The United States on Friday will pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty to develop its own new warheads after the Russians refused to destroy their new missiles, which NATO says violate the pact. U.S. President Donald Trump is expressing optimism a new agreement can be made to replace the historic Cold War pact. “Russia would like to do something on a nuclear treaty and that’s OK with me. They would like to do something and so would I,” Trump said in response to a question from VOA on Thursday afternoon. But the president, speaking on the White House South Lawn before boarding the Marine One helicopter, said, “We didn’t discuss the INF” when he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin the previous day.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the Security Council stakeout at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Aug. 1, 2019.”When it expires tomorrow, the world will lose an invaluable brake on nuclear war. This will likely heighten, not reduce, the threat posed by ballistic missiles,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Thursday. “Regardless of what transpires, the parties should avoid destabilizing developments and urgently seek agreement on a new common path for international arms control.”U.S. officials for months have complained that Russia turned a deaf ear to pleas from officials here and in Europe to halt its violations of the treaty, especially development and fielding of the SSC-8 ground-launched cruise missiles. Russian officials claim they have strictly observed the treaty’s provision and have not allowed violations.Putin signed legislation a month ago suspending his country’s participation in the treaty, five months after the Trump administration made a similar move. FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Navy Day parade in Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 28, 2019.The historic Cold War-era pact has been a pillar of European security for more than 30 years. It bans the development and deployment of ground-launched nuclear missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,400 miles).Concerns for Europe, beyondEuropean leaders, fearing a renewed arms race if the treaty is jettisoned, called on Washington and Moscow to remain constructively engaged to try to preserve it.There is also concern about the ramifications beyond Europe. “The prospect of new ground-based INF systems being introduced in Asia could conceivably spark similar political turmoil among Asian allies,” said Laura Kennedy, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkmenistan and former U.S. permanent representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. “Even if the U.S. planned only to field such future systems on U.S.-territory such as Guam, such a move could be seen as threatening by China, which could respond by introducing a new wave of systems as a counter,” Kennedy, an adviser to Foreign Policy for America, told VOA. FILE – U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty at the White House, Dec. 8, 1987.The 1987 INF agreement was signed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It eliminated the medium-range missile arsenals of the two countries and went into effect in June of the following year.
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Month: August 2019
Zimbabweans Mark Anniversary of Post-Election Shootings
Zimbabwe’s opposition parties, human rights groups and churches marked the one-year anniversary Thursday of the day when the army killed about a dozen people protesting the delayed release of election results.Members of the crowd say they will continue asking for divine intervention in this southern African nation, where the political landscape has been long tainted by violence. Loveday Munesi could not attend Thursday’s event. He was shot in the melee on Aug. 1, 2018, and a bullet lodged in his right buttock. Since then, he has been unable to work or walk comfortably.Loveday Munesi, pictured in Harare, Aug. 1, 2019, has been unable to work or walk comfortably since in bullet lodged in his right buttock last year when the army attacked protesters. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)”I can no longer go to work because of difficulties in walking,” he said. “With what has happened to me and where we are now, I just believe that there is a lot of abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe. Because up to now, I haven’t received any medical help pertaining to my injuries from the government.”Doctors say the 30-year-old needs at least $15,000 to go to South Africa or India for an operation to remove the bullet, something that can’t be done in Zimbabwe without damaging Munesi’s nerves.At Thursday’s event marking the army killings, Zimbabwe’s main opposition party said Harare must compensate the injured, like Munesi, as well as the families of those who were killed. Daniel Molokhele, the spokesman for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, says this lack of compensation shows that the government is not taking the issue of human rights seriously.Daniel Molokhele, the spokesman for Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, says Harare is not taking the issue of human rights seriously, Aug. 1, 2019. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)”Obviously, the [victims’] families, they need compensation, they need to be recognized in public,” he said. “We need that social damage to be addressed, their welfare and so on. But most importantly, a public commitment by the government to make sure that we earned this situation, this cycle where state securities, state police, state army are heavily involved in the political discourse of this country.”Rights group Amnesty International says it wants the soldiers who killed the protesters to be held accountable, as per recommendations of a government-appointed commission.Ziyambi Ziyambi, Zimbabwe’s justice minister, said Thursday that financial issues are slowing the implementation of many government commitments, including paying the medical bills for people like Munesi.Meanwhile, the U.S. secretary of state has banned a former Zimbabwean military officer from entering the U.S. because he led the army response to the protests. Anselem Sanyatwe, who led the Zimbabwe National Army’s Presidential Guard Brigade, is now heading to Tanzania to be Zimbabwe’s ambassador in the east African nation.
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Australian State to Consider Decriminalizing Abortion
A bill to decriminalize abortion in the only Australian state where it is illegal has been introduced into the New South Wales (NSW) parliament Thursday. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum will come together to try to repeal legislation dating back more than a century.The proposed law would allow abortion in Australia’s most populous state up to 22 weeks of pregnancy. After that time, terminations would be permitted with the consent of two doctors.Abortion remains illegal in New South Wales, the only state in the country where it is outlawed.The Crimes Act of 1900 includes abortion as an offense punishable by 10 years in prison, but prosecutions are rare.Reports suggest there is sufficient support among lawmakers for the bill to pass, but critics of reform have vowed to fight to prevent its passage.Pro-life campaigners have joined conservative politicians and church leaders in opposition to the abortion bill. One religious leader said the proposal was ‘sneaky’ and ‘extreme,’ while other campaigners said women with unwanted or unexpected pregnancies should be given more support and that abortion should not be “pushed” as the first option.But supporters of the measure say it will protect women, and give them access to safe and legal abortions.Independent lawmaker Alex Greenwich said it is a modern and carefully crafted piece of legislation.“We also make sure there are conscientious objection provisions in place, so doctors who do not wish to perform a termination must refer on the patient for care. This bill is based on the Queensland model, which follows a robust Law Reform Commission process,” said Greenwich.The state of Queensland decriminalized abortion last year, while lawmakers in Tasmania approved similar laws in 2013, and in Victoria in 2008. It is estimated that 65,000 terminations are carried out across Australia each year.The last attempt to decriminalize abortion was introduced to the New South Wales parliament in 2017, but failed to attract enough support.Opinion polls have indicated that most Australians support broad access to abortion. It is estimated that up to a third of Australian women will choose to terminate a pregnancy. Lawmakers in New South Wales are expected to make a final decision on the proposed changes by the end of next week.
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Kenya Police Accused of Extrajudicial Killings
Human Rights Watch has accused Kenya’s police force of carrying out extrajudicial killings of at least 21 young men and boys in the informal settlements of Nairobi over the past year. In a report published last week, the human rights group said it has documented the 21 murders but says there are many more. As Sarah Kimani reports from Nairobi, police have not responded to VOA requests for comment.
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Trump to Impose 10% Tariff on $300 Billion of Chinese Goods
The U.S.-China trade war intensified Thursday after President Donald Trump said he would impose an additional 10 percent tariff on some Chinese products, one day after the two superpowers agreed to continue trade talks next month.”Trade talks are continuing, and during the talks the U.S. will start, on September 1st, putting a small additional Tariff of 10% on the remaining 300 Billion Dollars of goods and products coming from China into our Country, Trump tweeted. “This does not include the 250 Billion Dollars already Tariffed at 25%.”Trump also accused China of failing to purchase more U.S. agricultural products and halting the sale of opioid fentanyl to the U.S. “China agreed to … buy agricultural product from the U.S. in large quantities, but did not do so,” he said. “Additionally, my friend President Xi said that he would stop the sale of Fentanyl to the United States — this never happened, and many Americans continue to die.”While the previous rounds of tariffs have primarily targeted industrial products, the new round of tariffs will target consumer products such as cell phones and apparel.Trump’s latest salvo came one day after the latest round of trade talks between U.S. and Chinese negotiators ended in Shanghai with an agreement to meet again in September in the U.S.
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Poland Waives Tax for Young Employees to Counter Brain Drain
Poland on Thursday scrapped its personal income tax for young employees earning less than $22,000 a year, as part of a drive to reverse a brain drain and demographic decline that’s dimming the prospects of a country that is otherwise experiencing strong economic growth.A new law by the right-wing government took effect Thursday, slashing the personal income tax from 18 percent to zero for workers under the age of 26 below the income threshold. It is expected to boost the earnings of nearly 2 million Poles at home, and the government hopes it will also persuade young Poles working abroad to return home. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki recently said he hoped it would “prevent a further loss, a bleeding of the population that is especially painful for a nation, a society, when it concerns the young generation.” But there were strong doubts if the tax relief would stop the drain of talented and educated young Poles to London, Berlin and other cities that offer higher wages and other opportunities.”I do not think it would stop me and my peers from leaving,” said Paulina Rokicka, a 19-year-old in Warsaw who works part-time at a TV station. “It seems to me that we will want to leave [anyway] because there are better perspectives abroad than in Poland.”Introduced ahead of fall parliamentary elections, the exemption is part of a larger package of social benefits that has earned the government strong voter support but raised worries about strains on state finances. They include cash bonuses to families with children and a one-off payment to pensioners.Morawiecki said that some 1.5 million Poles, a number comparable to the population of Warsaw, have emigrated since the nation of 38 million joined the European Union in 2004. Some other estimates have put that number at 2 million but it is hard to pin down exactly due to the large number of those who go back and forth.While wages still are far lower than in the West, Poland’s economy is growing at around 4.5% and unemployment had dipped below 6%. In order to fill labor shortages companies have turned to hiring migrants, mostly Ukrainians, some 2 million of whom are estimated to be working in Poland.The government says it is focusing on innovation where young inventive minds are highly valued. Morawiecki recently urged a gathering of young people to “stay here, to take your future in your own hands and be enterprising.”The government estimates the program will cost the budget some 2 billion zlotys ($519 million) a year. Pawel Jurek, the Finance Ministry spokesman, told The Associated Press on Thursday that young Poles will now have more money left in their bank accounts to allow them to start families earlier. But he said the most important aim is to keep professionals in the country.Maciej Biernacki, another young employee in Warsaw, also voiced doubts that the tax relief would sway many people, calling it only “one small” element that would be considered in people’s life decisions. More important, he said, are issues like business predictability and how the country is run.”I doubt that this kind of exemption would make anyone stay here in the country if he hesitates about whether to leave or stay,” the 25-year-old public relations manager told the AP.A recent survey by the National Bank of Poland showed that some 15 percent of Polish emigres would be willing to return home, especially from Britain, where the prospect of a hard Brexit threatens economic pain.
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Walloped by Heat Wave, Greenland Sees Massive Ice Melt
The heat wave that smashed high temperature records in five European countries a week ago is now over Greenland, accelerating the melting of the island’s ice sheet and causing massive ice loss in the Arctic.Greenland, the world’s largest island, is a semi-autonomous Danish territory between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans that has 82% of its surface covered in ice.The area of the Greenland ice sheet that is showing indications of melt has been growing daily, and hit a record 56.5% for this year on Wednesday, said Ruth Mottram, a climate scientist with the Danish Meteorological Institute. She says that’s expected to expand and peak on Thursday before cooler temperatures slow the pace of the melt.More than 10 billion tons (11 billion U.S. tons) of ice was lost to the oceans by surface melt on Wednesday alone, creating a net mass ice loss of some 197 billion tons (217 billion U.S. tons) from Greenland in July, she said.”It looks like the peak will be today. But the long-term forecast is for continuing warm and sunny weather in Greenland, so that means the amount of the ice loss will continue,” she said Thursday in a telephone interview from Copenhagen.The scope of Wednesday’s ice melt is a number difficult to grasp. To understand just how much ice is being lost, a mere 1 billion tons — or 1 gigaton — of ice loss is equivalent to about 400,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, the Danish Meteorological Institute said. And 100 billion tons (110 billion U.S. tons) corresponds to a 0.28 mm (0.01 inch) rise in global sea levels.Mottram said since June 1 — roughly the start of the ice-loss season — the Greenland ice sheet has lost 240 gigatons (240 billion metric tons) this year. That compares with 290 gigatons lost overall in the 2012 melt season, which usually goes through the end of August.A June 2019 study by scientists in the U.S. and Denmark said melting ice in Greenland alone will add between 5 and 33 centimeters (2 to 13 inches) to rising global sea levels by the year 2100. If all the ice in Greenland melted — which would take centuries — the world’s oceans would rise by 7.2 meters (23 feet, 7 inches), the study found.The current melting has been brought on by the arrival of the same warm air from North Africa and Spain that melted European cities and towns last week, setting national temperature records in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Britain.In Russia, meanwhile, forest fires caused by hot, dry weather and spread by high winds are raging over nearly 30,000 square kilometers (11,580 sq. miles) of territory in Siberia and the Russian Far East, an area the size of Belgium. The smoke from these fires, some of them in Arctic territory, is so heavy it can easily be seen in satellite photos and is causing air quality problems in Russia’s third-largest city, Novosibirsk. Protesters in Moscow on Thursday were demanding that the government do more to fight the blazes.Greenland has also been battling a slew of Arctic wildfires, something that Mottram said was uncommon in the past.In Greenland, the melt area this year is the second-biggest in terms of ice area affected, behind more than 90% in 2012, said Mark Serreze, director of the Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, which monitors ice sheets globally. Records go back to 1981.A lot of what melts can later refreeze onto the ice sheet, but because of the conditions ahead of this summer’s heat wave, the amount of ice lost for good this year might be the same as in 2012 or more, according to scientists. They noted a long build up to this summer’s ice melt — including higher overall temperatures for months — and a very dry winter with little snow in many places, which would normally offer some protection to glacier ice.”This is certainly a weather event superimposed on this overall trend of warmer conditions” that have increasingly melted Greenland ice over the long term, Serreze said.Compounding the melt, the Greenland ice sheet started out behind this year because of the low ice and snow accumulation, said Snow and Ice Data Center scientist Twila Moon.With man-made climate change, “there’s a potential for these kind of rates to become more common 50 years from now,” Moon said.Heat waves have always occurred, but Mike Sparrow, a spokesman for the U.N. World Meteorological Organization, noted that as global temperatures have risen, extreme heat waves are now occurring at least 10 times more frequently than a century ago. This year, the world saw its hottest month of June ever.”These kind of heat waves are weather events and can occur naturally but studies have shown that both the frequency and intensity of these heat waves have increased due to global warming,” Sparrow said in a telephone interview from Geneva.He noted that sea ice spread in the Arctic and Antarctic are both currently at record lows.”When people talk about the average global temperature increasing by a little more than 1 degree [Celsius], that’s not a huge amount to notice if you’re sitting in Hamburg or London, but that’s a global average and it’s much greater in the polar regions,” he said.Even though temperatures will be going down in Greenland by the end of this week, the ice melt is not likely to stop anytime soon, Mottram said.”Over the last couple of days, you could see the warm wave passing over Greenland,” she said. “That peak of warm air has passed over the summit of the ice sheet, but the clear skies are almost as important, or maybe even more important, for the total melt of the ice sheet.”She added that clear skies are likely to continue in Greenland “so we can still get a lot of ice melt even if the temperature is not spectacularly high.”
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Hard-Won Budget, Debt Deal Clears Senate, Advances to Trump
A hard-won budget and debt deal easily cleared the Senate on Thursday, powered by President Donald Trump’s endorsement and a bipartisan drive to cement recent spending increases for the Pentagon and domestic agencies.The legislation passed by a 67-28 vote as Trump and his GOP allies relied on lots of Democratic votes to propel it over the finish line.
Passage marked a drama-free solution to a worrisome set of looming Washington deadlines as both allies and adversaries of the president set aside ideology in exchange for relative fiscal peace and stability. The measure, which Trump has promised to sign, would permit the government to resume borrowing to pay all its bills and would set an overall $1.37 trillion limit on agency budgets approved by Congress annually. It also would remove the prospect of a government shutdown in October or the threat of deep automatic spending cuts.The administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., played strong hands in the talks that sealed the agreement last week, producing a pragmatic measure that had much for lawmakers to dislike.
Trump did step back from a possible fight over spending increases sought by liberals, and achieved his priorities on Pentagon budgets and the stock market-soothing borrowing limit. Pelosi won remarkable Democratic unity in pushing the bill through the House last week despite Democratic divides on issues such as impeachment and health care. Democrats in the GOP-controlled Senate delivered most of their votes for the deal. Many of the more solidly conservative Republicans said it allowed for unchecked borrowing and too much spending.The measure was an epitaph to the 2011 Budget Control Act, which came about due to a tea party-fueled battle over debt limit legislation during the run-up to President Barack Obama’s re-election. That law promised more than $2 trillion in deficit cuts through 2021, including automatic spending cuts that were put in place after the failure of a so-called deficit supercommittee.“It’s not just Democrats. Republicans are also guilty. At least the big-government Republicans who will vote for this monstrous addition of debt,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. “Many of the supporters of this debt deal ran around their states for years complaining that, `President Obama’s spending too much and borrowing too much,’ and these same Republicans now, the whole disingenuous lot of them, will wiggle their way to the front of the trough.’”The bill would lift the debt limit for two years, into either a second Trump term or the administration of a Democratic successor. It would reverse scheduled 10 percent cuts to defense and nondefense programs next year, at a two-year cost of more than $200 billion. An additional $100 billion over two years would add to recent gains for military readiness, combating opioids and other domestic initiatives, and would keep pace with rising costs for veterans’ health care.Follow-up legislation would fill in the line-by-line details of agency budgets when the Senate returns in September.
Those increases, assuming they are repeated year after year, promise to add $2 trillion or so to the government’s $22 trillion debt.But the measure would deliver wins to a coalition of GOP defense hawks, Democrats seeking to preserve gains in domestic accounts, and the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.It also would be a triumph for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. He initiated the negotiations and was deeply invested in bringing order and relative predictability to the budget and debt deadlines.“We have to invest in improved readiness to help our military commanders plan for emerging challenges, in research and development to support the U.S. military of the future, and in rock-solid support for our alliance commitments,” McConnell said. “This deal is an opportunity to do exactly that. This is the agreement the administration has negotiated. This is the deal the House has passed. This is the deal President Trump is waiting and eager to sign into law.””
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Human Rights Watch Accuses Kenyan Police of Extrajudicial Killings
Human Rights Watch has accused Kenya’s police force of carrying out the extrajudicial killings of around two dozen young men and boys in the low-income areas of Nairobi over the past year.In a When she went to the police station, she was told her son was killed for snatching a mobile phone. But she denies he was a criminal and sees no justification for the way he died.Wamburu said when she later went to the morgue, she found her son had been killed in a beastly manner. She said he had seven bullet wounds. She said her efforts to seek justice for her son’s killing have so far been fruitless.At the Mathare Social Justice Center, coordinator Kennedy Kyungu has for the last seven years documented killings at the informal settlements.”The age is between 13 to 27,” he said. “That is the age of young guys who are being executed in the informal settlements. Their reason is they are fighting crime.”FILE – Members of the civil society carry a coffin stained with mock blood as they chant slogans during a protest dubbed ‘Stop extrajudicial killings’, in Nairobi, Kenya.In its latest report, Human Rights Watch said Kenyan police have killed at least 21 men and boys in Nairobi’s low-income areas since August of last year.”The specific cases that we documented were 21, but we heard of many more,” said the organization’s lead researcher Otsieno Namwaya. “What we heard was that police would raid houses at night, force the victims to kneel but then police would go ahead and shoot them.Police have not responded to VOA’s requests for comment. But Human Rights Watch says they deny their officers have committed any crimes.Namwaya says police have not conducted any investigations.”Kenyan law requires that any killing by police should be followed by an inquest, especially if the circumstances of the death are questionable,” he said. “So all these killings that we are talking about, there should have been an inquest, but police have not started an inquest.”Back in Mathare, Fedisia Wamburu joins the list of mothers who have lost their sons, allegedly at the hands of police — and whose hope for justice is fading away.
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Puerto Rico Tries to Pick New Governor Amid Crisis
Puerto Rico’s governing party was in full-blown crisis Thursday as the nominee to succeed departing Gov. Ricardo Rossello headed to a disputed and uncertain confirmation vote in the U.S. territory’s legislature.Rossello is leaving Friday in the face of massive public protest and has nominated veteran politician and attorney Pedro Pierluisi to succeed him. Pierluisi is a former representative to the U.S. Congress seen by most ordinary Puerto Ricans as a conciliatory, relatively uncontroversial figure, unlikely to be met by continued street demonstrations over poor governance and corruption.Pierluisi would succeed Rossello if he’s confirmed by the territorial House and Senate as secretary of state, the next in line to become governor under the Puerto Rican constitution. The post is currently vacant and Rossello’s New Progressive Party holds majorities in both chambers of the legislature, meaning a united party could easily name the next governor. Pierluisi’s main obstacle appeared to be Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, who has said he won’t vote for Rossello’s nominee and wants to be governor himself. Rivera Schatz is a powerful figure deeply associated with Puerto Rico’s political and business elite, and his elevation to governorship could re-ignite popular outrage.House and Senate sessions on Pierluisi hadn’t started as planned at 11 a.m. Thursday even as ruling party lawmakers met in closed door sessions to seek a solution.Many Puerto Rican legislators were predicting that Pierluisi did not have the votes to be confirmed.Sen. Luis Vega Ramos, of the opposition Popular Democratic Party, said he was upset that lawmakers from Rossello’s party were meeting behind closed doors.He called it “a political party squabble over who is going to lead the New Progressive Party and become the gubernatorial candidate for 2020.”It wasn’t even clear if a vote would be taken on Thursday.Rep. Gabriel Rodriguez Aguilo of the NPP said he supports holding public hearings before voting on Pierluisi, adding that an overwhelming number of constituents had called to ask for his confirmation.”We ran out of paper,” he said in reference to secretaries taking notes on the calls.Several lawmakers have already proposed Rivera Schatz, a declared candidate for the 2020 governor’s election, as their choice to replace Rossello.After jubilation at the success of their uprising against Rossello, Puerto Rican protesters have been frustrated at the political infighting and paralysis that’s followed.If a secretary of state is not named by Friday, Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez would be next in line. She has said she doesn’t want the job and those further down the line of succession are either too young for the job or are barely known bureaucrats seen as unqualified for the position.Some lawmakers complained about Pierluisi’s work for a law firm that represents the federal control board that was created to oversee Puerto Rico’s finances before the territory, saddled with more than $70 billion in public debt, declared a sort of bankruptcy. Pierluisi’s brother-in-law also heads the board, which has clashed repeatedly with Rossello and other elected officials over demands for austerity measures.”That’s a serious conflict of interest,” Rep. Jose Enrique Melendez told The Associated Press.House of Representatives President Johnny Mendez, a member of the governing party, has said Pierluisi does not have the votes needed in the house.”The situation could not be more complicated,” said Sen. Jose Antonio Vargas Vidot, who ran for Senate as an independent. “This is absurd, what we’re going through. We never thought something like this could happen. In an extraordinary crisis, we have to take extraordinary measures.”Sen. Eduardo Bhatia of the opposition Popular Democratic Party, accused Rivera Schatz of trying to maneuver himself into the top job.”This attitude of [Rivera Schatz] taking the island hostage is very dangerous,” Bhatia tweeted. “`It’s him or no one’ is in keeping with what has been a life silencing and destroying democracy.”Puerto Rico’s 3 million people are U.S. citizens who can’t vote for president and don’t have a voting representative in Congress. While politicians are members of the Democratic or Republican parties, the island’s main political dividing line is between the NPP, which favors statehood, and the PDP, which favors a looser association with the federal government. Those parties’ memberships both contain a mix of Democrats and Republicans.Rossello is leaving after two weeks of massive street protests by Puerto Ricans outraged at corruption, mismanagement and an obscenity-laced chat that was leaked in which Rossello and 11 other men made fun of women, gay people and victims of Hurricane Maria.More than a dozen officials have resigned in the wake of the chat, including former Secretary of State Luis Rivera Marin. Rivera Schatz, whose spokeswoman said he was not granting interviews, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that all problems have solutions and that Puerto Rico should be focused on finding them.”We should promote unity, not discord,” he wrote.Pierluisi, who took a leave of absence from the law firm, said in a statement Wednesday that much work remains to be done to recover the trust of federal authorities, U.S. Congress and the people of Puerto Rico as it also struggles to recover from Hurricane Maria.”My goal is now to transform the energy shown by our people in constructive actions that help Puerto Rico go forward,” he said. “Puerto Rico is facing times never before seen and we all have to be part of the path to progress.”Pierluisi represented Puerto Rico in Congress from 2009-2017 and then ran against Rossello in the 2016 primaries and lost. He also previously served as justice secretary under Rossello’s father, Pedro Rossello, when he was governor.
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China Buys U.S. Soybeans for First Time Since June
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday confirmed private sales to China of 68,000 tonnes of soybeans for the 2019/20 marketing year, the first such purchase by a private buyer since the trade war between the world’s two largest economies broke out more than a year ago.It was the first new soybean purchase by China since a 544,000-tonne sale was announced in late June, and the first since Beijing offered to exempt five private crushers in the country from 25-percent import tariffs on U.S. beans arriving by the end of the year.In its weekly export sales report, the USDA also said China bought 66,800 tonnes of soybeans for 2018/19 delivery, including 62,000 tonnes that had previously been listed as headed for unknown destinations. But China also canceled previous purchases totaling 72,900 tonnes for the current marketing year, USDA said.Widespread market rumors last week suggested that a large Chinese crusher purchased a small number of soybean cargoes for shipment in October from terminals in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, traders said.Prices for soybeans shipped to Asia from the PNW this autumn are lower than prices for beans shipped from rival exporter Brazil if China’s import tariffs are removed, U.S. export traders said.Large purchases, however, are not expected as China’s hog herd, the largest consumer of the soybean meal produced from raw beans, has been decimated by the deadly African swine fever. Soy crushing margins are also unprofitable, limiting demand.Although just a fraction of the 87 million tonnes of soybeans the world’s top buyer is expected to import over the 2019/20 (Sept/Aug) season, the purchase was significant. The 25-percent tariff on U.S. soybeans made imports from rival suppliers like Brazil and Argentina far more attractive to private crushers.Chinese state-owned firms have purchased some 14 million tonnes of U.S. soy since an initial trade war truce was struck by U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping in December, but less than 10 million tonnes have been shipped so far.
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S. Koreans Shun Japanese Beer, Travel, Cars as Disputes Grow
When Lee Kyung Eon and her friend recently scrapped their plans to go to Japan for their summer vacation and paid $135 penalty for canceling plane tickets, they joined a growing public campaign in South Korea to boycott Japanese goods and services.”We intended to do something that is unhelpful to Japan even a little bit,” said Lee, a 26-year-old office worker in Bundang city, just south of Seoul. “Many people told us we did something really good … but some with strong patriotic spirits said we shouldn’t boast of things that we have to do.”A widespread anti-Japan boycott has gained ground in South Korea since Tokyo on July 1 tightened its control of exports of three chemicals used to manufacture semiconductors and display screens — key export items for South Korea. The boycott could worsen as Japan is expected to expand its export curbs to other materials as early as Friday by removing South Korea from a list of countries granted preferential trade status.South Korea accuses Japan of retaliating over local court rulings last year that ordered two Japanese companies to pay compensation to former Korean employees for forced labor during Tokyo’s 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. Japan has denied that, saying its action was taken out of national security concerns.Some question whether the boycott, mostly targeting consumer goods, can really hurt the Japanese economy as a majority of Japanese imports are parts and materials used in TVs, smartphones, semiconductors and other electronic products that South Korea exports. They worry the boycott could only aggravate the animosities as it may trigger a backlash from Japan.But others say the campaign exposes the bitter resentments many South Koreans still harbor against their former colonial master. A recent survey suggested 80% of South Koreans are reluctant to buy Japanese products.Angry South Koreans have taken to Instagram and other social media, posting videos on their canceled Japan-bound plane tickets, sharing information on which Japanese companies operate in South Korea and expressing their support for the boycott.There have been some consequences.HanaTour, the largest travel company in South Korea, said a daily number of reservations for Japan trips has dropped to about 400-500 from 1,000-1,200 late last month. Other tour agencies have reported similar or lower booking figures for Japan tours.Last year, about 7.5 million South Koreans visited Japan, making it the most popular destination. The state-run Korea Tourism Organization said it has no data on how many South Koreans traveled to Japan this month.At hypermarkets and 24-hour convenience stores, the sales of Japanese beer have nosedived. Beer is the most popular among Japanese products. For example, at E-mart, the largest retailer in South Korea, the sales of Japanese beer from July 1-24 declined by about 38% from a month ago. Tens of thousands of small supermarkets and convenience stores across South Korea have stopped selling Japanese beer and other products altogether.Customs officials said the imports of Japanese cars from July 1-20 was estimated at about $46 million — a 32% decrease from the same period last year. Fast Retailing Co., which operates Uniqlo, was forced to apologize last week after inviting criticism in South Korea over the remarks by one of its executives that the boycott won’t last long.”Even without Japanese products, there are still lots of things to sell and customers aren’t actually looking for Japanese products,” said Dan Kil-su, owner of Seoul’s Heemang supermarket who removed all Japanese products from shelves on July 5.One of the store’s regulars, Chon Jong Lee, supported Dan’s action. “I think I originally have stronger anti-Japanese sentiments than other people. I have really a bad feeling toward them,” Chon said.Past anti-Japanese boycotts didn’t last long, but some say Japan’s expected new exports limits could amplify the crisis.”The boycott isn’t helpful in resolving the conflicts, though some may feel cool by venting their anger at [Japanese companies],” said analyst Lee Sangho at the Seoul-based private Korea Economic Research Institute. “If public sentiments (in both countries) get worse, we may see a situation that spirals out of control.”There have been anti-Japanese rallies in South Korea over the Japanese trade curbs, but none has yet turned violent. Two men in their 70s have set themselves on fire in an apparent protest against Japan. One died and the other, who set himself ablaze on Thursday, remained in critical condition.Lee Myon-woo at the private Sejong Institute near Seoul said the boycott will likely have a limited effect on the Japanese economy. He also said that the lower number of South Korean tourists to Japan will likely be compensated by Chinese and other foreign visitors.Some worry the boycott will eventually undermine the South Korean economy because a withdrawal of Japanese companies would lead to their South Korean employees losing their jobs, while a fewer number of tourists would incur losses for South Korean tour agencies.Ahn Kyung-su, a researcher in Seoul who plans to visit Tokyo this weekend for his summer vacation, called the boycott “anachronistic” and illogical. “Our TV stations mostly use Japanese-made cameras. So do we have to stop watching their programs?” Ahn asked.Japan hasn’t yet reported a similar eruption of anti-South Korean sentiments. K-pop super stars BTS’ four concerts in Japan this month reportedly drew a total of 210,000 spectators.At Shin-Okubo, a major Korea Town in downtown Tokyo, business was as usual this week, with many Japanese looking for K-pop music, Korean food, cosmetics and other merchandise.Misaki Toguchi, a 14-year-old junior high school student from Saitama, north of Tokyo, said her devotion to BTS and K-pop is unshakable despite the news of the disputes. “There is absolutely no change, I still really like Korea,” Toguchi said.”These [disputes] are something that only top officials in the government are doing. I don’t think there is any impact on ordinary people like us,” said Keiko Katsumata, a part-time worker who was in Korea Town with her friend.The two countries are closely linked to each other culturally. Many South Koreans like dining at Japanese restaurants, watching Japanese animation films and travelling to small towns in Japan.Speaking before a large placard hung at his Heemang store that partly reads “We are not selling Japanese products,” Dan said his family canceled their plans to go to Mount Fuji for holidays this summer. “In fact, Japan has been a country that I’ve wished to go,” he said.Lee Kyung Eon, who decided to go to Taiwan with her friend in August instead of Miyhazaki, Japan, said she also used to enjoying Asahi beer, sushi, soba and other Japanese foods. She said she had already visited Japan twice.She admitted there have been ups and downs in her feelings toward Japan, saying she had a good impression following her trips to Osaka and Fukuoka before anti-Japan sentiments resurfaced in her mind when the two countries fought over history.”The level of my hatred against Japan is now at one of the worst points in my life,” Lee said.
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Somalia’s President Gives Up US Citizenship, But Unclear Why
The office of Somalia’s president says he is giving up his United States citizenship but it is not immediately clear why.A statement posted on Twitter on Thursday says President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed made the decision voluntarily, with lawyers involved. It says Somalia’s constitution allows for dual citizenship. Many in Somalia’s diaspora have it after fleeing the country long gripped by conflict.Mohamed lived for many years in the United States, working as a New York state transportation department official in Buffalo before being elected Somalia’s president in February 2017.
During his time in office the U.S. has dramatically increased airstrikes against the Somali-based al-Shabab extremist group, re-established its diplomatic presence in Somalia and even presented Mohamed with a trucker cap that said “Make Somalia Great Again.”
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Rwanda Shuts Border with Democratic Republic of Congo Over Ebola
Rwanda has closed its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo as the country struggles to contain the latest outbreak of the Ebola virus, as a third case has been reported in the border city of Goma.Oliver Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s state minister for foreign affairs, said Thursday the government has shut down the border at the northeastern town of Gisenyi, which it shares with Goma, home to more than a million people and where tens of thousands cross on foot daily.The decision by Kigali runs counter to a plea made by the World Health Organization for countries not to close their borders or impose restrictions on travels to the Congo. Congolese health officials have confirmed that the young daughter of a man who died of the virus earlier this week is showing symptoms of the disease. The man was diagnosed a few days after arriving in Goma from a northeastern rural community in Ituri province.Earlier this month, a pastor tested positive and later died after arriving in Goma by bus, prompting the World Health Organization to declare the Ebola outbreak in Ituri and the conflict-ridden North Kivu province a global health emergency. Of the more than 2,500 cases of Ebola that have been reported since the outbreak began exactly one year ago this month, nearly 1,670 people have died. This is the 10th outbreak of the disease over the last four decades in the DRC. It is the second largest outbreak after the 2014 historic epidemic in West Africa that killed more than 11,300 people.
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A$AP Rocky to Testify on 2nd Day of Sweden Assault Trial
American rapper A$AP Rocky is set to testify Thursday on the second day of a trial in Sweden, where he is accused of assault in an alleged street fight.The trial has created a stir in U.S.-Swedish diplomatic relations after President Donald Trump weighed in on the case in support of the Grammy-nominated recording artist, whose real name is Rakim Mayers.This court sketch created on July 30, 2019 shows US rapper A$AP Rocky (middle row, in green shirt) during his trial at the district court in Stockholm. The 30-year-old artist, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was arrested on July 3, 2019 along with…Mayers, who has been in custody since July 3, was brought in at the Stockholm District Court Thursday wearing an all-green inmates’ outfit.
He is accused along with two other men believed to be members of his entourage of beating a 19-year-old man, Mustafa Jafari, in central Stockholm on the evening of June 30.The rapper, 30, pleaded not guilty at the start of the trial Tuesday, saying he acted in self-defense.Swedish prosecutors told the court on Tuesday that Jafari and a friend got into an argument with Mayers and one of his bodyguards near a fast-food restaurant where the rapper’s entourage had eaten.FILE – A$AP Rocky poses for a portrait to promote the film “Monster” at the Music Lodge during the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 22, 2018, in Park City, Utah.Prosecutors allege Mayers and the two others beat and kicked Jafari while he was on the ground, and that Jafari was hit with parts of or a whole bottle.Thursday’s court session is reserved for testimonies from the alleged victim, his friend, eye witnesses, Mayers’ bodyguard and the rapper himself.
His mother, Renee Black, and several of his relatives were present in the courtroom.The case has drawn the attention of American celebrities and Mayers’ fellow recording artists, including Sean “Diddy” Combs and Justin Bieber. A social media campaign for his release, (hash)JusticeForRocky, was created soon after his arrest.Trump weighed in with a phone call to Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, offering to personally guarantee A$AP Rocky’s bail, but the Swedish leader said he couldn’t interfere in a legal case.Sweden doesn’t have a bail system and Mayers has stayed behind bars despite Trump’s vouching for him. Trump has sent Ambassador Robert O. Brien, the U.S. special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, to Sweden to monitor the court proceedings.
Sweden government hasn’t commented on O’Brien’s attendance at the court but Adam Westin, reporter for Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, said the U.S. official’s presence is unlikely to have any impact on the case.“I don’t think it (O’Brien’s arrival) has been treated as an insult,” Westin, who has followed the case closely, told The Associated Press.
Westin stressed that A$AP Rocky was jailed “because of the risk that he would leave the country and there is no bailing system in Sweden.”If convicted, Mayers can be sentenced to up to two years in prison.
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US Democratic Candidates Spar, Show How They Aren’t Trump
Seeking diplomatic solutions to foreign conflicts. Immigration reform with aid for Central America. Trade deals that help U.S. workers, but do not involve trade wars. Democratic candidates used their time on the debate stage in Detroit to spell out policy initiatives that would represent a departure from Trump administration approaches, all while making the case they can beat the incumbent president in the 2020 election.As might be expected among candidates from the same political party, there was a lot of general agreement about how to deal with big issues. But with 20 candidates split into two 10-person debates, nationally known names sought to maintain their leads in polls while others voters might not be as familiar with worked to generate the interest their campaigns badly need.That led to a lot of sparring among the candidates and even direct questioning of each other’s records and proposals, particularly focused on the current favorites in the race — former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren.Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Senator from California Kamala Harris delivers her closing statement flanked by former Vice President Joe Biden during the Democratic primary debate hosted by CNN at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, July 31, 2019.Health care“We have seen health care as a place where there are more spirited disagreements within the party and between some of the leading candidates and the secondary candidates on what their health care proposal would be,” said David Hopkins, an associate professor of political science at Boston College. “That’s one of the reasons I think there was so much time spent on health care in these debates was that from the moderator’s point of view, it was a good place to really whip up a lot of deliberation debate and fireworks among the various candidates on stage.”The candidates did agree that what is in place now is not delivering quality, affordable care. The arguments were about how drastically to revamp the system and how to pay for it.Biden, who served when former President Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act went into effect, said that law, commonly known as “Obamacare,” needs only reversals of changes done by President Donald Trump and the option for people to buy into a public market.Senator Michael Bennet and Montana Governor Steve Bullock also want to build on the ACA. But Senator Kamala Harris said that approach leaves in place too much of what is not working.“Your plan will keep and allow insurance companies to remain with status quo doing business as usual, and that’s going to be about jacking up co-pays, jacking up deductibles,” she said.Former Congressman John Delaney says the option for people to buy into government health plans does not go far enough.“I’m proposing universal health care where everyone gets health care as a basic human right for free,” he said.South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., participate in the first of two Democratic presidential primary debates hosted by CNN, July 30, 2019, in the Fox Theatre in Detroit.Foreign warsTrump campaigned in 2016 on a message of not involving the United States in endless foreign conflicts. With more than half of his term over, there are still U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, and many of the Democratic candidates said they want to bring those forces home and spend money on domestic programs instead.Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke pledged to withdraw from Afghanistan during his first term.“We’ve satisfied the reasons for our involvement in Afghanistan in the first place, and it’s time to bring those service members back home from Afghanistan, but also from Iraq, also from Yemen and Somalia and Libya and Syria,” he said.Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who served in Afghanistan, pledged that any authorization of military force would have a three-year limit, unlike the limitless one that authorized the war in 2001 and has been the subject of intense debate over its scope.FILE – Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Representative from Hawaii Tulsi Gabbard speaks during the first Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, June 26, 2019.Another veteran, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who served in Iraq, called for an end to what she called “these wasteful regime-change wars.”“This is not about arbitrary deadlines, this is about leadership, the leadership I will bring to do the right thing, to bring our troops home within the first year in office because they shouldn’t have been there this long,” she said.U.S. Senator Cory Booker and former Vice President Joe Biden talk during a commercial break on the second night of the second U.S. 2020 presidential Democratic candidates debate in Detroit, July 31, 2019.Foreign policy and tradeTrump has pursued an “America first” approach to foreign policy, whether that is seeking better trade deals through tariff threats or withdrawing from international accords like the Paris climate agreement he argued would hurt the U.S. economy.Biden said he would seek to counter China’s influence by returning to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal also negotiated during the Obama administration, but only after renegotiating terms.“Either China is going to write the rules of the road for the 21st century on trade or we are,” he said. “We must have the rest of the world join us to keep them in check.”Washington Gov. Jay Inslee listens as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during the second of two Democratic presidential primary debates hosted by CNN, July 31, 2019, in the Fox Theatre in Detroit.New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio objected to Trump’s new trade deal with Canada and Mexico, which Congress has not ratified, saying it would hurt workers and that trade treaties should “empower oranized labor” instead of multinational corporations.Trump made campaign pledges to use his first day in office to withdraw from the TPP, repeal Obamacare and begin building a southern border wall. Hopkins said so far, the Democratic candidates have not been clear about what they would try to achieve first.“A lot of these democrats are running on very ambitious platforms. They really have lots of ideas about how to change policy in a lot of different areas. But one of the most important things you do as president is you set priorities, you set the agenda,” he said. “What is going to be the first thing you do? What is going to be the second thing you do? The candidates I think differ on that, but that didn’t come out as much during the debates this time.”Washington Governor Jay Inslee left no doubt in the debate that climate change would be the top priority of his White House.“We have to act now,” he said. “Climate change is not a singular issue, it is all the issues that we Democrats care about. It is health. It is national security. It is our economy.”FILE – Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Senator for New York Kirsten Gillibrand speaks during the second Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, June 27, 2019.Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said she would rejoin the Paris climate agreement, and cited the U.S. space race with Russia of last century as a model for spurring innovation on climate solutions.“Why not have a green energy race with China?” she said.Senator Cory Booker expressed the need to approach trade deals, foreign aid and other policies with climate change in mind, and said the United States has to lead the world to a solution.“Climate change is not a separate issue. It must be the issue and the lens with which we view every issue. Nobody should get an applause for rejoining the Paris Climate Accords. That is kindergarten.”FILE – Democratic presidential hopeful former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro participates in the first Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign at in Miami, June 26, 2019.ImmigrationTaking a more diplomatic approach extends to many candidate’s proposals for immigration. After Trump cut aid to Central American nations as he sought to cut the number of people who travel to seek entry into the United States, Democrats want programs to help those countries be safer and better economically.“My immigration plan would also make sure that we put undocumented immigrants who haven’t committed a serious crime on a pathway to citizenship, that we do a 21st century Marshall Plan with Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala so that we can get to the root of this challenge, so people can find safety and opportunity at home instead of having to come to the United States,” said former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro.Sanders pledged to end what he called Trump’s “demonization” of those who flee violence to seek refuge in the United States.“What we will do in the first week we are in the White House is bring the entire hemisphere together to talk about how we rebuild Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador so that people do not have to flee their own countries,” he said.The right policy platform will be key for whichever Democrat emerges as the party’s candidate to face Trump in November 2020. Some in the debates, including Congressman Tim Ryan and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, cautioned that the more progressive proposals such as universal health care, may end up handing the election to Trump.But Warren said Democrats cannot be afraid to champion policies they believe in.“There is a lot at stake and people are scared,” she said. “But we can’t choose a candidate we don’t believe in just because we’re too scared to do anything else. And we can’t ask other people to vote for a candidate we don’t believe in. Democrats win when we figure out what is right and we get out there and fight for it.”
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Feud Between Trump, Congressman Shines Spotlight on Baltimore’s Blight
A war of words continues between U.S. President Donald Trump and a powerful Democratic lawmaker investigating the Trump White House, Congressman Elijah Cummings of Maryland. The president has criticized the legislator’s Baltimore district in comments that many have denounced as racist. Today, like many urban centers, Baltimore struggles to deal with racial unrest, crime, economic inequality and high unemployment. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti visited Baltimore and has this report.
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Divers Remove Plastic Waste from Greek Waters — a ‘Gulf Full of Plastic Corals’
Divers and environmentalists found an unpleasant surprise in Aegean waters near Greece and are working to fix it. What looked like colorful coral turned out to be a plastic wasteland, just one of many challenges delicate marine ecosystems face. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi dives in for a look.
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As Brexit Storm Gathers, Britain Looks to Trump for Hope
The prospect of Britain crashing out of the European Union with no deal at the end of October is creating a tumultuous first few weeks in office for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The British pound sterling is plunging, and there are warnings of widespread disruption. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, Johnson is looking for help across the Atlantic to a like-minded ally in the White House.
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As Sea Levels Rise, Homes Sprout in US Flood Zones
New homes are going up fastest in high-flood-risk areas in many U.S. coastal states, scientists said Wednesday, despite increasing awareness that global warming has made living in such areas even more risky.Science and communication nonprofit Climate Central found that one-third of coastline states that will run a 10% risk of ocean inundation each year by 2050 saw new housing sprouting at rates higher than on safer ground. “The attraction of living by the water is obvious,” said Ben Strauss, a climate scientist at Climate Central who led the research, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. In the northeastern state of Connecticut from 2010 to 2017, housing valued at $880 million went up more than three times faster in high-flood-risk zones than on safer ground. Another East Coast state, New Jersey, outpaced all other states at building homes in high-risk zones, with about 4,500 new homes worth $4.6 billion erected in such areas from 2010 to 2017, the researchers reported. FILE – Real estate agent Tom Saab stands on an oceanfront deck at a condo he developed in Salisbury, Mass., Feb. 15, 2019. Academic researchers say concerns over rising sea levels and increased flooding are having impacts on coastal property sales.No law against itU.S. law does not bar building in areas predicted to flood every 100 years, as long as risk reduction regulations are adhered to and owners purchase flood insurance. About 5% of the U.S. population lived in these areas in 2015, a 2017 report by New York University’s Furman Center found. The researchers focused on areas at higher risk for flooding — defined as every 10 years by 2050 — to provide practical input for homeowners seeking mortgages, Strauss said. “You can buy a property that has never or rarely flooded today, but by the end of the mortgage could be flooding every few years because of sea-level rise,” he noted. Intermittent floodsSuch intermittent floods can damage and devalue homes, degrade infrastructure, rust out cars and spawn mold, the report said.Other states where new home construction in high-danger zones versus safer areas included Rhode Island, Delaware, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire and South Carolina.The report obtained data on housing location and value from real estate database company Zillow.The scientists drew their conclusions by combining flood and sea-level rise projections that followed a scenario where planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions are cut moderately, the report said.Carlos Martin, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, a Washington-based think tank, found much of the report “disheartening”.Martin said the findings showed the need to boost incentives, such as existing government programs to buy out homeowners in flood-prone areas, to encourage people to live further from the coastline.
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US Fighter Jet Crashes in Death Valley, 7 Park Visitors Hurt
A U.S. Navy fighter jet crashed Wednesday in Death Valley National Park, injuring seven people who were at a scenic overlook where aviation enthusiasts routinely watch military pilots speeding low through a chasm dubbed Star Wars Canyon, officials said.The crash sent dark smoke billowing in the air, said Aaron Cassell, who was working at his family’s Panamint Springs Resort about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away and was the first to report the crash to park dispatch.”I just saw a black mushroom cloud go up,” Cassell told The Associated Press. “Typically you don’t see a mushroom cloud in the desert.” A search was underway for the pilot of the single-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet that was on a routine training mission, said Lt. Cmdr. Lydia Bock, spokeswoman for Naval Air Station Lemoore in California’s Central Valley.”The status of the pilot is unknown at this time,” Bock said about four hours after the crash.A military helicopter searched for the pilot.Ambulances were sent to the crash site near Father Crowley Overlook, but it wasn’t clear if anyone was transported for further medical treatment, said park spokesman Patrick Taylor. He said initial reports were that seven park visitors had minor injuries.The lookout point about 160 miles (257 kilometers) north of Los Angeles is popular with photographers and aviation buffs who gawk at jets flying in the steep, narrow canyon.U.S. and foreign militaries train pilots and test jets in the gorge officially called Rainbow Canyon near the park’s western entrance. Military flights there date back to World War II.The chasm got its nickname because mineral-rich soil and red, gray and pink walls bring to mind the home planet of “Star Wars” character Luke Skywalker.Training flights are almost a daily feature with jets thundering below the rim of the canyon and passing so close viewers can see the pilots’ facial expressions. Cassell said he heard jets roaring through the area and then saw the cloud of smoke. “It looked like a bomb,” Cassell said. “To me that speaks of a very violent impact.” A jet that was following the downed craft pulled up and began circling, Cassell said. He didn’t see any parachute.His father drove up to the area after the crash and saw a large black scorch mark and shattered parts of the jet scattered throughout the area between the parking lot and lookout, Cassell said. A nose cone from the jet was the size of a bowling ball and the rest of the debris was no larger than a ball cap.The jet was from strike fighter squadron VFA-151 stationed at Lemoore. The squadron is part of an air group attached to the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis.The Super Hornet is a twin-engine warplane designed to fly from either aircraft carriers or ground bases on both air-superiority and ground-attack missions.
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Pompeo in Thailand; Talks with North Korea Officials Uncertain
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Thailand for an ASEAN summit that comes just hours after North Korea’s latest ballistic missile test, the second launch by Pyongyang in less than a week.Pompeo will host a U.S.-ASEAN meeting Thursday with his counterparts in Bangkok, saying many of them share a vision for security, peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. He will also deliver a speech on U.S. economic engagement in the region. On the way to Thailand, Pompeo was asked when U.S. talks with North Korean officials will resume.”There’s been a little bit of preliminary work to be done. I never want to set a date, [but] I hope before too long, we will have Special Representative [Stephen] Biegun sitting with what I think will be a new counterpart from North Korea.”The State Department has confirmed that Biegun will be part of the U.S. delegation in Bangkok.In the past, the annual ASEAN security meeting was used as an opportunity for talks between U.S. and North Korean officials, but North Korea has signaled that its top diplomat may not attend this year.Pompeo said he will be meeting with his Chinese counterpart, and that they would talk about a whole range of issues. The bilateral talks with China come as U.S.-China trade talks resume, and as China raises tensions in the region by claiming large swaths of the South China Sea.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks with reporters aboard his plane en route to Thailand, July 30, 2019.When asked about countries in Southeast Asia turning to China, Pompeo told reporters the premise was mistaken. To suggest they are “vassal states” in the “clutches of China” was wrong, he said. “They are looking for partners,” he said of countries in the region. “It’s not about luring them back.”When asked about what his message would be on the protests in Hong Kong, Pompeo said, “With respect to Hong Kong, this is the people of Hong Kong asking their government to listen to them. So, it’s always appropriate for every government to listen to their people.”Speaking to reporters on the plane, Pompeo was also asked to clarify the U.S. plan for withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan. Pompeo said there was no deadline but that the U.S. will reduce its operational footprint in Afghanistan as soon as conditions on the ground permit, because the U.S. also has to make sure there is no terrorism coming from Afghanistan.
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US Rapper A$AP Rocky to Testify in Assault Trial
U.S. rapper A$AP Rocky is expected to give testimony in a Swedish court Thursday on the second day of his assault trial after he and two of his entourage were accused of punching and kicking a teenager.The 30-year-old performer, producer and model, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm on the first day of the trial Tuesday. His lawyer told the court he acted in self-defense.Mayers was detained July 3 in connection with a brawl outside a hamburger restaurant in Stockholm June 30 and later charged with assault.On Tuesday, prosecutor Daniel Suneson showed video from security cameras and witnesses’ mobile phones and said following an altercation Mayers threw 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari to the ground, after which he and two of his entourage kicked and punched him.The prosecutor said a bottle was used to hit Jafari, who suffered cuts and bruises.Jafari told the court he was pushed and grabbed by the neck by Mayers’ bodyguard outside the restaurant and followed the rapper’s group to get back his headphones. He said he was then hit on the head with a bottle and kicked and punched while on the ground.If convicted, the accused could face up to two years in jail.FILE – Posters asking for A$AP Rocky to be freed line the wall across from the jail where the American rapper is being held on charges of assault in Stockholm, Sweden, July 25, 2019.The case has drawn huge media attention, forcing the trial to be moved to a secure courtroom.Celebrities, including Kim Kardashian and Rod Stewart, have leaped to Mayers’ defense and U.S. President Donald Trump asked Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to help free Mayers.Sweden’s judiciary is independent of the political system, and Lofven has said he will not influence the rapper’s case.Mayers, best known for his song “Praise the Lord,” was in Stockholm for a concert. He has canceled several shows across Europe because of his detention.The trial could run into a third day Friday. The verdict is expected at a later date.
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US Official: No Change to South Korea-US Military Exercise
The United States does not plan to make changes to a military drill with South Korea, a senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday, despite a series of North Korean missile launches intended to pressure Seoul and Washington to stop joint exercises.The U.S. and South Korean militaries are planning to stage a joint exercise in August, known as Dong Maeng, which is believed to be a slimmed down version of an annual drill once known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, which included thousands of U.S. troops.FILE – A South Korean army soldier passes by an advertising board during an anti-terror drill as part of Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, at Sadang Subway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 19, 2015.North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles Wednesday after two similar missile tests last week, raising the stakes for U.S. and South Korean diplomats hoping to restart talks on North Korean denuclearization.No plans to change“No adjustment or change in plans that we’re aware of or are planning,” the U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said.It is unclear how many U.S. troops will be involved this year, but the official noted that the exercise, as in the past, would have a large computer simulated portion.“The main thing you want to test, exercise, practice is to make decisions in a combined decision making environment because we have an integrated command structure,” the official said.U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met June 30, but Pyongyang has since accused Washington of breaking a promise by planning the military exercises and warned the drills could derail talks.North Korean State news agency KCNA repeated calls for the United States and South Korea to end their “hostile” joint drills, but did not mention the missile launches.South Korea denies promise brokenSouth Korea has said previously that the joint military exercise would go ahead, denying Pyongyang’s charges that holding it would breach an agreement made between Trump and Kim.“We have to do two things: We have to give the diplomats appropriate space for their diplomacy and help create an environment that is conducive to the talks when they resume … and we have to maintain readiness,” the U.S. official said.Newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper will be making his first official visit to Seoul, which the Pentagon said Tuesday was scheduled as part of a tour through Asia in August.
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