The Jewish Home | JULY 7, 2022
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The Week In News
Floods Overwhelm Sydney
Hundreds of homes have been flooded in and around Sydney, Australia, causing an emergency that is affecting 50,000 people. Emergency teams on Tuesday carried out rescues of hundreds of people trapped in vehicles on flooded roads or
trapped in flooded homes, State Emergency Service manager Ashley Sullivan said. Several days of torrential rainfall have caused dams to overflow and waterways to break their banks, leading to the fourth flood emergency in 16 months. New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said, “This event is far from over. Please don’t be complacent, wherever you are. Please be careful when you’re driving on our roads. There is still substantial risk for flash flooding across our state.” Meanwhile, the New South Wales state government declared a disaster across 23 local government areas overnight, activating federal government financial assistance for flood victims. Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Jonathan How noted, “The good news is that by tomorrow afternoon, it is looking to be mostly dry but, of course, we are reminding people that these floodwaters will remain very high well after the rain has stopped. “There was plenty of rain fall overnight and that is actually seeing some rivers peak for a second time. So you’ve got to take many days, if not a week, to start to see these floodwaters start to recede.”
Taliban Wants International Recognition
A Taliban-run gathering over the weekend included thousands of religious and ethnic leaders and ended with a call to foreign governments to officially recognize Afghanistan’s new regime as the country’s legitimate government. Western governments have withdrawn funding and enforced sanctions against the Taliban since the terror group took control last year. In a statement issued at the gathering on Saturday, the Taliban said, “We ask regional and international countries,
especially Islamic countries … to recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ... release all sanctions, unfreeze (central bank) funds, and support in development of Afghanistan.” Though the Taliban initially promised that girls’ schools would reopen when it took control, it later backtracked, leaving the girls to remain at home. Speaking on state television, the Taliban’s deputy leader and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani said that these issues take time. But the Taliban’s Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada insisted that foreigners should not give orders to the Taliban. The group also promised not to interfere with neighboring countries and asked to receive the same courtesy in return. An article by Heather Barr of Human Rights Watch last month noted, “Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August, a grave human rights crisis has been unfolding, especially for women and girls…. The Taliban’s March 23 decision to continue their ban on girls’ secondary schooling may be the first time a rights violation prompted near simultaneous condemnation from the EU, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and 16 female foreign ministers.”
