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The Arizona “audit” finally seems to be wrapping up. Prepare for a blizzard of disinformation.

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Cyber Ninjas — the company running the GOP’s so-called “audit” of the 2020 election results in Maricopa County, Arizona — is expected to <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/arizona-election-audit-explainer.html">finally</a> release a report summarizing its findings sometime in the next few weeks. But if past is precedent, the document will likely leave people in a fog of confusion.
That’s because the “audit,” which began in April at the behest of the state’s GOP-controlled Senate and is <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/09/the-big-money-behind-the-big-lie">being paid for by a variety of far-right, pro-Trump sources</a>, was never intended to be a good-faith investigation of election practices. On the contrary, it’s always been about bolstering Donald Trump’s lies about the election with false and misleading claims, then using them as a pretext to impose new voting restrictions aimed at giving Republicans an edge in future elections, including a possible Trump 2024 presidential run.
Inevitably, that means Cyber Ninjas will make claims just plausible enough to get credulous coverage from pro-Trump media, even if the claims can’t withstand scrutiny from impartial fact-checkers. Those claims can then be amplified by elected Republicans who won’t let facts get in the way of their narrative. Consider the dynamic at work in Tucker Carlson’s recent attempts to blame the FBI for the January 6 insurrection — a claim that was <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/6/23/22544084/tucker-carlson-january-6-insurrection-fbi">quickly debunked</a> but was nonetheless touted by members of Congress like Marjorie Taylor Green and Matt Gaetz.
Comments made last month by Doug Logan, CEO of Cyber Ninjas, gave up the game. During a briefing that took place after most “audit” operations were completed, Logan, who is running the Maricopa County operation even though last winter he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doug-logan-cyber-ninjas-arizona-audit-election-conspiracy-theory-film-2021-6">posted conspiracy theories</a> about the election being stolen from Trump, claimed, “We have 74,243 mail-in ballots where there is no clear record of them being sent.” That’s a big-if-true allegation that would constitute significant evidence of malfeasance of the sort Trump claimed enabled Joe Biden to beat him in Arizona and other states.
But within days of Logan making those comments, CNN published <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/18/politics/fact-check-maricopa-audit-arizona-cyber-ninjas-74000/index.html">a lengthy fact-check</a> with a straightforward explanation for the 74,000-plus ballots Logan mentioned. It turns out Logan either didn’t understand or was intentionally trying to mislead people about the fact that the “submitted-ballots list” he cited included ballots cast via in-person early voting as well as by mail. In short, when you understand what the number is actually supposed to represent, it’s not the case that there was a significant number of unexplainable votes.
On Twitter, Arizona elections analyst Garrett Archer broke down what Logan missed and <a href="https://twitter.com/Garrett_Archer/status/1416155212247486465?s=20">described</a> the CEO’s conspiracy-mongering about the ballots as either “grossly negligent” or “deliberately misleading.” But as the old saying goes, a lie travels halfway around the world while the truth is lacing up its boots.
As CNN detailed, even though the claim that tens of thousands of mail-in ballots appeared out of nowhere is false, prominent Republicans ranging from Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) to Trump himself made hay out of it, with Trump claiming it’s evidence of “magically appearing ballots.”
And that wasn’t even the only false claim Logan made during that briefing. He also <a href="https://twitter.com/RecordersOffice/status/1415749790437019649">lied</a> about Maricopa County’s signature verification processes. But for Logan and company, the truth or falsity of claims is unimportant compared to their usefulness in advancing a narrative about Democratic cheating.
As my colleague Ian Millhiser <a href="https://www.vox.com/22417310/arizona-audit-ballots-cyber-ninjas-uv-lights-qanon-conspiracy-theory-vote-suppression-fraud">detailed</a> in May, Trump supporters haven’t been shy about framing the proceedings in Arizona as the first step in discrediting the 2020 election as part of a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2021/06/03/trump-reportedly-thinks-audits-will-lead-to-reinstatement-of-defeated-gop-senators/?sh=1bf8af62661f">half-baked effort to reinstate</a> Trump and other Republicans who lost in 2020.
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Pro-Trump outlets like <a href="https://www.oann.com/ariz-audit-chief-says-probe-of-2020-fraud-is-gaining-momentum/">One America News Network</a> (OAN) and <a href="https://www.newsmax.com/politics/arizona-republicans-audit-kelli-ward/2021/05/01/id/1019774/">Newsmax</a> feature breathless coverage of how, in Arizona GOP chair Kelli Ward’s words, this audit will be “the first domino that will fall and then other states will look into irregularities, abnormalities, mistakes and potentially outright fraud that happened.” Trump himself touts the audit, claiming that Democrats are trying to stop it because “<a href="https://www.newsmax.com/politics/arizona-election-integrity-audit/2021/04/27/id/1019218/">it won’t be good for the Dems</a>.”
The real purpose of the audit, in other words, appears to be feeding <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/3/23/22346333/sidney-powell-dominion-defamation-lawsuit-trump">Trump’s big lie</a> — the false idea that the 2020 election results are fraudulent.
</blockquote>
Let’s take a moment to consider what we already know about the 2020 presidential election in Arizona, which Biden won by 10,457 votes over Trump, and in Maricopa County, the most populous county in the state, which Biden won by just over 45,000 votes.
The Maricopa County result has already been <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/09/the-big-money-behind-the-big-lie">audited</a> four times, with each of them confirming Biden’s margin there. Republicans ranging from <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/01/politics/doug-ducey-donald-trump-arizona-voter-fraud-claims/index.html">Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey</a> to the four on the <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/maricopa-county-board-supervisors-condemns-043012516.html">Maricopa County Board of Supervisors</a> (only one Democrat sits on it) to federal <a href="https://apnews.com/article/barr-no-widespread-election-fraud-b1f1488796c9a98c4b1a9061a6c7f49d">officials from Trump’s own administration</a> have affirmed that no funny business took place. A study published by the Associated Press last month <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-government-and-politics-only-on-ap-election-2020-8260008a320b6c96a15e6884af3fa474">found</a> that “Arizona county election officials have identified fewer than 200 cases of potential voter fraud out of more than 3 million ballots cast in last year’s presidential election, further discrediting former President Donald Trump’s claims of a stolen election as his allies continue a disputed ballot review in the state’s most populous county.”
Simply put, not only is there no evidence of widespread election fraud, everything we know points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that Biden’s victory was the result of a free and fair process.
Nonetheless, the Maricopa County “audit” includes a full hand recount of ballots. Cyber Ninjas has been criticized for its sloppy recount procedures — at one point, counters were <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/07/14/house-committee-launches-probe-into-arizona-election-audit/?sh=72570db24fa5">spotted marking ballots with blue pens</a> even though that sort of ink can affect how they’re read by machines — and the results haven’t been released yet. But there are indications Cyber Ninjas is spending just as much time trying to chase down wild conspiracies as it is taking yet another look at ballot tabulations that have already been confirmed time and time again.
For instance, Cyber Ninjas used UV lights to examine ballots for reasons that remain unclear but may have something to do with their efforts to substantiate a conspiracy theory that bamboo fibers in ballots could serve as proof some were smuggled from Asia.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
John Brakey, an official helping oversee the audit of the 2020 Arizona election, says auditors are looking for bamboo fibers because of a baseless accusation that 40K ballots from Asia were smuggled here. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AzAuditPool?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AzAuditPool</a> <a href="https://t.co/57UOBYIehg">pic.twitter.com/57UOBYIehg</a>
— Dennis Welch (@dennis_welch) <a href="https://twitter.com/dennis_welch/status/1390014544890658819?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Then Republicans in the Arizona state senate subpoenaed the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Dominion Voting Systems, demanding they turn over routers used in the election. (They <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arizona-audit-election-subpoenas-maricopa-county-dominion-voting-systems-refuse/">refused</a>.) This interest in routers appears to be connected to a conspiracy theory pushed by My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell that Trump alluded to during a speech in Arizona on July 24.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Trump speaking of “routers” here is a reference to a MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell conspiracy theory which alleges the “routers” of Dominion voting machines were connected to the Internet on election night and thus now need to be examined. <a href="https://t.co/rOKKxuUHsK">https://t.co/rOKKxuUHsK</a>
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZTPetrizzo/status/1419104812285714434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2021</a></blockquote>
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In a statement explaining why the board won’t comply with the subpoenas, Jack Sellers, the Republican chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, said it’s already been established that voting machines weren’t tampered with.
“For months, the Senate’s audit team has had access to the items they need to confirm Maricopa County’s tabulators were not connected to the internet and thus were not hacked during the November General Election,” Sellers <a href="https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2021/08/03/maricopa-county-board--dominion-defy-subpoenas-in-arizona-election-audit">said</a>. “The certified auditors hired by the County needed just two weeks with the machines and logs that we turned over to the Senate to make such a determination. They have what they need.”
As clownish and rife with conflicts of interest as it has been — one of the “auditors” was a <a href="https://twitter.com/utilityreporter/status/1388179799198162945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1388179799198162945%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2F22417310%2Farizona-audit-ballots-cyber-ninjas-uv-lights-qanon-conspiracy-theory-vote-suppression-fraud">former Republican state representative</a> who lost his seat in 2020 — the proceedings in Arizona illustrate how Republicans are sowing doubt about America’s elections to advance their political interests.
As <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/09/the-big-money-behind-the-big-lie">Jane Mayer explained for the New Yorker</a>, the “audit” can’t be understood on its own — it’s part of a national effort “fed by sophisticated, well-funded national organizations whose boards of directors include some of the country’s wealthiest and highest-profile conservatives”:
<blockquote>
One of the movement’s leaders is the <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tag/heritage-foundation">Heritage Foundation</a>, the prominent conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. It has been working with the American Legislative Exchange Council (alec)—a corporate-funded nonprofit that generates model laws for state legislators—on ways to impose new voting restrictions. Among those deep in the fight is <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/17/the-conservative-pipeline-to-the-supreme-court">Leonard Leo</a>, a chairman of the Federalist Society, the legal organization known for its decades-long campaign to fill the courts with conservative judges. In February, 2020, the Judicial Education Project, a group tied to Leo, quietly rebranded itself as the Honest Elections Project, which subsequently filed briefs at the Supreme Court, and in numerous states, opposing mail-in ballots and other reforms that have made it easier for people to vote.
</blockquote>
Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania — another state Biden won — recently <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/07/02/after-arizona-audit-is-pennsylvania-next-state-sen-reportedly-begins-push-for-privately-funded-election-probe/?sh=5412b1cc6e6c">expressed</a> interest in a similarly partisan, privately funded “audit” of the 2020 results. Republicans in Texas and Georgia have <a href="https://www.vox.com/22607616/georgia-republicans-fulton-county-atlanta-voter-suppression-sb202-jim-crow">gone a step further</a> and adopted new legislation aimed at curtailing mail voting and enabling Republicans to take control of elections boards in blue cities, respectively. Arizona Republicans, meanwhile, didn’t wait for the “audit” to conclude to pass a new law <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/us/politics/arizona-voting-bill.html">restricting mail voting</a>.
These measures are potential solutions to the problem of losing elections, not to the problem of fraud. And since fraud is so exceedingly rare not only in Arizona but nationally — the Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/04/despite-gop-rhetoric-there-have-been-fewer-than-two-dozen-charged-cases-voter-fraud-since-election/">reported</a> in May that there was one case of fraud prosecuted for every 10 million votes last year — Republicans invested in convincing people it’s actually a real problem are increasingly resorting to conspiracy theories about bamboo fibers and hacked routers.
So when the Arizona “audit” report finally drops, know in advance it’ll almost certainly contain flimsy claims of fraud and nods to wild conspiracy theories. Fact-checkers will just as surely get busy debunking it, but in the increasingly shameless environment of Trump’s Republican Party, their findings will either be ignored or summarily dismissed as the product of media outlets that were in on the plot.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/22609910/maricopa-county-2020-election-audit-final-report-preview">https://www.vox.com/22609910/maricopa-county-2020-election-audit-final-report-preview</a>

vox The Arizona “audit” finally seems to be wrapping up. Prepare for a blizzard of disinformation.

Cyber Ninjas — the company running the GOP’s so-called “audit” of the 2020 election results in Maricopa County, Arizona — is expected to fi...

Northern Afghan City Of Sar-E-Pul Taken By Taliban: Official

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Northern Afghan City Of Sar-E-Pul Taken By Taliban: Official" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-08/b1hj4r1o_taliban-afghanistanreuters650_625x300_04_August_21.jpg" title="Northern Afghan City Of Sar-E-Pul Taken By Taliban: Official" /></div>
Afghanistan: Insurgents are capitalising on final stages of withdrawal of US-led foreign forces. (File)
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Kabul, Afghanistan:
The Taliban captured two more provincial capitals Sunday as they gained ground in their fight to take over Afghanistan's cities after seizing much of the countryside in recent months.
The insurgents have snatched up four provincial capitals since Friday in a rapid offensive that appears to have overwhelmed government forces.
Kunduz and Sar-e-Pul in the north fell within hours of each other Sunday, lawmakers and residents in the cities confirmed, but not without fierce fighting.
A Kunduz resident described the city as being enveloped in "total chaos".
"After some fierce fighting, the mujahideen, with the grace of God, captured the capital of Kunduz," the Taliban said in a statement.
"The mujahideen also captured Sar-e-Pul city, the government buildings and all the installations there."
Parwina Azimi, a women's rights activist in Sar-e-Pul, told AFP by phone that government officials and the remaining forces had retreated to a barracks about three kilometres (two miles) from the city.
"A plane came... but could not (land)," she said.
Kunduz, however, is the most significant Taliban gain since the insurgents launched an offensive in May as foreign forces began the final stages of their withdrawal.
It has been a perennial target for the Taliban, who briefly overran the city in 2015 and again in 2016 but never managed to hold it for long.
The ministry of defence said government forces were fighting to retake key installations.
"The commando forces have launched a clearing operation. Some areas, including the national radio and TV buildings, have been cleared of the terrorist Taliban," it said in a statement.
Kabul's inability to hold the north may prove crucial to the government's long-term survival.
The region continues to be home to several militias and is also a fertile recruiting ground for the country's armed forces.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/afghanistan-northern-afghan-city-of-sar-e-pul-taken-by-taliban-official-2505548">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/afghanistan-northern-afghan-city-of-sar-e-pul-taken-by-taliban-official-2505548</a>

news world Northern Afghan City Of Sar-E-Pul Taken By Taliban: Official

Afghanistan: Insurgents are capitalising on final stages of withdrawal of US-led foreign forces. (File) Kabul, Afghanistan: The Taliban...

Rocked By Sexual Assault Allegations, Alibaba Says Working With China Police

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Rocked By Sexual Assault Allegations, Alibaba Says Working With China Police" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-04/f5ffs86_alibaba-bloomberg_625x300_12_April_21.jpg" title="Rocked By Sexual Assault Allegations, Alibaba Says Working With China Police" /></div>
Alibaba has already been under scrutiny from the Chinese government. (File)
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Shanghai:
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said on Sunday that it was cooperating with a police investigation into sexual assault allegations aired by a company employee.
A statement by Alibaba said the company also had suspended "relevant parties suspected of violating our policies and values," asserting that it had a "zero-tolerance policy against sexual misconduct."
An unidentified female employee made the allegations in a lengthy internal posting quoted by Chinese media, which AFP is unable to verify.
She accused her manager and a client of sexual assault during a work trip to the city of Jinan in Shandong province, according to media reports.
A hashtag for the allegation was among the top-viewed items on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Sunday.
Sexual misconduct has garnered increasing attention in China especially since the country's own #MeToo movement was sparked by Chinese feminists in 2018.
In one of the biggest cases so far, Beijing police earlier this month said Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu had been detained on suspicion of rape.
Wu had been accused by a 19-year-old student of date-raping her when she was 17, drawing widespread condemnation of the singer on Chinese social media and leading to several luxury brands dropping deals with him.
Alibaba had already been under scrutiny from the government, which has launched a broad campaign to rein in the growing clout of the country's tech giants.
Regulators in April hit Alibaba with a record $2.78 billion fine over practices deemed to be an abuse of its dominant market position.
State media on Sunday quoted an internal memo reportedly posted by Alibaba chief executive officer Daniel Zhang, saying he was "shocked, furious, and ashamed" about the misconduct case.
Jinan police said they were investigating an alleged rape case involving a female Alibaba employee, according to a statement issued on Weibo that gave no other details.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/rocked-by-sexual-assault-allegations-alibaba-says-working-with-china-police-2505507">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/rocked-by-sexual-assault-allegations-alibaba-says-working-with-china-police-2505507</a>

news world Rocked By Sexual Assault Allegations, Alibaba Says Working With China Police

Alibaba has already been under scrutiny from the Chinese government. (File) Shanghai: Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said on Sunday t...

Taliban Capture Key Northern Afghan City Of Kunduz

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Taliban Capture Key Northern Afghan City Of Kunduz" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-08/29m6vkdo_-kunduz-afghanistan_625x300_08_August_21.jpg" title="Taliban Capture Key Northern Afghan City Of Kunduz" /></div>
Afghan security forces amid fighting between Taliban and Afghan security forces in Kunduz. (File)
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Kunduz, Afghanistan:
The Taliban said Sunday they had captured the key Afghan city of Kunduz, a claim confirmed by an AFP correspondent in the vicinity, as fierce fighting raged in the centre of a second northern capital.
Kunduz is the third provincial capital to fall in the past three days, but the most significant Taliban gain since the insurgents launched an offensive in May as foreign forces began the final stages of their withdrawal.
"After some fierce fighting the mujaheedin, with the grace of God, captured the capital of Kunduz province today," the Taliban said in a statement.
An AFP reporter in the vicinity said "Kunduz has fallen ... the Taliban have taken all the key installations in the city."
Another resident described the city as being enveloped in "total chaos".
"The Taliban have reached the main square of the city. Aircraft are bombing them," said Abdul Aziz, a resident reached by phone.
The government's tenuous grip on the north appeared to be slipping by the hour, with the Taliban also claiming control of northern provincial capital Sar-e-Pul.
A lawmaker from the city told AFP the insurgents were in the city-centre and "street-to-street fighting is ongoing."
Of the three provincial capitals that have fallen since Friday, Kunduz is by far the most significant.
It has been a perennial target for the Taliban, who briefly overran the city in 2015 and again in 2016 but never managed to hold it for long.
The ministry of defence said government forces were fighting to retake key installations.
"The commando forces have launched a clearing operation. Some areas, including the national radio and TV buildings, have been cleared of the terrorist Taliban," it said in a statement.
Kabul's inability to hold the north may prove crucial to the government's long-term survival.
Northern Afghanistan has long been considered an anti-Taliban stronghold.
The region continues to be home to several militias and is also a fertile recruiting ground for the country's armed forces.
US air strikes
On Friday the Taliban seized their first provincial capital, Zaranj in southwestern Nimroz, and followed it up a day later by taking Sheberghan in Jawzjan the following day.
Fighting was also reported on the outskirts of Herat, in the west, and Lashkar Gah and Kandahar in the south.
The pace of Taliban advances has caught government forces flatfooted, but they had some respite late Saturday after US warplanes bombed Taliban positions in Sheberghan.
"US forces have conducted several air strikes in defence of our Afghan partners in recent days," Major Nicole Ferrara, a Central Command spokesperson, told AFP in Washington.
Sheberghan is the stronghold of notorious Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, whose militiamen and government forces were reported to have retreated to the airport.
Dostum has overseen one of the largest militias in the north and garnered a fearsome reputation fighting the Taliban in the 1990s -- along with accusations his forces massacred thousands of insurgent prisoners of war.
Any retreat of his fighters would dent the government's recent hopes that militia groups could help bolster the country's overstretched military.
The government has said little about the fall of the provincial capitals, other than vowing they would be retaken.
That has been a familiar response to most Taliban gains of recent weeks, although government forces have largely failed to make good on promises to retake dozens of districts and border posts.
The withdrawal of foreign forces is due to be complete at the end of this month, ahead of the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States that sparked the invasion which toppled the Taliban.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/afghanistan-taliban-capture-key-northern-afghan-city-of-kunduz-2505493">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/afghanistan-taliban-capture-key-northern-afghan-city-of-kunduz-2505493</a>

news world Taliban Capture Key Northern Afghan City Of Kunduz

Afghan security forces amid fighting between Taliban and Afghan security forces in Kunduz. (File) Kunduz, Afghanistan: The Taliban said...

Delta Variant "No Joke", Young Mexicans Warn From Hospital

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Delta Variant 'No Joke', Young Mexicans Warn From Hospital" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-08/ofqijp7g_mexico-coronavirus-afp_625x300_08_August_21.jpg" title="Delta Variant 'No Joke', Young Mexicans Warn From Hospital" /></div>
Unlike during the first two waves of the pandemic, most of the sick are in their 20s and 30s.
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Coacalco, Mexico:
When Diego started going out again to meet friends he never expected to be among a growing number of young Mexicans hospitalized by a highly contagious Covid-19 variant driving another wave of infections.
"I let my guard down thinking that I wasn't going to catch it, but in the end I did," the 20-year-old student told AFP at a private clinic in a suburb north of Mexico City.
"This is no joke. It's a pretty cruel disease," said Diego, who did not want to give his full name.
He is one of 16 coronavirus patients being treated in the same hospital in Coacalco.
Unlike during the first two waves of the pandemic, most of the sick are in their 20s and 30s.
Mexico's official Covid-19 death count of more than 244,000 is the fourth highest in the world, and the actual figure is believed to be significantly higher.
The government says that is partly a reflection of the country's large population, but is also due to the prevalence of underlying health problems, including obesity, hypertension and diabetes.
The country has registered nearly three million confirmed cases since the pandemic began, of which around 138,000 are active.
No lockdown
Experts say the latest wave of infections is due to the arrival of the Delta variant of the virus, as well as reduced social distancing, particularly among younger Mexicans.
The Mexico City authorities on Friday ruled out imposing any new lockdown measures, despite the health ministry raising the capital's alert status to the highest level.
"Right now it seems that neither the government nor anyone is interested in making people stay at home again," said Jesus Victoria, the head of nursing at the hospital in Coacalco.
Although people aged between 18 and 29 began to be vaccinated in late July, it was too late for some of the patients at the clinic, he said.
"We've been able to discharge most of them, but we have also had many deaths of young people," Victoria said.
"I don't know if as a society we are failing, if the government is failing. Shopping centers are open, cinemas, sports centers. It complicates things," he added.
Thanks to vaccinations, hospitalizations remain far below a peak seen in January when occupancy rose above 90 percent.
Now around half of general beds and 58 percent of those equipped with ventilators are available, according to the government.
Almost 50 million people in the country of 126 million have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and 27 million of them are fully vaccinated, the health ministry says.
Bars, parties
Hector Lopez, a 26-year-old computer programmer who is also hospitalized for Covid-19, said that in hindsight his family was not careful enough.
"Usually I don't go out. The problem is that my relatives do," he said.
"I had been taking care of myself. I hadn't gone out unless it was necessary," he added, as machines monitored his vital signs.
Lopez, who is expected to be discharged soon, said he had seen on social media that friends were going out more, despite the risks.
"It was very easy to see that they were in a bar or at a party as if nothing was happening," he said.
Mayra Jimenez, another patient, believes the Delta variant is so infectious that anyone who has avoided catching it without taking extra care is very lucky.
"We didn't go to parties or gatherings," said the 39-year-old, who is using a medical device to help her lungs recover.
"Fortunately I came through it okay, but there are people who are in a really bad way," she said.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/delta-variant-no-joke-young-mexicans-warn-from-hospital-2505477">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/delta-variant-no-joke-young-mexicans-warn-from-hospital-2505477</a>

news world Delta Variant "No Joke", Young Mexicans Warn From Hospital

Unlike during the first two waves of the pandemic, most of the sick are in their 20s and 30s. Coacalco, Mexico: When Diego started goin...

Fierce Fighting Rages In Centre Of Major Afghan City Kunduz: Official

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Afghanistan: Insurgents are capitalising on final stages of withdrawal of US-led foreign forces. (File)
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Kunduz, Afghanistan:
Afghan forces and the Taliban were fighting fiercely Sunday in the centre of Kunduz, officials and residents said, after the insurgents captured two other provincial capitals in the last 48 hours.
The fall of the northern city would be a major blow for the central government, which has largely abandoned fighting in the countryside to defend urban centres against Taliban attacks.
"Fierce street-to-street fighting is ongoing in different parts of the city," Amruddin Wali, a member of the Kunduz provincial council, told AFP.
"Some security forces have retreated towards the airport.
The Taliban have taken two provincial capitals since Friday, but Kunduz would be the most significant to fall since the insurgents launched an offensive in May as foreign forces began the final stages of their withdrawal.
On Friday the Taliban seized their first provincial capital, Zaranj in Nimroz, and followed it up a day later by taking Sheberghan in Jawzjan.
"The Taliban have reached the main square of the city. Aircraft are bombing them," said Abdul Aziz, a Kunduz resident reached by phone.
"There is total chaos."
Fighting was also reported on the outskirts of Herat, in the west, and Lashkar Gah and Kandahar in the south.
The pace of Taliban advances has caught government forces flatfooted, but they had some respite late Saturday after US warplanes bombed Taliban positions in Sheberghan, the Jawzjan province capital seized earlier in the day.
"US forces have conducted several airstrikes in defence of our Afghan partners in recent days," Major Nicole Ferrara, a Central Command spokesperson, told AFP in Washington.
Sheberghan is the stronghold of notorious Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, whose militiamen and government forces were reported to have retreated to the airport.
Dostum has overseen one of the largest militias in the north and garnered a fearsome reputation fighting the Taliban in the 1990s -- along with accusations his forces massacred thousands of insurgent prisoners of war.
Any retreat of his fighters would dent the government's recent hopes that militia groups could help bolster the country's overstretched military.
On Friday, Zaranj city in Nimroz fell "without a fight", according to its deputy governor, becoming the first provincial capital to be taken.
The government has so far not commented on the fall of the provincial capitals, other than saying they would soon be retaken.
That has been a familiar response to most Taliban gains of recent weeks, although government forces have largely failed to make good on promises to retake dozens of districts and border posts.
The withdrawal of foreign forces is due to be complete at the end of this month, ahead of the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States that sparked the invasion which toppled the Taliban.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/afghanistan-fierce-fighting-in-centre-of-major-afghan-city-kunduz-official-2505438">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/afghanistan-fierce-fighting-in-centre-of-major-afghan-city-kunduz-official-2505438</a>

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Afghanistan: Insurgents are capitalising on final stages of withdrawal of US-led foreign forces. (File) Kunduz, Afghanistan: Afghan for...