Saturday, January 11, 2020

AP Analysis: New Questions Arise as Iran Says It Downed Plane

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AP Analysis: New Questions Arise as Iran Says It Downed Plane

Iran's acknowledgement that it shot down a Ukrainian airliner, killing 176 people, raises new challenges for the Islamic Republic both externally amid tensions with the U.S. and internally as it deals with growing discontent from its people. 

The country did itself no favors by having its air-crash investigators, government officials and diplomats deny for days that a missile downed the flight, though a commander said Saturday that he had raised that possibility to his superiors as early as Wednesday, the day of the crash. 

While its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard took responsibility, the same commander claimed it warned Tehran to close off its airspace amid fears of U.S. retaliation for Iran's launch of ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. forces. That retaliation never came, but the worries proved to be enough to allegedly scare a missile battery into opening fire on the Boeing 737 operated by Ukraine International Airlines. 

Wider tensions between Iran and the U.S., inflamed after Iran's top general was killed in Iraq by a U.S. drone strike January 3, have for the moment calmed. However, President Donald Trump vowed to impose new sanctions on Tehran, and on Friday his administration targeted Iran's metals industry, a major employer. Meanwhile, thousands of additional U.S. forces remain in the Mideast atop of the network of American bases surrounding Iran, despite Tehran's demands that the U.S. leave the region. 

FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump shows a signed memorandum after delivering a statement on the Iran nuclear deal from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, May 8, 2018.

Nuclear deal

That sets the stage for Iran's further steps away from its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, an accord Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from in May 2018 over his concerns it didn't go far enough in restraining Tehran. Iran said after the targeted killing of General Qassem Soleimani that it would no longer abide by any of its limits, while saying U.N. inspectors could continue their work. 

Further steps could spark an Israeli strike if it feels Iran is close to developing a nuclear weapon, something Tehran denies it wants but the West fears could happen. 

Iran, through Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, has sought to offer legal justifications for its decisions following Soleimani's death, including missile strikes on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops that caused no casualties. Now the country must contend with repercussions of its officials' wrongheaded denials in the days after the plane crash. 

"There has been no missile launched in that area at that time," said Hamid Baeidinejad, Iranian ambassador to the United Kingdom, in an interview Friday with Sky News, calling further questions on the allegation "absolutely unacceptable." 

Then the story changed early Saturday morning, with Iran's general staff of its armed forces saying the flight had been "targeted unintentionally due to human error." 

Baeidinejad later apologized on Twitter. 

"In my statement yesterday to the UK media, I conveyed the official findings of responsible authorities in my country that missile could not be fired and hit the Ukrainian plane at that period of time," he wrote. "I ... regret for conveying such wrong findings." 

Ultimately, the Guard answers solely to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But Khamenei himself only Saturday acknowledged the missile strike, citing the report by Iran's conventional armed forces. 

'Sensitive' spot

Yet even the army statement itself raises questions, as it said the flight moved "very close to a sensitive military spot" belonging to the Guard. 

"The altitude and the direction of the flight's movement were like an enemy target, so the aircraft was targeted unintentionally due to human error," the statement read. 

That's despite the fact that flight data for every Ukraine International Airlines flight out of Tehran since early November show Wednesday's flight followed a similar altitude and flight path, according to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24. Planes leaving Imam Khomeini airport routinely take off going west as the Ukrainian flight did. 

Ukraine International Airlines President Yevhenii Dykhne stands next to a map of Flight PS-752's departure path at a briefing about the crash of the plane on the outskirts of Tehran, at Boryspil International Airport in Ukraine, Jan. 11, 2020.

Nine other flights flew out of the airport early Wednesday morning before the Ukrainian airliner without encountering trouble. The Guard claims it asked Iranian authorities to shut down airspace in Tehran amid the ballistic missile strikes and fears of reprisals, but nothing happened. 

Analysts have questioned the decision not to close Tehran's airspace in the days after the shootdown. 

"The first thing a country should do in case of escalation of the military conflict is to close the sky for civilian flights," said retired Ukrainian General Ihor Romanenko, a military analyst. "But this entails serious financial losses, fines and forfeits, therefore a cynical approach prevailed in Iran." 

The Guard has wide autonomy in Iran. It prides itself on its aggressive posture, whether having tense encounters with the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf or shooting down a U.S. military surveillance drone last summer. Concerns about that aggression saw the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration reissue a warning about flying over Iran just days before the shootdown, warning that "misidentification" remained a risk. 

Service rivalries

That Iran's conventional military — long limited in the years since the 1979 Islamic Revolution by purges and obsolete equipment — issued the report shows the rivalries between the services. The Guard's own position could be challenged, though it maintains a strong grip on Iran's security and economic sectors. 

The U.S. did not retaliate the night of the ballistic missile strikes on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops. However, that has not stopped Iranian officials like Zarif and others who sought to try to blame "U.S. adventurism" for Iran shooting down the airplane. 

That may not fly with the Iranian public, already battered by economic sanctions and openly protesting in recent rallies. Saturday night, hundreds gathered at universities in Tehran to protest the government's late acknowledgement of the plane being shot down. They demanded officials involved in the missile attack be removed from their positions and tried. Police broke up the demonstrations. 


January 12, 2020 at 09:44AM

Eleven Migrants Die After Boat Sinks Off Turkey 

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Eleven Migrants Die After Boat Sinks Off Turkey 

Eleven migrants, including eight children, died Saturday when their vessel sank in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Turkey, state news agency Anadolu reported. 

The boat sank off Cesme, a popular tourist resort in western Turkey opposite the Greek island of Chios, Anadolu said, adding that eight others were rescued. 

The nationality of the victims was not yet known. 

The sinking came hours after another boat sank in the Aegean near the Greek island of Paxi, leaving at least 12 dead. 

Turkey has taken in around 4 million migrants and refugees, most of them Syrians, and is an important transit country for those fleeing conflicts and seeking to reach Europe, largely via Greece. 

An agreement reached in March 2016 between Ankara and the European Union succeeded in considerably reducing the number of people arriving on the five islands closest to Turkey. 


January 12, 2020 at 08:54AM

French PM Open to Scrapping Raising Retirement Age to 64

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French PM Open to Scrapping Raising Retirement Age to 64

The French prime minister informed the unions behind a crippling railway strike over pension reform Saturday that he is open to backing down on one of the most controversial proposals: raising the full pension eligibility age to 64.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe wrote to unions one day after the French government and labor representatives engaged in talks that had seemed to end in a stalemate after more than a month of strikes and protests.

Women sing against French President Emmanuel Macron during a demonstration Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 in Paris.

Philippe's letter said that the plan to raise the full pension eligibility age from 62 to 64 - the unions' major sticking point - was open to negotiation. It was the first time the French government overtly indicated room for movement on the retirement age issue. The overture could signal hope for ending the France's longest transport strikes in decades.

However, Philippe said any compromise was contingent on first finding a way of paying for the pensions system in a country where a record number of people are over age 90.

On Saturday, protesters in Paris marched through the streets to denounce the French government's plans.

In scenes that have become all too familiar to Parisians, demonstrators set fire to a kiosk near the Bastille square in the center of the French capital as a minority of demonstrators in the march got rowdy..

Police fired tear gas briefly as minor scuffles broke out.

Two days earlier, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets nationwide to denounce the government's pension proposals. The unions planned further actions for next week to keep up the pressure on the government.


January 12, 2020 at 02:51AM

China-hostile Incumbent Wins Re-election in Taiwan, Vows to Pursue Talks

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China-hostile Incumbent Wins Re-election in Taiwan, Vows to Pursue Talks

Taiwanese voters re-elected incumbent Tsai Ing-wen on Saturday by a landslide, renewing her mandate to keep holding off the island's long-time military rival, China, after a year of fast-changing threats.
 
But the 43-year-old U.S.-educated law scholar's approach to China over the next four years might depart from her first four. Shortly after winning the election with more than 57% of the vote, Tsai suggested her government would speak with angry officials in Beijing if they don't treat Taiwan as an equal partner.

"As president, I must handle relations with China according to popular opinion, and I will do my utmost to break the stalemate and improve cross-Strait relations," Tsai told a news conference outside her Taipei campaign headquarters after receiving more than 8 million votes."

Supporters of Taiwan's 2020 presidential election candidate, Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen cheer for Tsai's victory in Taipei, Taiwan, Jan. 11, 2020.

So, I'd like to appeal to leaders in Beijing to respect Taiwanese people's opinion and consensus for peace and equal treatment," she said. "Then we can set up a sustainable as well as a healthy communication mechanism that is able to meet expectations for people's welfare."
 
Resumption of dialogue would ease a festering military flashpoint in Asia. China maintains the world's third strongest military and has not ruled out use of force, if eventually needed, to capture Taiwan.
 
The government in Beijing considers Taiwan part of its own territory that must eventually unify with China. Taiwanese said in surveys last year they prefer today's democratic autonomy over unification. The two sides have been self-ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, when Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to the island and re-based their government here.
 
Events in 2019 further hardened many people's views against China, endearing them instead to Tsai as someone who won't engage Beijing on its terms: that both sides come to the table as parts of one country.
 
A year ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a speech advocating that China rule Taiwan under a "one country, two systems" model that's supposed to allow a measure of local autonomy. Beijing has ruled Hong Kong that way since 1997, but the former British colony was hit by months of anti-China protests last year. Also in 2019 China sailed aircraft carriers near Taiwan twice and within a week persuaded two Taiwanese diplomatic allies to break ties in favor of Beijing.

Chen Li-chin, a 43-year-old mother from suburban Taipei, decided to vote for Tsai because the president shows willingness to resist China.
 
"To safeguard Taiwan's democracy and that's the most important thing the government can do," she said. "In comparing candidates on this issue, it's Tsai Ing-wen. We can still carry on cooperative relations state to state (with Beijing) as long as China doesn't take Taiwan to be part of its own country."
 
The two sides never spoke formally in Tsai's first four years. She irritated Beijing last year particularly by rejecting "one country, two systems."
 
Lin Chong-pin, a retired strategic studies professor from Tamkang University in Taiwan, believes Tsai is already working on ways to start talks. "I think both sides will do something gradually, but they need to do it quietly before it surfaces to the public eye," he said. "I think they probably are doing it already."
 
Beijing may drop its "one China" condition for dialogue if Tsai's government makes a concession in return, one Washington-based scholar said last month.
 
But other analysts expect Tsai to make no change from the past four years, which would mean sidelining Beijing in favor of stronger ties with other countries to boost Taiwan's international standing.

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told a news conference Thursday his government would try to deepen relations with Europe, Japan and the United States if Tsai was re-elected.
 
U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo congratulated Tsai on Saturday and lauded Taiwan's democratic process. "Under her leadership, we hope Taiwan will continue to serve as a shining example for countries that strive for democracy, prosperity, and a better path for their people," he said in a statement.
 
On Saturday, Tsai beat Han Kuo-yu of the Nationalist party, also called the KMT. Han, the 62-year-old mayor of Taiwan's chief port city Kaohsiung, had advocated trade and investment talks with China on Beijing's condition that both sides are two parts of one country.
 
His policies follow from those of ex-president Ma Ying-jeou. Over Ma's eight years in office before 2016, China and Taiwan signed more than 20 trade and investment deals while setting aside the political dispute. But by 2014 many Taiwanese feared Ma was getting dangerously cozy with China and staged mass street protests in Taipei
 
Taiwanese on Saturday also renewed Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party majority in parliament, giving it control of the foreign affairs budget and a clear channel to pass any laws related to Taiwanese people's interactions with China.

 


January 12, 2020 at 01:40AM

1986年に発売されたApple製ハードディスクをiPhoneに接続して使った猛者登場

1986年に発売されたApple製ハードディスクをiPhoneに接続して使った猛者登場


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今回ご紹介するのは、Appleが1986年に発売したハードディスクなのですが、これをなんとiPhoneに接続して使用可能にした猛者が登場し話題になっています。
January 11, 2020 at 08:15PM

1990 World Cup (men's golf)

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1990 World Cup (men's golf)

EEJB: New page under construction


Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)
|previous=[[1989 World Cup (men's golf)|1989]]|score=556 (−20)|champion=<br>[[Bernhard Langer]] & Torsten Gideon|winners_share=$240,000 team<br>$75,000 individual|purse=US$1.1 million|cut=None|field=32 two-man teams|par=72|image=|format=72 holes [[stroke play]]<br>combined score|tour=|org=|lang=|course=[[Le Querce Golf Club]]|location=[[Orlando]], Florida, [[United States]]|dates=21 – 24 November|caption=|next=[[1991 World Cup (men's golf)|1991]]}}The '''1990 World Cup''' took place 21 – 24 November 1990 at the Grand Cypress Resort Golf Club in Orlando, Florida. It was the 37th [[World Cup (men's golf)|World Cup]] event. The tournament was a 72-hole stroke play team event with 32 teams. Each team consisted of two players from a country. The combined score of each team determined the team results. The German team of [[Bernhard Langer]] and Torsten Gideon won by three strokes over the England team of Mark James and [[Richard Boxall]]. The individual competition was won by Payne Stewart, United States.

== Teams ==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!Country
!Players
|-
|
|Luis Carbonetti and Miguel Guzman
|-
|
|Brian Jones and Peter Senior
|-
|
|
|-
|
|
|-
|
|
|-
|
|[[Dave Barr (golfer)|Dave Barr]] and Rick Gibson
|-
|
|Liang-hsi Chen and Ching-Chi Yuan
|-
|
|
|-
|
|[[Jacob Rasmussen (golfer)|Jacob Rasmussen]] and [[Anders Sørensen]]
|-
|
|Riöchard Boxall and Mark James
|-
|
|
|-
|
|
|-
|
|[[Torsten Giedeon]] and [[Bernhard Langer]]
|-
|
|David Feherty and [[Ronan Rafferty]]
|-
|
|
|-
|
|
|-
|
|f
|-
|
|Carlos Pelaez and [[Carlos Espinoza (golfer)|Carlos Espinoza]]
|-
|
|[[Chris van der Velde|e]]
|-
|
|[[Frank Nobilo]] and [[Greg Turner]]
|-
|
|
|-
|
|[[Jorge Murdoch|h]]
|-
|
|
|-
|
|
|-
|
|Gordon Brand Jr and [[Sam Torrance]]
|-
|
|
|-
|
|Miguel Angel Jimenez and [[José Rivero]]
|-
|
|Mats Lanner and Magnus Persson Atlevi
|-
|
|
|-
|
|Jodie Mudd and Payne Stewart
|-
|
|
|-
|
|Mark Mouland and [[Ian Woosnam]]
|-
|
|
|}

== Scores ==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!#
!Country
!Score
!To par
!Money (US$)
(per team)
|-
| align="center" |1
|
|=556
| align="center" |−20
| align="right" |240,000
|-
| rowspan="2" align="center" |2
|
|=559
| rowspan="2" align="center" |−17
| rowspan="2" align="right" |104,000
|-
|
|=559
|-
| align="center" |4
|
|=561
| align="center" |−15
| align="right" |
|-
|5
|
|=562
| -14
|
|-
| rowspan="3" align="center" |T6
|
|=566
| rowspan="3" align="center" |−10
| rowspan="3" align="right" |
|-
|
|=566
|-
|
|=566
|-
| align="center" |9
|
|=570
| rowspan="4" align="center" |−6
| rowspan="4" align="right" |
|-
| rowspan="3" |10
|
|=570
|-
|
|=570
|-
|
|=570
|}


'''International Trophy'''
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!#
!Player
!Country
!Score
!To par
!Money (US$)
|-
| align="center" |1
|Payne Stewart
|
|69-68-68-66=271
| align="center" |−17
| align="right" |75,000
|-
| align="center" |2
|[[Bernhard Langer|Anders Sørensen]]
|
|
| align="center" |−
| align="right" |50,000
|-
| align="center" |3
|
|
|
| align="center" |−
| align="right" |40,000
|-
| align="center" |4
|
|
|
| align="center" |−
| align="right" |
|-
|}

<ref>https://ift.tt/2TdmWix? Svensk Golf magazine 12/1990 page 57</ref>

January 11, 2020 at 07:43PM

7 CPR steps everyone should know

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7 CPR steps everyone should know Doing CPR right away can double or even triple a person's chance of surviving cardiac arrest.
January 11, 2020 at 07:00PM

Earthquake rocked Tri-Lakes in 1983

Earthquake rocked Tri-Lakes in 1983


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The above full headline, in 72-point type in the Enterprise of Oct. 7, 1983, read: "Earthquake rocks Tri-Lakes," with the clever, quaking letters as shown.
January 11, 2020 at 02:15PM

China’s Mysterious Virus Claims First Victim

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China's Mysterious Virus Claims First Victim

A 61-year-old man has died from pneumonia in the central Chinese city of Wuhan after an outbreak of a yet to be identified virus while seven others are in critical condition, the Wuhan health authorities said Saturday.

In total, 41 people have been diagnosed with the pathogen, which preliminary lab tests cited by Chinese state media earlier this week pointed to a new type of coronavirus, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said in a statement on its website.

Two of them have been discharged from the hospital and the rest are in stable condition, while 739 people deemed to have been in close contact with the patients have been cleared, it said.

The man, the first victim of the outbreak that began in December, was a regular buyer at a seafood market in the city and had been previously diagnosed with abdominal tumors and chronic liver disease, the health authority said.

Treatments did not improve his symptoms after he was admitted to hospital and he died Jan. 9 when his heart failed. He tested positive for the virus.

Outbreak centers on seafood market

The commission added that no new cases had been detected since Jan. 3.

The Wuhan health authority also said that the patients were mainly vendors and purchasers at the seafood market, and that to date no medical staff had been infected, nor had clear evidence of human-to-human transmission been found.

The World Health Organization said Thursday that a newly emerging member of the family of viruses that caused the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreaks, could be the cause of the present outbreak.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause infections ranging from the common cold to SARS. Some of the virus types cause less serious disease, while some like the one that causes MERS, are far more severe.

The outbreak comes ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays in late January, when many of China's 1.4 billion people will be traveling to their home towns or abroad. The Chinese government expects passengers to make 440 million trips via rail and another 79 million trips via airplanes, officials told a news briefing Thursday.

Take precautions

The Wuhan health authority in its statement also urged the public to take more precautions against infectious diseases, and said it was pushing ahead with tests to diagnose the pathogen and as of Friday had completed nucleic acid tests.

Hong Kong's Department of Health said in a separate statement Saturday that it strengthened checks and cleaning measures at all border check points, including the port, airport and the city's high-speed rail station which receives passengers from Wuhan city.

In 2003, Chinese officials covered up a SARS outbreak for weeks before a growing death toll and rumors forced the government to reveal the epidemic. The disease spread rapidly to other cities and countries. More than 8,000 people were infected and 775 died.


January 11, 2020 at 04:15PM

Brella

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Brella

NanaYawBotar: created a stub


'''Bismark Kofi Nti Amoah''' also known as '''Brella''' is a [[Ghanaian people|Ghanaian]] [[Musician]] and a [[Songwriter]].<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref name=":0"></ref> He was a former artiste of '''Rufftown Record''' owned by [[Bullet (musician)|Bullet]].<ref></ref>

== Life and Career ==
Brella started music whiles in Secondary School at [[Accra Academy]]. In 2018, he was signed by '''Rufftown Record''' and '''Midas touch Inc''', <ref></ref><ref></ref><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> after releasing "Play you Gala", a remix of [[Ebony Reigns|Ebony]]'s "Date Your Fada".<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>

He was featured on the Late [[Ebony Reigns|Ebony]]'s "Hustle" song,<ref></ref> <ref></ref>which was nominated for the Best '''Highlife Song Of the Year''' at the 2018 [[Vodafone Ghana Music Awards|VGMA]].<ref></ref><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>

Together with '''Ms Forson''' and '''Danny Beat''', they released a song titled "''Ebony tribute''" in honor of [[Record label|Label mate]] [[Ebony Reigns|Ebony Reign]] who dead in a fatal motor accident. <ref> GhXclusives.Com|date=2018-02-24|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-01-11}}</ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xmxq245na4]
<br />

== Record Label ==
Brella have resigned from Rufftown Records and currently managed under '''Brella Music''', a record label owned by him.<ref name=":0" />
<br />

== References ==
<references />

== External links and sources ==
<br />

January 11, 2020 at 02:58PM

Municipality of Kalgoorlie

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Municipality of Kalgoorlie

The Drover's Wife:


The '''Town of Kalgoorlie''' was a [[Local government areas of Western Australia|local government area]] in [[Western Australia]], centred on the town of [[Kalgoorlie, Western Australia|Kalgoorlie]].

It was established as the '''Municipality of Kalgoorlie''' on 15 February 1895.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2) </ref> It was renamed the '''Town of Kalgoorlie''' on 1 July 1961.<ref name=sro />

The municipality was responsible for the construction of the [[Kalgoorlie Town Hall]] as its new headquarters in 1907-09, which replaced earlier municipal chambers in Brookman Street.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2) </ref><ref></ref><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2) </ref>

It amalgamated with the [[Shire of Boulder]] to form the [[City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder]] on 15 April 1989.<ref name=sro></ref>

==References==


[[Category:Former local government areas of Western Australia]]

January 11, 2020 at 02:52PM

Friday, January 10, 2020

Obituary goes viral after journalist pens his own funny, touching tribute

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Obituary goes viral after journalist pens his own funny, touching tribute The Des Moines Register published an obituary of one of its former journalists, who actually wrote his own tribute before his passing that quickly went viral. 
January 11, 2020 at 11:28AM

Bostaniçi

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Bostaniçi

Jwslubbock: Created stub article for Turkish town


'''Bostaniçi''' is a town within the metropolitan area of the city of [[Van, Turkey|Van]], on the Eastern shore of [[Lake Van]] in [[Turkey]].

The Armenian name of the town was Sghka.<ref> Vilayet of Van  Kaza of Van  Religion  Churches and monasteries 3 :: Houshamadyan - a project to reconstruct Ottoman Armenian town and village life|website=www.houshamadyan.org|access-date=2020-01-11}}</ref>

The town is part of the municipality of İpekyolu. The mayor of the municipality is Sinan Aslan.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref> Aslan was appointed by the Turkish government following the arrest of Şehsade Kurt and Azim Yacan of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) on November 8, 2019.<ref></ref>

Bostaniçi is located at the foot of Erek Mountain, the highest mountain of Van. As of 2018, the population of the town is 30,412.<ref></ref>
<references />

January 11, 2020 at 09:57AM

Selena Gomez reveals what it's like to date in Hollywood

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Selena Gomez reveals what it's like to date in Hollywood Selena Gomez is pulling back the curtain on what it's like to date in Hollywood.  
January 11, 2020 at 08:38AM

Starvation Stalks Counties in South Sudan Cut Off by Floods, Insecurity

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Starvation Stalks Counties in South Sudan Cut Off by Floods, Insecurity

In many homes around Jebel Boma County, dinner consists of bitter-tasting leaves that can be picked off the bushes outside. The leaves are neither filling nor nutritious, but in South Sudan's Jebel Boma and Pochalla counties, there's not much else to eat.

Through a combination of ruinous floods, a lack of decent roads and widespread insecurity, the two counties in the Upper Nile region, near the border with Ethiopia, have been effectively cut off from the rest of South Sudan and a reliable food supply. 

This reporter visited the area during the last week of December and witnessed thousands of families who have no food and are surviving mainly on leaves or seeds distributed by aid agencies.

A hungry baby and her mother at Niapuru camp for internal displaced persons in Jebel Boma County. (John Tanza/VOA)

The governor of Boma state, David Yau Yau, told VOA's South Sudan In Focus that he has been waiting to meet President Salva Kiir to discuss the dire humanitarian conditions in Boma state. Yau Yau says aid agencies should intervene to save lives of families who are starving.

''We knew the people are going to starve unless there are serious humanitarian interventions. We are opening our mouths more louder to be heard so that something is done for the people of Boma state. Otherwise, this looming starvation is imminent," Yau Yau said during an interview in Juba.

The commissioner of Jebel Boma says if aid agencies wait too long to intervene, some people will die. Longony Alston says the floods that hit the area in September washed away crops and destroyed food storage for local farmers, exposing 58,000 families to starvation.

''All these 58,000 are suffering. In fact, some of the people went to Ethiopia during clashes [in 2013] and some of them came back [and] are facing this hunger in Jebel Boma," he said.

Children roast pesticide treated sorghum as source of food at Naipuru camp for internal displaced persons in Jebel Boma County. (John Tanza/VOA)

Food Insecurity

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released in September 2019 estimated 5.35 million people in South Sudan — more than half the population — are in a state of food insecurity.  

The situation has been bad since the start of South Sudan's civil war in December 2013. Fighting has died down since a September 2018 peace agreement but not stopped.

Kiir's envoy to Boma state, Akot Lual Arech, said the situation in several parts of the state is exacerbated by intercommunal violence that prevents the aid agencies from delivering services.

''There [are] no roads in the area and accessibility is very difficult. The problem is not only in Kachipo and Jie areas. If you go to Maban or Nasir, you will feel bad. It is because of the war that is taking place now. War and development cannot go together," he said.

Arech says aid agencies have abandoned several villages in Boma state. "They see the window that we are fighting each other. So they don't really, they don't care. They will do whatever they desire to do," he said.

Pochalla county lawmaker Munira Abdalwab, right, chats with residents of Pochalla town. (John Tanza/VOA)

The local chiefs and residents of Jebel Boma County say it is the government of South Sudan that has forgotten them. Nakou Lokine, a traditional chief in Naoyapuru village, said there is no health center in his village.

"We have no hospital here in Boma and when someone gets sick here in Boma, then we have to wait until a plane comes from Juba. Then the patient is taken to Juba. You can even see the children with your eyes; they are really suffering from sickness," he said through an interpreter.

Residents of Pachalla County on the border with Ethiopia are also experiencing serious food insecurity. This reporter visited Pochalla county headquarters in December and saw deserted residential areas.

Munira Abdalwab, the member of parliament representing Pochalla in the transitional national assembly in Juba, said there is a lack of government services in search of clean drinking water, health services, education and security, in addition to food.

Families collecting wild bitter leaves for food in Boma County. (John Tanza)/VOA)

Traders in both Pochalla and Boma County have run out of stock in their shops because of poor conditions on roads connecting the two counties with Ethiopia and Juba.   

Patrick Ochum Gilo was once a successful businessman in Pochalla. He says the exchange rate of a dollar to South Sudan pounds shot up, and that prevented him from importing goods from Ethiopia.

''I used to bring [import] everything. I had soap, sugar and other basic commodities. I also run a restaurant that had all kinds of food. The problem started when U.S. dollar became scarce and we have to buy goods from Ethiopia, and the cost of transportation from Gambella [Ethiopia] is very high.''

A sick child at Naipuru camp for internally displaced persons in Jebel Boma County. (John Tanza/VOA)

The scarcity is now affecting Boma National Park, a protected area in eastern South Sudan near the Ethiopian border. Armed civilians and military personnel in Boma and Pochalla depend on game meat from the park for food. Alston says he has found it difficult to arrest poachers, because there is no food in the markets and none has come from the World Food Program or other agencies.


January 11, 2020 at 05:51AM

South Sudan's First VP Denies Allegations of Human Rights Abuses

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South Sudan's First VP Denies Allegations of Human Rights Abuses

South Sudanese First Vice President Taban Deng Gai is denying allegations of human rights abuses and criticizing U.S. sanctions against him.

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Deng on Wednesday. Officials say Deng arranged and directed the deaths of two prominent activists — human rights lawyer Samuel Dong Luak and opposition politician Aggrey Iddri — and tried to derail South Sudan's peace process. Conflict broke out in 2013 following a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and then-Vice President Riek Machar.

The U.S. government also says Deng worked to divide opposition opponents and members of the broader ethnic Nuer community who were displaced because of the conflict. Officials say he directed the actions to solidify his position within Kiir's government and to intimidate members of the SPLM-IO, of which Iddri was a member.

FILE - Children play with a suitcase in a displaced persons camp for the Nuer ethnic group inside the UNMISS compound in Bor, South Sudan, Feb. 27, 2014.

Deng called the sanctions "regrettable and baseless."

The U.S. move is the latest in a series of sanctions against South Sudanese individuals.

The Treasury Department accuses South Sudan's government of refusing to create "political space for dissenting voices, from opposition parties, ethnic groups, civil society, or media," an issue it said has been a key factor in the country's inability to implement a peace agreement and ongoing acts of violence against civilians.

In September 2018, Kiir and Machar signed a revitalized peace agreement that called for the formation of a national unity government by May 2019. Government and opposition leaders extended that deadline twice, but have not taken steps to create a unified national army — one of the measures seen as key to implementing the peace deal. The biggest remaining obstacle between the government and the opposition is the dispute over the number of states and their boundaries.

Kiir and Machar are scheduled to form the unity government in February.

Defending Deng 

Deng's office manager defended his boss and his activities.

"In discharging his duties as the first vice president of the Republic of South Sudan, he dedicated and committed himself to working for the unity and peaceful co-existence among the people of South Sudan to secure a future for them," Adel Sandrai told VOA.

The U.S. said the sanctions fall under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption.

FILE - South Sudan's First Vice President Taban Deng Gai, left, speaks with President Salva Kiir after Taban was sworn in, replacing opposition leader Riek Machar, at the presidential palace in Juba, South Sudan, July 26, 2016.

The Treasury Department noted in its statement that since the September 2018 peace deal, which included a permanent cease-fire, hundreds of civilians have been killed, raped and abducted. It said the U.S. will not hesitate to target individuals who have perpetuated the conflict.

Sandrai maintains that Deng has worked to restore peace in South Sudan.

"Despite the sanctions wrongly imposed on him, H.E General Taban Deng Gai pledges to continue to work with the United States and the international community to demonstrate such commitment and to prove the unfounded nature of the allegations against him," Sandrai said.

The sanctions freeze all cash or assets held in the U.S. and block Deng from accessing the American financial system.

Next steps

Abraham Kuol Nyuon, professor of political science at the University of Juba, said Kiir should fire the officials already on the list of people sanctioned by the United States.

"The president should be able to redeem himself by trying to make sure he disassociates himself from the people who have already been sanctioned and the people who have become spoilers to the peace agreement," Nyuon told VOA's South Sudan in Focus program.

Nyuon said he believes the only way Kiir can turn things around is by convincing the international community he is ready to cooperate.

"All the people around the president are already sanctioned and now the United States is seriously watching every step of the president," Nyuon said.

In December, the U.S. sanctioned Defense Minister Kuol Manyang Juuk and Cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elia Lomuro, saying they fueled the five-year conflict and obstructed peace in South Sudan, the world's youngest country. Five other South Sudanese were sanctioned last month.  
 


January 11, 2020 at 02:52AM

Pakistan Mosque Bombing Kills 15

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Pakistan Mosque Bombing Kills 15

Authorities in southwestern Pakistan say a powerful bomb blast ripped through a packed mosque during Friday evening prayers, killing at least 15 worshipers and injuring around 20 others.

A senior police official was among those killed in the bombing in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province bordering Iran and Afghanistan.

A senior provincial police official, Abdul Razzaq Cheema, told reporters most of the victims were civilians. An investigation into the deadly attack was underway but it was not immediately known whether the slain officer was the target, Cheema added.  

Doctors said the death toll could rise because some of the wounded were brought to Quetta hospitals in "critical condition."

The Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for Friday's attack, saying it was carried out by a suicide bomber. IS claimed the blast caused 60 casualties, including 20 dead, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which provides alerts and translations of jihadist threats.

Pakistani police officer stands guard at the site of bomb explosion in a mosque in Quetta, Pakistan, Jan. 10, 2020.

On Tuesday, a bomb went off near a security personnel vehicle in Quetta, killing at least two people and injuring 14 others. The explosives were planted in a motorcycle parked on a main road in the city. Hizbul Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, took credit for that attack.

Baluchistan, Pakistan's largest but sparsely populated province, is rich in mineral resources and has routinely experienced militant violence.  

The province is home to a separatist Baluch insurgency and it allegedly also shelters Afghan Taliban leaders and fighters in areas hosting hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees.

Pakistani security officials, however, say sustained counter-militancy operations have significantly improved the law and order situation in Baluchistan in recent years.  

The province is at the center of major infrastructure, transportation and power generation projects being built under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) collaboration, a flagship of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative.

 


January 11, 2020 at 02:23AM

The Fire Show

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The Fire Show

Chubbles: ←Created page with ''''The Fire Show''' was an American indie rock band from Chicago signed to Perishable Records. They released three albums on the label in the period...'


'''The Fire Show''' was an American [[indie rock]] band from [[Chicago]] signed to [[Perishable Records]]. They released three albums on the label in the period 2000-2002.

==History==
Bandmembers Seth Cohen and Michael Lenzi played in the group [[Number One Cup]] together in the late 1990s, but in September 1998, Cohen broke his neck playing [[ice hockey]].<ref name=reader>[[Peter Margasak]], [https://ift.tt/2tLwAOQ Where There's Hope There's Fire]. ''[[Chicago Reader]]'', February 22, 2001.</ref> He recovered in time to tour with Number One Cup to support their fourth album, but soon after, that group splintered, leaving Cohen embittered.<ref name=reader/> Despite mutual tension between the former bandmates, Cohen and Lenzi began talking and writing songs together later in 1999, and put together a new four-member ensemble.<ref name=reader/> The pair gave themselves the stage names M. Resplendent and Olias Nil while working with the band.<ref>[https://ift.tt/35IUGXy The Fire Show biography], [[Allmusic]]</ref> As an ensemble, they initially took the name X-Vessel, but bassist Brian Lubinsky left the group in 2000 and they renamed themselves The Fire Show.<ref name=reader/> After seeing them play in January 2000 at the [[Lounge Ax]], [[Tim Rutili]] signed them to his label [[Perishable Records]].<ref name=reader/> Perishable released three albums of theirs - a self-titled record in 2000,<ref>[https://ift.tt/2R7pfAT Review], [[Pitchfork Media]]</ref> ''Above the Volcano of Flowers'' in 2001,<ref>[https://ift.tt/2tNX41U Review], Allmusic</ref><ref>[https://ift.tt/2Td2Y7u Review], Pitchfork Media</ref> and ''Saint the Fire Show'' in 2002.<ref>[https://ift.tt/35IanOX Review], Pitchfork Media</ref>

They broke up soon after the release of ''Saint the Fire Show''.<ref>[https://ift.tt/30eGBQD Review], Allmusic</ref> Lenzi went on to work under the name Resplendent.<ref>[https://ift.tt/35Fm493 Review of ''Casket City Wolves'']. [[Tiny Mix Tapes]].</ref> Cohen moved to England, where he became a student at [[Oxford University]].<ref>[https://ift.tt/2FFgskp The Fire Show]. [[Pop Matters]], July 30, 2002.</ref>

==Members==
*Seth Cohen ("Olias Nil") - guitar
*Michael Lenzi ("M. Resplendent") - guitar, vocals, electronics
*Brian Lubinsky - bass
*Eric Rorth - drums
*John Pyx Klos - bass
*Bob Kohlman - drums

==Discography==
*''The Fire Show'' ([[Perishable Records]], 2000)
*''Above the Volcano of Flowers'' (Perishable, 2001)
*''Saint The Fire Show'' (Perishable, 2002)

==References==



[[Category:American indie rock groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Chicago]]

January 11, 2020 at 02:12AM

Royal Courtiers Chart Path for Prince Harry's Independence

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Royal Courtiers Chart Path for Prince Harry's Independence

Queen Elizabeth II has moved quickly to take control of the crisis surrounding the decision by Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, to distance themselves from the royal family, ordering royal courtiers to find a future role for the pair within days.

Officials representing the most senior members of the family — the monarch, her son Prince Charles, grandson Prince William, and Prince Harry and Meghan — were meeting to sort out a workable solution for the couple within the royal family.

In the meantime, Meghan has returned to Canada, where she and Harry spent the Christmas holidays, instead of with other royals at the queen's estate in Sandringham, England. The former actress has longstanding ties to the country, having lived in Toronto while filming the TV show "Suits."

The talks come after the royal pair released a "personal message"  Wednesday evening that said they were stepping back from being senior members of Britain's royal family, aimed to become financially independent and would "balance" their time between the U.K. and North America.

FILE - Newspapers are seen for sale in London, Jan. 9, 2020.

Harry and Meghan faced a barrage of criticism from the British press over their decision.

The couple has long complained of intrusive media coverage and accused some British media commentators of racism. They slammed the country's long-standing arrangements for royal media coverage and insisted that from now on they prefer to communicate directly with the public through social media.

The monarch and other members of the family were said to be "hurt" by the announcement because they weren't informed about the communique before it was released. News of the talks followed.

The latest developments reveal more divisions within the British monarchy, which was rocked in November by Prince Andrew's disastrous television interview about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew, the queen's second son, has stepped away from royal duties and patronages after being accused by a woman who says she was an Epstein trafficking victim who slept with the prince.

Personal assets

Harry, 35, is Elizabeth's grandson and sixth in line to the British throne, behind his father, brother and his brother's three children. The former British Army officer is one of the royal family's most popular members and has spent his entire life in the public eye.

Before marrying the prince in a wedding watched around the world in 2018, the 38-year-old Meghan was a star of the TV legal drama "Suits." The couple's son Archie was born in May 2019.

The couple's statement on Wednesday left many questions unanswered — such as what they plan to do and how they will earn private income without tarnishing the royal image. At the moment, they are largely funded by Harry's father, Prince Charles, through income from his vast Duchy of Cornwall estate.

They said they plan to cut ties to the taxpayer support given each year to the queen for official use, which currently covers 5% of the costs of running their office.

Harry and Meghan also have considerable assets of their own. Harry inherited an estimated 7 million pounds ($9.1 million) from his late mother, Princess Diana, as well as money from his great-grandmother. Meghan has money from a successful acting career.
 


January 11, 2020 at 01:02AM

Iran Invites NTSB, Boeing to Participate in Ukrainian Plane Crash Investigation

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Iran Invites NTSB, Boeing to Participate in Ukrainian Plane Crash Investigation

Iran has invited the National Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. accident investigation agency, to participate in the probe of the Ukrainian Boeing commercial jetliner that crashed near Tehran earlier this week.

The NTSB said in a statement Thursday it had received "formal notification" about the crash from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board of the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran and is sending "an accredited representative to the investigation of the crash."

Iran has also invited Boeing, the U.S. manufacturer of the plane, to be a part of the investigation team.

It is not, however, immediately clear what level of participation the two U.S. entities would have in the investigation because of the U.S. sanctions placed on Iran and the heightened tensions between the two countries.

Ukraine is also taking part in the investigation.

A color-infrared view shows the area where an Ukraine International Airlines plane crashed after takeoff from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport, on the outskirts of Tehran, Maxar's WorldView-2 satellite image taken Jan. 9, 2020.

The latest development comes as U.S. President Donald Trump publicly voiced suspicion that Iran may have accidentally shot down the Ukrainian airliner.

"Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side," said Trump of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. "Some people say it was mechanical. Personally, I don't think that's even a question."

Ballistic missile attack

The crash occurred just hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers in response to last week's U.S. drone attack that killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.

Iranian officials have maintained the Boeing 737-800, at an altitude of 2,400 meters, suffered a catastrophic engine failure early Wednesday, local time. All 176 people on the plane bound for Kyiv died, including 63 Canadians.

Mourners attend a vigil at University of Toronto student housing for the victims of a Ukrainian passenger jet, which crashed in Iran, in this still image taken from a video, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Jan. 8, 2020.

Government sources have told VOA that U.S. officials have examined satellite data and imagery leading them to believe the airliner, just after taking off from Tehran, was hit by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile after being targeted accidentally.

A U.S. official confirmed to VOA that he is confident the plane was shot down by Iran.

"At some point they'll release the black box. Ideally, they'll get it to Boeing," Trump added in remarks to reporters in the White House Roosevelt Room Thursday.

Video of the aircraft shows it breaking up in the air in a fireball over Iran.

The head of Iran's of Civil Aviation Organization denies the plane could have been hit by a missile.

"Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane and such rumors are illogical," ISNA quoted Ali Abedzadeh as saying.

The New York Times posted video on its website late Thursday that the newspaper identified as "verified video showing the moment a Ukrainian airliner was hit in Iran." The Times said the video, provided by Maxar Technologies, appeared to show a missile hitting a plane, which did not explode immediately. The Times said the aircraft turned back "toward the airport ablaze before it exploded."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to the press, Jan. 9, 2020, in Ottawa, Canada. He said Canada had intelligence from multiple sources indicating that a Ukrainian airliner that crashed near Tehran was mistakenly shot down by Iran.

Canada and Ukraine

The governments of Ukraine and Canada are not accepting the initial assessment by Iran that the cause of the crash appeared to be a mechanical issue.

Citing what he called "intelligence from multiple sources," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that "the intelligence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile."

Trudeau added, "This may well have been unintentional."

Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine's ambassador to Canada, expressed solidarity with Canada.

"We, Ukrainians, share the pain that Canadians feel, and the stories that we see on television there are just as heartbreaking to us as the stories about our flight attendants and our pilots that we see on Ukrainian television," Shevchenko told VOA's Ukraine service Thursday. "We just feel that we have to walk through this pain together."

Asked if Trudeau's announcement would hinder the investigation, Shevchenko said he wouldn't speculate.

"I wouldn't speculate on the reasons of the crash either," he said, "but I would say that it is in the everyone's interest, including Iran, to have very good, transparent and genuine investigation into this tragedy. I think that truth and only truth is something that can get us moving forward."

Flowers and candles are placed in front of the portraits of the flight crew of the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed in Iran, at a memorial at the Boryspil International airport outside Kiev, Ukraine, Jan. 8, 2020.

Sixty-three of the crash victims were from Canada, which has more than 200,000 citizens of Iranian descent. It is also popular with Iranian students.

"I'm glad that Prime Minister Trudeau is taking this so seriously, but I was saddened and angry that the evidence points to an Iranian missile being responsible for the crash," Avideh Montmaen-Far, president of the Council of Iranian Canadians, told VOA's Persian service.

"I hope Canada and other international experts will be involved in order to ensure the investigation is thorough, because families of the victims deserve truth and closure," she said.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's Security Council, said there were several working theories regarding the crash, including a missile strike.

"A strike by a missile, possibly a Tor missile system, is among the main [theories], as information has surfaced on the internet about elements of a missile being found near the site of the crash," he told reporters.

Britain urges full investigation

In Britain, government officials told reporters it is looking into "very concerning" reports the plane had been struck by a surface-to-air missile.

Following a phone call Thursday between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the British government said there needs to be "a full, credible and transparent investigation in what happened." But British officials added that they did not think the downing of the jet was intentional.

The global security risk company IHS Markit issued a briefing Thursday claiming that the UIA flight was hit by an SA-15 missile fired by a unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Security officers and Red Crescent workers are seen at the site where the Ukraine International Airlines plane crashed after takeoff from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport, on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2020.

Ukraine's deputy foreign minister said his government has sent a team of experts who are on the ground in Iran, working with their Iranian counterparts to sift through the crash debris for evidence of the cause.

"Our priority is that all the pieces of information should be collected and preserved," Sergiy Kyslytsya told a small group of reporters in New York. "On the black boxes, there are rules and they should be followed, and I am looking forward to the full cooperation of Iran — it is in their best interest."

He discouraged speculation and conspiracy theories, saying they would hurt the families of the victims.

"My other concern is that the international protocols, conventions and regulations should be duly implemented when it comes to the investigation," Kyslytsya said. 

Investigators in Iran said the voice and data recorders from the Boeing 737 aircraft, built in 2016, were recovered from the crash site on the outskirts of the Iranian capital, but that the so-called black boxes were damaged and some data had been lost.

The Convention on International Civil Aviation, to which Iran is a signatory, does not require Tehran to hand over the data recorders to the NTSB or Boeing, Andriy Guck, a Ukraine-based attorney and aviation expert, said.

"There is a duty to investigate," Guck told VOA's Ukrainian Service in a phone conversation. "Iran can decide to investigate the black boxes by itself or transfer them to a foreign laboratory. But if the Iranians do not allow anyone else to participate in the examination of the boxes, it will raise doubts about their investigation."

VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb, VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin, U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer, Jamie Dettmer, Michael Lipin of VOA Persian, and Tatiana Vorozhko of VOA's Ukrainian Service contributed to this report.


January 10, 2020 at 07:23PM

Mississippi homeowner who shot and killed home invasion suspect will not be charged, report says

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Mississippi homeowner who shot and killed home invasion suspect will not be charged, report says A Mississippi homeowner sho reportedly shot and killed a man who broke into his home in broad daylight Tuesday morning will not be charged.
January 10, 2020 at 07:08PM

How China, and the Law, Jumped in as Taiwan’s Presidential Campaign Shifted to Social Media

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How China, and the Law, Jumped in as Taiwan's Presidential Campaign Shifted to Social Media

About 97% of internet users in Taiwan use Facebook. The island also has Asia's second highest smartphone penetration after South Korea. Given these statistics, the first announced by Facebook in 2018 and the other by a market research firm, it made sense that a lot of campaigning for tomorrow's presidential election would jump from the streets to the internet.

But the rise of internet campaigning has challenged voters to know what's true or false, and to follow a growing suite of anti-fake news laws, as politicians allege that mountains of online campaign information are untrue, illegally posted and often planted by Taiwan's political rival China.

"Beginning from last year we saw that China is using modern technology, in short it's the social media platforms, to try to interrupt in our discussions on the internet, either through Facebook or through Twitter or even a popular online chat mechanism called Line," Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told a news conference Thursday. "The fake news situation seems to be quite serious."

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu gestures while speaking during an interview with The Associated Press at his ministry in Taipei, Taiwan, Dec. 10, 2019.

Last year officials passed laws that ban the spread of that information and local media say police are already investigating several cases.

Rise of social media

Social media such as Facebook, Line and Twitter appeal to people younger than 40 because those voters tend to trust information received through social media as posted by their friends, said George Hou, a mass communications lecturer at Taiwan-based I-Shou University. They find print and television news too formal as well as subject to manipulation by politicians, he said.

Incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen and her chief rival Han Kuo-yu aggressively use Facebook to promote campaign events throughout the day and live broadcast some of them. Tsai's official Facebook page led Han in followers at 2.6 million as of January 3.

Tsai also worked with a YouTube celebrity who asked her mock pickup lines, effectively freshening up her image before the vote.

"The internet stars are an important point, and they can let people get to know a different side of (the politicians)," Hou said. "Even more so, they let people feel that an authority is close to them, not so high and mighty."

Han Kuo-yu, Taiwan's 2020 presidential election candidate of the KMT or Nationalist Party, speaks during a campaign rally in Taipei, Taiwan, Jan. 9, 2020.

Glut of 'fake news'

So-called fake news comes from more than 1,000 venues in China every day, Chen Chih-wei, international affairs deputy director with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, told a news conference Tuesday. 

A study by the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden lists Taiwan as one of the places most vulnerable to cyberattacks, of more than 200 it surveyed worldwide.

China sees Taiwan as part of its territory with no rights to elect a president. The two sides have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s.

Taiwanese officials believe China tries to steer voters toward candidates who they like. The incumbent has needled China since taking office in 2016 by rejecting its condition that both sides belong to the same country. Her chief opponent advocates dialogue on China's condition. Taiwanese will also elect a new parliament.

Older voters who are new to social media particularly struggle to know truth from lies, said Wu Yih-hsuan, a 28-year-old Taiwanese doctoral student. His parents, both 64 years of age, are dabbling in social media.

"The young generation joined the social media starting around a decade ago, while the seniors, taking my parents for instance, started to use Line four years ago only," he said.

Corrections and crackdowns

Officials try to rebut as much fake news as possible, the foreign minister said. They, too, work with Line and Facebook to block fake accounts and remove false news, he said, and sometimes consult a local nonprofit fact-checking service.

The Cabinet tightened two criminal codes in April to ban the spread of fake news, including resending false content. On Dec. 31, parliament passed an anti-infiltration law criminalizing influence from offshore in Taiwan's elections.

Police detained a National Taiwan University political science professor last month over a 2018 Facebook post criticizing the government-run National Palace Museum, according to local media reports. Someone also posted to Line the false information that Tsai's party spent the equivalent of $1million to organize an LGBT pride parade in Taipei, according to the website PinkNews.com.

"This problem has become quite obvious close to the election," said Huang Kwei-bo, vice dean of the international affairs college at National Chengchi University in Taipei. Police probes now risk violating people's rights to express opinions, he added. "The power to suppress free speech has grown bigger," Huang said.

But fake news probably has little impact on people's voting decisions, said Shelley Rigger, a visiting researcher with National Taiwan University's College of Social Sciences. Most youth are "skeptical" of what they read and Taiwanese overall have long known that "the PRC is trying to undermine their democracy."


January 10, 2020 at 06:53PM

US Scanning Cyberspace for Signs of Iranian Aggression

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US Scanning Cyberspace for Signs of Iranian Aggression

U.S. government officials are watching and waiting, with many believing it is only a matter of time before Iran lashes out in cyberspace for the U.S. drone strike that killed Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani last week.

According to the latest advisory from the Department of Homeland Security, there are still "no specific, credible threats" to the United States. But officials say Iran's public assurances that it is done retaliating mean little.

"Iran has been one of the most malicious actors out there," a senior State Department official said Thursday. "We're very concerned about Iran's capabilities and activities."

U.S. government officials have been hesitant to comment in any detail on what Iranian cyber actors have been up to in recent days, though they note Iran's capabilities are on par with Russia, China and North Korea when it comes to using cyber to target industrial control systems or physical infrastructure.

"DHS [Department of Homeland Security] is operating under an enhanced posture to improve coordination and situational awareness should any specific threats emerge," a department spokesperson told VOA.

The spokesperson added DHS is coordinating with U.S. intelligence agencies, key private sector companies and organizations, and is ready to "implement enhanced security measures, as needed."

Iranian Cyber Activity

Bracing for a 'significant' attack

Intelligence officials say much of Iran's cyber activity is driven by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), sometimes using front companies or sometimes carrying out cyberattacks themselves.

Past Iranian cyberattacks have ranged from distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS), which block access to websites by overwhelming the server hosting the site with internet traffic, to efforts to deface websites or attempts to steal personal data.

An alert this week from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) also warned Iran has "demonstrated a willingness to push the boundaries of their activities, which include destructive wiper malware and, potentially, cyber-enabled kinetic attacks."

Some former officials fear whatever is coming, whenever it comes, will be significant.

"It'll be a notch up," said James Miller, a former U.S. Defense Department adviser, now with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. "We should expect pretty significant actions."

While any major attacks, if any, have yet to be detected, private sector experts and former government officials worry about what they have been seeing from Iran.

"They are very aggressive," said John Hultquist, director of Intelligence Analysis at the cyber security firm FireEye, speaking at a cyber symposium this week.

"What they've lacked in technical prowess they've often made up in really, really impressive, creative social engineering," he said. "They've sort of developed a lot of interesting schemes."

FILE - The Twitter and Facebook logos, Nov. 26, 2019.

Ramping up disinformation campaigns

And once the U.S. airstrike took out Soleimani, the Iranian disinformation machinery went into action.

"As that news came out, we saw them ramp their program and start pushing that stuff out," Hultquist said.

The disinformation from Iran's proxy forces in the Middle East further increased Tuesday during Iran's retaliatory missile strike on Iraqi bases hosting U.S. and coalition forces — "in terms of reports coming in about certain hits that happened and numbers of casualties from the Iranian response," said Phillip Smyth, an analyst with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who has been tracking social media activity by the Iranian-backed militias.

But Iran-linked cyber actors have also eyed more ambitious campaigns.

In October 2018, for example, Facebook and Instagram removed 82 accounts, pages and groups from their platforms.

The posts, Facebook said, focused on "politically charged topics such as race relations, opposition to the [U.S.] president and immigration."

Analysts said while those Iranian disinformation efforts paled in comparison to the campaign run by Russia in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, the effort showed signs of increasing sophistication, which has continued to this day.

Some former U.S. officials and analysts also suspect Iran may be targeting news outlets.

The Kuwaiti government Wednesday said the Kuwait News Agency's Twitter account was hacked after it posted false reports that the U.S. was withdrawing all troops based in the country.

Separately, hackers claiming to be working on behalf of Iran defaced the website of the U.S. Federal Depository Library Program.

Despite suspicions and concerns, though, officials have yet to definitely attribute either attack to Iran. And there is a risk that such attacks are actually the work of other cyber actors.

For example, former officials said there have been instances in the past where Russian cyber operatives hijacked Iranian infrastructure or malware to launch intrusions of their own.

Targeting Americans

Iran, though, has other tools it can use to strike the U.S. and the West. 

"Iranian cyber actors are targeting U.S. government officials, government organizations and companies to gain intelligence and position themselves for future cyber operations," U.S. intelligence agencies warned in their most recent threat assessment.

Stuart Davis, a director at one of FireEye's subsidiaries, stands in front of a map of Iran as he speaks to journalists about the techniques of Iranian hacking, Sept. 20, 2017, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Iran's Cyber Spies Looking to Get Personal
Iran appears to be broadening its presence in cyberspace, stealing information that would allow its cyber spies to monitor and track key political and business officials, including some in the United States.A new, U.S. intelligence report released Tuesday warned Iranian cyber actors "are targeting U.S. Government officials, government organizations, and companies to gain intelligence and position themselves for future cyber operations."The latest Worldwide Threat Assessment also said Tehran has been…

The U.S.-based cybersecurity firms FireEye and Symantec have said their research shows Iranian-linked cyber actors have paid particular attention to telecommunications and travel companies, mining them for personal data that could prove useful in such cyber campaigns.

Not everyone, however, is convinced Iran is positioned to launch a major cyber offensive.

"A lot of the doom and gloom headlines that are out there right now, I think, are overblowing or overhyping the immediate cyberthreat coming from Iran," Hoover Institution Fellow Jacquelyn Schneider said.

"The reality is that Iranians have been conducting these cyberattacks over the last year, if not longer," she said, adding that while there may well be an uptick in attacks, "they've been trying this entire time."

Still, a former U.S. National Security Agency threat manager cautions even a small cyberattack can inadvertently do widespread damage.

"There's always the potential that an attack or an intrusion, which is physically or strategically designed to only impact a certain geography or certain network, creeps to other parts of the network," said Priscilla Moriuchi, now head of nation-state research at the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.


January 10, 2020 at 03:13PM

Lunar eclipse 2020 in India date and time

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Lunar eclipse 2020 in India date and time
January 10, 2020 at 06:00PM

US: Seoul Must Continue to Enforce Sanctions on Pyongyang

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US: Seoul Must Continue to Enforce Sanctions on Pyongyang

The U.S. has responded to a call by South Korean President Moon Jae-in for renewed inter-Korean cooperation by stressing that Seoul must continue to implement all sanctions on North Korea.

"All U.N. Member States are required to implement U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions, and we expect them all to continue doing so," a State Department spokesperson said in an email message sent to VOA's Korean Service Wednesday.

"The United States and South Korea coordinate closely on our efforts related to the DPRK, and we mutually work to ensure that U.N. sanctions are fully implemented," the spokesperson continued.

The DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official English name of North Korea.

FILE - People point to a map on a wall in Mount Kumgang resort in Kumgang, Sept. 1, 2011.

New Year's speech

In his New Year's speech delivered Tuesday, Moon urged his government to work toward resuming joint projects at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mount Kumgang resort, and reviving frayed inter-Korean ties.

Moon also invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit Seoul.

On Thursday, a South Korean Unification Ministry official addressed the possible resumption of Mount Kumgang tourism by saying, "We are still discussing the issue, but there has been no progress in the talks, with the two sides still remaining far apart," according to the Yonhap News Agency in Seoul.

North Korea has berated South Korea for not resuming cooperation on the inter-Korean projects. But Seoul has been slow to restart the joint efforts, wary of violating the sanctions the U.N. placed on North Korea in 2016. The sanctions, which are aimed at curbing Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development program, ban setting up joint enterprises with North Korea. The closing of both projects deprived North Korea of a flow of much needed hard currency.

On Wednesday, Seoul said it will push ahead to restart the joint projects with North Korea. 

"As the party directly involved in the Korean Peninsula issue, South Korea will expand room for maneuvers and move forward things that can be carried out independently as much as possible," Unification Ministry spokesperson Lee Sang-min said.

Lee's remarks came after U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said Tuesday during an interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS that inter-Korean relations should move in tandem with denuclearization efforts.   

FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un meet during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi, Feb. 28, 2019.

Warming relations between Seoul and Pyongyang began to chill after President Donald Trump denied Kim's request for sanctions relief in exchange for partial denuclearization at the failed Hanoi Summit in February.

Denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang have been deadlocked since their working-level talks in Stockholm broke down in October.

Moon and Kim had agreed to reopen the shuttered factory complex in Kaesong and tours on Mount Kumgang when they met at their third summit held in Pyongyang in September 2018. At the time, the two leaders were hoping that thawing relations between Washington and Pyongyang would lead to a relaxation of U.S.-led sanctions placed on North Korea.

The two projects were at the heart of Seoul's rapprochement with Pyongyang in the late 1990s.

Tours of the scenic Mount Kumgang began in 1998, but were ended by Seoul after a North Korean soldier fatally shot a South Korean tourist in 2008. South Korea began its joint industrial project with Pyongyang at the factory park in Kaesong in 2004 but shut it after North Korea conducted a long-range missile test in early 2016.

Last week Kim said his country will focus on economic self-sufficiency, adding the present situation with the U.S. requires North Korea "to live under the sanctions by the hostile forces."

Christy Lee contributed to this story, which originated on VOA's Korean Service.


January 10, 2020 at 03:49PM

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