What Is in the $4.6 Billion Border Aid Package Passed by Congress?
29/06/2019
VOA’s Aline Barros contributed to this article.
The U.S. Congress passed a $4.6 billion aid package this week to address a surge in migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. The legislation was passed by a bipartisan vote in both the House and Senate, and President Donald Trump has indicated he will sign it into law.
Here is what is in the bill:
— The vast majority of the funding allocated by the bill — almost $3 billion — will be used to care for unaccompanied migrant children who are under the care of the Department of Health and Human Services.
— Another $1.5 billion is to be used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), largely to shelter and feed migrants who are detained by border patrol, according to acting Secretary of DHS Kevin McAleenan. He said the money will be invested in additional temporary facilities, transportation, medical care, consumables and surge operations related to the care of migrants in custody.
“We intend to move very quickly to apply this funding to support our teams managing the crisis on the border and enhancing conditions for families and children in CBP custody,” McAleenan said Friday during a press conference at DHS headquarters in Washington.
— The bill also includes more than $110 million in overtime funding for Customs and Border Protection employees who are dealing with the migrant surge at the border. The Border Patrol says monthly totals of migrants crossing the border have begun topping 100,000 per month for the first time since 2007.
— One provision in the bill, which initially met resistance in the Democratic-controlled House, is a $145 million allocation to the Department of Defense to fund military assistance along the border, including medical aid, surveillance operations and facility maintenance.
— The bill does not include additional protections for migrants that some House Democrats had argued for, including health standards for facilities holding migrants and a three-month time limit for child migrants to spend at intake shelters.
Also Friday, McAleenan said he is anticipating a significant reduction of border crossings in June, “up to 25% when compared to May.”
He associated the crackdown with the work between the United States and Mexican authorities on Central American migrants and the amplification of policies such as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which required asylum-seekers to wait outside U.S. territory for their immigration court hearings.
Migration patterns tend to decrease during summer months, but McAleenan said he expected a decline larger than usually predicted.
Адвокат про стан Балуха: «Він не спить дві доби і не п’є воду»
28/06/2019
Український активіст Володимир Балух, який днями оголосив голодування в російській колонії, вже два дні не спить і не п’є воду, розповіла проектові Крим.Реалії адвокат Ольга Дінзе, яка відвідала українця.
«Він повідомив мені про те, що дійсно оголосив голодування на знак протесту порушення його права на зустріч із консулом України. Оскільки він є громадянином України, він має безумовне право на зустріч із консулом. І в даний час поки він відмовляється від вживання їжі та води. Тобто в даний час він на сухому голодуванні. Природно, довго на сухому голодуванні він не зможе, тому що при відмові від вживання води виникає швидке порушень роботи не тільки внутрішніх органів, а й також нервової системи, що пов’язано з повною втратою сну. На даний час він не спить взагалі вже дві доби», – розповіла Ольга Дінзе.
Адвокат додала, що написала заяву на ім’я начальника колонії з проханням надати Балухові цілодобову медичну допомогу, а також помістити його в медичну частину.
Раніше 28 червня уповноважена Верховної Ради України з прав людини Людмила Денісова звернулася до своєї колеги з Росії Тетяни Москалькової через нове голодування українського політв’язня Володимира Балуха, який перебуває за ґратами в Росії. «Я звертаюся до уповноваженого з прав людини в Росії Тетяни Москалькової з проханням перевірити умови тримання Володимира Балуха та вжити заходи на відновлення його права на зустріч з консулом України», – повідомила вона у фейсбуці.
Денісова висловила стурбованість повідомленням про вже друге голодування Балуха, яке, за її словами, небезпечне для його життя. «Нелюдські умови утримання, зокрема перебування більше від двох місяців у штрафному ізоляторі та позбавлення права зустрічі з консулом змусили його знову вдатися до такого радикального кроку, – повідомила Денісова, нагадавши слова Балуха з його заяви про оголошене голодування, що датована 25 червня. – Український консул в Росії тричі марно намагався зустрітися з українським політв’язнем. Адміністрація установи, попри те, що Володимир неодноразово заявляв, що є громадянином України, наполягає на його російському громадянстві через кримську прописку».
27 червня стало відомо, що український активіст із окупованого Криму Володимир Балух, якого утримують у колонії в Тверській області Росії, знову оголосив голодування.
В українця в ув’язненні вже тривалий час є проблеми зі здоров’ям, але особливого лікування йому не надають.
Підконтрольний Кремлю суд у Криму засудив Балуха до 4 років і 11 місяців колонії і штрафу в розмірі 10 тисяч рублів (понад 4 тисячі 100 гривень) за сукупністю двох кримінальних справ.
Федеральна служба безпеки Росії затримала фермера, громадського активіста Володимира Балуха 8 грудня 2016 року в його будинку в селі Серебрянка Роздольненського району в окупованому Росією Криму. Співробітники ФСБ стверджували, що знайшли на горищі будинку, де живе Балух, 90 патронів і кілька тротилових шашок. Російська влада на півострові висунула Балухові обвинувачення у зберіганні боєприпасів, його засудили до 3 років і 5 місяців позбавлення волі в колонії-поселенні і до штрафу в розмірі 10 тисяч рублів.
Згодом проти Балуха порушили ще одну справу – через заяви начальника ізолятора тимчасового тримання в селищі Роздольному, який стверджує, що Балух його побив. При цьому сам активіст і його захист заявляють, що це тюремник напав на нього. Через цю справу термін покарання йому збільшили до 4 років і 11 місяців.
Захист Балуха і правозахисники стверджують, що він став жертвою репресій за свою відверту проукраїнську позицію. Він, зокрема, мав прапор України на щоглі на подвір’ї свого будинку, а на стіні табличку «вулиця Героїв Небесної сотні».
Правозахисний центр «Меморіал» у Росії визнав Володимира Балуха політичним в’язнем.
9 січня підконтрольний Росії Керченський міський суд у Криму відмовив Балухові в умовно-достроковому звільненні.
Активіст своєї провини не визнає, 2018 року він упродовж кількох місяців голодував на знак протесту проти несправедливого, за його словами, ув’язнення.
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Дмитро Тимчук посмертно отримав державну нагороду
28/06/2019
Народний депутат Дмитро Тимчук, який нещодавно загинув за не до кінця з’ясованих обставин, нагороджений посмертно орденом «За мужність» III ступеня. Указ про нагородження Тимчука, разом із багатьма іншими людьми, підписав президент Володимир Зеленський.
Дмитро Тимчук (фракція «Народний фронт») загинув 19 червня в себе вдома в Києві від вогнепального поранення. Серед версій, які розглядають, – нещасний випадок чи вбивство; припускають і можливість самогубства.
Дмитрові Тимчуку було 46 років. Як військовий журналіст побував в українських миротворчих контингентах в Іраці, Косові й Лівані. З початку російської агресії проти України підполковник запасу Тимчук став координатором групи «Інформаційний спротив», відомим українським блогером. Детально висвітлював перебіг кримської кризи, інтервенцію Росії в Україні, а також сепаратистські виступи і російську диверсійну діяльність в Україні, збирав дані про обставини збиття авіалайнера рейсу MH17.
У жовтні 2014 року Тимчук став народним депутатом України восьмого скликання.
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У «Нафтогазі» відповіли на закиди «Газпрому» щодо нових контрактів
28/06/2019
Виконавчий директор «Нафтогазу України» Юрій Вітренко відкинув закиди російського газового монополіста «Газпрому» щодо нових контрактів про постачання і транзит газу, які мають бути укладені до завершення нині чинних наприкінці року.
Коментуючи зроблені раніше 28 червня заяви голови «Газпрому» Олексія Міллера, він нагадав: іще за чинним контрактом, відповідно до рішення Стокгольмського арбітражу, російська компанія зобов’язана постачати Україні 5 мільярдів кубометрів газу на рік за ціною «на рівні ціни на ринку в Німеччині».
«Газпром» не виконує ці свої контрактні зобов’язання і не поставляє газ в Україну, навіть коли ми передплачували ці поставки. Натомість пан Міллер розповідає про готовність вести переговори про якісь нові поставки за ціною нижче від ціни в Німеччині. Тобто «Газпром» не хоче поставляти газ за більш високою ціною, а хоче за нижчою ціною. Хтось у це вірить?» – написав Вітренко у фейсбуці.
Він також відкинув твердження Міллера з приводу транзитного контракту, ніби його компанія не отримувала від України пропозицій про так звані свопові поставки газу – щоб російська сторона передавала українській на кордоні між ними певні обсяги газу і Україна передавала б далі в Європу на своєму західному кордоні такі ж обсяги.
«Своп» газу, як запасний варіант у разі, якщо «Газпром» не хоче укладати контракт на бронювання потужностей для транзиту, пропонувався «Газпромові» ще навесні 2018 року в моїх офіційних переговорах із головою делегації «Газпрому» паном (Олександром) Медведєвим, на той час заступником пана Міллера. І цьому існують письмові підтвердження», – заявив Вітренко і додав: «Це все буде використано в новому арбітражі проти «Газпрому». Так що на місці «Газпрому я би ставився до цього серйозно».
В іншому дописі Юрій Вітренко також відкинув іще одне твердження Олексія Міллера, з яким той виступив на прес-конференції в Санкт-Петербурзі, – що Україна до кінця року і закінчення терміну чинного контракту «не зможе підписати новий контракт на транзит за законодавством ЄС». «Цей потяг уже пішов», – заявив Міллер і додав, що його компанія готова продовжити чинний контракт; цю ідею Київ відкидає як неринкову і таку, що суперечить законодавству ЄС щодо газу.
За словами Вітренка, «щоб «потяг вже пішов», потрібно, щоб він колись був». «У нашому ж випадку «Газпром» ніколи не погоджувався укладати контракт на транзит через Україну за європейськими правилами», – сказав один із чільних керівників «Нафтогазу».
Крім того, додав він, іще є час до кінця року встигнути на стороні України повністю впровадити європейські правила і при цьому не зруйнувати її юридичну позицію в новому арбітражі. «Зокрема, потрібно підготувати відокремлення газотранспортного оператора (анбандлінг) із 1 січня 2020 року. Це можна зробити, якщо виконати план «Нафтогазу» за моделлю ISO», – наголосив він.
«Можливо, пан Міллер мав на увазі, що нам будуть продовжувати не давати впровадити європейські правила. Такий ризик дійсно є. Але є надія, що новий парламент та новий уряд зробить усе необхідне для того, щоб не дати можливості «Газпромові» та Путіну таким чином виправдати в очах європейців завершення будівництво «Північного потоку-2» і припинення транзиту через Україну», – написав Юрій Вітренко.
Раніше 28 червня Олексій Міллер, виступаючи на прес-конференції в російському Санкт-Петербурзі, стверджував, що Україна не зможе підписати нового контракту на транзит газу, що відповідав би законодавству ЄС, що «Газпром» не отримував від України пропозицій про свопове постачання, і що Україна має думати в першу чергу про пряме постачання газу з Росії на український ринок.
При цьому Міллер також стверджував, що «баланс відносин щодо газу між Росією і Україною порушений рішенням Стокгольмського арбітражу».
За цим рішенням, «Газпром» виявився винен українській стороні значну суму – на цей час вона разом із відсотками за прострочений термін, які все зростають, становить уже понад 2 мільярди 800 мільйонів доларів. «Нафтогаз» також ініціює проти «Газпрому» ще низку арбітражних проваджень на мільярди доларів і вважає, що має добрі шанси виграти їх. Російська компанія заявляє, що хоче почати з Україною переговори про нові контракти «з чистого аркуша», уклавши «мирову угоду» з тим, щоб українська сторона відмовилася від нових проваджень, а бажано і від свого вже досягненого виграшу.
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Українській стороні представники ОРДЛО передали чотирьох заручників
28/06/2019
Віктор Медведчук, якого в Україні вважають неформальним представником президента Росії Володимира Путіна, заявив, що полонені опинилися в Мінську транзитом літаком із Ростова
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До Мінська привезли чотирьох українських заручників
28/06/2019
Чотирьох українських заручників бойовики привезли до Мінська вдень 28 червня. Про це повідомляє білоруська служба Радіо Свобода.
Літак прибув до Білорусі з російського Ростова-на-Дону, зазначає «Громадське». В аеропорту голова політради партії «Опозиційна платформа – За життя» Віктор Медведчук, який спілкувався з журналістами разом з бойовиками, заявив що літак, який має доставити звільнених українців до Києва, вже готовий, і сьогодні вони мають бути в столиці.
Журналістів Радіо Свобода на передачу заручників не допустила прес-служба Медведчука.
Голова політради партії «Опозиційна платформа – За життя» Віктор Медведчук розповів російським ЗМІ, що 28 червня у Мінську бойовики збройних угруповань «ДНР» та «ЛНР» мають передати чотирьох українських заручників.
Однопартієць Медведчука по партії «Опозиційна платформа – За життя» Вадим Рабінович у соцмережах повідомив, що бойовики звільнять Дмитра Великого, Якова Веремейчика, Едуарда Міхєєва та Максима Горяїнова. Рабінович стверджує, що троє з цього числа – військові. Підтвердження цієї інформації з інших джерел немає. У СБУ не знають, кого планують відпустити бойовики.
27 червня президент України Володимир Зеленський заявив, що жодного разу не спілкувався із кумом російського президента і політиком Віктором Медведчуком і не розуміє, чому в процесі звільнення полонених мають бути посередники.
Медведчук балотується у Верховну Раду на дострокових виборах від партії «Опозиційна платформа – За життя».
За даними Міністерства закордонних справ, Росія незаконно утримує понад 70 українців. До цього числа не входять 24 українські моряки, захоплені Росією біля Керченської протоки наприкінці листопада 2018 року.
За даними СБУ станом на січень 2018 року, підтримувані Росією бойовики на Донбасі утримують 108 заручників.
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Прес-служба Медведчука не пустила журналістів Радіо Свобода на передачу заручників
28/06/2019
Сьогодні у Мінську близько 14.30 була запланована передача від бойовиків «ДНР» та «ЛНР» чотирьох українських заручників.
Журналісти Радіо Свобода вранці подали в прес-службу голови політради партії «Опозиційна платформа – За життя» Віктора Медведчука список для акредитації та отримали підтвердження, що можуть бути на події. Проте в аеропорті охорона не виявила прізвищ кореспондентів Радіо Свобода. Пізніше охороні повідомили, що Радіо Свобода не пройшла узгодження прес-служби Медведчука. Жодних пояснень від прес-служби отримати не вдалося.
Голова політради партії «Опозиційна платформа – За життя» Віктор Медведчук розповів російським ЗМІ, що 28 червня у Мінську бойовики збройних угруповань «ДНР» та «ЛНР» мають передати чотирьох українських заручників.
Однопартієць Медведчука по партії «Опозиційна платформа – За життя» Вадим Рабінович у соцмережах повідомив, що бойовики звільнять Дмитра Великого, Якова Веремейчика, Едуарда Міхєєва та Максима Горяїнова. Рабінович стверджує, що троє з цього числа – військові. Підтвердження цієї інформації з інших джерел немає. У СБУ не знають, кого планують відпустити бойовики.
27 червня президент України Володимир Зеленський заявив, що жодного разу не спілкувався із кумом російського президента і політиком Віктором Медведчуком і не розуміє, чому в процесі звільнення полонених мають бути посередники.
Медведчук балотується у Верховну Раду на дострокових виборах від партії «Опозиційна платформа – За життя».
За даними Міністерства закордонних справ, Росія незаконно утримує понад 70 українців. До цього числа не входять 24 українські моряки, захоплені Росією біля Керченської протоки наприкінці листопада 2018 року.
За даними СБУ станом на січень 2018 року, підтримувані Росією бойовики на Донбасі утримують 108 заручників.
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Biden Faces Tough Sledding in His First Democratic Debate
28/06/2019
In a sea of more than 20 candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination, former vice president Joe Biden entered the second of two nights of early Democratic primary debates Thursday with a big bulls-eye on his back.
The front-runner before he even announced his candidacy, Biden was expected to ignore attacks from fellow Democrats as much as possible and to focus instead on challenging U.S. President Trump, trying to create the impression that the real race isn’t the primary at all, but an eventual Biden v. Trump showdown.
And from the get-go, that really did seem like Biden’s strategy. But as the former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson once observed, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
Biden was repeatedly challenged on his record by his opponents and by moderators from television networks NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo, which jointly hosted the event. His answers were often angry and defensive, even to attacks that he must certainly have known were coming.
Passing the torch
During the two-hour debate in Miami, which shoehorned 10 candidates onto a single stage for the second night in a row, the first person to take a swing at Biden was California Rep. Eric Swalwell. The 38-year-old four-term congressman went after the 76-year-old former vice president over his age, pointing out that when Swalwell was 6 years old, in 1982, Biden had come to the California Democratic Convention as a presidential candidate and declared that it was time for America to pass the torch to a new generation.
Biden dodged the first attack deftly, parrying with comments about improving educational outcomes and cutting student debt.
However, it didn’t take long for the next blow to land.
Busing opposition
California Sen. Kamala Harris, who is African American, challenged Biden over his past opposition to integrating public schools through busing, as well as recent comments he made about his ability to strike deals with openly racist members of the U.S. Senate during his early days in Congress. (Biden had mentioned his ability to work with Georgia Sen. Herman Talmadge and Mississippi Sen. James Eastland, both staunch segregationists from the distant past, as evidence that the Senate used to be a more “civil” place.)
“It was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country,” Harris said. “And, you know, there was a little girl in California, who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools. And she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me.”
Defensive, angry
If, coming into the debate, Biden had planned to rise above attacks on him, he abandoned that plan when Harris confronted him. He responded angrily, denying that he had praised Talmadge and Eastland — something Harris never claimed — and launching into a defense of his opposition to busing.
Only a few minutes later, Biden was challenged again, when moderator Chuck Todd asked about his recent assertion that, if he were elected, Republicans in Congress would drop their resistance to Democratic ideas and negotiate. Pointing out that President Barack Obama had made similar comments near the end of his first term, only to be proved wrong, Todd said, “It does sound as if you haven’t seen what’s been happening in the United States over the past 12 years.”
Again, Biden responded angrily, reciting a list of accomplishments during his vice presidency that involved cooperation with Republicans in Congress, including a deal that avoided a federal government default.
He was immediately blasted by Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, who pointed out that the deal he mentioned involved extending controversial Republican tax cuts indefinitely.
Later, Biden was challenged by moderator Rachel Maddow on his vote in favor of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Rather than defending his vote, he instead focused on his efforts, as vice president, to finally bring U.S. combat troops home, again sounding angry and defensive.
Campaign test
Thursday night was a major test for Biden, who has not campaigned for any office since 2012. He won re-election as a senator in 2008, at the same time that he was elected vice president. Biden has not run by himself on any ticket since 2002, 18 years before the election he is hoping to win next year.
Biden only announced his candidacy in late April, but for long before that he was the clear front-runner in the Democratic primary nomination. On May 4, one week after he officially announced his campaign, Biden held a dominant lead over the rest of the field, with 36.8% of the vote, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average. His closest rival at the time, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, had less than half that support, at 16.4%.
In the intervening months, much has changed. As of June 26, Biden’s support in the RCP average had dropped to 32%. Sanders had gained only a little, at 16.9%. But the big story was Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. At 8 percent a week after Biden announced, she had surged to 12.8% in the week before the first debates. Warren was the only one of the five highest-polling candidates to appear in the first debate.
In the final moments of Thursday’s debate, Biden did his best to move his focus back to President Trump, declaring that he wanted to “restore the soul” of the nation, which he said has been “ripped” out by the incumbent.
If Thursday night demonstrated anything, though, it was that the former vice president’s opponents have no intention of allowing him to keep his focus on the current president. Or to remain comfortable at the top of the polls.
Former US VP Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris Clash Over Racial Issues
28/06/2019
Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was at center stage Thursday on the second night of Democratic presidential debates, but one of his main challengers, Sen. Kamala Harris, sharply questioned his relations with segregationist lawmakers four decades ago and his opposition to forced school busing to integrate schools.
Harris, a California lawmaker and former prosecutor, turned to Biden, saying, “I do not believe you are a racist.” But the African American senator drew cheers from the crowd in an auditorium in Miami, Florida, when she said it was “hurtful to hear” Biden recently as he described how as a young senator he worked with segregationist Southern senators to pass legislation.
“That’s a mischaracterization of my position across the board,” a stern-faced Biden responded. “I did not praise racists.”
But Harris persisted in a sharp exchange, demanding of Biden, “Do you acknowledge it was wrong to oppose busing?” Harris said she had benefited from busing to attend desegregated schools.
Biden defended his longtime support for civil rights legislation, but he did not explain his opposition to school busing in the state of Delaware, which he represented in the U.S. Senate.
Divisive issue
Court-ordered school busing was a divisive issue in numerous American cities in the 1970s, especially opposed by white parents whose children were sent to black-majority schools elsewhere in their communities to desegregate them.
The Harris-Biden exchange was one of the most pointed of the debate, perhaps catching Biden off guard. The issue of race was triggered midway through the debate when Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, was questioned about his handling of the recent fatal shooting of a black man by a white police officer.
Buttigieg, who temporarily suspended his campaign to return to his city, said the shooting is under investigation, but added, “It’s a mess and we’re hurting.”
Many in the black community have protested Buttigieg’s handling of the police incident and the relatively small number of black police officers on the South Bend force.
Biden leading early survey
Biden currently leads Democratic voter preference surveys for the party’s presidential nomination, but he was facing some of his biggest rivals, with millions watching on national television. He often defended his long role in the U.S. government, most recently as former President Barack Obama’s two-term vice president.
He was joined in the debate by nine other presidential candidates, including Senators Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist from Vermont, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Michael Bennet of Colorado.
In the early moments of the debate, Biden, Sanders and Harris all attacked President Donald Trump for his staunch support for a $1.5 trillion tax cut Congress enacted that chiefly benefited corporations and the wealthy.
“Donald Trump has put us in a horrible situation,” Biden said. “I would be going about eliminating Donald Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthy.” Sanders called for the elimination of $1.6 trillion of student debt across the country, while Harris said she would change the tax code to benefit the American middle class, not the wealthy.
‘The fraud he is’
Sanders attacked Trump in the most direct way of any of the Democratic contenders, declaring, “Trump is a phony, pathological liar and a racist.” He said Democrats need to “expose him as the fraud he is.”
In a wide-ranging debate, some of the contenders voiced disagreements on how to change U.S. health care policies. Sanders, Harris and Gillibrand all, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren the night before, called for the controversial adoption of a government-run health care program to replace the current U.S. system, which is based on workers buying private insurance policies to pay most of their health care bills.
But the other candidates disagreed. Biden, a staunch supporter of the Obamacare plan adopted while he was vice president that helped millions of Americans gain health insurance coverage, said that the existing plan should be improved, not abandoned.
“I’m against any Democrat who takes down Obamacare,” Biden said.
All 10 contenders said they supported providing health care coverage for undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. Biden, reflecting other candidates’ comments, said, “You cannot let people be sick no matter where they came from.”
Trump, who was following the debate from the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, blasted the democratic candidates’ position.
All Democrats just raised their hands for giving millions of illegal aliens unlimited healthcare. How about taking care of American Citizens first!? That’s the end of that race!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2019
Biden twice has failed to win the party’s presidential nomination, in 1988 and 2008. But he has consistently led national polling this year, both over his Democratic rivals for the party nomination and over Trump in a hypothetical 2020 general election matchup.
Biden’s closest Democratic challengers are Sanders and Warren of Massachusetts, the key contender among 10 on the debate stage Wednesday, when more than 15 million people tuned in to see the first major political event of the 2020 campaign.
Biden has attempted to portray himself as a steady alternative to the unpredictable Trump, one who would restore frayed U.S. relations with foreign allies and undo conservative domestic policies Trump has adopted.
But more progressive Democrats have questioned Biden’s bona fides and political history over four decades in Washington as the party’s key current figures have aggressively moved toward more liberal stances on a host of key policy issues, including health care and abortion, taxes and immigration.
Some critics also have suggested that Biden might be too old to become the U.S. leader. Now 76, Biden would be 78 and the oldest first-term president if he were to defeat the 73-year-old Trump and take office in January 2021. Trump often mocks him as “Sleepy Joe.”
‘Pass the torch’
Congressman Eric Swalwell of California jabbed at Biden, recalling that 32 years ago, when Biden first ran for president, Biden contended the U.S. needed to “pass the torch” to a new generation of leaders. Swalwell said Biden was right when he said that then and joked that “he’s right today.”
Biden laughed at the reference, responding, “I’m still holding on to that torch.”
In the Midwestern farm state of Iowa recently, Trump assessed his possible Democratic opponents, saying of Biden, “I think he’s the weakest mentally, and I think Joe is weak mentally. The others have much more energy.”
Biden, for his part, labeled Trump “an existential threat” to the U.S.
Key Quotes From Second Democratic Presidential Debate
28/06/2019
The second set of 10 Democrats took the stage Thursday night for the second Democratic primary debate of the 2020 U.S. election cycle in the race to try to oust Republican President Donald Trump from the White House.
On stage were Sen. Michael Bennet (Colo.), former Vice President Joe Biden, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.), former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Eric Swalwell (Calif.), author Marianne Williamson and businessman Andrew Yang.
Here is a look at the top quotes from the spirited debate:
Joe Biden
As the front-runner, Biden faced tough questions.
He was questioned over his recent comments about working well with segregationist senators and his past opposition to busing plans used to desegregate public schools.
Kamala Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, said to Biden: “I do not believe you are a racist and I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground. But I also believe, and it is personal, and I was actually very — it was hurtful, to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country. And it was not only that, but you also worked with them to oppose busing.”
Biden hit back: “It’s a mischaracterization of my position across the board: I did not praise racists. That is not true.”
Bernie Sanders
Sanders was pressed over his self-description as a socialist, including a question on whether his proposals like Medicare for All would lead to higher taxes on the middle class.
“Every proposal that I have brought forth is fully paid for,” he said, arguing that insurance premiums would be lower under his proposal. “Yes, they will pay more in taxes but less in health care for what they get.”
Eric Swalwell
Eric Swalwell was the first of the night to attack Joe Biden. He says he remembers being a child when a Democratic candidate came to California and talked about the need to “Pass the torch” to young people.
“That man was Joe Biden,” Swalwell said. “And yes, we need to ‘Pass the torch.’”
“I’m still holding onto that torch,” Biden said.
Kamala Harris
After some squabbling among the candidate, the moderators tried to move the discussion on. Harris comes in with a line of her own. “Americans don’t want to watch a food fight,” she said. They want to know how they will be able to “put food on the table.”
Pete Buttigieg
Asked during the debate why he didn’t manage to hire more black police officers in South Bend, where 26% of the population is black.
“Because I couldn’t get it done,” Buttigieg responded.
“It’s a mess, and we’re hurting,” he said. “And I could walk you through all the things that we have done as a community. All of the steps that we took from bias training to de-escalation. But it didn’t save the life of Eric Logan. And when I look into his mother’s eyes, I have to face the fact that nothing that I say will bring him back.”
Buttigieg said that these issues South Bend faces are really a national problem, and that across the country it’s important to combat systemic racism in police departments.
“I am determined to bring about a day when a white person driving a vehicle and a black person driving a vehicle, when they see a police officer approaching feels the exact same thing — a feeling not of fear, but of safety,” Buttigieg said.
Marianne Williamson
Williamson called the policy proposals for the country’s health care plans “superficial fixes” and railed against the current system as a “sickness system” rather than a “health care system.”
“If you think we are going to beat Donald Trump with all these plans, you are wrong,” she said, a tacit swipe at several candidates, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who have offered multiple policy proposals.
Michael Bennet
Bennet swiped at President Donald Trump directly over his 2017 tax cuts, tariffs he’s levied as president and poor conditions at migrant detention centers.
“The president has turned the border of the United States into a symbol of nativist hostility,” Bennet said.
Kirsten Gillibrand
The New York senator criticized Trump, pointing to the deaths of seven migrant children in U.S. custody during Trump’s tenure in the White House.
“He’s torn apart the moral fabric of who we are, when he started separating children at the border with their parents. The fact that seven children have died in his custody,” Gillibrand said.
Andrew Yang
Yang was asked to defend his proposal to pay $1,000 a month, to every American, from the federal government.
“It’s difficult to do if you have companies like Amazon, trillion-dollar companies, paying zero in taxes,” Yang said, suggesting he would seek to close tax loopholes used by companies. He said he would also add a “mild” value-added tax, a kind of consumption tax used by European countries.
“Just the value gained by having a stronger, healthier, mentally healthier population” would be worth billions to the U.S. economy, Yang said, plus savings, as incarceration rates and homelessness declined.
John Hickenlooper
“As Colorado governor, I brought in progressive policies. Socialism is bad, and will re-elect Trump.”
Have an Old Car? You’re Not Alone. Vehicle Age Hits US Record
28/06/2019
The average age of cars and trucks in the U.S. has hit a record 11.8 years, as better quality and technology allows people to keep them on the road longer.
The 2019 figures from data provider IHS Markit show that the rate of increase is slowing, but the average age is still expected to go over 12 years early in the next decade. The average age is up 0.1 years from 2018.
People are feeling comfortable keeping vehicles longer because they’re built better than in the past, said IHS Markit Director of Global Automotive Aftermarket Mark Seng.
“The quality is higher, lasting longer, withstanding the weather,” Seng said.
Financing longer
Plus, original owners are keeping their vehicles longer and maintaining them better because they’re financing them for longer, six or even seven years in many cases, he said.
“That helps improve the overall life of the vehicle,” he said.
Western states have the oldest vehicles at 12.4 years, while in the Northeast the average age is only 10.9 years. That’s largely because of less stop-and-start traffic that wears on a vehicle. Weather conditions also play a part.
Montana has the oldest average age at 16.6 years, while the youngest is Vermont, with an average age of 9.9 years.
The aging vehicles should be a boon to repair shops, which may want to change strategies to cater to owners of older vehicles who may want to spend less on parts, Seng said.
The number of light vehicles in use in the U.S. also hit a record of more than 278 million this year, according to IHS, which tracks vehicle registrations nationally.
Trump Meets Abe, Modi and Merkel on G-20 Sidelines
28/06/2019
VOA’s White House Bureau Chief Steve Herman in Osaka, Japan, contributed to this report.
U.S. President Donald Trump met Friday morning with several world leaders on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Japan.
Trump started his day with summit host Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, followed by short discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel — all of whom Trump criticized just hours before he landed in Osaka.
“We’ll be discussing trade, we’ll be discussing military,” Trump said as he met with Abe before heading to the talks.
Trump, recently, had publicly criticized the U.S.-Japan defense alliance, that has been in place since World War II.
“If Japan is attacked, we will fight World War Three. We will go in and protect them with our lives and with our treasure,” Trump said during a telephone interview with Fox Business News on Wednesday. “We will fight at all costs … but if we are attacked, Japan doesn’t have to help us at all. They can watch on a Sony television.”
The White House said Trump and Abe had “reaffirmed their commitment to U.S.-Japan coordination on shared security challenges, including on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Iran.”
In Trump’s meeting with Modi, “the leaders acknowledged the unprecedented breadth and depth of bilateral ties, including economic, trade, energy, defense and security, counterterrorism and space,” according to the White House.
Trump also met jointly with Abe and Modi. The three leaders did a joint fist bump for the reporters. Despite earlier complaining about India, Trump said he and Modi have become “great friends” and the two countries “have never been closer.”
As for Germany, Trump complained once again that Berlin was not contributing enough toward the costs of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Merkel and Trump discussed issues “including Iran’s dangerous activity in the Middle East, stabilizing Libya and the Sahel region, and supporting economic reform in Ukraine. The two leaders also reviewed ongoing negotiations with China and establishing fair standards for global trade,” the White House said.
Trump added, “She’s a fantastic person, a fantastic woman and I’m glad to have her as a friend.”
The most attention Friday, however, will likely be paid to the meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As he left the White House Thursday, Trump told reporters that he expects a “very good conversation” with Putin but added that “what I say to him is none of your business.”
The two leaders are expected to discuss how to contain Iran, which has threatened to very soon breach uranium enrichment limits set in the 2015 nuclear accord. They will also likely take on the subjects of Syria and Venezuela.
It is the first meeting between the two leaders since special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation failed to find evidence that the Trump campaign had criminally conspired with Russia during the U.S. presidential election in 2016.
Last November, Trump canceled a meeting with Putin at the G-20 in Argentina after Russia seized two Ukrainian vessels and their crew in the Sea of Azov, but the continued detention of those crew members does not appear to be deterring the leaders from meeting this time.
On Saturday, Trump is scheduled to meet with China’s Xi Jinping when they are likely to discuss trade after a breakdown in negotiations and an escalation of tariffs by both sides.
After the summit, Trump flies to Seoul to discuss with South Korean President Moon Jae-in ways to ease tensions with North Korea. There has been speculation that the U.S. president will make a visit to the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, but U.S. officials have ruled out a meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while the U.S. president is on the peninsula.
Second Florida City Pays Ransom to Hackers
28/06/2019
A second small city in Florida has agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in ransom to cybercriminals who disabled its computer system.
Days after ransomware crippled the city of about 12,000 residents, officials of Lake City agreed this week to meet the hackers’ ransom demand: 42 Bitcoin or about $460,000.
Last week, River Bench, in Palm Beach County, paid $600,000 in Bitcoin to retrieve its data. In both cases, most of the money will be paid by insurance companies.
On Thursday, Key Biscayne, a third Florida city, said it too had been targeted by a cyberattack. But city officials said it had managed to restore most of its computer systems by late Wednesday.
Ransomware, a type of malicious software designed to deny access to a computer system or data until a ransom is paid, is becoming an epidemic in the public sector.
The cybersecurity firm Recorded Future reported in May that 170 city, county or state government systems have been attacked since 2013.
Ransomware attacks are not limited to small cities. Baltimore, a city of more than 600,000, has been fighting a cyber breach since May. The city refused to pay the $80,000 ransom that the hackers demanded. Instead, it has spent $18 million on data recovery.
Similarly, the city of Atlanta spent nearly $17 million after it was targeted in March 2018.
In November, the FBI indicted two Iranian men in a computer hacking and extortion scheme that targeted cities like Atlanta and Newark, N.J., in addition to the Port of San Diego, the Colorado Department of Transportation and six health care-related organizations. The estimated losses added up to more than $30 million.
WannaCry attack
One of the largest ransomware attacks was WannaCry, which encrypted hundreds of thousands of computers in more than 150 countries in a matter of hours. It was the first time that ransomware had spread across the world in what looked like a coordinated cyberattack.
The British national health care system was especially hard hit by WannaCry, which caused thousands of hospitals to go offline. The attack also affected government systems, railway networks and private companies.
It was eventually traced to a group of hackers working for North Korea who used stolen highly classified hacking tools developed by the U.S. National Security Agency.
Засуджений у Росії український політв’язень Сергій Літвінов перебуває у Харківській колонії
27/06/2019
Засуджений у Росії український політв’язень Сергій Літвінов перебуває нині в Диканівській колонії №12 міста Харкова. Про це він повідомив журналістам «Громадського».
За словами Литвінова, там він перебуває з 1 березня 2019 року. «Його передали згідно з міжнародною конвенцією між Росією і Україною. Я думаю, це був пробний варіант, щоб частково передати наших політичних в’язнів. Але не виключаю, що це могло статися помилково. Його просто не вважали важливим для Росії і передали», – коментує Михайло Тарахкало, директор Центру стратегічних справ Української Гельсінської спілки з прав людини.
Тарахкало повідомив кореспонденту Радіо Свобода, що у Літвінова є адвокат, який займається його справою в Харкові: «Наш адвокат вже відвідував Сергія в колонії за його словами, критичних моментів по стану здоров’я в Сергія нема. Він знаходиться в нормальних умовах, якщо нормальним можна вважати те, що людина, яка не здійснювала злочину знаходиться за ґратами».
Радіо Свобода намагалося зв’язатися з колонією, де перебуває Літвінов, але на момент виходу новини колонія не була доступна для коментарів.
Мешканця села Комишне Луганської області Сергія Літвінова затримали влітку 2014 року в Ростові-на-Дону. В 2016 році він був етапований у колонію в Магадані, отримавши за вироком суду в Ростові-на-Дону вісім з половиною років ув’язнення.
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У списках партій балотується 115 чинних народних депутатів – КВУ
27/06/2019
Відповідно до аналізу Комітету виборців України, із виборчих списків 21 політичної партії чинні народні депутати присутні в списках 11 політичних сил, всього у цих списках балотується 115 нинішніх народних обранців.
«Найбільше чинних нардепів висунуто партією «Європейська солідарність» – 21 кандидат є чинним народним депутатом. На другому місці – «Батьківщина» (17 кандидатів), на третьому – Радикальна партія Олега Ляшка (16 кандидатів)», – повідомили у КВУ.
За даними комітету, у виборчих списках партій також 25% кандидатів або кожен четвертий є безпартійним. Не є членами партій, від яких висуваються, 666 кандидатів із загалом понад 2600, додали у КВУ.
«Серед політичних сил найбільше безпартійних кандидатів у політичної партії «Партія Шарія» (69% безпартійні), «Слуги народу» (57%), ВО «Факел» (54%), «Опозиційний блок» (48%), «Голос» (48%). Натомість, жодного безпартійного кандидата немає у виборчому списку партії «Сила людей», – йдеться в повідомленні.
Дострокові вибори до Верховної Ради призначені на 21 липня.
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Сенатор США Менендес закликав негайно звільнити журналіста Асєєва, утримуваного в Донецьку
27/06/2019
Американський сенатор, провідний демократ у комітеті з міжнародних відносин Роберт Менендес закликав негайно звільнити донецького журналіста і блогера Станіслава Асєєва, який понад два роки перебуває в полоні угруповання «ДНР».
«Через два роки після захоплення підтримуваними російським урядом сепаратистами журналіст Радіо Свобода Станіслав Асєєв залишається в полоні практично без зв’язку з зовнішнім світом. Його затримання є нападом на всіх журналістів будь-де», – написав сенатор Менендес у мережі Twitter.
Журналіст перебуває в ув’язненні, за різними даними, з травня або червня 2017 року. Спершу він просто зник, два тижні про нього нічого не було відомо. Пізніше підконтрольне Росії угруповання «ДНР» визнало його затримання й звинуватило у шпигунстві на користь України. Він не потрапив на останній великий обмін у грудні 2017 року.
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Germany’s Merkel Seen Shaking Again at Berlin Event
27/06/2019
German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared unsteady and was seen shaking for the second time in just over a week at a ceremony in Berlin on Thursday.
Merkel, 64, folded her arms across her chest while her body trembled for around two minutes as she stood alongside President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at an indoor event where Germany’s new justice minister was being formally appointed.
The chancellor was handed a glass of water but rejected it. She appeared fine when she arrived in parliament half an hour later.
Merkel set off to Japan a few hours later for the annual summit of the Group of 20 global powers.
Her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, told news agency dpa that “everything is going ahead as planned. The chancellor is fine.”
Merkel’s office wouldn’t comment on the cause or otherwise elaborate. It is not publicly known if Merkel has any health problems. German privacy laws are very strict on that type of information.
On Tuesday last week, Merkel’s whole body shook as she stood outside in hot weather alongside Ukraine’s president. Merkel said afterward that she was fine after drinking three glasses of water, which she “apparently needed.”
Hot weather in Germany has continued this week, though outdoor temperatures in Berlin dropped significantly overnight after peaking at around 37 degrees Celsius (99 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday.
Merkel has been German leader since 2005.
Last week, dpa reported that Merkel had previously been seen shaking under similar circumstances in the hot sun. It did not give a date for that incident, but said it was also ascribed to Merkel not drinking enough water.
The chancellor has a reputation for stamina garnered in years of late-night domestic and European negotiating marathons.
On Wednesday, she was on her feet in public for around two hours _ first answering lawmakers’ questions in parliament, then giving a speech across town. There was no sign then of any health issues.
Merkel has rarely had to cut back her work schedule significantly – though she did so for a few weeks in 2014 when she cracked her pelvis while cross-country skiing in Switzerland during a winter vacation.
Merkel said last year that she won’t seek a fifth term as chancellor and won’t seek any other political job after her current term ends in 2021.
She gave up the leadership of her center-right party after a pair of poor state election performances that followed a rocky start to her fourth-term government. She has shown no sign since of wanting to give up the chancellorship before her term is up.
Trial Opens over Bangladesh Teen’s Grisly Murder
27/06/2019
At least sixteen people were facing the death penalty in a trial that started Thursday over the gruesome death of a young Bangladeshi woman that sparked protests and government promises of tough action.
Nusrat Jahan Rafi, 19, was set on fire in April after allegedly refusing to withdraw claims of sexual harassment against the head teacher of the Islamic seminary she attended.
She was lured onto the seminary rooftop in the southeastern town of Sonagazi, doused in kerosene and set alight, prosecutors say. She died five days later, triggering countrywide outrage.
The 16 people indicted — including the teacher — could face the death penalty if convicted. All defendants pleaded not guilty, while eight of the accused told the court that police forced them to sign written statements confessing involvement in the murder.
A special tribunal opened the trial Thursday at a crowded courtroom in the southeastern Feni district, with the first testimony by Rafi’s elder brother Mahmudul Hasan Noman who filed the case.
Noman — one of 92 people due to testify — described the killing in the court, saying the murder could have been avoided if police had acted upon Rafi’s harassment complaint.
The trial is expected to finish in six months, but Noman has urged the court to fast-track the hearings.
“Several defendants have alleged they were tortured and given electric shocks to sign confessional statements,” defence lawyer Giasuddin Ahmed told AFP, adding the case has become “politically motivated”.
Rafi had gone to police in March to report the alleged harassment. A leaked video shows the then district police chief registering her complaint but dismissing it as “not a big deal”.
The police official was later dismissed and arrested early this month for failing to properly investigate her allegations.
Police said at least five people — including three of Rafi’s classmates — tied her up with a scarf before setting her on fire. The plan was to stage the incident as a suicide case.
Rafi suffered burns to 80 percent of her body and died on April 10. But she recorded a video before her death, repeating her allegations against the head teacher.
Rights groups are closely monitoring the case as it came amid a spike in the number of rape and sexual assaults reported in Bangladesh.
They have said “a culture of impunity” is partly to blame for rise in sexual violence in the country.
According to Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, a women’s rights group, only three percent of rape cases end in convictions.
It said about 950 women were raped in Bangladesh last year.
Afghan President Begins Pakistan Visit
27/06/2019
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has begun a two-day official visit to Pakistan to pursue what aides say would be the normalization of the relationship between the two uneasy neighboring countries.
The Afghan leader held delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Imran Khan shortly after arriving in Islamabad at the head of a large delegation comprising Cabinet ministers, advisors and Afghan business community leaders.
Officials said the discussions focused on strengthening mutual cooperation in a number of areas, including political, trade, economic, security as well as peace and reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan. Ghani is also scheduled to address a conference of Pakistani and Afghan businessmen.
Allegations that the Pakistani military supports and shelters Taliban leaders are at the center of long-running bilateral tensions and mistrust. Pakistan rejects the charges and in turn accuses the Afghan spy agency of providing refuge to militants waging terrorist attacks against the Pakistani state.
The two countries share a nearly 2,600 kilometer, largely porous border, which critics say encourages illegal movement in both directions. Pakistan is unilaterally installing a robust fence along most of the frontier and believes it would address mutual security concerns.
Officials in Islamabad see Ghani’s latest visit as an indication his government “now realizes and accepts the centrality of Pakistan” to resolve bilateral issues and promote the Afghan peace process.
A senior foreign ministry official underscored the need for regular, direct and uninterrupted institutional-level engagement between the two countries. The official spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity.
“While Afghanistan realizes the importance of Pakistan in medium to long term, Pakistan also feels that it is important to remain engaged with the government of Afghanistan regardless of who heads it,” stressed the Pakistani official.
Last week, Pakistan hosted a “peace conference” of around 60 top Afghan political personalities, mostly opposition leaders, to try to underscore its neutrality in the conflict-torn Afghanistan.
U.S.-Taliban peace talks
Ghani’s visit comes at a time of intensified diplomatic efforts the United States is making to find a political settlement with the Taliban insurgency to end the nearly 18-year-old war in Afghanistan.
It also comes ahead of the next round of peace negotiations between U.S. and insurgent delegations to be hosted by Qatar on Saturday.
The Afghan government has been excluded from the dialogue process because of the Taliban’s refusal to deal with what the insurgents dismiss as an illegitimate “puppet” regime in Kabul.
Islamabad takes credit for arranging the U.S.-Taliban peace dialogue, insisting peace in Afghanistan is key to Pakistan’s own long-term security.
U.S. officials acknowledge Pakistani efforts in promoting the Afghan peace but they are seeking more help from Islamabad in terms of persuading the Taliban to show flexibility in the talks.
“Pakistan has a particularly important role to play in this process…Progress has been made. We will continue to look to Pakistan for practical measures, cooperation on peace talks and the implementation of any agreement,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a visit to Kabul.
Taliban and U.S. officials have held six rounds of talks in the nearly year-long process. The two sides say they have drafted a primary agreement that would bind the Taliban to stop terrorists from using insurgent-control areas for international terrorism. In turn, Washington would announce a troop withdrawal timetable.
But the Taliban rejects calls for a permanent cease-fire and the start of a formal intra-Afghan peace dialogue until it secures a U.S. troop withdrawal deal.
America’s LGBTQ Community Marks 50 Years of Gay Rights Movement
27/06/2019
Fifty years ago today (June 27, 1969), police raided The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York’s Greenwich Village. The violent protests that followed galvanized the gay rights movement in America. A half-century later, society’s attitudes toward the LGBTQ community has evolved, as highlighted in a groundbreaking exhibit at the Newseum in Washington, DC. For some members of the LGBTQ community, the exhibit is deeply personal. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more.
Trump in Japan for G-20 Summit, Talks With World Leaders
27/06/2019
U.S. President Donald Trump arrived Thursday in Osaka, Japan, where he is attending a summit with other leaders from the Group of 20.
On the sidelines of the main event, Trump is scheduled to hold a number of bilateral meetings, including those with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and Friday talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The U.S.-China talks are likely to touch on trade after a breakdown in negotiations and an escalation of tariffs by both sides.
U.S. officials said there was no fixed agenda for Trump’s meeting Putin, but acknowledged the two leaders would almost certainly discuss issues involving Ukraine, the Middle East and Venezuela.
Trump is also expected to use the G-20 sessions to convey that his administration intends to continue applying economic pressure on Iran, seeking to deny the country its important oil revenue and bring about fresh negotiations on its nuclear program.
After the summit, Trump flies to Seoul to discuss with South Korean President Moon Jae-in ways to ease tensions with North Korea.
Trump: North Korea Talks are ‘Doing Great’; North Korea Disagrees
27/06/2019
Lee Juhyun contributed to this report.
SEOUL — U.S. President Donald Trump insists his North Korea policy is “doing great.” South Korean President Moon Jae-in says talks with Pyongyang are “making steady progress.”
Ahead of Trump’s visit to South Korea later this week, the only side that seems to disagree about how great things are going is North Korea.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry Thursday lashed out at Washington and Seoul, suggesting it could completely pull out of stalled nuclear talks.
The statement, posted on the Korean Central News Agency, warned there is no guarantee negotiations would resume, even though the United States “repeatedly talks about resumption of dialogue like a parrot.”
The article also reiterated North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s end-of-the-year deadline for the United States to change its approach to the nuclear talks.
“The U.S. would be well advised to bear in mind that our repeated warning is not merely an empty word,” said Kwon Jong Gun, director-general of the Department of American Affairs at the North Korean Foreign Ministry.
Widening gap
The comments underscore the widening gap between the conciliatory language used by U.S. and South Korean officials on the one hand, and the increasingly combative rhetoric from North Korea on the other.
“There is a big disconnect,” said David Kim, who specializes in East Asia security policy at the Washington-based Stimson Center. “Optics are one thing, but I’m really hoping there is some forward momentum at the top.”
Stalled talks
Talks have been stalled since a February Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam ended without a deal. Kim was unhappy with the pace of U.S. sanctions relief, while Trump was upset Kim would not commit to completely giving up his nuclear program. Since then, North Korea has ignored U.S. requests to restart working level talks.
There was some optimism after Trump and Kim recently exchanged personal letters. Trump called the notes “beautiful,” while Kim said he was “seriously contemplating” their “interesting” content.
South Korea’s Moon announced Wednesday the United States and North Korea are involved in “behind the scenes” dialogue on a third Trump-Kim summit. He also suggested North and South Korean officials are holding talks.
But the North Korean Foreign Ministry statement on Thursday denied the existence of any inter-Korean talks, and rejected the notion of Seoul as a mediator.
“The South Korean authorities are now giving a wide publicity as if the North and the South are having various forms of exchanges and closed-door meetings,” the statement said. “But the reality is the contrary.”
“The South Korean authorities would better mind their own internal business,” the statement added.
Trump to visit DMZ?
During his two-day visit to South Korea, Trump is set to hold talks with Moon. Trump may also visit the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, according to South Korean officials.
There was speculation Trump may use a DMZ visit to hold a third summit with Kim. But before leaving Washington, Trump said he would “not quite” meet with the North Korean leader.
“But I may be speaking to him in a different form,” Trump said, without elaborating.
Both Trump and Kim frequently praise their friendly relationship and have said they are open to a third summit. U.S. officials haven’t commented on Moon’s suggestion that planning for such a meeting is underway.
Hostile rhetoric to continue?
Though North Korea has escalated its hostile rhetoric, it appears to be doing so carefully. Instead of attacking Trump, North Korean officials and state media articles take aim at lower level White House officials.
And though North Korea last month resumed testing ballistic missiles for the first time in a year and a half, it has refrained from testing longer-range missiles that would be seen as a major provocation.
For now, many analysts expect the pattern to continue.
“It’s a strategy to enforce their bargaining power,” said Won Gon Park, professor of international politics at South Korea’s Handong Global University. “Kim is willing to talk … but North Korea’s position remains unchanged.”
«Тепер Росії вирішувати» – Волкер про розведення сил у Станиці Луганській
26/06/2019
Спеціальний представник Держдепартаменту США щодо України Курт Волкер привітав відведення українських військових із однієї з позицій перед КПВВ у Станиці Луганській і вказав, що очікує наступного кроку від Росії.
«Гарний крок, здійснений Україною в Станиці-Луганській. Тепер Росії вирішувати щодо реалізації взаємних подальших заходів для зміцнення припинення вогню, включно з відведенням важкої зброї і роззброєнням незаконних збройних формувань», – написав посол Волкер у мережі Twitter.
Українські військові опівдні 26 червня відійшли з однієї з позицій перед КПВВ у Станиці Луганській, повідомили у штабі Операції об’єднаних сил. «По сигналу сигнальних ракет з нашої сторони та сторони бойовиків наші військові покинули визначені ОБСЄ позиції. Наразі не відомо, чи відвів своїх військових противник», – ішлося в повідомленні штабу.
Згідно з повідомленням, на днях очікується приїзд українського представника в Тристоронній контактній групі Леоніда Кучми, щоб «продовжити роботу з розведення сторін на визначені Мінськими домовленостями рубежі».
В сепаратистському угрупованні «ЛНР» також заявили про розведення сил у Станиці Луганській і додали, що цей процес може зайняти до трьох днів.
У Спеціальній моніторинговій місії ОБСЄ 26 червня підтвердили готовність «контролювати та перевіряти процес розведення з обох сторін лінії розмежування». «Місія також проводить дистанційне спостереження з камерами та безпілотними апратами», – вказано в повідомленні місії.
Розвести сили в Станиці Луганській намагаються з 2016 року.
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«Свати» повертаються з 1 липня – студія «Квартал 95»
26/06/2019
Студія «Квартал 95» повідомила про повернення на телеекрани України серіалу «Свати», демонстрація якого кілька років була заборонена.
«Вони скучили, а ви? «Свати» повертаються! Уже з 1 липня о 20:45 1+1 розпочинає показ шостого сезону вашої улюбленої комедії», – проінформувала студія «Квартал 95» у Facebook.
Група 1+1 media заявила раніше цього мясця про намір оскаржити в суді рішення експертної ради при Державному агентстві з питань кіно про відмову у видачі прокатного посвідчення на другий сезон серіалу «Свати».
«Група 1+1 media обурена таким рішенням та вважає його необґрунтованим, нелогічним та політично вмотивованим, особливо з урахуванням останнього рішення Шостого апеляційного адміністративного суду. Раніше, 15 травня, суд не задовольнив апеляційні скарги СБУ та Держкіно на рішення суду про зняття заборони з серіалу «Свати», – ідеться в повідомленні медіагрупи.
Як інформує «Детектор Медіа», членкиня експертної комісії Держкіно Марія Гурська (програмна директорка каналу «Еспресо») сказала, що в серіалі державні установи підписано російською мовою, а деякі вивіски – українською, з чого складається враження, що Україна інтегрована в російський простір. А також – що серіал розвиває в українців комплекс меншовартості, принижує їхню гідність, оскільки родина героїв з українським прізвищем виглядає менш освіченою, «селюками», на відміну від родини з російським прізвищем. Вона зауважила, що в разі перемонтування другого сезону і зміни прізвища героїв серіалу експертна комісія могла би погодитися на видачу прокатного посвідчення.
У цілому за відмову у видачі прокатного посвідчення на другий сезон серіалу «Свати» проголосували 15 членів комісії, один член – за дозвіл, двоє заявили про конфлікт інтересів, а один член комісії не брав участі в засіданні через зайнятість на зйомках.
Колегія суддів Шостого апеляційного адміністративного суду 15 травня відхилила апеляцію Служби безпеки України та Державного агентства України з питань кіно, яка стосувалася рішення Окружного адміністративного суду Києва в справі про серіал «Свати».
Trump Heads to Japan for G-20 Summit
26/06/2019
Just a month after a state visit to Japan, U.S. President Donald Trump is heading to the East Asian country again.
In Osaka, Trump will attend the Group of 20 leaders’ summit, during which he is scheduled to meet one-on-one on the sidelines with such fellow world leaders as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Before leaving Wednesday, Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn that he’ll be meeting with leaders of a lot of different countries “many of whom have been taking advantage of the United States — but not anymore.”
A senior administration official told reporters Monday that Trump is “quite comfortable [with] his position going into the meeting” with China’s President Xi following the breakdown of U.S.-China trade talks and increased tariffs on Beijing by Washington.
U.S. officials say there is no fixed agenda for Trump’s meeting with Putin although they acknowledge issues involving Iran, Ukraine, the Middle East and Venezuela are almost certain to be discussed.
When asked Wednesday if he would ask Putin not to meddle in future U.S. elections, Trump said it was “none of your business.”
Casting a pall over the G-20 discussions will be nervousness about the deteriorating situation between Washington and Tehran. Leaders in both capitals have been reiterating they want to avoid war but have also repeatedly stated they will not hesitate to defend their interests if provoked.
Economic pressure on Iran
Trump is to stress to his fellow leaders at the G-20 that the United States intends to continue to increase economic pressure on Iran, which finds itself under escalating U.S. sanctions, and eliminate all of the country’s petroleum exports.
“I don’t think Iran is a distraction,” according to James Jay Carafano, vice president of the Heritage Foundation’s national security and foreign policy institute. “I think that’s under control. Trump should strive for a no drama G-20.”
The G-20 itself no longer has the significance it did after the group’s first several summits late in the previous decade when it cooperated to avert a meltdown of the global economy.
Trump prefers bilateral discussions and agreements over multinational events. Administration officials, however, are attempting to counter the notion that they no longer see these types of meetings as vital, pointing to U.S. leadership on advancing 21st century economic issues.
“We believe that G-20 economies need to work together to advance open, fair and market-based digital policies, including the free flow of data,” a senior administration official told reporters Monday on a conference call, also stressing promotion of women’s economic empowerment.
Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and a White House adviser, is to give a keynote address on the latter topic at a G-20 side event in Osaka.
G-20 host Shinzo Abe, as prime minister of Japan, and many European participants are trying to maintain the international system and its principles.
“This is where the absence of the U.S. is really harming it,” said Heather Conley, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and director of its Europe program. “We’re seeing the slow death of multilateralism in many respects. It’s a death by a thousand cuts.”
While the U.S. pulls back from such groups, the world is witnessing “the Chinese using international organizations so effectively to shape agendas,” said Conley, a former deputy assistant secretary of state.
Trump-Xi meetings
Some analysts expect the Trump-Xi meeting in Osaka to be a repeat of their previous dinner last year in Buenos Aires, when the two leaders agreed to trade talks and tasked their trade ministers with reaching a deal within 90 days.
“I think that that is the most likely outcome, that they’re going to reach some sort of accommodation, a truce like that and push this forward,” said Matthew Goodman, a CSIS senior vice president and senior adviser for Asian economics.
“It’s not going to solve the immediate problems,” contended Goodman, who previously served as director for international economics on the National Security Council staff, helping then-President Barack Obama prepare for G-20 and G-8 summits. “Even if we get a deal, it’s unlikely to solve some of the deep structural differences between us in the role of the state in the economy, the governance of technology and data.”
Much attention will also be on the Trump-Putin encounter.
“Whenever President Trump and President Putin meet there is a very strong [U.S.] domestic backlash after that meeting,” noted Conley. “In part, it’s because there’s a total lack of transparency about the topics of discussion and what the agenda is, and I think the president would have a better policy approach domestically if, again, there was clarity of what the agenda would be, that there would be people participating in that meeting — secretary of state, national security adviser and others.”
Trump is also scheduled to hold talks in Osaka with leaders from Australia, Germany, India, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
From Japan, Trump flies to Seoul, where he will be hosted by South Korean President Moon Jae-in to discuss how to further ease tensions with North Korea.
White House officials brush off speculation Trump could meet on the Korean peninsula with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which would be their third encounter after summits in Singapore and Hanoi. And U.S. officials are not commenting on a possible presidential visit to the Demilitarized Zone, which separates the two Koreas.
There is little pressure on Trump to make any breakthroughs during his visit to Japan and South Korea, according to Carafano.
“I think the U.S. is in the driver’s seat with regards to both North Korea and China negotiations,” Carafano told VOA. “If they come to the table now, fine. If not, fine. Trump can wait until after the 2020 election.”
Straight Talk Africa
26/06/2019
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