International charity Operation Smile is helping Malawians with cleft lips and palates leave behind shame and embarrassment stemming from their condition. Agnes Chiotcha recalls her reaction when she gave birth last year to a son with a cleft lip.Chiotcha says she was devastated and wondered why she gave birth to such a child.“What the hell happened to him to make him look like this?” she said she asked herself.In her home village, people spread a rumor that her child’s cleft lip was from a botched, backstreet abortion.Others accused Chiotcha of using contraceptives that deformed her baby.Chiotcha says she told them that this is not because of contraceptives.“How could I take contraceptives if I had another child? I told them that this is how God created him,” she said.The charity Operation Smile says cleft lips and palates are the world’s third most common birth defect, in 1 out of 750 births.Operation Smile gives free corrective surgeries to those who have the condition.
Charity Puts Smiles on Faces of Malawi’s Cleft Patients video player.
Embed” />CopyAbout 1,000 surgeriesIn Malawi, the group has performed 1,000 operations in seven years but relies on foreign doctors because few local plastic surgeons are available.Ibrahim Nthalika is program manager for Operation Smile-Malawi.“We have only two [Malawian] plastic surgeons that have … who have volunteered to work with us, that can do this and volunteer to work with us,” he said.Rice James said that before the surgery to repair his cleft, he used to face insults and discrimination. (VOA/L. Masina)Discrimination or worsePeople born with a cleft may have difficulty with speech and eating. They also face cruel treatment and discrimination like what James Rice faced.Rice says his aunt insulted him a lot. He says she told him that if he had been born when she was there, she would have thrown him into the toilet.But those who receive the surgery have reason, and the ability, to smile.Agnes Chiotcha is one of them.Chiotcha says now those who used to insult her will be very much ashamed once they see her child. Because the child they used to laugh at has been operated on. They will not laugh at them again, she says.After surgery to repair his cleft, Rice James says he will be able to do everything without shame. (VOA/L. Masina)The smiles are spreading to James Rice as well.He says now he will be able to do everything without any problem and will not be ashamed as before. Also, he will be free to tell others who have cleft to come out into the open and have their defect repaired.Operation Smile estimates about 3,000 Malawians still suffer from cleft lips or palates. To tackle the problem, the group is also training local doctors to perform the reconstructive surgery.
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Month: July 2019
Hong Kong Students Reject Closed-Door Talks with City Leader
Student unions from two Hong Kong universities said Friday that they have turned down invitations from city leader Carrie Lam for talks about recent unrest over her proposal to allow the extradition of suspects to mainland China.The invitations followed a pledge by Lam to do a better job of listening to the voices of young people.Student leaders said at a news conference that they do not think Lam is being sincere. Her office invited them to closed-door meetings, but the students said any meeting should be public and include a wider representation than just them.A closed-door meeting does not have any witnesses to prove what was discussed, the public does not know what the dialogue was about,'' said Jordan Pang from the University of Hong Kong Students' Union.The public has the right to know.”Ng Yat Ming, the vice president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Students’ Union, said they would be condemned as traitors if they negotiated with Lam on behalf of the public.We believe it is a PR stunt,'' he said.Young people have taken the lead in protesting against the extradition legislation, which many see as a threat to the rights guaranteed to Hong Kong under the one country, two systems” framework that governs the Chinese territory.Lam, who was appointed as Hong Kong’s leader by a committee dominated by pro-Beijing elites, suspended the legislation indefinitely after a huge march against it on June 9 and then a June 12 demonstration that blocked access to the legislature and nearby streets.The protesters remain unsatisfied and have escalated their tactics. They are demanding the formal withdrawal of the extradition bill, Lam’s resignation, the release of dozens arrested after the protests and an independent investigation into a police crackdown on the June 12 protest that included tear gas and rubber bullets.One protester charged in connection with an hours-long siege by protesters of the police headquarters on June 21 appeared in court Friday, Hong Kong media reported. He was the first of those arrested to do so.Pun Ho-chiu is charged with assaulting eight police officers, damaging walls and escalators at police headquarters and behaving in a disorderly manner, public broadcaster RTHK said on its website. He was denied bail. Pun accused police of mistreating him while in custody, according to the media reports. The judge said the complaints are outside the court’s mandate.On Monday, one group smashed through thick windows to break into the legislature building on a national holiday celebrating the return of Hong Kong from Britain to China in 1997. They spray-painted slogans on the walls and damaged the fire prevention and electronic voting systems.The legislature has decided to suspend meeting until October for repairs to the heavily damaged complex.
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Assassinations, Arrests Test Ethiopia’s Fragile Push Toward Democracy
Days after gunmen, led by a top general, killed five government officials, including a regional president and the army’s chief of staff, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed planted olive seedlings at the National Palace in the capital, Addis Ababa, in their memory.Images of the symbolic tribute, distributed by the prime minister’s office and aired on state television, showed a gentle and plaintive Abiy tending to the fragile young trees, a metaphor for the role he has cast for himself in Ethiopia’s tumultuous transition to democracy.Speaking to lawmakers Monday, the 42-year-old leader, now in his sixteenth month on the job, took a tougher stance. “If there is anyone coming for the sovereignty of Ethiopia,” Abiy said, “we are ready to fight, not with a pen, but with a Kalashnikov.”Abiy’s willingness to take up arms for the unity of Ethiopia underscored the gravity of the threat that the June 22 assassinations — characterized by the government as a failed coup — represent in the eyes of a reformist leader unwilling to let resistance to drastic change compromise national unity.But not all Ethiopians share his desire for integration — or believe he has gone far enough to overturn his government’s authoritarian legacy.Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed walks past the coffin of Army Chief of Staff Seare Mekonnen, who was shot by his bodyguard, during a memorial ceremony in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia June 25, 2019.Ongoing attacksThe attacks, Abiy said, are only the latest attempt to disrupt his agenda through violence, the most recent in a chain of incidents that, together, constitute an existential threat to Africa’s second-most populous nation.In his address to parliament, Abiy recounted violence and displacement in the Somali region at the hands of armed militias and opposition groups, and a similar upheaval in the country’s west.He characterized instigators of violence as illogical and heartless. But William Davison, International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Ethiopia, told VOA Brigadier General Asaminew Tsige, who government officials say masterminded the attacks, and who soon after died in a firefight with federal security forces, was a popular figure in the Amhara region.“Asaminew was put into this position because he was representative of popular viewpoints and popular positions, and so he was seen as a defender of Amhara rights. A defender of Amhara interests. A campaigner for justice for the Amhara people,” Davison said.Asaminew was arrested and imprisoned in the 1990s under allegations of attempting a coup. His sentence was later commuted, and Abiy appointed him to the high-profile post he held up until the June 22 events.In his remarks Monday, Abiy hinted at other, unreported attempts to grab power through violence since he took office.“In the last one year, there have been so many attempts. I am not going to tell you of those you don’t know, but some you already know,” he said.The coffins of Amhara president Ambachew Mekonnen and two other officials who where killed in an attack are seen during a funeral ceremony in the town of Bahir Dar, Amhara region, Ethiopia June 26, 2019.Reform shortcomingsAbiy enjoys widespread support at home toward the middle of the Ethiopian political spectrum and within the international community, Henok G. Gabisa, a professor of practice at Washington and Lee University’s School of Law, in Virginia, told VOA. Religious leaders and civic society groups share Abiy’s vision, Gabisa added.But some say Abiy’s reforms don’t go far enough and fear that mass arrests and internet shutdowns signal a backslide on promises to open space for opposition groups and competing political parties.The government arrested hundreds following last weekend’s attacks. And the internet shutoff is just the latest attempt to control the flow of information.“It’s deeply unsatisfactory for the government to be summarily shutting off the internet and closing people off from so much information,” Davison said.When access returned after 10 days of a total shutdown, rumors at odds with the government’s carefully communicated narrative of the attacks were already swirling.“By trying to stop the flow of information and stop conspiracy theories, the government is also breeding them,” Davison said.‘Last and remaining chance’Not all Ethiopians, especially those who feel left out of reforms and on the margins of the country’s political sphere, share Abiy’s commitment to the country’s unique brand of ethnic federalism, a tenuous agglomeration of some of the country’s more than 80 ethnic groups.That ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, dominates the political space, but may be on its last legs.“The political elites within the EPRDF are divided, and they have yet to learn to work together during such an experimental time,” Gabisa said. “I think Abiy is the last and remaining chance for the EPRDF to repair itself,” he added.FILE – Women pick unwanted coffee beans from the final product just before packaging in Holiso cooperative of Shebedino district in Sidama,Economic factorEthiopia’s economy represents another looming threat. The country boasts one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies, and Abiy has prioritized creating a welcome environment for outside investment. But unemployment remains high, poverty is widespread, and wealth is concentrated in relatively few hands. In the case of an economic collapse, “Ethiopia’s existence would be questionable,” Gabisa said.But short-term instability and violent setbacks don’t mean Ethiopia’s transition is fundamentally flawed, Gabisa added.“People are convoluting or mistaking democratic experiment for governmental weakness. In fact, what is lacking is collective political consciousness and mutual trust between elites at multiple levels,” he said.“As a transitional leader, Abiy has cut out for himself the task of culminating the political transition into carrying out a democratic national election in 2020. That should be the target goal for everyone to work toward,” Gabisa said. “Security and democratic freedom are not necessarily mutually exclusive.”For his part, Abiy sees peace as conditional.“Our kindness and forgiveness,” he said, “is only for the unity of Ethiopia.”
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Turkey: 2 Killed in Explosion Near Border with Syria
An explosion inside a vehicle near Turkey’s border with Syria on Friday has left two people dead and two others injured, Turkey’s state-run news agency said.
The blast occurred inside a car some 750 meters (yards) from a local government office in the border town of Reyhanli, in Hatay province, Anadolu Agency said.
It quoted Hatay’s Gov. Rahmi Dogan as saying two people inside the car were killed.
It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion. There was no immediate information on the condition of the two injured.
The report said several ambulances and police vehicles have been sent to the scene.
In 2013, two car bomb attacks in Reyhanli killed 52 people, including Syrian refugees. Turkey blamed Syria’s intelligence agency for the attack.
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June Jobs Report Could Show Whether US Economy Is Weakening
The June jobs report being released Friday will likely help determine whether the U.S. economy has stabilized or is gradually weakening.The evidence is conflicting. Consumer spending has solidified. Home sales are rebounding. But America’s manufacturing sector is slowing along with construction spending. Growth in the services sector, which includes such varied industries as restaurants, finance and recreation, slowed in June.Economists have estimated that the government will report that employers added 164,000 jobs in June, according to data provider FactSet. That would roughly match the average monthly gain this year and would mark a healthy rebound from the meager 75,000 jobs that were added in May.For June, the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.6% _ the lowest level since 1969 _ for a third straight month.The slowdown in hiring during May suggested that employers had grown more cautious in the face of weaker global growth, political showdowns over trade and, perhaps, some difficulty in finding enough qualified workers at the wages companies are willing to pay. Most economists have been expecting payrolls to slow down for a couple of years now,'' said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities.With all of the low-hanging fruit already being harvested, firms are basically going to run out of qualified people to hire.” If the government were to report a second straight tepid jobs report, it could reinforce expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates late this month to help support the economy. The Fed has expressed concern about threats to the economy, especially from President Donald Trump’s trade wars, and about inflation remaining persistently below its 2% target level. A rate cut would be the Fed’s first in more than a decade.The pace of the overall economy is widely thought to be slowing sharply from annual growth that neared a healthy 3% last year. Even the job market itself, one of the pillars of the 10-year economic expansion, the longest on record, may be flagging. Job openings have grown just 2.2% so far this year, according to the jobs site Glassdoor. In 2018, openings had increased 9.8%.
Employers in some sectors of the economy are signaling less eagerness to hire. The construction industry, which had been adding jobs at an annual rate of more than 300,000 at the start of this year, is now adding positions at an annual rate of 215,000.Manufacturing is sputtering, likely in part because of the tariffs Trump has imposed on many Chinese imports. For the past three months, manufacturers have added, on average, a mere 1,667 workers each month. A year ago, the average monthly gain was 21,000.But even if those sectors decline, job growth has generally been supported by the health care and business services sectors. Both those sectors reported a decline in hiring in May, setting the stage for a possible bounce-back.Overall, employers have been adding jobs faster than new workers are flowing into the economy. That suggests that the unemployment rate will remain near its five-decade low and that the economy will keep growing, even if only modestly.Still, a survey of job growth in the private sector released Wednesday by payroll processor ADP suggested that job gains could start to fall below population growth, thereby potentially causing unemployment to rise.ADP’s figures don’t always correspond with the government’s job numbers. But if job growth slips or stays depressed, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, it raises the risk that “unemployment will begin to notch higher.”
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Five Supreme Court Rulings of Global Import
Every year, the United States Supreme Court issues decisions in around 70 cases, rulings that can profoundly affect American society for generations to come. But the powerful high court also considers a handful of cases with far-reaching consequences for the citizens, businesses and governments of other countries.This year the court decided at least five such cases. They include whether Indian farmers and fishermen can sue the private sector arm of the World Bank in federal U.S. court and whether an undocumented student from the United Arab Emirates can be convicted for illegally possessing firearms.Here is a look at them: FILE – An iPhone with Twitter, Facebook and other apps, May 21, 2013. U.S. internet companies are taking a harder look at their policies that have promoted free expression around the world.Apple Inc. v. Pepper
In a big win for iPhone users, the Supreme Court allowed an antitrust lawsuit against the global tech giant to proceed. In the 2013 lawsuit, four iPhone users accused Apple of unfairly raising app prices through its monopoly of the App Store. The iPhone maker asked a federal court to throw out the lawsuit, arguing the users could not sue the company because they buy apps from the developers and not Apple. The justices did not weigh whether Apple violated antitrust laws but allowed the lawsuit to proceed in lower courts.Nielsen v. Preap
The justices ruled that immigration authorities can legally keep deportable immigrants in custody pending a removal decision, strengthening the Trump administration’s hand amid a crackdown on illegal immigration. The defendants in the case fell into one of four categories justifying automatic deportation but they argued that they could not be subject to immediate removal because they were not detained by immigration officials right after their release from prison. The court rejected that argument, allowing the government to keep them in detention.FILE – Experts in a speed boat examine the damaged hull of the USS Cole at the Yemeni port of Aden, Oct. 15, 2000, after an al-Qaida attack that killed 17 sailors.Republic of Sudan v. HarrisonThis decision was a setback for the victims of the 2000 USS Cole bombing and their families suing the government of Sudan for financial compensation. U.S. law generally protects foreign governments from civil lawsuits, but governments designated as state sponsors of terrorism such as Sudan’s lose that immunity. A district court ordered $314 million in damages, but Sudan challenged the ruling on a technicality, arguing that the plaintiffs improperly sent their complaint to Sudan’s embassy in Washington instead of its foreign ministry in Khartoum. The high court agreed with Sudan. The ruling means the plaintiffs will have to start the lawsuit all over again.Rehaif v. U.S.
The justices reversed the conviction of an undocumented student from the United Arab Emirates charged with illegally possessing firearms. Hamid Rehaif entered the United States on a student visa but was dismissed from school because of poor grades. Rehaif later used guns at a shooting range. The government prosecuted him under a law that makes it illegal for undocumented foreign nationals to possess firearms. A jury found him guilty. The high court ruled that in cases such as Rehaif’s, the government “must prove both that the defendant knew he possessed a firearm and that he knew he belonged to the relevant category of persons barred from possessing a firearm.”
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Stepson of Former Malaysia PM Charged in 1MDB Case
The stepson of Malaysian ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak pleaded not guilty Friday to laundering $248 million from the 1MDB state investment fund, becoming the third person in his family to face charges in the scandal.Hollywood producer Riza Aziz was freed on bail a day after being detained by anti-graft officials. He was solemn as he appeared in court to be charged with receiving the illicit funds between 2011 and 2012 in the U.S. and Singapore. The charge sheets said the money was misappropriated from 1MDB and channeled into bank accounts of his Hollywood company Red Granite Pictures Inc., which produced films including the Martin Scorsese-directed “The Wolf of Wall Street.”Riza, 42, was charged with five counts of money laundering, and he could face up to five years in prison, a fine or both, on each count if he is convicted.Three family members chargedNajib set up the 1MDB fund to finance development in Malaysia, but it accumulated billions in debts and U.S. investigators allege at least $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and laundered by Najib’s associates.Public anger over the alleged corruption contributed to the shocking election defeat of Najib’s long-ruling coalition last year, and the new government reopened investigations that had been stifled while Najib was in office.Najib is on trial for alleged criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering linked to 1MDB. He denies the charges. His wife and Riza’s mother, Rosmah Mansor, also has pleaded not guilty to money laundering and tax evasion related to 1MDB but her trial date has not been set.Questioned a year agoRiza’s arraignment came a year after he was questioned by Malaysia’s anti-graft agency. U.S. investigators say Red Granite used money stolen from 1MDB to finance Hollywood films. Red Granite has paid the U.S. government $60 million to settle claims it benefited from the 1MDB scandal, and the U.S. returned the money to Malaysia.Riza’s sister, Nooryana Najwa, has slammed the legal action against her brother.“Despite the settlement in the U.S. and the fact that alleged wrongdoings occurred entirely outside of Malaysia, the MACC decides to press charges after a whole year of leaving this case in cold storage. He is not a criminal,” she wrote on Instagram, accompanied by a picture of her with Riza taken before his arrest.
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Sudan Military, Pro-Democracy Movement Agree to Share Power
Sudan’s ruling military council and a coalition of opposition and protest groups reached an agreement to share power during a transition period leading to elections, setting off street celebrations by thousands of people.The two sides, which have held talks in Khartoum for the past two days, agreed to “establish a sovereign council by rotation between the military and civilians for a period of three years or slightly more,” African Union mediator Mohamed Hassan Lebatt said at a news conference.The Sudanese Professionals’ Association, which has spearheaded protests calling for civilian rule, released a statement Friday saying both parties had agreed to form a joint sovereign council to lead the country’s transition.It said the council will include five civilians representing the protest movement and five military members. An 11th seat will go to a civilian chosen by both parties.Sudanese people gather outside al-Huda prison in the capital Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman, July 4, 2019, during a ceremony marking the release of 235 members of a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army, which has fought government forces in Darfur.Of the agreement, the statement said: “Today, our revolution has won and our victory shines.”They also agreed to form an independent technocratic government and to launch a transparent, independent investigation into violent events in recent weeks.The two sides agreed to postpone the establishment of a legislative council. They had previously agreed that the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition would take two-thirds of a legislative council’s seats before security forces crushed a sit-in protest June 3, killing dozens, and talks collapsed.Joy in the streetsThe streets of Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city across the Nile River, erupted in celebration when the news broke, a Reuters witness said. Thousands of people of all ages took to the streets, chanting “Civilian! Civilian! Civilian!”Young men banged drums, people honked their car horns, and women carrying Sudanese flags ululated in jubilation.“This agreement opens the way for the formation of the institutions of the transitional authority, and we hope that this is the beginning of a new era,” said Omar al-Degair, a leader of the FFC.Sudanese Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, speaks during a rally to support the new military council that assumed power in Sudan after the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir, in Khartoum, Sudan, June 16, 2019.“We would like to reassure all political forces, armed movements and all those who participated in the change from young men and women — that this agreement will be comprehensive and will not exclude anyone,” said General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy head of the Transitional Military Council.“We thank the African and Ethiopian mediators for their efforts and patience. We also thank our brothers in the Forces for Freedom and Change for the good spirit,” said Dagalo, who heads the Rapid Support Forces accused by the FFC of crushing the sit-in.More than 250 people have been killed since an uprising erupted against al-Bashir in December, according to protest organizers. The military overthrew the longtime ruler in April, but protesters remained in the streets, fearing the generals intended to cling to power or preserve some form of authoritarian rule.The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Japanese Collector Returns Cambodian Artifacts
Millennium-old Cambodian artifacts displayed in a Japanese collector’s home for two decades have been returned to the Southeast Asian country’s National Museum.The 85 artifacts are mostly small bronze items and include statues of Buddha and the Hindu god Shiva, plus jars, ceramics and jewelry. Cambodia’s Culture Ministry says some items were older than the Angkor era, which began about 800 A.D. Others date from the Angkor era or just after it ended in the late 14th century.Cambodia has made intense efforts to recover artifacts looted during its civil war in the 1970s.At an official reception for the artifacts Friday, Prak Sonnara, secretary of state for the Culture and Fine Art Ministry, praised the Japanese collector for voluntarily returning the artifacts. He said her actions set a good sample for other countries and collectors to follow.Japanese collector Fumiko Takakuwa, left, attends the handover ceremony at the National Museum, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, July 5, 2019.The collector, Fumiko Takakuwa, told reporters after the handover ceremony that she and her husband had bought the items in Japan and liked to collect and display them in their home. But she knew they were originally from Cambodia and that is why she returned them.“My husband has said before he passed away that those artifacts have to be returned back to Cambodia, and today I am happy that I did,” Takakuwa said.Prak Sonnara said the 85 items were believed to have been stolen from Cambodia’s temples during the war, when intense looting occurred and valuables were smuggled through neighboring Thailand.A 1993 Cambodian law prohibited the removal of cultural artifacts without government permission. The law strongly compels owners of items taken abroad after that date to return them. But there is also general agreement in the art world that pieces were acquired illegitimately if they were exported without clear and valid documentation after 1970, the year of a United Nations cultural agreement targeting trafficking in antiquities.In 2014, three 1,000-year-old statues depicting Hindu mythology were welcomed home to Cambodia after being looted from a temple and put in Western art collections.Also in 2013, two 10th century Cambodian stone statues displayed for nearly two decades at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art were returned to their homeland in a high-profile case of allegedly looted artifacts.
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Greece Wildfires Prompt Evacuation of 4 More Villages
Two new brush fires broke out overnight on the Greek island of Evia, forcing the evacuation of four villages, authorities said Friday.The new wildfires came several hours after a major blaze led to the mobilization of more than 100 firefighters and the evacuation of another village. Firefighters managed to limit the spread of the initial fire, which was burning woodland and agricultural areas, but difficult terrain and high temperatures hampered their efforts to extinguish it. The fire department said that a 64-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of starting the first fire by using a naked flame to burn dried weeds near his house. The man will appear before a prosecutor in court Friday.The two new fires broke out simultaneously shortly before midnight Thursday, authorities said. A total of 255 firefighters, four water-dropping planes and three helicopters along with 100 vehicles and earth-moving machinery were battling the three fires.Wildfires are common in Greece during the hot, dry summer months. Last year, the country’s deadliest fire killed 101 people in a seaside settlement outside of Athens.
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German Fire Exercise Aims to Prevent Notre Dame Tragedy
A single cigarette may have started the April fire that destroyed much of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Flames tore through the global tourist destination as firefighters struggled to find and extinguish their source. German authorities want to make sure what happened in France, doesn’t happen there. Arash Arabasadi has more.
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Trump Presents ‘Show of a Lifetime’ to Celebrate Independence Day
Updated at 8:28 p.m. July 4.President Donald Trump played host Thursday evening in Washington for what he calls “The Show of a Lifetime” to celebrate U.S. Independence Day. While U.S. presidents have traditionally sat back to watch Americans celebrate independence in their own way, Trump himself directly took charge of the celebration. He introduced military jet flyovers, patriotic band music and a display of tanks, and made a long speech at the Lincoln Memorial highlighting 243 years of American history, despite steamy weather and the threat of storms.He called the history of the United States “the epic tale of a great nation of people who have risked everything for what they know is right and what they know is true.”President Donald Trump, walking with first lady Melania Trump, waves to the crowd after speaking at an Independence Day celebration in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, July 4, 2019.There were fears Trump would turn the nation’s birthday party into a political event by talking about what he feels are his accomplishments as president.But he made no mention of politics, next year’s election or the two dozen Democratic candidates looking to stop him from a second term. Instead, Trump avoided talking about what divides Americans and spoke of what unifies them.”As we gather this evening in the joy of freedom, we remember that we all share a truly extraordinary heritage. Together, we are one of the greatest stories ever told,” the president said. “Americans love our freedom and no one will ever take it away from us … our nation is stronger today than it ever was before.”Trump paid special tribute to each branch of the U.S. military and appealed to young Americans to consider making the military a career.ProtestersBut many who live in Washington were angry that the Pentagon and security officials commandeered areas of the National Mall where the public usually gathers for celebrations. National Park Service rangers view a Baby Trump balloon before Independence Day celebrations on the National Mall in Washington, July 4, 2019.Others were upset the White House handed out tickets for seats to Trump’s speech only to Republicans loyal to the president. Anti-Trump protesters were highly visible along the mall all day, including the now familiar blimp depicting Trump as an angry baby in a diaper. Vendors sold mini-Trump baby balloons on wooden sticks for demonstrators to wave. Protesters included military veterans who say they resent someone who never served in the military exploiting their service for his own satisfaction. Trump supporters in red “Make America Great Again” hats confronted some of the protesters, but their debates were civil and free of insults and name-calling.Cost of celebrationThe cost of Thursday’s celebration, including all the preparation, could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.The U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly past the Washington Monument as President Donald Trump speaks during an Independence Day celebration in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, July 4, 2019.But Trump tweeted the cost “will be very little compared to what it is worth. “The Fourth of July festivities commemorate America’s declaration of independence from Britain in 1776.Those not in Washington on Thursday celebrated Independence Day around the county with parades, picnics and fireworks.
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Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake Shakes Southern California
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake rocked southern California Thursday morning, centered near the desert community of Ridgecrest, 180 kilometers northeast of Los Angeles. As Mike O’Sullivan reports, some people suffered minor injuries, and aftershocks continue to shake the region.
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Sudan Power-Sharing Deal Met with Street Celebrations
Sudan’s ruling military council and a coalition of opposition and protest groups reached an agreement to share power during a transition period leading to elections, setting off street celebrations by thousands of people.The two sides, which have held talks in Khartoum for the past two days, agreed to “establish a sovereign council by rotation between the military and civilians for a period of three years or slightly more,” African Union mediator Mohamed Hassan Lebatt said at a news conference.They also agreed to form an independent technocratic government and to launch a transparent, independent investigation into violent events in recent weeks.The two sides agreed to postpone the establishment of a legislative council. They had previously agreed that the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition would take two-thirds of a legislative council’s seats before security forces crushed a sit-in protest June 3, killing dozens, and talks collapsed.Joy in the streetsThe streets of Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city across the Nile River, erupted in celebration when the news broke, a Reuters witness said. Thousands of people of all ages took to the streets, chanting “Civilian! Civilian! Civilian!”Young men banged drums, people honked their car horns, and women carrying Sudanese flags ululated in jubilation.“This agreement opens the way for the formation of the institutions of the transitional authority, and we hope that this is the beginning of a new era,” said Omar al-Degair, a leader of the FFC.Sudanese Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, speaks during a rally to support the new military council that assumed power in Sudan after the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir, in Khartoum, Sudan, June 16, 2019.“We would like to reassure all political forces, armed movements and all those who participated in the change from young men and women — that this agreement will be comprehensive and will not exclude anyone,” said General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy head of the Transitional Military Council.“We thank the African and Ethiopian mediators for their efforts and patience. We also thank our brothers in the Forces for Freedom and Change for the good spirit,” said Dagalo, who heads the Rapid Support Forces accused by the FFC of crushing the sit-in.Opposition medics say more than 100 people were killed in the dispersal and subsequent violence. The government put the death toll at 62.
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Australia Warns Released Student Not to Return to North Korea
Australia’s government warned a student on Friday not to return to North Korea a day after he was released from detention by Pyongyang under mysterious circumstances.Alek Sigley, who flew to Tokyo on Thursday to join his Japanese wife, had been studying in the North Korean capital and had been missing since June 25.”My advice would be pretty clear, I would stay in Japan. I would go back to South Korea … I would come back to Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told the Nine network.”All of those would have to be better options before he returns to North Korea,” Dutton said. “I don’t think he will put himself back in that situation … it could have ended up very differently.”Sigley left North Korea on Thursday and flew to Beijing, where he was met by Australian officials for the flight to Tokyo. He declined to comment to a throng of reporters at Haneda Airport, only making a peace sign before being taken away.It is still not clear why he was detained by the secretive North. The details of his release were also not known.Swedish authorities helped secure Sigley’s release because Australia has no diplomatic presence in North Korea and relies on other countries to act on its behalf.
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Philippines Faces Call for UN to Look into War on Drug Killings
More than two dozen countries Thursday formally called for a United Nations investigation into thousands of killings in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, activists said.Iceland submitted the draft resolution backed by mainly European states, they said. The text urges the government to prevent extrajudicial executions and marks the first time that the Human Rights Council is being asked to address the crisis.The Duterte government has insisted the more than 5,000 suspected drug dealers killed by police in anti-narcotics operations all put up a fight.At least 27,000 killedBut activists say that at least 27,000 have been killed since Duterte was elected in 2016 on a platform of crushing crime and that Myka, a 3-year-old shot during a police raid last weekend, is among the latest victims.“Here we are three years later with 27,000 killed, among the most impoverished, in a massive crackdown. That is a conservative estimate,” Ellecer “Budit” Carlos of the Manila-based group iDefend told Reuters.“In a non-armed conflict context, this is the worst case of extrajudicial killings globally,” he said after urging the council to act.The Geneva forum is to vote on the resolution before ending its three-week session July 12. The Philippines is among its current 47 members.’There are worse things’Carlos conceded that Asian countries are unlikely to vote in favor of the text, adding: “I think it will be a close shave.”One Asian ambassador, speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated that his country would not support it, telling Reuters: “There are worse things happening in the world.”But activists say the Council and the office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet must shine a light on the situation.“For us a primary priority for this session is the situation in the Philippines,” said Laila Matar of Human Rights Watch.“Bodies continue to pile up in Manila and other urban areas, again in the context of the war on drugs which we have seen is very much a war against the poor, impoverished and marginalized communities, which are the biggest victims,” she said.It occurs in a wider context of “attacks on human rights defenders, media activists, journalists, anyone who really dares to speak up against the killings,” she added.“Police accounts of drug raids are not reliable — the officers enforcing the ‘drug war’ have been shown to plant weapons and drugs to justify the killings,” Matar told the Council this week.
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Western Balkan Nations Press EU Aspirations at Poland Summit
Government ministers from some European Union nations sought Thursday to reassure their partners in the Western Balkans during a meeting in Poland that their aspirations to join the EU have full backing in the club, despite symptoms of a loss of momentum.German Minister of State for Europe, Michael Roth, said Berlin stands firmly by the accession process of all Western Balkans nations “because for us the Western Balkans is not the backyard of the European Union, but the inner courtyard. We are all responsible for ensuring that the prospect of EU accession remains concrete.”Speaking in the Polish city of Poznan, which is hosting the meeting, Roth urged much more effort in that direction and the opening of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. FILE – German Minister of State for European Affairs Michael Roth, right, speaks with the media as he arrives at the Europa building in Brussels, Dec. 11, 2018.Foreign, interior and economy ministers from membership candidates Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania, as well as potential candidates Bosnia and Kosovo, are seeking such reassurance after some European leaders raised doubts about the EU’s openness to expanding.French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated Monday that he thinks the EU has internal work to do that takes priority over taking in new members. He said he would “refuse any kind of enlargement before a deep reform of our institutional functioning.”Speaking Thursday in Poland, Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic reacted to Macron’s comments by questioning the purpose of holding such meetings “especially when some of the top European leaders are saying there’s no chance of any enlargement.”FILE – Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic attends a rally in Novi Sad, Serbia, March 18, 2017.Roth said Thursday that “only a concrete perspective that is credible and that motivates the people locally, that involves civil society, will ultimately make the necessary reforms possible” and will pave the accession road.He said the process will stimulate development in various walks of life in the region, but that above all “it is also about regional cooperation and reconciliation,” like in the case of difficult dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, whose relations are marked by bloodshed.”There is still a great deal to be done,” Roth said.Arguments for enlargementBulgaria’s Foreign Minister Ekaterina Sachariewa pointed to huge improvement in the strained relations her EU member country achieved with North Macedonia thanks to the accession efforts. That should serve as an inspiration and an example for overcoming other problems among Western Balkan nations.
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said that including Western Balkans nations in the EU would increase regional stability and development and spread the EU’s values to more of Europe.
He pledged 500,000 euros from Poland for a fund developing investment in the region.German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Polish President Andrzej Duda and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki plan to join the gathering Friday.Poland is hosting the summit in Poznan because it currently presides over the so-called Berlin Process that brings the Western Balkan nations together with EU member states. Initiated by Germany, the process is meant to promote EU membership for the Western Balkans although there is no set time frame.
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Eva Mozes Kor, Holocaust Survivor and Activist, Dies at 85
Eva Mozes Kor, a Romanian Holocaust survivor who spent four decades advocating forgiveness, has died at age 85 — during an annual trip to the site of the Nazi regime’s most notorious death camp.Kor was sent to Auschwitz, in German-occupied Poland, in 1944 with her twin sister. Both girls survived the camp, but Kor’s sister died in 1993 of health problems blamed on the medical experiments they were forced to undergo while imprisoned.Kor began lecturing about her experiences in the camp in 1978. Her advocacy of forgiveness — in her words, “forgiveness is the best revenge” — made her an enemy to some, who labeled her a traitor to her people. But her supporters praised her as a visionary. Kor’s advocacy group, known as CANDLES, announced Thursday that she had died “peacefully” during her annual pilgrimage to Auschwitz.CANDLES — a group for people who had suffered medical experiments in the death camps — said in a statement, “We hope Eva’s story continues to change the lives of those who hear it for many years to come.”
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Trump Stresses Unity in Independence Day Speech
Updated at 7:49 p.m. July 4.Hundreds of millions of people coming together as one nation was the theme of President Donald Trump’s Independence Day speech as the country celebrated its 243rd birthday.
While U.S. presidents have traditionally sat back to watch Americans celebrate independence in their own way, Trump turned this year’s July 4th holiday into what he called a “Salute to America.” The event was held at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, complete with a display of Army tanks, a military jet flyover, a concert and, of course, fireworks, despite steamy weather and storms. “As we gather this evening in the joy of freedom, we remember that we all share a truly extraordinary heritage. Together, we are one of the greatest stories ever told,” Trump said Thursday.
There were concerns the president would turn the nation’s birthday party into a political event and a speech outlining what he feels are his accomplishments as president.
Many who live in Washington were angry that the Pentagon and security officials commandeered areas of the National Mall where the public usually gathers for celebrations.
Others were upset that the White House handed out tickets for seats to the president’s speech only to Republicans loyal to the president.
ProtestersAnti-Trump protesters were highly visible along the mall all day, including the now-familiar blimp depicting Trump as an angry baby in a diaper. Vendors sold mini-Trump baby balloons on wooden sticks for demonstrators to wave.
Protesters included military veterans who said they resented someone who never served in the military exploiting their service for his own satisfaction. Debates between protesters and Trump supporters all along the mall were said to be civil.
But Trump had tweeted that Thursday’s events would be “The show of a lifetime!” and that the patriotism and good feelings he hoped people would feel were more valuable than the millions of dollars being spent on the outdoor party.
The cost “will be very little compared to what it is worth,” he tweeted.
The Fourth of July festivities commemorate America’s declaration of independence from Britain in 1776.
Those not in Washington Thursday were celebrating Independence Day around the county with parades, picnics and fireworks.
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France to Fast-Track Return of Artifacts from Benin
Returning African artifacts taken by explorers and colonizers remains a hot-button issue in Europe-Africa relations — one that gained traction last November when French President Emmanuel Macron announced the return of 26 historic artifacts to Benin. On Thursday, French Culture Minister Franck Riester said Paris will go ahead with the restitution without waiting for a new law to enshrine it. He said France will consider similar demands from other countries.Europe is believed to house about 90 percent of Africa’s cultural heritage. Benin was the first country to formally ask France to give back the artifacts. Jose Pliya, who heads Benin’s National Heritage and Tourism Development Agency, NAPT, welcomes their pending return — though he says Benin now has to find a place to put them.FILE – A visitor looks at two heads of a royal ancestor from the former Benin Kingdom displayed at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris, France, Nov. 23, 2018.”From our side, we are aware the condition to receive these pieces is not really there,” he said. “Why? Because we have museums … but they are suffering. A lot of waste and mismanagement [in] the past.”The artifacts include thrones and statues taken in 1892 during a French colonial war against what was then the Kingdom of Dahomey.Benin is restoring and building museums, and training curators to properly house these and other fragile objects. Pliya says this initiative will take months. But he believes harnessing his country’s rich culture can bring major job and development dividends.”Benin is very rich in terms of culture. We want to transform this culture into resources. And one way is tourism,” he said.France’s restitution move has intensified pressure on other European governments to do likewise — and given hope to other African countries. Hailu Zeleke, conservation chief at Ethiopia’s Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage, says a number of Ethiopian artifacts are housed in Britain as well as Italy.”We hope the British also respond the same as the French,” Zeleke said. “We hope that things are changing … to return our heritage to Africa, to their homeland.”Other experts believe cultural development delivers payoffs such as less migration to Europe and greater stability.
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AP Analysis: Europe Squeezed in Iran-US Nuclear Deal Dispute
When it comes to saving Iran’s nuclear deal, Europe finds itself in the impossible situation of trying to salvage an accord unraveling because of the maximalist U.S. sanctions campaign.Since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord over a year ago, a slow fuse has burned through Iran. At first, it appeared Iranian officials thought they might be able to wait out Trump. They spoke about “strategic patience” as the U.S. 2020 presidential election loomed.That talk faded as U.S. sanctions choked off Iran’s vital crude oil sales abroad and then began targeting its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Soon, the talk changed to “strategic action” and making threats to the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global oil supply point. FILE – In this picture released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks at a meeting with a group of Revolutionary Guards and their families, in Tehran, Iran, April 9, 2019.That action has seen Iran break the limit put on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. President Hassan Rouhani says that starting Sunday, Iran will begin enriching uranium to “any level we think is necessary and we need.”Those steps combined could see Iran narrow the one-year window it needs to have enough material ready to potentially build a nuclear weapon, something Iran denies it wants to do but the atomic accord prevented.To Iran, the only people who now can prevent further escalation in the crisis are in Europe. Among the parties to the deal are Britain, France and Germany, while the European Union also has aided in the diplomacy.In public comments, it is Europe that Iran keeps targeting.The “actions of the Europeans have not been enough so the Islamic Republic will move ahead with its plans as it has previously announced,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday.Maja Kocijancic, a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, said Thursday that Europe “called on Iran to reverse these steps and to refrain from further measures that would undermine the nuclear agreement.”Trading optionsBut what, if anything, the Europeans can offer remains in question. They’ve pointed to INSTEX, a trading vehicle that allows European and Iranian firms to send goods abroad and be paid for locally to avoid American sanctions. However, questions remain about whether Iran will set up a matching system itself to facilitate the trade. The EU says from its side that INSTEX “is now operational and its first transactions are being processed.”FILE – Export oil pipelines are seen at an oil facility in Iran’s Kharg Island, on the shore of the Persian Gulf, Feb. 23, 2016.For Iran, being able to sell oil through INSTEX remains its most important concern.”Without [an] oil deal, it’s very clear INSTEX will not work,” Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh told Bloomberg this week. However, Iran may have been able to export some oil to China last week despite sanctions.The U.S. appears poised to potentially sanction INSTEX if it moves outside the bounds of food and medicine, which America still allows to be sold into Iran. And even if it did, there’s no sign that any major company would be willing to risk U.S. sanctions in the name of European diplomacy, something the Trump administration seems all too happy to point out.”We just don’t see any corporate demand for it because if a corporation is given a choice between doing business in the United States or doing business in Iran, it’s going to choose the United States every single time,” Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, said in May.Trump himself increasingly has criticized Iran for not adhering to the deal he abandoned.”Be careful with the threats, Iran,” Trump wrote early Thursday on Twitter. “They can come back to bite you like nobody has been bitten before!”Action by IranBut Iran can bite as well. Already amid the crisis, Iran shot down a U.S. military surveillance drone worth over $100 million that it said had illegally entered its territorial airspace. The U.S. denies that, saying an Iranian missile hit the drone over international airspace in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil passes.FILE – Head of the Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace division, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, looks at debris from what the division describes as the U.S. drone which was shot down in Tehran, Iran, June 21, 2019.Iran repeatedly has threatened to close off the strait if it can’t sell its oil. In the last two months, mysterious attacks struck oil tankers near the strait. Iran denies being involved, while the U.S. accuses Tehran of using limpet mines on the vessels.While the strait remains open, insurance premiums for oil tankers have risen. While 80% of the oil passing through the strait goes to Asia, Saudi and Iraqi oil does find its way to Europe. Any impact to that flow through the strait likely will see global prices rise, hurting European consumers.”The military confrontation between Iran, the U.S., and the Arab Gulf states over everything from the [nuclear deal] to Yemen can easily escalate to hybrid warfare that has far more serious forms of attack,” said Anthony H. Cordesman, an analyst at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Such attacks can impact critical aspects of the flow of energy to key industrial states and exporters that shape the success of the global economy.”Europe now finds itself directly involved in halting the flow of Iranian crude oil abroad. On Thursday, authorities in Gibraltar stopped an oil tanker believed to be carrying Iranian crude to Syria. While Gibraltar said it made the seizure with British assistance over EU sanctions on Syria, the timing likely will not go unnoticed by officials in Tehran.Spain’s claim that the seizure came at the request of the U.S. undoubtedly will get attention as well.As Rouhani warned in December: “If someday, the United States decides to block Iran’s oil, no oil will be exported from the Persian Gulf.”
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US Imposes Travel Ban on Malawian Official Over Corruption
The U.S. government has imposed a travel ban on a special adviser to Malawi’s president because of corruption charges. Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested Uladi Mussa in 2017, alongside a senior immigration official, on charges they fraudulently issued citizenship and passports to people from Burundi and Rwanda.Court documents show Mussa committed the offense in 2013 when he was minister of home affairs during the administration of former President Joyce Banda.Mussa has denied the charges; however, in a statement Wednesday, the U.S. State Department said it has credible information connecting Mussa to corruption.”We have laws on that, under Section 7031 (c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Act, which required us to designate him as a person of corruption,” said Douglas Johnson, the public affairs officer at the U.S. embassy in Malawi.The U.S. government also extended the travel ban to Mussa’s spouse, Cecilia. Neither will be allowed to enter U.S. territory.Mussa responseSpeaking to VOA Thursday, Mussa said he is surprised with how the U.S. government has handled the matter.”Is that a way they handle issues of diplomacy?” he asked. “Could you tell the embassy to furnish me with that information officially and diplomatically, because I don’t have any report on this? How do they know me? There are so many people who have cases in court. Why only me?”Johnson said the ban was issued in Washington to the Malawian government, which he believes will communicate it to Mussa.Wake-up callPolitical commentator Vincent Kondowe says the ban is a wake-up call for Malawi’s government to address corruption.”What the U.S. government has done is the indirect message to Malawi government that probably they are not doing enough in the fight against corruption,” he said. “Remember that Uladi Mussa is not a junior public officer. He is the presidential adviser.”Kondowe said the government could clear its image by removing Mussa from his position until all court matters are resolved.Speaking to VOA, government spokesperson Mark Botoman noted that the corruption scandal did not happen under the administration of the current president, Peter Mutharika.Botoman said the government will monitor the situation before it reaches any decision on the matter.
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Trump, Protesters Gear Up for An Untraditional July Fourth
In a sweltering capital threatened by storms, the traditional Fourth of July parade Thursday served as a warm-up act to a distinctly nontraditional evening event at the Lincoln Memorial, where President Donald Trump made plans to command the stage against the backdrop of a show of military muscle.
Protesters unimpressed by his Salute to America'' program inflated a roly-poly balloon depicting Trump as an angry, diaper-clad baby.With his decision to add his own production to the usual festivities, Trump set himself up to be the first president in nearly seven decades to address a crowd at the National Mall on Independence Day.I will speak on behalf of our great Country!” he said in a morning tweet. Perhaps even Air Force One will do a low & loud sprint over the crowd.''But thunderstorms threatened, with periods oftorrential rain” forecast by the National Weather Service and a flash-flood watch in effect.Not since 1951, when President Harry Truman spoke before a large gathering on the Washington Monument grounds to mark the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, has a commander in chief made an Independence Day speech to a sizable crowd on the Mall. Protests erupted in 1970 when President Richard Nixon taped a message that was played to crowds on the Mall at an Honor America Day'' celebration organized by supporters.In the shadow of the Washington Monument, the anti-war organization Codepink erected a 20-foot tallTrump baby” balloon to protest what it called the president’s co-opting of Independence Day.
We think that he is making this about himself and it's really a campaign rally,'' said Medea Benjamin, the organization's co-director.We think that he’s a big baby. … He’s erratic, he’s prone to tantrums, he doesn’t understand the consequences of his actions. And so this is a great symbol of how we feel about our president.’
The balloon remained tied down at the Mall because park officials restricted the group’s permission to move the balloon or fill it with helium, Benjamin said.A small crowd gathered to take pictures with the balloon, which drew Trump supporters and detractors.
Kevin Malton, a Trump supporter from Middlesboro, Kentucky, came with his son for the holiday and took pictures with the balloon. He was glad to see the mix of political beliefs at the event, he said. Even though everybody has different opinions,'' he said,everybody’s getting along.”In a message marking the 243rd anniversary of the Founding Fathers’ adoption of the Declaration of Independence, Trump called the document a milestone that cast off the shackles of tyranny.''The White House said Trump would speak at the Lincoln Memorial in front of a ticket-only, VIP crowd of Republican donors, administration and campaign officials, family members and those who had come to see him or protest what they saw as a divisive intrusion on a traditionally unifying national holiday.Trump had sounded a defensive note Wednesday, tweeting that the costwill be very little compared to what it is worth.”We own the planes, we have the pilots, the airport is right next door (Andrews), all we need is the fuel,'' he said, referring to Maryland's Joint Base Andrews, home for some of the planes expected for the holiday flyover.We own the tanks and all. Fireworks are donated by two of the greats.”Trump glossed over the expense of shipping tanks and fighting vehicles to Washington by rail and guarding them for several days, and other costs.One of the Democrats running for president said this business of diverting money and military assets to use them as a kind of prop, to prop up a presidential ego, is not reflecting well on our country.'' Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is a Navy Reserve veteran who served in Afghanistan in 2014.I’ve never ever seen one,” she said.
Some of the Republican president's supporters welcomed his stamp on the holiday.Rachel McKenna of McKinney, Texas, said her relatives have served in the military and she thought it was important to say ```We love you guys, we appreciate everything you do,' and I love the fact I can see that,'' as she pointed to the Bradley fighting vehicle positioned near the Lincoln Memorial.I just think it's so cool.''Under White House direction, the Pentagon was arranging for an Air Force B-2 stealth bomber and other warplanes to conduct flyovers. There will be Navy F-35 and F-18 fighter jets, the Navy Blue Angels aerobatics team, Army and Coast Guard helicopters and Marine V-22 Ospreys. A small number of Army Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles were stationed in the zone.Two groups, the National Parks Conservation Foundation and Democracy Forward, want the Interior Department's internal watchdog to investigate what they say may be apotentially unlawful decision to divert” national parks money to Trump’s spectacle.''Trump and the event's organizers could be on the hook to reimburse the government millions of dollars if he goes into campaign mode, in violation of federal appropriations law and the Hatch Act, which bars politicking on government time, said Walter Shaub, who left the Office of Government Ethics in 2017 after clashing with the White House over ethics and disclosure issues.Trump originally wanted a parade with military tanks and other machinery rolling through downtown Washington ever since he was enthralled by a two-hour procession of French military tanks and fighter jets in Paris on Bastille Day in July 2017 .Later that year Trump said he'd have a similar parade in Washington on the Fourth of July, 2018, and wouldtop” the Paris show. The event ended up being pushed to Veterans Day, which conflicted with one of Trump’s trips abroad, before it was scuttled after cost estimates exceeding $90 million were made public.Washington has held an Independence Day celebration for decades, featuring a parade along Constitution Avenue, a concert on the Capitol lawn with music by the National Symphony Orchestra and fireworks beginning at dusk near the Washington Monument.Trump altered the lineup by adding his speech, moving the fireworks closer to the Lincoln Memorial and summoning the tanks and warplanes.
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Decision on Extinguishing Jim Beam Fire a ‘Day or Two’ Away
The fire that destroyed a massive Jim Beam warehouse filled with aging bourbon in Kentucky continued to burn on Thursday as officials said the decision on whether to extinguish is still a day or two away.
Woodford County Emergency Management Director Drew Chandler says the only thing left burning is ethanol fumes. Officials believe letting the fumes burn will have less environmental impact than spraying the fire with water, which could wash the bourbon into a nearby creek that flows into the Kentucky River.
No one was injured in the blaze that erupted late Tuesday in the warehouse near the Woodford-Franklin county line.
State officials say some runoff has already entered the water. EPA officials have been on the scene since Thursday to help assess and contain the damage.
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