Among the more than 20 Democratic presidential hopefuls, the scramble is on to qualify for the next candidates’ debate in September.The debate is now set for Sept. 12-13 in Houston, Texas.Former Obama administration Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro got some good news this week, when he became the 10th Democrat to qualify for the debate, the third such event.Several other Democrats likely will not make the cut for the next debate, however, hampering their chances of building support in the crowded and at times chaotic primary battle.Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and former HUD Secretary Julian Castro and his son Cristian tour the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, Aug. 9, 2019.Looking to surgeFor Castro, a whirlwind of campaigning paid off when he qualified.“I believe we can get stronger and stronger. We still have five months to go until the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. And by that time, if we work hard, I can be a front-runner,” Castro told supporters last week in New Hampshire. He was referring to two of the state-level events that are part of the party’s delegate-selection process before its national convention in July in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.It is a different story for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio takes a photo with a fairgoer at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, Aug. 11, 2019.De Blasio is among those Democrats scrambling to meet the tougher polling and fundraising requirements to qualify for the September debate.“It is a tough goal for us. We have been working at it and what I am looking at is if we cannot get into the September debate, to get into (the one in) October,” de Blasio told reporters in New Hampshire.Tougher rulesCandidates must register at least 2% support in four polls and register 130,000 individual campaign contributors to qualify for the September Houston debate.Former Maryland Congressman John Delaney is among those not likely to make the next debate, although he hopes to remain in the race long enough to compete in the early caucuses and primaries, beginning in February.“The role that Iowa and New Hampshire play is to find other candidates that maybe the national media is not focusing on as much,” Delaney told reporters in New Hampshire last week. “So doing well in one of these two early states is really important.”U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker, center, talks to a supporter after speaking at a Gun Violence Prevention roundtable in Los Angeles, Aug. 22, 2019.Shrinking fieldThe large Democratic field has slowly begun to shrink with the exit of Washington Governor Jay Inslee, and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper’s decision last week to drop out of the presidential race and to run instead for the Senate.“This is no time to walk away from the table. I know changing Washington is hard, but I want to give it a shot,” he said in announcing his Senate bid in a campaign video.Other Democrats are hanging in despite low poll numbers, including New Jersey Senator Cory Booker.Booker has qualified for the September debate and is counting on a strong performance to vault him into contention.He recently made a pitch to Democratic activists in Iowa that he would be the strongest nominee to take on President Donald Trump next year, urging them to “stand together and work together and love together and overcome his darkness with our light!”Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., center, laughs while speaking with reporters, Aug. 18, 2019, at the Hillsborough County Democrats Summer Picnic, in Greenfield, N.H.Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has also qualified for the Houston debate and told reporters in New Hampshire last week she would stick to her strategy in coming weeks.“I plan to keep taking it to Donald Trump. I plan to keep making the case for an optimistic, economic agenda for this country,” she said.Debate stakesThe campaign road will get harder for those who miss the September debate, USA Today political reporter and analyst Susan Page said.“We have our third set of debates coming up in early September and it is a little harder to qualify for those debates. We think those numbers (of candidates) will come down. And once a candidate does not make the debates, it gets harder for him or her to raise money to get supporters to stay in,” she told VOA.
Democratic Presidential Contenders Scramble to Make September Debate video player.
Embed” />CopyWATCH: Democratic Presidential Contenders Scramble to Make September DebateThere are still more than 20 contenders in the race, and the next few months will be a make-or-break time for several of those who are not performing well, Brookings Institution analyst Darrell West said.“I see a number of candidates probably dropping out over the next one or two months, certainly the ones who do not qualify for the upcoming September debates, they are going to see their money dry up and they are going to lose the media platform, so their candidacies will basically be over,” he said.The September debate will be a one-night event if no more candidates qualify, but could go two nights if others qualify before Aug. 28. Billionaire impeachment activist Tom Steyer and Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard are two contenders seen as having a good shot at qualifying.Biden still leadsFormer Vice President Joe Biden continues to lead the Democratic field, followed by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, California Senator Kamala Harris and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.They will all be on the debate stage next month.Biden got encouraging news in a CNN poll this week, jumping back to a double-digit lead over Sanders and Warren. Biden was at 29% support, up seven points from the same survey in late June.Sanders trails with 15%, followed closely by Warren with 14%. Harris and Buttigieg both registered 5% in the same poll.Also on the debate stage next month will be former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke and entrepreneur Andrew Wang, who continues to build a strong following online.
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Month: August 2019
App Helps African Farmers Detect Crop Disease
BINGUELA, CAMEROON —For Alain Lietbou, it has become a ritual: Every time he visits his farm, Lietbou uses the app to monitor the health of his tomatoes. It detects crop disease and suggests treatments and prevention measures. With it, he says, he spends less and produces more.Lietbou uses the app called Agrix. Using the app is simple. The user focuses the phone’s camera on a leaf or fruit. The application analyzes the image and gives a diagnosis within a few seconds.Agrix co-founder Dorothée Mvondo says the app is still in development but has been tested by hundreds of farmers.Joseph Mpoh is an agronomist and trainer at the School of Agriculture of Binguela, a state agricultural school.He’s tested the app and says it’s promising, although some improvements are still needed, mostly that is be available in more languages.Mvondo says the plan is to roll out the app across Africa beginning next year.She trained at the State Institute of Agricultural Research for Development. Now, she hopes the app will give farmers real solutions and options, since the pesticides sold in the shops are mostly chemical.The potential impact of such an app could be significant, she adds. According to the International Center for Agriculture and Biosciences, farmers in Africa lose an estimated 49% of their expected total crop yield per year, the highest rate of crop loss in the world.
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Adorable? Demand for Cute Selfies Killing Animals at Risk
Social media users are fueling a burgeoning appetite for acquiring wild otters and other endangered animals as pets, conservationists say, warning the trend could push species toward extinction.Popular Instagrammers posting selfies with their pet otter may simply be seeking to warm the hearts of their sometimes hundreds of thousands of followers, but animal protection groups say the trend is posing an existential threat to the silky mammal.“The illegal trade in otters has suddenly increased exponentially,” Nicole Duplaix, who co-chairs the Otter Specialist Group at the International Union for Conservation of Nature, told AFP.An Asian small-clawed otter, the smallest otter species in the world, feeds on fish in its enclosure at the Singapore Zoo, Jan. 11, 2018, in Singapore.All Asian otter species have long been listed as vulnerable or endangered after facing decades of shrinking habitats and illegal trade in their pelts.But conservationists say the recent surge in social media hype around the creatures has sparked such a frenzied demand for baby otters in Asian countries, Japan in particular, that it could drive entire species toward extinction.Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), currently in Geneva to evaluate and fine-tune the treaty that manages trade in more than 35,000 species of plants and animals, will consider proposals to hike protection of two particularly imperiled otter species.Dangerous cute factorThe Asian small-clawed otter and the smooth-coated otter are already listed as threatened under CITES Appendix II, but India, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Philippines are asking that they are moved to Appendix I, which would mean a full international trade ban.Conservationists insist the move is vital, after both species have seen their numbers plunge at least 30% in three decades, and with the decline believed to have accelerated significantly in the past few years.“This is especially being fueled by the desire to have otters as an exotic pet, and social media is really driving that,” Cassandra Koenen, who heads the Wildlife Not Pets campaign at World Animal Protection, told AFP.Paul Todd of the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) agreed.“It is really remarkable to see how the latest trends in social media and social influencing have a direct correlation with the demise of species on the ground,” he told AFP.Popular figures on Instagram and Facebook often rake in thousands of gushing comments about their otter pictures, such as “cuteness overload,” “otterly adorable,” and “want one!”Duplaix acknowledged that otters are “very charismatic creatures,” saying “it is the cute factor that is causing their demise.”Unseen suffering The pictures mask the suffering of the naturally social mammals taken from the wild when they are held in captivity and isolation.Koenen pointed to the numerous “funny videos” posted of pet otters turning in circles, saying that to a trained eye, it is obvious: “The reason the animal is spinning around is that it is in huge distress.”Amid the growing demand for pet otters, hunters and fishermen in Indonesia and Thailand especially are increasingly killing adult otters and snatching the babies, which are caged and shipped off to become exotic pets.The main destination is Japan, where one otter pup can fetch up to $10,000 (about 9,000 euros).Promotional signboards for pet cafes featuring exotic animals, including otters, right, on display in the Harajuku district in Tokyo, Aug. 21, 2019.Otter cafesSeveral “otter cafes” have also popped up in the country, with patrons urged to buy small pieces of food to feed the caged mammals and to snap a selfie with them while drinking a coffee.“It is a very unnatural environment for them,” Koenen said, maintaining that they are often isolated in individual cages, given poor nutrition and little access to water.Pet otters may have it better, but they still suffer from being far from their natural environment and away from the large family groups they lived with in the wild, she said.Koenen also warned that smiling selfies with pet otters provide a “false narrative” about what it is like to live with the wild creatures, which smell and are prone to biting.“They make very unsuitable pets,” she said.Social media platforms have meanwhile made it too easy to purchase exotic pets like otters, she said, sparking impulse buys with little reflection over the implications of bringing a wild animal into one’s home.Otters are not the only species suffering from a booming and often social-media fueled interest in exotic pets.Among the 56 proposals on the table in Geneva for increased protection listings, 22 involve species, including lizards, geckos, tortoises and spiders, which suffer because of the multibillion-dollar exotic pet trade.Todd said there was mounting evidence that “a species can go from completely fine to utterly gone in the matter of a few years because of this drive in desire for images.”“Baby otters are dying, and for what? A selfie,” he said. “We have to stop this.”
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Italian President Gives Parties Until Tuesday to Solve Political Crisis
Italian President Sergio Mattarella agreed to a new round of consultations with party leaders Tuesday to resolve Italy’s political crisis. Speaking to reporters in Rome Thursday, two days after the collapse of the country’s populist government, the president said if no coalition wins a parliamentary approval, he could form a caretaker government or hold early elections. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports Italian political leaders have started negotiations in an effort to avert a snap vote.
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China ‘Will Not Sit Idly’ if US Sells Fighter Jets to Taiwan
China “will not sit idly by” if the U.S. proceeds with a sale of advanced F-16V fighter jets to Taiwan, a Chinese general said, while warning of other potential countermeasures in addition to punishing foreign firms involved in the deal.Beijing considered the sale a violation of previous U.S. commitments to China regarding the island it considers its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary, Maj. Gen. Chen Rongdi, chief of the Institute of War Studies at the Academy of Military Sciences, said. He did not elaborate on what additional measures China might take.“China will not sit idly by,” Chen said Thursday at a forum sponsored by China’s official journalists’ association. “Of course, we don’t rule out additional measures.”Sanction companiesBeijing has repeatedly said it will levy sanctions against U.S. companies linked to a planned $8 billion sale and demanded Washington cancel it immediately. China has made such threats regarding previous arms sales by the U.S., but they’ve had limited effect because the companies involved are either important to China’s own nascent commercial aviation industry or have little or no business with the country.Most recently, China pledged sanctions against the U.S. in July when the Trump administration said it was considering a $2.2 billion sale of tanks and air missiles to Taiwan.Both Chen and Col. Cao Yanzong, a research fellow at the institute, dismissed the ultimate effectiveness of the F-16V planes, given China’s overwhelming air superiority and arsenal of short- to medium-range missiles.The sale would be of little use “beyond making profits for American arms makers, while further undermining relations between China and the U.S. and China and Taiwan,” Cao said.FILE – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen attends a ceremony to sign up for Democratic Progressive Party’s 2020 presidential candidate nomination in Taipei, Taiwan, March 21, 2019.Specific fighter jets opposedChina fiercely opposes all arms sales to Taiwan but has specifically objected to advanced fighter jets such as the F-16V, whose Active Electronically Scanned Array, or AESA, radar is compatible with the F-35 stealth fighters operated by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines. The U.S. is also installing upgraded electronics, including AESA radars, on Taiwan’s existing fleet of 144 older F-16s.The Trump administration informed Congress last week that it plans to sell Taiwan 66 of the planes and the U.S. State Department this week approved the sale. It now goes before Congress, where Taiwan enjoys strong bipartisan support.Despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties, U.S. law requires Washington to ensure Taiwan has the means to defend itself.Taiwan is a democratically governed island that broke away from the Communist Party-ruled mainland during a civil war in 1949.Increased pressure on TaiwanChina has been stepping up military, diplomatic and economic pressure against the administration of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who has refused to embrace Beijing’s “one-China principle” that regards Taiwan as Chinese territory.A semi-annual defense ministry report issued last month stated that China “has the firm resolve and the ability” to take control of Taiwan. “We make no promise to renounce the use of force, and reserve the option of taking all necessary measures,” the report said.The document, titled “China’s National Defense in the New Era,” also pointed to specific intimidation tactics cited by many as partial justification for strengthening Taiwan’s defenses.“Aiming at safeguarding national unity, China’s armed forces strengthen military preparedness with emphasis on the sea,” the report said. “By sailing ships and flying aircraft around Taiwan, the armed forces send a stern warning to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”
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Abe: Seoul’s Ending of Intelligence Deal Damages Mutual Trust
Japan’s prime minister said Friday that South Korea’s decision to end a military intelligence sharing deal with Tokyo damages mutual trust.Shinzo Abe, speaking a day after Seoul announced its decision, said Tokyo “will continue to closely coordinate with the U.S. to ensure regional peace and prosperity, as well as Japan’s security.”In an escalation of its bitter dispute with Japan, South Korea decided Thursday to scrap its military intelligence sharing agreement with Tokyo, opening a new divide in trilateral security cooperation among the U.S., Japan, and South Korea.South Korea’s presidential Blue House said Thursday it is not in its national interest to continue the deal. Seoul will inform Tokyo of its decision before the Saturday deadline to renew the agreement, the South Korean statement said.FILE – Plaintiffs’ attorneys Lim Jae-sung, right, speaks as Kim Se-eun listens during a press conference in Tokyo, Dec. 4, 2018. Lawyers for South Koreans forced into wartime labor have taken legal steps to seize the South Korean assets of a Japanese company.Worsening tensionsThe decision will worsen tensions between South Korea and Japan, which are involved in a dispute rooted in Japan’s use of forced labor during its colonial occupation of Korea. The move also threatens to further upend security cooperation on U.S. priorities such as North Korea and China.In announcing its decision, South Korea cited Japan’s recent decision to remove Seoul from its list of trusted trade partners.“The rationale was that a national security problem had arisen due to a breach of trust, yet no concrete evidence to support those allegations was presented,” the Blue House statement said.“Under these circumstances, the Government of the Republic of Korea decided that maintaining this Agreement, which was signed to facilitate the exchange of sensitive military information, does not serve our national interest,” it added.The General Security of Military Information Agreement was signed in November 2016. It’s not clear what the immediate impact of its termination will be.“I hope there is no impact on policies but there will be an impact on military and intelligence operations,” says David Maxwell, a former U.S. special forces colonel in the U.S. Army, who served in South Korea. “Information will be shared through the U.S. middle man unless South Korea or Japan makes the situation worse by adding caveats such as the information they provide cannot be shared with a third party.”FILE – South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha talks with David Stilwell, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, during a meeting at the foreign ministry in Seoul, July 17, 2019.South Korea’s foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha, said the decision to withdraw from the agreement is a “separate issue from the South Korea-U.S. alliance,” according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. The decision, she says, was made because of a “trust issue” between Seoul and Tokyo, Yonhap reported.But the move cannot be separated from Seoul’s alliance with Washington, insists Maxwell, now with the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies.“It damages the national security of all three countries, though South Korea suffers the worst,” he said.“We encourage Japan and Korea to work together to resolve their differences,” said a Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Dave Eastburn. “I hope they can do this quickly. We are all stronger — and Northeast Asia is safer — when the United States, Japan, and Korea work together in solidarity and friendship. Intel sharing is key to developing our common defense policy and strategy.”Trade movesJapan, last month, removed South Korea from its “white list” of trusted trade partners and restricted exports of high-tech materials to South Korea. The materials are used to produce semiconductors and displays in smartphones and other electronics that serve as the backbone of South Korea’s export-driven economy.Japan’s moves are widely seen as retaliation for recent South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese companies to compensate Koreans who were forced to work during Japan’s colonial occupation of Korea.Seoul retaliated earlier this month by removing Japan from its own “white list” of countries that enjoyed minimal trade restrictions.South Korean President Moon Jae-in, last week, signaled a de-escalation in its trade dispute with Japan, saying he would “gladly join hands” with Tokyo if it chooses dialogue.Historic disputeThe trade dispute is the latest flare-up in tensions rooted in Japan’s brutal 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean Peninsula. A major source of friction is how to compensate those forced into labor and sexual slavery in the colonial era.Japan says the reparations issue was resolved with a 1965 treaty that normalized Japan-South Korea relations. Japan has complained that subsequent South Korean governments have not accepted further Japanese apologies and attempts to make amends.
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North Korea to US: Ready for ‘Dialogue or Confrontation’
North Korea warned the United States Friday it is “ready for dialogue or confrontation,” stressing it can be “America’s biggest threat” for a long time to come.In a message on the Korean Central News Agency, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho also said it would be a “miscalculation” if Washington imposed more sanctions on Pyongyang.It is the latest indication North Korea may not resume talks soon, despite Pyongyang hinting it would return to dialogue following the latest round of U.S.-South Korean military drills, which ended this week.Promise in a letterU.S. President Donald Trump says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised him in a personal letter to stop missile launches and start negotiations as soon as the joint exercises ended.The exercises ended Tuesday. But instead of resuming talks, North Korea has complained the drills happened at all. It has also expressed displeasure with South Korea’s recent acquisition of U.S. fighter jets.“Dialogue accompanied by military threats is of no interest to us,” North Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday.Stephen Biegun, the top U.S. envoy for North Korea, confirmed Tuesday that he had not heard from North Korean officials.“Regarding restart of those negotiations, we are prepared to engage as soon as we hear from our counterparts in North Korea,” Biegun said on a visit to Seoul.Deadline to be more flexibleNorth Korea has given the U.S. an end of year deadline to become more flexible in the nuclear talks. Pyongyang wants Washington to provide sanctions relief and security guarantees. The Trump administration has said it is not willing to provide sanctions relief until Kim agrees to give up his entire nuclear weapons program.North Korea has conducted eight missile launches since early May, an outpouring of anger over what it considers the U.S. and South Korea’s hostile policies.Trump, who wants to continue the talks, says he has “no problem” with the launches, noting they cannot reach the United States.Critics say that approach virtually ensures Kim will continue launching short-range missiles, which can reach all of South Korea.North Korea is prohibited from any ballistic missile activity by United Nations Security Council resolutions.
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YouTube Disables 200 Hong Kong Misinformation Videos
YouTube says it disabled more than 200 videos this week that appeared to be part of a coordinated effort to spread misinformation about the ongoing protests in Hong Kong.The video removals come just days after Twitter said it had suspended more than 200,000 accounts it linked to a Chinese government influence campaign against the protests. Facebook also said it had suspended accounts and removed pages after being notified by Twitter.Google, which owns YouTube, did not explicitly implicate the Chinese government but said the videos were related to the similar disclosures from Facebook and Twitter.Social media companies have faced criticism about the spread of misinformation on their sites and have taken action to combat the spread in recent months.
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US, Russia Bicker Over Collapse of INF Treaty at UN
The United States and Russia traded accusations Thursday at the U.N. Security Council over the recent collapse of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.“We are here today because the Russian Federation preferred a world in which the United States continued to fulfill its INF Treaty obligations, while the Russian Federation did not,” U.S. envoy Jonathan Cohen told council members. United Nations Acting U.S. Ambassador Jonathan Cohen holds a press briefing after a closed meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the Mideast, June 13, 2019 at U.N. headquarters.The U.S. withdrew from the treaty on Aug. 2, in order to develop its own warheads after the Russians refused to destroy their new missiles, which NATO said violated the pact. “Indeed, the Russian Federation and China would still like a world where the United States exercises self-restraint while the Russian Federation and China continue their arms build-ups unabated and unabashed,” Cohen added. The United States says Russia and China are upgrading and diversifying their nuclear weapons capabilities and their arsenals are likely to grow significantly over the next decade. Russia, which called Thursday’s meeting along with ally China, accused Washington of wanting to “flex their muscles.”China’s new United Nations Ambassador Zhang Jun address a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the Mideast, Aug. 20, 2019 at U.N. headquarters.“It is unacceptable to use China as an excuse for leaving the treaty,” Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun responded. “China rejects the baseless accusations by the United States.”Zhang said China has a defensive military policy and its missiles are deployed within its territory. He urged Moscow and Washington to engage in dialogue to resolve their differences. China, as well as several other council members, expressed concern that another disarmament agreement between Russia and the U.S. — the nuclear arms reduction treaty known as New START — is due to expire in February 2021 and urged the parties to renew it. The European members of the Security Council, who are part of the NATO alliance, expressed support for the U.S. position, each blaming Moscow for bearing the “sole responsibility” for the INF’s demise.“Over a long period, Russia violated the INF Treaty by secretly developing and deploying non-compliant missiles; specifically a mobile-launch missile system, the 9M729,” said Britain’s political coordinator Stephen Hickey. “These missiles are hard to find, rapidly deployable and can target European cities with conventional or nuclear warheads.”He said Russia refused to acknowledge their existence until the U.S. identified the missile using its Russian designation. Council members from Africa, Latin America and the Middle East avoided finger pointing, but expressed fears the treaty’s collapse would trigger a new arms race. They said Russia and the U.S. have a special responsibility as nuclear powers and should cooperate. South Africa’s U.N. Ambassador Jerry Matthews Matjila addresses the United Nations Security Council, at U.N. headquarters, Jan. 22, 2019.“The total elimination of nuclear weapons and the legally-binding assurance that they will never be produced again is the only guarantee that these weapons will never be used,” said South African Ambassador Jerry Matjila. The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the United States and Soviet Union eliminated missiles capable of traveling 500 to 5,500 kilometers. It was a key achievement of post-Cold War arms control in Europe.
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Critics of Missouri Abortion Law Sue Over Referendum Failure
Abortion-rights advocates on Thursday sued Missouri’s top election official, alleging his actions and state laws denied them the right to put one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws to a public vote.
No Bans on Choice Committee and the American Civil Liberties Union sought to put the law on the 2020 ballot in hopes that voters would overturn it. The measure bans abortions at or after eight weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for medical emergencies but not for rape or incest.
But they ran out of time to gather enough signatures to put the law on hold pending a public vote. It’s slated to take effect Aug. 28.
Attorneys for those who sued put the blame on Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. They claim Ashcroft dragged his feet in processing the referendum petition, leaving them with only two weeks to gather 100,000 signatures.
ACLU of Missouri Acting Director Tony Rothert said at this point, there’s nothing to do to salvage the referendum effort. Instead, critics of the law want a Cole County judge to rule that petitioners should be allowed to collect signatures earlier in the referendum process, possibly preventing a similar issue from happening again. FILE – Jay Ashcroft, the Republican secretary of state in Missouri, answers a question during a convention of state secretaries of state in Philadelphia, July 14, 2018.
“We want to make sure that Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and any future politician is never able to deny Missourians the right to put laws like this abortion ban to a vote,” No Bans on Choice Treasurer Robin Utz said.
A spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, which defends state laws against court challenges, said state attorneys are currently reviewing the lawsuit.
Ashcroft spokeswoman Maura Browning didn’t immediately comment on the lawsuit, saying the office needs to read it first. But she’s previously said the Secretary of State’s Office “followed the same process we use for every initiative petition and referendum, and has taken an amount of time comparable to any other petition or referendum.”Critics point out that Ashcroft on June 6 rejected the ACLU’s petition, along with a similar petition backed by wealthy Republican donor David Humphreys, another critic of the law.He had cited a provision in the Missouri Constitution that prohibits referendums on legislation that has already taken effect. Although most of the law is set to take effect Aug. 28, the Republican-led Legislature voted to make a section of the bill that changed parental consent laws for minors seeking abortions take effect immediately.But the ACLU sued against Ashcroft’s decision, and ultimately won.
Browning has said the ACLU could have saved time by filing the petition 11 days earlier, after the Legislature passed the bill. The ACLU waited until Republican Gov. Mike Parson signed it May 24.”It’s now been adjudicated that he broke the law,” Acting ACLU of Missouri Director Tony Rothert said of Ashcroft’s action, “and he’s trying to weasel out of responsibility for that.”In the lawsuit, attorneys for those who sued also alleged that Missouri laws impede citizens’ right to referendum. That’s because for referendums, state law prohibits petitioners from collecting signatures until a ballot title is certified.
“State officials can prevent a referendum on a favored piece of legislation simply by using all of their statutorily allotted time to complete their administrative tasks and thereby delaying certification of a ballot title for 51 days after a proposed referendum petition is submitted,” the lawsuit alleged.Karisa Gilman-Hernandez told reporters Thursday that she and thousands of other volunteers for No Bans on Choice spent money on training to collect voter signatures and had planned to be ready at a moment’s notice to begin the effort.
NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri Executive Director Mallory Schwarz said abortion-rights advocates are now redirecting resources toward registering voters in advance of the 2020 elections. Both Parson and Ashcroft are up for re-election.
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Somalia Regional Lawmakers Re-elect Incumbent as Leader Amid Tensions
Lawmakers in Somalia’s regional state of Jubbaland have re-elected incumbent Ahmed Mohamed Islam as the leader in a controversial election held in the southern port town of Kismayo, the region’s largest.Popularly known as Madobe, the former Islamist leader secured 56 of 73 votes in a first round Thursday, defeating three other candidates. His closest challenger, Anab Mohamed Darir, received 17 votes. Madobe was immediately sworn into office for the next four years.”Although I have got a small number in votes, I consider it as a success because this could encourage women to run for elections and show that they want their representation in the country’s man-dominated politics,” Darir told VOA Somali. She was the only woman to run for the office.Madobe campaigned on a pledge to promote regional economic growth and fight al-Shabab militants who still control a large portion of the region. He is also a top security partner with Kenya, which helps Somalia fight al-Shabab and has a strong presence in Kismayo.Those opposing Madobe’s rule formed a separate electoral commission and elected a rival parliament and president, Abdirashib Hidig, on Thursday. Their move has raised fears of violence and a lack of stability in a region already suffering from attacks and the heavy presence of al-Shabab.A member of parliament of Somaliaís Jubaland state casts her vote during the presidential election held in Kismayo, on Aug. 22, 2019.Prior to the regional vote, Somalia’s federal government said it would not recognize the results of elections that came through what it described as an “illegal process.””The government will not recognize any election marred by lack of transparency,” Somalia’s interior minister, Abdi Mohamed Sabriye, told VOA Somali. But there was no immediate reaction from the government to Thursday’s election result. Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Shakul, who recently gave up his candidacy, was disappointed with the result.”It was unfortunate that Jubbaland has two parliaments and two presidents each claiming legitimacy.” Shakul said.Outside interference The process in which Madobe was re-elected Thursday was marred by threats, intimidation, violence and accusations of outside interference. It also sparked tensions with neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia.In the days prior to the vote, senior Ethiopian officials traveled to Kismayo to try to persuade Madobe to hold a free and fair election with the support of the federal government of Somalia. The visit came as the United Nations political office in Somalia called on authorities to address concerns about the election process.In response, Kenya called on the U.N. office to withdraw its statement. Like Kenya, Ethiopia has a large peacekeeping contingent in Somalia. Jubbaland forces stand with their ammunitions as they prepare for a security patrol against Islamist al Shabaab militants in Bulagaduud town, north of Kismayo, Somalia, Aug. 17, 2015.Kenya has been supporting Madobe because it sees the Kismayo region as a buffer zone against Islamist attacks inside Kenya. Meanwhile, Ethiopia is close to the federal government in Mogadishu, which is not happy with Madobe’s return.In his first briefing to the world body since taking office, James Swan, head of the U.N. mission in Somalia (UNSOM), told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that despite “encouraging” developments in Somalia, insecurity remains a serious issue.Swan’s more immediate concern was the regional election in Jubbaland.”We continue to urge a single, agreed, consensual electoral process, without which there is an increased risk of instability if there is a contested outcome,” Swan said.He also said such a controversial election could not only put progress made in Jubbaland in jeopardy, but also potentially undermine national priorities, including preparations for national elections in 2020, the fight against al-Shabab and the country’s development agenda.In Somalia’s clan-based power-sharing politics, analysts predict such political rifts and contested outcomes could push some communities, mainly minority groups, to join al-Shabab.Somalia has a history of clan rivalries and unstable governments, dating to the country’s independence in 1960.
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Jewish Groups Speak Out Against Trump Immigration Policy
From fiery protests outside detention centers in Texas, New Jersey and Rhode Island to a sit-in that blockaded an Amazon store in New York, a fledgling coalition of liberal Jewish groups is increasingly making itself heard as it fights the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Using the social media tag #JewsAgainstIce, the movement has likened President Donald Trump’s actions on asylum and incarceration to what went on as the Holocaust was taking shape.”It’s a cause that the Jews feel very deeply,” said Rabbi Jill Jacobs with T’ruah, a human rights organization that represents 2,000 rabbis nationwide. “Our entire history is about being kicked out of one place and trying to find a safe place to live.”
While Jewish groups have long supported immigrant rights, many began working together more intensely in recent weeks after reports of squalid conditions at immigration centers. Activists say Trump’s comments this week about the “disloyalty” of Jews who vote Democratic will only galvanize them further.
Organizers say the loose coalition that also uses the hashtags #CloseTheCamps and #NeverAgainIsNow embraces tens of thousands of activists nationwide and works with some Latino and Muslim organizations as well. (“Never again” has historically been a rallying cry among Jews when referring to the Holocaust.) FILE – Protesters assembled by a majority Jewish group called Never Again Is Now walk through traffic as they make their way to Independence Mall in Philadelphia, July 4, 2019.”We see what’s happening to immigrants all over the country is really the same foundation that was laid before the Holocaust happened,” said Sophie Ellman-Golan with Never Again Action, a new group that has played a key role in the coalition. “We’re going to draw those parallels, and we’re going to speak out.”Concentration campsHer group, which sprang up in late June and is working with longtime Jewish social justice organizations, likens U.S. immigrant detention centers to concentration camps, after dire reports over the summer of cramped and filthy conditions, poor medical care and children being denied toothbrushes.Never Again Action’s kickoff event was a June 30 protest outside a detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where 200 activists showed up and dozens were arrested.
Earlier this month, over 40 people were arrested, including a dozen rabbis, during a demonstration at an Amazon store in New York over the company’s role in creating facial-recognition technology used by law enforcement, including immigration agents. Activists marched from a synagogue and occupied the store for two hours.Five activists are facing prison time after protesters last month blocked a Houston road leading to a detention center. More than 30 protesters were arrested during a demonstration that interrupted a Fourth of July parade in Philadelphia.
Things took a dark turn at a demonstration last week outside a detention center in Central Falls, Rhode Island, when a guard apparently drove his truck through the crowd, injuring several people.
“This is the moment when folks need to be stepping up and doing whatever it takes to stop the machine that is really tearing families apart and hurting people so deeply,” said Tali Ginsburg, a Never Again Action organizer in Chicago. Opposing Trump
Jewish organizations, like other religious groups, have a long history in the immigrant rights movement.For many Jews, it’s personal.
“Many of us have had a story of immigrating when we weren’t welcome,” said Carin Mrotz, executive director of Jewish Community Action in Minnesota. “Restrictive immigration policies kept us out, too.”
Her group worked with Never Again Action in June to block traffic outside a federal building in St. Paul where immigration court is held. Muslim organizations were invited in a gesture of solidarity.
Activists also used a day of Jewish mourning, Tisha B’Av, earlier this month to spotlight the plight of immigrants. Services usually held at synagogues were moved outdoors to immigrant detention and processing centers in places like Los Angeles and suburban Chicago. Immigrants shared their stories.
Jews, who overwhelmingly vote for Democrats, have long accused Trump of sowing fear in immigrant circles with his policies and rhetoric. His comments about Jewish voters triggered fresh concerns that he is promoting a centuries-old stereotype that Jews are divided in their loyalties, though Trump has denied any anti-Semitism.”He’s using a very anti-Semitic trope and pitting Jews against everyone else. It’s not an accident when Jews are mobilizing in even greater numbers,” said Audrey Sasson of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice in New York. “We’re not going to be scared away out of our solidarity.”
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UN: Myanmar Military Intended to Perpetrate Genocide Against Rohingya Muslims
A U.N. fact-finding mission has concluded that the Myanmar military intended to perpetrate genocide on ethnic Rohingya Muslims when it drove hundreds of thousands of them from the country in 2017.The report, released Thursday, also said the government has failed to meet its responsibility under the Genocide Convention to investigate and punish acts of genocide. “The human rights violations we have been asked to look into, the basic responsibility lies with the Tatmadaw,” Radhika Coomaraswamy, an expert with the mission, said at the release of the report. The Tatmadaw is the Myanmar military. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state in August and September 2017, after attacks by Rohingya militants against state security forces led to military reprisals. They continue to seek shelter in a refugee camp in neighboring Bangladesh. The fact-finding mission focused on sexual and gender-based violence, which was widely reported by survivors who reached Bangladesh. FILE – Flames engulf a house in Gawdu Zara village, northern Rakhine state, Myanmar, Sept. 7, 2017. Security forces and allied mobs burned down thousands of homes in the area, where the vast majority of the country’s 1.1 million Rohingya had lived.It concluded that the Tatmadaw indicated its “genocidal intent” against the Muslim minority group by “deliberately inflicting on the Rohingya women and girls conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Rohingya in whole or in part.” This included the widespread and systematic murder and gang rape of females of reproductive age, mutilation of or injury to their reproductive organs, and attacks on pregnant women and babies. “We found that. actually, it is basic to the Tatmadaw Ministry strategy — which is called the ‘four cuts’ strategy — which allows one to use force against the civilian population to intimidate and punish the civilian population as a tactic of war,” Coomaraswamy said of the atrocities. The report also said that such violence against civilians was only possible “in a climate of long-standing tolerance and impunity, where military personnel had no reasonable fear of punishment or disciplinary action.”RecommendationsThe fact-finding mission, which was mandated by the U.N. Human Rights Council, was not allowed into Myanmar. It interviewed 300 survivors and witnesses outside the country, who also included experts on sexual violence. “Our general overarching recommendation is the need for security sector reform under civilian oversight of the Tatmadaw,” Coomaraswamy said. She said one aspect of the military’s power is its independent economic interests. “There are conglomerates, companies, run by the military, and a network of businesses — primarily local, but also international — that went into joint ventures and others with the Tatmadaw,” she said. “We are not saying not to do business in Myanmar. We are just saying only with the Tatmadaw.”Coomaraswamy said there should be accountability, which she suggests could either be a hybrid court or the International Criminal Court.”We don’t really feel domestic remedies are possible in Myanmar,” she said. ReturnMeanwhile, efforts to start sending small groups of Rohingya home from Bangladesh are stalled. The U.N. refugee agency has surveyed a group of 3,400 Rohingya refugees, whose names have been approved by the government for return, about whether they want to go back to Myanmar. “So far, none of those interviewed have indicated a willingness to repatriate at this time,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday. “Many of the refugees stated that they do hope to go home to Myanmar as soon as conditions allow and that assurances regarding their citizenship status, freedom of movement and security in Myanmar could be provided.”
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Giraffes Move Closer to Endangered Species Protection
Nations around the world moved Thursday to protect giraffes as an endangered species for the first time, drawing praise from conservationists and scowls from some sub-Saharan African nations.Thursday’s vote by a key committee at the World Wildlife Conference known as CITES paves the way for the measure’s likely approval by its plenary next week.The plan would regulate world trade in giraffe parts, including hides, bone carvings and meat, while stopping short of a full ban. It passed 106-21 with seven abstentions.“So many people are so familiar with giraffes that they think they’re abundant,” said Susan Lieberman, vice president of international policy for the Wildlife Conservation Society. “And in Southern Africa, they may be doing OK, but giraffes are critically endangered.”Lieberman said giraffes were particularly at risk in parts of West, Central and East Africa.The Wildlife Conservation Society said it was concerned about the multiple threats to giraffes that have already resulted in population decline, citing habitat loss, droughts worsened by climate change and the illegal killings and trade in giraffe body parts.The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, hailed the move, noting that giraffes are a vulnerable species facing habitat loss and population decline. A key African conservationist said it could help reverse drops in giraffe populations, as the move would help better track numbers of giraffes.“The giraffe has experienced over 40% decline in the last 30 years, said Maina Philip Muruthi of the African Wildlife Foundation. “If that trend continues, it means that we are headed toward extinction.”Still, not all African countries supported the move.“We see no reason as to why we should support this decision, because Tanzania has a stable and increasing population of giraffes,” said Maurus Msuha, director of wildlife at the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. “Over 50% of our giraffe population is within the Serengeti ecosystem, which is well protected. Why should we then go for this?”CITES says the population of wild giraffes is actually much smaller than that of wild African elephants.“We’re talking about a few tens of thousands of giraffes and we’re talking about a few hundreds of thousands of African elephants,” said Tom De Meulenaar, chief of scientific services at CITES. He said the convention was intended to specifically address the international trade in giraffes and their parts.“With fewer giraffes than elephants in Africa, it was a no-brainer to simply regulate giraffe exports,” said Tanya Sanerib, international legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity.The U.S. is the world’s biggest consumer of giraffe products, conservationists said. Sanerib said it was important for the U.S. to act on its own as well.“It’s still urgent for the Trump administration to protect these imperiled animals under the U.S. Endangered Species Act,” she said in a statement.The meeting in Geneva comes after President Donald Trump’s administration last week announced plans to water down the U.S. Endangered Species Ac _ a message that could echo among attendees at the CITES conference, even if the U.S. move is more about domestic policy than international trade.
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New Sudan Sovereign Council Woman Vows to Uphold Rights of All
One of two women appointed to Sudan’s newly created Sovereign Council on Wednesday said she will uphold the rights of all Sudanese people.Raja Nichola Abdulmessih, the only Christian on the 11-member council, said all Sudanese deserve to have their constitutional rights protected.”Our rights are stipulated and enshrined in the constitution. We just need to practice and demand these rights as any Sudanese citizen, regardless of our religion, our affiliation, our race or color. We are just Sudanese citizens and Christian,” she told South Sudan in Focus.Raja Nichola Abdulmessih, a civilian member of Sudan’s new sovereign council, attends a press conference after being sworn-in, in the capital Khartoum, Aug. 21, 2019.Abdulmessih said the Sovereign Council’s first priority should be silencing the guns across the country. “We shall try to rebuild our economy, we shall begin to stop all the armed movements and work for peace and justice for all Sudanese,” Abdulmessih told VOA.She urged revolutionaries across Sudan to be patient as the new, transitional government is formed.”What happened in 30 years cannot be rebuilt in three years. But we shall try our best to do whatever we can. We shall be holding a lot of meetings with our head of the council and we hope things shall work out,” Abdulmessih told VOA.Sudan’s new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok also was sworn in Wednesday.Hamdok vowed that achieving peace and solving the country’s economic crisis would be his top priorities.
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US Tells Canada It’s Urging China to Free Detained Canadians
Updated at 4:23 p.m. Aug. 22.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured Canada on Thursday that the United States was working to get China to release two Canadians it detained last year on espionage charges in cases linked to a U.S. criminal charge against a Chinese technology executive.
On a visit to Ottawa, Pompeo told Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, “Please do know our team is focused on helping those two Canadians be released. We’re working on it diligently. It’s wrong that they are being held.”
Pompeo said that “China needs to honor the commitments it’s made to the world, and it’s our expectation they’ll do so.”
Ahead of their talks, Trudeau said he appreciated U.S. efforts and would be talking with Pompeo about “how we move forward on that.” Trudeau said last month that U.S. President Donald Trump had raised the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping at one of their meetings.
China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor in December 2018 in an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer at Huawei, the giant Chinese telecommunications company.
FILE – Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou is pictured as she exits the court registry following a bail hearing at British Columbia Superior Courts in Vancouver, British Columbia, Dec. 11, 2018.Meng was arrested Dec. 1 in Vancouver at the request of U.S. authorities, who want her extradited to stand trial on fraud charges in the U.S. Since her arrest, she has been staying at her multimillion-dollar mansion there awaiting extradition proceedings. ‘Arbitrary’ detentionPompeo, speaking to reporters, denied that the Chinese and Canadian arrests were comparable.
The “arbitrary” detention of the Canadians in China is ” is fundamentally different as a human rights matter, as a rule-of-law matter,” he said.
“These are fundamentally different matters than the Canadian decision to use their due process and the rule of law to behave in a way that’s deeply consistent with the way these decent nations work,” Pompeo said.
China, he said, wants to “talk about these two as if they’re they’re equivalent, as if they’re morally similar, which they fundamentally are not.”
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, when asked whether Ottawa had asked the United States to drop its extradition demand, told reporters that applying the extradition treaty was “not a political decision.”
“Extradition is a criminal justice matter. It is not a political matter, and the case of Ms. Meng is currently before the Canadian courts, as it ought to be. As for the U.S. case against Ms. Meng, I think that’s a matter for the U.S. and the U.S. criminal justice authorities,” she said.China’s relations with Canada have been icy since the arrest of Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei.
After Trudeau spoke about the detention of the two Canadians Thursday, China’s embassy in Ottawa condemned the continued house detention of Meng.
“China adheres to the principle of equality between all countries, no matter big or small. … China-Canada relations now suffer gross difficulties, and the Canadian side knows very well the root cause,” the embassy said. “Canada should release Ms. Meng Wanzhou immediately and ensure her safe return to China, and bring bilateral relations back onto the right track.” Some imports halted
Since the Meng arrest, China has stopped importing some Canadian products such as canola seed and meat. It also resentenced a convicted Canadian drug smuggler to death.
Kovrig and Spavor, the two detained Canadians, have been accused of conspiring to steal state secrets, but no evidence has been disclosed. They have not been allowed access to family members or lawyers while China has them in custody.
Meng is accused of lying to banks about the company’s dealings with Iran in violation of U.S. trade sanctions.
Resolution of the cases has been complicated by the ongoing tit-for-tat tariff war between the U.S. and China and their lack of success, at least so far, in reaching a new trade agreement. The U.S., however, says the trade talks are separate from the criminal case against Meng.
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Report Shows US Deficit To Exceed $1 Trillion Next Year
The federal budget deficit is expected to balloon to more than $1 trillion in the next fiscal year under the first projections taking into account the big budget deal that President Donald Trump and Congress reached this summer, the Congressional Budget Office reported.The return of $1 trillion annual deficits comes despite Trump’s vow when running for office that he would not just balance the budget but pay down the entire national debt.“The nation’s fiscal outlook is challenging,” said Phillip Swagel, director of the nonpartisan CBO. “Federal debt, which is already high by historical standards, is on an unsustainable course.”The office on Wednesday upped this year’s deficit projection by $63 billion and the cumulative deficit projection for the next decade by $809 billion. The higher deficit projections come even as the CBO reduced its estimate for interest rates, which lowers borrowing costs, and as it raised projections for economic growth in the near term.The number crunchers at CBO projected the deficit for the current fiscal year will come to $960 billion. In the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, it will exceed $1 trillion.The CBO said the budget deal signed into law earlier this month, which took away the prospect of a government shutdown in October and the threat of deep automatic spending cuts, would boost deficits by $1.7 trillion over the coming decade. Increased spending on disaster relief and border security would add $255 billion. Downward revisions to the forecast for interest rates will help the picture, trimming $1.4 trillion.Swagel said the federal debt will rise even higher after the coming decade because of the nation’s aging population and higher spending on health care.To put the country on sustainable footing, Swagel said, lawmakers will have to increase taxes, cut spending or combine the two approaches.The CBO projects that the economy will expand more slowly, from 2.3% this year to 1.8% on average in the next four years. The assumption reflects slower growth in consumer spending and government purchases, as well as the effect of trade policies on business investment.It also projects the unemployment rate will remain close to its current level of 3.7% through the end of 2020 and then rises to 4.6% by the end of 2023.The CBO’s estimate is the first to reflect the hard-won budget and debt deal signed into law earlier this month.“The recent budget deal was a budget buster, and now we have further proof. Both parties took an already unsustainable situation and made it much worse,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the private Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.MacGuineas said lawmakers should ensure the legislation they enact is paid for and redouble efforts to control the growth in health care costs and restore the solvency of the Social Security program. Her organization is focused on educating the public on issues with significant fiscal policy impact.Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway pivoted to the president’s desire to fund the military and other programs when asked about the report”“We’re always concerned about the deficit,” Conway said. “We also need to fund a lot of the projects and programs that are important to this country.”
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US Indictment Charges 80 in Fraud Schemes, Money Laundering
U.S. authorities have unsealed a 252-count grand jury indictment charging 80 people with participating in a conspiracy to steal millions of dollars through a range of fraud schemes and laundering the funds through a Los Angeles-based network.The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Thursday most of the defendants are Nigerian citizens.Fourteen defendants have been arrested, mostly in the Los Angeles region. Six others are believed to be fugitives in the U.S. and the others are abroad, mostly in Nigeria.Prosecutors say the schemes included frauds involving compromise of business email, romance scams and schemes targeting the elderly.Authorities say the schemes targeted victims in the U.S. and around the world, and some lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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France, Greece To push for EU Solidarity on Migrant Crisis
French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis agreed to push for more solidarity in the European Union over the migrant crisis.
Mitsotakis, who took office on July, met with Macron in Paris on Thursday. He said the migrant crisis must not weigh only on the countries that are on the front line like Greece, Italy and Spain.
Macron implicitly criticized Italy’s hard-line interior minister, Matteo Salvini, who recently refused to allow migrants onboard a rescue ship to disembark.Macron said “unacceptable decisions have been taken, again” and stressed that countries “must find a European solution.”
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New Standoff Expected With Italy Over Vessel With Hundreds of Migrants
In what risks becoming the latest migrant standoff with Italy, the Norwegian-flagged Ocean Viking, carrying 356 migrants, including more than 100 minors, mainly from Sudan, has been stranded at sea awaiting port access for nearly two weeks.
After 13 days at sea, the plight of the migrants on board the NGO rescue ship remains unclear. France has said it is prepared to take 40 of the 356 migrants. Charity officials say the migrants are increasingly concerned about what will happen to them and fearful they may be returned to Libya. But Paris also has said the principle of sailing to the nearest port is solid.Malta already has denied the ship access to its port, and Italy has not responded to the requests made by the NGO vessel. Italy, which at present is focused on resolving a political crisis, has been taking a hard line with its closed ports policy, implemented by far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.The Ocean Viking is a vessel run by two French charities: Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and SOS Mediterranee. The migrants on board were rescued in four different missions off the coast of Libya. They include about 90 unaccompanied minors.Rescued migrants rest aboard the Ocean Viking ship in the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 21, 2019, in this still image taken from a social media video. (MSF via Reuters)Charity workers on board say the supplies are running low and the crew has decided to ration showers to save water. Luca Pigozzi, one of the doctors on board the Ocean Viking, says the migrants already are traumatized and have been through much suffering.Pigozzi said, “the most serious emergency at the moment is the psychological emergency. These people are suffering from very severe psychological traumas, many have been tortured or sexually abused.”Pigozzi added that this waiting in the confined space of the ship can only worsen their psychological conditions.Doctors Without Borders project coordinator Jay Berger said “a rescue ship is like an ambulance where people should be transported — not living on it.” He called the situation “shameful” and “inhumane.”Berger added that “leaving migrants on boats for weeks until the crisis becomes an emergency is becoming the new norm.” He said it is taking too long for a solution to be found.Talks are underway to find other European nations prepared to accept migrants, although none, other than France, have come forward for the time being.
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Hong Kong’s Quietly Confrontational Protest
Protests continue in Hong Kong as activists employ a wide range of strategies to spread their pro-democracy message. Mike O’Sullivan reports from the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
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South Korea to Scrap Military Intel Sharing Deal with Japan
In an escalation of its bitter dispute with Japan, South Korea decided Thursday to scrap a military intelligence sharing agreement with Tokyo, opening a new divide in trilateral security cooperation between the U.S., Japan, and South Korea. South Korea’s presidential Blue House said Thursday it is not in its national interest to continue a deal signed for the purpose of exchanging sensitive military information with Japan. Seoul will inform Tokyo of its decision before the Saturday deadline to renew the General Security of Military Information Agreement, or GISOMIA, the South Korean statement said.The decision will worsen tensions between South Korea and Japan, who are involved in a dispute rooted in Japan’s use of forced labor during its colonial occupation of Korea. The move also threatens to further upend security cooperation on U.S. priorities such as North Korea and China.Trade movesJapan last month removed South Korea from its “white list” of trusted trade partners and restricted exports of high-tech materials to South Korea. The materials are used to produce semiconductors and displays in smartphones and other electronics that serve as the backbone of South Korea’s export-driven economy.
Japan’s moves are widely seen as retaliation for recent South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese companies to compensate Koreans who were forced to work during Japan’s colonial occupation of Korea.Seoul retaliated earlier this month by removing Japan from its own “white list” of countries that enjoyed minimal trade restrictions.South Korean President Moon Jae-in last week signaled a deescalation in its trade dispute with Japan, saying he would “gladly join hands” with Tokyo if it chooses dialogue.But Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, says the Moon government may see the GISOMIA decision as a “symbolic, low-cost way of signaling resolve” to Tokyo. He warned, however, the move could backfire.“Tokyo may become more likely to escalate economic pressure. South Korea may be seen by Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow to be weakening its alliance cooperation with the United States, leaving Seoul more exposed to regional geopolitics,” said Easley.Historical dispute
The trade dispute is the latest flare-up in tensions rooted in Japan’s brutal 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean peninsula. A major source of friction is how to compensate those forced into labor and sexual slavery in the colonial era.
Japan says the reparations issue was resolved with a 1965 treaty that normalized Japan-South Korea relations. Japan has complained that subsequent South Korean governments have not accepted further Japanese apologies and attempts to make amends.
The issue re-emerged last year after South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies, including Mitsubishi Heavy, to compensate Korean forced labor victims. The companies have not complied with the rulings, leading some victims to begin the legal process to seize or liquidate the companies’ assets in Korea.
Japan says the rulings are unacceptable. But South Korea says it cannot overturn them, saying that doing so would amount to interference in South Korea’s independent court system.
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DRC, Mozambique Insurgencies Need Local Responses, Experts Say
Experts are warning that a focus on alleged Islamist militant ties is hindering efforts to respond to insurgencies in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Local insurgent groups have claimed ties to Islamic State to increase their clout, but the groups operate autonomously, experts who study the regions say.On April 18, a FILE – A South African soldier from the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) is seen during a patrol to hold off attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces rebels in Oicha, DRC, Oct. 08, 2018.Nearly daily attacks in the Cabo Delgado region have made the insurgency in Mozambique one of Africa’s deadliest. The group in the DRC has pulled off high-profile attacks, killing U.N. peacekeepers.
But at their core, they remain local insurgencies, O’Farrell said.“Their targets are primarily local,” O’Farrell said. “That’s very rarely the MO for some of the more peripheral Islamic State affiliates. But within those zones or within any territory in North Kivu (DRC) and within Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, they’re very active.”Yussuf Adam, an associate professor of contemporary history at the University of Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, Mozambique, said that rather than receiving arms or provisions from IS, insurgent groups in Mozambique are capturing them from the Mozambican Armed Forces.“They kill two persons here, three persons there. They take ammunition, and so on. And it seems that they … feed themselves or, you know, feed their operations from guns they collect,” he told VOA.Adam said the only international component to the insurgency is that some of the local fighters traveled to Afghanistan to fight the Russians in the 1980s. Unconfirmed reports suggest fighters received training in Somalia.In a discussion on VOA’s radio interview program “Encounter,” experts said the insurgency in Mozambique is hard to understand because they have not made any public pronouncements. They are decentralized and likely include former street hawkers with links to organized crime.Judd Devermont, director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the insurgency in Mozambique may have Islamist roots, but other factors fuel it. These include resentment over natural gas discoveries, which have not benefited the local population, and heavy-handed operations by security forces, resulting in civilian deaths.“This is what I would call an insipid insurgency,” Devermont said. “That’s important because it means that there are opportunities here in the embryonic stage to address its concerns, snuff it out and bring back some of these individuals as part of society.”Oil and gas companies hiring locals who might otherwise become frustrated and join the insurgency would help a lot, Devermont said.Adam believes the insurgency cannot be addressed by looking at it internationally. Instead, he urged policymakers to look at the local grievances of northern Mozambique, which has long been cut off from the economic hubs of the country and underserved by the central government.“Violence breeds violence,” Adam said. “What we need is to start working readily to see what are the problems, what is the political and economy of northern Mozambique.”
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Kosovo Lawmakers Dissolve Parliament, Pave Way for Election
Kosovo lawmakers voted to dissolve parliament Friday, paving the way for a parliamentary election after Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj resigned last month.A total of 89 deputies voted to dissolve the 120-seat parliament. An election should take place within 45 days.Haradinaj resigned after being summoned for questioning by the country’s war crimes prosecutor over his role in the 1998-99 insurgency against Serbian forces, when he was a commander of the guerilla Kosovo Liberation Army. He denies any wrongdoing and said he is ready to face any accusations.Polls show that no party will gain enough support to form a government on its own, and lengthy coalition talks are expected.FILE – Former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj arrives for a Kosovo tribunal, at the Hague, Netherlands, July 24, 2019.The last government was a coalition between Haradinaj’s party, the center-right Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Social Democratic Initiative (NISMA).Haradinaj resigned from the role of prime minister once before in 2005 when he was indicted by the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia. He was tried and acquitted twice by that court.A major task facing the new government will be to relaunch talks with Belgrade on normalizing relations, key for both countries in their bid to join the European Union. Talks collapsed last November when Pristina introduced a 100 percent tax on products made in Serbia.Kosovo, with a 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority, declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nearly 10 years after NATO bombing drove Serb forces out of the country. It has been recognized by more than 110 states but not by five EU member states, Serbia and Russia.In 2013 the two countries agreed to EU-sponsored talks, but little progress has been made since. Serbia, which still considers Kosovo part of its territory, said it would return to negotiating table only once the 100 percent tax is abolished.Pristina on the other hand says it would abolish tax only when Belgrade recognizes Kosovo as sovereign state.
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