Month: May 2018

US Looks for Allied Support to Pressure Iran

Posted on by SeeUS

The U.S. says it is looking for allied support to force Iran into new negotiations over its nuclear weapons development and military advances in the Middle East in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 international pact restraining Tehran’s nuclear program.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is planning discussions with allies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia in an effort to win their support to pressure Iran to open talks, Reuters reported Thursday. A day earlier, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told a congressional hearing the U.S. would “continue to work alongside our allies and partners to ensure that Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon, and will work with others to address the range of Iran’s malign influence.”

The U.S., according to a senior State Department official, already has started discussions with Britain, France and Germany — three other signatories to the Iran nuclear deal that unsuccessfully lobbied Trump to keep the U.S. in the deal — as well as Japan, Iraq and Israel.

“There will be an effort to go out globally and talk to our partners around the world who share our interests,” the official told Reuters. “That is the first stage. The composition of what happens when we sit down with the Iranians is several stages out.”

The official said the focus of the talks is to increase pressure on Iran “in a way that is constructive and conducive to bringing them to the negotiating table.”

Trump has vowed to soon reimpose economic sanctions against Iran that were ended in 2015 when Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear program, and stiffen them in hopes of forcing Iran into new talks. The earlier sanctions had hobbled the Iranian economy, and renewed sanctions could pose more problems.

“Iran will come back and say, ‘We don’t want to negotiate,'” Trump said Wednesday. “And of course they’re going to say that. And if I were in their position, I’d say that, too, for the first couple months: ‘We’re not going to negotiate.'”

“But they’ll negotiate, or something will happen,” Trump said. “And hopefully that won’t be the case.”

The U.S. leader said that if Iran restarts work on nuclear weaponry, there would be a “very severe consequence.”

John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, said in an opinion piece Wednesday in The Washington Post that the U.S. believes the Iran deal is a failure because Tehran, with sanctions lifted, used the economic windfall to create military chaos in the Middle East rather than improve the plight of its people.

“Rather than focusing on behaving responsibly, Tehran has poured billions of dollars into military adventures abroad, spreading an arc of death and destruction across the Middle East from Yemen to Syria,” Bolton said. “Meanwhile, the Iranian people have suffered at home from a tanking currency, rising inflation, stagnant wages and a spiraling environmental crisis.”

Bolton said Trump “has been willing to take unconventional action to turn momentum to America’s favor. The Iran deal is not an inescapable trap — it’s merely an inadequate deal that couldn’t withstand serious scrutiny.”
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Report: US Mission Was Overwhelmed by Unprecedented IS Force in Niger

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A U.S. Special Forces mission that resulted in the deaths of four American soldiers and four Nigerien soldiers was plagued by problems up and down the chain of command but was ultimately done in by an unprecedented show of force at the hands of an Islamic State-linked terror group, an investigation found.

The findings are part of a long-awaited report released Thursday on what went wrong during a two-day span in October 2017 near the village of Tongo Tongo, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the Nigerien capital, Niamey.

“I take ownership,” General Thomas Waldhauser, the commander of U.S. Africa Command, told reporters at the Pentagon. “I will ensure the lessons learned are communicated to all levels within AFRICOM.”​

The report, six months in the making, includes thousands of pages of notes gathered by military investigators who returned to the site of the ambush, examining forensic evidence and talking to 143 witnesses, including 37 survivors of the ambush itself.

Critical missteps

An eight-page summary of the findings concluded there was “no single failure or deficiency” but rather a series of critical missteps stemming from a lack of training, a lack of preparation for the missions that day and a lack of proper equipment.

“[There are] processes at all levels of the chain of command that need to be improved,” said Major General Roger Cloutier, Africa Command’s chief of staff and the lead investigator.

Military investigators also admitted that the 12-member Army Special Forces team mischaracterized its initial plans.

Instead of telling higher-level commanders they were joining Nigerien forces to pursue Doundou Chefou, a high-level IS militant believed to be in the area, they said they were going on a mission to engage with local leaders.

“The paperwork that was submitted, the packet, was identical to a previous CONOPS [concept of operations],” said Cloutier. “It was done hastily and there was a lack of attention to detail.”

“It wasn’t a deliberate intent to deceive,” he added.

Still, Cloutier and other U.S. military officials insist the team’s mischaracterization of its intentions had little to do with the ambush at Tongo Tongo, as the members headed back to their base having found only an empty campsite.

Vastly outnumbered

Rather, the 46 U.S. and Nigerien troops fell victim to what investigators described as a never before seen show of force by IS-Greater Sahara.

“The enemy achieved tactical surprise there and our forces were outnumbered approximately 3-to-1,” said Cloutier.

U.S. forces radioed their base as soon as the IS fighters started firing on their convoy, but indicated it appeared to be a small force that they could handle.

Almost an hour later, they called again, asking for help as they were being overrun.

“Yes, it was a dangerous area,” said AFRICOM’s Waldhauser. “Yes, they knew activities went on there, but they had never seen anything in this magnitude — numbers, mobility and training.”

Army Sergeant La David Johnson and Staff Sergeants Bryan Black, Jeremiah Johnson and Dustin Wright were killed in the ensuing firefight. 

WATCH: Pentagon animation about Niger firefight

Not captured

Officials said contrary to some earlier reports, none of the U.S. forces were captured before they were killed, though the IS-linked fighters did strip their bodies of serviceable equipment.

The bodies of two of the soldiers were found in the back of abandoned pickup truck, with a third body lying alongside it on the ground.

The body of La David Johnson was found at a second site, near a tree, hundreds of meters away, where he was killed after he and two Nigerien soldiers had been separated from the rest of the group.

“There were numerous acts of extraordinary bravery that occurred on that day,” said Cloutier.

About 50 minutes after the U.S. team called for help, two French warplanes arrived and conducted several low flybys to help scare off the IS-linked fighters, giving rescue teams time to move in and evacuate the remaining U.S. and Nigerien forces.

Investigators said they were unable to determine whether the IS-linked fighters got any help from villagers in Tongo Tongo.

“There is not enough evidence to conclude that the villagers of Tongo Tongo willingly aid and support them,” according to the report summary.

Family members of the soldiers who were killed and members of Congress have already been briefed on the findings, but officials said it could be months before the full report is released to the public.

Lessons learned

In the meantime, U.S. Africa Command said changes have been made in regard to the nearly 800 troops and contractors in Niger.

“We are now far more prudent in our missions,” Waldhauser said. “We’ve increased the firepower. We’ve increased the ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] capacity.”

U.S. Special Forces teams in Niger also are being given the option of using armored vehicles, something that was not available to the team that came under attack.

Officials note that since the October 2017 ambush, they have not approved any missions to go after high-value terrorist targets, like Doundou Chefou, who they say remains at large.

Additionally, the Pentagon is holding out the option of disciplinary action for some of the missteps that contributed to the ambush and the loss of four U.S. and four Nigerien soldiers.

But officials also praised what they called “numerous acts of extraordinary bravery” by U.S. forces as they stared down the much larger IS-linked force.

“There will be awards,” said Waldhauser. “There will be awards for valor.”
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US Military Investigators Blame ‘Systemic Issues’ for Deadly Niger Ambush

Posted on by SeeUS

U.S. military investigators are blaming “contradictory and ambiguous” procedures for a botched special forces operation in Niger that resulted in the deaths of four U.S. soldiers and four Nigerien soldiers last year.

An eight-page summary of the findings released Thursday concluded “no single failure or deficiency was the sole reason” for the October 4, 2017 ambush by Islamic State-linked fighters near the village of Tongo Tongo, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the Nigerien capital Niamey.

Instead, investigators point to a series of missteps, including the failure of the 12-member Army Special Forces team to get approval from senior commanders to join Nigerien forces and go after Doundou Chefou, a high-level IS militant believed to be in the area.

As a result, officials said the team was unable to adequately assess the risks associated with the mission and may not have been properly equipped.

The report also describes in detail how the joint U.S.-Nigerien mission went bad after the convoy stopped to resupply in Tongo Tongo.

According to U.S. investigators, the U.S. and Nigerian troops were quickly attacked by as many as 100 heavily armed, well-trained IS-linked fighters.

U.S. forces immediately contacted their operating base to alert them of the ambush, but did not call for help for another 33 minutes.

Army Sergeant La David Johnson and Staff Sergeants Bryan Black, Jeremiah Johnson and Dustin Wright were killed in the ensuing firefight. Contrary to some earlier media reports and eyewitness accounts, the report says none of the U.S. forces were captured before they were killed, and none of them suffered.

“All four soldiers killed in action sustained wounds that were either immediately fatal or rapidly fatal,” the summary of the report said.

WATCH: Pentagon animation about Niger firefight

About 50 minutes after the U.S. team called for help, French warplanes arrived, and conducted several, low fly-bys to help scare off the IS-linked fighters, giving rescue teams time to move in and evacuate the remaining U.S.-Nigerien forces.

Investigators said they were unable to determine whether the IS-linked fighters got any help from villagers in Tongo Togo.

“There is not enough evidence to conclude that the villagers of Tongo Tongo willingly aided and support them,” according the report summary.

The findings are the results of an investigation that has spanned six months, during which time a team of military investigators examined evidence on the ground, and spoke to 143 witnesses as well as dozens of survivors of the ambush. In all, officials said investigators based their conclusions on thousands of pieces of evidence, as well as on eyewitness accounts.

Family members of the soldiers who were killed and members of Congress have already been briefing on the findings but officials say it could be months before the full report is released to the public.

In the interim, the U.S. Defense Department has ordered commanders to address “systemic issues” with the way missions are planned, authorized and executed.

There are about 7,500 American troops and contractors in Africa, with about 800 in Niger.
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White House Condemns Iranian Attacks on Israeli Targets

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The White House has condemned Iranian rocket attacks on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as an “unacceptable and highly dangerous development for the entire Middle East.”

In a statement issued Thursday morning, the White House said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “bears full responsibility for the consequences of its reckless actions” and warned the guard and its “militant proxies” not to take “further provocative steps.”

Israel said Thursday its fighter jets struck dozens of Iranian military targets inside of Syria overnight in response to the attacks.

The Israeli military said its airstrikes focused on intelligence sites, weapons storage and logistics centers, and that the jets also destroyed several Syrian air defense systems.

It also warned it would “not allow the Iranian threat to establish itself in Syria” and said Syria’s government will be held accountable for “everything happening in its territory.”

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman told a security conference Israel struck “almost all the Iranian infrastructure in Syria.”  He added, “I hope that we ended this chapter and that everyone understood.”

Reactions to developments

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes against Iranian targets in Syria were “appropriate” because the Persian Gulf nation “crossed a red line.”

Netanyahu also warned Syria that Israel would retaliate if the Syrian military acted against his country.

“We are in the midst of a protracted battle and our policy is clear: We will not allow Iran to entrench itself militarily in Syria,” Netanyahu said.

Iran is a Syrian ally, and its military has been supporting President Bashar al-Assad. Syria’s foreign ministry said Israel’s attacks are the “start of a new phase of aggression” against Syria and will do nothing but “increase tensions in the region.”

Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, another Assad backer, said the Israeli airstrikes were “a very alarming development” and urged both Israel and Iran to refrain from provoking each other.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson condemned Iran’s attacks, urged Iran to refrain from further actions that could destabilize the region, and called on Russia to pressure Syria to work toward a broader political settlement.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron called for a de-escalation between the two sides.

Israel on high alert

Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported Israeli airstrikes hitting air defense positions, radar stations and an ammunition depot while saying anti-aircraft systems were able to shoot down dozens of Israeli missiles.

Israel blamed Iran’s al-Quds force for firing missiles targeting Israeli military positions inside the Golan Heights, and said no damage and no casualties were reported.

In the past, Israel has rarely commented on its military activity in Syria where it is believed to have conducted multiple sets of airstrikes against Iranian forces.

Israel has been on high alert in recent days after Iran threatened retaliation for a series of airstrikes on its military positions inside Syria last month that killed at least seven Iranians. Iran blames Israel for those strikes, while Israel has not confirmed or denied the attacks.

Israeli intelligence has said it anticipated possible Iranian action after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear agreement with Iran.

 
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US Denies Some Immigrants Accused of Crimes A day in Court

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Some immigrants living in the country illegally and accused of crimes sit in legal limbo, caught in a tug of a war between local prosecutors and federal immigration authorities who won’t let them appear in court because they fear being denied the opportunity to deport them.

Advocates for immigrants say the hardball tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement are blocking due process rights, creating chaos and forcing runarounds in court systems to get immigrants who are accused of crimes in front of judges.

Under Republican President Donald Trump, the agency is specifically targeting suspects not yet found guilty, a departure from the Obama administration, which focused primarily on those convicted, attorneys say. Advocates argue ICE has also sometimes used criminal allegations against immigrants in their deportation efforts without letting them answer the charges.

“This is now becoming a kind of full-fledged war between the federal government and states and localities,” said Muzaffar Chishti, director of the Migration Policy Institute’s office at New York University School of Law.

While it’s unclear how many defendants are not being turned over to appear in court, cases are popping up around the country, largely in so-called sanctuary cities and states where local authorities don’t cooperate with the federal government on immigration enforcement.

ICE doesn’t track how many detainees have pending criminal charges or how often they’re denied release to state custody for court proceedings, an agency spokeswoman said.

In one case, a man accused of raping a child was deported – essentially set free in his home country – instead of facing trial.

ICE is not required to comply with judges’ orders that a detainee appear in state court. And federal authorities say they won’t do that if they’re unsure whether local officials will return the person to federal custody when the proceeding is over.

ICE works with prosecutors to transfer detainees to criminal custody so they can resolve their cases, but won’t hand a defendant over unless local authorities guarantee the person won’t be released, Acting Director Thomas Homan told The Associated Press in an interview last month.

“We do the best we can to make sure these people face justice, but we’ve also got to do our job,” Homan said. “If you really want to enforce criminal law, then work with us. We want to do the same thing, but we have to be partners in this.”

The issue has come to a head in Massachusetts, where the state Supreme Court last year specifically prohibited local law enforcement officials from honoring so-called detainer requests. ICE responded by largely refusing to allow detainees to be taken to state court hearings.

In Connecticut, New York and California, lawyers say it has become a bigger problem under the Trump administration because ICE is picking up more immigrants with pending charges.

Sometimes detainees are sent to distant detention centers, making their return to court virtually impossible. For instance, Tanika Vigil of the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network said that some detainees in Colorado have criminal cases in Utah but that local authorities won’t transport them because it’s too difficult and costly.

Mary Moriarty, chief public defender in Minnesota’s Hennepin County, estimated that ICE has kept about 30 people from having their criminal cases resolved or even being assigned public defenders, meaning no one advocates for their appearance in criminal court.

“ICE is arresting folks with criminal charges pending, knowing full well that by doing so, it is interfering with the criminal justice process,” said Raha Jorjani of the public defender’s office in Alameda County, California.

ICE argues communities that don’t honor its requests to hold immigrants are endangering the public by allowing suspects back onto the street. They point to the case of a man released in Philadelphia after assault charges were dismissed, despite an ICE detention request, who later went on to be charged with child rape. 

But federal judges have ruled that holding someone solely at ICE’s request is unconstitutional.

In Massachusetts, prosecutors were ready to go to trial in March in the case of Guatemala native Victor Ramirez, accused of child rape and other charges. He was arrested by ICE as he left a probation office in September, and the agency refused to release him back to state custody for his trial, a spokeswoman for the Essex prosecutor’s office said.

A state court judge issued a warrant for Ramirez’s arrest when he didn’t show up in court. But Ramirez, who was facing up to life in prison if convicted, was deported last week, ICE said.

“The victim cannot seek justice in court, nor can the defendant seek justice in court,” said the prosecutors’ spokeswoman, Carrie Kimball-Monahan.

Ramirez’s attorney didn’t return a phone call from the AP.

At least one court in Connecticut is using video conferencing to allow detainees to participate in their hearings because they’re housed in Alabama, said Elisa Villa, a supervisory assistant public defender. ICE transfers detainees back to state court in Connecticut only rarely, Villa said.

Most troubling is that pending criminal charges are often used against detainees in their immigration cases, many immigration lawyers told the AP.

Connecticut lawyer Anthony Collins said an immigration judge recently refused to release his client on bond, and approve an application that would shield him from deportation, because of his client’s assault and disorderly conduct charges.

In order to get the man transferred to state custody to resolve his criminal case, Collins said, he had to promise that his client wouldn’t be bailed out until his case is adjudicated and that he would notify ICE when that happens so he can be returned to federal custody.

Deportation may not be a bad deal for someone facing life in prison in the U.S. But not allowing detainees – some of whom might be acquitted – to resolve even minor charges before being deported can prevent them from ever returning legally, attorneys say.

That was the concern in the case of Samuel Pensamiento, who was charged with leaving an accident and blocked from appearing in court until the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts intervened. A federal judge in March ordered ICE to transfer Pensamiento to state court for his hearing and explicitly required a sheriff to return him to ICE custody afterward.

Attorneys in Massachusetts had hoped that would help them get more detainees back in court, but ICE has denied requests after that decision, lawyers said.
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People, Power Costs Keep Indoor Farming Down to Earth

Posted on by SeeUS

There’s a budding industry that’s trying to solve the problem of the limp lettuce and tasteless tomatoes in America’s supermarkets.

It’s full of technologists who grow crops in buildings instead of outdoors, short-cutting the need to prematurely harvest produce for a bumpy ride often thousands of miles to consumers in colder climes.

 

More than 30 high-tech companies from the U.S. to Singapore hoping to turn indoor farming into a major future food source, if only they can clear a stubborn hurdle: high costs.

 

These companies stack plants inside climate-controlled rooms, parse out nutrients and water, and bathe them with specialized light. It’s all so consumers can enjoy tasty vegetables year-round using a fraction of the water and land that traditional farming requires. Farmers can even brag the produce is locally grown.

 

But real estate around cities is pricey. Electricity and labor don’t come cheap. And unlike specialty crops like newly legal marijuana, veggies rarely command premium prices. (It’s tough to compete with plants grown in dirt with free sunlight, after all.)

 

Even the best-funded indoor farming company on the planet — Plenty, which has raised nearly $230 million so far — has embraced a longtime farmers’ crutch: government handouts. It hasn’t found any takers yet.

 

“We believe society should consider investing in this new form of agriculture in the way it invested in agriculture in the 1940s,” said Plenty CEO Matt Barnard in a recent interview.

 

Barnard says public aid — in the form of cheaper power — is one way to turn a good but elusive idea into a sustainable venture.

 

Last year, the U.S. paid farmers $9.3 billion in direct support, and subsidized weather-related crop insurance to the tune of $5.1 billion. In a nutshell, Barnard argues that some of that money could be diverted to crops that grow in rain or shine.

 

Plenty grows kale, mixed greens, basil and natural sweetener stevia in a grey, low-rise warehouse complex in the industrial suburb of South San Francisco.

 

Visitors arriving via the back door must don full-body overalls and rubber boots dipped in disinfecting shoe baths before entering the air-tight workspace.

 

Seedlings are grown on flatbeds and bathed in purple light that gives them the look of a 3D movie watched without glasses. Maturing plants are stuffed into columns where they grow sideways, fed by drip irrigation, and irradiated by columns of light-emitting diodes.

 

The plants will be clipped and packaged before heading to stores later this year.

 

But there are some noticeable gaps in the menu. There are no carrots or tomatoes, because long roots that grow down and vines that require human pruning don’t do well on walls.

 

For indoor farms, making money has largely meant shipping in bulk to grocery stores, a conundrum if costs aren’t in line.

 

Investment in indoor farming soared to $271 million last year, up from just $36 million in 2016, according to market research firm Cleantech Group.

 

“The question is, how are they going to scale?” asks Pawel Hardej, CEO of Civic Farms, a vertical farming consultancy in Austin, Texas.

 

There have been plenty of indoor farming failures already.

 

FarmedHere shuttered its operations in Louisville, Kentucky, and Bedford Park, Illinois, in January last year due to cost overruns.

 

Georgia-based PodPonics, which filed for bankruptcy in 2016, cited labor costs as its biggest drag.

 

Google’s X, the search giant’s secretive “moonshot factory,” killed its indoor farming efforts because it couldn’t grow food staples like grains and rice.

 

Even fans of the technology aren’t sure it can beat another sheltered alternative: greenhouses.

 

“Vertical farming to a lot of [investors] is an ‘if’ and a ‘maybe’ versus a ‘when,'” says Cleantech adviser Yoachim Haynes. “The question that needs to be answered is, ‘Can they do it with cheaper electricity and cheaper labor?’ This is not a question that many have been able to answer.”

 

Barnard says Plenty can prosper if it spends 3 to 5 cents per kilowatt hour on power — well below the 10.4 cents that is the average price nationwide, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

 

While Plenty announced plans to build a 100,000 square-foot facility in the Seattle suburb of Kent in November, it said it isn’t in talks about power breaks with any U.S. city now.

 

Most public support has so far been in rebates for energy-efficient lighting, not running costs.

 

Seattle City Light provided $10,000 worth of energy-efficient lighting to an indoor growing facility that helped feed the city’s homeless. But it already offers the lowest power rate of the top 25 cities in America. “That’s the deal that’s on the table,” says spokesman Scott Thomsen.

 

Chicago provided some $344,000 in construction grants since 2008 to The Plant , a former pork processing plant that is home to multiple indoor farms.

 

While that helped with structural improvements, it didn’t help with operations, says John Edel, the president of Bubbly Dynamics LLC, which owns The Plant.

 

Supplying grocery stores in large volumes is “harder than it sounds,” he says. And other ways of obtaining cheap power — like The Plant’s plan to install a bio-gas guzzling turbine — have faced obstacles that make it uneconomical.

 

“There isn’t a whole lot in the way of incentives for farms here,” Edel says. “There needs to be.”

 

 

 

 
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Sudan Woman who Killed Husband Over Alleged Rape Given Death

Posted on by SeeAF

A lawyer says a young Sudanese woman convicted of killing her husband while she claims he was raping her has been sentenced to death.

He says his client, Noura Hussein, 19, had been forced into marriage by her parents three years ago and had initially fled her husband, refusing to consummate the marriage.

 

The lawyer, Ahmed Sebair, says the husband returned with relatives who held Hussein down while he raped her. When they were alone the next day and he attempted to rape her again, she managed to grab a knife he had used to threaten her and stabbed him to death with it.

 

Sebair says he and Hussein’s other lawyers are now appealing the Thursday decision by the Criminal court in Omdurman, Sudan’s second-largest city.

 
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Hostage Release Seen as Part of N. Korea’s Chess Game

Posted on by SeeUS

North Korea’s release of three U.S. citizens may help pave the way for talks between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, but questions remain as to whether those talks will succeed.

At the White House on Wednesday, Trump continued to speak cautiously about the coming summit, even while praising the North Korean leader for the prisoner release.

“Everything can be scuttled,” Trump told reporters. “A lot of things can happen — a lot of good things can happen, [and] a lot of bad things can happen.”

Positive gesture

North Korea on Wednesday granted amnesty to three Americans of Korean descent. They had been accused of espionage or trying to overthrow the government, charges widely seen as bogus.

Pyongyang has detained at least 16 Americans over the past two decades, often attempting to use them as bargaining chips. All were eventually released, although Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old college student, died shortly after returning to the United States last year.

A White House statement Wednesday praised North Korea’s latest prisoner release as a “positive gesture of goodwill” ahead of the Trump-Kim summit, which is expected to take place as soon as next month.

South Korea’s presidential office said Pyongyang’s decision was a “very positive” sign for a successful North Korea-U.S. meeting.

​’The least the North Koreans could do’

The freeing of the prisoners coincided with a visit to Pyongyang by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who declined to say whether the release was a U.S. precondition for holding talks with the North.

“I don’t know the answer to that,” Pompeo told reporters on the flight home. “It would have been more difficult [had the prisoners not been released]. … I’m glad that we don’t have to confront that.”

It’s not clear what, if anything, the U.S. gave up in exchange for the prisoners. It’s not even clear a concession was needed, since North Korea has for decades sought the presumed legitimacy provided by a summit with a sitting U.S. president.

“It was the least the North Koreans could do,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, who focuses on nonproliferation issues at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Regardless of whether the release was a stated U.S. precondition, Fitzpatrick says it was a “matter of course” that the Americans had to be freed to create conditions for talks between Trump and Kim.

“I think you don’t even have to state something like this; it’s so clear,” he said.

​Conciliatory language

But as Trump himself hinted, it’s far from certain North Korea will agree to give up its nuclear weapons at the talks. Pyongyang has in the past promised to dismantle nuclear facilities, only to later renege on its decision.

Still, the prisoner release amounts to a foreign policy victory for Trump, and caps a dramatic reversal from the contentious mood of several months ago, when Trump and Kim regularly exchanged insults and threats of nuclear war.

That stunning reversal was on display Wednesday in Pyongyang, when Pompeo called North Korea a “great partner” in helping set up the discussions.

That conciliatory language could be an attempt to placate North Korean officials, who have complained whenever Trump credits his “maximum pressure” campaign for bringing North Korea to the table.

Aidan Foster-Carter, a longtime North Korea specialist, says Pompeo’s more diplomatic approach reflects an attempt to ensure the talks go smoothly. And he says that has many historical precedents.

“When [former U.S. official] Henry Kissinger flew secretly to China all those years ago, he didn’t greet Chairman Mao [Zedong] with, ‘Hello, you mass murderer, how are you today?’ ” Foster-Carter said. “You have other goals.”

One goal was getting the Americans home. The other was ensuring the summit at least takes place.

“We often describe North Korea as unpredictable, but this must have been one of the most predictable, and indeed widely predicted, events,” Foster-Carter said. “I don’t think the summit could have gone ahead while they were still in jail.”
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Ethiopia Agrees to Suspend MIDROC Gold Mining After Protests  

Posted on by SeeAF

Pressured by more than a week of sometimes deadly demonstrations, Ethiopia’s mining ministry agreed late Wednesday to suspend the gold-mining operations of a company accused of releasing dangerous contaminants in the country’s south. 

“The suspension is in response to the demands of the people,” Bacha Faji, a spokesman for Ethiopia’s Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas, announced Wednesday evening on state-run media. 

The move at least temporarily halts operations by Mohammed International Development Research and Organization Companies, or MIDROC, at a site near the town of Shakiso and the Lega Dembi River. 

The ministry spokesman promised an independent investigation into MIDROC and said operations would resume if and when “all stakeholders agree on the result of that investigation.”

The company, owned by African-born Saudi billionaire Mohammed Hussein al-Amoudi, has operated the mine since the late 1990s. 

MIDROC did not respond to a VOA query about the suspension. No update was available on its website.

The decision came in the wake of at least two deaths related to a wave of protests in the restive Oromia region. The protests began April 30, following news that the mining ministry had renewed MIDROC’s mining permit for another 10 years. 

The deaths occurred in or near the town of Adola, in the Oromia region’s East Guji zone.

On Tuesday, at least one person was fatally injured when demonstrators marched to the local police station to demand the release of detained compatriots, witnesses told VOA.

Chala Ware, Adola’s deputy mayor, told VOA that demonstrators crowded into the compound, and amid jostling, some fell into a drainage ditch.

“I’m not sure if the injuries were from gunshot or a fall,” he said, acknowledging that one person died and two others were hospitalized.

But Damara Adema, who took part in the demonstration, told VOA that police had used tear gas on protesters, some of whom blindly stumbled into the ditch. Police retrieved them and took them inside the station, Damara said, noting that Red Cross workers who had shown up with stretchers initially were not allowed access.  

On Wednesday, businessman Shakiso Guta was shot and killed while driving just outside the city. He was rushed to Adola Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.  A local resident told VOA that Ethiopian military troops, on heightened alert because of the unrest, were responsible for his shooting. 

Also Wednesday, roughly 2,000 demonstrators marched peacefully in Guji zone’s Girja district, said district administrator Miesso Gelgelo. He said they were making the same demand they had for years: “Find a solution to the damage the MIDROC gold mine is causing us.”

Demonstrators allege that chemicals used at the mine poison the water and air, leading to respiratory illnesses, miscarriages, birth defects and disabilities. They also charge that the commercial mining undercuts economic well-being in the area, displacing people from their homes and providing few jobs for locals.

Jalene Gemeda of VOA’s Horn of Africa service contributed to this report. 
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Macron Hailed as European Unifier, but Reality Remains Elusive

Posted on by SeeEU

 After failing to coax Washington to stick with the Iran nuclear deal, and facing protests at home over his labor and pension reforms, French President Emmanuel Macron may find solace Thursday in Germany, where he will be given a prestigious European award for another key ambition: far-reaching goals to reform and revamp the European Union. 

The Charlemagne Prize, which he will receive in the German spa town of Aachen, remains more of an aspirational nod to Macron’s European ambitions than his ability to actually unify the region. Named after the medieval emperor who ruled over a swath of western and central Europe, the prize is awarded to those contributing to European unity. 

Angela Merkel won the prize a decade ago for her work in unifying the bloc. Ironically, the German chancellor is now counted as one of the roadblocks in Macron’s call for a post-Brexit European Union to forge closer economic, political and defense bonds.

“It’s easier for him to reform France because he’s in charge,” said Charles Grant, director of the London-based Center for European Reform think tank, or CER, who believes Macron will ultimately succeed in implementing some but not many of his proposed EU changes. “The problem with Europe is he’s not in charge.” 

In Aachen, Macron is slated to deliver a major speech on the 28-member bloc — that dwindles to 27 with Britain’s slated 2019 departure — described as a continuation but not a replica of one he delivered at the Sorbonne University in Paris last September. There, the French president outlined a raft of priorities, from creating a European rapid response defense force and common asylum policy to deeper eurozone integration. 

One immediate deadline is looming to add substance to the rhetoric. Macron and Merkel are to present a joint plan for reforming the 19-member eurozone by June. But there is another in the not-so-distant future. European parliamentary elections are slated for next year, and some fear euroskeptic parties will score strongly. 

No longer a continent in crisis

Macron’s election a year ago, beating far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen, has bucked a populist wave elsewhere in Europe, which saw Hungarian leader Victor Orban re-elected to a third consecutive term in April, and anti-establishment parties in Italy surging in March elections. 

In Germany, France’s co-partner in an EU that emerged from a ’50s-era coal and steel pact, a weakened Merkel and her coalition government are reluctant to push eurozone reforms too far. 

Still, some analysts point to encouraging signs for a more unified Europe. One is public support for the European Union itself, with a 2017 Eurobarometer survey showing three-quarters of Europeans view the bloc positively. 

And despite Britain’s planned 2019 exit, “Europe no longer appears to be a continent in crisis,” wrote researchers Kermal Dervis and Caroline Conroy in a Brookings Institution report last month. Even in debt-strapped Greece, “a majority of respondents now support the EU.” 

At least some of Macron’s proposed reforms will be adopted in the long term, the Brookings report predicted, injecting “new dynamism” into the EU, making European citizens more enthusiastic about the bloc and increasing its ability to assert its economic and social values on a changing world stage. 

More broadly, Macron’s leadership role in the EU is a sharp departure from recent tradition. Under Merkel, Germany has been Europe’s main motor over the past decade, and Washington’s go-to European interlocutor under former President Barack Obama. Today, it is France that is putting its stamp on international affairs in the Middle East and the Sahel, and President Donald Trump’s European calls are more likely placed to Paris, not Berlin.

European resistance

So far, however, the French president has little to show for it. Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran agreement on Tuesday has left Europeans scrambling to salvage it, and Macron has yet to secure permanent European exemptions to U.S. metals tariffs.

Macron is also facing German resistance to many of his European reform proposals. On defense, France and Germany recently agreed to jointly develop new military weapons, including a next-generation fighter plane. But there is less appetite in other areas, notably the French leader’s call for closer eurozone financial integration, complete with a eurozone budget and finance minister. 

If Macron is to push Berlin further, he must first prove himself at home, CER’s Grant believes. France’s own economy is only recently emerging from years of lackluster performance. But in March, the country finally met the EU’s 3 percent public deficit cap — posting a surprising 2.6 debt-to-public-deficit ratio — for the first time in more than a decade. 

“If he does succeed in reforming the French economy — which I think he is doing — it will be much harder for the Germans to say no on eurozone reforms,” Grant said. 

Still Macron faces considerable resistance at home. 

Tens of thousands of French took to the streets last Saturday, marking Macron’s year anniversary in office with massive rallies against his proposals. Striking rail and airline employees are snarling commuting schedules and costing their employers billions of dollars in losses. The president’s popularity has hit record lows. Yet the majority of French also support Macron’s rail reforms — and crucially his young La Republique en Marche party controls the French parliament, assuring his legislation safe passage.

A bigger roadblock to eurozone reforms lies outside France. Italy — Europe’s third-largest economy — faces a political deadlock and a shaky economy, making any substantial deepening of the financial union unlikely in the immediate future, Grant said.

Cautious optimism

More fundamentally, perhaps, the French president’s vision of Europe is at odds with those of populist leaders and parties that are resonating in many parts of the continent. Macron has called for a more flexible bloc, which tacitly allows more pro-European countries to forge ahead and more skeptical ones to lag behind. Other EU member states have not signed on to the idea, but analysts such as Grant believe it will become a reality in fact, if not in rhetoric. 

Others are cautiously optimistic the French leader may prevail in his European ambitions, but only with a massive effort in rallying European public opinion to his side — mirroring, in some ways, his surprising victory in last year’s elections.

“Macron will need a ‘Europe en March’ … a project for the democratic unification of Europe,” international affairs experts Brendan Simms and Daniel Schade wrote in The New Republic. “… The French cannot be armed missionaries — that never worked — but they must be the animating spirit of the union.”
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Israel Attacks Iranian Targets Inside Syria

Posted on by SeeEA

Israel said Thursday its fighter jets struck dozens of Iranian military targets inside of Syria overnight in response to rockets attacks by Iranian forces on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The Israeli military said its airstrikes focused on intelligence sites, weapons storage and logistics centers, and that the jets also destroyed several Syrian air defense systems.

It also warned it would “not allow the Iranian threat to establish itself in Syria” and said Syria’s government will be held accountable for “everything happening in its territory.”

Iran is a Syrian ally, and its military has been supporting President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported Israeli airstrikes hitting air defense positions, radar stations and an ammunition depot while saying anti-aircraft systems were able to shoot down dozens of Israeli missiles.

Israel blamed Iran’s Al Quds force for firing missiles targeting Israeli military positions in the Golan Heights and said no damage and no casualties were reported.

In the past, Israel has rarely commented on its military activity in Syria where it is believed to have conducted multiple sets of airstrikes against Iranian forces.

Israel has been on high alert in recent days after Iran threatened retaliation for a series of airstrikes on its military positions inside Syria last month that killed at least seven Iranians. Iran blames Israel for those strikes, while Israel has not confirmed or denied the attacks.

Israeli intelligence has said it anticipated possible Iranian action after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear agreement with Iran.
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First Post-IS Iraq Elections: New Era or Same Old Scene?

Posted on by SeeEA

A crowd gathered by a police vehicle at the entrance to the historic old market in central Baghdad.

“What’s going on?” asked Mohammad, a local journalist.  

 

“They caught a thief,” an onlooker said. Young men strained to see police load the accused into a van. “And he wasn’t even a member of parliament!”  Others in earshot guffawed.  

 

On May 12, Iraqi voters will have a chance to replace their national parliament for the first time since the government declared victory over Islamic State militants last year. Iraqis said they hope the new leadership will curb the corruption seen as one of the root causes of Iraq’s decades of wars and economic crises.

“I want to wage a war against corruption,” said MP candidate Iman al-Marsomi. “We have more than we should in the parliament and the government facilities.”

But this hope, some locals said, may be unattainable.

“It’s a desperate situation,” said 63-year-old Naja Abood at his bookstore, which sells 19th century volumes left over from colonials and handmade modern Iraqi history pamphlets. “Nothing will be changed. The results are already settled in favor of the ones already famous for corruption.”

Candidates and alliances

 

Nearly 7,000 candidates are running for parliament, and from them, a 329-seat house will emerge.

 

The government will then form through a series of negotiations, with one of the leaders of the Shia parties to be appointed prime minister — Iraq’s head of state.

 

Iraq’s government is based on a quota system, with leadership positions designated to sections of the Iraqi public, including Shia and Sunni Muslims, Kurds, women and other minorities.

 

With political alliances increasingly crossing sectarian lines, no clear majority is expected to win the parliament, according to Nejem al-Kassab, an Iraqi political analyst. A long series of negotiations and horse-trading will precede the selection of head of state and other top positions, he said.

 

“It will be difficult for them to agree on the leadership,” he explained, “because party alliances are no longer based on sectarian blocks.”

 

Current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has a leg up, having overseen the near-total defeat of IS militants in Iraq last year, said al-Kassab. Other Shia contenders include former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki and Hadi al-Ameri, a leader of the Popular Mobilizations Units, a Shia-led military force formalized during the battle with IS, also known as Hashd al-Shaaby.

But the upcoming vote and negotiations that follow are unpredictable, he added. For example, one political alliance in Iraq now includes prominent Shia leaders, in addition to secular parties, including Communist. And unlike previous elections, Sunni voters are more likely to vote for al-Abadi’s coalition because of the defeat of IS, which occupied primarily Sunni areas in Iraq between 2014 and 2017.

 

Voter priorities

 

In post-IS Iraq, entire cities, towns and villages still lie in rubble, and millions of people have been displaced.

 

Rebuilding, economic recovery and curbing the corruption that hinders both are top priorities for voters, explained al-Kassab. But meaningful change, while possible, will be extraordinarily difficult to achieve.  

 

“The people don’t really care who is in power,” he said. “They are looking to rebuild after all the wars.”

 

And while there are many voters and politicians that have hope that these elections will usher in a new era of reconstruction, on the streets of Baghdad, many locals said they fear the near future will include more security and economic crises.

“You know when a director puts something at the end of a scary movie to make you think there is another movie coming?” said Hind, a physics teacher shopping for books in the market. “It’s that way.”

 

Security of the vote

 

Flights and roads in Iraq will be shut down for 24 hours on the day of the vote for security purposes in the wake of IS threats against the ballot.

 

But many locals said, in the relative peace of post-IS Iraq, they are not afraid that the day will end in violence.  

 

“The security forces will do their jobs,” said Ali, a 31-year-old wrestler taking a break on the banks of the Diyala River. “It won’t be bad.”

 

Long-term security and economic recovery is far more elusive than securing the polling places for a day, added a 24-year-old barber also named Ali. “I think nothing will change after the elections, but still, we hope.”
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Diplomat Faults US Review of Aid for South Sudan

Posted on by SeeAF

A top South Sudan diplomat in the United States calls the U.S. review of South Sudan assistance a step backward for peace negotiations. 

Ambassador Gordon Buay, the charge d’affaires of South Sudan’s embassy in Washington, said Tuesday’s strongly worded White House statement on South Sudan could have unintended consequences.

“This one is sending the wrong signal to the rebels. The White House position will embolden the opposition, because why would the opposition keep talking to the government?” Buay told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus radio program.

The White House statement said that “the government of South Sudan has lost credibility, and the United States is losing patience.” The White House also accused South Sudan’s government leaders of squandering Juba’s  partnership with the U.S. by pilfering the wealth of South Sudan and killing its own people.

The statement said the U.S. would initiate a comprehensive review of its assistance programs to South Sudan, namely the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission and other mechanisms that support the 2015 peace agreement.

The White House statement also said any elections held under the current conditions would be a sham and unacceptable.

Avoid threats, US told

South Sudan’s Minister of Cabinet Affairs Martin Elia Lomuro said Wednesday that the United States should engage in talks with the Salva Kiir administration and avoid making threats against the government.

Lomuro accused the U.S. and other members of the international community of favoring the rebels, while putting all the blame for the continued fighting and atrocities committed in the country on the government.

“The mistake people have made, especially the U.S. and other countries … is that they don’t appreciate what actually happened. They are not able to ask precisely who was the culprit, and they have, therefore, taken sides,” Lomuro told VOA.

Lomuro insisted that the Transitional Government of National Unity is inclusive, noting some former detainees serve in the government.

“John Lok is a member of the Council of Ministers; he is the minister of transport. Biar Madut is a member of parliament,” Lomuro said. He also noted that the foreign affairs minister, former detainee Deng Alor Kuol, was absent but would resume his position upon his return. 

Mark Weinberg, public affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Juba, disagreed, saying the current government does not represent all signatories to the 2015 peace deal.

“The leaders of South Sudan have wasted their partnership with the United States and other international donors who supported this country for independence, have stolen the wealth of their own country, killed their own people and demonstrated over and over again their unwillingness to live up to their commitment to end the war and uphold their obligations to allow unimpeded humanitarian access,” Weinberg said.

The promotion of U.N.-sanctioned individuals to top government positions — including General Jok Riak to be chief of defense forces — demonstrates Juba’s disdain for international norms, according to the White House statement. Lomuro argues Jok has done nothing to deserve the sanctions.
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Russian Firm Tied to ‘Putin’s Cook’ Pleads Not Guilty in US

Posted on by SeeUS

A Russian company accused by U.S. prosecutors of funding a propaganda operation to tilt the 2016 presidential election in President Donald Trump’s favor and stir disharmony in the United States pleaded not guilty Wednesday in federal court.

Concord Management and Consulting LLC is one of three entities and 13 Russian individuals indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office in February in an alleged criminal and espionage conspiracy to tamper in the U.S. race, boost Trump and disparage his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

The indictment said Concord is controlled by Russian businessman Evgeny Prigozhin, who U.S. officials have said has extensive ties to Russia’s military and political establishment.

The indictment said Concord controlled funding, recommended personnel and oversaw the activities of the propaganda campaign.

Prigozhin, also personally charged by Mueller, has been dubbed “Putin’s cook” by Russian media because his catering business has organized banquets for Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior political figures. He has been hit with sanctions by the U.S. government.

“We plead not guilty. We exercise the right to a speedy trial,” the company’s U.S.-based defense lawyer Eric Dubelier said during the arraignment before Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey, who scheduled a May 16 status hearing.

Another business entity that prosecutors said was controlled by Prigozhin, Concord Catering, was named in the indictment, along with the Internet Research Agency, a St. Petersburg-based Russian troll farm.

Dubelier told the court he was not authorized to represent Concord Catering, adding that prosecutors had indicted a “proverbial ham sandwich” because the entity did not exist during the time the alleged misconduct occurred.

Mueller’s indictment said the Russian defendants adopted false online personas to push divisive messages, traveled to the United States to collect intelligence and orchestrated political rallies while posing as Americans. Moscow has denied meddling in the election.

Mueller also is investigating whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia and whether the president has unlawfully sought to obstruct the probe. Trump has denied collusion and obstruction, calling Mueller’s investigation a “witch hunt.”

Russia does not have an extradition agreement with the United States, making it difficult to apprehend the Russian defendants.

As expected, no corporate representatives for Concord or any of the other corporate defendants appeared in court.

“Alas, they are not here,” prosecutor Jeannie Rhee said. “The government would be thrilled if they were here.”

Mueller’s office tried unsuccessfully to win a delay in the arraignment, saying it was unsure if Dubelier and another U.S. lawyer hired by Concord Management and Consulting were authorized to represent the company because the Office of the Prosecutor General of Russia declined to accept a court summons.
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NBC Finds No Culture of Harassment in News Division

Posted on by SeeUS

NBC investigators who examined workplace conduct after Matt Lauer was fired say they don’t believe there is a culture of sexual harassment at the news division and that current news executives weren’t aware of Lauer’s behavior until the complaint that doomed him was made.

Investigators also said more needed to be done to ensure that the more than 2,000 employees at NBC News can talk about bad behavior without fearing retaliation, leading NBC News Chairman Andy Lack to establish a way this can be done outside the company.

But NBC was criticized for not allowing outsiders to look at its practices. While making the report public was a positive step, NBC needed an independent third party to look at its practices to make the findings credible, said the organization Press Forward, made up of women who worked in the news industry who experienced sexual misconduct.

Call for higher standards

“No one is going to be fully candid when speaking to management for fear of losing their jobs,” said Eleanor McManus, a co-founder of Press Forward.  “News organizations, journalists and media all hold corporations, governments and individuals to higher standards in similar instances, so it’s concerning that NBC would not choose to follow those same standards itself.”

NBC Universal’s general counsel, Kim Harris, conducted the investigation. Harris’ report was primarily concerned with Lauer, and no specific complaints about others were discussed. There was no mention of a former NBC News employee’s accusation last month that former Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw made unwanted advances toward her, which he has denied.

NBC said the work of its all-female investigative team was reviewed and approved by two outside firms.

Lauer, the former Today show host, was fired in November after it was found he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with another NBC employee. Three additional women subsequently complained about Lauer.

Investigators found no evidence that anyone “in position of authority” at NBC News knew that Lauer had sexual relationships with others in the company until the November 27 complaint by a woman about an affair that began at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Still, two of the four women who complained about Lauer said they believed someone in management knew about his behavior.

Former Today anchor Ann Curry had said in a news interview that she went to management officials to say they should watch Lauer after another woman told her Lauer had harassed her. But NBC’s report said Curry declined to reveal to investigators whom she spoke to and that no current or past managers interviewed by investigators said they’d spoken to her about the issue.

Curry was not immediately available to clarify that Wednesday.

Flirtatious behavior alleged

The report said Lauer, who is married, was flirtatious and engaged in sexual banter in the office. Several women said he had complimented them on their appearance in a sexually suggestive way.

Investigators threw cold water on a published report that a button allowed Lauer to lock his office door without getting up from his desk. The button closed the door, but didn’t lock it, the report said.

Some of the 68 people interviewed said they were aware of other rumored extramarital affairs in the news division. Most were already known and dealt with; some are being looked into, the report said.

“The investigation team does not believe that there is a widespread or systemic pattern of behavior that violates company policy or a culture of harassment in the News Division,” Harris’ report said.

The report discussed reasons why some at NBC are reluctant to come forward with complaints — including glass-walled human resources offices that made them question whether their concerns would be kept quiet. In a memo to staff, Lack said employees could now take misconduct reports to an outside law firm that has already helped NBC set up workplace training.

“I am immensely proud of NBC News, its history and the work we do,” Lack said. “But, stepping back from the investigation, that history also includes a time when people were not comfortable coming forward to voice complaints about repugnant behavior. That is not acceptable.”

Lack said more than 80 percent of the staff had undergone new training in workplace behavior since Lauer’s firing, and that all employees are expected to be done by June 30.
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Russian Tycoon Known for Faberge Eggs Tied to Cohen Payment

Posted on by SeeUS

Outside the rarified sphere of the super-rich, tycoon Viktor Vekselberg is mostly known in Russia for spending more than $100 million to bring cultural artifacts back to their homeland, including an array of Faberge eggs glittering with gold and jewels.

By Vekselberg’s standards, the money he laid out wasn’t all that much: His fortune has been estimated at about $14.6 billion.

But after his holding company Renova was hit by U.S. sanctions against Russia in April, his worth appeared to shrink markedly, and he reportedly has asked the Russian government for help to stay afloat.

Now Vekselberg is facing new scrutiny.

U.S. news reports said he has been questioned by the staff of Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election in 2016 and any possible coordination with associates of President Donald Trump. And documents reviewed by The Associated Press suggest that a company associated with Vekselberg routed money to Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s consulting firm in 2017.

Vekselberg, 61, was born in Soviet Ukraine. After graduating from the Moscow Transportation Engineering Institute, he reportedly made his first significant money by selling copper salvaged from scrapped cables during the period of economic reforms under Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

He built his fortune by investing in the aluminum and oil industries, taking advantage of the wide-open and often-questionable privatization of state companies after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

He secured a controlling interest in the Tyumen Oil company, one of Russia’s largest oil operations, and his holding company Renova Group and two other holding companies later merged their assets and established the TNK-BP joint venture with British Petroleum, which later was acquired by state oil giant Rosneft. More recently, he has expanded his assets to include industrial equipment and high technology.

Renova has sizable investments in the U.S. through its subsidiary, the investment management company Columbus Nova. The firm’s operations include tech investments, real estate management and merchant banking, according to corporate and web documents.

Vekselberg’s U.S. operation, Columbus Nova, is headed by Andrew Intrater. The documents reviewed by AP and other media reports have said the two men are cousins.

Washington influence

Intrater donated $250,000 to Trump’s inauguration in 2017, presidential finance documents show. And both Vekselberg and Intrater attended Trump’s inauguration, according to a 2017 Washington Post report.

Before reportedly retaining Cohen, Vekselberg’s U.S. corporate entities have spent nearly 15 years trying to gain influence in Washington. Renova, Columbus Nova and its real estate arm combined to pay nearly $1.8 million to lobbyists between 2001 and 2015, at first concentrating on “encouraging trade and cultural exchanges” between the U.S. and Russia and later on small business issues.

A spokeswoman for the Carmen Group Inc., a lobbying operation paid more than $1.7 million by the Vekselberg firms, declined to explain its work, saying, “we do not comment on client matters.”

Vekselberg was one of a group of Russian business leaders who met with former President Barack Obama in Moscow in 2007 during Obama’s visit with then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as well as then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Vekselberg was also in attendance when Putin sat during a Moscow gala in 2015 with retired U.S. Army General Michael Flynn, who was Trump’s national security adviser before he was fired. Flynn is now cooperating with the special counsel probe.

Payments to Cohen firm

Official documents reviewed Tuesday by the AP appeared to show that a company associated with Vekselberg routed eight payments totaling about $500,000 to Essential Consultants, established by Cohen between January and August 2017.

Vekselberg’s spokesman Andrey Shtorkh told the AP on Wednesday that “neither Viktor Vekselberg nor Renova has ever had any contractual relationship with Mr. Cohen” or his consulting company. In a statement on its website, Columbus Nova said it has managed assets for Renova, but has never been owned by Vekselberg.

As a wealthy and powerful Russian, Vekselberg is presumed to operate with the tacit approval of President Vladimir Putin. How deep his relations are with the Kremlin is an open question.

Anders Aslund, an expert on Russia’s economy, was quoted by the Russian business portal RBC as saying that Vekselberg’s ending up on the U.S. sanctions list was a surprise because “he has a good reputation. … He isn’t perceived to be especially close to Putin.”

But he apparently is close enough to the top to be willing to ask for help after the sanctions slashed the value of his holdings. According to the business newspaper Kommersant, he recently asked for state-owned banks to refinance 820 million euros ($967 million) in debt that he owes to Western banks and for preferential treatment in receiving state orders.

Vekselberg got wide public attention for buying nine Faberge eggs from the estate of Malcolm Forbes and bringing the czarist-era baubles back to Russia for display in a private museum.

He also heavily funded the establishment of a Jewish museum in Moscow and financed the return to a Moscow monastery of church bells that had been scrapped under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.
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Trump Launches New Attack on US Media

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U.S. President Donald Trump launched a new attack on the country’s national news media Wednesday, suggesting that maybe their credentials should be taken away, while also admitting that when he talks about “fake news,” he means stories about him he doesn’t like.

“The Fake News is working overtime,” Trump said in a Twitter comment. “Just reported that, despite the tremendous success we are having with the economy & all things else, 91 percent of the Network News about me is negative (Fake). Why do we work so hard in working with the media when it is corrupt? Take away credentials?”

Trump was citing a report by the conservative-leaning Media Research Center concluding that from January to April more than nine in 10 Trump-related stories on the ABC, NBC and CBS television networks were critical of him. The three broadcast networks have nightly news shows, but millions of Americans also hear national news on cable television networks, social media and word of mouth from friends and relatives.

In the U.S., the First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, and dozens of reporters carry credentials that allow them on White House grounds to report and write about Trump. U.S. presidents often spar with reporters about stories they do not like, but Trump has waged a concerted campaign against several news sources, particularly the three networks, the cable news outlet CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post, while often praising commentary shows on the Trump-friendly Fox News.

The U.S. leader has often attacked national news media reports about his nearly 16-month tenure in the White House that he deems unfair, unsourced or not reflecting reality as he sees it. Wednesday’s tweet, however, may be the first time he has acknowledged that he thinks negative news about him is “fake.”

After Trump’s tweet, Margaret Talev, president of the White House Correspondents Association, said in a statement that if Trump were to carry out his threat and revoke White House credentials for reporters, it would be “an unconscionable assault on the First Amendment.”

“Some may excuse the president’s inflammatory rhetoric about the media, but just because the president does not like news coverage does not make it fake,” she said. “A free press must be able to report on the good, the bad, the momentous and the mundane, without fear or favor.”
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Hamas Leader: Next Week’s Protests to Be ‘Decisive’

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The Gaza leader of the Hamas militant group on Wednesday said that a mass protest on the Israeli border will be “decisive,” vowing that he and other top officials were “ready to die” in a campaign to end Israel’s decade-old blockade of the territory.

In a speech to hundreds of Gazan youths, Yehiyeh Sinwar said Hamas has rejected international proposals to stop the weekly, often violent gatherings, which culminate in Monday’s mass demonstration.

“We can’t stop these protests. We are supporting, even leading, them,” he said. The protests will be “like a tiger running in all directions,” he said.

The Hamas-led demonstrations are meant to protest a crippling decade-long Israeli-Egyptian blockade, imposed after the group seized power in Gaza in 2007, and assert Palestinian demands to return to lost properties in what is now Israel.

Monday’s demonstration will cap six weeks of protests and coincides with the U.S. move of its Israel embassy to contested Jerusalem and the date when Palestinians mark 70 years of displacement. Two-thirds of Gaza’s 2 million people are descendants of Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during the war surrounding Israel’s establishment.

The audience included activists who have been leading the confrontations each Friday, burning tires along the fence, throwing stones at Israeli troops and flying incendiary kites over dry fields on the Israeli side of the border. Some of the youths brandished wire cutters, a popular tool in weekly attempts to cut through the border fence. Hamas has signaled it may encourage protesters to storm the border next week.

Sinwar said “regional and international” mediators have relayed proposals in an attempt to defuse the tensions. He did not identify the mediators or reveal the offers.

Going further, he said Hamas leaders “are ready to die along with tens of thousands” as the marches climax next week.

Since the protests began on March 30, Israeli fire has killed 40 and wounded hundreds, sparking criticism from rights groups, the United Nations and the European Union that Israel is using excessive force against unarmed protesters.

Israel says it is defending its sovereign border and will not allow any breach by the protesters. It accuses Hamas of exploiting civilians in an attempt to divert attention from the difficult conditions in Gaza.

Sinwar was freed in a prisoner swap with Israel in 2011 and was elected as the movement’s Gaza chief in 2017.

Hamas has said if the protests “don’t achieve their goals,” they will continue.
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Expert Sees Little Chance That Ebola Outbreak Will Spread in DRC

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The risk of Congo’s latest Ebola outbreak spreading is “very low” because of the remoteness of the affected area, a Congolese disease expert said Wednesday as medical teams arrived on the scene.

Ebola has been confirmed in at least two people in the northwestern town of Bikoro. Those cases were discovered after officials last week were alerted to at least 17 deaths linked to a hemorrhagic fever in a nearby area in Equateur province, according to Congo’s health ministry and the World Health Organization. There are various hemorrhagic fevers, including Ebola.

This is the ninth Ebola outbreak in Congo since 1976, when the deadly disease was first identified. There is no specific treatment for Ebola, which is spread through the bodily fluids of people exhibiting symptoms. Without preventive measures, the virus can spread quickly between people and is fatal in up to 90 percent of cases.

“The risks of propagation are very low because it is a remote area. It is about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from Mbandaka, the capital of the province of Equateur … so it is unlikely that a patient can leave this area and go to Mbandaka or Kinshasa,” the capital, said Dr. Jean Jacques Muyembe, director of the National Institute of Biological and Bacterial Research. “I think it is an epidemic that we will quickly master.” 

WHO has allocated $1 million from its Emergency Contingency Fund to support response activities over the next three months. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it has set aside $250,000 for response to the outbreak while mobilizing a team with experience in previous Ebola outbreaks.

The aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres said it has a team in Bikoro that includes medics, water and sanitation experts, and an epidemiologist.

None of the Ebola outbreaks in Congo was connected to the massive outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in West Africa that began in 2014 and left more than 11,300 dead.
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Europe Vows to Defend Its Interests in Iran

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A transatlantic diplomatic tussle appears to be looming after European leaders pledged to defend their countries’ commercial interests in Iran, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. Fellow signatories Russia and China also said they would stick with the accord. Washington says it will begin phasing in sanctions on Iran in the coming months. Henry Ridgwell reports.
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OPEC Source: Saudi Arabia Will Not Act Alone to Fill Any Iran Oil Shortfall

Posted on by SeeEA

Saudi Arabia is monitoring the impact of the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal on oil supplies and is ready to offset any shortage but it will not act alone to fill the gap, an OPEC source familiar with the kingdom’s oil thinking said.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday abandoned a nuclear deal with Iran and announced the “highest level” of sanctions against the OPEC member. The original agreement had lifted sanctions in exchange for Tehran limiting its nuclear program.

Iran is the third-largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

During the last round of sanctions, Iran’s oil supplies fell by around 1 million barrels per day (bpd), but the country re-emerged as a major oil exporter, especially to refiners in Asia, after sanctions were lifted in January 2016.

“People shouldn’t take it for granted that Saudi Arabia will produce more oil single-handedly. We need to assess first the impact if there is any, in terms of disruption, in terms of a reduction of Iran’s production,” the OPEC source said Wednesday.

“We have managed to put together this new alliance between OPEC and non-OPEC. Saudi Arabia will not in any way act independently of its partners.”

Riyadh is working closely with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which holds OPEC’s presidency in 2018 and non-OPEC producer Russia for “coordination and market consultations,” the OPEC source said.

He said any action would be taken in coordination with all OPEC and non-OPEC partners, if needed.

OPEC’s oil supply-cutting deal with non-OPEC producers such as Russia has helped to clear a global oil supply glut and boost prices. The agreement is due to expire at the end of 2018.

OPEC officials from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Russia along with few other producers in the pact are due to meet in Saudi Arabia on May 22-23 as part of a monthly meeting for the Joint Technical Committee which monitors the oil market.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter and top OPEC producer, is concerned about any negative impact from the potential oil supply shortage for oil-consuming countries, the OPEC source said.

But Saudi Arabia has enough oil production capacity — currently at 12 million barrels per day (bpd) — to maintain oil market stability, the OPEC source also said.

Iran produces about 3.8 million bpd. Since the Iran nuclear deal went into effect, its exports have risen to about 2.5 million bpd, from less than 1 million bpd. A majority goes to Asia, with Europe receiving about 600,000 bpd.

Analysts now expect Iran’s supplies to fall by between 200,000 bpd and 1 million bpd, depending on how many other countries fall in line with Washington.

Trump and oil prices

Expectations that new U.S. sanctions could hit Iranian crude exports and feed tensions in the Middle East had pushed oil prices higher in the past few weeks.

Brent crude was trading about $77 at a 3-1/2 year high on Wednesday, raising concerns that prices were going too high too fast.

Trump accused OPEC last month of “artificially” boosting oil prices in a message on Twitter, the first time he has mentioned OPEC on social media.

His tweet was seen by OPEC sources as the U.S. president’s way to appease a domestic audience unhappy about a rise in gasoline prices.

A key U.S. ally, Saudi Arabia welcomed Trump’s decision to withdraw from the nuclear agreement with Iran and to reimpose economic sanctions.

Riyadh also said it would work with OPEC and non-OPEC to lessen the impact of oil shortages in a clear indication that the country has been coordinating with Washington ahead of time, sources familiar with the matter said.

“You need to work with your partners in dealing with any potential effect on supply,” the OPEC source said.

“But it should be done in a collective coordinated way and that can only happen when you start to be able to assess what would be the impact.”

OPEC and non-OPEC meet next in June and they are widely expected to keep supply curbs in place until the end of 2018.

But a drop in Iranian exports due to U.S. sanctions, plus supply disruptions in other OPEC members, such as Venezuela, could reduce supply more than planned, leading to a potential price spike.

But the OPEC source said a rise in prices due to the market’s worries about supply should not be the parameter for OPEC to adjust output.

The OPEC source said any decision in June to raise output “should be driven by a potential physical shortage or reduction in production from any oil supply source not only Iran.”

“You only handle [output] when you have a semi-clear idea of what would be the potential impact. It is too early now to do that,” the source said.

He also said Saudi Arabia does not expect any physical impact on the oil market from the U.S. Iran sanctions until the third or fourth quarter of this year.

OPEC’s objective is still to reduce global oil inventories to an acceptable level, and any adjustment in production targets should be done in a coordinated way, the OPEC source said.

“This way you do not disrupt a mechanism that we have worked hard to put together and to sustain just to address a short-term issue,” the source said.
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Blast Kills at Least 10 in Somali Market

Posted on by SeeAF

A blast in a market north of Mogadishu has killed at least 10 people, Somali officials say.

The explosion in Wanlaweyn, in the country’s Lower Shabelle region, left more than 10 others wounded. Most of the victims are civilians. 

It is unclear whether a terrorist planted a bomb or a suicide bomber was behind the blast.

No one has claimed responsibility, but officials suspect the al-Qaida-linked terror group al-Shabab, which, despite military setbacks, is still active in large parts of Somalia.
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Migrants Sue Italy Over Collaboration with Libyan Coast Guard

Posted on by SeeEU

Italy’s collaboration with Libya to stop migrants from crossing the Mediterranean is facing a legal challenge.  A lawsuit filed in the European Court of Human Rights asserts that Italy’s work with the Libyan coast guard has forced thousands of people to return to Libya against their will, exposing them to inhumane conditions.  Sabina Castelfranco has more for VOA from Rome.
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Iran Deal Signatories Still Committed After US Exit

Posted on by SeeEU

Following President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, the other signatories said Wednesday they remain committed to the deal.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told RTL radio the agreement is “not dead.” He said French President Emmanuel Macron and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani were due to speak to each other Wednesday, and that the foreign ministers of France, Britain and Germany would discuss the situation with Iranian officials on Monday.

In addition to those diplomatic moves, the foreign ministers of Russia and Germany are holding their own talks Thursday in Moscow with Iran on their agenda.

China’s Foreign Ministry pledged to safeguard the 2015 deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and said that it regrets Trump’s decision to walk away from the pact.

A joint statement from the European Union said the JCPOA has so far been working to meet its goal of ensuring Iran does not develop nuclear weapons, and that lifting sanctions on Iran has had a positive impact on trade and relations.

That contrasts strongly with Trump’s view of what he said Tuesday is “a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made.”

In remarks from the White House Diplomatic Room, the president declared that the United States is immediately reinstating all nuclear-related sanctions it waived as part of the JCPOA.

He said the agreement, reached under former President Barack Obama, “didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will.”

Inside Iran’s parliament Wednesday, Trump’s decision was greeted with lawmakers setting fire to a piece of paper with a picture of the American flag as well as another paper representing the nuclear deal.

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Iran’s nuclear department should be ready to resume all of its activities.

And President Rouhani said earlier Iran would remain committed to the multinational pact.

Trump’s decision to withdraw from the agreement came despite pleas from several of America’s closest allies in Europe not to imperil the pact. Trump and hard-liners close to the president, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton, have been fierce advocates for scrapping it.

A senior State Department official told reporters the Trump administration had made “good progress” and “got close” in efforts to reach a supplemental deal with European partners in recent months, including on the issues of ballistic missiles and regional issues.

But the official said the sticking point that prevented an agreement was the so-called sunset clauses in the nuclear deal that allow certain provisions to expire after a given number of years.

Israel, believed to be the only country in the Middle East with a nuclear arsenal, has also backed Trump’s rhetoric on the JCPOA.

Obama, whose administration led intense negotiations to strike the agreement, called Trump’s action “misguided.”

“I believe that the decision to put the JCPOA at risk without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake,” he cautioned in a statement.

Immediately after Trump’s remarks, the U.S. Treasury Department announced “wind-down provisions” for existing contracts that European countries have with Tehran to avoid running afoul of U.S. banking regulations.

Under those provisions, after six months sanctions will be back in place related to Iran’s oil, petrochemical and shipping sectors as well as its central bank. Sanctions involving Iran’s purchase of U.S. bank notes, trade in gold or precious medals and providing Iran with aluminum or steel.

A senior White House official told reporters that new sanctions are possible “as new information comes to light.”

Trump’s move allows him to claim he has accomplished one of his major 2016 election campaign promises — removing the United States from the pact he repeatedly deemed “the worst deal ever.”

 

“People will make this all about Trump, but it is not,” James Carafano, vice president for the Heritage Foundation’s national security and foreign policy institute, told VOA. “The deal was not sustainable over time. No one was happy with it, not even the Iranians, who expected big benefits that never materialized. Trump did the equivalent of a mercy killing.”

 

Proponents of the JCPOA accuse Trump of misrepresenting the agreement’s clauses, contending it has successfully frozen Iran’s nuclear weapons development. They also said the deal’s demise could prompt a nuclear arms race in the region.

Trump’s announcement was made as he prepares to meet — possibly in about a month — North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, to discuss a possible denuclearization agreement.

 
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