May 2019 - Page 14 of 19

Still Most Visited Place, Orlando Had 75 Million Visitors in 2018

Posted on 05/09/2019 by SeeUS

Orlando, Florida, had 75 million visitors last year as the theme park mecca continued to be the most visited destination in the United States

Orlando had 75 million visitors last year as the theme park mecca continued to be the most visited destination in the United States, tourism officials said Thursday.

Orlando in 2018 had 68.5 million domestic visitors, a year-to-year increase of 4.1%, and almost 6.5 million international visitors, a year-to-year increase of 5.4%.

The overall 4.2% increase over 2017 figures was slightly smaller than the previous year-to-year increase of 5%. But there was a robust return of international visitors, a segment that had softened in previous years.

The international improvement was driven by Latin American visitors, especially from Brazil and Mexico, said George Aguel, CEO of Visit Orlando, the area’s tourism marketing agency.

“When folks are thinking about what they can and can’t do, we try to market why this is a good place for them to come. We focus on the feeling you get when you come here,” Aguel said. “There really is no place in the country … where you have the ability to make a connection emotionally. We play a lot on the memories we create.”

Orlando has been in the middle of a years-long expansion of rides and hotel rooms.

Accommodation expansion is at a 20-year high. The metro area already has more than 120,000 hotel rooms, the second highest in the nation behind only Las Vegas.

Additionally, attractions at the area’s theme parks are opening at a break-neck pace.

In 2017, a new water park, Volcano Bay, opened at Universal Orlando, and a new section, Pandora-The World of Avatar, opened at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom.

Last year, Disney World opened a Toy Story Land.

Disney World is opening a Star Wars-themed land in August, SeaWorld debuted a Sesame Street land this spring and Universal Orlando is opening a new Harry Potter-themed ride this summer.

“We think it will help us carry over in 2020,” Aguel said. “A lot of these things start to kick in the following year.”
…

your ad here

2 Russians, Others Sentenced in 2016 Montenegro Failed Coup

Posted on 05/09/2019 by SeeEU

VOA’s Eurasia Division contributed to this report.

A Montenegran judge on Thursday sentenced two political opposition members and two Russian intelligence officers for a 2016 plot to overthrow the government and kill the prime minister on election day.

The judge in the capital, Podgorica, said on Oct. 16, 2016, the 13 people sentenced had planned to attack state institutions, murder then-Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, and install a pro-Russian regime in government.

The two Russians, Eduard Shishmakov and Vladimir Popov, were convicted in absentia of “attempted terrorism” and “creating a criminal organization.” The court gave Shishmakov a 15-year prison term and Popov a 12-year term. The two men — who returned to Russia to avoid arrest — are suspected to be members of Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU. Moscow denies involvement.

Interpol has released an international arrest warrant for Popov, who, the Bellingcat investigative website reports, is also known as Vladimir Moiseev.

Two Montenegrin opposition members, leaders of the Democratic Front movement, were each given five years in prison, while two Serbian citizens, Nemanja Ristic and Predrag Bogicevic, were given sentences in absentia of seven and eight years.

The Montenegrin politicians say they plan to appeal the ruling.
…

your ad here

EU Leaders Denounce Threats From Iran to Bolster Nuclear Program

Posted on 05/09/2019 by SeeEU

European leaders have denounced threats from Iran one day after Tehran announced plans to curtail curbs on its nuclear program and threatened to breach a landmark global agreement.

In response to new sanctions imposed Wednesday by the United States, President Hassan Rouhani said Iran would enrich uranium beyond allowable limits if world powers don’t protect Iran from the sanctions within 60 days.

“We reject any ultimatums and we will assess Iran’s compliance on the basis of Iran’s performance regarding its nuclear-related commitments,” the European Union and the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany said Thursday in a joint statement.

The European leaders also said they wanted to preserve the 2015 agreement, which requires Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the elimination of sanctions. The deal was signed by China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S. The U.S. abandoned the agreement one year ago.

Despite the U.S. withdrawal, President Donald Trump introduced new sanctions Wednesday on Iranian metal exports, major sources of revenue for the western Asian country. The U.S. had previously slapped sanctions on Iranian oil, which have devastated its economy.

The sanctions have created a quandary for Washington’s European allies, which have said they share concerns about Iran’s behavior but believe Trump’s strategy will likely backfire.

The allied nations are also opposed to Trump’s abandonment of the nuclear pact, contending it emboldens Iranian hardliners and undermines pragmatists who want to ease the country’s isolationist approach.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reacted to the European leaders, saying on Twitter their statement proves “the U.S. has bullied Europe — and rest of world — for a year and the EU can only express “regret.” Zarif added, “Instead of demanding that Iran unilaterally abide by a multilateral accord, EU should uphold obligations – incl normalization of economic ties.”

Earlier Thursday, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said Tehran’s goal was to bring the agreement “back on track.” But Tehran has also said it would leave the agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), unless it gets more economic support.

…

your ad here

US Carrier, Bombers Arrive in Middle East to Deter Iran

Posted on 05/09/2019 by SeeEA

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group and four B-52 bombers have arrived in the Middle East in response to concerns Iran may be planning an attack against American targets.

The carrier strike group completed its transit Thursday through the Suez Canal, U.S. Central Command spokesman Navy Capt. William Urban told VOA. He said two B-52 bombers arrived in the region Thursday, while two others arrived Wednesday.

The bombers are now at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, a defense official confirmed on condition of anonymity.

The request for more military assets in the Middle East was “in direct response to a number of troubling and escalatory indicators and warnings” from Iran, CENTCOM commander Marine Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie Jr. said Wednesday in Washington.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told VOA the swift military movement “sends a message that we can face any threat at a time and place of our choosing.”

The American military arrived in the Middle East as European leaders denounced threats from Iran to stop curbing its nuclear program, a move that would breach a landmark global agreement.

Hours before new sanctions were imposed Wednesday by the United States, President Hassan Rouhani said Iran would enrich uranium beyond allowable limits if world powers didn’t protect Iran from the sanctions within 60 days.

The European leaders also said they wanted to preserve the 2015 agreement, which requires Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the elimination of sanctions. The deal was signed by China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, the U.S. and the EU. The U.S. abandoned the agreement one year ago.

Despite the U.S. withdrawal, President Donald Trump introduced new sanctions Wednesday on Iranian metal exports, major sources of revenue for the country. The U.S. had previously slapped sanctions on Iranian oil, which have devastated its economy.

The sanctions have created a quandary for Washington’s European allies, which have said they share concerns about Iran’s behavior but believe Trump’s strategy will most likely backfire.

The allied nations are also opposed to Trump’s abandonment of the nuclear pact, contending it emboldens Iranian hard-liners and undermines pragmatists who want to ease the country’s isolationist approach.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reacted to the European leaders on Twitter:

Earlier Thursday, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said Tehran’s goal was to bring the agreement “back on track.” But Tehran has also said it will leave the agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, unless it gets more economic support.
…

your ad here

South Africa Counts Votes in Contested National Poll

Posted on 05/09/2019 by SeeAF

South Africa’s electoral commission counted votes Thursday, the day after a national poll that was expected to be the toughest test yet for the long-ruling African National Congress. Initial results showed the ANC with a slimmer lead than in past elections. The electoral commission also said it would conduct an audit after reports of double voting. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Johannesburg.
…

your ad here

UK Scientists Liken Anglo-Saxon Burial Site to King Tut’s Tomb

Posted on 05/09/2019 by SeeEU

Archaeologists say an underground chamber discovered accidentally by road workers may be the site of the earliest Christian royal burial in Britain.

The chamber was uncovered between a road and a railway line in the village of Prittlewell in 2003. It turned out to be a 1,400-year-old burial site containing items that were interred with whoever was buried there.

The contents included a golden belt buckle, remnants of a harp, glassware and an elaborate water vessel.

New details of archaeological findings were announced Thursday.

Researchers say the luxury burial items indicate the chamber’s occupant was of high standing, possibly a prince. Two gold-foil crosses at the head of the coffin suggest a Christian burial.

Sophie Jackson, director of research and engagement at Museum of London Archaeology, called the discovery “our equivalent of Tutankhamun’s tomb.”
…

your ad here

Africa 54

Posted on 05/09/2019 by SeeAF

We are live. Join us and let us know from what part of the world you are watching us.
…

your ad here

South Africa Vote Count Marked by Concerns, Surprises

Posted on 05/09/2019 by SeeAF

South Africa’s electoral commission counted votes Thursday, the day after a parliamentary poll that was expected to be the toughest test yet for the long-ruling African National Congress.

Initial results showed the ANC ahead, but with a much slimmer lead than it had held in previous elections — and also turned up surprises, in the form of allegations of double-voting and in the unexpected success of a small party that critics say has a white nationalist agenda.

This was predicted to be a dramatic vote for the Rainbow Nation, which this year marks 25 years after the end of Apartheid.

As officials trudged through millions of votes on Thursday, election officials announced they would “urgently conduct” an audit into allegations that some citizens may have voted more than once, by removing the indelible ink voting officials put on every voter’s thumb.

Election officials said four people had been arrested for double-voting, and assured voters that they would still be able to release final results within the seven days allowed by law.

Independent analyst Ralph Mathekga says he’s concerned that other political parties will step up with allegations of irregularities, a move that he worries could delay results and have serious consequences.

“It’s a big deal,” he told VOA.

“We’ve not seen this before,” he continued “… But to be honest with you, when you start going that route, it’s a very, very, very serious challenge. … When do you stop in pursuit of that kind of an inquiry? You’re opening a floodgate, because if you start doing all, If you start doing all of these audits, everybody is going to complain, and when you hear that election results are not going to be announced on Saturday, for me, it’s a crisis.”

Analyst Angelo Fick says he’s less concerned, and doesn’t foresee that results will be significantly delayed by the audit.

Speaking from the national counting center, he told VOA the audit that’s just been announced by the IEC is “a measure of their confidence in the fact that their systems have worked.”

He said they are “fairly confident that there has been no problem and they will now seek independent confirmation of that.”

“And this is also to allay the fears of those who are misreading the statistical significance of these irregularities because this happened in a number of stations across a country that had 22,000 voting stations,” he added. “And I think it’s also to start building up a bulwark against political parties who are going to suggest and have already begun to suggest that their underperformance is not a consequence of their own issues, but a consequence of electoral fraud.”

In the most populous province, Gauteng, the IEC’s Boitumelo Monaki said officials were responsive to concerns about possible fraud. The province, which contains the nation’s economic hub of Johannesburg, has been hotly contested by the top three parties.

“I can confirm that counting is going well at our voting centers around the province,” he told VOA. “And then where there are cases of fraud whereby double voting is being reported, the electoral commission is requesting political parties to bring evidence of that so that the matter can be investigated,” she said.

The long-ruling African National Congress is expected to win the greatest number of votes, followed by the opposition Democratic Alliance and the upstart, far-left Economic Freedom Fighters party.

Early results showed the ANC taking a smaller share of the vote than it had in previous elections. Corruption scandals and the sluggish economy have tainted the ANC’s image and led some voters to defect.

Afrikaans surprise

What pollsters did not see coming was the success of the Afrikaans-speaking VF Plus party, whose English name is Freedom Front Plus. The party’s aim is to create a homeland for the nation’s white Afrikaans-speaking minority.

The fringe party surprised many casual observers by surging into fourth place in early counts, eclipsing its one-percent take in the 2014 election, though its take remains in the single digits.

“It is,” said Fick, “an electoral surprise, but it isn’t a political surprise that the Freedom Front Plus has increased its share of the vote in South Africa.”

“We have seen a growing disaffection among people who identify in conservative circles and on the far right with the way which which the official opposition and other parties they may have supported have behaved over the last five years,” he said. “With policy shifts slightly to the left, into the liberal territory, many voters may find that they are no longer happy, and no longer capable, of seeing themselves reflected in other parties and have shifted to the Freedom Front Plus.”
…

your ad here

Syrian Government Forces Advance in NW Region Between Idlib, Hama

Posted on 05/09/2019 by SeeEA

Syrian government forces reportedly have captured at least three towns from Islamic militias, which control portions of the country’s northwest between Idlib and Hama. Arab media also are reporting the government was battling its adversaries in an effort to capture parts of the country’s main highway that runs from Damascus to Aleppo.

Arab media broadcast amateur video of heavy Russian airstrikes in the northwest of Syria, as government forces advanced, recapturing the towns of Kafr Nabouda and Qalaat al-Madiq.

Rami Abdel Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Arab media that government forces have recaptured at least five small towns, including Kafr Nabouda and Qalaat al-Madiq. He says there have been at hundreds of airstrikes over these areas during the past 10 days and that at least 100 civilians were killed.

Saudi-owned al Arabiya TV is saying the number of civilians that were killed was even higher, adding that more than 100 opposition fighters also were killed, in addition to close to 120 government soldiers and allied militiamen.

The TV showed video of civilians fleeing from the areas that were being bombed, using farm vehicles and other form of transportation to escape. Arab media interviewed families that said they were camped out under olive trees to avoid airstrikes and shelling in their villages.

Syrian government analyst Ali Maqsoud told state TV the battle for Idlib is coming to a head and that a military solution to the conflict appears to be on the horizon.

He said the political decision appears to have been made to put an end to the pockets of terrorism around Idlib and that the government is no longer willing to compromise and allow terrorist groups to operate there.

Amateur video showed government soldiers inside the town of Kafr Nabouda, asserting they either would capture or destroy their enemies.

The Syrian opposition’s chief negotiator, Naser al-Hariri, told journalists Thursday in the Turkish town of Gaziantep the government advance on opposition-held regions “makes a mockery” of the entire negotiating process that Russia has been conducting in Astana and Sochi.

He said his read of the situation is that what is taking place is a total breach of the Sochi accords between Russia and Turkey, regarding war crimes and the concept of a military victory. He said it makes a mockery of every agreement that has been reached, in both Geneva and Astana.

Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches political science at the University of Paris, told VOA the Syrian government has been pursuing a military victory in Syria from the very beginning of the conflict and things now seem to be evolving in that direction.

He said the Assad regime has been trying to achieve a military victory from the outset and that all the de-escalation zones that were set up by the Astana process were just an illusion to mask the eventuality the government would try to recapture those zones. He argued that both Russia and Turkey allowed extremists to set up shop in these zones, providing an excuse to cover military operations there.

The Syrian government says rebel forces have been shelling civilians in the towns and cities that it controls, including Aleppo, while the opposition forces claim Russia and the Syrian government have been bombing civilians in areas that it controls.

Arab media report the United Nations Security Council is due to meet Friday to discuss the situation in northern Syria behind closed doors.

…

your ad here

US Imposes New Sanctions on Iran as Tensions Escalate

Posted on 05/09/2019 by SeeEA

One year after the United States withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Washington has imposed sanctions on Iran’s metal sectors, as tension escalates between the two countries. In Tehran Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says his country will suspend its compliance with certain prohibitions that were imposed as part of that nuclear deal. VOA’s diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.
…

your ad here

Libyan PM Accuses Rival Leader of Seeking a Coup

Posted on 05/09/2019 by SeeEA

Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj says his rival for power, General Khalifa Haftar, is trying to stage a coup and take Libya by force.

“He’s dreaming of entering Tripoli,” al-Sarraj told France 24 television in Paris Wednesday.

“This attack must be clearly condemned because it is an attempt to overthrow the (government’s) legitimacy and seize power … the destruction of the (political) process was carried out by the Khalifa Haftar, not the government of national accord and we are ready to return to the political process once conditions are met.”

Haftar leads a rival government in eastern Libya. His Libyan National Army moved against al-Sarraj’s U.N.-installed government last month, but has been bogged down by government forces and their allies in Tripoli’s southern suburbs, unable to take the capital.

Some Libyan civilians caught in the fighting have said they don’t care who wins, they just want the fighting to stop.

U.N. officials say the fighting has killed 440 people and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes. Many are staying in migrant detention centers.

Airstrikes reportedly hit one center in eastern Tripoli Tuesday, wounding two. Another report says a hole was blown in an airplane hangar housing women. A baby came within inches of being hit by shrapnel.

U.N. authorities are also investigating the suspected use of an armed drone by Haftar’s forces or a possible third party supporting the general.

The U.N. says whoever used the drone or sent it to Haftar would be violating the arms embargo against Libya.

The U.N. and humanitarian aid groups say the fighting may lead to a new refugee crisis as civilians try to escape to Europe by attempting the dangerous crossing via the Mediterranean Sea.

They also fear terrorist groups, such as Islamic State, will take advantage of the chaos.
…

your ad here

US Sanctions Hit Two of Iran’s Top Non-Energy Exports

Posted on 05/09/2019 by SeeEA

This article originated in VOA’s Persian service.

New U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian industrial metals will hit two of the country’s most lucrative non-energy exports, according to Iranian government data seen by VOA Persian.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday, seeking to deny Iran revenue from its exports of iron, steel, aluminum and copper. The measure blocks the assets of people involved in producing those metals inside Iran. It also authorizes sanctions against foreign financial institutions that sell goods and services to Iran to help it produce or export those metals.

An Iranian government trade report for the Persian year that ended March 20 shows iron, cast iron and steel were the nation’s fourth-biggest non-energy export, earning $3.8 billion. The report, published online by Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization, says iron, cast iron and steel accounted for 8% of Iran’s exports, excluding oil and gas, for the year. The $3.8 billion marked a 12% increase from the previous Persian year, the report also showed.

The same report also showed copper and copper products were Iran’s 10th-biggest non-energy export in the last Persian year, drawing $699 million in revenue, a 217% increase from the year before. That revenue accounted for 1.6% of Iran’s non-energy exports for the year.

Aluminum did not feature in the Iranian trade report’s list of the top 10 non-energy exports for the last Persian year.

Trump ‘puts other nations on notice’

In his statement, Trump said Iranian exports of industrial metals accounted for 10% of its export economy. “Today’s action … puts other nations on notice that allowing Iranian steel and other metals into your ports will no longer be tolerated,” he said.

A U.S. Commerce Department report published in March said Iran exported 9.24 million tons of steel in 2018, a 24% increase by volume from the year before. It said Iran was the world’s 18th-largest steel exporter in 2017, selling the metal to 120 countries and territories.

Texas-based research company Harbor Aluminum, in an email to VOA Persian, said Iran’s main customers for aluminum exports from 2013 to 2018 were Turkey, India, Taiwan, South Korea and China. It said the volume of Iran’s aluminum exports had fluctuated between 100,000 to 200,000 tonnes a year.

U.S. news agency Bloomberg published a Wednesday report citing Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Andrew Cosgrove as saying Iran’s copper exports in 2018 amounted to 138,000 tonnes.

There was no immediate reaction to the new U.S. sanctions in Iranian state media.

Washington has widened sanctions against Iran repeatedly over the past year, calling it part of a campaign to impose maximum pressure on Tehran to change perceived malign behavior. Iran has vowed to defy the previous U.S. sanctions and rely on its own resources to sustain its economy.
…

your ad here

US Drug Firms Will Have to Show Prices in TV Ads

Posted on 05/08/2019 by SeeUS

The United States will soon require pharmaceutical companies to disclose the price of their drugs during television commercials, a measure which President Donald Trump on Wednesday welcomed as “historic transparency.”

It is part of a US government policy to fight the high price of prescription drugs, which often exceeds those in neighboring Canada and Mexico.

The price will have to be displayed at the end of the ads, in the same manner as side effects which already must be mentioned.

United States television prominently features ads for medicines — and not just common cold and similar remedies but treatments for complex conditions.

The requirement will take effect in 60 days.

It covers drugs priced at least $35 for a normal treatment or a month’s supply.

“American patients deserve to know the prices of the healthcare they receive,” said Alex Azar, the Health and Human Services Secretary.

The 10 most viewed drugs on television cost between $488 and $16,938 a month, according to the government.

About half of Americans have health insurance with a high deductible which can reach thousands of dollars a year, in many cases more than $5,000 or $6,000 anually.

This means they usually have to pay the full displayed drug price until they have spent the their annual deductible amount.

Those with better coverage pay a fraction of the list price, and the situation can vary enormously from one person to another.

On Twitter, Trump hailed the “big announcement.”

“Drug companies have to come clean about their prices in TV ads,” he said. “If drug companies are ashamed of those prices-lower them!”

Trump has vowed that his Republicans will become “the party of great healthcare.” He is seeking to dismantle “Obamacare,” the Affordable Care Act which brought healthcare coverage for millions more Americans when it took effect under then president Barack Obama.
…

your ad here

Mozambique Scrambles to Contain Cholera Outbreak

Posted on 05/08/2019 by SeeAF

VOA U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report.

Officials in Mozambique are scrambling to contain a cholera outbreak in the north of the country after Cyclone Kenneth devastated the area last month.

Kenneth, the second cyclone to hit the country in five weeks, destroyed health clinics and contaminated the water supply.

The World Health Organization estimates there are “nearly 190,000 people in need of health assistance or are at risk of diseases in Mozambique,” U.N. spokeswoman Stephane Dujarric said.

Kenneth struck while Mozambique was still struggling to deal with the impact of Cyclone Idai, which hammered the country’s central region just weeks earlier, flattening the port city of Beira and killing more than 1,000 people across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, cholera cases in Cabo Delgado Province have risen almost five-fold to 64 since the outbreak was declared last week.

Medical relief agencies such as Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, are supporting the Ministry of Health by providing materials such as tents, water and sanitation equipment for a cholera treatment center in Pemba.

“We have two essential goals now: saving the lives of severely sick patients and containing the outbreak,” said Danielle Borges, MSF project coordinator in Pemba. “We need to isolate and treat sick people so they recover, and so that they do not contaminate others.”

About half a million cholera vaccines are expected to arrive in the region in the next few days.
…

your ad here

Speculation Grows in Turkey After Jailed Kurdish Leader Allowed to See Lawyers

Posted on 05/08/2019 by SeeEU

Turkey’s surprise move to allow Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), to meet with his lawyers after an eight-year hiatus is spurring speculation of a shift in Ankara’s hard-line policy following the 2015 collapse in peace talks with the rebel group.

A nationwide hunger strike calling for an end to Ocalan’s isolation spurred Turkish authorities to allow his lawyers a visit at Imrali Island prison where the 70-year-old Kurdish leader is being held.

“The lawyers were informed they could meet Ocalan on the day of the announcement of a death fast [hunger strike leading to death], which involves at least 2 or 3,000, which has put the government in a difficult position,” said Ertugrul Kurkcu, honorary president of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

In a statement, Ocalan called on his supporters not to engage in activities that could harm them. What drew the most attention, however, was the rebel leader’s call to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that “Turkish sensitivity should be taken into consideration.”

Turkey on the border

Turkish forces are currently amassed on the Syrian border facing off against the SDF. Ankara accuses the People Protection Units (YPG), which makes up a large part of the SDF, of being a terrorist organization linked to the PKK. The PKK has waged a decades-long insurgency inside Turkey.

“I think he is showing the YPG the limits they should remain within in the Syrian context and not bother the Turkish government,” said Kurkcu. “He [Ocalan] seeks to finalize the situation without any losses of Syrian Kurdish population because Turkey is looking for an opportunity to intervene.”

Washington has been lobbying hard to prevent a Turkish intervention because the YPG is a crucial ally in its war against Islamic State. U.S. Special Representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, visited Ankara earlier this month for high-level talks to broker a solution.

“We know James Jeffrey, the former U.S. ambassador to Ankara, is already the go-between to find the middle ground between the Ankara regime and the Kurdish political movement, be it in Turkey or Syria,” said political scientist Cengiz Aktar.

“So, the Ocalan lawyers’ visit could be a proposal by him, because Ocalan is considered the symbolic leader of the YPG. We know from the Kurdish authorities in Syria that James Jeffrey was active to establish an indirect dialogue between Ankara and [YPG leader] Mazlum Kobane,” Aktar added.

Ocalan’s influence

Former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who founded Turkey’s consul in the Iraqi Kurdistan regional capital, Irbil, said the significance of Ocalan’s statement should not be overestimated.

“Will it change anything on the ground? I am not sure, because on the ground, even the relationship between Qandil [PKK Iraqi headquarters] and the YPG commanders is quite opaque, not clear, let alone Ocalan’s influence,” he said.

Selcen added, “What is the most interesting point is whether now there is some sort of coordination between the United States, the SDF, Ankara and Ocalan, and even perhaps between Qandil. That we shall see in the coming months.”

Reports of tentative communications between Ankara and the SDF, coupled with Ocalan’s lawyers’ meeting, is spurring speculation of a possible resumption of broader PKK peace talks.

Turkish government members previously engaged in peace talks with Ocalan, which were accompanied by a PKK cease-fire and a partial withdrawal from Turkey.

The process collapsed in 2015 amid mutual recrimination. The resulting fighting claimed thousands of lives and the destruction of numerous town and city centers across Turkey’s predominately Kurdish region.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is ruling out a return to peace talks.

“There is no question of such a thing as the peace process,” he said Monday.

Erdogan’s AKP is in a coalition with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which is ardently opposed to any peace talks.

“It’s [the AKP-MHP coalition] a problem, but it is also an opportunity,” Selcen said. “It might mean Erdogan can change his coalition. It might mean he can opt for a new partner.”

Growing tensions?

Turkish media have been awash with reports of growing tensions between the AKP and MHP, which have been exacerbated by the political defeat in most of Turkey’s main cities, including Istanbul, during the local elections in March.

Kurkcu played down hopes of new peace talks.

“The present line of the PKK is devoted to changing the interlocutor, changing the negotiating partner, which they believe cannot be the AKP,” he said. “The credit the AKP had five to six or seven years ago has vanished in tyranny. The AKP doesn’t have the promise for any positive change in Turkey. It only offers dictatorship.”

Kurkcu confirmed that the HDP would again back Ekrem Imamoglu of the opposition CHP, who won the Istanbul mayoral election in March but is re-runningafter the AKP succeeded in having the vote annulled over claims of voting irregularities.
…

your ad here

Senate Intelligence Committee Subpoenas Donald Trump Jr.

Posted on 05/08/2019 by SeeUS

The Senate intelligence committee has subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr., calling him in to answer questions about his 2017 testimony.

That’s according to a person familiar with the subpoena who discussed it on condition of anonymity. The committee has renewed interest in talking to President Donald Trump’s eldest son after Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, testified earlier this year.

Cohen told a House committee in February that he had briefed Trump Jr. approximately 10 times about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Trump Jr. told the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017 he was only “peripherally aware” of the proposal.

The Senate intelligence committee has been investigating Russian election interference and Trump’s ties to Russia for the last two years.
…

your ad here

South Sudan’s Kiir: More Time Needed to Form Interim Government

Posted on 05/08/2019 by SeeAF

South Sudan’s warring parties will need more than a six-month extension approved last week before they can form a transitional government, says the country’s president, Salva Kiir.

In his first public remarks since the parties agreed to the extension last week, the president also accused rebel leader Riek Machar’s SPLM-IO (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition) of recruiting new fighters.

Speaking in Juba Wednesday, President Kiir said he doubts the parties will implement all of the peace deal’s security arrangements within the next half-year.

“If we cannot do them in the last eight months, what will make it to succeed this time around in six months?” Kiir said.

Sudan’s government and its opponents were supposed to form a transitional unity government by May 12, but arrangements to assemble, train and unify the various armed forces into a national army are not even close to being completed.

Kiir wants year-long extension

Kiir said even with the extension, logistical challenges will prevent the parties from finishing security arrangements by November.

“I told my team that instead of six months let us call for one year because from May up to November, there will be rain still and you cannot move with a car to any location, but if it is one year the remaining six months will get us in the new year and these things can be done during that period and then we can form the government by April or May,” he said.

Following last week’s meeting, sponsored by the regional bloc IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) in Ethiopia, the Kiir administration pledged $100 million to help fund security arrangements and other activities. Kiir said he agreed to the extension because he does not want a return to civil war.

“We will delay forming the government as per the request of Doctor Riek Machar and we will wait because we are not going back to war. We don’t want war,” said Kiir on Wednesday.

At the same event, Kiir accused Machar of continuing to recruit soldiers in violation of the peace agreement.

“He is now recruiting and this recruitment is prohibited in the (peace) agreement. If it is a matter of recruiting, it does not cost me much to also recruit. He thinks that he wants to recruit so that when he comes to Juba he comes with a lot of forces to push all of us out,” said Kiir.

Accusation denied

SPLM-IO deputy chairman Henry Odwar denied Kiir’s accusation.

“The SPLM-IO is not recruiting and we are observing the agreement in its strict form, in letter and spirit. We have what we call assembly areas, this is in accordance with the agreements,” Odwar told South Sudan in Focus Wednesday.

President Kiir said delaying formation of the government will extend his stay in power because there will be no election to allow for a peaceful transition of power.

Lars Andersen, the Norwegian Ambassador to South Sudan recently said any delay in forming the new government should not affect the timing of democratic elections, scheduled for March 2022.

At the end of the two day IGAD meeting in Juba on Wednesday, IGAD’s special envoy to South Sudan urged the parties to implement the remaining tasks without delay.

Extra time welcomed

Ismail Wais said the extension of the pre-transitional period will allow the parties to complete security arrangements and give the Independent Boundaries Commission extra time to work out the number of states and their boundaries.

He also urged IGAD’s Council of Ministers to look into concerns raised by the SPLM-IO about the constitutional amendment process.

Augustino Njoroge, the interim head of Joint Monitoring Evaluation Commission (JMEC), which monitors implementation of the peace deal, said out of 59 tasks that were supposed to be implemented during the pre- transitional period, less than half were completed.

“Our focus should now fall squarely on the leadership of the parties to demonstrate clear political will and commitment to make sure that the security-related institutions and mechanisms of the agreement deliver. As resolved by the parties, the most critical determination for the formation of (transitional government) is the formation of forces,” Njoroge told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus.
…

your ad here

US Indicts 2 Israeli Operators of Darkweb Gateway

Posted on 05/08/2019 by SeeUS

U.S. law enforcement officials announced on Wednesday the indictment of two Israeli operators of a website that referred hundreds of thousands of users to underground internet marketplaces to purchase drugs, weapons and other illegal products.

Tal Prihar, 37, an Israeli citizen living in Brazil, and Michael Phan, 34, who lives in Israel, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Western Pennsylvania with money laundering in connection with operating DeepDotWeb, a website that served as a gateway to the Darkweb, the internet’s dark underbelly where users can purchase and exchange illegal products.

Prihar was arrested by French authorities in Paris Monday and faces likely extradition to the U.S. Phan was arrested on Monday in Israel and faces charges there. Prosecutors declined to say whether they’ll seek Phan’s extradition to the U.S.

The two Israeli nationals operated DeepDotWeb from 2013 to late last month when it was taken down by the FBI, collecting more than $15 million in commissions for directing users to various marketplaces such as the now defunct AlphaBay.

The users, in turn, purchases hundreds of millions of dollars worth of illegal drugs, firearms, malicious software, hacking tools, and stolen financial information and credit cards, according to prosecutors.

About 24 percent of all orders on AlphaBay, which was one of the largest Darkweb marketplaces before it was seized by the FBI in 2017, were associated with an account created through a referral link provided by DeepDotWeb.

Scott W. Brady, the U.S. attorney for Western Pennsylvania, said DeepDotWeb’s takedown represents a major blow to the Darknet economy.

“This is the single most significant law enforcement disruption of the Darknet to date,” Brady said at a press conference in Pittsburgh. “While there have been successful prosecutions of various Darknet marketplaces, this prosecution is the first to attack the infrastructure supporting the Darknet itself.”

Darknet marketplaces operate on Tor, a computer network that facilitates anonymous communication and transactions over the internet. Tor marketplaces can’t be found via a Google search. To access a marketplace, a user needs the site’s exact .onion url, a top level domain suffix designating an anonymous service reachable via the Tor network.

To address this problem, DeepDotWeb provided pages of hyperlinks to various marketplaces such as AlphaBay Market and Hansa Market, allowing users to navigate the marketplaces and collecting a commission each time a user made a purchase.

…

your ad here

Turkey’s Opposition Seeks Cancellation of 2018 Elections

Posted on 05/08/2019 by SeeEU

Turkey’s main opposition party on Wednesday appealed to the country’s top electoral body to annul local election results in Istanbul’s 39 districts, as well as last year’s presidential and parliamentary results, after the authority annulled the opposition’s victory in Istanbul’s mayoral race and ordered a new vote.

Ruling in favor of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s governing Justice and Development Party (AKP), Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Board this week ordered a re-run of the March 31 vote on Istanbul’s next mayor, which was narrowly won by opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu. The board based its decision on the fact that some officials overseeing the mayoral election were not civil servants, as required by law.

The ruling party claimed that such irregularities affected the outcome of the race.

In response, the main opposition Republican Peoples’ Party, or CHP, submitted a formal request for the cancellation of the Istanbul district elections and last year’s general elections, arguing that non-civil servants had also supervised those ballots.

CHP cannot appeal the electoral board’s decision to repeat Istanbul’s mayoral election, as that is final.

AKP won a majority of the Istanbul districts as well as last year’s general elections, which gave Erdogan a new mandate with sweeping powers.

“If you say that the local election was stained, then the same is valid for the June 24 [2018] elections,” CHP legislator Muharrem Erkek told reporters after submitting the appeal. “Ten thousand people who were not civil servants were on duty for the June 24 election.”

“If you cancel Mr. Imamoglu’s mandate, then you have to cancel Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s mandate too,” Erkek said, addressing the electoral board members.

He added there was no evidence proving that the presence of non-civil servants at the ballot stations had affected the outcome of the Istanbul vote.

Even though the Supreme Electoral board is not expected to uphold the opposition’s appeal, CHP sought to expose what it says is the decision’s unfairness.

CHP, which has questioned the electoral authority’s independence, believes that the board’s members had succumbed to pressure by Erdogan. The party has accused the president of “stealing” Istanbul city hall in order to cling to power in Turkey’s largest city and commercial hub.

“We don’t trust or believe [in the electoral body],” Erkek said. “This is a struggle for democracy. It is not about CHP or Imamoglu.”

The electoral authority issued a statement on Wednesday saying it would continue working “without being affected by the campaigns of pressure, intimidation, insult and threats” directed against it.

The loss of Istanbul — and the capital, Ankara — in Turkey’s local elections came as sharp blows to Erdogan.

Erdogan says rerunning the Istanbul mayoral vote will strengthen democracy in Turkey by ensuring that the will of the people of Istanbul is truly reflected.
…

your ad here

General Elections in South Africa 2019 – Straight Talk Africa

Posted on 05/08/2019 by SeeAF

In this episode of Straight Talk Africa host Shaka Ssali takes a look at the elections in South Africa. He is joined in studio by Ndaba Mandela, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Africa Rising Foundation and grandson of Nelson Mandela, Phiwokuhle Mnyandu, Professor of African Studies at Howard University and from Johannesburg by Anita Powell, Correspondent of the Voice of America.
…

your ad here

Worldwide, Obesity Rising Faster in Rural Areas

Posted on 05/08/2019 by SeeEU

Obesity worldwide is increasing more quickly in rural areas than in cities, a study reported Wednesday, challenging a long-held assumption that the global epidemic of excess weight is mainly an urban problem.

Data covering 200 countries and territories compiled by more than 1,000 researchers showed an average gain of roughly five to six kilos per woman and man living in the countryside from 1985 to 2017.

City-dwelling women and men, however, put on 38 and 24 percent less, respectively, than their rural counterparts over the same period, according to the findings, published in Nature.

“The results of this massive global study overturn commonly held perceptions that more people living in cities is the main cause of the global rise in obesity,” said senior author Majid Ezzati, a professor at Imperial College London’s School of Public Health.

“This means that we need to rethink how we tackle this global health problem.”

The main exception to the trend was sub-Saharan Africa, where women gained weight more rapidly in cities.

Obesity has emerged as a global health epidemic, driving rising rates of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and a host of cancers.

The annual cost of treating related health impacts could top a trillion dollars by 2025, the World Obesity Federation estimated in 2017.

To date, most national and international policies to curb excess body weight have focused on cities, including public messaging, the redesign of urban spaces to encourage walking, and subsidized sports facilities.

Body-mass index

To factor health status into the comparison across nations, the researchers used a standard measure known as the “body-mass index”, or BMI, based on height and weight.

A person with a BMI of 25 or more is considered overweight, while 30 or higher is obese. A healthy BMI ranges from 18.5 to 24.9.

Approximately two billion adults in the world are overweight, nearly a third of them obese. The number of obese people has tripled since 1975.

The study revealed important differences between countries depending on income level.

In high-income nations, for example, the study found that rural BMI were generally already higher in 1985, especially for women.

Lower income and education levels, the high cost and limited availability of healthy foods, dependence on vehicles, the phasing out of manual labour — all of these factors likely contributed to progressive weight gain.

Conversely, urban areas “provide a wealth of opportunities for better nutrition, more physical exercise and recreation, and overall improved health,” Ezzati said.

Around 55 percent of the world’s population live in cities or satellite communities, with that figure set to rise to 68 percent by mid-century, according to the United Nations.

‘Ultra-processed foods’

The most urbanized regions in the world are North America (82 percent), Latin America and the Caribbean (81 percent) and Europe (74 percent).

More recently, the proportion of overweight and obese adults in the rural parts of many low- and middle-income countries is also rising more quickly than in cites.

“Rural areas in these countries have begun to resemble urban areas,” Barry Popkin, an expert on global public health at the University of North Carolina, said in a comment, also in Nature.

“Modern food supply is now available in combination with cheap mechanized devices for farming and transport,” he added. “Ultra-processed foods are also becoming part of the diets of poor people.”

At a country level, several findings stand out.

Some of the largest BMI increases from 1985 to 2017 among men were in China, the United States, Bahrain, Peru and the Dominican Republic, adding an average of 8-9 kilos per adult.

Women in Egypt and Honduras added — on average, across urban and rural areas — even more.

Rural women in Bangladesh, and men living in rural Ethiopia, had the lowest average BMI in 1985, at 17.7 and 18.4 respectively, just under the threshold of healthy weight. Both cohorts were well above that threshold by 2017.

The populations — both men and women — in small South Pacific island nations have among the highest BMI levels in the world, often well above 30.

“The NDC Risk Factor Collaboration challenges us to create programmes and policies that are rurally focused to prevent weight gain”, Popkin said.
…

your ad here

Iran Suspending Some Nuclear Deal Commitments

Posted on 05/08/2019 by SeeEA

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced Wednesday his country will suspend its compliance with prohibitions on stockpiles of enriched uranium and heavy water that were imposed as part of the 2015 international agreement on its nuclear program.

With the withdrawal of the United States from the agreement and its imposition of economic sanctions against Iran, Rouhani said the remaining signatories have not lived up to their commitments, and instead have allowed the U.S. measures to affect the Iranian oil and banking sectors.

He gave them 60 days to implement changes, and said Iran’s next step would be to resume enriching uranium at higher levels. However if the other countries work with Iran, Rouhani said his government will resume complying.

Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter that U.S. actions had made it impossible for Iran to continue the way it was, and that the other signatories have “a narrowing window to reverse this.”

Under the deal it struck with Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany, Iran had committed to hold no more than 300 kilograms of uranium enriched at 3.67%, with any excess sold on the international market or down-blended back to natural uranium levels.

Iran also agreed to accumulate no additional heavy water, with both limits lasting for 15 years.

In exchange for the limitations on its nuclear program, which also included no enrichment of uranium at higher levels that could be used for nuclear weapons, Iran won relief from sanctions that had badly hurt its economy.

But Iran has continued to struggle economically, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the nuclear deal last year and put in place sanctions threatening punishment to those who do business with Iran’s important oil sector and its banks. Last week, the United States ended waivers that had allowed some of Iran’s biggest oil buyers to continue their purchases.

The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency has certified in multiple reports that Iran was abiding by its pledges under the agreement. Trump has long objected to the deal, particularly that it did not address Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Another chief critic, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, responded to Iran’s announcement by vowing his government would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Iran says its nuclear program was only for peaceful purposes, and that it has the right to develop the missiles as part of its national defense.

China expressed its support for the nuclear agreement, with a foreign ministry spokesman calling on all parties to uphold the deal and saying China opposes U.S. imposition of unilateral sanctions.
…

your ad here

VP Pence Signals Rewards With A Warning In Venezuela Speech

Posted on 05/08/2019 by SeeUS

VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb and Jorge Agobian of VOA’s Spanish Service contributed to this report.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence says the United States is lifting of sanctions on Venezuela’s former intelligence service, but warned the 25 magistrates of the country’s supreme court of possible punishment and reiterated “all options are the table” to remove President Nicolas Maduro.

The audience inside the U.S. State Department for the annual Washington Conference on the Americas remained silent when Pence alluded to possible military action.

The vice president did prompt applause at other moments in his speech when he vowed the United States would stand with the people of Venezuela until “libertad” is restored.

The Pentagon is also dispatching the USNS Comfort, a military hospital ship, to the region in June for five months to offer medical care to Venezuelan refugees and others, Pence confirmed.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday removed sanctions on General Manuel Figuera, who headed the SEBIN intelligence agency and has switched sides. He was among about 150 officials and businesses sanctioned as part of a U.S. effort to weaken support for Maduro.

National Assembly and opposition leader Juan Guaido welcomed the U.S. move, saying on Twitter it was evidence of the firm support of the opposition’s allies.

Guaido reiterated a call for a transitional government and free elections.

Besides blaming Maduro for Venezuela’s political and economic woes, the U.S. vice president, in his speech, also pointed fingers at Cuba, Russia and Iran for helping keep Hugo Chavez’s successor in power.

“No one has done more to support the corrupt Maduro regime than Cuba,” said Pence. “The people of Venezuela are essentially Cuba’s hostage.”

Russia is seeking a foothold in the Western Hemisphere through Venezuela, according to Pence.

Iran, claimed Pence, is working with Venezuela to “establish a safe haven for its terrorist proxies.”

In response to the Trump administration’s stance, Democratic Party lawmaker Darren Soto is expressing support for “a wide range of actions, including incentives to encourage the Venezuelan military to rise up against the tyrannical Maduro regime.”

The Florida congressman also is calling on the Trump administration to support legislation “to provide Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans and stop deportations for those here in the U.S.”

The United States has recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president and its officials have repeatedly insisted Maduro must resign.

Most Western nations have followed Washington’s lead.

Venezuela is mired in an economic crisis, with inflation exceeding one million percent and citizens being forced to do without essential goods and services.

Guaido last week tried to provoke a military revolt to force Maduro from office, but the attempt failed as most of the armed forces remain loyal to Maduro.

The Venezuelan Supreme Court said Tuesday that seven opposition lawmakers should be investigated for a range of crimes, including treason and conspiracy. A short time later, the pro-government Constituent Assembly voted to strip the lawmakers of their parliamentary immunity.

“The United States will not let a free Venezuela fail,” Pence vowed in his speech Tuesday.
…

your ad here

ICE Provides Local Police a Workaround for Sanctuary Policies

Posted on 05/08/2019 by SeeUS

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched a program for federal-local collaboration that would sidestep sanctuary restrictions by delegating arrest powers to local officers.

Under the Warrant Service Officer (WSO) program, announced Monday in Pinellas County on Florida’s Gulf Coast, local law enforcement officers would be allowed to conduct immigration arrests. The new rule would allow local authorities to detain criminal suspects instead of releasing them, giving ICE an extra 48 hours to take them into federal custody.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a civil rights group, said the initiative is “just the latest scheme by ICE to enlist local police in its abusive deportation agenda.”

Lorella Praeli, ACLU deputy political director, said, “The agency explicitly aims to subvert the will of local communities that have passed ordinances to prevent exactly this kind of cooperation between police and ICE.”

According to an ICE statement, “Only one jurisdiction in Florida has agreed to join the program, but others have shown interest and others are expected [to sign up] soon.”

ICE said the new program is a measure to fight “sanctuary cities” across the country. The term sanctuary city is generally applied to cities where local authorities refuse to heed ICE’s detention requests and in some cases refuse to communicate detainee information to ICE entirely.

According to a Memorandum of Agreement signed by the agency and Pinellas County on Monday, sheriff’s office personnel “will be nominated, trained and approved by ICE to perform certain limited functions of an immigration officer” within the local jail or correctional facilities. Those selected to participate are expected to receive federal credentials that reflect their authority once training is completed.

Local jurisdictions are expected to fund the cost of travel and officer pay associated with training, the agency said.

Praeli said it would “potentially [cost] the state millions in operational expenses and legal fees.”

ICE spokesman Matthew Bourke said in an email that WSO officers would “only arrest unlawfully present aliens that are processed into their jail or correctional facility once they are formally released. Arrests will only occur inside the confines of the jail.”

“Under the WSO program, administrative warrants are served and executed on behalf of ICE. The aliens are not formally held for any additional time in jail stemming from their sentence or criminal arrest. They can be held up to 48 hours stemming from their immigration arrests,” Bourke said.

Amien Kacou, immigration staff attorney at the ACLU of Florida, told VOA this initiative has serious legal flaws.

“For one thing, it is unclear how the power of arrest can be effectively delegated if it does not include the power to ensure probable cause of arrest,” he said.

ICE’s press release states that WSO officers “will not question individuals about their citizenship, alienage or removability, nor will they process aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States.”

“This means ICE wants local law enforcement to arrest people when they’re told — no questions asked. But this is not how the power of arrest works under Fourth Amendment jurisprudence,” Kacou added.

ICE is still expected to issue immigration detainers with partner jurisdictions, but if immigration officers do not take the person into custody within 48 hours, the individual must be released, according to the agency.
…