Month: December 2017

White House Condemns Yemen Rebel Missile Attack on Saudi Arabia

Posted on by SeeEA

The White House on Thursday condemned “in the strongest terms” this week’s ballistic missile attack by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels that apparently targeted the Saudi royal palace in Riyadh. 

The missile that the U.S. said targeted the official residence of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was the latest in a series of Houthi missile launches into Saudi territory.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders urged the United Nations to hold Iran responsible for “repeated and blatant violations” of Security Council resolutions on Yemen.

The White House and Saudi leaders have accused Iran of arming the Houthi rebels in Yemen with missiles, violating a 2015 Security Council resolution barring Tehran from exporting certain kinds of weapons unless it has council approval. 

Iran does not deny backing the Houthis but does deny arming them.

‘Undeniable’ evidence

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, speaking at a news conference last week, displayed missile debris she said was “undeniable” evidence that the weapons the Houthi rebels have been using are of Iranian origin.

Experts are split over whether the evidence Haley offered is conclusive of sanctions violations. But many say it is clear that the rebels are receiving some form of Iranian assistance.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed credit for Tuesday’s missile attack, as well as a similar launch last month targeting Riyadh’s international airport. The Saudis reported no casualties in either attack, saying the missiles had been intercepted while in flight.

After the November missile attack, Saudi Arabia imposed an air and sea blockade in Yemen, saying the move was necessary to prevent arms shipments from reaching the rebels.​

Dire humanitarian situation

The White House statement welcomed the news that the Saudi-led coalition was reopening the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida for at least 30 days to allow humanitarian and commercial shipments to Yemen’s 27 million residents.

The United Nations and aid agencies had been warning that the monthlong blockade on the Hodeida was threatening Yemeni civilians who desperately need food and other aid. U.N. officials say 3 million people have been forced from their homes in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

U.N. Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed expressed concern Thursday about an escalation of violence in the country. He condemned the latest Houthi missile attack on Riyadh, calling it “an escalation that hinders peace efforts in Yemen.”

The Houthi rebels seized Yemen’s capital of Sanaa in late 2014, forcing the country’s internationally recognized president, Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, to flee to Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi-led coalition responded in March 2015 by launching airstrikes against the Houthis on behalf of Hadi’s government.The airstrikes have killed thousands of civilians and wiped out entire neighborhoods, including hospitals.

The International Red Cross said there were 1 million suspected cases of cholera in Yemen, and that more than 80 percent of Yemenis lacked food, fuel, clean water and access to health care.

Ahmed, the U.N. envoy, said there was no military solution for Yemen. He said he was boosting efforts to contact the warring sides and prepare for resuming a political process.

Thursday’s White House statement called on all parties to support a political solution in Yemen, saying it “is the only way to advance long-term stability in Yemen and end the suffering of the Yemeni people.”

“As the largest humanitarian donor to the people of Yemen, the United States remains committed to alleviating the dire human suffering in Yemen,” the statement said.

But Yemen voted for Thursday’s U.N. General Assembly resolution disavowing the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and its plans to move the U.S. Embassy there.

Threat on US aid

President Donald Trump has warned of cuts in U.S. aid to countries that voted against America interests at the U.N. Yemen can scarcely afford to lose U.S. aid.

“There will be very close scrutiny and decisions made on that basis,” U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Tim Lenderking said Thursday. “We have to measure that against the fact that there’s a humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen.”

Lenderking called the possible cuts in aid to those who voted against the U.S. on Thursday no “empty threat.”

Reuters reported that airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen have killed at least 136 people since December 6.

The report quoted the spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights as saying, “We are deeply concerned at the recent surge in civilian casualties in Yemen as a result of intensified airstrikes by the … coalition, following the killing of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa on December 4.”

VOA’s Peter Heinlein at the White House and National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
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Two Plead Guilty Over Brawl at Turkish Embassy in Washington

Posted on by SeeEU

Two Turkish-American men have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a brawl at the Turkish Embassy in Washington earlier this year,  according to court documents.

Sinan Narin, 45, of Virginia and Eyup Yildirim, 50,  of New Jersey “each pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count of assault with significant bodily injury. The pleas, which are contingent upon the Court’s approval, call for each defendant to be sentenced to agreed-upon terms of one year and one day of incarceration.”

Eighteen people, many of whom were members of the Turkish ambassador’s security detail, were indicted for allegedly attacking protesters outside the ambassador’s residence on May 16. All 18 were charged with conspiracy to commit a crime of violence, a felony punishable by a maximum of 15 years in prison. Several faced additional charges of assault with a deadly weapon.

The brawl took place outside the residence of Turkey’s ambassador to Washington shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House.

Video of the protest recorded by VOA’s Turkish service shows what appear to be security guards and some Erdogan supporters attacking a small group of demonstrators.  

Men in dark suits and others were recorded repeatedly kicking one woman as she was curled up on a sidewalk. Another wrenched a woman’s neck and threw her to the ground. A man with a bullhorn was repeatedly kicked in the face.

After police officers struggled to protect the protesters and ordered the attackers to retreat, several suspects dodged the officers and continued the attacks.

The Turkish Embassy claimed that Erdogan’s bodyguards were acting in “self-defense” during the incident, and that the protesters were affiliated with the Turkish left wing PKK or Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

The PKK has waged a three-decade long insurgency in southeast Turkey.

 
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US Approves Sale by US Manufacturers of Lethal Weapons to Ukraine

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The United States has approved the sale by U.S. manufacturers of lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert confirmed this week that Congress was notified of the matter on December 13.

The legal framework for U.S. manufacturers to sell arms to Ukraine has existed since the Obama administration, Nauert said. 

Nauert noted in remarks to reporters Wednesday that the government itself was not supplying weapons to Ukraine, but only allowing U.S. weapons manufacturers to do so.

The export license covers such weapons as semiautomatic and automatic firearms, the Reuters news agency reported. It includes combat shotguns, silencers, military scopes, flash suppressors and parts.

Administration officials said the equipment approved for sale was valued at $41.5 million. The Washington Post reported that there had been no approval for requests by Ukraine for heavier weapons, like Javelin anti-tank missiles. The newspaper also said Canada had approved similar sales to Ukraine this week. 

Critics of the move say selling lethal arms to Ukraine threatens to escalate tensions between the United States and Russia. 

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, on a trip to Kyiv in August, said the Trump administration was “actively reviewing” whether to provide lethal defensive weapons to the war-torn country.

“Defensive weapons are not provocative unless you’re an aggressor, and clearly, Ukraine is not an aggressor,” he said in response to a question about whether Russia might see such a move as a threat.

He also said Washington did not accept Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
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Poland Remains Defiant as EU Threatens Sanctions

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Poland’s populist government remained defiant Thursday in the face of a European Commission decision to trigger a legal procedure that could lead to Poland losing EU voting rights.

The unprecedented move by the commission to invoke an article 7 process to deter the Polish government from tightening political control over the judiciary was met with bravado by the country’s president, Andrzej Duda, who in a television address said he would go ahead and sign two controversial reform laws, adding to 11 other measures.

Duda was careful in his late Wednesday address, though, not to repeat some of the more fiery responses from Warsaw that have characterized the two-year-long confrontation between Warsaw and Brussels over the changes made by the country’s ruling Law and Justice party (PiS).

“We’re bringing in very good solutions in Poland that will serve to improve the justice system,”he said.

Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, also was careful with his wording in defending the actions of his government.

On Twitter he wrote, “Poland is as devoted to the rule of law as the rest of the EU.”But he added,”Judiciary reform is deeply needed.”

The signing of the measures, which critics say effectively places the Polish courts in the grip of the governing party, now sets the stage for a deepening crisis in the heart of Europe and threatens to divide the EU, east from west.

The European Commission says the two laws undermine the legal standards expected of member countries and amount to a”serious breach” of the rule of law. Other critics bemoan what they say is a turning of the clock back to the authoritarianism that Poland endured under Communism.

As the commission announced it was triggering an article 7 process, Poland’s Justice minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, continued to purge senior judges, dismissing some by fax.

“We have to continue with the reforms of the justice system,”he told reporters.

Article 7 was added to the EU’s founding treaty in 1999, allowing for sanctions to be imposed on a member country for breaching democratic rights. The article has never been invoked before, although the commission has threatened several times to use it in the past.

In announcing the EU decision, Frans Timmermans, the commission’s first vice-president, said it was doing so”with a heavy heart”due to the adoption of several measures since the PiS came into power,”which put at serious risk [the] independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers in Poland.”

Brussels rejects the Polish government’s claim it is modernizing the judiciary and the courts. Timmermans said Wednesday the reforms should be in accordance with Poland’s constitution and EU law.

“If the application of the rule of law is left completely to individual member states, then the whole of the EU will suffer,” he said.

EU officials say that membership of the bloc requires states to observe the legal standards and norms agreed by all.

Analyst Bruce Wilson said, “Over the last two years there have been a number of legislative actions by the current ruling party which limit the independence of the judiciary, and the view of the European Union is that part of the process of building a democratic society is that the three arms of government, the executive, the judiciary and the parliament are independent.”

Wilson, professor at RMIT University’s European Center in Australia, said “in the last two years, 13 pieces of legislation, according to the EU, have threatened the independence of the judiciary.”

He said Brussels fears the PiS is”limiting the capacity of the judiciary to review the actions of the government.”

PiS leaders have couched their fight with Brussels as a David versus Goliath tussle with cosmopolitan overlords, accusing them of undermining patriotic values and the cohesion of the country.

The Polish government also has taken issue with Brussels for trying to force EU member states to admit Muslim war refugees and economic migrants. The position is supported by other central European states, including Hungary, which disapproves of Wednesday’s triggering of article 7.

Zsolt Semjen, Hungary’s deputy prime minister, condemned the commission’s move as astounding and unjust.”

He added in a statement,”It is unacceptable that Brussels is putting pressure on sovereign member states and arbitrarily punishing democratically elected governments.”

How the standoff between Brussels and Warsaw now plays out is unclear.

The two laws President Duda signed defiantly would force two-fifths of the country’s supreme court justices to retire and give parliament control over their replacements.

Poland has also fallen afoul of the EU commission — and attracted criticism at home and overseas for illiberalism — for changes to laws governing the media and human rights. In October, Human Rights Watch accused the PiS government of eroding the checks and balances necessary for democratic government.

“Since its election win in October 2015, Poland’s ruling party, the right-wing Law and Justice Party [PiS], has used its majority in the Sejm [the Polish parliament] to seek to introduce laws and policies that have serious, negative implications for human rights and the rule of law,” HRW said in its report.

The rights group accused the government of interfering with the independence of the judiciary and the administration of justice; undermining freedom of expression; limiting the rights of protesters; restricting women’s reproductive rights; and violating the rights of migrants and asylum-seekers.

The claims were dismissed by the Polish government.

PiS has the support of half of the country, according to opinion polls, and the opposition to the government is divided and in disarray. But Poles are highly enthusiastic about EU membership, according to surveys, and analysts say there are political risks for the government if the confrontation worsens.
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Preventable, Forgotten Diseases Re-emerging in Besieged Yemen

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The charity, Doctors Without Borders reports preventable, long-forgotten diseases are re-emerging in Yemen due to the catastrophic war that has been going on since March 2015.

Diphtheria has been eradicated in most parts of the world. The last outbreak of this highly infectious, but preventable respiratory disease occurred in 1982 in Yemen. But, this disease has made a deadly comeback after two and one-half years of catastrophic war and the blockade of humanitarian and commercial goods imposed by Saudi Arabia.

Marc Poncin is Emergency Coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Yemen. He said an outbreak of diphtheria emerged in early October.

“Today, we have a bit more than 300 cases of diphtheria, 35 deaths,” he said. “So, it is a mortality rate of above 10 percent. What is really worrying with diphtheria is the mortality rate in the under-five. We have 25 percent, one out of four children dying of diphtheria in Yemen.”

Unfortunately, he said the vaccines needed to prevent diphtheria and the antibiotics to treat the infection are both in short supply.

Yemen is suffering the worst cholera epidemic in history. The International Committee of the Red Cross reports cholera cases in Yemen have now reached the one millionth mark. Poncin said he believes this official figure is largely exaggerated.

“If you look at the mortality rate, for instance, of cholera, it has decreased a lot line in the three last months,” he added. “That shows that probably most of the cases today that are reported are diarrhea, simple diarrhea, not cholera.”

However, he warned this is no time for complacency. While reported cases have gone down to 15,000 a week from a high of 50,000 at the end of June, he says cholera remains a serious problem.

Poncin noted worrying predictions from experts who say they expect a new wave of cholera to emerge next year during Yemen’s rainy season in March and April.
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AU Says it Needs Urgent Resources for its Mission in Somalia

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The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) says it needs urgent and reliable funding in order to defeat al-Shabab militants and transfer security responsibilities to the Somali National Army.

AMISOM chief Francisco Madeira issued the appeal while talking to reporters in Nairobi Thursday.

 

“We need urgent support. Our troops are ready, but they need to be resourced. This has not been happening to expectations, despite the repeated commitments by partners in different forums,” said Madeira.

 

Madeira warned that lack of funding could endanger the hard-won gains in the fight against militants over the last decade.

 

“A stable Somalia is critical for the stability across the East African region and beyond, and if we do not decisively address the threat of al-Shabab, [the group] will continue to pose a danger,” he said.

 

AMISOM has said it will begin drawing down the number of troops in Somalia ahead of a total pullout in 2020.  The first batch of 28 Ugandan soldiers left the country earlier this month.

 

A recent United Nations Security Council resolution slightly reduced the maximum number of troops to 21,626.

 

Pre-conditions

 

The AU plan for withdrawal set pre-conditions, including the training and equipping at least 30,000 Somali National Army (SNA) personnel with the support of the U.N. and other donor countries.

 

Madeira says it is the time to help the SNA prepare to take the lead in the stabilization process.

 

“It is urgent that Somalia security forces are capacitated to take over the security responsibilities of their country. The integration of Somali National Army needs to happen in urgency,” said Madeira.

 

Mission optimism

 

As the clock ticks towards a new year, AMISOM and the Somali Army, with the help of U.S. military, are preparing for a major offensive to drive al-Shabab militants out of their strongholds in the Juba Valley, the Gedo region and the Middle Juba region.

 

“We look forward for 2018 with great optimism,” said Madeira.  

 

Madeira said AMISOM’s 2018 plans include handing over major frontline bases across Somalia to the SNA.

 

But he questioned the viability of these plans without adequate funding and support.

 

“We will work with the Somali National Forces and other stake holders to open unsecure main supply routes, protect strategic infrastructure such as key bridges in order to link population centers and support humanitarian activities. These operations are all subject to availability of adequate support,” said Madeira.

 

On Tuesday, Somali Defense Minister Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdirahman said an assessment conducted by the government found that approximately 30 percent of the SNA soldiers do not have weapons.

 

The evaluators said some units also lack medium and heavy weaponry, and some are “undermanned.”

Khadar Hared contributed to the story from Nairobi.
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Burkina Faso Pledges to End North Korea Trade

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Burkina Faso said it will immediately stop importing goods from North Korea and that it only learned of possible violations of U.N. sanctions through American news reports.

The West African country was the top importer of North Korean goods in Africa in 2015, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, a website that collects and distributes international trade data.

Speaking to VOA’s French to Africa Service, Burkina Faso’s foreign minister, Alpha Barry, said the decision to end imports from North Korea takes effect immediately.

“I wrote to my colleagues in Commerce and Finance, and we found out that, from January to August 2017, we imported $7 million worth of goods,” he said, emphasizing that his government wasn’t initially aware of the goods imported from North Korea.

Barry said he learned about the deals through news reports in the United States, prompting him to open an inquiry into the matter. “We also found out that in 2015 these imports reached $38 million. These imports are mostly oil products,” he said.

In addition to its imports, Burkina Faso exported about $637,000 in oil seeds to North Korea in 2015, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity.

Burkina Faso’s decision to sever economic ties comes amid heightened scrutiny of North Korea’s business dealings. Following the rogue nation’s nuclear test in September, the U.N. passed new sanctions to restrict Pyongyang’s imports and exports.

In October, the United Nations banned four ships found to be transporting North Korean goods from world ports. In one case, cargo included 30,000 North Korean-made rocket-propelled grenades.

This week, the U.S. requested that the U.N. add another 10 ships to the banned list.

Economic ties to North Korea don’t constitute sanctions violations in and of themselves, but the U.N.’s list of banned transactions has grown with  Pyongyang’s ongoing nuclear and missile tests.

The most recent U.N. Security Council resolution, adopted in September, added imports of natural gas liquids to North Korea and textiles exports from North Korea to the list of banned transactions.

Global condemnation

Despite increased international scrutiny of associations with North Korea, some 30 African countries maintain economic ties with Pyongyang.

“Many African states and populations are unaware of the massive and gross human rights violations committed by Pyongyang,” said Grant Harris, a former senior director for African affairs at the National Security Council during Barack Obama’s presidency.

Some African countries that promised to end relationships with North Korea later backtracked.

“Namibia had made an announcement that it was going to be reducing its ties, and it was later revealed by U.N. investigators that the country had concealed a weapons factory built by North Korean laborers,” Harris told VOA’s Korean Service. “Uganda had pledged to [end] security ties with North Korea back in May of 2016 but had ended up continuing those ties including with police trainers and through other activities.”

Harris said the United States and other international partners should help these African countries fill the gap left by cutting ties with North Korea, particularly with regard to national security, and the training and professionalization of security forces.

This way, he said, African countries “that can be peeled away from North Korea will have alternative relationships and military cooperation to draw on.”

Bagassi Koura contributed to this report.
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Zimbabwe’s Leader Urges Expat Business Owners to Return Home

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Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa is urging Zimbabweans in South Africa to come back home to help him rebuild the country’s ailing economy.

Zimbabweans in South Africa flocked to the Zimbabwean embassy in Pretoria to listen to the president speak to them for the first time since his inauguration last month. Mnangagwa pleaded with the crowd , which included business owners, civil society, traditional leaders and ordinary Zimbabweans to invest in their motherland.

“May I say, I am hopeful. My team is hopeful,” Mnangagwa said. “There is no business as usual. Things have changed. It’s a new era. If it is left turn, it is left turn. If it is right turn, it is right turn.”

Mnangagwa said his government is in the process of revising some laws that had scared off investors, such as the indigenization program, which required that all businesses be majority owned by Zimbabweans. He told the crowd that there are huge investment opportunities in areas such as mining, agriculture, rail infrastructure, road networks and service industries.

Zimbabwean business woman Dorriane Sithole, chief executive officer of House of Havilah, a fashion and design company, was upbeat after listening to Mnangagwa’s speech.

“So excited that Zimbabwe is finally open for business,” Sithole said. “It was such a beautiful meeting here at the Zimbabwean embassy. I can’t wait for all of us here, Zimbabweans and everybody from the SADC region to go in there and do lots of business so, I’m so, so excited.”

Marshall Sankara, executive chairman of the Zimbabwe Business Forum in South Africa, says his organization will double its investment drive to attract more than $100 million in investment a year for Zimbabwe.

“We really appreciate the president [and] his move to invite diasporans to invest back home,” Sankara said. “We have come here to show solidarity with his initiative and we are saying Zimbabwe shall include all of us also in the foreign land in terms of the business.”

The Zimbabwe embassy in South Africa organized the event during Mnangagwa’s first official trip abroad as president. He’ll also meet with South African President Jacob Zuma.
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S. Africa’s ANC Decides on Israel Embassy Downgrade

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South Africa’s ruling ANC decided to downgrade its embassy in Tel Aviv to a liaison office over a U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, ahead of a U.N. vote on Thursday on a resolution urging Washington to drop the move.

The decision was taken at the end of a five-day African National Congress conference, in which Cyril Ramaphosa was elected as its new leader and South Africa’s likely next president after 2019 elections, following Jacob Zuma.

“Delegates endorsed the proposal that we must give practical support to the oppressed people of Palestine and resolved on an immediate and unconditional downgrade of the SA [South Africa] Embassy in Israel to a Liaison Office,” new ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule said on Thursday.

There was no immediate comment from Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

South Africa’s Ministry for International Relations and Cooperation said on its website that it was deeply concerned about Trump’s move as it would undermine Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, which has been frozen since 2014.

The South African Board of Jewish Deputies and the South African Zionist Federation jointly condemned the ANC’s decision.

The 193-member U.N. General Assembly will hold a rare special session on Thursday at the request of Arab and Muslim states to vote on the draft resolution, which Washington vetoed on Monday in the 15-member U.N. Security Council.

Most countries regard the status of Jerusalem as a matter to be settled in an eventual Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, although that process has been frozen for over three years.

Israel deems Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital and wants all embassies based there. Palestinians want the capital of an independent Palestinian state to be in the city’s eastern sector, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War and annexed in a move never recognized internationally.

The ANC’s move comes at a time when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pursuing closer ties with other African countries.

Last month, on a visit to Kenya, Netanyahu announced that Israel was opening a new embassy in nearby Rwanda “as part of the expanding Israeli presence in Africa and the deepening of cooperation between Israel and African countries”. Israel is seeking to expel thousands of African migrants to Rwanda.

On Thursday, Netanyahu described the United Nations as a “house of lies” on Thursday and said Israel “totally rejects this vote, even before approval.”

Trump upended decades of U.S. policy on Dec. 6 when he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, generating outrage from Palestinians and the Arab and Muslim world, and concern among Washington’s Western allies.

When under white-minority rule, South Africa was one of Israel’s few allies on the continent. But after the 1994 demise of apartheid, relations cooled as the black-majority ANC took over. The ANC has condemned Israeli occupation of territories where Palestinians seek statehood, while maintaining full diplomatic and trade relations with Israel.
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Storytelling Boom Gives Lebanese a New Voice

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It’s a drizzly night in central Beirut, and breaths are being held as 27-year-old Maytham Khassir tells a packed room full of strangers how his aunt was murdered by her ex-husband.

Khassir, emotional, finishes, and his eyes survey the audience. A pause. Then, filling the cafe, a swell of applause rises to meet him.

With the rapid rise of Beirut’s storytelling, scene moments like this are becoming ever more commonplace as Lebanese find they have a voice — and people willing to listen.

Embraced

“I was nervous and afraid at the beginning,” explains Khassir, who spoke at a storytelling evening focused on the issue of gender-based violence. “But when I saw how they were reacting to the story, I felt like I was being embraced.”

Storytelling and poetry have long played a part in the city’s vibrant cultural scene, often through its theatrical companies.

But in the past few years accessible and interactive events have exploded in number and popularity, from the occasional small-scale gathering to weekly events filling their venues to the brim. And while practiced talent often begins the show, the growth in popularity of the open-mic sessions are allowing first-timers like Khassir a place to be heard.

Tradition as inspiration

“I didn’t realize it would have such an impact,” explains Dima Matta, a teacher of English and creative writing at Balamand University, who launched a series of storytelling events in 2015 that came to be known as Cliffhangers. “I figured there’d be a group of university students who would come and share their stories, and then everyone would go about their way.”

That’s not how it worked out. They told their friends, who in turn told theirs, and soon, a host of other events were popping up across bars and cafes in the city.

A number of those in the scene who spoke to VOA pointed to a degree of influence from America, and high-profile storytelling events like The Moth, which has spawned its own award-winning national public radio show.

But they were also quick to reference the power of stories and the oral tradition within the region as inspiration.

It is a tradition evident in the tarboosh-sporting and cane-wielding Hakawatis — storytellers whose folkloric tales kept communities rapt for centuries but whose numbers have sharply dwindled — or simply in the stories passed through generations over the dinner table or by the glow of a bedside light.

“We come from a culture where storytelling is essential,” says Rima Abushakra, who in 2016 co-founded another collective called Hakaya — Arabic for “tale.”

“In a region that has seen so much change, and a place where community and family are so central, they are central to memorializing moments,” Abushakra said.

“It could also be that we’re just real talkers,” she adds, laughing.

A voice denied

Tales of the everyday and nonpolitical abound — anecdotes include heartbreak and humor.

Yet the scene’s emergence is also spurred by what many involved feel is the denial of individual voices within Lebanon, and the shutting down of discussion.

A Cliffhangers event marking Lebanon’s first-ever Pride Week in May drew hundreds of people, with many present telling deeply personal stories in a country where being LGBTQI can still potentially get you arrested.

“All these platforms are working for same purpose,” says Majd Shidiac, whose open mic poetry nights have also taken off in popularity.

“That is to give a platform for people to say what they need to say and create safe spaces for people performing, and to make words count,” he said.

When tens of thousands took to the streets of Beirut in 2015 in protests sparked by the piling up of trash on the city’s streets, Khassir, a journalist, felt duty-bound to not just report but participate.

However, jaded by the lack of change in a state riddled with corruption and still largely controlled by figures instrumental in a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990, it was with a sense of pessimism.

“When I go [to storytelling events], I see that there are people who are passionate and believe in change, too,” Khassir says, adding that telling the story of his aunt offered him a new way to speak out against injustice.

Lebanon has yet to produce a unified version for school textbooks regarding the country’s civil war, such is the lack of consensus within the country over its causes and consequences.

The conflict’s echo in contemporary Lebanon, an echo felt by subsequent generations, says Matta, fuels the need — and importance — of talking freely.

“We inherited all this trauma and anxiety, and it’s a question of what do we do with this as a people? People want to be listened to, and people want to listen.”

Beyond Beirut

So far, these events remain largely, though far from exclusively, attended by a certain segment of young, middle-class Beirutis.

Efforts are underway, however, to change that.

Abushakra stressed that Hakaya goes out of its way to reach out to new potential storytellers, whether Palestinian refugees or Lebanese from the economically impoverished northern city of Tripoli.

This month [December], meanwhile, Cliffhangers is set to break out of the capital by engaging with village communities.

And Matta, once again, is experiencing the nerves of those first few events two years ago.

“It’s definitely scary. We don’t know if people will show up, but we have to try,” she says. “People all over need this.”
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Mistrial Declared in Nevada Armed Standoff Case

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A federal judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in a criminal case against four people, including Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, over a 2014 armed standoff with U.S. government agents, and rebuked prosecutors for withholding evidence from the defense.

Bundy, two of his sons and a fourth man were charged with 15 counts of conspiracy, assault and other offenses stemming from the confrontation, which galvanized right-wing militia groups challenging federal authority over vast tracts of public lands in the American West.

U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro told federal prosecutors they had willfully violated evidence rules in failing to turn over pertinent documents to the defense, adding, “The failure is prejudicial,” to ensuring a fair trial.

The ruling came a month after prosecutors began presenting their case to a federal court jury in Las Vegas.

​Prosecutors warned

Navarro had warned prosecutors last week she might declare a mistrial after listing documents previously undisclosed by prosecutors that could be used to impugn government witnesses or bolster defendants’ arguments that they felt threatened by government “snipers” before the standoff.

In a stern rebuke on Wednesday, Navarro said prosecutors knew or should have known of the existence of memos from Federal Bureau of Investigation agents that might have been helpful to the defense.

Those memos and other documents, about 3,300 pages in all, were not turned over until well after an Oct. 1 deadline, and then only after repeated efforts by Bundy’s defense counsel, Navarro said.

Navarro set a retrial date for Feb. 26, 2018, but it is uncertain if there will be a new trial. Acting U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre said prosecutors had yet to decide whether to pursue the case. Defense lawyers will argue for charges to be dismissed at a hearing set for Jan. 8.

“We have a very strong case that this will never be tried again,” Bundy’s attorney, Bret Whipple, told reporters.

​Sessions responds

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions weighed in through a Justice Department spokesman in Washington.

“The attorney general takes this issue very seriously and has personally directed that an expert in the department’s discovery obligations … examine the case and advise as to the next steps,” said the spokesman, Ian Prior.

Fight over cattle

The April 2014 revolt at the heart of the trial was sparked by a court-ordered roundup of Bundy’s cattle by agents of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) after Bundy had refused for two decades to pay fees to graze his herds on federal property.

Hundreds of supporters, many of them heavily armed, answered Bundy’s public pleas for support and rallied at his ranch near Bunkerville, Nevada, about 75 miles (120 km) northeast of Las Vegas, in a show of force to demand the return of his impounded livestock.

Police and government agents, vastly outgunned, ultimately retreated rather than risk bloodshed, and no shots were fired.

Bundy, his sons Ammon and Ryan, and co-defendant Ryan Payne, a Montana resident prosecutors linked to a militia group called Operation Mutual Aid, have cast the uprising as an act of patriotic civil disobedience against government excess.

Prosecutors contend Bundy, 71, and his followers were defying the rule of law by threat of violence, rather than engaging in an act of legal protest. The most serious counts the defendants face carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Acquitted in Oregon

Ammon and Ryan Bundy were acquitted last year, along with five people, in a separate conspiracy case over a six-week armed occupation of a U.S. wildlife refuge in Oregon by activists protesting against federal land management.

A would-be fifth defendant in the Nevada case, internet blogger and radio host Peter Santilli Jr., pleaded guilty on Oct. 6 to conspiracy and faces a possible six-year prison term.

Six lesser-known participants in the Nevada showdown went on trial earlier this year. Two were found guilty; one received a prison term of 68 years, a fourth awaits sentencing. Two pleaded guilty to lesser charges in exchange for a maximum one-year jail term.

Yet another group of six defendants from the Bunkerville standoff, including two other Bundy sons, Dave and Mel Bundy, were due to stand trial after the Cliven Bundy case concluded.

One of them, Micah McGuire, pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, and faces up to six years in prison when sentenced.
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Overdose Deaths Soar, Cut Life Expectancy for 2nd Year

Posted on by SeeUS

U.S. deaths from drug overdoses skyrocketed 21 percent last year, and for the second straight year dragged down how long Americans are expected to live.

The government figures released Thursday put drug deaths at 63,600, up from about 52,000 in 2015. For the first time, the powerful painkiller fentanyl and its close opioid cousins played a bigger role in the deaths than any other legal or illegal drug, surpassing prescription pain pills and heroin.

“This is urgent and deadly,” said Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The opioid epidemic “clearly has a huge impact on our entire society.”

​Opioids behind two-thirds of deaths

Two-thirds of last year’s drug deaths, about 42,000, involved opioids, a category that includes heroin, methadone, prescription pain pills like OxyContin, and fentanyl. Fatal overdoses that involved fentanyl and fentanyl-like drugs doubled in one year, to more than 19,000, mostly from illegally made pills or powder, which is often mixed with heroin or other drugs.

Heroin was tied to 15,500 deaths and prescription painkillers to 14,500 deaths. The balance of the overdose deaths involved sedatives, cocaine and methamphetamines. More than one drug is often involved in an overdose death.

The highest drug death rates were in ages 25 to 54.

Preliminary 2017 figures show the rise in overdose deaths continuing.

​Life expectancy 78 years, 7 months

The drug deaths weigh into CDC’s annual calculation of the average time a person is expected to live. The life expectancy figure is based on the year of their birth, current death trends and other factors. For decades, it was on the upswing, rising a few months nearly every year. But last year marked the first time in more than a half century that U.S. life expectancy fell two consecutive years.

A baby born last year in the U.S. is expected to live about 78 years and 7 months, on average, the CDC said. An American born in 2015 was expected to live about a month longer and one born in 2014 about two months longer than that.

The dip in 2015 was blamed on drug deaths and an unusual upturn in the death rate for the nation’s leading killer, heart disease. Typically, life expectancy goes back up after a one-year decline, said Robert Anderson, who oversees the CDC’s death statistics. The last time there was a two-year drop was 1962-1963. It also happened twice in the 1920s.

“If we don’t get a handle on this,” he said, “we could very well see a third year in a row. With no end in sight.”

Flu pandemic

A three-year decline happened in 1916, 1917 and 1918, which included the worst flu pandemic in modern history.

Overall, there were more than 2.7 million U.S. deaths in 2016, or about 32,000 more than the previous year. It was the most deaths in a single year since the government has been counting. That partly reflects the nation’s growing and aging population. But death rates last year continued to go down for people who are 65 and older while going up for all younger adults, those most affected by the opioid epidemic.

The CDC also reported:

• West Virginia continued to be the state with highest drug overdose death rate, with a rate of 52 deaths per 100,000 state residents in 2016. Ohio and New Hampshire were next, both at about 39 per 100,000.

• Life expectancy for men decreased, but it held steady for women. That increased the gender gap to five years; about 76 for men and 81 for women.

• U.S. death rates decreased for seven of the 10 leading causes of death, but rose for suicide, Alzheimer’s disease and for a category called unintentional injuries, which includes drug overdoses.

• Accidental injuries displaced chronic lower respiratory diseases to become the nation’s third leading cause of death. Contributing were increases in deaths from car crashes and falls.

• Gun deaths rose for a second year, to nearly 39,000. They had been hovering around 33,500 deaths a few years ago.

The United States ranks below dozens of other high-income countries in life expectancy, according to the World Bank. Highest is Japan, at nearly 84 years.

“The fact that U.S. has basically stagnated over the past seven years, and now we’re seeing small declines, is a real sign that the U.S. is doing badly,” said Jessica Ho, a University of Southern California researcher who studies death trends.
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Possible Distractions Examined in Train Derailment Probe

Posted on by SeeUS

Experts say it’s possible the engineer on an Amtrak train that hurtled into a curve south of Seattle this week at more than twice the speed limit was distracted for a time before the train plunged off an overpass and onto a busy interstate.

Three men were killed Monday as a result of the derailment, which occured after the train barreled into a 30-mph zone at 80 mph near DuPont. 

Authorities on Wednesday removed a train locomotive from the crash site and cleaned up debris before reopening two southbound lanes of Interstate 5 — the Pacific Northwest’s main north-south arterial — that had been closed since the accident.

First run on route

The train, with 85 passengers and crew members aboard, was making the inaugural run along a fast, new, 15-mile bypass. A conductor in training who was familiarizing himself with the route was in the locomotive with the engineer at the time.

A federal official who spoke on condition of anonymity said authorities wanted to know whether the engineer lost “situational awareness” — meaning he didn’t realize where he was.

Rail-safety experts say that while it is fairly common to have two people in a cab, investigators will look into whether that may have distracted the engineer.

“What interactions were the conductor and the engineer having, and did that distract the engineer from his focus on where they were on the route?” said Keith Millhouse, a rail-safety consultant and former board chairman of Metrolink, Southern California’s commuter rail system.

Discussions to blame?

Millhouse said the two could have been having discussions that caused the engineer to not realize where he was on the route.

“My guess is there were probably distractions not only immediately prior to the accident but in the minutes leading up to the accident,” he said.

Investigators have not yet interviewed the train engineer and other crew members, all of whom were hospitalized, a National Transportation Safety Board spokesman said. Experts said investigators would want to talk to them as soon as possible while the event was still fresh in their memory.

NTSB board member Bella Dinh-Zarr said distraction in the cab would be a focus of the accident probe, and that investigators would be looking at cellphone records of all employees.

Dinh-Zarr also said the engineer did not manually activate the emergency brake; it went off automatically when the train derailed.

“This is a situation where the engineer should have been starting the braking application probably a minute before they reached that curve,” said Allan Zarembski, a civil engineering professor who directs the rail engineering and safety program at the University of Delaware.

“It suggests strongly that the engineer was distracted for a fairly extended” period, he said. 

In some previous wrecks, train operators were found to have been seriously fatigued or distracted by a cellphone or something else.

Multiple crew members

Railroad unions have repeatedly urged that a second crew member be added in cabs. But former NTSB chief railroad crash investigator Ed Dobranetski has said that putting multiple crew members in a locomotive was “more of a distraction” than a safeguard.

The former investigator pointed to a deadly 1996 collision near Washington, D.C., between an Amtrak train and a Maryland commuter train that had three crew members in the cab. The engineer of the commuter train was thought to have been distracted by a conversation with the other crew members. The train ran through a speed restriction, reaching 66 mph in a 30-mph zone, and blew through a stop signal before slamming head on into the Amtrak train. Eleven people were killed.

“Conversation creates a potential for distraction and interference with the engineer’s retention of information — in this case, the signal information,” the NTSB wrote in its report on the 1996 crash.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee said Wednesday that Amtrak President Richard Anderson told him the rail company would pay the costs of the derailment as well as the medical and other expenses of the victims. He also said Anderson would try to ensure a type of technology that can automatically slow or stop a speeding train — known as positive train control — was in place statewide before a December 31, 2018, federal deadline.

That technology was not in use on the stretch of track involved in Monday’s crash.

Regulators have been pressing railroads for years to install such technology, and some have done so, but the deadline has been extended repeatedly at the industry’s request.
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Venus Williams Cleared in Fatal Florida Crash

Posted on by SeeUS

No charges will be filed against tennis star Venus Williams or the other driver for a crash in June that fatally injured the other driver’s husband, police said Wednesday.

The Palm Beach Gardens police report said an unidentified third vehicle illegally cut off Williams as she tried to cross a busy six-lane highway near her home, setting off a chain of events that ended with a sedan driven by Linda Barson, 68, slamming into the passenger side of Williams’ SUV.

Barson’s 78-year-old husband, Jerome, died 13 days after the June 9 crash and she suffered a broken arm and other injuries. Williams, 38, was not hurt. Jerome Barson’s estate had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Williams, seeking unspecified damages.

Camera video

Officer David Dowling, the lead investigator, said in his report that video from a nearby security camera shows Williams legally entered the intersection from a road exiting her gated neighborhood on a green light. As she started to cross, a dark sedan cut her off, forcing her to stop. When the sedan cleared her path, Williams began moving forward in her 2010 Toyota Sequoia but that put her in the path of the Barsons, who now had the green light. The Barsons’ 2016 Hyundai Accent hit Williams’ SUV at 40 mph (65 kph).

Dowling said in his report that state law required Williams to exit the intersection and that even though Linda Barson had the green light she was obligated to make sure the intersection was clear.

The Barson family’s attorney, Michael Steinger, said Dowling’s conclusions are wrong and the suit will be pursued.

“Ms. Williams clearly violated our client’s right of way because our client had a green light, as indicated in each and every police report issued in this case to date,” Steinger said in a statement. “The report is further inaccurate because the video surveillance does not indicate the color of Ms. Williams’ light and therefore does not support the police department’s conclusion.”

Williams’ attorney, Malcolm Cunningham, didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment.

Wimbledon

Williams, the older sister of tennis star Serena Williams, has won seven Grand Slam titles, including five at Wimbledon.

Weeks after the crash, Williams competed at Wimbledon, losing in the finals July 15 to Garbine Muguruza. Williams broke down in tears when asked at a tournament press conference about the crash and Jerome Barson’s death.

She has career on-court earnings of nearly $40 million, her own clothing line and endorsement deals with Ralph Lauren, Kraft foods, Tide detergent and Wilson sporting goods. She also owns a small percentage of the Miami Dolphins.
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Catalans Head to Polls in Independence Vote

Posted on by SeeEU

Catalonia holds a regional election Thursday that the Spanish government hopes will strip pro-independence parties of their control of the Catalan parliament and end their campaign to force a split with Spain.

But, though final polls showed separatist and unionist parties running neck-and-neck, an effective pro-independence majority remains a likely outcome that would jolt financial markets and cast a long shadow over national politics.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called the Dec. 21 vote in October in the hopes of returning Catalonia to “normality” under a unionist government. He sacked its previous government for holding a banned referendum and declaring independence.

Economy

A new separatist majority would further dampen investors’ confidence in Catalonia, which by itself has an economy larger than that of Portugal and is the main driver of Spain’s economic growth. However, pro-independence leaders recently have backed away from demands for unilateral secession.

Voting stations in the affluent region of northeastern Spain will open Thursday at 0800 GMT and close at 1900 GMT. The election is expected to draw a record turnout.

The independence campaign pitched Spain into its worst political turmoil since the collapse of fascist rule and return of democracy in the 1970s. It has polarized public opinion, dented Spain’s economic rebound and prompted a business exodus from Catalonia to other parts of the country.

Thursday’s vote became a de facto referendum on how support for the independence movement has fared in recent months.

​No clear majority

None of the six parties in the Catalan parliament — ranging across the ideological spectrum from separatist Marxists to the Catalan wing of Rajoy’s conservative People’s Party (PP) — are expected on their own to come close to the 68-seat majority.

So, analysts expect the next Catalan government to result from weeks of haggling between parties over viable coalitions.

An analysis of polling data by the Madrid daily El Pais published on Tuesday found that the most likely scenario is separatists securing a majority with the backing or abstention of the Catalan offshoot of anti-austerity party Podemos.

Podemos backs the unity of Spain but says Catalans should be able to have a referendum authorized by Madrid to decide their future. At the same time, Podemos favors a left-wing alliance of Catalan parties that both back and reject independence.

In this, analysts say, Podemos is caught between two options it does not particularly like, but would prefer to back the separatists rather than a coalition involving Rajoy’s PP.

Separatist parties campaigned against the backdrop of Spanish courts investigating their leaders on allegations of rebellion for their roles in the Oct. 1 referendum, which was ruled unconstitutional.

Deposed Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has campaigned from self-imposed exile in Brussels and his former deputy and now rival candidate, Oriol Junqueras, has done so from behind bars at a prison outside Madrid.

In a written interview with Reuters published on Monday, Junqueras struck a conciliatory tone and opened the door to building bridges with the Spanish state.
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Christian Refugees Return to IS-cleared Community

Posted on by SeeEA

Christian residents of Teleskof in Nineveh Plains who recently returned home from refugee camps are preparing to celebrate Christmas, just weeks after the Islamic State was declared defeated in Iraq. But their joy is tainted with sadness as most of their community members have not returned home. VOA’s Kawa Omar reports from the region.
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Virginia State Election Ends in Tie

Posted on by SeeUS

A simple coin toss could decide whether Democrats end Republican control in the Virginia State Legislature after 17 years.

A three-judge panel declared a tie Wednesday in the election for representatives from the state’s 94th District  — 11,608 votes each for Democrat Shelly Simonds and Republican incumbent David Yancey.

An earlier count gave Simonds the seat by one vote. Yancey challenged the result and said a disputed ballot should be credited to him, ending the election in a tie.

Virginia state law says any election that ends in a tie will be decided “by lot,” a procedure that relies on luck. But election officials have not yet decided how and when that will happen.

If Yancey wins, the Virginia House of Delegates will stay in Republican hands. If luck is in Simond’s corner, the House will be evenly split with 50 seats for each party — meaning party leaders would have to broker a power-sharing deal.

Republicans have a two-seat margin in the Virginia State Senate.
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No Immediate Verdict From Jury at US Trial of Turkish Banker

Posted on by SeeEU

A jury did not reach a verdict in its first day of deliberations in the trial of a Turkish banker accused of helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions and launder billions of dollars in oil revenue.

Deliberations began early Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Manhattan after Judge Richard Berman read instructions on the law to jurors. The jury went home four hours later after requesting some pens and coffee.

The trial of Halkbank executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla has featured testimony about bribery and corruption at high levels in Turkey.

Turkish officials have lobbed counteraccusations that U.S. prosecutors are basing the case on evidence fabricated by enemies of the state.

Atilla’s fate rests with federal court jurors who seemed to listen attentively after a juror was dismissed for sleeping.
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Cost of Victory in Mosul: More Than 9,000 Civilians Dead

Posted on by SeeEA

Between 9,000 and 11,000 people were killed in the nine-month battle to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group, a civilian casualty rate nearly 10 times higher than has been previously reported, an Associated Press investigation found.

The deaths aren’t acknowledged by the U.S.-led coalition, the Iraqi government or IS’s self-styled caliphate.

Iraqi or coalition forces were responsible for at least 3,200 civilian deaths from airstrikes, artillery fire or mortar rounds between October 2016 and the fall of IS in July 2017, according to the AP investigation, which cross-referenced morgue lists and multiple databases from nongovernmental organizations. Most of those victims were simply described as “crushed” in health ministry reports.

The coalition, which has not sent anyone to Mosul to investigate recent allegations, acknowledges responsibility for 326 deaths.

‘Disheartening’ lack of interest

“It was the biggest assault on a city in a couple of generations, all told. And thousands died,” said Chris Woods, head of Airwars, an independent organization that documents air and artillery strikes in Iraq and Syria and shared its database with the AP.

“Understanding how those civilians died, and obviously ISIS played a big part in that as well, could help save a lot of lives the next time something like this has to happen. And the disinterest in any sort of investigation is very disheartening,” Woods said, using an alternative acronym for IS.

In addition to the Airwars database, the AP analyzed information from Amnesty International, Iraq Body Count and a U.N. report. The AP also obtained a list from Mosul’s morgue of 9,606 people killed during the operation. Hundreds of dead civilians are thought to still be buried in the rubble.

Of the nearly 10,000 deaths the AP found, about a third of the casualties died in bombardment by the U.S.-led coalition or Iraqi forces. Another third were killed in IS militants’ final frenzy of violence. And it could not be determined which side was responsible for the deaths of the remainder.

But the morgue total would be many times higher than official tolls.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi told the AP that 1,260 civilians had been killed in the fighting. The U.S.-led coalition has not offered an overall figure. The coalition relies on drone footage, video from cameras mounted on weapons systems and pilot observations for investigations.

“The coalition never came to us or sent anyone else to us asking for data. They never came directly or indirectly,” said Hatem Ahmed Sarheed, one of the Iraqi men responsible for recording Mosul’s dead. An AP reporter visited the morgue six times in six weeks and spoke to morgue staffers dozens of times over the phone.

The Americans say they do not have the resources to send a team into Mosul. Because of what the coalition considers insufficient information, the majority of civilian casualty allegations are deemed “not credible” before an investigation ever begins. 

The coalition has defended its operational choices, saying it was IS that put civilians in danger as it clung to power.

‘Inadvertent casualties’

“It is simply irresponsible to focus criticism on inadvertent casualties caused by the coalition’s war to defeat ISIS,” Colonel Thomas Veale, a coalition spokesman, told the AP in response to questions about civilian deaths.

“Without the coalition’s air and ground campaign against ISIS, there would have inevitably been additional years, if not decades, of suffering and needless death and mutilation in Syria and Iraq at the hands of terrorists who lack any ethical or moral standards,” he added.

What is clear from the tallies is that as coalition and Iraqi government forces increased their pace, civilians were dying in ever higher numbers at the hands of their liberators.

“We are horrified, but not surprised, by these new figures. These numbers are directly in line with our previous findings that thousands of civilians were killed during the battle for Mosul — and that these deaths were caused not only by the so-called Islamic State group, but also by Iraqi and coalition forces,” Lynn Maalouf, head of research in the Mideast for Amnesty International, said in response to the AP report.

Mosul was home to more than 1 million civilians before the fight to retake it from the IS group began. Fearing a massive humanitarian crisis, the Iraqi government told families to stay put as the final battle loomed in late 2016. As the battle crossed the Tigris River to the west last winter, IS fighters took thousands of civilians with them in their retreat from the eastern half of Mosul. They packed hundreds of families into schools and government buildings.

They expected the tactic would dissuade airstrikes and artillery. They were wrong.

When Iraqi forces bogged down in late December, the Pentagon adjusted the rules regarding the use of air power, allowing airstrikes to be called in by more ground commanders with less chain-of-command oversight.

As the fight punched into western Mosul, the morgue logs filled with civilians increasingly killed by having been “blown to pieces.”

Massive strike

After a single coalition strike killed more than 100 civilians in Mosul’s al-Jadidah neighborhood on March 17, the entire fight was put on hold for three weeks. Under intense international pressure, the coalition sent a team into the city for the first time, ultimately concluding that the 500-pound (227-kilogram) bomb — which hit a house packed with families taking shelter from the fighting — was justified to kill a pair of IS group snipers.

Iraq’s special forces units were instructed not to call in coalition strikes on buildings, but instead on gardens and roads adjacent to IS group targets.

A WhatsApp group shared by coalition advisers and Iraqi forces coordinating airstrikes previously named “killing daesh 24/7” was wryly renamed “scaring daesh 24/7.” Daesh is the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

But on the ground, Iraqi special forces officers said they soon returned to the fight just as before.

The WhatsApp group’s name was changed back to “killing daesh.” 
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Pope Francis to Speak at Funeral of Disgraced US Cardinal   

Posted on by SeeEU

Pope Francis is set to offer a “final commendation” Thursday at the Rome funeral of Cardinal Bernard Law, even as Law’s critics recalled him as the disgraced archbishop of Boston in the United States who covered up the actions of pedophile priests.

The Vatican said Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will celebrate the funeral mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for Law, who died earlier this week in Rome at the age of 86 after a long illness. Pope Francis will then offer a blessing for Law, as he has done previously at other cardinals’ funerals.

Law oversaw the Catholic church’s archdiocese in Boston in the northeastern U.S. for 19 years before he was forced to resign in 2002 as allegations mounted that he had hidden widespread pedophilia by dozens of parish priests, often moving them from one church to another rather than removing them from the ministry. The archdiocese eventually paid $95 million as compensation to more than 500 victims. 

As he left the U.S. for Rome to become archpriest of the Papal Liberian Basilica of St. Mary Major, Law said, “To all those who have suffered from my shortcomings and mistakes I both apologize and from them beg forgiveness.”

The scandal of abusive priests spread, however, eventually reverberating through several archdioceses in the U.S. and in other countries.

As news of Law’s death became known, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said, “We highly doubt there is a single victim of abuse who will ever receive the same attention, pomp and circumstance by Pope Francis.  

“Every single Catholic should ask Pope Francis and the Vatican why,” the group said. “Why Law’s life was so celebrated when Boston’s clergy sex abuse survivors suffered so greatly? Why was Law promoted when Boston’s Catholic children were sexually abused, ignored, and pushed aside time and time again?”

Law’s successor in Boston, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, reacted to his death by apologizing to the victims of clergy sex abuse.

“I recognize that Cardinal Law’s passing brings forth a wide range of emotions on the part of many people. I am particularly cognizant of all who experienced the trauma of sexual abuse by clergy, whose lives were so seriously impacted by those crimes, and their families and loved ones,” O’Malley said. “To those men and women, I offer my sincere apologies for the harm they suffered, my continued prayers and my promise that the archdiocese will support them in their effort to achieve healing.”

One survivor of the clergy sex abuse, Alexa MacPherson, said at a news conference, “With his passing, I say I hope the gates of hell are open wide to welcome him because I feel no redemption for somebody like him is worthwhile.”

Another victim, Robert Costello, said, “I don’t really consider him a cardinal or a man of God.  There were plenty of priests who knew what was going on but they had their own secrets to hide.”

 
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British PM May’s Deputy Damian Green Resigns

Posted on by SeeEU

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s most senior minister, Damian Green, has resigned at her request after an internal investigation found that he had made misleading comments about pornography found on computers in his parliamentary office.

The resignation of one of her most trusted allies, who helped pacify her deeply divided party, is a serious blow for May as she navigates the final year of tortuous Brexit negotiations before Britain’s exit in March 2019.

Green was appointed in the wake of her disastrous bet on a June snap election which lost her party its majority in parliament. Green, an old friend, was brought in to stabilize her leadership and counter enemies within the Conservative Party who wanted her to quit.

A review by the cabinet secretary found that Green’s statements which suggested he was not aware that indecent material was found in 2008 on parliamentary computers in his office, were “inaccurate and misleading.”

“I regret that I’ve been asked to resign from the government following breaches of the Ministerial Code, for which I apologize,” Green said in a letter to May. He added that he did not download or view pornography on his parliamentary computers.
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Violent Protests Ease in Iraqi Kurdistan, Anger Remains

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Violent protests eased Wednesday in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, but concerns remained that the crisis could grow as opposition politicians quit Parliament and the government cracked down on media accused of fomenting the unrest.

The protests began mostly peacefully Monday over unpaid wages, poor services and government corruption but turned violent Tuesday as security forces tried to prevent people from gathering. Several people were killed as security forces opened fire with rubber bullets and tear gas. The United Nations called for calm and restraint.

Curfews were imposed in several areas. The Ministry of Culture said Wednesday that it had suspended NRT’s Kurdish and Arabic services for a week to “stop chaos” and force media to commit to the “ethics of journalism.”

Karwan Anwar, secretary of the journalist syndicate in Sulaimania and editor in chief of PUK Media told VOA’s Kurdish Service that NRT violated journalistic principles by airing interviews with people who encouraged attacks on government offices and private property.

Westganews.net reported the abduction of Sarkawt Shamsulddin, NRT TV’s Washington bureau chief in Sulaimania after he reported live on Facebook about the suspension and arrest of Shaswar Abdulwahid, owner of Nalia group of companies and Nalia Radio and Television (NRT), for allegedly promoting violent protests in the province.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a statement supporting “freedom of expression in Iraq as a key component of the country’s democratic foundation.”

“It is the duty of the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to protect the freedom of the press and to allow media to exercise their profession responsibly,” the embassy statement said. “The United States believes that more voices, not fewer, are needed for democracy to flourish in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.”

The U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, known as UNAMI, urged Kurdish security forces “to exercise maximum restraint in dealing with the demonstrators.”

The mayor of the town of Rania, Hiwa Qarani, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that at least two civilians were killed and 80 wounded the day before.

The situation in Iraq’s Kurdistan has deteriorated since it voted overwhelmingly to pursue independence from Iraq and ran into punitive measures from the Iraqi government.

Although the demonstrators are directing their demands at the Iraqi government, they say they have lost faith in the Kurdistan government and are demanding that it resign.

“We are here to demand our legitimate rights and our livelihood,” one protester said. “This government has not kept the promises it made. This Kurdish government lacks the basic requirements of governing.”

Two parties removed their legislators from the provincial government Wednesday, and the parliamentary speaker resigned in response to the violence.
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Ugandan MPs Clear Way for Museveni to Seek Re-election

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Ugandan legislators voted late Wednesday to amend the country’s constitution to allow 73-year-old leader Yoweri Museveni to extend his rule, potentially guaranteeing him a life-time presidency.

A provision in the current constitution limits the age of a presidential candidate at 75 years, which would have made Museveni ineligible to stand at the next polls in 2021.

At the end of Wednesday’s daylong House debate, which capped a protracted and violence-marred process to remove that age limit, MPs voted 315-62 in favor of the amendment.

“The bill passes,” said speaker Rebecca Kadaga after announcing tally results, prompting raucous celebrations from the mostly ruling party MPs who favored the bill.

Earlier in the day, two lawmakers were dragged away and detained when they tried to enter parliament, as the divisive debate proceeded in the chamber.

Police had blocked some legislators from entering the building, and live television footage showed two of them being driven away in security vehicles. Both opposed the bill.

The legislators blocked by police were attempting to enter parliament to serve court documents on Kadaga, who was presiding over the debate.

The document called on her to appear in court at 2 p.m. in respect of “the irregular suspension of our members of parliament,” independent lawmaker Wilfred Niwagaba told a local television station minutes before he was detained.

Six MPs — all opposed to removal of the age cap — were suspended from parliamentary proceedings on Monday for alleged disorderly conduct and refusing to heed the speaker’s instructions.

The bill to amend the constitution was introduced in parliament October 4 by a Museveni loyalist, after two consecutive days of brawling in the debating chamber between those opposed and those in favor, supported by security personnel.

On the second day, security personnel — who some MPs said were soldiers from an elite military unit —  entered the chamber and violently ejected at least 25 MPs that the speaker had suspended from proceedings for alleged misconduct.

Second extension for Museveni

Wednesday’s vote was the second time Ugandan parliament has changed the constitution to allow Museveni to extend his rule. In 2005, they voted to remove a limit of two five-year terms, which blocked him from standing again.

The bill also extended the length of a term for MPs to seven years from the current five. The limit of two terms was also re-imposed for the president, although that only means Museveni would be limited to two more terms, starting with the 2021 election.

“Are you not seeing what happened in Zimbabwe? Do we want his excellency to end like Gaddafi of Libya?” opposition legislator, Gilbert Olanya, who opposed the amendment, said in Wednesday’s debate as he attempted to persuade colleagues to reject it.

Several African leaders have amended laws designed to limit their tenure. Such moves have fueled violence in countries including Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.

Initially hailed for restoring political order and fostering economic growth, Museveni has lately come under mounting pressure fueled by runaway corruption, and accusations he uses security forces to maintain his grip on power.

Both military and police personnel were heavily deployed around parliament this week, which opposition MPs say was meant to intimidate members.
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5.2 Magnitude Quake Strikes Near Tehran

Posted on by SeeEA

An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 struck a town near the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday night, state media reported, but there were no initial reports of casualties or significant damage.

Authorities said they were gathering information and asked residents to remain calm but be prepared for possible aftershocks.

The epicenter was at Meshkin Dasht in Alborz Province, 50 km (30 miles) west of Tehran, Tasnim news agency quoted Morteza Salimi, the head of Relief and Rescue Organization of Iran’s Red Crescent, as saying.

The quake was also felt in the cities of Karaj, Qom, Qazvin and Arak, according to state TV.

“There have been no reports of casualties or damage,” Behnam Saeedi, a spokesman for Iran’s National Disaster Management Organization, was quoted as saying by the ILNA news agency.

In parts of Tehran residents flooded into streets and parks, fearing a stronger aftershock.

Last month, a 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit villages and towns in Iran’s western Kermanshah province along the mountainous border with Iraq, killing 620 people and injuring thousands of others.
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