Month: September 2019

The American Medical Association on Monday urged Americans to stop using electronic cigarettes of any sort until scientists have a better handle on the cause of 450 lung illnesses and at least five deaths related to the use of the products. The AMA, one of the nation’s most influential physician groups, also called on doctors to inform patients about the dangers of e-cigarettes, including toxins and carcinogens, and swiftly report any suspected cases of lung illness associated with e-cigarette use to their state or local health department. The recommendation followed advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday for people to consider not using e-cigarette products while it investigates the cause of the spate of severe lung illnesses associated with vaping. Many, but not all, of the cases have involved those who used the devices to vaporize oils containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of cannabis. CDC officials said some laboratories have identified vitamin E acetate in product samples and are investigating that as a possible cause of the illnesses. Public health experts have not found any evidence of infectious diseases and believe the lung illnesses are probably associated with a chemical exposure. Megan Constantino, 36, from St. Petersburg, Florida, quit vaping six days ago after hearing reports of the illnesses and deaths related to vaping. “It scared me into quitting,” she said. Like many users of vaping pens, Constantino picked up the device after quitting cigarette smoking three years ago, and said, “It’s the hardest …

Britain’s parliament has for the second time rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to hold early elections in an attempt to break the Brexit deadlock. Johnson had lobbied for snap elections on October 15 in an effort to win a parliamentary majority to approve his Brexit plans ahead of an EU summit of the continent’s leaders. Following Tuesday’s vote, Johnson carried out his controversial suspension of parliament for five weeks, until the queen gives her annual address to parliament outlining the government’s legislative plans for the upcoming year. Parliament’s rejection of a new election came hours after Britain’s Queen Elizabeth gave her approval to legislation seeking to block Johnson from carrying out a no-deal Brexit, his plan to take the country out of the European Union on October 31 without spelling out the terms of the split. Johnson insisted Monday that Brexit would take place in October despite the new law, which was passed by parliament last week, but did not say how he would accomplish that. The prime minister has few options left to carry out Brexit by the end of October, including persuading EU leaders to reach a new deal at the October summit or convincing lawmakers to back no deal. In another sign of acrimony, parliament members Monday passed a motion demanding the government publish all documents relating to its efforts to prepare for a “no deal” Brexit. Before Johnson took office in July, parliament three times rejected Brexit plans advanced by former Prime Minister Teresa May. …

Get out the tiaras and the best china. Hit British television series Downton Abbey is about to arrive on the big screen and the makers are feeling uncharacteristically nervous. Driven by fan demand, the aristocratic family and their servants return with a movie set around a royal visit to the vast Grantham country home. “When something’s been a big, big hit on television and you make a movie, there is a kind of onus that the movie should satisfy those people who loved the show. … I think I was aware of that and conscious of it,” creator Julian Fellowes, who wrote the screenplay for the Downton Abbey movie, told Reuters at the world premiere Monday. Most of the original cast, including Hugh Bonneville (Lord Grantham), Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary) Jim Carter (butler Mr. Carson) and Maggie Smith as the crusty Dowager Countess, reprised their roles for the movie, which opens in much of Europe on Sept. 13 and in the United States on Sept. 20. The television series, set in the early 20th century, ran from 2011-2015 and won numerous awards for its portrayal of the quintessentially British stiff upper lip. Elizabeth McGovern, who plays Lady Grantham, said Monday she was particularly nervous about making the movie “because I didn’t want to destroy the affection that people have for the show.” Carter said he hoped the movie lived up to the expectations of fans. “It’s been driven by the fans really, this film. In the three years since the …

Officials in northern Burkina Faso say at least 29 people were killed in two separate incidents Sunday.  Government spokesman Remis Dandjinou said, in a statement, at least 15 people were killed when a truck carrying people and goods “rode over an improvised explosive device in the Barsalogho area.”  Fourteen people were killed when a food convoy of trucks came under attack in Sanmatenga province, according to the spokesman.  The French news agency AFP reports that locals sources said many of the dead in the convoy were the drivers of the vehicles carrying provisions for people displaced by fighting.  “Military reinforcements have been deployed and a thorough search in under way,” said Dandjinou.  Millions of people in Burkina Faso are facing an unprecedented humanitarian emergency because of growing hunger, instability and displacement,  the World Food Program warned recently.  The United Nations reports escalating fighting, some fueled by ethnic and religious beliefs, has forced more than 237,000 people to flee their homes.   Jihadists have frequently launched attacks on Burkina’s military.  A former French colony, Burkina Faso in one of the poorest countries in the world. …

Hong Kong is an inseparable part of China and any form of  secessionism “will be crushed,” state media said on Monday, a day after demonstrators rallied at the U.S. consulate to ask for help in bringing democracy to city. The China Daily newspaper said Sunday’s rally in Hong Kong was proof that foreign forces were behind the protests, which began in mid-June, and warned that demonstrators should “stop trying the patience of the central government”. Chinese officials have accused foreign forces of trying to hurt Beijing by creating chaos in Hong Kong over a hugely unpopular extradition bill that would have allowed suspects to be tried in Communist Party-controlled courts. Anger over the bill grew into sometimes violent protests calling for more freedoms for Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula.  Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam formally scrapped the bill last week as part of concessions aimed at ending the protests. “Hong Kong is an inseparable part of China – and that is the bottom line no one should challenge, not the demonstrators, not the foreign forces playing their dirty games,” the China Daily said in an editorial. “The demonstrations in Hong Kong are not about rights or democracy. They are a result of foreign interference. Lest the central government’s restraint be misconstrued as weakness, let it be clear secessionism in any form will be crushed,” it said. State news agency Xinhua said in a separate commentary that the rule of …

Nissan Motor Co’s nominating committee will discuss Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa’s resignation and possible successors at a meeting on Monday, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Saikawa has expressed his desire to resign from the troubled automaker and is not “clinging to his chair”, the source said, declining to be identified because the information has not been made public. The Nikkei newspaper earlier reported that Saikawa told reporters on Monday he wanted to “pass the baton” to the next generation as soon as possible. The executive has come under pressure since admitting last week to being improperly compensated.   …

A charity ship run by humanitarian groups in the Mediterranean spent a rainy Sunday searching open waters for a fragile rubber boat overloaded with migrants before finally plucking 50 people to safety not far off Libya’s coast. The Norwegian-flagged Ocean Viking, which is operated jointly by SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders, sent its own boats to pick up a pregnant woman close to full term, 12 minors and 37 men, all from sub-Saharan Africa. “God bless you!” one of the men told the rescuers as they passed life vests to the wet and barefoot passengers. At least two people feeling ill collapsed upon arrival on the Ocean Viking, while three others were soaked in fuel and two were suffering from mild hypothermia. The operation was witnessed by an Associated Press journalist aboard the ship, which found the migrant boat some 14 nautical miles (16 statute miles) from Libya. The rescue occurred 14 hours after the Ocean Viking as well as Libyan, Italian and Maltese authorities, the United Nations’ refugee agency and Moonbird, a humanitarian observation plane, received an email by Alarm Phone, a hotline for migrants. It was an urgent call seeking help for the rubber boat carrying 50 people without a working engine. The Ocean Viking, which was already in the Libyan search and rescue zone of the central Mediterranean, informed all authorities that it was beginning an active search for the migrant boat. Throughout the morning, the charity ship chased several objects spotted on the horizon, including …

World War II veteran Henry Ochsner, who landed on the beach at Normandy on D-Day and later received the French government’s highest honor for his service, has died. He was 96. Family friend Dennis Anderson says Ochsner died Saturday at his home in California City of complications from cancer and old age. As part of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division — known as the “Screaming Eagles” — Ochsner also fought at the Battle of the Bulge. In 2017 Ochsner and nine other veterans were awarded France’s National Order of the Legion of Honor during a ceremony at Los Angeles National Cemetery. Ochsner married Violet Jenson in 1947. He is survived by his wife, their four daughters and two granddaughters. Funeral plans are pending. …

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Sunday replaced the energy minister with one of his sons, state media said, in a major shakeup as the OPEC kingpin reels from low oil prices. The appointment of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, half-brother to de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, marks the first time a royal family member has been put in charge of the all-important Energy Ministry. He replaces veteran official Khalid al-Falih as the world’s top crude exporter accelerates preparations for a much-anticipated stock listing of state-owned oil giant Aramco, expected to be the world’s biggest. “Khalid al-Falih has been removed from his position,” the official Saudi Press Agency said, citing a royal decree. “His royal highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman is appointed minister of energy.” Since his appointment as oil minister in 2016, Falih has been the face of Saudi energy policy but the veteran technocrat had seen his portfolio shrink in recent weeks. His ouster comes just days after he was removed as chairman of Aramco and replaced by Yasir al-Rumayyan, governor of the kingdom’s vast Public Investment Fund. Falih’s powers were diminished last month when the world’s top oil exporter announced the creation of a new ministry of industry and mineral resources, separating it from his energy ministry. It was widely speculated that top officials were dissatisfied with Falih as oil prices sagged ahead of the Aramco IPO. Economic uncertainty fanned, by an ongoing US-China trade war, has dragged Brent crude prices to around $60 a barrel …

Top oil producers will consider fresh output cuts at a meeting this week, but analysts are doubtful they will succeed in bolstering crude prices dented by the U.S.-China trade war. The OPEC petroleum exporters’ cartel and key non-OPEC members want to halt a slide in prices that has continued despite previous production cuts and US sanctions that have squeezed supply from Iran and Venezuela. Analysts say the OPEC+ group’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which monitors a supply cut deal reached last year, has limited options when it meets in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. UAE Energy Minister Suheil al-Mazrouei said Sunday the group would do “whatever necessary” to rebalance the crude market, but admitted that the issue was not entirely in the hands of the world’s top producers. Speaking at a press conference in Abu Dhabi ahead of the World Energy Congress, to start Monday, he said the oil market is no longer governed by supply and demand but is being influenced more by U.S.-China trade tensions and geopolitical factors. The minister said that although further cuts will be considered at Thursday’s meeting, they may not be the best way to boost declining prices. “Anything that the group sees that will balance the market, we are committed to discuss it and hopefully go and do whatever necessary,” he said. “But I wouldn’t suggest to jump to cuts every time that we have an issue on trade tensions.” While cuts could help prices, they could also mean producers lose further market share, …

Turkish and U.S. troops conducted their first joint ground patrol in northeastern Syria Sunday as part of a planned so-called “safe zone” that Ankara has been pressing for in the volatile region. Turkey hopes the buffer zone, which it says should be at least 30 kilometers (19 miles) deep, will keep Syrian Kurdish fighters, considered a threat by Turkey but U.S. allies in the fight against the Islamic State group, away from its border. Associated Press journalists in the town of Tal Abyad saw about a dozen Turkish armored vehicles with the country’s red flag standing along the border after crossing into Syria, and American vehicles about a mile away waiting. The two sides then came together in a joint patrol with American vehicles leading the convoy. At least two helicopters hovered overhead. The Turkish Defense Ministry confirmed the start of the joint patrols and said unmanned aerial vehicles were also being used. Washington has in the last years frequently found itself trying to forestall violence between its NATO ally Turkey and the Kurdish fighters it partnered with along the border to clear of IS militants. An initial agreement between Washington and Ankara last month averted threats of a Turkish attack. But details of the deal are still being worked out in separate talks with Ankara and the Kurdish-led forces in Syria known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. Turkey, which has carried out several incursions into Syria in the course of the country’s civil war in an effort …

Pope Francis is pressing for the poor to have the dignity of work with a visit Sunday to a hilltop rock quarry in Madagascar where hundreds of people toil rather than scavenge in the biggest dump of the Indian Ocean nation’s capital.   After celebrating an open-air Mass before an estimated 1 million people, Francis heads to Akamasoa village, the brainchild of an Argentine priest who was so overwhelmed by the abject poverty of Madagascar that he set about creating ways for the poor to earn a living.    Over 30 years, the Akamasoa quarry has produced the stones that built the homes, roads, schools and health clinics that now dot the pine-covered hillside of Antananarivo. Founder the Rev. Pedro Opeka said the low salaries he can pay are “an injustice” — about 1 euro a day — but they are at least more than the dump scavengers earn, and enough for parents to send their children to school.    “Akamasoa is a revolt against poverty, it is a revolt against fatality,” Opeka told The Associated Press ahead of the pope’s visit. “When we started here it was an inferno, people who were excluded from the society.”   Opeka, a charismatic, bearded figure who is beloved by many in this city, grew up in Francis’ native Buenos Aires and even studied theology at the same seminary where the future pope studied and taught. A member of the Lazarist religious order, he was working as a missionary in Madagascar when he was inspired to create …

A senior minister of Britain’s ruling Conservative party has resigned because she does not think the prime minister is serious about creating a Brexit divorce deal.  Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said late Saturday that Boris Johnson is not working to secure a Brexit withdrawal agreement.  “There is no evidence of a deal,” Rudd said.  “There are no formal negotiations taking place.”  Rudd said in her resignation letter: “I joined your cabinet in good faith: Accepting that ‘no deal’ had to be on the table, because it was the means by which we would have the best chance of achieving a new deal to leave on 31 October.”  Rudd added: “The government is expending a lot of energy to prepare for ‘no deal’ but I have not seen the same level of intensity go into our talks with the European Union.”  Home Secretary Sajid Javid said Sunday the government is “straining every sinew to get a deal.”    …

This story originated in VOA’s Ukrainian service. Some information is from Reuters and RFE. VOA Ukrainian’s Tatiana Vorozhko contributed reporting.  WASHINGTON – Ukrainian security officials have a launched an investigation into “subversive” activities by one of the Eastern European country’s defense contractors over plans to supply military hardware to neighboring Russia.    Ukraine’s main government agency for counterintelligence and counterterrorism, the SBU, confirmed Thursday that Motor Sich, the country’s largest manufacturer of engines for missiles and military aircraft, was under investigation for preparing an illegal export shipment of military or dual-use equipment to Russia, with whom Ukraine is at war. The news was first reported by RFE.    SBU officers raided Motor Sich headquarters and seized its shares in 2018 when the defense firm, then valued at nearly $500 million, was in the process of being sold to a Chinese company.    That Chinese aeronautical firm, Beijing Skyrizon Aviation, renewed efforts to acquire a controlling share of Motor Sich in June, drawing scrutiny from Kyiv’s Anti-Monopoly Committee.    The prospective sale also drew the attention of White House officials, who told Ukrainian media ahead of White House national security adviser John Bolton’s late-August visit to Kyiv that Motor Sich should not be handed over to a “potential enemy.”    As Ukraine’s antitrust agency began reviewing the proposed China deal, the U.S.-government-run Overseas Private Investment Corp., an agency that provides financial support for American companies looking to invest in emerging markets, said it would consider backing a U.S. private-sector bid for Motor Sich.   FILE – White House national security adviser John Bolton meets with journalists in London, Aug.12, 2019. Bolton has aimed to …

Bidi Bidi refugee camp is home to nearly a quarter-million South Sudanese who fled the violence of civil war in their home country. Its progressive policies allow refugees to live, farm and work together while they wait to return to their home country. But, as conditions are slow to improve in South Sudan, many refugees are opting to stay. U.S. Democratic Senators Chris Coons and Chris Van Hollen visited the camp recently. The two lawmakers were touring several refugee settlements throughout Uganda last month, including Bidi Bidi — one of the world’s largest. Speaking by phone, Senator Van Hollen called the settlements an “important model” that other countries should consider when housing the displaced. Commandant Nabugere Michael Joel, an official at Bidi Bidi, takes questions from a recent U.S. delegation that included Senator Chris Coons and Senator Chris Van Hollen. Bidi Bidi Camp, August 13, 2019. (I. Godfrey/CARE)   “Obviously a key ingredient to the success of that model has been significant international support,” he said. When Bidi Bidi was opened in 2016, it was a rural piece of land in northern Uganda, where South Sudanese refugees, mostly women and children, fled to avoid violence during their country’s civil war.   As is often the case, tensions are common between refugees and the local population, who feel that the refugees are taking resources that might have been available for them. But, Uganda decided to do something different, earmarking a percentage of the country’s international funding to go toward local amenities. …

Winston Churchill’s grandson, who was expelled midweek from the Conservative party for voting to delay Brexit, launched Saturday a scathing attack on Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who wrote a biography of his grandfather, saying he should stop comparing himself to Britain’s iconic wartime leader as he’s “nothing like” him. “Winston Churchill was like Winston Churchill because of his experiences in life. Boris Johnson’s experience in life is telling a lot of porkies [lies] about the EU in Brussels and then becoming prime minister,” Nicholas Soames told Britain’s The Times newspaper. Soames was among 21 Conservative rebels who were expelled from the party for voting to stop Johnson taking Britain out of the EU by October 31, something Johnson has pledged to do “no ifs or buts.” In the interview, Soames, a former defense minister, said he could see no “helpful analogy” between his grandfather and Johnson. “I don’t think anyone has called Boris a diplomat or statesman. We all know the pluses and minuses, everyone he has worked for says the same thing: he writes beautifully [but he’s] deeply unreliable.” Johnson’s Brexit options are shrinking fast. He has lost every single vote he’s brought as prime minister before the House of Commons in the face of a Conservative party split and the united efforts of the country’s opposition parties to thwart him. On Monday party rebels again will join with opposition parties to block him from calling an election before they’ve ensured he can’t take Britain out of the European …

Cambodia has launched a campaign to end child labor in the brick industry by 2020, a move industry observers cautiously welcome while expressing doubts the goal will be achieved, and calling for more structural changes. The industry drew international attention last year when a report, Blood Bricks: Untold Stories of Modern Slavery and Climate Change from Cambodia, asserted poverty, often caused by climate change, forced tens of thousands of Cambodians into debt bondage at brick kilns, and again in March when a 9-year-old girl lost her arm working in one of the factories. The government fined the factory and issued a directive barring children from brick kiln production line compounds. Children often live with their families in accommodation provided for by the brick factory, which often is in the direct vicinity of the kilns. The government said Aug. 31 that the director of the Labor Ministry’s Child Labor Department, Veng Heang, had started the campaign August 26 in cooperation with local authorities.  “According to the department director, any brick factory found having child labor will be severely penalised without any excuse,” the state news agency Agence Kampuchea Presse reported. One of the authors of the Blood Bricks report, Laurie Parsons, welcomed the initiative, saying child labor was still prevalent in the industry and estimating that the number of children working in brick factories ranged “in the thousands.” Parsons said the government had denied the issue for years and as late as last year, despite multiple reports by nongovernmental organizations, but …

India’s top national security adviser said Saturday that a large number of suspected militants are trying to infiltrate Kashmir and accused Pakistan of trying to foment trouble in the region.   “About 230 terrorists are ready to infiltrate into different parts of Kashmir,” Ajit Doval, national security adviser to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, told reporters. “A large number of weapons are being smuggled and people in Kashmir are being told to create trouble.”   Military officials said the information was based on radio intercepts and ground intelligence.     India has long accused Pakistan of supporting and training militants to foment a separatist insurgency in Kashmir, charges Islamabad denies. A month after India brought its only Muslim-majority territory under its direct control, scrapped its semi-autonomous status and deployed thousands of troops to prevent violent protests, residents in Kashmir continue to face curbs on travel and communications restrictions.  Although most landlines are functioning, the internet and mobile phone services have still not been restored. FILE – India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval attends a ceremony to celebrate India’s 73rd Independence Day, marking the end of British colonial rule, in Srinagar, India, Aug 15, 2019. “We would like to see all restrictions go, but it depends on how Pakistan behaves,” Doval said. “If Pakistan starts behaving, terrorists don’t intimidate and infiltrate, Pakistan stops sending signals through its towers to operatives, then we can lift restrictions.” He cited an attack that injured three persons including an apple merchant and a two-year-old girl when …

An American Airlines mechanic was ordered temporarily detained Friday after he was charged with purposely damaging an aircraft in July amid a dispute between the airline and its mechanics union involving stalled contract negotiations. Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani will remain in custody pending a hearing Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Federal prosecutors are requesting he be detained pending trial. Takeoff aborted Pilots of a flight from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, July 17 aborted takeoff plans after receiving an error message involving the flight computer, which reports speed, pitch and other data, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Miami. It said after returning to the gate for maintenance, a mechanic discovered a loosely connected pitot tube, which measures airspeed and connects directly to the flight computer. A later review of video surveillance footage before the flight captured “what appears to be the sabotage of the aircraft” by a man walking with a limp, the complaint said. Union contract When Alani was interviewed, he told law enforcement he was upset at the stalled contract between the union and American, which he said had affected him financially, according to the complaint. It said Alani claimed to have tampered with the aircraft to cause a delay or have the flight canceled in anticipation of obtaining overtime work. Unions have complained that American is trying to outsource more maintenance jobs, a move American has indicated is necessary to cover increased wages. In a statement Friday, American said it …

The announcement of John Lansing’s resignation as CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media is renewing questions about the mission and direction of the broadcasters it oversees. The USAGM directly manages five international news entities, including Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Voice of America. Combined, the USAGM broadcasters transmit in 61 languages and have an unduplicated weekly audience of 345 million. Lansing, 62, a veteran cable TV executive, was named CEO of USAGM in 2015 and has now served under two presidents. He will formally leave the agency at the end of September and start in mid-October as CEO of the domestic National Public Radio network. “John Lansing is going to leave behind a really remarkable legacy,” said Amanda Bennett, director of the Voice of America. “He really focused USAGM on issues of a free and independent press. That’s going to be his legacy. That, and his sunny disposition.” Michael Pack (Manifoldproductions.com) Trump nominee President Donald Trump has nominated documentary filmmaker Michael Pack to replace Lansing. Pack, a senior fellow and former president at the Claremont Institute in California, has collaborated on film projects with former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon. Pack’s name was sent to the Senate in January but has been stuck in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Efforts to reach committee Chairman Jim Risch, an Idaho Republican, and ranking member Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, were unsuccessful. Pack could become the CEO in one of two ways: by Senate approval or appointment by the …