The United States is requiring senior Chinese diplomats to receive prior approval before visiting U.S. university campuses and meeting with local U.S. government officials, citing the need for reciprocity between the two countries.
The new measures come as Washington says Chinese authorities have imposed significant restrictions on American diplomats working in China.
“The Chinese Communist Party has implemented a system of opaque approval processes designed to prevent American diplomats from conducting regular business, attending events, meetings and connecting with the Chinese people, especially on university campuses and via the press and social media,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Wednesday in a press briefing.
Cultural events with an audience larger than 50 people hosted by the Chinese Embassy and consular posts outside of mission properties will also require prior approval from the State Department.
The U.S. is also working to ensure all official Chinese Embassy and consular social media accounts are properly identified as Chinese government accounts.
The latest moves come as the U.S. Embassy in China is denied unfettered access to Chinese social media, and as Chinese citizens are blocked from using social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.
Pompeo on Wednesday said the new requirements are “a direct response” to China’s “excessive restraints” already placed on American diplomats, with the goal of providing “further transparency” on the Chinese government’s practices.
“Should the PRC (People’s Republic of China) eliminate the restrictions imposed on U.S. diplomats, we stand ready to reciprocate,” said Pompeo in a statement.
The new measures follow an announcement from last October that all Chinese diplomats and Chinese officials traveling to the U.S. on official business would be required to give the State Department advance notice of meetings with local, state and federal officials, as well as educational and research institutions.
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Month: September 2020
Putin Critic Poisoned by Soviet-Era Nerve Agent, Germany Says
Germany said Wednesday that tests performed on specimens taken from Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny showed the presence of the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. A special German military laboratory had shown proof of “a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group,” Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in a statement. FILE – Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny takes part in a rally in Moscow, Feb. 29, 2020.Navalny fell ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow on August 20 and, after an emergency landing, at first was taken to a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk before later being flown for treatment and tests at a Berlin hospital. The 44-year-old Navalny is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s staunchest critics and an anti-corruption activist. The Kremlin has denied claims by Navalny’s allies in Russia that authorities poisoned him, calling it “empty noise.” Russian doctors who treated Navalny in Siberia contested the German hospital’s conclusion, saying they had ruled out poisoning and that their tests for poisonous substances came back negative. Novichok is the same nerve agent that was used to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain in 2018. Seibert said the German government will inform the European Union and NATO about its Navalny test results and consult with them on “an appropriate joint response.”
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14 Terror Attack Suspects on Trial in Paris
Fourteen alleged associates of two jihadist terrorists went on trial Wednesday in Paris for allegedly helping them carry out deadly attacks in 2015, including one on the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. The attack on the magazine’s offices was the first in a series of incidents over three days in January 2015, marking the beginning of a surge in violence by Islamic State in Europe. Seventeen people were killed. Brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi went on a rampage in the magazine’s offices on January 7, shooting 12 people to death in the name of al-Qaida before fleeing. The magazine had published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad years before. A man looks at a painting by French street artist Christian Guemy, a.k.a. C215, in tribute to the members of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo attack by jihadist gunmen in January 2015, in Paris, Sept. 2, 2020.Two days later, on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath, Amedy Coulibaly, a Malian-French man, attacked the Hyper Cacher supermarket, killing four hostages in the name of Islamic State as the Kouachi brothers seized control of a printing office outside Paris. The attackers were killed that day during police raids. Coulibaly was later found to be responsible for the random death of a policewoman the previous day. Lassana Bathily, who saved hostages during the attack on the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket, arrives for the opening of the trial of the 2015 Paris attacks, at a Paris courthouse, France, Sept. 2, 2020.A separate network of French and Belgian fighters for Islamic State attacked Paris later in 2015, killing 130 people at the Bataclan concert hall, the national stadium, and in bars and restaurants. The suspects on trial are accused of helping with the logistics of the January attacks, including buying weapons and cars. Most of the suspects said they believed they were helping to plan an ordinary crime. As the trial opened under tight security, nearby newsstands sold the latest issue of Charlie Hebdo, which includes reprints of the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad cited by the gunmen who murdered members of the magazine’s editorial staff.
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Sudan Refugees Face Life-threatening Risks from Floods, Coronavirus, UN Says
The U.N. refugee agency says heavy flooding in Sudan is putting the lives of tens of thousands of refugees, internally displaced people, and host communities at increased risk at a time when the coronavirus pandemic is spreading. An estimated 125,000 refugees and internally displaced people are affected by Sudan’s worst flooding in a century. The U.N. refugee agency says the situation is particularly bad in the regions of East Sudan, White Nile, Darfur and Khartoum. The agency says shelters have been washed away in the torrential rains, infrastructure has been destroyed and latrines have collapsed, heightening the risk of disease. Officials say roads have become too muddy for traffic to pass through, making it impossible to deliver emergency aid to many in desperate need. UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo says the refugees and displaced people are in dire need of shelter and other relief. She says some have lost all their possessions and face the prospect of starting over. “Hygiene and sanitary levels have plummeted due to flooded latrines and contaminated water supplies, preventing people from exercising necessary COVID prevention measures such as regular hand washing. Some health facilities have been damaged, hampering their ability to treat patients should the transmission of COVID or other viruses or disease increase,” she said.Mantoo notes many affected by the flooding have previously been displaced by conflict and have been unable to earn a living because of COVID-19 restrictions. She says they are living on a knife’s edge and struggling to meet their most basic needs. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus. FILE – A trainee leaves class to wash his hands, at a training session for community health workers conducted by the national NGO “Health Link” in Gumbo, on the outskirts of Juba, South Sudan, Aug. 18, 2020.The World Health Organization says Sudan has more than 13,000 coronavirus infections, including 833 deaths. The UNHCR and other aid agencies are working with the Sudanese government to provide emergency aid wherever possible to refugees, other displaced people and host communities throughout the country. Officials say the devastation caused by this historic flooding will be long-lasting and people will require support for some time. The UNHCR says it is short of cash and is appealing to international donors for support. The agency notes it has received just 38 percent of the $275 million it needs for its humanitarian operation until the end of the year.
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US Vows Continued Support for Freedom in Belarus
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun says Washington and its European partners will continue to press Belarusian authorities to free political prisoners, end violence against protesters, and allow citizens to choose their government through a free and fair election.Speaking in an interview with RFE/RL by telephone on September 1 following a European tour that brought him to Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, and Austria last week, Biegun also warned that a Russian military intervention in Belarus would have a “very negative” impact on Moscow’s ties with the United States and European countries.“You, the people of Belarus, have reminded us how important democracy and freedom are. We are in awe of the courage that you have shown, and we wish you the very best,” he said, vowing that the United States and its international partners “will work as closely as possible to ensure that you have the right to select your own government through a free and fair election under independent observation that is guaranteed to you by the Belarusian Constitution and by relevant international documents.”“Please know that you have the support of the world as you advance your goals toward that end.”WATCH: VOA Interview with Belarus opposition leaderSorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 13 MB480p | 18 MB540p | 23 MB720p | 55 MB720p | 66 MBOriginal | 978 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioBelarusian Opposition Leader Rejects Western HelpBiegun’s comments came as President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is showing no signs of giving in to hundreds of thousands of citizens who have taken to the streets across Belarus since the results of the August 9 presidential election were published.Lukashenka, who has kept a tight grip on Belarus for 26 years, was declared the winner of the vote, which was widely viewed as rigged in his favor, with just above 80 percent of the ballots.The demonstrators want the 66-year-old Belarusian leader to step down, release all political prisoners, and hold new elections.Western criticismThe United States and the European Union have criticized the vote as neither free nor fair and have called on the government to begin a dialogue with the opposition.“We don’t see any progress at all” in the crisis, Biegun told RFE/RL, adding that the United States and the international community “will continue to press the Belarusian government” to meet its obligations under the charter of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.“Our basic demands are the immediate release of the unjustly detained…[and] an end the violence against protesters,” he said.Amid Western condemnation of the post-election crackdown, Russian officials have backed Lukashenka and condemned what they said were attempts from abroad to take advantage of unrest in the former Soviet republic.Russian President Vladimir Putin last week announced that a contingent of Russian security forces was prepared to deploy to Belarus in the event of “looting” by demonstrators.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met his Belarusian counterpart in Moscow on September 2, has claimed that “no one is making a secret of the fact that this is about geopolitics, the fight for the post-Soviet space.”However, Biegun told RFE/RL that the United States has “never seen Belarus as a contest between East and West, nor do we see it in that manner now.”“This is a contest between the Belarusian leader and his own people. And we’re trying to work with our partners to keep this at the front of this,” he said.Biegun also said he had told Russian officials during his visit to Moscow that “while we did not seek or see this as a geopolitical contest, there would be substantial consequences for the relationship between Russia and the United States, between Russia and Europe” in the event of a deployment of Russian forces to Belarus.“The last four years has been very challenging for U.S.-Russian relations, but it is possible that it could be worse. And one of the things that would limit the ability of any president, regardless of the outcome of [the U.S. presidential election in November], in developing a more cooperative relationship with Russia, in any sphere, would be direct Russian intervention in Belarus.”
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Markey Defeats Kennedy in Massachusetts Senate Primary
U.S. Senator Ed Markey won a high-profile Democratic primary Tuesday, defeating a challenge by Massachusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy III.The 39-year-old Kennedy had cast the 74-year-old Markey as out of touch after a long career in Congress and drew a late endorsement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.But Markey had strong popularity in Massachusetts and had the support of prominent progressives in the Democratic Party, including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.Markey will be a strong favorite in the general election in November when he faces Republican candidate Kevin O’Connor.Several Democratic House incumbents also fended off primary challengers Tuesday.House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, Richard Neal defeated Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse in a race in the state’s 1st Congressional District and will serve a new term starting in January since he faces no opponent on the November ballot.In the 6th Congressional District, Congressman Seth Moulton, who briefly ran in the race for president before dropping out last year, defeated two challengers.In the 8th Congressional District, incumbent Congressman Stephen Lynch defeated infectious disease expert Robbie Goldstein.
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CDC Directs Halt to Renter Evictions to Prevent Virus Spread
The Trump administration has issued a directive halting the eviction of certain renters though the end of 2020 to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Federal, state and local governments have approved eviction moratoriums during the course of the pandemic for many renters, but those protections are expiring rapidly. A recent report from one think tank, the Aspen Institute, stated that more than 20 million renters live in households that have suffered COVID-19-related job loss and concluded that millions more are at risk of eviction in the next several months.
The administration’s action stems from an executive order that President Donald Trump issued in early August. It instructed federal health officials to consider measures to temporarily halt evictions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention followed up Tuesday by declaring that any landlord shall not evict any “covered person” from any residential property for failure to pay rent.
Senior administration officials explained that the director of the CDC has broad authority to take actions deemed reasonably necessary to prevent the spread of a communicable disease.
Renters covered through the executive order must meet four criteria. They must:
— Have an income of $198,000 or less for couples filing jointly, or $99,000 for single filers.
— Demonstrate they have sought government assistance to make their rental payments.
— Affirmatively declare they are unable to pay rent because of COVID-19 hardships.
— Affirm they are likely to become homeless if they are evicted.
Officials said local courts would still resolve disputes between renters and landowners about whether the moratorium applies in a particular case.
Brian Morgenstern, a deputy White House press secretary, said Tuesday’s announcement means that people struggling to pay rent due to COVID-19 would not have to worry about being evicted and risking the spread of the disease or exposure to it.
Trump’s Democratic rival, Joe Biden, called on Aug. 1 for Congress to enact a “broad emergency housing support program” to prevent evictions and shore up landlords. Congress enacted an unprecedented $2.3 trillion pandemic rescue package in March that paused evictions in most federal subsidized housing, but that moratorium has expired and Congress and the White House have been in a monthslong stalemate over new relief legislation.
Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, said the order will provide relief for millions of anxious families, but added that the action delays rather than prevents evictions.
“While an eviction moratorium is essential, it is a half-measure that extends a financial cliff for renters to fall off when the moratorium expires and back rent is owed,” Yentel tweeted.
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Pandemic Sends Australia Into First Recession Since 1991
Australia has fallen into its first recession in nearly two decades due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data released Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate the country’s economy shrank a full 7% in the second quarter spanning April to June, coming after a mild 0.3% decline in the three months before. The second quarter numbers marked the biggest downturn since records began being kept in 1959, and was far worse than the 5.9% forecast. This is the first recession for Australia since 1991. The economy was already under pressure from the massive wildfires earlier this year that destroyed more than 3,000 homes and millions of hectares of land. “Today’s national accounts confirm the devastating impact on the Australian economy from COVID-19,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra. “Our record run of 28 consecutive years of economic growth has now officially come to an end.” A woman walks past a lease sign at a commercial building in Sydney, Sept. 2, 2020. Australia’s economy has suffered its sharpest quarterly drop since the Great Depression because of the COVID-19 pandemic.The release of the economic data comes as lawmakers in Australia’s southern Victoria state approved a bill to extend its state of emergency for another six months. Residents in the nation’s second-most populous state and its capital, Melbourne, have been under strict lockdown orders in recent weeks due to a dramatic surge of new coronavirus cases. Australia has a total of 25,923 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 663 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracking website.
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European Markets Surge Wednesday, Asian Indices Rebound
European markets are making major gains Wednesday, while Asian markets rebounded from a sluggish start to finish mostly higher. The FTSE index in London is up 1.6% in the midday session, while both Paris’s CAC-40 and Frankfurt’s DAX indices are soaring 2.2% higher. Tokyo’s Nikkei index finished its trading session 0.4% higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed down 0.2%, and Shanghai’s Composite index was 0.1% lower. The S&P/ASX in Sydney soared 1.8%. Mumbai’s Sensex finished 0.4% higher. Seoul’s KOSPI index ended 0.6% higher, while the TSEC index in Taipei was down nearly four points, but was virtually unchanged percentage-wise. In commodities trading, gold is selling at $1,964.30 an ounce, down 0.7%. U.S. crude oil is trading at $43.02 per barrel, up 0.6%, and Brent crude is trading at $45.90 per barrel, up 0.7%. All three major U.S. indices are trending positively in futures trading ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street.
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In COVID-19 Migration Surge, Africans Take a More Dangerous Route
The shaky video taken with a mobile phone shows sunbathers on a beach in Gran Canaria gazing out to sea at the boat heads to land. A coast guard vessel, Salvamar Menkalinan, races to reach the 49 migrants crammed into one fragile boat. Meanwhile, tourists amuse themselves on jet-skis. Two very different worlds collide as African migrants get their first sight of the Europe they have risked their lives to reach. Once, these precarious dinghies were a rare sight in the Canary Islands. Now they are an almost daily occurrence. Traffickers have switched routes, moving their human cargo along the dangerous route between western Africa to Spain’s archipelago in the Atlantic instead of across the Mediterranean to the southern coast of the country’s mainland. So far this year, there has been a 520% rise in migrant arrivals to the Canary Islands compared with the same period in 2019, with 3,448 migrants reaching the seven islands up until August 15, according to the Spanish government figures. In comparison, there was a 26.6% decrease in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Spain this year compared with the same period in 2019, year, with 10,716 arriving in Europe compared to 14,597 last year. The more perilous Atlantic route has claimed its toll. A total of 239 migrants have died trying to reach the Canaries between January 1 and August 19, compared to 210 during all of last year, and 43 in 2018, according to the International Organization for Migration, IOM. “It is the grim toll which the sea takes. This is a very dangerous route,” Maria Greco, of the migrant rights group Entre Mares, told VOA in an interview. “The longest route is between Africa and the island of Fuerteventura which can involve a journey up to five days at sea.” Traffickers Innovate Traffickers have lowered their prices from around $2,377 to about $951. The boats depart not only from Morocco and Mauritania, the two nations closest to the archipelago, but also from Senegal and Gambia, over 1,000 kilometers further south. Most migrants attempting the crossing come from Africa’s Sahel region and Western Africa, Greco said.African migrants wait to be assisted by crew members of the Louise Michel and Astral rescue vessels, after being located sailing adrift on an overcrowded rubber boat, 70 miles southwest Malta, in the Central Mediterranean sea, Aug. 29, 2020.But some arrivals have originated from as far away as South Sudan and the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean, she added. The change in routes owes nothing to the way the COVID-19 pandemic has forced countries to close their borders and is due more to international politics, says Ms. Greco. She believes governments play a “macabre game” by influencing how the traffickers work. “The route to the Canary Islands is not new. In September last year, Frontex (the EU frontier security force) noted that the route was changing. Investments by Spain and other EU countries in countries like Morocco – where the migrants had come from – has meant these countries have tightened security. It has forced the traffickers to go elsewhere.” The decision of Morocco to move migrants away from its north shore in September 2019 to prevent them from setting off in dinghies or even toy boats towards Spain proved crucial, Txema Santana, of the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid, CEAR, said. Anti-Migration Measures Anxious to halt the tide of migrants arriving on Spanish beaches, the European Union paid Morocco $463 million to support reforms including border management – shorthand for aid for clamping down on migrant departures. Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said at the time: “Morocco has long been an essential partner of the European Union with which we share borders and aspirations. “Faced with shared challenges, the time has come to give new impetus to our relationship through deeper and more diversified cooperation, including towards Africa, in order to link our futures and bring our peoples closer together.” Morocco completed its side of the deal and moved migrants away from its northern shore in September to the south of the country. Similar deals had been struck between the European Union and Libya and Turkey, which have also served as launching pads for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. “If you move them away from the north, you push them south. And the Canaries are in the south,” Santana said. “The south of Morocco is near the Western Sahara and Mauritania – two places where the migrants can get on boats to leave for the Canary Islands.” One migrant dies for every 16 who reach the archipelago alive, Mr Santana estimates. “People set off on packed, shaky boats which are driven by people without experience,” he said. Migrants who arrive in the islands are tested for COVID-19 and anyone found to be infected must quarantine. However, Santana said that migrants can wait up to six months for their asylum cases to be considered and, meanwhile, have to live in cramped, unhygienic conditions. “I don’t see any indication that the situation will change quickly,” he said. A spokeswoman for the Spanish government said, “We are processing cases as fast as we can be we have seen a large surge in cases recently.” The Canary Islands have been a hotspot for migrants before — in 2006, some 30,000 migrants managed to reach the archipelago before stepped-up Spanish patrols then slowed the pace. At the time, Spain struck a deal with African countries that were the source of these migrants, promising financial aid in return for development programs which made it less attractive for them to leave their home countries. In an unusual move, Madrid opened its only police station on foreign soil, posting five officers permanently in Mauritania to halt the flow of migrants. Together, both measures halted the surge of migrants to the Canary Islands – until now.
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US Declines to Take Part in Global Effort to Develop Global COVID-19 Vaccine
The United States says it will not participate in a global initiative to develop, manufacture and equally distribute a vaccine for COVID-19 because the World Health Organization is taking a leading role in the effort. More than 170 countries are in talks to participate in the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility, dubbed Covax, a joint project undertaken by the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, an organization founded by Bill and Melinda Gates to vaccinate children in the world’s poorest countries.In this Aug. 14, 2020, file photo, laboratory technicians work at the mAbxience biopharmaceutical company on an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and the laboratory AstraZeneca in Garin, Argentina.President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the WHO back in July, after claiming the agency mishandled the outbreak and showed deference to China, where the virus was first detected late last year. White House spokesman Judd Deere issued a statement saying the United States “will continue to engage our international partners to ensure we defeat this virus, but we will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China.” Surie Moon, the co-director of the Global Health Center at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, told The Washington Post that when the United States decides not “to participate in any sort of multilateral effort to secure vaccines, it’s a real blow.” The Trump administration has launched its own COVID-19 vaccine initiative, Operation Warp Speed, that aims to deliver 300 million doses of an approved vaccine by next January. The initiative has distributed billions of dollars to a handful of pharmaceutical companies to develop, manufacture and test a potential vaccine.Senator Roy Blunt, R-Mo. and Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., speak with Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the NIH, after he testified at a hearing on the plan to research, manufacture and distribute a coronavirus vaccine, known as Operation Warp Speed.”This president will spare no expense to ensure that any new vaccine maintains our own FDA’s gold standard for safety and efficacy, is thoroughly tested, and saves lives,” Deere said in his statement, referring to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Trump administration’s initiative is one of many around the world aiming to quickly introduce a COVID-19 vaccine, with a handful currently in late-stage human trials. But recent remarks by Dr. Stephen Hahn, the FDA commissioner, that the agency would consider authorizing an emergency use of a vaccine before the completion of late-stage human trials raised concerns among WHO officials Monday. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, said issuing such an authorization “has to be done with a great deal of seriousness and reflection. It’s not something that you do very lightly.” In a related development, a panel of government health experts says there is no evidence to date that convalescent blood plasma is an effective treatment for coronavirus patients to help them build immunity. Convalescent blood plasma comes from patients who have recovered from the coronavirus and is rich in antibodies. The FDA approved an emergency authorization of the use of convalescent blood plasma on August 23, a decision President Trump described as “truly historic.” But a panel of more than three dozen experts for the National Institutes of Health issued a statement Tuesday that there is “insufficient data to recommend either for or against the use” of convalescent blood plasma, and says doctors should not rely on it as a standard of care until more studies have been conducted. A day after the emergency authorization was announced, FDA Commissioner Hahn, the FDA commissioner, apologized for apparently overstating the benefits of using convalescent blood plasma. Dr. Hahn reaffirmed claims made by Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar of a 35% decrease in mortality among those younger than 80 years of age who were not on a respirator, a month after receiving the treatment early in the course of their disease. But critics said the administration’s claim was a gross exaggeration of preliminary findings of a study conducted by the prestigious Mayo Clinic, noting that the study lacked a comparison group of untreated COVID-19 patients. Dr. Hahn conceded this fact in a tweet apologizing for his remarks, explaining that he should have said that the data shows “a relative risk reduction not an absolute risk reduction.”
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US, Mexico to Hold Talks on Fruit and Vegetable Trade
The United States and Mexico plan to hold talks within 90 days to discuss U.S. concerns that imports of Mexican fruits and vegetables could be harming U.S. farmers. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s office announced Tuesday the United States wants to specifically look at imports of strawberries, bell peppers and other seasonal perishable goods, and that the review could lead to the imposition of tariffs. “President Trump recognizes the challenges faced by American farmers and is committed to promoting and securing fair trade and a level playing field for all American producers,” Lighthizer said in a statement. Mexico’s economy ministry committed to participating in the talks and, in a statement, said it wants to “find mutually satisfactory solutions to the concerns raised by the agricultural industry of both countries.” Mexico also said it would seek to “defend the preferential access of Mexican agricultural exports to the United States.” The two countries, along with Canada, began a new trade deal called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement two months ago, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement that had governed trade in the region for 26 years.
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Despite COVID-19 Concerns, N. Korea Preps for Major Military Parade
Regional defense analysts say North Korea has apparently begun preparations for a major military parade expected next month, when they say it may unveil a major new weapons system. Satellite imagery from August 31 shows thousands of troops in formation and hundreds of vehicles parked near the Mirim Parade Training Ground in the eastern part of the capital, Pyongyang, where parade rehearsals are usually conducted. 38 North, a US think tank website that published the satellite imagery, says the parade training appears to have started later than usual, perhaps because of anti-pandemic measures or severe weather that has recently battered the North. North Korea has long been expected to hold a large military parade on October 10, the 75th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. Such anniversaries are major events in the single-party, quasi-Stalinist dictatorship. New weapon? The anniversary is also an opportunity for North Korea to showcase a new weapon – perhaps a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile, according to some experts – just weeks ahead of the United States presidential election. “The military parade is likely to bring new solid fuel ICBM,” said Kim Dong-yub, a North Korea military specialist and professor at Seoul’s Kyungnam University. Others say the North may show off a new submarine-launched ballistic missile, or SLBM. Either technology adds an unpredictable new component to North Korea’s arsenal. Solid-fuel missiles are more easily transportable and take less time to prepare for launch. SLBMs are also mobile and easier to hide. At the beginning of the year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he would soon show off a “new strategic weapon.”A man walks past a TV screen showing a local news program about North Korea’s reported firing of an ICBM, at Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, July 5, 2017.COVID-19, other concerns But since those comments, North Korea has had to deal with devastating floods during a worse than usual monsoon season, international sanctions that continue to hold back its economy, and the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. North Korea, for months, insisted it had no coronavirus infections. But it has quietly backed away from that assertion, especially after claiming in July that a returning North Korean defector may have brought the virus into the country after sneaking across the border from the South. Coronavirus concerns, as well as recent floods, may be why the parade preparations appear to be smaller than usual this year, said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. “But it can also be seen as a sign that COVID-19 is under control in the Pyongyang area,” he noted. Provocation coming? North Korean state media have vaguely hinted at a provocation timed for the U.S. election. But Pyongyang may be reluctant to risk upsetting the chances of nuclear talks eventually resuming. Analysts say rather than conduct a major provocation, such as a missile launch or nuclear test, North Korea may prefer to unveil a new weapon during a parade, ostensibly a less provocative move. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed indifference to North Korea’s lesser displays of military strength, such as short-range ballistic missile launches, even while warning Pyongyang against resuming long-range missile or nuclear tests. It is unclear how Mr. Trump would respond to a display of new weapons at a parade. But Professor Kim of Kyungnam University cautions the event would not likely be directly aimed at Washington. “In the United States, they are always trying to connect North Korea’s behavior with them, but it doesn’t work that way,” he said. Pyongyang often uses the displays to try to gain leverage ahead of negotiations. North Korea, he points out, has announced it is not currently interested in resuming dialogue with Washington. President Trump and Kim have met three times, including in June 2018, when they signed a vague statement about working toward denuclearization. But working-level talks failed to make progress and North Korea eventually walked away. The U.S. leader has said he is open to meeting with Kim before the November election, but North Korean officials have indicated they have no interest in such a summit. In July, Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s increasingly powerful sister, said in her “personal opinion…a summit between the U.S. and North Korea will not take place this year.” However, she said the relationship between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un remains strong and has likely prevented “extreme provocations.” “We have no intention of threatening the United States,” she added. “If they don’t touch us and hurt us, everything will flow normally,” she said. Lee Juhyun contributed to this report.
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Facebook, Twitter Suspend Russian Network Ahead of Election
Facebook said Tuesday that it removed a small network of accounts and pages linked to Russia’s Internet Research Agency, the “troll factory” that has used social media accounts to sow political discord in the U.S. since the 2016 presidential election. Twitter also suspended five related accounts. The company said the tweets from these Russia-linked accounts “were low quality and spammy” and that most received few, if any, likes or retweets. The people behind the accounts recruited “unwitting” freelance journalists to post in English and Arabic, mainly targeting left-leaning audiences. Facebook said Tuesday the network’s activity focused on the U.S., U.K., Algeria and Egypt and other English-speaking countries and countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The company said it started investigating the network based on information from the FBI about its off-Facebook activities. The network was in the early stages of development, Facebook added, and saw “nearly no engagement” on Facebook before it was removed. The network consisted of 13 Facebook accounts and two pages. About 14,000 accounts followed one or more of the pages, though the English-language page had a little over 200 followers, Facebook said.FILE – An man looks at a Facebook app on his smartphone in Amritsar, India, March 22, 2018.Still, its presence points to ongoing Russian efforts to disrupt the U.S. election and sow political discord in an already divided country. To evade detection, the people behind the network recruited Americans to do their bidding, likely unknowingly, both as journalists and as people authorized to purchase political advertisements in the U.S. Facebook said the people behind the network posted about global events ranging from racial justice in the U.S. and the U.K., NATO, the QAnon conspiracy, President Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. The network spent about $480 on advertising on Facebook, primarily in U.S. dollars. However, Facebook said less than $2 worth of those ads targeted the U.S. The network’s posts directed people to a website called PeaceData, which claims to be a global news organization that, according to a report by research firm Graphika, “took a left-wing stance, opposing what it portrayed as Western imperialism and the excesses of capitalism.” The FBI said in a statement Tuesday that it provided information to the platforms “to better protect against threats to the nation’s security and our democratic processes.” “While technology companies independently make decisions regarding the content of their platforms and the safety of their members, the FBI is actively engaged with our federal partners, election officials, and the private sector to mitigate foreign threats to our nation’s security and our elections,” the statement said. Separately, Twitter said Tuesday it will start adding context to its trending section, which shows some of the most popular topics on the service at any given moment. Experts and even Twitter’s own employees have expressed concerns that the trending section can be gamed to spread misinformation and abuse. Twitter uses algorithms and human employees to determine what topics are trending — it is not simply the most popular topics, but topics that are newly popular at any given time. But it’s not difficult to artificially elevate trends. In the coming weeks, Twitter said, users in the U.S., U.K., Brazil, India and several other countries will see brief descriptions added to some trends to add context. “To be clear, we know there is more work to do to improve trends and the context updates we’re announcing today are just a small step in the right direction,” said Liz Lee, a product trust partner and Frank Oppong, a product manager, in a blog post. “We need to make trends better and we will.”
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Notorious Khmer Rouge Prison Commander Comrade Duch Dead at 77
The Khmer Rouge commander known as ‘Comrade Duch’, Pol Pot’s premier executioner and security chief who oversaw the mass murder of at least 14,000 Cambodians at the notorious Tuol Sleng prison, died on Wednesday. He was 77. Kaing Guek Eav or ‘Comrade Duch’ was the first member of the Khmer Rouge leadership to face trial for his role within a regime blamed for at least 1.7 million deaths in the “killing fields” of Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Duch died at 00:52 a.m. (1752 GMT on Tuesday) at the Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh, Khmer Rouge tribunal spokesman Neth Pheaktra said. He gave no details of the cause, but Duch had been ill in recent years. In 2010, a U.N. tribunal found him guilty of mass murder, torture and crimes against humanity at Tuol Sleng prison, the former Phnom Penh high school which still stands as a memorial to the atrocities committed inside. He was given a life sentence two years later after his appeal that he was just a junior official following orders was rejected. Duch – by the time of his trial a born-again Christian – expressed regret for his crimes. Under Duch’s leadership, detainees at Tuol Sleng prison, codenamed “S-21,” were ordered to suppress cries of agony as Khmer Rouge guards, many of whom were teenagers, sought to extract confessions for non-existent crimes through torture. The guards were instructed to “smash to bits” traitors and counter-revolutionaries. For the Khmer Rouge, that could mean anyone from school teachers to children, to pregnant women and “intellectuals” identified as such for wearing glasses. Beneath Tuol Sleng’s chaotic facade, Duch – himself a former math teacher – had an obsessive eye for detail and kept his school-turned-jail meticulously organized. “Nothing in the former schoolhouse took place without Duch’s approval. His control was total,” wrote photographer and author Nic Dunlop, who found Duch in 1999 hiding near the Thai border, two decades after the Khmer Rouge fell. “Not until you walk through the empty corridors of Tuol Sleng does Stalin’s idiom that one death is a tragedy – a million a statistic, take on a terrifying potency,” Dunlop wrote in his account of Duch and his atrocities, “The Lost Executioner.” At S-21, new prisoners had their mugshots taken. Hundreds are now on display within its crumbling walls. Norng Chan Phal, one of the few people to have survived S-21, was a boy when he and his parents were sent to Duch’s prison and interrogated on suspicion of having links to the Khmer Rouge’s mortal enemy, Vietnam. His parents were tortured and killed but Chan Phal survived to give testimony at Duch’s trial in 2010. “He was cooperative, he spoke to the court frankly. He apologized to all S-21 victims and asked them to open their hearts. He apologized to me too,” Chan Phal told Reuters. “He apologized. But justice is not complete.”
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In Racially Tense Kenosha, Trump Pushes Law and Order Message
Ignoring local officials’ concerns over racial tensions, President Donald Trump visited Kenosha, Wisconsin, the site of violent protests triggered by the shooting of a Black man by a white police officer last month, pushing his campaign message of law and order. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this story.
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Two OMN Journalists Freed on Bail but Colleagues Remain in Ethiopian Jail
After over 45 days in prison, Ethiopian journalist Guyo Wario was finally released on bail Tuesday. But at least three of his Oromia Media Network (OMN) colleagues remain in custody. “I am so happy for being with family now. [The] prison situation was very tough, but the court investigated my case and approved my bail. I am so happy,” he told VOA’s Horn of Africa service. A lower court ordered Wario’s release on bail a week ago, and the higher court gave the final order Monday, but paperwork delayed the release, a family member said. Wario and his colleagues were arrested as authorities cracked down after protests and violence erupted in several Oromia cities and abroad over the killing of Hachalu Hundessa, an Oromo cultural and political singer who was shot dead in Addis Ababa on June 29. Media and civil rights groups have raised concerns about Ethiopia’s responses to the unrest, including internet blocks, and theIn this image taken from OBN video, the coffin carrying Ethiopia singer Hachalu Hundessa is lowered into the ground during the funeral in Ambo, Ethiopia, Thursday July 2, 2020.OMN journalist Mohamed Siraj was released on bail Saturday but Mellese Diribsa and camera operator Nasir Adem, along with Minnesota resident IT technician Misha Adem Cirrii, remain in detention, the lawyer said. Dhaba said a court had ordered Diribsa to be released on bail, but the journalist remains in jail. Fekadu Tsega, who directs the Office of the Attorney General, told VOA that Wario was suspected of incitement, but did not specify what led to the allegation. VOA Horn of Africa’s attempts to reach officials including Tesega for further comment were not successful. Risks of contracting COVID-19 in detentionCPJ’s sub-Saharan chief Muthoki Mumo said that the health of these journalists is put at risk if authorities hold them for long periods in pretrial detention during the coronavirus pandemic. Kenyan journalist Collins Juma Osemo, also known as Yassin Juma, told VOA he contracted COVID-19 while in a detention center, after being accused of multiple charges including inciting violence. Juma was released from a quarantine facility last week. Mumo said that at least three other reporters, including journalists from the privately owned ASRAT Media, were also arrested in July. Reporter suspensionsAs well as the arrests, authorities at the end of June suspended OMN along with the broadcasters ASRAT and Dimtsi Weyane. Some reports said the outlets were suspended for three months over allegations of hate speech, inciting violence and misinformation. At least one report said the ASRAT suspension was related to a registration issue. The outlets denied the accusations. In early July, CPJ reported that the office of the federal attorney general alleged that the media outlets were fomenting conflict among ethnic communities. If OMN and other media outlets want to continue reporting, they have choices, Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority (EBA) Deputy Director-General Wondwosen Andualem was quoted as saying in a BBC Afan Oromo report. The authority advised some private media companies on several occasions to correct mistakes, Andualem said, adding, “We don’t want to ban them forever.” VOA was unable to reach EBA for comment via phone. Calls either didn’t go through because of a bad connection or were unanswered. Quoting family members and persons familiar with the situation, OMN lawyer Dhaba said authorities have also blocked the station’s bank accounts and frozen its journalists’ assets. “But we are still trying to find out which department has blocked (the) accounts,” he said. “Following Hachalu’s assassination, several documents and studio equipment were taken away by police from our Addis Ababa studio and OMN bank accounts are blocked,” Dhaba said. Individuals inside Ethiopia told VOA Horn of Africa this week that OMN is broadcasting from abroad and people can still access the station from inside Ethiopia. The arrests and shutdowns appear to signal a worrying trend just two years after what media rights groups had described as a turning point in Ethiopia’s press freedom record.
In 2018, CPJ noted that no journalists were in custody for their work and that Ethiopian authorities had restored access to over 200 websites. Mumo said incidents that have taken place are concerning when it comes to “a trajectory of press freedom in Ethiopia.” In the past two years, authorities have detained journalists, passed restrictive laws, and cut internet access during periods of unrest, civil rights groups say. VOA’s calls to the federal police commission and federal attorney general office for comment were not successful. The parliament in February passed a law that punishes “hate speech” and disinformation with hefty fines and lengthy jail terms. In a statement in December, Human Rights Watch called for Ethiopia to revise the bill, which it warned could “significantly curtail freedom of expression.” This report originated in VOA’s Horn of Africa service .
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Budapest Touts Swimming in Fast-Flowing Danube River
Thrill-seeking swimmers in Hungary recently challenged the fast-flowing waters of the Danube at an event aimed at encouraging Hungarians to take advantage of Budapest’s parks and waterways. Organizers see the event as a way to literally bring sports enthusiasts to the Hungarian capital. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the story.Produced by: Arash Arabasadi
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Serena Launches Bid for 24th Slam with Straight-Sets US Open Win
Six-time winner Serena Williams got off to a winning start Tuesday at a U.S. Open like no other, being played without spectators and with stringent measures to prevent Covid-19 infections. Williams powered past 96th-ranked Kristie Ahn 7-5, 6-3 as she launched her protracted pursuit of a record-equaling 24th singles Grand Slam title on day two at Flushing Meadows. Elsewhere, Andy Murray fought back from two sets down to win a five-set thriller against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, in his first singles Grand Slam match in 18 months because of injury and the coronavirus pandemic. Williams overcame the loss of her first service game in the opening set to advance at a virtually empty Arthur Ashe Stadium, where artwork by black artists is displayed in honor of the Black Lives Matter movement against racial injustice. “I was really happy with how I just fought for every point no matter how I was playing,” said Williams, joking that it felt like she hadn’t won a match in straight sets “since the ’90s.” It has been more than three years since Williams won her 23rd Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open – when she was already pregnant with daughter Olympia. She has come close since, reaching four major finals only to come away empty-handed. Williams needs one more to equal Margaret Court’s record, and her chances should be improved by the absence of several top players because of coronavirus concerns or injury. World number one Ashleigh Barty, the second-ranked Simona Halep and Canadian Bianca Andreescu – who stunned Williams in last year’s final – are all absent from the behind-closed-doors tournament. A title win for Williams would also see her become the most decorated women’s player at the U.S. Open in the modern era. She is currently tied with Chris Evert for most U.S. Open women’s titles with six. Andy Murray, of Great Britain, reacts after defeating Yoshihito Nishioka, of Japan, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sept. 1, 2020, in New York.Earlier, Murray secured a stunning 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 come-from-behind victory in a bruising 4 hr and 39 min encounter against the 49th-ranked Nishioka. The Scotsman, who who has barely played in 2020, said he had learnt a lot about his physical condition and the metal hip he received during surgery last year. “I’ve just played a four-and-a-half hour match when I never thought I’d be able to,” he told reporters. “I’m not sitting here with my hip throbbing and aching. I’ll be able to sleep fine tonight and things like that.” Murray will play 15th seed Canadian Felix Auger-Allassime in the second round. Navarro tributeIn early matches, 10th seed Garbine Muguruza, the 2016 French Open champion and 2017 Wimbledon winner, advanced to round two with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Japan’s Nao Havino. She dedicated the win to compatriot Carla Suarez Navarro, who revealed Tuesday that she had been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and will require six months of chemotherapy. “You know, she’s such a nice woman, so sweet, so kind, so humble. When these things happen to these good people, I feel, like, so sad about it,” said Muguruza. Also in the women’s draw, ninth seed Johanna Konta beat compatriot Heather Watson 7-6 (9/7), 6-1 in a tie dubbed the “Battle of Britain.” And 16th seed Elise Mertens of Belgium cruised into the second round with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Germany’s Laura Siegemund. U.S. hope Amanda Anisimova, seeded 22nd, also made sure of her place in the second round with a hard-fought win over Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova. And American Sofia Kenin needed just over an hour to score a 6-2, 6-2 win over unseeded Belgian Yanina Wickmayer at Louis Armstrong Stadium. Dominic Thiem, of Austria, reacts during a match against Jaume Munar, of Spain, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sept. 1, 2020, in New York.Thiem advancesIn the men’s competition, number two seed Dominic Thiem progressed to round two when opponent Jaume Munar retired after the second set at Louis Armstrong Stadium. Munar abandoned before the start of the third set, with Austria’s Thiem leading 7-6 (8/6), 6-3. Thiem and third seed Daniil Medvedev are high up in the draw due to the absence of Rafael Nadal, over coronavirus fears, and Swiss legend Roger Federer, due to injury. Thiem now faces India’s Sumit Nagal, who became the first Indian man since 2013 to the reach the second round of a Grand Slam event with a 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over Bradley Klahn of the United States. The U.S. Open is taking place in a spectator-free bubble at the US National Tennis Center in New York. Players’ movements are tightly controlled, and everyone onsite is being tested regularly to minimize the risk of infection. France’s Benoit Paire was withdrawn on the eve of the tournament Sunday after returning a positive test.
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Watchdog Warns of ‘Limited Progress’ in Africa Counterterror Fight
Terrorist organizations appear to be tightening their grip on multiple regions of Africa, despite ongoing efforts by the United States and its allies to degrade their capabilities and limit their reach.The findings, part of a new report released Tuesday from the Defense Department inspector general, come as U.S.-led efforts have been forced to adjust, and in some cases, scale back activities because of the coronavirus making its way across the continent.“The United States and its international partners made limited progress,” Acting Inspector General Sean O’Donnell wrote in the quarterly report, citing setbacks against affiliates of both al-Qaida and Islamic State, also known as IS or ISIS.Students of Government Secondary School Wuse, are seen taking the West African Examination Council 2020 exam, after the coronavirus disease lockdown in Abuja, Nigeria Aug. 17, 2020.Rather than slow terrorist groups down, the report warned the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, appears to have given many of them new opportunities to expand.“The pandemic exacerbated many of the underlying conditions that foster VEO (violent extremist organization) growth, including economic and food insecurity,” O’Donnell wrote, pointing to assessments by the United Nations that in some areas, terror groups “capitalized on the virus to undermine state government authority and continue their attacks.”Warnings about the resilience of al-Qaida and IS affiliates in Africa are not new. Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander of U.S. Africa Command, warned U.S. lawmakers months ago that such groups were “on the march” and getting increasingly ambitious.”If ISIS can carve out a new caliphate, or al-Qaida can, they will do it,” he said in March.In a report released in July, the Defense Department Inspector General reported that terrorist activity in Africa, “appears to be outpacing U.S., European and African efforts to counter it.”NEW: Extremist activity in #Africa “appears to be outpacing US, European, and African efforts to counter it” per @DoD_IG Sean O’Donnell in new report on US CT operations #alShabaab on #Somalia remains top concern – “remains adaptive, resilient, & capable” per @USAfricaCommand— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) July 17, 2020Despite some successes, including a French-led operation in June in northern Mali that killed the emir of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), with help from the U.S., several officials worry that terror hot spots in Africa are only getting hotter.One area of concern is eastern Africa, where U.S. military officials say as many as 10,000 fighters with al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab continue to enjoy freedom of movement, enabling them to carry out attacks at what the inspector general report describes as “historically high levels.”Data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project found that al-Shabab carried out 608 attacks during the three months from April through June, up from 568 such incidents during the first quarter.At the same time, poor weather conditions and a lack of resources limited the U.S. to just seven airstrikes against the terror group, compared to 33 during the first three months of the year.U.S. military officials also expressed concerns about western Africa, where al-Qaida and IS affiliates managed to expand their operations into the western Sahel and to northern regions of several coastal countries.In particular, U.S. Africa Command said both IS-West Africa and Boko Haram benefited from the spread of the coronavirus, wreaking “havoc” on communities forced to self-quarantine.The report also warned of growing dangers in northern Africa, specifically from IS in Libya, which had been relatively quiet until May.“ISIS-Libya resumed small-scale attacks in the southern desert region,” O’Donnell said.A recent United Nations report, based on member state intelligence, said IS-Libya likely has just a few hundred fighters.#Libya ripe for #ISIS exploitationMember states estimate branch has just 100s of fighters, but “1 Member State put it as high as 1,400” per @UN report “Persistent lawlessness & preoccupation /interfactional fighting will create opportunities for ISIL-Libya to thrive further”— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) July 27, 2020But at least one intelligence service warns the group may be growing, gathering as many as 1,400 fighters under its banner.And while U.S. officials believe the smaller estimate is more accurate, there are growing concerns that the ongoing civil war in Libya, and the influx of thousands of mercenaries and foreign fighters, could create conditions that might allow IS to thrive.U.S. Africa Command estimates that as of the end of June, more than 7,000 Syrian fighters had flocked to Libya, most with the help of Russia or Turkey.U.S. officials believe a growing number of Syrian fighters may have previous links to terror organizations, though many of them are likely fighting in Libya for financial or personal reasons.Most of the Syrian fighters, about 5,000, appear to be fighting with Turkish mercenaries and troops to back Libya’s Government of National Accord.But Africa Command officials warn that many of them are “inexperienced, uneducated and motivated by promises of considerable salary,” saying reports of theft, sexual assault and other misconduct have increased in areas where Turkish-backed Syrian fighters have been deployed.
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Under Police Gaze, Climate Protesters Return to Britain’s Streets
After a pandemic hiatus, more than a thousand mask-wearing Extinction Rebellion climate activists marched back onto London’s streets Tuesday, calling for swifter action to halt global warming as a huge contingent of police looked on. With Britain’s Parliament returning to work this week after a summer recess, protesters blocked the square in front of the building and called for legislators to take up a proposed climate and ecological emergency bill. It aims to expand Britain’s pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 to cover so-far excluded sectors such as international shipping and air travel, and for actions toward the goal to be faster and determined by a citizens’ assembly. “The important thing is having the government admit they’re too slow. Right now they’re not taking responsibility,” said Reece Evans, 24, an Extinction Rebellion activist and actor who held a placard reading, “Back the Bill.” Extinction Rebellion climate activists sit in the road and meditate in front of a line of police officers outside of Parliament during a “peaceful disruption” of British Parliament in London, Sept. 1, 2020.Holly Cullen-Davies said she wanted Parliament “to take climate change to the top of the agenda”, while her two young children drew with colored chalks on the pavement. Cullen-Davies said she had joined the grassroots movement in March, as the coronavirus lockdown began and planet-warming emissions temporarily crashed with economies on hold worldwide, showing how rapidly change could happen. “I thought if the world can stop for COVID, it can stop for climate change,” she said. Many activists said they thought the return to street protests, despite the ongoing pandemic, was justified because of fast-growing climate risks and because the movement was taking sufficient precautions to prevent spread of the virus. Nearly all of the activists at Parliament Square in London on Tuesday wore face masks, while simultaneous demonstrations in Cardiff and Manchester were planned to allow protesters to take part closer to home, organizers said. An Extinction Rebellion climate activist holds a placard during a “peaceful disruption” of British Parliament, in Manchester, England, Sept. 1, 2020.”COVID is likely to go on another couple of years and we don’t have that much time,” said Angie Nicholas, a child psychiatrist in green medical scrubs. “We’re super-aware of COVID – but climate and ecological threats are an emergency too,” she added. Chris Newman, a doctor and spokesman for Doctors for Extinction Rebellion, said the situation was comparable to a medic handling a patient with two serious problems. “You can’t just address one problem,” he said in a speech to the crowd in Parliament Square, with many listeners waving colored flags with Extinction Rebellion’s hourglass symbol or carrying homemade placards. Rows of police in yellow vests flanked the protest, and more than 70 police vans were parked nearby in a show of force as Extinction Rebellion – which last year blocked major roads and bridges, causing widespread disruption – resumed its actions. Police said 90 climate activists had been arrested in London as protesters blocked streets in violation of a police order. Police officers detain a priest protesting during a “peaceful disruption” of British Parliament, at Parliament Square in London, Sept. 1, 2020.”The reason we have implemented these conditions is that we know these protests may result in serious disruption to local businesses, commuters and our communities and residents, which I will not tolerate,” Metropolitan Police commander Jane Connors said in a statement Monday. But an Extinction Rebellion spokeswoman said the police had rowed back on restrictions that initially appeared to ban protests anywhere in the city except at Parliament Square, after lawyers for the group filed a letter saying it would dispute them. ‘Frustrating’ Activists said they were glad to be back on the streets after months of waiting for conditions to be safe enough. “It’s wonderful to feel the energy again and try to hold the government to account,” said Grace Onions, 52, who took part in the group’s large-scale protests in 2019. Increasingly clear evidence of climate-related disasters, from floods to droughts, made it urgent to keep up pressure on governments, she added. Marion Phillips, 73, said she was disappointed the UK government was giving stimulus funds to spark a coronavirus recovery without requiring recipients such as airlines to cut emissions, in line with its net-zero goal. “It’s been very frustrating these few months,” she said. Tuesday’s protests were the start of 10 days of action around Britain, organizers said. “I don’t know if it will be effective, but if we’re not doing this, then we’re guaranteed to lose,” said Nathan Nuckhir, 27, a furloughed jobs coach for people with disabilities on his first “nonessential” outing since the lockdown. “There are fewer of us, but it doesn’t change what we have to do,” he said. “I hope as a world we’ll get hold of this virus and more people can come out to join.”
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CDC Issues Temporary Halt on Residential Evictions to Combat Virus
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued a sweeping nationwide order temporarily halting millions of U.S. renters from being evicted, in a bid to reduce the spread of COVID-19.The order covers all 43 million U.S. residential renters as long as they meet income eligibility requirements, although an administration official said the government does not expect an “overwhelming” use of the program.The order lasts through Dec. 31 and applies to individual renters who do not expect to earn more than $99,000 this year or $198,000 for joint filers. It also applies to renters who did not report income in 2019 or received a stimulus check earlier this year.Renters must file sworn declarations warning eviction would leave them homeless or force them into a “shared living setting because the individual has no other available housing options” and attest they have “used best efforts to obtain all available government assistance for rent or housing.”The administration warned renters could be “prosecuted, go to jail, or pay a fine” if they lie or mislead in their declarations.Renters will still owe accrued rent and the order does not prevent the “charging or collecting of fees, penalties, or interest as a result of the failure to pay rent or other housing payment on a timely basis.”An administration official told reporters the order was not an invitation to stop paying rent and said renters should pay a portion of rent if they can.The CDC order said renters can “still be evicted for reasons other than not paying rent or making a housing payment.”U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told a U.S. House of Representatives panel earlier the measure was to ensure people “don’t get thrown out of their rental homes.”Mnuchin said Congress should still approve rental assistance.In July, a firm estimated more than $21.5 billion in past-due rent is owed by Americans.As unemployment surged to levels unseen since the aftermath of the 1930s Great Depression, a patchwork of federal, state and local eviction bans kept renters who could not make payments in homes.The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill in May to extend enhanced jobless aid through January and allocating $100 billion for rental assistance. It would extend the federal ban on evictions for up to one year. The bill has not been approved in the Senate.U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 8 directed CDC to consider if temporarily halting residential evictions was “reasonably necessary to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.”
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Pentagon: China Expected to Double Nukes in Next Decade
A new Pentagon report predicts that China will “at least double” the size of its nuclear warhead stockpile over the next decade as it pursues its own nuclear triad to conduct nuclear strikes by land, sea and air. China’s modernization and expansion of its nuclear force is part of a broader effort aimed at matching, and in some cases surpassing, the United States military by 2049 as the dominant power in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the Pentagon’s annual “China Military Power” report to Congress that was released Tuesday. The report said the number of Chinese nuclear warheads is currently estimated to be slightly more than 200 and includes those that can be fitted to ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States. This is the first time the Pentagon has stated a specific number of Chinese warheads, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Chad Sbragia told reporters this week. “We’re certainly concerned about the numbers,” Sbragia said, “but also just the trajectory of China’s nuclear developments writ large.” U.S. capabilitiesThe United States’ nuclear arsenal, with an estimated 3,800 warheads in active status, would still dwarf the Chinese arsenal. The U.S. has submarines and aircraft capable of delivering a nuclear strike, along with intercontinental ballistic missiles on land. China lacks the ability to launch nuclear weapons from the air, but the Pentagon said the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) publicly revealed the H-6N bomber as its first nuclear capable air-to-air refueling bomber late last year. In the past 15 years, the Chinese Navy has constructed 12 nuclear submarines, six of which provide China’s first “credible, sea-based nuclear deterrent,” according to the report. By the mid-2020s it will likely build a new, guided-missile nuclear attack submarine that could provide a secret land-attack option if equipped with land-attack cruise missiles. China has declined urgings from the Trump administration to join the U.S. and Russia in a deal to limit strategic nuclear arms. Without China’s added participation, the U.S. appears poised to let an existing U.S.-Russia arms treaty known as New START expire in February 2021. ‘Rule-breaking behavior’Last week, U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper warned that the world’s “free and open” system forged in the wake of World War II was under attack by what he called China’s ”rule-breaking behavior” in the Indo-Pacific region. He spoke in Hawaii ahead of travel in the Indo-Pacific region to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II on Wednesday. Esper called the Indo-Pacific region the “epicenter” of great power competition, vowing not to “cede an inch” to countries that threaten international freedoms, in an apparent dig at China. Amid Chinese military exercises last week, Beijing fired four medium-range ballistic missiles from mainland China into the disputed waters of the South China Sea, a U.S. defense official told VOA. The Pentagon issued a statement of concern, saying China’s actions “stand in contrast to its pledge to not militarize the South China Sea and are in contrast to the United States’ vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, in which all nations, large and small, are secure in their sovereignty, free from coercion, and able to pursue economic growth consistent with accepted international rules and norms.”
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Strongest Typhoon of 2020 to Hit South Korea, with Another Close Behind
The strongest typhoon of the year is on its way to the Korean Peninsula Wednesday after lashing Japan with strong winds and rain.Typhoon Maysak peaked early Tuesday with winds of 233 kilometers per hour, coming within a week of the first major storm and a few days before a third potential typhoon.Maysak, a Category 4 storm on the five-level scale, could affect weather as far away as Canada.Maysak is expected to make landfall Wednesday in South Korea as a Category 1 or Category 2 storm. Prefectures along Japan’s eastern coast were still under weather advisories Tuesday, with some at the southern tip of the island under more serious weather warnings. Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city, is predicted to lie in the path of the strongest quadrant of the storm, raising fears of storm surges and flooding, according to the Washington Post. More than 3.4 million people live in Busan.“It is expected that the whole country will be affected by typhoons from the far south of Jeju Island to the day after tomorrow,” tweeted the Korea Meteorological Administration Tuesday. 15시 #태풍’은 매우 강한 태풍으로 일본 오키나와 부근 해상에서 북북동진 중입니다.오늘 늦은밤 제주도남쪽먼바다 시작으로 모레까지 전국이 태풍 영향권에 들 것으로 예상됩니다.전국 매우 강한 바람과 매우 많은 비, 전해상 매우 높은 물결, 일부 해안 폭풍해일 주의!https://t.co/ojZlDteaoipic.twitter.com/e8DBlymVcu— 기상청 (@kma_skylove) September 1, 2020″Very strong winds and very much rain across the country, very high currents, and some coastal storm surges!”This year’s Pacific typhoon season, typically busiest between May and October, has been unusually uneventful thus far.But last week, Typhoon Bavi, weaker than Maysak, dumped significant amounts of rain on the Korean Peninsula, which this year has already experienced one of its longest and wettest monsoon seasons on record.Bavi and Maysak aren’t the end of it. Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island, and both Koreas are bracing for another developing storm system, Tropical Storm Haishen, to hit later this week.Korean weather authorities predicted Tuesday that Haishen could strengthen to a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 162 kilometers per hour by Saturday.The Japan Meteorological Administration noted Tuesday that sea surface temperatures around the country in August were the highest on average since record-keeping began in 1982, contributing to the unusual number of serious storms in the Western Pacific.【報道発表】（R2.9.1）日本の南を中心に海面水温が平年よりかなり高くなっており、8月の月平均海面水温が解析値のある1982年以降で最も高くなった海域があります。#いのちとくらしをまもる防災減災https://t.co/vZS1J8Zeyppic.twitter.com/7YELkX50Hi— 気象庁 (@JMA_kishou) September 1, 2020Videos on social media showed Maysak whipping sheets of rain and gusts of wind Monday night across Okinawa.Typhoon Maysak last night making its way across parts of Japan!At the time Sustained winds over 150 km/h (95 mph)Permission: Shuji Shinjo | Urasoe , Okinawa, Japan@WeatherBug#TyphoonMaysak#Typhoon#Maysakpic.twitter.com/eIJ7Pu1MeU— Live Storm Chasers (@Livestormchaser) September 1, 2020
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