Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, was released from a federal prison on Thursday due to concerns that he could be exposed to the new coronavirus while incarcerated, according to a source familiar with the case. Cohen, 53, had completed a bit more than a year of a three-year sentence for his role in paying hush money to two women — pornographic film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal — who said they had sexual relationships with Trump, as well as financial crimes and lying to Congress. He is expected to serve the rest of his sentence in home confinement. Cohen, who had been imprisoned in a facility in New York state, had been eligible for release from prison in November 2021. Cohen was the second Trump associate released early from prison due to coronavirus concerns after his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was released last week. Trump has called Cohen a “rat.” Cohen has called Trump a “racist,” a “con man” and “a cheat.”
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Month: May 2020
Study: Philippines A global Hot Spot for Online Child Abuse
The Philippines has emerged as a global hot spot for online child sexual exploitation, and coronavirus lockdowns that restrict millions to their homes may be worsening the abuses, a U.S. official said Thursday.
A new study released by the Washington-based International Justice Mission on Thursday said Philippine cases of online child sexual exploitation have increased sharply in recent years with parents conniving to have their own children victimized for the money. The nongovernmental group has helped track down and prosecute offenders in the Philippines.
“The global shutdown with the COVID-19 pandemic seems to only be increasing these phenomena,” U.S. State Department official John Richmond, who oversees U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking, said in an online launch of the study.
In most cases “the traffickers are actually parents or close family members of the kids they are exploiting,” Richmond said. “And so lockdown orders mean that children are being locked down with their traffickers.”
The webcam scheme has involved pedophiles in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia who pay facilitators to sexually abuse children, even babies, in the privacy of Philippine homes. They watch and help direct the abuses through online livestreaming services.
The wide use of English, availability of internet connections and widespread international cash transfer systems have combined with long-entrenched poverty and wide access to vulnerable kids to allow many abuses to happen in the Philippines.
Citing online tips on abuses, the study said the estimated number of Internet Protocol addresses used for online child sexual exploitation in the Philippines rose sharply from about 23,333 in 2014 to 81,723 in 2017 — a 250% increase. An IP address identifies a computer connected to the internet.
The study showed 64% of online sexual child abuse cases in the Philippines were initiated by foreign authorities largely because of a lack of capability to detect the livestreamed abuse, which is often uncovered only when foreign law enforcers accost an offender abroad.
“The tech industry should prioritize detection of all child sexual exploit tation materials because of the gravity of harm that repeated sexual exploitation causes victims,” International Justice Mission Philippine Director Samson Inocencio Jr. said. “There are children who need rescue now, but rescue starts with timely detection and robust reporting.”
In 90 cases involving 381 victims from 2011 to 2017, 43 victims were abused from two months to four years. The period of abuse for the others was not known, according to the study.
It said victims have an average age of 11 years, with the youngest less than 1 year old. Another unsettling finding was that nearly half of the abuses was arranged by the parents or other relatives of the victims.
“We need to act as a global community – ending impunity in both source countries like the Philippines and demand countries,” Philippine Justice Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar said.
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38.6 Million Americans Seek Unemployment Benefits
Commerce throughout the United States has started to slowly ease back to life, but 2.4 million more workers filed for unemployment compensation last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the world’s largest economy.Over nine weeks now, 38.6 million jobless workers have filed for cash benefits, almost one of every four employees in the U.S. labor force of more than 164 million. But the newest weekly total was the smallest number since businesses started shutting down by the thousands in mid-March as state governors issued mandatory closure orders on stores, businesses and event centers.Now, the 50 state governors have started to ease those restrictions and allowed some businesses to reopen, albeit in a patch-work array of directives that varies widely from state to state.Numerous states still require social distancing of at least two meters between people in stores and some major retail outlets are requiring their employees and customers to wear face masks. Some governors are limiting restaurants to half capacity.But in other states, the restrictions have been significantly lifted and crowds have quickly emerged to resume life, shopping or enjoying a day at Atlantic and Pacific beaches as the U.S. heads to its first summer-time holiday, Memorial Day on this coming Monday.The economic warnings are still bleak, however.Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned at a congressional hearing this week that unemployment would remain high through June. But they expressed hope that the more than $2 trillion Congress and President Donald Trump have approved to assist businesses and most Americans will begin to boost the economy in the second half of the year.Some economists, however, say the effect of the coronavirus will linger significantly in the U.S. economy, with the Congressional Budget Office predicting a still high 9.5% unemployment rate at the end of 2021.In April, the official unemployment rate was 14.7%, but key Trump administration economic officials say it likely is higher and could approach 25% in the coming weeks. The government says the national economy dropped 4.8% in the first quarter, but that was before the full impact of the pandemic became apparent. Trump has contended that Democrats want to see the American economy fail to bolster the chances of former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden to defeat him in the November presidential election. “The less successful we are in reopening, the better they are, maybe for an election,” the president said. “They would rather see our country fail, and you know what that means, because part of failure is death, than have me get elected.” Powell, head of the country’s central bank, has warned that the American economy could endure a multi-year recession if more aid is not authorized for workers. He said that 40% of American households earning less than $40,000 a year lost jobs in March.But Trump and Republican lawmakers are balking at approving more government assistance until it can be determined how much effect the already-approved funding is helping the economy. U.S. workers filing for jobless benefits normally are paid slightly less than half their normal salaries. But these payments are currently being augmented during the pandemic with $600-a-week supplements from the federal government for four months, through July. The peak of the unemployment benefit claims may have come in late March with 6.9 million workers filing for the jobless compensation. The weekly pace of claims has diminished each of the last nine weeks since then, but the millions of claims have still been unparalleled over decades of U.S. economic history, reaching back to the Great Depression in the 1930s. The number of claims has far exceeded those made during the Great Recession in 2008.
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Controversy Surrounds New Moscow Military Cathedral
In Russia, a colossal new Orthodox Church cathedral has gone up on the outskirts of Moscow. It is called the Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed forces – a place of worship not only dedicated to the Christian faith, but a museum and also, for many, a symbol of the former Red Army’s conversion to conservatism. Jonathan Spier narrates this report by Ricardo Marquina in Moscow.
Camera: Ricardo Marquina et al
Video editor: Jason Godman
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Botswana Ends 7-Week Lockdown
Botswana’s 48-day lockdown ended at midnight Wednesday after gradually relaxing restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus in the diamond rich southern African country. All businesses and schools are now cleared to reopen under government guidelines, including individual temperature checks, use of face masks and regular sanitizing. COVID-19 Task Force Coordinator Dr. Kereng Masupu said in a news briefing that depending on the coronavirus disease pattern, a return to lockdown will remain an option.Meantime, people returning home to Botswana will undergo mandatory quarantine and the ban of foreign visitors remains in place. Botswana confirmed 29 COVID-19 infections and one death. Reuter’s news agency said the Botswana’s government set aside more than $400 million to help absorb the economic impact of businesses suspending operations, including the prized diamond industry, which had no buyers coming into the country because of travel restrictions.
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Hungary to Close Zones Holding Asylum-Seekers
Hungary is closing its border transit zones where it held asylum-seekers as they waited for authorities to review their applications. The move announced Thursday by President Viktor Orban’s chief of staff follows a ruling last week by the European Union’s top court saying the system amounted to detention. Hungary said it was moving 280 asylum-seekers to other facilities as a result of closing the transit zones. All new asylum applications will now only be accepted at Hungarian embassies and consulates. Orban’s government has sought to strictly limit immigration, and during a 2015 migrant crisis in Europe it built fences along its southern border.
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Asian Markets Slumping Thursday
Asian markets closed mostly lower Thursday as investors reacted to bad economic news from Japan, and to China’s worsening trade and diplomatic relations with Australia and the United States.Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index lost 0.2 percent at its closing bell after the government announced that Japan’s exports fell 21.9 percent last month, the biggest drop since the 2008 global financial crisis. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.4 percent in late afternoon trading, while Shanghai was 0.5 percent lower and the S&P/ASX 500 in Sydney was down 0.4 percent. Seoul closed 0.4 percent higher, and Taipei posted a 0.9 percent increase.Monday’s major rally on global markets after news of a potential coronavirus vaccine faded after Beijing imposed massive tariffs on Australian barley imports, plus the Trump administration’s increasingly heated rhetoric against China over its initial response to the coronavirus pandemic, which was first detected late last year in Wuhan.The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are all lower in futures trading, indicating a lower opening on Wall Street Thursday.Oil markets are in positive territory Thursday, with U.S. crude trading at $34.11 per barrel, up 1.85 percent, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, is trading at $36.29 per barrel, up 1.5 percent.
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G-7 Leaders Weigh Safety of In-Person Summit Amid Coronavirus
Leaders of the G-7 nations are considering U.S. President Donald Trump’s idea of meeting for an in-person summit, perhaps next month, while the number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 5 million.Trump floated the idea Wednesday as he tweeted that the United States is “Transitioning back to Greatness.””The other members are also beginning their COMEBACK,” Trump said. “It would be a great sign to all — normalization!”Japan’s top government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said Thursday that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s attendance “is still under consideration,” and that the two countries have “been in close contact.”Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the question of meeting in person or virtually will involve examining what safety measures are in place and the recommendations of experts.French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said he is open to traveling for the talks, if “health conditions allow,” while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she will “wait and see what happens.”All of the G-7 members have begun lifting lockdown restrictions put in place to stop the spread of the virus.Japan’s economy minister said Thursday experts approved a government plan to lift a state of emergency in Osaka and two other prefectures, while keeping in place the orders for Tokyo.The World Health Organization said Wednesday a record 106,000 new coronavirus cases were identified globally, the highest daily number since the outbreak began.WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a news briefing that almost two-thirds of the new cases were confirmed in just four countries. He did not name them, but several news reports name the four countries as the United States, Russia, Brazil and India.Brazil had a record number of new cases Wednesday since the outbreak began there: close to 20,000 in one day. Officials in the country’s most populous city, Sao Paulo, announced a six-day holiday aimed at keeping people from going out and spreading the virus.More than 328,000 people have died from the novel coronavirus. The United States has the most confirmed cases, about 1.5 million, and the highest death toll, more than 93,000.Italy reported Wednesday that its number of new cases fell from 813 to 665, while Spain reported fewer than 100 deaths for the fourth consecutive day. Both countries were early hot spots for the pandemic.Work continues on potential vaccines, and on Thursday pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca said it had deals in place to manufacture 400 million doses of a vaccine developed by Oxford University. The vaccine is still undergoing trials necessary to determine whether it is both effective and safe.AstraZeneca said it has received $1 billion from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for development and delivery of the vaccine. The department said the deal included an order for 300 million doses of the vaccine.AstraZeneca said it would supply the additional 100 million doses to Britain, with its first deliveries planned for September.
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Japan Lifting State of Emergency for 3 More Prefectures
Japan is planning to lift a state of emergency for three more prefectures as the number of new coronavirus cases falls.Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said Thursday in Tokyo a group of experts have approved a plan to lift the emergency imposed for the western prefectures of Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo.The three prefectures were among seven, including Tokyo, that were first placed under a state of emergency last month by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe out of fear the coronavirus outbreak would overwhelm the country’s health care system. The prime minister briefly expanded the decree for the entire country.Tokyo and four other prefectures, including the northern island of Hokkaido, will remain under the state of emergency.The COVID-19 outbreak has pushed Japan’s economy into a recession for the first time since 2015, as its gross domestic product shrank by an annual 3.4 percent in the first three months of 2020, following a contraction in the last quarter of 2019.Further evidence of the financial blow came Thursday, with the finance ministry releasing figures showing Japan’s exports fell 21.9 percent last month, the biggest drop since the 2008 global financial crisis.Japan has been mildly affected by the coronavirus compared to the rest of the world, with more than 16,000 confirmed infections, including over 700 deaths.
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Celebrity Chef Tom Colicchio: Restaurants Will Need Long-Term Funding to Survive
The coronavirus pandemic has gutted New York City’s restaurants. Celebrity chef and restaurateur Tom Colicchio discusses what’s at stake and what can be done to save the industry. Tina Trinh reports.Camera: Skype, Laura Sepulveda
Produced by: Tina Trinh
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Lesotho’s New Prime Minister’s Reign is Underway
Lesotho Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro is beginning his first full day on the job Thursday, a day after being sworn in at the palace in the capital city of Maseru.Majoro, the 59-year-old former finance minister, said his immediate focus is keeping the country safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing poverty and unemployment in the small country surrounded by South Africa.Majoro also expects to bring stability to Lesotho, which has been at unrest over the troubles of his predecessor.Majoro replaces 80-year-old Thomas Thabane, who resigned abruptly on Tuesday after months of resisting pressure from a governing coalition to step down amid allegations he was involved in the murder of his ex-wife, Lipolelo Thabane, in 2017, days before his inauguration.Thabane, who denied any involvement in his ex-wife’s death, apologized for his shortcomings over the last three years as Prime Minister during Majoro’s swearing-in ceremony.Thabane’s current wife, Maesaiah, is out on bail after being charged with Lipolelo’s murder. She says she is innocent in the case.
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China Recalibrates Economic Goals Following Pandemic
Chinese leaders are expected to begin charting out a new economic development plan Friday as part of major meetings of top officials in Beijing. The annual “Two Sessions” meetings, considered among the most important political events for top lawmakers and political advisers, are likely to result in major adjustments to the country’s economic goals. FILE PHOTO: China’s Premier Li Keqiang speaks during a joint news conference at the 8th trilateral leaders’ meeting between China, South Korea and Japan in Chengdu, in southwest China’s Sichuan province, Dec. 24, 2019.Observers also are waiting to see if Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will announce the country’s GDP growth targets in the report that sets the tone for economic development throughout the year. Already, the economic toll from the COVID-19 pandemic has forced major changes to national goals. Chinese officials had previously highlighted 2020 as the year when officials vowed to complete building a “moderately prosperous society,” when the gross national product and average income per capita would be double what it was in 2010. That target is likely already a fantasy, after the economy reportedly contracted 6.8% this year compared with the first quarter of 2019. The International Monetary Fund estimated the Chinese economy could expand 1% to 1.5% in 2020. Nicholas Lardy, an expert on China’s economy at Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the 2020 target will still likely be fulfilled within the next year. “This is an objective set forth quite a few years ago, and maybe it’s going to take them an extra six months to get there,” Lardy said. Li Keqiang earlier said that as long as China can keep unemployment under control this year, it does not matter if it has a higher or lower annual growth rate. A vendor demonstrates a food processor to customers at a market in Shenyang in China’s northeastern Liaoning province on May 12, 2020.Private companies? State owned? One major dilemma for Chinese authorities for years has been how to encourage more private companies and shrink inefficient state-owned enterprises. That is expected to remain a key issue, even though it’s not on the Two Sessions agenda this year. Beijing has said it would open up more sectors to private firms and reduce direct government interference in microeconomic activities. In the newly released plan for economic structural reform, Beijing tries to highlight a mixed ownership. Lardy said that Beijing had been pursuing mixed ownership since 1995 when they passed the new corporate law, and mixed ownership has preceded fairly broadly within the state-owned enterprise sector. But, according to Lardy, the performance of state companies has basically been going down for 10 years. “So, maybe they’re going to implement it in a different way, or they’re going to have different things. But, that’s an example of something that I did not find so impressive because I think doubling down on mixed ownership, I don’t see any reason to think it’s going to be transformative,” Lardy said. The National People’s Congress, delayed from early March because of the coronavirus outbreak, will start on May 22. The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference will start one day earlier on May 21.
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Russia Poses ‘Serious’ and ‘Growing’ Threats to US in Space
Russia continues to pose “serious” and “growing” threats to U.S. interests in space, according to the top military officer for space defense. “They’re real, they’re serious and they’re concerning,” Gen. John Raymond, chief of the newly established U.S. Space Force and head of U.S. Space Command, told reporters Wednesday. “Our advantage has been diminished, and that’s why the establishment of the Space Force in the Aerospace Command is so important — to allow us to move fast with agility of effort, reducing costs to stay ahead of that growing threat,” he added. The realm of space is essential to everyday activities from navigation to banking. Space assets are also critical to military missions from launching missiles to collecting intelligence. Raymond did not elaborate when pressed for specific areas where the U.S. advantage is eroding but touted “significant strides” over recent months to remain the world leader in space. Raymond credited having the “best partnerships” as a major reason the United States leads in space, confirming that Peru this month became the latest nation to join a U.S.-led network that shares information on space objects. The data-sharing space situational awareness agreement will give Peru access to satellite tracking data, connecting Peru’s space agency with the military team that tracks space objects for the United States. Raymond warned, however, that as the United States has watched both Russia and China advance in space capabilities, “any progress they make could erode our advantage.” Russia and China have recently placed a greater emphasis on their space capabilities, including developing technology and weapons that could disrupt or destroy satellites. “Our adversaries in the last several years have weaponized space. They’ve made it a war fighting domain,” Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Friday.U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, speaks during a news conference on Feb. 29, 2020.In recent weeks, Russia fired an anti-satellite missile, technology that could threaten U.S. orbital assets. It also conducted test maneuvers of two satellites that followed a U.S. spy satellite, a move that the U.S. Space Force said last month “exhibited characteristics of a space weapon.” Raymond slammed Russia’s “hypocritical” behavior toward space, saying that Moscow is advocating for outer space arms control at the same time it is developing space weapons. Iran and North Korea have less developed capabilities than Russia and China, but they still pose a threat, according to defense officials. Last month, Iran conducted its first successful launch of a military satellite into space. Raymond reiterated to reporters Wednesday that the satellite was “nothing more than a tumbling webcam” that was unlikely to provide intelligence.
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Critics Knock Britain’s Handling of COVID Pandemic
For most of the coronavirus pandemic, the daily Downing Street briefing by ministers of the ruling Conservative party has been accompanied by a chart showing Britain’s death toll trailing comfortably behind tallies in other Western countries, notably Italy and Spain. But earlier this month, when Britain’s toll surged past continental neighbors, the chart unceremoniously disappeared.Britain has not had a good coronavirus war, say critics of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, including some Conservatives, who fault him for not locking down the country earlier than he did.”I’ve always been skeptical about British exceptionalism,” former Conservative lawmaker Matthew Parris commented in Britain’s The Times newspaper. “No longer. Our handling of this crisis has been exceptionally poor.”On Monday, an all-party parliamentary panel criticized Johnson’s Conservative government for missteps and U-turns, and for failing to be transparent with the public about the scientific reasoning behind its shifting strategy.Government ministers say they have just been following scientific advice, but until recently, the membership of the main expert body advising ministers was kept secret and the minutes of its deliberations also have been held from publication.The parliamentary panel rebuked the government for what it termed a “lack of boldness” with the country’s virus testing regime and for a failure to boost testing capacity fast enough. “Capacity drove strategy, rather than strategy driving capacity,” the committee said.Medical Director of NHS England, Professor Stephen Powis, speaks as Britain’s Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden chairs the daily coronavirus disease news conference at 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, May 20, 2020.Committee members also fumed about the explosion of infections and deaths in Britain’s nursing homes, which have accounted for about 42 percent of the 40,000 coronavirus-related deaths so far in the country, which is the second highest reported death tally in the world.Public health officials failed to warn nursing home operators about the rate of infection in the sector during March and April, even though they knew it was rapidly increasing, critics say. And they forced care homes to admit elderly patients from hospitals without testing them first to see if they were infected.Polls suggest even Britons think many foreign governments, including those in the European Union, have handled the crisis better. The pandemic risks upending Johnson’s bid to restore the image of Britain being an orderly, well-governed place after the country’s governance took a battering during its long, drawn out and shambolic Brexit process — a fear held even by some Conservative party loyalists.Recession fearsGovernment steps to ease the lockdown also are not going well. Public unease is mounting about whether the government is prioritizing the economy above public health. Figures released this week showed that claims for unemployment benefits rose 69 percent between March and April, the fastest month-to-month rise since records began in 1971.Britain’s top finance minister, Rishi Sunak, warned Tuesday that the country was facing a severe recession on a scale “we haven’t seen” before and that the economy could be permanently scarred by the lockdown.He added the country was unlikely to “bounce back” quickly and spelled out the bleak impact on the economy, health and society for prolonging the lockdown. Sunak highlighted research suggesting that for every two percent increase in unemployment, more than a million people develop chronic health conditions.Reopening schoolsEven so, the government is facing stiff resistance to its efforts to ease the lockdown. A crucial part of unlocking is reopening schools, but teacher unions have criticized the plans to allow some age groups to resume classes on June 1, dubbing them unsafe. And the government is facing an unprecedented revolt by local governments, including large cities in the north of the country, whose leaders say they will defy government plans to reopen elementary schools.French coordinator Julie Bonaz covers a bookshelf with plastic to help provide a teaching environment safe from coronavirus for pupils and teachers at La Petite Ecole Bilingue at Kentish Town, north London, May 20, 2020.”We recognize the importance of schools reopening. We also recognize the role of getting children back to school in helping to kick-start the economy. But this needs to be done with the safety of school communities at front and center,” said Tamoor Tariq, a local politician in Bury, a town in northwest England. Liverpool, the ninth largest city in England, has also said it won’t reopen schools and Manchester, too, the third largest English city, is also opposed.The leader of the municipal authority in Gateshead in the north east of England, Martin Gannon, which has one of the highest infection rates in the country, says Britain “locked down too late and this un-locking strategy is premature. The testing capacity isn’t robust enough, neither is the tracking and tracing system, the R-rate [the virus’s reproduction rate] isn’t low enough. They’re doing this too soon; it means a second wave will happen.” Municipal defiance has now thrown the government’s school-reopening plan into disarray with one senior government minister, Robert Buckland, the justice secretary, Wednesday conceding that Downing Street accepts there are still issues needing to be addressed. School resumptions might not be able to happen in a “uniform way,” he suggested.That partial reversal of thought came after one of the government’s most senior scientific advisers said schools should only reopen once an effective system to test for the virus, track transmissions and isolate the infected has been established.Britain isn’t alone among Western countries struggling to balance public health needs with economic imperatives. Defenders of the government’s efforts say all nations have experienced setbacks and missteps, and have had to shift strategies and tack as new evidence and data has emerged.’The science’World shortages of protective equipment, as well as technical and administrative problems with testing, have affected Britain’s near neighbors, too. All countries are trying to feel their way forward as they deal with a novel virus, government supporters say.”You can only make judgments and decisions based on the information and advice that you have at the time,” work and pensions minister Therese Coffey said Tuesday.”If the science was wrong, advice at the time was wrong, I’m not surprised if people will then think we then made a wrong decision,” she added. “Ministers say they have been guided throughout by ‘the science.'”People sit in the sunshine in London Fields, north east London, May 20, 2020.Her remarks have led to accusations that ministers are trying to divert blame for any mistakes on to the government’s science advisers. They, in turn, have pushed back. Adrian Smith, the president of the Royal Society, Britain’s most prestigious scientific body, chided ministers earlier this week for saying they are just doing what scientists tell them.He said ministers felt the need to appear decisive but that with a new virus, there is much that is uncertain and that politicians needed to be frank and open about that.”We’re fairly sure about how the planets work, but once you get into new viruses you get extraordinary amounts of uncertainty,” he said in a newspaper interview.Political pressure is now mounting on the government to publish all scientific advice the government is receiving to head off a deepening “blame game” among ministers, officials and scientists. So far, the government has published only 28 of the 120 papers produced by its top expert group.Poll ratingsJohnson, who was hospitalized for COVID-19, has opinion poll ratings that have personally remained high but have dropped in recent weeks. A poll Sunday showed that approval ratings for his government over the handling of the coronavirus crisis have plummeted with a net disapproval rate — the figure reached when the percentage who disapprove is subtracted from percentage who approve — now at minus three percent. In late March it was +42 percent.Much of the disapproval of the government’s performance and of its unlocking plans is coming from the north of the country — in parts of the country Johnson’s Conservatives captured from the main opposition Labor Party in last year’s general election. That is adding to unease in Conservative ranks.So, too, is the increasing divergence on coronavirus policy between the government in London and the devolved governments of Scotland and Wales, which have chosen increasingly their own paths and are turning their backs on a speedy unlocking. Senior Scottish lawmakers say the British government’s handling of the crisis is “building the case for Scottish independence.”That may be wishful thinking, according to commentators, but the divergence between different parts of Britain is adding to a picture of coronavirus confusion.
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US Pledges Support to Taiwan, Amid Deepening China Tensions
The United States said its strong and bipartisan support for Taiwan’s democracy “comports with” the U.S.-China agreements and is “the right solution to maximize the stability” of the Taiwan Strait. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday congratulated Taiwan’s democratically elected President Tsai Ing-wen as she began her second term. This handout picture taken on May 20, 2020 by the Taiwan Presidential office shows Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen speaking at the Taipei Guest House as part of her inauguration for her second term as in office, in Taipei.“We congratulated the winner of the election there. We were happy to see that,” Pompeo said in response to a question from VOA during a State Department news briefing. His remarks came just hours before the State Department on Wednesday announced it had approved a possible defense sale of 18 MK-48 Mod6 Advanced Technology (AT) Heavy Weight Torpedoes (HWT) and related equipment at an estimated cost of $180 million to Taiwan. “The democratic process in Taiwan has matured into a model for the world despite great pressure from outside. Taiwan has demonstrated the wisdom of giving a people a voice and a choice,” Pompeo told reporters. Congratulations to Dr. Tsai Ing-wen on the commencement of your second-term as Taiwan’s President. Taiwan’s vibrant democracy is an inspiration to the region and the world. With President Tsai at the helm, our partnership with Taiwan will continue to flourish.— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) FILE – Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian takes a question at the daily media briefing in Beijing on April 8, 2020.In China, the Beijing government vowed retaliation for Pompeo’s message to Taiwan. Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian warned against such U.S. support of Taiwan. “Practices that undermine China’s core interests and intervene in China’s domestic affairs will be met with forceful fightback, which will not to the slightest extent impede the historical trend of China’s reunification,” he said. “We urge the U.S. to immediately correct its mistakes.” “China will take necessary measures in response to the U.S. erroneous practices, and the consequences will be borne by the U.S. side,” Zhao added. China’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement Wednesday that the military would “take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard” China’s sovereignty. Taiwan and China have been separately ruled since a civil war in the 1940s, when Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists lost to Mao Zedong’s Communists and rebased on the island. China still claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has not ruled out use of force, if needed, to unite the two sides. Taiwanese President Tsai rejects Beijing’s proposal for a “one-country, two-systems” form of rule that China uses to govern Hong Kong. Taiwan government surveys say about 80% of Taiwanese oppose unification with China. “We are willing to engage in dialogue with China and make more concrete contributions to regional security,” Tsai said in her inauguration speech. “Both sides have a duty to find a way to coexist over the long term and prevent the intensification of antagonism and differences.” I am honoured to once again take on the responsibility entrusted to me by the Taiwanese people as President. I know that no matter the challenges we may face, we will stand together in freedom, democracy, & solidarity. Full speech:— 蔡英文 Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) May 20, 2020 The U.S. and Taiwan enjoy a robust unofficial relationship. The 1979 U.S.-China Joint Communique switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. The relations between the U.S. and Taiwan have been governed by the Taiwan Relations Act that was passed by Congress in April 1979. The U.S. provides defense equipment to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act. The State Department said in a statement Wednesday evening that the approved sale of the proposed $180 million in military equipment “serves U.S. national, economic and security interests” by supporting Taiwan’s “continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability.””The recipient will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen homeland defense,” the statement said. Experts said the rare, high-level U.S. messages on Taiwan on the day of Tsai’s swearing-in ceremony was a pushback to China’s increasing pressure on Taiwan. “The U.S. is showing strong support for Taiwan because of Beijing’s growing military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan, and because President Donald Trump’s administration is less concerned than prior administrations that its support for Taiwan will damage U.S.-China ties,” said Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “China is almost certain to respond to this trend. The Chinese warning is not an empty threat. They will look for creative ways to harm American interests and prevent Taiwan from challenging China’s sovereignty claim,” Glaser added. “The shameful snub by the WHO and China’s unnecessary politicization of global health has reinforced U.S. efforts to demonstrate maximum support for Taiwan,” said Robert Manning, a senior fellow with the Washington-based Atlantic Council. “The upgrade in U.S. levels of engagement with Taiwan is understandable and well-intentioned. A U.S. tighter embrace of Taiwan is, in a sense, the flip side of the angry demonization of China that has broad support in the U.S.,” Manning added, while cautioning “if the U.S. policy toward Taiwan is not carefully calibrated, it could backfire and lead to China becoming more reckless in its efforts to punish Taipei.”
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Fear of COVID-19 Slows Trucking in East Africa
In East Africa, long-distance truckers are suspected of carrying the dreaded coronavirus along with their cargo. So for weeks, trucks have stalled at border crossings — with trucks sometimes stretching back hundreds deep at some points — as governments restrict access and implement mandatory COVID-19 testing to protect their residents.“They are calling us ‘corona.’ We are not corona, and we have certificates on the vehicles, but they are still calling us corona. Why?” asked Muhammed Ali, a Tanzanian trucker halted last week at Uganda’s Mirama Hills border crossing with Rwanda. He carried a paper certifying he had tested negative for the virus.With truck drivers seen as high-risk COVID-19 carriers after some cases were traced to them, the Kigali government ordered that they turn over their vehicles to Rwandan drivers in a system of relay driving. The other option was to offload merchandise onto Rwandan trucks.Drivers from other countries refused, saying they had no authorization from their employers and could be held liable for any lost merchandise.“We drivers don’t like that thing of handing the trucks to other drivers from Rwanda,” said Benjamin Ngugi, a Kenyan trucker also stalled at Mirama Hills.As trucks stacked up for days, Rwanda and neighboring Tanzania worked out a deal that scrapped plans for relay drivers but mandated transferring cargo at the border, “except for trucks carrying perishable goods and petroleum products destined to Rwanda,” the Kigali government A technician carries samples from truck drivers testing for COVID-19 at the laboratory of Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Busia, a town bordering with Uganda in western Kenya, on May 14, 2020.On Saturday, the Nairobi government closed entry points with Tanzania and Somalia, except for cargo trucks whose drivers have tested negative. In an apparent retaliatory move, Tanzania shuttered several crossings on its eastern side Monday.Kenya’s ambassador to Tanzania, Dan Kazungu, attempted to ease the situation Tuesday, saying at a news conference that leaders of the East African Community (EAC) were working together to address the region’s trucking industry problems.But Wednesday, a day after Kenya announced the return of more than 180 foreigners to Tanzania because of positive COVID test results, a Tanzanian regional official accused the Nairobi government of faulty testing.Mrisho Gambo, a commissioner in Tanzania’s northern Arusha region, said in a statement that 19 truckers who had tested positive in Kenya subsequently had negative results after retesting in his country. He accused Kenya of “a deliberate sabotage strategy” against tourism in his country, according to local news reports.Zambia also had closed its border with Tanzania for several days last week after several truck drivers, immigration officers and sex workers tested positive for COVID, Reuters reported.Several heads of state in the EAC bloc — including Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Salva Kiir of South Sudan — last week agreed to double testing of truckers. They will be allowed to drive through the EAC upon testing negative in their country of origin and at the border.The leaders also agreed to adopt a harmonized system for certifying and sharing COVID-19 test results and other information. Kiir and his wife, Angelina Teny, who is Uganda’s defense minister, have tested positive for COVID, it was announced Tuesday.Transportation and trade barriers threaten to increase food insecurity in Africa, where an estimated one in five people already are malnourished, a World Health Organization official warned.“Hunger and malnutrition heighten vulnerability to diseases, the consequences of which could be far-reaching if not properly addressed,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, director of the Africa regional office, said last week in a COVID-19 online news briefing organized by the World Economic Forum.Speaking on the same panel, Chris Nikoi, the World Food Program’s regional director for West Africa, said border delays were “leading to increase in prices.” He said the WFP, part of the United Nations, was consulting with governments, agriculture and trade organizations to ensure that “the flow of food and goods is not overly restricted.”Amid the pandemic, Nikoi added, “it becomes even more critical to allow trade and commerce to function in the most efficient manner.”This report originated with VOA’s Swahili and English to Africa services. Catherine Nambi reported from Kigali, Rwanda, and Amina Chombo reported from Mombasa, Kenya. Jonathan Muriithi, Kennes Odongo and Carol Guensburg contributed from Washington.
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Largest Yet: $1.3 Billion Contract for Border Wall Awarded
A North Dakota construction company favored by President Donald Trump has received the largest contract to date to build a section of Trump’s signature wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Republican U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota confirmed the $1.3 billion contract for building the 42-mile section of wall through “really tough terrain in the mountains” in Arizona. That’s about $30 million per mile. Cramer said Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. offered the lowest price for the project. He did not know how many companies bid. Trump has promised to build 450 miles of wall along the border with Mexico by the end of the year. So far, the government has awarded millions of dollars in contracts for construction of 30-foot-tall barriers, along with new lighting, technology and infrastructure. The Trump administration says it has already built 187 miles of wall. Some of it is new, but most is replacing old, much shorter barriers that officials say were not sufficient. The Army Corp of Engineers said Wednesday that there was no set date to start or complete construction on the latest award. Construction will take place near Nogales, Arizona, and Sasabe, Arizona. Cramer said the fence will be painted black because “that’s what the president wanted, plain and simple,” Cramer said. Border Patrol agents on horseback ride along a US-Mexico border fence on Jan. 31, 2020, in nearby town of Sunland Park, New Mexico.The idea is that the black wall would absorb heat making it more difficult for someone to scale, he said. “That’s the president’s theory,” Cramer said. “Plus, it won’t be an ugly, rusty thing that everyone is putting up now.” The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, which awards contracts, said Fisher was one of several companies chosen in May 2019 to partake in building $5 billion worth of border wall. This month’s contract to Fisher was part of that award. Asked if there were any additional bidders for this latest contract, a spokesman said the agency couldn’t provide that information because of “procurement sensitivities.” The Arizona Daily Star first reported news of the contract. Cramer did not know if the Trump administration’s recent move to waive federal contracting laws to speed construction of the wall helped the project or sped it up. He said he didn’t know if the project fell under those rules. In the 2018 election cycle, company owner Tommy Fisher and his wife donated $10,800 to Cramer, who championed the company’s ability to build the wall and made Fisher his guest at Trump’s 2018 State of the Union address. Democratic members of Congress raised concerns in December after Fisher was awarded a $400 million contract for border wall construction. Within two weeks, the defense department’s inspector general had launched an investigation, which is ongoing, according to Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, a critic who questioned whether the contract had been properly awarded. “If the administration cared about anything besides political optics and maximizing miles of fence in the run up to an election, they wouldn’t have awarded this contract,” Thompson said in a statement on Wednesday. Cramer said he has personally pitched Fisher’s company to the president and others in Washington. “It will be a cold day in hell when I apologize for advocating for a North Dakota business,” Cramer said.
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Analyst: Sudan Has No Cash to Pay Damages for 1998 Embassy Bombings
A Sudanese political analyst says Sudan will have a hard time finding the cash to pay the punitive damages imposed by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in connection with the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.”It’s extremely difficult to pay this amount, so the other methods of solution must be followed, including an appeal to the international community to accelerate the lifting of sanctions from the Sudan,” Abdulmuniem Himmat told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus.In a unanimous decision Monday, the Supreme Court reinstated a lower court ruling that ordered Sudan to pay $4.3 billion in punitive damages to some of the victims of the 1998 embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar el Salaam carried out by al-Qaida. The attacks killed 224 people and injured thousands more.FILE – Then-al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden speaks to a select group of reporters in mountains of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, Dec. 24, 1998.Al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden lived in Khartoum for much of the 1990s before moving to Afghanistan.Sudan’s transitional government is pressing the Trump administration to remove the country from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.The state sponsors of terrorism designation prevents Sudan from accessing loans and debt relief from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, as well as investment opportunities with U.S.-based institutions.Sudan should try to reach an amicable settlement with the victims of the embassy bombings, said Himmat.”[The] Sudanese government should lead negotiations with the families of the victims of the bombings of United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. And this should follow the same approach that took place in addressing the issue of the victims of the American destroyer Cole and that should be done as quickly as possible,” Himmat told VOA.Last month, Sudan’s government said it reached a settlement with the families of U.S. Navy sailors killed in the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in 2000 off the coast of Aden in Yemen. The attack killed 17 American sailors and wounded 39 others.Court affirmed 2011 rulingNine years ago, a U.S. Federal District Court judge in Washington said Sudan should pay about $6 billion in compensation and roughly $4 billion in punitive damages for the 1998 bombings. The judge found Sudan guilty of giving al-Qaida and bin Laden technical and financial support, of allowing al-Qaida operatives to travel over the Sudan-Kenya border without restriction, and of permitting weapons and money to flow to the al-Qaida cell in Kenya.FILE – The United States Embassy, left, is pictured with blasted ruins next to it in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 8, 1998, the day after terrorist bombings in Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.In 2017, Sudan successfully challenged the ruling on punitive damages, arguing they were awarded under an amendment to a federal law that was made after the bombings occurred and could not be applied retroactively.But the Supreme Court reinstated the damages Monday, saying the law that authorized the punitive damages could indeed be applied retroactively.In Monday’s ruling, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that for claims made under federal law, “Congress was as clear as it could have been when it authorized plaintiffs to seek and win punitive damages for past conduct.”Sudan’s Ministry of Justice said in a statement Monday that “$7.4 billion of the total $10.2 billion against Sudan remains subject to further litigation,” since the decision ordered the D.C. Circuit to reconsider its decision that foreign plaintiffs who sued Sudan under state law in the U.S. could not seek punitive damages.”As always, Sudan expresses sympathy for the victims of the acts of terrorism at issue but reaffirms that it was not involved in any wrongdoing in connection with those acts,” said Christopher Curran, a lawyer representing Sudan.State sponsor of terrorism designationAnalyst Himmat said Sudan must continue to resolve past charges involving acts of terrorism in order to clear its name with the U.S. government.”Sudan needs to build good international relations with all countries, not with the United States only, and that’s to build a democratic country. Also, Sudan needs support to advance the country and make use of the human and material resources in Sudan,” said Himmat.The United States designated Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1993 because of Sudan’s connections with terrorist groups and figures like bin Laden.After the ouster of long-time President Omar al-Bashir in April of last year, following months of mass protests against the government, Sudan formed a transitional government headed by Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok.Carol Van Dam Falk contributed to this report.
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China’s Luckin Coffee Scandal Renews US Call for Stricter Oversight
Luckin Coffee Inc., a Chinese coffee retail chain listed on the Nasdaq, confirmed this week it has received notice that it will be delisted from the U.S. stock exchange after it acknowledged falsifying $310 million in sales.Analysts say the action is a blow to all Chinese companies, and comes as U.S. lawmakers consider imposing new regulations on Chinese companies seeking American investment.FILE – A Luckin Coffee logo is seen at a closed store in Beijing, following the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, China, April 16, 2020.”This is a such an unfortunate incident, it is a blow to the reputation of Chinese listed companies in the U.S,” said Guo Yafu, founder and CEO of TJ Capital Management.Luckin is the latest in a series of Chinese companies listed in the U.S. that have come under intense scrutiny.The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed sweeping legislation that potentially could bar many Chinese companies from listing shares on U.S. exchanges or raising money from American investors without adhering to strict regulatory and auditing regulations.The so-called “Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act,” overwhelmingly approved by Republican and Democratic senators, would require Chinese companies to demonstrate they are neither owned nor controlled by a foreign government. This would require the companies to submit to an audit that can be reviewed by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a non-profit group that oversees audits of all U.S. companies that want to raise money in public markets.Who is Luckin?Luckin Coffee Inc, a coffeehouse chain founded in 2017, joined Nasdaq in 2019 through a $561 million IPO, or initial public offering.The company rapidly expanded between 2017 and 2019, fueled by an aggressive marketing strategy, in which the company reportedly spent three times as much as it earned to feed its growth. By the beginning of 2020, the company claimed it had 4,500 shops in Mainland China, several hundred more than rival Starbucks.FILE – Jenny Qian Zhiya, CEO of Luckin Coffee, rings the Nasdaq opening bell with employees to celebrate the company’s IPO at the Nasdaq Market site in New York, May 17, 2019.Yet on April 2, Luckin Coffee announced that an internal investigation found that its chief operating officer, Jian Liu, had fabricated the company’s 2019 sales by “around RMB2.2 billion” ($310 million). On April 8, the U.S. stock market halted trading on all Luckin shares as a result of the fraud probe.Throughout April, the company’s stock dropped by over 80%. On May 12, the company fired its CEO Jenny Zhiyq Qian and COO Jian Liu from their positions.”The cooked books are either from accounting fraud or sales fraud,” Guo told VOA.After the delisting decision by Nasdaq, Luckin Coffee founder Charles Lu Zhengyao said in a statement published on Chinese social media platform WeChat on Wednesday that he “apologizes to all the investors, staff and clients of Luckin for the terrible impact of the incident.”Lack of oversightLuckin Coffee’s announced delisting follows years of tensions between American auditors and Chinese companies over the financial documentation required of companies that list shares on U.S. exchanges.FILE – A customer picks up her order from a Luckin Coffee pop-up shop at the World Robot Conference in Beijing, Aug. 15, 2018.Congress created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) in 2002 to ensure that companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges have accurate financial and corporate records.It took a few years for PCAOB to negotiate inspection-related agreements with many countries around the world, but eventually nearly all – except China – have come into agreement.”There may still be one or two small countries without agreements — China is by far the largest without one,” said James Peterson, an author and former staff attorney for now defunct Arthur Andersen.Many Chinese companies have significant government links and claim “state secrets” when asked to disclose financial information to U.S. auditors.Peterson said that the content of corporate records and audit working papers are no more qualitatively “secret” in China than they are for businesses in any other country.”China’s claim of ‘state secrets’ is no more than rhetorical cover for the simple position that ‘we do not want to,'” Peterson told VOA.Trump wants to get tough U.S. President Donald Trump said in a recent interview aired on Fox News that he was looking “very strongly” at setting rules to require Chinese companies to comply with American accounting rules. Federal officials have long demanded compliance with U.S. audit inspections as a condition for listing.Yet he also suggested that he doesn’t want to threaten to delist Chinese companies that don’t comply with U.S. regulations if it spurs them to flee to a competing foreign stock exchange.”Let’s say you want to get tough,” Trump said, “What do they do? They say, ‘OK, well, we’ll move to London or we’ll go to Hong Kong.'” Guo said Trump’s concern is reasonable, since a lot of Chinese companies have or are preparing to list in Hong Kong.”If the U.S. wants all Chinese companies [that don’t comply with U.S. auditing rule] to leave, they will have to find other places to go. These are all good companies, like Baidu and JD. com,” he said.He added that Alibaba, the e-commerce giant based in China, already has a secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock exchange.
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Southern African Leaders Meet on Mozambique’s Deteriorating Security
Southern African leaders met Wednesday to discuss the growing Islamist insurgency in northern Mozambique.At the day-long meeting in Harare, leaders of Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique said they had discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and the security situation in southern Africa, including Lesotho, where Prime Minister Thomas Thabane resigned this week after months of pressure over his alleged role in the murder of his former wife.But much of the talk centered on Mozambique, where an Islamist insurgency has raged in Cabo Delgado province since 2017. Media reports say the situation has deteriorated in the past month, and that the insurgents have killed nearly 1,000 people and displaced tens of thousands more.FILE – Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi, center, visits the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in central Moscow, Aug. 21, 2019.Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi told reporters that he was hopeful that the continent would rally behind his administration in driving out the jihadists.”Armed attacks like that looks like terrorists,” he said. “Terrorism you can’t fight alone. That is the experience we have. We need to share the forces.”The meeting took place under the banner of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) security committee. The meeting’s final communique said the region would “support” the former Portuguese colony but did not specify what form that support would take.Zimbabwe’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, the current chair of the security bloc, refused to confirm if his country or the region would deploy armed forces to Mozambique. He said in his opening remarks that the security situation was “dire.””An attack on a member state of SADC is an attack on the rest of members of SADC,” he said at the end of the meeting. Alexander Rusero, a former international relations and security studies lecturer at Harare Polytechnic College, said he is confident the SADC will send troops to Mozambique.”Proliferation of terrorism in Mozambique is actually a cause for concern,” Rusero said. “And one way or the other, the regional bloc has to intervene because SADC is more of a security architecture than it is a development community, which is in its name.”Unlike the West Africa bloc ECOWAS, SADC does not have a standing army. But individual countries have in the past deployed their armies to quell security threats in other member countries. Zimbabwe sent troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1998, and South Africa sent troops to Lesotho the same year.
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UN Envoy Urges Israel to ‘Abandon Threats of Annexation’ of West Bank
The United Nations’ top diplomat for the Middle East peace process called on Israel on Wednesday to “abandon threats of annexation” of a large portion of the West Bank.”The continuing threat of annexation by Israel of parts of the West Bank would constitute a most serious violation of international law, deal a devastating blow to the two-state solution, close the door to a renewal of negotiations, and threaten efforts to advance regional peace and our broader efforts to maintain international peace and security,” U.N. envoy Nickolay Mladenov told the Security Council during a virtual meeting.FILE – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the new government, in Jerusalem, May 17, 2020, in this picture provided by the Israeli Knesset spokesperson office.Israel’s new coalition government, sworn-in on Sunday and led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has reiterated its intention to annex about 30% of the West Bank, including Israeli settlements and areas populated mainly by Palestinians.After a meeting of Palestinian Authority leadership late Tuesday, President Mahmoud Abbas responded, announcing that his government is now absolved of all understandings and agreements under the 1993 Oslo Accords, including on security coordination with Israel and the United States.Envoy Mladenov told the Security Council that the Palestinian reaction is a “desperate cry for help” by a generation of leaders who have invested in preparing for statehood since the Oslo peace process more than 25 years ago.”The Palestinian leadership is not threatening,” Mladenov said. “It is calling for urgent action to preserve the prospect of peace.”He urged council members to support the U.N. secretary-general’s call against unilateral steps that will hurt diplomatic efforts to create the conditions for resuming peace talks.”I call on my colleagues in the Middle East Quartet – the United States, the Russian Federation and the European Union – to work with the U.N. and quickly come forward with a proposal that will enable the Quartet to take up its mediation role and work jointly with countries in the region to advance the prospect of peace,” he said.FILE – Nickolay Mladenov, on screen, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, addresses the U.N. Security Council as it considers the situation in the Middle East, in this May 22, 2019, image obtained from the U.N.The European members of the Security Council issued a joint statement expressing their willingness to assist negotiations.”With regard to the Middle East peace process, we are willing to support and facilitate resumed direct and meaningful negotiations between the two parties, to resolve all final status issues and achieve a just and lasting peace,” said Belgium’s Ambassador Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve on behalf of Estonia, France, Germany and former council member, Poland.Nearly all the 15 council members expressed concern about Israel’s intention to annex parts of the West Bank.”Annexation is neither in the interest of the Palestinians nor of the Israelis nor of the Europeans nor of the international community,” said France’s ambassador Nicolas de Rivière. He warned that such a move would have consequences on the European Union’s relations with Israel.”It is perplexing that during these unprecedented times, as the international community addresses the global challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, Israel is exploiting the situation to further advance its de facto annexation of Palestinian land,” said South Africa’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Xolisa Mabhongo. He characterized the Israeli intentions as “belligerent” and threatening efforts to advance regional peace.”We urge relevant parties to stop any unilateral actions and refrain from escalating conflict and tension,” China’s Ambassador Zhang Jun said of Israel’s annexation plans.U.S. envoy Kelly Craft urged the Israelis and Palestinians to sit down together to address their issues.”If both sides are serious about their talking, it is time for both sides to prove it,” Craft said.She acknowledged that council members have concerns and objections related to President Donald Trump’s plan for Middle East peace – which includes Israel’s annexing part of the West Bank in exchange for giving the Palestinians two pieces of land in the Negev Desert for a future state. Craft said the plan is “realistic and implementable” and the Security Council should “encourage the Palestinians to see this initiative as an opportunity to realize their aspirations.”
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More Than Just Health, COVID-19 Presents a Political Crisis for French Leader
The sky-high ratings and talk of a start-up nation are long gone. So is the reformist agenda, pushed through over strikes and demonstrations. Two years before the next presidential elections, France’s 42-year-old leader, Emmanuel Macron, is struggling to find a second wind, as the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath shreds the country’s economy and his progressive programs. Macron’s approval ratings are underwhelming, his unifying rhetoric in dispute. For this week, at least, it seems the only good news has been regional. FILE – German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds a joint video news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin, Germany, May 18, 2020.On Monday, Macron teamed up with France’s traditional ally, proposing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel a massive bailout for struggling European Union countries. While reactions have been mixed, the announcement offered the president a chance to polish his image as a regional leader. Whether he can bounce back at home, as he has before, is another question. “Macron must realize his 2017 program is partly or completely dead,” wrote the country’s respected Le Monde newspaper, “upended by the coronavirus epidemic and its consequences.” “I think for Mr. Macron, the game is over,” said geopolitical analyst and former French diplomat Philippe Moreau Defarges. “Presidents generally can do many things in the first months or even first year of their term. After that, it’s over.” Macron faced a fresh setback Tuesday, when his centrist Republic on the Move, or LREM Party, lost its absolute majority in parliament, with the departure of half-a-dozen leftist and ecology-minded members. To be sure, the fallout was widely expected. And in a landscape where the traditional right and left have been severely weakened, the LREM can still cobble alliances with other smaller parties. Yet, losing the majority was symbolic, analysts say, and underscored a steady trickle of defections in recent months. “It’s going to impact the image Emmanuel Macron wants to project as a unifier” in the health crisis, Sciences Po Paris political analyst Bruno Cautres told Le Parisien newspaper. FILE – A picture taken on April 3, 2020 shows a banner reading “Emergency services are suffering” above empty stretchers in the hall of the emergency services of the Aix Hospital Center in Aix-en-Provence, southern France.Reforms on hold Macron’s government has faced sharp criticism over its handling of the coronavirus crisis, which saw the country short of face masks, tests and even some basics such as thermometers and hand sanitizer. The pandemic has also highlighted a hospital system weakened by funding and staff cuts over successive administrations, problems which sparked massive protests last year. Visiting a Paris hospital last week and in a rare admission, Macron acknowledged a “mistake” in his hospital reform strategy and promised action. Still other reforms his government rammed through, including a hard-fought battle to overhaul the pension system, are on indefinite hold. Recent polls show see-sawing public opinion. An early May IFOP survey, reflecting several others, showed Macron’s approval rating falling six points to just 40%. By contrast, the ratings of conservative Prime Minister Edouard Philippe — who has been on the front lines of daily crisis management — were on the uptick and five points more than Macron’s. Reports suggest relations between the two are tense and competitive, although officially they reportedly view each other with “mutual respect.” In this file photo taken on Sept. 8, 1968, French President Charles de Gaulle holds a press conference at the Elysee Palace, in Paris.”De Gaulle tells us that France is strong when it knows its destiny, when it stays united, when it searches the path of cohesion,” Macron said at the site of a key battle in northeast France. But critics say calls for unity are hollow when Macron’s own party is divided. Moreau Defarges doubts Macron shares de Gaulle’s farsightedness as he charts a post-COVID-19 recovery. “He will be both populist and conservative,” predicts Moreau Defarges on how Macron will finish his term. He describes the government’s stimulus package to reboot the economy as “we give money, and after that, we will see.” But for now, polls show that Macron faces no major mainstream rival. France’s traditional right and left imploded during the 2017 elections. He has also bounced back from previous crises, including monthslong yellow vest demonstrations over social and economic disparities. Last year, Macron announced a “Great Debate” giving French a say in finding solutions, which helped diffuse tensions. He could still pull another surprise solution “out of his hat,” Le Monde wrote, among other options moving forward. “I think he’s convinced that during these two small years, he can climb back,” Moreau Defarges said. “But it’s not sure.”
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Republican-Led US Senate Panel Backs Subpoena in Hunter Biden Probe
A Republican-led U.S. Senate committee authorized a subpoena on Wednesday for information in an investigation related to Hunter Biden, son of former Vice President Joe Biden, President Donald Trump’s main rival as he runs for re-election in November.
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted 8-6, with every Republican voting yes, and every Democrat voting no, to approve a subpoena for documents related to work the younger Biden did for the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
The subpoena was requested by the panel’s chairman, Senator Ron Johnson, for information from Blue Star Strategies, a public affairs firm that worked with Burisma. Johnson’s investigation intensified after Trump’s impeachment trial this year. He plans to issue a report in the coming months.
Trump was impeached on abuse-of-power and obstruction charges in the Democratic-led House of Representatives after he asked Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. He was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate.
Democrats say Trump and his party are trying to shore up his re-election prospects by targeting Biden. They have also said Johnson’s actions could aid disinformation efforts by Russia as it seeks to influence the 2020 election, after U.S. intelligence determined Moscow sought boost Trump campaign in 2016.
“Senator Johnson should be working overtime to save American lives – but instead he’s just trying to save the President’s job,” said Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Biden’s presidential campaign, noting the current health and economic crisis.
Senator Mitt Romney, the only Republican who voted to convict Trump of abuse of power, said in March he thought Johnson’s investigation of Hunter Biden appeared political. A no vote would have deadlocked the committee, but Romney joined other Republicans in approving the subpoena.
Senate Judiciary, led by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, is investigating surveillance warrants in the FBI’s probe of Russian meddling in 2016.
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ASEAN Bloc Fights Impulse to Hoard Medical Goods
More than half the nations of Southeast Asia started this week by taking a donation of protective personal equipment (PPE), such as medical suits and masks, from their neighbor Vietnam to help them in the fight against COVID-19. It is the latest sign the region is resisting the impulse to choke off any shipment of medical supplies out of their borders, an impulse seen globally as supply shortages put health workers’ lives at risk.
With the handover Monday in Hanoi, which also included virus test kits, Vietnam has now donated to all its peers in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which it also is the rotating chair for 2020. The ASEAN bloc said it would cooperate to prevent blockages, such as the ban on medical exports that some members had started to enforce as the pandemic emerged.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said COVID-19 is a “common enemy” that the region needs to fight together.
“ASEAN should collaborate to keep trading routes and supply lines open, especially for essential goods, such as food and medical supplies,” he told his counterparts in video call last month.
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin echoed his sentiments to protect “critical infrastructure for trade.”
“We must also guard against imposition of unnecessary restriction on the flow of medical [supplies], food and essential supplies,” he said.
Supplies ‘save lives’
Malaysia is this year’s chair of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation bloc, whose officials have expressed alarm at the risk of shortages.
From the Philippines to Indonesia, nurses have worried they do not have enough gloves and masks to help protect them from contracting the coronavirus.
“Ensuring that trade policy is in place, providing access to the much-needed medical goods will save lives,” Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, APEC Secretariat executive director and a former Malaysian trade official, said.
She noted in an earlier statement that supply chains “may still have vulnerabilities, bottlenecks and integrity issues. Many around the world have not been spared shortages of medical equipment, medicines and basic protective equipment.”
Mutual accusationsAround the world, nations have tried to keep gear for themselves to fight the pandemic. European governments accused each other and the United States of confiscating protective equipment en route. Colombia, India and Russia are among dozens of nations that suspended exports of some medical supplies.
In Southeast Asia, there have been similar export bans from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, such as of hand sanitizer and masks. Most have since rolled back the bans.
Observers say states should avoid tariffs and export quotas because they can create a vicious cycle of retaliation from other states, as well as create backups in the supply chain that keep medical gear from going where it is most needed. The pandemic has also caused some governments to issue bans on certain food exports as consumers stay home and hoard staples.
The ASEAN bloc has been able to roll back some of the restrictions, in part because it has started to emerge from the crisis. For instance, ASEAN chair Vietnam has had no local transmissions of the virus for more than a month and no surge of infections to overwhelm its health care system. It scrapped its restrictions on the export of surgical masks April 29, leading to an export boom for the 20 domestic firms that make them.
“Vietnamese textile and garment firms have been receiving constant orders,” the government said in a post on its website this month.
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