Cameroon has blocked cereals exports, including millet and corn, to Nigeria as a food security measure after a production drop. Authorities blamed the decrease in food production on its northern border on the threat from Boko Haram terrorists.Damian Kinkoh of the food control unit of Cameroon’s Trade Ministry says about 6,000 metric tons of corn, millet and rice have been intercepted while being transported to Nigeria. Kinkoh says the ministry will return the cereals when the owners commit to only sell the corn, rice and millet in Cameroon.”We see these goods, we seize them and bring them here. It has been fruitful. We have about 2,000 bags of rice,” said Kinkoh. “We are in Maroua and then in Ngaoundere. So, you go to our warehouses, our warehouses are full.”
The cereals were intercepted in several northern border towns and villages including Maroua, Mora, Kolofata and Limani this week.Yakoubou Ousmaina, president of the Association of Millet farmers in Mora says they prefer to only sell in Nigeria.He says members of his association will not make any profit if they sell their millet in Cameroon. He says villagers who provided labor in millet farms escaped and his association invested much money to bring workers from safer northern towns and villages to work in their farms. He says Boko Haram scared fertilizer sellers, and the few who have remained in northern Cameroon charge very high prices for fertilizer.Ousmaina said a 50-kilogram bag of millet and corn sells at between $40 and $50 in Cameroon and between $70 and $75 in neighboring northern Nigerian markets. He pleaded with the government of Cameroon to give subsidies to farmers to make cereal production profitable.On Monday, Cameroon announced what it said would be a temporary corn and millet export ban. Midjiyawa Bakari, governor of Cameroon’s Far North region that borders Nigeria says the ban is aimed at assuring food security for its population.He says the government has stopped the export of cereals, especially millet and corn because Cameroon risks food shortages. He says the situation is concerning on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria where famine looms. He says during the temporary ban on cereal export, merchants will be authorized to take limited quantities of rice to Nigeria.Midjiyawa said production dropped drastically because of Boko Haram terrorism that drove farmers from their farms. However, he said, exports to Nigeria increased when Cameroon began a gradual reopening of its borders — which had been partly closed because of the Boko Haram conflict — in February. Economist Ebenezer Ndjock of the University of Yaoundé I says northern Cameroon’s cereal deficit is now 200,000 metric tons and that it is likely to increase if the few farmers who have returned are not encouraged by the government.He says plans to produce 600,000 metric tons of cereals in Cameroon by 2025 may not be achieved. He says last year, the country produced less than 300,000 metric tons of cereals when it needed more than 500,000, yet most was exported to Nigeria, where merchants sell at high prices. He says production may further decline because farmers who have returned to their farms lack seeds and fertilizers. He says excessive rainfall, floods and the depreciating soil quality from overuse all indicate difficult moments for Cameroon cereal production in the years ahead. He says farmers are also still scared of Boko Haram. Cameroon says it is providing what it calls good quality seeds and fertilizer at reduced cost to encourage farmers to return to abandoned farms. The central African state is also assuring civilians of their safety. The military says Boko Haram attacks have been greatly reduced.
…
Month: August 2020
Biden Calls for Justice, End to Violence After Speaking with Jacob Blake’s Family
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden spoke on Wednesday with the family of the Black man shot by police in Wisconsin, and emerged from the conversation calling for justice and condemning violent protest in Jacob Blake’s name.
Kenosha, Wisconsin, has been rocked by civil unrest and violence since Sunday, when police shot Blake, 29, in the back at close range in an incident captured on video. Blake is paralyzed and is being treated for his injuries.
“I spoke to Jacob’s mom and dad and sister and other members of the family just a little bit earlier, and I told them justice must and will be done,” Biden said in a video posted to his campaign’s social media accounts.
He said he agreed with Blake’s mother, Julia Jackson, who said violence in the streets does not reflect her son or family.
“Protesting brutality is a right and absolutely necessary but burning down communities is not protest,” Biden said. “It’s needless violence. Violence that endangers life. Violence that guts businesses and shutters businesses that serve the community. That’s wrong.”
A 17-year-old identified as Kyle Rittenhouse was arrested and charged with homicide on Wednesday in connection with gunfire that killed two people and wounded a third during a third night of protests on Tuesday.
Republican President Donald Trump on Wednesday said had spoken with Democratic Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, who he said agreed to accept U.S. law enforcement support to deal with the unrest. The president has not publicly discussed Blake’s shooting.
Biden’s running mate, Senator Kamala Harris of California, said on Wednesday that she took part in the conversation with Blake’s family.
“There are still two systems of justice in America,” she said at a campaign event.
…
NATO Chief Calls on Belarus’s Lukashenko to ‘Respect Fundamental Rights’
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday the alliance is “watching developments in Belarus closely,” and that NATO supports “a sovereign and independent Belarus.” Stoltenberg made the comments to reporters after meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The two leaders met to discuss pressing European diplomatic issues ahead of meetings with European Union defense ministers in Berlin.
In their bilateral talks, the two leaders also discussed the territorial dispute between Greece and Turkey, and the situation in Afghanistan.
Additionally, Stoltenberg mentioned the U.S. decision to pull troops out of Germany earlier this year and put additional personnel in Poland. The NATO chief said, “It is important that allies continue to consult closely because the U.S. presence in Europe is important both for the security of Europe and for the security of the United States.”
Ahead of the meeting with EU defense ministers, Stoltenberg added his voice to growing calls for a “transparent” investigation into the case of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Stoltenberg said there was “no reason to doubt” German doctors’ conclusions that the Kremlin critic was poisoned.
Navalny’s supporters say he was poisoned by a cup of tea at a Siberian airport. Navalny later became ill on a flight to Moscow. The plane made an emergency landing in the Siberian city of Omsk, where he was hospitalized before he was airlifted to Germany for treatment last Saturday.
Russia has not opened an investigation into the incident and a Kremlin spokesman said there was “no pretext” to do so. The EU leaders are meeting in Berlin because Germany currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union Council.
…
Hurricane Laura Weakens After Making Landfall in Louisiana
Hurricane Laura has weakened slightly after making landfall earlier Thursday morning in the southeastern state of Louisiana as a dangerous Category 4 storm. The National Hurricane Center says Laura is now carrying maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers an hour, making it a Category 3 storm on the five-level scale that measures a hurricane’s potential strength and destructiveness. Service unavailableHurricane Laura made landfall early Thursday morning in the coastal town of Cameron, Louisiana, located about 86 kilometers south of Lake Charles. The storm triggered life-threatening storm surges, flash floods and extreme winds when it first made landfall, but forecasters are now saying Laura will weaken rapidly as it makes its way northward across Louisiana Thursday, eventually becoming a tropical storm later in the day. The storm continues to head towards the city of Lake Charles at a rapid speed of 24 kilometers an hour, but storm surge, tropical storm warnings and hurricane watches in parts of neighboring Texas and Louisiana have been discontinued. Laura is still predicted to soak parts of the South with massive rainfall as it moves inland and weakens. But forecasters say it could strengthen back to a tropical storm as it moves into the warm Atlantic by early next week and threaten the northeast. Laura killed 24 people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti when it struck there as a tropical storm earlier this week.
…
День Незалежності. Підсумки. А бодай тобі срака репнула навпіл
День Незалежності. Підсумки. А бодай тобі срака репнула навпіл
Для поширення вашого відео чи повідомлення в Мережі Правди пишіть сюди, або на email: pravdaua@email.cz
Найкращі пропозиції товарів і послуг в Мережі Купуй!
Ваші потенційні клієнти про потрібні їм товари і послуги пишуть тут: MeNeedit
Обиженный карлик пукин сел в лужу с Крымом и снова хочет днепровской воды
Обиженный карлик пукин сел в лужу с Крымом и снова хочет днепровской воды
Для распространения вашего видео или сообщения в Сети Правды пишите сюда, или на email: pravdaua@email.cz
Лучшие предложения товаров и услуг в Сети SeLLines
Ваши потенциальные клиенты о нужных им товарах и услугах пишут здесь: MeNeedit
Баллистические ракеты для удара по путляндии от стран НАТО, Китая, Индии и Украины
Баллистические ракеты для удара по путляндии от стран НАТО, Китая, Индии и и украинской R36M ВОЕВОДА
Для распространения вашего видео или сообщения в Сети Правды пишите сюда, или на email: pravdaua@email.cz
Лучшие предложения товаров и услуг в Сети SeLLines
Ваши потенциальные клиенты о нужных им товарах и услугах пишут здесь: MeNeedit
Обиженному карлику пукину и Ко придётся очень дорого заплатить за отравление Навального
Обиженному карлику пукину и Ко придётся очень дорого заплатить за отравление Навального.
your ad here
Когда говорили, что врачи путляндии не хуже западных, имели ввиду не их лечебные навыки, а способность пудрить мозги. Но в этом пукинские эскулапы не просто не хуже, а давно уже среди мировых лидеров
Для распространения вашего видео или сообщения в Сети Правды пишите сюда, или на email: pravdaua@email.cz
Лучшие предложения товаров и услуг в Сети SeLLines
Ваши потенциальные клиенты о нужных им товарах и услугах пишут здесь: MeNeedit
Шелупонь путляндии: хафтар сорвался с цепи и ухватил карлика пукина за худой зад
Шелупонь путляндии: хафтар сорвался с цепи и ухватил карлика пукина за худой зад.
your ad here
Действия кровавого хафтара играют на руку, прежде всего, Эрдогану. Турецкий лидер достиг именно того, чего хотел
Для распространения вашего видео или сообщения в Сети Правды пишите сюда, или на email: pravdaua@email.cz
Лучшие предложения товаров и услуг в Сети SeLLines
Ваши потенциальные клиенты о нужных им товарах и услугах пишут здесь: MeNeedit
US Justice Department Opens Civil Rights Probe into Police Shooting of Black Man in Wisconsin
The U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday it will open a civil rights probe into the police shooting of a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin.Jacob Blake was shot in the back Sunday, leaving him partially paralyzed from the waist down along with serious injuries to several of his internal organs.The Justice Department issued a statement saying the probe will be handled by the FBI in cooperation with Wisconsin state law enforcement investigators and other state authorities.Earlier Wednesday, the Wisconsin Department of Justice released the first official account of the shooting that was caught on camera and led to four consecutive days of protests in Kenosha, located more than 60 kilometers south of Milwaukee on Lake Michigan.According to the report, Kenosha police had been called to a residence “after a female caller reported that her boyfriend was present and was not supposed to be on the premises.”The report says officers unsuccessfully used a Taser when trying to arrest the 29-year-old Blake in the home’s front yard, then trailed him as he walked to his vehicle and opened the driver’s door.The remains of the cars burned by protesters the previous night during a demonstration against the shooting of Jacob Blake are seen on a used cars lot in Kenosha, Wis., on Aug. 26, 2020.The Wisconsin DOJ said as Blake leaned into the car, Officer Rusten Sheskey, a seven-year veteran of the Kenosha Police Department, grabbed Blake by his shirt and fired his service weapon seven times into his back. None of the other officers on the scene fired their weapons.The report noted that Kenosha police do not have body cameras on their uniforms.Investigators said Wednesday they found a knife on the driver’s side floorboard in Blake’s car, but no other weapons. The report said Blake had told officers he had a knife in his possession, although it is unclear whether Sheskey knew of the knife when he shot Blake or if Blake threatened the officer with the knife.Attorneys for Blake say their client did not pose a threat to police and denied he was even in possession of a knife. They say he only wanted to get three of his young children who were in the vehicle “out of a volatile situation.”As the investigation into Blake’s shooting continues, authorities said a 17-year-old male was arrested in Illinois in connection with the shooting deaths of two people late Tuesday night during a third consecutive night of protests in Kenosha.Police arrested Kyle Rittenhouse at his home in Antioch, Illinois, about 24 kilometers from Kenosha. Rittenhouse, who is being held in Illinois, was also charged as a fugitive from justice, according to court records. His extradition hearing is scheduled for Friday.According to Wisconsin law, Rittenhouse would be charged as an adult.On Tuesday, cellphone video was released showing a person carrying what appears to be an assault rifle running down a major street and being chased by a group of people. The apparent gunman shot at several of his pursuers as they began to surround him after he fell to the ground.Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth told reporters Wednesday that what happened in the streets of Kenosha on Tuesday night is why people should not try to take the law into their own hands.Demonstrators protests the shooting of Jacob Blake on Aug. 26, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis.”I had a person call me and say, ‘Why don’t you deputize citizens who have guns to come out and patrol the city of Kenosha?’ …Oh, hell no. What happened last night…was probably the perfect reason why I wouldn’t,” Beth said.President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday he would “be sending federal law enforcement and the National Guard to Kenosha, WI to restore LAW and ORDER!”White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany released a statement Wednesday that said, “President Trump condemns violence in all forms and believes we must protect all Americans from chaos and lawlessness.”Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced he was doubling the number of National Guard troops deployed to Kenosha to 500.U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec tweeted that FBI agents and U.S. Marshals were being deployed to the city in response to the unrest.In a video tweeted Wednesday, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said he talked to Blake’s parents and told them “justice must and will be done.””Once again, a Black man, Jacob Blake, was shot by the police. In front of his children. It makes me sick. Is this the country we want to be? Needless violence won’t heal us. We need to end the violence and peacefully come together to demand justice,” Biden said.Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, also talked about the Wisconsin shootings during an online event Wednesday in Michigan, and said, “And what happened there is so tragic and still represents the two systems of justice in America. There are still two systems of justice in America.”The National Basketball Association’s Milwaukee Bucks boycotted their scheduled playoff game on Wednesday to protest Blake’s shooting, prompting four other teams to boycott their scheduled games. The boycott caused a ripple effect across other major professional sports, with the Women’s NBA, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer also boycotting and postponing games.
…
Hurricane Laura Makes Landfall on US Gulf Coast as Powerful Category 4 Storm
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Laura has officially made landfall in the southeastern state of Louisiana after a long journey through the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.Forecasters say Laura touched down early Thursday morning in the coastal town of Cameron, Louisiana, located about 86 kilometers south of Lake Charles. The NHC says the storm is carrying maximum sustained winds of 240 kph, making it a Category 4 storm on the five-level scale that measures a hurricane’s potential destructiveness.The NHC says parts of Louisiana are already experiencing extreme winds, catastrophic storm surges and flash floods as Hurricane Laura rapidly closes in on Lake Charles and the neighboring city of Port Arthur, Texas, at a speed of 24 kph.Hurricane warnings have been issued along a 446-kilometer stretch between San Luis Pass, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana.Officials say heavy rain and fierce winds are expected, but the biggest danger is from the expected 7-meter-high storm surge, which the NHC has described as “unsurvivable,” leaving entire towns underwater and causing floods and power outages farther inland, with conditions that could last for days.Forecasters say Hurricane Laura will move inland across southwestern Louisiana Thursday morning, then continue northward across the state throughout the day.Laura is also predicted to soak parts of the South with massive rainfall as it moves inland and weakens.But forecasters say it could strengthen back to a tropical storm as it moves into the warm Atlantic by early next week and threaten the northeast.Laura killed 24 people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti when it struck there as a tropical storm earlier this week.
…
New Zealand Mosque Shooter Gets Historic Life Sentence Without Parole
A New Zealand court has handed down a life sentence without parole to a self-avowed white supremacist who admitted to killing 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in New Zealand last year.Australian Brenton Tarrant did not speak when Christchurch High Court Judge Cameron Mander handed down the sentence Thursday on the last day of a four-day sentencing hearing. It is the first time a life sentence without parole has ever been imposed in New Zealand.Judge Mander called Tarrant’s actions “inhuman” as he handed down the sentence and described the 29-year-old as “entirely self-absorbed.”“You are empty of any empathy for your victims,” the judge told Tarrant.Tarrant told the judge through his court-appointed lawyer that he did not oppose his life sentence without parole. He had dismissed his original lawyers last month.About 90 survivors and family members of the March 15, 2019, attacks at the al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch gave victim statements during the sentencing hearings. Tarrant sat impassively as the witnesses testified in varying degrees of emotions, from red hot anger to expressions of forgiveness.Tarrant unexpectedly pleaded guilty back in March to 51 counts of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder and one charge of terrorism. Hours before carrying out the shootings, Tarrant published a long manifesto online explaining his reasonings for the attacks. He then livestreamed the attacks on Facebook, which was viewed by scores of people around the world before it was taken down.It was the worst mass shooting in New Zealand’s history. The massacre led to a ban on military-style semi-automatic rifles and a new nationwide firearms registry that traces every gun in New Zealand.
…
Hurricane Laura Closing in on US Gulf Coast as Powerful Category 4 Storm
Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center say Hurricane Laura is expected to make landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast early Thursday morning as an extremely dangerous and catastrophic storm that forecasters expect will trigger an “unsurvivable” storm surge along the region. As of late Wednesday night, Laura was spotted about 120 kilometers south of Lake Charles, Louisiana carrying maximum sustained winds of 240 kilometers an hour, making it a Category 4 storm on the five-level scale that measures a hurricane’s potential destructiveness. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the storm is rapidly closing in on Lake Charles and the neighboring city of Port Arthur, Texas at a speed of 24 kilometers an hour. Hurricane warnings are out along a 446-kilometer stretch between San Luis Pass, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana. Officials say heavy rain and fierce winds are expected, but the biggest danger is from the expected 7-meter-high storm surge, which could leave entire towns underwater and bring floods and power outages farther inland, and conditions could last for days. More than 500,000 coastal residents of Texas and Louisiana have been ordered to evacuate. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has deployed the National Guard to pick up families who are unable to leave on their own.Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards talks about the coronavirus pandemic and the tropical weather headed toward Louisiana, on Aug. 24, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La.“Heed the advice of your local authorities. If they tell you to go, go! Your life depends on it today,” said Joel Cline, tropical program coordinator at the National Weather Service. “It’s a serious day, and you need to listen to them.” President Donald Trump is also urging people to evacuate and says federal help is standing by. “Hurricane Laura is a very dangerous and rapidly intensifying hurricane. My Administration remains fully engaged with state & local emergency managers to continue preparing and assisting the great people of Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Listen to local officials. We are with you,” he tweeted Wednesday. Laura is predicted to soak parts of the South with massive rainfall as it moves inland and weakens. But forecasters say it could strengthen back to a tropical storm as it moves into the warm Atlantic by early next week and threaten the northeast. Laura killed 24 people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti when it struck there as a tropical storm earlier this week.
…
Pence Assails Biden on Police Funding Amidst US Racial Unrest
With more racial unrest roiling the United States, Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday night told voters that “you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America,” attacking the Democratic presidential candidate as a willing partner of those who want to curb police funding.”Joe Biden says America is systemically racist,” Pence said on the third night of the Republican National Convention. “And that law enforcement in America has a quote, ‘implicit bias,’ against minorities. And when asked whether he’d support cutting funding to law enforcement, and he replied, ‘Yes, absolutely.'””The hard truth is…you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America,” Pence said in an address at Baltimore’s Fort McHenry, where U.S. troops repelled a British attack in 1814 in the country’s early years. That battle inspired the writing of the U.S. national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”President Donald Trump and many of his supporters have charged that Biden supports Black Lives Matter and other liberal activists’ call for “defunding” local police departments, an assertion Biden has strenuously denied. But Pence was right in saying Biden and his running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris, are open to trimming police spending and using the savings for other community agencies to help curb crime.”I don’t want to defund police,” Biden said earlier this month. “I want to get police more money in order to deal with the things they badly need, from making sure they have access to community policing, that they have also in the departments social workers, psychologists, people who in fact can handle those god-awful problems that a cop has to have four degrees to handle.”NominationPence formally accepted renomination to a second term as Trump’s second in command if they win reelection November 3. With his wife, Karen, and about 130 people listening, Pence vowed that he and Trump “will stand with those who stand on the Thin Blue Line, and we’re not going to defund the police — not now, not ever.”The crowd, many of them older military veterans, were seated in close proximity to each other and were not wearing face masks as health experts have recommended to curb the spread of the coronavirus.In the midst of the convention, racial turmoil has erupted in the 100,000-resident Midwestern city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, where the police shooting Sunday of a Black man, Jacob Blake, touched off street protests against police while some buildings were set afire. A 17-year-old youth from the neighboring state of Illinois was arrested in the killing of two protesters and the shooting of a third.Trump and Pence, along with numerous convention speakers, have portrayed their administration as a staunch supporter of law enforcement, standing against violent protests that have erupted against racial injustice and police abuse of minorities since the May 25 death of a Black man, George Floyd, while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Pence declared: “The violence must stop, whether in Minneapolis, Portland or Kenosha,” and that the Trump administration would guarantee “law and order” for every citizen.In his remarks, he said “President Trump and I know the men and women that put on the uniform of law enforcement are the best of us. They put their lives on the line every day.””The American people know we don’t have to choose between supporting law enforcement and standing with African American neighbors to improve the quality of life in our cities and towns. From the first days of this administration, we have done both. And we will keep doing both for four more years in the White House,” he said.President, first lady make appearanceAfterward, Trump and first lady Melania Trump walked to the stage at Fort McHenry to greet Pence and his wife as they all listened to country crooner Trace Adkins sing the national anthem.Trump is set make his renomination acceptance speech Thursday night at the White House, with a fireworks display on the National Mall marking the moment less than 10 weeks before Election Day.In another convention speech, Kellyanne Conway, one of Trump’s top advisers who is set to leave the White House in days to devote more time to her family with four children, characterized Trump as someone “who picks the toughest fights and will stand up for you.””Everyday heroes have a champion in President Trump,” she said at the vacant Mellon Auditorium in Washington, where numerous Republican speakers have lauded Trump and attacked the Biden-Harris ticket this week, absent a crowd in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.Wednesday’s roster of speakers also included Senators Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Joni Ernst of Iowa, as well as Richard Grenell, the former acting director of national intelligence.On Tuesday night, Melania Trump expressed sympathy for the hundreds of thousands of Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic.”Since March, our lives have been changed drastically,” the first lady said in a late- evening speech in the newly redesigned White House Rose Garden. “My deepest sympathy goes out to everyone who has lost a loved one. My prayers are with those who are ill or suffering.”I know many people are anxious and some feel helpless,” she said. “I want you to know you are not alone.”The Biden campaign criticized the convention content, saying those watching have not heard any plans for controlling the coronavirus pandemic.”Donald Trump’s continual refusal to take this virus seriously has given the United States the worst outbreak in the world, and his convention’s refusal to come to grips with reality or acknowledge the magnitude of the loss is a stark reminder to Americans of his complete failure to lead,” Biden spokesperson Kate Bedingfield said in a statement.By wide margins, polls show Americans disapproving of the way Trump has handled the pandemic, which has killed more than 179,000 people and infected more than 5.8 million in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University. Both figures are the highest for any country.Polls show Biden leading Trump by an average of 7.6 percentage points, according to an aggregation of polls by the Real Clear Politics website. However, Biden’s edge is a bit thinner in several key battleground states that could once again prove decisive in the election.Only two U.S. presidents have lost reelection contests after a single term in office in the past four decades, Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1992.
…
Greek, Turkish Leaders Dig in Their Heels in Mediterranean Dispute
Greek and Turkish leaders dug in their heels Wednesday even after their foreign ministers proposed talks to settle rival claims to energy-rich sections of the Mediterranean. Greece announced plans Wednesday to extend its territorial waters along its western coastline and held a second day of military exercises in waters where Turkey challenges Greek claims of jurisdiction. Turkey carried out military exercises nearby. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Athens has the right to extend its territorial waters along its western coastline across from Italy from 11 to 22 kilometers. This section of the Ionian Sea is not part of the dispute with Turkey, but Mitsotakis said Greece was giving up years of what it calls a “passive” foreign policy. Turkey would regard a similar extension in the Aegean, which is between Greece and Turkey, as blatant hostility. “Everyone must see that Turkey is not a country whose patience can be tried, whose determination, capabilities and courage can be tested. If we say we’ll do something we’ll do it and pay the price,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday. “If anyone wants to stand before us and face the consequences, they are welcome to. If not, stay out of our way and we will continue with our work.” Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a televised address following a weekly Cabinet meeting, in Ankara, Turkey, Aug. 24, 2020.The White House said U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Mitsotakis by telephone Wednesday and expressed concern over the tensions between Greece and Turkey. “President Trump reaffirmed that Greece and Turkey must commit to dialogue, which is the only path to resolving their differences,” a White House statement said. Greece and Turkey are locked in a dispute over boundaries in the Mediterranean and the rights to drill for offshore gas and oil deposits. Greece claims a Turkish research ship is in its waters, in which it has exclusive rights to whatever is under the sea floor. Turkey insists the exclusive economic zones of Greek islands in the Agean near the Turkish coast should be greatly reduced. Turkey accuses Athens of trying to grab an unfair share of the eastern Mediterranean’s resources while Greece is also angered by Turkish energy exploration in waters where Cyrus claims exclusive economic rights. Cyprus is split between an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south and the Turkish-Cypriot north that only Turkey recognizes.
…
Belarus Authorities Arrest Protesters, Crack Down on Opposition Leaders
After more than two weeks of massive street protests in Belarus, police arrested at least 50 protesters on Wednesday, and prosecutors opened criminal inquiries against opposition activists who set up a Coordination Council. The U.S. has called for all detained protesters to be released and for the people of Belarus to be allowed to decide their own future. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.
…
Arsonists Strike at Mozambique Newspaper
Staff at a weekly Mozambique newspaper are refusing to let an arson attack stop them from reporting. Canal de Moçambique published its regular Wednesday edition, just three days after the newsroom was firebombed.Speaking in front of the newspaper’s office Monday, Matias Guente, executive editor of Canal de Moçambique, said he believed Sunday’s attack was retaliation for the paper’s reporting and described the arson as a “terror attack on freedom of expression and against press freedom.”The paper’s editorial line “will not bow before the fire,” Guente said. The office was attacked with petrol bombs, and a container of gasoline was found at the site, A copy of the Aug. 26 edition of Canal de Moçambique, a weekly paper whose offices were firebombed on Sunday, is held up in the Mozambique capital, Maputo. (Alfredo Júnior/VOA)The Mozambique branch of the regional press freedom group, Media Institute of Southern Africa, condemned what it described as a “barbaric and cowardly attack” on the paper, and called for authorities to investigate. MISA said the arson should be viewed as part of a wider attempt to curtail freedoms in Mozambique.“There can never be democracy in a society where the institutions of freedom of expression and freedom of the press are systematically victims of intimidation and threat, which is precisely the objective that the attackers intend to achieve,” the organization said.The U.S. Embassy in Mozambique also called for an investigation.“Independent media entities like Canal de Moçambique play a critical role in building a functioning democracy that relies on a flow of information and a vibrant exchange of views and opinions,” the embassy said in a statement.Borges Nhamire, a researcher with the Center for Public Integrity and former journalist at Canal de Moçambique, told VOA Portuguese the arson comes amid increased pressure on the media.In the past five years, “journalists were abducted, beaten. We have seen an increase of human rights abuses against journalists, opinion makers and researchers,” Nhamire said.International media rights groups said the attack appeared to be part of a wider attempt to silence journalists.“Journalists in the country have been repeatedly targeted by politicians and the ruling elite to prevent them from writing about widespread corruption,” Ravi Prasad, director of advocacy for the Vienna-based rights group International Press Institute, (IPI) said in a statement.The Mozambique Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to VOA’s email requesting comment.The IPI said in its statement that a journalist in the country’s restive Cabo Delgado province is still missing.Ibraimo Mbaruco, a reporter with Rádio Comunitária de Palma, has not been heard from since April 7, when he messaged a colleague to say he was “surrounded by military.”Rights organizations and the journalist’s family say they suspect Mbaruco was forcibly taken by the military.VOA’s calls to the spokesperson for Mozambique’s Ministry of Defense at the time of the journalist’s disappearance went unanswered.Augusto Guta, the police spokesperson in Cabo Delgado, told VOA on Wednesday that police continue to investigate. “It is our task to guarantee the physical integrity of all people in our territory,” he said via the WhatsApp messaging app.Guta called on citizens who may have information to come forward.The Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RFS) says “press freedom is in retreat” in Mozambique. The country ranks 104 out 0f 180 countries, on a scale where 1 is the most free, on the media watchdog’s Press Freedom Index.RSF cited pressure on independent journalists, particularly during last year’s presidential elections, and risks of attack or arrest for reporters trying to cover an Islamist insurgency in the north.This story originated in VOA’s Portuguese Service.
…
Both Biden, Trump Condemn China’s Treatment of Uighur Muslims
Both U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and President Donald Trump are newly condemning China’s treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority, with Biden calling it genocide. “The unspeakable oppression that Uighurs and other ethnic minorities have suffered at the hands of China’s authoritarian government is genocide and Joe Biden stands against it in the strongest terms,” his campaign said this week. The Trump administration has not described Beijing’s actions as genocide, but National Security Council (NSC) spokesman John Ullyot condemned the Chinese treatment of the Uighurs. He said China had committed “horrific acts against women, including forced abortion, forced sterilization and other coercive birth control methods, state-sponsored forced labor, sexual violence including through rape in detention, compulsory home-stays by Han officials and forced marriages.”A man holds a sign during a rally to show support for Uighurs and their fight for human rights in Hong Kong, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019.The NSC spokesman added, “The Chinese Communist Party’s atrocities also include the largest incarceration of an ethnic minority since World War II.” Biden’s campaign said that if the Trump administration decides to call the Chinese actions genocide, “the pressing question is what will Donald Trump do to take action. He must also apologize for condoning this horrifying treatment of Uighurs.” Ullyot said, “President Trump’s policies have demonstrated that every person — the born and unborn, the poor, the downcast, the disabled, the infirm, and the elderly — has inherent value.” He said Trump has taken “bold action” against China for its treatment of the Uighurs. A senior Trump administration official said that over the last year, the U.S. has imposed a variety of restrictions and sanctions on Chinese officials for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, the region where the Uighurs have been detained.
…
Typhoon Knocks Out Power in S. Korean Homes, Barrels North
A typhoon that grazed South Korea, ripping off roofs and knocking out power to more than 1,600 households, made landfall in North Korea early Thursday. South Korean authorities said there were no immediate reports of casualties, and North Korea has not reported any damages.Packing maximum winds of 133 kph, Typhon Bavi was barreling north and just 70 kilometers southwest of the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, South Korea’s weather agency said.South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety said there were no immediate reports of casualties, despite damage to buildings, walls, roads and other structures. The Korea Meteorological Administration warned that strong winds will continue in the Seoul capital area and the country’s central region through the morning.Power was knocked out in 1,633 South Korean homes, including 887 on the southern resort island of Jeju, which was the first part of the country to be hit by the typhoon on Wednesday, and more than 600 in mainland regions. By 6 a.m., power had been restored to most of the homes, but at least 96 households in the island county of Sinan remained without electricity.More than 430 domestic flights in and out of Jeju and the southern mainland city of Busan were canceled as of Thursday morning. South Korean authorities also halted some railroad services, shut down public parks and sea bridges and moved hundreds of fishing boats and passenger vessels to safety.Dozens of makeshift coronavirus testing stations had been dismantled in the capital Seoul and other major cities out of concerns the tents and booths would not withstand the strong winds.North Korea’s state media did not immediately report of any damage caused by the typhoon.The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said earlier this week that leader Kim Jong Un had called for thorough preparations to minimize casualties and damages from the typhoon.The storm comes weeks after torrential rains caused flooding and massive damages to homes and crops in North Korea, inflicting further pain to an economy ravaged by pandemic-linked border closures and U.S.-led sanctions over Kim’s nuclear program.State media said a typhoon warning was issued in most areas of North Korea, with officials moving fishing boats and applying protective measures to buildings, farms and railroads.
…
NBA Games Called Off Amid Player Protest Against Racial Injustice
All three NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed, with players around the league choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice.Called off: Games between Milwaukee and Orlando, Houston and Oklahoma City, and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland. The NBA said all three games would be rescheduled, yet did not say when.The dramatic series of moves began when the Bucks — the NBA’s team from Wisconsin, a state rocked in recent days by the shooting by police officers of Jacob Blake, a Black man — didn’t take the floor for their playoff game against the Magic. The teams were set to begin Game 5 of their series shortly after 4 p.m., with the Bucks needing a win to advance to the second round.Players had been discussing boycotting games in the bubble after the shooting of Blake by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. More discussions among players on teams still in the bubble were scheduled Wednesday, presumably on how — or whether — to go forward, but even before that the Bucks apparently decided they would act.”Some things are bigger than basketball,” Bucks senior vice president Alex Lasry tweeted. “The stand taken today by the players and [the organization] shows that we’re fed up. Enough is enough. Change needs to happen. I’m incredibly proud of our guys and we stand 100% behind our players ready to assist and bring about real change.”Thursday scheduleThree other playoff games are scheduled Thursday. It was unclear whether they would be affected.Several NBA players, including the Lakers’ LeBron James, tweeted out messages demanding change, and the Boston Celtics’ official Twitter account did the same.”We weren’t given advance notice about the decision but we are happy to stand in solidarity with Milwaukee, Jacob, and the entire NBA community,” Orlando guard Michael Carter-Williams said. “Change is coming.”Magic players and referees were on the basketball court for the game but Milwaukee never took the floor. Eventually everyone else left and the arena staff soon took the balls, towels and tags that go on player chairs back inside.National Basketball Players Association President Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City Thunder and guard Russell Westbrook of the Houston Rockets were seen emerging from a conversation, not long before it became known that their teams also decided to not play their scheduled game Wednesday.”Today we stand united with the NBA Office, the National Basketball Players Association, the Milwaukee Bucks and the rest of the league condemning bigotry, racial injustice and the unwarranted use of violence by police against people of color,” the Magic and its ownership group, the DeVos family, said in a statement.A reporter sits beside an empty court after a postponed NBA basketball playoff game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic, Aug. 26, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.Demanding societal change and ending racial injustice has been a major part of the NBA’s restart at Walt Disney World. The phrase “Black Lives Matter” is painted on the arena courts, players are wearing messages urging change on their jerseys and coaches are donning pins demanding racial justice as well.Many players wrestled for weeks about whether it was even right to play, fearing that a return to games would take attention off the deaths of, among others, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in recent months.Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was fatally shot when police officers burst into her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation in March. The warrant was in connection with a suspect who did not live there and no drugs were found. Then on May 25, Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into the Black man’s neck for nearly eight minutes — all captured on a cellphone video.Bucks guard George Hill said after Blake’s shooting that he felt players shouldn’t have come to Disney.Coach’s emotional speech”We’re the ones getting killed,” Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who is Black, said in an emotional postgame speech Tuesday night. “We’re the ones getting shot. We’re the ones that were denied to live in certain communities. We’ve been hung. We’ve been shot. And all you do is keep hearing about fear. It’s amazing why we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back. And it’s just, it’s really so sad.”The Celtics and Toronto Raptors met Tuesday to discuss boycotting Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series, which had been scheduled for Thursday. Members of the National Basketball Players Association were also part of those meetings, and Miami forward Andre Iguodala — a union officer — said around 2:15 p.m. that he did not believe a boycott plan had been finalized.Less than two hours later, the Bucks wouldn’t take the floor.”When you talk about boycotting a game, everyone’s antenna goes up,” Iguodala said. “It’s sad you have to make threats like that — I wouldn’t say threats — but you have to be willing to sacrifice corporate money for people to realize there’s a big problem out there.”The postponed NBA games came on the fourth anniversary of Colin Kaepernick’s very first protest of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before an NFL preseason game. Kaepernick sat through the anthem for his first protest, which he said was to protest racial inequality and police mistreatment of minorities. Then he famously kneeled during the anthem going forward.
…
US Justice Department Mulling Probe of COVID-19 Deaths at Nursing Homes
The U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday that it is considering investigating four states over rules requiring nursing homes to take in COVID-19 patients, saying the mandates may have led to the deaths of thousands of elderly patients.The four states — New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan — are all led by Democratic governors. Republican lawmakers and other critics have long claimed that the rules have caused disproportionately high numbers of deaths at long-term care facilities in those states.In separate letters to the governors of the four states, Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband requested a wide range of information, from the number of people who were admitted to nursing homes after contracting COVID-19 to the number of fatalities at these facilities.More than 40% of the nearly 180,000 COVID-19 deaths in the United States are linked to nursing homes, according to a New York Times analysis.In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo faced criticism over an order issued in March that required nursing homes to accept coronavirus-infected patients.“No resident shall be denied readmission or admission to (a nursing home) solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19,” Cuomo’s March 25 order read.In Hammonton, New Jersey, EMTs load a patient into an ambulance outside of the Hammonton Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare one of numerous nursing homes to have staffing shortages, May 19, 2020.Under pressure, he changed the order in May, saying only patients testing negative could be sent to nursing homes.Now the Justice Department said it is looking into whether to open investigations under a federal law governing the civil rights of nursing home residents.“The Civil Rights Division seeks to determine if the state orders requiring admission of COVID-19 patients to nursing homes is responsible for the deaths of nursing home residents,” the Justice Department said in a statement.VOA is seeking comments from spokespersons for the governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
…
US Troops Injured in Incident With Russian Forces in Syria, US Officials Say
A small number of U.S. troops were injured during an incident with Russian forces in Syria, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday. While such interactions between American and Russian forces are not rare, the incident highlights the risks of troops from both countries operating in close proximity in northern Syria and the potential for an escalation in tensions. One of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the injuries were a result of a collision and not any exchange of fire. The other official said the incident took place earlier this week in northeastern Syria and the injuries were mild. FILE – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 4, 2020.The Pentagon and the U.S. military’s Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the region, declined to comment. The U.S. military said the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley spoke with his Russian counterpart Wednesday, but provided no details on what was discussed. The U.S. military does not generally comment on injuries. However, last month a paratrooper was killed during a vehicle rollover accident in eastern Syria. Previous encountersVideos on social media showed Russian military vehicles, backed by a pair of helicopters, driving dangerously close to U.S. armored vehicles. The origin of the videos was unclear. Earlier this year, another video showed a close interaction between troops on a Syrian road. About 500 U.S forces remain in northern Syria after a sharp reduction in troops that were initially there to drive out Islamic State militants from all of their strongholds in the country.Some of the areas also have oil resources, something President Donald Trump has cited as a justification for keeping U.S. troops partnered with Kurdish allies in the region. The injuries were first reported by Politico.
…
Belarusian Community in Chicago Backs Protests in Home Country
As Belarusians continue protesting against longtime ruler Alexander Lukashenko, who was reelected to a fourth term in a vote widely viewed as rigged, Chicago’s Belarusian community is also taking to the streets to back the protests. Kulsoom Khan spoke with some of the Chicago protesters and filed this report, narrated by Anna Rice.Producer: Barry Unger. Videographer: Kulsoom Khan.
…
Кров і піар: як МОЗ, дегенерат аваков і зелений карлик «боролись» з COVID-19
Кров і піар: як МОЗ, дегенерат аваков і зелений карлик «боролись» з COVID-19.
your ad here
Інсайди, зливи “слуг зеленого карлика”, цікаві та гарячі новини.
Світова епідемія і 5 місяців карантину від Києва до маленьких Монастириськ, які називали українським Уханем. Заяви і обіцянки політиків проти реальності їхніх дій і підготовки до найтрагічніших сценаріїв
Для поширення вашого відео чи повідомлення в Мережі Правди пишіть сюди, або на email: pravdaua@email.cz
Найкращі пропозиції товарів і послуг в Мережі Купуй!
Ваші потенційні клієнти про потрібні їм товари і послуги пишуть тут: MeNeedit