Thousands of people thronged banks in the Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday to withdraw a limited amount of money as banks limited cash withdrawals to prevent a flight of capital from the country.

Long queues could be seen in front of various banks as the Taliban stand guard, some dressed in army fatigues and others in local garb, all using long-range walkie-talkies for communication.

After the Taliban captured Kabul on Aug. 15, banks were shuttered for more than a week. When the banks reopened, they limited cash withdrawals to 20,000 Afghani ($200) a day.

The bank branches were crowded because the city has only a few working ATMs.

After the fall of the Ashraf Ghani government, the local Afghani fell 15% against the US dollar, raising the prices of many products.

Economic uncertainty

Since the Taliban took control of the war-torn country, there have been rumors that money is no longer safe in banks, said Amir Hamza Bawar, general manager of the main branch of Naway Kabul Bank in Kabul.

According to him, delays in the formation of a government and uncertainties about future economic policies caused the current chaos.

The banks restarted operations only a few days ago as life drifted towards normalcy. People are in desperate need of money to run their daily businesses and purchase necessities.

People are withdrawing money rather than depositing it, which is why banks have set restrictions on cash withdrawals, according to Bawar.

He added the main branch has been dealing with roughly 3,000 customers a day, which is no easy task for the staff.

Though he did not mention the limited money supply, which is causing difficulty in getting money from banks, he expressed optimism that the banks' situation would soon return to normal.

Price hikes, capital flight

Businessman Ajmal Rahimi told Anadolu Agency that the cash withdrawal limitations were put in place to prevent capital flight from the country.

“But people in the country are also concerned about the rising prices of essentials items, and they need more money to support their families,” he added.

Hussain Ahmad, another resident of Kabul waiting outside a bank, said the limitations are giving him a lot of trouble because some of his family members are sick and he needs more money.

Emin Juyar, a student, said he has been waiting in line at various bank branches for the past two weeks. “We want to withdraw money to support ourselves. Unfortunately, several branches are closed, and those that are open are quite overcrowded,” he added.

Marwan Muhammedi, another businessman, argued that the Taliban have maintained security, and now they should concentrate on the economy.

“Kabul's residents have been facing a number of issues. We want the new government to be announced as soon as possible so that people's problems can be solved,” he said./agencies

At least 14 people are reportedly dead Thursday in New York and New Jersey after remnants of Hurricane Ida swept through the northeast US.

Heavy rain swept away vehicles and flooding submerged subways and flights were grounded, according to multiple reports.

New York City’s transit system has been affected by flooding on Wednesday, causing disruption.

According to the New York Police Department, at least eight people were killed in New York City. Fatalities include four women, three men and a 2-year-old boy.

"Our hearts ache for the lives lost in last night’s storm. Please keep them and their loved ones in your thoughts today. They were our fellow New Yorkers and to their families, your city will be their (sic) for you in the days ahead," said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Twitter.

In addition, five people were found dead Thursday at an apartment complex in Elizabeth, New Jersey as a result of flooding. Another person was pulled from a submerged vehicle that was caught in floodwaters near the Passaic River in New Jersey, according to NBC News.

Late Wednesday, de Blasio declared a state of emergency after Ida caused heavy flooding in the region, saying the city was "enduring a historic weather event tonight with record breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads."

Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday as a devastating Category 4 hurricane, bringing with it mass flooding and damage that devastated wide swathes of the state.

Damages are expected to cost tens of billions of dollars.

US President Joe Biden will travel to New Orleans on Friday "to survey storm damage from Hurricane Ida and meet with State and local leaders from impacted communities," the White House announced in a statement./agencies

“Israeli” forces on Thursday once again demolished an Arab Bedouin village in the southern Negev region.

"The “Israeli” authorities demolished the al-Araqib village for the 192nd time," Aziz al-Touri, a member of the Committee for the Defense of al-Araqib, told Anadolu Agency.

He stated that “Israeli” police forces prevented Palestinians from entering the village to document the demolition.

Homes in Al-Araqib, which are inhabited by 22 Palestinian families, are built of wood, plastic, and corrugated iron.

Al-Touri confirmed that villagers intended to rebuild their destroyed dwellings and other structures.

The village was first destroyed in 2010. “Israeli” authorities claim that the site where it is located falls under "state land."

Zochrot, a Tel Aviv-based NGO, said in a recent report that al-Araqib village was first built during the Ottoman period and its lands were purchased by residents.

“Israeli” authorities seek to seize control of the lands and expel its residents, with dozens of villages and Bedouin communities facing the same threat in the Negev area, according to Zochrot./agencies

China's cooperation with the US on responding to climate change is linked to overall bilateral relations between the two countries, an official has said.

"China-US cooperation on climate change cannot be divorced from the overall situation of China-US relations," Wang Yi, China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister, told visiting US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry on Wednesday.

Wang and Kerry, who is on an official trip to China on Beijing's invitation until Friday, met to discuss cooperation on climate change response in Tianjin city, said a statement by China's Foreign Ministry.

"The US should work with China to meet each other halfway and take positive actions to bring China-US relations back on track," Wang said.

China and the US, said Wang, are two major countries in the world, and "cooperation is the only right choice and the keen expectation of the international community."

The Chinese top diplomat acknowledged that the two countries had "carried out fruitful dialogue and cooperation bilaterally and on major international and regional issues."

However, he said: "In recent years, China-US relations have taken a sharp turn for the worse and are facing serious difficulties."

"The main reason is that the US has made a major strategic miscalculation about China," Wang said.

"The ball now is in the US court," Wang told Kerry, urging Washington to "stop viewing China as a threat and rival, and cease containing and suppressing China all over the world."

"The United States should carry out coordination and cooperation at bilateral, regional and global levels, based on the principles of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit, instead of one-way traffic," he added.

Wang emphasized that China-US cooperation on climate change should "not only serve the interests of both sides but also benefit all mankind."

According to the Chinese statement, Kerry acknowledged that US-China cooperation "is of vital importance for responding to the pressing challenge of climate change."

"The US is willing to work with China to respect each other, enhance communication and dialogue, jointly improve ambitions, demonstrate both sides' leadership, set an example for meeting the Paris Agreement goals, and also create opportunities for addressing difficulties facing US-China relations," the US envoy said./agencies

World food prices bounced back in August following two consecutive months of decline, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday.

The FAO Food Price Index rose 3.1% month-on-month, averaging at 127.1 points in August, the UN body said in a statement.

Strong gains in the sugar, vegetable oils, and cereal sub-indices drove the increase.

The FAO Food Price Index is a trade-weighted index that tracks international market prices of five major food commodity groups.

Reflecting higher palm, rapeseed, and sunflower seed oil prices, the vegetable oil price index jumped 6.7% from July's five-month low.

Sugar surged in August by 9.6% in its fifth monthly increase in a row and hitting the price index's highest level since February 2017. This stemmed from concerns over frost damage on crops in Brazil -- the world's largest sugar exporter.

The cereal price index went up 3.4% on a monthly basis with reduced harvest expectations in several major exporting countries.

The meat price index was marginally up from July, while the dairy price index was the sole sub-index posting a decline in August./agencies

Turkey's exports hit an all-time high August figure with $18.9 billion, Trade Minister Mehmet Mus announced on Thursday.

Citing preliminary figures, Mus sad the country's exports surged 52% from the same month last year.

"With this strong momentum achieved in our exports, we surpassed the pre-pandemic performance," he said.

The figure also represents a rise of 43% from August 2019, he underlined.

Turkish imports climbed 23.8% to $23.2 billion during the same period, he noted, while the exports/imports coverage ratio jumped 15.1 points to 81.5% in August.

Turkey's 12-month rolling exports reached $207.5 billion, an all-time high, Mus noted.

He also highlighted that In January-August, Turkish exports soared 37% annually to $140.2 billion.

The eight-month figure was up 20% from the same period of 2019, Mus noted.

Turkey's imports reached $170 billion in January-August, rising 25.5% from last year.

The exports-to-imports coverage ratio rose to 82.5% in the first eight months of the year, up 6.9 points from the same period of 2020.​​​​​​​/aa

Amid restrictions on people’s movement and internet and cellular services, Indian police took the body of Kashmir’s top leader Syed Ali Geelani and buried him under its custody in the capital Srinagar early on Thursday.

A close relative of Geelani, asking to remain anonymous, told Anadolu Agency over the phone from Srinagar that Indian police and paramilitary authorities raided the house of the deceased leader in the dead of the night and insisted the deceased leader be "buried silently."

“Family members resisted as they wanted to bury Geelani after Fajr Namaz (pre-dawn Muslim prayers),” the relative said. Indian police are yet to issue a statement on the events that unfolded following the death of Geelani.

Geelani, 91, died on Wednesday evening, triggering widespread mourning in the disputed region.

Pakistan has declared a state mourning to mark the demise of the Kashmiri leader, who until recently led All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) – a grouping of over two dozen pro-freedom parties in the Indian-administered Kashmir that seek the right to self-determination.

Indian police announced restrictions against people moving towards the residence of Geelani who lived in the capital city’s uptown Hyderpora area, along the Srinagar International Airport Road.

“The Indian forces insisted that Geelani be buried silently with low participation in funeral prayers and later they forcibly took custody of Geelani Sahab’s body barring anyone from the family or relatives to attend the funeral,” said the relative.

Geelani had wished to be buried in Martyrs Graveyard Srinagar – Kashmir’s largest cemetery.

“But police forcibly buried him at a local graveyard in Hyderpora, near the main mosque – some 200 meters from Geelani’s residence – in the presence of graveyard committee members and cops who were not wearing the uniform,” said the relative.

He added the funeral prayers and burial process was completed around 5:00 a.m. today (2330GMT, Wednesday). “The number of funeral participants was around 20 to 30.”

NetBlocks, an international internet services observatory, said in a statement: “Internet disrupted in Kashmir as authorities impose security measures following the death of separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani.”

"His family was asked to carry out the burial at night as a precautionary measure as intelligence reports suggested that some anti-national elements may use this to create a law and order situation in the Kashmir Valley," India's PTI News agency reported.

"Officials said that authorities took Geelani's body and buried him according to rituals at the graveyard of the mosque under heavy police protection," the PTI added.

After starting his political career from Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir and later joining the APHC, Geelani launched Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (Movement for Freedom) in 2004 along with another prominent leader Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, who died in custody in May this year.

For the most part of the last decade, Geelani was put under house arrest at his Hyderpora residence. He was suffering from many ailments, including heart-related issues.

“Indian forces are deployed all around the Hyderpora house. No one is allowed to move near the residence nor allowed to enter it,” said the relative.

“We strongly condemn the barbaric act of snatching of mortal remains of Syed Ali Geelani from his family by Indian occupation forces. The international community must take note of this egregious situation in IIOJK (Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir) and hold India to account for its breaches of international human rights and humanitarian laws,” said Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry in a statement on Thursday./aa

Turkish forces "neutralized" nine YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria, authorities said on Thursday.

According to Turkey’s National Defense Ministry, the terrorists attempted to attack the Operation Peace Spring zone where Turkey carried out a cross-border anti-terror offensive.

“Our fire support vehicles responded effectively to the terrorists carrying out attacks on the Operation Peace Spring region from the south. Initial reports indicate that terrorist positions were directly targeted, killing at least nine PKK/YPG terrorists,” the ministry said on Twitter.

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot./aa

At the Ifakara village in eastern Tanzania, scientists have set up a research center inside a mosquito den, to study their mating pattern to control their population and thus, malaria outbreaks.

Ifakara – which means a place of death, is a breeding location for the Anopheles variety of mosquitos, who transmit Plasmodium parasites to humans, which causes malaria.

Tanzania has the third-largest population at risk of malaria in the African continent.

As part of their broader push to understand the behavior of mosquitoes, researchers at the Ifakara Health Institute – a Tanzanian health research organization, have discovered new tactics to outwit and reduce the population of mosquitos.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Fredros Okumu, chief scientist at the research center said they are using cutting-edge technologies to study mosquitos in their den to find ways to eliminate the species that endanger human lives.

“One of the most interesting works undertaken is to study the mating behavior of malaria mosquitoes,” he said.

According to Okumu, the mating locations are determined by elders in the mosquito colony and they remain in use for multiple generations over the years.

Explaining the mating behavior of this flying insect, the scientist said the females are lured to join a 30 minutes ritualistic flight dance against sun-set horizons.

While female mosquitoes mate only once, for 20 seconds, researchers say males seek multiple partners.

Because of the moist and humid swampy environment, Ifakara also hosts the world’s largest captive mosquito colony, to enable researchers to understand the behavior of the deadly insect.

Many techniques like mosquito traps, mimicking the odor of sweaty feet -- a smell that mosquitoes find irresistible and other drugs are tested on mosquitos in the area.

Constant innovation

Okumu said insecticides no longer kill the insects, as they have developed resistance to many of them. “Part of our work is to constantly innovate and create new tools that we can use to keep pace,” he said.

They have developed new technologies including a special ribbon and foot sandals treated with repellent to keep the mosquitoes at bay.

“If you want to provide round-the-clock protection, the best place to put the repellent is in the shoes,” Okumu said.

While mosquitoes spread diseases to millions of people globally, researchers say they are still the least understood organism.

Okumu said the mosquitoes are intelligent insects who skillfully use their sensors mounted on their antennae to detect and accurately distinguish between humans, based on breath, sweat, and body odor.

“This is why some people get more bites than others,” he said.

At close range, mosquitoes can distinguish colors and temperatures also. The researcher said that these flying insects can use their memory and return to households where they had last obtained blood.

Researchers also use the sense of smell to identify how the mosquitoes are attracted to humans.

Grappling to understand mosquitos

Demonstrating how hungry mosquitoes are being fed, Okumu puts his arm in a captive cage with more than 500 mosquitoes.

“ It can be quite painful initially, but then you get used to it,” he said

Okumu said researchers use human and cow blood to feed the trapped mosquitoes for research purposes.

He said scientists are still grappling to understand the deadliest mosquito species, Anopheles funestus because it is hard to raise it in the laboratory environment.

Researchers say effective malaria control can only succeed by identifying, understanding, and targeting Anopheles species instead of killing all mosquitoes.

The researchers at Ifakara have created numerous mosquito repellents, including furniture treated with a repellent that allows villagers to enjoy evenings outside and still stay protected.

Using this repellent, residents in Ifakara are now daring to sit outside to breathe in the fresh air. A resident Anna Kwayu said since this new repellent was given to them, she and his children now sleep outside their homes.

“I wouldn’t dare to do so before this innovation” she added./agencies