Unhealthy levels of smog have choked Bangkok for more than a week, as the Thai capital’s residents fume over the ineffectiveness of government measures to combat the problem.As thick haze blanketed the city Monday, pollution levels soared to 95 micrograms per cubic meter of PM 2.5 particle at noon in some areas, according to the government’s Pollution Control Department, which described that level as very unhealthy. The maximum level considered safe by the government is 50.PM 2.5 particles are small enough to penetrate deeply into the lungs, which can cause both short-term bronchial problems as well as serious long-term health issues.Bangkok’s smog crisis results from still air and an excessive amount of ultrafine dust from vehicle emissions and other activities, Pollution Control Department Director-General Pralong Damrongthai explained in a Monday press release. He said smog is being trapped close to the ground by a blanket of warm air in what meteorologists call an inversion.A thick layer of smog covers central Bangkok, Thailand, Jan. 20, 2020.Bangkok residents have grown frustrated with the lack of progress in improving the situation. A survey by the National Institute for Development Administration released on Sunday showed 81% of the 1,256 local residents questioned agreed the government is ineffective in solving the problem. Only 2.7% of respondents approved of the government’s efforts.The Pollution Control Department issued a 52-page national action plan in October for combating dust pollution problems, but it is unclear how many, if any, of the measures it suggested were implemented. The plan mostly included guidelines for government agencies, but also discussed possible precautions and ways to measure pollutants.Burning of fields is cited as the main reason for smog outside of Bangkok, with provinces in the central and northern regions of Thailand also blanketed in haze.Tara Buakamsri of the environmental group Greenpeace said the current situation shows the government’s strategy is failing.”They probably think that the situation happens just only few days or few weeks and then it’s gone, therefore, no concrete or long-term measures have been launched by the government,” he said.Tara also said the official maximum “safe level” of PM 2.5 of 50 micrograms per cubic meter over 24 hours was set too high.”That level cannot protect people’s health,” he said. He urged the maximum safe level be reduced to 35, as it is in other places such as the United States.
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Month: January 2020
Puerto Rico Protesters Demand Governor’s Resignation
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the seaside governor’s mansion and Capitol building on Monday in Puerto Rico to demand the U.S. territory’s leader resignation and to protest the recent discovery of apparently forgotten disaster supplies amid continuing earthquakes.”We have to get rid of all the corrupt officials,” said Mari Rivera, a government employee who said that Gov. Wanda Vazquez “needs to stop blaming others and show her face.”About 600 people banged on pots and some waved Puerto Rican flags as one of them yelled into a bullhorn, “Wanda, turn over the disaster supplies!”Evangelical preacher Ramon Marrero, who drove up from the southern coastal town of Guayama with his wife and daughters, said they came “to show our indignation, our annoyance, our rebellion.”The scene reminded many of the beginning of protests that escalated over the summer and led to the resignation of former Gov. Ricardo Rossello, with demonstrators once again vowing to remain in the streets until Vazquez also steps down.Protesters move the demonstration from the Capitol building to the Governors Mansion, after a warehouse full of relief aid dating back to Hurricane Maria was discovered, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Jan. 20, 2020.”This fight goes on no matter what!” they chanted.Expected to join the fight is Puerto Rican star Ricky Martin, who announced on Instagram that he was en route to the island.”In the times of our people’s greatest needs, those who are supposed to be leaders have once again failed. They have once again failed to address the most basic rights of human beings: water, roof, education, security,” he wrote.Martin was also part of last year’s protests, along with several other renown artists who drew tens of thousands of people to the streets.Monday’s protest came a day after Vazquez fired two more high-ranking officials in her administration — Housing Secretary Fernando Gil and Department of Family Secretary Glorimar Andujar — over the lack of information regarding aid collection and distribution centers. On Saturday, she fired emergency management director Carlos Acevedo.Vazquez said she had lost confidence in those officials after the discovery of a warehouse in the southern coastal city of Ponce that was filled with disaster supplies dating from when Hurricane Maria hit the island in September 2017.People protest in front of Puerto Rico’s Capitol during a demonstration against Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez and the government in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Jan. 20, 2020.She ordered an investigation into the incident and said there would be no prosecution of a crowd that broke into the warehouse Saturday to distribute supplies to people affected by the recent 6.4 magnitude earthquake, which killed one person and caused an estimated $200 million in damage.Officials said a preliminary report on the investigation was completed late Monday, and Vazquez said she was turning it over to the island’s Justice Department for a more in-depth probe based on the recommendation of Puerto Rico’s Special Investigations Bureau.Vazquez has warned that the incident would further erode the U.S. government’s trust in Puerto Rico, which is still awaiting millions of dollars in federal aid for Hurricane Maria amid concerns of corruption and mismanagement.Underlining that concern, Ben Carson, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, tweeted Sunday that “the news out of Puerto Rico is disturbing, to say the least.””In order for healing to begin, the corruption must end. This further underscores the importance of the reforms and financial controls we put in place to ensure these resources reach those who need them most,” he added.
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ILO: Labor Inequality Threatens Social Cohesion
The International Labor Organization warns that rising unemployment and inequality are preventing people from working their way out of poverty and threatening social cohesion.For the ninth consecutive year, the International Labor Organization reports global unemployment has remained stable at about 188 million people. But the agency says unemployment is projected to increase by around 2.5 million this year.The ILO says the employment picture is actually worse than these figures indicate when one factors in the 285 million people who do not have enough paid work or have are no longer looking for work. By doing this, the agency says the current global unemployment rate of 5.4 percent goes up to 13 percent.ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said this means more than 470 million people worldwide are either unemployed or underemployed. He said these people are unable to lift themselves out of poverty because they are working fewer paid hours than they would like or are underpaid for the work they do.“The report shows that for millions of working people, it is becoming increasingly difficult, I think, to build better lives through work. Persisting and substantial work-related inequalities and exclusion are preventing them from finding decent work and better futures,” he said.The report finds that significant inequalities in the workplace defined by gender, age and geographic location are growing. It said the gender gap is widening. In 2019, it notes the female labor force participation was 47 percent, which is 27 percent below the male percentage rate.The situation for young people between the ages of 15 and 24 is even worse. The report says 262 million young people have no jobs and are receiving no skills training. Ryder said inequalities are politically unacceptable and politically unsustainable.“I think that this is an extremely worrying finding and that it has very profound and worrying implications for social cohesion. And these implications need to be better addressed in policy making. Our view is that we will find sustainable inclusive parts of development only if we tackle these kinds of labor market gaps and inequalities,” he said.Ryder said labor market conditions are feeding into social unrest and affecting social cohesion in parts of the world. He notes violent anti-government protests have erupted from South America to the Middle East over political and economic grievances. He said these protests show what can happen when discontent is left to fester.
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Pompeo Promises More Action to Boost Venezuela’s Guaido
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the Untied States will start doing more to support Venezuela’s opposition leader and self-proclaimed president, Juan Guaido.Pompeo and Guaido met with reporters Monday on the sidelines of a regional counterterrorism meeting in Bogota, Colombia.Guaido, head of the National Assembly, declared himself Venezuelan president one year ago, after ruling that President Nicolas Maduro’s re-election was illegitimate.The Trump administration and about 50 other countries recognize Guaido as Venezuela’s true president.”I want you to know that your president is a great leader who wants to take your country in the right direction — the direction of freedom, democracy, to restore economic prosperity,” Pompeo said in remarks directed at the Venezuelan people. He said the U.S. will do everything to ensure they get that opportunity.FILE – Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro delivers his annual state of the nation speech during a special session of the National Constituent Assembly, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 14, 2020.Guaido’s initial momentum and popular uprising against Maduro has appeared to wane over the past year. But Guaido told reporters the fight for democracy “finds alternatives, different pathways, and reinforced mechanisms.”He said getting rid of Maduro is a “long-term strategy.””The dictators won’t want to give up the power they’ve taken. … We’re much more like Syria than like Cuba … in terms of migration, access to services, the inflation. There’s no vaccines for our children. They are dying because of lack of food,” Guaido said through an interpreter.Venezuela’s ruling Socialist Party Vice President Diosdado Cabello dismissed Guaido on Monday as ineffective.”It is totally irrelevant for us that a lackey has gone to meet his masters in Colombia. He hasn’t achieved anything he promised,” Cabello said at a press conference.U.S. ‘actions’ unclearPompeo did not specify what “further actions” the U.S. would take to back Guaido. It has already imposed sanctions on a number of senior Venezuelan politicians and on the Venezuelan oil sector. U.S. military action against Venezuela has never been taken off the table.The U.S. accuses the Maduro regime of having links to Colombian rebel groups and the Lebanese-based Hezbollah terrorists.Pompeo would not say if the U.S. is planning to designate Venezuela a state sponsor of terrorism, telling reporters it is “constantly evaluating” who belongs on the list.Guaido heads to the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. He leaves Venezuela at great personal risk because the Venezuelan Supreme Court has barred him from leaving the country, and he may not be allowed to return home.Millions of Venezuelans have fled the country in the past two years after failed socialist policies, corruption, and the drop in world energy policies wrecked the oil-rich country’s economy. Gasoline, medicine, and many basic foods are in short supply or priced out of reach because of hyperinflation.Maduro has said he is ready to hold direct talks with the United States.
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US Ag Secretary: No Need for More Farm Aid After China Trade Deal
With China poised to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural goods this year as part of a Phase 1 China trade deal, the U.S. Agriculture Secretary said Monday there is no need for a third year of trade-related aid for farmers.Farmers have increasingly relied on aid from the U.S. government to survive during the past two years as exports have lagged throughout the U.S.-China trade war. But USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said China will soon begin buying U.S. farm goods to meet the $40 billion in agricultural purchase agreements it made, alleviating growers’ need for more aid.China, which typically buys the bulk of its U.S. agriculture products during the fall and early winter, will likely change the timing of its purchases, Perdue said.”If China is going to achieve that, and we believe they are, we think they have to buy earlier than the traditional export season from the United States,” said Perdue, speaking at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual convention.FILE – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue speaks to reporters during a visit to Decatur, Ill., Aug. 28, 2019.His remarks came one day after U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the convention, promising farmers that the deal will be good for them.Washington and Beijing signed the pact on Jan. 15, though tariffs on major U.S. farm exports have not been removed and structural economic differences were not addressed.Perdue said the third tranche of a $16 billion aid package announced in May will be paid to farmers “imminently,” but that they should not expect a 2020 aid package.China bought roughly 60% of U.S. soybean exports before the trade war and also was a major buyer of sorghum, dairy and pork.Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said Chinese firms will buy American products, “based on market conditions,” raising doubts that the country will meet its commitments under the pact.Growers are used to dealing with seasonality in the export program and could afford to wait without fresh trade aid, said Lane Osswald, 44, a farmer from Eldorado, Ohio.”Everyone is prepared for the South American harvest to hit the market every year,” Osswald said.Soybean futures have dropped 1.3% since the trade deal was signed.The China deal, and the recent passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, will allow farmers to prosper, Perdue said.Trump gained support among American farm families at the end of 2019, Reuters/Ipsos poll data showed, as he touted the trade deal ahead of its signing. Farmers broadly voted for Trump in 2016.
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Malawi is Home to Africa’s First Drone Academy
Malawi this month opened the first African Drone and Data Academy, with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF. The academy aims to improve drone technology skills across Africa, beginning with Malawi and neighboring countries.Karen Asaba developed an interest in drones at Uganda Flying Labs, a Kampala-based drone mapping and data hub. As a student at Malawi’s just opened African Drone and Data Academy, she gets to learn how to build one.”Right now, we are learning how to assemble a drone from the start, considering its weight, considering the central gravity, considering the GPS and all the electronics that are involved in making the drone,” she said.Asaba is one of 26 students from across Africa in the first three-month course at the academy, learning to construct and pilot drones.Instructors are seen teaching students at the African Drone and Data Academy in Malawi. (Lameck Masina/VOA)The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is backing the program, which this year is expected to train 150 students.UNICEF says the academy, and the launch of Africa’s first drone corridor in Malawi in 2016, will promote drones for development and humanitarian use.Rudolf Schwenk, the country representative for UNICEF in Malawi, says the drones will have broad practical applications.”For example, transporting medical supplies to remove areas or transporting samples very fast, where it will take a lot of time to transport them. We have also worked on emergency preparedness and response because with data and drone imagery, you can see where flooding will happen,” Schwenk said.Thumbiko Nkwawa Zingwe, a student at the newly-launched African Drone and Data Academy, says the course he has taken there has insipred him to start a space agency in Malawi. (Lameck Masina/VOA)The drone course was developed with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, better known as Virginia Tech.Kevin Kochersberger, an associate professor at Virginia Tech, explained the course’s components.”We go through three modules in this program. They have gone [through] drone logistics, drone technologies so they become very functional in drone[s] – not only being pilots, but they operate and maintain the drones as well,” Kochersberger said.The drone academy has inspired some students like Thumbiko Nkwawa Zingwe to reach for the stars.I have a vision that I can start a first Malawian space agency, which can be utilizing geo-information data for different applications. For example, here in Malawi we are so susceptible to floods as a geo-hazardous anomaly,” Zingwe said.The African Drone and Data Academy’s first graduates are expected in March.The academy plans to partner with Malawi University of Science and Technology for a free master’s degree program in drone technology by 2022.
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EU Mulls Reviving Migrant, Arms Embargo Operation Targeting Libya
The European Union is considering restarting an operation to control migrant trafficking and enforce a U.N. arms embargo on Libya if a shaky truce in the North African country solidifies into a formal cease-fire. Speaking Monday after an EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said member states discussed revamping the operation to include monitoring a Libya arms embargo by land as well as by sea.Known as Sophia, the mission has mostly been combating migrant trafficking off Libya’s shores. Its maritime operation ended last March, after Italy said it would no longer welcome migrants rescued at sea. “We are not going to change but to refocus the mandate of operation Sophia, to refocus especially on the issue of embargo,” Borrell said. “The arms embargo has to be controlled not only by sea, because most of the arms goes through the desert.”Borrell said this means also enforcing the embargo by land and air. He gave no timeline. However, Italy’s foreign minister said his country is interested only in the arms embargo aspect of the Sophia operation, not the migrant component. Borrell spoke a day after foreign powers at a Berlin summit agreed to shore up a fragile truce in Libya, where two rival governments are vying for power and energy resources. Analysts say Europe is late in concentrating on the Libya crisis, waking up only now to its implications — especially with the recent involvement of Russia and Turkey in the conflict. EU foreign ministers also discussed a neighboring hotspot — the Sahel — where extremist violence is growing. Borrell described Libya as a tumor spreading instability across the Sahara. He said roughly 4,000 soldiers and civilians died in the region last year alone. The EU announced no concrete measures Monday, but French Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian applauded what he described as Europe regaining control in international affairs. France hosted a summit last week to shore up military cooperation with West African countries against growing Islamist militancy in the Sahel.
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Britain’s Johnson Poised to Give Huawei Role in 5G Development
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears set to give the go-ahead for Chinese telecom giant Huawei to play a role in the development of Britain’s 5G wireless network — a move that risks jeopardizing intelligence-sharing between Britain and America, according U.S. officials. Despite last-ditch lobbying by the U.S. to block Huawei, British officials say it is a “foregone conclusion” Johnson will allow Huawei participation.That would confirm a “provisional” decision made by his predecessor, Theresa May. Last year, she said Huawei should be allowed to build some so-called “non-core” parts of Britain’s future 5G data network, discounting U.S. alarm.Johnson’s final decision could come as early as this week, officials say.For a year, the Trump administration has urged Britain to ban Huawei from participating in the development of Britain’s fifth-generation wireless network. U.S. officials say there’s a significant risk that the company, which has close ties to Chinese intelligence services, will act as a Trojan horse for Beijing’s espionage agencies, allowing them to sweep up data and gather intelligence.FILE – Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Oct. 16, 2019.Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have urged all Western allies to shun Huawei on security grounds. They have specifically warned Downing Street that Britain’s participation in the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing arrangement — the U.S.-led Anglophone intelligence pact linking Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Britain — would be imperiled.Australia and New Zealand have banned Huawei from developing their 5G networks. As yet, Canada has not.Senior U.S. security officials flew to London last week and warned Johnson and his ministers that allowing Huawei to supply even some non-core equipment of the future 5G network would be “nothing short of madness.”Cost factorBut Johnson has faced strong counter lobbying from China — and also from British telecom providers and mobile phone companies. They have already been installing Huawei technology to start setting up the new network in more than 70 cities in Britain. They warn that delaying the rollout of 5G would cost the British economy billions of pounds. Ripping out masts and other equipment already in place would cost British providers hundreds of millions of pounds and could delay by up to five years the 5G network.Last week, Johnson expressed frustration with the U.S. over the issue, saying in a BBC radio interview that he didn’t want “to prejudice our national security or our ability to co-operate with Five Eyes intelligence partners,” but that he wanted Britain to have “access to the best possible technology. We want to put in gigabit broadband for everybody.”Johnson added, “If people oppose one brand or another, then they have to tell us what’s the alternative.”Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, Britain, Jan. 20, 2020.U.S. officials reportedly told Johnson that Britain shouldn’t prioritize costs over security.Johnson has some U.S. supporters.”It is a difficult decision for a number of countries, the U.K. being one of them,” said Robert Manning, an analyst at the Atlantic Council.Huawei alternativesManning sympathizes with Johnson’s complaint that the U.S. isn’t offering any alternatives to Huawei.”On one level, this is all a fallout from America First policy. We should have sat down with our allies a long time ago to sort out what you have to worry about and what you might have some leeway on. There is a certain demonization going on, ” he told VOA.British technology experts say it is easier for the U.S. to avoid using Huawei equipment, as it is building a less sophisticated 5G network and doesn’t require the advanced antenna-sharing technology Huawei has developed. They say Huawei will provide not just faster mobile data connection but easier connectivity between internet-based devices, from laptops and smart refrigerators to self-driving cars.U.S. giants Cisco and Qualcomm are the go-to 5G equipment suppliers in America. But like Europe’s Ericsson and Nokia, they can’t currently provide the same advanced equipment as Huawei or at the same low price.Security risksBritish intelligence agencies are split on whether Huawei poses a security risk. Andrew Parker, head of MI5, believes U.S. alarm is overblown. He has said publicly that the security risks can be managed if Huawei has access to the less sensitive parts of the new network, and is monitored closely and its equipment screened.He has also discounted U.S. threats to review intelligence-sharing, saying there is “no reason to think” Washington would follow through with its threat, as the U.S.-U.K. partnership is “very close and very trusted.”But U.S. officials have told VOA that Parker is wrong to think that U.S. intelligence agencies would overlook the spying fears. They also warn that a possible Johnson fudge, whereby Huawei’s equipment would be allowed in less sensitive parts of the network, wouldn’t assuage their concerns.Top officials at Britain’s GCHQ, the eavesdropping spy agency and the country’s largest intelligence, aren’t as sanguine as Parker, and remain worried about the risks of handing Huawei unprecedented access to British citizens’ sensitive data.FILE – An analyst points to a screen at Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Britain’s electronic intelligence service, in London, March, 14, 2014.They agree with U.S. intelligence assessments that restricting Huawei to the “edges” of the new network would make little difference to the security risk. They told Britain’s Sunday Times that giving Huawei such access would be akin to “letting a fox loose in a chicken coop.”Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who when in office ruled out using Huawei for 5G development, said the nature of 5G technology made it impossible to separate the core from non-core elements of the future network. He said Huawei could be forced by Chinese law to hand over information to Beijing’s espionage agencies.”Do you want to give China the capability to materially interfere with what will become one of the most fundamental technological platforms in the modern economy?” he said in a radio interview last week.The Chinese government says Huawei is a private company and poses no security risk to the West. Huawei has dismissed U.S. allegations that it could undermine Britain’s national security as “baseless speculation.”Beijing has also made thinly veiled threats, suggesting a decision to ban Huawei could result in Britain being punished when it comes to trade and investment.Britain hopes to pull off post-Brexit trade deals with both Washington and Beijing to help compensate for reduced trade with Europe.
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A Look at Expected Participants in Virginia Gun Rally
State officials and U.S. hate-monitoring groups are warning about the potential for violence ahead of a gun-rights rally in Virginia that’s expected to draw a mix of militias, firearms advocates and white supremacists to Richmond.Citing credible threats of violence, Gov. Ralph Northam declared a temporary state of emergency days ahead of Monday’s rally, banning all weapons, including guns, from Capitol Square.Demonstrators are seen during a pro-gun rally, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va.Virginia’s solicitor general last week said law enforcement had identified “credible evidence” armed out-of-state groups planned to come to Virginia with the possible intention of participating in a “violent insurrection.”
Online, threats of violence have been “rampant” among anti-government and far-right groups, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks white supremacists and other extremists. Conspiracy theories and other misinformation have also proliferated.
Organizers of an annual vigil at the Capitol for the victims of gun violence said Friday they have canceled their event this year because of fears of “armed insurrectionists.”
Meanwhile, the gun-rights group that has planned the event is urging peace.A look at some of the groups involved:Virginia Citizens Defense League
The Virginia Citizens Defense League, an influential grassroots gun-rights organization with a long record in the state, has been the leading force behind Monday’s rally.
Each year on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday the group holds a lobby day, typically attended by several hundred gun enthusiasts who rally and meet with lawmakers to discuss legislation.
But this year’s event is expected to draw an enormous crowd.
The VCDL has donated over $200,000 to state lawmakers since 2002, records show. The group has emphasized the rally is intended to be peaceful and urged members not to bring long guns, saying they would be a “distraction.”
“The eyes of the nation and the world are on Virginia and VCDL right now and we must show them that gun owners are not the problem,” the group wrote in a recent email to its members.
The group’s president, Philip Van Cleave, has been in the national spotlight before. In 2018, Van Cleave was duped into participating in Sacha Baron Cohen’s ambush chat show, where he advocated for arming children.Gun Owners of America
The influential pro-gun group Gun Owners of America describes itself as the only “no-compromise” gun lobby in Washington and enjoys a loyal following.
Founded in 1975 by a California state lawmaker, Gun Owners of America joined the VCDL to seek an injunction against enforcement of Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order banning guns from the Capitol Square. The state Supreme Court upheld the ban late Friday.
On its website, the group has urged its members to attend Monday’s rally.
Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association, the country’s best known gun-rights organization, has distanced itself from Monday’s rally and instead held a lobby day last week.
Hundreds of people attended the event, where the NRA handed out unloaded 30-round gun magazines. A spokeswoman for the group headquartered in northern Virginia said the magazines were meant as a “morale booster” for the NRA members who showed up to urge lawmakers to reject the gun control measures proposed by Northam and Democratic lawmakers.Oath Keepers
Former U.S. Army paratrooper Stewart Rhodes formed The Oath Keepers in 2009, and the group has become one of the nation’s largest anti-government organizations, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
In 2014, Oath Keepers members joined an armed standoff between federal officials and Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy over grazing rights on government land.
Later that year and in 2015, members patrolled the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, amid protests over the police killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown. They wore camouflage body armor and openly carried rifles.
The group urged its members in a post on its website to attend Monday’s rally and said it was sending trainers to Virginia to organize and train “armed posses and militia.””It is NOT just about one day at a rally. It’s about organizing and training up Virginians in each town and county to make their Second Amendment Sanctuary Counties truly strong, united, and capable of actually defending their lives, liberty, and property,” the group’s website says.Three Percenter Movement
The Three Percenters are a loosely organized movement that formed in 2008, according to the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish civil rights organization that tracks extremist groups.
On its website, the right-wing group says it isn’t an anti-government militia but “we will defend ourselves when necessary.”
The Three Percenters derives its name from the belief that just 3% of the colonists rose up to fight the British. They have vowed to resist any government that infringes on the U.S. Constitution.
The Oregon Three Percenters joined an armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon in 2016. Dozens of people occupied the remote refuge for more than a month to protest federal control of Western lands. The group also took part in a violent right-wing rally in Portland last year.White supremacists
J.J. MacNab, a fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, said she didn’t expect large numbers of white supremacists. But MacNab said she thinks those who do attend will try to capitalize on the large expected crowd for a moment in the limelight.
“It’s going to be a big event — they want to be part of it. They’re desperate to do Charlottesville 2.0,” she said, referring to the 2017 rally that descended into violence.
Last week, authorities arrested at least seven men they linked to a violent white supremacist group known as The Base. Three of the men were planning to attend the rally in Richmond, according to an official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an active investigation.
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Finding US Impeachment Consistency a Difficult Task
Looking for consistency in American politics is often a long and futile pursuit. But nowhere is that more evident than in the views of key figures in the Senate impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump that starts in earnest on Tuesday.
The line of demarcation — a then-and-now compilation of quotes — is a look-back and a look-now at two presidential impeachments.
One occurred in 1999 when then-President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, faced impeachment over a sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and his lying about the affair in sworn testimony. Trump, a Republican, now faces allegations he abused the presidency by pressing Ukraine to open investigations to benefit himself politically, and obstructed congressional efforts to review his actions.FILE – Former independent counsel Kenneth Starr signs a copy of his recent book “Contempt: A Memoir of the Clinton Investigation” at the University of New Mexico School of Law in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Jan. 23, 2019. Starr prosecutor
Clinton’s main accuser was independent counsel Kenneth Starr, whose wide-ranging investigation of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair led to the president’s impeachment and eventual acquittal in a Senate trial. Two decades ago, some critics considered Starr’s probe overreaching, a crusade to prosecute a moral failing to throw Clinton out of office.
Back then, Trump sympathized with Clinton’s fate.
“I mean, can you imagine those evenings when he’s just being lambasted by this crazy Ken Starr, who is a total wacko? There’s the guy. I mean he is totally off his rocker.”
Fast forward to Trump in the White House. Last week, he named Starr to his Senate trial legal team.
‘Narrowly voted impeachment’
Congressman Jerrold Nadler, one of the key Democratic lawmakers who led the effort to impeach Trump, will help prosecute the case against Trump as one of the House impeachment managers.FILE – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Congressman Jerrold Nadler is surrounded by reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 15, 2020.During Clinton’s impeachment, Nadler said, “There must never be a narrowly voted impeachment or an impeachment substantially supported by one of our major political parties and largely opposed by the other. Such an impeachment would lack legitimacy, would produce divisiveness and bitterness in our politics for years to come, and will call into question the very legitimacy of our political institutions.”
In December, Nadler chaired the House Judiciary Committee that drafted the two articles of impeachment against Trump.
When the full House approved the impeachment allegations, not a single Republican lawmaker voted for them. Trump was impeached exclusively with the votes of Democrats.
Impeachment support
California Congressman Adam Schiff is the lead House manager pursuing Trump’s conviction in the Senate and removal from office. He took a different view of impeachment when he first ran in 2000, a year after Clinton was acquitted.FILE – House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff arrives for a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 15, 2019. Schiff’s Republican opponent was a leading antagonist against Clinton as the impeachment drama played out in Washington. Schiff’s campaign literature hammered away at two-term Congressman Jim Rogan for supporting impeachment.
‘Pre-opinion’
Sen. Chuck Schumer, now the Senate Democratic leader and a key political foe of Trump, has loudly castigated Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell for coordinating legal strategy defending Trump with his White House lawyers.
“Let the American people hear it loud and clear,” Schumer told the Senate, “the Republican leader said, proudly, ‘I’m not an impartial juror. I’m not impartial about this at all.’ That is an astonishing admission of partisanship.”
As senators, who will be jurors, were sworn in last week, they pledged to administer “impartial justice” in considering the case against Trump.
Two decades ago, as Clinton faced his impeachment trial, Schumer said, “We have a pre-opinion.” He said it was “not like a jury box (in a criminal trial) in the sense that people will call us and lobby us. You can’t do that with a juror. The standard is different. It’s supposed to be a little bit judicial and a little bit legislative-political. That’s how it’s been.”FILE – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 14, 2020.’Legitimate’ investigation
As for McConnell, two decades ago he described the allegations against Clinton as “grave.””The investigation is legitimate and ascertaining the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the unqualified, unevasive truth is absolutely critical,” he said back then.Now, McConnell is leading the fight against Democrats’ calls for testimony from key Trump aides in the White House with knowledge of Trump’s Ukraine actions.
‘Unfit for office’In the heat of the 2016 presidential campaign, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham called Trump a “kook,” “crazy” and “unfit for office.” In turn, Trump called Graham “one of the dumbest human beings I’ve ever seen.”
Four years later, Graham is one of Trump’s staunchest defenders in the Senate and calling for his quick acquittal.
Graham ridicules Trump’s impeachment as “a partisan railroad job. It’s the first impeachment in history where there’s no allegation of a crime by the president,” Graham said.
“The best thing for the American people is to end this crap as quickly as possible.”
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US Envoy say it’s his Mustache; South Koreans say Otherwise
The U.S. ambassador to South Korea has some unusual explanations for the harsh criticism he’s faced in his host country. His mustache, maybe? Or a Japanese ancestry that raises unpleasant reminders of Japan’s former colonial domination of Korea?Many South Koreans, however, have a more straight-forward explanation for Harry Harris’ struggle to win hearts and minds in Seoul, and it’s got more to do with an outspoken manner that they see as undiplomatic and rude.Since arriving in Seoul in July 2018, Harris, a retired navy admiral born to a Japanese mother and an American navy officer, has been the focus of keen attention because of his military and ethnic background. The 63-year-old former U.S. Pacific Command chief has sometimes drawn criticism from those who take issue with his manner when dealing with South Koreans.His mustache has become the subject of ribbing online, with jokes made about how it resembles those of Japanese colonial masters, who brutally occupied the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. But there is more serious concern that the discord could widen a growing rift in Seoul’s relations with Washington at a time when diplomacy with rival North Korea seem in danger of imploding.
Harris recently said his appearance and ethnicity have been a source of his criticism in South Korea.
“My mustache, for some reason, has become a point of some fascination here,” Harris told a group of foreign reporters in Seoul last week. “I have been criticized in the media here, especially in social media, because of my ethnic background, because I am a Japanese-American.”
It’s not the first time a U.S. ambassador in South Korea has been in the news for things other than diplomacy. In 2015, former Ambassador Mark Lippert was slashed in the face and arm by an anti-American activist.
But unlike Lippert, Harris has repeatedly irked many South Koreans since President Donald Trump sent him here.
After meeting Harris in November, Lee Hye-hoon, then chairwoman of the South Korean parliament’s intelligence committee, said that the ambassador repeated about 20 times Trump’s calls for Seoul to drastically increase its financial contribution to U.S. troop deployment in the South.
In recent months, four students were arrested after they broke into Harris’ Seoul residence during an anti-U.S. rally. A mock mustache was plucked from his picture at another demonstration.
Harris said his mustache has nothing to do with his Japanese background and that he started growing it only to mark the start of his career as a diplomat.
“To those people, I say that you are cherry-picking history,” Harris said, adding that some Korean independence fighters also had a mustache.
Harris said he understands the historical animosity that exists between Japan and South Korea.
“But I’m not the Japanese-American ambassador to Korea” he said. “I’m the American ambassador to Korea.”
Kevin Gray, a professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex in the U.K., tweeted Friday that “Koreans’ reaction to Harris’ mustache is vastly exaggerated.”
He said what did rile South Koreans was Harris’ “imperialistic manner” and efforts to “undermine” South Korean President Moon Jae-in and “dictate” South Korean government policy.
A Monday editorial from the Korea Times said that “the point is not his mustache.”
“South Koreans would not have cared that much about his mustache if he was a ‘normal’ ambassador,” the editorial said.
Most surveys show a majority of South Koreans support the U.S. military presence in South Korea as deterrence against potential North Korean aggression, but there is a small but determined anti-U.S. network.
South Korean media have often compared Harris with his popular predecessor Lippert. Images of Lippert bleeding after the 2015 knife attack shocked many South Koreans and triggered an outpouring of public sympathy. The attack during a breakfast forum left deep gashes on Lippert’s face and arm and required five days of hospitalization.
While leaving a Seoul hospital, Lippert inspired many by saying in Korean: “The ground hardens after rain. Let’s go together.”
When asked by reporters about Moon saying he may push for individual tourism to North Korea because it won’t violate U.S.-led international sanctions, Harris stressed the need for South Korea to consult with the United States.
Those comments added to criticism of Harris, with ruling party lawmaker Song Young-gil comparing him to a Japanese governor general.
Harris’ troubles may also be linked to growing unease between South Korea and the United States.
The U.S. desire to enforce tough sanctions on North Korea doesn’t fit with the dovish Moon’s push to get sanction exemptions and restart joint rapprochement projects with North Korea. Trump’s demands for a large increase in Seoul’s payment for the U.S. military deployment prompted many South Koreans to question whether the United States is still a trustworthy ally.
“Rather than address the sources of these frustrations, some South Koreans have directed their ire at an American admiral-turned-diplomat of Japanese heritage,” said Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. “Unfortunately, Seoul faces political and diplomatic decisions that are much tougher than opting for a clean shave.”
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Venezuela’s Guaido to Meet Top EU Diplomat in Brussels
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido will come to Brussels on Wednesday to hold talks with the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell Borrell told a news conference.Recognized as Venezuela’s president by more than 50 countries including the United States and most European Union members, Guaido has already defied a travel ban by going on Sunday to Colombia where he is set to meet U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at a regional conference.
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Malaysia Sends Back Trash, Says Won’t be World’s Waste Bin
Malaysia has sent back 150 containers of plastic waste to 13 mainly rich countries since the third quarter last year, with the environment minster warning on Monday that those who want to make the country a rubbish bin of the world can “dream on.”Shipments of unwanted rubbish have been rerouted to Southeast Asia since China banned the import of plastic waste in 2018, but Malaysia and other developing countries are fighting back.Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin said another 110 containers are expected to be sent back by the middle of this year.Yeo said the successful repatriation of a total 3,737 metric tonnes (4,120 U.S. tons) of waste followed strict enforcement at key Malaysian ports to block smuggling of waste and shuttering more than 200 illegal plastic recycling factories.Of the 150 containers, 43 were returned to France, 42 to the United Kingdom, 17 to the United States, 11 to Canada, 10 to Spain and the rest to Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Portugal, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Lithuania, her ministry said.She said the Malaysian government didn’t pay a single cent, with the costs of sending back the waste fully borne by the shipping liners and companies responsible for importing and exporting the waste.Yeo said talks were ongoing with U.S. authorities to take back another 60 containers this year. Canada also has 15 more containers, Japan 14, the U.K. 9 and Belgium 8 from 110 more containers that are still being held at Malaysian ports, she said.”If people want to see us as the rubbish dump of the world, you dream on,” Yeo told reporters during inspection at a port in northern Penang state.Yeo said the government will launch an action plan on illegal plastic importation next month that will help the different agencies coordinate enforcement and speed up the process of returning the waste.”Our position is very firm. We just want to send back (the waste) and we just want to give a message that Malaysia is not the dumping site of the world,” she added.
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UK Looks to Fast-Growing Africa for Trade Ties After Brexit
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince Harry touted the U.K. as an ideal business partner for Africa on Monday as their country prepares for post-Brexit dealings with the world.
But Britain faces tough challenges as it seeks to assert itself on a continent with several of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and one whose youthful 1.2 billion population is set to double by 2050.
Far fewer of Africa’s 54 heads of state or government were attending the first U.K.-Africa Investment Summit than the dozens who attended the first Russia-Africa summit last year or the gatherings China regularly holds.
The U.K.’s department for international trade says two-way trade with Africa in the year ending in the second quarter of 2019 was $46 billion. Meanwhile, Africa’s two-way trade with China, the continent’s top trading partner, was $208 billion in 2019.
Johnson told attendees the conference “is long overdue.” He acknowledged that British officials and companies need to work to convince African nations to do business with the U.K.
“We have no divine right to that business,” he said. “This is a competitive world. You have may suitors” — especially China and Russia.
Britain is due to leave the European Union on Jan. 31, and Johnson said the U.K. would become “a global free trading nation” after Brexit. He pledged that the post-Brexit immigration system would “put people before passports,” acknowledging a common frustration across Africa.
While other global powers including Gulf nations and India have been increasing their diplomatic and economic presence in Africa, some observers have wondered about the interest of Britain, a former colonizer.
When Theresa May visited Kenya in 2018, even Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta noted it was the first visit to East Africa’s economic hub by a British prime minister in more than three decades.
Johnson stressed that he had visited about a dozen African countries when he was British foreign secretary between 2017 and 2019. He said “billions of pounds worth of deals” would be sealed at Monday’s summit, including major clean-energy projects.Britain’s Prince Harry and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, right, at the UK Africa Investment Summit in London, Jan. 20, 2020.Prince Harry, who has longstanding ties to Africa and is involved with conservation and youth charities on the continent, also attended the conference to boost Britain’s cause, despite the swirling drama over his decision to break from official royal duties.
Britain said 16 African leaders were attending Monday’s summit in London, including the leaders of Nigeria, Congo, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Malawi, Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Uganda and Rwanda.
“The wealth of Africa is undisputed,” said Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, noting that one in four people in the world in 2050 will be African.
Leaders stressed the need to tackle growing inequality and the continent’s dire need for better infrastructure, especially as millions of people migrate to booming cities.
Aside from the sluggishness of its top two economies, South Africa and Nigeria, Africa is showing economic momentum as the recently launched African Continental Free Trade Area gathers steam.
Last year, economic growth slowed in all geographic areas except Africa, the United Nations reported last week in its annual World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020.
The U.N. said gross domestic product growth in Africa is projected to reach 3.2% in 2020 and 3.5% in 2021. And 25 African countries are projected to achieve economic growth of at least 5% this year.
Britain should take a wider investment approach to Africa’s growing middle class and increasingly sophisticated consumers, the Overseas Development Institute reported this month. It said more than 80% of Britain’s investment in Africa is focused on mining and financial services, and 30% of investment in the continent goes to a single country, South Africa.
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3 killed, 100-Plus Hurt in Collapse During Ethiopia Ceremony
An Ethiopian security official says more than 100 people are injured and some people are dead after a wooden stand erected for the colorful Epiphany celebration on Monday collapsed.
The security chief for the city of Gondar, Tesfa Mekonnen, did not specify the number of deaths in comments to regional broadcaster Amhara Mass Media Agency.
Tesfa said two foreigners were among the injured.
The stand was set up for up to 1,000 people but it became overloaded and collapsed, the official said. A hospital source in Ethiopia’s city of Gondar confirms that at least three people are dead after a wooden stand erected for the colorful Epiphany celebration Monday collapsed.The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said more than a dozen other people were injured.
The collapse occurred inside the Emperor Fasilides Bath in the northern city where several thousand Ethiopians and tourists attended the celebration commemorating the baptism of Jesus.
The Ethiopian News Agency reported that more than 15,000 foreigners attended the celebration in Gondar. Regional officials were not immediately available to comment.
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Sources: Merkel Seeks to Delay Huawei Position Until After March EU Summit
Chancellor Angela Merkel has asked her conservative lawmakers to wait until after a March EU summit before taking a position on whether China’s Huawei can take part in the rollout of Germany’s 5G network, sources involved in their talks said.Merkel believes European Union coordination on the issue is important and she has been unable to bridge differences within her CDU/CSU bloc, the sources said.Merkel’s conservatives are divided on whether to support a proposal by their Social Democrat (SPD) junior coalition partners that, if approved, would effectively shut out the Chinese technology giant from the network.
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Putin Sends His Constitutional Proposals to Parliament
Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted to Parliament a package of constitutional amendments widely seen as an attempt to secure his grip on power well after his current term ends in 2024.Putin first presented the proposed changes in his state-of-the-nation address Wednesday, arguing they are intended to bolster the role of Parliament and strengthen democracy. Kremlin critics have argued that they are intended to allow his rule for life.The Kremlin-controlled lower house, the State Duma, confirmed on Monday that it has received a draft bill on constitutional proposals from the Kremlin. The lawmakers will fast-track the document, putting it for discussion at Thursday’s meeting.Putin, 67, has been in power for more than 20 years, longer than any other Russian or Soviet leader since Josef Stalin, who led from 1924 until his death in 1953. Under the law now in force, Putin must step down as president when his current term ends.Observers say that the proposed changes could allow Putin to stay in charge by shifting into the position of head of the State Council or moving into the prime minister’s seat after increasing the powers of Parliament and the Cabinet and trimming presidential authority.Putin’s amendments include a proposal to give the constitution a clear priority over international law – a tweak seen as a reflection of the Kremlin’s irritation over the European Court of Human Rights’ rulings that held Russia responsible for human rights violations.Another suggested amendment says that top government officials aren’t allowed to have foreign citizenship or residence permits.Parallel to lawmakers, a working group created by Putin will also consider the proposed changes before they are put to the vote.Putin said that the constitutional changes need to be approved by the entire nation, but it wasn’t immediately clear how such a vote would be organized.Along with amending the constitution, Putin last week also fired Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who had the job for eight years, and named tax chief Mikhail Mishustin to succeed him. The Russian leader is yet to appoint the new Cabinet.
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King Day in SC Drawing Democratic Presidential Hopefuls
In the closing days before the first votes are cast in the Democratic presidential contest, the party’s leading hopefuls are splitting their time between the critical early-voting states South Carolina and Iowa at events celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day.While Iowa and New Hampshire Democrats vote first for their nominee, South Carolina’s first-in-the-South primary is a crucial proving ground for a candidate’s mettle with black voters. The state’s showcase holiday celebration, Columbia’s King Day at the Dome, is a notable and highly visible event for a Democratic politician. The festivities are marked by a march through the streets of downtown Columbia and a rally at the Statehouse.All the top-tier candidates — former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, California businessman Tom Steyer and Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren — planned to start Monday with prayer services around Columbia. Joining them in the capital are Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
Sanders spokesman Michael Wukela said the King event in South Carolina was “about respect, pure and simple.”
“Let’s be honest, we live in a state where a black student can be tossed across the room and arrested for using her cellphone in class, where black parents have to teach their children how to survive traffic stop, where the color of your skin makes you more than twice as likely to live in poverty and no one seems to care if the water coming out of your faucet is poison,” Wukela said. “If you can’t stand shoulder to shoulder with people who face these challenges every day yet still manage to embrace a vision of hope and grace, then you don’t deserve their respect, much less their vote.”
King Day at the Dome began in 2000 as a reaction to state lawmakers’ decision that year to keep the Confederate battle flag flying from the Statehouse’s copper-covered cupola, a place of prominence that drew opposition. Tens of thousands of people marched through Columbia’s downtown from the prayer service to the Statehouse.
Lawmakers eventually agreed to a compromise that moved the flag to a flagpole, albeit one prominently situated in front of the building. The deal also recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the state and created Confederate Memorial Day.
In 2015, following the racist massacre of nine Bible study participants at a historic black church in Charleston, lawmakers voted to remove the flag from the grounds.
In years past many Democratic presidential hopefuls have made their way to the north-facing facade of the Statehouse, including John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Last year, Sanders and Sen. Cory Booker, who has dropped out of the 2020 race, attended.
Many of the candidates in the wide field planned to travel to Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday for the Brown and Black Forum, recognized as one of the nation’s oldest minority-focused presidential candidate events of its kind. Traditionally a debate, the event in recent years has been more of a one-on-one candidate forum.
Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is not competing in the early-voting states but has put some of his multimillion-dollar ad spending there — plans to join a King Day parade in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tech businessman Andrew Yang is in the midst of a 17-day bus tour of Iowa and plans to remain there.
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Virginia Braces for Gun Rights Rally Monday
Virginia’s capital city is bracing for the expected arrival of thousands of gun-rights activists and other groups that have vowed to descend on Richmond to protest Democrats’ plans to pass gun-control legislation.
Gov. Ralph Northam declared a temporary state of emergency days ahead of Monday’s rally, banning all weapons including guns from the event on Capitol Square. Militia groups and white supremacists were among those expected to mix with gun-rights activists, raising fears the state could again see the type of violence that exploded in Charlottesville in 2017.
Virginia’s solicitor general told a judge Thursday that law enforcement had identified “credible evidence” armed out-of-state groups planned to come to the state with the possible intention of participating in a “violent insurrection.”
Toby Heytens also suggested during his arguments in a lawsuit by gun advocates that challenged the weapons ban that the crowd could number in the tens of thousands. The Supreme Court upheld the weapons ban.
The Virginia State Police, the Virginia Capitol Police and the Richmond Police are all coordinating the event and have plans for a huge police presence at Monday’s rally with both uniformed and plainclothes officers. Police plan to limit access to Capitol Square to only one entrance and have warned rallygoers they may have to wait hours to get past security screening.
Authorities will be looking to avoid a repeat of the violence that erupted in 2017 in Charlottesville during one of the largest gatherings of white supremacists and other far-right groups in a decade. Attendees brawled with counterprotesters, and an avowed white supremacist drove his car into a crowd, killing a woman and injuring dozens more.A demonstrator stands on the sidewalk before a pro gun rally, Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Va.Law enforcement officials faced scathing criticism for what both the white supremacist groups and anti-racism protesters said was a passive response.
Monday’s rally is being organized by an influential grassroots gun-rights group, the Virginia Citizens Defense League. The group holds a yearly rally at the Capitol, typically a low-key event with a few hundred gun enthusiasts listening to speeches from a handful of ambitious Republican lawmakers.
But this year, many more are expected to attend. Second Amendment groups have identified the state as a rallying point for the fight against what they see as a national erosion of gun rights.
The pushback against proposed new gun restrictions began immediately after Democrats won majorities in both the state Senate and House of Delegates in November. Much of the opposition has focused on a proposed assault weapons ban.
Virginia Democrats are also backing bills limiting handgun purchases to once a month, implementing universal background checks on gun purchases, allowing localities to ban guns in public buildings, parks and other areas, and a red flag bill that would allow authorities to temporarily take guns away from anyone deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others.
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Evacuation Crackdown Ordered as Philippine Volcano Seethes
Philippine officials ordered a crackdown Monday on people being allowed daily visits to the homes they fled after Taal volcano erupted, citing threats it could still explode at any time.Over 110,000 people have taken refuge in evacuation centers since Taal burst to life a week ago, but many hard-hit towns have permitted people in to fetch items, feed livestock and clean up their houses.”We are directing DRRMCs (civil defense officers)… not to allow anyone to enter the danger zone,” said Epimaco Densing, undersecretary for the Department of Interior.”It’s dangerous, that’s why we have imposed a lockdown,” he told reporters.The volcano shot ash 15 kilometers (nine miles) high in the January 12 eruption, which crushed scores of homes and killed livestock as well as crops.However, seismologists have warned the volcano could imminently unleash a much bigger blast, putting at risk the lives of anyone in the 14-kilometre (nine-mile) radius “danger zone” that surrounds it.”The threat remains. It has not waned,” Renato Solidum, head of the Philippines’ seismological agency, told reporters.He said the volcano might be spewing less ash that it was a few days ago, but the magma that would fuel a big eruption is still coursing toward it.Until experts deem the threat has passed, the evacuees will need the shelters spread across some 400 sites that range from school campuses to covered basketball courts.Authorities say they have so far been able to provide fundamental services to the evacuees, including a place to sleep, eat and wash.”We can handle the (current evacuee numbers). The issue is how are we going to sustain resources over the longer term,” Alex Masiglat, spokesman for disaster relief in the ground zero Calabarzon region.”Our concern is how are we going to sustain a long term evacuation period,” he added.Though no people have been reported killed in the eruption, it has wrought havoc on agriculture and tourism.Taal is set in the middle of a picturesque lake that is a popular draw for tourists.
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Ford Vietnam Announces $82 Million Investment in Switch From Motorbikes to Cars
Ford Vietnam has announced it is investing $82 million to increase production, which will speed up the transition to cars in a communist nation known more for the iconic motorbike.The automaker will use the money to buy machines like internet-connected robots, add a body-and-paint shop to its factory outside Hanoi, and nearly double its workforce to approximately 1,000 people, Ford Vietnam said last week. The Southeast Asian nation is one of the biggest markets for motorbikes in the world, but cars are increasingly popular as more Vietnamese have the money to buy them for private use or to drive for Grab, the Uber of Southeast Asia.In a nation of more than 90 million people, car sales reached 322,322 last year as of December, up 12% compared to the prior year, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association, or VAMA.“The new investment in local production will help us grow even further,” Pham Van Dung, managing director at Ford Vietnam, said. He added: “We take pride in having been one of the first foreign companies to invest in Vietnam in 1995.”The U.S. carmaker entered Vietnam after Washington ended its trade embargo on the nation that had defeated it two decades prior in the Vietnam War.Ford Vietnam said it would spread out the investment over two years and nearly triple the capacity, to 40,000 vehicles a year, at its factory in northern Hai Duong province.FILE – Vietnam is the fourth biggest market in the world for motorbikes, which millions of drivers like these in Ho Chi Minh City rely on daily.The increase in cars on Vietnamese roads has many concerned about the subsequent increase in air pollution and road congestion. For instance there are already almost 10 million people in the mega city of Ho Chi Minh City, where traffic jams are particularly evident this week as Vietnamese make their way out of town for Tet, the Lunar New Year.However the authorities want Vietnam to develop its own domestic car production business. Most auto brands import whole cars from Thailand or Indonesia, or car parts to be assembled inside Vietnam. Imports have increased ever since the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed to decrease auto tariffs to zero in 2018. Vingroup, the nation’s biggest conglomerate, has been producing a Vietnamese car, Vinfast, with technology from German brands like BMW and Bosch. Vingroup founder and Vietnam’s richest man Pham Nhat Vuong said recently he was willing to invest $2 billion of his own money to ensuring Vinfast is a success.It will have a lot of catching up to do in the domestic car market, which is dominated by foreign brands, according to Saigon Securities Inc SSI, an investment brokerage firm.“In terms of car brands under VAMA, Ford and Honda are competing fiercely for the top spot,” Saigon Securities Inc SSI said in an analysis of the auto market.Honda makes four-wheel cars as well, but is so well known for motorbikes in Vietnam that locals simply refer to their bikes as “Hondas,” no matter the brand.On the other hand Ford Vietnam is more focused on sedans, trucks, sports utility vehicles, and seven-seat commercial vans, as the nation’s rising middle class gets even bigger. The automaker said its new investment would also go toward upgrading its trim-and-final shop, rearranging its logistics area, and increasing efficiency and eco-friendly operations.
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Chiefs, 49ers Earn Super Bowl Spots
The field for this year’s Super Bowl is set, with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers earning the right to play for the National Football League championship on Feb. 2 in Miami.The Chiefs defeated the Tennessee Titans 35-24 on Sunday to claim the American Football Conference crown and the team’s first trip to the Super Bowl since 1970.Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes (15) celebrates a touchdown pass with Eric Fisher (72) and Mitchell Schwartz (71) during the second half of the NFL AFC Championship football game against the Tennessee Titans, Jan. 19, 2020, in Kansas City.The 49ers have had more recent success, last appearing in the Super Bowl in 2012. They beat the Green Bay Packers 37-20 in the National Football Conference championship game Sunday.Fans can likely expect a high-scoring Super Bowl. During the regular season, the 49ers ranked second in the NFL in points scored, while the Chiefs were fifth.San Francisco’s offense is more focused on running to advance the ball down the field. Kansas City prefers to pass the ball, with star quarterback Patrick Mahomes leading its offense.The Super Bowl is enjoyed not only by football fans, but also many others who may not watch any other football game during the rest of the year. The television broadcast is annually one of the most watched shows in the United States with about 100 million people tuning in.Interest goes beyond the game itself, with many people eager to enjoy the commercials shown during the broadcast. Companies spend $5 million for a 30-second spot to showcase new and special ad campaigns they create.
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Afghan Immigrants Find a Home in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada is often called ‘Sin City.’ It’s known as a place where people behave in more self-indulgent or decadent ways, famously summed up in the saying, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” But some Afghan immigrants who lead quiet religious lives have a different view of this gambling mecca. VOA’s Samir Rassoly visited a few local Afghan businesses and filed this report from Las Vegas.
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World Leaders Agree to Stop Sending Military Support to Warring Parties in Libya
World leaders have agreed to provide no further military support to warring parties in Libya and to sanction those who violate the arms embargo. But there was no commitment to withdraw existing military support. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo represented the United States at the summit Germany’s capital Berlin on Sunday to take part in another effort towards peace in a divided country, where General Khalifa Haftar challenges the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports.
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