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On Watch in Washington / The Informer
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| GOP PUSHES CLINTON PERJURY CHARGES
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Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz of Utah said evidence the FBI collected during its investigation of Mrs. Clinton's email practices contradicts what she herself told Congress in testimony last year. The two chairmen have officially referred the matter to the Justice Department for prosecution - though Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch and her top aides have gone to great lengths this year to protect Mrs. Clinton from legal jeopardy, including matters involving her email and questions about the mixing of Clinton Foundation and State Department business. Mr. Goodlatte and Mr. Chaffetz said FBI Director James B. Comey's depiction of what he called Mrs. Clinton's "extremely careless" email practices pokes holes in a number of statements Mrs. Clinton gave to Congress during her 2015 testimony to the House committee investigating the Benghazi terrorist attack. Mrs. Clinton testified at that time that she never sent or received information marked classified, but Mr. Comey told Congress last month that three such documents were in fact marked at the time she handled them via email. Mrs. Clinton also testified that when she belatedly agreed to comply with open-records laws and return her work-related emails to the government, she had her attorneys go "through every single email." But Mr. Comey said Mrs. Clinton's attorneys used only search terms and subject lines to decide which emails to return and did not read each one. The FBI director said his investigators discovered thousands of work-related messages Mrs. Clinton failed to turn over to the State Department, raising questions about yet another statement in Mrs. Clinton's testimony last year. Mr. Comey also said Mrs. Clinton had multiple servers during her time using the secret account. "Although there may be other aspects of Secretary Clinton's sworn testimony that are at odds with the FBI's findings, her testimony in those four areas bears specific scrutiny in light of the facts and evidence FBI Director James Comey described," the chairmen said in a letter Monday referring the case to U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, the chief federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia. Mr. Phillips' office referred questions to the Justice Department, which didn't respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon. Protecting Mrs. Clinton The Justice Department has repeatedly protected Mrs. Clinton during her presidential campaign, refusing to pursue charges that she mishandled classified information and fighting an effort to force her to testify under oath in a court case about her emails. The department also reportedly refused an FBI recommendation to investigate the Clinton Foundation - a decision that is also coming under scrutiny on Capitol Hill. "At this point, the American people and Congress are owed answers," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who has been investigating the tangled relationships between Mrs. Clinton and her aides at the State Department, and the Clinton Foundation and other Clinton-related organizations. Members of Congress were expecting to get a look Monday at the FBI's notes of its interview with Mrs. Clinton during the email investigation. The notes could provide more insight into whether Mrs. Clinton was truthful in her 2015 testimony, though one key Democrat said releasing the documents set a bad precedent for the FBI. "Witnesses will be less likely to cooperate if they feel private statements to investigators may become political fodder for Congress," said Rep. Adam B. Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. "These interview statements also come very close to pre-decisional work-product, and their release will have an impact on the nature of internal deliberations for years to come." He also predicted that someone would leak the notes to the press. Another potential obstacle emerged Monday when the State Department said it wants to review the FBI's notes and other materials on Mrs. Clinton's emails before they are handed to Congress, The Associated Press reported. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told reporters that the department has asked the FBI to allow it to see any documents provided to Congress that contain sensitive information "The State Department respects the FBI's desire to accommodate the request of its committees of oversight in Congress, just as we do with our oversight committees," Ms. Trudeau said. "We have cooperated, and we will continue to cooperate with the FBI every step of the way." After a year of investigation, Mr. Comey recommended against pursuing criminal charges against Mrs. Clinton. The director said dozens of email chains involving Mrs. Clinton contained information that was classified at the time and that three of the messages had the classified marking - a "(C)" designation next to paragraphs indicating they contained secret information. However, the FBI chief said that while anyone at that level of government should have known what those markings were, Mrs. Clinton was not "sophisticated" enough to understand what she was handling. Mr. Comey said he recommended against prosecuting Mrs. Clinton because even though she was "negligent," he couldn't show she was aware of the risks she was taking with national security. Former President Bill Clinton last week said Mr. Comey was making too big of a deal out of the classified markings in his wife's case. "They saw two little notes with a 'C' on it - this is the biggest load of bull I've ever heard - that were about telephone calls that she needed to make," he said. "The State Department typically puts a little 'C' on it to discourage people from discussing it in public in the event the secretary of state, whoever it is, doesn't make a telephone call. Does that sound threatening to the national security to you?" (Contributor: Stephen Dinan for The Washington Times) Pray for the emergence of truth and for the responsible authorities to act on it. Either Mrs. Clinton lied under oath or she did not. If the evidence indicates she did lie, she should be indicted. If not, both sides should move on. The people closely involved no doubt know the truth. Pray for God to allow that truth to be exposed. Only then will U.S. citizens be free to evaluate other pre-election aspects. "Then Jesus said... 'And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free...Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.'" (John 8:32, 36)
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DONALD TRUMP WANTS 'EXTREME VETTING' TO STOP TERRORISTS AT BORDER |
The immigration plan fine-tuned Mr. Trump's proposal during the Republican primaries to temporarily ban all Muslims from entering the U.S. Many Democrats and Republicans criticized that plan as unconstitutional and un-American, but Mr. Trump still proposed a temporary travel ban on people from terrorist hotbeds until U.S. officials establish a test to measure cultural and civic compatibility with American values. Sticking closely to a prepared set of remarks, the presidential candidate said a new immigration policy was needed immediately to stop a pattern of terrorist attacks inside the United States, including the Boston Marathon bombing and the mass shootings in San Bernardino, California, and Orlando, Florida. Mr. Trump said President Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton failed to appreciate or effectively combat the danger. "A Trump administration will establish a clear principle that will govern all decisions pertaining to immigration: We should only admit into this country those who share our values and respect our people," Mr. Trump said in the speech in Youngstown, Ohio. Focusing heavily on terrorism and conflicts in the Middle East, Mr. Trump offered relatively few remarks on other issues and hotspots around the globe. Even so, he did include a number of clear breaks with U.S. foreign policy establishment orthodoxy, including arguing for a broad partnership with Russia in the fight against the Islamic State group and saying the U.S. military should have seized and held Iraqi oil after the 2003 invasion to cut off Islamic State funding and provide a source of money to pay for U.S. veterans' health care and benefits.
Mr. Trump said the pattern of homegrown terrorist who are immigrants or the children of immigrants underscored the need to vet immigrants, asylum seekers and foreign visitors based on their attitudes toward America. "I call it 'extreme vetting,' " said the New York billionaire. "Our country has enough problems. We don't need any more, and these are problems like we've never seen before." The screening would exclude people who support Shariah law, he said, referring to the legal system based on Islam that some followers believe supersedes secular law. "In the Cold War, we had an ideological screening test. The time is overdue to develop a new screening test for the threats we face today," he said. Presenting the threat of terrorism in the starkest terms, Mr. Trump said tougher immigration policies must be part of an aggressive strategy to eradicate radical Islam's "ideology of hatred," much like the U.S. defeated Nazis and the Soviet Union in the 20th century. Mr. Trump's plan to test people who want to enter the United States mirrored some of the requirements on the citizenship test. However, the test would be applied to people seeking to visit or temporarily live in the U.S. Terrorism is a top issue in the presidential campaign and potentially Mr. Trump's best opening to challenge Mrs. Clinton, who served as secretary of state under Mr. Obama as the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, grew into a global powerhouse. Mr. Trump began his address minutes after Mrs. Clinton and Vice President Joseph R. Biden were savaging his foreign policy and questioning his fitness to be commander in chief during a joint rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania. A Pew Research Center survey last month found that 84 percent of registered voters nationwide named the economy as a "very important" concern in the election, and 80 percent named "terrorism." Clinton and the Islamic State A week after accusing Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton of being founders of the terrorist group, Mr. Trump detailed how the Islamic State spread on Mrs. Clinton's watch as secretary of state, including her failed policies in Libya and Syria. "Incident after incident proves again and again: Hillary Clinton lacks the judgment, the temperament and the moral character to lead this nation," he said. "Importantly, she also lacks the mental and physical stamina to take on ISIS and all the many adversaries we face - not only in terrorism, but in trade and every other challenge we must confront to turn this country around." The other two prongs of Mr. Trump's strategy against terrorism involved foreign policy. Mr. Trump advocated for a concerted effort abroad to destroy the Islamic State and other radical Islamic terrorist groups, including military strikes on their strongholds, cutting off their financial resources and using cyberwarfare to shut down their online propaganda and recruiting tools. In supporting those efforts, he proposed to end U.S. nation-building efforts in troubled states and to team up with countries that back the campaign against radical Islamic groups. He said Cold War foe Russia could be a valuable ally in the fight despite tensions on other fronts. "We cannot always choose our friends, but we can never fail to recognize our enemies," said Mr. Trump. John R. Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who has been supportive of Mr. Trump, told Fox News that the candidate demonstrated "command on the subject matter" and appeared presidential. However, the speech did little to satisfy Mr. Trump's critics in national security circles. "The policies and 'pillars' that were offered as solutions were often vague, and it is not clear they'd actually solve the serious challenges that exist in the region," said Brian Nussbaum, a terrorism analyst at Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at the University at Albany, State University of New York. "As in several other areas of policy, Trump's approach to foreign policy and national security seems a bit nebulous, focused on slogans rather concrete policies." Ahead of the speech, the Clinton campaign called Mr. Trump "erratic," "thin-skinned" and "vindictive" and blasted his foreign policy proposals. "Simply put, Donald Trump is unfit to be our commander in chief. This isn't overcranked campaign rhetoric - national security experts across the political spectrum are issuing the same warning," Clinton campaign senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan wrote in a memo. The ferocity of the pre-emptive strike against Mr. Trump underscored how vulnerable Mrs. Clinton is to criticism about terrorism and her record as secretary of state. The memo argued that Mrs. Clinton, who also was first lady and a U.S. senator, was "uniquely qualified" to be commander in chief, compared with Mr. Trump, who he said was "uniquely unqualified." "The choice is clear," Mr. Sullivan wrote. "It's not a choice between a Democrat and a Republican, but between a responsible leader who will keep us safe, and a volatile man who threatens our security." (Contributor: By S.A. Miller for The Washington Times) Intercessors should not allow this kind of "he said, she said" rhetoric to drive their prayers and thinking during the election campaign. Mr. Trump's concern for terrorist infiltration isn't wrong, but we must rise in prayer above the bickering. We urge readers again to pray, seek God's wisdom, compare the competing party platforms, then vote as you believe conscience and God's Word direct. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." (Jas. 1:5-6)
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| BLACK LIVES MATTER BLINDSIDES JEWISH SUPPORTERS WITH ANTI-ISRAEL PLATFORM |
"The U.S. justifies and advances the global war on terror via its alliance with Israel and is complicit in the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people," said the platform's "Invest-Divest" policy brief. Through foreign aid to Israel, which the platform describes as an "apartheid state," Americans are made "complicit in the abuses committed by the Israeli government," the brief says. The strong anti-Israel language stunned liberal Jews, many of whom have expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement's protests against shootings by police of unarmed black men. "It is a real tragedy that Black Lives Matter - which has done so much good in raising awareness of police abuses - has now moved away from its central mission and has declared war against the nation state of the Jewish people," said Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan M. Dershowitz in a Friday column in The Boston Globe. He called on the Movement for Black Lives coalition to rescind the anti-Israel component of the platform, issued Aug. 1 and backed by 67 groups, including Color of Change, which is funded by top Democratic Party donors George Soros and the Center for American Progress. The liberal Ford Foundation announced last month that it would partner with Borealis Philanthropy, Movement Strategy Center and Benedict Consulting on a six-year commitment to fund "the organizations and networks that compose the Movement for Black Lives." Although Mr. Dershowitz said that many Black Lives Matter supporters "may have no idea what the platform says," he described the platform as "the closest thing to a formal declaration of principles by Black Lives Matter." "The genocide paragraph may well have been injected by radicals who are not representative of the mainstream. But now that it has officially been published, all decent supporters of Black Lives Matter - and there are many - must demand its removal," Mr. Dershowitz said. An editorial Monday on MassLive in Massachusetts blasted the anti-Israel plank under the headline, "Attacking Israel dilutes Black Lives Matters' cause." Progressives, meanwhile, have cheered the inclusion of the anti-Israel language, praising the document for linking the Palestinian and Black Lives movements. "The affirmed solidarity of the Black Lives movement with the Palestinian experience imbues the Palestinian struggle for human and national rights with renewed energy," Zeina Azzam, executive director of the Jerusalem Fund and Palestine Center in Washington, D.C., said in a column. "As Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'" One of the platform's authors, Ben Ndugga-Kabuye of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, said that black activists feel connected to the Palestinian conflict. "The way we look at it is, we take strong stances," Mr. Ndugga-Kabuye told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "The demand we're making is we're against the U.S. continuing funding and military aid to the government of Israel. These are all things that are going to be in debate." Pro-Palestinian messages are commonplace at Black Lives Matter protests, which routinely attract a hodgepodge of activists ranging from the Communist Party USA to fracking foes to opponents of food made with genetically modified organisms. What the ambitious policy agenda shows is that Black Lives Matter itself is a creation of the progressive movement, not an organic response to outrage sparked by recent police shootings of unarmed black men, said Republican strategist Michael McKenna. In addition to condemning Israel, the platform includes demands for race-based reparations, breaking up large banks, voting rights for illegal immigrants, fossil fuel divestment, an end to private education and charter schools, a "universal basic income" and free college for blacks. Said Mr. McKenna sarcastically: "I'm shocked that Black Lives Matters turns out to be a political movement holding down the left flank of the Democratic Party. I mean, what are the chances that an organization bankrolled by the usual suspects would turn out to be shills for the policy prescriptions of ... the usual suspects?" The billionaire Mr. Soros donated in one year more than $33 million through his Open Society Foundations to groups affiliated with Black Lives Matter. "[Black Lives Matter] is what it is - a political movement designed (immediately) to improve turnout for [former] Secretary [of State Hillary] Clinton, argue mostly unarguable points, create fear and uncertainty in society, and just generally advocate for ridiculous and noxious policy positions," Mr. Kenna said in an email. The Movement for Black Lives platform also creates more tension within the Democratic Party coalition with Jewish voters, many of whom have been frustrated by President Obama's hard line on Israel and outreach to hostile nations such as Iran. Roz Rothstein, CEO of the pro-Israel organization StandWithUs, warned that the "hyperbolic, inaccurate and dishonest language" threatened to drive a wedge between the black and Jewish communities, which have traditionally worked together to advance civil rights. "The Black Lives Matter movement has done much to highlight these issues in recent years and to reinvigorate a much needed discussion on race relations," StandWithUs said in a statement. "That is why we are so deeply disappointed that the recently released Movement for Black Lives platform demonizes and dehumanizes Israelis with false accusations of 'genocide' and 'apartheid.'" The Movement for Black Lives policy is "slanderous, deeply offensive to the vast majority of the Jewish community, and damaging to longstanding relationships between Jewish and Black communities," said the statement. In its introduction, the platform says that "we recognize we have a shared struggle with all oppressed people; collective liberation will be a product of all of our work." "We are intentional about amplifying the particular experience of state and gendered violence that Black queer, trans, gender nonconforming, women and intersex people face," the platform says. "There can be no liberation for all Black people if we do not center and fight for those who have been marginalized." (Contrbutor: By Valerie Richardson for The Washington Times) The anti-Semitism in the Black Lives Matter agenda should surprise no one with biblical orientation. When ancient Israel turned its back on God, their resultant behavior was as bad as or worse than their pagan neighbors. In a similar pattern, George Soros' Jewish roots lose meaning when displaced by atheism. Pray that U.S. leaders will not desert Israel; consequences for our nation would be drastic. "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen.12:3)
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In a sign of how officials were trying to manage the situation and considering further steps, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D) on Monday said a 10 p.m. weekday curfew would be strictly enforced for teenagers. He also said that officials had spoken to the city attorney's office to be prepared in case they decide a "more widespread curfew" is needed. "Parents, after 10 o'clock, your teenagers better be home, or in a place where they're off the streets," Barrett said at a news briefing. Speaking of the areas where demonstrations have occurred, he said: "This is not the place where you go to gawk. It is not the place you go to take pictures. It's not the place you go to drive your car around right now." Police said an 18-year-old man was shot Sunday night in the Sherman Park area, which has been the center of the demonstrations, and officers said they used an armored vehicle to get the teenager to the hospital. The 18-year-old was shot in the neck at 11 p.m., and was continuing to receive medical treatment Monday, police said. Milwaukee police also said that seven law enforcement officers were injured during the unease overnight Sunday and into Monday, and they said at least one officer was taken to the hospital for treatment. Four Milwaukee officers were injured, including two of whom had glass fragments in their eyes after concrete was thrown through the glass of their squad car, said Edward A. Flynn, the Milwaukee police chief. He also said three Milwaukee county sheriff's deputies were injured by bricks and rocks thrown at their bodies. Flynn also said that a riot helmet worn by one officer had a "graze wound to the back of it, probably from a firearm," he said. "This was not an evening of insignificant risk for our officers," Flynn said. "But I am grateful to report, and they would be proud to know, that they successfully protected the community last night." According to police, 14 people - 11 men and three women - were arrested overnight Sunday and into early Monday morning for disorderly conduct. All of the people arrested were from Milwaukee. Three police cars were damaged, while one store had its windows broken, the police said. Authorities also said that their ShotSpotter system - which tracks gunshots - was activated 30 times. "Gunfire remained a problem last night, as well as gunfire in the vicinity of officers that were attempting to ... restrain what disorder did occur," Flynn said at a briefing Monday. He said police officers never returned fire overnight Sunday, adding that there was "one reported use of police force," though he did not elaborate on what force was used. There were reports of shots fired in parts of the city throughout the night, police said, and video footage from the scene showed crowds facing off with police officers clad in riot gear. Authorities said they used armored vehicles to move into the crowds, while police were also ordering people gathered on the streets to disperse. Even as the city reeled in the aftermath of the demonstrations, authorities also released more details about the shooting that sparked the protests. Police said that the man who was shot Saturday - identified as 23-year-old Sylville K. Smith - was chased by an officer after fleeing a traffic stop about 3:30 p.m. According to Flynn, the Milwaukee police chief, Smith ran to a fenced area and turned to the officer while holding a gun. The officer, who has not been identified, fired at Smith, hitting him twice and killing him. Flynn said there was no evidence that Smith fired the gun he had, which he said held 23 bullets at the time. This shooting was captured by the officer's body camera, Flynn said during a news conference Sunday. On Monday, Flynn pushed back at suggestions that Smith was unarmed when he was shot, saying again that Smith had a gun in his hand when he was shot. Barrett also said that while he had not seen the full video of the shooting, he saw a still image showing a gun in Smith's hand. Flynn also said Monday that the autopsy of Smith showed that the 23-year-old was shot in the chest and arm. Smith was the 16th person shot and killed by police so far this year in Wisconsin, according to a Washington Post database tracking such shootings. In the hours after that shooting, protests in Wisconsin's largest city gave way to heated demonstrations that drew national attention. Police said six businesses were set on fire Saturday night and early Sunday morning, while four officers were injured during the chaos. On Sunday morning, community members gathered to help clean up debris from the fires. Smith's relatives pleaded for peace after the shooting, saying they were heartbroken by his death but adding that the violence would not help anyone. Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., a prolific conservative commentator on cable news and social media, blamed "failed liberal urban policies" for Saturday night's riots. Clarke, who frequently appears on Fox News and pillories President Obama, was a featured speaker at the Republican National Convention last month, where he compared the Black Lives Matter protesters to anarchists. "The social order in Milwaukee totally collapsed on Saturday night," Clarke told Fox Business Network on Monday. "And when the social order collapsed, tribal behavior takes over. And when tribal behavior takes over, the law of the jungle replaces the rule of law, and that's why you end up with what you saw." Clarke had asked that the Wisconsin National Guard be mobilized after the violence Saturday night. Gov. Scott Walker (R) said Sunday he activated the Wisconsin National Guard to be ready to help if called upon by law enforcement officials in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Police Department said in the middle of the night that it had not called on the National Guard, saying that local police and other agencies were still responding. "I join Milwaukee's leaders and citizens in calling for continued peace and prayer," Walker said in a statement. "It is also important for citizens to know that Wisconsin is the first state in the nation to have a law requiring an independent investigation anytime there is a shooting by a law enforcement officer that leads to a death. I will not comment on the specifics of the case as it is now under this investigation. I do, however, hope people will give law enforcement the respect that they deserve for working so hard to keep us safe." Cities across the country have been propelled into national headlines in recent years after unrest sparked by how police use force, particularly deadly force. This summer, the nation has also remained on edge after police shot and killed black men in Minnesota and Louisiana, followed quickly by shooting attacks that killed officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge. Police said the officer who shot and killed Smith is a 24-year-old who has been with the department for six years, three of them as an officer. He was not injured and has been placed on administrative duty during the investigation. Flynn, the police chief, said that the officer is African American, as was Smith. He also said that police were concerned about the officer's safety and that he was with relatives outside Milwaukee. The shooting on Saturday is being investigated by Wisconsin's Division of Criminal Investigation, under a state law signed in 2014 that requires the agency to investigate such deaths. "I am saddened by the senseless destruction caused by a handful of citizens in Milwaukee and appeal for calm," Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel said in a statement. "I know the vast majority of Milwaukee residents are law-abiding citizens who want and deserve safe neighborhoods and communities. ... I pray that the law enforcement officers and firefighters who are working to protect the citizens of Milwaukee will be safe throughout this ordeal and that no other journalists or innocent citizens will be further harmed." Schimel vowed that the state would "work expeditiously to ensure a thorough and transparent gathering of the facts." The state agency also investigated the shooting death last year of Anthony Robinson Jr. in Madison. When it concluded its probe, it handed the findings to the local district attorney, who said he would not pursue charges. The current unrest in Milwaukee follows protests and anger last year when the Justice Department said that a former Milwaukee police officer who shot and killed Dontre Hamilton - a man with mental-health problems killed in 2014 - would not face civil rights charges stemming from that shooting. Not long after, the Justice Department said that its Office of Community Oriented Policing Services would begin what is known as a collaborative reform process with the Milwaukee police force. These kinds of reviews are not like the "pattern or practice" probes carried out by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division - like the one just concluded in Baltimore - which can end with agreements involving court orders. Collaborative reviews, by comparison, involve a review of a police department's polices and practices, followed by an assessment and publicly released progress reports. Milwaukee is one of several major American cities still dealing with a recent spike in bloodshed and violence. Last year, homicides in the city spiked significantly, increasing to 146 deaths from 86 a year earlier. The city also saw increases in the overall numbers of violent crimes, according to police statistics. (Contributor: By Mark Berman for The Washington Post) Intercessors, arise! Our nation is broken from top to bottom. Many state governments and many of our cities are in disarray, with rioting and shooting reminiscent of "the old West." It is as though we are two nations coexisting side by side, yet with very different goals and values. Church influence is fading rapidly. Pray for repentance and revival in the Church to a renewed unity in prayer. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge [of My law, where I reveal My will]. Because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being My priest." (Hos. 4:6 Amp.)
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Yellow fever can cause bleeding from the ears, eyes and nose, organ failure, jaundice and death in the most severe cases, and is considered such a threat that many African nations refuse entry to anyone who has not been vaccinated. Yet despite those regulations, thousands of suspected cases have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after the disease crossed the border from Angola. Other cases have already been reported in Uganda and in Kenya, and earlier this year China notified the World Health Organisation (WHO) of 11 cases imported by migrant workers coming back from Africa. Save The Children has dispatched a rapid response unit of experts to DRC to assist with an emergency vaccination programme. They will support a government drive to inoculate half a million people in the capital of Kinshasa in just 10 days, starting on Wednesday. Heather Kerr, Save the Children's country director for the DRC, told The Independent the urgent action was being taken to prevent the "worrying" prospect of the disease spreading further. But the charity has concerns that there are just seven million doses of yellow fever vaccine in global emergency stocks - not enough to cover the capital Kinshasa's population of 10 million, let alone cope with an international outbreak. Health workers in DRC have already been ordered to dilute the vaccine to one-fifth of its normal strength in order to help stocks stretch further. This provides cover for up to one year - normally, the vaccine works for life. Ms Kerr said there had been nearly 100 confirmed deaths from yellow fever in DRC since the disease entered the country, with hundreds more deaths in Angola and thousands of suspected cases across the region as a whole. She added that the current numbers were seen as "conservative". The WHO warned the figures could rise to 10 to 50 times higher, describing it as the worst outbreak since 1992, when it took six years to contain the virus and more than 4,500 people died. Death rates in yellow fever outbreaks can be as high as 50 per cent, though the current strain is estimated to have killed around 20 per cent of those infected.
The virus can only be passed on by the Aedes mosquito, the same vector as for Zika and dengue, but once it arrives in a region it can in theory be spread anywhere where the insects are present. That includes most of Latin America, the US, Asia, northern Australia and much of southern Europe.
Citing the cases in China, Ms Kerr said: "It already has a history outside Africa. If a person is travelling, they have yellow fever and there are the same mosquitoes [there], that's how it can be passed on. It can't be passed from person to person. "We're concerned about what is going on here in DRC and neighbouring Angola. There is no cure, so the best thing we can do is prevention - getting a vaccination campaign started and reaching as many people as possible." Save The Children hopes the campaign can buy enough time for scientists to add to limited global stocks of the vaccine. Charities have previously raised concerns over the management of what little there is - particularly after around one million doses "went missing". "We know stocks are limited," she said. "So if it spreads very widely, that would be worrying. But that's why we need a preventative campaign now. The production of the new vaccine is happening - it is just a question of when those will be ready." Ms. Kerr said the current outbreak was particularly concerning because it exposes failures in the system to check travelers in Africa have been inoculated against the virus. "You are always asked for your yellow fever vaccination card when you come into the DRC and sometimes when you move, now, but that needs to be applied more rigorously. "In the past we had stocks available to vaccinate people coming in who hadn't already received it, but I think they are all being used now for this campaign. [These checks] are definitely something that needs looking at." (Contributor: By Adam Withnall for Independent News) This article speaks for itself; little comment is needed. Pray for researchers and first responders who can be on the front lines of risk. Pray for God's mercy to stem a wider outbreak of yellow fever. Pray for rapid vaccine production. Ironically, God has power to heal and to contain an epidemic, but He has been ignored or rejected for so long by so many, it is as though He does not exist. Pray for Africa! "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." Lam. 3:22-23)
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