The Latest on the 2020 presidential election (all times local): 10:20 p.m. President Donald Trump danced around a question from moderator Chris Wallace about whether he was willing to condemn white supremacists and military groups. “I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not the right wing,” Trump responded. “I’m willing to do anything. I want to see peace.” When pressed further, Trump said, “What do you want to call them? Give me a name. Give me a name?” Finally, he said, “Proud Boys — Stand back, stand by, but I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left because this is not right-wing problem. … This is a left-wing problem.” Antifa followers have appeared at anti-racism protests, but there’s been little evidence behind Republican claims that antifa members are to blame for the violence at such protests. 10:15 p.m. President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden are making their pitches to win over Black voters in the coming election, with Biden mockingly questioning: “This man, this man is a savior of African Americans? This man has done virtually nothing.” Biden says that 1 in 1,000 African Americans has died because of the coronavirus, and if Trump doesn’t do something quickly, it will be 1 in 500. Trump turned the discussion from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, to a crime bill passed in 1994 that Biden helped write and get passed that, among other things, increased the penalties for certain drug offenses. Trump says, “I’m letting people out of jail now,” and asserted that Biden had treated the Black community “about as bad as anybody in this country.” 10:10 p.m. President Donald Trump and Joe Biden are trading barbs about each other’s relatives. While Biden was making a point during the first presidential debate in Cleveland about the Trump administration’s trade deals with China not having the desired effect, Trump jumped in. He resurrected past claims about the former vice president’s son Hunter working overseas. Trump said Hunter Biden reaped millions in ill-gotten profit from China and other overseas interests, accusations that have been repeatedly debunked. Biden shot back, “None of that is true.” He then added of Trump, “His family, we could talk all night.” Trump interrupted to respond that his children gave up lucrative jobs to join government and “help people,” which left moderator Chris Wallace pleading, “Mr. President, please stop” trying to restore order on the stage. Biden then turned to the camera and addressed the audience directly, something he did frequently Tuesday night. “This is not about my family or his family,” Biden said. “It’s about your family.” 10:05 p.m. President Donald Trump won’t say when he will finally make his personal taxes public as he has long promised. During the first presidential debate Tuesday, Trump was asked specifically about a report in The New York Times that revealed he paid only $750 in personal income taxes each of those years. All presidents except Trump have publicly released their taxes since the presidency of Richard Nixon. Trump has said since 2016 that he would eventually release them. But when asked by moderator Chris Wallace when, he said only: “You’ll get to see it.” Democratic nominee Joe Biden quickly used that as a point of attack, saying Trump “does take advantage of the tax code” and “pays less tax than a schoolteacher.” Trump shrugged off the attack, saying that all business leaders do the same “unless they are stupid.” 10 p.m. President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden are showcasing vastly different approaches during their first presidential debate in Cleveland. Trump is being aggressive toward Biden on Tuesday, interrupting the former vice president and repeatedly being admonished by debate moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News to stick to the rules that both campaigns had agreed to. Biden is taking a more personal approach. At several times during the debate, Biden addressed his comments to “you folks at home” watching on television as he looked straight into the camera. 9:50 p.m. President Donald Trump says he’s had “no negative effect” from massive campaign rallies with thousands of attendees not adhering to social distancing recommendations amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Trump said during Tuesday night’s debate against Democrat Joe Biden that he thought masks “are OK,” pulling one out from his pocket and saying, “I wear masks when needed.” But Trump also bragged that he’s drawn “35 to 40,000 people” at his campaign rallies, saying he brings such large crowds to outdoor events “because people want to hear what I have to say.” Trump portrayed Biden’s socially distanced events as insignificant affairs where the Democrat “has three people some place.” Former Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain, who attended one of Trump’s rallies in June without wearing a mask or social distancing, tested positive for the coronavirus nine days after the rally and died a month later. Neither Trump nor Biden mentioned him. Biden has held smaller campaign events, requiring attendees to spread out and at times sit in taped-off circles. Calling Trump “totally irresponsible” on managing COVID-19, Biden said the president is “a fool on this” and said Trump only worried about masks in the interest of protecting his own health, not others. 9:35 p.m. The first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden has gotten off to a contentious start, breaking down after just a few moments with Trump interrupting Biden on several occasions and Biden calling the president a clown and a liar. As the discussion about the Supreme Court quickly turned to COVID-19, Trump claimed without evidence that 2 million people would have died if Biden were president. Moderator Chris Wallace pleaded with Trump, stating that COVID-19 would be discussed later in the day. He then asked Trump about whether he had a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, and the president said, “First of all, I guess I’m debating you, not him, but that’s OK. I’m not surprised.” Biden laughed at Trump’s jabs. But he also appeared to get upset at times, too. “Here’s the deal, the fact is that everything he’s saying so far is simply a lie,” Biden said. “I’m not here to call out his lies. Everybody knows he’s a liar.” Wallace asked Trump to let Biden finish. “Folks, do you have any idea what this clown is doing?” Biden said. 9:25 p.m. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden says he is the leader of his party. Biden made the comment during Tuesday night’s debate after President Donald Trump accused him of supporting abolishing private insurance. Biden noted that he won the Democratic nomination partly by arguing against single-payer health care that many of his rivals sought. The former vice president has instead proposed expanding the Affordable Care Act to provide a public option that people could buy into. Trump responded that Democrats still want to abolish private health insurance and suggested the party would force Biden to do its bidding. “My party is me,” Biden replied. “Right now, I’m the Democratic Party.” 9:20 p.m. The first face-off for President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden is coming over a clash concerning a president’s prerogative to put push through an election-year Supreme Court nominee. Trump says during a debate Tuesday night in Cleveland that Republicans “won the election and therefore we have the right to choose” Amy Coney Barrett as a replacement for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Trump added that he felt Democrats “wouldn’t even think about not doing it” if given the chance to nominate a justice with just weeks until the election. Biden and other Democrats have decried Trump’s nomination of a new justice given Republicans’ refusal to consider President Barack Obama’s selection following the 2016 death of Antonin Scalia. Biden didn’t mention that during the debate, however. Biden says that Barrett seems like “a very fine person” but that her nomination after “tens of thousands of people have already voted” was troubling. 9 p.m. President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden are face-to-face in their first presidential debate, the most pivotal moment so far in an election that turns on a historic pandemic, racial unrest and an economy in shambles. The two are meeting Tuesday night in Cleveland. It’s a key opportunity for Trump to improve his standing in a race that polls show has remained stubbornly unchanged. For Biden, the debate offers a chance to show the steadiness he says the nation needs in contrast to Trump’s divisiveness. Biden welcomed Trump to the stage, saying, “How you doing, man?” The topics are the records of the candidates, the Supreme Court, the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, “race and violence in our cities,” and election integrity. At issue is the coronavirus pandemic that has killed 205,000 Americans and cost the country millions of jobs. Early voting is underway in many states, with the election 35 days away.
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Month: September 2020
Britain’s Last HK Governor Bemoans Territory’s Loss of Autonomy
As Britain’s last governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten introduced a series of democratic reforms in preparation for what was expected to be 50 years of relative autonomy following the territory’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Since then, he has watched that autonomy get slowly whittled away. What Beijing has done to Hong Kong is the “biggest assault on freedom and liberty in any city in the 21st century, certainly as big as anywhere else,” Patten said at a virtual policy forum last week. “What they’re doing in Hong Kong is to destroy what was promised in Hong Kong: a high degree of autonomy — one country, two systems. They’re doing that in a way which I must say will give Taiwan even greater room for thought because I’m sure what they’re doing in Hong Kong, they would like to do one day in Taiwan.” Hong Kong China and Taipei TaiwanPatten spoke at a discussion on the future of Hong Kong organized by the Canada-based A man wearing face mask walks past a bank’s electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Sept. 28, 2020.”One reason why so many investors will make their excuses and disappear to Singapore or to Seoul or to Tokyo is because they know the importance of free flow of information,” he added. “They know that’s not possible in a Chinese communist system.” In the 90-minute seminar that also featured other speakers, Patten said the current decade “may represent what’s called ‘peak China,’” but it is important not to exaggerate China’s importance to the rest of the world. “It’s true that China is the largest country in the world, and it’s true that China is a huge market for us. But the truth of the matter is: China needs us just as much, and perhaps in some respects even more, than we need China.” British exports to China have increased in real terms by just 3% since 1980 while China’s exports to Britain have risen by 9%, he said. “So who’s helping whom?” “I think it’s very, very important that we don’t fall for the Chinese communist confection that somehow we all need them more than they need us.” Patten stressed that emerging global efforts to constrain China’s power are not a war against the Chinese people. “It is not anti-Chinese to say we should stand up for liberal democracy,” he said. “Standing up for liberal democracy means standing up for one another,” not the least those in Hong Kong and in the rest of China. Patten, serving as chancellor of Oxford University since 2003, urged the international community to help “provide a lifeline” to those who dare to resist China and the pro-Beijing Hong Kong authorities, including by providing more Hong Kong students with fellowships to study abroad.
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US Intelligence Reports Warn of Extremist Threat Around Election
U.S. security officials are warning that violent domestic extremists pose a threat to the presidential election next month, amid what one official called a “witch’s brew” of rising political tensions, civil unrest and foreign disinformation campaigns.FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memos say threats by domestic extremists to election-related targets will likely increase in the run-up to the Nov. 3 election.Those warnings so far have largely remained internal. But New Jersey’s homeland security office took the unusual step of publicly highlighting the threat in a little-noticed report on its website last week.”You have this witch’s brew that really hasn’t happened in America’s history. And if it has, it’s been decades if not centuries,” said Jared Maples, director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, which published the threat assessment.Nationwide protests in recent months over racial justice and police brutality have been largely peaceful, but some have led to violent confrontations, including between extremist factions from left and right.The United States is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, high unemployment and a contentious presidential election in a polarized political climate.President Donald Trump last week declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election to Democratic rival Joe Biden. Trump has sought to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election because of his concerns about mail-in voting, which Democrats have encouraged during the coronavirus pandemic.Stickers that read “I Voted By Mail” sit on a table waiting to be stuffed into envelopes by absentee ballot election workers at the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections office in Charlotte, NC on Sept.4, 2020.Documented cases of mail-ballot fraud are extremely rare and election experts say it would be nearly impossible for foreign actors to disrupt an election by mailing out fake ballots.A recent internal FBI bulletin warned that domestic extremists with varying ideologies would likely pose an increasing threat to government and election-related targets in the run-up to the election, according to a person familiar with it. The bulletin was first reported by Yahoo News.An FBI spokeswoman said the agency “routinely shares information with our law enforcement partners in order to assist in protecting the communities they serve,” but declined to comment on the specific document.A DHS memo dated to Aug. 17 said ideologically driven extremists and other actors “could quickly mobilize” to engage in violence related to the election. The document, also first reported by Yahoo News, was confirmed to Reuters by a person familiar with it.The memo said that lone offender white supremacists and other lone offenders with “personalized ideologies” pose the greatest threat of deadly violence.A DHS spokesperson directed Reuters to early September remarks by acting Secretary Chad Wolf, in which he said that the department “has taken unprecedented actions to address all forms of violent extremism, to specifically include threats posed by lone offenders and small cells of individuals.”Acting-Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, center, arrives to join President Donald Trump at Andrews Air Force Base in Md., Aug. 18, 2020.In the spotlightTrump and his top officials have not so far publicly highlighted any threat by violent extremist groups to the election.Trump officials have pointed the finger at left-wing anarchists and anti-fascists during protests against police brutality and racism over the summer, but federal court records provide little evidence showing those arrested for violent acts had affiliations to far-left groups.Last week, the top two DHS officials acknowledged in congressional hearings, however, that white supremacists have posed the most lethal domestic threat to the United States in recent years.FBI Director Christopher Wray takes his seat to testify during an oversight hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hill, Feb. 5, 2020 in Washington.FBI Director Christopher Wray said during congressional hearings earlier this month that his agency was conducting investigations into violent domestic extremists, include white supremacists and anti-fascist groups. He said the largest “chunk” of investigations were into white supremacist groups.White supremacist, anti-Semitic, anti-government, and related ideologies were tied to 77 percent of 454 alleged domestic extremist murders in the past decade, according to data compiled by the Anti-Defamation League, a New York City-based anti-hate advocacy organization, and presented at one of the congressional hearings last week.National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot told Reuters that Trump’s highest priority is “protecting the U.S. from all threats, both foreign and domestic” when asked if the president had addressed the election threat publicly.Maples, the New Jersey homeland director, said his agency did not issue a pre-election threat assessment in 2016, but that it was necessary this time around.”We want our allies and folks across the state to recognize that we need to be thinking about this,” he said.The New Jersey report outlines three possible scenarios for the November election: a quick election outcome; a protracted process where determining a winner takes months; and a legal battle that eventually goes to the Supreme Court.Each of the scenarios could lead to extremist violence, with the possibility of deadly confrontations between protesters and targeted violence toward police officers, the assessment concludes.The agency’s report says the extremists will likely be “anarchist, anti-government, and racially motivated,” but does not say which groups pose the greater threat.The domestic extremist threat has always been present, but is getting more attention this year, according to Mike Sena, president of the National Fusion Center Association, which represents state-run “fusion centers” staffed by federal, state and local public safety personnel who monitor threats and facilitate information sharing.”We have always had threats during the national election cycles from violent extremists, including terrorist organizations,” he said. “With current events, it is more in the spotlight than ever.”The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan think tank, said in a June report that the outcome of the election could incite violence by the far-right or far-left.”If President Trump loses the election, some extremists may use violence because they believe — however incorrectly — that there was fraud or that the election of Democratic candidate Joe Biden will undermine their extremist objectives,” the report reads. “Alternatively, some on the far-left could resort to terrorism if President Trump is re-elected.”
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WHO Investigating Sexual Abuse Allegations in Congo Ebola Response
The World Health Organization announced Tuesday it would investigate newly released reports of alleged sexual exploitation and abuse against Congolese individuals perpetrated by the WHO’s Ebola aid workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A year-long investigation by the New Humanitarian and the Thomson Reuters Foundation included interviews with 51 women who recounted several instances of abuse during the 2018 to 2020 Ebola crisis — mainly by men who self-identified as working for the WHO. The investigation also identified abuses by members of the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Medecins Sans Frontieres, Oxfam, World Vision, the U.S. migration agency IOM, the medical charity ALIMA and Congo’s health ministry. The majority of accounts said that numerous men frequently plied women with drinks and either had propositioned them, forced them to have sex in exchange for a job, or terminated their contracts when they refused. Some women were hired on short-term contracts and promised salaries more than twice the standard wage in the area. There were also accounts of women being locked in rooms by men who solicited jobs or threatened to terminate their employment if they did not comply.Approximately 80% of survivors globally do not report sexual assault. The abuses in the Congo were no different. A survey that was a part of the investigation found that 18 agencies involved in the Ebola response said they received no reports of sexual exploitation. Most women who participated in the investigation said they were unaware of how to report instances of sexual exploitation or abuse. Half a dozen senior U.N. officials and NGO workers confirmed that sex-for-jobs schemes were rampant in the DRC during relief efforts. Officials also confirmed that several strategies implemented to target sexual exploitation in the area largely failed. Aid sector experts say the male-dominated Ebola response team, along with vast income and power imbalances and a failure to win locals’ trust, were to blame for the years of abuse during the crisis. Approximately 81% of Ebola responders working for WHO were men, according to a 2019 report.Experts say that involving more women in the emergency response system is an important first step in changing the power dynamics of aid delivery. Previous investigations into similar problems in emergency response efforts found that such abuses also occurred in places such as Bosnia, Haiti and the Central African Republic. Several agencies deployed thousands of aid workers into the eastern Congo in 2018 when Ebola erupted in the area, costing some $700 million. A network to prevent sex abuse was not set up until 14 months into the crisis, according to an internal report by the interagency Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Network. A WHO spokeswoman told investigators it was reviewing a “small number” of sexual abuse or exploitation reports in the Congo and encouraged the women involved to contact the organization directly.Women alleging instances of abuse said that there was little hope for justice. Many say they could not come forward out of fear of retribution by employers or being stigmatized by family or their communities.
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Flynn Attorney Tells US Court She Discussed Criminal Case With Trump
The lead attorney for U.S. President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Tuesday revealed to a federal judge that she has discussed the ongoing criminal case with the president, an extraordinary admission that raises questions about political interference. U.S. Justice Department lawyers denied any corruption or political motives in efforts to get the federal criminal case against Flynn dropped. In May, Attorney General William Barr stunned many in the legal community by ordering prosecutors to have the case dropped, a decision that came after Trump repeatedly complained that Flynn was being treated unfairly. U.S. Attorney General William Barr speaks during a press conference in Chicago, Illinois, Sept. 9, 2020.Critics have accused Barr of giving special treatment to Trump allies, such as Flynn and Trump’s longtime friend and supporter Roger Stone. Flynn’s defense counsel Sidney Powell tried to invoke executive privilege in an initial refusal to discuss details of her conversation with Trump, angering U.S. Judge Emmet Sullivan. “You don’t work for the government,” Sullivan told her. Powell, in a tense exchange with the judge, said: “I spoke one time to the president about this case to inform him of the general status” of the litigation. “I never discussed this case with the president until recently, when I asked him not to issue a pardon.” Powell downplayed a letter she sent to Barr and Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen in June of 2019, in which she informed them she would soon take over as Flynn’s lawyer, complained that the FBI had tried to entrap her client and asked the department to appoint new government lawyers to preside over the case. FILE – This sketch depicts President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, standing center, flanked by lawyers, listening to U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, right, inside the federal court in Washington, Dec. 18, 2018.When Sullivan asked whether she felt her letter to Barr was ethical, Powell replied: “Perfectly.” Powell’s discussion of the case with Trump, along with her letter to senior Justice Department officials, are likely to further stoke debate over whether the Trump administration is improperly seeking to dismiss the case. The judge said he felt the letter to Barr “raises questions about motive” for the department to remove career prosecutors from the case and suggested the bar association might take issue with her tactics. He asked the government to schedule a follow-up meeting to discuss how Barr and Rosen responded. Kenneth Kohl, an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said he did not know details of Barr’s response but denied there was any improper political inference in the case. “I’ve never seen it in my entire career in our office and it didn’t happen here,” Kohl said. He directly attacked former top FBI officials, including former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and former agent Peter Strzok, saying they could not be reliable witnesses for the government if it had proceeded with its prosecution of Flynn. Powell, meanwhile, told Sullivan she thought he was biased against Flynn and intended to file a motion soon to ask him to recuse himself. Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, was charged under former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation that detailed Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. Election. Flynn pleaded guilty twice to lying to the FBI about his conversations before Trump took office with Sergei Kislyak, who was then Russia’s ambassador to the United States, concerning U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia under President Barack Obama. He was due to be sentenced in December 2018. FILE – Former special counsel Robert Mueller testifies on Capitol Hill, July 24, 2019.Sullivan delayed that until Flynn could finish cooperating with the government in a separate criminal case. But Flynn last year switched lawyers and his new legal team claimed the FBI had set him up. Barr’s unusual move ordering the case dropped despite the guilty pleas led Sullivan to tap retired judge John Gleeson to argue against the Justice Department’s legal position. Gleeson on Tuesday urged Sullivan not to drop the case. “People who don’t hang around in federal courtrooms don’t really get just how important it is to enter a guilty plea,” he said. “People can’t plead guilty and then show up for sentencing, as this defendant did on December 18, 2018, and see how the wind is blowing.”
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2 NFL Teams Suspend Activities After 8 Test Positive for Coronavirus
The U.S. National Football League announced Tuesday that two of its teams, the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings, have suspended team activities after three Tennessee players and five staff members tested positive for the coronavirus. NFL sources say Tennessee reported the positive tests Tuesday. The Vikings had not reported a positive test, but as they hosted the Titans team at their stadium Sunday in Minneapolis, they said in statement posted to their Twitter account, they were suspending in-person activities as a precautionary measure until further notice. The Vikings say they will work closely with the league and the NFL Players Association – the players’ union – to monitor the situation. In a joint statement Tuesday, the NFL and the association said, “Both clubs are working closely with the NFL and the NFLPA, including our infectious disease experts, to evaluate close contacts, perform additional testing and monitor developments. All decisions will be made with health and safety as our primary consideration.” While two cases had been reported since the NFL season began early this month, this is the first “outbreak” in the league on a single team since training camps opened in early July. The NFL has been holding its games in empty or nearly empty stadiums. The league has not said whether the affected teams’ games this week, the fourth week of the NFL season, will proceed as scheduled. FILE – NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during a news conference in Miami, Feb. 3, 2020.That determination will be reached by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in consultation with an eight-member group comprising coaches, executives and former players from various team affiliations. It was established to prevent members of the league’s competition committee from making self-interested decisions on which teams might have to cancel or postpone games. The Titans are scheduled to host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, while the Vikings play at the Houston Texans.
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Ghanaian Oncologists Want More Focus on Colon Cancer
By the time a patient comes to Dr. Clement Edusa with colon cancer, it is often too late.The medical director of the Sweden Ghana Medical Center will see cancer that has been misdiagnosed and spread, as the patient has sought out other treatments, including some from ill-equipped small clinics or herbalists.Edusa said while Ghana does not see many cases of colon cancer, as lifestyles change, he expects to see an increase, and there need to be systems in place to provide detection and affordable treatment.“Definitely, there is going to be an increase,” Edusa said. “But don’t forget that apart from that, you need to have a structure in place to do the screening. So, if you don’t have a national program which sort of pulls in the people to do the screening, you won’t get it early. So, you will have an increase in numbers and people coming late, and of course, more fatalities.”FILE – Chadwick Boseman poses in the press room at the American Music Awards on Nov. 24, 2019, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.While fans have been mourning the loss of American actor Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer a month ago, a beloved actor and preacher in Ghana also met this fate this year.Bernard Nyarko’s son Gideon said his dad’s illness was gradual. By the time he got his colon cancer diagnosis, doctors could do little, as it had spread.“He went to the hospital, but they were not able to diagnose the main source of his illness,” Nyarko said. “They were linking it to other sorts of illnesses. It was later that we discovered it was colon cancer. That was 2019.”When Gideon saw images of Boseman’s weight loss, he saw the similarities of how his own father looked toward the end.Gideon Kankam Nyarko with his late father, Ghanaian actor Bernard Nyarko who died this year of colon cancer. (Courtesy of Gideon Kankam Nyarko)He hopes both his father’s case and that of Boseman will create awareness of the need for early detection and better training in health services.Some organizations in Ghana have taken up this mantle.Cancer Support Network Ghana tries to get cancer survivors to speak out to encourage others to go for screenings, to ultimately lower fatality rates in Ghana, said oncology nurse Eric Brobbey.“People think that when you have this cancer you’re going to die, but there are people who have lived for many years, Brobbey said. “So, when they come out to share their stories, it encourages others to also seek treatment.”Ibrahim Rauf of the Zurak Cancer Foundation works to increase cancer awareness in low-income communities, in Accra, Ghana, Sept. 26, 2020. (Stacey Knott/VOA)Ibrahim Rauf from the Zurak Cancer Foundation focuses on low-income communities, advocating prevention, education and the promotion of healthy lifestyles.“The lifestyles that expose people to cancers kind of run through, regardless of which cancer you are referring to,” Rauf said. “So, we might not be heavily focused on colon cancer now, but then we believe the awareness we are creating is giving people the opportunities to adopt lifestyles that save them from it.”The ultimate hope is that more people will be aware of the signs and risks of cancers, including colon cancer, and that eventually all screenings, diagnoses and treatments will be funded by the government.
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Amazon Launches Trial of Pay-by-Palm Device
Need to pay for some groceries? No problem, just wave your palm. That could be the new mode of payment at Amazon Go stores if current trials of its new technology in Seattle, Washington, are successful. The technology, known as Amazon One, is a “free, contactless service that lets you use your palm to pay, enter or identify yourself,” according to its website. The product, which is undergoing trials at two Go stores in Seattle, will allow customers to enter their credit card details and cell phone number and scan their palm or palms for distinct details such as “surface area, lines and ridges as well as subcutaneous features such as vein patterns” on a biometric device. The individual palm details are then used to create a customer’s unique palm signature, and Amazon is counting on that to protect customer information. The e-commerce company assures customers that the Amazon One device does not store information. “We treat your palm signature just like other highly sensitive personal data and keep it safe using best-in-class technical and physical security controls,” according to the website. Once sign-up is complete, customers can purchase goods and services with their palm prints by hovering over the payment device. It will also allow customers to use their palms as a form of ID, which allows them to enter Go stores without a code. If customers change their minds about using the service, Amazon says it will completely delete their information. “Amazon will permanently delete your palm signature from Amazon’s systems after completion of any remaining transactions,” the website says. “Your Amazon One ID will also be automatically deleted if you do not interact with an Amazon One device for two years.” Amazon says it hopes to replicate the technology in all of its Go stores after its pilot use in Seattle and that it looks forward to other retailers signing up for the service.
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Tired of Staying Home? How About a Flight to Nowhere
It’s no secret most of the world’s airports have sat empty for months. With international travel almost nonexistent because of the coronavirus pandemic, the global tourism industry is finding new ways to make money. In Asia, one way companies are trying to stay profitable is through so-called “flights to nowhere.”
That’s right, some airlines are offering flights that end up right where they began. While it may sound like a gimmick, customers are actually buying tickets. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 7 MB480p | 10 MB540p | 14 MB720p | 26 MB1080p | 52 MBOriginal | 64 MB Embed” />Copy Download Audio This month, a Taiwanese airline took passengers to South Korea’s Jeju Island, circled a few times and flew right back to Taiwan. In the air, they had a Korean language and culture lesson.
One passenger, 35-year-old Liu Chun Hui, says she couldn’t go abroad. So her friend recommended this flight to her. As soon as she heard about it, she wanted to experience the flight to nowhere.
The flights aren’t cheap. Australia’s Quantas airline charged almost $800 for an economy seat on a flight that offered views of attractions such as the Great Barrier Reef. The flight sold out in 10 minutes.
In Japan, the flights don’t even leave the ground. An entertainment company offers flights in a fake airport cabin. Passengers get meals and tour famous sites through virtual reality headsets.
Hirari Ito was among the virtual flight attendants. She’s never been one in real life and says it was hard to learn how to become one now.
“We’ve been changing and trying to improve every day, so I hope it will last for a long time in the long run,” she said.
The trend is a sign people are eager to be done with quarantine and other restrictions, says digital marketing analyst Mingming Chen.
“The problem is, if you want to travel to other countries, you have to go through all the safety procedures, you have to get your COVID-19 tests, and you need to go through quarantines. And that’s really not convenient for a lot of people.”
But while the flights to nowhere may provide a boost for travel companies, they don’t help the broader tourist industry. Here in Seoul, many shopping districts that rely on foreigners are mostly empty, waiting for the flood of tourist dollars that may not come anytime soon.
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Britain, Canada Sanction Belarus’ Lukashenko, Top Officials
Britain and Canada have imposed sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, his son and other top officials for allegedly rigging the country’s presidential election and committing acts of violence against protesters.The sanctions are the first imposed by major Western powers against Belarusian government officials and subject them to an immediate travel ban and asset freeze.Lukashenko’s post-election crackdown has resulted in the arrest of more than 12,000 people who participated in mass demonstrations that erupted after he claimed victory in an election that opponents allege was stolen. Lukashenko has denied the election was fixed.British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab speaks at a press conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department, Sept. 16, 2020, in Washington.“Today the U.K. and Canada have sent a clear message by imposing sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko’s violent and fraudulent regime,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.“We don’t accept the results of the election,” the statement added. “We will hold those responsible for the thuggery deployed against the Belarusian people to account and we will stand up for our values of democracy and human rights.”In an interview with Reuters, Raab also mentioned Lukashenko ally Vladimir Putin, although the sanctions did not target the Russian president.Canadian Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois-Philippe Champagne said, “Canada will not stand by silently as the government of Belarus continues to commit systematic human rights violations and shows no indication of being genuinely committed to finding a negotiated solution with opposition groups.”In addition to Lukashenko and his son, Viktor, who is his chief-of-staff, Britain’s sanctions target the interior minister and two deputy interior ministers. Canada has sanctioned Lukashenko and 10 others.Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sept. 29, 2020.Earlier Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged European support for the people of Belarus after he met with opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.The talks took place in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, where Tsikhanouskaya fled after the August presidential election in Belarus sparked a political crisis.Many in Belarus reject the official results of the election that gave Lukashenko a sixth term in office, and thousands have protested in the weeks following the vote.The European Union said last week it does not recognize Lukashenko as president, and Macron has said he must step down.
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Ugandans Cry Foul Over Displacements from Oil Pipeline to Tanzania
Uganda and Tanzania in September signed an agreement to build what they say will be the world’s longest heated oil pipeline, a $3.5 billion project that will run from southwestern Uganda to Dar es Salaam. Ugandan authorities say those affected will be compensated but rights groups worry that few details have been announced. Environmental activists warn the oil project, run by French Company Total and Chinese company CNOOC, also puts Uganda’s nature reserves and ecosystems at risk, as Halima Athumani reports from Buliisa, Uganda.VIDEOGRAPHER: Francis MukasaPRODUCER: Jason Godman
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Assange May End Up at Colorado Supermax Jail, UK Court Told
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange would have to be “almost dying” to get out of arguably the most notorious prison in the United States if convicted of espionage charges and sent there, a court at London’s Old Bailey heard Tuesday.
Assange, who is fighting an extradition request from the U.S., would likely be sent to the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, if convicted, according to Maureen Baird, a former warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.
U.S. prosecutors have indicted the 49-year-old Assange on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks’ publication of secret American military documents a decade ago. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.
Assange’s defense team says he is entitled to First Amendment protections for the publication of leaked documents that exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have also said he is suffering from wide-ranging mental health issues, including suicidal tendencies, that could be exacerbated if he ends up in inhospitable prison conditions in the U.S.
Baird said Assange would likely face the most onerous prison conditions that the U.S. can impose, conditions that she has seen lead to an array of mental health issues, including anxiety and paranoia.
“From my experience, of close to three decades of working in federal prisons, I would agree that long term isolation can have serious negative effects on an inmate’s mental health,” she said.
She said Assange would likely be held under special administrative measures, or SAMs, if extradited to the U.S., both in pre-trial detention and after any conviction, because of national security concerns within the U.S. government.
Under these measures, which are at the discretion of the U.S. Attorney General and have been used on convicted terrorists, inmates spend almost the whole day confined in their cells with no contact with other prisoners and little contact with the outside world. She said there was little, if no, flexibility for wardens to ease the restrictions.
“There is no grey area, it’s all black and white,” she said.
Given that likely SAMs requirement, Baird said the “only place” for him to go would be ADX Florence in Colorado “unless there was a severe change in his medical status.”
Citing the example of convicted terrorist, Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, Baird said Assange would have to be “almost dying” to be sent to another facility.
Mustafa, who is also known as Abu Hamza and used to be a cleric at the Finsbury Park Mosque in London, was extradited from the U.K. to the U.S. in 2012. He has had his two arms amputated and is blind in one eye. SAMs were imposed on him soon after extradition and he has for the past five years been housed in a special secure unit of ADX known as H-Unit.
Lindsay Lewis, a New York attorney who has represented Mustafa, told the court in written testimony that Assange would “in all likelihood wind up in this unit as well” if held under SAMs and sent to ADX.
“There is no reason to conclude that SAMs imposed on Mr. Assange would be any less arbitrary, oppressive, or difficult to challenge, should the U.S. government determine, in its apparently unbridled discretion, that they are appropriate,” she said.
The facility is also home to Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, 1993 World Trade Center mastermind Ramzi Yousef and Zacarias Moussaoui, the only man ever convicted in a U.S. court for a role in the Sept. 11 attacks.
The court has heard how one former warden at the prison, Robert Hood, has described the Supermax prison as a “fate worse than death” that was “not built for humanity.”
It is thought that, if extradited, Assange would be first moved to the pre-trial facilities at the Alexandria Detention Center in Virginia.
Lawyers acting on behalf of the U.S. government have claimed that Assange’s mental state is not as bad as his lawyers say and that he wouldn’t be subjected to improper conditions.
Clair Dobbin, a lawyer acting on behalf of the U.S. government, said SAMS were only “speculative” and reviewed regularly. She also said they have been removed from some inmates at the Colorado prison.
Assange’s extradition hearing, which was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, is due to end this week.
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Botswana Parliament Votes to Extend COVID Emergency to March
Botswana’s parliament voted Monday to extend by a further six months a state of emergency imposed to fight the coronavirus. The move comes despite objections from opposition parties. The extension means President Mokgweetsi Masisi will continue to rule by decree until March 2021, a full year since the pandemic hit Africa.
Masisi, in his address to a special session of parliament, said it was necessary to extend the state of emergency, which came into effect in March.
“The disease burden has made it clear and imperative for us to extend the state of public emergency in the interest of the public. In this context, I will request parliament to extend the state of public emergency by a period of six months,” Masisi said.
Botswana has seen a steady rise in cases since registering its first in March. The country currently has more than 3,170 cases, with 16 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the pandemic.
Masisi added the state of emergency will be used solely for the purpose of fighting the spread of the COVID-19.
“It is my considered view that the extension of the state of emergency provides a better option to safeguard the lives of Botswana, while containing and controlling the disease.”
Among others, Masisi said the state of emergency would ensure workers are protected against retrenchment and maintain the restrictions on the movement of people in and out of the country.
He said the country’s Public Health Act was inadequate to fully equip his government to fight the pandemic.
Opposition parties said they were not convinced an extension of the state of emergency was necessary.
David Tshere of the opposition coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) argued against the move.
“This is not acceptable. We are restricting movement of people in and out of the country. South Africa has opened up the borders, Namibia has opened up and we have a treaty with these countries. You are saying we should continue to close when your neighbors have opened,” Tshere said.
The leader of the opposition in parliament, Dumelang Saleshando, warned the economy will suffer as a result of the extended restrictions.
“We are locking down the economy. They (people) need certainty. Households are not going to survive this,” Saleshando said.
Despite the opposition members’ objections, the ruling party holding a majority in the National Assembly meant the extension was approved.
The country’s economy is expected to contract by around 9% this year. Its backbone, the diamond industry, suffered significantly after international buyers were shut out due to travel restrictions.
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Zimbabwe Opposition Dismisses Accusations of Plot to Topple Mnangagwa
Zimbabwe’s main opposition party is denying an accusation from a state security official that it is plotting a coup attempt. State security minister Owen Ncube offered no evidence for his accusation, made Monday, and political analysts warn Zimbabwe has a history of using such allegations to crack down on opposition parties. Clifford Hlatywayo, spokesman for the Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC Alliance), dismissed a claim from state security minister Owen Ncube that the party is smuggling guns into the country for a coup.“MDC Alliance are archbishops of peace. ZANU-PF are the archbishops of violence,” said Hlatywayo. “We are victims of violence, state sponsored and state engineered. What we know is the ballot and not the bullet. What we are being accused of is false, baseless. What they are trying to do is blame game. They do not want dissenting voices.”Late Monday, Ncube said Zimbabwe’s security and stability was “under siege” from a number of threats being fomented by internal and external actors.“The objective of this attack is to effect an unconstitutional change of government following the outcome of the 2018 harmonized elections, which was not favorable to the MDC-Alliance and its foreign backers,” Ncube said. “As the state security arms of government, we would like to assure citizens that we are watching the environment very closely and that we shall fulfil our mandate of ensuring peace, stability and development in Zimbabwe.”In his remarks, aired on state television, Ncube did not say which countries allegedly are working to topple the Zimbabwean government.Prolific Mataruse is a senior political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe. He says he is not surprised by the security minister’s claims, given that some Western countries and activists have been complaining about a crackdown targeting activists.”It is probably expected that as the country continues to experience economic challenges within the framework of COVID 19, underutilization of industrial capacity, liquidity challenges and other contested issues, we are likely to witness more of such statements or more ideas about external threats,” Mataruse said. “It is almost a rule that as domestic policies face challenges – real or imagined – ideas about outside threats come to the fore.”Under the 37-year rule of the late Robert Mugabe, the government would periodically accuse the opposition of plotting to topple the government. The accusations would be followed by the arrest of opposition leaders on charges of treason.In 2017, his successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, promised not to use the iron-fisted tactics of Mugabe. But activists have complained that Mnangagwa is not living up to his word. In July, more than a dozen opposition activists went into hiding, fearing prosecution, after the government used force to break up an anti-government protest.
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Johnson Asked to Clarify Confusion Over COVID-19 Social Distancing Rule
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to correct himself Tuesday after he initially gave conflicting information about stricter COVID-19-related social distancing rules going into effect in northeast Britain.In the latest round of localized measures, the government announced a tightening of restrictions on socializing in northeast England effective midnight Tuesday in response to a surge in COVID-19 infection rates in the region.In the affected area, which includes the large urban centers of Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and Durham, residents are not allowed to meet with people from other households anywhere, outdoors or indoors, including in homes, pubs and restaurants.Tuesday, after Education Minister Gillian Keegan had earlier expressed confusion about the new rules during a radio interview, Johnson was asked during a news briefing to clarify. “Outside the areas such as the northeast where extra measures have been brought in, it’s six inside, six outside,” Johnson said, referring to the government’s “rule of six,” which applies in areas not subject to specific local restrictions.After critics said the response appeared to contradict the information released by the Health Ministry, Johnson corrected himself on his Twitter account.“Apologies, I misspoke today,” Johnson tweeted. “In the North East, new rules mean you cannot meet people from different households in social settings indoors, including in pubs, restaurants and your home. You should also avoid socializing with other households outside.”With infection numbers rising again in different parts of the country, the government has said it wants to avoid a second national lockdown and instead is taking targeted local measures to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus.The opposition Labor Party issued a statement calling Johnson “grossly incompetent” for not knowing the rules.
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Tired of Staying Home? How about a Flight to Nowhere
With international travel almost nonexistent because of the coronavirus pandemic, the global tourism industry is finding new ways to make money. In Asia, one way companies are trying to stay profitable is through so-called “flights to nowhere,” as VOA’s Bill Gallo explains from Seoul.
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France to Ban Use of Wild Animals in Circuses, Marine Parks
France’s environment minister has announced a gradual ban on using wild animals in traveling circuses, on keeping dolphins and killer whales in captivity in marine parks and on raising mink on fur farms.
Barbara Pompili, France’s minister of ecological transition, said in a news conference Tuesday that bears, tigers, lions, elephants and other wild animals won’t be allowed any more in travelling circuses “in the coming years.”
In addition, starting immediately, France’s three marine parks won’t be able to bring in nor breed dolphins and killer whales any more, she said.
“It is time to open a new era in our relationship with these (wild) animals,” she said, arguing that animal welfare is a priority.
Pompili said the measures will also bring an end to mink farming, where animals are raised for their fur, within the next five years.
The ban does not apply to wild animals in other permanent shows and in zoos.
Pompili did not set any precise date for the ban in travelling circuses, saying the process should start “as soon as possible.” She promised solutions will be found for each animal “on a case-by-case basis.”
The French government will implement an 8 million-euro ($9.2 million) package to help people working in circuses and marine parks find other jobs.
“That transition will be spread over several years, because it will change the lives of many people,” she said.
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US Supreme Court Nominee Barrett to Meet With Republican Senators
U.S. President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, meets informally Tuesday with senators on Capitol Hill, kicking off an accelerated confirmation process that Republicans intend to complete before the November 3 presidential election in the face of Democratic opposition.
Barrett, who would be Trump’s third conservative appointee to the nation’s highest court if confirmed by the Senate, meets first with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
She will also meet with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, Republican committee members Mike Crapo, Chuck Grassley, Mike Lee and other Republican senators.
The informal meetings are part of a traditional process leading to confirmation hearings that are set to begin on October 12. A Barrett confirmation would give the court a clear 6-3 conservative majority.
Graham has said the Judiciary Committee will probably vote on Barrett’s nomination on October 22, paving the way for a vote before the full Senate, where Trump’s Republican allies have a 53-47 majority.
Democrats are strongly opposed to Barrett and Republicans’ acceleration of the confirmation process. They maintain the winner of the presidential election should nominate a successor to liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on September 18 at the age of 87. Most Americans also share that perspective, according to national polls.
Barrett currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit after being nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate in 2017.
Since her confirmation to the 7th Circuit, Barrett has authored more than 100 opinions that have consistently reflected her conservative values.
The 48-year-old Barrett is a devout Catholic who is very popular among conservative evangelical Christians, arguably Trump’s most loyal supporters. Abortion rights groups are concerned that Barrett’s confirmation could threaten the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion in the U.S.
As a professor at Notre Dame Law School, Barrett expressed some criticism of the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, which protects a pregnant woman’s right to have an abortion without unnecessary government restriction.
Democrats also have voiced concerns that Barrett could cast a deciding vote in a Supreme Court case on November 10, in which Trump and Republican allies are asking the court to strike down Obamacare, a nationwide health care law known formally as the Affordable Care Act.
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Officer Charged in Breonna Taylor Case Pleads Not Guilty
The lone Kentucky detective facing charges related to the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor pleaded not guilty Monday.
Brett Hankison’s plea comes five days after a grand jury indicted him on three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into the home of Taylor’s neighbors. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison on each count.
Hankison’s lawyer asked that his client be allowed to keep firearms for self-defense, saying Hankison, who was fired in June, “has received a number of threats.” The judge turned down the request.
The grand jury declined to charge Hankison or the other two undercover narcotics officers who opened fire inside Taylor’s house with her shooting. The decision not to charge the officers set off protests in Louisville and across the country.
On Monday, Louisville’s mayor lifted the curfew put in place after people refused to end their nighttime protests. Mayor Greg Fischer’s statement said the 9 p.m. curfew had served its purpose.
“We sadly saw some violence, including the shooting of two police officers, one of whom remains hospitalized, dealing with complications of his injuries. But we believe the curfew helped, by ensuring fewer people were out late in the day,” Fischer said.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the protests were largely peaceful, with a few people taking advantage of the situation to commit violence.
“Let me say this, 99.99% of people that took to the streets or the sidewalks did so peacefully, raised their voices to be heard and we should listen. We should listen to the trauma and to the pain,” Beshear said.
Meanwhile, Kentucky state Rep. Lisa Willner, a Louisville Democrat, said Monday that she’s starting to craft legislation that would narrow the scope of the state’s rioting statute.
Her proposal, which she intends to offer in next year’s legislative session, would protect people from being charged with first-degree rioting if they’re present but don’t engage in destructive or violent actions. Her response comes after Democratic state Rep. Attica Scott was charged with the felony last week while participating in Louisville protests for racial justice.
“This is not any attempt at all to weaken the current law,” Willner said in a phone interview. “It’s just to make sure that people who are peacefully protesting, who are merely exercising their First Amendment rights, are clearly not engaging in rioting.”
Scott was among demonstrators who converged in downtown Louisville to express their disagreement with the grand jury decision. Many marched along Louisville’s streets chanting “Breonna Taylor, say her name,” and “no justice, no peace.”
Taylor was shot multiple times after her boyfriend opened fire as officers entered her home during a narcotics raid on the night of March 13, authorities said. Taylor’s boyfriend said he didn’t know who was coming in and fired in self-defense. One officer was wounded.
A coroner’s report obtained Monday says Taylor was shot five times and died of multiple gunshot wounds. It says she was hit in the torso, her upper left extremity and both lower extremities. She tested negative for drugs and alcohol.
Scott, the state’s only Black woman representative, was arrested and charged Thursday night with the felony of first-degree rioting as well as unlawful assembly and failure to disperse, which are misdemeanor offenses.
Police said Scott was in a group whose members damaged buildings and set fire to a library.
Scott called the charges “ludicrous” and said she would never be involved in setting fire to a library. She said she was arrested as she walked with her daughter to the sanctuary of a church.
Kentucky law defines a riot as a public disturbance involving five or more people “which by tumultuous and violent conduct creates grave danger of damage or injury to property or persons or substantially obstructs law enforcement or other government function.”
The law defines first-degree rioting as knowingly participating in a riot that causes injury to a person who is not rioting or causes substantial property damage.
Scott said she and her daughter were driving from a protest to a church that offered refuge to people who would otherwise be caught violating the curfew when police blocked their route, so they parked and walked to the church instead. Officers then converged on them to make arrests before the curfew took effect, Scott said.
“LMPD swarmed us,” Scott said. “They started yelling, ‘Circle ’em, circle ’em.’ They wouldn’t let us leave to go back to our vehicle. And they wouldn’t let us literally cross the street to get to the church and sanctuary.”
Willner said Scott’s arrest “raises the question of how many others have been accused of rioting in the first degree — which is a felony — who are facing loss of voting rights, simply by being present.”
“We can make the language much clearer so that in order for a person to be convicted for riot in the first degree, it should be clear that they participated in the unlawful action by engaging in violent or destructive acts or by complicitly encouraging others to engage in violent or destructive acts,” she said.
Republicans have overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Kentucky legislature.
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Macron Meets With Belarus Opposition Leader Tsikhanouskaya
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday pledged European support for the people of Belarus after he met with opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. The talks took place in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, where Tsikhanouskaya fled after an August presidential election in Belarus sparked a political crisis. Many in Belarus reject the official results of the election that gave another term to longtime President Alexander Lukashenko, and in the weeks following the vote thousands have protested. The European Union said last week it does not recognize Lukashenko as president, and Macron has said he must step down.
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S. Korea Says Fisheries Official Killed by N. Korean Troops Was Trying to Defect
South Korea says the civilian government official shot and killed by North Korean troops last week at a maritime border was trying to defect to the North. Yoon Sung-hyun, the South Korean Coast Guard’s chief of investigation and intelligence, said Monday in Seoul they reached the conclusion based on military intelligence and other evidence gathered from the scene. The official, identified only as a 47-year-old employee of South Korea’s fisheries agency, was reported missing while on duty on a fishing boat north of the western sea border, known as the Northern Limit Line. Yoon said it was unlikely the man lost his footing or attempted suicide, as he was wearing a life jacket and hanging onto a floatation device when he was spotted by North Korean troops. He said the direction of the tidal currents on the day the man went missing suggests he could not have reached the point where he was found unless he swam.A South Korean army soldier comes out from their military guard post in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Friday, June 19, 2020.The official told the North Korean troops he wanted to defect, Yoon said, adding that the troops knew the official’s personal details, including his name, age, hometown and height. Yoon said the official was thousands of dollars in debt, but could not say if that was the reason he was trying to defect. The official’s brother has said it was more likely that he fell into the sea by accident. According to the South Korean military’s version of events, the man was questioned and shot to death, and his body then doused with oil and set on fire after being intercepted at sea by North Korean troops. But a statement from North Korea says the border troops, following anti-coronavirus guidelines, fired 10 gunshots at the man from a distance. When they approached his flotation device, they found only blood. They then set the floating device on fire, the statement said. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issued a rare apology for the incident last week, saying the man’s death was “unsavory” and “should not have happened.” Seoul is calling on the two countries to undertake a joint probe into the incident.
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Illicit Financial Flows Rob African Coffers of $89 Billion a Year
UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD ) economists say the vast sums of money flowing out of Africa through illegal, corrupt practices are undermining progress made by African countries to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.UNCTAD’s just released Economic Development in Africa Report 2020 estimates illicit financial flows out of Africa are costing the continent $89 billion annually.The economists say the scale and scope of illicit capital flight, which is equivalent to 3.7 percent of Africa’s gross domestic product, and the economic consequence of COVID-19, threaten to reverse gains made in health, education and other areas. Nigerian Vice President, Oluyemi Osinbajo warned that the illicit financial flows out of Africa also undermine the foundations of democracy, provide financial incentives for terrorist activities, and fuel conflict on the continent.”The enormity of efforts required to tackle illicit financial flows is evidenced in the many dimensions the scourge presents itself,” he said by video conference from Lagos, Nigeria. “It manifests through harmful tax policies and practices, abusive transfer pricing, trade mispricing and mis-invoicing, legal exploitation of natural resources, as well as official corruption and organized crime. UNCTAD reports the annual $89 billion outflow from Africa nearly matches the combined total annual inflows of official development assistance and foreign direct investment. UNCTAD Secretary General, Mukhisa Kituyi said Africa needs an estimated $200 billion a year to achieve the SDGs, but only about half that amount is available. He said illicit financial flows represent a major drain on capital and revenues in Africa and this puts development prospects on the continent at risk.”Countries with high illicit financial flows invest about 25 percent less in health, 58 percent less in education than comparable countries on the continent,” Kituyi said. “And, half of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa do not have sufficiently developed domestic transfer pricing rules and regulations in their jurisprudence.”That, Kituyi said, is a handicap for governments that have limited capacity to challenge multi-national enterprises in their domestic courts on these illegal practices. The report finds tackling capital flight and illicit financial flows would provide a large potential source of money to finance investments in infrastructure, education, health and productive capacity.UNCTAD economists said curbing illicit capital flight could generate enough capital by 2030 to finance nearly half of the $2.4 trillion needed by sub-Saharan African countries for climate change adaptation
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Lifting of Sanctions Against Mali Hits a Snag
The lifting of crippling economic sanctions against Mali by a bloc of 15-West African countries will come later than first thought, even after the appointment of Mali’s new transitional civilian prime minister, Moctar Ouane. ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Mali shortly after last month’s coup that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The group said they would lift sanctions after civilian leaders were appointed during the transition period. But the French News Press reports a sticking point with West African leaders may be junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita’s appointment as the transitional vice president. Goita was among the junta leaders involved in the coup. ECOWAS envoy and Nigerian ex-president Goodluck Jonathan said in a statement that the military leaders have yet to satisfy ECOWAS’ demand that a civilian be named as vice president. West African leaders are expected to make a decision on their next step after Jonathan submits a formal report to the leader of ECOWAS, which will be reviewed by the member countries.
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Presidential Campaign Focuses on Trump’s Taxes Again
New reported revelations that President Donald Trump paid little in federal taxes, along with the president’s unsubstantiated allegations of mail-in voting fraud, and the political battle to name a new conservative Supreme Court justice before the November election, have shifted media focus of the U.S. presidential campaign away from the coronavirus pandemic. VOA’s Brian Padden reports on how both Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are reacting to these issues as they prepare for the first of three presidential debates on Tuesday, and how all this might impact the race.
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