NHL MILITARY VIDEO GAMES Zibanejad’s 5 goals Senators want Asymmetrical multiplayer lead Rangers over more vetting of mode adds value to Capitals in OT foreign students Resident Evil 3 remake Back page Page 3 Page 11 Trump signs $8.3B bill to combat coronavirus outbreak in US » Page 6 Volume 78, No. 230A ©SS 2020 CONTINGENCY EDITION SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2020 stripes.com Free to Deployed Areas AFGHANISTAN RAHMAT GUL/AP Foreign security personnel and Afghan police arrive Friday at the site of an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. Gunmen attacked a remembrance ceremony, killing at least 32 people. New special ops network will serve as ISIS claims responsibility security backbone ahead of US pullout BY DAN LAMOTHE drawal deal with the Taliban. for deadly attack in Kabul The Washington Post The idea was to improve coordina- tion between coalition and Afghan KABUL, Afghanistan — A new net- forces, relying on WhatsApp to share work of special operations forces will information, in a way that would still BY PHILLIP WALTER WELLMAN critical condition. All of those killed or injured serve as the backbone of a smaller be possible if the number of U.S. ser- Stars and Stripes were civilians, Interior Ministry spokesman U.S. military mission in Afghanistan, vice members shrinks. Nasrat Rahimi said. hunting Islamic State fighters as the The force is designed to “with- Gunfire killed dozens of people at a memo- U.S. withdraws and providing fire- stand any change in policy, whatever rial in Kabul attended by senior Afghan gov- Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called the power against the Taliban if a peace that may be, or a change in any con- ernment officials Friday. attack “a crime against humanity and against ditions on the ground,” said a senior Islamic State claimed responsibility for the the national unity of Afghanistan,” in a Twit- agreement with the group crumbles, U.S. military official, speaking on the attack in a statement on its website. ter statement. military officials said. condition of anonymity because of the At least 32 people were killed and more The ceremony in the city’s west, relatively The network was established as Army Gen. Scott Miller, the top U.S. sensitive nature of the operations. The than 50 others were injured in the violence far from most U.S. forces in the city, marked commander in Afghanistan, prepared force will work with coalition part- that started at about 11:30 a.m., Afghanistan’s the 1995 death of Afghan Shiite leader Abdul Health Ministry and security officials said to shrink the number of U.S. troops ners, “but the core of it will obviously Ali Mazari. Friday. The Afghan Interior Ministry said last summer while the Trump admin- be U.S.,” the official said. over 80 people were injured and some are in SEE KABUL ON PAGE 4 istration negotiated a U.S. troop with- SEE SECURITY ON PAGE 4 PAGE 2 •STARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, March 7, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER EXCHANGE RATES Military rates Switzerland (Franc)............................0.9326 Euro costs (March 9)........................$1.1633 Thailand (Baht) ..................................... 31.43 Mortgages at record low due to virus Dollar buys (March 9) ......................€0.8596 Turkey (Lira) .........................................6.0940 British pound (March 9) ......................$1.33 (Military exchange rates are those Japanese yen (March 9) ....................104.00 available to customers at military banking Associated Press and into the safety of U.S. Trea- to 2.79% from 2.95% last week. South Korean won (March 9) .........1161.00 facilities in the country of issuance Commercial rates for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the surys as the coronavirus outbreak The 15-year rate is now at its low- Long-term U.S. mortgage rates Bahrain (Dinar) ....................................0.3766 Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For has deepened. Long-term mort- British pound .....................................$1.3028 nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., est level since 1991. purchasing British pounds in Germany), have sunk to a record low, giving gage rates tend to track the yields Canada (Dollar) ...................................1.3414 A steady decline of mortgage China (Yuan) ........................................6.9277 check with your local military banking many homeowners an opening to on the 10-year Treasury note, so facility. Commercial rates are interbank rates has created a potential Denmark (Krone) ................................6.5823 rates provided for reference when buying refinance their loans to free up Egypt (Pound) ................................... 15.6402 they typically fall in tandem. boon for would-be home buyers currency. All figures are foreign currencies money to spend or save. The new 3.29% average rate Euro .......................................... $1.1348/.8812 to one dollar, except for the British pound, as well as for homeowners who Hong Kong (Dollar) .............................7.7695 which is represented in dollars-to-pound, The average rate on a 30-year is the lowest for a 30-year fixed Hungary (Forint) .................................295.20 and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.) fixed mortgage hit a record low of mortgage since Freddie Mac can refinance into lower-rate Israel (Shekel) .................................... 3.4915 loans. Refinancings can lower Japan (Yen) ...........................................105.20 3.29% this week from 3.45% last started tracking such rates in Kuwait (Dinar) .................................... 0.3054 INTEREST RATES week, mortgage buyer Freddie monthly payments and in some Norway (Krone) ...................................9.2476 1971. On Thursday Freddie Mac’s Prime rate ................................................4.25 Philippines (Peso)................................. 50.71 Mac said Thursday. The decline survey of loan rates also showed cases allow homeowners to tap Discount rate .......................................... 1.75 Poland (Zloty) ......................................... 3.78 Federal funds market rate ...................1.09 is being driven by investors shift- the average rate on a 15-year additional cash from the equity in Saudi Arabia (Riyal) .......................... 3.7531 3-month bill ............................................. 0.61 ing money out of the stock market fixed mortgage sliding this week their home. Singapore (Dollar) ............................. 1.3777 30-year bond ...........................................1.57 South Korea (Won) .......................... 1190.23 WEATHER OUTLOOK SATURDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST SATURDAY IN EUROPE SUNDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 45/34 Kabul 45/33 Seoul 55/33 Baghdad 69/58 Kandahar 58/41 Osan Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 63/32 46/39 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 50/35 42/38 56/40 Iwakuni 54/47 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 71/63 Brussels 40/36 Guam 75/61 48/33 Ramstein 56/51 80/76 Lajes, 43/37 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 83/65 77/57 65/61 42/35 48/39 Aviano/ Vicenza 51/35 Naples 53/49 Okinawa Morón 71/67 65/43 Sigonella Rota 58/42 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 84/72 65/50 62/53 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 14 Comics/Crossword ...... 16 Gadgets .................... 13 Health & Fitness ........ 12 Opinion ..................... 15 Sports ...................17-24 Video Games ..............11 Saturday, March 7, 2020 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 3 MILITARY More vetting of foreign military students sought BY NIKKI WENTLING except for specific use in their Stars and Stripes training programs. The shooter in the Pensacola attack, Mohammed WASHINGTON — Two Repub- Alshamrani, a second lieuten- lican senators introduced legisla- ant in the Royal Saudi Air Force, tion Thursday that would restrict was able to buy a semiautomatic foreign military students from handgun with a hunting license. obtaining firearms and establish The bill would also require a more thorough vetting process members of foreign militaries to for the students before they are get an official endorsement let- /U.S. Navy ALFRED A. COFFIELD allowed access to U.S. military ter from the chief of intelligence bases. Sailors aboard the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS New Hampshire haul in mooring lines to of their countries when apply- The Secure U.S. Bases Act aims dock the 7,800-ton submarine at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Va., in July . Assembly faults have led ing for U.S. military training. to improve security following a to delays on the Navy’s newest Virginia-class submarines. Students would also have to be deadly shooting Dec. 6 at Naval fingerprinted and undergo an in- Air Station Pensacola, Fla., where person interview and extensive a Saudi officer who was train- background check that would ing on the base killed three U.S. include a review of their social Documents show longer delays on sailors and injured eight other media activity. The U.S. direc- people. The bill was introduced tor of national intelligence would by Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and have to make the final decision Navy’s $161B Virginia-class subs Rick Scott, R-Fla., who heard on whether to admit students into from Pentagon officials this week the program. BY TONY CAPACCIO tion, as many as 10 more under a “The shipbuilders will need about security weaknesses that The thoroughness of the vetting “Block V” contract signed in De- to accelerate their efforts to ef- led to the Pensacola attack. Bloomberg process came into question during cember and the start