United States
Blistering criticism of Obama highlights dramatic shift inside Democratic Party: CNN, 2 June 2019
Former President Barack Obama - the most popular figure in the Democratic Party by far, revered by liberals, moderates and even some Republicans who has remained largely silent amid a rancorous Democratic primary - came under a harsh spotlight as candidates vying for his onetime job picked apart aspects of his legacy during Wednesday night's debate. From health care to immigration to trade, key accomplishments of the Obama administration came under fire and faced a sometimes-unflattering re-examination by candidates eager to keep their campaigns alive by trying to prove their progressive credentials.
Their direct target wasn't Obama himself, but rather his former Vice President Joe Biden, who leads a large pack of Democrats looking to distinguish themselves in the party's crowded presidential primary fight. Biden has tied himself closely to Obama, casually referring to his former boss as "Barack" in a bid to illustrate their closeness and benefit from his popularity. Click here to read...
Here's who has qualified for the September debates so far: CNN, 3 August 2019
With the second debate wrapped up, the third Democratic debate hosted by ABC and Univision will happen during the second week of September. The candidates are still working to qualify and have another month to reach the polling threshold and grassroots fundraising thresholds as laid out by the Democratic National Committee.
Eight candidates have qualified for the debates in September - 11 candidates on the fundraising side and eight on the polling side. Candidates need to reach both to be on the stage. Candidates who have qualified for the September debates in both polling and fund raising: Former Vice President Joe Biden, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, California Sen. Kamala Harris, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
There are now 11 Democrats who say they received contributions from at least 130,000 individuals, coming from at least 400 unique donors in 20 or more states. Click here to read...
US pulls out of nuclear treaty, Pentagon to test new missile: CNN, 2 August 2019
The United States announced its formal withdrawal from a cold-war era nuclear treaty with Russia Friday as the US military is set to test a new non-nuclear mobile-launched cruise missile developed specifically to challenge Russia in Europe, according to a senior US defense official. The US withdrawal Friday from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Moscow puts an end to a landmark arms control pact that has limited the development of ground-based missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers.
"Russia is solely responsible for the treaty's demise," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Friday announcing the withdrawal. "Russia failed to return to full and verified compliance through the destruction of its noncompliant missile system." Meanwhile, analysts fear the US test of the non-nuclear cruise missile will mark the start of a new arms race with Moscow. The test is expected to take place in the next few weeks and will essentially be the Trump administration's answer to Russia's years-long non-compliance with the INF treaty, the senior US defense official said. Click here to read...
Trump administration weighs allowing drug imports for cheaper prescriptions: The New York Times, 31 July 2019
The proposal was announced between two Democratic debates, seemingly timed to show that President Trump was also trying to tackle the highly populist issue of soaring drug prices. The Trump administration said on Wednesday that it was taking steps to make it easier to import less expensive prescription drugs from other countries, particularly Canada.
The move has long been supported by progressives but has encountered fierce opposition from the pharmaceutical industry - from the team at NYT Parenting: Get the latest news and guidance for parents. We'll celebrate the little parenting moments that mean a lot — and share stories that matter to families. Click here to read...
Europe
Brexit triumph: London to become 'business centre of Europe' in blow to Brussels: Express, 31 July 2019
European Union leaders had hoped Brexit would catapult European financial centres like Frankfurt and Paris to the forefront of the international business scene. But financial services expert Andreas Treichl warned Brussels Brexit could potentially help British business deliver a ‘big blow’ to European competitors.
Mr Treichl, the CEO of one of the largest financial services providers in the world, the Erste Group, told the bloc they should beware of the risks Brexit could pose to the union. Speaking to CNBC, Mr Treichl said, "The big risk that I see is that if that happens the new Great Britain will concentrate very much on building a business environment out of London and London will turn into something of a combined Hong Kong-Singapore for continental Europe. Click here to read...
Scientists link Europe heat wave to man-made global warming: ABC News, 2 August 2019
The heat wave that smashed temperature records in Western Europe last month was made more likely and intensified by man-made climate change, according to a study published Friday. The rapid study by a respected team of European scientists should be a warning of things to come, the report's lead author said.
"What will be the impacts on agriculture? What will the impacts on water?" said Robert Vautard of the Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace in France, "This will put really tension in society that we may not be so well equipped to cope with." The report concluded that the heat wave in late July "was so extreme over continental Western Europe that the observed magnitudes would have been extremely unlikely without climate change." Click here to read...
Where are 'burqa bans' in Europe?, DW, 1 August 2019
Bans against face coverings usually focus on clothing that obscures a person's facial features. Although the bans cover masks and motorbike helmets, they mainly target religious clothing, like the niqab or the burqa. That is why they are often called "burqa bans."
Burqas cover the whole body, covering the wearer's eyes behind a sort of lattice. Niqabs are for the face, but do not cover the eyes.Different countries in the EU have their own regulations and rules. Several have introduced burqa bans. After a bitter legal fight, the Netherlands has put a limited burqa ban into force. DW takes a look at European countries that have had similar restrictions in place for years. Click here to read...
UK: Europe-led mission will protect vital shipping in Gulf: AP, 23 July 2019
Britain announced plans Monday to develop and deploy a Europe-led “maritime protection mission” to safeguard shipping in the vital Strait of Hormuz in light of Iran’s seizure of a British-flagged tanker in the waterway last week. Briefing Parliament on the budding crisis, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt accused Iran of “an act of state piracy” that must be met with a coordinated international reaction.
Iranian officials have suggested the Stena Impero was seized and taken to an Iranian port in response to Britain’s role in seizing an Iranian oil tanker two weeks earlier off the coast of Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located on the southern tip of Spain. Click here to read...
Russia
‘No winners’ in INF collapse, but Russia will never lose an arms race either’ – Deputy FM: Russia Today, 3 August 2019
The US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) jeopardizes everyone’s security and may cause an arms race, but the US shouldn’t count on winning it, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told RT. The INF officially expired on Friday, six months since the Trump administration announced it was withdrawing from it in February. The rash move left Russia no choice but to also abandon the landmark accord, which served as a cornerstone of European security since 1987.
The INF banned ground-based missiles with a range between 500km and 5,500km. By withdrawing from the treaty, “the US decided to untie itself from an arms control treaty that kept their capabilities in this area at zero level for decades,” Ryabkov said. “No one will gain from the collapse of the INF,” he pointed out. “Everyone’s security will be in jeopardy.” Click here to read...
Russia’s military admits it needs Western technology: Yahoo News
When Western nations imposed economic sanctions after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Moscow had an answer: Russia would substitute domestic products for foreign imports. But Russia’s defense industry is still using imported parts despite the government ban, according to Russia’s top prosecutor. “Import substitution in the defense industry remains a problem," warned Prosecutor-General Yuri Chaika, "Instances of non-compliance with the ban to purchase foreign equipment whose counterparts are manufactured in Russia continue to be revealed."
“In the framework of import substitution in the defense industry, it is vital to ensure compliance with the deadlines for replacing components,” said First Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Buksman. “Raw and [other] materials produced by NATO countries and Ukraine, used to manufacture machines, arms, military and special equipment, prevent non-compliance with the ban on the budget-funded purchase of foreign equipment, analogues of which are produced in Russia.” Click here to read...
Vladimir Putin 'orders Russian Navy to block Black Sea' in show of strength to NATO: Express, 30 July 2019
Russia has reportedly blocked five vast zones in the Black Sea for 20 days in what is believed to be yet another show of strength to its Western adversaries. The Kremlin reportedly took the decision to block five zones in the Black Sea totalling 118,750 square kilometres – over a quarter of the area. Moscow held its annual Navy Day show over the weekend, which included a military drill in Sevastapol, the largest city on the Crimean Peninsula and a major Black Sea port. Now, Ukrainian media report that access to the Black Sea will be limited until August 19, due to Russian combat training and a ‘danger to navigation’. Russian officials have not yet commented on the reports, which could be set to anger US allies in the region.
The vast swathes designated for Russian use include international shipping routes, which could now be out of use until late next month. Click here to read...
Russian police arrest more than 1,000 in Moscow protest: Time, 30 July 2019
Russian police cracked down fiercely Saturday on demonstrators in central Moscow, beating some people and arresting more than 1,000 who were protesting the exclusion of opposition candidates from the ballot for Moscow city council. Police also stormed into a TV station broadcasting the protest. Police wrestled with protesters around the mayor’s office, sometimes charging into the crowd with their batons raised. State news agencies Tass and RIA-Novosti cited police as saying 1,074 were arrested over the course of the protests, which lasted more than seven hours.
Along with the arrests of the mostly young demonstrators, several opposition activists who wanted to run for the council were arrested throughout the city before the protest. Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition figure, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in jail for calling an unauthorized protest. Click here to read...
Africa
At least 17 people killed in Ethiopia during unrest over Sidama autonomy: Reuters, 21 July 2019
At least 17 people have been killed in clashes between Ethiopian security forces and activists seeking a new autonomous region for their Sidama ethnic group, according to a local official and hospital authorities. A local district official told Reuters on Saturday that at least 13 people were killed in a town near Hawassa city, 275 kms from the capital Addis Ababa, while hospital authorities said on Friday that four protesters had died of gunshot wounds in the city itself.
Emboldened by political reforms introduced by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed since he took power in 2018, Sidama activists wanted to unilaterally declare a new regional state on Thursday. Click here to read...
Millions face hardship as Zimbabwe comes close to ‘meltdown’: The Guardian, 21 July 2019
Millions of people in Zimbabwe face hardship, hunger and chaos as the economy comes close to “meltdown” and drought worsens.
More than 18 months after the military coup that removed Robert Mugabe from power, the new government is struggling to overcome the legacy of the dictator’s 30 years of repressive rule and the consequences of its own failure to undertake meaningful political reform. Official figures published on Monday showed annual inflation had almost doubled to 175% in June, adding to the pressure on a population already struggling with shortages of basic foodstuffs, fuel and medicine. Click here to read...
Africa’s largest wind power project is now open in Kenya: Quartz Africa, 22 July 2019
Kenya continues to make giant strides in its dedication to renewable energy. The East African nation has unveiled Africa’s largest wind power project in a gusty and rocky desert stretch located 600 kilometers (372 miles) north of the capital Nairobi. The Lake Turkana Wind Power farm consists of 365 turbines with a capacity to dispense 310 megawatts of reliable, low-cost energy to Kenya’s national grid.
The wind farm is located in the Turkana Wind Corridor, where strong winds traveling between Mount Kulal to the north and Mount Nyiru to the south create ideal wind conditions to generate power from wind turbines. Click here to read...
Up to 150 migrants die in shipwreck off the coast of Libya: CNN, 26 July 2019
Up to 150 people have drowned after their boat sank off the Libyan coast Thursday, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) confirmed.
Around 300 people are believed to have embarked on the dangerous sea crossing from the Libyan port city of Al-Khums, 80 miles east of Tripoli, UNHCR spokesman Charlie Yaxley said. The vessel got into trouble in the waters off the coast of Libya. Some passengers were rescued by local fisherman, who were later joined by the Libyan coastguard, he added. Click here to read...
In a bid to strengthen ties, President Ram Nath Kovind and Rajnath Singh to visit African nations this week: liveMint, 28 July 2019
India is stepping up the intensification of its outreach to Africa with two high-level visits to the resource-rich continent on Sunday. President Ram Nath Kovind will travel to three countries in West Africa, Benin, Gambia and Guinea, the highest-level visit from India ever to the three nations. The second will be a three-day visit starting on Sunday by defence minister Rajnath Singh to Mozambique, seen as a maritime neighbour of India across the Indian Ocean.
Kovind’s week-long visit is seen as one that will lay the foundations of India’s engagement with a part of Africa that hasn’t figured very high on India’s agenda, partly because the countries in the region were part of Francophone Africa. During the 2015 India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi, India had recognized that while its links with Anglophone Africa were quite strong because of the common colonial past and it had substantial presence in large Francophone countries such as Algeria, Morocco, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and Portuguese-speaking Angola and Mozambique, the dearth of contacts with countries such as Rwanda, Djibouti, and Burkina Faso was a weak link in its Africa strategy. Click here to read...
India offers USD 100 million line of credit to Benin during President Kovind's visit: India Today, 29 July 2019
India offered a USD 100 million line of credit to Benin for its development projects on Monday as President Ram Nath Kovind held wide ranging discussions with his Beninese counterpart Patrice Talon on issues of trade, defence and security cooperation.
President Kovind, who arrived in Cotonou on Sunday on the first leg of his three-nation tour, is the first Indian head of state to visit the West African nation. He was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Palace upon his arrival. "I held wide ranging talks with President Talon. We both committed ourselves to take our relations to a higher level, with special focus on economic partnership," President Kovind said after the delegation-level talks. Click here to read...
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh signs important MoUs with Mozambique, presents 44 SUVs: The Indian Express, 30 July 2019
Continuing with a fruitful three-day high-level official visit to Mozambique, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held high-level engagements and signed two important Memorandum of Understanding.
On Tuesday, Rajnath Singh held official talk with the Minister of Interior, Mr Jaime Basilio Monteiro in capital Maputo. After the talks, Defence Minister gifted 44 SUVs to the Minister of Interior. The SUVs are expected to boost safety and security of the Mozambican police forces. Click here to read...
India extends $500,000 assistance to Gambia for skill development, cottage industry projects: India Today, 1 August 2019
India on Wednesday extended an assistance of USD 500,000 to the Gambia in support of skill development and cottage industry projects in the West African country as President Ram Nath Kovind held wide-ranging talks with his Gambian counterpart Adama Barrow.
President Kovind, who arrived in Banjul on Tuesday on the second leg of his three-nation tour, conveyed to the Gambian President India's deep commitment to enhance its traditional ties with the Gambia and contribute to its development. Click here to read...
65 dead as Nigeria forces fight terrorists: africanews, 1 August 2019
Intense fighting in Northeastern Nigeria between regional armies and ISWAP jihadists has left at least 25 soldiers and more than 40 Islamist fighters dead according to security sources.
ISWAP (Islamic State Group in West Africa), a branch of Boko Haram arrived in pick-ups Monday morning at dawn in the city of Baga, on the shores of Lake Chad, in the far northeast of Nigeria. “The terrorists killed 20 Nigerian soldiers and five Chadian soldiers in intense fighting that also killed 47 terrorists,” reported an anonymous military source. Click here to read...
Guinea battling a drought caused by deforestation: africanews, 2 August 2019
Farmers in Guinea are complaining of the drought threatening their livelihoods due to deforestation. “We are suffering today because it doesn’t rain here any more. It doesn’t rain anymore. When you talk about the Guinea Forestiere region, over there, yes, it rains there. It rains there. But here in Upper Guinea, there’s no rain. And the sun is hot, and the land is hard. We can’t dig it. Our hands suffer,” said Ibrahim Toure, farmer in Faranah region, in Upper Guinea. Click here to read...
Namibia inaugurates new port terminal: africanews, 3 august 2019
Namibia’s president, Hage Geingob has inaugurated a new $200 million dollars port terminal at Walvis Bay, an extension that will double the country’s port capacity from 350,000 containers to 750,000 per year.
The inauguration ceremony was held on the 40- hectare platform reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean.“Namibia has now joined countries such as Australia, Brazil, Dubai and the Netherlands in the utilisation of reclaimed land for port expansion,” said Geingob. Click here to read...
President Kovind honoured with National Order of Merit, highest award of Republic of Guinea: All India Radio, 3 August 2019
President Ram Nath Kovind has been awarded the National Order of Merit by the President of Guinea for his exceptional contribution to the advancement of overall relations and development of mutual cooperation between India and Guinea and for promoting friendship and partnership between the people of both the countries.
This is the highest award of Republic of Guinea. During the award ceremony President Kovind said, the award is dedicated to people of India and Guinea for his friendship. Earlier, The President had extensive talks with his counterpart. During the delegation level talks, a range of areas of mutual interest in bilateral, regional and multilateral fields have been discussed.Click here to read...
