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Re: World News Random, Random

#166

Post by ti-amie »

Suliso wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 6:25 pm Be careful what you wish for...
I know. I understand why the Security Council exists but it really does need to be revised.

I hope we're all talking about the same institution.
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Re: World News Random, Random

#167

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Venezuelan military offensive sends thousands fleeing, recharging one of the world’s worst refugee crises

Image
A woman with two children sits on Tuesday at a sports field in Arauquita, Colombia, where tents have been set up to house refugees who have fled fighting across the border between the Venezuelan military and groups of Colombian guerrillas. (Nadège Mazars)

By Steven Grattan,
Anthony Faiola and
Ana Vanessa Herrero
April 1, 2021 at 4:57 p.m. EDT

ARAUQUITA, Colombia — A new campaign by the Venezuelan military near the country’s lawless western border is sparking a surge of refugees, with thousands defying the spiking pandemic to pack into makeshift shelters and tent settlements in this Colombian town.

The sudden outflow is amplifying a renewed wave of Venezuelan refugees and migrants — the world’s second-largest group of internationally displaced people — from the broken socialist state. Concern is also rising about mounting tensions between the left-wing Venezuelan and right-wing Colombian governments, which are blaming each other for the uptick in violence in Venezuela’s western Apure state.

The Venezuelan military launched a campaign two weeks ago against a rogue faction of Colombian guerrillas in a region with heavy jungle along the Arauca River. The guerrillas, known as the 10th Front, appear to have run afoul of the government in Caracas, which allegedly has had long-standing profit-sharing and protection deals with other leftist fighters in the area engaged in narco-trafficking and extortion.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/ ... .jpg&w=916
Venezuelan army boats patrol the Arauca River near Arauquita on Tuesday. (Nadège Mazars)

(Not cosplay)

The Venezuelan government “doesn’t seem to be defending its sovereignty, but protecting its drug-trafficking business,” Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano told Colombian National Radio last week.

Venezuelan officials put the death toll from the ongoing offensive at nine, including four soldiers, with 32 people arrested and nine camps destroyed. But refugees and human rights groups say Venezuelan security forces are falsely targeting civilians in their quest to find dissident guerrillas and their allies, and are engaging in extrajudicial killings as well as beatings and arbitrary detentions.

One refugee, Ana Maria Vásquez, 30, said a large group of Venezuelan soldiers arrived on March 21 at a slaughterhouse in the Venezuelan town of La Capilla where she and her husband worked. They accused male laborers, including her husband, of being in league with the guerrillas. Her husband was dragged into the street, she said, where he was severely beaten and later detained.

Vásquez said she fled hours later, risking Venezuelan military patrols to cross the fast-flowing Arauca River to reach Colombia. She told her story beside the tent here where she and her five children had slept for the past 10 days.

On a recent afternoon, the sounds of explosions from the fighting across the border could be heard from the tent settlements.

“It’s hard, especially with the children,” Vásquez said.

Over the past two weeks, local officials say, nearly 5,000 refugees, roughly 40 percent of them children, have fled the fighting. Most are Venezuelans, along with a substantial minority of Colombian nationals who had settled across the border.

Olga Sarrado, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said the organization is providing the new arrivals with tents, mattresses, hygiene kits and face masks and is in contact with both Colombian and Venezuelan authorities.

“We are working with local partners and authorities to respond to the needs of the civilians that are being displaced,” Sarrado said. “We are on the Colombian side. The security situation remains quite difficult” on the Venezuelan side.

Venezuela’s Apure state is a hive of various armed groups and narco-traffickers, including a faction loyal to Luciano Marín, a senior leader of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) better known by the nom de guerre Iván Márquez.

In 2019, Marín broke with the Colombian peace deal of 2016, which has gradually unraveled in recent years. Observers say he fled to Venezuela with the blessing of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who publicly invited him to seek shelter in the country.

Colombian and Venezuelan opposition officials say the 10th Front, a longtime group of FARC dissidents in the area, appeared to object to Marín’s return and his close alliance with the Venezuelan government. Other observers suggest the 10th Front may have simply crossed a line by extorting powerful landowners in the area.

“Our belief is that the 10th Front refused to respect the pax mafioso,” or informal peace among criminal elements, said Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, a think tank that studies organized crime in Latin America. “They may have offended [Marín’s faction], or elements of the Venezuelan regime, by extorting the wrong person.”

The result: a military campaign that is boosting a broader outflow of Venezuelan migrants, 5.6 million of whom have already fled a nation racked by food and medicine shortages, criminal violence and government repression.

The pandemic had begun to reverse that trend, with an estimated 130,000 Venezuelans returning between March and October of 2020 as lockdowns imposed throughout the region left many of them unemployed and homeless. As those restrictions have begun to ease, however, the outflow has resumed. UNHCR estimates that as many as 1,500 Venezuelans a day have fled the country in recent months.

On March 21, the Venezuelan forces attacked members of the 10th Front in Apure, raiding six camps. The group responded by attacking a local tax office with explosives, prompting Caracas to deploy to the area a special elite fighting force known as the FAES.

As images of the destruction went viral on social media, Maduro went on national television to blame the attacks on “illegal armed groups” he claimed were being orchestrated by Colombian President Iván Duque.

“They want this to escalate into a military conflict between Colombian and Venezuelan forces,” Maduro said. Colombian officials have rejected Maduro’s claims, attributing the violence instead to his government’s shadowy dealings with narco-traffickers.

Maduro did not address allegations of excessive force by Venezuelan’s military against civilians. His attorney general, however, has said he will open an investigation into the claims.

Duque does not recognize Maduro’s presidency as legitimate, and the two countries have not had diplomatic relations since February 2019.

José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director for Human Rights Watch, said the organization has found “credible evidence” that Venezuelan forces have carried out extrajudicial killings of three men and a woman during the offensive.

Maduro’s defense minister, Vladimir Padrino López, insisted in a news conference Sunday that all of those killed were “terrorists,” calling the campaign evidence that Venezuela is moving to eradicate armed criminal groups and narco-traffickers from its territory.

Last year, the U.S. Justice Department indicted Maduro, Padrino and other senior members of the Venezuelan government on alleged “narcoterrorism” charges.

“We are called to expel any group of any ideology or foreign nationality, whatever it’s called,” Padrino said.

Refugees in Colombia interviewed by The Washington Post spoke of beatings and detentions in Apure as the Venezuelan military went from house to house.

Image
Jegner Matus, 54, said he fled his indigenous Kuyba community in Venezuela after soldiers beat and detained him. (Nadège Mazars)

Jegner Matus, 54, from the indigenous Kuyba community in the Venezuelan town of La Victoria, said soldiers broke down his door and stole personal belongings, including his motorbike and a supply of gasoline.

“They gave us a beating, then put us in a truck with our hands tied,” Matus said. After seven days in jail, he was released and fled to Colombia amid the sounds of shooting and bombs, he said.

“They asked if we were guerrillas, if we collaborated with the guerrillas,” he added. “They made us hold weapons, bullets and other things and then took photos.”

In Arauquita, a hub of the regional cacao trade, some refugees, fearing exposure to the coronavirus — cases of which are spiking in both Colombia and Venezuela — have built their own makeshift shelters by the river. But even many of those are now crammed.

Ismer Corredor, 18, was helping build an extension to a small house where 50 Venezuelans are now living.

“I want to go home, but it’s frightening,” he said. “People are being beaten and taken away.”

Faiola reported from Miami and Herrero from Caracas.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/20 ... -colombia/
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Re: World News Random, Random

#168

Post by ponchi101 »

Colombia cannot take this influx of people. Unemployment here stands at 17%. The consequences are that we (Venezuelans) are starting to be seen as "bad" for the country. I have heard a couple of people commenting about how "Venezuelans" are committing the bulk of criminal activities in the country. A few days ago, as I was walking into my building, one person was talking to the admin and telling him how Venezuelans had taken over spots in the country and were overseeing criminal operations here.
It was bound to happen. Human nature, I guess. Blaming the alien.
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Re: World News Random, Random

#169

Post by mmmm8 »

ponchi101 wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 6:02 pm Gee, if there only existed some sort of international organization which grouped countries together and which could enforce laws and regulations to make the world a better place.
One can only dream of such an institution.
Yes, unfortunately the existing organization you're thinking of has no enforcement power.
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Re: World News Random, Random

#170

Post by JazzNU »

Dutch government formation to resume, PM role for Rutte less certain


By Bart H. Meijer, Toby Sterling


AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s chances of forming a new government suffered a major setback on Friday, as parliament passed a motion disapproving of his behavior and saying he had “not spoken the truth”.

Lawmakers called for a new independent investigator to oversee preliminary formation talks after March 17 elections in which Rutte’s conserative VVD party took most votes.

Rutte, acting as caretaker prime minister, survived a no-confidence vote and will be allowed to continue in that role as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

The investigator, who has not yet been named, will “see what possibilities there are to restore confidence,” said the motion filed by the D-66 and Christian Democrat parties, the most likely allies of the VVD Party in a future coalition.

“Parliament has given me a serious message and I will try my very best to win back confidence,” a relieved Rutte told reporters after the debate.

The formation of the new government has been set back at least several weeks by the affair and it is no longer clear Rutte will have the respect needed to lead a fourth Cabinet.

Sigrid Kaag, who took the second most votes in the elections that had been seen as a referendum on Rutte’s performance during the pandemic, was bluntly skeptical.

“If I were him, I would not continue”, she said when asked about Rutte’s position.

The crisis became acute on Thursday after Rutte acknowledged having privately discussed what job should go to a prominent member of parliament who had been critical of his previous Cabinet. Rutte had previously said he did not do so, but notes from a meeting emerged showing he had.

“The only thing I can do here is say from the bottom of my heart ... that I never lied,” Rutte said in parliament on Thursday.

Rutte, a 54-year-old conservative who has been in office for more than 10 years, pointed to his record and said he hoped to continue leading the country.

Talks on forming a new government were abruptly put on hold on March 25 when one of the chief negotiators unwittingly revealed a sensitive document to a news photographer. She left it in view as she rushed out of parliament after learning that she had tested positive for COVID-19.

The document showed that negotiators were discussing a position “elsewhere” for popular MP Pieter Omtzigt, a prominent Christian Democrat who had been critical of Rutte’s previous Cabinet. The cryptic “elsewhere” remark has been interpreted as implying either outside parliament or outside the Netherlands.

Omtzigt, who was sworn in as a member of parliament on Wednesday, said the implication he should be removed was “an affront to the Dutch voter”.


https://www.reuters.com/article/us-neth ... SKBN2BP04Z
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Re: World News Random, Random

#171

Post by JazzNU »

China sends more jets; Taiwan says it will fight to the end if there's war


By Ben Blanchard, Yimou Lee


TAIPEI (Reuters) - China sent more fighter jets into Taiwan’s air defence zone on Wednesday in a stepped up show of force around the island Beijing claims as its own, and Taiwan’s foreign minister said it would fight to the end if China attacks.

The democratic self-governed island has complained of repeated military activities by Beijing in recent months, with China’s air force making almost daily forays in Taiwan’s air defence identification zone. On Monday, China said an aircraft carrier group was exercising close to the island.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said 15 Chinese aircraft including 12 fighters entered its air defence identification zone, with an anti-submarine aircraft flying to the south through the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines.

Taiwan’s air force sent up aircraft to intercept and warn the Chinese away, the ministry added.

Speaking earlier in the day, Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said the United States was concerned about the risk of conflict.

“From my limited understanding of American decision makers watching developments in this region, they clearly see the danger of the possibility of China launching an attack against Taiwan,” he told reporters at his ministry.

“We are willing to defend ourselves without any questions and we will fight the war if we need to fight the war. And if we need to defend ourselves to the very last day we will defend ourselves to the very last day.”

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office and the U.S. State Department did not respond to requests for comment on Wu’s remarks. China has said its activities around Taiwan are aimed at protecting China’s sovereignty. The United States has expressed concern about China’s movements, and said its commitment to Taiwan is “rock solid”.

Adding to the stepped up military action near Taiwan, the U.S. Navy said the guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain conducted a “routine” transit of the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.

‘PORCUPINE’ TAIWAN

Neither Taiwan nor China has said precisely where the Chinese carrier group is, or whether it is heading towards the disputed South China Sea, where a U.S. carrier group is currently operating.

Speaking in parliament, Taiwan’s Deputy Defence Minister Chang Che-ping said the Chinese carrier’s movements were being closely followed, and described its drills as routine.

A person familiar with Taiwan’s security planning told Reuters the carrier group is still “near the Japanese islands”, though declined to disclose the exact location.

Japan had said on Sunday that the Chinese carrier group had entered the Pacific after sailing through the Miyako Strait, through Japan’s southern Ryukyu island chain northeast of Taiwan.

Washington, Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, has been pushing Taipei to modernise its military so it can become a “porcupine”, hard for China to attack.

Wu said Taiwan was determined to improve its military capabilities and spend more on defence.

“The defence of Taiwan is our responsibility. We will try every way we can to improve our defence capability.”

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said it will run eight days of computer-aided war games this month, simulating a Chinese attack. A second phase of exercises, including live-fire drills and anti-landing drills, will take place in July, when hospitals would also practice handling mass casualties.

“The drills are designed based on the toughest enemy threats, simulating all possible scenarios on an enemy invasion on Taiwan,” Major General Liu Yu-Ping told reporters.

Asked if Washington’s de facto embassy, the American Institute in Taiwan, would send representatives to the drills, Liu said such a plan was “discussed” but “will not be implemented”, citing military sensitivity.


https://www.reuters.com/article/us-taiw ... SKBN2BU0HJ
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Re: World News Random, Random

#172

Post by ponchi101 »

Because, of course, what the world needs right now is a war in the China Sea.
A big test for Biden, if something were to happen. The last incursions by foreign countries into adjacent territories (Russia/Ukraine, Russia/Georgia) have been done successfully because NATO has not replied.
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Re: World News Random, Random

#173

Post by ti-amie »

“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
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Re: World News Random, Random

#174

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Re: World News Random, Random

#175

Post by ponchi101 »

:(
I wonder what other technical solutions there are. Not an easy problem.
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#176

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Egypt impounds Ever Given ship over $900m Suez Canal compensation bill

Egyptian authorities have seized a massive cargo ship which blocked the Suez Canal for almost a week last month, amid a dispute over financial damages, the state-run Al Ahram news outlet said on Tuesday.

An Egyptian court ordered the vessel's Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha, to pay $900 million in compensation as a result of losses inflicted when the Panamanian-flagged Ever Given prevented marine traffic from transiting through the vital global trade waterway.
The hefty bill also includes maintenance fees and the costs of the rescue operation, Al Ahram reported.

An international salvage operation worked around the clock to dislodge the ship from the banks of the canal, intensifying in both urgency and global attention with each passing day, as ships from around the world, carrying vital fuel and cargo, were prevented from entering the canal.
The Ever Given was successfully re-floated on March 29 and moved to the nearby Great Bitter Lake to be inspected for seaworthiness and to allow repairs to be carried out.
Shoei Kisen Kaisha said insurance companies and lawyers were working on the compensation claim, and refused to comment further.

UK Club, the protection and indemnity insurer for the Ever Given, said Tuesday that they had responded to a claim from the Suez Canal Authority for $916 million, and questioned its basis.
"Despite the magnitude of the claim which was largely unsupported, the owners and their insurers have been negotiating in good faith with the SCA. On 12 April, a carefully considered and generous offer was made to the SCA to settle their claim," the statement said.
UK Club says it is the insurer of the Ever Given for certain third-party liabilities including obstruction claims or infrastructure issues, but is not the insurer for the vessel itself or the cargo.

Its statement went on to explain why UK Club believes the magnitude of the claim is not valid. "The SCA has not provided a detailed justification for this extraordinarily large claim, which includes a US$300 million claim for a "salvage bonus" and a US$300 million claim for "loss of reputation." The grounding resulted in no pollution and no reported injuries. The vessel was re-floated after six days and the Suez Canal promptly resumed their commercial operations. The claim presented by the SCA also does not include the professional salvor's claim for their salvage services which owners and their hull underwriters expect to receive separately," the UK Club statement said.
The ship's cargo has been seized until the dispute is resolved, according to the Suez Canal Authority.
More than 400 ships were blocked from passing through the crucial shipping lane when the Ever Given ran aground on March 23. The circumstances that led to the situation are still being probed separately by Egyptian authorities.
CNN's Mostafa Salem reported from Abu Dhabi and Mai Nishiyama from Tokyo.
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Re: World News Random, Random

#177

Post by ti-amie »

Because of course.
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Re: World News Random, Random

#178

Post by ti-amie »

“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
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#179

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Raúl Castro steps down as Cuban Communist Party leader

Raúl Castro says he is resigning as Cuban Communist Party leader, ending his family's six decades in power.

Mr Castro, 89, told a party congress that he is handing over the leadership to a younger generation "full of passion and anti-imperialist spirit".

His successor will be voted in at the end of the four-day congress.

The move, which was expected, ends the era of formal leadership by him and his brother Fidel Castro, which began with the 1959 revolution.

"I believe fervently in the strength and exemplary nature and comprehension of my compatriots," he told party delegates in Havana on Friday.

Although Mr Castro has not endorsed a successor, it is widely believed the party leadership will pass to Miguel Díaz-Canel, who took over as the island's president in 2018.

Not unexpected, but no less historic
By Will Grant, Cuba Correspondent

While the entire island knew this moment was coming, it was no less historic or symbolic when it arrived: Cuba will be officially governed by someone other than a Castro for the first time since 1959.

The reality is that, at least in the short term, little will change.

The man who took over from Raúl Castro as president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, may well succeed him now as the party's first secretary too. It seems likely he will be forced to take further steps to liberalise Cuba's centrally controlled economy. The island is currently in the grip of its worst economic crisis since the period immediately following the end of the Cold War. As a result, private farmers were recently permitted to sell beef and dairy products - goods previously under the sole control of the state.

Any hope of improving ties with the US however may have to wait as the Biden administration has shown little inclination to unpick the Trump administration's harsher sanctions on Cuba at this stage.

One thing is for sure, Raúl Castro's words of keeping "one foot in the stirrup" means he will remain a powerbroker behind the scenes. And by reiterating the island's eternal commitment to socialism it means that political change remains as unlikely under his successor as it was under his late brother, Fidel.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56780903
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Re: World News Random, Random

#180

Post by the Moz »

Viva la revolución :?: :?:
:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
:shock: :shock: :shock:
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