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Fresh news

World's rarest great ape pictured with babies
The sighting of young Cross River gorillas eases fears they will soon die out, conservationists say.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 11:01:45 GMT

Seoul mayor missing, his phone turned off, search underway
The mayor of South Korean capital Seoul is missing Thursday after leaving a verbal message that his daughter described as sounding like a will, police said. A massive search operation is underway for him. Police officers said they are looking for Mayor Park Won-soon at a small hill in Seoul’s Sungbuk neighborhood where his mobile phone signal was last detected.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 09:47:17 GMT

UN: World could hit 1.5-degree warming threshold in 5 years

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 09:37:54 GMT

U.S. officials say intel on Russian bounties was less than conclusive. That misses the big picture.
A growing chorus of American officials have said in recent days that the intelligence suggesting Russians paid "bounties" to induce the Taliban to kill American service members in Afghanistan is less than conclusive. U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed for years that Vladimir Putin's Russia is supporting America's enemies in Afghanistan with cash and weapons.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 09:00:16 GMT

The Mysterious Link Between COVID-19 and Guillain-Barré Syndrome
Sherry H-Y. Chou, Aarti Sarwal and Neha S. Dangayach, The ConversationThe patient in the case report (let’s call him Tom) was 54 and in good health. For two days in May, he felt unwell and was too weak to get out of bed. When his family finally brought him to the hospital, doctors found that he had a fever and signs of a severe infection, or sepsis. He tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 infection. In addition to symptoms of COVID-19, he was also too weak to move his legs.When a neurologist examined him, Tom was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that causes abnormal sensation and weakness due to delays in sending signals through the nerves. Usually reversible, in severe cases it can cause prolonged paralysis involving breathing muscles, require ventilator support and sometimes leave permanent neurological deficits. Early recognition by expert neurologists is key to proper treatment.We are neurologists specializing in intensive care and leading studies related to neurological complications from COVID-19. Given the occurrence of Guillain-Barré Syndrome in prior pandemics with other coronaviruses like SARS and MERS, we are investigating a possible link between Guillain-Barré Syndrome and COVID-19 and tracking published reports to see if there is any link between Guillain-Barré Syndrome and COVID-19.Some patients may not seek timely medical care for neurological symptoms like prolonged headache, vision loss and new muscle weakness due to fear of getting exposed to virus in the emergency setting. People need to know that medical facilities have taken full precautions to protect patients. Seeking timely medical evaluation for neurological symptoms can help treat many of these diseases.‘Truly Disturbing’: Third NY Child Dies From Rare Syndrome Linked to COVID-19Guillain-Barré syndrome occurs when the body’s own immune system attacks and injures the nerves outside of the spinal cord or brain—the peripheral nervous system. Most commonly, the injury involves the protective sheath, or myelin, that wraps nerves and is essential to nerve function.Without the myelin sheath, signals that go through a nerve are slowed or lost, which causes the nerve to malfunction.To diagnose Guillain-Barré Syndrome, neurologists perform a detailed neurological exam. Due to the nerve injury, patients often may have loss of reflexes on examination. Doctors often need to perform a lumbar puncture, otherwise known as spinal tap, to sample spinal fluid and look for signs of inflammation and abnormal antibodies.Studies have shown that giving patients an infusion of antibodies derived from donated blood or plasma exchange—a process that cleans patients’ blood of harmful antibodies—can speed up recovery. A very small subset of patients may need these therapies long-term.The majority of Guillain-Barré Syndrome patients improve within a few weeks and eventually can make a full recovery. However, some patients with Guillain-Barré Syndrome have lingering symptoms including weakness and abnormal sensations in arms and/or legs; rarely patients may be bedridden or disabled long-term.Which COVID-19 Treatments Work—and Which Were a BustAs the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the globe, many neurologic specialists have been on the lookout for potentially serious nervous system complications such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome.Though Guillain-Barré Syndrome is rare, it is well known to emerge following bacterial infections, such as Campylobacter jejuni, a common cause of food poisoning, and a multitude of viral infections including the flu virus, Zika virus, and other coronaviruses.Studies showed an increase in Guillain-Barré Syndrome cases following the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic, suggesting a possible connection. The presumed cause for this link is that the body’s own immune response to fight the infection turns on itself and attacks the peripheral nerves. This is called an “autoimmune” condition. When a pandemic affects as many people as our current COVID-19 crisis, even a rare complication can become a significant public health problem. That is especially true for one that causes neurological dysfunction where the recovery takes a long time and may be incomplete.The first reports of Guillain-Barré Syndrome in COVID-19 pandemic originated from Italy, Spain and China, where the pandemic surged before the U.S. crisis.Though there is clear clinical suspicion that COVID-19 can lead to Guillain-Barré Syndrome, many important questions remain. What are the chances that someone gets Guillain-Barré Syndrome during or following a COVID-19 infection? Does Guillain-Barré Syndrome happen more often in those who have been infected with COVID-19 compared to other types of infections, such as the flu?The only way to get answers is through a prospective study where doctors perform systematic surveillance and collect data on a large group of patients. There are ongoing large research consortia hard at work to figure out answers to these questions.Coronavirus and Cancer Act Alike. That Could Be a Good Thing.While large research studies are underway, overall it appears that Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a rare but serious phenomenon possibly linked to COVID-19. Given that more than 10.7 million cases have been reported for COVID-19, there have been 10 reported cases of COVID-19 patients with Guillain-Barré Syndrome so far—only two reported cases in the U.S., five in Italy, two cases in Iran and one from Wuhan, China.It is certainly possible that there are other cases that have not been reported. The Global Consortium Study of Neurological Dysfunctions in COVID-19 is actively underway to find out how often neurological problems like Guillain-Barré Syndrome are seen in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Also, just because Guillain-Barré Syndrome occurs in a patient diagnosed with COVID-19, that does not imply that it was caused by the virus; this still may be a coincident occurrence. More research is needed to understand how the two events are related.Due to the pandemic and infection-containment considerations, diagnostic tests, such as a nerve conduction study that used to be routine for patients with suspected Guillain-Barré Syndrome, are more difficult to do. In both U.S. cases, the initial diagnosis and treatment were all based on clinical examination by a neurological experts rather than any tests. Both patients survived but with significant residual weakness at the time these case reports came out, but that is not uncommon for Guillain-Barré Syndrome patients. The road to recovery may sometimes be long, but many patients can make a full recovery with time.Though the reported cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome so far all have severe symptoms, this is not uncommon in a pandemic situation where the less sick patients may stay home and not present for medical care for fear of being exposed to the virus. This, plus the limited COVID-19 testing capability across the U.S., may skew our current detection of Guillain-Barré Syndrome cases toward the sicker patients who have to go to a hospital. In general, the majority of Guillain-Barré Syndrome patients do recover, given enough time. We do not yet know whether this is true for COVID-19-related cases at this stage of the pandemic. We and colleagues around the world are working around the clock to find answers to these critical questions.Sherry H-Y. Chou is an associate professor of critical care medicine, neurology, and neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh. Aarti Sarwal is an associate professor of neurology at Wake Forest University. Neha S. Dangayach is an assistant professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 08:56:24 GMT

25 years on, Srebrenica dead still being identified, buried
SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — A quarter of a century after they were killed in Europe’s worst massacre since World War II, eight Bosnian men and boys will be laid to rest Saturday in a cemetery just outside of Srebrenica — their marble gravestones joining thousands more, each with the same month and year of death. Over 8,000 Bosnian Muslims perished in 10 days of slaughter after the town was overrun by Bosnian Serb forces in the closing months of the country's 1992-95 fratricidal war. When the remains are identified, they are returned to their relatives and reburied in the Potocari memorial cemetery.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 07:41:25 GMT

Is it safe to visit the dentist during the pandemic?
Is it safe to visit the dentist during the COVID-19 pandemic? Dentists can’t eliminate all risk, but they are taking steps to minimize the chances of spreading the coronavirus. You'll likely notice changes as soon as you enter the office.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 07:32:30 GMT

S Korea asks senior US envoy to try to revive N Korea talks
South Korea on Thursday asked a visiting senior U.S. envoy to try to revive stalled nuclear diplomacy with North Korea, which has refused to resume talks because of what it calls hostile U.S. policies. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, the top U.S. official on North Korea, has been in Seoul for talks since Tuesday.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 06:27:40 GMT

Virus projects renew questions about UAE's mass surveillance
Efforts by the United Arab Emirates to fight the coronavirus have renewed questions about mass surveillance in this U.S.-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms. Experts believe the UAE has one of the highest per-capita concentrations of surveillance cameras in the world. From the streets of the capital of Abu Dhabi to the tourist attractions of skyscraper-studded Dubai, the cameras keep track of the license plates and faces of those passing by them.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 06:10:04 GMT

Business Deals May Give Netanyahu an Excuse Against Annexation
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Two of Israel’s largest defense companies have signed a historic agreement with Group 42 Inc. in Abu Dhabi, to work on technology solutions for the coronavirus pandemic. Group 42 specializes in cloud computing and artificial intelligence; Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd and Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd are best known for military technology; both were involved in the development of the Iron Dome missile-defense system.All three companies are already involved in fighting the pandemic in their respective countries. Group 42 has offered the use of its supercomputers to researchers working on solutions for the disease. In Israel, the government mobilized defense companies against the outbreak.The agreement is being portrayed as a joint effort against a global pandemic, born of necessity and for the greater good, but it is also part of pattern of deepening ties between Israel and the Gulf Arab states, catalyzed by their shared concern about the Iranian threat and about extremist groups across the region. Israel and the UAE have strong economic reasons for collaboration, as well: the former is a high-tech hub, and the latter aspires to the same status.Israel and the UAE do not have formal relations, but there has been increasing outreach from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Emiratis over the past few years. Israeli cabinet members have visited Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The UAE has also been involved in the Trump administration’s effort to develop a new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan; an Emirati envoy attended its unveiling in Washington earlier this year.The agreement between the three counties signals the importance Israel attaches to relations with the UAE. IAI and Rafael, both rooted in Israel’s government history of creating local national defense giants, stand at the apex of Israel’s most sensitive security needs.For the UAE, an eagerness for mutually-beneficial ties with Israel is somewhat offset by concerns about Netanyahu’s plan to annex large portions of the West Bank. In early June, the UAE’s ambassador to Washington wrote an op-ed in an Israeli newspaper, arguing that annexation would imperil “improved security, economic and cultural ties with the Arab world and the United Arab Emirates.”The op-ed seemed to underline an important shift in Emirati policy. Previously, the UAE’s precondition for relations with Israel—based on the 2002 Saudi-led Arab peace initiative—was complete withdrawal from the territories seized in 1967. Now, it appears the Emiratis will be satisfied with the maintenance of the current status quo in the West Bank.In this context, the timing of the announcement of the agreement is especially significant: It came after the July 1 deadline for the start of the annexations had passed without any effort by Netanyahu to follow through on his promises, potentially signaling he had listened to international—and Arab—voices calling on him to desist.Maintaining the status quo may also be a necessary condition for the two countries to take their relations to the next level. Economic and commercial opportunities abound. A top executive at the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. recently called on Israeli venture capitalists to invest in start-ups to in Gulf Arab countries. Israel will have a pavilion at the World Expo in Dubai, which was originally scheduled to start in October, but has been postponed because of the pandemic.For his part, Netanyahu appears to be seeking a way out of his promise to annex territory. The coronavirus crisis was a good excuse for delay, but strong economic ties may be a more lasting motivation. The prime minister has long boasted that he has helped build bridges to the Arab world; burning them now would tarnish that legacy. Business deals between Israeli and Arab companies, on the other hand, would burnish it.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Seth J. Frantzman covers Middle East affairs for the Jerusalem Post. He is the author of "After ISIS: America, Iran and the Struggle for the Middle East" and executive director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 05:00:30 GMT

Burial traditions clash with coronavirus safety in Indonesia
The mob of over 150 people who forcefully took Muhammad Yunus’ cadaver from a hospital in eastern Indonesia thought it was impossible that the 49-year-old Islamic preacher could have died from the coronavirus. This has led to increasing incidents of bodies being taken from hospitals, rejection of COVID-19 health and safety procedures, and what some experts say is a lack of communication from the government.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 04:43:54 GMT

Schools or bars? Opening classrooms may mean hard choices

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 04:15:33 GMT

Pentagon leaders face grilling on use of military in unrest
The Pentagon's top leaders are going before Congress for the first time in months to face a long list of controversies, including their differences with President Donald Trump over the handling of protests near the White House last month during unrest triggered by the killing of George Floyd in police hands. The House hearing Thursday will provide the first congressional testimony by Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, since March 4, when they appeared to discuss the administration's defense budget proposal. Trump's push for an aggressive response to the civil unrest led to an extraordinary clash with Esper and Milley, who on June 1 accompanied the president when he walked from the White House to St. John's Church on Lafayette Square, where he held up a Bible for photographers.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 04:12:21 GMT

Bolsonaro now the 'poster boy' for dubious COVID treatment
After months of touting an unproven anti-malaria drug as a treatment for the new coronavirus, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is turning himself into a test case live before millions of people as he swallows hydroxychloroquine pills on social media and encourages others to do the same. Bolsonaro said this week that he tested positive for the virus but already felt better thanks to hydroxychloroquine. “I trust hydroxychloroquine,” he said, smiling.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 04:02:58 GMT

Ivory Coast PM Amadou Gon Coulibaly dies after cabinet meeting
Amadou Gon Coulibaly was a favourite to succeed Alassane Ouattara as president in October's elections.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 03:33:04 GMT

Secluded Arctic region rejects Putin in rare protest
Lyudmila Laptander, an activist advocating autonomy for her mineral-rich Nenets region in the Russian Arctic, worries authorities are planning to sacrifice its traditions for the promise of economic enrichment. The autonomous region on the edge of the Arctic Ocean was gripped by protests in May against the government's plans to integrate it with neighbouring Arkhangelsk. The initiative, which aimed to streamline the extraction of the vast region's mineral wealth, was buried after its 44,000 inhabitants voiced opposition to the move in a rare protest vote against President Vladimir Putin's rule.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 03:05:56 GMT

Moscow push to reduce UN cross-border aid to Syria fails
A Russian bid to get the United Nations to reduce cross-border humanitarian aid to war-torn Syria was voted down by the Security Council Wednesday, an official said. Authorization for the aid, which comes through two crossing points on the Turkish border -- at Bab al-Salam, which leads to the Aleppo region, and Bab al-Hawa, which serves the Idlib region -- expires Friday. Russia needed nine votes and no veto from a permanent member of the Council to get its resolution passed -- but received only four votes, announced the President of the Security Council, German Ambassador Christoph Heusgen.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 01:58:35 GMT

Jawar Mohammed: The Ethiopian media mogul taking on Abiy Ahmed
Opposition politician Jawar Mohammed has been detained after being accused of inciting violence.

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 01:23:18 GMT

Bolsonaro becomes 'poster boy' for unproven virus treatment
After months of touting an unproven anti-malaria drug as a treatment for the new coronavirus, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is turning himself into a test case live before millions of people as he swallows hydroxychloroquine pills on social media and encourages others to do the same. Bolsonaro said this week that he tested positive for the virus but already felt better thanks to hydroxychloroquine. “I trust hydroxychloroquine,” he said, smiling.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 23:59:49 GMT

CIA Kept Giving Intel to Russia, Got Nothing Back
Not long before Christmas in 2017, Vladimir Putin, the former KGB officer turned Russian leader, did something uncharacteristic. He praised the CIA. Russian security officials had arrested people on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks on St. Petersburg sites that included the majestic Kazan Cathedral. Intelligence warning of the allegedly imminent assault attacks came not from Russian sources, but from Langley. “The information received from the CIA was sufficient to search for and detain criminals,” the Kremlin announced. Putin asked President Trump to convey “words of thanks to the director of the CIA,” at the time Mike Pompeo, now the secretary of state. That information reached Russia in response to an administration directive that troubled many in the intelligence community, according to a former senior CIA official. They didn’t have a problem with preventing innocent Russians from possibly dying. Instead, their problem was that the Trump administration, like several of its predecessors, had pushed the agency into a counterterrorism relationship that was nowhere near reciprocal.According to Marc Polymeropoulos, who until July 2019 oversaw clandestine operations in Europe and Eurasia, the White House instructed a skeptical intelligence community to share counterterrorism intelligence with Russia, in pursuit of a great-power rapprochement that its predecessors in the Bush and Obama administrations had similarly tried. The effort began at the dawn of the administration. “As expected, the U.S. got absolutely nothing in return,” said Polymeropoulos, who first discussed the channel on Wednesday with Ryan Goodman of Just Security. “But there was a lot of focus on this from the White House and it came to naught.” It is not unusual for the agency to share intelligence, particularly intelligence on imminent threats, even with hostile intelligence agencies. Intelligence agencies maintain liaison relationships in part to ensure their operations don’t escalate into open conflict. Pompeo, as well as his predecessor in the Obama administration, John Brennan, have both acknowledged working with Russia on shared counterterrorism goals.But after the Russians’ 2016 election interference, and then the 2018 Sergei Skripal poisoning, the counterterrorism-sharing effort appeared egregious to some in the intelligence community. That’s a renewed concern given recent and unconfirmed intelligence that the Russians paid Taliban elements to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The order to share intelligence was a standing directive, Polymeropoulos said, encouraging the intelligence agencies to share whenever possible. “You roll your eyes, you shrug, but you gotta do this,” he said. He did not believe the intelligence-sharing harmed U.S. interests; instead, it appeared naive. Pushing back on it would not have been appropriate: “It would feed into the ‘Deep State’ narrative” of security services going rogue to shank Trump, he said. But agency leaders, both Pompeo and his successor, current CIA Director Gina Haspel, knew of internal dissatisfaction. “Leadership was well aware of the unanimity in view that this was a waste of time,” Polymeropoulos said, “but it doesn’t matter, because it’s [administration] policy. We had to still go through with it.” A CIA official who retired during the Trump administration was familiar with the channel. The ex-official characterized top agency officials explaining it as “counterterrorism is the only common enemy we have [with the Russians] and we want to maintain that linkage.” Another former intelligence official said he didn’t feel pressure from the White House to engage the Russians on counterterrorism, and so didn’t consider it a priority. The ex-official, who declined to be named, corroborated that the Russians typically do not share intelligence. “The last time we got anything from the Russians was around the Sochi Olympics, and it was not much,” the former intelligence official said. In 2011, before Sochi, Russia told the FBI that U.S. resident Tamerlan Tsarnaev had jihadist associates; Tsarnaev and his younger brother Dzokhar bombed the Boston Marathon in 2013. Steve Hall, who retired from the CIA in 2015 after overseeing operations concerning Russia, noted that “there is always an inclination for a new administration to reset with Russia.” Since 9/11, counterterrorism has been an obvious theater for cooperation, in order to see what further detente might result. Russian Bounties for Killing Americans Go Back Five Years, Ex-Taliban ClaimsBut Hall said going beyond typical liaison interaction with the Russians was a dead end. After beginning the outreach, “the guys you expect the Russians to show up with, counterterrorism experts, turn out to be counterintelligence experts,” he said – meaning they were less equipped to target terrorist suspects than they were to target CIA officers. The CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.The intelligence sharing instruction drew new scrutiny after reports of unconfirmed intelligence reports holding that the Russians paid Taliban elements to attack U.S. troops. Since 2014, the Russians have sidled up to the Taliban as the U.S. has drawn its forces and attention away from a war that Washington has not ended. “The Russians paying U.S. dollars—it’s not odd for the Taliban,” Mullah Manan Niazi, the former spokesman for deceased Taliban leader Mullah Omar, recently told The Daily Beast. Sponsoring attacks, however, would mark a qualitative change in the Russian approach to the war. Several U.S. diplomatic and security veterans, in interviews, expressed puzzlement over why Russia would escalate in Afghanistan as the U.S. seeks to get out. More likely to them is that the Russians intensified their outreach to the Taliban as a hedged bet for a post-American Afghanistan. The senior U.S. general for the Middle East told the AP on Tuesday he saw no “causative link” between any Russian bounties and any dead U.S. troops. One retired senior diplomat said that “intelligence has become so politicized that someone leaked this to slow down the troop withdrawal.” In any event, the intelligence-sharing instruction to the intelligence agencies dovetailed with an effort from Trump’s first national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, to expand a military channel to prevent U.S.-Russian conflict over Syria into an active path for counterterrorism cooperation. A highly skeptical military, which is barred from such cooperation by law, stopped Flynn, The Daily Beast reported in 2017. To Flynn, who has deep experience in the war on terror, the point of rapprochement with Russia was to yield collaboration against what he viewed as “Radical Islamism.” Flynn, who had visited the FSB in Moscow when he ran the Defense Intelligence Agency, believed that the U.S. and Russia were jointly threatened by an enemy Flynn tended to view in dire civilizational terms. It was something Flynn raised on his phone calls with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, that ultimately led to his downfall and legal jeopardy. Polymeropoulos said he did not encounter that perspective from the White House – but did encounter it from Russian intelligence officials, who were eager for the counterterrorism assistance. “The Russian intelligence officers that we’d meet with, these are incredibly xenophobic and racist individuals,” he said. “Totally Islamophobic.”While agreeing that U.S. intelligence has to talk with its adversaries, Polymeropoulos said that the “routine” intelligence-sharing felt “gross and nasty.”“The U.S. intelligence community has proven, right or wrong, willing to cooperate on counterterrorism with a lot of unsavory folks,” Polymeropoulos said. “There was disdain for doing this [with] the Russians – their track record is terrible, the Russians never come through on this. It’s a complete waste of time and resources, but policymakers wanted this. There was never a single U.S. life saved in the provision of Russian information. Nothing of value was ever given.” The 2017 episode was not the last time the U.S. provided intelligence of value to Russia. In late February, Putin thanked the FBI “for their support and professional solidarity” in unraveling another St. Petersburg plot, one that Russia unraveled ahead of the New Year, that he attributed to the so-called Islamic State. “We will naturally respond in kind,” Putin assured.—with additional reporting by Asawin Suebsaeng Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 23:02:58 GMT

Biden-Sanders task forces unveil joint goals for party unity
Political task forces Joe Biden formed with onetime rival Bernie Sanders to solidify support among the Democratic Party's progressive wing recommended Wednesday that the former vice president embrace major proposals to combat climate change and institutional racism while expanding health care coverage and rebuilding a coronavirus-ravaged economy. The groups, formed in May to tackle health care, immigration, education, criminal justice reform, climate change and the economy, sought to hammer out a policy road map to best defeat President Donald Trump.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 21:21:38 GMT

Pompeo hints at Iran links in killing of Iraq expert
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday demanded justice over the killing of a prominent Iraqi jihadism expert and highlighted threats against him by Iran-linked groups. Hisham al-Hashemi, an internationally known scholar whose vast contacts inside Iraq made him a mediator among rivals, was gunned down outside his Baghdad home late Monday by masked assailants on motorcycles. "In the days leading up to his death he was repeatedly threatened by Iran backed armed groups," Pompeo told a news conference in Washington, without explicitly blaming Tehran.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 20:57:17 GMT

UN Council rejects Russia bid to limit Syrian aid deliveries
The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected a Russian resolution that would have cut back the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria’s mainly rebel-held northwest to just one crossing point from Turkey. Western countries that voted against the resolution have insisted on keeping the two current crossings from Turkey, with strong backing from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and humanitarian groups.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 20:25:52 GMT

How Powerful Is Your Passport In A World Facing A Pandemic?
As air travel begins to resume and parts of the globe cautiously begin to re-open, travel freedom and mobility has rapidly changed for many citizens in the time of the coronavirus. Premium Passports Lose Their Shine: The Henley Passport Index ranks passport power based on the number of destinations their holders can enter without a visa. An extraordinary shift in passport power has occurred due to temporary pandemic-related bans.Japan Holds No. 1 Spot: Without taking the various travel bans and restrictions into account, Japan continues to hold the No. 1 spot on the Henley Passport Index. Singapore remains in second place, while Germany and South Korea rank jointly in third. Both Japan and South Korea have been included on the EU's list of safe countries, while Singapore has been excluded.This means Singaporean passport holders have far less travel freedom than their closest competitors on the index, which is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association. EU Bans American Visitors: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. passport usually ranked within the top 10 on the Henley Passport Index in the sixth or seventh place, with American citizens able to access 185 destinations around the world without an advance visa. Last week, the EU released a list of countries whose residents would be allowed entry into the bloc after July 1 based on coronavirus-related health and safety criteria.The list includes Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea, all of which have traditionally scored highly on the Henley Passport Index.The Henley Passport Index says that, in a move perceived as a stinging rebuke for its poor handling of the pandemic, the U.S. has been excluded from the list, as were Brazil and Russia.This could eventually change if the countries come to grips with the COVID-19 pandemic and manage to control the spread, or a vaccine is found. U.S. nationals now have roughly the same level of travel freedom as citizens of Uruguay , which is included on the EU's list of welcome countries and ranks 28th on the Henley index. In another striking inversion, the U.S's dramatic decline in passport power means that Americans find themselves with a similar level of travel freedom usually available to citizens of Mexico, which is 25th on the index. "As we have already seen, the pandemic's impact on travel freedom has been more drastic and long lasting than initially anticipated," says Christian Kaelin, chairman of investment migration firm Henley and Partners. The EU's recent decision will have far-reaching effects, he says. International Mobility Restricted: The Henley Passport Index says that as premium passports lose their privileges, experts suggest that the crisis is likely to make international mobility more restricted and unpredictable in the longer term."Even as countries open their borders, it is expected that numerous governments will use epidemiological concerns as a justification for imposing new immigration restrictions and nationality-targeted travel bans that will mainly be aimed at citizens of developing countries," says Yossi Harpaz, assistant professor of sociology at Tel Aviv University."The passports of both developing and developed nations stand to decrease in value, at least temporarily. In such uncertain times, global demand for dual citizenship and investor visas is expected to increase."See more from Benzinga * Martini Tax: US Considering .1B In New Tariffs On UK, European Goods * Bank Of England Boosts Bond Buying By 4B, Maintains Bank Rate * UK Formally Confirms To EU That It Won't Extend Brexit Transition(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 19:21:00 GMT

Despite risks, Trump invests big in attacks on Biden's age
President Donald Trump has accused his Democratic rival Joe Biden of having connections to the “radical left” and has pilloried his relationship with China, his record on criminal justice, his plans for the pandemic and even his son's business dealings. With Election Day less just four months away, Trump has spent more money on one television ad claiming that Biden lacks “the strength, the stamina and the mental fortitude to lead this country” than any other single ad this year. The firm noted a shift in recent days toward an unrelated Trump attack accusing Biden of supporting the far-left push to defund police departments, although he said he doesn't.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 18:57:53 GMT

UN chief warns foreign interference in Libya `unprecedented'
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that foreign interference in Libya’s war has reached “unprecedented levels” and urged key players and their backers to unblock the political stalemate and agree to a cease-fire and peace talks. Calling the current situation “gloomy,” the U.N. chief said Wednesday that the United Nations political mission in Libya is undertaking de-escalation efforts, “including the creation of a possible demilitarized zone,” to try to reach a negotiated solution and spare lives.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 18:52:56 GMT

Trade secretary concerned that Brexit border plans could lead to smuggling, leaked letter reveals
Liz Truss, the Trade Secretary, has warned that Boris Johnson's Brexit border plans could result in smuggling and the breaking of international rules in a leaked letter. The Government announced last month that full border controls will not be applied on goods until July 2021, despite Britain leaving EU trading and customs rules at the end of 2020. Business groups fear the delay risks a "disaster" for firms trading with the EU. In an explosive letter to Cabinet ministers on Wednesday, Ms Truss warned that the new regime risks the UK's international credibility. The leaking of the letter to Business Insider has raised suspicions that she may be moved from her post in a mooted summer reshuffle. In the private correspondence to Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, and the Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove, Ms Truss highlighted four "key areas of concerns" about the Government's border plans, which are due to be published on July 13. Saying that the proposals would create a series of logistical, political and reputational risks for the Government, the letter demands "assurances that we are able to deliver full control at ports by July 2021 and that plans are in place from January to mitigate the risk of goods being circumvented from ports implementing full controls". Suggesting that a lack of preparedness could lead to smuggling from the EU if UK ports are not ready to carry out checks, she said the UK could "be vulnerable to WTO challenge". This is because Britain plans to temporarily give the EU preferential treatment, which could breach WTO rules if there is no UK-EU free trade agreement in place.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 18:49:27 GMT

Iran-backed militia says PM's actions could bring escalation
A powerful Iran-backed militia said Wednesday there would be “escalation” if Iraq's prime minister continues to clamp down on armed groups, as tensions spiked following the killing of a prominent analyst, pitting the state against rogue elements. Hostilities have flared as Iraq reels from the assassination of Hisham al-Hashimi, 47, who was gunned down by unknown assailants on motorbikes outside his Baghdad home Monday. Al-Hashimi's killers are still unknown but many point to the timing of the assassination, coming just two weeks after a raid on the headquarters of the Kataib Hezbollah militia south of Baghdad.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 18:31:15 GMT

Health official: Trump rally 'likely' source of virus surge
President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa in late June that drew thousands of participants and large protests "likely contributed" to a dramatic surge in new coronavirus cases, Tulsa City-County Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart said Wednesday. Although the health department’s policy is to not publicly identify individual settings where people may have contracted the virus, Dart said those large gatherings “more than likely" contributed to the spike. “In the past few days, we’ve seen almost 500 new cases, and we had several large events just over two weeks ago, so I guess we just connect the dots," Dart said.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 18:27:36 GMT

Why Iranians, rattled by suicides, point a finger at leaders

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 18:11:23 GMT

AP Exclusive: 'Strike for Black Lives' to highlight racism
A national coalition of labor unions, along with racial and social justice organizations, will stage a mass walkout from work this month, as part of an ongoing reckoning on systemic racism and police brutality in the U.S. Dubbed the “Strike for Black Lives,” tens of thousands of fast food, ride-share, nursing home and airport workers in more than 25 cities are expected to walk off the job July 20 for a full day strike. The national strike will also include worker-led marches through participating cities, organizers said Wednesday.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 17:41:54 GMT

Officer to Floyd: 'It takes ... a lot of oxygen to talk'
As George Floyd told Minneapolis police officers that he couldn't breathe more than 20 times in the moments before he died, the officer who pressed his knee against Floyd's neck dismissed his pleas, saying “it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk," according to transcripts of body camera video recordings made public Wednesday. The transcripts for the body camera videos of officers Thomas Lane and J. Kueng provide the most detailed account yet of what happened as police were taking Floyd into custody on May 25, and reveal more of what was said after Floyd, a Black man who was handcuffed, was put on the ground. “You’re going to kill me, man,” Floyd said, according to a transcript of Lane's body camera video.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 16:29:06 GMT

Vindman retiring from Army, lawyer blames Trump
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a national security aide who played a central role in President Donald Trump's impeachment case, announced his retirement from the Army on Wednesday in a scathing statement that accused the president of running a “campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation.” The statement from attorney David Pressman said Vindman, 45, was leaving the Army after more than 21 years after it had been made clear “that his future within the institution he has dutifully served will forever be limited.” Vindman’s name was on a promotion list sent to Defense Secretary Mark Esper earlier this year, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 15:56:26 GMT

Leaked Liz Truss letter warns that Boris Johnson's Brexit border plans risk smuggling, legal challenge, and global reputational damage
Liz Truss, the UK's international trade secretary, told government colleagues she worried that the UK's Brexit border plans wouldn't be ready on time.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 15:38:28 GMT

Rosewood smuggling in The Gambia: Shipping firm halts timber exports
A BBC investigation found vast quantities of protected rosewood were being trafficked from The Gambia.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 15:17:21 GMT

U.N. chief warns foreign interference in Libya conflict at 'unprecedented levels'

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 15:10:01 GMT

Colombia's ELN rebels propose ceasefire during pandemic
Colombia's leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels have proposed a three-month ceasefire to the government of right-wing President Ivan Duque. The guerrilla movement -- the last of its type still fighting government forces in Colombia -- asked the government late on Tuesday to "agree a bilateral 90-day ceasefire" in response to a call from the United Nations to reduce violence and conflicts during the coronavirus pandemic.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 15:05:43 GMT

Coronavirus: How fast is it spreading in Africa?
There are fears that the number of cases is growing rapidly, so what are the key trends?

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 14:37:21 GMT

US affirms Lebanon support as Hezbollah steps up criticism

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 14:35:26 GMT

Justice Department plows ahead with execution plan next week
The Justice Department is plowing ahead with its plan to resume federal executions next week for the first time in more than 15 years, despite the coronavirus pandemic raging both inside and outside prisons and stagnating national support for the death penalty. Three people are scheduled to die by lethal injection in one week at an Indiana prison, beginning Monday. Bureau of Prisons officials insist they will be able to conduct the executions safely and have been holding practice drills for months.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 14:23:10 GMT

Court: Some employers can refuse to offer free birth control
The Supreme Court ruled broadly Wednesday in favor of the religious rights of employers in two cases that could leave more than 70,000 women without free contraception and tens of thousands of people with no way to sue for job discrimination. In both cases the court ruled 7-2, with two liberal justices joining conservatives in favor of the Trump administration and religious employers. In the more prominent of the two cases, involving President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, the justices greenlighted changes the Trump administration had sought.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 14:21:05 GMT

Angela Merkel tells EU to prepare for no trade deal Brexit
Angela Merkel said the EU should be prepared for a no trade deal Brexit on Wednesday, the day after Boris Johnson warned the German chancellor that Britain was "ready" to walk away without an agreement. "I will continue to push for a good solution, but we should also prepare for a possible no deal scenario," Mrs Merkel said in the European Parliament in Brussels. "Progress in negotiations so far has been slim, to put it diplomatically," she said as she set out plans for Germany's six-month EU presidency. Mrs Merkel added: "We've agreed with the United Kingdom to accelerate the pace of talks to reach an agreement by autumn, an agreement that could be ratified by the end of the year." Mr Johnson has been adamant that he will not allow the discussions to drag on into the autumn, arguing that British businesses and citizens need certainty on the way forward before then. On Tuesday, the Prime Minister told Mrs Merkel that the UK "would be ready" to leave the transition period at the end of the year on Australian terms – the Government's preferred expression for leaving without a trade deal. A Downing Street spokesman said: "On the future relationship, the Prime Minister underlined the UK's commitment to working hard to find an early agreement out of the intensified talks process. "He also noted that the UK equally would be ready to leave the transition period on Australia terms if an agreement could not in the end be reached." Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, told MEPs in Brussels: "We will do our utmost to ensure that an agreement can be reached with the United Kingdom." Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, is in London for talks this week during a month of intensified negotiations. Last week's round of negotiations in Brussels broke up a day early with the sides unable to bridge their differences over fishing, the "level playing field" guarantees and the future role of the European Court of Justice. Mr Barnier met David Frost, his UK counterpart, for a dinner of halibut in Downing Street on Tuesday night. He said on Wednesday that he had a "nice dinner" and "useful discussion" with Mr Frost, and that negotiators were "working hard for a fair agreement". In Brussels, Mrs Merkel said the coronavirus pandemic was the greatest challenge the EU had ever faced. “We are all aware that my visit today is coming at a the time when the European Union is facing its greatest challenge, ever. The global pandemic has hit people hard in Europe. Over 100,000 lives have been lost in Europe alone,”she said. “Many citizens were not able to visit loved ones because of strict quarantine rules or bid farewell to them as they passed. We must bear that in mind when we commit to economic recovery.” Mrs Merkel said, “We need to mourn our dead and recognise the pain of farewells that were not possible.” EU leaders will meet on July 18-19 for tough talks over a €750 bn recovery fund and €1.1 trillion EU budget, which the European Commission has called for to kickstart the economy after the pandemic. “Europe will only emerge from the crisis stronger than ever if we are willing to overcome our differences and identify shared solutions,” Mrs Merkel said.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 14:18:53 GMT

Harvard, MIT sue to block ICE rule on international students
Colleges and universities pushed back Wednesday against the Trump administration’s decision to make international students leave the country if they plan on taking classes entirely online this fall, with Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filing a lawsuit to try to block it, and others promising to work with students to keep them on campus. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement notified colleges Monday that international students will be forced to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools operate entirely online this fall. New visas will not be issued to students at those schools, and others at universities offering a mix of online and in-person classes will be barred from taking all of their classes online.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:52:11 GMT

Germany's Merkel: Pandemic highlights limits of populism
The coronavirus pandemic is showing the limits of “fact-denying populism,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the European Parliament on Wednesday as she set out her country's plans for its six-month presidency of the European Union. Germany took over the task of chairing EU meetings on July 1 and faces the challenge of seeking a compromise on a coronavirus recovery fund for the 27-nation bloc as well as the EU's budget for the next seven years as the continent faces up to the task of pulling out of a deep recession. “We must not be naive: In many member states, opponents of Europe are just waiting to misuse the crisis for their ends,” she said.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:30:34 GMT

UN expert urges global ban on gay 'conversion therapy'
A United Nations rights expert called Wednesday for a global ban on "conversion therapy" aimed at changing the sexuality of LGBT people, calling such practices "degrading and discriminatory". Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, made the call as he presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. In a statement, he said such practices "inflict severe pain and suffering on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender-diverse (LGBT) persons, often resulting in long-lasting psychological and physical damage".

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:07:14 GMT

Burkina Faso: 180 bodies found in 'killing field'
Pro-government forces battling jihadists were behind the deaths, Human Rights Watch says.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:01:39 GMT

Merkel is under pressure to cut Germany's ties with China as the Hong Kong crisis triggers a European backlash against Beijing
Amid international outrage against China's crackdown in Hong Kong, German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted on the need for 'dialogue' with Beijing.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 12:31:09 GMT

Carlos Ghosn Paid at Least 2,000 to Be Spirited Out of Japan in a Music Case, New Court Papers Claim
How much does it cost to be spirited out of Japan in a specially converted musical equipment case?At least 2,000, since you are asking.That is the amount of money allegedly transferred by the fugitive former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn to a company controlled by the sons of Mike Taylor, 59, the former U.S. Green Beret who is in custody in Massachusetts for his alleged role in helping the millionaire executive flee Japan disguised as a double bass. However, sources told the Financial Times, which reported on new court documents revealing the amount Wednesday, that this may have just been a down payment, and that the full cost of the operation is likely to have been significantly higher. Ghosn’s escape was allegedly facilitated by a team of veteran special-forces operatives coordinated by Taylor. They posed as a classical-music group, and packed music-loving Ghosn, who led Nissan for 20 years prior to his 2018 arrest, into one of their musical equipment cases at the end of a fake private concert at his Tokyo home, where he was residing on house arrest while on bail.Ghosn, secreted inside his box, then took a bullet train ride across Japan followed by two private jet flights to get to his native Lebanon, where he is now Beirut’s most notorious scofflaw. Four Turkish private-jet pilots and an airline manager are on trial in Turkey for their role in the James Bond-style caper.Ghosn fled while awaiting trial on charges of financial misconduct but has argued that he was the victim of an elaborate setup by other Nissan executives and the Japanese government, who were concerned by his attempts to merge Nissan with French carmaker Renault.In June, Bloomberg News published a report based on a chain of emails that appeared to lend weight to Ghosn’s version of events. Nissan has described the emails as fake.The FT reports the new court documents allege two wire transfers were made last October from a Ghosn-controlled account in Paris to Promote Fox, a company that was managed by Peter Taylor and his brother, Oliver, both sons of Mike Taylor.Mike and Peter Taylor were arrested in Boston in May and are fighting extradition to Japan. U.S. prosecutors presented the money transfer evidence Tuesday to argue that the Taylors are flight risks and should continue to be detained. Prosecutors previously argued that they were “not just capable of fleeing while on bond” but are “expert on the subject.”Mike Taylor has a checkered background: As a member of the U.S. Army’s elite Green Berets, he was trained in “special atomic demolition munition,” which would have involved detonating portable nuclear weapons in the event of a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. After leaving military service, he became a respected hostage negotiator, and through his security company trained commandos, guarded infrastructure in southern Iraq, and protected officials investigating mass graves. But he also served time in prison after he was found to have attempted to bribe federal agents, pleading guilty to one count of violating procurement laws and one count of wire fraud. He was sentenced to 24 months in prison but was released after 14 months. In pleadings for clemency in that case, Taylor said he had worked as an undercover agent helping U.S. authorities bust drug and counterfeiting operations in Lebanon. In what appears to be his only public comment on the Ghosn case, Taylor was interviewed by a news site for U.S. military veterans, Connecting Vets, which quoted him as saying, “The bottom line is this guy was a damn hostage, that’s what it was. If he popped out of North Korea or China, it would be a totally different narrative.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 12:29:06 GMT

Leaders like Trump fail if they cannot speak the truth and earn trust
During a recent Senate committee hearing on the COVID-19 crisis, Dr. Anthony Fauci told lawmakers he was concerned about “a lack of trust of authority, a lack of trust in government.”He had reason to be worried. The Pew Center reported that July 7 only 17% of people in the U.S. have confidence in government to do the right thing. Never in the history of their surveys, which began in 1958, has that confidence been so low. Why is trust so low and why does that matter, especially during a crisis – and especially during this crisis? No playbookThe dilemma of leadership in modern democracy has long been the focus of my scholarship and teaching. I have asked what qualities and virtues leaders need to preside over a government of, by and for the people. If it’s a challenging topic, it is also one never lacking for material. The current era points especially to the importance of trust for effective and legitimate leadership in democracies. The story begins with a basic principle of democracy: Leaders cannot do whatever they please. The drafters of the United States Constitution assumed that anyone with power would always have the opportunity – and often the temptation – to abuse it. To protect society from unruly rulers, they set up an obstacle course of elaborate procedures, checks and balances, separated powers and a stringent rule of law that applied to everyone, even those who wrote the laws. In this system, inefficiency and complexity became virtues. Deliberation trumped dispatch. It isn’t easy for leaders to act, and it is not supposed to be.That’s a problem during a crisis. Emergencies require swift, decisive steps, sometimes improvised and often pushing the boundaries of formal authority. [Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.]There’s no playbook, and those hurdles designed to prevent leaders from doing bad things may now prevent them from doing necessary things. Even John Locke, the 17th-century British philosopher so influential in the American approach to accountability and limited government, understood that stuff happens. And when it does, the machinery of government may prove too slow and cumbersome. With regret but cold realism, Locke conceded that when severe threats appear, “There is a latitude left to the executive power, to do many things of choice which the laws do not prescribe.” Discretion granted, trust neededThat’s precisely when trust becomes critical. The discretion granted to democratic leaders in times of crisis – the room they have to maneuver – depends entirely on how much the people trust them. And that depends on their competency, honesty and commitment to the public interest.One of Dwight Eisenhower’s biographers explains that discipline was central to his leadership style. Eisenhower leaned heavily on experts and had the patience and persistence to navigate the complex machinery of government. Sometimes that made him appear cautious, but few questioned his competence. Today German Chancellor Angela Merkel embodies the same set of skills, a cool, measured and rational approach that inspires confidence. High among her leadership qualities is a projection of competence, no doubt enhanced by Germany’s success responding to the pandemic. The Financial Times political columnist Gideon Rachman wonders if the pandemic will ultimately be a setback for populist leaders such as Boris Johnson in Great Britain, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Donald Trump in the United States. They seem thrilled by the theater of politics but bored by the details of governing. As their countries suffer some of the worst effects of the pandemic, Rachman believes citizens will rediscover the value of sheer competence. Honesty and the public interestTelling the truth also earns trust. But honesty is more than just conveying basic facts. It is the capacity to explain the crisis, the sacrifice required and the path to a solution. Roosevelt during the Depression, Churchill during World War II, Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis and Bush in the aftermath of 9/11 (at least the immediate aftermath) were granted considerable discretion because they accurately described and credibly interpreted the challenge facing the people.In the current crisis, medical professionals have told the inconvenient truths about the pandemic. Political leaders at the national level have offered false hopes and misleading information. That is why trust in medical professionals in the United States far exceeds trust in elected officials. Finally, trust is given when leaders act in the public interest, not their own self-interest. Perhaps the most damning indictment in John Bolton’s book about his time in the Trump administration was this assessment of the president: “I am hard-pressed to identify a significant Trump decision during my tenure that wasn’t driven by reelection calculations.” One 2016 Trump voter explained his recent change of heart even more bluntly: “It was like this dude is just in it for himself. I thought he was supposed to be for the people.” If that perception becomes widespread, it will deplete whatever stock of trust citizens have left for the president. Those Pew measures of trust are fundamental expressions of whether citizens believe leaders will forsake their own immediate interests to serve a public interest.Dr. Fauci is right. A solution to the pandemic requires testing, contact tracing, masks, social distancing and ultimately a vaccine. It also requires leaders who are competent, honest and committed to the public interest – leaders who are trustworthy. The absence of trust jeopardizes an effective response to a health crisis. But it also creates a political crisis, a loss of faith in democracy as a way to govern ourselves. Public health in the U.S. is at stake. So is the health of democracy.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * A field guide to Trump’s dangerous rhetoric * Why proactive leadership is important – or how Congress could have prevented Trump’s Helsinki fiascoKenneth P. Ruscio does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 12:18:09 GMT

Srebrenica, 25 years later: Lessons from the massacre that ended the Bosnian conflict and unmasked a genocide
Europe’s worst massacre since World War II occurred 25 years ago this July. From July 11 to 19, in 1995, Bosnian Serb forces murdered 7,000 to 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the Bosnian city of Srebrenica. The Srebrenica massacre occurred two years after the United Nations had designated the city to be a “safe area” for civilians fleeing fighting between Bosnian government and separatist Serb forces, during the breakup of Yugoslavia. Some 20,000 refugees and 37,000 residents sheltered in the city, protected by fewer than 500 lightly armed international peacekeepers. After overwhelming the UN troops, Serb forces carried out what was later documented to be a carefully planned act of genocide. Bosnian-Serb soldiers and police rounded up men and boys ages 16 to 60 – nearly all of them innocent civilians – trucked them to killing sites to be shot and buried them in mass graves. Serbian forces bused about 20,000 women and children to the safety of Muslim-held areas – but only after raping many of the women. The atrocity was so heinous, that even the reluctant United States felt compelled to intervene directly in – and finally end – Bosnia’s conflict. Srebrenica is a cautionary tale about what extremist nationalism can lead to. With xenophobia, nationalist parties and ethnic conflict resurgent worldwide, the lessons from Bosnia could not be timelier. Perpetrators must be held accountableBosnia’s civil war was a complex religious and ethnic conflict. On one side were Bosnian Muslims and Roman Catholic Bosnian Croats, who had both voted for independence from Yugoslavia. They were fighting the Bosnian Serbs, who had seceded to form their own republic and sought to expel everyone else from their new territory.The carnage that ensued is epitomized by one street in one town I visited in 1996, as part of my study of the Bosnian conflict. In Bosanska Krupa, I saw a Catholic church, a mosque and an Orthodox church on a narrow stretch of road, all left in ruins by the war. Fighters had targeted not only ethnic groups but also the symbols of their identities. It took more than two decades to bring those responsible for the atrocities of the Bosnian civil war to justice. Ultimately, the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia, a UN court that ran from 1993 to 2017, convicted 62 Bosnian Serbs of war crimes, including several high ranking officers. It found Bosnian Serb Army Commander General Ratko Mladić guilty of “genocide and persecution, extermination, murder, and the inhumane act of forcible transfer in the area of Srebrenica” and convicted Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić of genocide. The tribunal also indicted Yugoslav President Slobodan Miloŝević on charges of “genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Convention, and violations of the laws or customs of war” for his role in supporting ethnic cleansing, but he died during his trial. [Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.]Though many other people have never been tried, the criminal indictments that followed Srebrenica show why the perpetrators of wartime atrocities must be held accountable, no matter how long it takes. Criminal convictions provide some closure for victims’ families and remind the guilty they can never be certain of escaping justice. It also emphasizes that guilty individuals must be held accountable after war – not entire populations. “The Serbs” didn’t commit genocide. Members of the Bosnian Serb Army and Serbian paramilitaries, led by men like Mladić, did the killing. Denialism is dangerousDespite the landmark international convictions and painstaking documentation of the crimes against humanity that occurred in Bosnia, some in Serbia still claim the genocide never happened. Using arguments similar to those made by deniers of the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust, Serbian nationalists insist the number of dead is exaggerated, the victims were combatants, or that Srebrenica is but one of many atrocities committed by all parties to the conflict. During wartime, it is true, belligerents on both sides will do terrible things. But evidence from Bosnia clearly demonstrates that Serb forces killed more civilians than combatants from other groups. At least 26,582 civilians died during the war: 22,225 Muslims, 986 Croats and 2,130 Serbs. Muslims made up only about 44% of Bosnia’s population but 80% of the dead. The Hague tribunal convicted only five Bosnian Muslims of war crimes.In 2013, the president of Serbia apologized for the “crime” of Srebrenica, but refused to acknowledge that it was part of a genocidal campaign against Bosnian Muslims. Indifference is complicitySrebrenica is a stark warning that any effort to divide people into “them” and “us” is cause for grave concern – and, potentially, for international action. Research shows that genocide starts with stigmatization of others and, if unchecked, can proceed through dehumanization to extermination.Srebrenica was the culminating event in a yearslong campaign of genocide against Bosnian Muslims. In 1994, over a year before the massacre, the U.S. Department of State reported that Serb forces were “ethnically cleansing” areas, using murder and rape as tools of war and razing villages. But the Clinton administration, fresh from a humiliating failure to stop a civil war in Somalia, wanted to avoid involvement. And the United Nations refused to authorize more robust action to halt Serb aggression, believing it needed to remain neutral for political reasons. It took the slaughter in Srebrenica to persuade these international powers to intervene. Acting sooner could have saved lives. In my 1999 book, “Peacekeeping and Intrastate Conflict,” I argued that only a heavily armed force with a clear mandate to halt aggression can end a civil war. The U.S. and UN could have supplied that force, but they dithered. Massacres continueRemembering past genocides like Srebenica will not prevent future ones. Marginalized groups have been brutally persecuted in the years since 1995, including in Sudan, Syria and Myanmar. Today, the Uighurs – a Muslim minority in China – are being rounded up, thrown into Chinese concentration camps and forcibly sterilized.Nonetheless, remembrance of past atrocities is critically important. It allows people to pause and reflect, to honor the dead, to celebrate what unites humanity, and to work together to overcome their differences. Remembering also preserves the integrity of the past against those who would revise history for their own ends. In that sense, commemorating Srebrenica 25 years later may, in some small measure, make us more willing to resist the evil of mass murder going forward.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Brazil’s Bolsonaro has COVID-19 – and so do thousands of Indigenous people who live days from the nearest hospital * Nkurunziza’s life and Burundian politics: beyond the mourning and controversiesTom Mockaitis received a USIP grant in 1995 to fund research on the book "Peacekeeping and Intrastate Conflict: The Sword or the Olive Branch?" (Praeger, 1999), which has a chapter on the Bosnian Conflict. Some small DePaul grants and paid leave also supported his book project.

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 12:17:05 GMT

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