Ethiopia has begun circulating new currency notes to combat monetary crimes. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced Monday the release of the birr in denominations of 10, 50 and 100. The East African country also introduced its first 200 birr note. Ahmed hopes the new currency will also boost the inflation riddled economy impacted partly by the coronavirus pandemic. Ethiopians have three months to exchange old notes with the new ones. Authorities believe the new design and security features on the new birr note will prevent counterfeiting. Banks had urged the government to demonetize, citing money circulating outside the banking system has worsened the liquidity problems banks are facing. Ethiopia last changed its currency two decades ago at the end of the Ethiopian-Eritrean civil war.
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Month: September 2020
Cameroon Army on Alert Ahead of Tuesday’s Protests
Military units are on alert in Cameroon ahead of the expected nationwide protests on Tuesday. Opposition leader Maurice Kamto’s Cameroon Renaissance Movement is calling for peaceful protests, with demands that include the resignation of President Paul Biya, election reform and better representation for undeserved groups, especially in the Anglophone regions. In an apparent attempt to discourage participation in the protests, the government is reportedly threatening participants with jail time. Violent clashes between security forces and those demanding rights for the Anglophone regions has prompted thousands of people to flee their homes in recent years.
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New York Police Officer Charged With Spying for China
U.S. authorities have charged a Tibetan man serving as a New York police officer with espionage, accusing him of gathering information about the city’s Tibetan community for the Chinese government. The officer, who worked at a station in the Queens section of the city, was directed by members of the Chinese consulate in New York, according to the indictment released Monday. Through his contacts with the Tibetan community, the 33-year-old man gathered information between 2018 and 2020 on the community’s activities, as well as identified potential information sources. According to the indictment, the man, who is also an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, allowed members of the Chinese consulate to attend events organized by the New York Police Department. The Chinese authorities allegedly paid him tens of thousands of dollars for his service. The officer has been charged with four counts, including enlisting in the service of a foreign country on U.S. soil, misrepresentation and obstructing the operation of a public service. He was brought before a judge Monday and taken into custody, a spokesperson for the Brooklyn federal prosecutor told AFP. According to the NYPD, he is suspended without pay. Born in China, the man was granted political asylum in the U.S., claiming he was tortured by Chinese authorities because of his Tibetan ethnicity. The investigation revealed, however, that both of his parents were members of the Chinese Communist Party. “If confirmed by the courts,” the espionage operation “shows that the Chinese Communist Party is engaged in malign operations to suppress dissent, not only in Tibet … but any place in the world,” said the International Campaign for Tibet, an advocacy group that promotes Tibetans’ freedoms and rights. After allowing Tibet to function autonomously from 1912-1950, Beijing retook control of the territory in 1951. The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has lived in exile since 1959.
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Trump Considering Five Women for Supreme Court Vacancy
U.S. President Donald Trump met at the White House on Monday with one of the five women on his list to replace Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, according to sources. The 87-year-old liberal icon died last Friday after a lengthy battle with cancer. Trump said he would announce his nominee after funeral services for her later this week. The president mentioned Amy Coney Barrett by name, along with Barbara Lagoa, as he spoke to reporters before boarding his Marine One helicopter on the South Lawn. He did not confirm meeting with Barrett. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a law professor at Notre Dame University, poses in an undated photograph obtained from Notre Dame University, Sept. 19, 2020.Later in remarks in Dayton, in the Midwestern state of Ohio, Trump said he would announce his choice probably on Saturday, but possibly the day before. “It will be a brilliant person,” the president said. “It will be a woman.” Both Barrett, a 48-year-old Midwestern Catholic, and Lagoa, a 52-year-old Cuban American from Florida, are conservatives whom Trump appointed to federal appellate court judgeships in recent years. The president told reporters he might meet with Lagoa later this week when he travels to Miami. “I don’t know her, but I hear she’s outstanding,” he added. Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Lagoa, currently a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, poses in a photograph from 2019 obtained Sept. 19, 2020.Others reported to be on Trump’s short list are Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Joan Larsen, Fourth Circuit Judge Allison Jones Rushing and deputy White House counsel Kate Todd. Timing of voteThe president, in his Monday afternoon remarks to reporters, called on the Republican- controlled Senate to vote on confirmation before the Nov. 3 election. “I’d much rather have a vote before the election,” Trump said. “We have plenty of time to do it.” That is a reversal from the position he took four years ago when a Supreme Court seat became vacant in the final year of former President Barack Obama’s second term. “I think the next president should make the pick,” he said in 2016. Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee hoping to prevent Trump’s reelection, said the victor in the November election should make the court selection after being inaugurated for a new White House term in January. Trump on Monday said there was “zero chance” that Democrats wouldn’t try to fill a Supreme Court vacancy if they controlled both the presidency and the Senate as Republicans currently do. FILE – Allison Jones Rushing testifies before a Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing on her nomination to be a United States circuit judge for the Fourth Circuit, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 17, 2018.Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court Wednesday and Thursday, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Ginsburg will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol on Friday. Trump’s Supreme Court pick of another conservative, his third after winning Senate confirmation of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, would tip the current 5-4 conservative edge on the country’s top court to 6-3. The new choice could affect decisions on legalized abortion in the U.S., immigration, health care, voting rights, gun ownership restrictions, religious liberty and an array of other issues for more than a generation. ‘Ginsburg’s dying wish’Trump’s anticipated court selection has touched off a rancorous political debate in Washington: should the nomination be considered before the election or after? After would effectively allow the American electorate to have a say by deciding the presidential election, which would allow the winner — either Biden or Trump — to make the choice at the start of a new four-year term. In 2016, Republicans refused to allow consideration of Obama’s final Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February of that year. They argued that high court vacancies should be left unfilled during an election year so the American people can weigh in on the choice. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the Republican Party’s change in position and said no vote should take place until next year. “That was Justice Ginsburg’s dying wish. And it may be the Senate’s only, last hope,” Schumer said. FILE – Michigan Supreme Court Justice Joan Larsen moderates a panel discussion during the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention in Washington, Nov. 17, 2016.Trump is questioning whether Ginsburg actually told her granddaughter just before dying that she hoped her seat would not be filled until after the presidential election. “It just sounds to me like it would be somebody else. It could be, and it might not be, too. It was just too convenient,” the president said to reporters. 2016 vs. 2020″No wonder Americans have so little faith in government and in this Senate, led by the Republican majority,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Monday. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell defended his positions in both 2016 and 2020, saying the difference is that four years ago, different parties were controlling the Senate and White House, whereas now, the same party controls both. He said historical precedent has been on his side in both cases. “There was clear precedent behind the predictable outcome that came out of 2016. And there is even more overwhelming precedent behind the fact that this Senate will vote on this nomination this year,” McConnell said. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said Monday that voters chose Republicans to lead the Senate in the 2018 elections in part because they were committed to supporting Trump’s Supreme Court nominees. “We should honor that mandate,” he said, speaking from the Senate floor. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, but two Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — said over the weekend they would oppose voting on Trump’s eventual nominee before the election. Trump criticized both lawmakers, claiming they were “very badly hurt” politically by their statements. If two more Republicans say no to a preelection vote, consideration of the nominee would be scuttled until at least the post-election, lame duck session of Congress. If one more Republican objects, Vice President Mike Pence could break the 50-50 deadlock in the Senate in favor of considering Trump’s nominee. Ken Bredemeier contributed to this report.
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House Democrats File Bill to Fund US Government But Leave Out New Farm Money
The U.S. Congress this week considers legislation to fund the federal government through mid-December, but a dispute over farm aid raised questions about whether lawmakers can avoid a government shutdown amid a pandemic just weeks before the Nov. 3 elections. With government funding lapsing on Sept. 30, House Democrats announced Monday they had filed the stopgap funding legislation, but angered Republicans by leaving out new money that President Donald Trump wanted for farmers. The House will take up the bill Tuesday, a Democratic aide said. The Senate could then act later this week. The new federal fiscal year starts Oct. 1. The bill is designed to give lawmakers more time to work out federal spending for the period through September 2021, including budgets for military operations, health care, national parks, space programs, and airport and border security. FILE – Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Aug. 27, 2020.The spending proposal “will avert a catastrophic shutdown in the middle of the ongoing pandemic, wildfires and hurricanes, and keep government open until December 11, when we plan to have bipartisan legislation to fund the government for this fiscal year,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. But the measure’s December end date will require Congress to return to the government funding question again during its post-election lame-duck session, either during or after what could be a bruising fight to confirm Trump’s third Supreme Court nominee after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And the legislation does not include $21.1 billion the White House sought to replenish the Commodity Credit Corporation, a program to stabilize farm incomes, because Democrats considered this a “blank check” for “political favors,” said a House Democratic aide who asked not to be named. Trump promised more farm aid during a rally in Wisconsin last week. Republicans were not happy. FILE – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell meets with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, July 20, 2020.”House Democrats’ rough draft of a government funding bill shamefully leaves out key relief and support that American farmers need. This is no time to add insult to injury and defund help for farmers and rural America,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote on Twitter. Republicans could seek to amend the document to add in the provision, but both chambers would ultimately need to pass the same version for the measure to go to Trump for signing into law. The bill proposes spending $14 billion to shore up a trust fund that pays for airport improvements and air traffic control operations. It also directs $13.6 billion to maintain current spending levels on highways and mass transit.
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Nevada Judge Dismisses Trump Campaign Lawsuit Over Mail-in Ballots
A federal judge in Nevada has dismissed a lawsuit by President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign that sought to block the state from sending mail-in ballots to every registered voter there, a legal victory for Democrats ahead of November’s election. The order is the latest in a string of wins for Democrats in battleground states, including in Michigan and Pennsylvania, where courts this month ruled that mailed ballots that arrive within certain time periods after Nov. 3’s Election Day must still be counted. Trump’s campaign had argued that the Nevada law, which includes provisions mandating that ballots received up to three days after Nov. 3 be counted even if they lack a postmark, would lead to election fraud. Experts say election fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States, but Trump, a Republican facing off against Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, has repeatedly said without evidence that an expected surge in voting by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic could lead to a rigged election. In an order dated Friday but released Monday, U.S. District Judge James Mahan dismissed the case, saying the campaign does not represent Nevada voters, and did not have legal standing to bring the complaint, which he called “impermissibly generalized.” “Plaintiffs never describe how their member voters will be harmed by vote dilution where other voters will not,” Mahan wrote, explaining in part his reasons for the dismissal. “Not only have plaintiffs failed to allege a substantial risk of voter fraud, the State of Nevada has its own mechanisms for deterring and prosecuting voter fraud,” he wrote, adding that the alleged injuries were speculative. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Marc Elias, an elections lawyer working with Biden’s campaign, said on Twitter that the ruling was a “big victory” for Democrats. Nevada is among eight states that plan to mail every voter a ballot. Election officials in most states have encouraged at-home voting as the highly contagious nature of the novel coronavirus has made voting in person a concern.
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British Health Minister Lays Out COVID-19 Response as Cases Surge
Britain’s health minister went before parliament Monday to discuss the government’s response to a surge in positive COVID-19 cases in the nation.Matt Hancock acknowledged what the government’s top medical and science advisers had said earlier in the day – that COVID-19 has been surging across age groups throughout much of Britain.Among the steps the government plans to take, Hancock said, is encouraging self-isolation by those who have been infected or exposed to the virus. The government will also offer a single support payment of about $640 for low-income people for whom self-isolation would be an economic hardship.A woman wears a face mask as she stands in front of a statue of The Beatles following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Liverpool, Britain, Sept. 21, 2020.Hancock said those asked to self-isolate who refuse to do so could face fines of nearly $13,000 for serious breaches or repeat offenders.The health minister told British lawmakers that demand for testing has dropped slightly since last week, taking a little pressure off the system. Nonetheless, the demand for tests remains high enough that the government must prioritize who receives them.Hancock said acute care cases are the top priority for testing, followed by people in care homes, National Health Service targeted testing for outbreak management and surveillance studies, teaching staff with symptoms, and the general public.He said the government continues working on further measures to address the COVID-19 surge, and the prime minister will update parliament Tuesday on further measures.Earlier Monday, the government’s chief medical adviser reported the latest figures show new cases in Britain totaled more than 6,000 per day. Chris Witty said if nothing changes, at the current rate of infection, new cases could reach 50,000 a day by this time next month.
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Turkey’s Plan to Regain Ottoman Empire Maritime Influence Irks Greece
Turkey is embarking on a major naval construction program to restore the regional maritime influence it lost after the Ottoman empire’s collapse. But the policy is already generating regional tensions – in particular – with its neighbor, Greece. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
Camera: Berke Bas Producer: Jon Spier
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Three Cities Could Lose Federal Funding for Allowing Violence, DOJ Says
The U.S. Department of Justice said Monday that three U.S. cities have “permitted violence and destruction of property” to persist and threatened to cut federal funding if they don’t take measures to restore law and order. According to a news release, New York City, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, risk the loss of funding. “When state and local leaders impede their own law enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest,” said Attorney General William Barr. FILE – U.S. Attorney General William Barr speaks during a press conference in Chicago, Illinois, Sept. 9, 2020.”We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance. It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens,” Barr said. “This is just one of President (Donald) Trump’s games,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference Monday. “It’s thoroughly political. It’s part of his campaign strategy.”He added that the move was “insulting” to New Yorkers. De Blasio also said he saw “anything but anarchy” Monday morning when he was greeting preschool children in Queens. According to USA Today newspaper, the city’s corporation counsel floated the idea of suing the Trump administration should it withhold federal money. FILE – Police use chemical irritants and crowd control munitions to disperse protesters during a demonstration in Portland, Oregon, Sept. 5, 2020.Spokespeople for the mayors’ offices in the other two cities could not be immediately reached for comment. The DOJ list was in response to a Sept. 2 memo issued by the White House which directed the Office of Management and Budget to look into cutting federal funding to “anarchist jurisdictions.” The Department of Justice said more cities could be added to the list.Protests erupted in cities across the United States following the May 25 death of George Floyd, an African American man, in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to the DOJ, New York City saw a 177% increase in shootings in July 2020 compared to July 2019. At the same time, the city cut $1 billion from its police department budget, the statement said. Portland saw more than three months straight of violent protests and a 140% increase in shootings in June and July, compared to the same period last year, the DOJ said. During that time, the city cut police funding, and the city’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, refused the Trump administration’s offer to provide federal law enforcement to help curb the violence, according to the DOJ. FILE – Construction buildings burn near the King County Juvenile Detention Center in Seattle, July 25, 2020.Officials in Seattle allowed protesters to set up an “autonomous” zone in the downtown area, which stood for a month. During that time, crime rose 525%, according to the DOJ, and two teenagers were shot to death. The mayor and governor refused federal help, the DOJ said. In early September, Trump said his administration would “do everything in its power to prevent weak mayors and lawless cities from taking federal dollars while they let anarchists harm people, burn buildings, and ruin lives and businesses.” It is not clear what federal funding could be withheld.
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Trump Plans to Promote ‘Patriotic Education’
U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced plans to promote “patriotic education” in U.S. schools, saying he wants to protect children from indoctrination by the “radical left” which, he said, sees America as a “racist nation.” This latest move by Trump reflects the debate on racial justice that’s heating up ahead of the November election, with both candidates holding starkly different views. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this story.
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Mali Junta Picks Former Defense Minister as Transitional President
The junta that overthrew Mali’s president last month said Monday that former defense minister and retired Col. Maj. Bah N’Daw will be the president during the transition period. Bah N’Daw was appointed by a 30-person panel set up by the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), the junta that has ruled Mali since soldiers overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Aug. 18. CNSP chief Col. Assimi Goïta made the announcement on national television. The new president is expected to serve as head of state for several months before civilians return to power. FILE – People hold a banner showing Col. Assimi Goita, leader of the junta running Mali, as they demonstrate to show support for the support for the junta in the capital Bamako, Mali, Sept. 8, 2020.Goïta said he has been appointed transitional vice president. “The swearing-in ceremony will take place on Friday, Sept. 25,” he said. These announcements came after several weeks of debate among Malians over whether the transitional government will be led by civilians or the military. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been pressuring the junta to quickly name leaders for the transition. On Sept. 18, Goita traveled to Niamey, Niger, where he met the current president of ECOWAS, President Mahamadou Issoufou. VOA French to Africa contributed to this report.
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Kenya’s Fight Against Covid-19 Hampered by Allegations of Graft
Organizations such as the World Bank, the IMF, and the Jack Ma Foundation have contributed aid worth more than $2 billion to aid Kenya’s fight against COVID-19. But much of the money and donated medical supplies have gone missing, prompting President Uhuru Kenyatta to order an investigation into who might have taken it all. Lenny Ruvaga reports from Nairobi. Camera: Amos Wangwa
Producer: Rod James
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Navalny Demands Russia Return Clothes for Poisoning Investigation
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny demanded Monday that Russia return the clothes he was wearing when he fell ill last month, saying the items are important evidence in the investigation of his poisoning.Navalny became sick while flying to Moscow on Aug. 20 and was taken to a hospital in Omsk. He wrote in his blog Monday that before being sent to Germany for treatment two days later, his clothes were taken from him.”Considering Novichok was found on my body, and that infection through contact is very likely, my clothes are a very important piece of evidence,” he said.A German military lab determined Navalny was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok, a substance Western governments have accused Russia of using in the past, including against a former spy in Britain in 2018.Russia has not opened an investigation into the incident involving Navalny, saying its labs have found no indications he was poisoned. The Kremlin has also denied any involvement.Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, not seen in photo, on a stretcher is transferred into an ambulance before being driven to an airport, at the Omsk Ambulance Hospital, in Omsk, Russia, Aug. 22, 2020.Germany has threatened economic sanctions against Russia in response to what Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called a “serious crime,” while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the use of a chemical agent “outrageous.”The Trump administration has said it is working with allies “to hold those in Russia accountable.”Doctors in Germany put Navalny under an induced coma for more than a week as part of his treatment. After waking up, Navalny has reported his condition improving, including regaining more of his mental and physical abilities.Navalny has been a frequent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and worked on anti-corruption efforts in Russia. He has been jailed numerous times on charges that he and his supporters said were politically motivated.
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Botswana Blames Bacteria for Deaths of 330 Elephants
Wildlife officials in Botswana say the recent deaths of hundreds of elephants in the Okavango Delta panhandle was caused not by humans, but by waterborne bacteria.
More than 330 elephants died in the panhandle between April and June, and wildlife officials did not know the cause. The carcasses were found with their tusks intact, eliminating the possibility of poachers. Dr. Mmadi Reuben, the chief veterinary officer for Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks, told a news conference Monday that the cause was cyanobacteria, a waterborne bacteria that produces deadly toxins which can affect an elephant’s nervous system. He said officials are still investigating why the bacteria affected only elephants. “We know the elephant to be the only animal for example, that is drinking below the surface of the water. And where the depth is a challenge, it clearly shows the possibility of the specie being able to suck the silt, which is really where the growth of the cyanobacteria is,” he said. Department of Wildlife and National Parks deputy director Cyril Taolo said cyanobacteria develops when environmental changes occur. The vast Okavango Delta experienced a dry period until recently, when water levels began rising. “This is not a phenomenon that was just seen now. It is something that happens quite a lot when there are these environmental changes. At this stage certainly, we cannot talk about human involvement,” he said. Poachers have decimated elephant populations in other parts of Africa, but in Botswana, the animals continue to thrive. The country has the world’s largest elephant herd, estimated at more than 130,000.
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Тупий боксер, офіцер пукіна, жополиз януковича, божевільна медведчука, кагебіст, 100-річний дід, сепар і дві хвойди
Сумні вибори у Київраду 2020 року:
кличко – тупий боксер, що загубив мізки, але добре навчився красти гроші киян;
пальчевський – офіцер гру ображеного карлика пукіна, що прикидається українцем;
попов – казнокрад януковича, який уже 7 років не може відмити свої руки від крові київських студентів;
верещук – закарпатська божевільна, що покірно відсмоктує медведчуку, який у свою чергу підставляє зад ображеному карлику пукіну;
смешко – совковий кагебіст, що прикидається українським сбвушником;
омельченко – старий дідуган із сенильним псіхозом і клімаксом;
добкін – голомозий харківський сепар і слуга кривавого януковича, що прикидується киянином;
дубінський – намагається встигнути обслужити смердючого кабана коломойського, забігти в румунське посольство і довести, що він румун, потім кошерно відвідати синагогу, а ввечері набухатися, заїсти салом і заснути;
гордон – лиса бабка, що зараз радиться з терористом гіркіним і божевільною хвойдою поклонською та просить грошей у ображеного карлика пукіна на передвиборчу кампанію.
А порошенко і зелений карлик настільки зневажають киян, що вирішили засунути їм своїх жінок. З тою лише різницею, що петро пропихує свою, а зеленський – свого слуги кулеби.
Українці, кияни! Давайте 25 жовтня пошлемо усю цю наволоч туди де їм місце!
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
US Space Force Deploys to Vast New Frontier: Arabian Desert
The newly formed U.S. Space Force is deploying troops to a vast new frontier: the Arabian Peninsula.
Space Force now has a squadron of 20 airmen stationed at Qatar’s Al-Udeid Air Base in its first foreign deployment. The force, pushed by President Donald Trump, represents the sixth branch of the U.S. military and the first new military service since the creation of the Air Force in 1947.
It has provoked skepticism in Congress, satire on Netflix, and, with its uncannily similar logo, “Star Trek” jokes about intergalactic battles.
Future wars may be waged in outer space, but the Arabian Desert already saw what military experts dub the world’s first “space war” — the 1991 Desert Storm operation to drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Today, the U.S. faces new threats in the region from Iran’s missile program and efforts to jam, hack and blind satellites.
“We’re starting to see other nations that are extremely aggressive in preparing to extend conflict into space,” Col. Todd Benson, director of Space Force troops at Al-Udeid, told The Associated Press. “We have to be able to compete and defend and protect all of our national interests.”
In a swearing-in ceremony earlier this month at Al-Udeid, 20 Air Force troops, flanked by American flags and massive satellites, entered Space Force. Soon several more will join the unit of “core space operators” who will run satellites, track enemy maneuvers and try to avert conflicts in space.
“The missions are not new and the people are not necessarily new,” Benson said.
That troubles some American lawmakers who view the branch, with its projected force of 16,000 troops and 2021 budget of $15.4 billion, as a vanity project for Trump ahead of the November presidential election.
Concerns over the weaponization of outer space are decades old. But as space becomes increasingly contested, military experts have cited the need for a space corps devoted to defending American interests.
Threats from global competitors have grown since the Persian Gulf War in 1991, when the U.S. military first relied on GPS coordinates to tell troops where they were in the desert as they pushed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s forces out of Kuwait.
Benson declined to name the “aggressive” nations his airmen will monitor and potentially combat. But the decision to deploy Space Force personnel at Al-Udeid follows months of escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Hostilities between the two countries, ignited by Trump’s unilateral withdrawal of the U.S. from Iran’s nuclear accord, came to a head in January when U.S. forces killed a top Iranian general. Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles at American soldiers in Iraq.
This spring, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched its first satellite into space, revealing what experts describe as a secret military space program. The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on Iran’s space agency, accusing it of developing ballistic missiles under the cover of a civilian program to set satellites into orbit.
World powers with more advanced space programs, like Russia and China, have made more threatening progress, U.S. officials contend. Last month, Defense Secretary Mark Esper warned that Russia and China were developing weapons that could knock out U.S. satellites, potentially scattering dangerous debris across space and paralyzing cell phones and weather forecasts, as well as American drones, fighter jets, aircraft carriers and even nuclear weapon controllers.
“The military is very reliant on satellite communications, navigation and global missile warning,” said Capt. Ryan Vickers, a newly inducted Space Force member at Al-Udeid.
American troops, he added, use GPS coordinates to track ships passing through strategic Gulf passageways “to make sure they’re not running into international waters of other nations.”
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of the world’s oil flows, has been the scene of a series of tense encounters, with Iran seizing boats it claims had entered its waters. One disrupted signal or miscalculation could touch off a confrontation.
For years, Iran has allegedly jammed satellite and radio signals to block foreign-based Farsi media outlets from broadcasting into the Islamic Republic, where radio and television stations are state-controlled.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has warned that commercial aircraft cruising over the Persian Gulf could experience interference and communications jamming from Iran. Ships in the region have also reported “spoofed” communications from unknown entities falsely claiming to be U.S. or coalition warships, according to American authorities.
“It’s not that hard to do, but we’ve seen Iran and other countries become pretty darn efficient at doing it on a big scale,” said Brian Weeden, an Air Force veteran and director of program planning at the Secure World Foundation, which promotes peaceful uses of outer space. “There’s a concern Iran could interfere with military broadband communications.”
Responding to questions from the AP, Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman at Iran’s mission to the United Nations, said “Iran will not tolerate interference in our affairs, and in accordance with international law, will respond to any attacks against our sovereignty.” He added that Iran has faced numerous cyber attacks from the U.S. and Israel.
Failing an international agreement that bars conventional arms, like ballistic missiles, from shooting down space assets, the domain will only become more militarized, said Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association. Russia and China have already created space force units and the Revolutionary Guard’s sudden interest in satellite launches has heightened U.S. concerns.
Still, American officials insist the new Space Force deployment aims to secure U.S. interests, not set off an extraterrestrial arms race.
“The U.S. military would like to see a peaceful space,” Benson, the director of Space Force troops stationed in Qatar, said. “Other folks’ behavior is kind of driving us to this point.”
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Western Europe Scrambling to Avoid National Lockdowns
Western European states are scrambling to curb a second coronavirus wave of infections by re-imposing pandemic restrictions lifted just weeks or months ago. But their governments say they are determined to avoid further stressing their stricken economics by re-introducing national lockdowns. The big question is whether this will be possible. From Britain, which has banned social gatherings of more than six and is threatening punitive fines for transgressors, to Spain, where Madrid is now under lockdown, authorities are struggling to contain alarming second-wave surges while keeping schools open and encouraging people still to head to work. A woman holds a sign reading ‘Public school: sustainable, free, active, in defense of children” as teachers and students take part in a protest calling for a ‘safe education’ in Malaga, Spain, Sept. 18, 2020.Officials in European capitals say it will ultimately be in the hands of public, if lockdowns are necessary. They hope better adherence to social distancing rules and more conscientious mask-wearing will help reverse infection surges — or at least slow them. “If we want to avoid national measures and more action we can, but we can only do that if everybody follows the rules,” Britain’s health minister Matt Hancock said. A national lockdown could be prevented if the “significant minority” of rule-breakers changed behavior. He urged people to report anyone breaching isolation orders or the rule of six, warning police would “come down hard on people who do the wrong thing.” The snitching appeal has prompted an outcry from some quarters with critics saying it would turn Britain into a nation of score-settling busybodies. In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of the devolved government, said last week, “No-one wants to see another full-scale lockdown. And above all we want to keep schools and childcare open because we know how important that is to the education and to the broader wellbeing of children and young people.” But she added: “The bottom line here is this virus is on the rise again. Cases are rising quite rapidly.” The government’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, said at a Downing Street news conference Monday that Britain was fast approaching a tipping point, warning that without tough measures the country could be seeing 50,000 new cases a day. Customers eat sunday lunches at tables outside restaurants in Soho, in London. Sept. 20, 2020.England’s chief medical officer, Christopher Whitty outlined the dilemma the British government is facing, much as European neighbors. “If we do too little this virus will get out of control. If we go too far it will impact and damage the economy.” He urged everyone to observe the regulations just a day after thousands ignored the rules and crowded the seaside resort town of Blackpool. “You cannot in an epidemic just take your own risk, unfortunately you are taking a risk on behalf of everybody else, it’s important we see this as something we do collectively,” Whitty said. New infection highs Britain is seeing daily infections rise to four-month highs, and cases might be doubling every day, according to health officials. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to make a nationwide television address Tuesday to announce a further tightening of restrictions on ordinary life. The British government is set to introduce fines of up to $13,000 for people who breach self-isolation rules. Commuters walk across the London Bridge during the morning rush hour, in London, Britain, Sept. 21, 2020.The government’s scientific advisers have been advising Johnson to act more quickly than he did in March and have been urging an immediate two-week “circuit breaker” of a national lockdown just to help interrupt the pandemic and reduce hospital admissions. But Johnson has come under pressure from finance ministers and business to ignore the circuit-breaker idea. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, reportedly has warned Johnson that a further national shutdown of the hospitality and leisure industry would be devastating to the economy.FILE – A sign promoting social distancing is hung on a post near the Crown and Anchor pub following a spike in cases of COVID-19 to visitors of the pub in Stone, Britain, July 30, 2020.Pub and restaurant owners say the hospitality industry is now in existential crisis, with almost a million jobs at risk. A nighttime curfew aimed at discouraging partying is among the options Johnson is considering, a Downing Street official confirmed to VOA. Opponents of stringent new measures include much of the British press. Most newspapers say the country cannot afford a second national lockdown.“The one thing that we cannot afford to do is to shut up shop again,” according to the influential newspaper The Times. It says targeted measures have an important role to play. “When the government introduced national restrictions in March, it did not have a system in place for dealing with smaller flare-ups. Now that it does, it should do as much as it can locally and regionally,” the paper concluded. But a simultaneous series of regional lockdowns could soon mean the country is itself locked down in all but name, say some commentators. More than ten million people are under lockdowns in parts of northern England already — and London might have to be put under a lockdown within days or weeks, according to the city’s mayor Sadiq Khan. France French officials, too, are struggling with how to balance public health needs without further crippling the country’s damaged economy.People eat lunch at a deserted Le Petit Chatelet restaurant in the Quartier Latin as the country battles to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while ensuring that economic and social activities can continue, in Paris, Sept. 18, 2020.A regional and local approach is also being adopted. In Nice, officials have banned gatherings of more than 10 people in public spaces and reduced opening hours for bars. New restrictions have also been imposed in the cities of Bordeaux and Marseilles. A woman wearing a protective face mask walks past a sign showing the area where wearing a protective mask is mandatory, in Bordeaux, southwestern France, Sept. 16, 2020.France reported 13,498 new confirmed COVID-19 cases Saturday, setting another record in daily additional infections since the start of the epidemic in March. The new cases pushed the cumulative total to 442,194 as the seven-day moving average of daily new infections rose to more than 9,700, compared with a low of 272 at the end of May, two weeks after the lockdown was lifted. As with most of their western European counterparts, French officials say a sharp increase in the number of tests being conducted is partly behind the surge in numbers, but they add the virus is circulating much faster, too. FILE – Municipal police officers wearing face masks talk to a woman, at the Promenade des Anglais, as they check that safety restrictions are being practiced, after France reopened its beaches to the public in Nice, May 22, 2020.Most of the recent surge was seen among younger people but the spikes are now being seen among the middle-aged and elderly — a pattern France’s neighbors are seeing. Hope Some officials are hopeful the second wave of the coronavirus is likely to be less deadly as the first. Treatments have been refined and there is more understanding of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. People are more wary, despite rule-breakers, and the elderly are aware they need to shield at home. Governments in most western European states are also now more vigilant about nursing homes and have been increasing testing in them. Some infectious disease experts argue mutant strains are more contagious, but causing less serious illnesses. The chief of a French research hospital, microbiologist Didier Raoult, the director of IHU Méditerranée Infection in Marseilles, told French senators last week: “They are less severe, so something is happening with this virus, which makes it different. The mutations we have a rather degraded version of the initial form. At least that is our impression.” FILE – French medicine professor Didier Raoult wears a disposable face mask as he stands before a Senate commission on the management of the COVID19 pandemic by French State institutions on Sept. 5, 2020 in Paris.Other infectious disease experts disagree with Raoult, who was immersed in controversy earlier this year when he claimed hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, could be used to cure COVID-19. He was widely criticized for insisting that a small trial he conducted of the drug proved its effectiveness. Raoult is not alone in arguing the coronavirus has changed and is less deadly. The Italian doctor who oversaw the treatment of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi during his recent hospitalization in Milan for COVID-19 has also expressed a similar view about the changing nature and less aggressive of the virus. But Italy’s public health officials say there’s little supporting evidence to show that is the case. German officials are watching nervously the pandemic developments unfolding in neighboring countries. Germany has seen a rise in cases, recording 2,297 new infections of coronavirus on Saturday, according to the Robert Koch Institute, the country’s disease control and prevention agency. That’s the highest number of new daily infections since the end of April. FILE – A protestor with a social distancing barrier, takes part in a demonstration against COVID-19 measures, in Berlin, Sept. 1, 20202. Sign reads ‘Corona Hygiene Concept for everyday life.’But the surge is not on the same scale as other Western European countries. German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Monday that Germany will sooner or later see imported cases from Spain, Austria and the Netherlands. Countries like Spain have infection dynamics that are out of control, Spahn told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
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Ivory Coast Opposition Presidential Candidate Calls for ‘Civil Disobedience’ to Block Possible 3rd Term for Outtara
Ivory Coast’s main opposition candidate is calling for civil disobedience to prevent President Alassane Outtara from being elected to a third term in next month’s elections.Henri Konan Bedie issued the call Sunday in the capital, Abidjan, during a gathering with other opposition candidates and their supporters.The West African country has been mired in violence that has left at least a dozen people dead since last month, after the 78-year-old Outtara broke a promise he made earlier this year not to seek reelection. Outtara reversed his stance and formally accepted the nomination of his ruling party after his handpicked successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died suddenly of a heart attack in July.Outtara’s opponents say he is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term, but the president has dismissed their complaints, saying a new constitution approved after he was elected to a second term in 2015 does not apply to him. The country’s Constitutional Court has cleared Outtara to stand in the election.The current unrest is likely to dredge up memories of the post-election violence in 2010, when 3,000 people died after then-President Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede the presidential election to Outtara.Gbagbo was charged by the International Criminal Court in 2019 of crimes against humanity in connection with the violence, but he was cleared of those charges in a ruling last year. He is currently living in exile in Europe while prosecutors appeal the court’s ruling.
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Корупціонер ромко заставний продає дім за 46 мільйонів і знову рветься до владного корита
Корупціонер ромко заставний продає дім за 46 мільйонів у селі Гатне під Києвом на перетині вулиць Прикордонна і Козацька і знову рветься до владного корита.
У Раді він в основному відмовчувався, тільки іноді потрапляючи в об’єктиви телекамер. То селюк заставний проголосує за колегу по парламенту, то у 2016 році його помітили за переглядом пікантних фотографій. Замість того, щоб вивчати законопроекти Заставний переглядав знімки біатлоністки і дружини колеги свободівця Олени Підгрушної.
Про те, який він був мер міста, говорить той факт, що на повторних виборах заставний програв, набравши всього п’ятнадцять відсотків голосів.
Журналісти підозрювали народного депутата в корупційних схемах. Так, у Тернополі Центр екстреної медичної допомоги та медицини катастроф провів тендер на будівництво нової автоматизованої диспетчерської для бригад швидкої допомоги. У ньому перемогла компанія ТОВ “Протекшн-груп”, яка зобов’язалась надати свої послуги за сім мільйонів гривень.
Одним із засновників фірми є батько корупціонера, сільський житель далекий від бізнесу Йосип Заставний. Крім того у ній сам ромко до 2014 року був головою наглядової ради. Ще одним важливим гравцем в команді “Протекшн-Груп” був степан барна, голова області і корупціонер.
У підсумку, в диспетчерську для бригад швидкої допомоги були закуплені пристрої з гучною назвою “мобільні термінали”. На ділі ж вони виявились звичайними мобільними телефонами.
“Протекшн Груп” взяла на себе зобов’язання надавати цілодобову технічну програму підтримки диспетчерської. Цими “компетентними” фахівцями виявилися акушерка і вчителька української мови.
У 2010 році автомобіль тоді кандидата в мери Тернополя потрапив в дорожньо-транспортну пригоду. Самого Заставного у машині не виявилось. Але аварію він вирішив використати на свою користь.
Заставний заявив, що дане ДТП є не простим, а заздалегідь спланованим замахом на його життя. Пізніше в ДАІ повідомили, що це звичайна аварія, яка не мала ніяких ознак замаху.
Через чотири роки вже сам Заставний виявився винуватцем ДТП. У Тернополі він збив на своїй машині жінку. Після цього екс-мер посадив потерпілу в свій автомобіль і зник з місця події.
У ДАІ розповіли, що повідомлення про наїзд було, але воно не підтвердилося. Однак знайти жінку правоохоронцям так і не вдалося. Вони об’їздили всі лікарні в Тернополі, але в жодну з них заставний не привозив збиту ним жінку.
Ромко Заставний був одним з п’ятдесяти дев’яти депутатів, які зажадали скасування кримінального покарання за незаконне збагачення.
Попри те, що дана вимога була висунута Європейським Союзом, як одна з умов надання Україні безвізового режиму, продажний конституційний суд затвердив цю скаргу парламентарів.
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Дід зеленого карлика спочатку розстрілював своїх у заградотрядах, а у 1963 придушував майдан у Кривому розі
Дід зеленого карлика спочатку розстрілював своїх у заградотрядах, а у 1963 придушував майдан у Кривому розі.
Майдан на Соцмісті — загальна назва актів громадянської непокори та масових заворушень у місті Кривому Розі Дніпропетровської області, що тривали в районі Соцмісто упродовж 16 — 18 червня 1963 року. Влада використала війська для придушення повстання. За офіційними даними загинуло 4, поранено 15 осіб, за неофіційними даними — загинуло 7 людей, поранено щонайменше кілька десятків. Радянська історіографія замовчувала ці події.
У ніч з 17 на 18 червня 1963 року, окупаційна московська влада планувала придушення Майдану силою війська. Діями керували представники комуняків на чолі з другим секретарем обкому чебриковим і першим секретарем міськкому олейниковим (він покинув пленум, що тривав у москві й повернувся до міста).
Після прибуття солдатів оточені міліціонери відкрили всі двері, заволоділи кабінетами, й вискакували на двір, хапаючи й арештовуючи всіх підряд. Заарештованих відправляли в міське управління внутрішніх справ по вулиці леніна. Солдати внутрішніх військ зняли пояси та били бунтівників. Їм допомагали дружинники, теж озброєні поясами. Є свідчення, що було застосовано обрізки труб, арматуру, які були загорнуті в папір або ганчір’я. Протестантів фотографували, щоб довести їхню участь у подіях. Солдати танкових військ несли патрульну службу на вулицях, по декілька разів перевіряли кожного, хто входив у цей район або виходив з нього. За офіційними даними вбито четверо, поранено 15 осіб. Двоє поранених перебувало в тяжкому стані. Для їх порятунку з Києва було викликано професора. Однак П. К. Саворський згадував, що з вікон підвалу було вбито 7 осіб. Такі ж дані називає й газета «Хроніка», яка однією з перших через багато років наважилася описати події. Стрілянина продовжувалась всю ніч. Студенти педагогічного інституту закривали вікна матрацами.
Під час масових арештів та побиття 86 осіб було арештовано, 36 одержали важкі травми. Деякі медики вважали, що по лікарнях було розміщено близько 200 поранених і понівечених.
Через три дні відбувся похорон убитих. Влада боялася, що можуть бути нові сутички, але жорстока розправа над людьми настільки деморалізувала громадськість, що заворушень не було.
У Будинку культури «комуніст» відбувся показовий суд. Активістів судили як хуліганів. Зокрема, 41 особу засуджено, як злісних хуліганів, яких до такого злочину довело пияцтво. Окремі учасники отримали дуже серйозні вироки — до 10 років суворого режиму.
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На виборах НЕ дамо жодного голосу за “за майбутнє міжнародного крадуна коломойського”
На виборах НЕ дамо жодного голосу за “за майбутнє міжнародного крадуна коломойського”.
Черговий шахрайський, антиукраїнський проект затіяв крадун коломойський з подільниками. Коли ж насправді була заснована партія і хто її раніше очолював? Які зв’язку політсила має з “батьківщиною” і хвойдою тимошенко, що її пов’язує із збанкрутілою групою “приват” і міжнародним крадуном коломойським?
Хто її фінансує і чому в партії лякають “людиною-дияволом” Соросом? Відповіді – нижче.
Депутатську групу “За майбутнє” створили у Верховній Раді України 9-го скликання 29 серпня 2019 року. Тоді в неї увійшли 23 народних депутата-мажоритарника, які були представниками різних політичних сил – від екс-регіоналів, членів партій “Відродження”, УКРОП і “Наш край”, колишніх БППшніков і “нарфронтівців”. Більшість з них є фігурантами антикорупційних розслідувань. Співголовами депутатської групи вибрали нардепа-мажоритарника і бєніного похвостича тараса батенка та мажоритарника з Хмельницької області, екс-голову партії “Відродження” сепара віктора бондаря.
У травні 2020 року депутати з “За майбутнє” заявили про створення однойменної партії на чолі з “кращим другом” банкрута коломойського – ігорем палицею, який ще недавно був членом президії укропу.
Установчий з’їзд партії “За майбутнє” відбувся під час карантину, а саме 20 травня 2020 року. Організатори вирішили “присвятити” його першій річниці президентства зеленого карлика.
Однак уже на початку літа ряди “За майбутнє” в парламенті почали рідшати. 19 червня з групи вийшли відразу троє мажоритарників з Вінницької області – Микола Кучер, Лариса Білозір і Геннадій Вацак, які вступили в групу “Довіра”. Саме цих нардепів журналісти-розслідувачі пов’язують з корупціонером і крадуном юрієм косюком. Але вже 30 червня до групи приєдналися четверо позафракційних мажоритарників – ігор молоток, сергій рудик, сергій лабазюк і антон поляков, якого раніше виключили з фракції “слуга зеленого карлика”. А 3 липня “За майбутнє” поповнилася ще одним “екс-слугою” – мажоритарницею з Київщини ганною скороход. Зараз група налічує 24 нардепа.
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На виборах НЕ дамо жодного голосу за ватне збіговисько “наш край”
На виборах НЕ дамо жодного голосу за ватне збіговисько “наш край”:
антон кіссе – зрадник України, сепар, хабарник і корупціонер, дбайливий лизун дупи януковича і ображеного карлика пукіна, активний учасник так званої одеської народної республіки;
олександр мазурчак – зрадник України, хабарник і корупціонер, дбайливий лизун дупи януковича і ображеного карлика пукіна на посаді першого заступника голови Київської міської державної адміністрації з 2010 до 2013 року;
сергій шахов – зрадник України, штатний агент ображеного карлика пукіна;
анатолій присяжнюк – зрадник України, сепар, хабарник і корупціонер на посадах в Криму і в адміністрації Київської області, дбайливий лизун дупи януковича і ображеного карлика пукіна;
євген червоненко – зрадник України, типова політична повія, готовий смоктати у будь-якого клієнта, що платить гроші;
володимир семиноженко – зрадник України, хвойда кучми, алкоголік, дбайливий лизун дупи ображеного карлика пукіна;
Для поширення вашого відео чи повідомлення в Мережі Правди пишіть сюди, або на email: pravdaua@email.cz
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Hong Kong Shares Slump As Banks Reel From Illicit Fund Movement Reports
Hong Kong shares fell on Monday, dragged by financials after reports said HSBC and Standard Chartered were among banks moving allegedly illicit funds over the past two decades and as Sino-U.S. tensions hit index heavyweight Tencent.
At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 504.72 points, or 2.06%, at 23,950.69, its biggest daily percentage drop since July 24. All but three index constituents fell on the day.
Hong Kong shares of HSBC touched 25-year lows and finished down 5.33%, and Standard Chartered lost 6.18%, following media reports that they and other banks moved large sums of allegedly illicit funds over nearly two decades despite red flags about the origins of the money.
“The big banks … are quite a meaningful weight in the index, and that the banks are going to be under such scrutiny (after the reports) is going be a big distraction for investors in this part of the world,” said Jim McCafferty, head of equity research, Asia ex-Japan at Nomura in Hong Kong.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 1.66% to 9,640.42.
The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking the financial sector ended 2.14% lower.
Shares of Tencent Holdings fell 1.62% after the social media giant said that its WeChat messaging platform may not be able to win new users in the United States amid a legal battle over a ban on the app.
A U.S. judge on Sunday blocked the Trump administration from requiring Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google to remove WeChat for downloads by late Sunday.
China’s main Shanghai Composite index closed down 0.63% at 3,316.94 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended down 0.96%.
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Drought-Hit Mexicans Demand that Water Sharing with US Ends
Protesters gathered on Sunday in drought-hit northern Mexico in an attempt to retain control of a dam key to government efforts to diffuse tensions over a water-sharing pact with the United States.Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has been working to maintain a good relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, said on Friday that Mexico must comply with its obligations.Under the 1944 treaty, Mexico must deliver 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the United States over a five-year period.Mexico also gets U.S. water from the Colorado River.Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week asked the State Department to help enforce the agreement. Mexico has until October 24 to meet a five-year quota, and owes nearly a year’s supply of water, Abbott said.Protesters took control of the La Boquilla dam in Chihuahua, which borders New Mexico, in September. A week ago, a protester was killed in gunfire from the Mexican National Guard after the early protest.Anger boiled over amid plans to divert additional water at the dam due to obligations.Several protesters told Reuters the water is being “stolen” and that they had gathered because they worried the National Guard would recover control of the dam.”We’re here united to defend Chihuahua, defend the water they’re stealing from us,” said Marisa Flores, 60.The National Water Commission of Mexico shows in its drought monitor that large parts of Chihuahua have suffered moderate and severe drought for more than six months. Neighboring states Sonora and Coahuila are also affected. Along the U.S. border in Chihuahua state, several areas on the commission’s drought monitor are marked as in severe drought. Much of the rest is marked as abnormally dry.
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