U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper cautioned European allies against cozying up to China, arguing on Friday that Beijing seeks greater global influence by leveraging economic power and stealing technology.

“The more dependent a country becomes on Chinese investment and trade, the more susceptible they are to coercion and retribution when they act outside of Beijing’s wishes,” Esper said in a speech at the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank.

Esper’s assertion that China is seeking to expand its influence at the expense of others has been a common U.S. government refrain for years, including during President Barack Obama’s administration. By taking this message to London, Esper seemed to be suggesting that Europeans do not fully share U.S. concerns, which often center on China’s efforts to militarize disputed territory in the South China Sea and its vast trade surplus with the U.S.

“I would caution my friends in Europe _ this is not a problem in some distant land that does not affect you,” he said.

In a similar vein, Esper blasted Russia for arms control violations and for aggression in Europe, including its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and what he called Moscow’s continued aggression in eastern Ukraine. In a question-and-answer session after his prepared remarks, Esper said Russian ground-based cruise missiles aimed at Europe are “probably nuclear-tipped.”

 Esper’s audience of defense experts and officials was as interested in Middle East issues as in the main topic of his speech. In response to a question about the U.S. approach to Iran, Esper acknowledged differences with some allies but stressed that President Donald Trump is determined to stay on his course of “maximum pressure” through economic sanctions.

He said the goal is to compel the Iranians to negotiate an agreement to replace the 2015 nuclear deal, from which Trump withdrew the U.S. last year. Many in Europe consider the U.S. withdrawal a mistake.

Esper said a new nuclear deal would have to assure that Iran “doesn’t pursue or acquire a nuclear weapon not just in 10 or 15 years but forever,” and he suggested that such talks may be in the offing.

“It seems in some ways that Iran is inching toward that place where we could have talks,” he said.

Later at a news conference, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace, with Esper at his side, said he would not predict Iran’s intentions toward negotiations but noted that Iran is still holding a British-flagged vessel.

“We’ll take them at their actions rather than their words,”Wallace said.
 
Esper, in his prepared remarks, was making the case for the Trump administration’s argument that the West must do more to counter what he called efforts by China and Russia to “disrupt the international order” to gain advantage.

“China’s technology theft for military gain is staggering,” Esper said.

It was the first major policy speech by Esper since becoming defense secretary in July. In tone and substance, the remarks showed Esper subscribes to what has become a common theme in Washington, namely that China is the greatest long-term threat to global security.

“For anyone who wonders what a world dominated by Beijing might look like,” he said, “I would argue all you need to do is look at how they treat their own people, within their borders.”

Esper cited as an example China’s treatment of minority Uighurs since the ruling Communist Party in 2016 launched what it calls a campaign against ethnic separatism and religious extremism in the western region of Xinjiang.

An estimated 1 million Uighurs have since been detained in internment camps and prisons across the region, and advocacy groups say that includes more than 400 prominent academics, writers, performers and artists. Critics say the government is targeting intellectuals to dilute or even erase Uighur culture, language and identity.

“It is increasingly clear that Russia and China want to disrupt the international order by gaining a veto over other nations’ economic, diplomatic and security decisions,” Esper said.

Esper’s speech amounted to a statement of his top strategic priority: to make China and Russia the main focus of U.S. defense planning, shifting from the insurgent wars of recent decades in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

However, some defense analysts question whether Esper and the Trump administration have laid the groundwork for such a shift.

“Changing the strategic direction of a large nation requires a shift in public opinion, and the Pentagon has not done much to make a convincing case to Americans,” Mackenzie Eaglen, a defense expert at the American Enterprise Institute, wrote this week for Foreign Policy.

Meanwhile, China and Russia have denied the U.S. accusations of malign actions and intentions.

Esper’s visit was taking place amid a crisis over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s determination to lead Britain out of the European Union on Oct. 31. On Thursday evening, Esper met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

For a new politician, exposure on traditional and social media is paramount to re-election.  Voice of America has been following two new U.S. lawmakers.  Republican Pete Stauber of Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District and Democratic Representative Katie Porter, of California’s 45th congressional district.  Through our project entitled, “Climbing the Hill,” VOA’s Carolyn Presutti shows us how former law professor Katie Porter is putting her training into practice and making headlines.

 

Voice of America has been following two new U.S. lawmakers during their first year as members of the US Congress.  Republican Pete Stauber of Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District and Democratic Representative Katie Porter, of California’s 45th congressional districts.  Through our project entitled, “Climbing the Hill,” we introduce you to the challenges and successes in their lives, during their first year representing constituents in Washington, DC.  In this report, VOA’s Carolyn Presutti shows us how former law professor Katie Porter deals with the transition to “US Representative” Katie Porter.

Robert Mugabe, the guerrilla leader who led Zimbabwe to independence in 1980, died Friday at age 95, two years after the army brought an ignominious end to almost four decades of his iron-fisted rule.

Following are reactions to his death from Zimbabwe and around the world.

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, on Twitter

“Cde (Comrade) Mugabe was an icon of liberation, a pan-Africanist who dedicated his life to the emancipation and empowerment of his people. His contribution to the history of our nation and continent will never be forgotten.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa

“South Africans join the people and government of Zimbabwe in mourning the passing of a liberation fighter and champion of Africa’s cause against colonialism.

“Under President Mugabe’s leadership, Zimbabwe’s sustained and valiant struggle against colonialism inspired our own struggle against apartheid and built in us the hope that one day South Africa too would be free.

“During the decades of our own struggle, Zimbabwe’s liberation movement supported our own liberation movement to fight oppression on multiple fronts. After Zimbabwe achieved independence, the apartheid state brutalized and violated Zimbabwe as punishment for supporting our own struggle.

“Many Zimbabweans paid with their lives so that we could be free. We will never forget or dishonor this sacrifice and solidarity.”

Zimbabwean Opposition Senator and Rights Lawyer David
Coltart, on Twitter

“He was a colossus on the Zimbabwean stage & his enduring positive legacy will be his role in ending white minority rule & expanding a quality education to all Zimbabweans.”

Nelson Chamisa, leader of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, on Twitter

“My condolences to the Mugabe family and Africa for the passing on of Zimbabwe’s founding president. This is a dark moment for the family because a giant among them has fallen. May the lord comfort them.

“Even though I and our party, the MDC, and the Zimbabwean people had great political differences with the late former president during his tenure in office, and disagreed for decades, we recognize his contribution made during his lifetime as a nation’s founding president.

“There’s so much to say for a life of 95 years and national leadership spanning over 37 years but in the true spirit of Ubuntu, we would like to give this moment to mourning but there will be time for greater reflection.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang

Geng said Mugabe was an outstanding liberation movement leader and statesman for Zimbabwe who had defended his country’s independence, opposed foreign interference and promoted good cooperation with China.

“We are deeply saddened by his passing and express sincere sympathies to the Zimbabwean people, government and to Mr. Mugabe’s family.”

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta

“In this moment of sorrow, my thoughts and prayers go out to his family, his relatives and the people of Zimbabwe who, for many years, he served with commitment and dedication.

“Words cannot convey the magnitude of the loss as former President Mugabe was an elder statesman, a freedom fighter and a Pan-Africanist who played a major role in shaping the interests of the continent … a man of courage who was never afraid to fight for what he believed in even when it was not popular.”

Tanzanian President John Magufuli

“Africa has lost one of its bravest and Pan-Africanist leaders, who led by example in opposing colonialism.”

Zimbabwean Deputy Minister of Information Energy Mutodi, on Twitter

“Rest in Peace President Robert Mugabe. There is no doubt you were an African icon, a statesman of a rare character and a revolutionary.”

Mpho Balopi, Secretary General, Botswana Democratic Party

“Cde Mugabe was one of Africa’s most renowned freedom fighters and also one of the founding fathers of what is today known as SADC (the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, whose headquarters are in Botswana).

“The history of our respective parties’ fraternal relations would be incomplete without mention of Uncle Bob, as he was affectionately known. It is beyond any doubt that he leaves an indelible mark on the politics of the region.”

Following are key milestones in the life of Zimbabwe’s former leader Robert Mugabe.

1924 — Mugabe is born Feb. 21 in what was then British-ruled Southern Rhodesia.

1940s-1950s — He is educated at Catholic schools and attends South Africa’s University of Fort Hare. He teaches in Zambia and Ghana, where he is influenced by African independence movement leaders.

1960s — Mugabe campaigns for Zimbabwe’s independence and is imprisoned in 1964 for political agitation. While incarcerated, he earns two law degrees from the University of London External Program.

1974 — Released from prison, he escapes to Mozambique, where Zimbabwe African National Union guerrilla fighters elect him to lead their struggle against white minority rule. A number of rivals die in suspicious circumstances, rights groups say.

1980 — Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party wins independent Zimbabwe’s first election. He takes office as prime minister April 18.

1982 — Mugabe deploys North Korean-trained troops to crush an insurgency by former guerrillas loyal to his liberation war rival Joshua Nkomo. Government forces are accused of involvement in the killing of 20,000 civilians, which Mugabe denies.

1987 — He becomes president with sweeping executive powers after changes to the constitution and signs a unity pact with Nkomo, who becomes one of his two deputies.

1990 — ZANU-PF and Mugabe win parliamentary and presidential elections.

1998 — An economic crisis marked by high interest rates and inflation sparks riots.

2000 — Zimbabweans reject a new constitution in a referendum, Mugabe’s first defeat at the ballot box.

Thousands of independence war veterans and their allies, backed by the government, seize white-owned farms, saying the land was illegally appropriated by white settlers.

2001 — The United States puts a financial freeze on Mugabe’s government in response to land seizures, beginning a wave of Western sanctions. Mugabe’s relationship with the West, especially the U.S. and Britain, never recovers.

2002 — Mugabe wins a disputed presidential vote, which observers condemn as flawed.

Zimbabwe is suspended from the British Commonwealth over accusations of human rights abuses and economic mismanagement. Mugabe pulls his country from the grouping the following year.

2008 — Hyperinflation reaches 500 billion percent, the nadir of an economic implosion that forces millions of people to leave the country, many to neighboring South Africa.

Mugabe loses a presidential vote but wins the run-off after opponent Morgan Tsvangirai withdraws citing violence against his supporters by security forces and war veterans. A power-sharing agreement is signed.

2010 — Media reports say Mugabe is seriously ill with cancer, speculation that continues in following years.

2013 — Mugabe wins another disputed presidential vote. Western observers site multiple accounts of electoral fraud.

2016 — Protesters led by a pastor stage the biggest show of defiance against Mugabe in a decade, prompting speculation about life after the veteran leader.

2017 — Mugabe is forced to resign in November following an army coup and is replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa, the man he had fired as his deputy two weeks earlier.

2018 — Mugabe is seen in public for the first time since leaving power. He berates his former ZANU-PF allies and backs opposition leader Nelson Chamisa on the eve of an election.

2019 — Mugabe travels several times to Singapore to seek medical treatment as pictures of the gaunt, gray-haired former leader circulate on social media.

A jury Thursday didn’t convict two men charged after flames tore through a party at a San Francisco Bay Area warehouse that had been converted into a mazelike artist space, stunning families of the 36 victims who had opposed a deal that would have put the pair behind bars.

Jurors acquitted Max Harris of involuntary manslaughter but said they could not agree on whether to convict or acquit Derick Almena after deliberating over a two-week period.

As the judge declared a mistrial, sobs and gasps erupted from family and friends of the victims who packed the courtroom for the emotional three-month trial. The men were accused of filling the building in Oakland with so much clutter that it trapped people at an electronic music party nearly three years ago.

Mazelike building

“I’m in shock,” said David Gregory, whose 20-year-old daughter Michela perished in the fast-moving fire. “We were hoping for justice, but we didn’t get justice today.”

Michela Gregory and her 22-year-old boyfriend, Alex Vega, died when fire roared through the so-called Ghost Ship warehouse, which had been illegally converted into a live-work space for artists and held events.

The building was packed with furniture, extension cords and other flammable material but had only two exits and no smoke detectors, fire alarms or sprinklers, prosecutors say.

The blaze killed many young people trapped on the illegally constructed second floor. Prosecutors said the victims received no warning and had little chance to escape down a narrow, ramshackle staircase.

Plea deal rejected

Almena, 49, and Harris, 29, had pleaded no contest to manslaughter and were set to be sentenced last year to nine and six years in prison, respectively. But a judge threw out their pleas last year after many of the victims’ families objected.

Vega’s mother, Mary, was angry about Thursday’s outcome but didn’t regret the plea agreement being tossed. She said she was glad that Harris served more than two years behind bars awaiting trial.

“It’s something. Doesn’t matter, it’s not going to bring my son back,” Mary Vega said.

Emotional toll

Prosecutors acknowledged the emotional toll of the trial on the victims’ loved ones and said they would meet with families and others to evaluate their next steps in the case against Almena. He remains in custody and is to be in court again Oct. 4.

One of Almena’s attorneys, Brian Getz, broke into tears, while another, Tony Serra, said he was pained and anguished but vowed to win the case.

“In the next trial, we’ll do better,” Serra said. “It may be hung again, or he may be acquitted, but we’re not going to lose.”

Almena, 49, was the master tenant of the warehouse and Harris, 29, acted like a manager by collecting rent and settling household disputes, prosecutors said.

In closing arguments, Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Autrey James said the men didn’t obtain permits because they didn’t want inspections and they violated the fire code by refusing to install safety devices.

The defendants argued that city workers were to blame for not raising concerns about fire hazards and said the fire was arson. Investigators have never found its cause, meaning arson cannot be ruled out.
 

The government in Indian-administered Kashmir said landline telephone service has been restored a month into a near-total communications blackout and security lockdown while India’s Hindu nationalist-led government downgraded the Muslim-majority region’s autonomy.

Calls not going through

On Thursday, people lined up at offices or homes that have landline telephones to try to contact family and friends after the long wait, but many were unable to get through after repeated attempts.

“Our landlines have been restored but we are still unable to talk to people. It is frustrating. I have been trying to call people since morning, but I am not getting through,” said Syed Musahid, in Srinagar, the main city in the Indian portion of the divided region.

Many Kashmiris living outside the region also said they were having trouble getting in touch with their families inside Kashmir.

“I kept trying a hundred times to reach my family in Kashmir, and only then did my call go through,” said Bint-e-Ali, a Kashmiri in the Indian city of Bengaluru.

She said she still hasn’t been able to talk to her ailing grandmother in Srinagar. 

“I hope I live to tell this horrendous tale to our next generation about how India didn’t even let us talk to our family and friends,” she said.

No communication since August

The government says it suspended communications Aug. 5 to prevent rumors from spreading after Kashmir’s special status in the Indian Constitution was revoked and the state of Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded to two federal districts. The suspension has almost completely isolated Kashmir’s residents.

Srinagar resident Firdous Ahmad said the restoration of landline service “definitely brings a sigh of relief” but he also said he hoped cellphone and internet data services, which are more widely used, would be restored soon.
 
The Press Trust of India reported restrictions had been lifted on daytime movements in the Kashmir Valley. However, checkpoints remain in place.

Protests quickly put down

Protests over India’s moves have occurred sporadically in Kashmir and were quelled by security forces who fired pellets and tear gas.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirely. The nuclear rivals have fought two wars over its control.

India has tried to suppress frequent uprisings against its rule, including an armed rebellion that started in 1989. About 70,000 people have been killed since that uprising and in the subsequent Indian military crackdown.
 

Sudan’s prime minister announced on Thursday the formation of the first government since the overthrow of long-term ruler Omar Hassan al-Bashir in April. 

The government was formed as part of a three-year power-sharing deal signed last month between the military and civilian parties and protest groups. 

Abdalla Hamdok announced the names of 18 ministers in the new cabinet and said he would name two more later. 

“[The new government] will start its work immediately in a harmonious and collective way,” Hamdok told a press conference in Khartoum on Thursday evening. “Today, we start a new phase in our history.” 

The new government is an important step in transition away from nearly 30 years under Bashir, when Sudan was afflicted by internal conflicts, international isolation and deep economic problems. 

Military-civilian friction

However, the months since Bashir’s fall have been marked by tension between the powerful security forces and civilian groups that are pushing for democracy, reform and justice for those killed during crackdowns on protests. 

The announcement of the cabinet had been held up by haggling over positions. Most of the 18 ministers announced on Thursday were approved 
earlier in the week. They include Asmaa Abdallah, who becomes the country’s first female foreign minister, and Ibrahim Elbadawi, a former World Bank economist who will serve as finance minister. 

Madani Abbas Madani, a leader of the civilian coalition that negotiated the transition deal with the military, will be minister of industry and trade. 

General Jamal Omar, a member of the Transitional Military Council that took over from Bashir, was appointed defense minister. 

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday pledged more resources and help from the Missouri State Highway Patrol to counteract a rash of gun violence and child killings that have shaken St. Louis, but he remained noncommittal on whether cities should be able to enact their own gun control laws.

The Republican met a group of mostly black faith leaders in St. Louis, along with Mayor Lyda Krewson.

After the meeting, Parson said he would seek funding to curb violence and address long-term solutions such as education and job training. He said state troopers will patrol St. Louis highways to help free up police.

St. Louis leaders want a change in state law to allow cities to pass more stringent gun laws than the state. Parson would say only that “it is going to have to go through the legislative process to change that.”

At least one faith leader seemed disappointed.

“We asked the governor to be a champion for our community around the issue of commonsense gun laws,” the Rev. Darryl Gray said. “We didn’t get a commitment from the governor today to be that champion.”

But Gray said it was heartening to hear Parson recognize that the violence isn’t just an urban issue.

“Black babies being killed on their porches and in their backyards is a Missouri issue,” Gray said.

St. Louis and Kansas City rank among the most violent cities in the nation, and both are on pace to top last year’s homicide totals. But what has been particularly heartbreaking in St. Louis is the number of children killed.

Twelve children age 16 and under have become victims of homicides this year. All 12 were black, as were 121 of the city’s 138 homicide victims so far in 2019.

Krewson called the meeting with Parson “productive” and said she pushed for one particular change: To allow St. Louis to require a concealed carry permit. Missouri changed its law effective in 2017 so that a permit is no longer required.

“When you are a victim of gun violence, when someone in your family is a victim of gun violence, it changes your life forever,” Krewson said.

Parson said one thing the state can do immediately is assign state troopers to patrol St. Louis area highways, freeing up city police to fight violent crime.

The meeting Thursday came two days after Parson heard a similar plea for help from members of Missouri’s Legislative Black Caucus in Jefferson City.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency is reporting that police have detained 22 men and women at a mixed-gender party in Tehran province. Such parties are illegal under Iranian law.

Thursday’s report quotes Damavand prosecutor Hassan Ebrahimi as saying that 13 men and 9 women were arrested and “some alcoholic beverages were confiscated from them.”
 
The report said the party was held in a villa near the city of Damavand and that police took possession of all the participants’ cars.
 
In Iran it is illegal to drink alcohol or hold parties attended by Muslim men and women who are not related.

President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday swore in Italy’s new pro-European government, heralding a fresh start for the eurozone’s third largest economy as the far-right falls from power.

Brussels warmly welcomed the coalition between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and center-left Democratic Party (PD), which is expected to markedly improve rocky relations between Europe and Rome.

“We’re ready to give our utmost for the country,” M5S head Luigi Di Maio, the new foreign minister, said.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government still faces votes in parliament on Monday and Tuesday.

First on the cabinet’s to-do list is the 2020 budget, which has to be submitted to parliament by the end of September, and then to Brussels by Oct. 15.

The pick of the PD’s Brussels-savvy Roberto Gualtieri as finance minister was hailed as “extremely positive, especially for the relationship with the EU” by Lorenzo Codogno, former chief economist at the Italian Treasury Department.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker congratulated Conte and said Italy’s new political era came at “an important moment for our Union”, adding that he was sure Rome would play a “front-line” role on key issues.

Italy has put forward former center-left premier Paolo Gentiloni as its candidate for the incoming European Commission.

PD chief Nicola Zingaretti said it was an “excellent choice for Italy, which returns to playing a leading role in Europe”.

The previous coalition between the M5S and far-right Matteo Salvini’s anti-immigrant League had fought bitterly with Brussels over its big-spend budget and critics had bemoaned Rome’s sidelining in the EU halls of power.

The markets welcomed the new cabinet, with Milan’s FTSE Mib stock market up 0.5 percent after the swearing-in ceremony.

 

Civil rights groups are suing President Donald Trump’s administration over its decision to stop considering requests from immigrants seeking to remain in the country for medical treatment and other hardships.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and Lawyers for Civil Rights filed a lawsuit in Boston federal court Thursday challenging the Aug. 7 decision by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to end its “deferred action” program.

The program allows foreign nationals to work legally and receive health benefits for up to two years while they or their family members receive medical treatment.

Emails seeking comment were sent Thursday to USCIS.

The agency said Monday it will continue processing deferral requests that were pending as of Aug. 7 after doctors, immigration lawyers and civil rights groups objected.

 

Defense Secretary Mark Esper approved the use of $3.6 billion in funding from military construction projects to build 175 miles (282 kilometers) of President Donald Trump’s wall along the Mexican border.

 Pentagon officials would not say which 127 projects will be affected but said details will be available Wednesday after members of Congress are notified. They said half the money will come from military projects in the U.S. and the rest will come from projects in other countries.
 
Esper’s decision Tuesday fuels what has been a persistent controversy between the Trump administration and Congress over immigration policies and the funding of the border wall. And it sets up a difficult debate for lawmakers who refused earlier this year to approve nearly $6 billion for the wall but now must decide if they will refund the projects that are being used to provide the money.

Elaine McCusker, the Pentagon comptroller, said the now-unfunded projects are not being canceled. Instead, the Pentagon is saying the military projects are being “deferred.”  The Defense Department, however, has no guarantee from Congress that any of the money will be replaced, and a number of lawmakers made it clear during the debate earlier this year that they would not fall for budget trickery and sleight of hand to build the wall.
 
 “It is a slap in the face to the members of the Armed Forces who serve our country that President Trump is willing to cannibalize already allocated military funding to boost his own ego and for a wall he promised Mexico would pay to build,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. He said the funding shift will affect the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
 

Congress approved $1.375 billion for wall construction in this year’s budget, same as the previous year and far less than the $5.7 billion that the White House sought. Trump grudgingly accepted the money to end a 35-day government shutdown in February but simultaneously declared a national emergency to take money from other government accounts, identifying up to $8.1 billion for wall construction.
 
The transferred funds include $600 million from the Treasury Department’s asset forfeiture fund, $2.5 billion from Defense Department counterdrug activities and now the $3.6 billion pot for military housing construction announced Tuesday.
 
The Pentagon reviewed the list of military projects and said none that provided housing or critical infrastructure for troops would be affected, in the wake of recent scandals over poor living quarters for service members in several parts of the country. Defense officials also said they would focus on projects set to begin in 2020 and beyond, with the hope that the money could eventually be restored by Congress.
 

 “Canceling military construction projects at home and abroad will undermine our national security and the quality of life and morale of our troops, making America less secure,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat.
 
The government will spend the military housing money on 11 wall projects in California, Arizona and Texas, the administration said in a filing Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union. The most expensive is for 52 miles (84 kilometers) in Laredo, Texas, at a cost of $1.27 billion.
 
The Laredo project and one in El Centro, California, are on private property, which would require purchase or confiscation, according to the court filing. Two projects in Arizona are on land overseen by the Navy and will be the first to be built, no earlier than Oct. 3. Seven are at least partly on federal land overseen by the Interior Department.
 
The 175 miles (282 kilometers) covered by the Pentagon funding represents just a small fraction of the 1,954-mile (3,145-kilometer) U.S.-Mexico border.
 
Army Lt. Gen. Andrew W. Poppas, director of operations for the Joint Staff, told reporters that shoring up the wall could eventually lead to a reduction in the number of troops who are deployed along the border. About 3,000 active-duty troops and 2,000 members of the National Guard are being used along the border to support Homeland Security and border patrol efforts. About 1,200 of the active-duty troops are conducting surveillance in mobile truck units.
 
 

Pappas and other officials couldn’t say how soon or by how many the troop numbers could go down. Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said the troops would remain at the border for as long as they are needed. It could depend in part on the number of attempted border crossings by migrants and other issues.
 
The ACLU said Tuesday that it would seek a court order to block spending the military money. It sued earlier over the use of Defense Department counterdrug money, but the Supreme Court lifted a spending freeze on that money in July, allowing the first Pentagon-funded wall project to break ground last month in Arizona.
 
ACLU attorney Dror Ladin said, “We’ll be back in court very soon to block Trump’s latest effort to raid military funds for his xenophobic wall.”

 

 

 

Oprah Winfrey is taking her motivational spirit on the road early next year with an arena tour to promote a healthier lifestyle.

The talk-show host and chief of OWN television network said Wednesday that she will launch the “Oprah’s 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus” tour starting Jan. 4 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She is working with Weight Watchers Reimagined to offer a full-day of wellness conversations during the nine-city tour.
 
It’s her first speaking tour in five years.
 
Winfrey says she wants to empower audiences to “support a stronger, healthier, abundant life.” She will be joined by high-profile guests. The names will be released at a later date.
 
Winfrey’s previous speaking tours include “Oprah’s Life Class” and “Oprah’s The Life You Want Weekend” in 2014.

The lawyer for American rapper A$AP Rocky says his client won’t appeal his assault conviction for a June 30 street brawl in Stockholm.

Slobodan Jovicic told Sweden’s TT news agency Wednesday that the rapper doesn’t have the energy to appeal.
 
A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, had pleaded self-defense and said he had tried to avoid a confrontation with two men who he said were persistently following his entourage. One of them picked a fight with a bodyguard, Mayers said during his trial.
 
On Aug. 14, Mayers and the bodyguards were given “conditional sentences” for the assault convictions, meaning they won’t serve prison time unless they commit a similar offense in Sweden again.
 
Last month, the prosecutor said he wouldn’t appeal the verdict either.

 

 

After John Ryder retired from teaching high school, he found himself running short of money to keep living in his apartment along the shores of San Francisco Bay, one of the most expensive parts of the United States. In 2015 he moved to the Philippines. Things could hardly be better.

“Once you’re here and get your feet wet a little bit, it’s not too bad,” said Ryder, 69, as he ate an American-style lunch at local prices at the Veterans of Foreign Wars restaurant near Clark Field, a former U.S. air base north of Manila.

“I couldn’t afford to live in California,” Ryder said. “I had a friend who gave me a break on the rent. When I told him I was going to retire he was, ‘well, I’m going have to raise your rent.’” 

Ryder’s story explains why the Philippines gave out a record number of visas, for a single year, in 2018. The total came to 6,437, including spouses and dependents. The 2018 figure marks a 10% increase over 2017. 

The Philippines has given out 63,538 visas to foreign retirees since it began issuing them in 1987, according to Philippine Retirement Authority figures.

Foreign retirees enjoy a lifestyle that’s cheaper than what they would pay in their developed homelands, while the largely impoverished Philippines is getting a boost from the money they spend, from meals to investments.

Cheaper lifestyle

Around Clark Field — now the site of a growing international airport — a golfer can get course access and a caddy for $25, Ryder said.

Lunch around Clark costs no more than $10. A lot of expats near the base enjoy cheap beers, gym access and quick flights to the more modern city of Hong Kong, he said. The nearest beach is about an hour from Clark and some retirees live there. 

“If you want to go away anywhere, you can just go to that airport and get out,” Ryder said.

Arch Turner, 76, moved to the Philippines nine years ago despite his distaste for Asia after returning from the Vietnam War. He now enjoys living cheaply enough to ride a motorcycle every day, watch anything on television and donate money to poor Filipino children.

“About once a year I take one of these mobile flip flop carts down to the orphanage and the kids come out two at a time and they all select a pair of flip flops and it costs me less than 100 bucks,” Turner said.

Old, easy scheme

The Philippine visa program stands out over peers in Asia, such as Malaysia and Thailand, by keeping the minimum qualifying age at relatively low at 35 and the qualification process “not too complicated,” a retirement authority spokesperson told the VOA. 

A total of 25 countries, including a number in Latin America, offer retirement visas. They hope the visa holders will spend money on services, especially tourism.

Foreigners deposit from $10,000 to $50,000 in a Philippine bank account, with amounts depending on age, to sign up. Retirees get that money back if they leave the country permanently. 

“We’re also one of the cheapest options, even compared to our neighbors and competitors in Southeast Asia,” the spokesperson said.

The top source country for the Philippines last year was China, with 40% of the total, followed by South Korea at 21%. Americans ranked sixth at 4.7%.

Economic support

Retirees contribute heavily to the service sectors in a country where about one-fifth of the population lives in poverty, mainly for lack of jobs. The urban areas near Clark Field in turn draw people from poorer parts of the country for service jobs. 

Some retirees start businesses, pumping more money into the economy, the retirement authority spokesperson said. “The Philippines benefits…as these foreign retirees consume goods and services, pay tax that support public goods and services, and while they set-up their own businesses, they bring capital into the area that may be invested locally by banks,” the spokesperson said.

Around Clark Field, foreign retirees eat high-end European cuisine and drink in bars after hours. Many hire local cars for adventures outside town or trips to the Manila airport.

Analyn Matol, 26, moved to the city closest to Clark Field nine years ago from a poorer part of the country because her aunt was running a restaurant there. She now helps manage a restaurant herself. “As long as people have the work, that’s most important,” she said.

Argentina’s peso surged on Tuesday, pumped up by Wall Street traders, back after a long holiday weekend, cheering President Mauricio Macri’s capital controls that are aimed at protecting the beleaguered currency.

The peso closed 5.39% higher at 55.98 per U.S. dollar, traders said, its strongest level in a week after a near record low close on Friday. Country risk, which soared to its highest level in more than a decade last month, also fell.

Traders said the central bank intervened to support the peso in the afternoon by selling dollars from its reserves. The bank, which declined to comment, has intervened in the past, selling nearly a billion dollars in the second half of last week alone.

Argentina’s S&P Merval stock index took a hit in afternoon trading, dropping more 14% to a two-year low in a dip that local analysts attributed to global trade jitters.

“All the markets are in the red and a weakened country like Argentina, with a complicated political situation, gets hits even more,” said Hector Scasserra, director of local brokerage firm Arpenta Sociedad de Bolsa.

The currency rebound gives some relief to Macri, after a shock primary election battering last month sparked a sharp crash in the country’s bonds, equities and the peso, which lost around 26% of its value against the greenback in August alone.

In Europe, the pounding of Argentina’s bonds also eased after they had fallen to record lows on Monday, while there were tentative gains in some foreign-traded bank shares.

Frankfurt-listed American Depositary Receipts (ADR) of Grupo Financiero Galicia were up almost 1%, having tumbled 9.15% on Monday, but Banco Macro SA’s ADRs slipped again. Brokers were quoting marginally higher prices for Argentina’s badly mauled sovereign debt in Europe.

The black market peso, bartered via unofficial traders, also rose on Tuesday, although not as sharply as the official spot rate. Following a fall on Monday, it has now diverged from the official rate by the largest margin since 2015, a sign of tension over pricing of the currency.

Index provider MSCI said it was closely monitoring developments in Argentina but that the country’s “emerging market” status for the purpose of MSCI indexes remained valid for now as MSCI Argentina only held foreign-listed shares. 

Argentina was included in the emerging markets index in May, potentially boosting inflows to the eight stocks that were added.

Any reclassification of Argentina in the widely followed indexes would first require a public consultation from MSCI.

On Sunday, the government authorized the central bank to restrict purchases of dollars as it burns through its reserves to prop up the peso. The currency controls were a 180-degree turn for Macri, a free-markets advocate who abolished capital controls after he came to power in 2015.

It was the government’s latest attempt to stabilize the peso, which has lost around 20% of its value since opposition presidential candidate Alberto Fernandez emerged as the clear front-runner in the Aug. 11 primary election.

Fernandez and his running mate, former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, are considered a riskier prospect by investors, who fear Argentina could return to the interventionist policies of her former government.

On Monday, central bank president Guido Sandleris called Argentina’s financial system “strong” and said the bank would adhere to its strict monetary policy, despite the currency restrictions.

Sandleris, speaking at a news conference, said the bank was in talks with the International Monetary Fund to “redefine” the monetary goals for September under its $57 billion financing agreement.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sought on Tuesday to reestablish friendlier ties with the incoming leaders of the European Union and mark an end to troubled relations since President Donald Trump took office, a senior U.S. diplomat said.

Framed as a “reset” in the relationship, Washington’s envoy to Brussels told reporters that Pompeo’s meetings with the new four top officials on Monday night and on Tuesday went “extraordinarily well.”

Pompeo did not meet the outgoing EU leadership. 

“The secretary made this trip solely and exclusively to see the four EU leaders with the objective of resetting our relationship,” U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland said.

“Our relationship had reached multiple impasses on multiple fronts and resulted in a lot of uncomfortable, cranky conversations,” he said, saying Trump endorsed Pompeo’s trip.

From his support for Britain’s departure from the bloc to a brief downgrade of the EU’s status in Washington, Trump’s disdain for Brussels and his withdrawal from agreements backed by the EU have soured ties and divided traditional allies.

The meetings signal a change in approach. In late 2018, Pompeo warned in a speech in Brussels that Trump’s “America First” policy was reshaping the post-World War Two system on the basis of sovereign states, not institutions like the EU.

But Sondland said the new team chosen to run the bloc’s three institutions of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council, had grown used to Trump’s leadership style and were ready to work with him.

“There’s a recognition that we share the same objective but we have different tactics,” Sondland said.

The EU institutions declined to comment.

Pompeo met Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen, who will take over as president of the Commission, the EU’s incoming foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell of Spain, Belgium’s caretaker prime minister Charles Michel, who will chair EU summits, and Italy’s David Sassoli, the new speaker of the EU’s parliament.

Von der Leyen and Borrell take office on Nov. 1, while Michel will start in December. Sassoli began in July.

“It is a healthy thing to disagree … But that doesn’t belie the friendship and the necessity of a long-time alliance. This is not a Trump issue … this is a EU-U.S. issue,” Sondland said after Pompeo had left for Washington.

Sondland said he also hoped all four new leaders would meet Trump in the White House soon.

“They are welcome to call Pompeo 24/7 … even just to talk.

All four of them can get through to the president if they really would like to speak to him directly,” Sondland said.

The new U.S. ambassador to Mexico has taken aim at Mexican icon Frida Kahlo for her support of Marxism, stirring up a fierce social media debate with a tweet asking if the painter had not been aware of atrocities committed in the name of that ideology.

Few Mexicans have enjoyed greater global recognition than Kahlo, who spent long periods bedridden after a traffic accident in her youth, attained international fame following her death in 1954 and became a feminist symbol in the 1970s.

She created some 200 paintings, sketches and drawings – mainly self-portraits – in which she transformed her misfortune into works of bold color.

U.S. Ambassador Christopher Landau, who was appointed by President Donald Trump and sworn in last month, must navigate a volatile bilateral relationship. Trump frequently berates Mexico over trade and immigration.

Not shying away from controversy himself, Landau took to Twitter on Sunday during a visit to Kahlo’s house, now a museum in the colonial-era Mexico City neighborhood of Coyoacan.

“I admire her free and bohemian spirit, and she rightly became an icon of Mexico around the whole world. What I do not understand is her obvious passion for Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism. Didn’t she know about the horrors committed in the name of that ideology?” he wrote in Spanish.

Kahlo and her husband, muralist Diego Rivera, embraced Marxism and supported Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, after initially backing his rival, revolutionary Leon Trotsky. Stalin is now widely held responsible for the deaths of millions of people, many in the Gulag network of labor camps.

Landau’s tweet drew a mixture of responses. Some of the 1,600 comments were supportive, and accused the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of emerging from the same Marxist tradition.

Landau’s following on the online platform jumped to more than 76,000 on Monday from about 40,000 before the tweet.

Others were clearly irked, and blasted the United States for its long history of interfering in the internal affairs of Latin America and other countries around the globe, often to counter socialist governments.

“In the name of fighting that ideology, the U.S. killed children in Vietnam by bombing entire villages and supporting dictatorships throughout Latin America,” said user @Quetzalcoaltl1.

The Mexican Communist Party weighed into the debate, saying: “Ambassador Landau, Comrade Frida was consistent with humanism, the search for democracy and freedom of Mexico’s workers and people, and therefore she was a Marxist-Leninist, and of course Stalin’s admirer. Don’t show your ignorance anymore, imitating Trump.”

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said it did not have further comment about the debate.

Saudi Arabia is struggling to hold together a military coalition fighting Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen after local allies turned on each other in a power struggle that has strained Riyadh’s alliance with its main regional partner, the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE, the second power in the coalition, has openly intervened on behalf of southern separatists battling the Saudi-backed government for control of the south, launching air strikes on government forces trying to regain their interim seat of power in Aden port.

The escalation risks further fracturing the Saudi-UAE alliance and emboldening the Houthi movement, which the coalition was formed to fight. The United Nations is trying to restart talks to end the 4-1/2 year conflict, largely seen as a proxy war between rival powers Saudi Arabia and Iran.

What’s happening in Southern Yemen?

UAE-backed separatists, who seek self-rule in the south, seized Aden, base of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government, in early August after they accused a party allied to Hadi of complicity in a Houthi assault on their forces.

The two sides were nominal allies under the Western-backed, Sunni Muslim coalition that intervened in Yemen in March 2015 against the Houthi group, which ousted Hadi from power in the capital Sanaa in 2014. But they have rival agendas.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE called for talks to resolve the crisis. Hadi’s government insisted that separatists first cede control and that the UAE stop supporting southern fighters it has armed and trained.

The separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) said it would not withdraw until the Islamist Islah party and northerners are removed from power in the south.

STC fighters tried extending their reach in the south but were repelled by government forces. Those forces tried to retake Aden but retreated when UAE warplanes attacked them. Abu Dhabi said it targeted “terrorist organizations.”

The UAE criticized Hadi’s government as ineffective and called for a more inclusive one as separatists reinforced their positions in Aden. Hadi, who resides in Riyadh, asked Saudi Arabia to stop what he called UAE interference.

“Saudi Arabia finds itself in a quandary. Aggressive Saudi action to rein in the STC could trigger a civil war within a civil war in which Riyadh’s allies are far from sure to prevail,” the International Crisis Group said in a recent brief. “Conversely, failure to act or offering what the government considers overly generous concessions to the STC … could sow dissent within the Hadi government and Islahi ranks.”

What does this mean for the coalition?

Saudi Arabia formed the alliance to neutralize the Houthis, who it feared Shi’ite Muslim Iran would use to build influence along its border. The current crisis makes it harder for Riyadh to weaken the Houthis, who hold most major urban centers and point to the Aden standoff as proof that Hadi cannot rule.

The Houthis, meanwhile, stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia, twice hitting energy assets in the world’s top oil exporter.

The UAE, which led the coalition’s limited gains in the war, scaled down its presence in Yemen in June as Western criticism of the coalition mounted, saddling Saudi Arabia with an unpopular war.

The Sunni Muslim allies joined forces in Yemen and beyond to contain common foe Iran and Islamist movements they see as a threat to their dynastic rule. Abu Dhabi and Riyadh said their alliance remains strong, but differences emerged as the UAE moved to protect its image and interests.

The UAE drawdown aimed to cast Abu Dhabi as the more mature partner and peacemaker, diplomats said, as Western allies pressed for an end to the war that has killed tens of thousands and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

Abu Dhabi said its decision was a natural progression given a U.N.-sponsored truce in the contested main port of Hodeidah in the west, which the coalition twice tried to seize last year. It said this new stage required political, not military tactics.

Diplomats say it was because the UAE accepted there could be no military solution due to global criticism of coalition airstrikes that have killed civilians and the humanitarian crisis.

Heightened U.S.-Iran tensions, which risk triggering a war in the Gulf, precipitated the move.

How did it reach this point?

The UAE built a force of 90,000 Yemeni fighters, including thousands of separatists, to battle the Houthis and Islamist militants. It was those forces who expelled the Houthis from the south, where the movement has no traction.

But the war, which has been in military stalemate for years, revived old strains between north and south Yemen, separate countries that united into a single state in 1990.

This is not the first separatist uprising. They briefly seized Aden in January 2018. Riyadh and Abu Dhabi helped end that standoff as the focus of the war shifted to Hodeidah, the Houthis’ main supply line and a lifeline for millions.

As military options faded, the UAE focus switched to U.N. efforts toward a political solution. While Saudi Arabia wants to remove the Houthi threat and secure its borders, the UAE’s main concern has been stamping out Islamist militants and securing Red Sea shipping lanes, analysts say.

Abu Dhabi now supports a reshuffling of Hadi’s government to include the STC and weaken the hold of Islah, which it sees as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. Riyadh tolerates the party because it props up Hadi, who has no personal power base.

But the STC may not have broad support. Its move risks igniting infighting in the main area under coalition control and emboldening Islamists militants like al-Qaida and Islamic State, among Yemen’s many destabilizing forces.