U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton has told U.S. allies in the Middle East that the Trump administration will not withdraw U.S. forces from northern Syria until Turkey guarantees it will not strike Kurdish forces allied with the U.S., and not until the last remnants of the so-called Islamic State terrorist group have been defeated. The statement comes after President Trump tweeted he would be pulling out all U.S. troops from Syria. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
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Month: January 2019
Trump Security Advisor Bolton to Ask Turkey Not to Strike Kurdish Fighters in Syria
U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton has told U.S. allies in the Middle East that the Trump administration will not withdraw U.S. forces from northern Syria until Turkey guarantees it will not strike Kurdish forces allied with the U.S., and not until the last remnants of the so-called Islamic State terrorist group have been defeated. The statement comes after President Trump tweeted he would be pulling out all U.S. troops from Syria. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
…
Yemen’s Humanitarian Nightmare Worsens
The war in Yemen has taken its toll far beyond what is reported in terms of military casualties. Guns and bombs are claiming lives, but hunger is another major threat to Yemenis. The World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization say 73,000 Yemeni civilians are facing famine and another 14 million are on the brink of starvation. Aid agencies say more than 1.8 million children under the age of 5 are acutely malnourished. For VOA, Neha Wadekar reports from Aden in southern Yemen.
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Yemen’s Humanitarian Nightmare Worsens
The war in Yemen has taken its toll far beyond what is reported in terms of military casualties. Guns and bombs are claiming lives, but hunger is another major threat to Yemenis. The World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization say 73,000 Yemeni civilians are facing famine and another 14 million are on the brink of starvation. Aid agencies say more than 1.8 million children under the age of 5 are acutely malnourished. For VOA, Neha Wadekar reports from Aden in southern Yemen.
…
Julian Castro Vows to Champion Health Care, Housing During 2020 Bid
Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro introduced himself to Iowa Democrats on Monday night as a champion for universal health care and affordable housing as he indicated he was close to launching a run for the presidency.
Castro spoke with party activists at a crowded house party in North Liberty after forming an exploratory committee last month. Castro said that he would announce his presidential campaign on Saturday in San Antonio and that he looked forward to meeting with Iowa voters before the first-in-the-nation caucuses next year.
Castro said that he would lay out his vision for making the United States “the smartest, the healthiest, the fairest and the most prosperous nation in the world.” He said that his plans will include expanding Medicare to allow access for all and addressing what he called a housing affordability crisis in which rising rents are squeezing the poor and middle class.
Castro, who served as the nation’s housing secretary during President Barack Obama’s second term, also promised that he will not accept money from political action committees tied to corporations and unions.
“What you’re going to hear from me is that I’m not taking that PAC money, that I support universal health care, and that I’ve shown in my time in public service an ability to stand with the people instead of the special interests, and I’ve taken action to do that,” said Castro, 44.
Castro shook hands, spoke and fielded questions for an hour as guests sipped wine from plastic cups. He received a warm welcome from the activists, who said they were eager for someone who could defeat President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. North Liberty is a fast-growing bedroom community that’s located near Iowa City in Johnson County, which has long been the state’s liberal stronghold.
Castro’s visit was the latest activity in Iowa as the field of candidates seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination begins to take shape. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts visited the state over the weekend after forming her own exploratory committee, and several more candidates are expected to join the race soon.
Castro acknowledged that some Democrats will view his and other candidates’ decisions to not accept PAC money as tantamount to “bringing a knife to a gun fight.” But he said that the Democratic nominee will have no problem raising money from individuals who want change and that the decision sends an important message.
“I think it says something, that if a candidate doesn’t take that money, they’re going to work for you,” he said. “If I’m elected, that’s what I’m going to do.”
…
Julian Castro Vows to Champion Health Care, Housing During 2020 Bid
Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro introduced himself to Iowa Democrats on Monday night as a champion for universal health care and affordable housing as he indicated he was close to launching a run for the presidency.
Castro spoke with party activists at a crowded house party in North Liberty after forming an exploratory committee last month. Castro said that he would announce his presidential campaign on Saturday in San Antonio and that he looked forward to meeting with Iowa voters before the first-in-the-nation caucuses next year.
Castro said that he would lay out his vision for making the United States “the smartest, the healthiest, the fairest and the most prosperous nation in the world.” He said that his plans will include expanding Medicare to allow access for all and addressing what he called a housing affordability crisis in which rising rents are squeezing the poor and middle class.
Castro, who served as the nation’s housing secretary during President Barack Obama’s second term, also promised that he will not accept money from political action committees tied to corporations and unions.
“What you’re going to hear from me is that I’m not taking that PAC money, that I support universal health care, and that I’ve shown in my time in public service an ability to stand with the people instead of the special interests, and I’ve taken action to do that,” said Castro, 44.
Castro shook hands, spoke and fielded questions for an hour as guests sipped wine from plastic cups. He received a warm welcome from the activists, who said they were eager for someone who could defeat President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. North Liberty is a fast-growing bedroom community that’s located near Iowa City in Johnson County, which has long been the state’s liberal stronghold.
Castro’s visit was the latest activity in Iowa as the field of candidates seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination begins to take shape. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts visited the state over the weekend after forming her own exploratory committee, and several more candidates are expected to join the race soon.
Castro acknowledged that some Democrats will view his and other candidates’ decisions to not accept PAC money as tantamount to “bringing a knife to a gun fight.” But he said that the Democratic nominee will have no problem raising money from individuals who want change and that the decision sends an important message.
“I think it says something, that if a candidate doesn’t take that money, they’re going to work for you,” he said. “If I’m elected, that’s what I’m going to do.”
…
Zimbabwe’s Hospitals Turn Away Patients as Doctors’ Strike Drags On
Hospitals in Zimbabwe are turning away patients as a strike by doctors enters its sixth week. There is no end in sight to the strike, as President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government says it cannot meet the doctors’ demands.
The Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Zimbabwe’s largest treatment center, is largely empty as a doctors’ strike that began December 1 drags on.
Sixty-nine-year-old Kasirina Zibveka had a lung infection in September, according to her medical records. After numerous tests were done, it was confirmed that her right lung had gone bad and needed to be removed.
But by then, doctors were on strike. She was discharged December 13 and was told to return Monday for the ailing lung to be removed. But with the strike unresolved, that did not happen.
Her daughter, Margret Chikoti, says the family has paid for her treatment, but only nurses are attending to her mother.
“We have no idea what is really happening to her since December 13,” she said. “All we see is her discharging some blood stained stinking fluids [through a hole pierced by nurses under her right breast]. What is happening inside her body? Is it getting worse? We just give her painkillers and use ointment to clean her wound. We hope that their negotiations [doctors and government] bear fruit and they return to work.”
Doctors held a meeting Monday and resolved to remain on strike until their demands are met. The doctors want the government to equip hospitals with modern technology, sufficient medicine and protective clothing for doctors.
They also want to be paid in U.S. dollars instead of Zimbabwe’s depreciating currency, known as bondnotes.
“We will not accept the money that they are refusing. We want the money that buys,” Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association Vice President Marambire Sinaravo Jongwe said this to his members. “We are very understanding people, we are very lenient to our government. They are just trying to ignore us, they are very insincere to doctors. But yet we are saving the public, the general of Zimbabwe. For our patients we care, the government does not care.”
The doctors also say they do not want to prescribe drugs that are not in stock, a practice that forces patients to seek out black market drugs.
The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe has warned about such drugs being fake, expired and unsafe to use.
The government, meanwhile, said last week it is not in a position to pay doctors or any civil servants in U.S. dollars.
Officials say they have imported medicines and are now stocking hospitals. But with doctors still on strike, that news might not be enough to help patients like Kasirina Zibveka.
…
Zimbabwe’s Hospitals Turn Away Patients as Doctors’ Strike Drags On
Hospitals in Zimbabwe are turning away patients as a strike by doctors enters its sixth week. There is no end in sight to the strike, as President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government says it cannot meet the doctors’ demands.
The Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Zimbabwe’s largest treatment center, is largely empty as a doctors’ strike that began December 1 drags on.
Sixty-nine-year-old Kasirina Zibveka had a lung infection in September, according to her medical records. After numerous tests were done, it was confirmed that her right lung had gone bad and needed to be removed.
But by then, doctors were on strike. She was discharged December 13 and was told to return Monday for the ailing lung to be removed. But with the strike unresolved, that did not happen.
Her daughter, Margret Chikoti, says the family has paid for her treatment, but only nurses are attending to her mother.
“We have no idea what is really happening to her since December 13,” she said. “All we see is her discharging some blood stained stinking fluids [through a hole pierced by nurses under her right breast]. What is happening inside her body? Is it getting worse? We just give her painkillers and use ointment to clean her wound. We hope that their negotiations [doctors and government] bear fruit and they return to work.”
Doctors held a meeting Monday and resolved to remain on strike until their demands are met. The doctors want the government to equip hospitals with modern technology, sufficient medicine and protective clothing for doctors.
They also want to be paid in U.S. dollars instead of Zimbabwe’s depreciating currency, known as bondnotes.
“We will not accept the money that they are refusing. We want the money that buys,” Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association Vice President Marambire Sinaravo Jongwe said this to his members. “We are very understanding people, we are very lenient to our government. They are just trying to ignore us, they are very insincere to doctors. But yet we are saving the public, the general of Zimbabwe. For our patients we care, the government does not care.”
The doctors also say they do not want to prescribe drugs that are not in stock, a practice that forces patients to seek out black market drugs.
The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe has warned about such drugs being fake, expired and unsafe to use.
The government, meanwhile, said last week it is not in a position to pay doctors or any civil servants in U.S. dollars.
Officials say they have imported medicines and are now stocking hospitals. But with doctors still on strike, that news might not be enough to help patients like Kasirina Zibveka.
…
US Expresses Optimism About Trade Talks with China
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said there is “a very good chance” that the United States and China will reach a trade agreement.
Ross told CNBC he is hopeful such a deal would address “all the key issues.”
Working-level trade talks between the United States and China began Monday in Beijing with negotiators for the world’s two biggest economies trying to resolve tariff disputes that have roiled world markets in recent weeks.
In a sign the meeting was off to a good start, China’s economic czar, Vice Premier Liu He, dropped by the talks on Monday to encourage the negotiators.
While Chinese officials expressed optimism at the start of the two-day talks, Beijing at the same time complained about the sighting of the U.S.S. McCampbell, a warship, in what it said were Chinese waters near disputed islands in the South China Sea.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China had made “stern complaints” with the United States about the sighting of the destroyer, but the trade talks went ahead as scheduled.
There was no immediate U.S. response to the Chinese complaint.
Few details have emerged from the trade talks, which are scheduled to run through Tuesday.
The trade talks are the result of an agreement last month between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to stop the tit-for-tat tariff conflict between the two countries for 90 days starting on New Year’s Day.
Trump said last week, “I think we’ll have a deal with China.”
Lu said the two countries have agreed to hold “positive and constructive” discussions.
“From the beginning we have believed that China U.S. trade friction is not a positive situation for either country or the world economy,” Lu said. “China has the good faith, on the basis of mutual respect and equality, to resolve the bilateral trade frictions.”
The talks are occurring as Chinese growth — 6.5 percent in the July-to-September period — fell to its lowest point in a decade. There are concerns that U.S. growth, 3.4 percent in the third quarter, is also slowing even as the country’s unemployment rate remains nearly at a five-decade low.
Even so, Lu said, “China’s development has ample tenacity and huge potential. We have firm confidence in the strong long-term fundamentals of the Chinese economy.”
The United States has long complained about access to the vast Chinese market and Beijing’s demands U.S. companies reveal their technology advances.
…
US Expresses Optimism About Trade Talks with China
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said there is “a very good chance” that the United States and China will reach a trade agreement.
Ross told CNBC he is hopeful such a deal would address “all the key issues.”
Working-level trade talks between the United States and China began Monday in Beijing with negotiators for the world’s two biggest economies trying to resolve tariff disputes that have roiled world markets in recent weeks.
In a sign the meeting was off to a good start, China’s economic czar, Vice Premier Liu He, dropped by the talks on Monday to encourage the negotiators.
While Chinese officials expressed optimism at the start of the two-day talks, Beijing at the same time complained about the sighting of the U.S.S. McCampbell, a warship, in what it said were Chinese waters near disputed islands in the South China Sea.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China had made “stern complaints” with the United States about the sighting of the destroyer, but the trade talks went ahead as scheduled.
There was no immediate U.S. response to the Chinese complaint.
Few details have emerged from the trade talks, which are scheduled to run through Tuesday.
The trade talks are the result of an agreement last month between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to stop the tit-for-tat tariff conflict between the two countries for 90 days starting on New Year’s Day.
Trump said last week, “I think we’ll have a deal with China.”
Lu said the two countries have agreed to hold “positive and constructive” discussions.
“From the beginning we have believed that China U.S. trade friction is not a positive situation for either country or the world economy,” Lu said. “China has the good faith, on the basis of mutual respect and equality, to resolve the bilateral trade frictions.”
The talks are occurring as Chinese growth — 6.5 percent in the July-to-September period — fell to its lowest point in a decade. There are concerns that U.S. growth, 3.4 percent in the third quarter, is also slowing even as the country’s unemployment rate remains nearly at a five-decade low.
Even so, Lu said, “China’s development has ample tenacity and huge potential. We have firm confidence in the strong long-term fundamentals of the Chinese economy.”
The United States has long complained about access to the vast Chinese market and Beijing’s demands U.S. companies reveal their technology advances.
…
UN Security Council Delays Congo Session Amid Vote Counting
The U.N. Security Council has put off a planned session on Congo and its closely watched presidential election as the country continues waiting for delayed results.
A council discussion initially set for Tuesday was postponed to Friday after Congolese officials indefinitely postponed the release of the first results. They had been due Sunday.
The council has been keenly following the long-awaited election in a country where the U.N. operates one of its biggest peacekeeping missions.
But there have been differences in the council over sending a collective message about the Dec. 30 election, diplomats said. A closed-door discussion last week spanned two hours but yielded no joint statement.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday the U.N. is looking forward to “the timely publication” of provisional results. Spokesman Stephane Dujarric also reminded everyone with a stake in the outcome to respect Congo’s electoral laws and “help maintain an environment free of violence.”
The vote could herald Congo’s first democratic, peaceful transition of power since its 1960 independence from Belgium, and the vast, mineral-rich Central African nation is awaiting the results in a tense atmosphere.
Longtime President Joseph Kabila had already postponed the election for two years, and some Congolese worry it could be manipulated to keep his party in power — suspicions fanned by the delay in announcing a winner.
With a little over half the vote compiled, officials said Sunday that no information would be released until all ballots were tallied. Officials gave no date for when that might be. Meanwhile, the government has cut off internet access to prevent any social-media speculation about who won.
In the Security Council’s private meeting Friday, France — which had called for the session — wanted the group to make a statement about the importance of the election and results, according to two council diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about the private discussion.
Other countries, including South Africa, thought the council shouldn’t weigh in until results were known, the diplomats said Monday.
South African Ambassador Jerry Matjila, whose country just joined the council as a voice from Africa, had publicly appealed for patience on his way into the session: “Let’s wait for the count,” he told reporters.
While the council didn’t speak as a whole, French Ambassador Francois Delattre said Friday that the meeting underscored the group’s close attention to Congo’s electoral process.
…
UN Security Council Delays Congo Session Amid Vote Counting
The U.N. Security Council has put off a planned session on Congo and its closely watched presidential election as the country continues waiting for delayed results.
A council discussion initially set for Tuesday was postponed to Friday after Congolese officials indefinitely postponed the release of the first results. They had been due Sunday.
The council has been keenly following the long-awaited election in a country where the U.N. operates one of its biggest peacekeeping missions.
But there have been differences in the council over sending a collective message about the Dec. 30 election, diplomats said. A closed-door discussion last week spanned two hours but yielded no joint statement.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday the U.N. is looking forward to “the timely publication” of provisional results. Spokesman Stephane Dujarric also reminded everyone with a stake in the outcome to respect Congo’s electoral laws and “help maintain an environment free of violence.”
The vote could herald Congo’s first democratic, peaceful transition of power since its 1960 independence from Belgium, and the vast, mineral-rich Central African nation is awaiting the results in a tense atmosphere.
Longtime President Joseph Kabila had already postponed the election for two years, and some Congolese worry it could be manipulated to keep his party in power — suspicions fanned by the delay in announcing a winner.
With a little over half the vote compiled, officials said Sunday that no information would be released until all ballots were tallied. Officials gave no date for when that might be. Meanwhile, the government has cut off internet access to prevent any social-media speculation about who won.
In the Security Council’s private meeting Friday, France — which had called for the session — wanted the group to make a statement about the importance of the election and results, according to two council diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about the private discussion.
Other countries, including South Africa, thought the council shouldn’t weigh in until results were known, the diplomats said Monday.
South African Ambassador Jerry Matjila, whose country just joined the council as a voice from Africa, had publicly appealed for patience on his way into the session: “Let’s wait for the count,” he told reporters.
While the council didn’t speak as a whole, French Ambassador Francois Delattre said Friday that the meeting underscored the group’s close attention to Congo’s electoral process.
…
Democrats Tour Border Warn Trump Against Diverting Funds for Wall
A Congressional delegation of Democrats touring a Border Patrol facility in New Mexico on Monday warned President Donald Trump against circumventing Congress and diverting already appropriated money towards building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“He can expect a strong and swift challenge from all of us and other members of Congress, and from the American people,” said U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro, when asked about Trump’s planned address to the nation and his visit to the border on Thursday.
Castro, a Democrat from San Antonio, is leading a Congressional delegation visiting the Border Patrol facility in Alamogordo, New Mexico to investigate the death of 8-year-old Felipe Gomez Alonzo, the second child to die in December after being apprehended crossing the border illegally.
Democrats, who now control the U.S. House of Representatives, have rejected the Republican president’s demand for $5.7 billion to help build a wall. Without a deal on that sticking point, talks to fund the government — now in the 17th day of a shutdown — have stalled.
Trump has vowed not to back off his 2016 campaign promise to build a wall that he believes will stem illegal immigration and drug trafficking. He promised during the campaign that Mexico would pay for the wall. Mexico has refused to do so.
Democrats in Congress say a wall would be expensive, inefficient and immoral.
In New Mexico, Border Patrol agents walked the Congressional delegation through the holding areas of the Alamogordo station, which Representative Jerry Nadler, a Democrat from New York, said were “miraculously” empty.
Castro said the Border Patrol did not provide a report about Gomez’s death nor did they tour the hospital where he was treated for a cold and then released with a prescription for antibiotics and ibuprofen. The boy died shortly after his release.
“We know that CBP is woefully under equipped in terms of its standards of medical care, but we also need to find out whether the doctors in the hospital – how responsible they were in terms of that case,” Castro said.
The Border Patrol itself has said their facilities are not properly equipped to hold families, Castro said. “I think all of us who look at what they have here believe that that is true.”
U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from El Paso, said the area where Gomez and his father turned themselves over to Border Patrol is on American soil and already fenced.
“The wall only pushes people out to more dangerous, treacherous crossings, creating even more death,” she said.
Illegal crossings at the southern border have dropped dramatically since the late 1970s, but in recent years more Central American families and unaccompanied children are migrating to the United States. Many are released after turning themselves into border agents and requesting asylum, a legal process that can take years to resolve in U.S. immigration courts.
…
Democrats Tour Border Warn Trump Against Diverting Funds for Wall
A Congressional delegation of Democrats touring a Border Patrol facility in New Mexico on Monday warned President Donald Trump against circumventing Congress and diverting already appropriated money towards building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“He can expect a strong and swift challenge from all of us and other members of Congress, and from the American people,” said U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro, when asked about Trump’s planned address to the nation and his visit to the border on Thursday.
Castro, a Democrat from San Antonio, is leading a Congressional delegation visiting the Border Patrol facility in Alamogordo, New Mexico to investigate the death of 8-year-old Felipe Gomez Alonzo, the second child to die in December after being apprehended crossing the border illegally.
Democrats, who now control the U.S. House of Representatives, have rejected the Republican president’s demand for $5.7 billion to help build a wall. Without a deal on that sticking point, talks to fund the government — now in the 17th day of a shutdown — have stalled.
Trump has vowed not to back off his 2016 campaign promise to build a wall that he believes will stem illegal immigration and drug trafficking. He promised during the campaign that Mexico would pay for the wall. Mexico has refused to do so.
Democrats in Congress say a wall would be expensive, inefficient and immoral.
In New Mexico, Border Patrol agents walked the Congressional delegation through the holding areas of the Alamogordo station, which Representative Jerry Nadler, a Democrat from New York, said were “miraculously” empty.
Castro said the Border Patrol did not provide a report about Gomez’s death nor did they tour the hospital where he was treated for a cold and then released with a prescription for antibiotics and ibuprofen. The boy died shortly after his release.
“We know that CBP is woefully under equipped in terms of its standards of medical care, but we also need to find out whether the doctors in the hospital – how responsible they were in terms of that case,” Castro said.
The Border Patrol itself has said their facilities are not properly equipped to hold families, Castro said. “I think all of us who look at what they have here believe that that is true.”
U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from El Paso, said the area where Gomez and his father turned themselves over to Border Patrol is on American soil and already fenced.
“The wall only pushes people out to more dangerous, treacherous crossings, creating even more death,” she said.
Illegal crossings at the southern border have dropped dramatically since the late 1970s, but in recent years more Central American families and unaccompanied children are migrating to the United States. Many are released after turning themselves into border agents and requesting asylum, a legal process that can take years to resolve in U.S. immigration courts.
…
Madagascar Official Election Result Due After Protests
Madagascar is set to confirm the result of its presidential election on Tuesday, after Andry Rajoelina was declared the victor in the vote count and supporters of his bitter rival took to the streets crying foul.
In the run-off vote on Dec. 19, Rajoelina scored 55 percent of the ballot and Marc Ravalomanana won 44 percent, according to the final results.
Ravalomanana lodged complaints over alleged irregularities with the Constitutional Court, which will announce the official winner on Tuesday.
Last week riot police in the Indian Ocean island used tear gas to break up one of several protests by thousands of Ravalomanana supporters in the capital Antananarivo.
Rivals banned for 2013 election
The two rivals, both former presidents, were banned from running in the 2013 election as part of an agreement to end recurring crises that have rocked Madagascar since it gained independence from France in 1960.
The 2018 two-round election was beset by allegations of fraud from both sides, and a contested result may raise the risk of renewed political instability.
European Union and African Union election observers said they had not seen evidence of fraud.
Fiercely personal duel
Rajoelina and Ravalomanana have been locked in a fiercely personal duel for power, coming first and second in the preliminary election in November.
Last month, Ravalomanana told AFP at his campaign headquarters that he suspected “massive fraud.”
Ravalomanana, 69, was first elected president in 2002 but was forced to resign seven years later by violent demonstrations supported by Rajoelina, then the mayor of Antananarivo.
Rajoelina, now 44, was installed by the army and ruled until 2014. He is a former events planner and successful entrepreneur with slick communication skills.
Both candidates spent lavishly on campaigning, with promises and handouts distributed liberally to voters, who are among the poorest in Africa.
Madagascar is well known for its vanilla and precious redwood but is one of the world’s poorest nations, with 76 percent of people living in extreme poverty.
Attempts at law changes backfires
The island, which is also famed for its unique wildlife, is dependent on foreign aid and burdened by political friction.
Outgoing president Hery Rajaonarimampianina was eliminated in the first round after collecting less than nine percent of the vote.
His attempts to change the electoral laws this year backfired, sparking nearly three months of sometimes violent protests.
The demonstrators forced Rajaonarimampianina to accept a “consensus” government tasked with organising the election.
…
Madagascar Official Election Result Due After Protests
Madagascar is set to confirm the result of its presidential election on Tuesday, after Andry Rajoelina was declared the victor in the vote count and supporters of his bitter rival took to the streets crying foul.
In the run-off vote on Dec. 19, Rajoelina scored 55 percent of the ballot and Marc Ravalomanana won 44 percent, according to the final results.
Ravalomanana lodged complaints over alleged irregularities with the Constitutional Court, which will announce the official winner on Tuesday.
Last week riot police in the Indian Ocean island used tear gas to break up one of several protests by thousands of Ravalomanana supporters in the capital Antananarivo.
Rivals banned for 2013 election
The two rivals, both former presidents, were banned from running in the 2013 election as part of an agreement to end recurring crises that have rocked Madagascar since it gained independence from France in 1960.
The 2018 two-round election was beset by allegations of fraud from both sides, and a contested result may raise the risk of renewed political instability.
European Union and African Union election observers said they had not seen evidence of fraud.
Fiercely personal duel
Rajoelina and Ravalomanana have been locked in a fiercely personal duel for power, coming first and second in the preliminary election in November.
Last month, Ravalomanana told AFP at his campaign headquarters that he suspected “massive fraud.”
Ravalomanana, 69, was first elected president in 2002 but was forced to resign seven years later by violent demonstrations supported by Rajoelina, then the mayor of Antananarivo.
Rajoelina, now 44, was installed by the army and ruled until 2014. He is a former events planner and successful entrepreneur with slick communication skills.
Both candidates spent lavishly on campaigning, with promises and handouts distributed liberally to voters, who are among the poorest in Africa.
Madagascar is well known for its vanilla and precious redwood but is one of the world’s poorest nations, with 76 percent of people living in extreme poverty.
Attempts at law changes backfires
The island, which is also famed for its unique wildlife, is dependent on foreign aid and burdened by political friction.
Outgoing president Hery Rajaonarimampianina was eliminated in the first round after collecting less than nine percent of the vote.
His attempts to change the electoral laws this year backfired, sparking nearly three months of sometimes violent protests.
The demonstrators forced Rajaonarimampianina to accept a “consensus” government tasked with organising the election.
…
France Plans to Crack Down on Anti-government Protesters
France plans to crack down heavily on unauthorized protesters, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced Monday, after an anti-government march over the weekend turned violent.
“We need to preserve the right to demonstrate in France, and we must sanction those who break the law,” Philippe told French television, saying they include “those who take part in undeclared protests, those who arrive at protests with balaclavas (face masks).”
Philippe said proposed laws would ban troublemakers from marches the same way hooligans and thugs are stopped from entering football stadiums.
He also said marchers would be forced to pay for damages to vandalized buildings and wrecked property.
An anti-government protest Saturday began peacefully but soon turned violent when some marchers set motorcycles and a restaurant on fire and threw debris at police.
One officer was hurt when a protester dropped a bicycle on him from a bridge.
The so-called yellow vest marches erupted across France in November to protest a new gasoline tax, but soon turned into a general anti-government protest.
…
France Plans to Crack Down on Anti-government Protesters
France plans to crack down heavily on unauthorized protesters, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced Monday, after an anti-government march over the weekend turned violent.
“We need to preserve the right to demonstrate in France, and we must sanction those who break the law,” Philippe told French television, saying they include “those who take part in undeclared protests, those who arrive at protests with balaclavas (face masks).”
Philippe said proposed laws would ban troublemakers from marches the same way hooligans and thugs are stopped from entering football stadiums.
He also said marchers would be forced to pay for damages to vandalized buildings and wrecked property.
An anti-government protest Saturday began peacefully but soon turned violent when some marchers set motorcycles and a restaurant on fire and threw debris at police.
One officer was hurt when a protester dropped a bicycle on him from a bridge.
The so-called yellow vest marches erupted across France in November to protest a new gasoline tax, but soon turned into a general anti-government protest.
…
Italian Mayors, Governors Challenge Government Asylum Law
The ranks of prominent citizens opposed to a new Italian law cracking down on asylum-seekers swelled on Monday, with more governors announcing court challenges to the populist government’s measure.
The law, approved first in the form of a government decree and later by Parliament late last year, tightens criteria for migrants receiving humanitarian protection, granting that status only to victims of labor exploitation, human trafficking, domestic violence, natural calamities and a few other limited situations.
Previously, many asylum-seekers who failed to qualify for full asylum were accorded humanitarian protection, with Italy allowing them to stay for a fixed term and receive social benefits. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who leads the anti-migrant League party, contends Italian authorities had been too elastic in the past in granting such protection.
The new law bans asylum-seekers from gaining residency, which is needed to apply for public housing or a place for their children in public nursery schools, as well as complete access to Italy’s national health care system. And those accorded humanitarian protection won’t be eligible for shelter in government-run facilities for asylum-seekers, sparking concern they’ll end up living on the street.
Piedmont Gov. Sergio Chiamparino told Sky TG24 TV Monday that he’ll ask Italy’s constitutional court to decide whether the law violates the Constitution. He said he’d join forces with Tuscany’s governor in the court challenge.
“A really wide movement is being created” to challenge the residency measure, Tuscany Gov. Enrico Rossi said in Florence. He explained that Tuscany’s challenge would take aim on the tightened criteria for humanitarian protection as well as the ban on achieving residency.
Umbria, another central region, also decided on a court challenge of the law.
Chiamparino said in the meanwhile his region would continue to provide full health care for asylum-seekers and insisted by doing so, he wasn’t disobeying the law.
“We are simply obeying a fundamental principle that someone with a health problem gets treatment,” Chiamparino said.
Last week, the mayors of Palermo, Naples and some smaller cities vowed not to implement the law. Others, like Milan’s mayor, sharply criticized the law, but said they would implement it unless courts ruled otherwise.
In Milan, on Monday evening, about 50 critics of the crackdown protested outside city hall. Some banged wooden spoons on pot lids to draw attention to their cause.
Among mayors criticizing the law are some from the 5-Star Movement, a government coalition partner. Livorno’s 5-Star Mayor Filippo Nogarin, while saying that laws must be respected, has slammed the measure as “anything but a good law, ethically and politically.”
Cracks have formed lately in the government coalition over migrant policy, with a prominent faction of the 5-Stars pushing for Italy to allow migrants rescued at sea from human traffickers’ unseaworthy boats to reach Italy.
Salvini insists Italy’s ports are closed to private group’s migrant rescue vessels.
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Italian Mayors, Governors Challenge Government Asylum Law
The ranks of prominent citizens opposed to a new Italian law cracking down on asylum-seekers swelled on Monday, with more governors announcing court challenges to the populist government’s measure.
The law, approved first in the form of a government decree and later by Parliament late last year, tightens criteria for migrants receiving humanitarian protection, granting that status only to victims of labor exploitation, human trafficking, domestic violence, natural calamities and a few other limited situations.
Previously, many asylum-seekers who failed to qualify for full asylum were accorded humanitarian protection, with Italy allowing them to stay for a fixed term and receive social benefits. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who leads the anti-migrant League party, contends Italian authorities had been too elastic in the past in granting such protection.
The new law bans asylum-seekers from gaining residency, which is needed to apply for public housing or a place for their children in public nursery schools, as well as complete access to Italy’s national health care system. And those accorded humanitarian protection won’t be eligible for shelter in government-run facilities for asylum-seekers, sparking concern they’ll end up living on the street.
Piedmont Gov. Sergio Chiamparino told Sky TG24 TV Monday that he’ll ask Italy’s constitutional court to decide whether the law violates the Constitution. He said he’d join forces with Tuscany’s governor in the court challenge.
“A really wide movement is being created” to challenge the residency measure, Tuscany Gov. Enrico Rossi said in Florence. He explained that Tuscany’s challenge would take aim on the tightened criteria for humanitarian protection as well as the ban on achieving residency.
Umbria, another central region, also decided on a court challenge of the law.
Chiamparino said in the meanwhile his region would continue to provide full health care for asylum-seekers and insisted by doing so, he wasn’t disobeying the law.
“We are simply obeying a fundamental principle that someone with a health problem gets treatment,” Chiamparino said.
Last week, the mayors of Palermo, Naples and some smaller cities vowed not to implement the law. Others, like Milan’s mayor, sharply criticized the law, but said they would implement it unless courts ruled otherwise.
In Milan, on Monday evening, about 50 critics of the crackdown protested outside city hall. Some banged wooden spoons on pot lids to draw attention to their cause.
Among mayors criticizing the law are some from the 5-Star Movement, a government coalition partner. Livorno’s 5-Star Mayor Filippo Nogarin, while saying that laws must be respected, has slammed the measure as “anything but a good law, ethically and politically.”
Cracks have formed lately in the government coalition over migrant policy, with a prominent faction of the 5-Stars pushing for Italy to allow migrants rescued at sea from human traffickers’ unseaworthy boats to reach Italy.
Salvini insists Italy’s ports are closed to private group’s migrant rescue vessels.
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Ousted Slovak PM Fico Seeks Top Court Job
Slovakia’s dominant political figure Robert Fico will run to become a Constitutional Court judge this month, seeking to quit party politics less than a year after he was pushed out of prime minister’s office in the furor over the murder of a journalist.
The murder of Jan Kuciak, who investigated political corruption and EU subsidy fraud, and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova triggered the biggest protests since the 1989 fall of communism against the sleaze in politics.
Fico resigned in March after being in power for almost a decade, but remains chairman of the ruling Smer party and is seen as driving policy behind the scenes while party ally Peter Pellegrini serves as prime minister.
Now Fico, 54, who has a law degree and represented Slovakia at the European Court of Human Rights in 1994-2000, has been nominated to become a Constitutional Court judge.
The body is the country’s top court, which rules on whether legislation passed by parliament and judgments by lower courts are in line with the constitution. Former lawmakers have been elected previously to serve on it, but never former party leaders or prime ministers.
The parliament, where the governing coalition has a narrow majority of 76 out of 150 votes, will select 18 candidates to become Constitutional Court judges in a vote later this month.
President Andrej Kiska, who is unaffiliated with any party and who sided with protesters calling for Fico’s ousting, will pick nine of them to replace judges whose term expire on February 16.
The court has 13 judges in total, elected for a term of 12 years.
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Ousted Slovak PM Fico Seeks Top Court Job
Slovakia’s dominant political figure Robert Fico will run to become a Constitutional Court judge this month, seeking to quit party politics less than a year after he was pushed out of prime minister’s office in the furor over the murder of a journalist.
The murder of Jan Kuciak, who investigated political corruption and EU subsidy fraud, and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova triggered the biggest protests since the 1989 fall of communism against the sleaze in politics.
Fico resigned in March after being in power for almost a decade, but remains chairman of the ruling Smer party and is seen as driving policy behind the scenes while party ally Peter Pellegrini serves as prime minister.
Now Fico, 54, who has a law degree and represented Slovakia at the European Court of Human Rights in 1994-2000, has been nominated to become a Constitutional Court judge.
The body is the country’s top court, which rules on whether legislation passed by parliament and judgments by lower courts are in line with the constitution. Former lawmakers have been elected previously to serve on it, but never former party leaders or prime ministers.
The parliament, where the governing coalition has a narrow majority of 76 out of 150 votes, will select 18 candidates to become Constitutional Court judges in a vote later this month.
President Andrej Kiska, who is unaffiliated with any party and who sided with protesters calling for Fico’s ousting, will pick nine of them to replace judges whose term expire on February 16.
The court has 13 judges in total, elected for a term of 12 years.
…
Netanyahu Rejects Corruption Allegations in Live Address
In what was billed as a “dramatic announcement,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a prime-time address to again dismiss a series of corruption allegations against him.
Netanyahu said Monday that it would be “unjust” for him to be indicted ahead of early elections called for April 9. He also said he had been denied the chance to confront state witnesses in person. He offered to confront them on live television, saying: “What are they afraid of? What do they have to hide?”
Police have recommended that Netanyahu be indicted in three corruption cases. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing, and has said he would not give up his re-election campaign or resign his office if charged.
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Netanyahu Rejects Corruption Allegations in Live Address
In what was billed as a “dramatic announcement,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a prime-time address to again dismiss a series of corruption allegations against him.
Netanyahu said Monday that it would be “unjust” for him to be indicted ahead of early elections called for April 9. He also said he had been denied the chance to confront state witnesses in person. He offered to confront them on live television, saying: “What are they afraid of? What do they have to hide?”
Police have recommended that Netanyahu be indicted in three corruption cases. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing, and has said he would not give up his re-election campaign or resign his office if charged.
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