The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will waive federal contracting laws to speed construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.The Department of Homeland Security said waiving procurement regulations will allow 177 miles (283 kilometers) of wall to be built more quickly in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The 10 waived laws include requirements for having open competition, justifying selections and receiving all bonding from a contractor before any work can begin.The acting Homeland Security secretary, Chad Wolf, is exercising authority under a 2005 law that gives him sweeping powers to waive laws for building border barriers.“We hope that will accelerate some of the construction that’s going along the Southwest border,” Wolf told Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday.Secretaries under President Donald Trump have issued 16 waivers, and President George W. Bush issued five, but Tuesday’s announcement marks the first time that waivers have applied to federal procurement rules. Previously they were used to waive environmental impact reviews.
Full Coverage: ImmigrationThe Trump administration said it expects the waivers will allow 94 miles (150 kilometers) of wall to be built this year, bringing the Republican president closer to his pledge of about 450 miles (720 kilometers) since taking office and making it one of his top domestic priorities. It said the other 83 miles (133 kilometers) covered by the waivers may get built this year.“Under the president’s leadership, we are building more wall, faster than ever before,” the department said in a statement.The move is expected to spark criticism that the Trump administration is overstepping its authority, but legal challenges have failed. In 2018, a federal judge in San Diego rejected arguments by California and environmental advocacy groups that the secretary’s broad powers should have an expiration date. An appeals court upheld the ruling last year.Congress gave the secretary power to waive laws in areas of high illegal crossings in 2005 in a package of emergency spending for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and minimum standards for state-issued identification cards. The Senate approved it unanimously, with support from Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The House passed it with strong bipartisan support; then-Rep. Bernie Sanders voted against it.The waivers, to be published in the Federal Register, apply to projects that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will award in six of nine Border Patrol sectors on the Mexican border: San Diego and El Centro in California; Yuma and Tucson in Arizona; El Paso, which spans New Mexico and west Texas, and Del Rio, Texas.The administration said the waivers will apply to contractors that have already been vetted. In May, the Army Corps named 12 companies to compete for Pentagon-funded contracts.The Army Corps is tasked with awarding $6.1 billion that the Department of Defense transferred for wall construction last year after Congress gave Trump only a fraction of the money. The administration has been able to spend that money during legal challenges.
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Month: February 2020
Huge Locust Outbreak in East Africa Reaches South Sudan
The worst locust outbreak that parts of East Africa have seen in 70 years has reached South Sudan, a country where roughly half the population already faces hunger after years of civil war, officials announced Tuesday.Around 2,000 locusts were spotted inside the country, Agriculture Minister Onyoti Adigo told reporters. Authorities will try to control the outbreak, he added.The locusts have been seen in Eastern Equatoria state near the borders with Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. All have been affected by the outbreak that has been influenced by the changing climate in the region.The situation in those three countries “remains extremely alarming,” the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said in its latest Locust Watch update Monday. Locusts also have reached Sudan, Eritrea, Tanzania and more recently Uganda.The soil in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria has a sandy nature that allows the locusts to lay eggs easily, said Meshack Malo, country representative with the FAO.At this stage “if we are not able to deal with them … it will be a problem,” he said.South Sudan is even less prepared than other countries in the region for a locust outbreak, and its people are arguably more vulnerable. More than 5 million people are severely food insecure, the U.N. humanitarian office says in its latest assessment, and some 860,000 children are malnourished.Five years of civil war shattered South Sudan’s economy, and lingering insecurity since a 2018 peace deal continues to endanger humanitarians trying to distribute aid. Another local aid worker was shot and killed last week, the U.N. said Tuesday.The locusts have traveled across the region in swarms the size of major cities. Experts say their only effective control is aerial spraying with pesticides, but U.N. and local authorities have said more aircraft and pesticides are required. A handful of planes have been active in Kenya and Ethiopia.The U.N. has said $76 million is needed immediately. On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a visit to Ethiopia said the U.S. would donate another $8 million to the effort. That follows an earlier $800,000.The number of overall locusts could grow up to 500 times by June, when drier weather begins, experts have said. Until then, the fear is that more rains in the coming weeks will bring fresh vegetation to feed a new generation of the voracious insects.South Sudanese ministers called for a collective regional response to the outbreak that threatens to devastate crops and pasturage.
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Government Troops, Rebels Exchange Fire in Eastern Ukraine
Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists blamed each other for an outbreak of fighting in the country’s rebel-held east on Tuesday.Ukraine’s military said in a statement that the separatists attempted to advance into the Ukraine-controlled territory but were repelled.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy denounced the attack as a “cynical provocation.”Separatist authorities in the Luhansk region, however, blamed Ukraine for starting the fighting. They claimed the fighting erupted when a group of Ukrainian soldiers tried to make an incursion into rebel-held territory near the village of Holubovske, but got into a minefield.The chief of the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces, Colonel-General Ruslan Khomchak, said one Ukrainian soldier was killed and another five were wounded in combat. He said four separatists were killed and six others were wounded.The separatists said two Ukrainian troops were killed and three others were wounded and the Ukrainian forces launched an artillery barrage to cover their evacuation.They said a civilian resident in Holubovske was wounded by the Ukrainian shelling that also damaged civilian infrastructure in the villages of Kirovsk and Donetskiy.The exchange of gunfire marks the latest spike in hostilities in the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed over 14,000 people since 2014.A 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany helped reduce the scope of fighting, but sporadic clashes have continued and efforts to negotiate a political settlement have stalled.During a meeting in Paris in December, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany made a deal to exchange prisoners and pledged to ensure a lasting cease-fire in fighting between Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists. They made no progress, however, on key contentious issues — a timeline for local elections in eastern Ukraine and when Ukraine can get back control of its borders in the rebel-held region.Zelenskiy said on Facebook that Tuesday’s outbreak of hostilities was an attempt to derail efforts to end the conflict and said he would call a meeting of his Security Council to discuss the situation.“Our course for ending the war and our adherence to international agreements remain unchanged, just as our determination to repel any acts of aggression against Ukraine,” he said.
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Uganda Deploys Army to Battle East Africa’s Locust Invasion
As desert locusts spread across East Africa, Uganda has deployed its army to battle the all-consuming horde. The pests are laying countless eggs that are expected to hatch within weeks, raising concerns among farmers that the worst is yet to come. Halima Athumani reports from Otuke district, in northeast Uganda.
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Europe’s New Libya Mission Draws Criticism
European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to launch a revamped mission to try to monitor and enforce an international weapons embargo on warn-torn Libya. After meeting European counterparts, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced naval assets would be deployed to the Mediterranean to help enforce the ban.The German foreign minister told reporters the planned EU mission was a major step toward fulfilling the EU’s commitment made in Berlin last month at an international conference to honor the routinely flouted arms embargo in a bid to stabilize the North African country.
“We all agreed to create a mission to block the entry of arms into Libya,” said Italy’s foreign minister, Luigi di Maio, after the meeting in Brussels.
The new mission is a revival of Operation Sophia, which was launched in 2015 with the dual mission of curbing human trafficking from North Africa to Europe, while also trying to enforce the U.N. arms embargo on Libya. But few observers believe the new mission will have much impact as EU naval assets will be deployed at least 100 kilometers away from the Libyan coast.The decision to circumscribe the mission to a limited geographic zone, one that easily can be circumnavigated by gunrunners, was the only way to overcome opposition to the deployment of warships by several European leaders led by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. The Austrian leader has for weeks argued that deploying ships in the Mediterranean Sea would act as a “pull factor” for migrants trying to reach Europe from Libya.With fears mounting that Europe could see another massive influx of asylum-seekers from the Middle East and Africa — thanks to political turmoil in Lebanon and a Russian-backed offensive by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the north of his country — EU critics of a deployment off the coast of Libya said the mission would morph quickly from embargo-enforcement to rescuing migrants.EU warships would have little choice but to pick up migrants trying to make the perilous Mediterranean crossing, they said, repeating what happened to Operation Sophia, which had its naval assets stripped away last year under pressure from the populist coalition that was then in power in Rome.FILE – Italian Navy light aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, seen from a helicopter, sails the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Sicily, part of the European Union’s naval mission Operation Sophia, Nov. 25, 2016.Operation Sophia was named after a migrant child born on a German frigate to a Somali mother in 2015. Her mother chose the name at the suggestion of the doctors who helped with the delivery.In a recent interview Kurz warned a naval mission would be “a ticket to Europe for thousands of illegal migrants.” He told Germany’s Die Welt newspaper that the vessels would inevitably encourage another migrant influx. Under international law ships — military or civilian — are obliged to rescue people in distress at sea.Libya has been a key gateway for Europe-bound migrants and asylum-seekers. France and Italy have been backing opposing sides in the long-running conflict in the country between an internationally recognized government in Tripoli, which has Rome’s support, and forces from the east of Libya commanded by the renegade general Khalifa Haftar, which are backed by Paris.According to Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, the “maritime assets will be withdrawn” from any area should their presence attract migrants hoping to be picked up at sea. Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said if the EU ships proved to be a “pull factor” for migrants desperate to reach Europe “the mission will be stopped.”In Berlin last month EU leaders joined other powers, including Turkey, Qatar, and Russia, in agreeing to do whatever was needed to implement the U.N. arms embargo and observe a cease-fire. They pledged to ensure their respective international allies stop supplying arms. But within hours of the agreement, which was brokered by Germany’s Angela Merkel, there were reports of the embargo being violated.Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply frustrated with what’s happening in Libya.” He added: “The truth is that the Security Council embargo remains violated.”On Sunday the U.N. deputy special envoy for Libya, Stephanie Williams, described the arms embargo as a joke.FILE – German Navy sailors and Finish Special Forces surround a boat with migrants near the German combat supply ship Frankfurt am Main during the EU’s Operation Sophia, in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Libya, March 29, 2016.The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Monday that he hopes the new mission will be in operation by the end of March. Borrell admitted negotiations over the maritime mission had been combative, but that several states have volunteered vessels. “There will be no shortage” of ships, he said. Borrell had been highly critical of the stance of Austria’s Kurz, saying it was absurd for Austria, a landlocked country without a navy, to block the revival of Operation Sophia. But on Monday he struck a more conciliatory tone, saying that some member states had “legitimate concerns” about the “potential impact on migration flows.”He said the EU would do what it can to enforce the embargo but added “we cannot station troops along the Egyptian-Libyan border.” Egypt has been a backer of Gen. Haftar and has reportedly supplied eastern forces with artillery.Ahead of the Brussels meeting, the EU’s top general had warned that a failure to revive a military mission to enforce the arms embargo on Libya would mean the bloc had failed to live up to geopolitical ambitions. In an interview with Politico, Italian General Claudio Graziano said if Sophia wasn’t revived, it would send “an extremely negative message” and would mean the EU is “not able to find a solution.”Humanitarian organizations are criticizing the terms of the new naval mission.“Foreign policy aside, this is hugely concerning from a humanitarian and human rights perspective,” tweeted Liam Kelly, Libya country director for the Danish Refugee Council. He added: “Under International Maritime Law, every State has a duty to render assistance to persons found at sea in danger of being lost and rescue persons in distress. This proposal is exactly the opposite – to withdraw assistance if it is deemed likely to be needed.”
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Spain Looks to Adopt Digital Tax That Has Angered the US
Spain’s government approved Tuesday the introduction of new taxes on digital business and stock market transactions, following similar steps by other European countries.The Cabinet agreed at its weekly meeting to adopt the so-called Google tax and Tobin tax. The measures still require parliament’s approval.Finance Minister Mara Jesus Montero said the Google tax, which has angered U.S. authorities and brought a threat of tariffs by the Trump administration, will be levied only from the end of the year.By then, the government hopes an international agreement on digital business taxes will be in place. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which advises the world’s rich countries on policies, is currently trying to draw up the agreement.Montero said the government wants a “fairer” tax system, adapted to the new economic trends of globalization and digitalization.Spain’s Socialist-led coalition government is following other European countries, such as France and the United Kingdom, in adopting a digital tax.The measure is an attempt to get around tax avoidance measures frequently used by multinationals. Big tech firms such as Google and Facebook pay most of their taxes in the European Union country where they are based and often pay very little in countries where they run large and profitable operations.Spain wants to place a 3% tax on online ads, on deals brokered on digital platforms and on sales of user data by tech companies that have a turnover of more than 750 million euros a year internationally and more than 3 million in Spain. It hopes to raise close to 1 billion euros a year in extra tax revenue.Other EU countries, such as France, Italy and Belgium, have already passed a Tobin tax. In Spain, the government aims to levy a 0.2% tax on share purchases involving companies worth more than 1 billion euros. That should raise more than 800 million euros annually, according to the government.A Socialist government first said it wanted to adopt the new taxes in January of last year, but an April general election foiled its plans.
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India Builds Wall Along Slum Ahead of Trump Visit
A half-kilometer (1,640-foot) brick wall has been hastily erected in India’s Gujarat state ahead of a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump, with critics saying it was built to block the view of a slum area inhabited by more than 2,000 people.
“Since they are spending so much money on this wall, why not use that to improve our slum and provide better facilities for us,” said Keshi Saraniya, a resident. “Why are they hiding us poor people?”
Trump is visiting the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat during a two-day trip to India next week to attend an event called “Namaste Trump,” which translates to “Greetings, Trump,” at a cricket stadium along the lines of a “Howdy Modi” rally he hosted for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston last September. Trump is to drive along a road next to the slum and will be accompanied by Modi, who is from Gujarat.
Senior government official Bijal Patel said the wall was built “for security reasons” and not to conceal the slum.
“Apart from security reasons, the wall is also part of a beautification and cleanliness drive,” she said.
Several political leaders were quick to criticize the wall’s construction, questioning Modi’s development work in his own state. Modi was chief minister of Gujarat for 12 years before becoming the country’s prime minister in May 2014.
Authorities on Monday also served eviction notices to 45 families living in another slum area near the cricket stadium.
The residents said they were asked to leave because of the upcoming event, but the city’s civic body denied it.
“We have been living here for the last 20 years and now we are suddenly being told to vacate because some important leader is visiting this city for a day,” said Sanjay Patani, a resident. “This is injustice.”
Kishore Varna, a government official, said the land belongs to the civic body and evictions were done under the law. He didn’t say why the eviction notices were sent just days ahead of Trump’s visit.
Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along America’s border with Mexico to stop people from entering the U.S., is visiting India on Feb. 24-25. His visit is aimed at smoothing ties strained by trade disputes and could also allow him to woo tens of thousands of Indian-American voters ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
Trade tensions between the two countries have escalated since the Trump administration levied tariffs on steel and aluminum from India.
India responded with higher tariffs on agricultural goods and restrictions on U.S. medical devices, prompting the U.S. to retaliate by removing India from a decades-old preferential trade program.
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Rebel Attack in Eastern Congo Kills 12 Civilians and Soldier
Rebels have killed 12 civilians and a soldier in the latest overnight attack on a village in eastern Congo, a local official said Tuesday.”They surprised the people in their homes,” the administrator of Beni territory, Donat Kasereka Kibwana, told The Associated Press.
The attack by Allied Democratic Forces rebels on Alungupa village, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) outside the often-targeted city of Beni, occurred while the president of the National Assembly was visiting the city and meeting with survivors of past massacres.
Jeanine Mabunda during her visit vowed that the assembly would create laws to augment the Congolese military presence in the Beni region. Residents have long accused the government in faraway Kinshasa of neglect.
Dozens of armed groups are active in mineral-rich eastern Congo. Attacks have caused tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and complicated health workers’ efforts to contain an Ebola virus outbreak in the region.
A local civil society group known as CEPADHO says ADF rebels have killed more than 300 people in the Beni region since October alone.
Kibwana said Alungupa village is now under military control. The administrator appealed for calm and collaboration with authorities.
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Australia Prepares To Rescue Citizens From Virus-Hit Cruise Ship
Australia is preparing to evacuate more than 200 of its citizens from the coronavirus-hit cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, in Yokohama, Japan. They will face two weeks in isolation on their return home. Also, the first group of Australian coronavirus evacuees from the Chinese city, Wuhan, has been released from quarantine. The Diamond Princess has been in quarantine since February 3. Onboard the cruise liner have been about 3,700 passengers and crew, including dozens of Australian tourists.The ship has more than 450 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus, including several Australians. It is the largest cluster of infections outside China, where the virus was first reported.Australian passengers must decide Tuesday if they will take up their government’s offer of an evacuation flight out of Japan. Authorities in Canberra are planning to fly them home on Wednesday. They will all go into isolation for 14 days, in addition to the time they have already spent confined on the Diamond Princess. In a recorded message to passengers, Australia’s chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, said such precautions were essential.“There is evidence of ongoing further infections in the ship, in the crew and in some passengers. Even though we think some of you probably have been well quarantined there is uncertainty about whether some of you may be incubating the virus, and if you came back into the Australian community you may expose your family or other members of the community to this infection,” Murphy said.Two planes carrying hundreds of U.S. citizens from the cruise ship in Japan have arrived back home, and will face 14 days in isolation. However, some American travelers have refused to be evacuated, preferring to wait until the ship’s official quarantine comes to an end on February 19.The first group of Australian coronavirus evacuees from the coronavirus epicenter at Wuhan, China, has been released from quarantine Monday from Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. More than 200 Australians were flown home, while other evacuees remain in isolation at a former miners’ camp near the city of Darwin. There are currently 15 cases of the disease in Australia. Health officials say eight patients are reported to have recovered, while the other seven are in a stable condition.
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N. Korea Says Still No Coronavirus Cases, but Appeals for International Help
North Korea continues to insist there are no coronavirus infections within its borders, even as the impoverished country appeals to international aid organizations for help in preventing an outbreak of the disease.There has been “no single confirmed case” of the coronavirus, according to a North Korean public health official quoted in the Rodong Sinmun, the official paper of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, on Tuesday.The North Korean official said nationwide preventative measures, including a strict quarantine system, have successfully blocked the virus, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.The virus, which causes a pneumonia-like illness that was recently named COVID-19, has killed nearly 2,000 people and infected over 73,000. Almost all the infections have been in China – North Korea’s next-door neighbor.A coronavirus outbreak could quickly turn into a humanitarian disaster in North Korea, parts of which are impoverished. The country does not have the infrastructure or medical supplies necessary to adequately combat the virus, experts warn.After the virus emerged last month in central China, North Korea took quick steps to seal its borders. But doing so would be difficult in part because North Korea relies on both formal and informal trade with China. Several unconfirmed reports suggest the virus has already reached the country.North Korea, which has called the virus prevention efforts a matter of “national survival,” has asked some international relief groups for help.A spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders told VOA it received an official request from North Korean authorities in early February “to strengthen the national capacity to prepare for a potential outbreak of COVID-19.” This undated picture released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on February 15, 2020 shows people in protective suits spraying disinfectant at an undisclosed location in North Korea, amid concerns of the COVID-19.“We are now planning and preparing donations of medical supplies. According to officials, no cases have been reported – either confirmed or suspected,” the spokesperson added.Last week, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies told VOA’s Korea Service that it has mobilized 500 volunteers in four provinces close to the Chinese border. The volunteers are supporting screening efforts and promoting hygiene practices, the group said. “Red Cross volunteers are coordinating with local health staff and government departments to engage with communities and visit households who live remotely and are not easily reached, to ensure everyone receives this support. Red Cross has also sent volunteers on bikes to these remote areas to share coronavirus awareness messages,” said Xavier Castellanos, the group’s Asia Pacific Regional Director.The World Health Organization, which is also providing medical supplies to North Korea, told VOA last week it has not received any reports of coronavirus cases. Citing figures from North Korea’s Ministry of Public Health, the WHO said 141 travelers entering North Korea have tested negative for the virus, after showing signs of fever. “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has the capacity to carry out these tests as they have PCR machines, and their laboratory technicians and experts were trained by WHO in influenza testing in a Hong Kong laboratory last year,” said Dr. Edwin Ceniza Salvador, the WHO Representative to North Korea.The U.S. State Department said Thursday it is “deeply concerned” about North Koreans’ vulnerability to the virus and is prepared to “expeditiously facilitate” efforts by international aid groups to provide help.North Korea is under international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program. The sanctions prohibit a wide range of cooperation with the North, meaning aid groups wanting to help must first obtain exemptions.The U.N. committee that handles those exemptions told VOA’s Korean Service last week that it will consider those requests “as expeditiously as possible.”
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Boy Scouts of America Files Bankruptcy to Deal With Abuse Lawsuits
The Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy in a U.S. federal court Tuesday in a move it says will allow it to compensate men who were abused as boys while taking part in its programs.The group has faced a surge in lawsuits in recent years as multiple states enacted changes to laws allowing those victimized as kids to bring legal action later in life.Several thousand men accuse scoutmasters and other leaders of molestation, with many of their cases dating back to the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.Paul Mones, a lawyer representing many people suing the group, said in a series of Tuesday tweets that the Boy Scouts deliberately concealed sexual abuse for decades and “made their decision to protect their reputation over the safety of innocent children.”It is not clear how large an eventual settlement could be if the Boy Scouts and victims are able to reach an agreement.”The BSA cares deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologizes to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting,” President and Chief Executive Officer Roger Mosby said in a statement. “We are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to harm innocent children.”The group says the bankruptcy filing involves only its national organization and not the individual chapters spread throughout the country that will continue carrying their meetings and activities.
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EU Approves Trade Deal With Vietnam
The European Union has approved a trade agreement with Vietnam, disproving skeptics who thought the EU’s divorce with Britain and Vietnam human rights concerns would delay the vote.Members of the EU Parliament last week voted 401 to 192 in favor of ratifying the agreement, which would roll back almost all import tariffs between the bloc and Vietnam. The EU is looking for new economic tailwinds amid concerns with other partners: the British exit from the union threatens commerce, while U.S. President Donald Trump has turned his attention from the China trade war to issue more tariffs against the European Union this month. The vote was also welcomed as good news by Vietnam, which worries its economy will be hurt by the U.S.-China trade war and the spread of the new coronavirus.“History shows that isolation does not change a country,” said Bernd Lange, chair of the EU Parliament trade committee and vice chair of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. “That is why Parliament voted in favor of this trade agreement with Vietnam. With it, we strengthen the role of the EU in Vietnam and the region, ensuring that our voice has more weight than before.”The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement would be Europe’s second in Southeast Asia, after one with Singapore. Its decreased tariffs are expected to increase Vietnamese exports of seafood, textiles, and wood products to the EU, and EU exports of beverages, machinery, and drugs to Vietnam.A cobblestone street is seen in Brussels, the seat of the European Union, which Vietnam is awaiting to finalize a trade agreement. (VOA/Ha Nguyen)This is Europe’s “most ambitious trade agreement with a developing country,” said the German Business Association of Vietnam in an email.The agreement is considered ambitious because it is meant to hold parties to a higher environmental and social standard than merely decreasing tariffs for companies. Vietnam’s one-party state promised to certify that timber isn’t illegally logged before it’s exported, for instance. It also promised to allow labor unions independent of the government.However Emmanuel Maurel, a member of the European Parliament from France, doesn’t believe Vietnam will keep its promise. He also criticized the trade agreement as benefiting not the average citizen but a small fraction of companies that will find it easier to offshore jobs.“There are losers on the Vietnamese side and there are losers on the European side,” he said.Vietnam has not ratified the agreement. Its parliament meets two times a year, so its next chance to vote on the agreement will be in May.Negotiations dragged on for the agreement, which many had expected would have been finalized years ago. Delays included the 2017 inauguration of Trump, who withdrew from the Trans Pacific Partnership, another trade agreement that included Vietnam. Because Vietnam wanted to implement the TPP and the EU agreement at the same time, it postponed the latter deal until more recently.However now Vietnam has welcomed the European Union’s favorable vote this month and looks set to emulate it.“This is a meaningful result for Vietnam and the EU, two comprehensive strategic partners,” Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, said.
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Federal Judges to Hold Emergency Meeting on Trump Admin. Interference in Politically Sensitive Cases
A national association of federal judges will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday after Justice Department officials intervened in the case involving a close confident of U.S. President Donald Trump.The head of the independent Federal Judges Association, District Judge Cynthia Rufe, tells VOA the judges are “concerned about the attacks on individual judges” and it will be the main issue to be discussed.Rufe declined to give any more details, but said the jurists “could not wait” until their spring meeting.The Justice Department stunned the political and legal community last week when it overruled its own prosecutors and recommended a lighter prison sentence for Roger Stone — a longtime friend and confident of Trump who was convicted on lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice stemming from the Russian election meddling probe.Prosecutors in the case had recommended seven to nine years prison time for Stone — a recommendation based on sentencing guidelines for such crimes.But the Justice Department recommended a lighter sentence after Trump complained in a tweet that the seven to nine years would be “horrible” and “unfair.”Three prosecutors in the Stone case withdrew and a fourth quit the agency altogether.Stone is to be sentenced Thursday and it is up to Judge Amy Berman Jackson to decide how long he is to be locked up.This courtroom sketch shows former campaign adviser for President Donald Trump, Roger Stone talking from the witness stand as Judge Amy Berman Jackson listens during a court hearing at the U.S. District Courthouse in Washington, Feb. 21, 2019.Jackson has scheduled a Tuesday conference call with attorneys in the Roger Stone case, two days before the former Trump associate is set to be sentenced.Former President Barack Obama appointed Judge Jackson and Trump has been notoriously critical of many decisions and policies made by his predecessor. Trump complained last week about Jackson’s decision to jail former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort in solitary confinement and not to try to prosecute former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.Judge Rufe says the Federal Judges’ Association has no interest in getting involved in the Stone case, but does support Jackson.”We are supportive of any federal judge who does what is required,” she said.The Roger Stone case has raised questions in Congress about political interference in what is historically suppose to be an independent judiciary.Trump congratulated Attorney General William Barr last week for “taking charge” of the Stone case. But both deny that Trump asked Barr to intervene.Barr is scheduled to appear before Congress next month.More than 2,000 former Justice Department officials have called on Barr to resign, saying his handling of the Stone case “openly and repeatedly flouted” the independence of the judicial branch.Barr told ABC News last week that Trump’s tweets “make it impossible for him to do his job,” saying he will not be “bullied or influenced by anybody, whether it’s Congress, a newspaper editorial board, or the president.”
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Hamlin Wins 3rd Daytona 500; Newman Hospitalized
Denny Hamlin won his second straight Daytona 500 and third overall, beating Ryan Blaney in an overtime photo finish marred by a terrifying crash that sent Ryan Newman to the hospital on Monday.Newman had surged into the lead on the final lap when Blaney’s bumper caught the back of his Ford and sent Newman hard right into the wall. His car flipped, rolled, was hit on the driver’s side by another car, and finally skidded across the finish line engulfed in flames.It took several minutes for his car to be rolled back onto its wheels. He was placed in a waiting ambulance and taken directly to a hospital.Denny Hamlin, right, celebrates as he and crew members hoist the championship trophy after winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Feb. 17, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla.Hamlin is the first driver since Sterling Marlin in 1995 to win consecutive Daytona 500s, but his celebration in victory lane was subdued.“I think we take for granted sometimes how safe the cars are and number one, we are praying for Ryan,” Hamlin said.Runner-up Blaney said the way the final lap shook out, with Newman surging ahead of Hamlin, that Blaney locked in behind Newman in a move of brand alliance for Ford.“We pushed Newman there to the lead and then we got a push from the 11 … I was committed to just pushing him to the win and having a Ford win it and got the bumpers hooked up wrong,” he said. “It looked bad.”NASCAR gave no immediate announcement on Newman’s status and officials moved bystanders away from the crash scene.Hamlin had eight Ford drivers lined up behind him as the leader on the second overtime shootout without a single fellow Toyota driver in the vicinity to help him. It allowed Newman to get past him for the lead, but the bumping in the pack led to Newman’s hard turn right into the wall, followed by multiple rolls and a long skid across the finish line.Hamlin’s win last year was a 1-2-3 sweep for Joe Gibbs Racing and kicked off a yearlong company celebration in which Gibbs drivers won a record 19 races and the Cup championship.Now his third Daytona 500 win puts him alongside six Hall of Fame drivers as winners of three or more Daytona 500s. He tied Dale Jarrett — who gave JGR its first Daytona 500 win in 1993 —Jeff Gordon and Bobby Allison. Hamlin trails Cale Yarborough’s four wins and the record seven by Richard Petty.This victory came after just the second rain postponement in 62 years, a visit from President Donald Trump, a pair of red flag stoppages and two overtimes. The 0.014 margin of victory was the second closest in race history, and Hamlin’s win over Martin Truex Jr. in 2016 was the closest finish in race history.That margin of victory was 0.01 seconds. The win in “The Great American Race” is the third for Toyota, all won by Hamlin. Gibbs has four Daytona 500 victories as an owner.
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UK PM’s Adviser Quits After Backlash Over Contraception, IQ Comments
An adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who had discussed the benefits of forced contraception quit Monday, saying “media hysteria” about his old online posts meant he had become a distraction for the government.Earlier, Johnson’s spokesman repeatedly refused to comment when asked about Andrew Sabisky, whose appointment drew widespread criticism after the Mail on Sunday newspaper reported statements made in his name online in 2014 and 2016.In addition to posts on contraception, Sabisky also said data showed the U.S. black population had lower IQ than white people, and, in a 2016 interview with digital publication Schools Week, discussed the benefits of genetic selection.Media reported Sabisky was hired following an unusual appeal earlier this year from Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings for “weirdos and misfits with odd skills” to help bring new ideas to Britain’s government.His resignation is a blow to that effort, which had attracted criticism from those who said Cummings was sidestepping normal government recruitment processes.”The media hysteria about my old stuff online is mad but I wanted to help (the government) not be a distraction,” Sabisky said on Twitter.”Accordingly I’ve decided to resign as a contractor … I signed up to do real work, not be in the middle of a giant character assassination: if I can’t do the work properly there’s no point.”Sabisky, who has referred to himself as a “super forecaster,” said he hoped Johnson’s office hired more people with “good geopolitical forecasting track records” and that the “media learn to stop selective quoting.”Both the opposition Labour Party and at least two of Johnson’s own Conservatives had called for him to be fired.”Andrew Sabisky’s presence in No.10 is a poor reflection on the government and there is no way to defend it. He needs to go. ‘Weirdos’ and ‘misfits’ are all very well, but please can they not gratuitously cause offense,” Conservative lawmaker William Wragg wrote on Twitter before Sabisky resigned.Online postsAn account in Sabisky’s name made the comments about black IQ in a reply to a 2014 blog post written by an American professor discussing education disabilities in the United States.In 2016, replying to a blog post written by Cummings, an account in Sabisky’s name said:”One way to get around the problems of unplanned pregnancies creating a permanent underclass would be to legally enforce universal uptake of long-term contraception at the onset of puberty. Vaccination laws give it a precedent, I would argue.”Johnson’s spokesman earlier repeatedly refused to comment on whether Johnson shared Sabisky’s views, saying only that the prime minister’s own views were well known. He would not confirm the nature of Sabisky’s role.
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UK Grapples With Severe Floods; Storm Death Toll Rises to 3
Britain issued severe flood warnings Monday, advising of life-threatening danger after Storm Dennis dumped weeks’ worth of rain in some places. A woman was found dead after being swept away by the floodwaters, the storm’s third confirmed victim.To the east, Dennis’ gale-force winds also left nine people injured in Germany as their vehicles crashed into broken trees littering roads and train tracks. Flooding and power outages were reported elsewhere in northern Europe.By Monday evening, Britain’s Environment Agency issued seven severe flood warnings in the central English counties of Herefordshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire. Another 200 lower-level flood warnings were also in place, meaning that flooding was expected.Some 480 flood warnings and alerts were issued across England on Monday, the highest number on record, the agency said.A man uses a plank of wood to paddle a kayak on floodwater after the River Wye burst its banks in Ross-on-Wye, western England, Feb. 17, 2020, in the aftermath of Storm Dennis.The storm’s confirmed death toll rose to three as West Mercia Police said a body had been found in the search for a 55-year-old woman who had been missing near Tenbury in Worcestershire since Sunday.A man pulled from the water in the same incident was airlifted to a hospital, where he remains in stable condition, police said.’I’ve never seen anything like it’The weather system brought winds of more than 145 kph (90 mph) and up to 150 millimeters (6 inches) of rain to Britain over the weekend. And the tumult is not over.”We expect disruptive weather into the middle of this week bringing a significant flood risk for the West Midlands, and there are flood warnings in place across much of England,” said Toby Willison, Executive Director of Operations at Britain’s Environment Agency.Forecasters said river levels in parts of northern England had yet to reach their peak. In the northern England city of York, authorities were piling up more than 4,000 sandbags as the River Ouse continued to rise. It’s expected to peak Tuesday.Other residents in Wales and western England were cleaning up Monday after the storm flooded roads, railways, homes and businesses and disrupted travel across Britain. Some told stories of fleeing for their lives.People bail water out of flooded homes after the River Wye burst its banks in Ross-on-Wye, western England, Feb. 17, 2020, in the aftermath of Storm Dennis.Jeanette Cox, 68 and her daughter Rachel woke up to the sound of water in their home in the Welsh village of Nantgarw, near Cardiff, about at 4 a.m. Sunday. Cox said the only object that survived downstairs was her wedding day photograph that she had kept on a windowsill. Her husband Bill died from cancer in 2009.”It was pitch black,” she said. “All you could hear was the water running. I’ve never seen anything like it. I was very frightened.”Climate changeBritain’s environment secretary said climate change was making extreme weather events more common. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government denied it was unprepared for such storms.”We’ll never be able to protect every single household, just because of the nature of climate change and the fact that these weather events are becoming more extreme, but we’ve done everything that we can do with a significant sum of money,” Environment Secretary George Eustice said.The fish market is flooded during a storm surge in Hamburg, Germany, Feb. 17, 2020.In Germany, at least nine people were injured in weather-related car accidents as high winds brought trees down onto roads and train tracks.A commuter train with 67 passengers also crashed into a fallen tree in the western German city of Dortmund, but no one was injured. And in the German city of Hamburg, the city’s famous fish market was flooded for the second time this month.Further north, strong winds and heavy rains caused flooding, road closures and electricity outages across the Nordic and Baltic regions and forced the cancellation of several ferries between Denmark and Norway.In Denmark, the southwestern city of Kolding was flooded as gale force winds and heavy rains battered the area. In nearby Horsens, police protectively evacuated residents near Bygholm Lake out of fear that a levee would collapse.In southwestern Norway, more than half a dozen roads and several mountain passes were closed amid heavy snow and high winds.
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Kenya Struggles Against Al-Shabaab Terrorists in Boni Forest
Kenya launched an operation to flush out Al-Shabab terrorists from the northeast Boni Forest on the border with Somalia in 2015. The operation was meant to last a few months but – nearly five years later – security forces are still struggling to stamp out the Islamist militants. Villagers are afraid to venture into the forest and a deadly January attack on the county’s joint Kenya-US military base has highlighted ongoing insecurity. Mohammed Yusuf reports from Kiangwe, Kenya.
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Rivals Target Bloomberg as He Rises in Democratic Presidential Race
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s name is not on any of the ballots for the first four U.S. Democratic presidential nominating contests, and he has yet to qualify for the candidates’ next debate on Wednesday night.But it is Bloomberg who has quickly become a key figure in the Democratic contest, rising to third in national political surveys of Democratic voters behind Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden.Bloomberg has also become the target of stinging barbs from his fellow Democratic rivals, as well as Trump, who mocked him last week as a “mass of dead energy,” and calling him “Mini Mike” for his short stature.In turn, Bloomberg called Trump “a carnival barking clown,” adding, “Where I come from, we measure your height from the neck up.”Democratic opponents have accused Bloomberg, said to be worth $62 billion, of trying to buy the party nomination.Bloomberg reportedly has spent nearly $400 million of his own money on a wide array of campaign ads, and has hired hundreds of campaign workers ahead of the March 3 voting in 14 states, known as Super Tuesday, when he will be on the ballot.People listen as Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg speaks at a campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina, Feb. 13, 2020.Bloomberg accumulated his wealth as the founder of his eponymous business information company and also the Bloomberg News website.A late entrant in the Democratic race, he is skipping the four February contests, including Saturday’s caucuses in the western state of Nevada.Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist, has increasingly attacked Bloomberg, who was New York’s mayor from 2002 to 2013.“Mayor Bloomberg, with all his money, will not create the kind of excitement and energy we need to have the voter turnout we must have to defeat Donald Trump,” Sanders said at one rally.Sanders attacked Bloomberg’s “racist” policy of “stop-and-frisk” arrests of people in high-crime New York neighborhoods when he was mayor, a policy Bloomberg has apologized for as he runs for president.’Stop and frisk’A 2015 recording surfaced last week of Bloomberg saying the best way to reduce gun violence among young, minority men was to “throw them up against a wall and frisk them.”Bloomberg acknowledged over the weekend, “I’ve gotten a lot of grief for (stop and frisk) lately, but I defended it for too long, and because I didn’t fully understand the unintentional pain it caused young black and brown kids and their families. I should have acted sooner, and I should have stopped it. I didn’t, and I apologized for that.”Biden, on NBC’s “Meet the Press” news program Sunday, said, “Sixty billion dollars can buy you a lot of advertising, but it can’t erase your record.”On the same show, another presidential contender, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, said, “He just can’t hide behind the airwaves. I can’t beat him on the airwaves, but I can beat him on the debate stage, and I think people of America deserve that to make a decision.”Bloomberg said he will participate in the Wednesday debate in Nevada if he qualifies. He lacks one poll out of the four needed that shows him with at least 10% support of Democratic voters.Sexist commentsBloomberg has also drawn new scrutiny by major U.S. news outlets. Over the weekend, The Washington Post published a lengthy story of Bloomberg’s profane, sexist and misogynist comments targeting women who worked at his financial services company.Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told the “Fox News Sunday” show, “The way Michael Bloomberg treated employees — female employees, who were under his wing, who were relying on him for their livelihoods, for their health benefits, for their 401ks — to have created that kind of culture, that unsafe workplace, to feel like you’re being harassed because of your gender, that is problematic. I think you’re going to hear more of it.”The Bloomberg campaign denied some of the quotes attributed to him in the newspaper story, while the candidate offered a more general comment on his attitude toward professional women in the workplace.”I’ve depended on their leadership, their advice and their contributions,” he wrote on Twitter. “As I’ve demonstrated throughout my career, I will always be a champion for women in the workplace.”As for the sudden spate of attacks, the Bloomberg campaign was dismissive.“It’s not surprising that as Mike continues to rise in the polls, other candidates, including Donald Trump, start to get nervous,” it said.
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‘Landmark’ Verdict Expected Tuesday in Turkish Human Rights Case
An Istanbul court is expected Tuesday to deliver a “landmark” verdict on 16 civil society activists on trial for sedition.For one of the defendants, a leading philanthropist and supporter of civil society, the case is drawing international scrutiny seen as pivotal in determining the direction of the country. “The outcome of this case will show the rest of the world whether respect for human rights has any part to play in the Turkish justice system,” Milena Buyum, Amnesty International’s Turkey campaigner, said in a statement released Monday.FILE – Osman Kavala, April 29, 2015.Prosecutors accused the 16 defendants of supporting and organizing anti-government protests in 2013 against then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is now president. The protests were called the Gezi movement after the park in Istanbul where they began. Prosecutors are calling for sentences of up to life in prison without parole.Among the accused is Osman Kavala, one of Turkey’s leading philanthropists and supporters of civil society, who has been jailed for more than two years.”He has been a very key linchpin figure in civil society. That is why he has been targeted, and that’s what the European court also said,” said senior Turkey researcher Emma Sinclair-Webb of Human Rights Watch. “The European court said in December in its ruling the prolonged arbitrary detention is politically motivated and has a chilling effect on the rest of civil society,” she said.Criticism from international observers The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) called for Kavala’s immediate release and an end to the case; however, the Istanbul court refused to release him, saying the ruling was being appealed.The court had released the other 15 defendants at earlier hearings, but they all now risk being returned to jail.”The prosecutor is asking for an aggravated life sentence based on accusations that pass as evidence in the indictment and with meaningless, incoherent, unreasonable interpretations,” Yigit Aksakoglu, a child development specialist who is on trial with Kavala, said in an interview with Turkish media.FILE – Turkish soldiers stand outside the court in a prison complex where the trial of prominent philanthropist Osman Kavala and 15 others started, while people arrive, in Silivri, outside Istanbul, June 24, 2019.Aksakoglu spent seven months in solitary confinement before being released from pre-trial detention.Along with the ECHR, international observers have also sharply criticized the prosecutor’s case, claiming that no concrete evidence has been produced and that prosecutors relied mainly on the testimony of anonymous witnesses.”There is nothing there to support such allegations and charges,” said Sinclair-Webb. “It’s a very example of the misuse of the criminal law, an unfair trial with politically motivated charges.”Controversy increased further at the last hearing in January with the judge’s refusal to allow the cross-examination of prosecution witnesses.Sinan Gokcen, the Turkish representative of Swedish-based Civil Rights Defenders, claims the case is part of a broader strategy by Ankara.”Their arrests and this unlawful detention period and denial of all international procedural rights has had a huge effect on civil society. It’s direct intimidation,” Gokcen said.Conspiracy vs. popular uprisingBut Erdogan is vigorously defending the prosecution of the 16 defendants, insisting the Gezi protest was a carefully orchestrated nationwide conspiracy against his rule, organized and financed in part by Kavala and his network of supporters. A few months before Kavala’s prosecution, Erdogan labeled Kavala a public enemy, accusing him of “financing terrorists” and being a representative of “that famous Jew (George Soros), who tries to divide and tear up nations.”FILE – Riot police fire a water cannon on Gezi Park protesters at Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, June 15, 2013.Erdogan did not elaborate on the comments about Soros, who is an international philanthropist.Six years after the Gezi protests, Erdogan continues to portray the unrest as a conspiracy rather than a popular uprising. At its peak, Gezi spread to nearly every major city and town. Most observers say that rather than being a plot, Gezi was a grass-roots movement with no leadership and in reaction to Erdogan’s increasing authoritarianism.If Kavala and the 15 other defendants are convicted, Ankara could pay a high price. The EU has sharply criticized the case, criticism that has increased with the ECHR’s condemnation of the trial.Ankara is looking to the EU for financial support to deal with the latest refugee exodus from Syria’s Idlib province. Analysts warn that assistance could be conditional.
“(German Chancellor Angela) Merkel vaguely promised new aid to Turkey for Syrian refugees,” said analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners. “But according to European Union Turkey rapporteur Nacho Sanchez Amor, if any aid is forthcoming, it will be conditional on the release of people like Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtas (the former leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish HDP).”Other analysts suggest Brussels’ priority is to appease Erdogan, ensuring the Turkish president doesn’t carry out his frequent threat to open the borders, which could potentially unleash a new wave of refugees into Europe. For Aksakoglu, Tuesday’s verdict is a matter of life or death.”He (the prosecutor) wants me to spend my whole life without any hope of leaving the prison. This is equal to capital punishment in Turkey,” he said.
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China: Covid-19 Not as Deadly as Other Coronaviruses
China has published new data on more than 44,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19, which show the disease is not as deadly as previous coronaviruses including SARS and MERS. The World Health Organization reports more than 70,000 cases, including 1,772 deaths, mostly from China’s Hubei province, where the outbreak first surfaced. Cases in 25 countries outside China have increased slightly to 694, including three deaths, one each in the Philippines, Japan and France.The data appear to show a decline in the number of new cases of coronavirus. But WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this should be interpreted with great caution because trends can change as new populations are affected.More than 94 percent of all reported cases in China come from Hubei province. The new cases reported are both clinically and lab-confirmed cases. Tedros said it is too early to tell if the disease is slowing down.Medical workers in protective suits attend to a patient inside an isolated ward of Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, in Hubei province, China, Feb. 16, 2020. (Credit: China Daily)Tedros, however, said the Chinese data appear to indicate that most people who become infected with Covid-19 disease will not die.“More than 80 percent of patients have mild disease and will recover. In about 14 percent of cases, the virus causes severe disease, including pneumonia and shortness of breath. And, about five percent of patients have critical disease including respiratory failure, septic shock and multi-organ failure,” he said.Tedros said the fatality rate is at about 2 percent. Those most at risk are elderly people with underlying health conditions. He notes relatively few children have become infected, a mystery that requires more research.The WHO chief said a team of 12 international experts is on the ground in China and working with Chinese counterparts to get to the bottom of this illness. He says they are trying to better understand the origin of the outbreak and its evolution.
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China Proposes Postponement of Its ‘Two Sessions’ in March
China has proposed postponing its annual “Two Sessions” meetings in March of the national legislature and top political advisory body pending a final decision next Monday, according to state media Xinhua News.
Observers say the call, once finalized, will highlight the Chinese government’s priority in fighting the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Deliberations of the nation’s major policy issues, including its annual military budget and future economic outlook, will also be delayed.Challenging year aheadThe delays suggest a challenging year ahead politically and economically for China’s top leadership, analysts say.”Now is a critical moment for China to fight the epidemic and stop the spread of the virus. (We) have to stay focused and make all-out efforts,” Zang Tiewei, a spokesperson for China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), told Xinhua News after the close of an NPC standing committee meeting.Commuters ride in a quiet subway train during the morning rush hour in Beijing, Feb. 17, 2020.Zang added that NPC delegates in one-third of Chinese provinces are playing a leading role on the front line fighting the deadly virus.Thus, it is necessary to consider postponing March’s meetings — a proposal to be discussed later this month, he added.
Risky political gatherings
Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, agreed, saying it is only practical for China to push back the meetings, as disrupted transportation will make it difficult for delegates from across the country to travel to Beijing.Cabestan said it is too dangerous to gather some 5,000 members of the nation’s political elites without exposing them to the risk of cross-infection. The postponement, he said, will also send a message.”What it says is that there’s a clear priority given by the leadership to fight against the virus and epidemic. It transcends everything, including Two Sessions, but also putting the economy in place and resuming economic activities,” he told VOA.
Cabestan said Chinese authorities are now doubling down on restrictive measures to contain the health crisis, although there remains public discontent with the way Chinese governments at all levels managed the outbreak and how they still fail to effectively contain it. Dissidents who refuse to be silent about the outbreak risk being jailed.Xi’s power unshaken?The fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping still manages to install some of his protégés to handle the crisis in Hubei province shows that his authority isn’t weakened, according to Cabestan.
On Thursday, Ying Yong, the former mayor of Shanghai, was appointed to replace Hubei Party secretary Jiang Chaoliang. Wang Zhonglin, former party secretary of Jinan in Shangdong province, replaced Ma Guoqiang, the party leader of Wuhan.Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, is where the virus first surfaced.Jiang and Ma were fired because of their botched responses to the outbreak, although the two had previously said it wasn’t within their power to disclose the outbreak.A woman wearing a protective mask cycles past a graffiti-painted wall at a construction site in Shanghai, China, as the country is hit by coronavirus outbreak, Feb. 17, 2020.”(Xi) is being contested, for sure, within the society, (and) probably also in the party itself,” Cabestan said. “But his opponents seem to be weak and divided, including within the party. So, I don’t see any evidence that he has been weakened as the top of the party.”Although it is not likely that Xi will be openly challenged, now presents a time for him to consider decentralizing his power to avoid a similar crisis in the future, said Arthur Ding, an adjunct research fellow at National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations in Taipei.”Since 2008, he has so tightly consolidated his own power and that of the party. He should soon give it a thought about whether he should release some of those powers back to leaders at the provincial or city levels” so they will be empowered to take swift action against a future outbreak as fast-spreading as the COVID-19.
Also, Xi may have to find ways to address the side effects of his earlier anti-corruption campaign, which has intimidated local officials who are now passive and prefer inaction, Ding added. Economy suffers
Meanwhile, the health crisis is expected to take a huge toll on the Chinese economy. Ding said multinationals facing difficulty resuming factory operations in China may prepare to transfer their assembly lines outside the country.
In the wake of its Phase One deal with China taking effect last week, the U.S. may follow up to soon enter the next phase of trade negotiations with China. Some observers, however, suggest China should use the health crisis as an excuse to delay the talks.”It now looks that (U.S. President Donald) Trump stands a pretty good chance of being reelected. Under such circumstances, Trump may roll out Phase Two (of) U.S.-China trade negotiations. That may be another bigger headache for China,” Ding said.
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US Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Transgender Pronoun Dispute
A judge dismissed a professor’s lawsuit against a small, public university in Ohio that rebuked him for not addressing a transgender student using the student’s preferred gender terms.
Nicholas Meriwether’s federal lawsuit alleged that Shawnee State University officials violated his rights by compelling him to speak in a way that contradicts his Christian beliefs.
Schools officials contended that such language was part of his job responsibilities, not speech protected by the First Amendment, and that the case should be dismissed. U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott dismissed it last week, agreeing that the manner in which Meriwether addressed the student wasn’t protected under the First Amendment.
A message seeking comment was left Monday for Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Meriwether.
He had received a written warning for violating the school’s nondiscrimination policy and unsuccessfully challenged his reprimand in a grievance process. Meriwether said he treated the student like “other biologically male students.”
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As South Sudan Deadline to Form Unity Government Looms, Soldiers and Rebels Hastily Gather
Former South Sudanese rebels in t-shirts and sandals marched alongside government forces in a display meant to reassure international monitors that progress is being made on tasks related to forming a long-delayed unity government.But the casual nature of the forces gathering at a camp near the capital Juba on Monday showed how the former warring sides were struggling to meet a Saturday deadline for that goal.
President Salva Kiir and his former deputy turned rebel leader Riek Machar have repeatedly pushed back the deadline for forming a unity government, the main plank of the 2018 peace agreement that ended a five-year-old war. In November, they bought more time and pledged to form it by Feb. 22.
Machar arrived in Juba from the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Monday and he and Kiir are due to meet on Tuesday.
But in a sign preparations were not complete, more than 500 men loyal to Machar arrived at the camp on Sunday to join what is to be a 3,000-strong protection force meant to be operational by Saturday.
The VIP force will guard Kiir, Machar and other senior officials in the future government. It is intended to prevent the scenario that triggered violence in Juba in 2013 and 2016 — fighting between the close protection forces of Kiir and Machar.
“It’s still greatly uncertain if a new government will be formed by the deadline. The parties will not finish all the agreed tasks by then, so they will have to sit and agree the path forward”, said Alan Boswell, a senior analyst with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.
Both sides blame the other for not meeting the deal’s milestones, especially the integration of their forces. Analysts say another obstacle is that Kiir does not wish to share his nation’s oil revenues with his longtime foe.
“They are lagging behind,” said one of the international visitors to the camp, Norway’s ambassador to South Sudan Siv Kaspersen.
Foreign governments backing the deal did not expect the force to be fully trained by Saturday, she said, but added it was critical that forces receive equipment by Friday.
The hasty combining of forces comes after Kiir on Saturday acceded to a rebel demand by cutting the number of states in the country.
South Sudan declared independence from Sudan in 2011 but plunged into civil war in 2013 when Kiir sacked his then deputy Machar.
The conflict killed an estimated 400,000 people, triggered a famine and created Africa’s biggest refugee crisis since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
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‘Be Yourself’ Ex-British PM May Advises Women in Politics
“Be yourself” is the advice former British prime minister Theresa May gave to the Global Women’s Forum in Dubai on Monday, explaining how she had risen to the top job despite refusing to conform to masculine traditions in politics.”I did my politics a different way from the men,” she told the mostly female audience of her entrance to parliament in 1997.”There was still a huge emphasis on men drinking together, getting together into groups and some of the women felt they had to join that and I didn’t,” she said.”I felt I wanted to do it the way I wanted to do it so I did it my way, I was myself and hey, I became prime minister,” she said, provoking laughs from the audience.May served as Britain’s second female prime minister, after the late Margaret Thatcher, and home secretary as well as minister for women and equalities — a role that remains necessary in May’s view.She resigned as premier in July 2019 after three years in the post amid mounting pressure over her inability to carry out Brexit, a topic notably absent from her speech in the United Arab Emirates.At the end of September, during her first major public appearance since leaving Downing Street, May announced she would not rush to write her memoirs.That remains the case, said May, despite the encouragement of many people, including former foreign secretary William Hague.”He thought it was very important that people at the center of events write about them, so that historians can look at what it was like for the individuals involved,” she said.”So maybe, maybe one day, but I am not doing it at the moment,” she added.She advised the women in the audience to persevere in the face of failure and highlighted the causes she continues working on, including domestic violence, modern slavery and mental health.
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