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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/13/russian-journalist-putin-fires-2-police-officers-reporters-arrest/1444974001/

Russian president Putin fires 2 top police officers involved in arrest of investigative journalist

Russian president Putin fires 2 top police officers involved in arrest of investigative journalist Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday fired two top police generals involved in a criminal drug case against a Russian investigative journalist whose arrest had sparked five days of widespread protests. The journalist, Ivan Golunov, 36, was released on Wednesday, six days after his arrest on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Golunov, who faced up to 20 years in prison, had alleged that police planted the drugs on him. He was also hospitalized at one point for injuries allegedly sustained during his arrest. In announcing the dropping of all charges against Golunov, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev had said key officers involved were under investigation. The dismissed officers were identified as Major General Yuri Devyatkin, head of the Interior Ministry’s drug trafficking department, and Major General Andrei Puchkov, head of the Interior Ministry's Moscow department, according to a Kremlin decree issued by Putin, The Moscow Times reported. Golunov, a reporter for the Latvia-based news site Meduza, has long been a thorn in the side of Russia's power center after repeatedly exposing corruption among business people and political figures, as well as uncovering fraudulent financial schemes in Moscow. His arrest had triggered numerous protests around Russia. Golunov has drawn widespread support from foreign journalistic and human rights groups. More than 400 people, including journalists, were detained Wednesday during an unauthorized pro-Golunov march in central Moscow by around 1,200 people. Police had initially released photos that they said showed drug paraphernalia in his apartment, but these were later withdrawn, BBC Russian journalist Olga Ivshina reported. The police, she adds, admitted that "most of the published photos had not been taken at Mr. Golunov's flat after all, but were related to another criminal investigation that might be linked to his detention." Golunov insisted his arrest would not deter his journalistic work. “I will keep doing investigations to justify the trust of all those who supported me,” he said. He said that he hopes police will stop trying to frame innocent people, adding: “I hope it will not happen to anyone else in our country.”

4071ab2f534255374424d26bf5ae107a

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/23/iran-drone-us-iran-mum-reports-us-cyberattack-iran/1540393001/

Bolton to Iran: Don't mistake US 'prudence' for weakness

Bolton to Iran: Don't mistake US 'prudence' for weakness National security adviser John Bolton warned Iran on Sunday not to misinterpret President Donald Trump's decision against military retaliation after Iran downed a U.S. drone as a sign the United States won't use force to protect its interests in the Middle East. "Neither Iran nor any other hostile actor should mistake U.S. prudence and discretion for weakness," Bolton said while visiting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. "No one has granted them a hunting license in the Middle East. As President Trump said Friday, our military is rebuilt, new and ready to go." Bolton, who said the world will never allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons, promised tighter economic sanctions to be announced Monday that could drive leaders of the Persian Gulf state to the bargaining table. Vice President Mike Pence echoed Bolton on Sunday, telling CNN's "State of the Union" that Iran's economy is "literally crumbling" under the weight of previously imposed sanctions. "We have isolated them economically and diplomatically," Pence said. Iran said it shot down the drone over its coast. The Pentagon said the incident played out Thursday in international waters over the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said he canceled a retaliation strike minutes before it was to take place when military leaders told him about the potential for 150 Iranian deaths. Trump secretly authorized U.S. Cyber Command to carry out a retaliatory cyberattack that disabled Revolutionary Guard systems that control rocket and missile launches, several officials told The Associated Press. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the operation. The Pentagon declined to confirm the cyberattack reports: "As a matter of policy and for operational security, we do not discuss cyberspace operations, intelligence or planning," spokeswoman Heather Babb said in a statement. The cyberattack was in retaliation for the drone as well as for recent attacks on oil tankers in the region, according to reports. Iran has denied involvement in the oil tanker attacks. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif rebuffed U.S. warnings, blaming the economic "terrorism" of sanctions for Middle East tensions. Zarif accused Bolton of pushing the United States toward war. “More evidence ... indicate #B-Team was moments away from trapping @realDonaldTrump into a war,” Zarif tweeted. Zarif's "B-team" includes Bolton, Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy supreme commander of the United Arab Emirates armed forces. Bolton is in Jerusalem, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is traveling to Saudi Arabia and the UAE for talks on Iran. “Prudence prevented it, but #EconomicTerrorism brings tension,” Zarif said. Iranian Maj, Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid warned that Iran was prepared to defend itself against aggression – and that if war flares up, "its scope and timing could not be managed by any country." Trump has repeatedly said he is willing to negotiate with Iran without conditions. "We are putting major additional sanctions on Iran on Monday," Trump tweeted. "I look forward to the day that sanctions come off Iran, and they become a productive and prosperous nation again. The sooner the better!" Trump said he is not ruling out military retaliation. Tensions between the nations have been on the rise since Trump announced last year that the United States was pulling out of an agreement between Iran and several global powers that curtailed the Persian Gulf nation's nuclear buildup in return for easing some sanctions. Other nations sought to keep the nuclear deal in place, and Iran was slow to formally bow out. Last week, Iran's nuclear agency warned the country would soon break the uranium stockpile limit set under the agreement. Since then, oil tankers have twice been attacked. The United States sent additional ships and troops into the region. Sunday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blamed U.S. "bullying" for tension across the Middle East. “Most of the regional and international problems have been caused by dictatorship and bullying of certain countries, especially the United States whose roots are in violating international law and moving on the path of unilateralism,” Rouhani said.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/24/pompeo-coalition-iran/1544824001/

Iran: US botched retaliatory cyberattack, faces 'crushing response' to drones

Iran: US botched retaliatory cyberattack, faces 'crushing response' to drones Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Saudi Arabia's leaders Monday to consolidate support for U.S. dealings with Iran as President Donald Trump formally signed "hard-hitting" new economic sanctions targeting Iranian leaders. Trump said he hopes the sanctions will bring the Persian Gulf nation back to the bargaining table. “We do not seek conflict with Iran or any other country,” Trump said. “I can only tell you we cannot ever let Iran have a nuclear weapon." Pompeo met with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss "ways to counter the malign Iranian influence in the region," the State Department said in a statement. Pompeo also will visit Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates in a bid to strengthen a global coalition against what the U.S. sees as Iranian aggression. The sanctions ordered by Trump are in response to Iran shooting down a U.S. drone last week. The U.S. claims the $100 million, unmanned aircraft was flying over international waters, while Iran says the drone was over its territory. On Monday, a defiant Iranian admiral said his military stands ready to shoot down more drones. “The enemy dispatched its most sophisticated, smartest and most complicated surveillance aircraft to the banned area, and everyone saw the shooting down of the unmanned aerial vehicle," Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said. "We confidently say that this crushing response can be repeated ... and the enemy is aware of this." Also Monday, Iranian Minister of Communication and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi denied reports in the U.S. media that the U.S. carried out a successful, retaliatory cyberattack that disabled Revolutionary Guard systems that control rocket and missile launches. Jahromi tweeted that the West has attempted millions of cyberattacks against Iran's military, but that none has been successful. Trump said he canceled a retaliatory military strike minutes before it was to take place when military leaders told him about the potential for 150 Iranian deaths. Trump, however, secretly authorized U.S. Cyber Command to carry out the cyberattack, several officials told the Associated Press. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the operation. The Pentagon declined to confirm the cyberattack reports. "As a matter of policy and for operational security, we do not discuss cyberspace operations, intelligence or planning," spokeswoman Heather Babb said in a statement. Tensions have been mounting since Trump withdrew the U.S. from a global nuclear deal with Iran a year ago and reinstated economic sanctions. Pompeo is also bound for Abu Dhabi to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who has become wary of Iran's increasingly militaristic influence in the region. On Sunday, U.S. national-security adviser John Bolton warned Iran not to misinterpret Trump's decision against military retaliation as a sign the United States won't use force to protect its interests in the Middle East. Bolton was in Jerusalem for talks with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif rebuffed U.S. warnings, blaming the economic "terrorism" of sanctions for Middle East tensions. Zarif accused Bolton and his so-called "B-team" – Bolton, Netanyahu, Mohammed bin Salman and Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan – of pushing the United States toward war. On the eve of Pompeo’s visit to the kingdom, Yemen’s Iranian-allied rebels attacked a Saudi airport near the Saudi-Yemen border, killing a Syrian resident and wounding 21 other civilians, the Saudi military said. Saudi Arabia has been at war with the rebel Houthis in Yemen for more than four years. The Houthis say the attacks targeting the kingdom are a response to Saudi airstrikes on Yemen that have killed thousands. Contributing: The Associated Press More:Iran's naval chief threatens to down more US drones More:Trump vows more sanctions on Iran, says military action is still 'on the table' More:Bolton to Iran: Don't mistake US 'prudence' for weakness

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/25/fertility-doctor-loses-license-inseminating-11-women-his-sperm/1566167001/

'Beyond reprehensible': Fertility doctor who used his own sperm to impregnate 11 women loses license

'Beyond reprehensible': Fertility doctor who used his own sperm to impregnate 11 women loses license Canadian medical authorities have revoked the license of a fertility doctor who was found to have used his own sperm, or the wrong sperm, when he artificially inseminated between 50 and 100 patients. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario determined that Dr. Norman Barwin is incompetent, "committed an act of professional misconduct" and engaged in acts that "would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonorable or unprofessional." The college initiated an investigation in 2016 after a class action lawsuit was filed against Barwin, 80. Eleven cases of artificial insemination were genetically matched to Barwin through DNA testing. The allegations date to the 1970s and involved patients at the Ottawa General Hospital and another area clinic. In one case detailed in the lawsuit, a woman identified as Patient B conceived a child using what she thought was sperm from an anonymous donor in the 1990s. Her daughter contacted an online DNA registry looking for half-siblings in late 2015 and found a second cousin who she discovered as a relative of Barwin through family tree research. Lawsuit:DNA test from Ancestry.com reveals fertility doctor used his own sperm in procedures She contacted Barwin, who arranged a DNA test that confirmed he was her biological father. Barwin told her and Patient B's husband that his paternity must have occurred because of accidental contamination after he failed to clean an automated counting chamber that he tested using his own sperm. Dr. Edward G. Hughes, an obstetrician/gynecologist who practices fertility medicine and was hired by the college to review Barwin's case, outlined several reasons why this explanation was implausible. Doctor pleads guilty to using own sperm:Fertility doctor who lied about using his own sperm will receive no jail time "For a single pregnancy to have occurred in these ways would have been remarkable," Hughes wrote. "For eleven pregnancies to have been sired in this way, over two or more decades is neither statistically plausible nor believable." College officials reprimanded Barwin on Tuesday, calling his actions "beyond reprehensible," the Ottawa Citizen reported. “Your patients represent a group who were vulnerable and who placed themselves and their families completely in your trust," disciplinary committee chair Dr. Steven Bodley told Barwin’s lawyer. "You betrayed that trust and by your actions deeply affected individuals and their families and caused irreparable damage that will span generations.” Barwin received a two-month suspension in 2013 after he admitted to using the wrong sperm in four cases. After another complaint indicated that a child was conceived with the wrong sperm, Barwin voluntarily resigned his certificate of registration in 2014. On Tuesday, a disciplinary panel revoked Barwin's license and fined him just over $10,000 CAD ($7,867 USD). Follow N'dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/25/iran-calls-sanctions-outrageous/1556050001/

Iran President Hassan Rouhani calls new US sanctions 'outrageous and idiotic'

Iran President Hassan Rouhani calls new US sanctions 'outrageous and idiotic' Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday mocked President Donald Trump's decision to impose "outrageous and idiotic" new sanctions, saying the effort to target top Iranian authorities reflects confusion at the White House. Rouhani noted that Western banking restrictions are unlikely to affect Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, saying the 80-year-old leader of the Islamic Revolution isn't getting rich off Western bank accounts. Imposing sanctions on Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif doesn't equate with Trump's stated willingness to negotiate without preconditions, Rouhani said. “You sanction the foreign minister simultaneously with a request for talks" he would lead, Rouhani said. “The White House is afflicted by mental retardation and does not know what to do.” Trump fired back on Twitter: "Iran’s very ignorant and insulting statement, put out today, only shows that they do not understand reality. Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration. No more John Kerry & Obama!" The sanctions, issued less than a week after Iran shot down a U.S. drone, will block transactions involving any property or other assets Iran's leaders hold in the USA, the White House said. Eight senior commanders of Navy, Aerospace and Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps also are included. The sanctions also extend to foreign financial institutions that deal with the U.S., since those institutions could draw sanctions for aiding the targeted Iranians. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the new measures would freeze an additional "billions of dollars" in assets. "This action is a warning to officials at all levels of the Revolutionary Guard and the rest of the Iranian regime that we will continue to sanction those who export violence, sabotage and terrorism," Mnuchin said. National security adviser John Bolton said Tuesday that talks with Iran remain possible. Zarif, however, said the economic warfare being waged by the White House will not pressure Iran into talks. "This may work in a real estate market. It does not work in dealing with Iran," he said. More:Trump appears to name the wrong Iranian leader when announcing sanctions More:Trump imposes new sanctions on Iran: What we know now Iran said it shot down the $100 million drone over its coast. The Pentagon said the incident played out in international waters over the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said he canceled a retaliation strike minutes before it was to take place when military leaders told him about the potential for 150 Iranian deaths. The drone incident was the latest in a series of events that have heightened U.S.-Iran tensions since Trump opted the U.S. out of a nuclear weapons deal negotiated between Iran and global powers under President Barack Obama. The deal limited Iran’s enrichment of uranium, although the Persian Gulf nation repeatedly claimed its nuclear program was to develop energy, not weapons. Last month, citing unspecified Iranian threats, the U.S. sent an aircraft carrier to the Middle East. Since then, two attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman have drawn sharp warnings from Washington, although Iran has denied involvement in both. Contributing: The Associated Press

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/25/world-war-2-bomb-creates-massive-crater-near-limburg-germany/1557175001/

Massive crater that appeared overnight was likely caused by World War II bomb

Massive crater that appeared overnight was likely caused by World War II bomb A loud explosion and a mystery crater that appeared overnight near a German town was likely caused by a World War II bomb that detonated decades later, authorities say. The 33-feet wide and 13-feet deep crater was discovered Sunday in a field near Limburg, police say. Residents reportedly heard and felt a loud blast early Sunday, but no injuries were reported. Police said Monday that there was no indication farm equipment or other machinery caused the crater. Bomb-disposal experts said "with almost absolute certainty" that a WWII bomb was to blame for the crater and that they believe it was dropped by a plane at the time, the BBC reported. Limburg's spokesman Johannes Laubach told Hessenschau that the city was a common bomb target as the war was ending. "We can be glad that the farmer was not in the field," he added, according to a translation. Moon crater:The moon’s largest crater is hiding something huge, but astronomers aren’t quite sure what Finding undetonated WWII bombs is not uncommon in Germany. According to CNN, several have been defused in recent years in major cities like Berlin and Frankfurt. Stunning drone photos showed the extent of the damage the suspected bomb caused. Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller

deed146d5e9096020e33f6ed4d86fb96

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/26/aghan-war-2-u-s-service-members-killed-possible-taliban-ambush/1569137001/

2 U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan; Taliban says they died in an ambush

2 U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan; Taliban says they died in an ambush Two U.S. service members were killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the American-led NATO mission in Afghanistan said in a statement. The identities of the soldiers were being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The statement did not offer any details surrounding the circumstances of their deaths. A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the two service members were killed in an ambush in eastern Wardak Province, the New York Times reported. The deaths occurred one day after an unannounced visit to Kabul, the Afghan capital, by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Meanwhile, the U.S. is holding direct talks with the Taliban in Doha, the Qatari capital. The seventh round of the talks are scheduled to begin on Saturday. "We've made clear to the Taliban that we're prepared to remove our forces. I want to be clear, we've not yet agreed on a timeline to do so," Pompeo told reporters during an unannounced stop in Afghanistan on Tuesday. The presence of troops in Afghanistan is "conditions-based, he said. The Taliban refuse to talk directly with the Afghan government, which it considers a puppet of the U.S. More than 2,400 U.S. service personnel have died in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led coalition invaded the country after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. The coalition sought to crush the Taliban and hunt down al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. The U.S. makes up the overwhelming majority of 14,000 coalition troops in Afghanistan. About 100,000 troops were stationed there at the height of the war.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/26/german-locals-buy-up-towns-beer-protest-neo-nazi-festival/1570929001/

Locals buy up town's beer to keep neo-Nazis from drinking during a festival

Locals buy up town's beer to keep neo-Nazis from drinking during a festival When neo-Nazis planned a festival in a small German town, residents decided to take matters into their own hands. The eastern German town of Ostritz in Saxony, on the German-Polish border, was the site of the "Shield and Sword Festival" for right-wing extremists Friday and Saturday, Deutsche Welle reported. The news agency confirmed that police were ordered to confiscate alcohol from the festival’s attendees to deter violence. However, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur, locals took it a step further by buying up over 100 crates of beer at nearby supermarkets to prevent festival attendees from buying more alcohol. Behind bars:Neo-Nazi teen who threatened Prince Harry jailed for online 'terrorist' posts In addition to drying out the town, 300 people peacefully marched through the streets, DPA also reported. Although 750 people were registered for the event, police told Deutsche Welle only about 600 attended. By midnight Saturday, fewer than 500 attendees were left. Authorities confiscated more than 1,100 gallons of alcohol from attendees Friday and another 50 gallons on Saturday, DPA reported. Michael Kretschmer, Saxony’s state premier, told the news agency that he was impressed with how locals stood up for themselves and made it clear to right-wing extremists that they weren’t welcome. According to Deutsche Welle, residents also planned a counterprotest to take place next to the festival, but officials prohibited the demonstration, citing safety concerns.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/26/iran-speed-up-uranium-enrichment-amid-failing-nuke-deal-trump-threats/1568298001/

Iran to speed up enrichment of uranium amid faltering nuclear deal

Iran to speed up enrichment of uranium amid faltering nuclear deal Iran will speed up enrichment of uranium and pull further out of the nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian officials said, in a move that could bring additional retaliatory measures by the United States in the form of sanctions or even military strikes. Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said Wednesday that Iran's move follows a two-month ultimatum given to European signatories to the deal to help Iran navigate U.S. sanctions that have harmed its economy. Kamalvandi's remarks were carried by the state-run IRIB news agency. Separately, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Iran "will forcefully take the second step of reducing its commitments" to the nuclear deal on July 7 so "Iran's 'patience'" is not confused with "weakness." Shamkhani's comments were reported by the state-run Fars News Agency. In early May, Tehran suspended limits on its production of enriched uranium and heavy water, moves that did not technically violate the deal but aggressively signaled that its patience with an accord that the U.S. has already pulled out of was wearing thin. France, Germany and the United Kingdom, who stayed in the deal, have not been able to ensure that Iran retains access to international oil markets and banking services. Since then, tensions between Iran and the U.S. have risen markedly amid the shooting down of an American drone by Tehran, sabotaged oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and the Pentagon's dispatch of troops and B-52 bombers to the Middle East. "Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration," Trump wrote on Twitter on Tuesday, less than a week after he called off a planned U.S. missile strike on Iran in retaliation for the shooting down of the U.S. drone. In recent days, the president has oscillated between tough talk and conciliatory rhetoric over what he may do next. "I hope we don’t (go to war) but we’re in a very strong position ... It wouldn’t last very long ... I’m not talking boots on the ground ... I’ve been very nice to them ... They shot down our drone ... I like Iranians very much," Trump said, appearing on Fox Business on Wednesday. Trump claimed before he took office, Iran was going to "take over" the Middle East, an assertion that may relate to Tehran's support for militant groups in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. "I don’t think (Iran's) leadership is smart ... Iran’s going down the tubes," he said on Fox, in response to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's remarks that the White House is "suffering from mental disability" with "no sane person" in charge. Under terms of the nuclear deal negotiated in 2015 under the administration of then-President Barack Obama, Iran agreed to have less than 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of uranium enriched to a maximum of 3.67%. Iran has stuck to those terms, according to repeated verifications by the United Nation's nuclear watchdog. Before the deal, Iran enriched uranium as high as 20%, close to weapons-grade levels. "The deadline of the Atomic Energy Organization for passing the production of enriched uranium from the 300 kilogram border will end tomorrow," Kamalvandi said. Iran has long insisted that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful, civilian purposes only, although that has been met with skepticism in world capitals.

31d2f97b3bedf5b30261ef4b4d7f6e12

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/27/raikoke-volcano-erupts-after-almost-100-years-iss-captures-photos/1582261001/

Volcano, dormant for almost 100 years, erupts in 'spectacular' fashion

Volcano, dormant for almost 100 years, erupts in 'spectacular' fashion The volcano sat dormant for almost a century. Then at 4 a.m. last Saturday, it awoke. In striking photos captured by satellites and astronauts on the International Space Station, smoke billows from the volcano on Raikoke, northeast of Japan. The uninhabited island saw its first volcanic eruption since 1924. The photos released this week by NASA show volcanic plumes that rarely rise from the stratovolcano, which is almost a half-mile wide and 650 feet deep. Raikoke is a tiny island of not even 2 square miles in the Sea of Okhotsk and has been under Russia's control since World War II. The eruption consisted of at least nine explosions and lasted into the evening, according to the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program. The ash plumes containing large amounts of sulfur dioxide rose as high as 42,700 feet, or 8 miles. Lightning was detected in the plumes as they drifted east and northeast, the report said. By the next day, barely any ash remained visible to satellites, according to the NASA Earth Observatory. "What a spectacular image. It reminds me of the classic Sarychev Peak astronaut photograph of an eruption in the Kuriles from about 10 years ago," said Simon Carn, a volcanologist at Michigan Tech. Before the eruption in 1924, the Raikoke volcano hadn't erupted since 1778, according to NASA. Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/27/rex-tillerson-donald-trump-putin-meeting-jared-kushner-immigration-foreign-policy-secretary-of-state/1577230001/

Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told House panel he had to condense issues for inattentive Trump

Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told House panel he had to condense issues for inattentive Trump WASHINGTON – Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a House committee that he had to condense foreign policy issues for an inattentive President Donald Trump and faced repeated diplomatic end-runs by Jared Kushner, Trump’s adviser and son-in-law. According to a newly released transcript of the closed-door interview in May, Tillerson told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Trump’s refusal to read briefing papers and policy documents prompted Tillerson to make short presentations and try to focus on one point in his meetings with the president. “It caused me to have to get very, very focused on, you know, what's the most important thing I want him to remember about this discussion,” Tillerson told the committee. “And so sometimes I would use material that I would put in front of him, or other times, I just tried to be very concise with the points I wanted to make.” Tillerson spoke to the committee’s staff May 21; USA TODAY received an embargoed copy of the transcript. The interview lasted about six hours and covered a wide range of topics – from Trump’s first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2017 to Kushner’s freelance diplomacy. When news emerged that Tillerson had met with the panel, Trump lashed out at his former secretary of state, calling him "dumb as a rock." Trump fired Tillerson, the former CEO of ExxonMobil, in 2018 after a rocky relationship that included public disputes over North Korea and other issues. Among other flashpoints, NBC News reported that Tillerson once called Trump a "moron" – something he declined to address in the House Foreign Affairs Committee interview. Here are three highlights from Tillerson's testimony: The Russia meeting and a 'list of irritants' Tillerson defended the decision to allow Trump to meet at length with Putin on July 7, 2017, when the two leaders were in Germany for a broader summit of world leaders, and to limit other participants. Besides Trump and Putin, only Tillerson, Russia’s foreign minister and two interpreters attended the session. “It's the way the Russians preferred it,” he told the committee staff. “It was supposed to be a courtesy meeting, and we decided we were okay with that.” The meeting ended up lasting more than two hours, and Tillerson said Putin was well-prepared, Trump less so. Putin engaged in a detailed discussion of items on a “list of irritants” that Tillerson and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had drawn up – items that had caused friction between the two countries and that they hoped to address to improve relations. Tillerson said the list was mostly classified, but he disclosed one thing: Russia wanted to regain control of two diplomatic compounds the Obama administration had seized in New York and Maryland, in response to the Kremlin’s interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. "President Putin had obviously come very prepared to talk" about items on the list, Tillerson said. "We didn't undertake that kind of preparation for the president because we didn't expect that." Tillerson said he did not see Trump take away the interpreter’s notes, as The Washington Post reported. “I did not see that happen,” he said, adding that he “never” witnessed such an incident between the president and his interpreters. A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on Tillerson's remarks about the president. Trump praises allies at G20 but criticizes Japan, Germany, and India Kushner’s undisclosed diplomatic outreach The committee’s staff asked Tillerson about a “private dinner” that Kushner and presidential adviser Steve Bannon held with leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. At that dinner in May 2017, those two key American allies disclosed a plan to launch a blockade of Qatar, another Gulf country, over allegations that Qatar supported terrorist groups, a Democratic committee aide told Tillerson. Tillerson said he was never made aware of the dinner and was not briefed in advance about the controversial blockade. "It makes me angry,” he told the committee, saying the State Department was shut out of a major policy discussion. That blockade was a deeply vexing issue for Tillerson during his tenure, in large part because Trump undercut his efforts to de-escalate tensions. Trump regularly undercuts Secretary of State Tillerson – and it takes a toll A White House spokesman, Hogan Gidley, denied that Kushner attended such a dinner with Saudi and UAE officials. "Jared consistently follows proper protocols," Gidley said. "The alleged dinner to supposedly discuss the blockade never happened, and no one in the White House was involved in the blockade." Tillerson said Kushner held several pivotal discussions with foreign leaders without any notice to him or other State Department leaders. He said Kushner secretly arranged a dinner with Mexico’s foreign minister and the only reason Tillerson found out was because he happened to be at the same restaurant on the same evening. “The owner of the restaurant … came around and said, ‘Oh, Mr. Secretary, you might be interested to know the foreign secretary of Mexico is seated at a table near the back,’ ” Tillerson recounted. “I walked back … and I could see the color go out of the face of the foreign secretary of Mexico,” he said. “I smiled big, and I said, ‘Welcome to Washington. … Give me a call next time you're coming to town.' And I left it at that.” Tillerson said the foreign secretary had assumed that “everything he was talking to Mr. Kushner about had been run through the State Department and that I was fully on board with it.” Tillerson said Kushner's efforts complicated his own engagement with foreign leaders, and he confronted the president's son-in-law about sidelining him. "He said he would try to do better. ... Not much changed," he told the committee. "It's always challenging if everyone isn't kind of working from the same playbook." Gidley said that Kushner’s "work with Mexico had led to positive results on trade and other issues." Trump and immigration: 'Get it done' Tillerson was respectful in talking about Trump’s approach to foreign policy, saying that although he and Trump disagreed at times, they shared the same objectives, which Tillerson said were to advance “America's place in the world and to promote and protect American values.” But he said some of Trump’s demands – particularly on immigration – were based on the president’s limited understanding of the law and how to enact change. "He was very action-oriented: Get it done, get it done, get it done," Tillerson said. "And so sometimes you had to say, 'We can't do that.' " Tillerson told CNN in December 2018 that he frequently had to tell Trump, “I understand what you want to do, but you can't do it that way, it violates the law.” In that same interview, he said Trump "is pretty undisciplined, doesn't like to read, doesn't read briefing reports, doesn't like to get into the details of a lot of things." In his House testimony, Tillerson said he often agreed with Trump that immigration laws were "crazy" and needed to be changed, but Trump didn't seem to grasp the limits of his own authority. Asked how many times Trump asked him to do something illegal, he responded, “The president was on a steep learning curve around what governs certain activities. Quite frankly, I was, too.” More:Trump is avoiding a crisis of his own making with US-Mexico migrant deal, critics say

409e3851f0500f94c5d8a0e8be05e05e

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/27/viral-video-teen-catches-toddler-falling-second-story-window/1581507001/

Dramatic video captures moment teen saves toddler falling from second-floor window

Dramatic video captures moment teen saves toddler falling from second-floor window A fast-thinking teenager saved a toddler's life when he stopped the young girl from falling from a second-story window of an Istanbul apartment, video shows. Feuzi Zabaat, an Algerian 17-year-old, told AFP that he was walking down the street last week when he saw 2-year-old Syrian Doha Muhammed playing near the open window. "I was just walking in the road when I saw the little girl at the window. She fell, and thanks to God, I caught her before she hit the ground," he told the French news agency. Feuzi told Reuters that when he noticed the little girl, he positioned himself underneath the window. Animal instinct:Watch as dog saves baby deer from drowning in waters off Long Island Dramatic dash cam footage:Cop spring into action, save unresponsive baby after motorist flags him down CCTV footage shows Feuzi in a yellow t-shirt standing just off the sidewalk and looking up. He raises his arms, and from the top of the frame, Doha plummets down. Miraculously, Feuzi was able to catch Doha and break her fall. The video shows him comforting and rocking the young girl in his arms as a crowd forms around them. According to Reuters, Doha suffered no injuries, and her family gave Feuzi 200 Turkish Liras, about $35, for his heroic act. Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/29/british-poisoning-report-cell-data-links-russian-officer-attack/1604993001/

Report: Cell data points to Russian military intelligence officer as commander of British poisoning plot

Report: Cell data points to Russian military intelligence officer as commander of British poisoning plot A meticulous, minute-by-minute examination of cellphone data points to a high-ranking Russian military intelligence officer, who spent barely 48 hours in London, as commander of a two-man Russian team that carried out the Novichok poisoning attack on a former Russian double agent. The information was compiled and examined by the investigative website Bellingcat and BBC Newsnight. Bellingcat, founded in 2014 by a British journalist, specializes in fact-checking and open-source intelligence in its investigative work, including groundbreaking pieces on human rights abuses and the criminal underworld. While Bellingcat had previously named Denis Sergeev, using the alias Sergei Fedotov, as a GRU officer who arrived in Britain on the same day as the suspected attackers, the new information suggests he was allegedly involved in a "supervising, coordinating role" in the attack. Russia has denied any involvement in the attack. Skripal, a former GRU colonel who turned double agent for Britain's MI6, was sentenced to 13 years in prison by a Russian court in 2006 for treason. In 2010, he was part of a British-Russian spy swap. He and his daughter, Yulia, who also survived the poisoning, settled in Salisbury, outside London, where the attack occurred. An unwitting local resident, Dawn Sturgess, died after inadvertently coming in contact with a discarded bottle contaminated with the nerve agent. The Skripal case has been a point of bitter contention between Britain and Russia. Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats following the incident. During a meeting at the G20 in Osaka this week, Prime Minister Theresa May condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's "irresponsible" actions regarding the Salisbury case. Photos show a grim-faced May shaking hands before talks with Putin in which she said the use of the nerve agent Novichok was a "truly despicable act," the BBC reports. She also said Britain had "irrefutable" evidence that Russia was behind the attack. Putin, in a recent interview with the Financial Times, dismissed the incident as "fuss about spies and counter-spies" that was "not worth serious interstate relations," adding that "traitors must be punished," apparently a reference to Skripal. Two men, Alexander Mishkin and Anatoly Chepiga, GRU colonels, have been accused of carrying out the attempted murder. In September, Scotland Yard and a British prosecutor said the suspects had been charged with attempted murder and noted they had arrived in Britain on valid Russian passports in the names of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov. The pair denied in an interview with the Kremlin-funded RT network that they worked for Russian military intelligence or had any connection to the Skripal case. Although they were only in Britain for 48 hours, for what they said was a business trip, they visited Salisbury twice, once purportedly on a surveillance trip. The pair told RT that they went to Salisbury to visit its "famous" cathedral, then left the country the next day. Around the time of the attack, Sergeev's movements can be meticulously traced, including suggestions of when he was traveling on the London Underground, and could not use his cell, according to Bellingcat. At one point, it places him in central London at almost the exact time the two operatives were in the same area in what Bellingcat suggested was either a brief face-to-face meeting, or a "brush-by" on the street to deliver something. Bellingcat says the final link between Sergeev, the alleged commander of the attack, and his alias came via phone data when Sergeev's wife called the phone number of the fictitious Fedotov. Bellingcat said it was aided by phone information provided by a whistleblower working at a Russian mobile operator. It said the whistleblower "was convinced s/he was not breaching any data privacy laws due to the fact that the person to whom this phone number was registered (“Sergey Fedotov”) does not in fact exist." The BBC and Bellingcat said billing records showed Sergeev used secure messaging apps like WhatsApp during his visit to Britain, suggesting it may have been the way he communicated with the two would-be assassins. Sergeev also spoke 11 times, sometimes for only a few seconds, with a Russian "ghost mobile," believed to be his connection to GRU headquarters. "The pattern of his communications while in the U.K. indicates that Maj. Gen Sergeev liaised with officers in Moscow," the BBC said. "Independently, sources speaking to Newsnight have pointed to Maj Gen Sergeev being the operational commander."

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/30/north-korea-kim-jong-un-evade-un-sanctions-get-luxury-limo-despite-trump-maximum-pressure/1523974001/

Limos, vodka and nukes: How a sanctions' sleuth traces North Korea's illicit transactions

Limos, vodka and nukes: How a sanctions' sleuth traces North Korea's illicit transactions WASHINGTON – Last fall, Hugh Griffiths received startling new evidence that North Korea was violating global economic sanctions: a photograph of Kim Jong Un emerging from a sleek, black Rolls-Royce Phantom limousine, on his way to a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. United Nations' sanctions bar North Korea from purchasing certain luxury goods – such as jewelry, yachts and limos, like the one Kim used to ferry him around Pyongyang last October, when Pompeo visited to press Kim to follow through on his pledge to relinquish North Korea's nuclear arsenal. Until recently, Griffiths was coordinator of the United Nations' panel devoted to documenting North Korea's clandestine purchase and sale of banned goods – from multi-million-dollar petroleum transfers to a batch of suspected Belarusian vodka. The pictures of Kim stepping out of the Rolls-Royce limo opened a new line of inquiry for Griffiths and his team at the U.N., one that was both promising and troubling. Troubling because if Kim could evade the global sanctions network to sneak in something as big as a limousine, the North Koreans were almost certainly smuggling in more pernicious goods as well. "That's what was going on in my mind," Griffiths told USA TODAY in a recent interview. His term at the U.N. expired this summer, and he spoke via phone from England. He is an expert in transportation trafficking and clandestine political economies who previously worked for other governments and research organizations in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. "If you can smuggle luxury limos into North Korea, which is done by shipping container, that means you can smuggle in smaller components – dual-use items for ballistic and nuclear programs … That's the really worrying thing." A 'consistent pattern of extravagance' The Trump administration has successfully pushed to tighten U.N. sanctions on North Korea, winning support in 2017 for a ban on the country's coal and other exports. Nikki Haley, then Trump's ambassador to the U.N., called the measures "the most stringent set of sanctions on any country in a generation." Donald Trump says he got another 'beautiful' letter from North Korea's Kim Jong Un Trump has touted his "maximum pressure" campaign as a key factor in Kim's decision to negotiate over North Korea's nuclear arsenal. Two previous Trump-Kim summits, first in Singapore last summer and then in Hanoi, Vietnam, this year, have not yet yielded any concrete steps by North Korea to relinquish its weapons. And the North Koreans have found many ways to skirt that "maximum pressure" campaign, according to the U.N. investigators. "The country continues to defy Security Council resolutions through a massive increase in illegal ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products and coal," the U.N. concluded in a March report, the last before Griffiths' departure. "These violations render the latest United Nations sanctions ineffective by flouting the caps on the import of petroleum products and crude oil." Sung-Yon Lee, a Korean Studies professor at Tufts University's Fletcher School, said Kim spends $650 million to $700 million a year importing luxury goods, from top-shelf liquor to ski jets, according to data from South Korea's intelligence agencies. "It’s a consistent pattern of extravagance," he said. The Chinese are "the biggest culprits" in enabling North Korea to evade sanctions. "But when it comes to non-compliance and non-enforcement, much of the world, including the U.S., is to be blamed as well," Lee added. "No one relishes doing the hard work of sanctions enforcement. But it's the one non-lethal, legitimate, effective diplomatic arrow in the U.S. quiver." On Sunday, Trump met with Kim at the border that separates North and South Korea in a splashy gambit to restart the stalled negotiations. The two leaders agreed to send negotiating teams back to the table, although there were no specifics announced. Negotiations between North Korea and the U.S. over its nuclear program stretch back more than two decades, but those efforts have all failed to stop North Korea's weapons program. Trump says he's not 'personally bothered' by North Korea missile tests Griffiths said Kim's decision to flaunt his new limo during last fall's meeting with Pompeo – even as the two were meeting to negotiate a potential nuclear deal – was a deliberate signal to the U.S. and the rest of the international community: He can thumb his nose at the sanctions. "It's very important to identify how this Rolls-Royce got there because Chairman Kim is clearly trying to send a message that he's taking the sanctions with a pinch of salt," he said. And the sanctions, he added, "represent the only real threat to Chairman Kim's current trajectory." Hunting a phantom limousine But Kim's brazen move also offered the U.N. team a tantalizing new lead. The U.N. experts had previously traced another North Korean limo to a Chinese businessman and made inroads into closing off that smuggling line, and Griffiths hoped for the same result this time. Their first step was simple: take the public images coming out of Pyongyang and look for any stand-out identifiers on the luxury vehicle, which carries a price tag of at least $450,000, according to Car and Driver magazine. The automakers' trademark "R" was clearly visible on the hub cap, and the U.N. team found a few other distinguishing features as well. Off went an inquiry to Rolls-Royce's manufacturer. The company offered a limited response: The vehicle was probably made between August 2012 and February 2017 at its facility in England. A spokesman for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars declined to respond to USA TODAY's questions, including how many such vehicles were manufactured in that time period and why it was not able to provide further identifying information. "We have responded fully to all questions put to us by the authorities at the U.N. and have no further comment," Andrew Ball, the spokesman, said in an email. Negotiations between Trump, North Korea at a standstill, but optimism still in force at DMZ Griffiths said it was a far different answer than he'd gotten from Mercedes-Benz when the panel tried to track several of that automaker’s limousines in 2015 and 2016. "Mercedes-Benz went the extra mile to look into their databases and through a process of elimination, identify the limousines in question," he told USA TODAY. That allowed the U.N. investigators to find the last company to have the Mercedes' limos before they ended up in North Korea. They determined that those limos were transported via a shipping container from the port of Long Beach, California, to Dalian, China, at the direction of George Ma, a Chinese businessman, according to the U.N. report. A 2016 U.N. report said Ma's company had previously been involved in shipping "arms-related material" to the Republic of the Congo. Ma did not respond to an email seeking comment. In March, the Trump administration slapped new sanctions on one of the firms that shipped the Mercedes, Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding Co. "Liaoning Danxing routinely used deceptive practices that enabled EU-based North Korean procurement officials to operate and purchase goods for the DPRK regime," Treasury said in its March announcement. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the official name for North Korea. "At least with the Mercedes, the panel fingered Liaoning Danxing" and publicly named Ma – helping to close off that pathway for smuggling items to and from North Korea, Griffiths said. But the probe into the Rolls-Royce appears to have stalled. Although the U.N. panel is continuing its investigation, Griffiths said it's hard to make headway without the vehicle's identification information. A 'shiny object' for propaganda? And now, another new limo has been spotted in North Korea: earlier this year, Kim was seen riding in an armored Mercedes-Maybach S600, which costs at least $500,000, according to The Drive, an automotive news outlet. "There's an established system by which these prohibited luxury goods are being smuggled in," said Griffiths. Joshua Stanton, a lawyer and blogger who has helped Congress draft North Korea sanctions legislation, agreed that the appearance of the limo signals a troubling loophole in enforcement. But he said it's by no means an indication that the sanctions are ineffective. Rather than being a snub at the sanctions, Stanton said Kim is using the limo as a "shiny object" to disguise just how devastating the sanctions have been. "It's a manipulation," said Stanton. "They are absolutely trying to project to the world that the sanctions don’t work – when in fact, the sanctions that really matter are the financial sanctions, and there is significant evidence that they are working." He said there are indications that rich and poor North Koreans are struggling. A U.N. assessment released in May found that more than 10 million North Koreans were "suffering 'severe food shortages' after the worst harvest in a decade." Stanton said there is also evidence that North Korean government agencies are competing for diminishing resources and "the elite upper-classes in Pyongyang, who had lived like oligarchs, are showing signs of financial distress." The sanctions on luxury goods are important "because of the message they send to the world," he added, " ... but the North Koreans messaging the world in their own way here."

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/30/stephanie-grisham-bruised-scuffle-north-korea-guards/1611270001/

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham bruised amid scuffle between reporters, North Korean guards

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham bruised amid scuffle between reporters, North Korean guards Incoming White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham received bruises when she got caught in the middle of a tussle between U.S. reporters and North Korean security officials during President Donald Trump's trip to the Demilitarized Zone dividing North and South Korea. The incident occurred after Trump on Sunday became the first U.S. president to cross the DMZ and step onto North Korean soil. Chaos ensued as reporters and photographers jostled to get the best positions to witness the historic moment and security officials tried to rein them in. At one point, Kim appeared to chuckle at the ruckus as people shouted at each other to get out of the way. After shaking hands on the border, Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in a room in the Freedom House on the southern side of Panmunjom. North Korean guards pushed and shoved members of the U.S. press pool as they tried to block the reporters from entering the room, The Associated Press reported. Grisham was injured and left with bruises in the exchange, which ended when Secret Service agents intervened. More:Grisham's unlikely path from Arizona politics to Trump's White House "To add to madcap day at DMZ, the North Korean security was a little overzealous, at times trying to block US reporters’ view," tweeted Jennifer Jacobs, senior White House correspondent for Bloomberg. "New WH press secretary Stephanie Grisham threw herself into it to make sure the US TV camera got into House of Freedom, and it came to body blows." ABC News White House correspondent Jonathan Karl reported that Grisham "was not having it" when the North Korean security officials tried to block the U.S. reporters, "physically clearing the way for the WH press pool by elbowing and pushing aside a security guard." A video appearing to show at least part of the incident, which a source described to CNN as a "brawl," was shared on social media. Trump announced last week that Grisham had accepted his offer to replace Sarah Sanders as his White House press secretary. She will be the third person to hold the job since Trump took office. Grisham is also taking over as White House communications director, a position that had been vacant since former Fox News executive Bill Shine resigned in March. Grisham had been serving as first lady Melania Trump's communications director. She has a long relationship with the Trump family and worked as aide on Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. "Stepping across that line was a great honor," Trump told Kim after entering North Korean territory. He was said it was a "legendary" moment that could lead to progress on negotiations aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program. But the Trump administration's efforts to get Kim to scrap his nuclear arsenal have not yet met with success. And many experts said the recent meeting at the DMZ was largely symbolic and unlikely to achieve any more results than Trump's two denuclearization summits with Kim. Contributing: David Jackson and Michael Collins, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/07/02/drowned-migrant-photo-oscar-alberto-martinez-ramirez-daughter-valeria/1595000001/

In news, when words fail, graphic and shocking photos often don't

In news, when words fail, graphic and shocking photos often don't Editor's note: This story includes disturbing photos and graphic details. The photograph of the bodies of Salvadoran migrant Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his 2-year-old daughter Valeria, her tiny body tucked inside his t-shirt and arm reaching around his neck, brought fresh discussion about the plight of Central American migrants trying to reach the United States. It's also a reminder of how images of human crises can seize our attention and in some cases propel us toward action or at least new insight. "I hate it," President Donald Trump said of Julia Le Duc's photo, first published last week by Mexican newspaper La Jornada. It shows their bodies lying face-down on a Rio Grande riverbank. Valeria appears to have clung to her father in their final moments. "This isn't who we are as a country. We have obligations to humanity that are being completely ignored," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the shocking moment captured by Le Duc, a journalist, adding that she hoped the photo would inject new impetus into the immigration debate by "tip(ping) the scale." Meaningful action on the U.S.-Mexico border remains to be seen, and studies show that while powerful imagery can be transformative, it can also be fleeting. Some USA TODAY readers called it unnecessary to publish the image of a dead toddler and father. But there are plenty of examples of photos that have changed, even if only temporarily, the narrative around specific news events; where the distress of a single individual appears so strong, or a moment so historically charged and powerful or disturbing, that the public and policymakers alike find it impossible to ignore what they’ve seen. As many media commentators have pointed out in recent days, the 2015 photo of 3-year-old Alan Kurdi, a Kurdish-Syrian child who died off the coast of Greece while seeking refuge in Europe, represents perhaps the nearest parallel to the case of the Salvadoran father and his young daughter. The limp, lifeless body of Kurdi, who drowned alongside his mother and 5-year-old brother Ghalib, was hauntingly captured by Turkish photographer Nilufer Demir on the beach where he washed up on the Greek island of Kos. Demir’s image made a difference, for a time. The civil war in Syria was already in its fifth year, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had recently made her now much scrutinized – and by Trump, criticized – call to relax Europe’s borders that would enable more than a million asylum seekers from Syria and other conflict zones in the Middle East to stream north from refugee camps in Turkey. Demir’s photo galvanized public opinion about the need to do something about the world’s worst refugee crisis since World War II, led to record donations to humanitarian organizations and prompted European governments to put the topic of migration at the heart of virtually every major regional summit that’s taken place since the photo was first published. (It also led to USA TODAY’s decision to send this journalist on a 1,500-mile journey from the shores of Greece to Germany following and documenting the experiences of asylum seekers as they crossed multiple borders in harsh conditions.) "Photographs are visual stories. They communicate a story very quickly and put flesh and blood and humanity into statistics. They make policy personal," said Patty Rhule, a former USA TODAY editor and now vice president of content and exhibits at the Newseum, an interactive museum dedicated to the news, in Washington, D.C. "Everyone can relate to a father desperately trying to make a better life for his child, no matter the cost," she said of Le Duc’s photo of the drowned father and daughter after they tried to cross the river from Mexico to Brownsville,Texas. Many will recall the photos that, for them, make good on the well-trodden promise that "seeing is believing" or that a "picture is worth a thousand words." For some, it could be Nick Ut’s 1972 "Girl in the Picture" of screaming 9-year-old Kim Phuc, whose clothes were burned from her body by napalm dropped on her village in South Vietnam. The photograph became a defining image of the Vietnam War and showed Americans the abject horrors of a war half a world away. When, in 1989, American photojournalist Jeff Widener snapped an unidentified man the day after the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing refusing to move as he stood in front of a column of advancing Chinese military tanks, "Tank Man" became a symbol of brave resistance to authoritarian regimes everywhere. Kevin Carter's 1993 photograph for the New York Times of a plump vulture stalking a starving, emaciated child who had collapsed on her way to a feeding center in famine-racked Sudan helped shine a light on a crisis few at the time knew much about, said Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University, near Boston, and a leading expert on humanitarian issues, Sudan and African politics. Leaked 2004 pictures of prisoners being abused and tortured by U.S. military personnel at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad revealed to the American public what tens of thousands of newspaper column inches could not: that George W. Bush’s administration was, at the very least, guilty of singular neglect in the Iraq War. (Eleven U.S. Army soldiers were later convicted of crimes for various forms of abuse and mistreatment.) "Abu Ghraib was a terrible disappointment. And admittedly, I wasn’t there on the site, but I was the commander-in-chief of a military where these disgraceful acts took place that sent the absolute wrong image about America and our military," Bush said in an interview in 2008, as he for the first time took some responsibility for a scandal that shocked the world, undermined U.S. claims that the war was helping to bring democracy to the region and that still routinely fuels virulent anti-Americanism in the Middle East. In one of the most notorious images from Abu Ghraib, "The Hooded Man," a prisoner is seen standing on a box while holding electrical wires. He is posed, with arms outstretched, in a Christ-like stance. A black, conical hood covers his face. The list of images that have struck deep chords with consumers of news goes on. Hijacked planes smashing into the World Trade Center. Photographs and TV footage of police violently cracking down on peaceful marchers in Selma, Alabama, with "tear gas, nightsticks and whips" in what would become a defining moment of the black civil rights movement. Stanley Forman’s 1975 photograph of 19-year-old Diana Bryant and her 2-year-old goddaughter Tiare Jones falling from a broken fire escape during a fire in Boston that prompted officials in Massachusetts to pass new laws on fire-safety. The Miami Herald photographer Pat Farrell's photos from Haiti after Hurricane Ike and other lethal storms garnered him a Pulitzer Prize in 2009. His pictures led to tons of relief supplies flowing into Haiti to help families who had lost their homes and villages. Tima Kurdi, the aunt of the Kurdish-Syrian boy who drowned in 2015, told USA TODAY in an interview last year that she believes that the publication of the photo of her nephew has helped put pressure on policymakers to come up with solutions to refugee crises. Still, about six weeks after the photo of Kurdi was first published, donations to humanitarian groups working on migrations issues such as the Red Cross fell dramatically in Europe. A year later, they were back to where they were before his image was beamed around the world, according to a 2016 research report published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. "(Our empathy and responses are) short-lived when one doesn’t feel effective in doing something about the problem," said Paul Slovic, a professor of psychology at the University of Oregon and one of the authors of the study, in an email. "Why make yourself feel bad if you believe there is nothing important you can do? Better to turn your attention and energies toward other problems," he added. Slovic's study notes that due to "psychological obstacles to compassion" – the way the human brain decides to focus and linger on, or not, violence, disease, poverty and natural disasters, among other things – "an iconic photo of a single child" can be "worth more than hundreds of thousands of statistical lives." One illustration: By the time the image of Kurdi was published, conservative estimates put the death toll in Syria at 250,000. The public response? Not so much. "This is a dramatic testament to the inability of statistics to convey the meaning of mass atrocities and impact policy," the report, which advocated for creating "ways to effectively integrate emotions and slower, more analytic thinking into decision making" related to human tragedies, says of the reaction to the photo of Kurdi. Yet one group, RAICES, which provides free or low-cost legal services to immigrants and refugees in Texas, has called for taking a different approach to the photo of the Salvadoran father and daughter who were trying to make their way to American soil. "We will not be sharing the graphic image," the organization said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. "Instead we are sharing this photo that was given to media outlets by the family. No less heartbreaking, this photo depicts the family’s truth." In this other image, the family's truth offers no sign of impending tragedy. In fact, it shows Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez slighting leaning in to pose for a photo with his daughter Valeria. His smile is restrained, but his eyes radiate happiness. On the other side of him, sits his wife and Valeria's mother. She smiles broadly into the lens.

ea8930bea7f6de3aa2a765ff7916459a

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/07/09/metal-drinking-straw-fatally-impales-woman-england/1684768001/?fbclid=IwAR2UwiL-m5DM5VgnVC4c5ud1ZZoU8cbqCGHISCZG4PpiyaiMLoW39arwdew

Metal drinking straw fatally impales woman through her eye after fall

Metal drinking straw fatally impales woman through her eye after fall BOURNEMOUTH, England – A retired jockey died when she fell onto an eco-friendly metal drinking straw which impaled her eye, an inquest heard. Elena Struthers-Gardner, 60, who was known as "Lena," suffered brain injuries in the accident at her home in Broadstone, England. She was carrying a mason-jar style drinking glass with a screw-top lid in her kitchen when she collapsed. The 10-inch stainless steel straw entered her left eye socket and pierced her brain. Her death has led to a coroner warning that metal drinking straws should never be used with a lid that fixes them in place, and “great care should be taken” while using them. Plastic straw alternatives: McDonald's to test plastic straw alternatives in U.S. later this year Struthers-Gardner was fatally injured at her home on the evening of Nov. 22. In a statement read out by the coroner, her wife of four years Mandy Struthers-Gardner said she hadn’t heard the fall, but found Elena Struthers-Gardner lying on her front and making “unusual gurgling sounds”. When she turned Elena Struthers-Gardner over, she realized the straw had gone through her eye. “I did not hear her fall. “I went to the kitchen door and could see Lena lying on her front at the doorway between the den and the kitchen. “She was making unusual gurgling sounds. “Her glass cup was lying on the floor still intact and the straw was still in the jar. “I noticed the straw was sticking into her head. I called 999 and requested an ambulance. Opinion:Plastic straws ban is quite a straw man “While I was on the phone, Lena appeared to have stopped breathing. The lady on the phone asked me to turn her over. “I slid the glass off the straw and turned her over. I could see the straw had gone through her left eye.” Struthers-Gardner was rushed to Southampton General Hospital but died the following day. The inquest heard she suffered with mobility difficulties after a riding accident when she was 21. After a reduction in her high levels of fentanyl pain medication, she became alcohol dependent. Due to severe pain from her riding accident which caused multiple fractures to Struthers-Gardner’s lumbar spine that caused scoliosis, she was prone to falling over, collapsing at random intervals, her wife added. She said: “I just feel that in the hands of mobility challenged people like Elena, or children, or even able-bodied people losing their footing, these (straws) are so long and very strong. “Even if they don’t end a life they can be very dangerous.” The cause of death was a traumatic brain injury. Recording a conclusion of accidental death, assistant coroner Brendan Allen said: “Clearly great care should be taken when using these metal straws. There is no give in them at all. “If someone does fall on one and it’s pointed in the wrong direction, serious injury can occur. “It seems to me these metal straws should not be used with any form of lid that holds them in place. “It seems the main problem here is if the lid hadn’t been in place the straw would have moved away.” Follow Alex Echo on Twitter: @Winter_Alex

3f1193a1c31f2e9b3525114672125044

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/07/12/house-passes-bill-bar-trump-from-launching-iran-strike-and-end-us-support-saudi-arabia-war-in-yemen/1708612001/

House approves measure to block Trump from launching military strike against Iran

House approves measure to block Trump from launching military strike against Iran WASHINGTON – The House approved a measure Friday that would bar President Donald Trump from launching a military strike against Iran, setting up a confrontation with the White House over the administration's aggressive stance toward Tehran. The House proposal – which was added to a sweeping $733 billion defense bill by a vote of 251-to-170 – would bar the Trump administration from using any federal funds for military force "in or against" the Islamic Republic, unless the president receives explicit congressional approval for a strike. It would not bar the president from responding to an attack on the U.S. The underlying annual defense bill, passed on Friday by a vote of 220-to-197, also includes several other contentious provisions. It would, for example, reverse Trump's ban on transgender personnel serving in the military and enact a one-year ban on the sale of air-to-ground munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for use in the Yemen war. The Trump administration has pushed to bypass Congress in selling weapons to the Saudis and the UAE, sparking a bipartisan backlash. But the Iran provision was the most noteworthy, with 27 Republicans bucking the White House to support the measure. Trump nearly bombed Iran last month after Tehran shot down a U.S. military surveillance drone. Although the president called off the strike at the last minute, he has since threatened Iran with “obliteration” and warned that the U.S. would use “overwhelming force” if it attacked American assets or personnel. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said Iran was treading on very dangerous territory. "Iran if you're listening, you better be careful," the president said. More:House votes to end US role in Yemen, poised to block Trump from launching Iran strike More:Iranian ships tried to block British oil tanker in Persian Gulf Democrats say a war with Iran would be a prolonged and disastrous conflict – precisely the kind of “endless war” that Trump campaigned against in 2016. Some Republicans also fear that another war in the Middle East would be a terrible mistake, and there's bipartisan concern that Congress has ceded too much of its war powers to the president in recent years. "This is the only way to stop Trump from starting another costly war," said Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat and a lead sponsor of the measure. "This is how we democratize our foreign policy and put an end to unconstitutional wars." He authored the amendment with Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, who hailed its passage as in line with Trump's pledge to avoid far-flung military conflicts. "The Gaetz-Khanna amendment affirms what President Trump knows and believes: unfocused, unconstitutional, unending wars in the Middle East make America weaker, not stronger," Gaetz said Friday. "The time has come for Congress to once again reassert its constitutional authority and speak decisively on matters of war and peace." More:Iran begins uranium enrichment beyond limit set by 2015 nuclear deal in latest violation The GOP-held Senate rejected a similar proposal last month as that chamber debated its defense authorization bill, which would authorize $750 billion for Pentagon programs in the next fiscal year. Many Republicans warned that restricting Trump’s military options would be a dangerous step at a time when Iran has allegedly threatened U.S. assets in the region. “Bottom line, this amendment will give comfort to our enemy, who has the blood of Americans on their hands — from the Marine barracks bombing to the Iraq War — and who continues to hold American hostages to this day,” Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Tx., the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said during the House debate. The Iran vote came a day after the House approved another limit on Trump's foreign policy: an amendment that would force the administration to end U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia's military operations in Yemen. The twin legislative actions represent a new level of congressional push back against Trump's foreign policy, as Democrats use their House majority to rebuke the president over his aggressive stance toward Iran and his cozy ties with Saudi Arabia. Trump has already vetoed a stand-alone bill to end the U.S. role in Yemen. He argued it was "an unnecessary, dangerous attempt" to weaken his constitutional power. Republicans in Congress have also said that limiting U.S. involvement in Yemen would give Iran a green light to spread its influence across the region. The civil war in Yemen is essentially a proxy battle between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which is backing Houthi rebels who overthrew Yemen's government more than four years ago. More:Like what you’re reading? Download the USA TODAY app for more

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/07/16/north-korea-floats-idea-lifting-weapons-test-moratorium/1741804001/

North Korea floats idea of lifting weapons test moratorium

North Korea floats idea of lifting weapons test moratorium SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea says it is rethinking whether to abide by its moratorium on nuclear and missile tests and other steps aimed at improving ties with the U.S. The Foreign Ministry’s statement Tuesday appears aimed at applying more pressure on the U.S. as the two countries attempt to resume nuclear diplomacy. The statement says upcoming regular U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal are forcing it to rethink whether it should be committed to the promises it made to the U.S. It says President Donald Trump vowed to suspend military drills with South Korea during his first and third meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. It also says it is not bound by any legal documents to suspend nuclear and missile tests. More:Honeymoon over? North Korea says US 'hell-bent on hostile acts'

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/07/18/iran-seizes-oil-tanker-near-strait-hormuz-12-board/1764681001/

Iran seizes foreign oil tanker in Persian Gulf, 12 on vessel, state media reports

Iran seizes foreign oil tanker in Persian Gulf, 12 on vessel, state media reports Iran seized a foreign-registered oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, the country’s state-run media announced Thursday. The ship was captured Sunday. Twelve crew members were on the Panamanian-flagged vessel when it was taken near the Strait of Hormuz. The Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps, a powerful organization with links to the military and business, said the tanker tried to smuggle 1 million liters of oil. Nationalities of the crew members were not known. The incident was reported by Iran’s Press TV and other media outlets. U.S. Central Command in Bahrain, where the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet is based, said it was aware of what Iran reported but had no response to it yet. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it was trying to get more information about the tanker and why it was seized. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said the tanker was used to smuggle oil from Iran. Sunday, Iran said it helped a foreign-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz – one of the world’s major conduits for seaborne oil transportation – that ran into technical difficulties. Press TV released video footage showing Iranian navy boats circling the ship, called Riah. It said the vessel was seized for smuggling oil. This week, Iran said it towed the Riah, which is based in the United Arab Emirates, into Iranian waters for repairs after the ship sent out distress signals. Two Emirati oil tankers were among four tankers attacked in May in acts of sabotage that the United States blamed on Iran. Iran denied being behind the attacks. Iranian Foreign Minster Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters in New York on Thursday that Iran would offer a deal to the U.S. in which it would offer it enhanced inspections of its nuclear facilities in return for the permanent lifting of economic sanctions. Zarif characterized the offer as a “substantial move.” Zarif said the seized oil tanker was an ordinary maritime policing matter, saying “we do this kind of thing every day.” The White House did not immediately react, but, in response to a reporter’s question, President Donald Trump said a “big event just happened in Iran.” It wasn’t clear if Trump was referring to Zarif’s apparent offer. Tensions are high between the United States and Iran after the Trump administration pulled out of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and reimposed sweeping economic sanctions. Iran pledged to seize a British oil tanker after the Royal Navy impounded an Iranian oil tanker off the coast of Gibraltar, in the Mediterranean Sea, that British officials suspected was trying to smuggle Iranian oil to Syria in contravention of European Union sanctions. Iran denied the oil tanker was on its way to Syria. The Pentagon is preparing to send hundreds of troops to Saudi Arabia in the latest show of force toward Iran, CNN reported Wednesday. The move is part of Washington's broader plan to bolster U.S. forces in the region amid deteriorating relations with Iran, which shot down a U.S. drone last month. A Navy carrier strike force and other military equipment has been deployed. Britain's Royal Navy also increased its presence in the Gulf.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/07/23/boris-johnson-britain-new-prime-minister-profile-replacing-theresa-may/1802189001/

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson is like Trump. Only he isn't.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson is like Trump. Only he isn't. LONDON – Britain's new Prime Minister Boris Johnson is an eccentric character who is prone to gaffes, often projects a disheveled demeanor and has a tendency to offend allies and foes alike that has drawn comparisons to President Donald Trump. Johnson, 55, was unveiled as Theresa May's replacement on Tuesday – May exited her role Wednesday, when Johnson began his – following a vote by members of the ruling Conservative Party. In Britain, the public elects a party, not a specific prime minister, meaning the government of the day can install any elected politician it choses in No. 10 Downing Street – the official residence and office of Britain's highest office holder. Britain's latest prime minister entered 10 Downing Street after an audience with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Following tradition, the queen formally invited him to form a government. After that, Johnson made a speech and began announcing senior cabinet appointments. He inherits an extremely slim majority in Parliament that is propped up by Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionists. Johnson's first major challenge as leader is holding on to that majority. But who is he? New York-born Johnson is a direct descendant of King George II. His full name is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. He has passed through many of the hallowed corridors of the British establishment, including Eton College and Oxford University. Johnson relinquished his U.S. citizenship in 2016 amid a tax probe. He became the mayor of London in 2008, a role he used to advance a pro-business, pro-development agenda. Before that, Johnson was a member of Parliament and later served as foreign secretary in May's Cabinet. He resigned from that position, he said, because Britain's exit from the European Union – Brexit – was in danger of becoming a "dream (that) is dying, suffocated by needless self-doubt." On Tuesday, Johnson outlined a vision for Britain in which "like some slumbering giant we are going to rise and ping off the guy ropes of self doubt and negativity." In his first speech as leader outside 10 Downing Street, Johnson said Wednesday he would get "a new deal, a better deal from the EU on Brexit." Prior to getting into politics, Johnson was a journalist. He started as a reporter for the Times (of London) but was fired for fabricating a quote. He later edited The Spectator, a longstanding political magazine. His speeches are often laced with allusions to classical civilizations, black humor and ribald innuendo. They are also never far from controversy. "She's got dyed blonde hair and pouty lips, and a steely blue stare, like a sadistic nurse in a mental hospital," Johnson said of Hilary Clinton in 2007. As part of his campaign to become London's second ever mayor, Johnson said that "voting (for the Conservative Party he represented on the ballot) will cause your wife to have bigger breasts and increase your chances of owning a BMW M3." It was a confidence trick, and it worked. He has a tendency to play the buffoon. It's not clear if he is one. He's an enigma. Johnson is an enthusiastic bike rider, who when he was London's mayor could often be seen cycling to work on the capital's busy, pollution-soaked roads. Yet he's been accused of making racist and Islamophobic remarks and of a general lack of seriousness, whether in terms of articulating the risks of Brexit or in saying the wrong thing, at the wrong time, such as when he falsely claimed that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian national jailed in Iran since 2016 on spying charges, was "teaching people journalism." Johnson's remarks were later used against the mother-of-one in her trial, which the British government regards as a sham. He subsequently apologized for his remarks. In a 2002 column for Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper, Johnson referred to black people as "flag-waving piccaninnies" with "watermelon smiles." He has a complicated love life: Four children with his second wife, another daughter from an affair with a property developer, possibly a fifth child from yet another affair that he's refused to confirm or deny. He is a quarter-century older than his current girlfriend. If Americans don't recognize Johnson's face or name, they may be familiar with his hair. It's an unruly mop of blond hair that knows its own mind: crazy hair. "He’s a different kind of a guy, but they say I’m a different kind of a guy, too," Trump said approvingly of Johnson last week. "We get along well." On Tuesday, Trump described Johnson as "tough" and "smart." But Johnson is not simply a version of Trump with a classical education. He is infatuated with Winston Churchill, the cigar-chomping British politician. So much so that Johnson wrote a book about him, published in 2014. In "The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History," Johnson writes: "No normal family man produces more published words than Shakespeare and Dickens, combined, wins the Nobel Prize for literature, kills umpteen people in armed conflict on four continents, serves in every great office of state including Prime Minister (twice), is indispensable to victory in two world wars and then posthumously sells his paintings for a million dollars." One of Johnson's tactics as a politician is quintessentially British: self-deprecating humor. In an interview with USA TODAY around the time of the publication of his Churchill book, Johnson played down his similarities to Churchill: both started their careers as journalists, both have U.S. roots, writers both, political mavericks both. "I am not worthy to loose the latchet of his shoes. I have more in common with a three-toed sloth or a one-eyed pterodactyl or a Kalamata olive than I have with Winston Churchill," he said. Johnson also said in that same interview that his chance of one day becoming, like his hero Churchill, British prime minister was about as good as finding Elvis on Mars or being reincarnated as an olive. Well, he was wrong about that. "Boris Johnson is unpredictable," said Richard Whitman, a professor of politics at the University of Kent, in England. "Based on his track record as London's mayor and his campaigning style it's difficult to know beyond Brexit what he might want to achieve as prime minister. It could be a matter of style over substance." Whitman described Johnson as a "maverick." Like Jeremy Hunt, whom Johnson defeated on his way to win his new job, his Conservative vision for Britain beyond Brexit is fairly traditional: cut taxes and red tape to stimulate economic growth. He is socially liberal on issues from abortion rights to gender discrimination. He also speaks out about the benefits of immigration. Johnson also has criticized Trump's attacks on Democratic congresswomen. He is, beyond Brexit, a committed internationalist when it comes to full-throated support for organizations like the United Nations, NATO and the climate change pact. Still, his first few months in office are likely to be fraught with difficulties. Johnson has pledged to make sure that Britain departs the EU by October 31, even if that means leaving the 28-nation bloc without a formal exit arrangement. Yet it remains unclear whether British parliamentarians, who repeatedly voted down May's EU exit deal, will let a so-called no-deal Brexit take place because it could significantly harm Britain's economy; cause major disruptions at airports, sea ports and other borders; and risk disrupting many just-in-time supply-chain processes affecting fresh foods and essential medicines. Johnson has raised the prospect of bypassing Parliament to deliver a "no-deal" Brexit. "Boris Johnson's commitment to delivering Brexit by Oct. 31 is absolute. He knows if he doesn't, he will be finished," said Iain Duncan Smith, a Johnson supporter and former leader of the Conservative Party. "The first 100 days of his leadership will be all about leaving the European Union. Boris has got to be ready for this." Johnson has ruled out joining any theoretical Trump push to war with Iran over its nuclear program, although he faces the immediate problem of how to respond to Iran's seizing in the Strait of Hormuz of a British-flagged oil tanker. During his election campaign, Johnson went to great lengths to avoid criticizing Trump for his role in the resignation of Kim Darroch, Britain's ambassador to Washington. Whitman of the University of Kent said the first Trump-Johnson press conference "will be fascinating to watch because they are both showmen." He said in terms of the underlying "special relationship" between the U.S. and Britain – forged over decades of close economic and military ties – Johnson's ascension would not dramatically change the flavor of Britain's U.S. partnership. That assessment was endorsed by Matt Beech, the director of the Center for British Politics at the University of Hull. Beech said that while Johnson support everything Trump says or tweets, and temperamentally both men were politically "idiosyncratic" and "instinctive," it doesn't really matter who occupies "No. 10." He said that when "it all boils down," Johnson, like Hunt, May, David Cameron and other senior mainstream British politicians of recent years, "all realize" they need to get on with the world's most powerful nation and leader. They need to get on with Trump. Johnson has promised a "new spirit of can do" for this and other aspects of his tenure. "I say to all the doubters: 'Dude, we are going to energize the country," we are going to get Brexit done,'" he said in his victory speech.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/07/27/moscow-protests-hundreds-detained-demonstration-over-election/1846190001/

Hundreds detained in shoving match with Moscow police over election protest

Hundreds detained in shoving match with Moscow police over election protest More than 500 protesters, including prominent activists, were detained Saturday near the Moscow mayor's office as Russian police jostled with demonstrators demanding that opposition-backed candidates be allowed to run for City Council elections. Opposition figure Alexei Navalny was jailed Wednesday for calling the protest, which police deemed illegal. A similar protest last weekend at a location farther from the center of Moscow had been officially approved. Also detained in advance were other prominent opposition politicians, including Ilya Yashin, Dmitry G. Gudkov and Ivan Zhdanov. Moscow's Mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, had called the demonstration a "security threat," and promised to maintain public order, the BBC reported. The crowd appeared to number several thousand people, but there was no official estimate of its size. OVD-Info, an organization that monitors political arrests, said 638 people had been detained about an hour after the protest began, while the city police department put the number at 295, according to state news agency TASS. As the demonstration got underway, lines of helmeted riot police tried to push back the protesters, some of whom resisted physically. Demonstrators shouted slogans including “Russia will be free!” Authorities have denied the opposition-backed candidates from appearing on the Sept. 8 ballot, claiming that they failed to garner enough valid signatures. The opposition said the allegations were false. The 45-seat Moscow City Council is controlled by the pro-Kremlin United Russia party. The street in front of City Hall was blocked by riot police and members of the National Guard, according to The Moscow Times. Some protesters, driven into nearby streets, tore down some police barriers, the newspaper said. Navalny's video studio, which had been sending a live webcast of the protest via YouTube, was shut down by helmeted police who forced their way into the room. Police also searched Dozhd, an internet TV station also known as Rain TV that was covering the protest. Alexandra Perepelova, the station's editor in chief, was ordered to undergo questioning at the Investigative Committee. Contributing: The Associated Press

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/07/28/nigeria-suspected-boko-haram-extremist-attack-kills-60-maiduguri/1853053001/

Extremist attack kills more than 60 people in Nigeria; Boko Haram suspected

Extremist attack kills more than 60 people in Nigeria; Boko Haram suspected MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – Suspected Boko Haram extremists killed more than 60 people in an attack on villagers leaving a funeral in northeastern Nigeria, a local official said Sunday. It was the deadliest extremist attack against civilians in the region this year. Muhammad Bulama, council chairman of the Nganzai local government area, told reporters that 11 other people were wounded during the attack at midday Saturday. He called it a reprisal after villagers and civilian self-defense forces fought off a Boko Haram ambush in the area two weeks ago, killing 11 extremists. Nigerians last week marked the grim 10-year anniversary of the Boko Haram insurgency, which has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. The extremists are known for mass abductions of schoolgirls and putting young women and men into suicide vests for attacks on markets, mosques and other high-traffic areas. 'In God We Trust':Must now be displayed at every public school in South Dakota The extremists, who seek to impose a strict Islamic state in the region, have defied the claims of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration over the years that the insurgency has been crushed. The violence also has spilled into neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon. Nigeria’s military did not immediately comment on Saturday’s attack. Bunu Bukar, secretary of the Borno Hunters Association, a self-defense group, said the extremists roared up on Saturday on motorbikes and opened fire on villagers returning from offering funeral prayers for a relative. He said his colleagues had recovered nearly two dozen bodies. Bana Musa, who also serves on the local council, told the Associated Press that some people managed to escape the gunfire.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/07/29/brazil-prison-riot-leaves-52-dead-prisoners-decapitated-asphyxiated/1858272001/

Brazil prison riot leaves 57 inmates dead, 16 decapitated

Brazil prison riot leaves 57 inmates dead, 16 decapitated RIO DE JANEIRO — At least 57 prisoners were killed by other inmates during clashes between organized crime groups in the Altamira prison in northern Brazil Monday with 16 of the victims being decapitated, according to prison officials. Para state prison authorities said a fight erupted around 7 a.m. between the Rio de Janeiro-based Comando Vermelho and a local criminal group known as Comando Classe A. "Leaders of the (Comando Classe A) set fire to a cell belonging to one of the prison's pavilions, where members of the (Comando Vermelho) were located," the statement read. State prisons chief Jarbas Vasconcelos said the fire had spread rapidly with inmates held in old container units that had been adapted for the prison while another building is under construction. The fire prevented police forces from entering the building for several hours, he told a news conference. Two prison staff members were held hostage, but eventually released. "It was a targeted attack. The aim was to show that it was a settling of accounts between the two groups, not a protest or rebellion against the prison system," Vasconcelos said. Authorities have not found any firearms following the riot, only makeshift knives. Prison authorities said 46 inmates will be transferred to other prisons, 10 of which will go to stricter federal facilities. President Jair Bolsonaro was elected on the promise of curbing widespread violence in Brazil, including in the country's often overcrowded, out-of-control prisons. The Associated Press obtained a July 2019 report from the National Justice Council that it says was filed by a local judge in charge of the facility, showing that the prison had 343 detainees for a maximum capacity of 163. $143M settlement reached:Deadly gas explosions rocked Massachusetts last September Witnesses hid behind brick wall:Officer hurt in shootout at popular Arkansas tourist area Yet Vasconcelos said the situation did not meet the official requirements to be considered overcrowded. "It is not a unit that has a prison overcrowding, we consider overcrowding when it exceeds 210%," Vasconcelos said during the press conference. The judge who filed the report described the overall state of the prison in the city of Altamira as "terrible." In many of Brazil's prisons, badly outnumbered guards struggle to retain power over an ever-growing population of inmates who are able to run criminal activities from behind bars. The killings echoed those of 55 inmates who died in a series of riots in May in several prisons in the neighboring state of Amazonas. In early 2017, more than 120 inmates died in prisons across several northern states when rival gangs clashed over control of drug-trafficking routes in the region. The violence lasted several weeks, spreading to various states. Para state authorities spent the afternoon in Altamira, drafting a security plan to avoid possible retaliations in the region. Police forces from the nearby municipality of Santerem were sent as reinforcement in the coming weeks. Prison authorities said they had not received any prior intelligence reports of an upcoming attack. The prison is run directly by the state, not a third-party private operator as in the Manaus prisons where the riots took place in May. Last year, inmates had already set fire to another wing inside the same prison unit, according to the state prosecutors' office.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/02/north-korea-if-trump-wont-condemn-missile-tests-kim-may-escalate/1894476001/

Trump dismisses North Korea missile tests. Experts say he's giving Kim regime a 'free pass'

Trump dismisses North Korea missile tests. Experts say he's giving Kim regime a 'free pass' WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump and his national security advisers have repeatedly declined to criticize North Korea’s latest weapons tests, shrugging them off as small-scale and reiterating their desire to restart negotiations with Kim Jong Un. "These missiles tests are not a violation of our signed Singapore agreement," Trump tweeted on Friday, referring to Kim's pledge last year to halt long-range missile and nuclear testing during their summit last summer. "Chariman Kim has a great and beautiful vision for his country, and only the United States, with me as President, can make that vision come true," the president added. "He will do the right thing because he is far too smart not to, and he does not want to disappoint his friend, President Trump!" That kind of response, some experts warn, is an open invitation for Kim to push the envelope when it comes to additional provocations. “That’s a free pass given to North Korea, but it goes beyond that,” said Sung-Yon Lee, a Korean Studies professor at Tufts University's Fletcher School. 'Too bad!':Trump responds to reports of a burglary at Rep. Elijah Cummings' Baltimore home “North Korea has routinized, has conditioned, the U.S. to accept these periodic short-range missile tests as a fact of life,” Lee said. And because the Trump administration has not condemned the tests, he said, Kim may ratchet up to intermediate or even long-range missiles. North Korea has now conducted at least five weapons tests over the last three months, launching several short-range ballistic missiles in May and more in July. North Korea’s state media said its latest test, conducted earlier this week, was a new “large caliber” guided rocket system. Although Trump and his advisers have publicly downplayed the tests, others in the administration have conceded they are troubling. A senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under terms set by the administration, said the missile launches were “unwelcome” and counterproductive, particularly in light of North Korea's delay in restarting negotiations. “Obviously any kind of provocations are unwelcome in this environment,” said the State Department official. “There is a common view that this is a huge mistake and a self-inflicted damage on their own part.” Indeed, while the short-range missile tests may not pose a direct threat to the U.S., they do to South Korea and potentially Japan as well – two vital American allies in the region. And European leaders denounced North Korea's actions. "We reiterate our condemnation of such launches, which are violations of UN Security Council Resolutions," the United Kingdom, France and Germany said in a joint statement on Thursday. "We urge North Korea to take concrete steps towards its complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation." In his tweets on Friday, Trump said the tests "may be a United Nations violation but ... Chairman Kim does not want to disappoint me with a violation of trust." “It’s very much under control," Trump told reporters Thursday. “Short-range missiles, we never made an agreement on that.” Michael Fuchs, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs in the Obama administration, said Kim is testing Trump – and learning an important lesson from the president's muted response. “This is part of the negotiations, and I think that (Kim) is learning … that he can get away with this because President Trump has made it so clear, so publicly, in so many ways how invested he is in this process as a success,” said Fuchs, now a foreign policy expert with the liberal Center for American Progress. "The fact that North Korea hasn’t actually given up anything yet, the fact that North Korea is resuming missile testing, all gets in the way of the success narrative Trump wants to build.” Russia sanctions:Donald Trump sanctions Russia over nerve agent attack on former spy in Britain Trump met Kim last month at the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea – his third face-to-face summit with the dictator after an initial summit in Singapore last year and a meeting in Hanoi in February. In Singapore, Trump and Kim signed a vague agreement to work toward the full denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. But Kim has not taken any concrete steps toward relinquishing his nuclear arsenal, and the second round of talks in Hanoi collapsed after Kim asked for sweeping sanctions relief in exchange for partial denuclearization. Trump hailed the DMZ meeting in June as historic and "legendary." But that event, while dramatic, did not produce any breakthroughs. Instead, Trump and Kim agreed only to set up negotiating teams aimed at restarting talks to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. And that has not happened. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hoped North Korea would send its foreign minister to Bangkok this week, where the American diplomat was participating in a meeting of Southeast Asian nations. "I wish they had gotten here," Pompeo said Thursday in Bangkok. Asked about the missile tests, he said the "diplomatic path is often fraught with bumps ... We are still fully committed to achieving the outcome that we've laid out." Trump and Sweden:Trump and Sweden don't see eye to eye – on anything Kim has not named any negotiators or agreed to any specific timeline for those talks. North Korean state media has portrayed the country's recent missile tests as a “solemn warning” to protest planned joint military exercises scheduled next month. Those U.S.-South Korea exercises have been scaled back to be less provocative, but Kim’s regime has suggested the U.S. is “reneging” on its agreement to halt such activities. Lee and others said that's not the real reason Kim has been testing new weapons. “These exercises are non-threatening, mostly computer-simulated, and they’ve been going on for the past 40 years – literally since 1978,” Lee said. They offer Kim a “pretext” to test weapons, which is actually driven by technical needs in North Korea’s development process and a desire to gain leverage if and when the talks do restart, said Scott Snyder, director of U.S.-Korea policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, a foreign policy think tank. 'Immigrants Built America':Trump Cincinnati rally interrupted by protesters “It’s pretty clear they’re trying to shape the environment for those talks,” he said. Fuchs agreed that Kim is “trying to use this to put pressure on both South Korea and the United States.” "Part of his tactic here is to keep everything, as much as possible, in negotiations with Trump himself,” Fuchs said. “And to continue to buy as much leverage and time as he can to get what he thinks is a good deal out of the guy at the top.”

a78b1f4a1ddde88b33e3ebce4bb1ba8b

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/02/trump-sweden-relationship-asap-rocky/1877464001/

Trump and Sweden don't see eye to eye – on anything

Trump and Sweden don't see eye to eye – on anything STOCKHOLM – Rinkeby, where Iraqi immigrant Hussein Jawadi owns a small grocery story in a suburb of this Scandinavian capital, is not what might be called traditional "storybook" Sweden: white, Christian, rural. No one has blonde hair and blue eyes. Or drives a Volvo. Or listens to the pop group ABBA and other common stereotypes. If Sweden is a nation of pristine, forested archipelagoes and chic design, where an efficient welfare state ensures a high standard of living – and where the Viking heritage of its tall, reserved citizens remains endlessly apparent – then Rinkeby is its near-opposite: urban, crammed with grubby apartment blocks, never far from unrest, the faces on the streets overwhelmingly of African descent, usually Somalia. "There’s problems here," said Jawadi. "Drugs and weapons. But from what I have seen on the news and in movies, not more than New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore." Over the weekend, President Donald Trump called Baltimore "a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess." He appears to have a thing about low-income enclaves in Europe like Rinkeby, if his statements and tweets are to be believed. He has spoken of a "sea of blood" in London and "petrified" police in "no-go" areas of Paris. But the president keeps coming back – refraining, rhetorically – to Sweden. In his 1987 book, "The Art of the Deal," Trump reaffirmed a false myth about his family's origins, writing that his father's father came to the U.S. "from Sweden as a child" when he actually came from Germany. He never fully explained the falsehood. "Sweden," Trump said during a campaign-style rally in Florida in 2017. "They took in large numbers. They’re having problems like they never thought possible." He was referring to the nation's refugee policy. In the same speech, he referenced a nonexistent terror attack in the nation to bolster his calls for tighter immigration policies. Last month, Sweden's 10 million inhabitants were reminded about the outsize role their country plays in Trump's thinking when he offered to come to the aid of A$AP Rocky, an American rapper who was charged with assault for getting into a fight with a 19-year-old immigrant from Afghanistan on a street in Stockholm. The incident occurred a few days ahead of A$AP Rocky’s scheduled performance at a music festival. Prosecutors allege the musician attacked Mustafa Jafari with a glass bottle. A$AP Rocky, born Rakim Mayers, denies the charge. After his trial in Stockholm – he faced a maximum sentence of two years in prison – a judge on Wednesday found the American rapper guilty of assault and ordered him to pay a fine to the victim. Ahead of the verdict, A$AP Rocky was not ordered to remain in custody or surrender his passport, meaning he was allowed to leave Sweden in early August with two other co-defendants. "A$AP Rocky released from prison and on his way home to the United States from Sweden. It was a Rocky Week, get home ASAP A$AP!," Trump tweeted at the time. On Wednesday, the musician was given a suspended sentence. Trump has reacted atypically to the case. Even though Sweden, in common with many European countries, doesn’t have a bail system – something Dennis Martinsson, a legal expert at Stockholm University said ensures the wealthy can't "buy their temporary freedom" – Trump had offered to cover A$AP Rocky’s bail. And in a move that political scientists say there are few historical precedents for in respect of purely criminal cases, Trump publicly asked Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven to intervene on the international rap star's behalf, saying in a tweet that Sweden "let our African American community down" by not freeing him. Löfven refused, pointing out that the government can’t meddle in legal proceedings. "There certainly are countries around the world where the judiciary is little more than an instrument of the arbitrary powers of the ruling strongman, and where the political leadership can send people in and out of prison at their discretion. Sweden is most certainly not one of those countries," Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden, wrote in an opinion piece about Trump’s offer in The Washington Post last week. "I’ve been having trouble coming up with examples of such blatant judicial interference from a world leader," said Merrick Tabor, an American-born professor of international relations at Stockholm University. Tabor noted that last year Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu claimed Trump was working on extraditing exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen, a longtime target of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Gulen lives in Pennsylvania and Turkey considers him to be the orchestrator of a failed 2016 coup. However, Çavuşoğlu's claim, later disputed by Trump, has political overtones despite Turkey framing it as a criminal case. Gülen is not accused of any crimes in the U.S. Trump began taking an interest in A$AP Rocky's case after Kanye West, the rap star, and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, brought it to the White House’s attention. But the president has appeared to treat the incident as an international hostage crisis, dispatching Robert O'Brien, a presidential envoy for hostage affairs, to the trial in Stockholm. The State Department said O'Brien traveled at the White House's request. In an interview, O'Brien told USA TODAY that it was "entirely appropriate" for him to attend the trial despite it being a criminal case. "When foreign governments hold American citizens it's always appropriate," he added when challenged over whether it sent the wrong signal to Sweden's government, a longstanding American ally. "The president sent me. That also makes it appropriate," he said. Meanwhile, Trump expressed little interest in the case of Francisco Erwin Galicia, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen who was detained in federal immigration custody for nearly a month. Authorities questioned the authenticity of Galicia’s identity documents when he was stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Texas. He was released last week. Trump has also mostly shrugged off the dismembering of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi national but U.S.-resident who was killed inside the kingdom’s embassy in Istanbul in October last year. A United Nations probe reported "credible evidence" that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a major ally of the Trump administration, bore responsibility for the killing. "We're headed into a campaign year, and it may be no coincidence that the person Trump is advocating for is a popular African-American rapper," said Grant Reeher, a professor of political science at Syracuse University, adding that Trump might be trying to counter some of the criticism he received for his recent attacks on four Democratic congresswomen who have challenged his policies from immigration to climate change. "The criminal justice system of a socialistic European country that is fairly homogeneous and very white. All of that might have been irresistible to him." 'All Trump can see is the propaganda' Of the two dozen Swedes USA TODAY encountered across Stockholm while reporting this story only a few believed, contrary to Trump's suggestion that Sweden was letting "our African American community down," that the color of A$AP Rocky’s skin played a role in his detention. All thought the authorities were handling the case correctly and the performer, despite a single TMZ report, was being treated well, and fairly. They also pointed out that the plaintiff, Jafari, is himself an ethnic minority immigrant. "There’s not much to read into it," said Leo Nyström, a communications manager. "The Swedish state believe he committed a crime. So he's being tried for that crime." And back in Rinkeby and other relatively deprived immigrant districts of Stockholm, residents are adamant that Trump has got the country all wrong, although they acknowledge that there are vulnerable areas in Sweden just like any other country. Shortly after Trump, in 2017, made the false claim about a terror attack in Sweden, several dozen masked men in Rinkeby started riots that led to half a dozen cars being burned out and vandalized storefronts. Crowds threw rocks at police and a journalist was attacked and beaten. Rinkeby was also the site of riots in 2013, and in 2010 about 100 youths threw bricks, set fires and attacked the neighborhood’s local police station. "Since Trump hasn't been to this area he's not entitled to talk about what it's like,” said Abshir Osman, 17, who was working in a youth club in Tensta, which is next to Rinkeby, in northern Stockholm. Osman’s parents are from Somalia. He lives in a four-room apartment with them and eight of his siblings. Tensta has been branded by right-wing U.S. media such as Breitbart, Russia's Sputnik and some Swedish tabloid newspapers as a "no-gone" zone because of its foreign-born population. "All Trump can see is the propaganda. This area is multicultural, that’s true, but it’s also very friendly, people will help you even if they don’t know you. We have Muslims, Jews, Christians. We all live together with out any major problems," said Osman, painting an extremely rosy picture of a neighborhood Swedish police have identified as a "problem area" because of its high crime rates and low socioeconomic status. About 19% of Swedish residents were born abroad in 2018, up from 11% a decade ago, according to Sweden Statistics, a government agency. Immigrants account for 13.6% of the U.S. population, triple the share in 1970, according to the Pew Research Center. The U.S. numbers are from 2017 census data, the most recent available. "It’s wonderful that Swedes have big hearts and want to help people (through liberal immigration policies)," said Ami Horowitz, a New York-based filmmaker who made a documentary in 2016 about Sweden’s immigrant neighborhoods that portrayed places like Rinkeby and Tensta as unsafe and largely out of the control of Swedish authorities. When USA TODAY visited these areas many residents were disinclined to speak with the media and quickly left the immediate area to avoid answering questions. They don't trust the press here. Horowitz was beaten up while making his film. It highlighted what he claimed – and what the Swedish government and the vast majority of social scientists here such as Stockholm University criminologist Jerzy Sarnecki dispute – was a runaway immigration policy that led to an increase in rape and murder. Horowitz was interviewed about his film on FOX News, and Trump indirectly referred to it in his speech mentioning Sweden at the campaign-style rally in Florida in 2017. "My only point is that you have to be real about the social consequences of such an immigration policy," Horowitz said of his film, which continues to be widely vilified in Sweden for its inaccurate and selective reporting, an allegation Horowitz disputes. Horowitz said he believes Trump periodically brings up Sweden in his speeches and tweets because it represents a "liberal bastion that in a lot ways is very different from the United States … Democratic socialism, open immigration policy, high taxes, welfare state, there’s no question Sweden is a paradigm of things the president doesn’t like." 'Trump doesn’t mention Norway that much' Earlier this year, the Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration party, became the third-largest political group in Sweden following an election where its support surged after Sweden accepted 160,000 asylum seekers in 2015, at the height of a refugee crisis in Europe. At the time, Sweden accepted more asylum seekers on a proportional basis than any other nation in the region, including Germany, which accepted 1 million. Germany, and its Chancellor Angela Merkel, is also a frequent Trump target. Sweden has since tightened its asylum laws. It is now more difficult, for example, for parents to be reunited with their children. Permanent residency is harder to acquire. For political liberals, it can be hard to see what Trump objects to about Sweden. Along with other Nordic countries such as Denmark, Finland and Norway, Sweden routinely tops global rankings that measure "quality of life" aspects such as access to food and housing, education and health care, job security, political stability, human rights and the environment. Sweden took the No. 2 spot after Canada in U.S. News and World Report's 2019 "Best Countries" ranking. The U.S. came in at No. 17. Comparing crime data across nations is difficult because of the way countries track and record these data differently. However, since 2002, the number of incidents of lethal violence in Sweden has varied between 68 and 113 cases per year, according to Sweden's National Crime Survey. The Swedish Crime Agency defines lethal violence as inclusive of murder, manslaughter and assault with a deadly outcome. In the U.S. in 2017, the latest year for which data are available, there were 17,284 murders, according to the FBI. This translates as 1 murder per 20,000 people. In Sweden, the lethal violence rate is approximately 1 per 88,000 people. Last year, Sweden's generous social benefits and commitment to gender equality, earned it the "most reputable country" in the world, according to one annual ranking. "Sweden is like a paradise to me: the food, the culture, the smell,” said Iywb Sharif, 26, who is originally from Somalia. He is a social worker and lives in Norway. However, the "paradise" Sharif was talking about wasn’t the meatballs you can buy at IKEA, the Swedish ready-to-assemble furniture giant, or the fashionable clothes available at Hennes & Mauritz, the nation’s multinational clothing-retail company that is a mainstay of most European capital cities. Sharif was talking about Rinkeby. He was visiting for a couple of days to attend a friend's wedding. Since arriving in Norway as a teenager he has embraced the country. But the cafes in Rinkeby with groups of African men hunched over small tables drinking coffee and discussing politics; the aroma wafting from kebab stands; women in headscarves: Rinkeby reminded Sharif of home – Somalia. "Trump doesn’t mention Norway that much," he reflected. Except that Trump has. "We should have more people from Norway," Trump said last year, a country he mentioned while making derogatory comments about other countries of migration.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/08/el-paso-shooting-suspect-mom-called-police-sons-weapon-lawyer/1952588001/

Mom of El Paso shooting suspect asked police about son's 'AK'-type weapon, lawyer says

Mom of El Paso shooting suspect asked police about son's 'AK'-type weapon, lawyer says An attorney for the family of the man charged in the El Paso shootings said the man's mother contacted police weeks before the rampage out of concern that her son had a rifle. Twenty-two people died and dozens were injured after a white gunman targeting a Hispanic area opened fire at a Walmart in the border city Saturday. Dallas attorney Chris Ayres told The Associated Press the call was made to police in the suspected shooter’s town of Allen, Texas, a Dallas suburb. Ayres and fellow attorney R. Jack Ayres told CNN that the suspect’s mother contacted the Allen Police Department to ask about an "AK"-type firearm he owned. Thursday, Chris Ayres confirmed the report to USA TODAY. The attorneys said the mother was only seeking information and wasn't motivated by a concern that her son was a threat to anybody. They said the mother didn't identify herself or her son in the call. The lawyers told CNN the mother was concerned about her son's age, maturity level and lack of experience but was told by a public safety officer that her son, who is 21, was legally allowed to possess the weapon. A family statement sent by Chris Ayres to USA TODAY said the suspected shooter acted outside the family's teachings and values. "He was raised in a family that taught love, kindness, respect, and tolerance – rejecting all forms of racism, prejudice, hatred, and violence," the statement says. "There will never be a moment for the rest of our lives when we will forget each and every victim of this senseless tragedy." Sgt. Jon Felty, Allen police spokesman, said he couldn't confirm the call. "I have nothing in the database to support this claim," he told USA TODAY on Thursday. El Paso Strong:Cowboys donating $50,000 to victims in El Paso shooting Gun control:Trump considers tougher background checks for gun buyers after shootings Police said Patrick Crusius drove 580 miles from Allen to El Paso, which has a high concentration of Latinos, after posting a racist screed online. Authorities said he surrendered to police with his hands up about a quarter-mile from the El Paso Walmart where the attack happened. He faces charges of capital murder in state court and may face federal hate crime charges that could carry a death sentence if he's convicted. Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/08/un-climate-change-report-reveals-threats-food-supply-how-fix/1952720001/

UN report: Climate change threatens our food supply. Here's how we can fix it

UN report: Climate change threatens our food supply. Here's how we can fix it Global warming on land is happening at a rapid rate, and humans will need to change the way they eat and farm to help save the planet, a new United Nations report says. The report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change describes a cycle in which the problems of land degradation and climate change exacerbate each other to make land and climate less livable. "The cycle is accelerating," NASA climate scientist Cynthia Rosenzweig, a report co-author, told The Associated Press. "The threat of climate change affecting people’s food on their dinner table is increasing." 'Killed' by climate change:Iceland to erect memorial to lost glacier The review says climate change threatens our food supply "through increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and greater frequency of some extreme events." The IPCC report, published Thursday and titled "Climate Change and Land," is the latest from scientists around the globe studying climate change and how humans can stop – or contribute to – global temperature increases. U.N. countries agreed during the Paris climate change conference in 2015 that global temperature increases need to be kept below 2 degrees Centigrade to prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change. That 2-degree measure is a conservative estimate, and countries agreed to strive to keep the rise below 1.5 degrees. President Donald Trump announced in 2017 his decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement. Arctic on fire:Thanks to climate change, parts of the Arctic are on fire. Scientists are concerned "Warming over land has occurred at a faster rate than the global mean, and this has had observable impacts on the land system," the U.N. report authors wrote. The report focuses on how farming and food production further the problem. The IPCC estimates that 25% to 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from food systems. Changing the food we eat by switching to healthy and sustainable diets full of grains, fruits, vegetables and nuts could reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Meat is identified as "the single food with the greatest impact on the environment" in the report. Even the trees are moving:Fed up with climate change, trees are moving north and west Food waste is identified as a major problem: About a third of all food produced is lost or wasted, according to the report. The report stresses the need to protect the land, which can act as a carbon sink and absorb gasses that warm the atmosphere. "This additional gift from nature is limited. It’s not going to continue forever," study co-author Louis Verchot, a scientist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Colombia, told The Associated Press. "If we continue to degrade ecosystems, if we continue to convert natural ecosystems, we continue to deforest and we continue to destroy our soils, we’re going to lose this natural subsidy." 99.9999% chance:We're the cause of global warming, study says Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/12/hong-kong-protests-shut-down-airport/1984594001/

Hong Kong's airport canceled all flights on Monday as protests raged. Here's why.

Hong Kong's airport canceled all flights on Monday as protests raged. Here's why. Hong Kong International Airport shut down all flights after thousands of pro-democracy protesters flooded the airport's main terminal Monday afternoon. The airport said in a statement that operations have been "seriously disrupted as a result of the public assembly at the airport today.” The demonstration is the latest in a series of mass protests spanning two months. Hong Kong activists are calling for more autonomy from Beijing and an independent inquiry into police behavior. Here's what we know about the unrest in Hong Kong. When and why did the protests start? The tension was sparked by a since-shelved extradition bill, which would have allowed some suspects to be sent for trial in mainland China. Opponents believed the bill would expand Beijing's control on the bustling international hub. Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997, when China absorbed Hong Kong in a handover. Since then, Hong Kong operates under a "one country, two systems" framework that was supposed to allow the territory to retain its own social, legal and political systems for 50 years. Many Hongkongers have concerns over Beijing asserting its control and believe that Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who originally introduced the extradition legislation, must resign. The protests kicked off on June 9 as hundreds of thousands peacefully took to the streets until a group stormed the government headquarters, where police responded with batons and pepper spray. Since then, the conflict has intensified significantly into violence between protesters and police. Lau, a flight attendant protesting at the airport on his day off, said protesters' outrage stems from police's forceful tactics. He gave only his surname to avoid repercussions from his employer. “The police have told a lot of lies to Hong Kong people," Lau said. "We cannot believe them anymore. We have to come here to protest." Airport shut down:Hong Kong airport shuts down amid pro-democracy protest How have tensions escalated? Though Lam suspended the bill on June 15 and called it "dead" in a press conference, protests kept growing, eventually turning into a full-blown democracy movement. The activists' demands include Lam's resignation, democratic elections for her successor and investigations into police force. In Beijing, the Cabinet’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said the protests were "beginning to show the sprouts of terrorism," and serve as an "existential threat" to the residents of Hong Kong. Beijing officials could use the growing unrest to crack down on Hong Kong. Protesters have been subject to aggressive tactics on the part of riot police. One young woman was hit in the eye with a rubber bullet by Hong Kong police during a protest. Activist leader Joshua Wong tweeted a picture of her face covered in blood, which has since been widely circulated. "I am not sure whether her right eye will turn blind or not but it is totally insane and terrible," Wong tweeted. "US should not export tear gas and rubber bullet to HK Police anymore." At the airport protest Monday, protesters used the slogan "an eye for an eye," according to South China Morning Post. Police have also reported injuries, including eye irritation from laser pointers and burns from gasoline bombs. During protests over the weekend at the airport, protesters tossed bricks at officers. More:Protesters storm Hong Kong legislative chamber; police fire tear gas to break siege What's next for travelers at the airport? For now, more than 100 flights are grounded. The airport is one of the busiest in the world, as Hong Kong is a haven for international business. Travelers from around the world are stranded and confused. CNN reported that one girl traveling by herself needed to get foreign currency but found the exchange desk closed. She told CNN she had no idea how to exit the airport. Some travelers have been offered free Airport Express train rides to the city, according to SCMP. Bus services are now back to normal. The numbers of protesters have dwindled with only a few hundred protesters remaining, SCMP reported. The Airport Authority released a statement saying it hoped to continue flights beginning 6 a.m. Tuesday but told passengers not to arrive unless their flights are confirmed. "The AA will work closely with its business partners with a view to gradually resume normal airport operations as soon as possible," authorities said. Contributing: Associated Press

76886fcaf1306c4be730f8b31615ed7b

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/13/hong-kong-airport-protests-clashes-between-police-and-protesters/1997186001/

Ten dramatic images from the Hong Kong airport protests and clashes with police

Ten dramatic images from the Hong Kong airport protests and clashes with police Protests at Hong Kong International Airport escalated for a second day, causing flights to be canceled at one of the busiest airports in the world. Two months ago, demonstrators took to the streets in opposition to a bill that would allow the extradition of people in Hong Kong to stand trial in Communist Party-ruled mainland China. Many Hong Kong residents feared that the bill would erode the civil liberties and political freedoms set up under a 1997 agreement that established an arrangement deemed "one country, two systems" that allows Hong Kong to operate as a semiautonomous region. Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam said that the bill would be suspended, but protesters want her to entirely withdraw the bill from consideration and step down from her post. She so far refused to negotiate with protestors. More:Protesters cripple Hong Kong airport for a 2nd day More:Hong Kong's business reputation takes hit with second day of airport chaos President Donald Trump weighed in on the protests while talking to reporters on Tuesday. "The Hong Kong thing is a very tough situation. I hope it works out. I hope it works out for liberty. I hope it works out for China," he said, not explaining more. Here are ten images and videos from the clashes between protesters and police in Hong Kong:

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/14/climate-change-greta-thunberg-sets-sail/2010820001/

Anchors away: Teen eco-activist Greta Thunberg sets sail for UN conference on zero-carbon boat

Anchors away: Teen eco-activist Greta Thunberg sets sail for UN conference on zero-carbon boat Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg began her journey to the United States today for the United Nations Climate Conference. Her mode of travel is fitting for someone who's climate conscious: She's arriving in an eco-friendly boat. The 16-year-old, who has inspired youth protests around the world, left Wednesday afternoon from Plymouth in the United Kingdom. She's making her two week voyage across the Atlantic in a zero-emissions racing yacht, emphasizing the need to reduce carbon emissions worldwide. Thunberg spearheaded a global demonstration in March when tens of thousands of students walked out of school to protest inaction on climate change: rising global temperatures that threaten food production and rising sea levels. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, featured on Time magazine's cover and met the pope. The boat, called Malizia II, has solar panels and underwater turbines to generate electricity on board. Pierre Casiraghi, grandson of American actress Grace Kelly and Monaco's late Prince Rainier III, and race skipper Boris Herrmann will captain the vessel. Thunberg doesn't fly because of the sky-high amount of carbon emissions caused by planes. So when she decided to attend the UN conference, she spent months researching the transportation with the smallest carbon footprint. More:From not having kids to battling anxiety: Climate change is shaping life choices and affecting mental health The yacht is not meant for luxurious travel — there's no toilet, shower or refrigerator, The Associated Press reported. Thunberg says she doesn't mind. “It’s not very luxurious, it’s not very fancy but I don’t need that. I need only a bed and just the basic things,” Thunberg told The Associated Press. “So I think it will be fun, and I also think it will be fun to be isolated and not be so limited.” The Malizia team founded the Malizia Ocean Challenge, a project championing ocean and climate change education for children. Their mission very much aligns with Thunberg's goals to turn words into action on climate change, Herrman said in a statement. "I feel humbled that Greta accepted our offer as the lowest-carbon option to cross the Atlantic – despite the lack of comfort for her," Herrman said. More:Here are 20 places where weather is getting worse because of climate change Thunberg is accompanied by her father, Svante, and filmmaker Nathan Grossman of B-Reel films, who will capture the journey on film. Their progress can be tracked on a map online. She's taking a year off from school to continue her activist work in North America, meeting with people most affected by the climate crisis, fellow activists and lawmakers. Thunberg also plans to visit Canada, Mexico and key sites related to climate change in South America. "Together with many other young people across the Americas and the world, I will be there, even if the journey will be long and challenging," Thunberg said in a statement. "We will make our voices heard. It is our future on the line, and we must at least have a say in it..”

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/15/israel-might-block-visit-ilhan-omar-and-rashida-tlaib/2017286001/

Israel blocks Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering country

Israel blocks Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering country WASHINGTON – Israeli officials said Thursday they would bar two American members of Congress, Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., from visiting the country – shortly after President Donald Trump encouraged Israel to take that extraordinary step. Trump has feuded with the two women over Israel and other issues. Thursday, he ramped up that domestic political spat by pressuring Israel to block their trip. "It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib to visit," Trump tweeted Thursday morning. "They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds." Omar and Tlaib – the first Muslim women to serve in Congress – had planned to travel to Jerusalem and the West Bank, among other stops, this weekend. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is engaged in a difficult reelection fight, announced the decision less than two hours after Trump's provocative tweet. "Congressmen Tlaib and Omar are leading activists in promoting boycott legislation against Israel in the US Congress," Netanyahu wrote in a tweet Thursday. "Only a few days ago, we received their visitation plan, and it became clear that they were planning a campaign whose sole purpose was to strengthen the boycott and negate Israel's legitimacy." Omar blasted Netanyahu's move as anti-Muslim. "It is an affront that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, under pressure from President Trump, would deny entry to representatives of the U.S. government," she said in a statement. "Sadly, this is not a surprise given the public positions of Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has consistently resisted peace efforts, restricted the freedom of movement of Palestinians, limited public knowledge of the brutal realities of the occupation and aligned himself with Islamophobes like Donald Trump." Omar on President Trump:This is 'a fight for the soul of our nation' Tlaib posted a photograph of her Palestinian grandmother on Twitter and said Israel's move to block her visit "is a sign of weakness b/c the truth of what is happening to Palestinians is frightening." Israel's decision – a reversal from its previous position on the visit – came despite last-minute entreaties from House Democratic leaders to allow Omar and Tlaib to travel to Israel. The move sparked a fierce backlash from Democrats in Congress who said it would hurt U.S.-Israeli relations. "This action reflects weakness, not strength," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. Hoyer said he spoke with Netanyahu on Wednesday and urged him to allow Omar and Tlaib's visit to go forward. "The Israeli government should seek to engage these members of Congress in a dialogue regarding Israel’s security and the future of both Israelis and Palestinians," Hoyer said. The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., a staunch supporter of Israel, said the decision would fuel anti-Israel sentiment. "If Israel’s government hopes to win the support of American lawmakers across the political spectrum, then this visit could have been an opportunity to share views and make a case for why American support for Israel is so important," Engel said. "Instead, refusing entry to members of Congress looks like Israel closing itself off to criticism and dialogue. This decision will only strengthen the anti-Israel movements and arguments many of us find so troubling, further politicize support for Israel in the United States and ultimately play right into the hands of Israel’s enemies." Last month, Israel's ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, said the two congresswomen would be allowed to visit Israel “out of respect for the U.S. Congress and the great alliance between Israel and America.” Trump acknowledged that he lobbied Israeli officials on the matter but declined to say if he spoke with Netanyahu directly. "I don't want to comment about who I spoke to, but I think my social media statement pretty well speaks for itself," the president told reporters before a campaign rally on Thursday. "But I did speak to people over there." Omar and Tlaib have been sharply critical of Trump on a broad range of issues. Omar sparked controversy over her remarks about the influence of the pro-Israeli lobby in the United States, which many said played into anti-Semitic tropes. Trump targeted the two women and some of their colleagues last month in a tweet suggesting they should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested" countries from which they came. His comments were widely condemned as racist. Tlaib was born in Detroit to Palestinian immigrant parents. Omar was born in Somalia, fleeing that country's civil war with her family when she was 8 years old. The two Democrats have expressed support for a boycott movement known as Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) targeting Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. They said their views are based on policy disagreements, not any anti-Jewish sentiment. Critics of the boycott movement said it amounts to "economic warfare" against Israel, and others call it "anti-Semitic." Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a March 2019 letter that “The founding goals of the BDS movement, and many of the strategies employed in BDS campaigns, are fundamentally anti-Semitic." Netanyahu defended his government's decision Thursday, saying it was not about silencing critics of Israel. "There is no country in the world that respects the US and the US Congress more than the State of Israel," the prime minister tweeted. "As a vibrant and free democracy, Israel is open to any critic and criticism, with one exception: Israel's law prohibits the entry of people who call and operate to boycott Israel." In March 2017, the Knesset, Israel's legislature, passed a law requiring the interior minister to ban foreign nationals from entering Israel if they publicly expressed support for boycotting Israel. Netanyahu said Tlaib might be allowed to visit her family in the West Bank, "subject to a commitment that she would not act to promote the boycotts against Israel." That decision would be made by Israel's interior minister, he said. More:Netanyahu to Omar: 'From this Benjamin: It’s not about the Benjamins!' Netanyahu's decision even drew a rebuke from the powerful pro-Israel lobby AIPAC. "We disagree with Reps. Omar and Tlaib’s support for the anti-Israel and anti-peace (boycott) movement, along with Rep. Tlaib’s calls for a one-state solution," AIPAC said in a statement. "We also believe every member of Congress should be able to visit and experience our democratic ally Israel firsthand." Tlaib:'I'm not going nowhere, not until I impeach' Trump

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/19/okjokull-glacier-funeral-iceland-activists-establish-plaque/2049194001/

Iceland activists, officials hold funeral for death of Okjokull glacier

Iceland activists, officials hold funeral for death of Okjokull glacier RIP, Ok glacier. With a theme of fighting climate change, about 100 Icelanders have said farewell to what once was a glacier. Scientists said it was the first of Iceland's glaciers to disappear because of climate change. Iceland geologist Oddur Sigurðsson declared the Okjokull glacier extinct about a decade ago. But on Sunday he brought a death certificate to the made-for-media memorial. About 100 years ago, the glacier covered almost 6 square miles of a mountainside in western Iceland and measured more than 160 feet thick. A plaque has been installed at the site of the former glacier, which reads: “In the next 200 years, all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path, This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it.” It's the first monument to a glacier lost to climate change anywhere in the world, said anthropologist Cymene Howe of Rice University in Houston, in a statement last month. “By marking Ok’s passing, we hope to draw attention to what is being lost as Earth’s glaciers expire." The English name of the glacier is "Ok glacier." Residents Sunday reminisced about drinking pure water thousands of years old from Ok. Tens of thousands affected:Florida's iconic palm trees threatened by invasive disease "The symbolic death of a glacier is a warning to us, and we need action," former Irish president Mary Robinson said. "We see the consequences of the climate crisis," Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir said. "We have no time to lose." The memorial also carries the words “415ppm CO2,” referring to the record-breaking level of 415 parts per million of carbon dioxide recorded in the Earth's atmosphere in May. Growing pessimism:34% of economists in survey expect a US recession in 2021 "I know my grandchildren will ask me how this day was and why I didn't do enough," said Gunnhildur Hallgrimsdottir, 17. “One of our Icelandic colleagues put it very wisely when he said, ‘Memorials are not for the dead; they are for the living,'” Howe said. “With this memorial, we want to underscore that it is up to us, the living, to collectively respond to the rapid loss of glaciers and the ongoing impacts of climate change. "For Ok glacier it is already too late; it is now what scientists call ‘dead ice.'” Contributing: The Associated Press

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/20/amazon-rainforest-fires-smoke-seen-space/2067220001/

The Amazon is burning and smoke from the fires can be seen from space

The Amazon is burning and smoke from the fires can be seen from space Forest fires in the Amazon are generating smoke that can be seen from space and may have caused a daytime blackout more than 1,700 miles away in the country's largest city. In the middle of the day Monday, the sky above São Paulo was blanketed by smoke from the wildfires raging in the Amazon region, according to local media reports. The smoke resulting from some of these wildfires was also captured in satellite images released by NASA last week. "The smoke did not come from fires from the state of São Paulo, but from very dense and wide fires that have been going on for several days in Rondônia and Bolivia. The cold front changed the direction of the winds and transported this smoke to São Paulo," Josélia Pegorim, Climatempo meteorologist, told Globo. Wildfires:Wildfire on Canary Islands forces 8,000 people to evacuate Reuters reported the Amazon rainforest has experienced a record number of fires this year, citing new data released by the country's space agency The National Institute for Space Research. The agency said its satellite data detected more than 72,000 fires since January, an 83% increase over the same period of 2018. Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, who recently fired the space agency's director, brushed off the news, telling Reuters it was attributed to the time of year when farmers use fire to clear the land. The firing came after Bolsonaro criticized INPE deforestation data that showed a significant increase in illegal logging, claiming officials had manipulated figures to make his administration look bad. The INPE found 370 square miles of Amazon forest were lost in June — an 88% increase from the same month last year. Wildfire risks:Where will the West's next deadly wildfire strike? The risks are everywhere Since taking office in January, the Bolsonaro administration has consistently clashed with environmentalists and others over possibly opening up the Amazon rainforest to development and agribusiness. Ricardo Mello, head of the World Wide Fund for Nature Amazon Program, told the BBC that the fires were "a consequence of the increase in deforestation seen in recent figures." Many on Twitter using the #PrayforAmazonia criticized Bolsonaro's environmental policies and inaction on the fires. Amazonas, the largest state in Brazil, has already declared a state of emergency over the fires, EuroNews reported. Though the Amazon rainforest has been fire resistant for much of its history because of its natural moisture and humidity, drought and human activities are causing wildfires, according to NASA. "The intensity and frequency of droughts in turn, have been linked with increases in regional deforestation and anthropogenic climate change," the release from NASA said. Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow N'dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/28/brazil-denies-aid-money-amazon-fires-respiratory-problems-rise/2139236001/

Kids are having trouble breathing because of the Amazon fires: 'They're coughing a lot'

Kids are having trouble breathing because of the Amazon fires: 'They're coughing a lot' PORTO VELHO, Brazil – Lingering smoke in the Amazon caused concern Tuesday among Brazilians who say that respiratory problems – particularly among children and the elderly – have increased as fires in the region rage. “The kids are affected the most. They’re coughing a lot,” said Elane Diaz, a nurse in the Rondonia state capital of Porto Velho, as she waited for a doctor’s appointment at the city’s 9 of July hospital with her 5-year-old-son Eduardo. “They have problems breathing. I’m concerned because it affects their health.” The number of people treated for respiratory issues increased sharply in recent days at the local Cosme e Damia Children’s hospital. “This period has been very tough. The dry weather and the smoke causes many problems on children, such as pneumonia, coughing and secretion,” Daniel Pires, a pediatrician and the hospital’s adjunct-director told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper. “From Aug. 1 to Aug. 10, the median (number) of cases was about 120 to 130 children with respiratory problems. From Aug. 11 to (Aug. 20) it went up to 280 cases.” Amazon fires:What would the Earth be like without the Amazon rainforest? Growing fears over the health impacts are emerging as the number of fires in Brazil surges, with more than 77,000 documented by the country’s National Space Research Institute in the last year. About half of the fires occurred in the Amazon region, with most in the past month. How is Brazil reacting? But as breathing-related ailments appear to be on the rise, attention to the issue has largely been overshadowed by growing acrimony between Brazil and European countries seeking to help fight Amazon fires and protect a region seen as vital to the health of the planet. At a summit in France this week, G-7 nations pledged to help fight the flames and protect the rainforest by offering $20 million, in addition to a separate $12 million from Britain and $11 million from Canada. But Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right climate skeptic who took office this year with a promise to boost development in Latin America’s biggest economy, questioned whether offers of international aid mask a plot to exploit the Amazon’s resources and weaken Brazilian growth. On Tuesday, he said that his French counterpart President Emmanuel Macron had called him a liar and would have to apologize before Brazil considers accepting rainforest aid. Macron has to retract those comments “and then we can speak,” Bolsonaro said. In a video message, Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho offered an apology to France for what he called Bolsonaro’s “hysteria,” saying the Brazilian government had resorted to insults to dodge responsibility for the Amazon fires. Meanwhile, within Brazil, a number of people said they supported Bolsonaro despite local and international criticism of his handling of the crisis, exposing a divide that has split the country. Mexico’s forgotten border town:Sun, sand, crime and drug trafficking Grace Quale, a hospital laboratory technician who attended a service at an evangelical church on Sunday, said that critics “want to overthrow our president,” and that she didn’t see a link between Bolsonaro’s environmental policies and the number of people getting treatment for respiratory problems. Mona Lisa Pereira, an agronomist, also said criticism of Brazil’s government was skewed. “Germany had already been helping through NGOs and they couldn’t prevent this,” Pereira said. “It seems like this is the fire of a lifetime. But it’s not. We have fires every year.” Others said in an open letter that the government’s discourse and measures are leading to a “collapse in federal environmental management and stimulate environmental crimes inside and outside the Amazon.” More than 500 employees from the environmental regulator IBAMA signed the letter and included a list of emergency measures they recommended, including more qualified management and employees, and a greater budget and increased autonomy. Heroic rescue:245 people saved from flame-engulfed ship in Philippine waters, 3 dead Far from the first Amazon fire The Amazon has experienced an increased rate of fires during drought periods in the last 20 years, but the phenomenon this year is “unusual” because drought has not yet hit, said Laura Schneider of Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Schneider, an associate professor in the geography department, said fire is commonly used by people to clear land for cultivation, and the actual area burned this year must be measured for an accurate comparison with damage in past years. While many of the recorded fires this year were set in already deforested areas by people clearing land for cultivation or pasture, Brazil government figures show that they are much more widespread this year, suggesting the threat to the vast Amazon ecosystem is intensifying. But for now, more immediate consequences of the raging flames were becoming clear. The world’s largest rainforest is a major absorber of carbon dioxide, considered a critical defense against rising temperatures and other disruptions caused by climate change. The government in the Amazonian state of Rondonia has warned that the burning of land can produce smoke that can “greatly influence atmospheric pollution, putting the life of many at risk.” Experts there said that when exposed to smoke, residents can suffer from rhinitis, sinus and respiratory problems like asthma and bronchitis, while chronic exposure can also lead to pulmonary illnesses, including lung emphysema. “We’ve seen that (Porto Velho) has been taken over by smoke, so inhaling those antigens and pathogens can harm the whole city’s population,” Ana Carolina Terra Cruz, a specialist in pulmonary illnesses, told the state government website. Deep ramifications:Trump would cost General Motors billions if he actually orders business out of China On Tuesday, some clouds and a blue sky were partly visible in the Porto Velho morning light. But by the afternoon, haze had again settled, with smoke so thick that it darkened the usually blazing sun. Pereira, the agronomist, said that smoke was “everywhere.” “It’s bad for everyone,” she said. “Not just our children.” Contributing: Christopher Torchia, Anna Jean Kaiser and Carlos Valdez, The Associated Press

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/28/greta-thunberg-completes-atlantic-ocean-voyage-un-climate-meeeting/2139310001/

Greta Thunberg, youth climate activist sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, completes voyage

Greta Thunberg, youth climate activist sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, completes voyage Greta Thunberg, the teenage climate activist sailing across the Atlantic Ocean for a U.N. climate summit, saw land for the first time early Wednesday as she ended her two-week voyage to New York. Thunberg anchored off Coney Island on Wednesdayand came ashore to a warm welcome from fans and supporters in a lower Manhattan marina in late afternoon. "Land!! The lights of Long Island and New York City ahead," Thunberg tweeted at 4 a.m. The 16-year-old Swedish activist wouldn't fly to New York ahead of the United Nations meeting on climate next month because of emissions from air travel. Instead, she and a crew traveled from Plymouth in the United Kingdom on a zero-emissions racing yacht across the ocean. Upon reaching New York, crew member Boris Hermann said they had been at sea for 330 hours - or about 13 days and 8 hours. Anchors away:Teen eco-activist Greta Thunberg sets sail for UN conference on zero-carbon boat Before unloading her belongings or even taking a shower, Thunberg met supporters in the marina. She spoke about the climate crisis as the "biggest crisis humanity has ever faced," and called for supporters to persist in their fight against it. "It's insane," Thunberg said, that a 16-year-old should have to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to make her point. She explained that this is not something she expects of everyone. While at sea, Thunberg had some access to internet. She was active on Twitter, and was made aware of fires in the Amazon rainforest. "We need to stop destroying nature," Thunberg said Wednesday. "Our war against nature must end." Nearby, a supporter held an apparently handmade poster that read, "We are acting like our house is on fire because it is." Thunberg is set to speak at the opening of the conference along with Secretary-General António Guterres and other youth representatives. The conference of youth activists and world leaders aims to identify concrete actions that can be taken immediately to reduce warming, U.N. special envoy for the event Luis Alfonso de Alba said Tuesday. "The summit is going to be an opportunity to highlight the urgency of the situation," he said. It also comes on the heels of the G-7 Summit in France during which climate change was a subject among the world's most powerful nations and amid recent fires in the Amazon rainforest. President Donald Trump was the only world leader not present at the session on climate, biodiversity and the health of oceans. When asked Wednesday what message she had for Trump, Thunberg urged him to "just listen to science." The Amazon is burning:What would the Earth be like without the Amazon rainforest? The United States will participate in the U.N. summit, but it was not clear to what extent, de Alba said. Trump has previously called climate change a "hoax" and said the U.S. would withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate accord. Thunberg has become a leading voice in the youth movement to combat climate change. She spearheaded a global demonstration in March in which tens of thousands of students walked out of school to protest inaction on climate change, rising global temperatures that threaten food production and rising sea levels. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, featured on Time magazine's cover and met the pope. Thunberg's yacht, named Malizia II, is equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines for electricity. Contributing: Elizabeth Lawrence, USA TODAY; The Associated Press. Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter: @RyanW_Miller

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/28/what-werewolf-syndrome-outbreak-afflicted-babies-spain/2139900001/

'Werewolf syndrome': 17 babies with out-of-control hair growth in drug mixup, reports say

'Werewolf syndrome': 17 babies with out-of-control hair growth in drug mixup, reports say More than a dozen children in Spain have been diagnosed with "werewolf syndrome" after an error resulted in medicine used to treat alopecia and hair loss being sold as heartburn medicine for children, according to local media reports from El País and Granada Hoy. The Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices confirmed the outbreak of hypertrichosis, commonly known as "werewolf syndrome," to El País Wednesday after 17 cases were reported by parents in three regions in Spain. The disease causes causes excessive hair growth, which some say can make those affected appear like a werewolf. All the parents of affected children treated their children's heartburn with over-the-counter omeprazole, which is commonly sold in the United States as Prilosec. An investigation by the agency found that one manufacturer in Spain, Farma-Química Sur, was to blame for a labeling mix up that resulted in children accidentally ingesting minoxidil — the active ingredient in Rogaine — according to reports from El País and Granada Hoy. Children who repeatedly took the incorrectly-labeled omeprazole developed hypertrichosis, causing hair to grow rapidly on babies' forehead, cheeks, arms and legs, according to one mother's account to El País. Farma-Química Sur has since been prohibited from manufacturing any medication until this incident has been resolved and all affected omeprazole has been recalled, reported El País. What is 'werewolf syndrome'? "Werewolf syndrome," also known as hypertrichosis, is the excess production of hair, either in one specific area or all over the body. It is unclear how hypertrichosis is obtained, but a form of it can be passed down genetically, according to Healthline. A boy with hypertrichosis in India went viral in February after a video from Barcroft TV showcased his ailment, while the same publication showed a girl in Bangladesh with the same affliction in 2016. Other cases can be attributed to the misuse of minoxidil, which can be applied topically or consumed orally. In these cases, "werewolf syndrome" is temporary and will eventually go away after the medicine stops being ingested.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/09/02/agreement-principle-reached-taliban-end-afghanistan-war-withdraw-us-troops/2141480001/

'Agreement in principle' reached with Taliban to withdraw 5,000 US troops within five months

'Agreement in principle' reached with Taliban to withdraw 5,000 US troops within five months WASHINGTON – The Trump administration's envoy to Afghanistan said Monday that the United States had reached a preliminary peace deal with the Taliban that will pave the way for a phased withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan and bring an end to America's longest war. U.S. negotiators have agreed to remove approximately 5,000 American troops from five bases over the next five months if the Taliban fulfills promises to reduce violence and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorists, the U.S. special envoy, Zalmay Kalilzad, told the local news channel TOLO . The deal – the fruit of months of negotiations between Trump administration officials and Taliban leaders – could allow Trump to declare victory on a core campaign promise as he enters the 2020 reelection cycle. The president has repeatedly said the U.S. should not be engaged in expensive "endless wars." "We have reached an agreement with the Taliban in principle but of course until the U.S. president agrees with it, it isn't final," Khalilzad said in an interview with TOLO News. The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a series of Twitter messages, Khalilzad said he concluded negotiations with the Taliban over the weekend and then traveled to Kabul to brief Afghan leaders. An aide to Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani said officials were reviewing the deal and talks were ongoing. "President Ghani ... met with Amb Khalilzad today," Waheed Omer, Afghanistan's director general for public and strategic affairs, said in a tweet. "We will look into the document and discussions with Amb Khalilzad and team will continue." The move to reduce America's military presence in Afghanistan is fraught with political and military peril. Critics – including some of Trump's strongest supporters – fear a U.S. withdrawal will open the door for a resurgence of al-Qaida, as well as other terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan, such as the Islamic State. "There will be another 9/11 if we pull the plug," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in an Aug. 27 interview on Fox News. "Al-Qaida is alive and well in Afghanistan. ISIS is stronger today than they've ever been in Afghanistan," Graham said. "There is no substitute for American forces in Afghanistan to protect the American homeland from radical Islam." He and others argue that the Taliban, itself is a militant fundamentalist group, cannot be trusted to keep Afghanistan free of terrorists. "Trump is repeating now the mistakes of Obama: appearing to reestablish artificial deadlines rather than matching conditions," said James Cunningham, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan in President Barack Obama's administration. While Cunningham has not seen the details of the deal, he said the emerging outline is worrisome and suggests Trump is "not using all efforts to get a genuine peace negotiation," which would require more time than the Trump administration has invested. Congress:Senate advances bill warning against 'precipitous withdrawal' Hasty pullout?Trump clears path for more U.S. troops Military leaders have resisted Trump's push for a full, speedy withdrawal. When asked about the potential peace deal last week, Marine Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that he’s “not using the withdrawal word.” There are about 22,000 coalition troops in Afghanistan now, 14,000 of them Americans. Dunford stressed that an agreement with the Taliban would be “conditions based,” a term favored by commanders who oppose deadlines for the drawdown of troops. The draft peace agreement also leaves major questions unresolved, most notably what role the Afghan government, which is backed by the U.S., will play in the future of the country. The Taliban has so far refused to negotiate with Ghani, demanding the complete withdrawal of all foreign military forces first. It's not clear if those two parties could come to any power-sharing agreement. The Taliban already controls a large swath of the country, and the Afghan government remains heavily dependent on the U.S. military for its security, according to a recent analysis by Robert Pape, director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats. Pape said a complete U.S. withdraw from Afghanistan could throw the country into chaos. But he also said maintaining the status quo is a recipe for "catastrophic failure." He noted that the Taliban already control nearly half the country, and they're making territorial gains by the day. "We’re in a losing game and have been for 15 years," Pape said. And America's ongoing presence in Afghanistan is "galvanizing the country" against the U.S. He said the U.S. must craft a new strategy that includes special combat operations, intelligence gathering and keeping U.S. troops stationed in the region, ready to return if the Taliban renege on their promises. Trump administration officials say this peace deal is the only realistic path forward after so much blood and treasure lost. "Our 18 years of military, diplomatic, and economic engagement there has helped transform Afghan society, and we crushed al-Qaida," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week in a speech to the American Legion. "The truth is America has never sought permanent military presence in Afghanistan, and all sides recognize that times move on." To be sure, the American public and lawmakers in both parties have grown increasingly weary of the conflict. It has been nearly 18 years since the U.S. military opened a devastating bombing campaign against the Taliban forces, who were then providing sanctuary to Osama bin Laden. The war has claimed the lives of more than 2,400 American service members – and at least 38,000 Afghan civilians; it has also cost U.S. taxpayers $975 billion, according to an estimate by researchers at Brown University. Those high costs have not paid off, Americans say. In an October 2018 poll, conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, 49% of respondents said the U.S. had "mostly failed" in achieving its goals in Afghanistan. Trump questioned U.S. involvement in Afghanistan for years, at least as far back as August 2011, when he took to Twitter to argue Washington was “wasting trillions of dollars” in Iraq and Afghanistan. He described the war a “total disaster” in 2012 and called for a “speedy withdrawal” in 2013. The president was more circumspect during his campaign, rarely tweeting about the conflict. During the 2016 presidential debates between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, the war was barely mentioned. In 2015, Trump told CNN that the U.S. made a “terrible mistake” engaging in Afghanistan but said a sudden withdrawal would bring about a “collapse in about two seconds after they leave." Trump acknowledged his shifting position during an address two years ago at Fort Myer, Virginia, in which he announced the U.S. would send additional troops to Afghanistan rather than pursuing a withdrawal. The remarks were among the most extensive he has made on the conflict. "My original instinct was to pull out, and historically I like following my instincts, but all my life I've heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office," Trump said at the time. Contributing: The Associated Press

b2efbf057ea2ac2d373c0dea5317305e

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/09/12/russian-police-raid-navalny-supporters-after-kremlin-election-losses/2300379001/

Russian police raid opposition figures in 43 cities after Kremlin's big election losses

Russian police raid opposition figures in 43 cities after Kremlin's big election losses In simultaneous morning raids in 43 cities on Thursday, Russian security services descended on the homes and offices of supporters of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny whose "Smart Voting" movement is credited with drastically reducing the number of pro-government members of the Moscow city council. Police also searched the home of Sergei Boyko, a Navalny associate who came in second with nearly 20% of the vote in the mayoral election in Russia’s third-largest city of Novosibirsk last Sunday. More than 150 raids were carried out, from Vladivostok on the Pacific to Krasnodar in Russia’s south, according to Navalny's close allies. Police also targeted Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, which has worked to expose officials' questionable wealth, for what authorities said was an investigation of alleged money laundering. In some offices, investigators cut off cables and video surveillance cameras, according to the Russian investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta. In addition to Navalny's campaign organization, the raids also hit activists of the Golos (Voice) Movement, a respected independent election monitoring group. The lead up to last weekend's local elections included a series demonstrations — some authorized, some not — protesting the rejection of many independent candidates from the Moscow City council. Consider this:Supreme Court allows Trump administration to restrict asylum seekers who have not sought refuge elsewhere Despite the disqualification of many of the independent candidates, Navalny's Smart Voting movement sought to game the system by calling on supporters to vote for any nongovernment-related candidates, including members of the Communist Party. Putin's party is the United Russia party. In Moscow, the results of Sunday's voting left the United Russia party with a slim majority on the 45-member council, dropping from 38 to 25. Navalny, in a broadcast on YouTube, described the raids as part of Kremlin "hysteria" over the big losses in local elections. "Putin got upset and is stomping his feet," Navalny said. On his website Thursday, Navalny said he believes the government understands the growing power of his movement. "The Kremlin knows how to count," he said. "We just underestimate our strength, but they all understand." Navalny was barred by authorities from running against Putin in the 2018 presidential election, but his supporters in local elections across the country have strengthened in dozens of Russian cities and now also investigate high-level corruption and mobilize supporters for opposition rallies. “We’re obviously talking about an attempt to hamper the operations of our regional network,” Leonid Volkov, chief of staff for Navalny's ill-fated presidential campaign, told The Associated Press. Contributing: Associated Press

c3837d36c6ff282c9321404c4c1b956f

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/09/14/drone-attack-saudi-arabia-yemeni-rebels-set-fire-oil-facilities/2325055001/

Drone attack by Yemeni rebels sets off fires at major Saudi Arabian oil facilities

Drone attack by Yemeni rebels sets off fires at major Saudi Arabian oil facilities Drones launched by Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels hit key Saudi Arabian oil installations Saturday, setting off fires at a major oil processing facility and oilfield, according to Saudi and rebel officials. The facilities are operated by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant, and produce up to 70% of the country's crude oil output. Rising smoke from the fires at the sites could be seen by satellites in space. President Donald Trump discussed the attacks with Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman in a phone call Saturday to "offer his support for Saudi Arabia's self-defense," according to White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere. "The United States strongly condemns today’s attack on critical energy infrastructure," Deere said. "Violent actions against civilian areas and infrastructure vital to the global economy only deepen conflict and mistrust. The United States Government is monitoring the situation and remains committed to ensuring global oil markets are stable and well supplied.” The official Saudi Press Agency, quoting an an interior ministry spokesperson, said the fires at the facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais were under control. The ministry confirmed that the blazes erupted after the facilities were hit by drones around 4 a.m. The Wall Street Journal, quoting "people familiar with the matter," reported that Saudi Arabia is shutting down about half of its oil output following the strikes. The shutdown would amount to a loss of about 5 million barrels a day, the Journal said, quoting its source, or roughly 5% of the world's daily production of crude oil. The attack had no immediate impact on global oil prices as markets were closed for the weekend, the Associated Press reports. Benchmark Brent crude had been trading at just above $60 a barrel. U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia John Abizaid said on Twitter that Washington "strongly" condemned the attacks. "These attacks against critical infrastructure endanger civilians, are unacceptable and sooner or later will result in innocent lives being lost," he wrote. Earlier this year:Saudi Arabia says its oil infrastructure attacked by drones In a short address aired by the Houthi’s Al-Masirah satellite news channel, military spokesman Yahia Sarie said the rebels launched 10 drones in their coordinated attack on the sites after receiving “intelligence” support from those inside the kingdom. He warned that attacks by the rebels would only get worse if the war continues. “The only option for the Saudi government is to stop attacking us,” Sarie said. Saturday's drone attack was only the latest against the Saudi oil infrastructure by Houthi rebels who are themselves in a war against a Saudi-led coalition aided by U.S. logistical and intelligence assistance. Since the start of the war in 2015, Houthi rebels have been using drones in combat. The first appeared to be off-the-shelf, hobby-kit-style drones. Later, versions nearly identical to Iranian models turned up. Iran denies supplying the Houthis with weapons, although the U.N., the West and Gulf Arab nations say Tehran does. In August, a Houthi-claimed attack sparked a fire at Aramco's Shaybah natural gas liquefaction facility but no casualties were reported by the company, Al Jazeera reports. The rebels hold Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and other territory in the Arab world’s poorest country. Since 2015, a Saudi-led coalition has fought to reinstate the internationally recognized Yemeni government. The war has generated the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, pushing the country to the edge of famine and killed more than 90,000 people since 2015, according to the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, which tracks the conflict. Read more:House votes to block Trump administration's weapons deal with Saudi Arabia amid veto threat Saudi Aramco describes its Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq as “the largest crude oil stabilization plant in the world.” The facility turns sour crude oil into sweet crude, then sends it to transshipment points on the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea or to refineries for local production. It can process and estimated 7 million barrels of crude oil a day, or around 70% of Saudi Arabia's recent daily output of more than 9 million barrels of crude oil a day. The plant has been targeted in the past by militants. Al-Qaeda-claimed suicide bombers tried but failed to attack the oil complex in February 2006. The Khurais oil field is believed to produce over 1 million barrels of crude oil a day. It has estimated reserves of over 20 billion barrels of oil, according to Aramco. Contributing: Associated Press

351ecf39f088fb8cd8028973fb17248d

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/09/16/saudi-oil-attack-trump-reply-oil-markets/2339034001/

Saudi oil attack roils global energy markets; Trump says U.S. 'locked and loaded'

Saudi oil attack roils global energy markets; Trump says U.S. 'locked and loaded' Global energy prices surged Monday after a weekend attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia that disrupted more than 5% of the world's daily supply – and after the Yemen rebel group that claimed responsibility threatened new attacks on Saudi interests. The incident has reignited fears of a U.S. military confrontation in the Middle East. The U.S. government released satellite images showing the extent of the destruction at the Abqaiq oil processing plant and a key oil field, where an estimated 5.7 million barrels of oil are produced each day – and suggested the assault originated in Iran or Iraq rather than Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels. A Saudi military spokesman says initial investigations show Iranian weapons were used in the attack, according to the Associated Press. Col. Turki al-Malki also told reporters in Riyadh on Monday that the strikes were not launched from Yemen as claimed by Iranian-allied Yemeni rebels who are at war with Saudi Arabia. Brent crude oil, an international gauge, surged nearly 20% when markets in Asia opened before settling down to about a 10% spike as trading continued. U.S. benchmark West Texas crude oil was up around 9%. U.S. gasoline and heating oil were up over 8% and 7%, respectively. Consumer impact: Will the drone strikes in Saudi Arabia impact gas prices? The Houthi rebels who claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack said they used drones, although the scale of the destruction indicates that cruise missiles may also have been used. There has been no independent verification. Yahya Saree, a spokesman for the Houthi-rebel-run Saba News Agency, said Monday the group may launch additional "more painful strikes" as long as Saudi Arabia's government "continues its aggression and blockade on Yemen." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iran, but President Donald Trump stopped short of explicitly pointing the finger at Tehran, saying only that the U.S. was "locked and loaded" to respond with possible military action once the culprit is determined. Pompeo did not provide specific proof the attacks came from Iran. Saudi investigators said their initial findings suggest that the weapons used "came from Iran." They did not speculate on where the weapons were launched from. Fabian Hinz, an expert on Middle East conflicts at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif., said Houthi rebels have previously launched attacks against Saudi targets using a combination of drones and missiles. Abbas Mousavi, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry in Tehran, angrily dismissed Pompeo's allegations as "blind and futile comments." Mousavi said that the "Americans adopted the 'maximum pressure' policy against Iran, which, due to its failure, is leaning toward 'maximum lies.'" Hawkish voices in Iran said the country was ready for military confrontation if necessary. "We have been constantly preparing ourselves for a full-fledged war," Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards aerospace force, told the Tehran Times on Sunday. He warned the U.S. that its military assets in the Middle East were within striking distance of Iran's military. Trump said he was "waiting to hear" from the Saudis about who they thought was responsible "and under what terms we would proceed." Iran and Saudi Arabia, bitter rivals who have long struggled for regional dominance, have been fighting a proxy war in Yemen since at least 2015. Iraq, home to powerful Iran-backed militias, denied its airspace was used to launch an attack on the kingdom. Saturday’s attack halted production of more than half of Saudi Arabia’s global daily exports, most of which goes to Asia. At 5.7 million barrels of crude oil a day, the Saudi disruption would be the greatest on record for world markets, according to figures from the Paris-based International Energy Agency. It just edges out the 5.6 million-barrels-a-day disruption around the time of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, according to the IEA. Saudi Arabia has pledged that its stockpiles would keep global markets supplied and Trump said he has approved the release of U.S. strategic petroleum reserves "if needed" to stabilize energy markets after the attacks. "Because we have done so well with Energy over the last few years (thank you, Mr. President!), we are a net Energy Exporter, & now the Number One Energy Producer in the World. We don’t need Middle Eastern Oil & Gas, & in fact have very few tankers there, but will help our Allies!" Trump tweeted Monday. The U.S. is expected to export more energy that it imports by 2020, according to the Energy Information Administration, a U.S. government agency. Still, the incident could impact the price of gas for Americans, experts said. Gradual increases may be seen at U.S. gas stations before next weekend depending on how fast the kingdom's state-owned oil behemoth Saudi Aramco can revive lost output, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. "Right now, I would classify that impact as being minor because Saudi has signaled that most of this oil production could return quickly," said DeHaan, whose company monitors real-time fuel prices. "If it doesn't return relatively quickly then we could be looking at minor to major impact to gasoline prices" as early as midweek. "Make no mistake about it, this was a deliberate attack on the global economy and the global energy market," Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said in an address to the International Atomic Energy Agency's general conference in Vienna on Monday. Trump's "locked and loaded" rhetoric mirrors remarks he made after Iran shot down a U.S. military surveillance drone in June. Trump later said that he pulled back from retaliating against Iran at the last minute. The U.S. has also blamed Iran for a series of mysterious attacks on oil tankers operating in the Persian Gulf, which Iran denies. Iran has also detained several foreign-flagged oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a key, narrow waterway in the Persian Gulf that it claims most sovereignty over. On Monday, Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency said Iran's Revolutionary Guards impounded a new tanker on "diesel smuggling charges." Its country of registration was not clear. Trump’s Iran policy:What a multi-million dollar 'bribe' for oil supertanker says about it Increased tensions between the U.S. and Iran have followed Trump's withdrawal last year from the nuclear accord between Iran and world powers. Those tensions have superficially softened in recent weeks amid suggestions from Trump that he is willing to hold talks with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, possibly on the sidelines of the United Nations' annual general assembly in New York later this month. But Tehran has also repeatedly said that it will only consider such a meeting if Washington lifts sanctions imposed on it by Trump after he walked away from the 2015 landmark nuclear accord. Mousavi, of Iran's Foreign Ministry, said Monday the Trump-Rouhani meeting "will not happen." He dismissed reports it would take place as mere "speculation." Trump-Bolton breakup was inevitable: They clashed over Iran, North Korea, more Contributing: John Bacon; Dalvin Brown; Associated Press

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/09/20/justin-trudeau-says-hell-ban-military-style-weapons/2388136001/

Justin Trudeau says he'll ban assault rifles amid backlash to blackface controversy

Justin Trudeau says he'll ban assault rifles amid backlash to blackface controversy Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday he plans to ban military-style assault rifles if re-elected. The announcement comes as he is dealing with backlash from recently uncovered instances of him wearing dark makeup years ago in forms of brown- or blackface. "We know you do not need a military-grade assault weapon, one designed to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time, to take down a deer," he said while speaking in Toronto. Trudeau is running to keep his seat in Canada's Oct. 21 election. A photo of Trudeau dressed as a character from "Aladdin" with his skin painted dark brown was published by Time on Wednesday. Two more instances were revealed since then. After the bombshell photos came out, Trudeau's Conservative Party opponent Andrew Scheer said Trudeau is “someone who is not fit to govern this country.” More:Justin Trudeau apologizes again, blames 'privilege' as third blackface instance emerges. Here's what we know When he announced the new gun control plan, Trudeau was speaking in Toronto's Greektown neighborhood, which was the site of a shooting that left two people dead and injured 13 more last year. "Gun crime in Canada is on the rise. It's a fact," he said. "Frankly, I don't understand how anyone could look at this alarming trend and conclude that we need less gun control. But that's for the Conservative leaders to explain to Canadians." The Canadian Liberal Party's push comes at the same time the American Democratic Party is splintered over a similar proposal. Some progressive lawmakers have supported a mandatory buyback and ban of certain assault weapons, a notion spearheaded by former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, a 2020 Democrat, but those progressives are opposed by other Democrats and Republicans who say such a proposal makes it more difficult to reach bipartisan agreement on new gun control measures in the wake of recent mass shootings in the U.S. More:Gunmaker Colt suspending production of rifles for civilian market including AR-15 Trudeau said he would implement a buyback program for military-grade weapons that were legally purchased. He also plans to work with municipalities to grant them more leniency in restricting handguns. "That's what a re-elected Liberal government will do," Trudeau said. The Toronto mayor has called for handgun bans, according to Reuters. More:New Zealanders have turned in more than 10,000 guns after mass shooting in Christchurch Canada's Liberal Party website further details the ban, stating that it will include the AR-15 and that it will be mindful of law-abiding hunters, noting that they do not need assault weapons. "Thoughts and prayers aren't going to cut it," Trudeau said. More:Trump says he was 'surprised' by Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau's blackface scandal

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/09/21/rashida-tlaibs-grandmother-trump-lets-talk-your-peace-plan/2349502001/

Rep. Rashida Tlaib's grandmother to Donald Trump: Let's talk about your peace plan

Rep. Rashida Tlaib's grandmother to Donald Trump: Let's talk about your peace plan Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect recent White House policy actions on Israel, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's announcement Nov. 18 that the U.S. would be shifting its position on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, no longer viewing them as inconsistent with international law. BEIT UR AL-FAUQA, West Bank – Rep. Rashida Tlaib's 90-year-old grandmother says that when President Donald Trump releases his long-awaited plan for peace between Israelis and Palestinians he is welcome to visit her house to talk it over. "But only as a guest – not as a politician," Muftia Tlaib told USA TODAY in September as she sat on the porch of her home sandwiched between two Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank, a Palestinian-governed area Israeli's military has occupied since 1967. "What should I do, curse his father?" she added, noting pressure Trump applied on Israel in August that led her Michigan Democrat granddaughter to cancel a visit. As she spoke, Tlaib ran a string of wooden prayer beads through her aged fingers. She lives in a squat house made of sandstone blocks in Beit Ur Al-Faqua, a village on a hilltop about nine miles from the bustling Palestinian city of Ramallah. Israel held its second election in less than six months in September, a close race in which the nation's longest-serving leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, sought to burnish his credentials with voters by playing up his close relationship with Trump. He also pledged to annex Jewish settlements built on Palestinian land in the West Bank. Netanyahu and his main rival, Israel's ex-military chief Benny Gantz, finished neck-and-neck for the second time. They may try to form a unity government or a third election, which has never happened in Israel, may be needed to break the stalemate. Trump has undertaken a series of firmly pro-Israel actions: He's moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which Palestinians also claim as part of their future capital; recognized the Golan Heights as belonging to Israel instead of Syria, in defiance of international law; and pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 landmark Iran nuclear deal with world powers, an accord that Israel, Iran's sworn enemy, firmly opposed. Trump has also looked the other way when it comes to the expansion of Israeli Jewish settlements, which are also considered illegal under international law even if not by Israel, closed a Palestinian diplomatic office in Washington, D.C. – its de facto embassy – and has withdrawn all funding for Palestinian-related aid projects. On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the U.S. would be shifting its position on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, no longer viewing them as inconsistent with international law. Trump factor:As Israel votes, Donald Trump proves he's the 'King of Israel' "If a miracle happens and this plan of Trump's has anything in it for us we'll of course be very happy," said Nasser al Kidwa, nephew of the late Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian Liberation Organization's (PLO) most high-profile leader. Arafat was for years at the forefront of violence, border disputes and, later, diplomacy with Israel over Palestinian demands. He became known for his checkered head scarves – "kaffiyeh" in Arabic. "No hope, no openings, nothing for Palestinians – this is what we expect," added Al Kidwa, who runs the Yasser Arafat Foundation, a Ramallah-based cultural and educational institution dedicated to Arafat's legacy. "I mean, look at the so-called U.S. Ambassador to Israel (David Friedman), he himself is a settler," he said, referring to supporters of Israeli civilian communities on Palestinian land, widely seen as a major obstacle in resolving the long-simmering Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Many Palestinians are convinced that Friedman, a former longtime lawyer for the Trump Organization, the president's private business, has personally contributed financially to settlements in Israel. A U.S. Embassy spokesperson in Jerusalem did not respond to a direct question about that claim, but said that prior to taking up his role as ambassador Friedman served as the president of the American Friends of Bet El Yeshiva Center, an organization dedicated to sponsoring academic study in Bet El, a large Orthodox settlement that is located in the hills north of Jerusalem, next to Ramallah. Trump's dissolved charitable foundation has also contributed to Bet El, according to tax records published in 2016 by The Jerusalem Post, an English-language Israeli newspaper. Along with Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Rep. Tlaib, D-Mich., had planned in August to lead a delegation to Israel and the Palestinian territories. However, after Trump tweeted that Israel should ban them from entering the region partly because they are outspoken and highly visible critics of Israel who support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls on governments and companies to put economic pressure on Israel over its treatment of Palestinians, the country obliged. Rep. Tlaib was subsequently granted permission to visit her grandmother in Beit Ur al-Faqua provided she promised not to promote BDS and abided by other restrictions, but the lawmaker turned the offer down, saying to visit her grandmother "under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in." The U.S. House of Representatives voted in July to pass a resolution condemning the BDS campaign against Israel. It has no force in law. Israel passed legislation in 2017 that it has used to ban outspoken supporters of BDS from entering the country. Omar Barghouti, one of the BDS movement's Palestinian co-founders, disputed in an interview allegations, from pro-Israel groups in the U.S. and elsewhere but also from Germany's Parliament – which in May passed a symbolic resolution equating the group with anti-semitism – that BDS is an any way hostile to Jews. "BDS opposes all forms of racism, including anti-Jewish racism. Anti-semitism, which means hate, bigotry. or discrimination against Jews is absolutely condemned and rejected," he said. Barghouti would not say whether he planned to meet Rep. Tlaib on her now-abandoned West Bank visit. He said the idea was "discussed" with her local Palestinian hosts. The Anti-Defamation League, a U.S.-based group that describes itself as a "strong voice for Israel," includes in its anti-semitism definition "political efforts to isolate" Jews. In April, Barghouti was barred from entering the U.S. despite having a valid visa. This week, Barghouti was denied a visa to visit Britain, where has was going to speak at an event about Palestinians' rights on the fringes of the opposition Labour Party's annual conference. The Labour Party has struggled to shake off anti-semitism allegations that followed it around under its leader Jeremy Corbyn. It's not clear how much, if any, pressure Trump applied on Israel behind closed doors while he was publicly advocating that the country prevent entry to two sitting members of Congress, but for Palestinians it was another example of U.S. favoritism. "Trump represents the real face of the American administration," said Kassam Mtoor, 21, a law major at Birzeit University, in Ramallah. Mtoor is the president of the student council at the college. A year ago, Omar al-Kiswani, his predecessor in the role, was filmed being violently detained on campus by undercover Israeli operatives pretending to be Palestinian journalists there to interview him. Shin Bet, Israel's security agency, accuses al-Kiswani of helping to funnel money to Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist organization the U.S. and other countries have designated a terrorist group. Birzeit University says al-Kiswani is being interrogated and held without charge and described the Israeli operatives as "kidnappers who carried firearms in their backpacks." Carmen Kishek, a Birzeit University public relations representative, said that "most of our students who are involved and active in the student council get arrested (by the Israelis) at some point no matter what their political affiliation might be." More than a decade ago, Palestinian resistance tactics to Israel centered on suicide bombings and today there are still frequent, mostly spontaneous and opportunistic, attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers – usually with a household weapon such as a kitchen knife. Israel insists it only detains Palestinians who represent a security risk. Its forces crack down on near-daily Palestinian protests by firing live rounds and rubber-coated bullets. Across the West Bank, large red signs warn Israelis not to enter Palestinian villages because their lives will be at risk. Mtoor represents the youth party of Fatah, a Palestinian nationalist party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization assembly that governs the West Bank. The student council regularly leads clashes with Israeli soldiers. "Serving the students has a price. It doesn't matter what that price is," he said. Back in Beit Ur al-Faqua, Rep. Tlaib's relatives were disappointed that their famous American relation decided not to return to a place she last visited in 2006. But they understood. "We had planned to slaughter a sheep to celebrate her coming back to visit with us," the lawmaker's uncle Bassam Tlaib, 53, an electrician, said. "But we supported her decision. And we know why the Israelis didn't want her here: Her visit would have shown how we Palestinians are suffering under their occupation," he said, Rep. Tlaib's grandmother, despite her congenial offer to host Trump at her house to "enjoy sitting under an olive tree," seemed ultimately less inclined toward conciliation. "Even if I get an invitation from Trump to travel to the U.S., I won't go," she said. "Even if my husband returns from the grave and tells me to go, I refuse," she said. "I don't like it there," she added. She said that she spent about 18 months in the U.S. when her granddaughter was in high school. "I decided not to ever go back after I made 'Hadj'" – pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, prescribed as a religious duty for Muslims. Never-ending stalemate Attempts to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have stagnated despite numerous high-profile and rigorous attempts at diplomacy: the Madrid Conference (1991), the Oslo Accords (1993-95), the Camp David Summit (2000), the Clinton Parameters (2000), the Taba Summit (2001), the Arab Peace Initiative (2002), the Middle East Road Map (2003), the Annapolis talks (2007), the Kerry Peace Initiative (2013-14). Palestinians have branded Trump's forthcoming plan, somewhat dismissively because of his real-estate roots, as the "Deal of the Century." Trump himself has also used variations on this phrase to describe it. The plan is not expected to offer any political solutions, including a "two-state" solution that envisages an independent Palestine sitting alongside Israel. There are different views about what caused these previous peace efforts to fail. There is also divergence over what the peace process correctly entails. But at its core it's a dispute – one of the world's longest-running – over ancient land that two peoples, Jews and Arab Palestinians, both lay claim to for their respective states. The 1967 war that Israel successfully fought with neighboring Egypt, Jordan and Syria ended with it in military control of two areas that have large Palestinian populations: the West Bank, nestled between Israel to the west and the Jordan Valley to the east, and the Gaza Strip, an isolated Hamas-controlled enclave on the Mediterranean Sea. Israel has imposed a sea blockade and built a security fence around Gaza, where militants have launched thousands of rocket and mortar attacks on Israel. Hamas has fought several wars against Israel. The next one seems forever around the corner. The White House promised to release its peace plan for the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that has dragged on for more than 70 years after Israel's election. But with a possible third vote needed to break the political deadlock, and because Palestinian leaders have rejected the plan outright even before they've seen it partly due to Trump's perceived pro-Israel actions, its fate remains uncertain. In emailed comments, Friedman said the embassy move "injects a long-needed note of realism to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and signals to the Palestinians that they do not have a veto on the truth and may not dictate to America where it chooses to locate its embassy to a critical ally. While perhaps raising some friction in the short term, the move has created a foundation upon which real peace discussions may proceed." Still, Ali Jarbawi, a former Palestinian government cabinet member for planning and development who teaches political science at Birzeit University, said that Israel's election and Trump's peace plan were almost meaningless for Palestinians. "We have tried everything: diplomacy, fighting, more diplomacy," he said. "For most of us, we only know Israel through our interactions with its soldiers or its settlers," he added, expressing the exasperation many here feel over peace talks that effectively stalled when Netanyahu came to power, for the second time, in 2009. "One of the most difficult things is to be a moderate Palestinian," he said, referring to a litany of Palestinian complaints about Israel's military control of the West Bank that are backed up by the United Nations and humanitarian groups. These include onerous travel restrictions; Israel's control of Palestinians' water resources; forced evictions; police harassment; the indignities that come with being one of the approximately 200,000 Palestinians in the West Bank who live in crowded refugee camps that lack basic infrastructure; and myriad arbitrary bureaucratic processes that prevent Palestinians from carrying out even simple tasks like going to work or school. More than 1.5 million Palestinians, a third of the total, live in 58 official refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syrian, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). A major sticking point in any future lasting peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians is what to do with all these refugees who claim a right to return to cities and villages now controlled by Israel. "My son is 28 years old and he has never been to Jerusalem just a few feet from here on the other side of that wall," said Omar Daaja, 53, pointing to the security barrier that separates the UN-run refugee camp Aida near Bethlehem, where he lives in a few rooms with more than a dozen members of his extended family, from the holy city. Jarbawi, like a growing number of Palestinians, believes that a "one-state" solution – a combined Israeli-Palestinian nation encompassing all of the present territory of Israel, plus the West Bank, East Jerusalem and possibly the Gaza Strip – may be the only realistic – for Palestinians – way of moving beyond an impasse that has been resistant to decades of intense military and diplomatic activity. But Israel's government has seemed interested only in annexing Palestinians' land, not its people. And last year, Israel’s Parliament enacted a law that enshrined the right of national self-determination as "unique to the Jewish people," not all its nationals. The move effectively downgraded Israel's 1.8 million Arab Muslim citizens, although they do have the right to vote and can serve in the military even if most choose not to. "There is only one way to describe how Arabs and Palestinians here live and that is under 'apartheid,' said Uri Davis, an Israeli Jewish-born academic and activist who converted to Islam and is a member of the Revolutionary Council of Fatah, the Palestinian nationalist party that governs the West Bank. Davis believes that his views reflect less than 1% of Israeli public opinion and he defines "apartheid" as a "political and legal system that regulates racism through acts of Parliament." During his election campaign, Netanyahu's official Facebook page posted a message that urged voters to vote for his Likud party because "Arabs want to annihilate us all – men, women and children." He also tried, but failed, to pass a law that would have permitted representatives from political parties to film voters inside and outside voting stations, a move he said was necessary to ensure the integrity of Israel's democracy but that critics saw as an effort to intimidate Arabs voters and suppress voter turnout. Yet many Israelis, while perhaps sympathetic to the hardships Palestinians face, say they ultimately do not do enough to help themselves, that they suffer from poor leadership and corruption, rely on Israel too much and that years of violence against Israeli citizens has exposed a fundamental unwillingness to pursue peace. With the exception of being a billionaire from Saudi Arabia, "the best place to be an Arab in the Middle East is Israel ... and the second best place to be an Arab in the Middle East is the West Bank," Gantz, Netanyahu's chief rival for prime minister, said last week. It reflected the view from some corners in Israel that, while Israel's Arab citizens and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza with whom they identify, may have problems, they have it better than other Arabs in the region. "Palestinians I know would prefer if they could live under Israeli leaders," said Yinon Israeli, 43, a rabbi who lives in Ganei Modi'in, a Jewish settlement just over the Green Line into the West Bank, the boundary that separates it from Israel. Tens of thousands of Palestinians who live in the West Bank are employed in Israel and even its settlements. They pass through security checkpoints each day to travel there on their way to jobs in hotels, restaurants and on constructions sites. "Israeli laws, working conditions, social and medical benefits, all these things are much better for us. Palestinians see that and wish it was different," said Israeli. Osamah Khalil, a professor at Syracuse University who specializes in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said Israel's government believes any peace with the Palestinians would likely only be temporary because Gaza-based groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group that calls for the destruction of the state of Israel and that like Hamas is not part of the PLO, would continue to threaten it. "I don't agree with these claims," said Khalil. "What years of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have revealed is the opposite: The most the Israelis are willing to offer does not meet the minimum demands of the Palestinians. This includes a viable, independent state with sovereignty over its borders and resources," he said. "I haven’t met an Israeli who doesn’t think that a peace process will lead to another intifada," said Nickolay Mladenov, United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, in a closed-door meeting Thursday ahead of the international organization's annual general assembly in New York. There have been two intifadas, both originated by Arafat, in the West Bank and Gaza. They were violent Palestinian uprisings against Israel's presence in the territories that in the past included suicide bombings, rocket attacks and sniper fire. The last one ended in 2005. They had a deleterious impact on Israeli-Palestinian relations. "(And) I haven’t met a Palestinian who doesn’t believe a peace process will lead to their losing more land," said Mladenov. He said one consequence of Trump's aid cut to Palestinians could be "schools (that) fall into the hands of radicals." A very nice community For Avigail Be Nun, 81, a Holocaust survivor whose home in the Neve Tzuf settlement, north of Ramallah, was burned down in 2016 in what Israeli media labeled an "arson intifada," her arrival there in 1978 "was a very strange, very strong feeling." It was, she said, "as if I came home." At the time, Be Nun said, there were no houses or other signs of infrastructure on the land, then owned by Palestinians and later seized by Israel's military. "We were the first here," she said. Ben Nun and her husband Yossi, 86, currently live in a temporary trailer-home in Neve Tzuf. They are expecting to soon move to a new house on the plot that burned down. She said that they believe Palestinians deliberately started the blaze. There has not been definitive proof. Ben Nun said initially there were no problems with her Arab neighbors who lived in the area's surrounding villages. "They would come to ask if they could help, we were invited to their weddings, we would have coffee with them and I would go to their houses. We were friends and we had a very nice community." One day, Ben Nun couldn't remember exactly when, she noticed a change. She traced it to around the time Arafat returned to the Palestinian territories 27 years after he was forced into exile as a result of the 1967 war between Israel and its neighbors. "We used to buy vegetables from the Arabs. Then they stopped coming," she said.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/09/24/arctic-walrus-attacked-russian-navy-ship-franz-josef-land/2428079001/

A walrus attacked a Russian navy boat in the Arctic. She was defending her young

A walrus attacked a Russian navy boat in the Arctic. She was defending her young A Russian navy boat out on a science expedition was attacked and may have been sunk, not by an enemy ship, but by a walrus protecting her calves, officials said. The joint expedition by Russia's Northern Fleet and Geographical Society was sailing in the Franz Josef Land archipelago in the Arctic Ocean last week when the incident occurred. Russian military officials said in a statement that the boat was attacked as researchers landed at Cape Heller on Wilczek Land, an island on the archipelago. "A group of researchers had to flee from a female walrus who attacked an expedition boat when protecting her cub," the Russian military statement reads, according to the Barents Observer, an English-language news site in the region. The Russian navy said "serious troubles were avoided" and the crew was able to get away without harming the animals. The Russian Geographical Society said the attack had one casualty: the landing boat. "The boat sank, but the tragedy was avoided," the Geographical Society's statement reads, per the Barents Observer. All crew members safely made it to the shore, the Geographical Society said. The groups said the expedition continues. According to an article on walrus interactions with humans published in 2018 in the peer-reviewed journal Ambio, the animals can be aggressive, especially if their calves are threatened. Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/09/25/mont-blanc-glacier-might-collapse-experts-have-no-idea-when/2444933001/

A glacier in the Alps could collapse at any moment thanks to climate change, experts warn

A glacier in the Alps could collapse at any moment thanks to climate change, experts warn Italian officials are closing roads after experts warned that a massive chunk of a glacier is at risk of collapsing due to climate change. A staggering 8.8 million cubic feet of ice could break away from the Planpincieux glacier in the Alps, said experts at the Fondazione Montagna Sicura (Safe Mountain Foundation), according to a statement from local officials. The glacier is located on the Grande Jorasses peak of the Mont Blanc massif, which straddles the borders of Italy, France and Switzerland and contains the highest peak in Western Europe. The Safe Mountain Foundation has been studying the glacier's movement since 2013 and has observed "an increase in speed," according to the release. The glacier is shifting at an average peak speed between 19.6 to 23.6 inches per day. Although the movement is being monitored, there is no way to predict exactly when the collapse could occur nor is there a system in place to activate alarms when it does. In response to the findings, the Mayor of Courmayeur, Stefano Miserocchi decided to close two roads to Val Ferret and Rochefort and evacuate buildings in the surrounding area. 'Killed' by climate change:Iceland activists, officials hold funeral for death of Okjokull glacier "Public safety is a priority for the municipal administration," Miserocchi said in a statement. "These phenomena testify once again how the mountain is in a phase of strong change due to climatic factors, therefore it is particularly vulnerable. In this case it is a temperate glacier particularly sensitive to high temperatures." Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte alerted world leaders to the risk of the glacier’s collapse during his address Tuesday to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, telling them “it is an alarm that we cannot be indifferent to.” The news comes just after the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a special report detailing the impact global warming has had on glaciers and ice sheets. Melting glaciers can not only contribute to rising sea levels, but can also pose a threat to humans through landslides, avalanches, rockfalls and floods according to a press release that accompanied the report. "Glaciers, snow, ice and permafrost are declining and will continue to do so," scientists said in the press release. "Smaller glaciers found for example in Europe, eastern Africa, the tropical Andes and Indonesia are projected to lose more than 80% of their current ice mass by 2100 under high emission scenarios." Contributing: The Associated Press Follow N'dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/09/26/istanbul-earthquake-magnitude-5-8-turkey/3773252002/

5.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Istanbul, collapses the minaret of a mosque

5.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Istanbul, collapses the minaret of a mosque ISTANBUL – A 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook Istanbul on Thursday, sending school children and residents into the streets and collapsing the minaret of a mosque in Turkey's commercial and cultural center. Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said the earthquake struck in the Sea of Marmara at 1:59 p.m. at 4.4 miles deep and was felt throughout the western Marmara region, which includes Istanbul. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said on Twitter that there were no reports of deaths from the quake. News videos showed a collapsed minaret in the city's western Avcilar district and the emergency agency said cracks were found in some buildings. Turkish media showed children being evacuated from schools and city residents waiting outside their homes. Schools were canceled for the day. The Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute recorded several aftershocks, with the highest at 4.4 magnitude. The untold story:What really happened the day a child drowned in a Tim Hortons grease trap Turkey is crossed by fault lines and prone to earthquakes. Experts have long warned that a major earthquake is expected to hit Istanbul, Turkey's most populous city with more than 15 million residents. A 4.6 magnitude earthquake hit the city Tuesday. In 1999, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in western Turkey killed more than 17,000 people.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/09/26/trump-zelensky-call-why-its-not-just-joe-biden-but-also-russia-robert-mueller-paul-manafort/2442068001/

'A lot of it started with Ukraine': Why the Trump-Zelensky call isn't just about Joe Biden

'A lot of it started with Ukraine': Why the Trump-Zelensky call isn't just about Joe Biden WASHINGTON – “They say a lot of it started with Ukraine.” That one remark – made by President Donald Trump in his July 25 conversation with Ukraine’s newly elected leader – goes a long way to explaining why the Eastern European country and strategic U.S. ally is now at the center of an American political scandal with potential geopolitical ramifications. For Trump, this isn’t just about Joe Biden. It’s also about Russia and now-former special counsel Robert Mueller. And about Paul Manafort, Trump’s onetime 2016 campaign manager who is now in prison after making millions of dollars from a once-secret lobbying deal he had with Ukraine’s former pro-Russia president. Here’s a guide to connecting the dots from Ukraine to Russia, from Joe Biden to Paul Manafort to Robert Mueller: Why is Ukraine important to the U.S.? Ukraine declared independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, and it is now a fledgling democracy with a pro-Western tilt. “Ukraine is a country that has decided to turn to the West, meaning be pro-American, take on democracy and free markets and that’s a big deal,” Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said Tuesday on Fox Business Network. But now, Portman noted, “It’s sort of like the Cold War is being fought out in Ukraine again.” Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, a swath of Ukraine territory located between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Russian operatives and separatist fighters have since launched attacks on eastern Ukraine, and the Kremlin continually works to undermine the country’s sovereignty militarily and in other ways. “This is very much a hot conflict,” said Heather Conley, director of the Europe program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a foreign policy think tank. It’s in America’s interest to stave off Russian aggression, particularly as Vladimir Putin looks to rebuild the Soviet empire, Conley and other experts say. “Strategically we wanted to uphold Ukraine’s independence because it makes it more difficult for Russia to re-establish its imperial designs,” said William Pomeranz, deputy director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute, a think tank dedicated to Russian and Eurasia research. The United States also agreed, along with several European countries, to defend Ukraine from attack after it relinquished its nuclear weapons arsenal, Pomeranz noted. So it raised alarm bells on Capitol Hill when lawmakers learned that Trump had frozen nearly $400 million in military aid, approved by Congress, to help Ukraine stave off Russian aggression. (He later released the money under intense pressure from lawmakers in both parties.) Trump has offered differing explanations for holding back the funds, saying initially it was because he wanted to be sure Zelensky would tackle corruption in the country and later suggesting he wanted European countries to contribute more to Ukraine’s defense. Democrats charge that Trump was using the military assistance as leverage to force Zelensky to open an investigation that he hoped would tarnish Joe Biden, a leading candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. "He implored the president of Ukraine to work with his personal attorney to manufacture a smear against a domestic political opponent, using a malicious conspiracy theory that has been universally debunked by every independent outlet that has looked at it," Biden said in a statement released by his campaign Wednesday. In the July 25 call, Trump made a point of telling Zelensky how generous the U.S. had been with his country. More:What Trump and Zelensky said in their July 25 phone call “We do a lot for Ukraine,” the president said in the July 25 call. “The United States has been very, very good to Ukraine.” What does Trump’s Ukraine call have to do with Paul Manafort? Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has essentially accused Ukrainian officials of trying to undermine Trump’s 2016 campaign by exposing his then-campaign manager’s lucrative lobbying work in their country. In August of 2016, Serhiy Leshchenko, then a member of Ukraine’s parliament, held a news conference in Kiev and unveiled secret documents showing payments from former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian leader, to Manafort. The records came from a “black ledger,” which was found “in the burned-out ruins of the headquarters of Yanukoych’s party,” Leshchenko wrote in a recent op-ed outlining his actions. “Yanukovych had used the ledger to keep records of his illegal transactions.” Leshchenko said he disclosed the Manafort payments to hold the American lobbyist and Yanukovych to account for throwing Ukraine into tumult and war with Russia. The revelations eventually led to Manafort’s resignation from Trump’s campaign and sparked the broader criminal case against Manafort. Giuliani named Leshchenko as one of Trump’s “enemies” in a May interview with Fox News, in which he also alleged "Ukrainian collusion with Democrats." And Trump himself has nurtured a grudge about Manafort’s downfall. “That is the paradox here," said Michael McFaul, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia under President Barack Obama. Trump “seems annoyed by the exposure of corruption” in the Manafort case – and similarly annoyed by the lack of corruption findings in Hunter Biden's dealings in Ukraine, McFaul said. In the call with Zelensky, Trump pushed for a probe of Joe Biden, who in 2016 as vice president, sought the removal of Ukraine’s then-prosecutor general Viktor Shokin. European diplomats and the U.S. State Department were also pressing for Shokin's ouster, saying he was not aggressive enough in fighting corruption. But Trump and Giuliani allege Biden wanted Shokin ousted to stop an investigation into Burisma Group, a Ukrainian energy company where his son Hunter served on the board of directors. Neither Trump nor Giuliani has produced evidence of wrongdoing that implicates Joe Biden or his son. What’s the Russia connection and why did Trump bring up Robert Mueller? The day before Trump spoke with Zelensky, former special counsel Robert Mueller testified on Capitol Hill about his investigation into possible collusion between the Kremlin and Trump's campaign aimed at influencing the outcome of the 2016 election. Mueller's probe concluded that the Russian government interfered extensively in the 2016 election, hoping to benefit Trump. Mueller told lawmakers that while Trump's 2016 campaign welcomed the assistance, his investigators did not gather sufficient evidence to prove a conspiracy. Mueller's remarks clearly were still on Trump's mind the next day, when he was on the phone with Zelensky. "That whole nonsense ended with a very poor performance by a man named Robert Mueller, an incompetent performance," Trump said, according to a summary of the call released Wednesday by the White House. Trump also mentioned CrowdStrike, a private firm that analyzed the intrusion into the Democratic National Committee's computers in 2016. The firm concluded that it was the work of hackers connected to Russian intelligence services. "I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say CrowdStrike ... the server, they say Ukraine has it," Trump told Zelensky. More:What to know about CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity company mentioned in Trump's phone call with Zelensky It's not entirely clear what server Trump is referring to. But McFaul said Trump seems to be trying to re-litigate the origins of the Russia probe and raise new questions about an issue that seems to haunt him. The president has blasted Mueller's probe as a "witch hunt" and a "hoax," fearing it undermines the legitimacy of his election. "The president continues to very much focus on people questioning whether he won the election in 2016 on his own or whether he needed that help," said Conley. "Even though (Mueller's probe has) been closed, he continues to go back to it." Trump has boasted he's tougher on Russia than any previous president. But critics note that any decision by him to withhold military aid from Ukraine would have been a gift to Moscow. James Lamond, senior policy adviser for the liberal Center for American Progress, said it reminded him of the moment in 2016, when the Trump campaign worked to soften the GOP platform on Ukraine. The draft platform called for providing "lethal defensive weapons" to Ukraine. A Trump campaign aide reportedly worked to water down that line to say the U.S. should provide "appropriate assistance” to Ukraine. That move befuddled Democrats, Lamond recalled, because Republicans had spent years blasting the Obama administration for being too weak on Russian aggression and shying away from providing lethal assistance. Trump's decision to temporarily freeze the Ukraine aid, Lamond said, seems more "transactional" than policy-driven. "But you can’t separate it out in many ways from his general posture that has been so supportive of Russia's geopolitical objectives," Lamond said, citing Trump's attacks on NATO and other broadsides he has launched against America's European allies. "The pattern is clear."

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/09/27/trump-envoy-ukraine-kurt-volker-resigns-after-giuliani-revelations/3792075002/

Trump's envoy for Ukraine resigns as scrutiny of his role in Trump-Zelensky scandal grows

Trump's envoy for Ukraine resigns as scrutiny of his role in Trump-Zelensky scandal grows WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, resigned on Friday amid growing questions about his role in connecting Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, with Ukrainian officials. Volker quit the unpaid position with the State Department, according to Arizona State University President Michael Crow. Crow told The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, that his staff discussed the matter with Volker, who is the executive director of the McCain Institute for International Leadership at ASU. Volker's resignation came just hours after House Democrats announced plans to interview Volker, along with four other State Department officials, as part of their impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump's efforts to pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate Joe Biden, a political rival. Volker introduced Giuliani to a top adviser to Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky as in mid-July, according to a text message Giuliani posted on Twitter. The former New York mayor was trying to get Ukrainian officials to investigate Joe Biden, a leading candidate for the 2020 presidential election. “As discussed, connecting you here with Andrey Yermak, who is very close to President Zelensky,” the July 19 text message reads, using an alternative spelling for Yermak's first name. “I suggest we schedule a call together on Monday – maybe 10 am or 11 am Washington time?” Volker's name also appeared in the whistleblower complaint, which alleges that Trump, during a July 25 phone call, used the power of his office to press Zelensky for damaging information about Biden. More:Rudy Giuliani emerges as central figure in Ukraine firestorm According to the whistleblower complaint, Volker and another U.S. ambassador, Gordon Sondland, had met with Giuliani to try to "contain the damage" his efforts were having on U.S. national security. The whistleblower said Volker and Sondland also met with Ukrainian officials to help them navigate the "differing messages" they were getting through official U.S. government channels and Giuliani's private outreach. More:Mike Pompeo under growing scrutiny for State Department's role in Ukraine scandal For months, Giuliani has been pressing the Ukrainians for damaging information on former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, whose sat on the board of a Ukrainian energy company when Biden was Obama’s No. 2. Trump and Giuliani have alleged wrongdoing by the Bidens, but they have not produced any evidence of impropriety. Volker, who served in the unpaid position on a part-time basis, did not respond to an email seeking comment, nor did the State Department’s press office. Giuliani did not respond to a voicemail and text messages from USA TODAY. The resignation was first reported by the State Press, the student newspaper at Arizona State University. Contributing: Ron Hansen More:As whistleblower report reverberates through Washington, scandal will test Pence More:Why the Trump-Zelensky call isn't just about Joe Biden

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/09/30/john-bolton-kim-jong-un-never-give-up-weapons-voluntarily/3818028002/

Bolton takes on Trump’s approach to North Korea, saying Kim will do 'whatever he can to keep' nukes

Bolton takes on Trump’s approach to North Korea, saying Kim will do 'whatever he can to keep' nukes WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump's ex-national security adviser, John Bolton, warned Monday that Kim Jong Un has no intention of relinquishing his nuclear arsenal and indirectly criticized the Trump administration for being too weak on North Korea as he pursues another U.S.-North Korea summit. "Kim Jong Un ... will do whatever he can to keep his nuclear weapons capacity and to enhance it further," Bolton said in remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based foreign policy think tank. Bolton, a hawk who clashed with Trump over U.S. policy toward North Korea, Afghanistan and other matters, left the White House earlier this month. After Bolton's departure, Trump said his former national security adviser was "way out of line" with his administration's foreign policy goals and repeatedly slammed the veteran diplomat for his handling of North Korea and other matters. Bolton, in his first public remarks since leaving the Trump administration, said on Monday he was now free to give an "unvarnished" view of the threat posed by North Korea. He said North Korea, with its repeated testing of short-range missiles, is violating UN Security Council resolutions. The Trump administration's response seems to be "we really don't care," Bolton said, although he did not use the president's name. Because of an inconsistent message, Bolton added, "we open ourselves and our policy to failure." Trump has downplayed the short-range missile tests and made it clear he is willing to meet again with Kim, despite three previous one-on-one sessions that have not produced any concrete agreement. Bolton also warned against an incremental deal with North Korea – in which the U.S. agrees to partial sanctions relief in exchange for partial steps by North Korea to dismantle its program. Kim's government wants that approach and some Trump administration officials have said they're open to a step-by-step deal, rather than demanding a full, speedy dismantling of North Korea's entire weapons program. Bolton said a partial lifting of sanctions that allows North Korea to keep some of its nuclear capability will only feed the regime's economy and allow Kim to sustain his authoritarian regime. Bolton raised the prospect of "regime change" as one possible, if unlikely, way to deal with the threat. Bolton said if North Korea is not forced to relinquish its arsenal, Kim could even begin to sell nuclear weapons to other rogue leaders, increasing the global threat of nuclear war. "The DPRK could become the new ... the Walmart or Amazon of deliverable nuclear weapons," Bolton said. "These are the questions that should focus our attention, not can we get another summit with Kong Jung Un or what the state of staff-level negotiations are to achieve a commitment from North Korea (that) it will never honor."

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/10/01/ukraine-opens-case-against-ex-prosecutor-yuriy-lutsenko/3828779002/

Ukraine opens case against former prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko

Ukraine opens case against former prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko Authorities in Ukraine on Tuesday opened an investigation into a former government prosecutor who is indirectly connected to allegations that have prompted Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) opened criminal proceedings against Yuriy Lutsenko over his possible abuse of power, the government agency said. It said that Lutsenko and other former lawmakers may have conspired to "provide cover" for illegal gambling businesses in Ukraine. Lutsenko disputes the allegations. The claims were first raised by David Arakhamia, a member of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's Servant of the People party. In a Facebook post, Lutsenko said Arakhamia and state investigators "must have a great imagination to accuse me of this." Lutsenko was fired as Ukraine's top legal official last month. The allegations unveiled Tuesday are not directly related to the U.S. impeachment inquiry, which stems from a summer call Trump had with Zelensky. In the call, Trump asked for help investigating political rival Joe Biden, according to a White House-released summary of the call and a whistleblower complaint. Impeach?:Support for Trump impeachment over jumps 8 points in one week, poll finds Lutsenko has drawn scrutiny in recent days because he was Ukraine's prosecutor general – broadly equivalent to the attorney general in the United States – when an investigation was halted into Burisma, a Ukrainian company. At the time, then-Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter sat on the board of the company. Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, have claimed – falsely – that the investigation was stopped as a result of political pressure applied by Joe Biden. Until last week, Lutsenko publicly supported that assessment. But he has since aggressively walked back that support, saying in several media interviews that during his time as prosecutor general he saw no evidence of wrongdoing by either Biden. Pompeo:Democrats' impeachment inquiry an effort to 'intimidate, bully' State Dept. workers The impeachment probe has been rapidly widening. Democrat congressional committees have subpoenaed U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Giuliani for Ukraine-related documents deemed to be critical to the investigation. Pomepo took part in the call with Trump and Zelenksy, according to media reports. Giuliani took multiple trips to Ukraine. Pompeo on Tuesday accused House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., of attempting to "intimidate, bully and treat improperly" State Department officials that Democratic committee chairmen have asked to depose in their impeachment inquiry centering on the growing Ukraine scandal. Speaking during a press conference in Kiev on Tuesday, Zelensky told journalists he has "never met Giuliani." Timeline:A visual timeline of the events that led up to Trump's fateful phone call Olexiy Haran, a political scientist at the National University of Kiev-Mohyla Academy, said that the timing of the decision by Ukraine's SBI to accept the case against Lutsenko "looked strange" given that he is a figure in the U.S. impeachment inquiry. But Haran cautioned against jumping to conclusions about whether the case is politically motivated because, he said, the SBI is obligated to open an investigation into alleged wrongdoing and doing so does not necessarily mean the case is credible.

0b46624a16cd67f5530c7557cd9b284e

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/10/03/state-dept-inks-weapons-deal-ukraine-amid-impeachment-inquiry/3855760002/

Trump administration announces weapons deal with Ukraine amid swirl of impeachment inquiry

Trump administration announces weapons deal with Ukraine amid swirl of impeachment inquiry WASHINGTON – The State Department announced a $40 million weapons sale to Ukraine on Thursday, amid the swirl of impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump over his dealings with Ukraine's president. The sale – of 150 Javelin missiles and related equipment – is not directly related to allegations that Trump used the power of his office to solicit foreign interference from Ukraine in his 2020 re-election campaign. But the timing of the State Department's decision draws fresh attention to American military assistance that has been at the center of the Ukraine scandal. News of the sale emerged as House Democrats were questioning their first witness in the impeachment inquiry: Kurt Volker, Trump's former special envoy to Ukraine. "This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of Ukraine," the State Department said in a statement Thursday. "The Javelin system will help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity." Ukraine's interest in purchasing Javelin missiles came up in the July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In that call, Trump pressed Zelensky to open an investigation into a political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. The conversation prompted a whistleblower to file an explosive complaint against Trump alleging that the president had sought foreign assistance to damage a political rival, which sparked the current impeachment inquiry. The whistleblower noted that Trump ordered the suspension of all U.S. security assistance to Ukraine before his July 25 call with Zelensky. Democrats have charged that Trump was using the nearly $400 million in aid, approved by Congress, as leverage in his push for a probe of Biden. In the July 25 call, Zelensky thanked Trump for "your great support in the area of defense," and promised Ukraine would buy more American-made weapons. "We are almost ready to buy more Javelins from the United States for defense purposes," Zelensky said, according to a summary of the call released by the White House. Trump responded: "I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it." He proceeded to ask Zelensky about a conspiracy theory related to Russian interference in the 2016 election, suggesting it may have originated in Ukraine instead. He also asks Zelensky about investigating Biden. For months, Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, had been pressing the Ukrainians for damaging information on Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, who sat on the board of a Ukrainian energy company when Biden was Obama’s No. 2. Trump and Giuliani have alleged wrongdoing by the Bidens, but Ukrainian officials have said they have not found any evidence to support those charges. Lawmakers in both parties have long supported the military assistance to Ukraine, which they say is vital to helping the eastern European country counter Russian aggression. Russia annexed part of Ukraine in 2014, and the Ukrainians are still fighting Russian-backed separatists and other efforts by the Kremlin to undermine their sovereignty. Thursday's missile sale is a continuation of weapons assistance and purchases that began in the spring of last year.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/10/04/ukraine-official-review-probe-tied-joe-bidens-son-hunter/3862796002/

Ukraine to review investigation of company tied to Hunter Biden

Ukraine to review investigation of company tied to Hunter Biden KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s top legal official said Friday that his office would review a probe into the owner of a natural-gas company linked to former Vice President Joe Biden’s son. Ruslan Ryaboshapka, Ukraine’s general prosecutor, said during a press conference that the review is part of a wider audit of at least 15 high-profile past investigations that were closed or dismissed by his predecessors. The announcement Friday comes as an impeachment inquiry over President Donald Trump's dealings with Ukraine consumes Washington. But Ryaboshapka said the decision to review the cases was not specifically related to the time Hunter Biden spent on the board of Burisma, Ukraine’s largest private natural-gas firm, or allegations from the Trump administration that Joe Biden improperly applied pressure on Ukraine to have an investigation into Burisma halted. The allegations from Trump and his lawyer Rudolph Giuliani have played a key role in the impeachment inquiry into Trump by Democratic lawmakers. Ukraine:Text messages show U.S. diplomats believed U.S. aid was linked to Trump's demand for Biden probe Ukraine’s previous general prosecutor, Yuriy Lutsenko, closed a money-laundering and tax-irregularity probe into Burisma’s owner, Mykola Zlochevsky, in 2016. The case did not focus on Hunter Biden. There is also no evidence that Joe Biden acted improperly in applying pressure on Ukraine to dismiss Lutsenko’s predecessor, Viktor Shokin. Shokin was widely and publicly viewed by international organizations such as the European Union and International Monetary Fund, and anti-corruption investigators in Ukraine, as an impediment to reforming the country’s culture of graft. Ryaboshapka said the audit has been planned since he took office one month ago. Friday’s press conference was his first public one since taking up the role. Impeachment testimony:Intelligence watchdog to testify about 'credible' whistleblower complaint before key House committee Vitali Kasko, Ryaboshapha’s deputy, told USA TODAY after the news conference that an affidavit by Shokin highlighted in recent days by Giuliani’s office that claims he was fired in 2016 because he was leading a “wide-ranging corruption investigation” into Burisma had no merit. “Shokin is not a reliable figure,” he said. Shokin was not available for comment.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/10/08/elephants-thailand-khao-yai-park-die-trying-save-drowned-calf/3907041002/

11 elephants died in plunge from waterfall while trying to save drowned calf

11 elephants died in plunge from waterfall while trying to save drowned calf At least 11 wild elephants died after plunging from a waterfall in a national park in Thailand, wildlife officials said Tuesday. Five elephant carcasses were confirmed Tuesday from drone cameras days after six elephants were first spotted, said Sompote Maneerat, spokesman for the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department. The animals were found at Haew Narok – Ravine of Hell – waterfall in Khao Yai National Park. Park officials said five adult elephants and a calf were found at the waterfall Saturday. Officials said the baby elephant drowned and the five adults, found in a ravine below the baby, fell trying to reach it. Elephant deaths:6 wild elephants die after falling from waterfall in Thailand, reports say 'Zombie gene':Elephants rarely get cancer thanks to 'zombie gene,' study finds The five additional elephants confirmed Tuesday were from the same herd, and only two elephants from the herd survived the incident, said Nattapong Sirichanam, governor of Nakhon Nayok province, according to Reuters. The two surviving elephants had been trapped on a cliff above the baby elephant, park officials said. A similar incident killed eight elephants at the same waterfall in 1992, and Sompote said the 11th death is the highest number of elephants to die in a single incident in Khao Yai. According to Reuters, 3,500 to 3,700 wild elephants remain in Thailand. The park is home to about 300 elephants, the news agency reported. Asian elephants are classified as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The surviving elephants will probably experience grief. When two elephants died this year at an Indianapolis zoo, officials confirmed that the rest of the herd reacted emotionally. "We know that elephants grieve. They are intensely social," Indianapolis Zoo President Rob Shumaker said. Contributing: Joel Shannon, USA TODAY; The Associated Press Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/10/09/turkeys-syria-offensive-imminent-after-trump-pulls-u-s-troops-back/3916434002/

Turkey launches military offensive in Syria after Trump pulls back US troops

Turkey launches military offensive in Syria after Trump pulls back US troops Turkish forces launched a military offensive into Kurdish-controlled parts of Syria Wednesday, just days after President Donald Trump announced he was withdrawing U.S. troops in the region -- a move that left the Kurds, longtime U.S. allies, vulnerable to the Turkish operation. "The Turkish Armed Forces, together with the Syrian National Army, just launched #OperationPeaceSpring" against Kurdish fighters in Syria, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president announced on Twitter. "Our mission is to prevent the creation of a terror corridor across our southern border, and to bring peace to the area," he saidof Turkey's long-planned assault on the Kurds, who have been America's chief ally in Syria fighting the Islamic State terrorist group, also known as ISIS. The move comes in defiance of international criticism and just days after President Donald Trump announced U.S. troops supporting Kurdish forces in the area would be pulled back from the border zone. American lawmakers vowed to retaliate against Turkey and begged Trump to reconsider his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from the region. "Pray for our Kurdish allies who have been shamelessly abandoned by the Trump Administration," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., usually an ardent Trump supporter, tweeted amid news reports of the Turkish attack. "Will lead effort in Congress to make Erdogan pay a heavy price," Graham said. "I urge President Trump to change course while there is still time ... " Trump defended his decision Wednesday and called Turkey's attack a "bad idea." "The United States does not endorse this attack and has made it clear to Turkey that this operation is a bad idea," the president said in a statement Wednesday. But, he added, "from the first day I entered the political arena, I made it clear that I did not want to fight these endless, senseless wars – especially those that don’t benefit the United States." Trump said his administration would continue to monitor the situation closely. "Turkey has committed to protecting civilians, protecting religious minorities, including Christians, and ensuring no humanitarian crisis takes place – and we will hold them to this commitment," the president said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went further, defending Turkey's incursion into Syria. “The Turks had a legitimate security concern,” Pompeo said in an interview Wednesday with PBS' NewsHour. “They have a terrorist threat to their south." He said the Trump administration has been trying to make sure Turkey was protected, while also trying to work with the Kurds to defeat ISIS. Turkish warplanes began bombing parts of northeastern Syria, according to a spokesman for the Kurdish fighters in northern Syria. Although the Kurdish fighters have been a vital U.S. ally in the fight against ISIS, Turkey sees them as terrorists. The White House said Erdogan told Trump of his plans to move ahead with a military incursion into Syria during a phone call on Sunday night. Trump administration officials have defended the decision to remove American troops from that region, saying the president did not want U.S. forces to be in the line of fire. But critics say Trump's decision essentially gave a green light for Turkey's attack. "The coming weeks will see a slow-moving train-wreck as US policy remains divorced from any achievable objective ... under a president that wants out altogether," Brett McGurk, who was Trump's envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition before resigning last year, posted on Twitter. "The belief that we can now contain Turkey’s ambition into one small area is delusional," he said. "Cat’s out of bag." Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish government's chief spokesman, said Turkey seeks to "neutralize" Syrian Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria and to "liberate the local population from the yoke of the armed thugs." He made those comments in an op-ed in The Washington Post. Learn more:What we know about Trump's withdrawal from northern Syria 'A reckless gamble':Four reasons critics decry Trump's 'impulsive' Syria withdrawal Syria's Kurds have partnered with U.S.-led coalition forces in northeastern Syria fighting the Islamic State group for nearly four years. But Turkey considers some of them to be militants linked to outlawed Kurdish rebels within Turkey who have for years waged a campaign of terror aimed at securing their autonomy from Ankara. Who are the Kurds?:A Middle Eastern people with 'no friends but the mountains' Trump has threatened to punish Turkey economically if it does "anything outside of what we think is humane." However, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have condemned Trump's actions, arguing that it not only poses a threat to a key U.S. ally but endangers the campaign against the Islamic State group. Syria's Kurds have also been running detention centers in the region that are holding thousands of former Islamic State militants and their families. In a statement late Tuesday, the General Command of the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) – the group that's been working with U.S. troops – said the border areas of northeast Syria "are on the edge of a possible humanitarian catastrophe ... This attack will spill the blood of thousands of innocent civilians because our border areas are overcrowded." The SDF said that at least two civilian casualties have already been caused by Turkish warplanes bombing parts of northeastern Syria. Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the forces, said there is "a huge panic among the people of the region." It's not clear what, if anything, Congress will do to address the looming crisis. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., a member of the House GOP leadership, also called for congressional action. She said Trump’s decision “paves the way for a resurgence of ISIS” and pointed to reported ISIS attacks on Tuesday in Raqqa, the group’s former stronghold in Syria. "President Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from northern Syria is having sickening and predictable consequences. Turkey is invading Syria in reported coordination with Russian-backed forces, ISIS terrorists are launching attacks in Raqqa, and thousands of ISIS fighters are biding their time in makeshift prisons.” Graham and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., are working on legislation to punish Turkey for the Syrian invasion and urge Turkey's suspension from NATO. But lawmakers are on recess this week, and by the time they return Oct. 15, the military confrontation is likely to have spiraled. Trump has so far stood by his decision. "The United States has spent EIGHT TRILLION DOLLARS fighting and policing in the Middle East. Thousands of our Great Soldiers have died or been badly wounded. Millions of people have died on the other side. GOING INTO THE MIDDLE EAST IS THE WORST DECISION EVER MADE," he tweeted Wednesday.

72bae217835976d1ba5decc1eecea9fd

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/10/13/japan-typhoon-hagibis-death-toll-high-33-now-tropical-storm/3969349002/

Ferocious typhoon leaves as many as 48 dead, floods thousands of homes in Japan

Ferocious typhoon leaves as many as 48 dead, floods thousands of homes in Japan NAGANO, Japan – Rescue crews dug through mudslides and searched near swollen rivers Monday, looking for those missing from a typhoon that left dozens dead and caused serious damage in central and northern Japan. Typhoon Hagibis unleashed torrents of rain and strong winds Saturday, leaving thousands of homes on Japan’s main island flooded, damaged or without power. A riverside section of Nagano, northwest of Tokyo, was covered with mud, its apple orchards flooded and homes without electricity. Japan’s Kyodo News agency reported that 48 people died from the typhoon, 17 were missing and about 100 were injured. The government’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency, which is generally more conservative in assessing its numbers, said 24 people were dead and nine were missing. Democratic race:Think ‘Medicare For All’ is the only health plan? Think again Experts said it would take time to accurately assess the extent of damage, and the casualty count has been growing daily. Hagibis dropped record amounts of rain in some spots, causing more than 20 rivers to overflow. In Kanagawa prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, 39 inches of rain was recorded over 48 hours. Some of the muddy waters in streets, fields and residential areas subsided, but many places remained flooded Monday. Homes and surrounding roads were covered in mud and littered with broken wooden pieces and debris. Some places looked like giant rivers. Some who lined up for morning soup at evacuation shelters, which are housing 30,000 people, expressed concern about the homes they left behind. Survivors and rescuers will face colder weather when northern Japan turns chilly this week. Soldiers and firefighters from throughout Japan were deployed to assist with rescue efforts. Helicopters plucked some of the stranded from higher floors and rooftops of submerged homes. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the government would set up a special disaster team, including officials from various ministries, to deal with the fallout from the typhoon, including helping those in evacuation centers and boosting efforts to restore water and electricity to homes. South Korean pop star:Sulli found dead at age 25 “Our response must be rapid and appropriate,” Abe said. Damage was especially serious in Nagano prefecture, where an embankment of the Chikuma River broke. In one area, a few vehicles in used car lots were flipped over by the waters that had gushed in, covering everything with mud. Apples swept from the flooded orchards lay scattered in the mud. California becomes first state to ban fur production and sales:Animals also barred from circuses In Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures in northern Japan, rescue crews paddled in boats to reach half-submerged homes, calling out to anyone left stranded. Tokyo Electric Power said 35,100 homes were without electricity early Monday evening in Tokyo and nearby prefectures that the utility serves. That was down from nearly 57,000 earlier in the day. Hunter Biden will resign from board of Chinese firm:Says he won't serve on foreign boards if Joe Biden elected president East Japan Railway said Hokuriku bullet trains were running Monday but were reduced in frequency and limited to the Nagano city and Tokyo routes. Mimori Domoto, who works at Nagano craft beermaker Yoho Brewing, said all 40 employees at her company were confirmed safe, though deliveries were halted. “My heart aches when I think of the damage that happened in Nagano. Who would have thought it would get this bad?” she said. Tama River in Tokyo overflowed, but the damage was not as great in the capital as in other areas. Areas surrounding Tokyo, such as Tochigi, also suffered damage.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/10/15/mexicali-protest-shelter-asylum-seekers-us-policy/3983901002/

Mexicali residents protest shelter for asylum seekers returned to Mexico under US policy

Mexicali residents protest shelter for asylum seekers returned to Mexico under US policy MEXICALI, Mexico – Residents gathered here Monday night to protest the Mexican federal government's plan to convert a shuttered grocery store into a shelter for asylum seekers who have been sent by United States officials to Mexico to await the resolution of their immigration cases. Mexicali residents said they aren't racist, xenophobic or anti-immigrant. Rather, they said, they oppose the shelter because it could draw crime to the neighborhood, threaten the safety of area school children and drawdown home prices. As the sun set over the former Soriana grocery store, nearly 200 residents and children waved yellow signs declaring their opposition to the placement of the shelter in an area near schools, businesses and homes. "No to the shelter," they chanted. "We don't want it!" One deadly weekreveals where the immigration crisis begins — and where it ends 'Catch and release' ends:Trump administration announces the end of 'catch and release'; changes take effect soon In response to the opposition, Abraham Salcido, a spokesman for the Mexican federal government in Baja California, said the northern state has always been "a land of migrants." He said opponents' concerns that the asylum seekers are bringing disease and insecurity to the border city are "not true." The protest comes as the Mexican federal government moves forward with plans to open two shelters in the state of Baja California – one in Mexicali and another in Tijuana – for asylum-seeking families sent to Mexico to await their immigration hearings under the U.S. government’s so-called Migrant Protection Protocols. Both shelters are expected to open in about two weeks, Salcido said. The government expects the shelters to initially house about 300 asylum seekers, but will have the capacity for several thousand people, he said. A response to changes in US policy The shelters are the Mexican government's response to a major change in the United States' asylum policy. Until recently, asylum-seeking families could wait in the United States while their cases made their way through the backlogged immigration court system. But amid a recent wave of migration from Central America to the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. immigration officials changed the rules. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced in December it would return asylum seekers to Mexico. The department said the shift was necessary to deter migrants from making the trek north. Homeland Security implemented the policy in Tijuana in January and has gradually expanded it along the southwest border, as Border Patrol agents apprehended a record number of migrant families this spring. Trump immigration change:would all but end asylum requests for Central American migrants Asylum seekers:in US face years of waiting, little chance of winning their cases The policy, unofficially known as Remain in Mexico, so far has survived legal challenges from the American Civil Liberties Union and others, who charged the Trump administration was forcibly returning vulnerable people to dangerous conditions in Mexican border cities. Between Jan. 29 and July 11, U.S. immigration officials sent nearly 20,000 people to Mexico to await decisions on their cases, according to the Mexican government's National Institute of Migration. Officials released just over half those in the state of Baja California, with 6,649 people sent to Tijuana and 3,887 to Mexicali. As a result, thousands of asylum-seeking families are now waiting in the border city across from Calexico, California, for the chance to make their cases before a U.S. immigration judge. Throughout the spring and summer, the migrants crowded into privately operated shelters, where they slept on thin mats on the ground, surrounded by their backpacks and few belongings. They scrubbed their laundry by hand and hung it from all possible points. As temperatures soared into the triple digits, migrants sought shade at the shelters, waiting for months to attend their court dates in San Diego. When the federal shelter opens this fall, it will feature sleeping quarters and dining areas, as well as sites where people can access medical care and obtain work permits, said Salcido, the government spokesman. He said the conditions at the shelter would be "respectful." Concerns government will 'leave the problem for the community' Karina Lopez Herrera, a mother of three who lives about five blocks from the former grocery store, said at the Monday night protest that the shelter should be located not in a residential area, but near the international border. Several migrant shelters are already there, she said, so people would have better access to lawyers and doctors. Court ruling:Supreme Court allows Trump administration to restrict asylum seekers who have not sought refuge elsewhere Remain in Mexico:New Trump administration policy requires asylum seekers to remain in Mexico, bans US entry Herrera, who is a doctor, said she has visited the existing shelters to provide medical care, clothing and food. Many of the migrants there, she said, are hungry, sick and injured. She said she is worried that the conditions will be the same or worse at the government’s shelter. “The more people there are, the more out of control the situation will be,” she said. Sergio Dominguez, another area resident, said the former grocery store is not an adequate place to house asylum seekers and their children. He said the facility doesn’t have enough bathrooms for all the people who will be housed there. He is concerned, he said, that the federal government, which is based in Mexico City, is going to open the shelter and then “leave the problem for the community.” The Mexicali shelter has stirred up controversy since it was initially proposed. In early September, hundreds of people signed a petition expressing their opposition to the shelter. Residents at the protest vowed to continue fighting the shelter. This summer, the Mexican government opened a massive shelter in Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, to care for the thousands of asylum seekers returned there to await their immigration hearings. The federal assistance came after the city and state governments, and the influential business community in Juarez, requested resources to manage the influx of migrants, the El Paso Times reported. Follow Rebecca Plevin on Twitter: @rebeccaplevin

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/10/15/turkeys-president-erdogan-quiet-after-donald-trump-issues-sanctions/3928740002/

Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan quiet after Trump demands ceasefire, issues sanctions

Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan quiet after Trump demands ceasefire, issues sanctions Turkey pressed on with its incursions into Syria on Tuesday despite the Trump administration’s demands for an immediate ceasefire and the U.S.'s imposition of biting economic sanctions on its NATO ally, along with a threat to punish individual Turkish officials. President Donald Trump made the cease-fire demand in a Monday phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would leave Washington Wednesday for Ankara to press Turkey's president for a cease-fire. "We’ll be having very strong talks with a lot of people," Trump said during an unrelated event in the Rose Garden. On his decision to withdraw from Syria, Trump said that the U.S. military was "not a police force." A senior Trump administration official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, said on Tuesday that Pence and others would use the threat of additional U.S. sanctions as leverage in the coming talks with Erdogan's government. The crisis began last week when Erdogan told Trump he planned to invade Syria and Trump announced the withdrawal of a small contingent of U.S. troops stationed on the Syria-Turkey border. Trump's decision sparked a bipartisan backlash and international outrage, largely because it seemed to give Erdogan a green light to attack the Kurdish fighters that have been key U.S. allies in the fight against Islamic State terrorists in Syria. Turkey views those Kurdish fighters as terrorists, and Erdogan has long threatened to attack them. Asked about allegations that the Trump administration has betrayed the Kurds, the senior administration official pushed back sharply, saying the U.S. never promised to defend the Kurds' militarily against a Turkish attack. He said Erdogan signaled that he was going to attack the Kurds whether the U.S. troops were in the way or not. "We failed in our mission to deter Turkey from coming in certainly ... but we never told the Kurds that we would use military force" in a potential clash with Turkey, this official said. The U.S. only withdrew troops from northeast Syria to avoid being caught in the middle of a firefight between those two parties, he said. It's far from clear that Turkey would have really gone ahead with its incursion into Syria if not for the U.S. withdrawal. That could have risked a direct confrontation with the world's most powerful military force. But now, the Turkish invasion has created chaos in what was a relatively stable region –creating a dangerous opening for Islamic State terrorists to mount a comeback and giving Iran and Russian more influence inside Syria. "What Turkey did by going in there was to scramble that entire relatively peaceful, relatively stable basis upon which the international community might find a solution to the larger issues related Syria, beginning with the Syrian civil war," the administration official said. "It’s dangerous for our troops. It’s placing the fight against ISIS at risk. It’s placing at risk the safe imprisonment of almost 10,000 (ISIS) detainees" who are being held by the Kurds but now could escape amid the new battlefield chaos. Trump ordered all U.S. troops to withdraw from northeastern Syria over the weekend. On Monday, he said about 1,000 of the U.S. troops ordered to leave Syria will still remain in the Middle East to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group. Trump said the troops will "redeploy and remain in the region." A small number will remain at a base in southern Syria to "monitor the situation" and prevent a "repeat of 2014," when Islamic State fighters took control of large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq. Erdogan has not responded to cease-fire demands or the sanctions, although in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal published late Monday, around the time Trump unveiled the sanctions, he wrote that his "administration concluded that the international community wasn’t going to act, so we developed a plan for northern Syria." The U.S. sanctions raised steel tariffs on Turkey. Trump also put a freeze on trade negotiations with Ankara and said Monday he would soon sign an executive order permitting sanctions to be imposed on current and former Turkish officials. What we know:Turkey's offensive in Syria Lawmakers in Congress have denounced Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria in the face of Turkey's threat to attack the Kurds. “Turkey’s incursion into Northeastern Syria, which President Trump allowed to happen, has led to a worst-case scenario in the region that I have long feared,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee. “ISIS fighters are now pouring out of prisons, the Assad regime and Russia are filling the security vacuum left by retreating U.S. troops, and our partners, the Syrian Democratic Forces, are experiencing a brutal onslaught," she said. She called on Trump to publicly revoke his invitation for Erdogan to visit the White House next month unless Turkey reverses course in Syria. "It makes no sense to be extending hospitality and niceties while President Erdogan refuses to heed international calls for a ceasefire,” she said. Trump has not said whether he would rescind that invitation to Erdogan, who has already accepted Trump's overture. Dozens of civilians have been killed in Turkey's operation so far, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a conflict-monitoring group. Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands have banned arms sales to Turkey. The United Nations says that at least 160,000 civilians have been displaced since the Turkish offensive began on Oct. 9. Northeast Syria was already facing a humanitarian crisis before the Turkish invasion, with several million women, children and men in the region in need of assistance and tens of thousands of vulnerable people who fled the battlefields of the Islamic State group living in makeshift camps. Some of these camps also acted as detention centers for captured Islamic State militants. U.S. troops had been assisting Syrian Kurds to fight the Islamic State group since 2014. When Trump ordered troops to withdraw from northern Syria, it cleared the way for Turkey’s invasion. Ankara considers these Syrian Kurdish fighters as terrorists because of their links to outlawed Kurdish groups in Turkey. Turkey wants to create a "safe zone" where it can resettle as many as two million Syrian refugees currently in Turkey. The area would also act as a buffer against Syria's Kurds, according to Turkey's government. In the wake of the U.S. withdrawal, the Kurdish fighters have been forced to strike a deal with the government forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad to fend off the Turkish invasion and prevent a massacre of Syrian Kurds. It is a significant shift in Syria's eight-year-old civil war, not least because Assad's regime is allied with Russian military forces who have waged a deadly bombing campaign in Syria on its behalf. Russia's foreign ministry said Tuesday that its military is patrolling areas "along the line of contact" between Assad's forces and Turkey's military. The U.S. military confirmed that it is continuing a "deliberate withdrawal" from the area. A video circulating on social media on Tuesday appeared to show a Russian-speaking man videoing himself inside what he claims is a recently abandoned U.S. military base in Manbij, Syria. U.S. forces confirmed they left Manbij on Tuesday and Russian troops have taken over key U.S. outposts in the country. Alexander Lavrentiev, Russia's envoy for Syria, told reporters in Abu Dhabi during an official visit there by Russian President Vladimir Putin, that Turkey's military offensive in northeast Syria was "unacceptable," according to Russian news agencies.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/10/16/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-un-rides-horse-photos/3995104002/

Kim Jong Un poses for photos riding a white horse up a mountain. The internet has thoughts

Kim Jong Un poses for photos riding a white horse up a mountain. The internet has thoughts North Korean leader Kim Jong Un staged a photo shoot atop a snowy, symbolic mountain that the country claims he rides often before making key decisions. The photos show a bespectacled Kim wearing a long, light-brown coat and riding on horseback up snow-covered Mount Paektu. The mountain, the highest point on the Korean Peninsula, is sacred to North Koreans, and both it and the white horse are symbols associated with the Kim family's dynastic rule. The images were released by North’s official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, days after North Korea’s first nuclear talks with the U.S. in more than seven months fell apart. Kim previously visited Mount Paektu before executing his powerful uncle in 2013 and entering into diplomacy with South Korea and the U.S. in 2018. Although meant to portray a powerful statement, many users took to Twitter to mock the world leader. Putin photo shoot:Vladimir Putin turns 67, celebrates birthday with Siberian mountain hike photos The snowy backdrop of Mount Paektu reminded many of the hit HBO show “Game of Thrones.” Others took the liberty of editing the photos to include their favorite movie and TV show characters. Many Twitter users drew comparisons between the North Korean leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 2009, Russia released images that depicted a shirtless Putin riding horseback through southern Siberia. The Russian leader staged another photoshoot in Siberia last week as he celebrated his 67th birthday by hiking through the forested mountains. The white horse is a propaganda symbol for the Kim family, which has ruled North Korea for seven decades with a strong personality cult surrounding family members. State media have occasionally shown Kim, his sister and his father riding white horses. The symbolism goes back to Kim Il Sung, who according to the North's official narrative rode a white horse while fighting Japanese colonial rulers. Contributing: Kim Tong-hyung, Associated Press. Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.

0665c6ea2549e5a0ab93fda70b6657b9

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/10/18/syrian-kurds-turkey-trump-syria-cease-fire/4020261002/

Trump says Kurds are 'very happy' with U.S.-brokered deal and U.S. has 'taken control' of oil

Trump says Kurds are 'very happy' with U.S.-brokered deal and U.S. has 'taken control' of oil WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Friday defended a U.S.-brokered halt to Turkey's military assault in Syria and made a puzzling assertion that the U.S. had "taken control" of oil fields in the region, even as fighting continued near the Syria-Turkey border. "I just spoke to President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan of Turkey. We're doing very, very well with Turkey," Trump said during an unrelated event at the White House. Turkey is "back to the full pause" on their military operation targeting Kurdish forces in northern Syria, Trump said. The Kurds "are very happy about the way things are going," Trump added. "We've taken control of the oil in the Middle East ... the oil that everybody was worried about." The president did not explain what he meant by taking "control of the oil in the Middle East." But he was likely referring to oil fields in eastern Syria, which Kurdish forces gained control over amid the chaos of Syria's civil war. The Turkish invasion – which began last week after Trump withdrew U.S. troops from northeast Syria – jeopardized the Kurds' hold on those oil fields, as Russia, Iran and other military forces vied to fill a power vacuum left by the U.S. Trump's remarks came before a scathing new broadside on the president's Syria policy, delivered by one of his chief allies: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria has created "a strategic nightmare for our country," McConnell wrote in a Washington Post op-ed published Friday. Even if the U.S.-brokered cease-fire holds, McConnell said, immense damage has already been done: the U.S. campaign against the Islamic State has suffered a major setback, the Assad regime and its Iranian backers have expanded their influence in Syria, and Russia has gained new leverage in the Middle East. "As neo-isolationism rears its head on both the left and the right, we can expect to hear more talk of 'endless wars'," McConnell added, taking aim at one of Trump's oft-cited justifications for withdrawing U.S. forces. But "America’s wars will be 'endless' only if America refuses to win them." McConnell's op-ed added new heft to the already weighty attacks on Trump's latest foreign policy move and the chaos it has unleased. It came after signs that the U.S.-Turkey deal for at temporary cease-fire – which Trump boasted would save "millions of lives" – might not hold. Earlier on Friday, a conflict-monitoring group and Kurdish authorities reported ongoing fighting in Syria, despite the "cease-fire" that Vice President Mike Pence announced on Thursday after negotiations with Erdogan in Ankara. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported fighting in villages near the northeastern Syrian city of Ras al-Ayn. The Observatory said at least five people were killed and 14 injured. The Rojava Information Center, an independent media organization staffed by volunteers, said its activists on the ground also reported advances by Turkey-backed forces on two villages near Ras al-Ayn. Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Syrian Kurdish forces, said on Twitter that Turkish "air and artillery attacks" targeting "fighters, civilian settlements and the hospital" in Ras al-Ayn were still taking place despite the agreement to halt military activity. Trump downplayed the reports and said Erdogan told him there had been "minor" clashes but they had stopped. "Just spoke to President @RTErdogan of Turkey. He told me there was minor sniper and mortar fire that was quickly eliminated," Trump tweeted earlier on Friday. "He very much wants the ceasefire, or pause, to work. Likewise, the Kurds want it, and the ultimate solution, to happen." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that he was not sure who was involved in Friday's clashes but suggested it could be Turkish-backed paramilitary forces. “You have irregular forces in the region," Pompeo told Politico in an interview Friday. "I don’t know precisely what this is, but our sense is, the political commitments that were made yesterday will end up being successful." Pompeo said Kurdish forces, known as the SDF, had begun to withdraw from the region, "so the key elements of the cease-fire look to be taking effect.” In Brussels for NATO meetings, Pompeo also said he had not seen Trump's comments about taking control of the oil, and he did not answer questions about how the U.S. could be controlling any Syrian oil fields if U.S. troops were withdrawing. Under the deal, Turkey agreed to halt its assault in Syria for five days after a Thursday visit to Turkey by Pence and Pompeo. Turkey's government described the agreement as a "pause." Critics said the deal left many questions unanswered – including the fate of the Kurds – and was too little, too late. "The Trump administration just capitulated to all of Turkey’s original demands after a week of violence and deep harm to America’s credibility in the world," said Kelly Magsamen, who served as a national security and defense official in the Obama administration. "If this is their idea of successful diplomacy, then we better hold onto our wallets when it comes on to China, Russia, Iran and North Korea." Even before Friday’s developments, lawmakers in both parties had denounced the U.S.-Turkey deal as a “sham” that sold out the Kurds and weakened America's global standing. “It is far from a victory,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Serious questions remain about how the decision was reached to precipitously withdraw from Syria, and why that decision was reached.” Romney said the pause in Turkey’s assault “does not change the fact that America has abandoned an ally” and he blasted President Trump for speaking “cavalierly, even flippantly” as the Kurds have “suffered death and casualty, their homes have been burned, and their families have been torn apart." Since 2014, a U.S.-led coalition, which relied heavily on Kurdish ground forces, has rolled back the gains made by ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria. Turkey regards the Kurdish fighters as terrorists and warned Trump that it planned an offensive against them. Erdogan ordered an assault on the Kurds shortly after Trump announced the departure of U.S. troops from the Turkish-Syria border region. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said the Turkish offensive against Kurds is “on the cusp of genocide.” He and other lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee received a classified briefing Thursday on Turkey’s incursion from Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Blumenthal said he could not reveal the details of the military presentation but described the mood in the room as serious and solemn. "My reaction was horror and shame," he said. "And the American people should at least hear the essential facts of what is happening there.” A U.S. official who is not authorized to speak publicly agreed with Bluementhal’s characterization of “horror and shame.” The official said the cease-fire is not holding, and predicted it would cause more confusion and deaths among the Kurds. Trump has pushed back hard in response to his critics. "We've had tremendous success I think over the last couple of days," he said at the White House Friday. "Little bit unconventional, little bit of hard love," he said, referring to sanctions he placed on some Turkish officials Monday. "Sometimes you have to go through some pain before you get a good solution. But the Kurds are very happy about it. President Erdogan of Turkey is satisfied with it. And we are in a very strong position," he said. Trump also seemed to suggest that the U.S. had gained control of detention camps holding Islamic State fighters. "We have ISIS totally under guard," the president said. He was referring to Islamic State fighters, captured by the Kurdish forces who had allied with the U.S. to defeat that terrorist group in Syria. Some ISIS supporters escaped after Turkey invaded Syria, as Kurdish fighters left the detention facilities to confront the new military threat from Turkey. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House will vote next week on a Turkey sanctions bill that would hit Erdogan’s government much harder than the narrow economic penalties Trump imposed earlier this week. “President Erdogan has given up nothing, and President Trump has given him everything,” Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement Thursday evening. “Next week, the House will pass a strong, bipartisan sanctions package to work to reverse the humanitarian disaster that President Trump unleashed in Syria.” That bill would ban the sale of U.S. arms to Turkey for use in Syria and require the administration to investigate Erdogan's net worth and assets. It would also slap sanctions on senior Turkish officials involved in the decision to invade Syria and target certain Turkish financial institutions that U.S. lawmakers said were "involved in perpetuating President Erdogan’s corrupt practices." USA TODAY/Ipsos poll:Can our friends trust the US as an ally? Most Americans say Trump's Syria move has hurt Erdogan disputed Friday that his forces were not abiding by the pause. "I don’t know where you’re getting your news from. According to the news I received from my defense minister, there is no question of clashes. These are all speculation, disinformation," he told reporters in Istanbul Friday, according to Turkey's official Anadolu news agency. Erdogan also said he wouldn't forget a letter sent to him by Trump, which he described as lacking "political and diplomatic courtesy." In the letter, Trump urges his Turkish counterpart not to be a "tough guy" over Syria. Erdogan received it before he launched an incursion across the border into Syria. A BBC report claimed Erdogan angrily threw the letter in the trash after reading it. Cease-fire:Mike Pence announces that Turkey agreed to a five-day cease-fire in its Syria assault

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/10/20/syria-iraq-turkey/4044343002/

Defense chief: US troops leaving Syria to go to western Iraq

Defense chief: US troops leaving Syria to go to western Iraq ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT – Defense Secretary Mark Esper says that under current plans all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the military will continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent its resurgence. Speaking to reporters traveling with him to the Middle East, Esper did not rule out the idea that U.S. forces would conduct counterterrorism missions from Iraq into Syria. But he said those details will be worked out over time. His comments were the first to specifically lay out where American troops will go as they leave Syria and what the counter-IS fight could look like. Esper said he has spoken to his Iraqi counterpart about the plan to shift the more than 700 troops leaving Syria into western Iraq. The developments made clear that one of President Donald Trump’s rationales for withdrawing troops from Syria was not going to come to pass any time soon. “It’s time to bring our soldiers back home,” he said Wednesday. But they are not coming home. As Esper left Washington on Saturday, U.S. troops were continuing to pull out of northern Syria after Turkey’s invasion into the border region. Reports of sporadic clashes continued between Turkish-backed fighters and the U.S.-allied Syria Kurdish forces despite a five-day cease-fire agreement hammered out on Friday between U.S. and Turkish leaders. Trump ordered the bulk of the approximately 1,000 U.S. troops in Syria to withdraw after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it clear in a phone call that his forces were about to invade Syria to push back Kurdish forces that Turkey considers terrorists. The pullout largely abandons the Kurdish allies who have fought the Islamic State group alongside U.S. troops for several years. Between 200 and 300 U.S. troops will remain at the southern Syrian outpost of Al-Tanf. Esper said the troops going into Iraq will have two missions. “One is to help defend Iraq and two is to perform a counter-ISIS mission as we sort through the next steps,” he said. “Things could change between now and whenever we complete the withdrawal, but that’s the game plan right now.” The U.S. currently has more than 5,000 American forces in Iraq, under an agreement between the two countries. The U.S. pulled its troops out of Iraq in 2011 when combat operations there ended, but they went back in after the Islamic State group began to take over large swaths of the country in 2014. The number of American forces in Iraq has remained small due to political sensitivities in the country, after years of what some Iraqis consider U.S. occupation during the war that began in 2003. Esper said he will talk with other allies at a NATO meeting in the coming week to discuss the way ahead for the counter-IS mission. Asked if U.S. special operations forces will conduct unilateral military operations into Syria to go after IS, Esper said that is an option that will be discussed with allies over time. He said one of his top concerns is what the next phase of the counter-IS missions looks like, “but we have to work through those details. He said that if U.S. forces do go in, they would be protected by American aircraft. While he acknowledged reports of intermittent fighting despite the cease-fire agreement, he said that overall it “generally seems to be holding. We see a stability of the lines, if you will, on the ground.” He also said that, so far, the Syrian Democratic Forces that partnered with the U.S. to fight IS have maintained control of the prisons in Syria where they are still present. The Turks, he said, have indicated they have control of the IS prisons in their areas. “I can’t assess whether that’s true or not without having people on the ground,” said Esper. He added that the U.S. withdrawal will be deliberate and safe, and will take “weeks not days.” According to a U.S. official on Saturday, about a couple of hundred troops have left Syria so far. The U.S. forces have been largely consolidated in one location in the west and a few locations in the east. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations, said the U.S. military is not closely monitoring the effectiveness of the cease-fire, but is aware of sporadic fighting and violations of the agreement. The official said it will still take a couple of weeks to get forces out of Syria.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/10/28/usgs-southern-philippines-rattled-6-8-earthquake/2492650001/

Strong quake jolts southern Philippines, 1 dead, dozens hurt

Strong quake jolts southern Philippines, 1 dead, dozens hurt DAVAO, Philippines – A powerful earthquake shook the southern Philippines on Tuesday, killing one person, injuring dozens and sending people dashing out of homes and buildings in a region still recovering from recent strong quakes. The 6.6 magnitude earthquake was caused by movement in a local fault about 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) deep about 25 kilometers northeast of Tulunan town in Cotabato province, the Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology said. The U.S. Geological Survey had the same measurement, adjusted from a preliminary 6.8. The Office of Civil Defense reported a 66-year-old man died from head injuries apparently after being hit by a falling object in South Cotabato province’s capital city of Koronadal, where 30 other people were injured as they dashed out of homes, offices and shopping malls as the ground shook. More than a dozen people were injured in M’lang town in Cotabato and Cagayan de Oro province, according to OCD. Several cities and towns suspended classes to allow inspections of school buildings. At least three government and privately owned buildings damaged in another quake earlier this month sustained further damages and remained off limits to the public. The 6.3-magnitude earthquake Oct. 16 killed five people and damaged schools, hospitals, malls and other commercial buildings. In July, two earthquakes hours apart struck a group of sparsely populated islands in the Luzon Strait in the northern Philippines, killing eight people. The Philippines lies in the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur. A magnitude 7.7 quake killed nearly 2,000 people in the northern Philippines in 1990.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/11/05/mormon-family-killed-by-mexican-drug-cartel/4162955002/

Suspected drug cartel gunmen kill nine members of a family in ambush in Mexico

Suspected drug cartel gunmen kill nine members of a family in ambush in Mexico MEXICO CITY – Nine members of a family with dual U.S. and Mexican citizenship –three mothers and their young children – were killed in a shooting attack that relatives suspect might have been a case of mistaken identity by Mexican drug cartel gunmen. The victims were members of La Mora, a decades-old settlement in Sonora state founded as part of an offshoot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about 70 miles south of Douglas, Arizona. The mothers were driving from Bavispe to a wedding in LaBaron, a community in the state of Chihuahua, when their three vehicles loaded with children were hit by gunfire. One of the vehicles exploded in flames. All of the victims were apparently related to the extended LeBaron family in Chihuahua, whose members have run afoul of the drug traffickers over the years. Benjamin LeBaron, an anti-crime activist who founded neighborhood patrols against cartels, was killed in 2009 in a watershed moment in Mexico's drug war. The attack happened Monday near Rancho La Mora on the border between Sonora and Chihuahua in a remote, mountainous area where the Sinaloa cartel has been engaged in a turf war with another gang. The ambush scene stretched for miles. Leah Staddon, who lives in Arizona, said her nephew's wife and her four children died in the blaze. Staddon originally thought 10 relatives had been killed. Mexican authorities said Tuesday that nine people died and four children were injured in the attack, but Mexico's Public Safety Secretary said six children were injured and another one might be missing. Eight children were found alive after escaping from the vehicles and hiding in the brush; several had bullet wounds or other injuries. Staddon said her brother discovered the smoldering, bullet-ridden vehicle. "It's devastating," she said. "It's incomprehensible, the evil. I don’t understand how someone could do that." Another relative, Julián LeBaron, identified one of the victims on his Facebook page as Rhonita María LeBaron. Staddon gave her name as Rhonita Miller, 33. She said Miller's four children who died inside the car were ages 8, 10 and 4-month-old twins, a boy and a girl. Staddon said she learned later Monday that her sister-in law and her cousin had been killed. She was trying to verify from relatives in Mexico exactly how many people died. She said they told her that after gunmen killed her sister-in-law and two children, they opened the door and saw more children and let them go. Staddon said her sister-in-law's oldest son, a young teenager, hid the smaller children behind a tree, then walked back to the family's ranch for help. She identified her sister-in-law as Dawna Langford, who was traveling in a second vehicle with nine children. Staddon identified her cousin as Christina Johnson. Johnson was traveling in a third vehicle with her baby, Staddon said. Johnson's baby was found alive inside the vehicle, Staddon said. Staddon said the travelers belonged to a fundamentalist Mormon ranching community that has lived in Bavispe for more than 40 years. The LDS Church posted a statement on its website: "We are heartbroken to hear of the tragedy that has touched these families in Mexico. Though it is our understanding that they are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our love, prayers and sympathies are with them as they mourn and remember their loved ones." The Security Committee of Sonora confirmed late Monday that authorities in Sonora and Chihuahua were investigating an attack that occurred earlier in the day involving a burned vehicle and the kidnapping of several people. The investigation involved municipal and state police, the state attorney general's office, the army and the National Guard, which launched an air and land operation in the area where the incident occurred, according to a written statement provided to The Arizona Republic. President Donald Trump tweeted about the attack Tuesday morning, offering the Mexican president U.S. help "to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth." Lupita Orduno, a spokeswoman for the Sonora Attorney General's Office, said authorities planned to release more details about the attack Tuesday. The governor of Sonora, Claudia Pavlovich Arellano, said on Twitter that as a mother, she felt "deep pain" for the victims and vowed that the "cowards" would not go unpunished. Suspected drug cartel ambush:13 officers killed, 9 wounded in Mexican police convoy More news in Mexico:Mob ties mayor to back of truck, drags him through town "As a mother I feel anger, repudiation and deep pain for what cowards did in the mountains between Sonora and Chihuahua," she wrote. "I don't know what kind of monsters dare to hurt women and children. As Governor, I will do everything to make sure this does not go unpunished and those responsible pay." It's not the first time that members of the breakaway church have been attacked in northern Mexico, where their forebears settled – often in Chihuahua state – decades ago. In 2009, Benjamin LeBaron, an anti-crime activist who was related to those killed in Monday's attack, was murdered in 2009 in neighboring Chihuahua state. Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Adrianna Rodriguez and Daniel González on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT @azdangonzalez.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/11/05/omoyele-sowore-haworth-nj-journalist-imprisoned-nigeria-set-go-trial/4170826002/

Trial to begin for Omoyele Sowore, a New Jersey journalist imprisoned in his native Nigeria

Trial to begin for Omoyele Sowore, a New Jersey journalist imprisoned in his native Nigeria Omoyele Sowore's family and friends are hoping the Haworth resident will come back to New Jersey soon. The journalist is standing trial beginning Wednesday in his home country of Nigeria on charges that followed his Aug. 3 arrest while he was organizing a peaceful pro-democracy protest. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include organizing a protest, insulting Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and transferring U.S. money to a Nigerian account. Sowore is the founder of Sahara Reporters, a pro-democracy, anti-corruption online news service that has been critical of the Nigerian government. Since his August arrest, he has been held in a prison in Nigeria's largest city, Lagos. The requirements of his bail, set at $829,000, prevent Sowore from talking to the press. During his time in prison, his wife, Opeyemi, and their two children have received support from their Haworth neighbors, who helped organize an event on Oct. 28 near Borough Hall calling for his safe release and return to the U.S. RALLY:Haworth residents rally for Nigerian journalist Omoyele Sowore imprisoned overseas RETAIL:Bottle King will tweak application to meet Tenafly requirements Sowore told NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey that she was "truly humbled by the outpouring of support and prayers from my community. The Tie a Yele Ribbon gathering last week brought such comfort and strength to our family." She said their father's imprisonment and trial has been "very hard" on their children. "They miss their father dearly. We continue to pray for his safe return home to us in New Jersey," Sowore said. Sowore said her husband is being represented in court by Femi Falana, a human rights attorney and activist, and the legal team for him will update her about the trial. A judge in Nigeria's Federal High Court called for an expedited trial that could end as soon as Friday. Omoyele Sowore's family and supporters have also called upon their congressional representatives to help get the 48-year-old journalist back to New Jersey. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who represents Sowore's district in Congress, said, "We've continued to be in close touch with the State Department and with Mr. Sowore's family as this has developed." Expressing support for Sowore have been organizations including Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa. California Rep. Karen Bass said in a statement, "I stand with the human rights and international community in declaring that the continued detainment of Mr. Omoyele Sowore is a flagrant violation of his human rights." Ricardo Kaulessar is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com Twitter: @ricardokaul

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/11/07/mexico-family-ambush-funerals-victims-set-begin-thursday/2516066001/

'The fear is extreme': Relatives join armed convoy to travel into Mexico for funerals

'The fear is extreme': Relatives join armed convoy to travel into Mexico for funerals LA MORA, Mexico — Relatives from the United States and Mexico will begin the grim task on Thursday of burying the nine women and children slaughtered in an ambush in a mountainous area near the Sonora-Chihuahua border where rival cartels are fighting a vicious turf war. Two funerals will take place Thursday in La Mora, a town in Sonora founded by fundamentalist offshoots of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A third funeral will take place on Friday in LeBaron, a fundamentalist offshoot community in neighboring Chihuahua. Dawna Ray Langford, 43, will be buried in the first funeral at 10 a.m., along with two of her children killed in the attack: 11-year-old Trevor Harvey Langford, and 2-year-old Rogan Jay Langford, according to Kendra Lee Miller, a relative. Rhonita Maria (LeBaron) Miller, 30, will be buried in a second funeral at 2 p.m., along with four of her children: 8-month-old twins Titus Alvin Miller and Tiana Gricel Miller; Krystal Bellaine Miller, 10; and Howard Jacob Miller Jr., 12. A third funeral will take place Friday in Colonia LeBaron in Chihuahua for Chistina Johnson, 33. All three families belonged to a fundamentalist offshoot of the LDS church and had dual U.S. and Mexican citizenship. Family relative: 'I've never felt this kind of fear before going into Mexico' Dozens of relatives of the slain family members from all over the United States gathered Wednesday in a Walmart parking lot in Douglas, Arizona. They then crossed over into Mexico to begin the three-hour drive to La Mora in a convoy of about a dozen vehicles guarded by heavily armed Mexican soldiers and state police. History:Why offshoots of the Mormon church fled to Mexico Emily Langford, a close relative of the victims, traveled from Utah to attend the funerals. She said she grew up in Mexico feeling safe but was afraid to return. "This time, the fear is extreme," Langford said as she waited in Douglas for the convoy to disembark. "I've never felt this kind of fear before going into Mexico. I was born there, I grew up there. I lived in peace all of my life down there." Langford blames the Mexican government for failing to rein in cartel violence, which since 2006 has claimed the lives of an estimated 250,000 people. "I do believe it is the Mexican government's fault. I blame them entirely for not taking a stand a long time ago when other innocent lives were being taken," Langford said. "It angers me. I love the people of Mexico. There's so many good people here. They're so hospitable and loving. They don't deserve this. They need to be taken care of, and their president is not taking care of them." The family's drive took hours, and though their escorts were well armed, it was a race against sundown to cover as much of the dirt road as possible before darkness fell. After dark, the family convoy reached a relay point. Soldiers from Agua Prieta dropped away from the group and a new set of military escorts, already set up and waiting, replaced them in the caravan. A waxing moon and red taillights were the only glow on the landscape. After 8 p.m., the family reached La Mora, where a checkpoint of a half-dozen military and police units was set up. What happened in the Mexico ambush that killed 9 family members? Mexico's president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, vowed Wednesday to bring those responsible for the killings to justice. But he steadfastly refused to return to the war on cartels carried out by previous administrations, which he said had failed. "This has been shown not to work. It only leads to more violence," López Obrador said. Trump reaction:Trump condemns killing of family in Mexico, offers help to fight drug cartels In a statement posted on Facebook, the Agency for Criminal Investigation said the attorney general for Sonora, Claudia Indira Contreras Córdova, met with some of the victims' relatives to promise them justice. The three families were traveling in three separate vehicles from their homes in La Mora in Sonora to Colonia LeBaron in Chihuahua when they were ambushed in two separate attacks by gunmen hidden in the mountains along a road that connects the two towns, Mexican authorities said. Some relatives have said the families were on their way to a wedding. Others have posted messages on Facebook that said two of the mothers were on their way to visit relatives in LeBaron and the third mother was on her way to pick up her husband at the airport in Tucson. The remains of Rhonita Maria Miller, 30, and four of her children were found inside a bullet-ridden Tahoe that exploded in flames during the attack. Dawna Ray Langford, 43, was traveling in an SUV with her nine children, seven of whom survived the attack, including five who were wounded. Christina Johnson, 33, was traveling in a third SUV with her baby when she was killed. The baby was found unharmed about 12 hours later after relatives launched a search after learning of the attacks from two of the older children who walked more than 10 miles back to La Mora, relatives said. Mexican authorities said Wednesday that they were investigating the possibility that cartel members may have mistook the three families as members of a rival cartel because the large SUVs they were driving resembled those used by criminal organizations. Mexican authorities were investigating whether a suspect arrested Monday in Agua Prieta is connected to the ambush. Will families living in Mexico return to the US? The convoy of vehicles carrying relatives to the funerals in Mexico crossed into Agua Prieta from Douglas late Wednesday. Residents looked on as the convoy slowly wound through the city on the way to an Army base, where for security reasons soldiers took pictures of each vehicle and its license plate. Langford said she believes the horrific ambush will spur many of the families living in La Mora and colonias founded by fundamentalist offshoots of the LDS Church to return to the United States to live. Langford said the barbaric killings of women and children have left her angry. "You think of all the words you could say and all the anger and frustrations that you could feel and it's all there: the fear, the anger, how could this happen, of course," she said. "It's questioning God, too: Why? That's human nature to question God for such tragic events like this." But she said relatives of the large extended families have leaned on one another for support. "In the dark, if you look, you can see light," Langford said. "Sometimes you have to look really hard, but you can. I think in this we will see light. I pray and hope justice will be served, somehow, and that no innocent lives are lost." Follow Rafael Carranza, Daniel González and Anne Ryman on Twitter: @RafaelCarranza @azdangonzalez @anneryman

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/11/09/berlin-wall-german-capital-marks-30th-anniversary-its-fall/2543480001/

'No wall can't be broken down': Germany marks 30 years since collapse of the Berlin Wall

'No wall can't be broken down': Germany marks 30 years since collapse of the Berlin Wall German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in East Germany, marked the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Saturday by declaring that its collapse proves that barriers to freedom cannot stand. “The Berlin Wall, ladies and gentlemen, is history, and it teaches us: No wall that keeps people out and restricts freedom is so high or so wide that it can’t be broken down,” she said at a memorial service in a small chapel near where the wall once stood. "We want to ensure that no wall will separate people ever again. It proves that no wall is so high and so strong that we could not break it." Leaders of Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic attended the ceremony at Bernauer Strasse – where one of the last parts of the Berlin Wall remains – before placing roses in openings in the once-formidable barrier that divided the city for 28 years. Berlin Wall:A dozen striking photos show how it actually fell in 1989 Italian President Sergio Mattarella said the collapse of the wall opened a new road of history for the entire continent and the world. "A Europe without walls of division and without hatred is a great opportunity for the citizens to be masters of their own destiny," he said, according to Deutsche Welle. Germany marked the wall's demise with an event that would have been impossible in the once-divided city: a concert at the Brandenburg Gate. Elsewhere in the German capital, soccer fans tore down a symbolic “Berlin Wall” erected across the middle of the field at Hertha Berlin’s Olympiastadion before a game against visiting Leipzig. Berliners from either side of the once-divided city were able to stroll up to the iconic 18th-century monument to hear the Staatskapelle Orchestra perform Beethoven's Fifth symphony under musical director Daniel Barenboim. For almost 28 years after the wall went up to seal off East Germany from the West, the historic gate, and symbol of Berlin, remained tantalizing out of reach for West Berliners – a daily reminder of Soviet domination of the region after World War II. The break in the barricade came on the evening of Nov. 9, 1989, as East German politicians, pressured by events sweeping Eastern Europe, could no longer hold back the tide in the divided city. Delirious Berliners from East and West cried tears of joy as they swarmed over and through the wall, hugging one another. Although communist leaders remained in power in some Soviet bloc countries after the wall came down, the fall of the 165-mile-long barrier marked the physical, political and emotional end to the Cold War in the wake of then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of reforms. Berlin Wall:11 US cities where you can see pieces of the Berlin Wall German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier praised Eastern European countries for their fight against the Iron Curtain that divided East and West for more than four decades. "Without the courage and the desire for freedom of the Poles, the Hungarians, the Czechs and the Slovaks, the peaceful revolution and the German unification would not be possible," he said. The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – once part of the Soviet Union – said the fall of the wall brought back hope not only to Germans, but to all people trapped in the Soviet bloc. "It signified the collapse of the Evil Empire in the most direct and decisive way – it was the beginning of the end of communist tyranny in Europe," they said in a joint statement. About 200 events have been held during the past week in Berlin alone. More activity – light installations, concerts and public debates – were planned throughout the city and other parts of Germany. At an art installation at the Brandenburg Gate, 30,000 ribbons bearing the wishes, hopes and memories of Berliners were combined in a "freedom cloud" more than 150 yards long. At one point in the weeklong celebrations, news footage of the wall being breached by ecstatic East Germans was beamed onto a building in central Berlin. Amid the celebration, though, were signs that the fall of the wall was only the beginning of efforts to reunite a Germany split apart by war. In a recent interview with the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Merkel acknowledged this, saying that “with some things, where one might have thought that East and West would have aligned, one can see today that it might rather take half a century or more.” Contributing: The Associated Press

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/11/14/impeachment-testimony-shows-pompeo-enabled-giuliani-ukraine-campaign/2566080001/

Mike Pompeo 'on shifting sand' as impeachment probe reveals his Ukraine role

Mike Pompeo 'on shifting sand' as impeachment probe reveals his Ukraine role WASHINGTON – It was Sept. 22 when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo fielded a straightforward question about just-emerging reports that President Donald Trump had sought to pressure Ukraine's president to open two investigations motivated by domestic politics: “What do you know about those conversations?” Pompeo offered an evasive answer, giving the impression that he was unfamiliar with the details of Trump's July 25 call with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky. That phone call triggered a whistleblower complaint alleging that Trump had solicited foreign interference in the 2020 election. "So you just gave me a report about a, I see, whistleblower complaint, none, none of which I've seen," Pompeo told ABC News on that Sunday morning. It has now become clear that Pompeo was, in fact, intimately familiar with the campaign by Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to get Zelensky to say publicly that Ukraine would investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and would also probe a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Critics say that Pompeo's credibility has collapsed amid revelations that the State Department chief enabled Giuliani to run a shadow foreign policy operation that undermined Ukraine, a vital U.S. ally under attack from Russia. The scandal has left America's top diplomat weakened in Washington and on the world stage, former diplomats say. Testimony takeaways:How Democrats and Republicans are laying out their arguments for impeachment “So far, the choices that the secretary of State appears to have made have alienated him from his team, diminishing his ability to carry out our foreign policy,” said Lee Feinstein, a former U.S. ambassador to Poland and longtime State Department official. Every secretary of State faces a delicate balancing act of trying to keep the president’s confidence while giving him blunt advice and navigating complex geopolitical relationships, Feinstein and others say. But Pompeo is "on shifting sand" as he tries to defend Trump's actions amid a revolt from career State Department diplomats, said Cameron Hume, a 40-year veteran of the foreign service and former ambassador to Algeria, South Africa and Indonesia, among other posts. The State Department did not respond to detailed questions for this story. James Jay Carafano, a foreign policy expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation, dismissed the House Democrats' impeachment inquiry as partisan and said Pompeo handled the situation appropriately. "There’s no evidence that he did anything wrong," Carafano said. Pompeo has shrugged off questions about his own actions and dismissed the inquiry as "Washington noise." But that "noise" has pulled back the curtain on what Pompeo knew about the Ukraine pressure campaign and how he responded. Here's what the testimony so far has shown: First-person cable from Ukraine: 'I am concerned' On Aug. 29, about a month before the Ukraine allegations burst into public view, Pompeo received an urgent cable from his top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, Bill Taylor, raising alarm bells about the Trump-Giuliani pressure campaign. In that classified missive, Taylor said he was specifically concerned that the Trump administration was withholding vital U.S. military aid, which Ukraine needed to counter Russian attacks, as leverage to force Zelensky to accede to Trump and Giuliani's demands. "I told the secretary that I could not and would not defend such a policy," Taylor told lawmakers on Wednesday, during the House Democrats' first public impeachment hearing. Taylor said he sent that Aug. 29 cable on the advice of John Bolton, then Trump's national security adviser, who also told him to write it in the first person, because that would be sure to catch Pompeo's attention. Most such missives are written in the third person. "There are not many first-person cables coming, so it gets attention when it comes in from the ambassador saying: 'I am concerned'," Taylor recounted during his closed-door testimony in the impeachment inquiry. Taylor told lawmakers that he never received a response from Pompeo to that message, though he heard the secretary of State took it with him to a White House meeting focused on the Ukraine security. Pompeo has refused to answer questions about what he did with the cable. "I’m not going to talk about the inquiry this morning," Pompeo told the Wichita Eagle on Oct. 24, when he was in Kansas for an event with Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and a White House adviser. The reporter pressed: "So did you relay (Taylor's) concerns to the president?" "Look, I came here today to talk about workforce development," Pompeo responded. Sondland: 'All my actions involving Ukraine had the blessing of Secretary Pompeo' Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union, was a central player in carrying out Trump and Giuliani's efforts to pressure Ukraine – communicating their demands to Ukrainian officials and other U.S. diplomats. "I understand that all of my actions involving Ukraine had the blessing of Secretary Pompeo," he told lawmakers last month, according to a transcript of his testimony. When he raised Giuliani's involvement in the Ukraine matter, "Pompeo rolled his eyes and said: 'Yes, it’s something we have to deal with,'" Sondland recalled. Pompeo's response seems to stand in stark contrast with that of Bolton, who warned his deputies to steer clear of Giuliani and called him a "hand grenade that is going to blow everybody up,” according to testimony from Fiona Hill, who served under Bolton as the National Security Council's senior director for Europe and Russia. “Ambassador Bolton had said repeatedly that nobody should be meeting with Giuliani,” Hill told lawmakers during her testimony. She said after one meeting with Sondland, Bolton told her to report the conversation to the NSC's lawyer, John Eisenberg. “You go and tell Eisenberg that I am not part of whatever drug deal Sondland and (Trump's chief of staff Mick) Mulvaney are cooking up on this," Hill recounted. Sondland was working with Mulvaney, who ordered the freeze on aid to Ukraine. The White House eventually lifted the freeze amid a bipartisan backlash in Congress. But Sondland told lawmakers that there was essentially a quid pro quo when it came to Trump's Ukraine policy, although he did not use that term. Sondland told lawmakers that a White House visit for Zelensky – something the Ukrainian leader desperately wanted as a public demonstration of U.S. support – would be granted only after Zelensky publicly committed to the investigations Trump and Giuliani wanted. Sondland said he "presumed" that U.S. military assistance was linked to a public Zelensky statement because there was no other credible explanation. Both Hill and Sondland said the Trump administration's actions, in particular delaying the military aid, undermined Ukraine as it was trying to project strength in its war with Russian-backed separatists. That, in turn, undermined U.S. national security. "This is actually my worst nightmare," Hill said. "My worst nightmare is the politicization of the relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine and, also, the usurpation of authorities, you know, for other people’s personal vested interests." In her words:Read the transcript of Fiona Hill's impeachment testimony Pompeo has repeatedly argued that Trump's policy toward Ukraine strengthened the country and that the administration was focused on helping Ukraine root out rampant corruption. "We have robustly helped the Ukrainian people, and we collectively at the State Department have been focused like a laser on" helping Ukraine become a pro-Western democracy, he said in an interview Nov. 4 with a Kansas City talk radio show. Pompeo and others have emphasized that under Trump, the U.S. began providing lethal weapons to Ukraine, a more aggressive form of support than the Obama administration had provided. "They chose to provide blankets," Pompeo said in another recent interview, referring to the Obama administration's Ukraine policy. "We gave them real weapons, where they could fight against the Russians. I am proud of what the administration did with its Ukraine policy." Ukraine Ambassador: Pompeo 'tried to protect me but was no longer able to' Pompeo helped carry out one of Giuliani's key demands: the removal of Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Giuliani alleged she was insufficiently loyal to the president, and he targeted her with "a campaign of lies," according to George Kent, the State Department's deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs. After being asked to extend her tenure until 2020, Yovanovitch got phone call in late April of this year: "I was then abruptly asked to come back to Washington from Ukraine on the next plane," she told lawmakers. She asked for an explanation, during that initial phone call and again when she got home. She was told that she had not done anything wrong and that Pompeo had "tried to protect me but was no longer able to do that." Kent and other top State Department officials felt Yovanovitch had been mistreated, and they pressed Pompeo to release a public statement of support for Yovanovitch. P. Michael McKinley, who was a senior adviser to Pompeo until he resigned last month, said he asked Pompeo about issuing such a statement three times, but Pompeo did not respond. "It shouldn’t be difficult to put out a short statement that’s not political, stating clearly that we respect the professionalism, the tenure of Ambassador Yovanovitch in the Ukraine,” McKinley told lawmakers in describing his request to Pompeo. Pompeo has not said why he didn’t come to the ambassador’s defense. McKinley said he resigned over Pompeo's refusal to defend career diplomats and a belief that Trump was using the State Department to dig up dirt on a political opponent. McKinley said it was a shocking first in his long career as a diplomat. “If I can underscore, in 37 years in the Foreign Service and different parts of the globe and working on many controversial issues, working 10 years back in Washington, I had never seen that,” McKinley told lawmakers, according to the transcript of his testimony. Read them here:All transcripts from closed-door testimony in the impeachment inquiry

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/11/15/australia-devastating-fires-burn-country-debates-climate-change/4197630002/

Australia's bushfire season begins early and forcefully as its politicians differ over climate change

Australia's bushfire season begins early and forcefully as its politicians differ over climate change SYDNEY -- An unprecedented bushfire season devastating Australia's eastern states has also ignited a fierce debate about the country's response to climate change. Over one million hectares of land have been razed in the Sydney state of New South Wales at the start of this year's fire season alone. Four people are dead and at least 300 homes have been destroyed in NSW and Queensland. But with weather warnings repeatedly raised to “catastrophic” levels for over a week now, politicians on the left and right of Australia's political divide have traded blows over the role of climate change in causing the fires, as well as the country’s response and preparedness for weather emergencies. Left-leaning political figures blame the government for lacking a climate plan, while the conservative government is doubling down on its commitment to the coal industry. Temperatures soared up to 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of NSW and Queensland Tuesday and Wednesday, which along with gusty winds, fueled over 120 separate fires along an 800-kilometer stretch of land between the cities of Sydney and Brisbane. The NSW premier declared a week-long state of emergency and over 500 schools closed for a red alert day Tuesday. An eerie, red-tinged haze blanketed the Sydney skyline through the week, prompting health warnings from authorities. A cool change Thursday brought little relief, and residents were bracing for a return to very hot conditions and severe weather warnings Friday. Fire chiefs, mayors and meteorologists have been quick to blame climate change for the extreme conditions, pointing to the fact that Australia's fire season is becoming longer and more intense. Greg Mullins, the former head of Fire and Rescue in NSW, led a coalition of fire chiefs who wrote to the prime minister in May warning of a devastating bushfire season and requesting an urgent meeting to discuss future plans. He said a resource-sharing arrangement with California in the United States is now at risk of failing in both Australia and the U.S. as the two countries' extended fire seasons overlap. Describing himself as "frightened", Mullins told local media his meeting request was fobbed off by the prime minister. Regional mayors whose communities have been ravaged by fires have also criticized the government's failure to link fires to climate change and adequately prepare for the firey future. “What we have been hearing the climate experts saying for 20 years is now a reality,” said Dominic King, the mayor of Bellingen on the NSW mid-north coast, where a 4840-hectare, out of control fire has been raging for over a week. But as the massive fires blaze, the political point-scoring has only intensified. A far-left Greens Party MP Adam Brandt effectively accused the Prime Minister Scott Morrison of personal responsibility for deaths in the fires. Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack responded angrily, labeling climate activists "inner-city raving lunatics," telling a leading morning radio program that those affected by bushfires "don't need the ravings of some pure enlightened and woke capital city greenies at this time when they are trying to save their homes." May's federal election was predicted to be Australia's climate change election. But despite polls showing more Australians than ever supporting action on climate change, voters opted instead overwhelmingly for mining jobs and lower taxes. The opposition Labor Party failed to win over the electorate with its more ambitious climate emissions reductions scheme. The conservative Liberal-National Party coalition was reelected with limited to no commitment to take action on climate change. Australia is highly dependent on its primary coal exports to China. Morrison is famous for bringing a piece of coal into Parliament to signify his commitment to the coal industry. Morrison says Australia is doing its part to tackle climate change by agreeing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2030 as part of the Paris climate agreement. Morrison's government says it’s on track to achieve this, but data shows emissions have gone up every year for the last five years, according to a July 2019 report by the Australia Institute. After some 300,000 school children rallied against inaction on climate change inaction, as part of protests across the globe in September and climate activists targeted businesses associated with mining companies, Morrison threatened harsh new penalties to outlaw protests and boycotts targeting the mining industry that he termed “indulgent and selfish,” at a speech to the Queensland Resources Council. Amanda McKenzie, CEO of Australia's Climate Council -- an independent body comprised of science, health, renewable energy and policy experts, said the current fires were “a wake-up call for the government”. “The government has been repeatedly warned and the evidence is all around us… yet there has been a persistent failure to act,” she said. Australia’s eastern states have faced a crippling and extended drought this past year. Scientists and regional mayors say changing weather patterns, combined with gusty winds, drought, and high temperatures, are a recipe for disaster. Professor Paul Read, bushfire expert at Monash University, said the fires were unprecedented in terms of size, location, but also the timing. “This season started a whole five months earlier than what we usually see,” he said. “We have had a record-breaking drought and bushfires have occurred in places that are very dry… but it’s also just hotter,” he also said. “These fires are very, very hot. They are creating their own internal weather systems,” Read added. “We used to be known as a place that was always green. But this has been dry through winter, spring and now coming into summer,” said Bellingen Mayor Dominic King in NSW. King added: "That’s impacting the vegetation. The trees are under stress and dropping leaves and that’s just fuel on the ground. Everything is just crispy. We are seeing areas burn that never burned before.” On Thursday evening, Claire Whinfield attended a meeting in her local community of St. Albans on the Hawkesbury River, about two hours north of Sydney, to discuss plans to contain the huge 82,250- hectare Mt Gosper fire. “It’s been very emotional but everyone is chipping in,” she said. “I’ve watered the garden, filled the gutters and we’ve mowed all the grass so there’s no fuel for it,” she added, “We’ve packed the car in case we have to leave in a hurry – photos, paperwork, clothing and a bit of art. It’s all been in a heap in the back of the car for three days.” Sara Duddy, 37, runs a boutique guesthouse at the Nightscap National Park in the Byron Bay Hinterland, about three hours south of Brisbane. “It's been really stressful and I haven’t slept in a week,” she said, adding “Everyone is really angry. Angry at inaction and politics when the region is burning.” She said it felt as though the government was playing stubborn politics. “What harm would there be in adopting a zero-emissions economy? We used to be leaders in the world. Everyone – the scientists, the kids, the firefighters are all saying the same thing. Just stop being led around by the nose by the fossil fuel companies.” “The problem is the current coaliton is backing the wrong players. It’s like after they thought winning the election gave them a mandate to do less and less about serious risks we’re facing."

42993fe8350e5638f0cf491890a07d58

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/11/17/hong-kong-protesters-shoot-arrows-police-violence-intensifies/4222011002/

Hong Kong protesters with bows, arrows battle police for control of university, dozens arrested

Hong Kong protesters with bows, arrows battle police for control of university, dozens arrested Hong Kong students armed with bows and arrows and hurling gasoline bombs battled police firing tear gas and blasting water cannons as escalating violence paralyzed the educational system of the beleaguered semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Late Sunday, police used loudspeakers to order the evacuation of Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Many protesters stayed behind, some setting fires to block the advance of riot police. "Rioters recklessly vandalized facilities and hurled bricks and petrol bombs at police officers, jeopardizing public safety," police said in a statement. Police released an image of what appears to be an arrow stuck in the leg of an officer. Police said dozens had been arrested. The protest was the final holdout from a series of demonstrations that shut down several major universities last week. The Hong Kong Education Bureau announced that all schools would close again Monday "for the sake of safety" across the territory of 7.4 million people. Classes from kindergarten up for almost 1 million students were also canceled Thursday and Friday due to the impact of the protests on traffic and public transportation. "All parties should immediately put a halt to all violent and destructive activities so that students can return to their normal school life," the department said. "If the situation allows, schools may resume classes on Tuesday." After trying to flush out protesters with force, Hong Kong Polytechnic University President Jin-Guang Teng on Monday said police will allow protesters to leave, and that he would accompany them to the police station to ensure that their cases “will be fairly processed.” Protesters may not accept the offer given that they would all likely be arrested, however. Five university presidents issued a joint statement urging both sides of the conflict to exercise restraint. Auxiliary Bishop of Hong Kong Joseph Ha Chi-shing, who traveled to the school, pleaded and prayed for a de-escalation before the violence leads to deaths. Some universities have cut short their fall semesters. In the U.S., Georgetown University and Syracuse University announced last week that they canceled study abroad programs in Hong Kong for the remainder of the semester due to protests in the region. American universities terminating Hong Kong study abroad programs early A government extradition proposal earlier this year that would have allowed suspects in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China sparked months of massive, sometimes violent protests. The Hong Kong government withdrew the proposal, but protesters have seized the momentum to press demands for more freedoms and investigations into police behavior during the protests. More than 3,000 protesters have been arrested since the protests began five months ago. Hong Kong protesters blame police: Student dies in fall Hong Kong was controlled by Great Britain for more than 150 years until 1997 when it ceded control to China. The wealthy, free-market city became a special administrative region that was promised a “high degree of autonomy" for 50 years. Pro-democracy residents of Hong Kong have long accused China of slowly encroaching on that autonomy. Congressional leaders have blamed the Chinese government for the unrest and warned Beijing against using force to quell protests. President Donald Trump, locked in a trade war with China, has generally avoided criticizing Beijing for its Hong Kong policy. Trump has described the situation as "tough" and "tricky."

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/11/21/south-africa-lawyer-addelaid-ferreira-watt-killed-gun-court/4257350002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomworld-topstories

Lawyer killed after gun brought into court as evidence fires

Lawyer killed after gun brought into court as evidence fires A freak incident in a South African court has left the country's legal community in shock after a government attorney was fatally shot with a gun presented as evidence, local media reported. Addelaid Ferreira-Watt was prosecuting a robbery case in which a group of men allegedly stole a shotgun from a couple in Ixopo, about 85 miles outside of Durban in eastern South Africa, according to newspaper The Witness. The gun was brought to Umzimkhulu Regional Court to be entered as evidence Monday when it apparently went off unintentionally and hit Ferreira-Watt in the hip, the newspaper reported. Ferreira-Watt was taken to a hospital but did not survive, authorities said. The incident and officer responsible for handling the weapon and ensuring it was not loaded were being investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, spokesperson Sontaga Seisa told the Sunday Times. According to The Witness, five men were being prosecuted for a 2014 robbery during which they allegedly attacked Cheryl Biggs and her husband, Dave, on their Ixopo farm. The shotgun was allegedly stolen in the incident but returned to the couple for their protection, the newspaper reported. The trial had been delayed but was slated to start last week, prompting the gun to be processed as evidence, according to The Witness. Biggs told the newspaper that she told police she was unsure whether the gun was loaded when she handed it over to them. "I am extremely distraught," Biggs told The Witness. Friends, family and colleagues remembered Ferreira-Watt as a sharp legal advocate and compassionate friend. "I lost a sister with a bubbly personality," fellow lawyer Simphiwe Mlotshwa told The Witness. Friend Shaista Gaffoor told the newspaper Ferreira-Watt was "like a mother" to her. "We will miss her a lot. She had beauty and brains." Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/11/24/sumatran-rhino-extinct-malaysia-lone-survivor-iman-died-saturday/4290814002/

The Sumatran rhino is now extinct in Malaysia after lone survivor succumbs to cancer

The Sumatran rhino is now extinct in Malaysia after lone survivor succumbs to cancer KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The Sumatran rhinoceros has become extinct in Malaysia, after the last of the species in the country succumbed to cancer. The Wildlife Department in eastern Sabah state on Borneo island said the rhino, named Iman, died of natural causes Saturday because of shock in her system. She had uterine tumors since her capture in March 2014. Department director Augustine Tuuga said in a statement that Iman, who reportedly was 25 years old, was suffering significant pain from growing pressure of the tumors to her bladder but that her death came sooner than expected. It came six months after the death of the country’s only male rhino in Sabah. Another female rhino also died in captivity in 2017 in the state. Efforts to breed them have been futile but Sabah authorities have harvested their cells for possible reproduction. “Despite us knowing that this would happen sooner rather than later, we are so very saddened by this news,” said Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew, who is also environment minister. Receiving round-the-clock care:Koala dubbed Ellenborough Lewis clings to life 4 days after viral video of daring rescue Liew said Iman had escaped death several times over the past few years because of sudden massive blood loss, but that wildlife officials managed to nurse her back to health and obtained her egg cells for a possible collaboration with Indonesia to reproduce the critically endangered species through artificial insemination. The Sumatran rhino, the smallest of five rhinoceros species, once roamed across Asia as far as India, but its numbers have shrunk drastically because of deforestation and poaching. The WWF conservation group estimates that there are only about 80 left, mostly living in the wild in Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature identifies the Sumatran as well as the Black and Javan rhinoceros as being critically endangered. African and Sumatran rhinoceros have two horns, while the others have a single horn. Only about 24,500 rhinos survive in the wild with an additional 1,250 in captivity worldwide, the IUCN says. Of these, more than two-thirds are white rhinos. Rhinos are killed for their horns, which consist of keratin similar to human hair and nails and are used in traditional medicines in parts of Asia. Florida dog puts locked car in reverse:Drives in circles around cul-de-sac It's official:Michael Bloomberg declares he is entering 2020 presidential race

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/11/29/london-bridge-incident-shots-reported/4330674002/

London Bridge attack: Police kill man who stabbed 2 people to death and had been jailed for terror crimes

London Bridge attack: Police kill man who stabbed 2 people to death and had been jailed for terror crimes London's Metropolitan police said Friday that an officer shot and killed a man wearing a fake explosive device following a stabbing incident near London Bridge that left two people dead. Three other victims were reported in serious condition in the knife attack that police officials called a "terrorist incident." Health officials said one of the injured was in critical but stable condition, one was stable and the third had less serious injuries. Neil Basu, an assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said 28-year-old Usman Khan was attending a program that works to educate prisoners when he launched the attack, killing a man and a woman and injuring three others just yards from the site of a deadly 2017 van and knife rampage. Basu said the suspect appeared to be wearing a bomb vest but it turned out to be "a hoax explosive device." The attack raises difficult questions for Britain’s government and security services. Police said Khan was convicted in 2012 of terrorism offenses and released in December 2018 "on license," which means he had to meet certain conditions or face recall to prison. Several British media outlets reported that he was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had "long argued" that it was a "mistake to allow serious and violent criminals to come out of prison early." “It is very important that we get out of that habit and that we enforce the appropriate sentences for dangerous criminals, especially for terrorists, that I think the public will want to see,” he said. Johnson, who chaired a meeting of the government’s COBRA emergency committee late Friday, said more police would be patrolling the streets in the coming days "for reassurance purposes." Police said they were treating the stabbings as a terrorist attack and were not actively looking for any other suspects. The violence erupted less than two weeks before Britain holds a national election Dec. 12. The main political parties temporarily suspended campaigning in London as a mark of respect. Hours after the London attack, police in The Hague reported a similar stabbing on a major shopping street in that Dutch city that left three minors injured. The victims were all later released from the hospital. Police were searching for a middle-aged man in a gray tracksuit as a possible suspect, the BBC reported. It was not immediately clear if incidents were related. Police spokeswoman Marije Kuiper told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that it was not clear if the stabbing in The Hague was a terror incident. The ordeal unfolded after police were called to a stabbing incident near London Bridge shortly before 1 p.m. Video posted on social media showed several people wrestling with a man wielding a knife at one end of the busy bridge that links the city's business district with the south bank of the River Thames. As officers pulled people out of the fray, one officer shot and killed the suspect. Basu said there were concerns the man might be wearing explosives, but that police "believe a device strapped to the body of the suspect is a hoax explosive device.” He said officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are now leading this investigation. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, who announced the deaths of the two victims, said more armed and unarmed police would be patrolling London streets. She said police were "working at full-tilt to understand exactly what has happened and whether anyone else was involved." London Mayor Sadiq Khan earlier said police were not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. The mayor commended the "breathtaking heroism" of the members of public who intervened in the incident, running toward the suspect and pinning him down. London Bridge was the scene of a June 2017 attack when Islamic State-inspired attackers ran down people on the bridge, killing two, before stabbing several people to death in nearby Borough Market. The BBC reported that its correspondent, John McManus, was at the scene at the time and saw a group fighting on the bridge, with several men attacking one man. "Police then quickly arrived, including armed police, and then a number of shots were fired at this man," McManus said. The Guardian newspaper quoted staff at the nearby Monument underground station as confirming that five people were injured in the attack. The station was closed following the ordeal as police swarmed the area. The incident brought cars and trucks to a standstill on the busy bridge. Video footage showed police pointing guns at one truck before moving to check its container. One witness, Amanda Hunter said she was on a bus crossing the bridge when she heard shots. The bus "all of a sudden stopped and there was commotion and I looked out the window and I just saw these three police officers going over to a man," she told the BBC. "It seemed like there was something in his hand, I'm not 100% sure, but then one of the police officers shot him." World news:2 cruise passengers dead, 5 injured after Belize tour bus crash In a video posted on social media, two men can be seen struggling on the bridge before officers pull a man in civilian clothes off a black-clad man who is on the ground. Political leaders expressed shock and sorrow at Friday’s attack. "We will not be cowed by those who threaten us," Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said. "We must and we will stand together to reject hatred and division." Both Labour and the Conservatives suspended campaigning in the city after the attack and the prime minister was also canceling political events for Saturday. In March 2017, an attacker fatally struck four people with a car on nearby Westminster Bridge then fatally stabbed a police officer before security forces shot and killed him in a courtyard outside Parliament. Contributing: Associated Press

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/11/29/north-korea-super-large-rocket-launcher/4330023002/

North Korea says test of ‘super-large’ rocket launcher was final review

North Korea says test of ‘super-large’ rocket launcher was final review SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea said Friday the latest test-firing of its “super-large” multiple rocket launcher was a final review of the weapon’s combat application, a suggestion that the country is preparing to deploy the new weapons system soon. South Korea’s military earlier said North Korea fired two projectiles, likely from the same “super-large” rocket launcher, on Thursday. It expressed “strong regret” over the launches and urged North Korea to stop escalating tensions. On Friday, the North’s Korean Central News Agency confirmed the launches were made with the presence of leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials. “The volley test-fire aimed to finally examine the combat application of the super-large multiple launch rocket system proved the military and technical superiority of the weapon system and its firm reliability,” KCNA said. It said Kim expressed “great satisfaction” over the results of the test-firing. More:Joe Biden campaign fires back after North Korean media calls him a 'rabid dog' Analyst Kim Dong-yub at Seoul’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies said North Korea appears to be entering the stage of mass-producing and deploying the rocket launcher. He wrote on Facebook that the weapons system may already have been deployed. Thursday’s firing was the fourth test-launch of the rocket launcher since August. Some experts say the flight distance and trajectory of projectiles fired from the launcher show they are virtually missiles or missile-classed weapons. The projectiles fired Thursday flew about 380 kilometers (235 miles) at a maximum altitude of 97 kilometers (60 miles), according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday called the projectiles ballistic missiles. North Korea has fired other new weapons in recent months in what some experts say is an attempt to wrest concessions from the United States in stalled nuclear diplomacy while upgrading its military capabilities. A U.S.-led diplomacy aimed at persuading North Korea to scrap its nuclear program in return for political and economic benefits remains largely stalemated since the February collapse of a summit between Kim and President Donald Trump in Vietnam. Most of the North Korean weapons tested since the Vietnam summit were short-range. Attention is now on whether North Korea resumes nuclear and long-range missile tests if Trump fails to meet a year-end deadline set by Kim for Washington to offer new proposals to salvage the negotiations. Trump considers North Korea’s self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests a major foreign policy win.

e501f8112a2be9c79e4a68bfc704c2d2

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/05/north-korea-response-trump-remark/2617148001/

North Korea gives fiery reply to Trump after president's 'undesirable remarks' at NATO meeting

North Korea gives fiery reply to Trump after president's 'undesirable remarks' at NATO meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was not happy with President Donald Trump's remark at the NATO meeting in London that the U.S. would use force against his regime if necessary. In a statement published by the state-run North Korean Central News Agency, army chief of staff Pak Jong Chon said Kim was "displeased" with the "undesirable remarks" and warned that North Korea and the U.S. "are still technically at war and the state of truce can turn into an all-out armed conflict any moment." "One thing I would like to make clear is that the use of armed forces is not the privilege of the U.S. only," Pak said. When asked by reporters about North Korea's continued missile tests on Tuesday, Trump said the U.S. has the most powerful military in the world and that he would use it against Kim's regime "if we have to." He added that Kim "likes sending rockets up, doesn't he?" "That's why I call him Rocket Man," Trump said, referring to a nickname he had given Kim amid their belligerent exchanges in 2017. Trump at NATO:Disputes roil NATO meetings in London; Trump calls Canada’s Trudeau ‘two-faced’ One North Korean official threatened to bring back Kim's own past insult for Trump. North Korean 1st Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hu said Thursday that her ministry "cannot contain its displeasure" at Trump's remarks and warned that if Trump keeps it up, he "will again show the senility of a dotard." In September 2017, Kim vowed to "tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard," referring to Trump. But on Tuesday, Trump stressed that he and Kim have a "good relationship." "I like him, he likes me," Trump said. "We'll see what happens. It may work out, it may not." What's a dotard?:Twitter goes wild after Kim Jong Un's vocab Trump burn Pak agreed on the importance of the relationship between Trump and Kim, saying "the only guarantee that deters physical conflict from flaring up" is "the close relations between the top leaders" of the two countries. "But recently, the U.S. president said that he may use armed forces in clear reference to the DPRK, even though he attached preconditions," Pak said, referring to North Korea by its formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. "This greatly disappointed me." He warned that "such elated spirit and bluffing" could agitate North Korea and threaten the fragile peace and that an attack on the regime would be "a horrible thing for the U.S." Trump vs. Kim:Here are the worst insults they've slung at each other North Korea has issued several belligerent statements toward the U.S. in recent weeks while also conducting short-range missile tests. In April, Kim declared an end-of-the-year deadline for progress to resume in the negotiations between the two countries. But little progress has been made in the denuclearization talks since a summit in Vietnam between Trump and Kim broke down in February. Kim said that if the deadline was not met, he would seek a "new path." Last month, the regime threatened to resume testing of ballistic missiles. Prior to Trump's comments on Tuesday, a North Korean official reiterated Kim's deadline and said, "it is entirely up to the U.S. what Christmas gift it will select to get." Contributing: The Associated Press More:North Korea warns US may get nasty 'Christmas gift' if nuke deal not reached by Dec. 31 deadline

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/08/pensacola-naval-air-station-shooting-saudi-national-likely-to-increase-tensions-us-saudi-alliance/4366465002/

Pensacola shooting by Saudi national raises new questions about US-Saudi alliance

Pensacola shooting by Saudi national raises new questions about US-Saudi alliance WASHINGTON – The shooting by a Saudi military trainee at a Pensacola naval base, which left three people dead and eight more wounded, is likely to further damage America's already fraught relationship with Saudi Arabia. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday that he spoke with Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, "who expressed his condolences and sadness at the loss of life in the horrific attack." But condolences may not be enough as the FBI investigates the shooter's motivations, including allegations that he posted anti-American sentiments on social media before the rampage. The FBI identified the shooter as Mohammed Alshamrani. He was one of 852 Saudi nationals in the U.S. for military training provided under a security cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. Alshamrani was shot and killed by a local deputy sheriff Friday. The Navy identified his victims as Airman Mohammed Hathaim, 19, from St. Petersburg, Florida; Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23, from Coffee, Alabama; and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21, from Richmond Hill, Georgia. The FBI is investigating the attack on "the presumption that this was an act of terrorism," Rachel Rojas, FBI special agent in charge, said at a news conference Sunday. The FBI is examining tweets that Alshamrani may have posted on Friday morning, railing against the United States for its support of Israel and for purported crimes against Muslims, including the detention of suspects in Guantanamo Bay. More:FBI investigating tweets purportedly from suspect in NAS Pensacola shooting The murders in Florida come at an already tense moment in U.S.-Saudi relations. Saudi Arabia's role in the 2018 slaying of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post journalist, remains a festering wound in the alliance. And the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which the U.S. has supported through military intelligence and weapons, has stirred outrage on Capitol Hill. "All of the negative aspects of US-Saudi relations are going to come back into focus," said Gerald Feierstein, a former U.S. ambassador to Yemen who also served in numerous other diplomatic posts, including in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Lebanon. "The administration’s been doing its best to dampen down (criticism of Saudi Arabia) and promote the idea of close ties," said Feierstein, now a senior vice president at the Middle East Institute in Washington. But Florida's attack "is going to make all of those arguments a lot harder." Daniel Byman, a counter-terrorism and Middle East expert with Georgetown University, said the public may be inclined to make a connection to terrorism in this case because of "the important role Saudis played in perpetrating the 9/11 attacks." Fifteen of the 19 hijackers involved in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks were Saudis, and the kingdom continues to come under scrutiny as a source of funding for international terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda. The Saudi government has taken steps since the 9/11 attacks to prevent money laundering and other crimes that enable terrorism financing, but serious gaps remain, according to a 2018 report by the Financial Action Task Force, an inter-governmental body. And while Saudi rulers have successfully promoted a more moderate form of Islam, among other important steps, “this remains very much a work in progress,” Feierstein said. In n analysis posted just after Friday's incident, Byman noted that the Saudi government has an incentive to crack down on extremist groups "because it sees them as a threat to the kingdom’s own security." In the Florida case, "what we need immediately from Saudi Arabia is information," he wrote in his analysis. "Answering the question of terrorist intent may require interviews with those who knew the pilot, any writing or social media posts he left as a record, and similar data that might help us understand what was behind the violence." More:Why was a Saudi national at a US Naval base? International training is part of NAS Pensacola's mission But Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has already labeled the incident a "planned terrorist attack" and questioned the program that allows Saudi military students to come to the U.S. "This event demonstrates a serious failure in the vetting process and in the way in which we invite these people to our community," Gaetz also said on Twitter. And Florida's GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis called on the Saudi government to compensate the victims of Friday's shooting. "They're going to owe a debt here," DeSantis said during a news conference Friday. The State Department did not respond to questions Saturday about how the Pensacola shooting would affect U.S.-Saudi relations or what Pompeo is doing to ensure the kingdom cooperates with the FBI probe. More:Anti-US tweets, Saudi student and a Navy hero: What we know about NAS Pensacola shooting President Donald Trump said that King Salman of Saudi Arabia is "devastated" by the shooting and wants to help the families. "We're finding out what took place, whether it's one person or a number of people," Trump said before leaving the White House on Saturday for a fundraiser and Israeli-American Council event in Florida. "And the king will be involved in taking care of families and loved ones. He feels very strongly. He's very, very devastated by what happened and what took place." Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S. also condemned the attack. "As a daughter of a former U.S military trained pilot, this tragedy is especially painful," Reema Bandar Al-Saud wrote on Twitter. "The Saudi people are united in their condemnation of this crime. We stand in solidarity with our American friends during these difficult times." More:Pensacola Navy base shooting victim 'saved countless lives,' family says Saudi's crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, has denied he ordered Khashoggi's killing. But lawmakers and U.S. intelligence officials have concluded he was complicit, and a United Nations report similarly found there was "credible evidence" that bin Salman masterminded the slaying. Trump has worked to shield the kingdom's leaders from repercussions for Khashoggi's death. He vetoed legislation that would have barred U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, as well as a bill that would have halted U.S. military support for a Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen. Critics pounced on Trump's initial response to Friday's shooting, in which he touted the Saudi king's condolence. "A Saudi military officer commits a terrorist act on a U.S. military base in apparent conjunction with others and the @POTUS meekly reads a letter of apology from the Saudi king? What’s up with THAT?" David Axelrod, a Democratic strategist and commentator, tweeted on Saturday. Even before Friday's attack, lawmakers in both parties were outraged by Khashoggi's gruesome killing and Saudi Arabia's conduct in the Yemen war, which has killed thousands of Yemenis and created one of the world's worst humanitarian catastrophes. Tamara Cofman Wittes, a former State Department official for near eastern affairs, said the Pensacola shooting will be "layered on top" of other damaging Saudi actions in recent years, including the torture and trials of women's rights activists in the kingdom. Those incidents "have all broken trust between Riyadh and its patrons in Washington – especially but not exclusively on Capitol Hill," Wittes wrote in an assessment of the shooting on U.S.-Saudi relations. Her take was paired with Byman's. "This horrific attack in Florida will remind Americans that the kingdom – while reforming in some significant ways – remains rooted in an extreme religious-political ideology," Wittes said. "We don’t yet know the full story of what motivated this Saudi officer to open fire on his classmates in Pensacola," Wittes added. "But the event instantly challenges those, whether in the Trump administration or in the private sector, who have been seeking to brush aside concerns about the kingdom’s trajectory. It will sharpen questions on Capitol Hill about why the United States government is training Saudi pilots whose bombing raids harm civilians in Yemen." Contributing: Doug Stanglin, Annie Blanks

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/09/new-zealand-volcano-eruption-updates-white-island-whakaari/2628288001/

'No signs of life' on White Island amid rescue efforts after New Zealand volcano eruption

'No signs of life' on White Island amid rescue efforts after New Zealand volcano eruption Rescue workers Tuesday couldn't find any of at least eight people missing and feared dead after a volcanic eruption in New Zealand blasted the island with scalding steam and ash. Search crews flying above the island saw "no signs of life" on White Island, also called Whakaari, as they waited for conditions to stabilize for landing and on-the-ground searches. Meanwhile, New Zealand police said they were opening a criminal investigation into the deaths of at least five tourists on the volcanic island. Police Deputy Commissioner John Tims did not go into details of the criminal investigation but said it would sit alongside an investigation by health and safety regulators. The announcement indicates authorities are concerned safety standards may have been breached. A question that figures to be at the forefront of the investigation: Why were tourists allowed on the island after seismic monitoring experts raised the volcano’s alert level last month. “These questions must be asked and they must be answered,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in Parliament. What is a cone volcano? The science behind the deadly New Zealand eruption Some survivors were evacuated via helicopter after the eruption Monday afternoon. Russell Clark, an intensive care paramedic worker, said the island blanketed in ask looked like the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. “I can only imagine what it was like for the people there at the time – they had nowhere to go," Clark told New Zealand broadcaster TVNZ. Of the 47 people on the island at the time, authorities said 31 survivors were hospitalized, some with severe burns — including Matthew and Lauren Urey, a newlywed couple from Virginia. Three other survivors were released. “I fear there is worse news to come over the course of perhaps today or over the next few days,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. “This is a terrible tragedy, a time of great innocence and joy interrupted by the horror of that eruption.” Here's what we know now: What happened on White Island? The eruption occurred just after 2 p.m. local time, according to GeoNet, which tracks volcanic activity in New Zealand. The eruption was "short-lived" and sent an ash plume soaring about 12,000 feet above the volcano's vent, GeoNet volcanologist Geoff Kilgour said. Videos and photos shared on social media show massive plumes of smoke coming off the island. A Royal Caribbean International cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas, was on the island at the time, the company confirmed. The ship was to sail to Wellington on Monday but instead would remain in the Tauranga port overnight, the company said. Kilgour wrote that volcanic activity on the island has since diminished. Volcanic activity on the island reached an alert level of four out of five immediately after the eruption but has since been lowered to three, indicating a "minor local eruption is in progress." “In the scheme of things, for volcanic eruptions, it is not large,” GeoNet's Ken Gledhill said. “But if you were close to that, it is not good.” Why were people on White Island? GeoNet had raised its alert level on the island from one to two on Nov. 18 as sulfur dioxide gas increased. According to GeoNet, a level two warning is means there are "unrest hazards on the volcano and could include eruptions of steam, gas, mud and rocks. These eruptions can occur with little or no warning." GeoNet had been providing updates on the volcanic unrest on the island in the days leading up to the eruption. Loÿc Vanderkluysen, a volcanologist at Drexel University, said he was surprised that tourists were on the island given the volcanic activity. "Scientists seem to have been well aware that White Island was entering a phase of heightened activity," he said. Where is White Island? White Island is about 30 miles off New Zealand's North Island in the Bay of Plenty. It is also known by its indigenous Maori name Whakaari. The cone volcano is New Zealand's most active, experts say, and about 70% of it sits under the sea. A shelter was installed in 2016 on the island in case of unexpected eruptions, according to the New Zealand Herald. The island has a history of mining but is now a tourist attraction. The island became a private scenic reserve in 1953, and more than 10,000 people visit the volcano each year on daily tours. Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/11/uk-election-boris-johnson-jeremy-corbyn/2628282001/

Mudslinging clouds UK's 'nightmare before Christmas' vote

Mudslinging clouds UK's 'nightmare before Christmas' vote LONDON – Britain, a nation of tea drinkers, is deciding on one of the most divisive and important issues it has faced in a generation or more: Which variety of tea bag does it want in its mug? "The Boris blend" or "Cuppa Corbyn"? The tongue-in-cheek, special edition teas are available to order only until Thursday, as the country holds its fourth national vote in as many years, including 2016's politically paralyzing referendum on European Union membership – Brexit. Though polls indicate an uncertain outcome, if New York-born Boris Johnson's incumbent Conservative Party retains power with a comfortable majority in Parliament, it will effectively clear a path for him to push through Britain's EU departure Jan. 31. If Johnson loses, or doesn't prevail with a large enough majority, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn may attempt to form a minority government by partnering with other opposition groups such as the Liberal Democrats, a party whose manifesto is dominated by one message: "Stop Brexit." An exit poll is due at 10 p.m. local time (5 p.m. ET). Full results are expected Friday. A Corbyn win could lead to a new Brexit referendum, potentially prolonging Britain's three-year divorce battle with its most important trading partner. Under Britain's centuries-old political system, the nation elects a party, not a leader, meaning the ruling party can make changes at the top. Political scientists said Thursday's vote is as significant as other momentous events in British political history: the 1945 vote that ushered in the first Labour Party majority government; the 1979 election that brought Margaret Thatcher to power and started the slow dismantling of Britain's welfare state in favor of the privatization and deregulation more commonplace in the USA; and former prime minister Tony Blair's 1997 election that put an end to 18 consecutive years of Conservative Party rule and swapped it for something that approximated U.S. President Bill Clinton's "Third Way" policies – leadership more in tune with globalization. Surveys show as many as one in five voters are undecided about whom to vote for, largely because of uncertainties and confusion surrounding the impact of Brexit on Britain's economy and social welfare system, especially its taxpayer-funded National Health Service (NHS). Corbyn's Labour Party has repeatedly raised the specter of Johnson agreeing to allow American pharmaceutical companies and medical contractors more direct access to the NHS in return for a post-Brexit trade deal with Washington. 'If you’re poor, you’re dead':Video shows Britons astonished at U.S. health care costs Britain's political parties have stretched the limits of truth in ways that have made it difficult to separate fact from fantasy. Last month, the Conservatives released a video aggressively edited to show a Labour spokesman unable to answer a question about the party's position on Britain's EU exit. It has been viewed more than a million times. During a leaders' debate, the Conservative Party's press office temporarily rebranded its Twitter account "factcheckUK" and used it to attack Corbyn’s comments. A study by First Draft, a media watchdog, found nearly 90% of Facebook ads paid for by the Conservative Party in the first few days of December contained misleading claims. Over the period, the party created more than 6,000 ads. Competing assertions about the NHS, an organization that's been a point of pride for Britons since its inception after World War II as a service that is "free at the point of delivery," have been particularly galling for voters such as Jim Hall, 28, a student in London. "The NHS is not something that should be politicized," he said, noting that like many people he knows, he is underwhelmed by Johnson and Corbyn, finding the former untrustworthy and the latter politically ineffective. "There are no circumstances in which this government or any Conservative government will put the NHS on the table in any trade negotiation," Johnson said Friday during a televised debate with Corbyn, who claimed he had a large dossier of documents that amounted to "proof" that the NHS would be up "for sale" if Johnson emerges victorious. Reddit, the social news aggregator, said Corbyn's leaked papers were linked to a Russian disinformation campaign, a reminder that a media committee in Britain's Parliament last year called for widespread changes to Britain's electoral laws because voters were being inundated with deceptive social media messages. Brexit diaries:UK Parliament acts to avert 'absolute catastrophe' EU exit The report followed a lengthy investigation into fake news and misappropriation of data and digital assets by political campaigns. It was triggered by concerns about Russian interference in Western elections. The probe helped fuel a scandal about how consultancy Cambridge Analytica used Facebook data to target voters during Donald Trump's 2016 run for the White House. Cambridge Analytica shut down its operations in 2018. "We have seen the erosion of the standards we're used to," said Timothy Bale, a political scientist at Queen Mary University of London, "particularly with the Conservative Party playing fast and loose with the truth." Johnson has tried to downplay the at-times acerbic tone of his campaign with humor. Asked in a British TV interview how he relaxes in the evening, Johnson, a former journalist who was once fired for making up a quote, said that he "does a few quadratic equations and reads Pre-Socratic philosophy." As the campaign wound down, Britain's leader found himself in the firing line from the British press and political experts for an awkward exchange with a reporter who tried to show him a photo on his phone of a young sick child suffering at a hospital. Johnson repeatedly refused to look at the photo. Flustered, he snatched the phone away from the reporter and stuck it in his pocket before realizing what he had done and expressing sympathy for the child and his family. The Conservative Party was also criticized by media watchdogs for falsely claiming that a Labour Party activist punched Johnson's health secretary, Matthew Hancock. Hancock had been dispatched to the hospital where the sick child was being cared for after the photo went viral. The punch that never happened itself went viral. When President Trump visited Britain last week for NATO meetings, he said he could "work with anybody" who occupies No. 10 Downing St., the prime minister's office and residence, but Johnson and Corbyn offer radically different visions for Britain. In addition to getting "Brexit done" – his signature campaign promise – Johnson, 55, would seek to cut taxes and red tape to stimulate economic growth while opening Britain's coffers to spend more on policing. health and ambitious infrastructure development projects. Johnson gets on well with Trump, not least because both men have populist instincts and Trump has openly supported Brexit. In an echo of Trump's divisive comments about immigration, Johnson said Monday that EU migrants have for too long been able to "treat the UK as if it's part of their own country." USA TODAY interview with Boris Johnson:Most Americans may not recognize Johnson's name, although they may know about his unruly mop of blond hair Corbyn, 70, would raise taxes, attempt to nationalize some infrastructure, such as railways and utilities, and offer free internet access. A lifelong left-wing activist who has sympathized with revolutionary movements from Cuba to Iran and vowed to unwind the sharp end of Britain's capitalist system, Corbyn would expand Britain's government and social programs. Corbyn could be an awkward fit for Trump, whom he has repeatedly criticized and accused of trying to interfere in Britain's election. "It is very clear to me that a trade deal with the United States would put all of our public services at risk, into the hands of global corporations, and they would open up what they gently call our health market," Corbyn said during a Labour campaign rally. "Well, I have got news for them. There is no health market. We shut that down in 1948 when we established the National Health Service," he said. Whoever wins Thursday, it's not the end of Brexit. The country remains bitterly divided over its relationship with the EU, and even if Johnson succeeds in formally dragging Britain out of the alliance Jan. 31, it will be just the start of a deeper separation process of negotiations over trade, borders, agriculture, security and more that are likely to last several years. "Britain’s nightmare before Christmas: A divided country faces an election that will tear it still further apart," The Economist said in its election endorsement editorial published last week. The magazine reluctantly backed the Liberal Democrats. "British voters keep being called to the polls – and each time the options before them are worse," it said.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/12/senate-senate-recognizes-arrecognizes-armenian-genocide-over-objections-trump-and-turkish-government/4410046002/

Senate recognizes Armenian genocide over objections of Trump and Turkish government

Senate recognizes Armenian genocide over objections of Trump and Turkish government WASHINGTON – In a stinging rebuke to Turkey, the Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide – marking a shift in U.S. policy despite repeated objections from the Trump administration. The Senate's action is historic, and it will almost certainly exacerbate U.S.-Turkey tensions. The genocide measure officially recognizes the systematic killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923. President Donald Trump has cultivated a close relationship with Turkey's leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan – hosting Erdogan at the White House in November despite Turkey's recent invasion of Syria. Until Thursday, Trump's GOP allies in the Senate had repeatedly blocked the genocide measure. "I have no doubt that Ergodan has expressed his deep ... opposition to the genocide resolution" in his conversations with Trump, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., told USA TODAY just before the Senate action. For years, Turkey had successfully deployed an army of high-priced lobbyists to stop the measure. Ankara spent more than $6 million to press its agenda in Washington in 2018, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign finance watchdog group. But that effort collapsed on Thursday when Menendez pressed for its adoption and no senator objected. The New Jersey Democrat broke down in tears after the measure sailed through, after he began recounting the horrors of the genocide. "The killing was done with axes, cleavers, shovels and pitchforks. It was like a slaughterhouse," Menendez said, quoting a priest who documented the atrocities at the time. "Infants were dashed on rocks before the eyes of their mothers." It was clear that Turkey's "ultimate goal was to eliminate the Armenian people," Menendez added. "The Senate finally took a stand and spoke the truth – spoke the truth to darkness, spoke truth to evil, spoke truth to murder, spoke truth to genocide – and finally honored the 1.5 million innocent lives lost," said Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican who sponsored the resolution with Menendez. A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. Turkey's ministry of foreign affairs slammed the Senate's unanimous action. "This resolution of the Senate is one of the disgraceful examples of politicization of history," the ministry said in a statement. "Those who exploit history by disregarding reality for their political interests will never achieve their aims." The House overwhelmingly passed the genocide measure in October, amid a wave of anger at Turkey over its decision to attack America's Kurdish allies in Syria, who helped U.S. forces defeat the Islamic State terrorist group. Some critics of Turkey said its attack on the Kurds carried echoes of the Armenian genocide. "Members of my own family were among those murdered, and my parents fled with my grandparents to America," Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., a first-generation Armenian-American, said during the House floor debate. "What all of the persecuted had in common was that they were Christians." In an interview this week, Eshoo told USA TODAY that while some may view the resolution as symbolic, it is deeply personal and meaningful to Armenian-Americans like her. As a young girl, Eshoo said she vividly remembers a story her aunt told her. "Her mother had sewn coins into the hem of her skirt" and told her and her sisters to flee as their village came under attack, Eshoo recounted. "When they were running, they looked behind them. The whole village was on fire. They lost their parents." America's refusal to label the murders a "genocide," she said, represented a grievous denial of history and a message to Armenians that "all the lives that were lost" went unrecognized. "The recognition of what actually took place has a sense of cleansing to it," she said. Menendez had previously tried three times to bring it up in the Senate. But each time, a Republican senator objected, reportedly acting at the behest of the White House. On Nov. 13, for example, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a fierce critic of Turkey's invasion of Syria, blocked the genocide measure after the White House expressed concerns about it. Graham told Axios that a White House legislative affairs official had asked him if he would "please object" when Menendez called it up that day. Graham had been at the White House to confront Erdogan over Syria. "I said sure," Graham told Axios. "The only reason I did it is because he [Erdogan] was still in town. ... That would've been poor timing. I'm trying to salvage the relationship if possible." The Armenian genocide began in 1915 during World War I, as Turkish leaders began to murder and deport hundreds of thousands of Armenians from the Ottoman Empire. While the modern-day Turkish government has taken steps to address the atrocities, it has refused to recognize the scope of the killings and disputes it was a genocide. For years, Turkish officials have argued that Congress would severely damage U.S.-Turkey relations by passing such a resolution. In an Oct. 25 missive, Turkey's ambassador to the U.S. warned lawmakers that passing the genocide measure could jeopardize future economic cooperation and create a lasting hostility between the two NATO allies. "I call upon you not to play a part in creating a permanent negative resentment in our historically close and friendly relations," the diplomat, Serdar Kilic, wrote in the letter. Turkey had also deployed "a phalanx of their lobbyists" to pressure lawmakers to oppose the genocide bill, Menendez told USA TODAY. He said lobbyists on Turkey's payroll were devoting more energy to blocking the genocide resolution than to opposing punitive sanctions legislation that is also gaining steam in the Senate. Menendez said he was thankful the resolution passed "at a time in which there are still survivors of the genocide (and they) will be able to see that the Senate acknowledges what they've been through." Thursday's vote is a blow to Turkey as well as to Trump, said Bulent Aliriza, director of the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington foreign policy institute. He said in previous years, Turkey has recalled its ambassador and threatened other counter measures when the genocide bill gained momentum. "This shows the weakening ... position of Turkey on Capitol Hill and the inability of Trump to prevent" anti-Turkey bills from advancing in Congress, he said. Like Trump, previous American presidents have intervened to stop Congress from passing the Armenian genocide resolution. "We have significant interests in this troubled region of the world," then-President Bill Clinton wrote in an October 2000 letter to then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert. "Consideration of the resolution at this sensitive time will negatively affect those interests and could undermine efforts to encourage improved relations between Armenia and Turkey." That argument seems to have lost its luster now. The U.S.-Turkey alliance has deeply frayed in recent months, not only because of Turkey's invasion of Syria but also because Erdogan pressed ahead with Turkey's decision to purchase a Russian missile system. He took those steps in the face of fierce objections from Washington. Menendez said Trump's embrace of Erdogan was perplexing given those developments. Turkey's opposition to the genocide measure was equally confounding, he said. "This was the Ottoman Empire. It wasn't modern-day Turkey," he said. "They should be able to recognize that historical fact and move on. But they're unwilling to do so."

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/13/uk-election-britains-strange-election-boris-johnson-victory-analysis/4396206002/

Analysis: Britain's 'strange' vote, won by Boris Johnson, heralds American-style 'shift'

Analysis: Britain's 'strange' vote, won by Boris Johnson, heralds American-style 'shift' LONDON – Back to normal? Hardly. Britain held its fourth national vote in less than five years Thursday – if 2016's referendum on EU membership is included – and incumbent Prime Minister Boris Johnson stormed to victory in a contest that was notionally about one thing: Brexit. Yet it was also about a potential realignment of Britain's political identity. Johnson's Conservative Party secured 364 of 650 parliamentary seats in a vote that drew comparisons, in terms of its gravity, to Margaret Thatcher's election in 1979. In the end, the result drew an additional dotted line to the Iron Lady. It marked the Conservative Party's best result since Thatcher’s third election win in 1987. Thatcher, U.S. President Ronald Reagan's political soulmate, launched Britain on a path toward economic reform and aggressive privatization of its major industries from which it has never looked back – or recovered, depending on your politics. Johnson won with a simple message. He vowed to "get Brexit done." And he should be able to do that now. UK election:Boris Johnson's Conservative Party wins majority in Parliament, His main challenger, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, framed the vote as an opportunity to save Britain's universally cherished state-funded National Health Service (NHS) from Brexit-precipitated ruin; from the Thatcherites, like Johnson essentially, waiting in the wings to usher in a smaller, more market-friendly government. Corbyn, too, promised to sever ties with Britain's largest and most profitable trading partner. Only later. On better terms. The Labour leader is an old-school, left-wing politician whose stewardship of Britain's center-left party has been wracked by claims of anti-semitism. From the start, Corbyn's strategy was to dodge the Brexit topic. He has never been particularly fond of the EU because he believes its main purpose is to grease the wheels of capitalism. His exit, too, will be an exercise in evading responsibility and skirting problems. He said Friday he would resign, eventually, but not before his party undertakes a "period of reflection." Corbyn has proven, over and over, to have ears of political tin. Above all, Johnson has succeeded in securing an invigorated mandate to lead Britain. His long-suffering EU withdrawal deal is expected to be quickly ratified by Parliament. The nation will now likely leave the EU on Jan. 31 after three years of tortuous and seemingly endless delays, bickering, reversals, resignations and confusion. Johnson achieved what his two predecessors as prime minster, Theresa May and David Cameron, couldn't: He's killed for good the idea of a second referendum on Brexit, a do-over vote. At least in the medium-term. There's always a chance that a subsequent British government could try to "Breturn." It's never been done. But neither has Brexit. Still, to his critics, and there are many – approximately half the country that desperately wants to remain in the EU – Johnson will be guilty of effectively performing a quote from his hero Winston Churchill, the statesmen who led Britain to victory in World War II: "Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." Here's why. While Britain is now due to depart the EU next year, it remains exceptionally difficult to find a mainstream economist or political scientist who believes it will be better off for doing so, in terms of wealth creation, jobs, national security, trade, workers rights and more. Brexit is a feeling. Many people in Britain like that feeling. Financial markets and the British pound currency responded positively to Johnson's convincing victory, and his post-election promises Friday to work "night and day" to repay the trust of voters of all political stripes, but that's largely because they feared a Corbyn government bent on undoing decades of Thatcherism, as well as the prospect of a committed humanitarian and socialist in the same room as President Donald Trump. UK election::Mudslinging clouds UK's 'nightmare before Christmas' vote Like everyone else, investors don't really know what the impact of Brexit will be, but a Corbyn-Trump relationship seemed a stretch, if not a diplomatic minefield. "I can't imagine them having a civil conversation," said Glyn Morgan, a professor of European affairs at Syracuse University. "Their world views are so diametrically opposed. I doubt Trump has even ever met anyone like Corbyn." Ian Bremmer, an American political scientist who specializes in foreign policy, tweeted after the result: "Corbyn makes (left-wing U.S. Democratic presidential candidate) Bernie Sanders look like (former center-right British leader) Tony Blair. There are no lessons from UK election for progressives running for President in the US." As for Johnson-Trump, it's same old, same old. The "special relationship," forged over two World Wars and a recent NATO meeting in which Johnson denied mocking Trump alongside other world leaders at a reception in Buckingham Palace, stays intact. "Congratulations to Boris Johnson on his great WIN!," Trump tweeted early Friday. Yet, as Richard Caplan, a professor of international relations at Oxford University, noted, "the one thing we can say about Brexit is that everything about it is unforeseen." Almost everything. In fact, one of Brexit's foreseeable, self-evident truths is that it never ends. There's always a next step, often a cliff-hanger, that threatens to set back or unravel the entire enterprise. That's true now, too. Johnson may have silenced many of his naysayers by winning a vote in which he stood to lose his job as well as Brexit. But Brexit is nothing if not a process and this process only gets going in earnest next year, when Britain and the EU will start negotiating on its substantive points. They will be deciding on how to split the spoils of more than four decades of economic and practical collaboration that touches on everything from fishing rights to commercial airspace. Trump is watching closely. "Britain and the United States will now be free to strike a massive new Trade Deal after BREXIT. This deal has the potential to be far bigger and more lucrative than any deal that could be made with the E.U. Celebrate Boris!" he added in his Friday tweet. Someone else who is watching closely is Nigel Farage, a close confidante of Trump, who is often described as Brexit's "architect" for his role in campaigning for Britain's EU withdrawal long before it seemed politically feasible or fashionable. "If the withdrawal agreement (Johnson's EU Brexit deal) is passed by Parliament in its current form, then I believe that is not Brexit and will ultimately lead to more crises and perhaps years more of agonizing negotiations," Farage said in an interview. Farage, who vowed to keeping fighting for a "real Brexit," believes that Johnson's EU divorce deal, which keeps Britain aligned with EU rules until it has signed a trade deal with the bloc, risks keeping the nation tethered to the EU indefinitely, on poor terms. However, Farage noted that "a Brexit" is better than "no Brexit." Richard Whitman, a professor of politics and international relations at the University of Kent, in England, characterized Britain's election as one of the "strangest in the post-WWII period" and one that represents a potential "major shift" for Britain. "We haven't really rehearsed what the country looks like after Britain leaves the EU. It's been an election about the future, that is not about the future," he said. But he said that Johnson's victory represents a likely "shift" for Britain. And that "shift" has a possible American tinge to it. Not just because Johnson was born in New York and only recently gave up his U.S. passport, or because he shares with Trump a fondness for populist rhetoric and a predilection for playing fast and loose with the truth, but because Britain outside the EU potentially becomes far more "mid-Atlantic." A European country geographically, but at the political and psychological level increasingly similar to the U.S., with its lower levels of regulation and less burdensome – the argument goes – tax levels. Throughout the campaign, Johnson repeatedly denied allegations from Corbyn that after Brexit, and as part of a new trade deal with Trump, the NHS would be "up for sale" – aspects of it unscrupulously outsourced to U.S. technology and Big Pharma firms intent on making a buck in market they have long been denied access to. Or to put it another way, a continuation but also escalation of what Thatcher started all those years ago. Presumably, one of them isn't telling the truth.

687a7932fd2f2c8a9a2c6843b6640fc5

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/14/sudan-omar-al-bashir-money-laundering-corruption/2648629001/

Ex-Sudan President al-Bashir gets two years for money laundering, corruption

Ex-Sudan President al-Bashir gets two years for money laundering, corruption KHARTOUM, Sudan — A court in Sudan convicted former President Omar al-Bashir of money laundering and corruption on Saturday, sentencing him to two years in a rehabilitation facility. That’s the first verdict in a series of legal proceedings against al-Bashir, who is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide linked to the Darfur conflict in the 2000s. The verdict came a year after Sudanese protesters first began their revolt against al-Bashir’s authoritarian rule. During his three decades in power, Sudan landed on the U.S. list for sponsoring terrorism, and the country’s economy has been battered by years of mismanagement and American sanctions. Al-Bashir has been in custody since April, when Sudan’s military stepped in and removed him from power after months of nationwide protests. The uprising eventually forced the military into a power-sharing agreement with civilians. Under Sudanese law, al-Bashir, 75, is to be sent to a state-run rehabilitation facility for elderly people who are convicted of crimes not punishable with death. Before the verdict was read, supporters of al-Bashir briefly disrupted the proceedings and were pushed out of the courtroom by security forces. The former strongman was charged earlier this year with money laundering, after millions of U.S. dollars, euros and Sudanese pounds were seized in his home shortly after his ouster. Sudan’s military has said it would not extradite him to the ICC. The country’s military-civilian transitional government has so far not indicated whether they will hand him over to the The Hague. The corruption trial is separate from charges against al-Bashir regarding the killing of protesters during the uprising. Anti-government demonstrations initially erupted last December over steep price rises and shortages, but soon shifted to calls for al-Bashir to step down. Security forces responded with a fierce crackdown that killed dozens of protesters in the months prior his ouster. Saturday’s verdict, which capped monthslong trial, could be appealed before a higher court. In August, al-Bashir told the court that he received through his office manager $25 million from Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. He said the crown prince did not want to reveal that he was the source of the funds, so he did not deposit the money in the country’s central bank. He said the money was being used for donations not for his own benefit. At least $2 million dollars went to a military hospital and $3 million to a Sudanese university, he said. Al-Bashir said $5 million was given to the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary unit that grew out of the feared Janjaweed militias unleashed during the Darfur conflict in the 2000s. The RSF is led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who is also a member of the newly appointed Sovereign Council that is to rule Sudan during a three-year transition. Protesters accuse the RSF of leading the crackdown against them that started with the brutal break-up of their sit-in camp in Khartoum earlier in June. Al-Bashir did not provide documents or records for the spending.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/24/philippines-coconut-wine-lambanog-poisonings-least-11-dead-hundreds-sickened/2743366001/

11 dead, hundreds sickened by methanol-poisoned coconut wine in the Philippines

11 dead, hundreds sickened by methanol-poisoned coconut wine in the Philippines At least 11 people died and hundreds more were sickened by methanol-poisoned coconut wine in the Philippines, the state-run Philippine News Agency said. Known as lambanog, the wine is a favorite drink during the holidays. According to the Philippine government, the nation's Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly issued warnings to lambanog brewers over its high methanol content and advised the public to exercise extreme caution in purchasing and consuming the alcohol beverage and to buy only those registered by the agency. “Lambanog poisoning is caused by residual methanol, which in high levels becomes highly toxic for humans," health secretary Francisco T. Duque III explained in a statement. "Methanol is a naturally occurring substance present during the distilling process, that should be separated and removed thereafter.” The wine is a potent palm liquor distilled from coconut sap with an alcohol content of up to 40% to 45% by volume. The poisonings occurred in the Laguna and Quezon provinces of Luzon, the country's main island, with people complaining of symptoms such as stomach ache, dizziness and vomiting after drinking the generic brand of the coconut wine, CNN said. Some 265 people were hospitalized in the town of Rizal alone. Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the palace was “alarmed” over the reported cases of suspected poisoning, especially during the holidays where alcohol is usually present in parties. He cautioned the public against purchasing alcohol not approved by the FDA. Fred Rey, the owner of a local distillery who had a permit to operate, surrendered to police on Monday and could face multiple homicide and physical injuries charges, CNN Philippines reported. The sale of lambanog has been temporarily banned in Laguna, and Rizal declared a state of emergency on Monday so the government could offer financial assistance to the victims, the news outlet reported. It isn't the first instance of deaths due to coconut wine poisoning in the Philippines. Just last year, at least 20 people in the regions of southern Tagalog and central Luzon died after drinking lambanog.

26d70683c65c97070e41349f11203b11

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/24/terror-attack-burkina-faso/2745572001/

Dozens of civilians, jihadists killed in attack in Burkina Faso

Dozens of civilians, jihadists killed in attack in Burkina Faso OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso – Jihadists attacked a town in northern Burkina Faso and killed 35 civilians, most of them women, and ensuing clashes with security forces left 80 jihadists dead, the West African nation’s president announced late Tuesday. The violence, which erupted in the town of Arbinda in Sahel region near the country’s border with Mali, lasted for several hours, according to a military statement. Seven members of the security forces who responded also were killed. Jihadist attacks are frequent in the area but the provisional toll released Tuesday evening was unprecedented. “The heroic action of our soldiers has made it possible to neutralize 80 terrorists,” President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said. “This barbaric attack resulted in the death of 35 civilians, most of them women.” It was not immediately clear where the women were at the time of the attack and why so many died. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. A number of Islamic extremist groups are known to operate in Burkina Faso, though they generally do not usually come forward when civilian casualties are high. For years Burkina Faso was spared the kind of Islamic extremism long seen across the border in Mali, where it took a 2013 French-led military intervention to dislodge jihadists from power in several major towns. That changed with a pair of deadly attacks in 2016 and 2017 in the capital of Ouagadougou, both of which targeted spots popular with foreigners. Frequent attacks in the country’s north and east already have displaced more than a half million people, according to the United Nations. At least 37 civilians were killed in the east last month when suspected jihadists ambushed a convoy carrying employees of Canadian mining company Semafo in eastern Burkina Faso. While Burkina Faso’s military has received training from both former colonizer France and the United States, it has so far failed to stem the surge in extremist violence. Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/25/north-korea-gift-deadline-deal-nears-us-awaits-christmas-gift/2746132001/

Vase or missiles? US awaits Christmas 'gift' from North Korea's Kim

Vase or missiles? US awaits Christmas 'gift' from North Korea's Kim Christmas has come and gone in North Korea with no apparent "gift" thus far bestowed on the United States by the secluded, secretive nation. North Korea's Kim Jong Un, impatient with the progress of Korean Peninsula denuclearization talks between the two nations, had promised an unspecified Christmas gift for the U.S. if no deal was struck. Pyongyang's time zone is 14 hours ahead of Washington. The veiled threat came after months of sometimes diplomacy, sometimes bluster and little progress between the two nations. President Donald Trump met with Kim at the Hanoi Summit in late February, which led to working-level talks in Stockholm in October. Trump has consistently framed the negotiations in positive terms, but no concrete agreements have been reached. 'Christmas gift' raises concerns Earlier this month, the North Korean foreign ministry issued a statement reiterating Kim's year-end deadline for an agreement. The statement described dialogue touted by the U.S. as "a foolish trick" aimed at delaying any action by North Korea until after the November election. "What is left to be done now is the U.S. option, and it is entirely up to the U.S. what Christmas gift it will select to get," the statement said. Trump shrugs off threat Trump downplayed Kim's comment, facetiously suggesting that Kim could be planning to give him “a nice present“ rather than a missile launch. “Maybe it’s a present where he sends me a beautiful vase as opposed to a missile test,” Trump said. “I may get a nice present from him. You don’t know. You never know.” Sticking points are extensive The U.S. has been unwilling to sharply curtail the crippling economic sanctions that have weighed down the already battered North Korean economy unless Pyongyang completely swears off its nuclear arsenal. Kim has balked, demanding an end to those sanctions before signing off on any disarmament. North Korean gift options If not a vase, then what? North Korea already has conducted more than a dozen short-range missile and rocket tests since May. Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst on Korea issues, says she expects Kim to announce on Jan. 1 that he's giving up on diplomacy and will end a two-year, self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests. Kelly Craft, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has warned that Pyongyang could be planning the launch of space vehicles using long-range ballistic-missile technology. UN emphasizes diplomacy In New York, United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric commented on behalf of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the increasing tensions. “Our message is to the leadership of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to work for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and to resume working‑level talks with the United States. Diplomatic engagement is the only pathway to sustainable peace and complete denuclearization and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” Dujarric said. China calls for 'concrete steps' China, entangled with the U.S. in tense trade negotiations, called for the U.S. to take "concrete steps asap" toward a deal with North Korea. "We encourage (North Korea) and US to work out a feasible roadmap for establishing a permanent peace regime & realizing complete denuclearization on the Peninsula," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Twitter. Contributing: Deirdre Shesgreen and David Jackson

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/26/christmas-typhoon-philippines-leaves-least-16-people-dead/2748074001/

Typhoon barrels through Philippines on Christmas Day, leaves at least 16 dead

Typhoon barrels through Philippines on Christmas Day, leaves at least 16 dead MANILA, Philippines – A typhoon that barreled through the central Philippines over Christmas left at least 16 people dead and forced thousands to flee their homes, officials said. Typhoon Phanfone made landfall on Christmas Eve and hit several islands in the Visayas group on Christmas Day in the predominantly Catholic country. It brought heavy rains, strong winds and flash floods that caused thousands to evacuate their homes and left thousands more stranded in ports around the country. Several people were still reported missing Thursday, according to disaster management officials. Phanfone weakened slightly on its way toward the South China Sea with maximum sustained winds of up to 75 mph and gusts of up to 93 mph, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. It was forecast to leave Philippine territory by Saturday.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/26/solar-eclipse-annular-ring-fire-photos-middle-east-asia/2748155001/

Thousands witness rare 'ring of fire,' the last solar eclipse of the decade

Thousands witness rare 'ring of fire,' the last solar eclipse of the decade Thousands marveled at the sky Thursday as they caught a glimpse of the last solar eclipse of the decade. The rare "ring of fire," an annular solar eclipse in which a thin outer ring is visible from behind the moon, could be seen along a path stretching from India and Pakistan to Thailand and Indonesia. Crowds gathered to gaze skyward as the sun transformed into a dark orb for more than two minutes, briefly plunging the sky into darkness. While many cheered and clapped at the celestial event, hundreds prayed at nearby mosques. Telescopes and hundreds of special glasses were provided by authorities to protect viewers’ eyes. "How amazing to see the ring of fire when the sun disappeared slowly," said Firman Syahrizal, a resident of Sinabang in Indonesia's Banda Aceh province who witnessed the eclipse with his family. The most recent annular solar eclipse, in February 2017, also was visible over a slice of Indonesia. Nearly a year from now – on Dec. 14 – will be the first total solar eclipse of the new decade. Travel and Leisure reports that for a few minutes in Chile and Argentina, the moon's shadow will totally conceal the sun. Christmas storms:Winter storm moves across California, bringing rain, snow, wind 'Eclipse blindness' is a real thing:How to know which solar eclipse glasses are safe. But if you can't wait that long, the next partial solar eclipse will take place June 21. Parts of Africa, including the Central African Republic, Congo and Ethiopia; south of Pakistan and northern India; and China will be able to see another annular solar eclipse, Timeanddate.com says. Contributing: Joshua Bote, USA TODAY; the Associated Press. Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/26/swiss-ski-resort-avalanche-injures-2-more-buried-underneath/2750805001/

Swiss ski resort avalanche injures two, and more may be buried

Swiss ski resort avalanche injures two, and more may be buried FRANKFURT, Germany – An avalanche swept across a marked ski trail near the Swiss town of Andermatt on Thursday, injuring two people. Four others were rescued or extricated themselves from the snow unhurt. Police and rescuers searched the snowslide after witnesses said more people might be buried. The avalanche occurred midmorning while many holiday skiers enjoyed mountain sunshine the day after Christmas. The German DPA news agency reported that heavy snow in recent days raised the avalanche danger to level 3, meaning significant danger. The two slightly injured people were flown to a hospital by the Alpine rescue service.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/27/angry-british-tortoise-accidentally-started-house-fire-christmas/2757010001/

'Angry' tortoise accidentally started a house fire on Christmas

'Angry' tortoise accidentally started a house fire on Christmas A grouchy-looking tortoise was rescued from a Christmas Day fire of his own making in the United Kingdom. The 45-year-old reptile, who lives in the city of Essex, accidentally started a small house fire by knocking a heat lamp on his bedding Wednesday morning, according to the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service. After neighbors heard a smoke alarm and contacted authorities, firefighters found the flame in one room and extinguished it, only to find the shelled suspect in its midst. Per reports:Spirit Airlines bans passenger whose e-cigarette set off a plane's smoke alarm The fire department shared an image of the tortoise on Facebook: “This 45 year old tortoise might look angry but it's his lucky day,” the photo caption reads. In a statement, Gary Wain, fire captain of the Great Dunmow Fire Station, said this incident proves the importance of smoke alarms throughout a home. “Even if you're not home, they will alert anyone close by to the first sign of fire,” he said. "This tortoise has had a very lucky Christmas Day – he is 45 years young and will now hopefully continue to live a long and happy life thanks to working smoke alarms." Follow Joshua Bote on Twitter: @joshua_bote

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/28/thai-cave-rescue-death-thai-navy-seal-dies-of-infection/2766166001/

Thai SEAL dies of blood infection contracted during cave rescue last year

Thai SEAL dies of blood infection contracted during cave rescue last year BANGKOK — A Thai navy SEAL who was part of the dramatic rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave has died of a blood infection contracted during the risky operation, the Royal Thai Navy said. Petty Officer 1st Class Bayroot Pakbara was receiving treatment but his condition worsened after the infection spread into his blood, according to an announcement on the Thai navy SEAL's Facebook page. He is the second navy diver who lost his life in the high-profile operation that saw the boys and the coach extracted from deep inside the northern cave complex, where they were trapped for two weeks in June-July last year. Lt. Cmdr. Saman Gunan died while resupplying oxygen tanks on July 6, 2018. Aug. 2018:Three boys who were trapped in cave and their coach get Thai citizenship July 2018:Heads shaved, rescued Thai cave boys to become Buddhist novices According to the Bangkok Post daily, Pakbara was buried Friday at the Talosai mosque in southern Satun province. Local media quoted his mother as saying her son had been in and out of the hospital since the cave rescue. The boys and their coach entered the Tham Luang cave complex after soccer practice and were quickly trapped inside by rising floodwater. Despite a massive search, the boys spent nine nights lost in the cave before they were spotted by an expert diver. It would take another eight days before they were all safe. A team of expert divers guided each of the boys out of the cave on special stretchers. The operation required placing oxygen canisters along the path where the divers maneuvered dark, tight and twisting passageways filled with muddy water and strong currents.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/28/thousands-koalas-feared-dead-australia-ravaged-wildfires/2763228001/

Thousands of koalas feared dead as wildfires ravage Australia

Thousands of koalas feared dead as wildfires ravage Australia PERTH, Australia — Thousands of koalas are feared dead in a wildfire-ravaged area north of Sydney, further diminishing Australia’s iconic marsupial, while the fire danger increased in the country’s east on Saturday as temperatures soared. The mid-northern coast of New South Wales was home to up to 28,000 koalas, but wildfires have significantly reduced their population in recent months. Koalas are native to Australia and are one of the country’s most beloved animals, but they’ve been under threat due to a loss of habitat. “Up to 30% of their habitat has been destroyed,” Australia’s environment minister, Sussan Ley, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “We’ll know more when the fires are calmed down and a proper assessment can be made.” Images shared of koalas drinking water after being rescued from the wildfires have gone viral on social media in recent days. “I get mail from all around the world from people absolutely moved and amazed by our wildlife volunteer response and also by the habits of these curious creatures,” Ley said. Ellenborough Lewis:The koala whose rescue gained worldwide attention, has died, hospital says About 12 million acres have burned nationwide during the wildfire crisis, with nine people killed and more than 1,000 homes destroyed. Fire danger in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory was upgraded to “severe” on Saturday, as high temperatures built up over the region. Sydney’s western suburbs reached 106 degrees, while the inner city is expected to hit 88 degrees Sunday before reaching 95 degrees Tuesday. Two wildfires in New South Wales are at the “watch and act” level issued by fire services. Canberra, Australia’s capital, peaked at 100 degrees Saturday, with oppressive temperatures forecast for the next seven days. Meanwhile, New South Wales Emergency Services Minister David Elliott has gone on an overseas family vacation in the wake of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s much-criticized family trip to Hawaii. Morrison, who apologized for going away, eventually cut short his vacation and returned to Sydney last weekend. Elliott said he will be briefed daily while overseas. “If the bushfire situation should demand it, I will return home without hesitation,” he said.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/29/italian-alps-avalanche-1-skier-dead-dolomite-mountains-italy/2769128001/

Avalanche kills skier in Italy: 4th fatality in 24 hours in the Italian Alps

Avalanche kills skier in Italy: 4th fatality in 24 hours in the Italian Alps ROME – An avalanche has killed a skier in the Dolomite Mountains, the fourth avalanche fatality in the Italian Alps in 24 hours. Italian state TV said the skier was among four people struck by the avalanche near a mountain refuge Sunday morning. A day earlier, a wall of snow crashed into a group of German skiers in the Senales valley of Bolzano province, killing two 7-year-old girls and the mother of one of them. Prosecutors say they are investigating whether that slope should have been closed to the public that day, given a high risk of avalanches. Strong winds have raised the danger of avalanches in Italian Alpine ski areas, which are crowded with vacationers during the holidays. Swiss ski resort avalanche:Two injured, more may be buried Winter weather:Storm to hit nation's middle from north to south, delaying flights

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/29/north-korea-meeting-deadline-nears/2768828001/

'It's a situation that concerns us': National security adviser says US still expects 'gift' from North Korea

'It's a situation that concerns us': National security adviser says US still expects 'gift' from North Korea National security adviser Robert O'Brien said Sunday the U.S. is still expecting the "Christmas gift" North Korea promised to deliver if progress is not made in negotiations between the two nations ahead of an end-of-year deadline imposed by leader Kim Jong Un. O'Brien said in an interview on ABC's "This Week" that the U.S. "always monitors the situation" in North Korea and noted that Kim "has said there would be something over Christmas." O'Brien said Kim and President Donald Trump "have a good relationship personally" and expressed hope that "perhaps he's reconsidered" his regime's Christmas threat. "But we will have to wait and see. We're going to monitor it closely. It's a situation that concerns us, of course," O'Brien said. North Korean state media reported the country opened a high-profile meeting of the ruling Worker's Party's Central Committee in Pyongyang on Saturday. The same meeting in 2018 was used to announce the suspension of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests (ICMB) tests. Observers believe this year's conference could be used to announce the resumption of such tests as talks with the U.S. have faltered. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that leader Kim presided over the "first-day session" of the meeting, which is intended to "overcome the manifold and harsh trials and difficulties and further accelerate the development of the revolution with transparent anti-imperialist independent stand and firm will." The meeting will also discuss "important matters" in the party and national defense, KCNA said. Vase or missiles?:US awaits Christmas 'gift' from North Korea's Kim More:Trump jokes Kim Jong Un's 'Christmas gift' could be a 'nice vase,' but first lady gets a card At their first summit in Singapore in 2018, Trump was able to secure a promise from Kim to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, which the administration touted as a major foreign policy win. North Korea proceeded to halt tests and missile launches, and began to dismantle key testing sites. But the second summit between the two leaders was cut short and the talks have stalled. Since the end of that meeting in Hanoi between the two leaders, North Korea has resumed missile tests and has threatened to start launching long-range missiles again. Testing has also resumed at a long-range missile site Kim had begun to dismantle in 2018. North Korea has demanded swifter and broader removal of the sanctions plaguing its already beleaguered economy while the U.S. has sought the total dismantling of its nuclear program. In April, Kim said that if the U.S. did not bring something new to the table by the end of the year, his regime would seek a "new path." Earlier this month, a North Korean official said it "is entirely up to the U.S. what Christmas gift it will select to get." With troops anxiously waiting to see what sort of gift the regime has in mind, an alarm was accidentally sent blaring across a U.S. military base in South Korea Saturday instead of the intended bugle call. A public affairs officer attributed the mistake to "human error." When asked how the U.S. would respond if North Korea announced it would restart nuclear and long-range missile tests, O'Brien said, "Kim Jong Un promised to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. We want to hold him to that commitment." "And we hope he follows through with the commitment that he made in Singapore," O'Brien said. "But, if he doesn't, we have other tools in the toolkit, as the United States, and we will use those as necessary." Without offering any specifics, O'Brien said "additional pressure can be brought to bear on the North Koreans" and if Kim resumes testing, "we will be extraordinarily disappointed – and we will demonstrate that disappointment." O'Brien stressed that Trump had taken "a different tack" than other administrations that had failed to address the North Korea situation, which he called the "most difficult challenge in the world when President Trump took office." John Bolton, who served as national security adviser until September, said in a recent interview that the Trump administration has made "no visible progress" on North Korea. O'Brien said the president and Bolton "did not always see eye to eye on how to conduct American diplomacy" and disputed the criticism about a lack of progress, pointing to the halt in nuclear tests. "We've diffused a very high tension situation, and so we're going to have to see if the president's approach works," O'Brien said. "But, look, like Ambassador Bolton, the president has no illusions that this is a very dangerous, concerning matter." He said that the administration had not called for regime change and that Trump promised Kim "an extraordinarily bright future with a great economy" if he gives up his nuclear ambitions. "Now, whether they take that opportunity or not, we'll have to see. And if they don't take it, the United States is still the leading military power in the world," O'Brien said. Contributing: The Associated Press 'An expiration date on the bromance':Trump's friendly ties with Kim Jong Un faces new test More:North Korea claims another 'crucial test' at its rocket launch site More:North Korea warns US may get nasty 'Christmas gift' if nuke deal not reached by Dec. 31 deadline

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/29/us-strikes-iran-backed-militia-behind-attack-killed-american/2770555001/

US conducts strikes in Iraq, Syria on Iran-backed militia behind attack that killed American, Pentagon says

US conducts strikes in Iraq, Syria on Iran-backed militia behind attack that killed American, Pentagon says The U.S. carried out military strikes on five sites in Iraq and Syria that were linked to the Iranian-backed militia that was responsible for a rocket attack that killed an American contractor last week, a Pentagon spokesman said in a statement. The "precision defensive strikes" targeted weapons depots and command centers belonging to Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades, according to Defense Department spokesman Jonathan Hoffman. Three of the sites were in Iraq and two in Syria. The Iraqi military's Joint Operations Command said in a statement that three U.S. airstrikes hit the headquarters of the Kataeb Hezbollahs at the Iraq-Syria border, killing four fighters. A militia spokesman said the strikes left at least 19 of its members dead. Hoffman said Kataeb Hezbollah – which is separate from the Lebanese Hezbollah – was behind attacks on U.S. and coalition forces, including an attack Friday in which at least 30 rockets were fired at an Iraqi military base in Kirkuk. That attack left an American contractor dead and four U.S. service members, as well as two Iraqi soldiers, wounded. He said the U.S. strikes would limit the militia's ability to carry out future attacks on coalition forces. "The U.S. and its coalition partners fully respect Iraqi sovereignty and support a strong and independent Iraq. The U.S., however, will not be deterred from exercising its right of self-defense," Hoffman said. Hoffman said Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi – who is serving in an interim role after resigning in November amid massive unrest and anti-government protests that left about 500 people dead – "have shared with each other their commitment" to see the Kataeb Hezbollah attacks "cease once and for all." But on Sunday, Abdul-Mahdi condemned the strikes and said Esper called him just 30 minutes ahead of time to tell him the U.S. was about to retaliate for Friday's rocket attack. Abdul-Mahdi called the U.S. strikes a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and a "dangerous escalation that threatens the security of Iraq and the region." The Pentagon said Kataeb Hezbollah "has a strong linkage to Iran's Quds Force has repeatedly received lethal aid and other support from Iran." The Quds Force is an elite part of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which President Donald Trump designated a foreign terrorist organization in April. "Iran and their KH proxy forces must cease their attacks on U.S. and coalition forces, and respect Iraq's sovereignty, to prevent additional defensive actions by U.S. forces," Hoffman said. Contributing: The Associated Press

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/12/30/sudan-protests-27-sentenced-death-torturing-ahmed-al-khair/2773526001/

Sudan sentences 27 security officials to death for torturing, killing protester

Sudan sentences 27 security officials to death for torturing, killing protester CAIRO – A Sudanese court on Monday sentenced 27 members of the country’s security forces to death for torturing and killing a detained protester during the uprising against longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir earlier this year. The death of protester Ahmed al-Khair, a school teacher, while in detention in February was a key point – and a symbol – in the uprising that eventually led to the military’s ouster of al-Bashir. Monday’s convictions and sentences, which can be appealed, were the first connected to the killings of protesters in the revolt. Last December, the first rally was held in Sudan to protest the soaring cost of bread and the dire economic conditions, marking the beginning of a pro-democracy movement that convulsed the large African country. That led, in April, to the toppling of al-Bashir, and ultimately to the creation of a joint military-civilian Sovereign Council that has committed to rebuilding the country and promises elections in three years. The anniversary of that protest this month drew teeming crowds to the streets in several cities and towns across the country, with people singing, dancing and carrying flags. A train packed with exuberant demonstrators, clapping and chanting, arrived in the northern city of Atbara, the birthplace of the uprising, from the capital, Khartoum. Monday’s verdict in the trial of the security forces took place in a court in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city, where hundreds of protesters, including many from the eastern province of Kassala, al-Khair’s hometown, had gathered outside the courtroom and elsewhere in the city. Footage circulating online shows the protesters cheering after the verdict was announced. The Sudanese Professionals Association, an umbrella group of unions that led the protests against al-Bashir, welcomed the verdict. The group vowed to continue pursuing and bringing to justice security officials accused of torture. Mohammed al-Feki Soliman, a member of the Sovereign Council, said the verdict “renews the Sudanese people’s trust in their judicial institutions.” Al-Khair was detained on Jan. 31 in Kassala and was reported dead two days later. His body was taken to a local hospital where his family said it was covered in bruises. At the time, police denied any police wrongdoing and blamed his death on an “illness,” without providing any details. Judge al-Sadik al-Amin al-Fek, however, said on Monday that the teacher was beaten and tortured while in detention. “His death was an inevitable consequence of the beating and torture,” he said. The court also sentenced three other members of the security forces to three years each in prison, and acquitted seven suspects in the case. All the sentenced were policemen who were working in the jail where al-Khair was held or intelligence agents in the region. Following a tradition based on Islamic law, or Sharia, the court gave al-Khair’s family the opportunity to “forgive” the suspects, which could have led to their pardon, but the offer was declined. Taj al-Ser Ali al-Hebr, the country’s top prosecutor, welcomed the verdict as a “victory.” He called on the government to join the U.N. Convention Against Torture. Earlier this month, a court in Khartoum convicted al-Bashir, who was jailed by the military after he was removed from power, of money laundering and corruption, and sentenced him to two years in a minimum security lockup. The image of the former dictator in a defendant’s cage on live TV sent a strong message for all of Sudan. However, the deposed ruler is under indictment by the International Criminal Court on far more serious charges of war crimes and genocide linked to his brutal suppression of the insurgency in the western province of Darfur in the early 2000s. The military has refused to extradite him to stand trial in The Hague. Al-Bashir is now awaiting a separate trial, on charges of involvement in the killing of protesters in the months prior to his ouster. Amnesty International and other rights groups have called on the new government to hold security forces accountable for killing scores of people in their efforts to stifle protests against military rule, especially those behind a deadly crackdown on a huge sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum last June. Since last December, more than 200 protesters have been killed in Sudan. The government recently appointed independent judges to oversee investigations into the killings, a major achievement for the protest movement. Sudan is under heavy international and regional pressure to reform. With the economy on the brink, the new government has made it a mission to get Sudan removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism so that it can attract badly needed foreign aid. But the transitional government on Sunday passed the 2020 budget that dropped proposals to slash food and fuel subsidies. The pro-democracy movement fears that the austerity measures could led to a spike in the inflation rate which increased to 60% in November. Sudan is expected to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. But that would require the government to cut food and fuel subsidies and further devalue the local currency, said the IMF’s Daniel Kanda after a visit to Sudan earlier this month. Sudanese Information Minister Faisal Saleh said the government decided to postpone cutting subsidies until an economic conference the country plans to hold in March. China:Scientist who claimed to make world's first gene-edited babies sentenced to 3 years Jimmy Carter:95-year-old returns to hometown church for first time since brain surgery

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/01/02/iranian-military-leader-qassim-soleimani-killed-airstrike-iraq/2800808001/

US launched Baghdad airstrike that killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani

US launched Baghdad airstrike that killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani The Pentagon launched an airstrike Thursday night that killed a powerful Iranian military leader, Gen. Qasem Soleimani, at Baghdad’s international airport. The Defense Department said it conducted the attack at President Donald Trump's direction as a "defensive action" against Soleimani, who it said was planning further attacks on American diplomats and service members. Soleimani is an extremely influential figure inside Iran, heading Iran's elite Quds Force, part of the country's hard-line paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corps. "General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region," the Defense Department said in a statement Thursday night. "General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more." Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran would observe three days of national mourning while also warning that "severe revenge awaits the criminals." The attack represented a seismic event in the Middle East and sparked immediate fears of a wider confrontation between the U.S. and Iran. "This is a major blow to the Iranians, symbolically as well as strategically," said Naysan Rafati, a senior Iran analyst with the International Crisis Group, which seeks to prevent global conflict. "There has been no individual as deeply associated with Iran's regional network of partners and proxies as Soleimani, which made him a hero to Tehran's allies and a villain without peer to its rivals." Rafati said that while the Pentagon said the strike's aim was to deter further Iranian attacks, "in the short term, there is a very real possibility of retaliatory action by Iran that could reverberate across the region." Lawmakers echoed that concern. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat and member of the Armed Services Committee, said the attack that killed Soleimani could trigger a major military escalation with Iran. “There’s no question Soleimani had American blood on his hands,” Blumenthal said Thursday night. “He was an enemy. But this step could lead to the most consequential military confrontation in decades.” Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, applauded the Trump administration's decision to target Soleimani. But, he added, “I now urge the administration to be prepared for possible retaliation, including against U.S. troops stationed in the region, and to consult closely with Congress on any next steps should the situation escalate." The Associated Press reported that Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of an Iran-backed militia organization known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, was also killed in the attack, along with several other officials. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. President Donald Trump posted an image of the American flag on Twitter Thursday night, as the social media platform alighted with speculation about U.S. involvement in the attacks. The State Department on Friday issued a new travel warning for Americans in Iraq – urging them to leave the country immediately if possible. “Due to heightened tensions in Iraq and the region, the U.S. Embassy urges American citizens to … depart Iraq immediately,” a Jan. 3 security alert states. The notice said that due to Iranian-backed militia attacks at the U.S. Embassy compound, all public consular operations are suspended until further notice. “U.S. citizens should not approach the embassy.” The airstrikes came just days after Iran-backed militias stormed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, temporarily stranding American diplomats inside. The two-day embassy siege ended Wednesday when the militia leaders ordered protesters to pull back. The incident prompted Trump to send about 750 additional U.S. soldiers to the Middle East. Earlier on Thursday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the Trump administration was prepared to act pre-emptively to prevent further Iranian attacks. "The game has changed and we're prepared to do what is necessary to defend our personnel, and our interests and our partners, in the region," Esper told reporters at the Pentagon. The breach at the embassy followed U.S. airstrikes on Sunday that killed 25 fighters of the Iran-backed militia in Iraq, the Kataeb Hezbollah. The U.S. military said the strikes were in retaliation for last week’s killing of an American contractor in a Dec. 27th rocket attack on an Iraqi military base that the U.S. blamed on the militia. The Defense Department said Thursday that Soleimani had "orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months - including the attack on Dec. 27th - culminating in the death and wounding of additional American and Iraqi personnel." The Iranian general also approved the attacks on the U.S. Embassy, the Pentagon said.

efdfdfe4c8697c8cb37e76873d3711ee

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/01/02/us-embassy-attack-iraq-shows-trumps-quandary-us-iran-escalation/2796231001/

‘Dangerous stalemate’: Attack on U.S. Embassy in Iraq part of Iran’s escalating aggression

‘Dangerous stalemate’: Attack on U.S. Embassy in Iraq part of Iran’s escalating aggression WASHINGTON – Ominous statements from Washington and Tehran on Thursday highlighted the quandary President Donald Trump faces in confronting an increasingly aggressive Iran, even though Iran-backed protesters pulled back from their attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The tensions were underscored when Defense Secretary Mike Esper warned that Iran might be planning additional military strikes on U.S. targets, just hours after a top Iranian military commander boasted that Tehran was "not worried" about the United States. "We have the power to break them several times over and are not worried," Revolutionary Guards Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami said, according to Tasnim, a government-affiliated news outlet. “We are not leading the country to war, but we are not afraid of any war." Trump and his top advisers have repeatedly touted their "maximum pressure" policy, a sanctions-driven campaign designed to isolate Tehran diplomatically and cripple the country economically. But the recent clashes demonstrate that Iran has its own strategy, one that has proven remarkably effective. Iran's leaders, and its proxy forces in places like Iraq, remain willing and able to lash out at the U.S. – causing spikes in global oil prices, undermining American allies and threatening U.S. assets abroad. "They’re showing our impotence," said Barbara Slavin, director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council, a foreign policy think tank in Washington. "This is maximum resistance to maximum pressure." The embassy protest erupted Tuesday, two days after U.S. airstrikes hit Iranian-backed militia targets in Iraq and killed more than 25 people. The airstrikes were retaliation, U.S. officials said, for an Iranian-sponsored attack on an Iraqi base that killed an American civilian contractor and wounded American servicemen. Slavin and others said the U.S. response was counterproductive and demonstrates the dilemma Trump faces as he walks a tightrope between a war he doesn't want and capitulation his supporters would abhor. Risk of another strike? Iran's attack on the Iraq base may well have been designed to goad the U.S. into striking inside Iraq, according to an analysis by Abbas Kadhim, an expert on Iraq who is also with the Atlantic Council. "Tehran got exactly what it wanted," he wrote in a post Wednesday. Now, he noted, Iraqi political leaders are condemning the U.S. reprisal and some are even calling for the withdrawal of American troops from that strategic country. Meanwhile, Iran is likely searching for yet another way to strike the U.S., as Esper hinted on Thursday. "In the dangerous stalemate between the US and Iran ... the US has to expect that Iran will react to any action by choosing another battlefield where the balance of power is more favorable," Gerard Araud, a former French ambassador to the U.S. and Israel, tweeted on Wednesday. "We saw it in the Gulf, we are seeing it in Iraq." Chants of 'Death to America' The embassy attack in Baghdad – a confrontational move that prompted Trump to dispatch hundreds of additional U.S. troops to the region – immediately captured Washington's attention and revived memories of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. That standoff lasted 444 days and helped doom then-President Jimmy Carter's bid for re-election. As in 1979, the protesters in Baghdad this week shouted "Death to America!" and smashed their way into the diplomatic compound, setting fire to a reception area as U.S. combat helicopters swooped over the complex. Images from the scene at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad revealed extensive damage, showing a burned and charred reception area, smashed windows and vandalized rooms left behind by supporters and members of the Iranian-trained Hashed al-Shaabi military network, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported, and the embassy was not evacuated. This week's tit-for-tat aggressions in Iraq are part of a broader campaign that stretches back to Trump's decision to withdraw in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal, a multilateral agreement aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions but which Trump blasted as weak. The U.S. has since imposed massive sanctions on Iran in an effort to force Tehran to negotiate a new deal. Trump's advisers have demanded that Iran end its ballistic missile program and stop funding proxy forces in the region, among other steps. None of that has worked. Instead, according to U.S. officials, Iran sabotaged oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in May, downed a U.S. drone in June and struck Saudi oil facilities in September. The Saudi attack alone disrupted more than 5% of the world's daily oil supply. "The Iranians have not stopped trying to extend their influence in the region. The Iranians have not come back on bended knee to accept a new nuclear negotiation with more Iranian concessions," said Robert Ford, a former U.S. ambassador to Syria and Algeria. "The Iranians didn't even agree to meet Trump in New York last September," despite Trump's repeated entreaties to Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, said Ford, now a senior fellow at Yale University and the Middle East Institute in Washington. Now, with every escalation, "Trump's predicament worsens," Peter Beinart, a professor at the City University of New York, wrote a piece published Wednesday in The Atlantic. "His confidants insist that he can’t afford a war – which would likely boost oil prices and damage the economy – especially in an election year. Yet he also can’t pursue real diplomacy, at least not without provoking a confrontation with the GOP’s hawkish foreign-policy elite," Beinart writes. "He’s caught between his desire to avoid being like George W. Bush and his desire to avoid being like Barack Obama." Ford said the Trump administration's "maximalist position" may be viewed within Iran as an indication that the U.S. is more interested in regime change than any kind of compromise. "It looks to me like Tehran is hoping that in a year, Donald Trump will be gone," he said. Slavin said Trump has few palatable options to solve the current standoff. "We’ve already sanctioned Iran up to the eyeballs," she said. "We can kill some of their proxies here or there. But the next level is to attack Iran itself, and if we do that, then it's off to the races. We have another Middle East war – one that the U.S. doesn't want to fight" and that could result in another failed state, just like Iraq after the U.S. ousted Saddam Hussein. Contributing: John Bacon and the Associated Press

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/01/03/gen-qasem-soleimani-killing-iran-trump-tensions/2802802001/

Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vows vengeance for Gen. Qasem Soleimani's death

Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vows vengeance for Gen. Qasem Soleimani's death Iran warned Friday a "harsh retaliation is waiting" for the United States after top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was killed by the Pentagon in an airstrike. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed vengeance. Khamenei said in a statement published by Iranian state media that the "cruelest people on earth" assassinated the "honorable" commander who "courageously fought for years against the evils and bandits of the world." Khamenei called for three days of mourning. "His departure to God does not end his path or his mission," the statement said, published by Fars News Agency. "But a forceful revenge awaits the criminals who have his blood and the blood of the other martyrs last night on their hands." Soleimani was killed at Baghdad airport early Friday alongside members of Iran-backed militias operating in Iraq. The airstrike was ordered by President Donald Trump. Soleimani was killed while a convoy he was traveling in was leaving the airport. Iran funds and supports proxy militias across the Middle East. New escalation:U.S. launched airstrike that killed Iran's Qasem Soleimani The 62-year-old military commander played a key role in expanding Iran's influence and military reach in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. His death marks a new, major escalation between Tehran and Washington following Trump's withdrawal from a nuclear accord between Iran and world powers. Soleimani had a hand in virtually every significant Iranian military and intelligence operation stretching back two decades, including a recent two-day siege against the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that ended Wednesday. The assault led to the Pentagon rushing reinforcements to the diplomatic compound in Iraq. Pro-Iran protesters want U.S. troops to leave the country. Soleimani was widely viewed as one of Iran's most powerful men and, at home, a heroic national figure who was standing up to Trump's "maximum pressure" Iran strategy that includes stinging economic sanctions and confrontational rhetoric and military deployments. Soleimani headed Iran's U.S.-sanctioned, elite Quds Force, part of the nation's hard-line paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani called Soleimani's killing a "heinous crime" and said "Iran will take revenge," while Ali Rabiei, a spokesman for Iran’s cabinet, said that Iran’s response would be severe, swift and decisive. The Pentagon defended the targeting of Soleimani as a defensive action, saying that Soleimani had "orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months - including the attack on December 27th - culminating in the death and wounding of additional American and Iraqi personnel." The Trump administration considered him a terrorist and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Soleimani was killed because he was planning an "imminent attack." He said the operation "saved American lives." Key figure: What we know about the strike that killed Iran's Gen. Qasem Soleimani Sina Toossi, a researcher at the National Iranian American Council, a Washington-D.C.-based group that seeks to promote links between Americans and Iranians, noted on Twitter that Khamenei's chairing Friday of an emergency meeting of the National Security Council for the first time was a "sign of how serious & authoritative #Iran’s response to Soleimani's assassination will be." After the meeting, the National Security Council said it reached a decision on how to respond to the U.S. killing of Soleimani, but it didn't specify what the decision was. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, appeared to threaten U.S. troops in the region. "This is the time to clear the region from these insidious beasts," he said while leading Friday prayers in Tehran, according to state media. The cleric added: "I am telling Americans, especially Trump, we will take a revenge that will change their daylight into a nighttime darkness." Khamenei appointed Soleimani’s deputy, Maj. Gen. Esmail Ghaani as the new commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force. New Qusa Force chief Esmail Qaani: "We say to everyone be patient, you'll see the American corpses all over the Middle East." It is unclear what Iran's response will be, but the State Department urged U.S. citizens to leave Iraq "immediately," citing "heightened tensions." U.S. defense officials said 3,000 additional Amersoldiers would be sent to the Middle East following Soleimani’s killing, according to reports. Opinion:Attack on U.S. Embassy in Iraq shows Trump is failing Meanwhile, officials from China to Russia criticized the Pentagon's actions. Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the foreign affairs committee in Russia's parliament, called the U.S. airstrike "a mistake." He wrote in a social media post that "Iran may accelerate making a nuclear weapon now, even if it didn’t plan on doing it before," a reference to Tehran's insistence it is interested in nuclear activities for civilian purposes only, something Washington does not believe and is also one of the reasons Trump withdrew from the landmark 2015 nuclear accord negotiated by former President Barack Obama. The agreement saw Iran agree to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of sanctions on its lucrative oil industry. Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said Beijing was "highly concerned" about Soleimani's killing and called for "calm and restraint." Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said "conflict is in none of our interests." The European Union said "further escalation must be avoided at all costs." Israel, Iran's archenemy, said it was raising its military preparedness levels. Germany ordered all its soldiers in Iraq not to leave their bases. A United Nations official said Soleimani's killing was illegal. "Lawful justifications for such killings are very narrowly defined," said Agnes Callamard, the U.N.'s Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial executions, in a tweet. In the U.S., there was approval and condemnation for Trump's move. Kayleigh McEnany, press secretary for Trump's 2020 re-election campaign, claimed in an interview on Fox News that Soleimani's killing represented the "greatest foreign policy accomplishment of the decade, if not our lifetime." Pompeo:Qasem Soleimani killing was in response to 'imminent attack' And Trump's former hawkish national security adviser John Bolton tweeted his "congratulations to all involved in eliminating" Iran's top general. Bolton said that he hoped "this is the first step to regime change in Tehran." Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren said "Soleimani was a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans. But this reckless move escalates the situation with Iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict." Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, said, "Trump’s decision to kill Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad is a provocative act taken without congressional consultation or authorization, the potential consequences of which are unknown." Trump himself has said very little about the U.S. action, only tweeting Friday that "Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!" and that "Soleimani was both hated and feared within the country. They are not nearly as saddened as the leaders will let the outside world believe. He should have been taken out many years ago!" Animosity between Iran and the U.S. stretches back more than half a century to at least 1953, when the CIA helped oust Iran's democratically elected leader, Mohammad Mosaddegh, who wanted to retain control over Iran's oil reserves, and installed as his replacement the pro-western Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Pahlavi proved to be a reliable U.S. ally who helped counter the influence of the Soviet Union but he was toppled in 1979 as part of Iran's Islamic Revolution, a period that led to a hostage crisis at the U.S.'s then Embassy in Tehran. Relations never recovered and the Middle East region has, at various points, seen the slow build-up of U.S. military troops and bases from Bahrain to Syria as part of American wars and anti-terrorism operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond. Iran, which can't match Washington's military might, has sought to counter the U.S. presence by developing a secretive ballistic missile program operated by the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force and by backing regional militant allies or proxies to launch attacks on U.S. interests and allies. These allies include Iraqi militiamen, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels. In the latest attacks that the Trump administration blames on Iran or its proxies, oil facilities in Saudi Arabia were hit by a missile-and-drone strike in September, temporarily halving the kingdom's oil production. Iran also shot down a U.S. surveillance drone in the Strait of Hormuz, a key passageway for oil, and laid mines targeting oil tankers. At the time, Trump pulled back from retaliating for the attacks. Oil prices surged more than 4% Friday on concerns Iran may respond to Soleimani's killing by disrupting global supplies.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/01/04/iran-iraq-united-states-qasem-soleimani-trump/2804237001/

Iran official on Soleimani killing: 'The response for a military action is military action'

Iran official on Soleimani killing: 'The response for a military action is military action' Iran's ambassador to the United Nations said Saturday "the response for a military action is military action," as fears grew that a U.S. airstrike that killed the head of Tehran's elite Quds force and mastermind of its security and intelligence strategy will draw Washington and the Middle East region into a broader military conflict. Iran has already vowed an unspecified harsh retaliation for the killing of Gen. Qasem Soleimani near the Iraqi capital's international airport on Thursday. President Donald Trump said he ordered the strike to prevent a conflict with Iran because Soleimani was plotting attacks that endangered American troops and officials. No evidence was provided. A U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said that at least two missiles or mortars landed in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Saturday. The embassy was not hit. It was not immediately clear if they caused injuries elsewhere or who fired them. Iraq media reported that at least three Iraqi military personnel were injured in the attack. Analysts said because Iran can't match the U.S.'s military strength its potential targets for revenge range from rocket attacks on U.S. allies such as Israel to sabotaging oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passageway for oil supplies. Qasem Soleimani:Pentagon tracked Iran general for years before he was killed It could also embark on a sustained campaign of cyber-warfare or target American citizens and troops abroad near embassies and consulates or military installations. It will "not play out on U.S. televisions as some grand campaign. It will be asymmetric and messy, playing out on shipping lanes and computer servers," said Gregory Brew, a historian of Iran and its oil industry, in a social media post. Richard N. Haass, a former U.S. diplomat who worked for both Presidents Bush, said the "region (and possibly the world) will be the battlefield." But comments from Iran's New York-based envoy to the UN, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, that "we have to act and we will act" further raise the prospect of an all-out war. "The U.S. started the economic war in May 2018 and last night they started a military war by an act of terror against one of our top generals," Takht-Ravanchi said in remarks published by Iranian state media. Separately, a closer adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei told CNN in an interview Sunday that his country's response to the killing by the U.S. of one its most influential commanders will certainly be a military response "against military sites." 'I want to have peace':How Trump went from a vow to avoid conflict to an order to kill Iran general Trump abandoned a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers 18 months ago, reinstating sanctions on Iran's economy and oil sector. Soleimani's killing comes after months of rising tensions and tit-for-tat hostilities between the U.S. and Iran resulting from Trump's decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear accord negotiated by President Barack Obama. Among the hostilities: downing each other's drones in the Persian Gulf. Washington also accuses Iran of being behind a series of attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities in September, and of sabotaging and detaining allied oil tankers in the region in May and June. Iran has withdrawn from aspects of the accord in stages. It may announce another move away from the deal late Sunday or early Monday. How we got here:Qasem Soleimani's killing is the latest in Iran-US tensions The Iran envoy's remarks come as thousands of mourners marched in a funeral procession through Baghdad on Saturday for Iran's top general and Iraqi militant leaders – including Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, the leader of a pro-Iran militia group in Iraq – who were killed alongside Soleimani. The mourners chanted "Death to America, death to Israel" while carrying pictures of the two men. Iraq's prime minister joined the procession, according to Iran Front Page, a privately-held Iranian website that publishes news about Iran in English. There also appeared to be some celebrations in Baghdad over Soleimani's death, a point highlighted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. For while Soleimani was a consequential figure who was respected and feared in equal measure, he was also, as the former journalist and Middle East expert Kim Ghattas writes on the website of the Atlantic magazine, responsible for upholding "a repressive system and was seen as the man responsible for Iran's role in costly wars abroad." Angry protests erupt:U.S. kills Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani Soleimani's body was returned to Iran on late Saturday for a funeral and burial in his hometown, Kerman, in central Iran. Hundreds of thousands of mourners took to the streets across Iran on Sunday to pay their respects to a figure who is widely hailed as a war hero in Iran. The Trump administration labelled him a terrorist. As the head of Quds Force, a branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Soleimani directed pro-Iranian militias or proxies from Lebanon to Yemen. At the time of his death, he was managing and mobilizing militias across Iraq, including groups responsible for a recent siege on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Timeline: How tensions escalated with Iran since Trump exited nuke deal Osamah Khalil, a Middle East expert at Syracuse University, said that the killings of Soleimani and Al-Muhandis, "were a dangerous and ill-advised escalation by the United States. Their deaths will make it more difficult to resolve the ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran and will only destabilize Iraq further." Khalil added: "Rather than ending the endless wars as he promised, President Trump's actions have ensured more conflict and instability." Amelie de Montchalin, France's deputy minister for foreign affairs, told French radio that that the U.S. action had created "a more dangerous world." The Pentagon has deployed an extra 3,000 troops to the Middle East to help respond to any backlash. And Trump on Saturday gave Congress a defense of his decision to kill Soleimani, even as he warned Iran the U.S. would strike them again if they retaliate for the attack that has drawn protests in the U.S. and threats of revenge from Iran. "Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites" and they "WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD," Trump tweeted. "The USA wants no more threats!" Trump defends Soleimani killing:President warns Iran against retaliation Fabian Hinz, a Berlin-based expert in missile proliferation and Iran's military, said that while U.S. military technology and hardware capabilities far exceed Iran's, in the event of a full-blown conventional conflict a quagmire can be expected, and that Iran would likely restart its mothballed nuclear weapons program, undercutting the rationale for Trump's decision to pull out of the accord. "Iran would likely rely mostly on asymmetric capabilities in any conflict," said Hinz. "This will include ballistic missiles, proxy militias, naval swarming attacks, mini-submarines, drones and cyber attacks."

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/01/05/al-shabab-attacks-base-in-kenya/2818024001/

Al-Shabab extremists kill 3 Americans in attack on military base used by US forces in Kenya

Al-Shabab extremists kill 3 Americans in attack on military base used by US forces in Kenya NAIROBI, Kenya – Al-Shabab extremists overran a key military base used by U.S. counterterror forces in Kenya before dawn Sunday, killing three American Department of Defense personnel and destroying several U.S. aircraft and vehicles before they were repelled, U.S. and Kenyan authorities said. The attack on the Manda Bay Airfield was the al-Qaida-linked group’s first attack against U.S. forces in the East African country, and the military called the security situation “fluid” several hours after the assault. Five attackers were killed, Kenyan military spokesman Paul Njuguna said. Al-Shabab, based in neighboring Somalia, claimed responsibility for the assault. One U.S. serviceman and two contractors with the U.S. Department of Defense were killed in the fighting, according to a statement issued late Sunday by the U.S. Africa Command, or Africom. It's 'time for American troops to leave':Iraq votes to expel U.S. troops after Iran Gen. Qasem Soleimani's killing The attack on the compound “involved indirect and small arms fire. After an initial penetration of the perimeter, Kenya Defense Forces and U.S. Africa Command repelled the al-Shabaab attack,” said the AFRICOM statement. “Reports indicate that six contractor-operated civilian aircraft were damaged to some degree. Manda Bay Airfield is utilized by U.S. forces whose missions include providing training to our African partners, responding to crises, and protecting U.S. interests in this strategically important area.” Al-Shabab claimed that there were 17 U.S. casualties, nine Kenyan soldiers killed and seven aircraft destroyed. The U.S. Africa Command dismissed the al-Shabab claims as exaggerated and said U.S. and Kenyan forces repelled the attack. Kenya is a key base for fighting al-Shabab, one of the world’s most resilient extremist organizations. A large plume of black smoke rose above the airfield Sunday and residents said a car bomb had exploded. Lamu county commissioner Irungu Macharia told The Associated Press that five suspects were arrested and were being interrogated. An internal Kenyan police report seen by the AP said two fixed-wing aircraft, a U.S. Cessna and a Kenyan one, were destroyed along with two U.S. helicopters and multiple U.S. vehicles at the Manda Bay military airstrip. The report said explosions were heard at around 5:30 a.m. from the direction of the airstrip. The scene, now secured, indicated that al-Shabab likely entered “to conduct targeted attacks,” the report said. The U.S. military said only that “initial reports reflect damage to infrastructure and equipment.” The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority said the airstrip was closed for all operations. The military’s Camp Simba in Lamu county, established more than a decade ago, has under 100 U.S. personnel, according to Pentagon figures. U.S. forces at the adjoining Manda Bay airfield train and give counterterror support to East African partners. A U.S. flag-raising at the camp in August signaled its change “from tactical to enduring operations,” the Air Force said at the time. According to another internal Kenyan police report seen by the AP, dated Friday, a villager that day said he had spotted 11 suspected al-Shabab members entering Lamu’s Boni forest, which the extremists have used as a hideout. The report said Kenyan authorities didn’t find them. Al-Shabab has launched a number of attacks inside Kenya, including against civilian targets such as buses, schools and shopping malls. The group has been the target of a growing number of U.S. airstrikes inside Somalia during President Donald Trump’s administration. Be on alert:Department of Homeland Security sends out new terrorism threat bulletin in wake of Soleimani killing The latest attack comes just over a week after an al-Shabab truck bomb in Somalia’s capital killed at least 79 people and U.S. airstrikes killed seven al-Shabab fighters in response. Last year, al-Shabab attacked a U.S. military base inside Somalia, Baledogle, that is used to launch drone strikes but reportedly failed to make their way inside. The extremist group also has carried out multiple attacks against Kenyan troops in the past in retaliation for Kenya sending troops to Somalia to fight it. This attack marks a significant escalation of al-Shabab’s campaign of attacks inside Kenya, said analyst Andrew Franklin, a former U.S. Marine and longtime Kenya resident. “Launching a deliberate assault of this type against a well-defended permanent base occupied by (Kenya Defence Forces), contractors and U.S. military personnel required a great deal of planning, rehearsals, logistics and operational capability,” he said. Previous attacks against security forces have mainly been ambushes on Kenyan army or police patrols. The early Sunday attack comes days after a U.S. airstrike killed Iran’s top military commander and Iran vowed retaliation, but al-Shabab is a Sunni Muslim group and there is no sign of links to Shiite Iran or proxies. “No, this attack was no way related to that incident” in the Middle East, an al-Shabab spokesman told the AP on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/01/05/iraq-expel-us-troops-iran-gen-qasem-soleimanis-killing/2817992001/

Iraq votes to expel U.S. troops after Iran Gen. Qasem Soleimani's killing

Iraq votes to expel U.S. troops after Iran Gen. Qasem Soleimani's killing In a sign of Iraq's mounting anger over a U.S. drone attack that killed Iran's top general, Qasem Soleimani, as well as an Iraqi leader of Tehran-backed militias, Iraq's Parliament on Sunday voted to expel U.S. military forces from the country. The development came as Iran said it was all but abandoning the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that the Trump administration exited in May 2018. Since the U.S. withdrawal from the accord, tensions with Iran have steadily increased. Iraq's Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi told lawmakers that a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops, including U.S. ones, was required "for the sake of our national sovereignty." About 5,000 American troops are in various parts of Iraq. Mahdi described the strike authorized by President Donald Trump as a "political assassination" and said it was "time for American troops to leave." Iran official on Soleimani killing:'The response for a military action is military action' The resolution was supported by a majority of about 180 lawmakers present in Parliament, according to Iraqi media. It was backed by most Shiite members of parliament, who hold a majority of seats. Many Sunni and Kurdish legislators did not show up for the session, likely because they oppose the initiative. Tensions rising The vote came two days after Soleimani was killed inside Iraq, dramatically ratcheting up tensions between Washington, and Tehran and Baghdad. It was not immediately clear to what extent the resolution would be implemented. It is nonbinding. The resolution specifically calls for ending an agreement in which Washington sent troops to Iraq more than four years ago to help in the fight against the Islamic State group. Ahead of the vote, U.S.-led coalition forces battling the remnants of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria announced a "pause" in operations precipitated by the need to protect U.S. and coalition troops on bases in Iraq. Iran's leadership has vowed revenge for Soleimani's killing and signaled it may target U.S. military personnel in the region. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has threatened "severe revenge." Iran moving away from nuclear accord Iran said Sunday it is ceasing to abide by all "operational restrictions" on its enrichment of uranium, part of the terms of the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers. The move marks the "fifth and final" time Iran has moved away from the accord, and effectively marks the end of the deal for Tehran, although it said it would return to full compliance with the accord if the U.S. lifts its sanctions against it. Heightened tensions:Trump defends Soleimani killing in formal notice to Congress The U.S. action against Soleimani, Iran's de facto second most powerful figure who oversaw a vast network of pro-Iran militant groups from Iraq to Yemen, has drawn strong criticism from key U.S. allies and foreign policy experts, who believe it will destabilize an already tense and volatile region struggling to overcome decades of sectarianism, political strife, corruption and economic mismanagement. Trump's move has created "a more dangerous world," Amelie de Montchalin, France's deputy minister for foreign affairs, told French radio over the weekend. White House goes on media offensive On Saturday, Trump tweeted that if Iran attacks any American assets to avenge Soleimani, the U.S. has identified 52 targets across the Islamic Republic that "WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD." Some are "important to Iran & Iranian culture," Trump wrote on Twitter, apparently drawing Iran's rich cultural sites into the tensions. Hackers set sights on the US:DHS website hacked with pro-Iranian messages, image of bloodied Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the strike against Soleimani, during an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. He said Washington would have been "culpably negligent" if it didn't launch the attack and that he was "100%" certain America was safer because of the strike. He also said the Trump administration is prepared for an Iranian response. "It may be that there's a little noise here in the interim, that the Iranians make a choice to respond," he said. "I hope that they don't." U.S. vs. Iran:Anti-war protesters organize around US following killing of Iran general Asked about the Iraqi Parliament's vote on "Fox News Sunday," the U.S.'s top diplomat said that "we are confident the Iraqi people want the United States to continue to be there to fight the anti-terror campaign. And we'll continue to do all the things we need to do to keep America safe." Pompeo added: "We'll have to take a look at what we do when the Iraqi leadership and government makes a decision, but the American people should know we'll make the right decision. We will take actions that frankly the previous administration refused to take to do just that." Iran mourns Soleimani Soleimani's body was returned to Iran early Sunday for a funeral and burial in his hometown, Kerman, in central Iran. Hundreds of thousands of mourners took to the streets across the nation to pay their respects to a figure who is widely hailed as a war hero in Iran, but who the Trump administration labeled a terrorist. Soleimani presided over Iran's foreign military and intelligence operations going back two decades. During this time, the State Department says he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and for numerous attacks on U.S. military installations. Contributing: William Cummings and Courtney Subramanian

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/01/06/first-british-astronaut-helen-sharman-aliens-exist-live-among-us/2822777001/

First British astronaut Helen Sharman says aliens exist – and may be 'here right now'

First British astronaut Helen Sharman says aliens exist – and may be 'here right now' The first British person to go into space said she believes aliens are real – and they may be among us. Helen Sharman made history in May 1991 as the first Brit to go to space when she was launched on the spacecraft Soyuz for eight days and visited the Soviet-operated space station Mir. She told the Observer about her belief in extraterrestrial forces in an interview published Sunday. “There are so many billions of stars out there in the universe that there must be all sorts of different forms of life,” she said. She said the beings may not be made of carbon and nitrogen – two of the composite elements in the human body – but rather of materials unseen by the human eye. “It’s possible they’re here right now and we simply can’t see them,” Sharman said. Elsewhere in the interview, she pointed out the sexism in the assumption that the first British astronaut must have been a man. "People often describe me as the first British woman in space, but I was actually the first British person," she said. "It’s telling that we would otherwise assume it was a man." Sharman, 56, is a chemist at Imperial College in London. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY. Though Sharman may be one of the first astronauts to share their beliefs in the alien unknown so publicly, she isn't alone. Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, when asked on Twitter if he believed in life outside Earth, responded “yes” – without any further context. Follow Joshua Bote on Twitter: @joshua_bote

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/01/06/kane-tanaka-worlds-oldest-living-person-celebrates-117-birthday/2824040001/

World's oldest living person celebrates her 117th birthday, extending record another year

World's oldest living person celebrates her 117th birthday, extending record another year A Japanese woman honored last year by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest living person turned 117 on Thursday. Kane Tanaka observed the occasion with a party at her nursing home in the city of Fukuoka on Sunday, Reuters reported. Reuters said she celebrated with a slice of birthday cake. Tanaka was born prematurely in 1903, the seventh of eight children, and married in 1922. Last March, she was certified as the oldest living person in the world by Guinness World Records. The honor was last bestowed to Chiyo Miyako, also of Japan, who died in July 2018 at age 117. The oldest person before her was also Japanese. The oldest person to ever live was Jeanne Calment, a French woman who lived to 122 years. She died in August 1997. Tanaka’s honor is representative of Japan's cultural deference to its older populations, as well as a diet and health care system that allow its population to age well into its 80s and beyond. It also stands as a symbol of the low birthrate in the country, according to Reuters, potentially putting the country at risk of a labor shortage. Contributing: The Associated Press Follow Joshua Bote on Twitter: @joshua_bote