could be deployed worldwide to help local forces learn how to fight better. The plan was a reflection of the new reality of America at war: Army soldiers advising and building indigenous security forces, not doing the fighting for them on foreign soil.
Under the plan, the Army will build six brigades over the next several years. And Milley said Friday that the second brigade is currently doing pre-mission training to replace Jackson’s unit when it’s time for them to come home.
Army ponders changes after insider attack in Afghanistan
Army ponders changes after insider attack in Afghanistan
- According to officials, the attacker fired on the soldiers at the airfield on the base at Tarin Kowt, in southern Uruzgan Province, a hotbed of Taliban activity
- In a message to the media last Saturday, Taliban spokesman Qari Yosuf Ahmadi said the shooting was carried out by a member of the Afghan security forces who acted alone, but the militant group “appreciated” his attack
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The world begins welcoming 2025 with light shows, embraces and ice plungess
- More than a million people gathered at the Sydney Harbor for the celebration
- Much of Japan has shut down ahead of the nation’s biggest holiday
From Sydney to Mumbai to Nairobi, communities around the world began welcoming 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and ice plunges.
Auckland became the first major city to celebrate, as thousands thronged downtown or climbed the city’s ring of volcanic peaks for a fireworks vantage point. A light display recognized Indigenous people.
Countries in the South Pacific Ocean are the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball drop in Times Square in New York.
Conflict muted acknowledgements of the new year in places like the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine.
Earliest fireworks
Fireworks blasted off the Sydney Harbor Bridge and across the bay. More than a million Australians and others gathered at iconic Sydney Harbor for the celebration. British pop star Robbie Williams led a singalong with the crowd.
The celebration also featured Indigenous ceremonies and performances that acknowledged the land’s first people.
Asia prepares for Year of the Snake
Much of Japan shut down ahead of the nation’s biggest holiday, as temples and homes underwent a thorough cleaning.
The upcoming Year of the Snake in the Asian zodiac is heralded as one of rebirth — alluding to the reptile’s shedding skin. Other places in Asia will mark the Year of the Snake later with the Lunar New Year.
In South Korea, celebrations were cut back or canceled during a period of national mourning following the Sunday crash of a Jeju Air flight at Muan that killed 179 people.
In Thailand’s Bangkok, shopping malls competed for crowds with live musical acts and fireworks shows. A fireworks display in Indonesia’s Jakarta featured 800 drones.
China and Russia exchange goodwill
Chinese state media covered an exchange of New Year’s greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a reminder of growing closeness between the leaders who face tensions with the West.
Xi told Putin their countries will “always move forward hand in hand,” the official Xinhua News Agency said.
China has maintained ties and robust trade with Russia since the latter invaded Ukraine in 2022, helping to offset Western sanctions and attempts to isolate Putin.
Seaside celebrations and beyond
In India, thousands of revelers in the financial hub of Mumbai flocked to the city’s bustling promenade facing the Arabian Sea. In Sri Lanka, people gathered at Buddhist temples to light oil lamps and incense sticks and pray.
In Dubai, thousands are were attending a fireworks show at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper. And in Nairobi, Kenya, scattered fireworks were heard as midnight approached.
A Holy Year begins
Rome’s traditional New Year’s Eve festivities have an additional draw: the start of Pope Francis’ Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration projected to bring some 32 million pilgrims to the Eternal City in 2025.
On Tuesday, Francis will celebrate a vespers at St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by Mass on Wednesday, when he is expected to again appeal for peace in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Jan. 1 is a day of obligation for Catholics, marking the Solemnity of Mary.
Paris recaptures the Olympic spirit
Paris was capping a momentous 2024 with its traditional countdown and fireworks extravaganza on the Champs-Elysées.
The Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games hosted in the French capital from July to September had transformed the city into a site of joy, fraternity and astonishing sporting achievements.
Frank and Rowena Klar from San Francisco visited the French capital to celebrate 31 years together. “If you start it big, we think we’re going to have a great year,” he said.
Wintry weather, for good and bad
London was due to ring in the New Year with a pyrotechnic display along the River Thames. With a storm bringing bitter weather to other parts of the United Kingdom, however, festivities in Edinburgh, Scotland, were canceled.
But in Switzerland and some other places people embraced the cold, stripping and plunging into the water in freezing temperatures.
Rio expects 2 million revelers
Rio de Janeiro will throw Brazil’s main New Year’s Eve bash on Copacabana Beach, with ferries offshore bearing 12 straight minutes of fireworks. Thousands of tourists in cruise ships will witness the show up close.
More than 2 million people were expected at the Copacabana, hoping to squeeze into concerts by superstar Brazilian artists such as pop singer Anitta and Grammy-award winner Caetano Veloso.
American traditions, old and new
In New York City, the organization managing Times Square has tested its famous ball drop and inspected 2025 numerals, lights and thousands of crystals as part of a tradition going back to 1907. This year’s celebration will include musical performances by TLC, Jonas Brothers, Rita Ora and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Las Vegas’ pyrotechnic show will be on the Strip, with 340,000 people anticipated as fireworks are launched from the rooftops of casinos. Nearby, the Sphere venue will display for the first time countdowns to midnight in different time zones.
In Pasadena, Rose Parade spectators were camping out and hoping for prime spots. And some 200,000 people were flocking to a country music party in Nashville, Tennessee.
American Samoa will be among the last to welcome 2025, a full 24 hours after New Zealand.
Woman burned to death in New York subway is identified as 57-year-old from New Jersey
- The woman, Debrina Kawam, had worked at the pharmaceutical giant Merck in from 2000 until 2002, but her life at some point took a rocky turn
- Sebastian Zapeta , 33, has been indicted on murder and arson charges in her Dec. 22 death
NEW YORK: The woman who died after being set on fire in a New York subway train this month was a 57-year-old from New Jersey, police announced Tuesday.
The woman, Debrina Kawam, had worked at the pharmaceutical giant Merck in from 2000 until 2002, but her life at some point took a rocky turn. She had briefly been in a New York homeless shelter after moving to the city recently, the Department of Social Services said. It did not say when.
Police had an address for Kawam in Toms River, a community on the Jersey Shore, and authorities said they notified her family about her Dec. 22 death. The Associated Press left messages Tuesday for possible relatives.
“Hearts go out to the family — a horrific incident to have to live through,” Mayor Eric Adams said at an unrelated news briefing.
It came hours before another harrowing act of violence on the nation’s busiest subway system.
A 45-year-old man was pushed onto the tracks ahead of an oncoming train at a station under Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood about 1:30 p.m., police said. The man was taken to a hospital in critical condition, and police said they had a person of interest in custody.
Personal safety in the subways is generally comparable to safety in the city as a whole. But life-threatening crimes such as stabbings and shoves spread alarm about the trains that have carried more than 1 billion riders over the course of this year.
Police figures show major crimes on subways were down this year through November, compared with the same period last year, but killings rose from five to nine.
In Kawam’s case, prosecutors have said she was asleep on a subway train that was stopped at a station in Brooklyn’s Coney Island when her clothes were set ablaze by a stranger, Sebastian Zapeta.
Zapeta, 33, allegedly fanned the flames with a shirt, engulfing her in the blaze, before sitting on a platform bench and watching as she burned.
Identifying the victim proved to be a challenge, and authorities said Friday that they were still using forensics and video surveillance to trace her.
Zapeta has been indicted on murder and arson charges. He has not entered a plea, and his lawyer has declined to comment outside court.
Federal immigration officials say Zapeta is from Guatemala and entered the US illegally. An address for him given by police matches a shelter that provides housing and substance abuse support.
Zapeta was arrested after police circulated images of a suspect and received a tip from a group of high school students.
Prosecutors have said Zapeta subsequently told police that he was the man in surveillance photos and videos of the fire being ignited, but that he drinks a lot of liquor and does not know what happened.
He is currently jailed, and his next court date is Jan. 7.
While it is not clear why Kawam was asleep in a subway car, New York’s subways often unofficially function as a refuge for homeless people. In theory, legal settlements give homeless individuals a broad right to shelter in the city, but some turn to the trains if they are unable to stay in shelters or fearful about safety in them.
On the morning of the fire, temperatures were around 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 6.5 Celsius) and had been below freezing for 24 hours, according to data from nearby Brooklyn weather stations.
“No matter where she lived, that should not have happened,” the mayor said.
The social services department said it would amplify its efforts to reach and help homeless people on streets and subways and encourage them to use shelters.
Ivory Coast asks French troops to leave, the latest African country to do so
- France has suffered similar setbacks in several West African countries in recent years, including Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast: Ivory Coast announced on Tuesday that French troops will leave the country after a decadeslong military presence, the latest African nation to downscale military ties with its former colonial power.
Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara said the pullout would begin in January 2025. France has had up to 600 troops in Ivory Coast.
“We have decided on the concerted and organized withdrawal of French forces in Ivory Coast,” he said, adding that the military infantry battalion of Port Bouét that is run by the French army will be handed over to Ivorian troops.
Outtara’s announcement follows that of other leaders across West Africa, where France’s militaries are being asked to leave. Analysts have described the requests for French troops to leave Africa as part of the wider structural transformation in the region’s engagement with Paris.
France has suffered similar setbacks in several West African countries in recent years, including Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso, where French troops that have been on the ground for many years have been kicked out.
Several West African nations — including coup-hit Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger — have recently asked the French to leave. Among them are also most recently Senegal, and Chad, considered France’s most stable and loyal partner in Africa.
The downscaling of military ties comes as France has been making efforts to revive its waning political and military influence on the continent by devising a new military strategy that would sharply reduce its permanent troop presence in Africa.
France has now been kicked out of more than 70 percent of African countries where it had a troop presence since ending its colonial rule. The French remain only in Djibouti, with 1,500 soldiers, and Gabon, with 350 troops.
Analysts have described the developments as part of the wider structural transformation in the region’s engagement with Paris amid growing local sentiments against France, especially in coup-hit countries.
After expelling French troops, military leaders of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have moved closer to Russia, which has mercenaries deployed across the Sahel who have been accused of abuses against civilians.
However, the security situation has worsened in those countries, with increasing numbers of extremist attacks and civilian deaths from both armed groups and government forces.
Ukraine must fight in 2025 on ‘battlefield’ and ‘negotiating table’: Zelensky
- The Ukrainian leader’s address caps a difficult year for the war-battered country that has been fending off a better-resourced Russian army for nearly three years
KYIV, Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said that Ukraine would need to fight next year to bolster its position both militarily and ahead of any talks to end Russia’s three-year-long invasion.
The Ukrainian leader’s address caps a difficult year for the war-battered country that has been fending off a better-resourced Russian army for nearly three years.
The country lost seven times more territory to Russia this year than in 2023, according to an AFP analysis, and is facing the possibility of a reduction in US military and political backing when Donald Trump takes over the White House.
“And every day in the coming year, I, and all of us, must fight for a Ukraine that is strong enough. Because only such a Ukraine is respected and heard. Both on the battlefield and at the negotiating table,” Zelensky said in an address to the nation.
“May 2025 be our year. The year of Ukraine. We know that peace will not be given to us as a gift, but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war. This is what each of us wishes for,” he added.
US President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled almost $6 billion in military and budget aid for Ukraine on Monday in a race to support Kyiv before Trump takes office in January.
The Republican has said he will end the conflict in “24 hours” once in power, raising fears in Ukraine that it will be forced to give up all the land the Kremlin currently controls in exchange for peace.
“I have no doubt that the new American president is willing and capable of achieving peace and ending Putin’s aggression,” Zelensky said in his address.
In his New Year’s Eve address on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not explicitly mention the war in Ukraine but praised Russia’s soldiers for their “courage and bravery.”
Panama celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Panama Canal handover as Trump wants to take it back
- “There are no hands involved in the canal other than Panama’s,” Mulino said. “Rest assured, it will be in our hands forever”
PANAMA CITY: Panama on Tuesday celebrated the 25th anniversary of the US handover of the Panama Canal, which president-elect Donald Trump has threatened to take back.
The commemoration was made more poignant by the death on Sunday of former US President Jimmy Carter, who negotiated the 1999 handover deal.
“On this, such a special day ... a mix of happiness for this 25th anniversary of having the canal in Panamanian hands, and the sadness we feel for the death of former president Jimmy Carter,” said Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino.
The ceremony included a moment of silence for Carter, who reached the handover deal with former Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos.
Speaking at the main anniversary celebration in Panama City, Mulino said the two men “had the vision and nobility to take the road of justice.”
Meanwhile, Trump is decrying increased fees Panama has imposed to use the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He has said if things don’t change after he takes office in late January, “we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America, in full, quickly and without question.”
Trump has asserted that a 1977 treaty “foolishly” gave the canal away. He hasn’t said how he might make good on his threat.
During Tuesday’s ceremony, Mulino did not refer specifically to Trump’s statements. He did, however, try to deflect accusations that China may have too much influence over the waterway.
“There are no hands involved in the canal other than Panama’s,” Mulino said. “Rest assured, it will be in our hands forever.”
The deal involved two treaties. One was for the handover. The other, which continues in perpetuity, gives the US the right to act to ensure the canal remains open and secure. It gives the US the right to act if the canal’s operation is threatened due to military conflict — but not to reassert control.
Jorge Luis Quijano, who served as the canal’s administrator from 2014 to 2019, has said that “there’s no clause of any kind in the neutrality agreement that allows for the taking back of the canal.”
“There’s very little wiggle room, absent a second US invasion of Panama, to retake control of the Panama Canal in practical terms,” said Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.
Traffic on the canal increased 17 percent between fiscal years 1999 and 2004. Panama’s voters approved a 2006 referendum authorizing a major expansion of the canal to accommodate larger, modern cargo ships. The expansion took until 2016 and cost more than $5.2 billion.
Shipping prices have increased because of droughts last year affecting the canal locks, forcing Panama to drastically cut shipping traffic and raise usage rates. Though the rains have mostly returned, Panama has said future fee increases might be necessary as it undertakes improvements to accommodate modern shipping needs.
Canal administrator Ricaurte Vásquez has said the canal “has demonstrated that Panamanians are people who can face challenges” including the effects of climate change, world economic cycles and international conflicts.
