LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian tankers have supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea, according to two senior Western European security sources, providing an economic lifeline to the secretive Communist state.
The sales of oil or oil products from Russia, the world’s second biggest oil exporter and a veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council, breach U.N. sanctions, the security sources said.
The transfers in October and November indicate that smuggling from Russia to North Korea has evolved to loading cargoes at sea since Reuters reported in September that North Korean ships were sailing directly from Russia to their homeland.
“The Russian vessels made transfers at sea to the North Koreans,” the first security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. The source said the transfers of oil or oil products took place on several occasions and were a breach of sanctions.
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A second source, who independently confirmed the existence of the Russian ship-to-ship fuel trade with North Korea, said there was no evidence of Russian state involvement in the latest transfers.
“There is no evidence that this is backed by the Russian state but these Russian vessels are giving a lifeline to the North Koreans,” the second European security source said.
In comments carried by Russia’s RIA Novosti state news agency on Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the country was observing sanctions against North Korea.
The two security sources cited naval intelligence and satellite imagery of the vessels operating out of Russian Far Eastern ports on the Pacific but declined to disclose further details to Reuters, saying it was classified.
The Russian Customs Service declined to comment when asked on Wednesday if Russian ships had supplied fuel to North Korean vessels. The owner of one ship accused of smuggling oil to North Korea denied any such activity.
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The U.S. State Department, in a statement, called on Russia and other U.N. members to “strictly implement” sanctions on North Korea and to work “more closely together to shut down U.N.-prohibited activities, including ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum and the transport of coal from North Korea”.
The latest report came as China, responding on Friday to criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, denied it had illicitly shipped oil products to North Korea.
North Korea relies on imported fuel to keep its struggling economy functioning. It also requires oil for its intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear programme that the United States says threatens the peace in Asia.
“The vessels are smuggling Russian fuel from Russian Far Eastern ports to North Korea,” said the first security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Reuters was unable to independently verify that the vessels had transferred fuel to North Korean vessels, whether the Russian state knew about the sales or how many Russian vessels were involved in the transfers. It was also unclear how much fuel may have been smuggled.
Ship satellite positioning data consulted by Reuters and available on Reuters Eikon shows unusual movements by some of the Russian vessels named by the security sources including switching off the transponders which give a precise location.
The security sources said the Russian-flagged tanker Vityaz was one vessel that had transferred fuel to North Korean vessels.
FILE PHOTO - A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
The Vityaz left the port of Slavyanka near Vladivostok in Russia on Oct. 15 with 1,600 tonnes of oil, according to Russian port control documents.
Documents submitted by the vessel’s agent to the Russian State Port Control authority showed its destination as a fishing fleet in the Japan Sea. Shipping data showed the vessel switched off its transponder for a few days as it sailed into open waters.
According to the European security sources, the Vityaz conducted a ship-to-ship transfer with the North Korean Flagged Sam Ma 2 tanker in open seas during October.
Reuters could not independently verify the transfer as ship tracking data showed that the Sam Ma 2 had turned off its transponder from the start of August.
The owner of the Russian vessel denied any contact with North Korean vessels but also said it was unaware that the vessel was fuelling fishing boats.
OIL PRODUCTS
Yaroslav Guk, deputy director of the tanker’s owner, Vladivostok-based Alisa Ltd, said the vessel had no contacts with North Korean vessels.
“Absolutely no, this is very dangerous,” Guk told Reuters by telephone. “It would be complete madness.”
When contacted a second time, Guk said the vessel did not have any contacts with North Korean ships and that he would not answer further questions.
An official at East Coast Ltd, the vessel’s transport agent, declined to comment.
Two other Russian flagged tankers made similar journeys between the middle of October and November, leaving from the ports of Slavyanka and Nakhodka into open seas where they switched off their transponders, shipping data showed.
In September, Reuters reported that at least eight North Korean ships that left Russia loaded with fuel this year headed for their homeland despite declaring other destinations, a ploy that U.S. officials say is often used to undermine sanctions.
A Russian shipping source with knowledge of Far Eastern marine practices said North Korean vessels had stopped loading fuel in Russia’s Far Eastern ports but that fuel is delivered at sea by tankers using ship-to-ship transfers, or even by fishing vessels.
China on Friday denied reports it had been illicitly selling oil products to North Korea in violation of U.N. sanctions, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was unhappy that China had allowed oil to reach the isolated nation.
China’s denial came a day after it blocked a U.S. effort at the United Nations to blacklist six ships Washington believes had engaged in illicit trade with North Korea, a U.N. Security Council diplomat said.
According to documents seen by Reuters this month, the United States had proposed that the U.N. Security Council blacklist 10 ships for illicit trade with North Korea.
It accused the vessels of “conducting illegal ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum products to North Korean vessels or illegally transporting North Korean coal to other countries for exports.”
Three North Korean ships among the 10 were blacklisted, along with a Panama-registered vessel.
It’s possible. But here are a few steps Washington, Seoul, and Pyongyang can take to keep the 2018 Winter Games peaceful.
South Korean policemen participate in an anti-terror drill at the Olympic Staduim, venue of the Opening and Closing ceremony on Dec. 12, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
Thirty years ago last month, Korean Air Flight 858 exploded over the Andaman Sea. More than 100 innocent passengers died. Though it’s shrouded in mystery, according to U.S. intelligence the bombing was planned by North Korea to frighten the international community away from the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul. It didn’t work. The games were a success, and North Korea landed on the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism list.
This February, amid the highest tensions with Pyongyang in decades, the Winter Olympics will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, just 50 miles from the Demilitarized Zone along the North Korean border. The United States and North Korea are facing off with bombastic insults and nuclear weapons. This year alone, North Korea has launched 20 missiles, including three successful intercontinental ballistic missiles and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. What could go wrong?
Plenty. In late November, after North Korea’s latest and longest ballistic missile test, South Korean President Moon Jae-in convened a national security meeting to review whether the launch could undermine the games. Government officials and members of Pyeongchang’s organizing committee have attempted to allay fears stoked by both the United States and North Korea. In response to the launch, U.S. President Donald Trump cryptically responded, “This situation will be handled!” President Moon warned, “We must stop a situation where North Korea miscalculates and threatens us with nuclear weapons or where the United States considers a pre-emptive strike.”
Even if war does not break out, it boggles the mind to consider all the ways North Korea could try to disrupt the Winter Olympics. Another airline bombing, food poisoning, or bomb threats — all of which would be difficult to trace back to the North. It makes you wonder why the games were ever given to South Korea in the first place. Back in 2011, when the announcement that it would host was first made, tensions were high following North Korea’s sinking of a South Korean warship, which killed 46 crewmembers.
But this potential disaster is also an opportunity for progress toward peace if Seoul, Washington, and Pyongyang play their cards right. The upcoming Olympics provide a needed excuse for all sides to come together.
South Korea, which is struggling to reassure the world that the games will be safe, is off to the right start by inviting the North to send athletes to participate (a North Korean figure-skating pair qualified for the Olympics in September). What better way to get Pyongyang to play nice? According to Moon, North Korea’s participation would be “a great opportunity to send a message of reconciliation and peace to the world.”
Unfortunately, the next U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises, called Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, happen to coincide with the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, which run into March. North Korea has consistently protested these drills, which have involved “decapitation” raids against its leadership and the movement of over 300,000 U.S. and South Korean troops. The North is unlikely to send athletes to Pyeongchang if the joint exercises take place as planned.
To solve this problem, Seoul and Washington should reschedule the exercises, not only to reduce the chances that North Korea will disrupt the Olympics, but also to start a diplomatic opening to Pyongyang.
Those who have been paying attention know that diplomacy — even with its mixed track record — holds the best potential to reduce tensions and halt the North’s nuclear and missile program. Sanctions have not worked and, despite what hawks might argue, there are no “limited” military options that do not invite catastrophe. As a group of 58 retired military leaders wrote in a recent letter to President Trump, “Military action by the United States and its allies prompting an immediate, retaliatory artillery barrage on Seoul would result in hundreds of thousands of casualties.” Nor can we hide behind missile defenses, which are unreliable. So, despite President Trump’s efforts to undermine Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, we must engage the North. There are simply no other good options.
But how do we get talks going? Who makes the first move? And what is the plan?
The upcoming Olympics provide the perfect opportunity for the United States and North Korea to sit down and talk. Washington can offer to suspend the military exercises, and in return Pyongyang might offer to suspend its nuclear and missile tests. The North would agree to send its athletes and not blow anything up. Then, Trump, Moon, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un can look like statesmen taking the high road to protect the proud history of the games and the athletes.
Such an agreement would be consistent with the recent United Nations General
Assembly resolution calling for an “Olympic Truce” during the Winter Games. The International Olympic Committee said the resolution aims for a cessation of hostilities to guarantee the safe passage of athletes and their families to and from the games. This agreement would also ease Washington and Pyongyang into a mini “freeze-for-freeze” deal that many see as the first step to limiting the North’s nuclear and missile development. The initial deal could last from now until April, during which time the two sides should begin talks on reducing tensions and formalizing the dual freeze for a longer duration.
South Korea has already taken the first step to ensure that the Olympics remain peaceful by requesting that the United States delay the joint exercises. The Republic of Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command said, “We want the Pyeongchang Olympics to be successful and have committed to our ally that we will aid their success.” But Washington has yet to announce its response. When asked about the request on Tuesday, Tillerson said he was unaware of any plans to alter the military exercises, and a Pentagon spokesman said “it would be inappropriate to discuss plans for future exercises at this time.”
In diplomacy, timing is everything, and the Olympics may be coming at just the right time. After the most recent missile test, Kim announced that his nation had “finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force.” Does this mean the North is now open to serious talks to limit the size of its program in exchange for concessions from Washington? It’s time to find out.
Some will argue that the United States should not modify the joint exercises, but it has done so before without sacrificing deterrence or military readiness. In 1992, the United States suspended Team Spirit, an annual field exercise that involved hundreds of thousands of troops. The decision was part of a diplomatic strategy to encourage North Korea to cooperate on nuclear inspections. The United States suspended Team Spirit again in 1994 as part of the Agreed Framework, a deal that froze North Korea’s nuclear weapons program for nearly a decade.
Here’s an opportunity for the United States to de-escalate the crisis once more — this time, through the powerful medium of sports. Historically, sports diplomacy has succeeded in building bridges between adversaries. Ping-pongdiplomacy thawed U.S.-China relations ahead of Nixon’s famous Beijing visit. Wrestling diplomacy established dialogue between the United States and Iran after decades of severed ties. And basketball diplomacy gave an American team unprecedented access into North Korea, and a historic meeting with Kim Jong Un — a feat that no U.S. diplomat has accomplished.
With so few diplomatic options available, the United States should seize on this Olympic moment to lay the groundwork for dialogue. The whole world will be watching.
Every so often reports emerge that attempt to measure which are the best countries to live in. The Nordic countries plus New Zealand, Holland and Switzerland, usually come out the top. Sweden is number one just for the sheer stability of life and security. Denmark is seen as the most agreeable place to live. The highest rate of longevity is found in Japan. The best schools are in Finland, New Zealand and Canada. Political and press freedom put the Nordics at the top of the league.
Last month, the Legatum Institute based in London published a report looking at inequality. Its timing could not be more perfect with the US Congress last week passing President Donald Trump’s tax bill which increases inequality by a substantial amount.
One other surprise to me is the finding that in most parts of the world, over the past decade, income inequality has fallen or stabilised. Nevertheless, there are many countries where inequality has got seriously worse.
In 2013 the French economist, Thomas Piketty, published his blockbuster book, “Capital in the twenty-first century”, arguing that inequality was steadily increasing. There was wide acclaim and quite a bit of criticism. The debate over the book raged in the serious newspapers and journals for many months.
Earlier this year the Legatum Institute hired Picketty to answer the criticisms and to enlarge his findings. His new report, drawing on several years’ work, tries to answer four questions. First, where is inequality most pronounced? Second, is the world becoming more or less equal? Why are the experiences of Europe and the US so different? Fourth, have we returned to the levels of wealth inequality last seen a century ago?
The poorest half of the American population received 24% of all income and 21% in Europe in the 1990s. Since then in Europe, these income shares have changed only a little.
Picketty and his collaborators fashioned a World Wealth and Income Database that positions every country in a league table.
The most unequal region in the world is the Middle East, where the top 10% receive 60% of all income. India, Brazil and sub-Saharan Africa are not far behind.
The most equal region is Europe, where the figure is 37%. China is the next most equal, with a top income share of 41%. This comes as a surprise considering the media often focuses on what it claims is the country’s widening inequality.
One other surprise to me is the finding that in most parts of the world, over the past decade, income inequality has fallen or stabilised. Nevertheless, there are many countries where inequality has got seriously worse.
During the 1980s it rose fast in the United Kingdom and in Russia during the 1990s. In the US it started to rise fast in the 1980s and has gathered steam ever since, not least because of regressive Republican-led, tax policies, and the unequal availability of good schooling. Educational inequalities in the US are “massive”, says the report. Yet the US and Western Europe had similar levels of inequality in 1980. In Europe over the last forty years, except in the UK, it has either stabilised or improved. The poorest half of the American population received 24% of all income and 21% in Europe in the 1990s. Since then in Europe, these income shares have changed only a little. In marked contrast, in the US the share of income received by the top 10% has nearly doubled, to 20%, and the share received by the bottom half has roughly halved to 13%.
Wealth inequality.. includes such things as the housing and property owned, the money saved in shares and banks, the cars and in some cases the planes and yachts owned. It includes what has been inherited.
What about wealth inequality? This includes such things as the housing and property owned, the money saved in shares and banks, the cars and in some cases the planes and yachts owned. It includes what has been inherited.
The share of wealth held by the richest 1% of people has been rising in many countries since the early 1990s. In the US, the richest 1% held 27% of the nation’s wealth in 1990. This rose to 37% by 2014 and is still rising. Still, it’s not as bad as in the early years of the twentieth century when in 1913 in the UK the richest 1% held two-thirds of the nation’s wealth. By 1988 this share in the UK had fallen to 15%.
High rates of home ownership, rapid house price growth since the mid-1990s and a liberal inheritance attack have dramatically boosted the wealth of the middle class. All western countries have a growing middle class that has experienced this good fortune to a smaller or greater extent. In some cities, like London, Washington DC, Paris, Berlin and Stockholm house prices have rocketed. The poorish, but wise, twenty-five-year-olds who bought in the 1960s have become millionaires.
I add my own thoughts to all this to fill out the picture. In recent years prosperity has grown in by far the majority of countries, governance and personal freedom have improved, the number of wars, deaths from wars and the number of people living in the direst poverty, suffering the worst diseases, has gone sharply down, especially in the Third World. Only in the US do we see a significant setback in such good fortune. Tragically for many, under Trump, it is going to get worse.
Jonathan Power was a foreign affairs columnist and commentator for the International Herald Tribune/New York Times for 17 years.
By Glenn KesslerDecember 29 at 3:34 PM
President Trump gave an impromptu half-hour interview with the New York Times on Dec. 28. We combed through the transcript and here’s a quick roundup of the false, misleading or dubious claims that he made, at a rate of one every 75 seconds. (Some of the interview was off the record, so it’s possible the rate of false claims per minute is higher.)
“Virtually every Democrat has said there is no collusion. There is no collusion. . . . I saw Dianne Feinstein the other day on television saying there is no collusion.”
Trump appears to be referring to an interview with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. She did not flatly say there was no collusion and instead was more nuanced. Asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper on Nov. 5 whether she had “seen any evidence that this dirt, these emails, were ever given to the Trump campaign,” she replied: “Not so far.” Tapper then asked: “Have you seen any communications that suggested that the Trump campaign wanted them to release them through a different means?” She answered: “I have not.”
“I think it’s been proven that there is no collusion.”
Trump is entitled to his own opinion, but he sidesteps the fact that the investigation has revealed that members of the Trump campaign interacted with Russians at least 31 times throughout the campaign. There are at least 19 known meetings, in addition to the indictments or guilty pleas of his campaign manager, national security adviser and others. Here’s The Fact Checker’s video on our count.
The Trump campaign and the White House have said there was no contact between anyone on their staff and Russia. This isn't true.(Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)
“There was collusion with the Russians and the Democrats. A lot of collusion. . . . Starting with the dossier. But going into so many other elements. And Podesta’s firm.”
Trump has falsely accused Clinton campaign manager John Podesta of being involved with a Russian company. Tony Podesta co-founded the Podesta Group, a lobbying firm, with his brother John. But it’s a U.S.-based company, not a company in Russia. Trump likely is referring to the Podesta Group being paid $170,000 over six months to represent Sberbank, a Russian bank. The Podesta Group said its work for Sberbank USA was “never about getting sanctions lifted,” and “was simply about helping to clarify to what extent our client, the U.S. subsidiary [of Sberbank], was subject to sanctions. We confirmed they were not.” As for alleged collusion between the Democrats and Russia, Trump is referring to the fact that Fusion GPS, the political research firm that assembled the dossier as part of an assignment for Democrats, relied on a British intelligence agent who used Russian sources for his research. So that’s a rather big stretch.
Here’s the Fact Checker’s video on the Fusion GPS Russian connections.
How is Fusion GPS connected to the Trump dossier, Donald Trump Jr.'s Trump Tower meeting and the 2016 election? The Fact Checker explains.(Video: Meg Kelly/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
“I won because I campaigned properly and she didn’t. She campaigned for the popular vote. I campaigned for the electoral college.”
There is no evidence that Hillary Clinton campaigned for the popular vote, which Trump previously has said he would have won if not for fraud. Clinton campaigned in many battleground states, including Republican-leaning ones where she thought she had a chance. She did not campaign as much in two states — Michigan and Wisconsin — that were considered locks for Democrats but which Trump narrowly won. Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million. If 40,000 votes had switched in three states, Trump would have also lost the electoral college.
“Paul [Manafort] only worked for me for a few months.”
Trump skips over lightly the fact that Manafort, now under indictment, was his campaign manager in the critical period in which he secured the nomination and accepted it at the GOP convention.
“There was tremendous collusion on behalf of the Russians and the Democrats. There was no collusion with respect to my campaign.”
This is a breathtakingly false statement. Little evidence has emerged of any collusion between the Democrats and Russia, whereas evidence has emerged of many contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russian-linked individuals. The FBI, CIA and National Security Agency earlier this year concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government “aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him.”
“What I’ve done is, I have absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department.”
Presidents do not have unfettered right to interfere with Justice Department investigations, unless they are actively seeking a constitutional crisis.
“I’m the one that saved coal. I’m the one that created jobs. You know West Virginia is doing fantastically now.”
West Virginia’s gross domestic product increased 3 percent in the first quarter of 2017. The recent bump is due in part to the increased price of metallurgic coal, which is used to make steel, and a price increase in natural gas exports. West Virginia produces roughly 5 percent of the natural gas in the U.S. and as the price of natural gas rises, the demand for coal increases, spurring growth in the state. Trump can’t take credit for the change in prices, which fluctuate with market forces. He previously earned Four Pinocchios for this claim, but he keeps saying it. As for “saving coal,” there has barely been any job growth in the coal industry since Trump became president. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 900 jobs have been created in the coal industry since Trump became president — an increase of less than 3 percent.
“There is tremendous collusion with the Russians and with the Democratic Party. Including all of the stuff with the — and then whatever happened to the Pakistani guy, that had the two, you know, whatever happened to this Pakistani guy who worked with the DNC?”
Trump echoes a conspiracy theory that a criminal case involving a Pakistani information technology specialist who worked for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz — who had chaired the Democratic National Committee — was somehow related to the Russian hack of DNC emails. The case involves a fraudulent loan, and no evidence has emerged to connect it to the Russia investigation.
“They made the Russian story up as a hoax, as a ruse, as an excuse for losing an election that in theory Democrats should always win with the electoral college. The electoral college is so much better suited to the Democrats.”
Trump is falsely labeling nonpartisan investigations as made up by Democrats. The CIA concluded in 2016 that Russia intervened in the U.S. presidential election to help elect Trump, an assessment backed up by FBI Director James B. Comey and then-Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. As we noted, the intelligence community released a declassified report expressing “high confidence” in this judgment. Senate and House committees led by Republicans have begun their own investigations, and a special prosecutor has been appointed. Meanwhile, Democrats obviously do not have an electoral college lock. According to a tally by John Pitney of Claremont McKenna College, every Republican president since Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876 won a larger share of the electoral college votes than Trump, with the exception of George W. Bush (twice) and Richard Nixon in 1968.
“I was for Strange, and I brought Strange up 20 points. Just so you understand. When I endorsed him, he was in fifth place. He went way up. Almost 20 points.”
Polls indicate that Trump’s endorsement made little difference — and in fact Strange lost to Roy Moore by a greater margin than polls suggested at the time of Trump’s endorsement. While Trump says Strange was in fifth place, there were only three candidates in the GOP primary.
“I endorsed him [Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore]. It became a much closer race because of my endorsement. People don’t say that. They say, ‘Oh, Donald Trump lost.’ I didn’t lose, I brought him up a lot.”
Polls can vary, but there is little evidence this is the case. The fact remains that Moore lost an election in a state where Democrats usually lose by double digits.
“We have spent, as of about a month ago, $7 trillion in the Middle East. And the Middle East is worse than it was 17 years ago. … $7 trillion.”
Trump, who previously would cite a number of $6 trillion, is lumping together the wars in Iraq (in the Middle East) and Afghanistan (in South Asia), which together cost about $1.6 trillion from 2001 to 2014. He is also adding in estimates of future spending, such as interest on the debt and veterans’ care for the next three decades.
“By the way, and for that, we’ve ended across state lines. So we have competition. You know for that I’m allowed to [inaudible] state lines. So that’s all done.”
Trump signed an executive order encouraging the formation of health plans across state lines. But there is still a law in place that exempts insurance companies from aspects of federal antitrust law and ensures that individual states remained the primary regulators of insurance. We wrote about this before, when Vice President Pence earned Four Pinocchios for a false claim.
“I know the details of taxes better than anybody. Better than the greatest C.P.A. I know the details of health care better than most, better than most.”
Lawmakers who dealt with Trump on taxes and especially health care privately told reporters they were shocked how little he knew about these issues.
“We’ve created associations, millions of people are joining associations. Millions. That were formerly in Obamacare or didn’t have insurance. Or didn’t have health care. Millions of people.”
Trump is referring to an executive order, mentioned above, but it has no force in law on its own and no one has yet joined these associations. The rules spelling out how the executive order would work have not been issued yet, so Trump is simply making up his “millions” number.
“Now that the individual mandate is officially killed, people have no idea how big a deal that was. It’s the most unpopular part of Obamacare. But now, Obamacare is essentially … You know, you saw this. … It’s basically dead over a period of time.”
While the individual mandate was an important incentive for Americans to seek health insurance, it was only one part of a far-reaching law that remains intact. The repeal does not take effect until 2019, and enrollment in Obamacare has remained strong. The Congressional Budget Office says the marketplaces are expected to remain stable for years.
“We see the drugs pouring into the country, we need the wall.”
The wall will have virtually no effect on drugs coming into the country. According to reports by the DEA, the majority of drugs are smuggled through legal ports of entry or smuggled through underground tunnels. Trump previously earned Four Pinocchios for this claim, but he keeps saying it.
“They have a lottery in these countries. They take the worst people in the country, they put them into the lottery, then they have a handful of bad, worse ones, and they put them out. ‘Oh, these are the people the United States.’ … We’re going to get rid of the lottery.”
This is a gross misrepresentation of the diversity visa program. Individuals apply for the visa system, and must have at least a high school diploma or work in specific industries to be eligible for the program. As the term “lottery” implies, applicants are selected via a randomized computer drawing. The selected applicants undergo a background check before entering the country, and some applicants undergo an additional in-depth review if they are considered a security risk.
“I like very much President Xi. He treated me better than anybody’s ever been treated in the history of China.”
The Chinese put on a show for Trump, knowing he likes them, but this is a fairly ridiculous comment to make, especially given the limited interactions between the two men — and China’s 3,500-year history.
“This [North Korea] is a problem that should have been handled for the last 25 years. This is a problem, North Korea. That should have been handled for 25, 30 years, not by me. This should have been handled long before me. Long before this guy has whatever he has.”
Previous presidents, notably Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, made major efforts to rein in North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. But the deals they struck did not stick.
“When I campaigned, I was very tough on China in terms of trade. They made — last year, we had a trade deficit with China of $350 billion, minimum.”
“We lost $71 billion a year with Mexico. Can you believe it?”
Trump, as is his practice, inflates the size of the trade deficit by only counting goods, not goods and services. The 2016 trade deficit with Mexico was $55 billion, according to the U.S. Trade Representative.
“$17 billion with Canada — Canada says we broke even. But they don’t include lumber and they don’t include oil. Oh, that’s not. My friend Justin he says, ‘No, no, we break even.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but you’re not including oil, and you’re not including lumber.’ When you do, you lose $17 billion.”
In recounting a conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump gets his facts quite wrong. Trudeau said Canada had a total trade deficit with the United States while Trump insisted it was the other way around. In reality, the U.S. goods trade deficit with Canada was $12.1 billion in 2016, but the U.S. services trade surplus with Canada was $24.6 billion in 2016, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. So Trudeau was right, according to U.S. government data.
2017 was a brutal year for young people caught in conflict, UN agency says, citing their recruitment as fighters and bombers
A five-year-old Syrian refugee. ‘Children are being targeted and exposed to attacks and brutal violence in their homes, schools and playgrounds,’ Unicef says. Photograph: Muhammed Muheisen/AP/DPA
Children caught in war zones are increasingly being used as weapons of war – recruited to fight, forced to act as suicide bombers, and used as human shields – the United Nations children’s agency has warned.
In a statement summarising 2017 as a brutal year for children caught in conflict, Unicef said parties to conflicts were blatantly disregarding international humanitarian law and children were routinely coming under attack.
Rape, forced marriage, abduction and enslavement had become standard tactics in conflicts across Iraq, Syria and Yemen, as well as in Nigeria, South Sudan and Myanmar.
Some children, abducted by extremist groups, are abused again by security forces when they are released. Others are indirectly harmed by fighting, through malnutrition and disease, as access to food, water and sanitation are denied or restricted.
“Children are being targeted and exposed to attacks and brutal violence in their homes, schools and playgrounds,” said Manuel Fontaine, Unicef’s director of emergency programmes. “As these attacks continue year after year, we cannot become numb. Such brutality cannot be the new normal.”
Much of the fighting affecting children occurred in long-running conflicts in Africa.
Across 2017:
Boko Haram, the militant jihadist organisation active across Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, forced at least 135 children to act as suicide bombers, nearly five times the number in 2016.
Children have been raped, killed and forcibly recruited in the Central African Republic, after a surge in the sectarian conflict that has seized the country since a coup in 2013.
Political and militia violence has driven more than 850,000 children from their homes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while more than 200 health centres and 400 schools have been deliberately attacked.
In Somalia nearly 1,800 children were recruited to fight in the first 10 months of 2017, while in South Sudan more than 19,000 children have been recruited into armed groups since 2013.
In Yemen three years of fighting has left at least 5,000 children dead or injured and 1.8 million are suffering from malnutrition.
“2017 was a horrible year for the children of Yemen,” Unicef’s Meritxell Relaño said from Sana’a. Children have also been affected by conflict in the Middle East and in central and south-east Asia.
In Iraq and Syria children have reportedly been used as human shields, trapped under siege and targeted by snipers, while in Afghanistan nearly 700 children were killed in fighting in the first nine months of the year.
Rohingya children in Myanmar were subject to systematic violence and driven from their homes. More than half of the 650,000 Rohingyaforced over the border into Bangladesh are under 18.
Unicef has called on all parties in conflicts to respect international humanitarian law and immediately end violations against children and the targeting of civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals. The agency also called on states with influence over non-state parties to conflict to use their influence to protect children.
Pope Francis, in his traditional Christmas message, drew attention to the plight of children in war zones. “We see Jesus in the children worldwide wherever peace and security are threatened by the danger of tensions and new conflicts,” he said, citing Syria, Iraq, Yemen and several African states.
A Muslim woman reads a prayer book in a mosque in Delhi, India. Source: Shutterstock
29th December 2017
INDIA’S lower house of Parliament passed a bill on Thursday aimed at prosecuting Muslim men who divorce their wives through the “triple talaq”, or instant divorce.
The bill now moves to the upper house of Parliament, where it is likely to be approved.
In August, the Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional a law which allows Muslim men to divorce their wives simply by uttering the word “talaq”, which means divorce in Arabic, three times.
Muslim women had petitioned the court, arguing the practice of husbands divorcing them through triple talaq not only violated their rights but left many women destitute.
“Only a law can explicitly ban triple talaq, we have to enforce legal procedures to provide for allowances and protect custody of children,” said Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Muslims are the biggest religious minority in Hindu-majority India and relations between the communities have sometimes been strained since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party won a 2014 election.
Muslim women argue the triple talaq practice not only violates their rights but left many women destitute. Source: Shutterstock
India is one of the few countries where the practice of instant divorce has survived in law, and while some Muslim groups have said it is wrong, they believe it should be reviewed by the community itself.
Members of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board said the government had no right to outlaw instant triple talaq, as it was directly interfering with Muslim personal law.
India’s civil codes are designed to protect the independence of religious communities. Unlike most Hindu civil laws, which have been codified and reformed, Muslim personal laws have largely been left untouched.
Zakia Soman, founder of a Muslim women’s group, the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, said once triple talaq became a legal offence, victims could approach the police and the legal system to initiate action against offenders. – Reuters
A filmmaker and mother of three worries about the health consequences of wireless technology.
After moving to Los Angeles in the mid-'90s from the Middle East and Canada, I immediately began to see a startling trend. The number of cellphones I saw people using began to grow at breakneck speed especially in a booming city like Los Angeles, with Hollywood, real estate, sports marketing, shopping and high-end businesses everywhere.
In less than a generation, cellphones and the internet have revolutionized virtually every aspect of our lives, transforming how we work, socialize and communicate. But what are the health consequences of this invisible convenience?
As a mother of teenagers, I am concerned with the shadowy side of wireless technology, and its impact on our children. I am troubled by the increased health risks and how it is sociologically impacting children’s development and behavior. As a citizen and consumer, I am disturbed by the business ethics behind the wireless revolution and its ubiquitous use in schools, at work and at home.
This month the California Department of Health boldly announced new safety guidelines for the use of cellphones[3] after multiple studies rightly showed the health effects of the radiation they emit along with increased problems of concentration. Every state needs to immediately do the same. The facts are indisputable and the wireless companies can’t hide the truth anymore. It eventually will catch up with them like it did with the tobacco industry or pesticides.
I love technology and the many conveniences it has offered us, yet I believe that increased transparency is vital, including pre-market testing, post-market monitoring and revised policies and regulations.
When I first became aware of the invisible dangers of wireless radiation from cellphones and other wireless devices, I knew that as a filmmaker, I had to try and let the rest of the world know what I had discovered. I was shocked that this little electronic device I had become so dependent upon could be responsible for causing health problems ranging from neurological effects to cancer and decreased fertility in men.
I was even more shocked when I found out that wifi in schools was a serious issue. I choose to use my device. My children don’t choose to be irradiated. That’s when I knew I had to do something, so I made a film titled Generation Zapped[4]. I spent years researching and writing, driven by the knowledge that my children were constantly being exposed to potentially harmful radiation. I chose the leading experts on the issue, including David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health & Environment at New York State University at Albany; Martin Blank, associate professor of physiology and cellular biophysics at Columbia University; Ernesto Burgio, pediatrician and president of the Scientific Committee of the International Society of Doctors for Environment; and many others.
I revealed several dramatic stories of people suffering from health problems they believe to be caused by their cellphones and other wireless radiation sources. One woman showed me the area of breast cancer she has in the shape of the cell phone she used to carry in her bra.
I spoke to a former cellphone industry executive, who told me “had there been pre-market testing, cellphones never would have made it into the marketplace.”
France just the other day announced the banning of cellphones in schools, not only because of how prolonged use affects children sociologically and behaviorally but also because of the related health effects.
At a recent speaking event in San Francisco, I was joined by supporters of the film like Ellen Marks from the California Brain Tumor Association, Peter Sullivan, founder of Clear Light Ventures, along with a co-founder of Physicians for Responsible Technology, Dr. Cindy Russell and Dr. Joel Moskowitz from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health.
Until more states join the fight by following California’s lead, I recommend that everyone around the world consider the case for honoring the precautionary principle when it comes to the adoption of wireless technology—simply to slow down, turn it off at night and “plug it in” until more extensive research is validated and complete.
The tide is turning on the industry. This shocking discovery has empowered me as a mom and a concerned citizen. I won’t stop until people at least hear the facts about the proven health dangers of wireless technology so that they can make an informed decision about how much they allow themselves and their families to be exposed on a daily basis.
I recently privately screened the film to Google and Salesforce employees as part of the Silicon Valley International Film festival. I was surprised to see how well the film was received by industry insiders, which gives me hope that change is on the horizon.
Sabine El Gemayel is a filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She is the producer and director of the documentary "Generation Zapped[5]," which investigates the potential dangers of prolonged exposure to radio frequencies from wireless technology.
A Hindu temple, located in Muttur, Trincomalee is at the centre of a controversy and Police have ordered devotees living in the villages of the area to refrain from carrying out any reconstruction work until the Department of Archaeology investigates to see whether an ancient Buddhist temple had existed on the site.
This follows rival claims were made by Buddhists as well as Hindus to this site in Sampur,......which in turn led to a shouting match between local worshippers and outsiders, including Deepti Bogollagama, wife of the Eastern Province Governor.
The controversy erupted after two Buddhist Monks visited the site on 19 December and laid claim to it. This was shortly after the local Hindu worshippers had cleared the site using bulldozers.
Three days later, the Governor of the Eastern Province Rohitha Bogollagama, along with his wife, the District Secretary, the Trincomalee Deputy Inspector General of Police and other officials visited the temple site and had a discussion there. At that time, local worshippers were prevented from entering the temple and were seated some distance away. In a video recording of the incident, Deepti Bogollagama is seeing approaching the worshippers and asking them to leave.
Then the local people, mostly women, begin shouting back at her. The ruckus ended with the Police intervening to clear the site. The locals are mostly Tamil speaking Adivasis who worship Murugan and Kaliamma at this site called Soodaikaadu Maththalamalai Tirukumaran. The devotees claim that they have been worshipping here for more than a century. President of Hindu Gurumaar Sangam of Trincomalee, Kurukkal Siva Sri R. Bhaskaran speaking to Ceylon Today said that this particular kovil was registered with the Government in 2013 and the registration number is HA/5/TM272. This was subsequently confirmed by the Ministry of Hindu Cultural Affairs.
During the war, the Kovil was in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam held territory and some people who lived there left and were returning to resettle over the past few years.
We were unable to speak to Governor Bogollagama as repeated telephone calls were not put through as his staff said he was busy with meetings.
Officials confirmed to Ceylon Today that the Department of Archeology will be conducting excavation activities at the premises to find out whether or not a Buddhist Temple was there before the Hindu Kovil was constructed.
As 2017 draws to a close, Groundviews shares a selection of photos taken over the course of the year, covering a variety of issues, from displacement and militarisation in the North to barriers to education and nutrition in the estate sector, to the drought that affected over a million people across Sri Lanka.
View the full story, compiled on Microsoft Sway, here or scroll below:
(Lanka-e-News- 29.Dec.2017, 11.45PM) After 18 long years a resident of Jaffna had been able to trace missing his wife and child , and had met them in Australia on the 27 th.
P. Bahitharan, 7 years after his marriage was abducted by some LTTE cadres and forcibly made a member of that organization. During the final phase of the war after being with the LTTE he surrendered to the armed forces. Later , under the government’s rehabilitation program , he was released following rehabilitation .
Bahitharan since the day he was released had been visiting various areas making a desperate search of his wife and child without avail. However , one day after seeing a woman on an Australian television program resembling his wife , he had furnished all details to a friend of his in Australia .
Finally ,Bahitharan was able to trace his wife based on the information he obtained from the TV channel. Many had told his wife that Bahitharan died during the war.
After her husband spoke to her on the phone , their attempts to meet each other had proved futile .On two occasions Bahitharan tried to leave for Australia by boat expending large sums of money . However those attempts were unsuccessful.
Finally , after his friend took Bahitharan’s wife and child to the Australian TV channel and explained to them of the family’s sorrowful separation , Bahitharan secured the opportunity to travel to Australia for a most emotional family reunion.
Herein is a photograph of Bahitharan with his wife posing gleefully taken a few days after his marriage.
Dinasena Rathugamage Translated by Jeff
--------------------------- by (2017-12-29 22:43:41)
Image: Keppapilavu land struggle has been ongoing for nearly a year (credit: @garikaalan)
28/12/2017
A 300-day protest staged by a group of persons demanding that the army vacate 133 acres at Keppapilavu in the former LTTE stronghold Mullaitivu had been brought to an end by relocating troops stationed there, Rehabilitation Ministry spokesperson has told The Island.
Rehabilitation Minister D. M. Swaminathan had, following consultations with relevant authorities, has paid Rs. 148 mn for the relocation of troops. The land would be officially handed over today (Dec 28).
TNA leader R. Sampanthan on several occasions requested the president Sirisena to release these land and met the protesting villagers as well.
According to the Rehabilitation Ministry, since the change of government in 2015, the armed forces had released altogether 37,427 acres in the Jaffna peninsula (3,660 acres), Killinochchi (24,174 acres), Mullaitivu (4,507 acres), Mannar (1,709 acres), Vavuniya (1,496 acres), Ampara (549 acres),Trincomalee (323 acres) and Batticaloa (1,005 acres), reports The Island.
(With the inputs from The Island.)
Mean while the Government news release says:
Army releases 133.34 acres of lands to civil land owners
Sri Lanka Army in keeping with the government’s policy, released another land area of 133.34 acres being used by armed forces for security requirements in Keppapilavu in the Mullaittivu Maritimepattu Divisional Secretariat, together with newly-built or completely renovated 28 houses and all buildings to the civilians today (28th Dec.).
Major General Dushyantha Rajaguru, Commander, Security Forces – Mullaittivu (SF-MLT) symbolically handed over relevant certificates of land clearance to B. Senthilnandan, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Prison Reforms, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Hindu Affairs and Ms R. Kethishwaran, District Secretary for Mullaittivu.
Sri Lanka Army troops as of 1st December 2017 have released a total of 55,510.58 acres of private and state land in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaittivu, Mannar and Vavuniya in the northern province, in addition to the 133.34 acres released today in Keppapilavu.
At the time the Army acquired those lands, there were only 8 buildings and one foundation in the location which had remained unattended for years. However, the Army after renovating those buildings and constructing 20 more new permanent houses for those land-owners with their consent, released those 133.34 acres.
Out of the total of 133.34 acres released this morning (28), a portion of 111.05 acres in Keppapilavu were released to 68 land owners and the remaining 21.84 acres, belonging to 17 land owners in Seeniyamottai village area were also vested in them.
Sri Lanka Army commenced the gradual release of private property used by the Armed Forces after the conclusion of humanitarian operations in 2009. Land release in the Northern Province was expedited on the directions of the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant Mahesh Senanayake in line with the government’s policy of reconciliation and ethnic harmony.
South Korean policemen participate in an anti-terror drill at the Olympic Staduim, venue of the Opening and Closing ceremony on Dec. 12, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) 
Every so often reports emerge that attempt to measure which are the best countries to live in. The Nordic countries plus New Zealand, Holland and Switzerland, usually come out the top. Sweden is number one just for the sheer stability of life and security. Denmark is seen as the most agreeable place to live. The highest rate of longevity is found in Japan. The best schools are in Finland, New Zealand and Canada. Political and press freedom put the Nordics at the top of the league. 
