Science Says: Hotter Weather Turbocharges US West Wildfires

The years with the most acres burned by wildfires have some of the hottest temperatures, an Associated Press analysis of fire and weather data found. As human-caused climate change has warmed the world over the past 35 years, the land consumed by flames has more than doubled.

Experts say the way global warming worsens wildfires comes down to the basic dynamics of fire. Fires need ignition, oxygen and fuel. And what’s really changed is fuel — the trees, brush and other plants that go up in flames.

“Hotter, drier weather means our fuels are drier, so it’s easier for fires to start and spread and burn more intensely,” said University of Alberta fire scientist Mike Flannigan.

It’s simple, he said: “The warmer it is, the more fire we see.”

Federal fire and weather data show higher air temperatures are turbocharging fire season.

The five hottest Aprils to Septembers out West produced years that on average burned more than 13,500 square miles (35,000 square kilometers), according to data at the National Interagency Fire Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration .

That’s triple the average for the five coldest Aprils to Septembers.

The Western summer so far is more than 3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.7 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 20th century average. California in July logged its hottest month in 124 years of record-keeping.

The five years with the most acres burned since 1983 averaged 63.4 degrees from April to September. That’s 1.2 degrees warmer than average and 2.4 degrees hotter than the years with the least acres burned, AP’s data analysis shows.

In California, the five years with the most acres burned (not including this year) average 2.1 degrees warmer than the five years with the least acres burned.

A degree or two may seem like not much, but it is crucial for fuel. The hotter it is, the more water evaporates from plants. When fuel dries faster, fires spread more and burn more intensely, experts said.

For every 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit that the air warms, it needs 15 percent more rain to make up for the drying of the fuel, Flannigan said.

Fuel moisture levels in California and Oregon are flirting with record dry levels, NOAA western regional climate center director Tim Brown said.

And low humidity is “the key driver of wildfire spread,” according to University of Colorado fire scientist Jennifer Balch who says the Western U.S. soon will start to see wildfires of 1 million acres (1,562 square miles).

Veteran Colorado hotshot firefighter Mike Sugaski used to consider 10,000-acre (16-square-mile) fires big, now he fights ones 10 times that or more.

“You kind of keep saying, ‘How can they get much worse?’ But they do,” Sugaski said.

The number of U.S. wildfires hasn’t changed much over the last few decades, but the area consumed has soared.

“The year 2000 seemed to be some kind of turning point,” said Randy Eardley, the fire center’s chief spokesman.

From 1983 to 1999, the United States didn’t reach 10,000 square miles burned annually. Since then, 10 years have had more than 10,000 square miles burned, including 2017, 2015 and 2006 when more than 15,000 square miles burned.

Some people who reject mainstream climate science point to statistics that seem to show far more acres burned in the 1930s and 1940s. But Eardley said statistics before 1983 are not reliable because fires “may be double-counted, tripled-counted or more.”

Nationally, more than 8,900 square miles (23,050 kilometers) have burned this year, about 28 percent more than the 10-year average as of mid-August. California is having one of its worst years.

Scientists generally avoid blaming global warming for specific extreme events without extensive analysis, but scientists have done those extensive examinations on wildfire.

John Abatzgolou of the University of Idaho looked at forest fires and dry conditions in the Western United States from 1979 to 2015 and compared that to computer simulations of what would be expected with no human-caused climate change. He concluded that global warming had a role in an extra 16,200 square miles (42,000 square kilometers) of forests burning since 1984.

A study of the 2015 Alaska fire season — the second biggest on record — did a similar simulation analysis, concluding that climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas increased the risk of the fire season being that severe by 34 to 60 percent.

One 2015 study said globally fire seasons are about 18.7 percent longer since 1979. Another study that year says climate change is increasing extreme wildfire risk in California where wildfires already are year-round.

Also, drought and bark beetles have killed 129 million trees in California since 2016, creating more fuel.

Contrary to fire scientists, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke this week told Breitbart radio that “what’s driving” increased wildfires is an increase in fuel. He said the government has “been held hostage by environmental terrorist groups” that oppose clearing dead trees that they say provide wildlife habitat. Zinke, however, has acknowledged that climate change was a factor in worsening wildfires.

Aretha Franklin Celebrated at Sunday Service at Father’s Baptist Church

Fans and worshippers celebrated the life of Aretha Franklin at her father’s Baptist church in Detroit on Sunday, with her powerful voice again ringing out within its walls in tribute to her spectacular career.

Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, greeted by a standing ovation, sent the several hundred parishioners into raptures with his eulogy and rousing prayers for his old friend, the “Queen of Soul.”

The New Bethel Baptist Church — located in a down-at-heel, quiet neighborhood of Detroit — has been the focus of tributes to Franklin, who passed away from advanced pancreatic cancer on Thursday at age 76.

“On Thursday morning, Earth lost her music. Heaven gained her music,” Jackson told the congregation.

“Right now, the gospel choir in heaven has a lead singer. Detroit lost something, but heaven gained something.”

Franklin’s recording of “Precious Lord (Take My Hand)” — one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s favorite gospel tracks which she sang at his funeral in 1968 — filled the church as a woman dressed in black and red danced.

The high-energy service was packed with music belted out by chief Pastor Robert Smith Jr.

“We are sad that Aretha has gone,” Smith said. “We’re happy that she’s free from the shackles of time.”

In his lengthy address, the now frail Jackson recounted Franklin’s life in the context of the civil rights movement, from her birth into the segregation of the American south to singing at Barack Obama’s inauguration.

Jackson, a Baptist minister and former Democratic presidential candidate, told the church that during the year of Franklin’s birth “in a shack on the Mississippi River” in Tennessee, “225 blacks were lynched.”

Her father, C.L. Franklin, was a prominent Baptist preacher and civil rights activist, who in June 1963 helped King organize the Walk to Freedom through downtown Detroit, only two months before King’s historic March on Washington and “I Have a Dream” speech.

“I remember one time Dr King was facing bankruptcy… and Aretha did an 11-city tour and gave all the money to Dr King,” said Jackson, who was a close aide to the slain activist.

“She was a rose that grew tall in a garden of weeds,” he said.

‘A mighty tribute to the Queen’

Franklin recorded the album “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism” at the church, where she performed over the years, and also served dinners to worshippers and the homeless at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Talking about his final visit with Franklin last Wednesday, Jackson told the church that he walked into the room calling out “Re, Re, Re.”

“She opened her eyes and pressed my arms, and we began to pray,” he said.

His eulogy had worshippers on their feet. Smartly dressed women raised their arms into the air and swayed to the music, as a few wiped away tears, with Jackson leading them in prayers and song.

Worshippers spilled out of the service, invigorated by what they called a celebration of the music icon’s life and legacy.

“It was beautiful and it spoke to all of us,” said Denise Redmon, a 57-year-old Indiana bus driver on a weekend coach trip to Detroit.

“I thought it was excellent. A mighty tribute to the Queen,” agreed Esther Birden, 60, on the same two-day “Aretha Franklin soul weekend, joining in all the festivities and being a part of history.”

“I remember listening to Aretha when I was eight years old and dancing to her music,” she said.

“We have nothing to be sad about because she gave us so much. She gave us secular, she gave us gospel, she gave us opera… and you don’t find too many that can fit in every arena like that.”

‘Freedom fighter’

Ralph Godbee, a former Detroit police chief turned pastor, led the congregation in a rousing hand clap for Franklin.

He recalled how she had once called to complain about a relative who had been mistreated by the police department, telling him that no one — regardless of their family — should be treated in such a way.

“There’s something about when the queen calls,” he said, hailing her as a “freedom fighter” and “demanding justice for everybody from the back row to the front pew.”

He said the revival of the Motor City — the home of the US auto industry that has turned a corner after years of economic depression and high crime — was “on the back of the spirit of the Queen of Soul.”

Outside the pale brick church, mourners have left helium balloons, bouquets of flowers, teddy bears and hand-written tributes.

“Aretha Will Always be My Queen. Nothing But Respect!!” read one home-made poster adored with cut-out, black-and-white newspaper pictures of the musical icon in her prime.

“You will always be in my heart,” said another. “Your voice will always ring in my heart and soul. I hear it all of the time, soothing me.”

ООН закликає світову спільноту гарантувати захист цивільного населення на сході України

Організація Об’єднаних Націй закликає негайно вжити заходів для захисту мільйонів цивільних громадян України, які страждають внаслідок активних бойових дій на сході країни. Прес-служба ООН поширила заяву 19 серпня з нагоди 10-го Всесвітнього дня гуманітарної допомоги.

«Я глибоко стурбована тим, що мільйони українських чоловіків, жінок і дітей, які живуть біля 450-кілометрової лінії зіткнення стикаються з загрозою обстрілів і снайперського вогню та ризиками, пов’язаними з великою кількістю мін і боєприпасів, що не розірвалися. Прошу міжнародну спільноту збільшити підтримку заради розширення заходів, спрямованих на полегшення страждань цивільного населення України, яке потерпає внаслідок цієї кризи», – заявила координатор системи ООН в Україні й координатор з гуманітарних питань в Україні Оснат Лубрані.

В ООН заявляють, що більше ніж 3,4 мільйона людей через конфлікт на Донбасі стикаються з труднощами щодо отримання продуктів, доступу до води, житла, медичних послуг й освіти.

Минулого року в ООН попереджали про серйозну гуманітарну ситуацію на сході України. Координатор ООН в Україні Ніл Вокерзаявив, що в 2017 році ООН вдалося зібрати лише 30 відсотків від необхідної суми допомоги.

 

Порошенко підписав закон про запобігання рейдерству земель в Україні

Президент Петро Порошенко підписав закон про створення ефективного механізму використання земель сільгосппризначення і запобігання рейдерству земель в Україні, повідомляє 19 серпня прес-служба голови держави.

За повідомленням, реалізація закону створить ефективний механізм використання масивів земель сільськогосподарського призначення, створить необхідні умови для запобігання рейдерству і стимулювання зрошення земель в Україні.

«Закон визначає особливості використання і розпорядження земельними ділянками, розташованими у масиві земель сільськогосподарського призначення, а також полезахисними лісовими смугами, які обмежують такий масив. Зокрема, передбачається право власників, землекористувачів земельних ділянок сільськогосподарського призначення, призначених для ведення особистого селянського господарства, фермерського господарства, розташованих у масиві земель сільськогосподарського призначення, використовувати їх також для ведення товарного сільськогосподарського виробництва без зміни цільового призначення таких земельних ділянок», – йдеться в повідомленні.

Крім того, закон встановлює право власників земельних ділянок усіх форм власності, розташованих у масиві земель сільськогосподарського призначення, обмінюватися такими земельними ділянками.

Верховна Рада ухвалила цей закон у липні. Він набуває чинності з дня, наступного за днем його опублікування.

Порошенко підписав закон про запобігання рейдерству земель в Україні

Президент Петро Порошенко підписав закон про створення ефективного механізму використання земель сільгосппризначення і запобігання рейдерству земель в Україні, повідомляє 19 серпня прес-служба голови держави.

За повідомленням, реалізація закону створить ефективний механізм використання масивів земель сільськогосподарського призначення, створить необхідні умови для запобігання рейдерству і стимулювання зрошення земель в Україні.

«Закон визначає особливості використання і розпорядження земельними ділянками, розташованими у масиві земель сільськогосподарського призначення, а також полезахисними лісовими смугами, які обмежують такий масив. Зокрема, передбачається право власників, землекористувачів земельних ділянок сільськогосподарського призначення, призначених для ведення особистого селянського господарства, фермерського господарства, розташованих у масиві земель сільськогосподарського призначення, використовувати їх також для ведення товарного сільськогосподарського виробництва без зміни цільового призначення таких земельних ділянок», – йдеться в повідомленні.

Крім того, закон встановлює право власників земельних ділянок усіх форм власності, розташованих у масиві земель сільськогосподарського призначення, обмінюватися такими земельними ділянками.

Верховна Рада ухвалила цей закон у липні. Він набуває чинності з дня, наступного за днем його опублікування.

Міноборони розслідує, чому бойова машина врізалась у будівлю після репетиції параду

У Міністерстві оборони України повідомляють, що почали службове розслідування для встановлення причин зіткнення з будівлею в Києві бойової машини, яка у складі військової техніки брала участь у репетиції параду до 27-ї річниці Дня Незалежності України.

«18 серпня, близько 21:30 у Києві, одна із бойових машин, яка рухалася в колоні військової техніки, виконуючи поворот, здійснила зіткнення з будівлею по вулиці Ярославській. Постраждалих внаслідок зіткнення немає, є незначні пошкодження фасаду будівлі. Наразі проводиться службове розслідування з метою з’ясування обставин події», – йдеться в повідомленні Міноборони 19 серпня у Facebook.

Про інцидент, що стався 18 серпня в Києві, повідомляли ЗМІ. А відео і фото інциденту очевидці розмістили також у соцмережі Facebook.

Планується, що цього року у військовому параді до Дня Незалежності візьме участь 4,5 тисячі військовослужбовців і 250 одиниць військової техніки. Генеральну репетицію проведуть 22 серпня.

11 квітня президент України Петро Порошенко доручив на День Незалежності провести військовий парад у центрі Києва, видавши указ про це.

У Міністерстві внутрішніх справ України заявили, що з 22 серпня підрозділи будуть переведені на посилений варіант несення служби.

 

В анексований Крим знову приїхав британський спортсмен, якому СБУ забороняла в’їзд

Британський спортсмен Ґері Гант, якому в 2017 році заборонили в’їзд в Україну за участь в змаганнях в анексованому Криму, став переможцем російського «кубка світу» зі стрибків у воду з висоти 27 метрів, який пройшов в курортному селищі Сімеїз на півдні півострова.

Як повідомляє російське державне інформагентство ТАСС, друге місце посів українець Олексій Пирогов, третє – американець Кайл Мітріон.

Агентство Reuters підтвердило цю інформацію й опублікувало відео змагань зі стрибків у воду.

Організовані Росією змагання з кліфф-дайвінгу (стрибки в воду зі скелі) пройшли в анексованому Криму 18 серпня. У них брали участь 12 спортсменів. Вперше цей захід відбувся в 2017 році.

Минулого року посольство України у Великій Британії висловлювало розчарування у зв’язку з участю британських спортсменів у цих змаганнях. Дипломатичне відомство закликало громадян Британії утримуватися від незаконного відвідування півострова.

Підконтрольна Кремлю влада регулярно запрошує представників іноземних держав відвідати Крим, таким чином прагнучи легалізувати анексію півострова.

Міжнародні організації визнали окупацію і анексію Криму незаконними і засудили дії Росії. Країни Заходу запровадили низку економічних санкцій. Росія заперечує окупацію півострова і називає це «відновленням історичної справедливості». Верховна Рада України офіційно оголосила датою початку тимчасової окупації Криму і Севастополя Росією 20 лютого 2014 року.

Largest Collection of Iconic Tiffany Glass Housed in NY Warehouse

Tucked away in an industrial block in the New York City borough of Queens is an ordinary-looking warehouse containing an extraordinary treasure: a quarter-million sheets, shards and pieces of multicolored and iridescent glass that together make up the largest collection of Tiffany glass, The Neustadt Tiffany Glass Archive.

​Magnificent windows

While stained glass has been produced since ancient times, the colorful cathedral windows created during the 15th century of the Renaissance period are perhaps the best known. But the art was transformed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Louis Comfort Tiffany, an American artist and designer who used his unique talent to essentially create paintings out of glass.

Lindsy Parrott, executive director and curator of the collection, holds up a medium-sized piece of glass as she explains its uniqueness. 

“This is called dichroic, rippled glass and so it’s one color — this greenish color — in reflected light. But then look at this,” she says, as she holds it up to the window. “When you illuminate it, it becomes a wonderful reddish-yellow glass.”

And that’s what is significant bout The Neustadt Tiffany Glass Archive, she says. “It documents this unbelievable chapter in the history of stained glass, by introducing all of these incredible colors and textures, various patterns, different opacities of glass.”

​Distinctive style of glass

Tiffany glass derives its name from the distinctive style of glass produced by Tiffany and his team of designers from 1878 to 1933. Working out of the Tiffany Studios in New York, Tiffany became famous for the color-infused, leaded glass lampshades and stained glass windows that have come to define his name.

The Neustadt Collection was founded in 1969 by collector Egon Neustadt and his wife, Hildegard, who discovered their first Tiffany lamp in 1935. That $12.50 purchase inspired a lifelong passion.

“This one wonderful daffodil lamp kicked off an entire collection,” Parrott says. The Neustadts became deeply passionate about Tiffany lamps after that initial purchase, transfixed by their beauty, and spent the rest of their life building a massive collection.

A passion for Tiffany glass

The couple would eventually amass more than 200 Tiffany lamps, each one unique, including the purchase in 1967 of a huge cache of Tiffany glass left when the company’s furnaces finally closed in 1937.

“Tiffany’s furnaces were originally located in Corona, Queens, and so much of the glass that you see here was made here in New York City,” Parrott says.

The collection represents a variety of forms of glass, from drapery glass meant to mimic a flowing robe, rippled glass meant to represent water, and pressed glass jewels and 3D glass jewels to adorn lamps, mosaics and windows, all carefully sorted and ordered by color, size, texture and type.

The warehouse containing the Tiffany Glass Archive will open to the public for exclusive monthly tours later this year. And The Neustadt will provide a sneak preview of some of these glass treasures in a new exhibition in their dedicated gallery at the Queens Museum, opening October 7.

Largest Collection of Iconic Tiffany Glass Housed in NY Warehouse

Tucked away in an industrial block in the New York City borough of Queens is an ordinary-looking warehouse containing an extraordinary treasure: a quarter-million sheets, shards and pieces of multicolored and iridescent glass that together make up the largest collection of Tiffany glass, The Neustadt Tiffany Glass Archive.

​Magnificent windows

While stained glass has been produced since ancient times, the colorful cathedral windows created during the 15th century of the Renaissance period are perhaps the best known. But the art was transformed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Louis Comfort Tiffany, an American artist and designer who used his unique talent to essentially create paintings out of glass.

Lindsy Parrott, executive director and curator of the collection, holds up a medium-sized piece of glass as she explains its uniqueness. 

“This is called dichroic, rippled glass and so it’s one color — this greenish color — in reflected light. But then look at this,” she says, as she holds it up to the window. “When you illuminate it, it becomes a wonderful reddish-yellow glass.”

And that’s what is significant bout The Neustadt Tiffany Glass Archive, she says. “It documents this unbelievable chapter in the history of stained glass, by introducing all of these incredible colors and textures, various patterns, different opacities of glass.”

​Distinctive style of glass

Tiffany glass derives its name from the distinctive style of glass produced by Tiffany and his team of designers from 1878 to 1933. Working out of the Tiffany Studios in New York, Tiffany became famous for the color-infused, leaded glass lampshades and stained glass windows that have come to define his name.

The Neustadt Collection was founded in 1969 by collector Egon Neustadt and his wife, Hildegard, who discovered their first Tiffany lamp in 1935. That $12.50 purchase inspired a lifelong passion.

“This one wonderful daffodil lamp kicked off an entire collection,” Parrott says. The Neustadts became deeply passionate about Tiffany lamps after that initial purchase, transfixed by their beauty, and spent the rest of their life building a massive collection.

A passion for Tiffany glass

The couple would eventually amass more than 200 Tiffany lamps, each one unique, including the purchase in 1967 of a huge cache of Tiffany glass left when the company’s furnaces finally closed in 1937.

“Tiffany’s furnaces were originally located in Corona, Queens, and so much of the glass that you see here was made here in New York City,” Parrott says.

The collection represents a variety of forms of glass, from drapery glass meant to mimic a flowing robe, rippled glass meant to represent water, and pressed glass jewels and 3D glass jewels to adorn lamps, mosaics and windows, all carefully sorted and ordered by color, size, texture and type.

The warehouse containing the Tiffany Glass Archive will open to the public for exclusive monthly tours later this year. And The Neustadt will provide a sneak preview of some of these glass treasures in a new exhibition in their dedicated gallery at the Queens Museum, opening October 7.

Gun-Control Initiative Brings Protesters on Both Sides to Seattle

Right-wing demonstrators gathered Saturday in Seattle for a “Liberty or Death” rally that drew counter-protesters from the left while dozens of police kept the two sides apart.

The right-wing groups Washington 3 Percenters and Patriot Prayer were holding the rally outside Seattle City Hall to protest an effort to launch a gun-control initiative that would raise the age in Washington state for people buying semi-automatic rifles.

The left-wing groups Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity, Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party were rallying at the same site.

​Protesters on each side

Hundreds of protesters on each side of the street were separated Saturday afternoon by metal barriers and police officers as the left-wing protesters yelled and used cow bells and sirens to try to drown out speeches from the right-wing side.

Three men were arrested, all for misdemeanor assault, Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, a Seattle police spokesman, told the Seattle Times.

One person on the right-wing group side was treated for an injury at the scene.

Additional police also arrived, including police in riot gear with batons who took up positions in the street. Bicycle officers lined up their bikes as a type of moving barrier to keep protesters from entering the street, which remained open to traffic.

Gun-control initiative

The gun-control initiative would boost the age for the purchase of semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 and would expand the background checks for those purchases. The measure would also require people to complete a firearm safety training course and create standards for safely storing firearms.

A judge on Friday, however, threw out 300,000 signatures needed to put the initiative on the November ballot, saying the petition’s format did not follow election law. The Alliance for Gun Responsibility, the group behind the initiative, has filed a notice of appeal with the Washington Supreme Court.

The protest came two weeks after police in riot gear in Portland, Oregon, tried to keep right-wing and left-wing groups apart. The effort mostly succeeded, but police were accused of being heavy-handed, prompting the city’s new police chief to order a review of officers’ use of force

Gun-Control Initiative Brings Protesters on Both Sides to Seattle

Right-wing demonstrators gathered Saturday in Seattle for a “Liberty or Death” rally that drew counter-protesters from the left while dozens of police kept the two sides apart.

The right-wing groups Washington 3 Percenters and Patriot Prayer were holding the rally outside Seattle City Hall to protest an effort to launch a gun-control initiative that would raise the age in Washington state for people buying semi-automatic rifles.

The left-wing groups Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity, Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party were rallying at the same site.

​Protesters on each side

Hundreds of protesters on each side of the street were separated Saturday afternoon by metal barriers and police officers as the left-wing protesters yelled and used cow bells and sirens to try to drown out speeches from the right-wing side.

Three men were arrested, all for misdemeanor assault, Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, a Seattle police spokesman, told the Seattle Times.

One person on the right-wing group side was treated for an injury at the scene.

Additional police also arrived, including police in riot gear with batons who took up positions in the street. Bicycle officers lined up their bikes as a type of moving barrier to keep protesters from entering the street, which remained open to traffic.

Gun-control initiative

The gun-control initiative would boost the age for the purchase of semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 and would expand the background checks for those purchases. The measure would also require people to complete a firearm safety training course and create standards for safely storing firearms.

A judge on Friday, however, threw out 300,000 signatures needed to put the initiative on the November ballot, saying the petition’s format did not follow election law. The Alliance for Gun Responsibility, the group behind the initiative, has filed a notice of appeal with the Washington Supreme Court.

The protest came two weeks after police in riot gear in Portland, Oregon, tried to keep right-wing and left-wing groups apart. The effort mostly succeeded, but police were accused of being heavy-handed, prompting the city’s new police chief to order a review of officers’ use of force

Largest Collection of Tiffany Glass Housed in NY Warehouse

About 250,000 pieces of multicolored and iridescent glass sit in a warehouse on an industrial block in Long Island City, Queens, which houses the largest collection of Tiffany glass. It’s a welcome tribute to Louis Tiffany, an American artist who many believe transformed the history of stained glass with his unique artistry — essentially creating paintings out of glass. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more.

Maduro Unveils New Banknote, Other Economic Reforms

Uncertainty reigned in Venezuela Saturday after President Nicolas Maduro unveiled a major economic reform plan aimed at halting the spiraling hyperinflation that has thrown the oil-rich, cash-poor South American country into chaos.

Ahead of a major currency overhaul Monday, when Caracas will start issuing new banknotes after slashing five zeroes off the crippled bolivar, Maduro detailed other measures he hopes will pull Venezuela out of crisis.

Those measures include a massive minimum wage hike, the fifth so far this year.

But analysts say the radical overhaul could only serve to make matters worse.

“There will be a lot of confusion in the next few days, for consumers and the private sector,” said the director of the Ecoanalitica consultancy, Asdrubal Oliveros. “It’s a chaotic scenario.”

​‘Pure lie’

The embattled Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader, said the country needed to show “fiscal discipline” and stop the excessive money printing that has been regular practice in recent years.

The new currency, the sovereign bolivar — to distinguish from the current, and ironically named, strong bolivar — will be anchored to the country’s widely discredited cryptocurrency, the petro.

Each petro will be worth about $60, based on the price of a barrel of Venezuela’s oil. In the new currency, that will be 3,600 sovereign bolivars, signaling a massive devaluation.

In turn, the minimum wage will be fixed at half a petro (1,800 sovereign bolivars), starting Monday. That is about $28, more than 34 times the previous level of less than a dollar at the prevailing black market rate.

Maduro also said the country would have one fluctuating official exchange rate, also anchored to the petro, without saying what the starting level would be.

As it stands, the monthly minimum wage, devastated by inflation and the aggressive devaluation of the bolivar, is still not enough to buy a kilo of meat.

In the capital Caracas, residents were skeptical about the new measures.

“Everything will stay the same, prices will continue to rise,” 39-year-old Bruno Choy, who runs a street food stand, told AFP.

Angel Arias, a 67-year-old retiree, dubbed the new currency a “pure lie!”

1 million percent inflation

The International Monetary Fund predicts inflation will hit a staggering 1 million percent this year in Venezuela, now in a fourth year of recession, hamstrung by shortages of basic goods and crippled by paralyzed public services.

Maduro blames the country’s financial woes on opposition plots and American sanctions, but admits that the government will “learn as we go along” when it comes to the currency redenomination.

His government pushed back Saturday against criticism of the economic reform plan.

“Don’t pay attention to naysayers,” Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said. “With oil income, with taxes and income from gasoline price hikes … we’ll be able to fund our program.”

Electronic transactions are set to be suspended from Sunday to facilitate the introduction of the new notes.

Economy in turmoil

Oil production accounts for 96 percent of Venezuela’s revenue, but that has slumped to a 30-year low of 1.4 million barrels a day, compared to its record high of 3.2 million 10 years ago.

The fiscal deficit is almost 20 percent of GDP while Venezuela struggles with an external debt of $150 billion.

Venezuela launched the petro in a bid for liquidity to try to circumvent US sanctions that have all but stamped out international financing.

But there’s a good reason the redenomination hasn’t generated renewed hope or investor confidence: Venezuela has done this before.

Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez stripped three zeroes off the bolivar in 2008, but that failed to prevent hyperinflation.

Also, Cryptocurrency rating site ICOindex.com has branded the petro a scam, and the U.S. has banned its nationals from trading in it.

Maduro Unveils New Banknote, Other Economic Reforms

Uncertainty reigned in Venezuela Saturday after President Nicolas Maduro unveiled a major economic reform plan aimed at halting the spiraling hyperinflation that has thrown the oil-rich, cash-poor South American country into chaos.

Ahead of a major currency overhaul Monday, when Caracas will start issuing new banknotes after slashing five zeroes off the crippled bolivar, Maduro detailed other measures he hopes will pull Venezuela out of crisis.

Those measures include a massive minimum wage hike, the fifth so far this year.

But analysts say the radical overhaul could only serve to make matters worse.

“There will be a lot of confusion in the next few days, for consumers and the private sector,” said the director of the Ecoanalitica consultancy, Asdrubal Oliveros. “It’s a chaotic scenario.”

​‘Pure lie’

The embattled Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader, said the country needed to show “fiscal discipline” and stop the excessive money printing that has been regular practice in recent years.

The new currency, the sovereign bolivar — to distinguish from the current, and ironically named, strong bolivar — will be anchored to the country’s widely discredited cryptocurrency, the petro.

Each petro will be worth about $60, based on the price of a barrel of Venezuela’s oil. In the new currency, that will be 3,600 sovereign bolivars, signaling a massive devaluation.

In turn, the minimum wage will be fixed at half a petro (1,800 sovereign bolivars), starting Monday. That is about $28, more than 34 times the previous level of less than a dollar at the prevailing black market rate.

Maduro also said the country would have one fluctuating official exchange rate, also anchored to the petro, without saying what the starting level would be.

As it stands, the monthly minimum wage, devastated by inflation and the aggressive devaluation of the bolivar, is still not enough to buy a kilo of meat.

In the capital Caracas, residents were skeptical about the new measures.

“Everything will stay the same, prices will continue to rise,” 39-year-old Bruno Choy, who runs a street food stand, told AFP.

Angel Arias, a 67-year-old retiree, dubbed the new currency a “pure lie!”

1 million percent inflation

The International Monetary Fund predicts inflation will hit a staggering 1 million percent this year in Venezuela, now in a fourth year of recession, hamstrung by shortages of basic goods and crippled by paralyzed public services.

Maduro blames the country’s financial woes on opposition plots and American sanctions, but admits that the government will “learn as we go along” when it comes to the currency redenomination.

His government pushed back Saturday against criticism of the economic reform plan.

“Don’t pay attention to naysayers,” Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said. “With oil income, with taxes and income from gasoline price hikes … we’ll be able to fund our program.”

Electronic transactions are set to be suspended from Sunday to facilitate the introduction of the new notes.

Economy in turmoil

Oil production accounts for 96 percent of Venezuela’s revenue, but that has slumped to a 30-year low of 1.4 million barrels a day, compared to its record high of 3.2 million 10 years ago.

The fiscal deficit is almost 20 percent of GDP while Venezuela struggles with an external debt of $150 billion.

Venezuela launched the petro in a bid for liquidity to try to circumvent US sanctions that have all but stamped out international financing.

But there’s a good reason the redenomination hasn’t generated renewed hope or investor confidence: Venezuela has done this before.

Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez stripped three zeroes off the bolivar in 2008, but that failed to prevent hyperinflation.

Also, Cryptocurrency rating site ICOindex.com has branded the petro a scam, and the U.S. has banned its nationals from trading in it.

Turkey’s Economic Crisis Rattles Global Markets

A budding trade war between the U.S. and Turkey over a detained American pastor is having global consequences. A sharp drop in Turkey’s lira, inflation and the threat of loan defaults, could drag down other economies, particularly in emerging markets. Turkey’s troubles are causing ripple effects in countries as far away as Argentina and Indonesia, while weighing on Asian currency rates and triggering currency fluctuations. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.

Turkey’s Economic Crisis Rattles Global Markets

A budding trade war between the U.S. and Turkey over a detained American pastor is having global consequences. A sharp drop in Turkey’s lira, inflation and the threat of loan defaults, could drag down other economies, particularly in emerging markets. Turkey’s troubles are causing ripple effects in countries as far away as Argentina and Indonesia, while weighing on Asian currency rates and triggering currency fluctuations. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.

Меркель і Путін озвучили теми сьогоднішніх перемовин у Берліні

Канцлер Німеччини Анґела Меркель анонсувала обговорення з президентом Росії Володимиром Путіним конфлікти в Україні та Сирії, а також Іран та проект газопроводу «Північний потік 2».

Звертаючись до журналістів перед Берлінським замком Мезеберг до їхніх переговорів, Меркель заявила, що вона також планує охопити у розмові питання прав людини та двосторонних відносини з Росією.

Путін, тим часом, закликав Європу посилити гуманітарну допомогу Сирії.  Російський лідер також заявив, що буде обговорювати з Меркель ядерну угоду 2015 року між світовими державами та Іраном, про вихід з якої у травні заявив американський президент Дональд Трамп.

Путін прибув до Берліна після відвідування весілля міністра закордонних справ Австрії Карін Кнайсль 18 серпня.

Меркель і Путін озвучили теми сьогоднішніх перемовин у Берліні

Канцлер Німеччини Анґела Меркель анонсувала обговорення з президентом Росії Володимиром Путіним конфлікти в Україні та Сирії, а також Іран та проект газопроводу «Північний потік 2».

Звертаючись до журналістів перед Берлінським замком Мезеберг до їхніх переговорів, Меркель заявила, що вона також планує охопити у розмові питання прав людини та двосторонних відносини з Росією.

Путін, тим часом, закликав Європу посилити гуманітарну допомогу Сирії.  Російський лідер також заявив, що буде обговорювати з Меркель ядерну угоду 2015 року між світовими державами та Іраном, про вихід з якої у травні заявив американський президент Дональд Трамп.

Путін прибув до Берліна після відвідування весілля міністра закордонних справ Австрії Карін Кнайсль 18 серпня.

У центрі Києва триває репетиція параду до Дня Незалежності

У центрі Києва відбувається репетиція параду до Дня Незалежності України, який запланований на 24 серпня.

 

Користувачі соцмереж повідомляють про затори на дорогах.

Як раніше попереджали у КМДА, під час репетиції параду пролунають артилерійські салюти десятьма залпами гармат з вогневої позиції, розташованої на Трухановому острові.

Планується, що у параді візьме участь 4,5 тисячі військовослужбовців і 250 одиниць військової техніки. Генеральну репетицію проведуть 22 серпня.

11 квітня президент України Петро Порошенко доручив на День Незалежності провести військовий парад у центрі Києва, видавши відповідний указ.

У Міністерстві внутрішніх справ України заявили, що з 22 серпня підрозділи будуть переведені на посилений варіант несення служби.

У центрі Києва триває репетиція параду до Дня Незалежності

У центрі Києва відбувається репетиція параду до Дня Незалежності України, який запланований на 24 серпня.

 

Користувачі соцмереж повідомляють про затори на дорогах.

Як раніше попереджали у КМДА, під час репетиції параду пролунають артилерійські салюти десятьма залпами гармат з вогневої позиції, розташованої на Трухановому острові.

Планується, що у параді візьме участь 4,5 тисячі військовослужбовців і 250 одиниць військової техніки. Генеральну репетицію проведуть 22 серпня.

11 квітня президент України Петро Порошенко доручив на День Незалежності провести військовий парад у центрі Києва, видавши відповідний указ.

У Міністерстві внутрішніх справ України заявили, що з 22 серпня підрозділи будуть переведені на посилений варіант несення служби.

Путін станцював на весіллі глави МЗС Австрії

Президент Росії Володимир Путін взяв участь у шлюбній церемонії міністра закордонних справ Австрії Карін Кнайсль по дорозі на зустріч із канцлером Німеччини Анґелою Меркель.

Як повідомляється, святкування відбувалося на півдні Австрії за участі близько сотні гостей. За інформацією у деяких ЗМІ, російський глава держави спізнився на початок церемонії. Втім, нарешті прибувши, Путін порадував нареченій букет квітів і танцював із нею.

Голова МЗС Австрії Карін Кнайсль вийшла заміж за Вольфганга Майлінгера, фінансиста і підприємця. Сама Кнайсль стала міністром від правої Партії свободи, яка входить до правлячої нині коаліції з консервативною Народною партією канцлера Себастьяна Курца.

Партія свободи відома проросійською позицією й уклала угоду про співпрацю з владною в Росії партією «Єдина Росія».

На початку 2018 року в інтерв’ю австрійській газеті Kurier Карін Кнайсль заявила, що санкції проти Росії, запроваджені після анексії Криму і початку конфлікту на сході України, не були ефективними.

За даними ЗМІ, через візит Володимира Путіна на весіллі посилять заходи безпеки. Спецслужби мають намір задіяти снайперів. 

Востаннє Путін був в Австрії на початку червня. Візит до Відня став першою поїздкою Путіна на Захід після його переобрання у березні на четвертий термін на посаду президента.

Путін станцював на весіллі глави МЗС Австрії

Президент Росії Володимир Путін взяв участь у шлюбній церемонії міністра закордонних справ Австрії Карін Кнайсль по дорозі на зустріч із канцлером Німеччини Анґелою Меркель.

Як повідомляється, святкування відбувалося на півдні Австрії за участі близько сотні гостей. За інформацією у деяких ЗМІ, російський глава держави спізнився на початок церемонії. Втім, нарешті прибувши, Путін порадував нареченій букет квітів і танцював із нею.

Голова МЗС Австрії Карін Кнайсль вийшла заміж за Вольфганга Майлінгера, фінансиста і підприємця. Сама Кнайсль стала міністром від правої Партії свободи, яка входить до правлячої нині коаліції з консервативною Народною партією канцлера Себастьяна Курца.

Партія свободи відома проросійською позицією й уклала угоду про співпрацю з владною в Росії партією «Єдина Росія».

На початку 2018 року в інтерв’ю австрійській газеті Kurier Карін Кнайсль заявила, що санкції проти Росії, запроваджені після анексії Криму і початку конфлікту на сході України, не були ефективними.

За даними ЗМІ, через візит Володимира Путіна на весіллі посилять заходи безпеки. Спецслужби мають намір задіяти снайперів. 

Востаннє Путін був в Австрії на початку червня. Візит до Відня став першою поїздкою Путіна на Захід після його переобрання у березні на четвертий термін на посаду президента.

Economic Fears Grip Turkey

Turkey’s currency this month has suffered heavy falls triggered by U.S. Turkish tensions over the ongoing detention of an American pastor. Washington’s threat to impose new economic sanctions sparked another steep currency drop Friday. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul on the economic fall out for people in Istanbul.

Economic Fears Grip Turkey

Turkey’s currency this month has suffered heavy falls triggered by U.S. Turkish tensions over the ongoing detention of an American pastor. Washington’s threat to impose new economic sanctions sparked another steep currency drop Friday. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul on the economic fall out for people in Istanbul.

Economic Fears Grip Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is vowing he won’t back down in the deepening dispute with Washington.

“They were not able to make us collapse and they never will. If they have their dollars, we have our God. We will walk toward the future together with firm steps,” Erdogan said to thousands of party members at the national congress of his ruling AKP Party in Ankara.

Turkey’s currency plummeted this month following Washington’s trade tariffs and sanctions, as bilateral tensions escalated. Those tensions intensified Friday when a Turkish court ruled for the continued detention of American Pastor Andrew Brunson.

Brunson trial

Brunson, who is being tried on terrorism charges, is a big part of the disagreement between the two NATO allies. Before Friday’s ruling U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted, “Turkey has taken advantage of the United States for many years,” adding, “We will pay nothing for the release of an innocent man, but we are cutting back on Turkey.”

Strain over Brunson’s ongoing detention cased the Turkish lira to fall Friday. Further declines of the Turkish currency are anticipated because of expected additional U.S. sanctions. “We have more that we are planning to do if they don’t release [Mr. Brunson] quickly,” said U.S. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday.

The Turkish lira has lost nearly 40 percent recently, with roughly half of the losses this month.

 

Istanbul’s Kadikoy neighborhood is the heart of the Asian side of the city. Shops and traders are struggling to come to terms with the wild gyrations in the currency’s value.

Imported goods

Stores depending heavily on imported goods are among the hardest hit.

“Ninety percent of the goods we sell are imported goods,” said Taylan Akcora, a sporting goods shop owner in Kadikoy.

“They are all brands [we sell] and imported to Turkey from the Far East,” he continued. “There are firms who import them [shoes], we buy all our goods from the Turkey distributor of the brand. They will surely put up the prices.”

Turkey is no stranger to a currency crisis, all of which invariably resulted in a surge in inflation and unemployment. The country’s heavy dependence on imports is exacerbating the impact of the currency depreciation. Energy-poor Turkey imports more than 90 percent of its oil and natural gas.

Aslan Yuce runs a tea shop on Kadikoy’s main street. Yuce claims fear of the future is stalking the streets.

“No one is feeling secure. There is no one looking at the future with hope,” he said. “I am a shop owner here, and I see people passing by, everyone looks grim, or thoughtful as if they all lost their hopes about their lives. There is such a psychological situation here,“ Yuce added.

Pharmacy sector

However, it’s the sick who could be the first to suffer. “The rise in the value of the U.S. dollar and the general foreign exchange rate will drastically affect our pharmacy sector, which is so dependent on imports,” said Guliz Kaptan, who has owned a pharmacy in Kadikoy for 30 years.  

“Turkish pharmaceutical producers will not even be able to purchase the active ingredients for the current selling price of the medicine on the shelf,” Kaptan added.

Much of the medicine used in Turkey is paid for at least in part by the government. President Erdogan expanded a social security network, especially for health. With rapid currency declines, however, cutbacks already have started.

“Another effect, under precautionary economic measures taken by the government,” Kaptan said. “The national health insurance has stopped paying for best-selling imported medicines, including anti-depressants.”

Further cutbacks could be in the offing with the uncertainty about the Turkish lira and for the broader economy. Two international credit rating agencies recently downgraded Turkey’s sovereign debt further into junk status.

Lira plummets

The ratings agencies both voiced fears about the management of the economy. “Over the last two weeks, the Turkish lira has exhibited extreme volatility,” said Standard and Poor’s rating service in a statement Friday. “This follows Turkey’s prolonged economic overheating, external leveraging, and policy drift,” S&P added.

Erdogan insists the Turkish economy remains strong, and the currency drop is a result of “economic missiles” from Washington. Economists warn even if the Turkish president reverses his stance and adopts steps called for by international investors, a painful road awaits Turkey. “It’s too late,” said analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners.

“You can solve the currency problem. You can solve the political problems, but it’s too late to save the economy. A Brazilian type of recession has started. For the next year or two, Turkey will not grow. It will shrink in some quarters, a quarter of a percent of growth in some others. However, it’s going to be extremely painful,“ added Yesilada.

 

 

Economic Fears Grip Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is vowing he won’t back down in the deepening dispute with Washington.

“They were not able to make us collapse and they never will. If they have their dollars, we have our God. We will walk toward the future together with firm steps,” Erdogan said to thousands of party members at the national congress of his ruling AKP Party in Ankara.

Turkey’s currency plummeted this month following Washington’s trade tariffs and sanctions, as bilateral tensions escalated. Those tensions intensified Friday when a Turkish court ruled for the continued detention of American Pastor Andrew Brunson.

Brunson trial

Brunson, who is being tried on terrorism charges, is a big part of the disagreement between the two NATO allies. Before Friday’s ruling U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted, “Turkey has taken advantage of the United States for many years,” adding, “We will pay nothing for the release of an innocent man, but we are cutting back on Turkey.”

Strain over Brunson’s ongoing detention cased the Turkish lira to fall Friday. Further declines of the Turkish currency are anticipated because of expected additional U.S. sanctions. “We have more that we are planning to do if they don’t release [Mr. Brunson] quickly,” said U.S. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday.

The Turkish lira has lost nearly 40 percent recently, with roughly half of the losses this month.

 

Istanbul’s Kadikoy neighborhood is the heart of the Asian side of the city. Shops and traders are struggling to come to terms with the wild gyrations in the currency’s value.

Imported goods

Stores depending heavily on imported goods are among the hardest hit.

“Ninety percent of the goods we sell are imported goods,” said Taylan Akcora, a sporting goods shop owner in Kadikoy.

“They are all brands [we sell] and imported to Turkey from the Far East,” he continued. “There are firms who import them [shoes], we buy all our goods from the Turkey distributor of the brand. They will surely put up the prices.”

Turkey is no stranger to a currency crisis, all of which invariably resulted in a surge in inflation and unemployment. The country’s heavy dependence on imports is exacerbating the impact of the currency depreciation. Energy-poor Turkey imports more than 90 percent of its oil and natural gas.

Aslan Yuce runs a tea shop on Kadikoy’s main street. Yuce claims fear of the future is stalking the streets.

“No one is feeling secure. There is no one looking at the future with hope,” he said. “I am a shop owner here, and I see people passing by, everyone looks grim, or thoughtful as if they all lost their hopes about their lives. There is such a psychological situation here,“ Yuce added.

Pharmacy sector

However, it’s the sick who could be the first to suffer. “The rise in the value of the U.S. dollar and the general foreign exchange rate will drastically affect our pharmacy sector, which is so dependent on imports,” said Guliz Kaptan, who has owned a pharmacy in Kadikoy for 30 years.  

“Turkish pharmaceutical producers will not even be able to purchase the active ingredients for the current selling price of the medicine on the shelf,” Kaptan added.

Much of the medicine used in Turkey is paid for at least in part by the government. President Erdogan expanded a social security network, especially for health. With rapid currency declines, however, cutbacks already have started.

“Another effect, under precautionary economic measures taken by the government,” Kaptan said. “The national health insurance has stopped paying for best-selling imported medicines, including anti-depressants.”

Further cutbacks could be in the offing with the uncertainty about the Turkish lira and for the broader economy. Two international credit rating agencies recently downgraded Turkey’s sovereign debt further into junk status.

Lira plummets

The ratings agencies both voiced fears about the management of the economy. “Over the last two weeks, the Turkish lira has exhibited extreme volatility,” said Standard and Poor’s rating service in a statement Friday. “This follows Turkey’s prolonged economic overheating, external leveraging, and policy drift,” S&P added.

Erdogan insists the Turkish economy remains strong, and the currency drop is a result of “economic missiles” from Washington. Economists warn even if the Turkish president reverses his stance and adopts steps called for by international investors, a painful road awaits Turkey. “It’s too late,” said analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners.

“You can solve the currency problem. You can solve the political problems, but it’s too late to save the economy. A Brazilian type of recession has started. For the next year or two, Turkey will not grow. It will shrink in some quarters, a quarter of a percent of growth in some others. However, it’s going to be extremely painful,“ added Yesilada.