Курт Волкер виступить на Ялтинській щорічній зустрічі у Києві
11/09/2018
Спеціальний представник Сполучених Штатів з питань України Курт Волкер повідомив, що планує виступити на щорічному форумі «Ялтинська економічна стратегія».
За словами Волкера, його зустрічі в Києві будуть присвячені пошуку шляхів відновлення миру в Україні.
15-та щорічна зустріч Ялтинської Європейської Стратегії (YES) відбудеться в Києві 13-15 вересня 2018 року. Очікують, що на ній зберуться понад 600 політиків, бізнесменів, громадських активістів та експертів із 28 країн.
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Ireland Says Trump Visit Postponed
11/09/2018
U.S. President Donald Trump will not visit Ireland next month as planned, according to officials in Dublin.
The visit has been postponed for “scheduling reasons,” the Irish government announced on Tuesday.
However, following the Irish government’s announcement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement: “We are still finalizing whether Ireland will be a stop on that trip,” noting the president still is set to be in be in Paris on November 11 to participate in a ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of the World War I armistice.
Cancellation of the Irish leg, which had been slated for November 12, was first reported by the Independent newspaper in Dublin and public broadcaster RTE.
The Ireland stop was intended “to renew the deep and historic ties between our two nations,” as the White House put it in an August 31 announcement about the trip.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar visited Trump at the White House in March.
Speaking on RTE radio on September 2, Varadkar acknowledged being surprised the U.S. president was planning to visit in November, despite an open invitation to Trump to visit at any time, saying: “It came a little bit out of the blue.”
Trump had been scheduled to spend a day in Dublin before traveling to Doonbeg on the Atlantic coast in County Clare where he owns a golf course.
“The development will come as a massive relief” to the Irish government, according to the Independent newspaper, which termed Trump’s trip controversial with plans by the Labor and Green parties to protest the U.S. president’s visit.
Prior to word of the cancelation, the leader of the centrist Fianna Fail party, Micheál Martin, said Trump’s visit would be “an opportunity to talk to him and articulate our position on a range of issues that we’re not currently happy with.”
There are still two other announced international destinations on the president’s November travel schedule: the G-20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a meeting in Colombia with President Ivan Duque to discuss “opportunities for even greater collaboration on security, counter narcotics, and regional affairs,” according to the White House.
Trump, in November, is to skip attending in Singapore the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and the East Asia Summit, as well as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Papua New Guinea.
The president is dispatching Vice President Mike Pence to attend those meetings.
Ireland Says Trump Visit Postponed
11/09/2018
U.S. President Donald Trump will not visit Ireland next month as planned, according to officials in Dublin.
The visit has been postponed for “scheduling reasons,” the Irish government announced on Tuesday.
However, following the Irish government’s announcement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement: “We are still finalizing whether Ireland will be a stop on that trip,” noting the president still is set to be in be in Paris on November 11 to participate in a ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of the World War I armistice.
Cancellation of the Irish leg, which had been slated for November 12, was first reported by the Independent newspaper in Dublin and public broadcaster RTE.
The Ireland stop was intended “to renew the deep and historic ties between our two nations,” as the White House put it in an August 31 announcement about the trip.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar visited Trump at the White House in March.
Speaking on RTE radio on September 2, Varadkar acknowledged being surprised the U.S. president was planning to visit in November, despite an open invitation to Trump to visit at any time, saying: “It came a little bit out of the blue.”
Trump had been scheduled to spend a day in Dublin before traveling to Doonbeg on the Atlantic coast in County Clare where he owns a golf course.
“The development will come as a massive relief” to the Irish government, according to the Independent newspaper, which termed Trump’s trip controversial with plans by the Labor and Green parties to protest the U.S. president’s visit.
Prior to word of the cancelation, the leader of the centrist Fianna Fail party, Micheál Martin, said Trump’s visit would be “an opportunity to talk to him and articulate our position on a range of issues that we’re not currently happy with.”
There are still two other announced international destinations on the president’s November travel schedule: the G-20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a meeting in Colombia with President Ivan Duque to discuss “opportunities for even greater collaboration on security, counter narcotics, and regional affairs,” according to the White House.
Trump, in November, is to skip attending in Singapore the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and the East Asia Summit, as well as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Papua New Guinea.
The president is dispatching Vice President Mike Pence to attend those meetings.
Сестра Сенцова розповіла, що він написав у заповіті
11/09/2018
«Він склав заповіт на ім’я своєї подруги, соратниці. Вона з Криму»
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Координатор ОБСЄ Фріш зміг відвідати менше половини українських полонених в ОРДЛО – Геращенко
11/09/2018
Бойовики допустили координатора від ОБСЄ Тоні Фріша менше ніж до половини українських військових, утримуваних у в’язницях на окупованій території Донбасу, з наданого українською стороною списку, повідомила перший віце-спікер Верховної Ради, представник гуманітарної групи на переговорах у Мінську Ірина Геращенко у Facebook.
«За попередньою інформацією, на окупованих територіях посол Т.Фріш зміг зустрітися лише з кількома військовими з того першочергового списку, який ми подали з вимогою відвідати і підтримати наших хлопців», – написала Геращенко.
З позитивів вона відзначила, що представнику ОБСЄ вперше за ці роки дали можливість поспілкуватися з утримуваними українцями віч-на-віч, без присутності тюремників і представників окремих районів Донецької та Луганської областей (ОРДЛО).
«Негатив й те, що найбільше тривожить: допустили Фріша менш ніж до половини із нашого списку (точну інформацію щодо прізвищ матимемо пізніше), особливо тривожна ситуація з окупованим Луганськом, там кілька українських військових – у повній ізоляції. Це ще раз наводить на думку, що їх катують, тому й ховають», – написала І.Геращенко.
Крім того, за її словами, українська сторона просила Тоні Фріша домогтися від окупаційної влади Донецької та Луганської областей забезпечення «права на дзвінок і листи незаконно утримуваним».
«Чи є результати – будемо знати вже скоро», – повідомила вона.
Координатор гуманітарної підгрупи Тристоронньої контактної групи, посол ОБСЄ Тоні Фріш відвідує лінію зіткнення на Донбасі 6-12 вересня, повідомляла прес-служба ОБСЄ. Він зустрінеться з утримуваними особами і подивиться на те, в яких умовах їх утримують, йдеться в повідомленні.
Читайте також: Путіну вигідно, щоб Медведчук здійснив обмін утримуваними особами – Котенко
25 червня голова СБУ Василь Грицак заявляв, що підтримувані Росією бойовики утримують на Донбасі 113 українців.
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Indonesia Battles Currency Woes
11/09/2018
Policymakers in Indonesia are grappling to deal with a weakened currency, the rupiah, which was valued at just 14,930 per U.S. dollar last week — its lowest point since the 1998 Asian financial crisis. But unlike 20 years ago, when economic turmoil led to major political upheaval in Indonesia, most observers say that Southeast Asia’s largest economy is now far better positioned to endure a poorly performing currency.
The United States Federal Reserve’s planned interest rate hikes have impacted emerging markets worldwide as investors sell assets in countries such as Indonesia in favor of American ones. The Argentine peso and Turkish lira both crashed in late August, crises that sent major shockwaves across developing economies. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Beijing has also seen a devaluation of the Chinese yuan.
These external factors have badly hit the Indonesian rupiah, already one of the weakest currencies in Asia. According to Bloomberg, the rupiah has lost around 9 percent of its value against the greenback during 2018. Like Turkey and Argentina, Indonesia also has a so-called “twin” deficit, meaning it is running both fiscal and current account deficits.
“Indonesia obviously is one of the frontline currencies alongside the Indian rupee and the Philippine peso, these are the three currencies most battered among the regional pack… in the latest turmoil,” said Prakash Sakpal, an economist from ING in Singapore.
Stronger 20 years on
In the late 1990s, the collapse of the rupiah exacerbated a severe economic crisis, which led to the fall of Indonesia’s longtime dictator Suharto.
“We know what we face with the rupiah is a really, really important problem,” the head of Research at the Jakarta-based brokerage and investment management firm Ekuator, David Setyanto, told VOA. “But if you compare with Turkey or Argentina, we are not the same with them because our fundamental economics are much stronger than these two countries.”
Dr. Tommy Soesmanto, an economics lecturer at Griffith University, told VOA that “Indonesians should not be overly concerned with the current situation,” as the economy is in a far stronger position than in 1998. During the Asian Financial Crisis, the rupiah fell from 3000 against the US dollar to 15,000 — a depreciation of some 500 percent from which it never recovered, hovering at around 10,000 per dollar in subsequent years.
Indonesia’s credit rating is now Triple B as opposed to 1998 when it was “considered junk”, Soesmanto said, while the country now has net capital inflow compared with “severe” capital outflow in 1998. Bank Indonesia holds foreign reserves worth some $118 billion compared with just $24 billion back then, allowing it greater leverage to finance debts and imports.
Charu Chanana, Deputy Head of Asia Research at Continuum Economics in Singapore, agreed. “We believe Indonesia is much stronger today fundamentally when compared to 1998,” she wrote in an email. “However, as external headwinds persist, we believe Indonesia’s currency will remain in the firing line due to a weak external position and high foreign exposure in the stock and bond markets.”
“I think it’s a little bit overblown,” said Sakpal of ING when asked about the severity of the currency crisis, noting that “economic fundamentals for most of the regional economies are still solid.”
“In Indonesia, growth has accelerated in the second quarter to 5.3 percent, which was the fastest in many quarters… all the recent turmoil is driven by external factors,” he said.
Unite for the rupiah
Bank Indonesia, the central bank, has responded aggressively to the latest currency problems by raising interest rates four times since May. For months it has also sold foreign currency and bought sovereign bonds in a bid to stabilize the currency.
The government, meanwhile, has now imposed higher import taxes of up to 10 percent on some 1000 consumer goods, including cosmetics and luxury cars.
“This is a good chance for local producers to penetrate our own domestic market that is usually filled with imported goods,” Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said last week.
The weak rupiah is likely to hit Indonesia’s manufacturing sector hardest, and accordingly, the government has imposed lower tax hikes of 2.5 percent on imported raw materials. The energy and resources ministry also announced it would delay $25 billion worth of power projects, aimed at producing an additional 35 gigawatts of electricity, which is expected to save $8 to $10 billion in import costs.
“We can come together for the success of the #AsianGames2018,” read a Facebook post from the Finance Ministry last week, accompanied by infographics urging Indonesians to buy local products, reduce their consumption of imports, change U.S. dollars for rupiah, travel within Indonesia and invest locally. “We can also #BersatuUntukRupiah [unite for the rupiah].”
Indonesia Battles Currency Woes
11/09/2018
Policymakers in Indonesia are grappling to deal with a weakened currency, the rupiah, which was valued at just 14,930 per U.S. dollar last week — its lowest point since the 1998 Asian financial crisis. But unlike 20 years ago, when economic turmoil led to major political upheaval in Indonesia, most observers say that Southeast Asia’s largest economy is now far better positioned to endure a poorly performing currency.
The United States Federal Reserve’s planned interest rate hikes have impacted emerging markets worldwide as investors sell assets in countries such as Indonesia in favor of American ones. The Argentine peso and Turkish lira both crashed in late August, crises that sent major shockwaves across developing economies. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Beijing has also seen a devaluation of the Chinese yuan.
These external factors have badly hit the Indonesian rupiah, already one of the weakest currencies in Asia. According to Bloomberg, the rupiah has lost around 9 percent of its value against the greenback during 2018. Like Turkey and Argentina, Indonesia also has a so-called “twin” deficit, meaning it is running both fiscal and current account deficits.
“Indonesia obviously is one of the frontline currencies alongside the Indian rupee and the Philippine peso, these are the three currencies most battered among the regional pack… in the latest turmoil,” said Prakash Sakpal, an economist from ING in Singapore.
Stronger 20 years on
In the late 1990s, the collapse of the rupiah exacerbated a severe economic crisis, which led to the fall of Indonesia’s longtime dictator Suharto.
“We know what we face with the rupiah is a really, really important problem,” the head of Research at the Jakarta-based brokerage and investment management firm Ekuator, David Setyanto, told VOA. “But if you compare with Turkey or Argentina, we are not the same with them because our fundamental economics are much stronger than these two countries.”
Dr. Tommy Soesmanto, an economics lecturer at Griffith University, told VOA that “Indonesians should not be overly concerned with the current situation,” as the economy is in a far stronger position than in 1998. During the Asian Financial Crisis, the rupiah fell from 3000 against the US dollar to 15,000 — a depreciation of some 500 percent from which it never recovered, hovering at around 10,000 per dollar in subsequent years.
Indonesia’s credit rating is now Triple B as opposed to 1998 when it was “considered junk”, Soesmanto said, while the country now has net capital inflow compared with “severe” capital outflow in 1998. Bank Indonesia holds foreign reserves worth some $118 billion compared with just $24 billion back then, allowing it greater leverage to finance debts and imports.
Charu Chanana, Deputy Head of Asia Research at Continuum Economics in Singapore, agreed. “We believe Indonesia is much stronger today fundamentally when compared to 1998,” she wrote in an email. “However, as external headwinds persist, we believe Indonesia’s currency will remain in the firing line due to a weak external position and high foreign exposure in the stock and bond markets.”
“I think it’s a little bit overblown,” said Sakpal of ING when asked about the severity of the currency crisis, noting that “economic fundamentals for most of the regional economies are still solid.”
“In Indonesia, growth has accelerated in the second quarter to 5.3 percent, which was the fastest in many quarters… all the recent turmoil is driven by external factors,” he said.
Unite for the rupiah
Bank Indonesia, the central bank, has responded aggressively to the latest currency problems by raising interest rates four times since May. For months it has also sold foreign currency and bought sovereign bonds in a bid to stabilize the currency.
The government, meanwhile, has now imposed higher import taxes of up to 10 percent on some 1000 consumer goods, including cosmetics and luxury cars.
“This is a good chance for local producers to penetrate our own domestic market that is usually filled with imported goods,” Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said last week.
The weak rupiah is likely to hit Indonesia’s manufacturing sector hardest, and accordingly, the government has imposed lower tax hikes of 2.5 percent on imported raw materials. The energy and resources ministry also announced it would delay $25 billion worth of power projects, aimed at producing an additional 35 gigawatts of electricity, which is expected to save $8 to $10 billion in import costs.
“We can come together for the success of the #AsianGames2018,” read a Facebook post from the Finance Ministry last week, accompanied by infographics urging Indonesians to buy local products, reduce their consumption of imports, change U.S. dollars for rupiah, travel within Indonesia and invest locally. “We can also #BersatuUntukRupiah [unite for the rupiah].”
13-Year-Old Kurdish-American Boy Becomes Entrepreneur
11/09/2018
United States is a land of opportunity. We have all heard this saying, but what does it mean and how does it happen? A Kurdish-American family in the state of Virginia is seeing how their 13-year-old son has made the most of a unique opportunity. VOA’s Yahya Barzinji recently visited this family and filed this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.
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13-Year-Old Kurdish-American Boy Becomes Entrepreneur
11/09/2018
United States is a land of opportunity. We have all heard this saying, but what does it mean and how does it happen? A Kurdish-American family in the state of Virginia is seeing how their 13-year-old son has made the most of a unique opportunity. VOA’s Yahya Barzinji recently visited this family and filed this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.
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Japan’s Bid to End Whaling Ban is Top Issue at Conference
11/09/2018
Japan will once again try to get the international ban on whale hunting overturned at the global conference of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which opened in Brazil on Monday.
The proposal presented by Japan says, “Science is clear: there are certain species of whales whose population is healthy enough to be harvested sustainably.”
While the Japanese proposal is supported by other traditional whaling countries, such as Iceland and Norway, it faces fierce opposition from countries such as Australia and Brazil, and the European Union, as well as from numerous environmental groups.
Japan, which has pushed for an amendment to the ban for years, accuses the IWC of siding with anti-whaling nations rather than trying to reach a compromise between conservationists and whalers.
Whale meat has been a a traditional part of the Japanese diet for centuries.
After the IWC adopted a ban on commercial whaling in 1982, Japan, Norway and Iceland continued to hunt whales. Tokyo justified the practice as a part of scientific research, which was allowed by the moratorium.
But in 2014, the International Court of Justice ruled that Japan’s whaling practice had no scientific basis, but instead it was a way to keep the industry alive.
This year, Japan wants to establish a Sustainable Whaling Committee to oversee the hunting of healthy whale populations for commercial purposes.
But environmentalists say allowing even limited hunting of the mammoth mammals will only again push the species to the brink of extinction. Brazil introduced proposal Monday that says hunting whales is “no longer a necessary economic activity.”
Australia has vowed to lead the charge against reinstatement of commercial whaling and it has the strong backing of New Zealand, the European Union and the United States.
Japan’s proposal will likely be put to a vote sometime before the conference ends on Sept. 14.
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Japan’s Bid to End Whaling Ban is Top Issue at Conference
11/09/2018
Japan will once again try to get the international ban on whale hunting overturned at the global conference of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which opened in Brazil on Monday.
The proposal presented by Japan says, “Science is clear: there are certain species of whales whose population is healthy enough to be harvested sustainably.”
While the Japanese proposal is supported by other traditional whaling countries, such as Iceland and Norway, it faces fierce opposition from countries such as Australia and Brazil, and the European Union, as well as from numerous environmental groups.
Japan, which has pushed for an amendment to the ban for years, accuses the IWC of siding with anti-whaling nations rather than trying to reach a compromise between conservationists and whalers.
Whale meat has been a a traditional part of the Japanese diet for centuries.
After the IWC adopted a ban on commercial whaling in 1982, Japan, Norway and Iceland continued to hunt whales. Tokyo justified the practice as a part of scientific research, which was allowed by the moratorium.
But in 2014, the International Court of Justice ruled that Japan’s whaling practice had no scientific basis, but instead it was a way to keep the industry alive.
This year, Japan wants to establish a Sustainable Whaling Committee to oversee the hunting of healthy whale populations for commercial purposes.
But environmentalists say allowing even limited hunting of the mammoth mammals will only again push the species to the brink of extinction. Brazil introduced proposal Monday that says hunting whales is “no longer a necessary economic activity.”
Australia has vowed to lead the charge against reinstatement of commercial whaling and it has the strong backing of New Zealand, the European Union and the United States.
Japan’s proposal will likely be put to a vote sometime before the conference ends on Sept. 14.
…
DOE: US, Saudi Energy Ministers Meet in Washington
11/09/2018
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry met with Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih on Monday in Washington, the U.S. Energy Department said, as the Trump administration encourages big oil-producing countries to keep output high ahead of Washington’s renewed sanctions on Iran’s crude exports.
Perry and Falih discussed the state of world oil markets, the potential for U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear cooperation and efforts to share technologies to develop “clean fossil fuels,” the department said in a statement.
The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Perry will also meet with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, on Thursday in Moscow, a U.S. source and a diplomatic source said Sunday night.
High oil prices are a risk for President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in Nov. 6 congressional elections. Global oil prices have already risen sharply to more than $76 a barrel in recent weeks on concerns about sanctions on Iran’s oil exports that Washington will renew on Nov. 4.
Trump withdrew the United States in May from the nuclear deal with Iran, and he is pushing consuming countries to cut their purchases of Iranian oil to zero.
It is unclear what the United States may offer big oil producers in return for higher oil production.
Saudi Arabia has been seeking a civilian nuclear agreement with the United States that could allow the kingdom to enrich uranium and reprocess plutonium.
Russia wants the United States to drop sanctions on Moscow.
OPEC and non-OPEC officials will meet later this month to discuss proposals for sharing an oil output increase, after the groups decided in June to boost output moderately.
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DOE: US, Saudi Energy Ministers Meet in Washington
11/09/2018
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry met with Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih on Monday in Washington, the U.S. Energy Department said, as the Trump administration encourages big oil-producing countries to keep output high ahead of Washington’s renewed sanctions on Iran’s crude exports.
Perry and Falih discussed the state of world oil markets, the potential for U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear cooperation and efforts to share technologies to develop “clean fossil fuels,” the department said in a statement.
The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Perry will also meet with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, on Thursday in Moscow, a U.S. source and a diplomatic source said Sunday night.
High oil prices are a risk for President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in Nov. 6 congressional elections. Global oil prices have already risen sharply to more than $76 a barrel in recent weeks on concerns about sanctions on Iran’s oil exports that Washington will renew on Nov. 4.
Trump withdrew the United States in May from the nuclear deal with Iran, and he is pushing consuming countries to cut their purchases of Iranian oil to zero.
It is unclear what the United States may offer big oil producers in return for higher oil production.
Saudi Arabia has been seeking a civilian nuclear agreement with the United States that could allow the kingdom to enrich uranium and reprocess plutonium.
Russia wants the United States to drop sanctions on Moscow.
OPEC and non-OPEC officials will meet later this month to discuss proposals for sharing an oil output increase, after the groups decided in June to boost output moderately.
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Nielsen: Election Security Among Biggest Security Threats
11/09/2018
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen says risks to election security are now among the “principal security threats” facing the country.
Nielsen spoke Monday at a summit on election security in suburban St. Louis. The two-day summit is focused partly on halting threats to the nation’s election infrastructure. The event includes secretaries of state from around a dozen states and other election officials.
The U.S. intelligence community says Russia tried to influence the 2016 election to benefit President Donald Trump. Nielsen says that while no attempts have been detected so far that match the scale of the 2016 effort, threats against election systems are “real and evolving.”
Nielsen says Homeland Security can offer states cost-free assistance on technical matters and risk and vulnerability assessment.
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Nielsen: Election Security Among Biggest Security Threats
11/09/2018
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen says risks to election security are now among the “principal security threats” facing the country.
Nielsen spoke Monday at a summit on election security in suburban St. Louis. The two-day summit is focused partly on halting threats to the nation’s election infrastructure. The event includes secretaries of state from around a dozen states and other election officials.
The U.S. intelligence community says Russia tried to influence the 2016 election to benefit President Donald Trump. Nielsen says that while no attempts have been detected so far that match the scale of the 2016 effort, threats against election systems are “real and evolving.”
Nielsen says Homeland Security can offer states cost-free assistance on technical matters and risk and vulnerability assessment.
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Official Defends Trump Plan to Revamp Endangered Species Act
11/09/2018
A top Trump administration official on Monday defended a plan to revamp the Endangered Species Act, saying the proposed changes would result in more effective, quicker decisions on species protection.
Deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt dismissed criticism by environmental groups that the plan would “gut” crucial protections for threatened animals and plants.
“That’s laughable,” he said, adding that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and other officials “respect the law” and know the law.
While he disagrees with critics, Bernhardt said he recognizes that any plan to change the 45-year-old law was bound to create controversy.
“People are passionate about the Endangered Species Act, and that’s a good thing,” he said.
Bernhardt told an audience at the conservative Heritage Foundation that the Obama administration too often “strayed” from the law to focus solely on species protection without regard for costs to nearby land owners or businesses.
“The reality is there is a cost” to listing a species as endangered or threatened, Bernhardt said. “It’s not a free choice by society.”
The “true costs” of the species law “are often borne by folks who just happen to be in a certain geographical area” where an endangered animal lives, he added.
Conservatives have long complained that the law hinders drilling, logging and other activities while failing to restore endangered species to unprotected status.
The Trump administration proposed a regulatory overhaul in July that would end automatic protections for threatened animals and plants and limit habitat safeguards meant to shield recovering species from harm. The proposal also opens the possibility of including cost-benefit analysis in listing decisions and makes it easier to remove a species from endangered or threatened status.
Democrats and some wildlife advocates said the moves would speed extinctions in the name of furthering the administration’s anti-environment agenda. Species currently under consideration for protections are considered especially at risk, including the North American wolverine and the monarch butterfly, they said.
David Hayes, who served as deputy interior secretary in the Obama administration, said Zinke and Trump were “pandering to fringe elements of the extraction industry that consider any protection for wildlife an unacceptable constraint on profits.”
The proposal comes as Republicans in Congress are pushing legislation to enact broad changes to curtail the landmark law, saying it hinders economic activities while doing little to restore species.
While the administration is happy to work with lawmakers from both parties, Bernhardt called major changes to the law unlikely to pass a divided Congress.
“The Endangered Species Act pretty much as we know it is here and will be with us,” he said. “What we’re thinking about is how can we make the law work in a way that’s good for species and good for people.”
Comments on the proposed changes will be accepted through Sept. 24.
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Official Defends Trump Plan to Revamp Endangered Species Act
11/09/2018
A top Trump administration official on Monday defended a plan to revamp the Endangered Species Act, saying the proposed changes would result in more effective, quicker decisions on species protection.
Deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt dismissed criticism by environmental groups that the plan would “gut” crucial protections for threatened animals and plants.
“That’s laughable,” he said, adding that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and other officials “respect the law” and know the law.
While he disagrees with critics, Bernhardt said he recognizes that any plan to change the 45-year-old law was bound to create controversy.
“People are passionate about the Endangered Species Act, and that’s a good thing,” he said.
Bernhardt told an audience at the conservative Heritage Foundation that the Obama administration too often “strayed” from the law to focus solely on species protection without regard for costs to nearby land owners or businesses.
“The reality is there is a cost” to listing a species as endangered or threatened, Bernhardt said. “It’s not a free choice by society.”
The “true costs” of the species law “are often borne by folks who just happen to be in a certain geographical area” where an endangered animal lives, he added.
Conservatives have long complained that the law hinders drilling, logging and other activities while failing to restore endangered species to unprotected status.
The Trump administration proposed a regulatory overhaul in July that would end automatic protections for threatened animals and plants and limit habitat safeguards meant to shield recovering species from harm. The proposal also opens the possibility of including cost-benefit analysis in listing decisions and makes it easier to remove a species from endangered or threatened status.
Democrats and some wildlife advocates said the moves would speed extinctions in the name of furthering the administration’s anti-environment agenda. Species currently under consideration for protections are considered especially at risk, including the North American wolverine and the monarch butterfly, they said.
David Hayes, who served as deputy interior secretary in the Obama administration, said Zinke and Trump were “pandering to fringe elements of the extraction industry that consider any protection for wildlife an unacceptable constraint on profits.”
The proposal comes as Republicans in Congress are pushing legislation to enact broad changes to curtail the landmark law, saying it hinders economic activities while doing little to restore species.
While the administration is happy to work with lawmakers from both parties, Bernhardt called major changes to the law unlikely to pass a divided Congress.
“The Endangered Species Act pretty much as we know it is here and will be with us,” he said. “What we’re thinking about is how can we make the law work in a way that’s good for species and good for people.”
Comments on the proposed changes will be accepted through Sept. 24.
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Canada’s Freeland to Hold NAFTA Talks Tuesday as Time Runs Short
10/09/2018
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland will meet U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington on Tuesday for another round of talks to renew the NAFTA trade pact, an official said on Monday, as time runs short to seal a deal.
Freeland spokesman Adam Austen did not give details. After more than a year of negotiations, Canada and the United States are still trying to resolve differences over the North American Free Trade Agreement, which also includes Mexico.
U.S. officials say time is running out to agree on a text on which the current Congress can vote. Canadian officials say they are working on the assumption they have until the end of September.
Freeland spent three days in Washington last week and said on Friday as she prepared to leave that she and Lighthizer were making very good progress in some areas, although a deal remained out of reach.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who says he is prepared to tear up NAFTA, has struck a trade deal with Mexico and threatened to push ahead without Canada.
Uncertainly over the future of NAFTA, which underpins $1.2 trillion in trade, is weighing on markets as well as the Canadian and Mexican currencies.
Officials say the main sticking points are Canada’s dairy quota regime, Ottawa’s desire to keep a dispute-resolution mechanism, and Canadian media laws that favor domestically produced content.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, speaking in an interview broadcast on Sunday, said Canada had to scrap a low-price milk proteins policy to reach a deal on NAFTA. U.S. farmers complain Canada is flooding export markets.
Austen, asked whether Freeland might return to Washington later in the week, said no decisions had been taken. She is due to attend a two-day meeting of legislators from the ruling Liberal Party in western Canada on Wednesday and Thursday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last Wednesday he did not see the need to attend the talks for the time being.
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Canada’s Freeland to Hold NAFTA Talks Tuesday as Time Runs Short
10/09/2018
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland will meet U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington on Tuesday for another round of talks to renew the NAFTA trade pact, an official said on Monday, as time runs short to seal a deal.
Freeland spokesman Adam Austen did not give details. After more than a year of negotiations, Canada and the United States are still trying to resolve differences over the North American Free Trade Agreement, which also includes Mexico.
U.S. officials say time is running out to agree on a text on which the current Congress can vote. Canadian officials say they are working on the assumption they have until the end of September.
Freeland spent three days in Washington last week and said on Friday as she prepared to leave that she and Lighthizer were making very good progress in some areas, although a deal remained out of reach.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who says he is prepared to tear up NAFTA, has struck a trade deal with Mexico and threatened to push ahead without Canada.
Uncertainly over the future of NAFTA, which underpins $1.2 trillion in trade, is weighing on markets as well as the Canadian and Mexican currencies.
Officials say the main sticking points are Canada’s dairy quota regime, Ottawa’s desire to keep a dispute-resolution mechanism, and Canadian media laws that favor domestically produced content.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, speaking in an interview broadcast on Sunday, said Canada had to scrap a low-price milk proteins policy to reach a deal on NAFTA. U.S. farmers complain Canada is flooding export markets.
Austen, asked whether Freeland might return to Washington later in the week, said no decisions had been taken. She is due to attend a two-day meeting of legislators from the ruling Liberal Party in western Canada on Wednesday and Thursday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last Wednesday he did not see the need to attend the talks for the time being.
…
Сенцов написав заповіт на свою творчість – сестра режисера
10/09/2018
Наталія Каплан розповіла, що в листі їй Сенцов пише, що він вже не вірить «в щасливий кінець всієї цієї історії»
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Сенцов написав заповіт на свою творчість – сестра режисера
10/09/2018
Наталія Каплан розповіла, що в листі їй Сенцов пише, що він вже не вірить «в щасливий кінець всієї цієї історії»
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На конференції ОБСЄ закликали Росію звільнити Сенцова та інших українських політв’язнів
10/09/2018
Під час відкриття щорічної найбільшої конференції ОБСЄ з питань людського виміру у Варшаві 10 вересня глава американської делегації, посол Майкл Козак знову закликав Росію звільнити ув’язненого українського режисера Олега Сенцова та інших українських політичних в’язнів, повідомляє місія США при ОБСЄ.
У своєму виступі посол нагадав, що в заключній заяві минулорічного засідання делегація Сполучених Штатів закликала до звільнення режисера Олега Сенцова та інших громадян України, які перебувають в ув’язненні у Російській Федерації через мирну опозицію до окупації Криму та агресії на сході України.
«Коли ми відкриваємо конференцію 2018 року, пан Сенцов перебуває в небезпечному стані здоров’я на 120-й день свого голодування, протестуючи проти незаконного позбавлення волі з боку Росії понад 60 його співвітчизників. Ми закликаємо Росію звільнити цих ув’язнених», – наголосив глава американської делегації.
Майкл Козак зазначив, що продовження російської агресії проти України суперечить усім десяти фундаментальним принципам Гельсінкського заключного акту, зокрема недоторканність кордонів та територіальну цілісність держав. А Сенцов та його ув’язнені українські співвітчизники є втіленням зв’язку між порушеннями міжнародної безпеки Росії та її зловживанням правами людини.
Він також зазначив, що «конфлікт в Україні, який розпалила Росія і продовжує підживлювати, є найгіршою кризою безпеки в Європі з 1990-х років» та підтвердив, що санкції проти Росії залишатимуться в силі, поки Росія повністю не виконає свої Мінські зобов’язання, а кримські санкції не будуть скасовані, поки Росія не поверне Україні повний контроль над півостровом.
У своєму виступі американський посол також наголосив, що порушення Росією суверенітету та територіальної цілісності іншої держави не обмежуються лише Україною – Росія продовжує займати 20 відсотків території Грузії та підтримувати сепаратизм у придністровському регіоні Молдови, в усьому регіоні ОБСЄ та в світі Росія здійснює згубні кампанії з дезінформації, щоб підірвати процеси виборів та знищити віру в демократичні уряди.
Читайте також: Я робитиму все, щоб Нобелівська премія миру потрапила в руки Сенцова – Валенса
Олег Сенцов був засуджений в Росії в серпні 2015 року на 20 років колонії суворого режиму за звинуваченням у плануванні терактів в анексованому Криму. Він провину не визнає. 14 травня режисер оголосив безстрокове голодування, вимагаючи звільнення українських політв’язнів у Росії.
З вимогою негайно звільнити Сенцова в останні місяці виступили численні діячі світової культури, а також політики і правозахисники. У США петиція на сайті Білого дому на підтримку українського режисера набрала понад 100 тисяч підписів. Це означає, що тепер, згідно з американським законодавством, документ буде направлений на розгляд профільного відомства.
…
На конференції ОБСЄ закликали Росію звільнити Сенцова та інших українських політв’язнів
10/09/2018
Під час відкриття щорічної найбільшої конференції ОБСЄ з питань людського виміру у Варшаві 10 вересня глава американської делегації, посол Майкл Козак знову закликав Росію звільнити ув’язненого українського режисера Олега Сенцова та інших українських політичних в’язнів, повідомляє місія США при ОБСЄ.
У своєму виступі посол нагадав, що в заключній заяві минулорічного засідання делегація Сполучених Штатів закликала до звільнення режисера Олега Сенцова та інших громадян України, які перебувають в ув’язненні у Російській Федерації через мирну опозицію до окупації Криму та агресії на сході України.
«Коли ми відкриваємо конференцію 2018 року, пан Сенцов перебуває в небезпечному стані здоров’я на 120-й день свого голодування, протестуючи проти незаконного позбавлення волі з боку Росії понад 60 його співвітчизників. Ми закликаємо Росію звільнити цих ув’язнених», – наголосив глава американської делегації.
Майкл Козак зазначив, що продовження російської агресії проти України суперечить усім десяти фундаментальним принципам Гельсінкського заключного акту, зокрема недоторканність кордонів та територіальну цілісність держав. А Сенцов та його ув’язнені українські співвітчизники є втіленням зв’язку між порушеннями міжнародної безпеки Росії та її зловживанням правами людини.
Він також зазначив, що «конфлікт в Україні, який розпалила Росія і продовжує підживлювати, є найгіршою кризою безпеки в Європі з 1990-х років» та підтвердив, що санкції проти Росії залишатимуться в силі, поки Росія повністю не виконає свої Мінські зобов’язання, а кримські санкції не будуть скасовані, поки Росія не поверне Україні повний контроль над півостровом.
У своєму виступі американський посол також наголосив, що порушення Росією суверенітету та територіальної цілісності іншої держави не обмежуються лише Україною – Росія продовжує займати 20 відсотків території Грузії та підтримувати сепаратизм у придністровському регіоні Молдови, в усьому регіоні ОБСЄ та в світі Росія здійснює згубні кампанії з дезінформації, щоб підірвати процеси виборів та знищити віру в демократичні уряди.
Читайте також: Я робитиму все, щоб Нобелівська премія миру потрапила в руки Сенцова – Валенса
Олег Сенцов був засуджений в Росії в серпні 2015 року на 20 років колонії суворого режиму за звинуваченням у плануванні терактів в анексованому Криму. Він провину не визнає. 14 травня режисер оголосив безстрокове голодування, вимагаючи звільнення українських політв’язнів у Росії.
З вимогою негайно звільнити Сенцова в останні місяці виступили численні діячі світової культури, а також політики і правозахисники. У США петиція на сайті Білого дому на підтримку українського режисера набрала понад 100 тисяч підписів. Це означає, що тепер, згідно з американським законодавством, документ буде направлений на розгляд профільного відомства.
…
Creditors Warn Greece on Debt Relief as Inspectors Return
10/09/2018
Greece’s lead creditor warned the country on Monday not to stray from reforms agreed upon before the end of its international bailout, as European monitors arrived to check the nation’s finances.
The five-day inspection is expected to focus on government promises over the weekend to offer tax relief as well as plans to scrap promised pension cuts that are due to take effect in 2019.
Klaus Regling, managing director of the European Stability Mechanism, the eurozone’s rescue fund, told Austria’s Die Presse newspaper that Greece needed to stick to its commitments.
`We are a very patient creditor. But we can stop debt relief measures that have been decided for Greece if the adjustment programs are not continued as agreed,” he said. “The debt level appears to be frighteningly elevated. But Greece can live with that as the loan maturities are very long and the interest rates on the loans are much lower than in most other countries.”
Left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is trailing opposition conservatives in opinion polls and must call a general election within the next 12 months. Amid large protest rallies led by labor unions over the weekend, the prime minister said that relief measures promised to taxpayers would not jeopardize fiscal performance targets and would be introduced gradually.
Greece has promised to deliver high primary surpluses — the budget balance before calculating the cost of servicing debt — for years to come, along with a series of reforms in exchange for better debt repayment terms.
The end of the bailout means Greece will have to return to international capital markets to finance itself. However, the country faces a troubled return after the financial turmoil in Turkey and Italy halted a decline in Greek borrowing rates. The yield on Greece’s 10-year-bond remains above 4 percent.
The bailout program ended August 20 but the country’s debt level remains near 180 percent of gross domestic product.
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Creditors Warn Greece on Debt Relief as Inspectors Return
10/09/2018
Greece’s lead creditor warned the country on Monday not to stray from reforms agreed upon before the end of its international bailout, as European monitors arrived to check the nation’s finances.
The five-day inspection is expected to focus on government promises over the weekend to offer tax relief as well as plans to scrap promised pension cuts that are due to take effect in 2019.
Klaus Regling, managing director of the European Stability Mechanism, the eurozone’s rescue fund, told Austria’s Die Presse newspaper that Greece needed to stick to its commitments.
`We are a very patient creditor. But we can stop debt relief measures that have been decided for Greece if the adjustment programs are not continued as agreed,” he said. “The debt level appears to be frighteningly elevated. But Greece can live with that as the loan maturities are very long and the interest rates on the loans are much lower than in most other countries.”
Left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is trailing opposition conservatives in opinion polls and must call a general election within the next 12 months. Amid large protest rallies led by labor unions over the weekend, the prime minister said that relief measures promised to taxpayers would not jeopardize fiscal performance targets and would be introduced gradually.
Greece has promised to deliver high primary surpluses — the budget balance before calculating the cost of servicing debt — for years to come, along with a series of reforms in exchange for better debt repayment terms.
The end of the bailout means Greece will have to return to international capital markets to finance itself. However, the country faces a troubled return after the financial turmoil in Turkey and Italy halted a decline in Greek borrowing rates. The yield on Greece’s 10-year-bond remains above 4 percent.
The bailout program ended August 20 but the country’s debt level remains near 180 percent of gross domestic product.
…
Посольство України засудило візит делегації зі Швейцарії в окупований Крим
10/09/2018
Посольство України засуджує незаконний візит делегації із Швейцарії до окупованого Криму, про це йдеться у заяві посольства України у Швейцарії.
«Посольство України рішуче засуджує незаконний візит делегації на чолі з колишнім членом Ради кантонів Едуардом Белзером до окупованого Криму, що являє собою порушення українського законодавства і суперечить офіційній позиції Швейцарії щодо невизнання спроби анексії Криму Росією», – йдеться у заяві.
Посольство шкодує, що у відомій дотриманням верховенства права Швейцарії знайшлися особи, які дали себе використати російській пропаганді, знехтували законодавством іншої держави і захоплено розповідають про життя в Криму, де продовжують зневажатися права людини, тривають репресії проти кримських татар і українців.
Повідомляється, що посольство України «цінує те, що влада Швейцарії послідовно підтримує територіальну цілісність України» і сподівається, що «цього візиту буде дана належна оцінка».
Україна залишає за собою право застосувати до іноземних громадян, які порушують правила в’їзду на окуповані території, санкційні заходи, нагадали дипломати.
Як повідомляла російська влада Севастополя, 10 вересня в місті відбулася двостороння зустріч представників російського уряду Севастополя з «делегацією Швейцарської Конфедерації».
Прес-служба уряду Севастополя повідомила раніше в понеділок, що члени швейцарської делегації під час візиту до Криму заявили, що в Криму необхідно розвивати міжнародний туризм.
Публічних коментарів Едуарда Белзера з цього приводу немає.
Читайте також: Посольство України в Чехії засуджує візит чеських політиків до Криму
Станом на червень 2018 року Прокуратура АРК встановила персональні дані понад 200 іноземців, які відвідували анексований Росією Крим в порушення норм українського законодавства.
Запрошуючи іноземних громадян на територію Криму, російська влада півострова намагається легалізувати його анексію.
Міністерство закордонних справ України постійно закликає іноземців в’їжджати в анексований Росією Крим виключно відповідно до законів України і норм міжнародного права.
МЗС України раніше заявляло, що поїздки іноземних політиків до Криму не мають статусу офіційних.
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