Month: August 2019

Puerto Rico’s new governor finally appeared to be overcoming some of the challenges to her authority on Wednesday following weeks of political turmoil on the U.S. territory, with key members of the majority New Progressive Party expressing support. That may allow Gov. Wanda Vazquez, who has never held elected office, to turn her attention to the territory’s lagging efforts to recover from 2017’s devastating Hurricane Maria as well as grinding economic slump and debt crisis that has led to demands for austerity from a federal board overseeing its finances. Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, who had been seen as her chief challenger, issued a statement on Facebook Wednesday backing her and saying he’d only been looking for a replacement because he thought Wanda Vazquez didn’t want the governor’s job — though his efforts had continued well after she said she did. “It’s up to all of us to work for Puerto Rico,” he said. “The governor will have our collaboration, and I have expressed that personally.” Rivera Schatz had suggested the post go to the island’s congressional representative, Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez. But Gonzalez too issued a statement of support for Vazquez on Tuesday. Under the territory’s constitution, the governorship fell to Justice Secretary Vazquez on Aug. 7 because Gov. Ricardo Rossello resigned after intensive public protests and his attempt to name a last-minute successor were knocked down by the territory’s Supreme Court. The topsy-turvy events at least briefly divided the party, with several legislators saying last week they wanted …

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross warned Tuesday that 70 years after countries adopted the Geneva Conventions to limit the barbarity of war, the terrible suffering in conflicts today shows they are not being respected. Peter Maurer told a U.N. Security Council meeting marking the anniversary that continued violations of the rules in the conventions doesn’t mean they are inadequate, “but rather that efforts to ensure respect are inadequate.” “We can — and must — do more. You can do more,” he told the 15 council members. The four Geneva Conventions were adopted on Aug. 11, 1949, and have been universally ratified by the world’s countries.    The first three were revised from earlier treaties to update rules on protecting the wounded and sick in the armed forces on land and sea and prisoners of war. The fourth was the first-ever treaty specifically dedicated to protecting civilians in times of war. A new provision is now included in all four conventions to provide protections in conflicts that aren’t between countries, such as civil wars and those involving armed groups not affiliated with governments. FILE – German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Berlin, Germany, July 31, 2019. Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, told the council the Geneva Conventions are “the cornerstone of international humanitarian law, and their spirit is upheld by the brave men and women in humanitarian operations worldwide who dedicate their lives to saving the lives of others.” But Maas …

The United Nations refugee agency urgently appealed to European governments Tuesday to let two migrant rescue ships disembark more than 500 passengers who remain stranded at sea as countries bicker over who should take responsibility for them.    The people rescued while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa are on ships chartered by humanitarian aid groups that the Italian government has banned from its territory. The archipelago nation of Malta also has refused to let the ships into that country’s ports. It’s unclear where they might find safe harbor, even though the Italian island of Lampedusa appears closest. About 150 of the rescued passengers have been on the Spanish-flagged charity ship the Open Arms since they were plucked from the Mediterranean 13 days ago.  FILE – Migrants are seen aboard the Open Arms Spanish humanitarian boat as it cruises in the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 9, 2019. “This is a race against time,” Vincent Cochetel, the International Red Cross special envoy for the central Mediterranean, said in a statement. “Storms are coming, and conditions are only going to get worse.”    While the number of migrants reaching Europe by sea has dropped substantially so far this year, the Red Cross says nearly 600 people have died or gone missing in waters between Libya, Italy and Malta in 2019.     The agency said many of the people on the ships “are reportedly survivors of appalling abuses in Libya.” Cochetel said the ships “must be immediately allowed to dock” …

The Los Angeles Opera said on Tuesday it will investigate accusations of sexual misconduct against Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, who described the claims as inaccurate. The Los Angeles Opera, where Domingo is general director, was responding to accusations made by eight singers, a dancer and others in the classical music world in a report by the Associated Press. The news agency reported allegations by the women of inappropriate behavior. The Associated Press said it also had spoken to almost three dozen other musicians, voice teachers and backstage staff who said they had witnessed what the report described as “sexually tinged” behavior by Domingo dating back three decades in various cities. “LA Opera will engage outside counsel to investigate the concerning allegations about Placido Domingo,” the opera house said in a statement. The LA Opera is “committed to doing everything we can to foster a professional and collaborative environment where all our employees and artists feel equally comfortable, valued and respected.” FILE – People listen to Spanish tenor Placido Domingo during a gala concert, dedicated to the upcoming World Cup, in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, June 13, 2018. Domingo, in a statement distributed by his publicist Nancy Seltzer, called the accusations “deeply troubling, and as presented, inaccurate.” “Still, it is painful to hear that I may have upset anyone or made them feel uncomfortable — no matter how long ago and despite my best intentions,” Domingo’s statement said. “I believed that all of my interactions and relationships were always welcomed …

President Donald Trump sought to take credit Tuesday for a major manufacturing complex in western Pennsylvania in his latest effort to reinvigorate the Rust Belt support that sent him to the White House. He was cheered on by fluorescent-vest-clad workers who were paid to attend by Shell, their employer, which is building the facility. Despite Trump’s claims, Shell announced its plans to build the complex in 2012, midway through President Barack Obama’s term in the White House. The event was billed as an official White House event, but Trump turned much of it into a campaign-style rally, boasting of achievements he claims as president and assailing his would-be Democratic rivals for the 2020 election. “I don’t think they give a damn about Western Pennsylvania, do you?” he prodded the crowd. Trump was visiting Shell’s soon-to-be completed Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex, which will turn the area’s vast natural gas deposits into plastics. The facility is being built in an area hungry for investment and employment, though critics claim it will become the largest air polluter in western Pennsylvania. Trump contends that America’s coal, oil and manufacturing are reviving and he deserves the credit. He’s been focusing on his administration’s efforts to increase the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels in defiance of increasingly urgent warnings about climate change. And he’s embracing plastic at a time when the world is sounding alarms over its impact. “We don’t need it from the Middle East anymore,” Trump said of oil and natural gas, proclaiming the employees …

Argentina’s peso closed weaker again on Tuesday following a second day of market turmoil triggered by opposition candidate Alberto Fernandez’s landslide victory in a primary election that dealt a severe blow to President Mauricio Macri’s re-election chances. The peso closed 4.29% lower at 55.9 per U.S. dollar after touching 59 to the dollar earlier. The currency had hit an all-time low on Monday of 65 to the dollar, a drop of 30%, on fears that a Fernandez government could take Argentina back to interventionist economic policies. The central bank has sold a total $255 million of its own reserves since Monday in an effort to help steady the currency. “The market thinks Fernandez will likely default and impose capital controls and renegotiate with the IMF. In a nutshell, the market thinks Fernandez is the return of populism,” said Claudio Irigoyen of Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML). Fernandez, who has former President Cristina Fernandez as his running mate, pulled off a stunning upset in the primary with a wider-than-expected 15-point lead over Macri, a free market proponent. A woman walks past a currency exchange board in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Aug. 12, 2019. Monday’s crash in the peso unnerved global equities investors, with markets already jittery over the Sino-U.S. trade war and protests in Hong Kong. “Yes, Argentina is a small economy. However, the last thing global markets want to see is another market-friendly government fall to populism and/or geopolitics,” said Rabobank strategist Michael Every. Blame Game In an interview Monday, …

Rarely has a candidate gone far in a US presidential race highlighting a singular issue, but Democrat Jay Inslee is aiming to buck that trend with his commitment to tackling climate change. Unless he does something to dramatically change his trajectory — he has less than one percent support in polls — Inslee, currently the governor of Washington state, likely will be an also-ran in the crowded race to decide who challenges President Donald Trump in 2020. But what he has already achieved makes his candidacy worthy: launching a Democratic policy debate on climate change and how to prevent environmental disaster over the coming decades. Since entering the race in March, Inslee has repeatedly hit the panic button on climate, demanding the United States reverse course and take global warming and environmental protections far more seriously. For Inslee and several other Democratic candidates, the science is clear: dramatic action over the next decade is needed to reduce carbon pollution, or irreparable harm will result. “Unless we defeat the climate crisis, everything else we’ve worked on will be moot,” the square-jawed Inslee, 68, told voters at the Iowa State Fair. Inslee is quick to highlight his economic accomplishments as governor. He has also savaged Trump as a “white supremacist” who is dividing Americans and is hurting farmers with his trade war with China.  But “climate change is the big banana, and we’ve got to make sure we take care of it,” he told AFP in an interview on the sidelines of …

Guatemala’s incoming president Alejandro Giammattei has vowed to seek better terms for his country from an unpopular migration deal agreed with Washington last month, but any room for maneuver is seen as likely to be hampered by weakness in the national Congress. Preliminary results from Sunday’s election gave Giammattei, a conservative, a runoff victory with 58% of the vote, well ahead of his center-left opponent, former first lady Sandra Torres, on 42%. Still, his Vamos Party won just 8% of the vote in June’s congressional election, giving it around a tenth of the seats in a legislature bristling with nearly 20 parties. The biggest bloc of seats will be controlled by his rival Torres. Speaking a few hours before he was declared the winner, the 63-year-old Giammattei said he wanted to see what could be done to improve the accord that outgoing President Jimmy Morales made under pressure from his American counterpart Donald Trump that seeks to stem U.S.-bound migration from Central America. Giammattei will not take office until January, by which time Guatemala may be under severe pressure from the deal, which effectively turns the country into a buffer zone by forcing migrants to apply for asylum there rather than in the United States. “I hope that during this transition the doors will open to get more information so we can see what, from a diplomatic point of view, we can do to remove from this deal the things that are not right for us, or how we can …

Australia on Tuesday announced a Aus$500 million ($340 million) climate change package for Pacific island countries, which have been increasingly vocal in demanding their powerful neighbor curb its carbon emissions. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the funding, drawn from Australia’s existing international aid budget, would help Pacific island nations invest in renewable energy and climate change resilience. The climate-sceptic leader made the announcement before traveling to the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Tuvalu, where island nations threatened by rising seas have vowed to put global warming at the top of the agenda. Smaller members of the 18-nation grouping have been sharply critical of Australia’s climate policies ahead of this year’s summit amid a diplomatic push from Canberra to counter China’s growing power in the region. High-level representatives from the likes of Tuvalu, Palau and Vanuatu have criticized Australia for not doing enough, with Fiji’s Frank Bainimarama saying Canberra’s reliance on coal poses an “existential threat” to low-lying islands. There has also been disquiet in the Pacific that Australia recently approved the giant Adani coal mine in Queensland state. Morrison has staunchly defended Australia’s climate record, insisting the country will meet its 2030 emissions reduction target set under the Paris Agreement.  “The $500 million we’re investing for the Pacific’s renewable energy and its climate change and disaster resilience builds on the $300 million for 2016-2020,” he said in a statement. “This highlights our commitment to not just meeting our emissions reduction obligations at home but supporting our neighbors and friends.” Greenpeace …

Hong Kong’s airport reopened on Tuesday but its administrator warned that flight movements would still be affected, after China said protests that have swept the city over the past two months had begun to show the “sprouts of terrorism.” Some flights resumed but many others were cancelled. Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific said it had cancelled more than 200 flights into and out of the airport on Tuesday, according to its website. The airport, one of the world’s busiest, blamed demonstrators for halting flights on Monday. The exact trigger for the closure was not clear because protesters occupying the arrivals hall since Friday have been peaceful. The airport was the latest focus of protests that began two months ago. The sometimes violent protests began as opposition to a now-suspended bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China but have grown into wider calls for democracy. The protests have plunged the Chinese-ruled territory into its most serious crisis in decades, presenting Chinese leader Xi Jinping with one of his biggest challenges since he came to power in 2012. Analysts said the disruptions and protests in Hong Kong were unsettling Asian stock markets, and the Hang Seng index opened 1.1% lower on Tuesday. Embattled Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday the “lawbreaking activities in the name of freedom” were damaging the rule of law and that it could take a long time for the city to recover from the protests. The protesters have been switching tactics in …

Arrests and deportations of foreign teachers in China have soared this year, lawyers, schools and teachers say, amid a broad crackdown defined by new police tactics and Beijing’s push for a “cleaner,” more patriotic education system. Four law firms told Reuters that requests for representation involving foreign teachers had surged in the past six months by between four and tenfold, while teachers and schools confirmed arrests and temporary detentions for minor crimes had become commonplace. Switzerland-based Education First (EF), which runs 300 schools across 50 Chinese cities, has seen a “significant” increase in detentions in China for alleged offenses including drugs, fighting and cybersecurity violations, according to a June 27 internal notice sent to employees and seen by Reuters. It said EF staff had been “picked up by police at their home and work as well as in bars and nightclubs and have been questioned and brought in for drug testing”. The notice said the school had also received warnings from embassies about the rise in arrests. A spokeswoman for EF declined to comment on the content of the notices but said the company “values our close collaboration with the Chinese authorities,” adding that it “regularly reminds staff of important regulatory and compliance policies.” An international school in Beijing and a teaching agency in Shanghai separately confirmed arrests had risen sharply. “There’s tremendous pressure for them to keep things clean. It’s all part of (President) Xi Jinping’s idea to make sure that China can show a good face for the …

Vast swathes of southeastern Myanmar lie under floodwaters that have already forced tens of thousands to flee their homes as the death toll from a massive landslide hit 59, firefighters said Monday. Seasonal monsoon rains batter the country every year, but the recent deluge has submerged entire communities, with AFP drone footage showing only the tops of houses visible. There are currently more than 80,000 people sheltering at evacuation sites across the country, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In the town of Ye in Mon state, people scrambled to stay afloat as they tried to swim to safety through swirling, muddy waters. Others fled to rooftops or to higher ground, calling out to rescue boats for help. AFP reporters saw workers desperately trying to repair roads damaged or washed away by the floods. Rescuers also found more victims three days after a deadly landslide flattened 27 homes in Mon’s Ye Pyar Kone village Friday morning. “Another dead body was found at 16:27 bringing the death toll to 59,” the fire service posted Monday afternoon on Facebook, adding that search operations were still ongoing. Recovery teams have worked round-the-clock over the weekend, hindered by continuing downpours and deep mud as the stench of decaying bodies worsened. Vice President Henry Van Thio visited Mon and pledged more boats for flood relief efforts, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported. Bago, Tanintharyi, and Karen states and regions have also been badly hit, leaving emergency responders …

A Vietnamese military official advocates developing a more modern, better skilled navy that can hold off complex threats, mainly what experts believe to be increasing pressure from China. A rear admiral and political commissar in Hanoi told the official Viet Nam News August 6 that the navy could not be “taken by surprise at any development. “In this complicated situation that poses many threats to the country’s defense and security, given the Navy’s role as the key defender of the country’s sovereignty, the Viet Nam People’s Navy must do more to build a strong, developed, skilled and modern naval force that can fulfill all assigned missions,” said the commissar, Phạm Văn Vững. The commissar’s words follow the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing vessel in March — Vietnam says at the hands of China. More recently, Chinese coast guard boats have approached a Vietnamese undersea energy exploration site near Vanguard Bank in the South China Sea. China and Vietnam vie for sovereignty over tracts of the sea where these two incidents have occurred. These two upsets are just the latest between the territorial rivals dating back centuries. South China Sea territorial claims Naval improvements would help Vietnam deter China, analysts believe, though Vietnamese naval firepower is unlikely to come near equaling that of China. “I think all they can think of doing is being a bit of a deterrent,” said Murray Hiebert, deputy director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “Neither Vietnam nor …

The lawyer of the man suspected of opening fire in a mosque in Norway says his client is not cooperating with investigators. “He is exercising his right not to be interrogated,” the lawyer said Monday.  “He is not admitting any guilt.” The suspected gunman, 21-year-old Philip Manshaus, appeared in court Monday to face charges of attempted murder and murder in connection with last Saturday’s attack outside of the capital, Oslo.    His face and neck were covered with bruises and he had two black eyes.   No one was killed at the mosque, but hours later police found the body of the gunman’s stepsister at another location. Rune Skjold, assistant chief of police, holds a news conference after a shooting in al-Noor Islamic center mosque, in the police headquarters in Oslo, Norway, Aug. 10, 2019. In addition, the mosque shooting is being treated as an attempted terror attack.  Rune Skjold, Oslo deputy police inspector, said Sunday, police have discovered evidence of the gunman’s “right-wing extremist views” and alleged hostility against immigrants. There were only three people at the al-Noor Islamic Center when Manshaus entered the place of worship Saturday. He began shooting at two men, but another man, a 65-year-old retired Pakistani Air Force officer, was able to tackle the gunman. Mohammad Rafiq (R), one of the members of the congregation who stopped the attacker at a mosque, listens as people speak to media next to the Thon Oslofjord hotel in Sandvika, Norway, Aug. 11, 2019. Mohammad Rafiq, the retired …

A Belgian company has become the first to announce it is cutting ties with Myanmar’s military after a United Nations fact-finding mission called on businesses to sever all financial links to the country’s generals.  Satellite communications firm Newtec said in a statement it would “follow the recommendations by the UN and stop commercial ties with Mytel,” a local mobile phone operator partially owned by the military.  The call from a panel of three UN experts came a year after they first said Myanmar’s top generals should be prosecuted for genocide for their role in a 2017 crackdown believed to have killed thousands of Rohingya Muslims.  “We will never knowingly sell to any organization or company linked to the Tatmadaw’s campaign of violence… and the atrocities committed against the Rohingya,” Newtec said, using the local name for Myanmar’s military. A company that handles public relations for Mytel did not respond to a request for comment.  Mixed Reactions Christopher Sidoti, a human rights lawyer and member of the UN panel, praised Newtec for following the recommendations.  “It’s a very welcome decision. We’re pleased to see such prompt action on their part and certainly hope that it’s the first among many,” he told VOA.  But Mark Farmaner, a human rights campaigner who named Newtec on a “dirty list” of firms doing business with Myanmar’s military early this year, said Newtec should have acted sooner.  “Newtec have known for nine months that they were working for the Burmese military, and didn’t care,” he told …

Enraged Hong Kong protesters blocked roads and defied police orders to disperse early Monday after riot officers fired tear gas and non-lethal ammunition at fleeing crowds.    Dozens of injuries were reported in several districts that became smokey battlegrounds, where the repeated “pop, pop” of exploding ammunition and screams echoed into the night. A medical volunteer was hit by ammunition in one eye. Journalists reported being beaten on their heads and limbs. Once again, thugs lashed protesters on a street, a repeat of an incident weeks back in Yuen Long, in the territory’s northern region, when men in white t-shirts whipped rail customers with rattan sticks.   The government counted 54 people injured, including two who were hospitalized in serious condition Monday and 28 who were listed as stable, according to the Hospital Authority.  Authorities in Beijing Monday termed the protests ‘terrorism.’ Confrontation Police said protesters defied an unprecedented ban on street marches, and then pelted officers with bricks and gasoline bombs.  Demonstrators and residents said police seemed to display a new brazenness and determination to clear the streets. Officers discharged tear gas inside an enclosed rail station, with one officer firing a few meters away from a mass of protesters racing down a steep subway escalator.  In another district, police disguised in black clothes and face masks, in the style of the anti-government strikers, suddenly pinned down protesters and carried out arrests. That action, more than any other, convinced some protesters that their ranks have been infiltrated.    Much …

In 1988 – sensing a need –  religious leaders began delivering meals to people with HIV and AIDS who couldn’t leave their homes. From that simple idea, the non-profit Food and Friends has grown into a Washington, D.C., institution, bringing thousands of meals a day to the sick and those in need. VOA’s Unshin Lee reports.   …

The acting U.S. Homeland Security chief on Sunday defended raids last week on food processing plants in Mississippi searching for hundreds of undocumented migrants, but acknowledged “the timing was unfortunate,” just days after a gunman targeted and killed 22 Hispanics in a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. Kevin McAleenan told NBC’s Meet the Press that of the 680 migrants detained in the raids on operations at five companies, 200 had criminal records and will be subject to deportation to their native countries. Television footage showed children weeping when they realized parents had been detained in the raids and would not be picking them up as their school day ended last Wednesday. But McAleenan said the raids were “done with sensitivity” and child care issues taken into consideration. He said 32 of the migrants arrested were released within an hour of their detention and 270 within a day, often times because of child care concerns. FILE – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers detain a man during an operation in Escondido, California, July 8, 2019. A policy at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, part of Homeland Security, calls for prosecution of companies that knowingly hire undocumented immigrants before arresting their migrant workers. But McAleenan deflected a question of why the workers, not the companies, were charged. He said that “of course” the companies had committed a crime in hiring the workers. “This case will be pursued,” he said. Democratic presidential contender Kamala Harris told NBC, “I don’t know …

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has protested Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest visit to Ukraine’s Crimea region, calling a it a “gross violation” of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “Attempts by the Russian side and the mass media to describe such ‘visits’ as ‘ordinary’ domestic trips by Russian officials are futile,” the ministry said in a statement on August 11, adding that Crimea was an “integral part” of Ukraine. On August 10, Putin was shown on state television in a leather jacket at a biker show organized by the Night Wolves motorcycle club in Sevastopol, a city in the Crimean Peninsula that Moscow seized in 2014. The Night Wolves club is known for its allegiance to the Kremlin. Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014 after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was pushed from power by the pro-European Maidan protest movement the previous month. Moscow has also fomented unrest and backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, where more than 13,000 people have been killed in the ensuing conflict since April 2014. Putin’s visit to Sevastopol took place as tens of thousands of opposition supporters gathered in Moscow to demand fair municipal elections. More than 250 people were detained by police. …