South Sudan’s National Police Service detained a man this week for allegedly trying to sell two of his children at Juba’s Konyo Konyo market. The man denies the charges, saying he was trying to find someone to adopt his children because he cannot afford to feed them. The area is home to members of South Sudan’s Murle community. Area leaders identified the man as Jackson Maker at a Tuesday news conference in Juba. They say Maker walked to the market and asked if anyone was willing to buy two boys, about four and eight years old.Authorities alerted immediatelyJudy Jonglei Boyoris, a national assembly lawmaker lawmaker, told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus program that authorities were called immediately.“There was somebody from Dinka Bor (tribe) … He was asking for the market to sell out his two children. People told him to sit down and they called national security and he was captured,” Boyoris told VOA.Maker said he intended to return the children to his wife’s family.“The reason I took them from home was that I wanted to return them to their maternal uncles. I have been staying with them for eight years and it has appeared from my in-laws that I had stolen these children. So, I decided to return the children to their uncles. But when I failed to find any one of them here in Juba and there is no money for me to go back to Kapoeta, I decided to look for someone who can take them and give me something to survive,” Maker told South Sudan in Focus.His brother Nhial Thon Nhial said Maker was inebriated Sunday morning when Maker left the house the two share.“He drank alcohol and disturbed me, saying he wants to take his children to Kapoeta because the mother of these children is in Kapoeta. So in that morning he took the children and told me he was going to the bus station to find buses going to Torit and Kapoeta,” Nhial said.’Unacceptable’Nhial said he learned two days later his brother never arrived in Kapoeta and instead wound up in a police cell in Juba. Nhial told South Sudan in Focus his brother has been mentally ill “for some time” and that is why Maker and his children live with him.“The elder wife is being taken care of by the younger brother,” said Nhial.Human rights lawyer Biel Boutros Biel criticized Maker’s alleged effort to sell his children.“Selling a human being is something unacceptable. It is wrong. It is against human dignity; it is against right to life. While we condemn the act, we need to go deeper to look into the realities [of] why a parent has reached that part of selling the children. This is something that can give us thinking on what is going on in the country,” Biel told South Sudan in Focus.Police will care for childrenThe police will care for the children while the incident is under investigation, according to National Police spokesperson Major General Daniel Justin.“These children will now be with us. We have a special protection unit which will take care of these children and when there is a need for counseling, we have social workers from the Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare to take care of them in areas of trauma and counseling,” Justin told South Sudan in Focus.In the past, the Murle and Dinka Bor communities have accused the other of abducting and selling each other’s children.
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Month: September 2020
Trump Administration to Send New COVID-19 Rapid Tests to State Leaders
The Trump administration announced Tuesday that an “overwhelming majority” of the rapid COVID-19 tests it purchased from Abbott Laboratories last month will be sent to state leaders in an effort to support the reopening of what it calls “critical infrastructure” around the United States.In a $750 million dollar deal, the U.S. government acquired 150 million tests from Abbott, which will begin distributing the tests later this month. The company says it is ramping up production and is set to produce more than 50 million tests per month by October to meet high demand. The COVID-19 disease is caused by the coronavirus.Government officials say that assisting the reopening of schools and daycare centers along with providing tests for first responders and populations with special needs are top priorities.The test, which was granted emergency-use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration last week, takes just 15 minutes to produce results and has shown to correctly diagnose positive cases of the coronavirus approximately 97% of the time.Abbott says the rapid test uses the same technology as a pregnancy test, but instead of using hormones to tell whether someone is pregnant, the antigen test looks for the presence of proteins in saliva or mucus to tell if someone is positive for COVID-19.Government officials say they are confident that the easy-to-use test, which costs just $5, will help to cut down on the lengthy wait times many Americans were subjected to this year when their tests had to be sent to labs around the country for processing.Currently, the test has only been approved for usage in doctors’ offices, emergency rooms, and schools.
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Biden Leads Trump Across US, But Key Election States Remain Close
Nine weeks from Election Day in the United States, former Vice President Joe Biden is holding on to his monthslong lead over President Donald Trump in nationwide polling,But surveys show the race has narrowed and is even closer in key battleground states that are likely to determine the outcome.Biden, who was a U.S. senator for 36 years, and former President Barack Obama’s second in command for eight, has mostly led Trump by 8 to 10 percentage points in surveys throughout 2020.FILE – In this March 9, 2020, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally at Renaissance High School in Detroit.But his lead has diminished to an average of 6.2 percentage points in the aggregation of recent polls compiled by the RealClearPolitics website. Biden’s edge is even thinner in three key states often won by Democrats — Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — which Trump narrowly captured in 2016 to secure his election victory.The U.S. decides the presidency through an indirect form of democracy, not by the national popular vote but in the Electoral College, where the winner in each state receives all of that state’s electoral votes. Each state’s number of electoral votes is based on its population.Would-be presidents must win at least 270 of the 538 electoral votes. The most populous states — Democrat-leaning California with 55 votes, and Republican-controlled Texas with 38 — hold the most sway. Seven states and Washington, D.C., hold the least sway, with three electoral votes apiece.If Biden reclaims Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, and the outcome in the other 47 states remains politically the same as in 2016, the 77-year-old Democrat will win the presidency. Current polling has Biden ahead in all three states, but narrowly, by 4.7 percentage points in Pennsylvania, 2.6 in Michigan and 3.5 in Wisconsin.FILE – In this May 21, 2020 file photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a tour of Ford’s Rawsonville Components Plant in Ypsilanti, Mich.Trump, 74, lost the national popular vote in 2016 by about 2 percentage points — nearly 3 million votes — to Democrat Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of State.In the days before the election, several pollsters predicted a Clinton national advantage, but did not account for Trump winning the three battleground states that Obama captured in 2012. Clinton’s popular vote advantage was largely due to an overwhelming win in California.Aside from the three highly contested states, polling shows other states are up for grabs in the Nov. 3 election that could also play a pivotal factor in the national outcome.RealClearPolitics polling shows Biden ahead in the important southeastern state of Florida, Trump’s adopted home, by 3.7 percentage points. Florida has 29 electoral votes, and a Trump loss there would likely make it very difficult, although not impossible, for him to win a second term.Biden and Trump are also neck-and-neck in eight other states, six of which Trump won in 2016. Biden now has small leads, according to the polling, in four of the states, including two that Trump won against Clinton — Ohio in the Midwest and Arizona in the Southwestern part of the country.Only two U.S. incumbent presidents, Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1992, have lost reelection bids in the past four decades.Trump and Biden are slated to debate each other three times, once later in September and twice in October. Their respective running mates, Vice President Mike Pence and California Sen. Kamala Harris, are to debate once in early October.
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Australia Says In Contact With TV Journalist Detained in China
The Australian government says it has been in contact with an Australian television journalist who has been detained in China since mid-August.
The Foreign Ministry said Monday it was notified by Chinese officials on August 14 that Cheng Lei had been detained. The ministry said it conducted a virtual consular visit last Thursday with Cheng, who is being held at a detention facility.
The ministry says it does not know why Cheng is under detention. Australian news outlets say she is being held under a form of detention called “residential surveillance at a designated location” which means she could be held for several months.
Cheng anchors a business show on CGTN, the English-language channel of China’s state-owned CCTV, but videos of her work have been removed from the channel’s website and social media.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne says Canberra will continue to seek information on Cheng’s detention, which comes amid an increasingly bitter rift between the two regional neighbors. Beijing has imposed heavy tariffs and restrictions on Australian agricultural imports in apparent retaliation for Australia’s push for an independent probe into the origins of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which was first detected last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
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Czech Senate Leader Declares ‘I Am a Taiwanese’ in Speech to Self-Ruled Island’s Parliament
The head of the Czech Republic’s Senate has openly offered support for an independent and democratic Taiwan during a visit to the self-ruled island, triggering an angry backlash from China, which was already furious about his visit.
During an address before Taiwan’s parliament Tuesday, Milos Vystrcil invoked the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s famous 1963 speech in then-West Berlin, Germany, which had become a major flashpoint of the Cold War between the United States and the Communist-run Soviet Union after East Berlin – the capital of Communist East Germany – was sealed off from the western world by the Soviets.
Using Kennedy’s now-legendary phrase “Ich bin ein Berliner,” in translation “I am a Berliner,” as an example of support of freedom and democracy, Vystrcil received a standing ovation in the legislative chamber, when he said in Mandarin Chinese that “I am a Taiwanese.”
Vystrcil’s speech, delivered two days after he arrived as part of a high-level delegation to promote diplomatic and economic ties with Taiwan, drew anger from Beijing, which considers the island a breakaway province and has worked to isolate it from the international community.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying denounced Vystrcil’s speech, saying the Czech lawmaker was openly supporting Taiwan’s “separatist forces” and interfering in China’s internal affairs.
The Czech politician had already incurred Beijing’s wrath before his speech Tuesday. Foreign Minister Wang Yi declared Monday that Vystrcil would “pay a heavy price for his short-sighted behavior and political speculation.”
Although Vystrcil’s trip was not officially sanctioned by Prague, the Czech Foreign Ministry summoned China’s ambassador to protest Wang’s remarks.
China and Taiwan split after the 1949 civil war, when Mao Zedong’s Communist forces drove Chaing Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces off the mainland to settle on the island. Beijing has vowed to bring the island under its control by any means necessary, including military invasion.
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Macron to Lebanon’s Leaders: Make Changes in 3 Months or Face Sanctions
French President Emmanuel Macron has given Lebanese politicians three months to take concrete steps to rebuild the country, or face sanctions and lose out on crucial aid.Macron has been central to international efforts to help Lebanon recover from a deep-rooted economic and political crisis arising from decades of mismanagement and corruption, a persistent pandemic, and a deadly explosion in capital city Beirut last month.
“It’s a risky bet I’m making, I am aware of it,” Macron told Politico in an interview Monday night. “I am putting the only thing I have on the table: my political capital.”
Macron was in the Middle Eastern country, a former French protectorate, for the second time since the August 4 blast that destroyed much of its main port, a lifeline for a country heavily reliant on food imports.
Macron told Politico the next three months are “fundamental” to the process of making real change and forming a government in Lebanon. He said he wanted Lebanese political party leaders to make credible commitments to that end, including a concrete schedule for introducing changes and a parliamentary election within “six to 12 months.”
Macron said he would make “demanding” follow-ups on Lebanese political leaders. If the responses were found lacking, he threatened sanctions on the country’s ruling class, and said he would withhold critical aid, pledged at a 2018 donor conference in Paris, until donors are satisfied.
Lebanese politicians hastily agreed Monday on a new prime minister, Mustapha Adib, hours before Macron’s arrival, but after weeks of French pressure. The country’s previous government resigned in the aftermath of the Beirut explosion.
Macron said he was not personally involved in decision-making and was instead pushing for change by visiting Lebanon often and threatening to impose sanctions or withhold aid.An anti-government protester uses a tennis racket to return a tear gas canister towards riot police during a protest near Parliament Square, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sept. 1, 2020.”I don’t know him, I didn’t choose him, and it’s not my job to interfere or approve,” said Macron about Adib, Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany since 2013, who called for immediate reforms.
“It’s time for work to dovetail efforts and join hands, to restore hope among the Lebanese,” Adib told reporters Monday, according to Al Jazeera. “By the grace of God Almighty, we hope we will be successful in selecting professionals with proven expertise and efficiency to implement the necessary financial and economic reforms.”
Macron told reporters Monday he would host an international conference in mid-October on helping Lebanon, Reuters reported.
Macron also called Tuesday while in Beirut for an audit of the Lebanese banking system.
“Today everything is blocked, and Lebanon can no longer finance itself, so there needs to be an audit,” he said. “There is likely money that has been diverted. So, we need to know the truth of the numbers and then that judicial actions are taken.”
Lebanon contracted New York-based company Alvarez & Marsal in July to conduct a forensic audit of the central bank’s accounts. The country also contracted two other companies, KPMG and Oliver Wyman, for traditional audits.
Macron said he would work with Lebanon’s leaders to “create the necessary conditions for reconstruction and stability,” in an Arabic-language tweet Monday.أقول للبنانيين إنكم كأخوة للفرنسيين. وكما وعدتكم، فها أنا أعودُ إلى بيروت لاستعراض المستجدّات بشأن المساعدات الطارئة وللعمل سوياً على تهيئة الظروف اللازمة لإعادة الإعمار والاستقرار.— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 31, 2020
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Botswana Hopes Mysterious Elephant Deaths Are Over; Zimbabwe Records Its First
Botswana says a string of mysterious elephant deaths has come to a halt since June, after at least 281 carcasses were found.Experts in the southern African country, with the world’s largest elephant population, said there were no signs of poaching or predators. Most of the blood samples sent abroad for testing indicate a toxin caused the deaths. However, it is not clear if the toxin is man-made or natural, says Botswana’s Ministry of Wildlife and Environment Permanent Secretary Oduetse Koboto. “We have received most of the results. A lot of variables that we suspected had tested negative. We ruled out any virus, no bacteria. Pathogens (are) also negative,” he said. “The only thing that we are waiting for is toxicology. What is evident is that we are now dealing with a poison.” Koboto says they are waiting on one last batch of test results from the United States before reaching a conclusion. Veterinarian Dr. Mbatshi Mazwinduma says a naturally occurring toxin would explain why no more elephants appear to be dying in Botswana’s Okavango panhandle. “In the period leading to June, remember this is a dry period, the amount of water is in low quantities. If it is because of a naturally occurring toxin, they would be in high concentration in the waters and those elephants that drink in particular spots get affected. With the rising waters of the Okavango in the last couple of weeks, the toxins are diluted and then washed out,” Mazwinduma said. Conservationist Neil Fitt agrees that changes in weather conditions could have diluted a natural toxin. “If it is an environmental toxin, they come and go depending on weather conditions,” he said. “Obviously, the conditions, if that’s the case, have now changed and that’s the reason why the deaths have stopped, which is a good thing. But until we get the results, which are extremely long in coming, we cannot say much more.” Koboto says getting quick results on the investigations and test samples was not possible due to COVID-19 restrictions. “There were lockdowns everywhere, even internationally,” he said. “Mostly, we are dependent on air transport. If there are no flights going outside the country even (to) South Africa here, how could we have taken them (samples) out?” Botswana’s neighbor, Zimbabwe, recorded its first mysterious deaths last week, with the loss of at least 11 elephants. Wildlife authorities there say the cause appears to be a bacterial infection. The two countries have the world’s combined largest elephant population at more than 200,000 animals – most of them in Botswana. Conservationists estimate the number of wild, African elephants has dropped by almost a third in the last decade due to drought, loss of habitat, and poaching.
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Malawi President Reinstates Fired Army Commander
Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has fired the army chief and replaced him with the commander who was dismissed in March by Chakwera’s predecessor, former president Peter Mutharika.In his live address Tuesday on state broadcaster, Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, Chakwera said the sacking of Gen. Vincent Nundwe was not procedural.
“Although the former president had the ultimate responsibility for the Malawi Defense Force as the commander-in-chief and was vested with powers of appointment, it was improper to use such powers without cause. I have therefore redeployed Gen. Nundwe as commander of the Malawi Defense Force,” Chakwera said.
Mutharika fired Nundwe in March for allowing the military to protect demonstrators protesting the results of last year’s elections.
The Constitutional Court later annulled the elections and called for fresh polls, which were won by Chakwera in June of this year.
Chakwera said his decision to reinstate Nundwe is to restore justice to the operations of the Malawi Defense Force.
“In doing this, my purpose is to heal the injury and injustice of an unfair decision inflicted on our entire military as a professional institution,” he said.Chakwera also has announced he will soon convene a meeting of the Defense Council to discuss the appointment of the new deputy commander of the Malawi Defense Force and other key positions.
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Sheriffs Reject Oregon Governor’s Plan to Curb Portland Violence
Sheriffs from two counties in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, on Monday emphatically rejected a plan by the state’s governor for their deputies to help patrol the city following last weekend’s deadly shooting of a right-wing supporter of President Donald Trump. Their decision threw into doubt a plan announced a day earlier by Gov. Kate Brown to keep the peace in Portland by adding nearby sheriff’s deputies and Oregon State Police troopers as the city struggles to regain its footing in the glare of the national spotlight. Brown, a Democrat, announced the security plan for Portland after the fatal shooting of Aaron Danielson, 39, on Saturday as Black Lives Matter protesters clashed with Trump supporters who drove in a caravan through the city. No one has been arrested in the case. The rejection by the two sheriffs, elected as nonpartisans, increases uncertainty about Portland’s future just as Trump focuses on the chaos in Portland as part of his law and order re-election campaign theme. Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts said inundating the city with more law enforcement would not work because Portland’s newly elected district attorney has dismissed charges against hundreds of protesters arrested for nonviolent, low-level crimes. Roberts and Washington County Sheriff Pat Garrett also said the liability for their deputies would be too great amid worries deputies could be sued for actions they take outside their home jurisdictions.FILE PHOTO: A man dressed in an American flag joins protesters in Portland, Oregon, Aug. 31, 2020.”The same offenders are arrested night after night, only to be released by the court and not charged with a crime by the DA’s Office,” Roberts said. “The next night they are back at it, endangering the lives of law enforcement and the community all over again.” Brown’s chief-of-staff, Charles Boyle, said Roberts did agree that deputies from Clackamas County could help by handling some calls normally taken by state police while its troopers are dispatched to Portland. Brown has so far declined to send the National Guard to Portland but instead announced the planned coalition of law enforcement agencies late Sunday. In a statement, she said right-wing groups like Patriot Prayer had come to Portland “looking for a fight” and vowed to stop more bloodshed. “We all must come together — elected officials, community leaders, all of us — to stop the cycle of violence,” she said. Some Black community leaders were also upset with the proposal to put more officers on the streets. Portland police have been criticized for using tear gas and for being overly aggressive. “If you’re just there, the odds of getting arrested at this point are almost so high as to the point of being guaranteed,” said Shanice Clarke, one of the founders of the Black Millennial Movement and a frequent protester. The Portland police also drew criticism Monday for not doing more to keep the dueling groups apart and for letting the situation get out of control. Police Chief Chuck Lovell defended his officers, saying the clashes between protesters and Trump supporters were spread out over many city blocks and that the shooting took just seconds. “While it’s easy to cast blame on paramilitary and alt-right groups on the one side, or anti-fascist and Black Lives Matter groups on the other, the responsibility to safeguard communities rests with government,” said Eric Ward, executive director of the nonprofit Western States Center, which helps marginalized communities organize social justice campaigns around the West. “In Portland, law enforcement has regularly failed to keep our city’s streets safe.” Oregon State Police troopers supported Portland police at protests Sunday night. Authorities arrested 29 people.
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As Infections Rise Again, Spain Prepares to Reopen Schools
The number of COVID-19 infections has been rising in Spain, one of the early epicenters of the pandemic. In this report narrated by Jonathan Spier, Alfonso Beato has more from Barcelona on the dilemmas the country faces as it prepares to reopen schools.
PRODUCER: Jon Spier
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Charlie Hebdo Re-Runs Prophet Mohammad Cartoons to Mark Attack Trial
French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is republishing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad which unleashed a wave of anger in the Muslim world to mark the start of the trial of alleged accomplices in the militant attack against it 2015.
Among the cartoons, most of which were first published by a Danish newspaper in 2005 and then by Charlie Hebdo a year later, is one of Mohammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban with a lit fuse protruding.
“We will never lie down. We will never give up,” editor Laurent “Riss” Sourisseau wrote in a piece to accompany the front cover that will be published in print on Wednesday.
Twelve people, including some of the magazine’s best-known cartoonists, were killed when Said and Cherif Kouachi stormed the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo and sprayed the building with automatic gunfire.
The Kouachi brothers and a third Islamist gunman who killed five people in the 48 hours that followed the Charlie Hebdo massacre were shot dead by police in different stand-offs, but 14 of their alleged accomplices go on trial on Wednesday.
The decision to republish the cartoons will be seen by some as a defiant gesture in defense of free expression. But others may see it as a renewed provocation by a magazine that has long courted controversy with its satirical attacks on religion.
After the 2006 publication of the cartoons, Jihadists online warned the weekly would pay for its mockery. For Muslims, any depiction of the Prophet is blasphemous.
“The freedom to caricature and the freedom to dislike them are enshrined and nothing justifies violence,” the French Council of the Muslim Faith wrote on Twitter in response.
Muslims have previously said the turban cartoon branded all Muslims as terrorists, as did a Charlie Hebdo cartoon showing the Prophet reacting to Islamist militants by saying: “It’s hard to be loved by idiots.”
In 2007, a French court rejected accusations by Islamic groups that the publication incited hatred against Muslims.
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Trump to Visit Kenosha After Sparring with Biden Over Security
U.S. President Donald Trump is traveling Tuesday to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where protests turned violent last week after a white police officer shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, seven times in the back as officers tried to arrest him. Trump told reporters Monday he is not planning to meet with Blake’s family because they wanted a lawyer to participate. The president also declined to criticize the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse, a white teenage vigilante who is accused of fatally shooting two people and wounding a third during a street demonstration in Kenosha two nights after Blake’s shooting. Rittenhouse, who claimed his goal was to protect businesses, faces five felony charges, including first degree intentional homicide.“They very violently attacked him,” Trump told reporters about Rittenhouse. “He probably would’ve been killed” had he not opened fire on the demonstrators. The governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers, urged the president to skip Tuesday’s visit to Kenosha, saying Trump’s presence “will only hinder our healing. I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together.” Evers has ordered National Guard troops into Kenosha and accepted additional federal law enforcement assistance to quell the street violence since Blake was shot and left partially paralyzed. Trump’s trip to Wisconsin comes as he and former Vice President Joe Biden, his opponent in the November presidential election, trade accusations about security and portray life in America under the other candidate as unsafe.Members of the Wisconsin National Guard stand outside Kenosha County Public Safety Building, over a week since Black man Jacob Blake was shot by police and a day before a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Aug. 31, 2020.Homeland security investigation
Trump announced Monday that the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice are launching an investigation into “left-wing civil unrest” in “Democrat-run cities,” adding that federal operations cracking down on urban violence have resulted in the arrests of 200 people, including 100 in Portland, Oregon. “In America, we will never surrender to mob rule, because if the mob rules, democracy is indeed dead,” the president told reporters in the White House briefing room. Trump, emphasizing that “we need order,” spoke just hours after Biden said the president “can’t stop the violence, because for years, he has fomented it.” Earlier in the day, Biden speaking in Pittsburgh, looked into the cameras during his remarks, which were carried live on the three main U.S. cable news networks, and said: “Ask yourself, do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?” Biden called for rioters and looters to be prosecuted and accused Trump of “rooting for chaos and violence” during the election season because he sees it as “a political lifeline.” A Biden statement late Monday faulted Trump for not repudiating Rittenhouse and urged the president to join Biden “in saying that while peaceful protest is a right – a necessity – violence is wrong, period.”Portland police make arrests on the scene of the nightly protests at a Portland police precinct on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020 in Portland, Ore. Oregon State Police will return to Portland to help local authorities after the fatal shooting of a man…Portland protests
Asked by a CNN reporter during Monday’s White House briefing about his supporters firing pepper spray and paintballs at protesters in Portland Saturday night, Trump responded that “paint is not bullets,” adding “your supporters … shot a young gentleman and killed him, not with paint but with a bullet and I think it’s disgraceful.” The president was referring to Aaron “Jay” Danielson, a member of a far-right group, who was shot in the chest after a convoy of hundreds of Trump supporters drove through an anti-racism protest. Violence has fluctuated in downtown Portland since the May 25 death of a Black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis after a white police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.With the election nine weeks away, Biden leads Trump in national polling, although the contest is tight in some key swing states.
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Czech Republic Pushes Back on China Over Senate Visit to Taiwan
Czech Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček Monday pushed back on his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi’s assault over the Czech Senate delegation’s visit to Taipei — signs, observers say, that suggest the tide is turning against China in Europe. Relations between Prague and Beijing may take another plunge. While visiting in Slovenia, Petříček tweeted that Wang’s comments toward the delegation were “over the edge,” shortly after the Chinese official warned of “a heavy price” for Czech Senate President Milos Vystrčil to pay, now that he has defied China’s objection to the visit to Taiwan. Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province. “Minister Wang’s statements are over the edge. Such strong words do not belong in the relations between the two sovereign countries,” Petříček tweeted, calling on China to pursue “factual, practical cooperation without emotions that do not belong in diplomacy.” Exchanges of protests The Czech foreign minister said he had instructed his deputy to summon China’s ambassador in Prague and expressed the Czech ministry’s “fundamental disagreement” with China’s repeated negative words toward the delegation. Although the Czech government does not support the delegation’s visit to Taiwan, Petříček added that he has demanded an explanation from China and anticipated the delegation’s trip would have a negative impact on its relations with China. The Czech government, led by Czech President Miloš Zeman and Prime Minister Andrej Babis, still favors closer ties to China. But while meeting U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in the Czech Republic in mid-August, Babis complained that the Chinese have not invested in the Czech Republic in the way he would imagine they should. Pompeo’s warm reception was considered a warning sign to the once-promising relationship between Prague and Beijing.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, front left, shakes hands with Czech Republic’s Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek, right, during a ceremony at the General Patton memorial in Pilsen near Prague, Czech Republic, Aug. 11, 2020.A heavy price to pay According to a statement released by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, Wang described Vystrčil’s trip to Taipei as “an unendurable provocation for which there will be retribution.” He was quoted as saying “the Chinese government and Chinese people won’t take a laissez-faire attitude or sit idly by and will make him pay a heavy price for his short-sighted behavior and political opportunism,” the statement said. In return, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Qin Gang Monday also summoned the Czech Republic’s ambassador in Beijing to tell him that Vystrcil “violated China’s sovereignty by openly supporting Taiwan ‘independence’ and splittist forces.” Another outcry in Czech Wang’s threats, part of China’s coercive diplomacy that backfired and failed to stop the Senate delegation’s visit to Taiwan, are expected to provoke another public outcry, said Karel Picha, a Czech who has lived in Taiwan for eight years and currently runs the only Czech cuisine restaurant in Taipei. “I think most of the Czech people, they will respond negatively to these threats. They are probably not going to be polite,” Picha told VOA. He said that the wounds from 30 years of occupation by communist Soviet Union are too fresh to the Czech people, who hate it more than anything else when another communist country threatens them. Doing the right thing Vystrčil also responded to Wang’s threat in Taipei by saying that “delegation members made the trip voluntarily, and we believe we are doing the right thing. In the short run, the outcome looks negative. But there will be long-term benefits.” He said the Czech people know how it feels to be controlled by a big brother who will never relent. Two analysts who spoke to VOA said China’s repeated bashing of Vystrčil can only result in soured relations, while it is also likely for China to make good on its threat. “China is too pushy. It turns even more aggressive when other countries or companies have been willing to go along (with its one-China policy),” DPP legislator Lo Chih-cheng told VOA. “But there comes a time when people say, ‘Enough is enough.’ “China has turned into such a bully because for a long time, Western countries have put up with it,” he added, referring to Wang’s threat to punish the Czech Republic. Worsening relations Lo urges China to realize that any coercive move it plans to take will only backfire and worsen their relations. Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, agreed that China will make the Czech Republic pay. But it remains to be seen how damaging China’s sanctions will be, since the Czech economy isn’t heavily dependent upon China. He said the Czechs are “courageous” to have made the trip to Taiwan regardless of the Chinese pressure. “I think it kind of underscores a pushback from a number of countries in Europe which feel much more sympathy with Taiwan, a democratic country, as opposed to authoritarian China,” Cabestan told VOA by phone. China-Europe relations are on a rocky path, as more European countries have become vocal over the situation in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the potential flash point in Taiwan or the South China Sea, according to Cabestan. China’s popularity in Europe has fallen in recent years and will take some time to improve, he said. Cabestan said Wang was touring Europe because the country’s “wolfish” diplomacy has done harm to its relations with many European countries, and Wang was there to minimize the damage.
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Хитрый приём обиженного карлика пукина и конец путляндии
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Обещание пукина прислать в Беларусь карателей из путляндии напомнило психологический приём, использовавшийся в совдепии. Если принять его во внимание, то станет понятней его стратегия
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У беларусов два врага – маньяк лука и обиженный карлик пукин
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У лукашенко одно-единственное и простое желание – сохранить власть. Ради этого он, собственно, и живет. Карлику пукину тоже нужно сохранить власть в россии. Но не только. Поглощение соседних держав – его главная политическая задача
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Обиженный карлик пукин запретил жаловаться на чиновников! Как тебе такое Илон Маск?
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Последние новости путляндии и мира, экономика, бизнес, культура, технологии, спорт
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Підняття мінімалки, як спосіб ще раз обдурити тупого зе-виборця!
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Sheriffs Reject Governor’s Plan to Curb Portland Violence
Sheriffs from two counties in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, on Monday emphatically rejected a plan by the state’s governor for their deputies to help patrol the city following last weekend’s deadly shooting of a right-wing supporter of President Donald Trump. Their decision threw into doubt a plan announced a day earlier by Gov. Kate Brown to keep the peace in Portland by adding nearby sheriff’s deputies and Oregon State Police troopers as the city struggles to regain its footing in the glare of the national spotlight. Brown, a Democrat, announced the security plan for Portland after the fatal shooting of Aaron Danielson, 39, on Saturday as Black Lives Matter protesters clashed with Trump supporters who drove in a caravan through the city. No one has been arrested in the case. The rejection by the two sheriffs, elected as nonpartisans, increases uncertainty about Portland’s future just as Trump focuses on the chaos in Portland as part of his law and order re-election campaign theme. Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts said inundating the city with more law enforcement would not work because Portland’s newly elected district attorney has dismissed charges against hundreds of protesters arrested for nonviolent, low-level crimes. Roberts and Washington County Sheriff Pat Garrett also said the liability for their deputies would be too great amid worries deputies could be sued for actions they take outside their home jurisdictions.FILE PHOTO: A man dressed in an American flag joins protesters in Portland, Oregon, Aug. 31, 2020.”The same offenders are arrested night after night, only to be released by the court and not charged with a crime by the DA’s Office,” Roberts said. “The next night they are back at it, endangering the lives of law enforcement and the community all over again.” Brown’s chief-of-staff, Charles Boyle, said Roberts did agree that deputies from Clackamas County could help by handling some calls normally taken by state police while its troopers are dispatched to Portland. Brown has so far declined to send the National Guard to Portland but instead announced the planned coalition of law enforcement agencies late Sunday. In a statement, she said right-wing groups like Patriot Prayer had come to Portland “looking for a fight” and vowed to stop more bloodshed. “We all must come together — elected officials, community leaders, all of us — to stop the cycle of violence,” she said. Some Black community leaders were also upset with the proposal to put more officers on the streets. Portland police have been criticized for using tear gas and for being overly aggressive. “If you’re just there, the odds of getting arrested at this point are almost so high as to the point of being guaranteed,” said Shanice Clarke, one of the founders of the Black Millennial Movement and a frequent protester. The Portland police also drew criticism Monday for not doing more to keep the dueling groups apart and for letting the situation get out of control. Police Chief Chuck Lovell defended his officers, saying the clashes between protesters and Trump supporters were spread out over many city blocks and that the shooting took just seconds. “While it’s easy to cast blame on paramilitary and alt-right groups on the one side, or anti-fascist and Black Lives Matter groups on the other, the responsibility to safeguard communities rests with government,” said Eric Ward, executive director of the nonprofit Western States Center, which helps marginalized communities organize social justice campaigns around the West. “In Portland, law enforcement has regularly failed to keep our city’s streets safe.” Oregon State Police troopers supported Portland police at protests Sunday night. Authorities arrested 29 people.
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Australian TV Anchor Detained in China
Australian officials say they have spoken with a high-profile Australian television news anchor who has been detained in China.Cheng Lei, an Australian citizen, has worked for the Chinese government’s English news service, CGTN. Cheng’s detention in Bejing is seen as another blow to already fragile Australia-China relations. Cheng Lei is being held under what is known in China as “residential surveillance at a designated location.” The TV presenter has not been charged but she can be detained for up to six months without access to a lawyer. Cheng has worked as an on-air anchor and reporter for the China Global Television Network, or CGTN, for the past eight years. Videos featuring the high-profile journalist have been removed from the channel’s online platforms and social media pages. Australia was officially notified of her arrest in the middle of August. A statement from Foreign Minister Marise Payne in Canberra said diplomats were allowed to speak to her last week via video link. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says the government will do what it can to help her. “I feel for her family very much at this point in time, and it is why we will do what we can to assist her as we would and have any Australian in these sorts of circumstances. There is a long history of different consular cases and points of difficulty that we have seen over the years. So, we should not see this as a first, or a one-off. It is concerning for her family and we will provide the assistance that we can,” Birmingham said.It is highly unusual for foreign journalists to be detained in China. Friends of Cheng Lei have told Australian media that she was a “very skillful operator” who knew “where the limits on public comment” were in China’s highly monitored media. It is unclear what she might have done to upset Chinese authorities, or break any laws. Cheng was born in China and is an Australian citizen. In a statement, family members in Melbourne said they were optimistic that “in China, due process will be observed and we look forward to a satisfactory and timely conclusion to the matter.” She is the second Australian to be detained in Beijing. Writer Yang Hengjun is being investigated over alleged espionage and has been held since early 2019. In July, Canberra updated its information for Australians traveling to China, warning they could be at risk of arbitrary detention. Diplomatic tensions between Canberra and Beijing have also been enflamed by disputes over trade, as well as allegations of Chinese interference in Australia’s domestic politics and cyber espionage.
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US Singer Akon Looks to Break Ground on $6B Futuristic City Project in Senegal
American singer Akon says he is moving ahead with plans to break ground on a $6 billion futuristic self-named city in Senegal next year. On Monday, Akon traveled with government officials to the site of the planned project in the rural community of Mbodienne, well outside the capital, Dakar. Akon, whose real name is Aliuane Thiam, said he sees Akon city becoming the beginning of Africa’s future, with the latest technologies, cryptocurrencies. Akon, the son of Senegalese parents who spent his early childhood in the West African nation, also hopes the project will provide much needed jobs for Senegalese and be a refuge for Black Americans and others facing racial prejudice. Akon’s project, which was first announced two years ago, has won him favor with Senegalese authorities who praise him for investing in Africa at a time of uncertainty in global tourism. Akon said his idea for the city precedes the blockbuster movie “Black Panther,” but he likened his city as a “real-life Wakanda,” the technologically advanced fictional African place portrayed in the movie.
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Vietnam Wildlife Trafficking Arrests Rise, After COVID-19 Link to Animals
After scientists determined that the coronavirus likely spread from an animal to a human, there came a flurry of statements from nations around Asia promising to ban the trafficking of animals. Now there is data to suggest that authorities, at least in Vietnam, are following through with enforcing the bans. Among the cases of trafficked wildlife that was seized in Vietnam, the percent that led to arrests reached 97% in the first half of this year, according to Education for Nature Vietnam, an environmental organization. From 2015 to 2019, the number had remained steady at around 87%. Scientists believe the pandemic may have begun after human contact with an infected bat or pangolin in China. Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations act as a frequent conduit for illicit animal products that end up in China. In recent years police have seized pangolins, a scaly mammal that resembles armadillos, as well as endangered turtles, gibbons, and langurs in Vietnam. ‘More serious’“ENV’s prosecution analysis attests to the strength of the current penal code and the elevated efforts of Vietnam’s law enforcement and criminal justice courts to take down wildlife criminals,” Bui Thi Ha, the vice director of Education for Nature Vietnam said, referring to the penal code that was revised in 2018. “Since the new law has been in force, and especially this year in 2020, evidence shows that wildlife trafficking crimes are being taken more seriously in Vietnam.”A view over the Saigon river next to Ho Chi Minh city’s financial district. An expert in illegal wildlife trafficking says many of the people involved in the illicit trade in rhino horn are from this and other Vietnamese cities.Ever since the outbreak of the coronavirus, ending wildlife trafficking has become more urgent to stop a potential source of disease, as well as any harm to wildlife, environmentalists say. Facebook has responded by taking down hundreds of posts offering illegal animals and animal parts in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam, in addition to the increase in the arrest rate, more criminals are going to prison. Among trafficking cases that went to court, the percent that resulted in a prison sentence reached 68% this year, according to data compiled by ENV. That contrasts with 2015 to 2019, when the percentage did not go beyond 49%. Prison Terms “This suggests the courts are taking a much more assertive stance to wipe out wildlife crime in 2020 than in previous years,” ENV said in an analysis of 552 cases in the past five years. It recommended that Vietnam, to fully end the trafficking, next turn its attention to the leaders of the trafficking rings, as well as the state officials who support them. The Southeast Asian nation can also focus enforcement on ports and airports, as well as on the use of money laundering, ENV said. Vietnam says it is taking a “whole of government” approach to enforcement. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc published a directive in July prohibiting the import and sale of wildlife products. The premier’s order assigns a task to each office, from the defense ministry increasing border patrols, to the health ministry checking that pharmacies don’t sell drugs with illegal animal parts. The state prosecutor said in a statement it will enforce the directive by increasing investigations of transnational criminals, as well as impose “severe penalties on masterminds and leaders who abuse positions and powers to commit crimes.”
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Court Filing Shows 11-3 Big Ten Vote to Postpone Football Season
A court filing disclosed Monday shows Big Ten Conference presidents voted 11-3 to postpone the football season, bringing some clarity to a key question raised in a lawsuit brought by a group of Nebraska football players. The vote breakdown was revealed in the Big Ten’s response to the lawsuit. The court documents did not identify how each school voted, but a person familiar with the outcome told The Associated Press that Iowa, Nebraska and Ohio State voted against postponing the fall football season. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Big Ten was not planning on making the specifics of its vote public. The Big Ten announced Aug. 11 it would move its football season from fall to spring semester because of health risks associated with the coronavirus pandemic. The Pac-12 followed suit, joining the Mid-American Conference and the Mountain West.The eight football players are seeking the reinstatement of a fall season. FILE – Ohio State wide receiver K.J. Hill (14) holds the trophy following the team’s 34-21 win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game, Dec. 8, 2019, in Indianapolis.”The Big Ten Conference continues to share the disappointment that student-athletes and families are feeling,” the conference said in a statement. “The Big Ten Return to Competition Task Force will continue to be transparent as it actively considers options to get back to competition when it is safe to play.” The lawsuit in Lancaster County District Court contends, among other things, that the players are losing a chance for development, exposure for a possible pro career and won’t be able to market themselves to eventually capitalize on name, image and likeness revenue opportunities. The Big Ten filing was a response in opposition to the players’ motion for expedited discovery. The filing said the 11-3 vote “far exceeded” the 60% threshold the Big Ten requires. The filing also said the Big Ten based its decision on multiple factors, including the medical advice and counsel of the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee. Listed as plaintiffs are Brant and Brig Banks, Alante Brown, Noa Pola-Gates, Jackson Hannah, Garrett Nelson, Ethan Piper and Garrett Snodgrass. The players’ attorney, Mike Flood, declined immediate comment, saying he needed to read the filing. FILE – Nebraska Speaker of the Legislature Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk follows debate in the legislature, April 18, 2012.Flood, a former speaker of the Nebraska Legislature, owns five radio stations that broadcast Cornhuskers football games as part of the Husker Sports Network. The lawsuit says the Big Ten’s decision-making process was “flawed and ambiguous” and called into question whether the league’s Council of Presidents and Chancellors formally voted on the decision. The medical studies used to make the decision, the lawsuit says, were not relevant to the circumstances of college-age athletes and did not take into account school safety measures. “This decision did not occur in a vacuum,” the conference said in its filing. The decision not to play fall football has created a firestorm in Big Ten country, fanned by the fact the ACC, Big 12 and SEC are pushing ahead with plans to start their seasons in September. Commissioner Kevin Warren has faced sharp criticism for not clearly laying out how the decision was reached. He has sidestepped questions about the vote breakdown, and his explanations of the medical reasons were panned for not being detailed enough. A group of Nebraska player parents have been most vocal in demanding answers from the commissioner, and parents from other Big Ten schools joined them. The Big Ten said last week the lawsuit “has no merit and we will defend the decision to protect all student-athletes as we navigate through this global pandemic. We are actively considering options to get back to competition and look forward to doing so when it is safe to play.” Flood, in his role representing the Nebraska player parents, previously sent a letter to Warren asking for documents relating to any votes taken, how each school voted, meeting minutes and all audio and video recordings and transcripts of meetings where votes were cast. He also wanted copies of studies, scientific data and medical information or advice considered by the presidents. Flood had threatened a federal lawsuit if the materials weren’t delivered to him. The Big Ten did not respond to the letter.
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Facebook Says Will Stop News Sharing in Australia if New Regulations Become Law
Facebook Inc said it would block news publishers and people in Australia from sharing news on Facebook and Instagram if a proposal to force the U.S. tech giant to pay local media outlets for content becomes law. The Australian government said in July it would require tech giants Facebook and Alphabet Inc’s Google to pay for news provided by media companies under a royalty-style system that is scheduled to become law this year. “This is not our first choice – it is our last. But it is the only way to protect against an outcome that defies logic and will hurt, not help, the long-term vibrancy of Australia’s news and media sector,” Facebook Australia managing director Will Easton said in a statement published on Tuesday. Following an inquiry into the state of the media market and the power of the U.S. platforms, the Australian government late last year told Facebook and Google to negotiate a voluntary deal with media companies to use their content. After those negotiations failed, Australia’s competition regulator drafted laws that it said would allow news businesses to negotiate for fair payment for their journalists’ work. Easton said the proposed legislation misunderstands the dynamic of the internet and will damage news organizations. Australia’s Ministry for Communications did not immediately respond to questions on Tuesday.
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