Month: July 2017

South Sudan Sexual Violence on ‘Massive Scale,’ Report Says

Posted on by SeeAF

It’s been five months since the shy, frail 13-year-old was snatched from his bed, drugged and raped in the middle of the night. The boy hasn’t been able to say much since.

“I don’t remember a lot,” Batista says, darting his eyes toward the dirt floor as he sits in a makeshift clinic in one of South Sudan’s displaced people’s camps in the town of Wau. The Associated Press is using only the boy’s first name to protect his identity.

Four years into South Sudan’s devastating civil war, the world’s youngest nation is reeling from sexual violence on a “massive scale,” a new Amnesty International report says. Thousands of women, children and some men are suffering in silence, grappling with mental distress. Some now have HIV. Others were rendered impotent.

The report is based on interviews with 168 victims of sexual violence in South Sudan and in refugee camps in neighboring Uganda, home to the world’s fastest-growing refugee crisis.

Some of the sexual assaults occur not during the fighting but among the millions of people sheltering from the conflict.

Batista says he was raped in December by a 45-year-old man he’d seen around the United Nations-run camp. Yet the boy didn’t seek psychosocial support until May. Community members say he has kept to himself and is in dire need of help.

The U.N. last year reported a 60 percent increase in gender-based violence in South Sudan, with 70 percent of women in U.N. camps in the capital, Juba, having been raped since the start of the civil war in December 2013.

“This is premeditated sexual violence. Women have been gang-raped, sexually assaulted with sticks and mutilated with knives,” says Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty’s regional director for East Africa. Victims are left with “debilitating and life-changing consequences,” and many have been shunned by their families.

The new report interviewed 16 male victims, some who said they had been castrated or had their testicles pierced with needles.

“Some of the attacks appear designed to terrorize, degrade and shame the victims, and in some cases to stop men from rival political groups from procreating,” Wanyeki says.

The U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan and others say both government and opposition forces use rape as a weapon of war – a strategy made worse because of the country’s culture of stigma.

“If a survivor is left unsupported or untreated, he or she may develop more serious mental health problems,” says Aladin Borja, coordinator for the national mental health and psychosocial support group for the International Organization for Migration.

Survivors are discouraged from speaking openly about rape, Borja says, meaning attacks could continue with impunity.

Amnesty International says many victims are targeted because of their ethnicity.

“They hide in the bush and jump out at you and rape you on the road,” says Bakhit Mario, who also shelters in the U.N. camp in Wau. The 22-year-old is part of the Fertit people, a name for several minority ethnic groups from the north.

She says friends and family have been raped by men who are Dinka, one of South Sudan’s largest ethnic groups and the one of President Salva Kiir.

“I see aborted babies in the camp’s bathrooms,” Mario says. She believes many are a result of unwanted pregnancies due to rape.

South Sudan’s government has condemned sexual assaults, promising that “the government is moving swiftly to protect civilians from such behavior by educating all armed forces and holding perpetrators accountable,” acting government spokesman Choul Laam told the AP.

But victims who have reported their attackers to authorities say they’ve seen little justice.

After Batista was raped he told local police, who arrested the perpetrator – only to set the man free a few days later.
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5 Reasons Why Health Care Bill Would Fail, 3 Why it May Not

Posted on by SeeUS

There are many reasons why the Senate will probably reject Republicans’ crowning bill razing much of former President Barack Obama’s health care law. There are fewer why Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell might revive it and avert a GOP humiliation.

Leaders say the Senate will vote Tuesday on their health care legislation. They’ve postponed votes twice because too many Republicans were poised to vote no. That could happen again.

The latest bill by McConnell, R-Ky. – and it could change anew – would end penalties Democrat Obama’s health care law slapped on people without insurance, and on larger companies not offering coverage to workers. It would erase requirements that insurers cover specified medical services, cut the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor and shrink subsidies for many consumers.

Awful poll numbers

In an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll this month, 51 percent supported Obama’s statute while just 22 percent backed GOP legislation.

Perhaps more ominously for Republicans, the AP-NORC poll found that by a 25-percentage-point margin, most think it’s the federal government’s responsibility to ensure all Americans have coverage. That’s a growing view – there was just a 5-percentage-point gap in March. It underscores a harsh reality for the GOP: It’s hard to strip benefits from voters.

Awful cbo numbers

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says under McConnell’s plan, 22 million more people would be uninsured by 2026, mostly Medicaid recipients and people buying private policies. For single people, the typical deductible – out-of-pocket expenses before insurance defrays costs – would balloon that year to $13,000, up from $5,000 under Obama’s law.

Note to the entire House and one-third of the Senate, which face re-election in 2018: 15 million would become uninsured next year. And though CBO says average premiums should fall in 2020, they’ll head up in 2018 and 2019.

Oh, yes. The bill would let insurers charge people approaching retirement age higher prices than they can now, boosting premiums “for most older people,” CBO says.

Older people like to vote.

Awful Senate numbers

With a 52-48 GOP majority, the bill would survive if no more than two Republicans oppose it. With the indefinite absence of the cancer-stricken Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., McConnell’s margin of error shrinks to one.

At least a dozen senators have expressed opposition to the legislation or been noncommittal. Lawmakers and aides say others haven’t publicly surfaced.

Moderate senators from states with vast Medicaid populations want to protect those voters. Conservatives consider it their mission to eliminate the law they’ve campaigned on abolishing for years. These aren’t easily resolved disputes.

Presidential drag

President Donald Trump wants “Obamacare” repealed.

He also has public approval ratings below 40 percent – Bad! – and a propensity for turning on people.

Just ask House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

After Ryan labored for months before the House approved its health care bill and earned a Rose Garden celebration, Trump called the measure “mean.” Trump said he wouldn’t have picked Sessions for his job had he known he’d recuse himself from investigations into Russian meddling in last year’s campaign.

Some lawmakers might not be blamed for declining to carry Trump’s water.

Trump expressed frustration with Republicans Sunday on Twitter. He said: “It’s very sad that Republicans, even some that were carried over the line on my back, do very little to protect their President.”

While he didn’t directly say why he was upset with GOP lawmakers, Trump’s tweet came as lawmakers are struggling to reach agreement on health care.

Lemons into lemonade

The bill’s rejection would still let lawmakers cast votes showing their positions. Supporters could say they honored their repeal “Obamacare” pledges, foes could say they protected their states or adhered to conservative principles.

Defeat would let the Senate refocus on tax cuts or other initiatives, though it’s unclear what major issues don’t divide Republicans.

A loss means there won’t be a GOP law voters might blame for health care problems they encounter. Though Republicans may already own the issue in the public’s eye, since they run the government.

It passes:

The unthinkable

This isn’t happening, right? Republicans have run on repealing “Obamacare” for years.

The administration won’t let the effort fail without a fight.

Trump lunched with senators at the White House last week and tweeted that Republicans “MUST keep their promise to America!”

On Friday, Vice President Mike Pence urged leaders of conservative, anti-abortion and business groups to pressure senators. Medicaid administrator Seema Verma has tried luring senators unhappy with Medicaid cuts, including Ohio’s Rob Portman and West Virginia’s Shelley Moore Capito, with more flexibility for governors to use Medicaid funds to help pay expenses for beneficiaries shifting to private insurance.

Mcconnell

The health bill’s floundering has tarnished McConnell’s reputation as a legislative mastermind. Many Republicans privately say if the votes were gettable, he’d have gotten them already.

But the 33-year Senate veteran is wily and doesn’t want his record stained with this failure. He understands what GOP senators need and has time, and if anyone can rescue the legislation, it’s him.

Trump factor

GOP senators cross Trump at their own peril. Eight in 10 Republicans still rate him favorably. In the 2018 midterm elections, when turnout is traditionally down, those loyal voters could make a difference.

 
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Immigrant Deaths in Tractor-trailer Highlight Danger of Heat

Posted on by SeeUS

Experts say the temperature inside of the tractor-trailer where smuggled immigrants died and many others were left in dire health would have quickly become unbearable in the Texas heat.

Authorities said they found more than three dozen people, including eight who were dead, in the truck’s trailer after an employee at the San Antonio Walmart where it was parked overnight called the police. One later died at a hospital. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said Saturday that the trailer didn’t have a working air conditioning system and the victims “were very hot to the touch.”

Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told The Associated Press that based on initial interviews with survivors, there may have been more than 100 people in the truck at one point, including some who were picked up by other vehicles or who fled.

This and other tragic instances of human smuggling, including a 2003 case in Victoria, Texas, in which 19 immigrants died, highlight the dangers that extreme heat poses to would-be immigrants.

Treacherous trailer

With a high of 101 degrees (38 Celsius) in San Antonio on Saturday, the temperature inside a parked car would have reached 120 degrees (49 Celsius) in 10 minutes, said Jan Null, a meteorology professor at San Jose State University who tracks U.S. child deaths in vehicles on his website, www.NoHeatStroke.org. Within 20 minutes, the temperature would have risen to 130 degrees (54 Celsius).

The lack of windows on the trailer in San Antonio may have reduced the temperature inside by a couple degrees because of the lack of direct sunlight, but the heat and moisture from the bodies of everyone inside would have added heat and humidity.

Enduring those temperatures for any length of time is dangerous, said Dr. Eric Ernest, assistant professor of emergency medicine at University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

“Those are very brutal conditions that the human body wasn’t meant for,” he said.

Heat hazards

When heatstroke sets in after a person’s body heat rises above 104 degrees (40 Celsius), perspiration shuts down, eliminating the body’s primary method of cooling itself through the evaporation of sweat.

At this point, a person’s skin begins to feel hot and appear red, and a person suffering heatstroke may appear confused, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Around 107 degrees (42 Celsius), cells start to die and organs can begin to fail. Once that happens, a person’s health can deteriorate quickly.

“The body loses its ability to deal with heat,” Ernest said.

Higher humidity makes things worse because perspiration won’t evaporate as quickly.

One of the best ways to avoid heat-related illnesses is by drinking plenty of fluids, which authorities say weren’t available to those on the truck.

“In 100 degree temperatures, you almost can’t drink water fast enough,” Null said.

Dangerous heat

Children, the elderly and people who are ill are most susceptible to heat-related problems because their bodies can’t cool themselves as effectively as a healthy adult’s can.

The CDC says about 618 people die in the U.S. each year from heat-related illnesses. Roughly 37, on average, are children who die in vehicles, according to Null’s count.

 
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Trump’s New Message Guru Wants ‘a More Positive Mojo’

Posted on by SeeUS

President Donald Trump’s new communications adviser says it’s time to hit the “reset button.”

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci pledged to begin “an era of a new good feeling” and said he hopes to “create a more positive mojo.” He also promised to crack down on information leaks and pledged to better focus the message coming from the White House.

To that end, Scaramucci suggested changes to come, noting: “I have in my pocket a radio studio, a television studio, and a movie studio. The entire world has changed; we need to rethink the way we’re delivering our information.”

Trump announced Friday that Scaramucci – a polished television commentator and Harvard Law graduate – would take over the administration’s top messaging job. The appointment came as the president contends with sinking approval ratings and struggles to advance his legislative agenda. The president has also been frustrated with the attention devoted to investigations of allegations of his election campaign’s connections to Russia.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer abruptly resigned in protest over Scaramucci’s appointment. He will be replaced by his former deputy Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

The challenges for Scaramucci’s new role were evident in a series of interviews, where he discussed his plans for press strategy, but was beset by questions about the Russia investigation and the president’s Twitter feed.

Asked about the response to the Russia stories, Scaramucci said on Fox that a “two-pronged approach” was needed, saying that “in some ways we want to deescalate things and have there be a level of diplomacy. In other ways, we want it to be very hard-hitting and war-like.”

The president believes he is his own best spokesman, frequently opting to directly speak to the public via Twitter. Asked about the president’s tweets about the investigation on CBS’ “Face the Nation”, Scaramucci said he would not get in the way.

“That’s the crystal essence of the president. And so some of you guys in the media think it’s not helpful. But if he thinks it’s helpful to him, let him do it,” Scaramucci said.

He also said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that “we’re going to — we’re going to defend him very, very aggressively when there’s nonsensical stuff being said about him. And he will probably dial back some of those tweets.”

Scaramucci also said on CNN that an unnamed person told him that “if the Russians actually hacked this situation and spilled out those e-mails, you would have never seen it.”

He then quickly said he was quoting the president, adding that “he basically said to me, hey, you know, this is — maybe they did it. Maybe they didn’t do it.”

U.S. intelligence agencies have accused the Russian government of meddling through hacking in last year’s election to benefit Trump and harm Clinton, and authorities are exploring potential coordination between Moscow and the Trump campaign.

On Saturday, the newly minted Trump aide announced he was deleting old tweets. Some of the tweets were at odds with Trump’s views, including one that praised Hillary Clinton’s competence. Trump defeated Clinton for president last year and continues to criticize her, including in several tweets Saturday.

Scaramucci said on Fox that the old tweets were “a total distraction.” He added: “When I made the decision to take this job, my politics and my political ideas do not matter at all. What matters is that I am supporting — subordinating all of that to the president’s agenda.”
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US Envoy: Russia Responsible for ‘Hot War’ in Ukraine

Posted on by SeeUS

Russia is responsible for the “Hot War” in Eastern Ukraine, the newly appointed U.S. special envoy to Ukraine said Sunday.

Kurt Volker, who was appointed by the State Department earlier this month to negotiate an end to more than three years of fighting that has killed 10,000 people, visited Ukraine on the eve of telephone talks between its leader and Russian, German, and French counterparts.

“This is not a frozen conflict, this is a hot war and it is an immediate crisis that we all need to address as quickly as possible,” Volker said in the city of Karamatorsk in the war-torn Donetsk region.

“It is truly a high degree of suffering, there was a high human cost to this conflict and that is another reason why it is so urgent that we address it,” he added.

Volker’s visit followed a particularly bloody week in eastern Ukraine, with at least 11 people killed over the past few days, the most serious flare up of violence in recent months.

The U.S. Congress is set to vote this week on legislation calling for more sanctions against Russia, not only for its meddling last fall in the U.S. election, but also for its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.
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US Golfer Jordan Spieth Wins British Open

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Jordan Spieth won golf’s British Open on Sunday, outdueling fellow American Matt Kuchar over the final holes to capture his third major championship.

Spieth, just shy of turning 24 in the coming week, won the tournament at the Royal Birkdale course in Lancashire, England by three shots over the 39-year-old Kuchar, long a fixture on the world golf scene.  

Spieth, who won the Master’s and U.S. Open championships in 2015, led the British tournament by three shots over Kuchar after the third round and both carded final round scores of 69, one under par.

But through 13 holes Sunday, Kuchar had pulled a shot ahead of Spieth before he regained control with three birdies and an eagle on the 14th to 17th holes to win the Claret Jug, the tournament’s signature trophy.

Three different golfers have now won the first three major tournaments this year, with Spain’s Sergio Garcia winning the Master’s in April and American Brooks Koepka the U.S. Open in June. The last of the sport’s four annual major championships, the Professional Golfers’ Association tournament, will be contested next month.

 
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Book About Nelson Mandela’s Medical Treatment Stirs Dispute

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A new book by a former South African military doctor that documents Nelson Mandela’s medical treatments before his 2013 death violates doctor-patient confidentiality, according to some relatives of the anti-apartheid leader and Nobel laureate.

 

But the retired doctor, Vejay Ramlakan, said in an interview this weekend on the eNCA news channel that the Mandela family had requested that the book be written. While Ramlakan declined to say which family members had given permission for the book, his remarks could indicate continuing rifts in a family whose members have feuded over the years on issues such as inheritance.

 

The book, “Mandela’s Last Years,” covers Mandela’s health while he was imprisoned during white minority rule, during his tenure as South Africa’s first black president and in retirement. It also focuses on the dramatic final months of Mandela’s life, when he was suffering a lung infection and other ailments before dying at age 95.

 

“It documents the complex medical decisions; disputes between family members and staff; military, political, financial and security demands; constant scrutiny from the press; and the wishes of Mandela himself, all of which contributed to what he and those closest to him would experience in his final days,” according to Penguin Random House, the publisher.

 

Mandela’s widow, Graca Machel, said she is considering legal action and will consult with the executors of Mandela’s will, South African media reported.

“We are deeply disappointed that the doctor appears to have compromised himself and the man whom he had the privilege to serve,” Nkosi Mandela, a grandson of the anti-apartheid leader, said in a statement. He said the book might contain ethical violations.

 

In the eNCA interview, Ramlakan said he had permission to write the book and that “all parties who needed to be consulted were consulted.”

 

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Mandela’s ex-wife and a prominent figure in the anti-apartheid movement, was with her former husband when he died, according to Ramlakan, a former surgeon general of South Africa who headed Mandela’s medical team.

 

“She’s the one who was there when he passed on,” he said. “I think Mrs. Machel was in the house or busy with other issues. But I have no idea because I was focusing on my patient.”
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Libya Eastern Commander Haftar, UN-backed Premier to Meet in Paris

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Libya’s eastern commander Khalifa Haftar and the head of the U.N.-backed government Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj plan to meet on Tuesday for French-organized talks on a deal to resolve the country’s crisis, a diplomatic source said on Sunday.

“I know Haftar is in Paris already, Serraj is due to arrive soon. They are aiming for Tuesday,” the source told Reuters.

The two held talks in Abu Dhabi in May, the first in more than a year and a half, about a U.N.-backed deal Libya’s Western partners hope will end the factional fighting that has dominated Libya since the 2011 fall of Moammar Gadhafi.

Haftar has so far rejected the authority of the U.N.-backed government as his forces gain ground in the east of the country supported by Egypt and United Arab Emirates. French President Emmanuel Macron wants France to play a larger role in bringing Libya’s rival factions together.
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Malawi Relocating 500 Elephants

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Malawi is relocating 500 elephants from the southern part of the country to a wildlife reserve further north. The goal is to rebuild elephant populations decimated by poaching and conflict with local residents. Lameck Masina was with the elephants as they began their journey from the Majete Wildlife Reserve in southern Malawi and filed this report for VOA.
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Monitors: Syrian Planes Strike Rebel-held Area

Posted on by SeeEA

Syrian government warplanes carried out several air strikes in the Eastern Ghouta area east of Damascus on Sunday, a day after the Syrian military declared a cessation of hostilities in the area, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The British-based monitoring group said Saturday had been relatively calm after the ceasefire took effect with isolated incidents of shellfire.

On Sunday, six air strikes hit the towns of Douma and Ain Terma in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta, the monitoring group reported.

 
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Firefighters Gaining on California Blaze

Posted on by SeeUS

Steve Valdez was back at work Saturday at a hardware store, days after his home and those of his neighbors were incinerated in a gigantic wildfire that swept through a rural area of California near Yosemite National Park.

“This is a hardware store in a small town. There are people out there who depend upon us to get power, to get water, to get their equipment fixed,” said Valdez, a clerk at Coast Hardware Do It Best in Mariposa. “They’re getting stuff to get by.”

More than 3,000 firefighters are battling the blaze that has forced almost 5,000 people from homes near Yosemite National Park in Central California. The fire has burned more than 100 square miles (259 square kilometers).

The aggressive wildfire sweeping through the Sierra Nevada foothills covered with dense brush and dead trees has destroyed 60 homes and 64 other buildings. It spared Mariposa, a historic Gold Rush-era town but burned homes nearby.

​Fire’s growth slows

The blaze that erupted July 16 scorched nearly 118 square miles (305 square kilometers) of trees and grass and continued to threaten about 1,500 homes, but its spread had slowed drastically.

“They are still out in front of an uncontrolled fire but the fire isn’t moving at 30 mph, the fire is crawling along,” fire spokesman Brandon Vaccaro said.

Nearly 4,500 firefighters, air tankers and fleets of helicopters and bulldozers fought the blaze by chopping firebreaks and dumping rivers of water and fire retardant.

The blaze fed on long grass that sprouted from a wet winter along with brush that had been stricken by five years of drought and trees killed by a beetle infestation.

In some places, the flames were so fierce that “every bit of vegetation is gone and you’re down to the scorched earth,” Vaccaro said.

The fire grew by up to 30,000 acres a day at its peak, but by the weekend the growth rate was down to about 1,000 acres a day despite dry, blistering weather, he said.

The blaze, moving northeast, was 40 percent contained but it could take another two weeks for firefighters to fully surround it, Vaccaro said.

Yosemite in a haze

The smoke blurred the scenic vistas of Yosemite National Park, about 35 miles west of the fire. Tourists expecting the grandeur of falls and granite peaks instead saw hazy gray silhouettes.

Ken Welsh, 60, of New Zealand said he had been prepared to be “blown away by a Technicolor dream” at Yosemite.

He shrugged his shoulders and headed back to the car.

“It leaves a lot to the imagination, doesn’t it?” he told the Los Angeles Times.

Mariposa coming back

At its peak, the blaze forced about 5,000 people to evacuate. Some roads remained closed, but Mariposa, with a population of about 2,000, was coming back to life.

People were coming into the hardware store for plumbing parts and electrical cords a day after evacuations were lifted.

Valdez said he decided to work even though his 4,400-square-foot home was among those destroyed.

“Older people know that everything heals,” said Valdez, 60. “Everything gets better if you just keep plugging away.”

​Home gone, owner philosophical

Valdez and his wife had 20 minutes to grab a few photographs, bills and some family Bibles before they fled the encroaching flames. For a couple of days, they lived in their car and truck with the windows rolled up because ash was falling like snow, he said.

Valdez finally managed to return briefly to his neighborhood to find — nothing. His home of 17 years was gone, except for the fireplace. Five other houses also were destroyed.

Valdez was philosophical. The insurance company quickly stepped in and he plans to rebuild. Senior citizens on limited incomes and those without insurance are far worse off, he said.

At his age, Valdez added, he has learned to cope with hardship.

“There are young people who are … mentally destroyed,” he said. “Those people are the people to feel sorry for.”

The fire was one of more than a dozen that have ravaged California in recent weeks.
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North Korea Missile Threat ‘Unlikely,’ But Hawaii Prepares

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Hawaii is the first state to prepare the public for the possibility of a ballistic missile strike from North Korea.

The state’s Emergency Management Agency on Friday announced a public education campaign about what to do. Hawaii lawmakers have been urging emergency management officials to update Cold War-era plans for coping with a nuclear attack as North Korea develops nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles that can reach the islands.

Starting in November, Hawaii will begin monthly tests of an “attack-warning” siren the state hasn’t heard since the end of the Cold War in the 1980s. The wailing siren will be tested on the first working day of each month, after a test of an “attention-alert” steady tone siren with which residents are familiar.

Informational brochures, along with TV, radio and internet announcements will help educate the public about the new siren sound and provide preparedness guidance. 

​15 minutes of warning

Because it would take a missile 15 minutes — maybe 20 minutes — to arrive, the instructions to the public are simple: “Get inside, stay inside and stay tuned,” said Vern Miyagi, agency administrator. “You will not have time to pick up your family and go to a shelter and all that kind of stuff. … It has to be automatic.”

He stressed that his agency is simply trying to stay ahead of a “very unlikely” scenario, but it’s a possibility that Hawaii can’t ignore.

Strategic military outpost

Hawaii is an important strategic outpost for the U.S. military. The island of Oahu is home to the U.S. Pacific Command, the military’s headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region. It also hosts dozens of Navy ships at Pearl Harbor and is a key base for the Air Force, Army and Marine Corps.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority supports preparing for disasters, but it is concerned that misinformation about bracing for a North Korea attack could scare travelers from visiting the islands, spokeswoman Charlene Chan said in a statement. 

“The effect of such a downturn would ultimately be felt by residents who rely on tourism’s success for their livelihood,” she said.

With that in mind, Miyagi reiterated, “Hawaii is still safe.”

Disaster preparedness

Hawaii residents, who already face hazards including from tsunami and hurricanes, are familiar with disaster preparedness. Because it’s currently hurricane season, residents should already have an emergency kit that includes 14-days of food and water.

“It also works for this type of scenario,” Lt. Col. Charles Anthony, spokesman for the Hawaii State Department of Defense.

Hawaii officials surveyed 28 U.S. states and cities about what they’re doing for the North Korea threat. 

“They think it’s too soon,” said Emergency Management Agency Executive Director Toby Clairmont.

But counterparts in California have contacted him asking for guidance now that they are starting to look at a similar effort, Clairmont said.
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Madrid Asks Antitrust Watchdog to Look at Uber 

Posted on by SeeEU

Authorities in Madrid asked Spain’s anti-trust watchdog on Saturday to investigate whether Uber’s new low-cost airport transfer service constitutes unfair competition.

The city council’s request follows the ride-hailing app’s return to the Spanish capital last year after the CNMC competition regulator called for the government to lift a ban on the U.S. company.

The firm’s recently launched Uber Airport service offers a tariff of 15-29 euros for a ride between Madrid’s Barajas international airport and the city center. Standard taxi fares for the trip are fixed at 30 euros.

“(Uber Airport) could violate several articles of the Law of Unfair Competition and consumer rights, if it is proven that the service is being operated at prices below operational costs and with the sole intention of gaining customers through unfair competition,” Madrid City Council said in statement.

No one at Uber could immediately be reached to comment.

European regulations

Uber, which expanded into Europe six years ago, has come under attack from established taxi companies and some EU countries because it is not bound by strict local licensing and safety rules that apply to some of its competitors.

Spanish taxi drivers have held three strikes so far this year, arguing that ride-hailing apps, which are regulated in Spain under VTC licenses typically used for private, chauffeur-driven vehicles, constitute unfair competition because they do not meet current regulations and pay less tax.

In May, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dealt a blow to the company by ruling that it should be considered a transport service and not an app.
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Report: Germany Tells Russia Breach of Sanctions Strains Ties

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Germany has warned Russia that breaches of sanctions including the relocation to Crimea of four gas turbines delivered to Russia by Siemens are straining political relations between the two countries, Bild am Sonntag reported Sunday.

The newspaper quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying the German government had on several occasions brought to Moscow’s attention looming breaches of existing sanctions and unlawful behaviors by Russian companies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had assured Sigmar Gabriel, then German economy minister, at the time of delivery that the turbines were not for Crimea, the spokesman told the mass circulation paper. Gabriel is now Germany’s foreign minister.

“The government has reminded Russia of these assurances again and pointed out that such a massive violation of sanctions would place new burdens on German-Russian relations,” the spokesman told Bild am Sonntag.

Siemens is trying to distance itself from the scandal, halting deliveries of power equipment to Russian state-controlled customers and reviewing supply deals.

Crimea is subject to EU sanctions on energy equipment after Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula in 2014.
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US Immigration Raids to Target Teenage Suspected Gang Members

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U.S. immigration agents are planning nationwide raids next week to arrest, among others, teenagers who entered the country without guardians and are suspected gang members, in a widening of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants.

The raids are set to begin on Sunday and continue through Wednesday, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. The teenagers targeted will be 16- and 17-years-old.

The raids represent a sharp departure from practices during the presidency of Barack Obama. Under Obama, minors could be targeted for deportation if they had been convicted of crimes, but were not arrested simply for suspected gang activity or membership.

Criteria

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement that a person can be identified as a gang member if they meet two or more criteria, including having gang tattoos, frequenting an area notorious for gangs and wearing gang apparel.

The agency said it does not comment on plans for future law enforcement operations, but that it focuses on individuals who pose a threat to national security and public safety.

The memo instructing field offices to prepare for the raids was dated June 30. A Department of Homeland Security official speaking on background confirmed on Friday the raids were still scheduled to take place, though ICE could still change its plans.

Trump, who campaigned on the promise of tough immigration enforcement, has made deporting gang members, especially those belonging to the El Salvador-based Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, a top priority.

“You have a gang called MS-13. They don’t like to shoot people. They like to cut people. They do things that nobody can believe,” Trump said at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa last month. In a May speech, the president promised the gang would be “gone from our streets very soon, believe me.”

‘This is troubling’

Although children can be deported like adults, U.S. immigration law considers minors arriving at the border without a parent or guardian particularly vulnerable and gives them additional protections.

Minors apprehended entering the country without a guardian are placed in custody arrangements by U.S. Health and Human Services, often with a family member living in the United States.

Law enforcement agencies maintain databases of individuals suspected of having gang affiliations, but the lists have come under fire from civil rights groups.

Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center in Los Angeles, said the databases often contain inaccurate information.

“This is troubling on several levels,” Hincapie said. “For one, the gang databases in places like California are rife with errors. We have seen babies labeled as potential gang members.”

Immigration lawyer David Leopold of Ulmer & Berne said innocent children could be swept up in the raids.

“In many cases, children don’t freely decide to join a gang. They are threatened by older gang members and forced to get a gang tattoo if they live in a certain neighborhood,” he said.

Parents also targeted

The raids planned for next week will also target parents who crossed the border illegally with their children and have been ordered deported by a judge, and immigrants who entered the country as children without guardians and have since turned 18, according to the memo.

The document directs field offices to identify people in their areas that meet the criteria.

The Obama administration targeted those two groups in 2016 raids that sought to deter a surge of illegal border crossings by families and minors that began in 2014.

Obama, however, directed immigration agents to prioritize for deportation only those who had committed serious crimes or had recently entered the country.
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US Lawmakers Reach Accord on Russian Sanctions; Vote to Be Held Tuesday

Posted on by SeeUS

A bipartisan group of U.S. congressional leaders have reached agreement on new sanctions for Russia, in response to its meddling in the 2016 presidential election, as well as a provision that would prevent President Donald Trump from trying to relax sanctions against Moscow.

The bill, Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act, was passed more than a month ago by the Senate and included new sanctions against Iran for its ballistic missile testing.

Once it moved to the House, the bill was stalled by procedural issues. The House also wanted to add stiffer economic sanctions against North Korea and its nuclear program.

On Saturday, bipartisan negotiators said they had reached an agreement that fixed lingering procedural issues, and added the sanctions against North Korea.

Vote set for Tuesday

The House is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a package that includes sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea. The legislation will be considered under an expedited process that requires a two-thirds majority for passage, meaning it will pass with a veto-proof majority.

Passage of the bill will most likely occur before Congress takes its August recess.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy released a statement Saturday that said, “The bill the House will vote on next week will now exclusively focus on these nations and hold them accountable for their dangerous actions.”

Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House Democrat, echoed the Republicans’ statement, saying, the bill “will hold Russia and Iran accountable for their destabilizing actions around the world.”

Pushback from Trump

With the sanctions legislation, Congress is seeking to punish Russia not only for its meddling last fall in the U.S. election, but also for its 2014 annexation of Crimea, a peninsula belonging to Ukraine.

The sanctions against Russia, however, have drawn pushback from the White House, which objects to a key section of the bill that would mandate a congressional review if Trump attempted to ease or end the sanctions against Moscow.

Wary lawmakers in both parties pushed for inclusion of that review requirement because of the president’s persistent push for warmer relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin has denied meddling in the U.S. election last year.

Under the proposed bill, Trump would be required to submit to Congress a report explaining his reasons for easing or ending sanctions, such as returning diplomatic properties in Maryland and New York that former President Barack Obama ordered vacated in December.

Congress would have at least 30 days to hold hearings and then vote to approve or reject Trump’s proposed changes.
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Kislyak Ends Term As Russia’s Ambassador To Washington

Posted on by SeeUS

Sergei Kislyak, Russia’s controversial ambassador to Washington, on Saturday departed from the United States as he ended his nine-year term as Moscow’s chief diplomat to its main global rival.

The Russian Embassy said his departure was part of a scheduled reassignment for the 66-year-old ambassador.

Russian state-run Interfax news agency quoted a source as saying Kislyak’s next move could be to become a member of Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council.

A replacement has not been announced. The embassy said that Denis Goncha, listed as the minister-counselor and deputy chief of mission, would serve as charge d’affaires until a successor is appointed.

Kislyak has become embroiled in allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

His many meetings with the campaign and transition team of now-President Donald Trump is the subject of several congressional, Justice Department, and FBI investigations.

Kislyak also served as Moscow’s ambassador to NATO and to Belgium and was Russia’s deputy foreign minister from 2003-08.
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UN Security Council to Have Emergency Meeting on Israel, Palestinians

Posted on by SeeEA

The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting for Monday to discuss the recent violence between Israelis and Palestinians — the most brutal fighting between the rivals in years.

Clashes erupted late Saturday in the Old City of Jerusalem, where hundreds of Muslim men defiantly held evening prayers outside after being denied entrance to the holy site Muslims call Noble Sanctuary and Jews call Temple Mount.

Earlier in the day, Israeli officials said they searched the West Bank home of a Palestinian who broke into a home and stabbed to death three Israelis during their dinner.

Two of the victims died Friday soon after the attack in the area known as Neve Tsuf, north of Ramallah. Another victim died later in the day.

The assailant was shot by Israeli police and is hospitalized in Israel. He has been identified as Omar al-Abed, 20. Officials have arrested his brother, searched his family home in the West Bank, and taken steps to have it demolished.

While Israeli security officers were at al-Abed’s family home, Palestinian onlookers gathered to throw stones and burn tires in protest.

The Israelis reportedly responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denounced the attack on the Israeli family as “an act of terror, carried out by an animal who was incited with unfathomable hatred.”

On Friday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmood Abbas announced he would freeze ties with Israel until metal detectors newly installed at the holy site were removed. The metal detectors were put in after two Israeli police officers were killed there by Arab gunmen.
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114 Somali Prisoners Released From Ethiopia Arrive in Mogadishu

Posted on by SeeAF

More than 100 Somalis, recently released from Ethiopian detention facilities and handed over to the Somali government, arrived in Mogadishu on Saturday, government officials told VOA Somali.

The 114 prisoners smiled and some of them kneeled as they got off the plane and kissed the soil. Parents and relatives waiting for them at the airport cheered and burst into tears.

Government officials told local media that the Somali prisoners had been held in Ethiopian jails for various offenses, including “illegal entry.”

Jamaludin Mustafa Omar, the Ethiopian ambassador to Somalia, who was with the prisoners, said the move was a sign of the good ties between the countries.

“Some of these prisoners had 20-year sentences, and their release represents the strengthening relationship between our two countries,” Omar said.

The release of the Somali prisoners followed talks between Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre and his Ethiopian counterpart, Hailemariam Desalegn, on the sidelines of the recent 29th African Union Heads of States summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Somalia’s ambassador to Ethiopia, Mohamed Ali Nur, who also accompanied the prisoners, thanked Ethiopia for giving them amnesty.

“We are very thankful to Ethiopia for giving these Somalis their freedom,” said Nur. “Only six Somalis remain in the Ethiopian jails, and we have agreed that they will soon be released.”

Government officials, including the foreign minister, Yusuf Garad Omar, lawmakers and senior security officials, welcomed the released prisoners at Mogadishu Aden Adde International Airport.
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Girl Dies in IDP Camp Blast in Somalia, 17 Injured

Posted on by SeeAF

A child died and 17 people were injured Saturday when a grenade went off among a group of people at an IDP camp in Somalia’s Sool region, a local official told VOA.

“A child picked up an unexploded bomb somewhere near the camp and brought it among a group of IDPs resting under the shade of a tree and started playing with it. It went off and injured 18 people. On her way to hospital, [the] child died from her wounds,” said Khalif Mohamed Ali, the police chief of Sool region.

“I heard a very loud explosion and I rushed to the scene, and I saw mothers crying and at least 18 injured people, five of them children,” witness Abdullahi Nuur told VOA. “The children were aged from five to 10.”

The IDP camp where the incident occurred is at Ari Adeye village North of Lasanod, the provincial capital of the region. It hosts hundreds of families who lost their animals to the crippling drought that hit Somalia. The explosion happened around 10 am local time.

Somalia has been convulsed by two decades of conflict and many times children have been killed, blinded, crippled – or inadvertently caused the death of their friends – while playing with unexploded ordnance or munitions left behind on the battlefield by parties to the conflict.

Abdukarim Olol contributed to this report from Lasanod, Somalia.
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Syrian Army Announces Safe Zone for Eastern Ghouta

Posted on by SeeEA

The Syrian army announced Saturday the end of fighting in parts of Eastern Ghouta after an agreement was struck between rebels and Russia, an ally of the Syrian regime.

In a statement, the army said “a halt in fighting in some areas of Eastern Ghouta in Damascus province” would take effect at midday Saturday after all sides signed on to the details of a safe zone agreement.

The army did say, however, that it would “retaliate in a suitable manner” should the rebels violate the cease-fire agreement.

Earlier Saturday, Russia said it had signed a deal with Syrian rebels during peace talks in Cairo to outline how the safe zones would work.

Russia said the agreement would include “routes to supply humanitarian aid to the population and for free movement of residents,” and that humanitarian convoys would be sent within the next few days.

The Eastern Ghouta area is one of four proposed safe zones in Syria that came about after talks between Russia, Iran and Turkey earlier this year.

According to Russia, all sides have now agreed on the precise borders of the safe zone, “as well as the deployment locations and powers of the forces monitoring the deescalation.”

The Syrian civil war has killed more than 330,000 people, according to U.N. estimates, and the world body has established a commission of inquiry to document cases of torture, summary killings and other atrocities by all sides in the conflict.
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Six Die in One Day in Latest Israeli-Palestinian Violence

Posted on by SeeEA

Israeli officials say three Israelis died and one more was wounded when a Palestinian broke into a home in a West Bank settlement and stabbed its residents while they were eating dinner.

Two of the victims died Friday soon after the attack in the area known as Neve Tsuf, north of Ramallah. Another victim died later in the day.

The assailant was shot by Israeli police and is hospitalized in Israel. He has been identified as 20-year-old Omar al-Abed. His brother also has been arrested.

Elsewhere Friday, three Palestinians died when clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians turned violent.  

Tensions have been rising for days after Israel installed metal detectors at a site sacred to both Muslims and Jews, after two Israeli police officers were killed there by Arab gunmen.

On Friday, Israel barred Muslim men under the age of 50 from entering the contested Jerusalem holy place for noon prayers

Officials said the clashes at the Old City shrine had been expected.

The site is known as the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims, and as the Temple Mount to Jews. It is the holiest Jewish site and the third holiest in Islam.
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Former Top US Intel Officials Criticize Trump’s Stance on Russia

Posted on by SeeUS

Two former top U.S. intelligence officials harshly criticized President Donald Trump on Friday for not standing up to Russia for meddling in the presidential election, one of them wondering aloud whether the president’s real aim is to make “Russia great again.”

 

Former National Intelligence Director James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan didn’t hold back their anger about Trump’s past disparaging comments about the intelligence agencies and their assessment that Moscow deliberately interfered in the election and tried to sow discord in the United States.

 

Asked if he thinks Trump takes the threat from Russia seriously enough, Clapper said he wonders sometimes if the White House agenda is about “making Russia great again.” The comment played off Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.”

 

In a wide-ranging discussion at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, Clapper and Brennan said that Trump advisers should have been more wary of meeting with a Russian lawyer and others. In June, in the heat of the campaign, the president’s son, his campaign manager and his son-in-law met a group at Trump Tower in New York that included a Russian lawyer and Russian lobbyist. Emails about the meeting showed that Donald Trump Jr., attended on the premise of obtaining damaging material the Russian government had on Hillary Clinton

 

“It would have been a really good idea to have vetted whomever they were meeting with. I think the Russian objective here was to explore to see if there was interest in having such a discussion on offering up dirt on Hillary Clinton,” Clapper said. He said the meeting reminds him of standard Russian spy craft.

 

Brennan called the meeting “profoundly baffling” and wondered why Trump advisers would “jump at the opportunity” to meet with individuals about getting information on Clinton. “The Russians operate in a very cunning manner and they will take and exploit any opportunity they get,” he said.

Clapper also suggested that the security clearance held by Jared Kushner, a Trump adviser and the president’s son-in-law, should at least be suspended until it can be determined why he failed to disclose all the meetings he’s had with Russians.

 

Both said they didn’t think the Trump administration should return compounds in Maryland and New York to the Russians. President Barack Obama closed them in response to the Russian interference in the election. Clapper called the compound on the Eastern Shore a Russian “intelligence collection facility.” The Russians have said the estates were used for recreational escapes by Russian diplomats and their families.

 

Both expressed their annoyance at Trump’s negative statements about the intelligence agencies’ assessments of Russia and the presidential election.

 

“It’s interesting that Mr. Trump and others will point to U.S. intelligence when it comes to North Korea, or Iran or Syria … but when it’s inconsistent with what I think are preconceived notions as well as maybe preferences about what the truth would be, then the intelligence community assessments, the work force and the profession are disparaged. That’s when my and Jim Clapper’s blood boils,” Brennan said.

 

Brennan also said he was upset when Trump leaned over to Russian President Vladimir Putin before their recent meeting in Europe to say it was a “great honor” to meet him.

 

“This is Mr. Putin, who assaulted one of the foundational pillars of our democracy – our election system – invaded Ukraine, annexed Crimea, that has suppressed or repressed political opponents in Russia and caused the deaths of many of them,” he said. “I thought it was a very, very bad negotiating tactic.”

 

Both also said they were concerned about a second discussion the two leaders had in Europe with only a Russian interpreter. Clapper said Trump should have had his own translator to record the conversation and avoid any misinterpretations. Brennan said he has never heard of any other instance where a U.S. president has had a meeting with a Russian head of state without a U.S. translator.

 

“To have this one-off and rely on a Russian translator … It again raises concerns about what else may be going on between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin that is being held behind closed doors or outside the public view,” he said.
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Egypt Court Sentences 28 to Death Over 2015 Prosecutor Killing

Posted on by SeeEA

A Cairo criminal court on Saturday sentenced to death 28 people over the 2015 killing of Egypt’s top prosecutor and handed 15 others jail sentences of 25

years each.

The court had in June recommended passing the death penalty to Egypt’s top religious authority, the Grand Mufti, who can approve or reject the recommendation.

The sentences, confirmed by the court in Saturday’s hearing after the Grand Mufti’s approval, can be appealed.

Public prosecutor Hisham Barakat was killed in a car bomb attack on his convoy in Cairo, an operation for which Egypt blamed the Muslim Brotherhood and Gaza-based Hamas militants.

Both groups have denied it.
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