Month: October 2019

Over the last year Russia has sent Cuba 1,000 minibuses, 50 locomotives, tens of thousands of tourists and a promise to upgrade the island’s power grid with a multi-million dollar improvement plan. Russian-Cuban trade has more than doubled since 2013, to an expected $500 million this year, mostly in Russian exports to Cuba. And a string of high-ranking Russian officials have visited their former ally in the Caribbean, including Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. On Tuesday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel lands in Moscow for meetings with officials including President Vladimir Putin, with the expectation that they will move forward on deals for more trade and cooperation. Russian-Cuban ties are far from the Cold War era of near-total Cuban dependence on the Soviet bloc, which saw this island as a forward operating base in the Americas then largely abandoned it in the 1990s. But observers of Cuban and Russian foreign policy say there is a significant warming between the former partners prompted in part by the Trump administration’s reversal of President Barack Obama’s opening to Cuba. Cuba and Russia are also heavily supporting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the U.S. has been trying to overthrow. “We did make huge mistakes in the 1990s while turning our backs on Cuba. That time is definitely over, and I’m absolutely sure that our relations deserve better attention from Russia,” said Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of the Russian parliament. “They deserve more investments from Russia both in …

A military officer at the National Security Council twice raised concerns over the Trump administration’s push to have Ukraine investigate Democrats and Joe Biden, according to testimony the official is to deliver Tuesday in the House impeachment inquiry. Alexander Vindman, an Army lieutenant colonel who served in Iraq and, later, as a diplomat, is prepared to tell House investigators that he listened to President Donald Trump’s July 25 call with new Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and reported his concerns to the NSC’s lead counsel. “I was concerned by the call,” Vindman will say, according to prepared testimony obtained Monday night by The Associated Press. “I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the U.S. government’s support of Ukraine.” Vindman is the first White House official who listened in on that call to testify as the impeachment inquiry reaches deeper into the Trump administration and Democrats prepare for the next, public phase of the probe. He’s also the first current White House official to appear before the impeachment panels. The inquiry is looking into Trump’s call, in which he asked Zelenskiy for a “favor” — to investigate Democrats — that Democrats say was a quid pro quo that could be an impeachable offense. Full House to Vote on Trump Impeachment Inquiry House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she wants to ‘eliminate any doubts’ about the process The 20-year military officer will testify that he first …

  WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Iran of seeking means to launch missiles at Israel from Yemen, where Tehran supports Houthi rebels. Netanyahu made the remark during a visit by a U.S. delegation, including presidential adviser Jared Kushner and U.S. secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin. Netanyahu is calling for tougher sanctions against Iran. Netanyahu spoke of Iran’s threat to Israel at an event in Jerusalem on Monday, coinciding with the visit of high U.S. officials. “Iran wants to develop precision-guided missiles that can hit any target in Israel within five to 10 meters. Iran wants to use Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen as bases to attack Israel with statistical missiles and precision-guided missiles. That is a great, great danger. To ward off this danger, we have to do two things. First we must unite, because in the face of danger, we unite,” he said. But at a meeting Sunday between Israel’s longtime leader and his chief political rival Benny Gantz, unity remained elusive. Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin has tasked Gantz with trying to form a government after Netanyahu failed to do so after two inconclusive elections this year. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin deliver joint statements during their meeting in Jerusalem, Oct. 28, 2019. Both Netanyahu and Gantz met with visiting U.S. officials on Monday. Netanyahu called for more U.S. sanctions against Iran. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the economic sanctions have worked so far and more will …

A “solidarity conference” has raised around 120 million euros ($133 million) in fresh money to help Venezuelans fleeing their crisis-wracked country, and in particular to assist neighboring communities struggling to host them, the European Union announced Tuesday.    About 4.5 million people have fled Venezuela in recent years to escape low wages, failing basic services and a lack of security. If departures continue at the same rate, the numbers are set to surpass as early as next year the 5.6 million who have left war-torn Syria since 2011.   Most people are being hosted in neighboring countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.   Announcing the new funds, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the 120 million-euro effort “is quite remarkable” given that the two-day meeting was aimed at raising awareness about the plight of Latin America’s biggest exodus in recent memory and was not a donor conference.   Mogherini urged the international community to put the plight of Venezuelans at the top of its agenda, and not to give in to donor fatigue.   “It’s the best investment we can do,” she told reporters. “If we had invested a little bit, to support the Syrian migrant crisis, or other migrant crises, early in the process, we would have not only saved lives but also saved money.”   The South American nation of roughly 30 million people is gripped by a deepening political and economic crisis. People live in fear of anything from violent street protests to a massive power failure. The …

President Donald Trump used a conference of police chiefs on Monday to slam the host city as “embarrassing to us as a nation” under the leadership of its top cop, who skipped the event over disagreements with Trump’s immigration policies. Trump has frequently criticized Chicago for its crime problems and status as a sanctuary city, one of scores of cities around the country that refuse to work with federal authorities to round up people who are living in the U.S. illegally. “It’s embarrassing to us as a nation,” Trump said. “All over the world they’re talking about Chicago. Afghanistan is a safe place by comparison.” Trump also lashed out at Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, who angered Chicago’s police by skipping Trump’s first appearance in the city as president. Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson listens to a question as he responds to remarks made by President Donald Trump at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Convention, Oct. 28, 2019, in Chicago. “More than anyone else he should be here, because maybe he could maybe learn something,” Trump said, claiming Johnson puts the needs of illegal immigrants above the needs of the law-abiding residents of Chicago. “Those are his values and frankly those values to me are a disgrace,” Trump said, vowing to never to give priority to the needs of illegal immigrants. “I want Eddie Johnson to change his values and to change them fast.” Chicago’s police department had no immediate comment on Trump’s remarks. Johnson’s decision to skip Trump’s …

Americans will celebrate Halloween on October 31, a tradition that dates to an ancient Celtic festival in which it was believed the dead would return to haunt the living. Chances are, many of today’s trick-or-treaters will paint their faces like skulls, borrowing from an ancient Aztec tradition falling at the same time: Dia de los Muertos — the Day of the Dead. Once little-known in the U.S., it has spread from Mexico and Central America, inserting itself into Halloween. It has become big business in America: retail chains sell Day of the Dead costumes, sugar skulls and decorative items — even keychains and ashtrays. The U.S. toymaker Mattel recently launched a Day of the Dead Barbie doll; Nike has unveiled a Day of the Dead-themed athletic shoe, an update of the so-called “Cortez” model, ironically named for the very conquistador who brought down the Aztec Empire, Hernan Cortes. “Mattel Is Releasing a Day of the Dead Barbie Doll” 🤷‍♀️ Cultural appropriation? Helping to understand different cultures? Cheap, money-maker? Opening up a dialogue about death? Do the same people complaining about it own sugar skull handbags from 2010? https://t.co/u1zmaBWUpS — Carla Valentine (@ChickAndTheDead) September 26, 2019 “Mainstream  culture, they think the Day of the Dead is just about sugar skulls and marigolds,” said Ixtlixochitl Salinas-White Hawk, a member of Mexico’s largest indigenous group, the Nahua-Mexika (Aztec), who now lives in Seattle, Washington. She takes exception to the fact that big business and non-indigenous people have appropriated the celebration. “They try to …

Firefighters in California battled a new blaze Monday that broke out near the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, forcing thousands of people to evacuate. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the fire has grown to 200 hectares since it ignited before dawn on Monday and has burned down at least five homes. The area is where some of the city’s most expensive homes are located.   Basketball star LeBron James, who lives in the area, said he evacuated with his family, but had difficulties finding a nearby hotel with vacancies.   “Finally found a place to accommodate us!” the Los Angeles Lakers player wrote on Twitter. “Crazy night man!”   California Hopes Winds Driving Wildfires Subside as Crews Work on Containment 200,000 evacuated, millions lose power as fires burn in northern and southern parts of the state California firefighters are simultaneously battling several blazes in the state, including a large fire in the northern wine country. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said there are hopes that by later Monday, the near historic winds that are driving the wildfire will “substantially settle down,” as some 3,000 people work to put out the blaze. “We’re not out of the woods, but we are leaning in the right direction,” Newsom said at a briefing late Sunday. The western U.S. state is commonly hit by numerous wildfires at this time of year, with the combination of low humidity and strong winds combining to create favorable conditions for fire growth. Firefighters had said the Kincade Fire, …

Prosecutors say a former Boston College student who had “complete and total control” over her boyfriend has been indicted on an involuntary manslaughter charge for allegedly encouraging him to take his own life. Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins announced the indictment against 21-year-old Inyoung You during a news conference Monday. Rollins said You and Alexander Urtula exchanged thousands of text messages, including some in which she urged Urtula to kill himself. He died in Boston on May 20, the day of his Boston College graduation. Rollins says You is currently in South Korea. Rollins’ office did not provide the name of her attorney. The case is similar to that of Michelle Carter, the Massachusetts woman convicted of involuntary manslaughter for sending her boyfriend texts encouraging him to kill himself. …

President Donald Trump, celebrating last weekend’s U.S. commando raid against Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria, belittled him Monday as “a sick and depraved man and now he’s dead.” Trump told police chiefs at a convention in Chicago, “He’s dead, he’s dead as a doornail, and he didn’t die bravely I can tell you that.” The U.S. leader declared, “He should have been killed years ago, another president should have gotten him.” He claimed that the U.S. now has “tens of thousands of ISIS prisoners under tight supervision.” IS Leader Dead, Trump Announces Leader of Islamic State said to have blown himself up during raid led by US special forces Syria oil fields Trump also said the U.S. plans to keep oil fields inside Syria worth $45 million a month in revenue, guarded by American troops, even as he has withdrawn most other U.S. forces from northern Syria just south of the Turkish border. Trump’s victory remarks about the raid came as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it is operating at a “heightened state of vigilance” following the death of al-Baghdadi, but that there are no plans to issue a National Terrorism Advisory System alert unless “we develop specific or credible threat information” to share with the public. “Our security posture will remain agile, we will continue to mitigate and respond to the ever-evolving threat landscape,” the DHS said in a statement Monday a day after Trump announced that  U.S. military special forces operation in northwest …

Joe Biden called it “improper” for President Donald Trump for having his daughter and son-in-law hold positions in the White House, suggesting in a CBS interview Sunday that Jared Kushner is not qualified to weigh in on the complex affairs assigned by his father-in-law. That assessment, which the Democratic presidential hopeful offered in a wide-ranging “60 Minutes” interview, ratchets up the rhetoric between Trump and Biden over each other’s adult children and family business affairs. Biden told CBS that he doesn’t like “going after” politicians’ children, but he said none of his children would hold White House posts, even as he continued to defend his son, Hunter, against Trump’s charges that the Biden’s are corrupt because of the younger Biden’s international business affairs while his father was vice president. “You should make it clear to the American public that everything you’re doing is for them,” Biden said, according to a CBS transcript, when he was asked about Ivanka Trump and Kushner, her husband, in White House posts with significant policy portfolios. “Their actions speak for themselves,” Biden said of the Trump family. “I can just tell you this, that if I’m president get elected president my children are not gonna have offices in the White House. My children are not gonna sit in on Cabinet meetings.” Trump: White House Chief of Staff to Decide Fate of Kushner Security Clearance It will be up to the White House chief of staff to decide whether the U.S. Asked specifically whether he thinks …

Democratic congresswoman Katie Hill of California has resigned amid an ethics probe and revelations of an affair with a campaign staffer. In a statement Sunday, the 32-year-old freshman from the Los Angeles area says leaving the House is best for her constituents, community and country. Hill is under investigation by a congressional committee for an alleged intimate relationship with a male senior aide, which Hill denies. She has acknowledged an affair with a young female staffer. Compromising photos and purported text messages surfaced online this past week in a right-wing publication and a British tabloid. Last year, Hill won the last Republican-held House seat anchored in Los Angeles County. …

Hong Kong’s reputation as a haven for freewheeling business has steadily eroded since the territory was handed over to China from Britain in 1997. As anti-government protestors step up demands for democracy, and with demonstrations becoming more violent, however, the business environment is getting worse. High-technology professionals, bankers and financiers head the list of those wanting to go to the United States, a desire that has taken on an added sense of urgency with the level of investment required for the EB-5 U.S. investment visa, known as the “golden visa,” leaping to $900,000 next month from $500,000, where it has been since 1993, as part of an effort to stem money laundering. The EB-5 visa grants a two-year conditional green card in return for investments in struggling parts of the United States, and applicants have until November 21 to apply under the current investment level. Protesters Again Take to Streets of Hong Kong Teaser Description This week, Hong Kong’s governing body formally withdrew the bill that sparked the original protests earlier this year, but that has done little to appease protesters in this leaderless movement, who say they want the government to do more to stave off what they believe is encroaching control from Beijing John Hu, principal consultant of John Hu Migration Consulting, says inquiries have risen four-fold overall since the protests escalated five months ago. He says he is receiving thousands of callers a month, mainly from those interested in heading to the United States, Canada and Australia. …

Former U.S. Rep. John Conyers, one of the longest-serving members of Congress whose resolutely liberal stance on civil rights made him a political institution in Washington and back home in Detroit despite several scandals, has died. He was 90. Conyers, among the high-profile politicians topped by sex harassment allegations in 2017, died at his home on Sunday, said Detroit police spokesman Cpl. Dan Donakowski. The death “looks like natural causes,” Donakowski added. Known as the dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, which he helped found, Conyers became one of only six black House members when he was won his first election by just 108 votes in 1964. The race was the beginning of more than 50 years of election dominance: Conyers regularly won elections with more than 80 percent of the vote, even after his wife went to prison for taking a bribe. That voter loyalty helped Conyers freely speak his mind. He took at both Republicans and fellow Republicans: he said then-President George W. Bush “has been an absolute disaster for the African-American community” in 2004, and in 1979 called then-President Jimmy Carter “a hopeless, demented, honest, well-intentioned nerd who will never get past his first administration.” Throughout his career, Conyers used his influence to push civil rights. After a 15-year fight, he won passage of legislation declaring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.‘s birthday a national holiday, first celebrated in 1986. He regularly introduced a bill starting in 1989 to study the harm caused by slavery and the …

The U.S. operation on Saturday that killed the leader of the Islamic State (IS) terror group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was reportedly carried out in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, home to several terror groups and tens of thousands of foreign fighters.  Syrian Kurdish military officials said the highly clandestine mission took place near a village, which is approximately 5 kilometers away from the Syria-Turkey border. “Al-Baghdadi, his family and some of his aides were hiding in the village of Barisha in northern Idlib,” a leading commander with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) told VOA.    The SDF official, who insisted anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter, added that Kurdish-led forces played “a crucial role” in the U.S. operation and provided “valuable intelligence to U.S. military intelligence agencies.” Barisha and other surrounding villages are largely under the control of extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaida, experts said. “Several groups that have ties with al-Qaida have presence in this area,” said Sadradeen Kinno, a Syrian researcher who closely follows Islamic militant groups in the country. He noted that Huras al-Din is one of the groups that has operated in the area for a long time. Huras al-Din emerged in Syria in early 2018 after several factions broke away from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly known as al-Nusra Front) following al-Nusra’s decision to sever ties with al-Qaida. The group is largely based in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria, but has …