Український баритон, 31-річний Андрій Кимач переміг на конкурсі класичного співу BBC Cardiff Singer of World у Великій Британії.
Як повідомляє BBC, він був одним із п’яти співаків, які пройшли до фінального туру після тижня змагань.
Кимач отримає 20 000 фунтів (25,5 тисячі доларів) і Кардіффський трофей.
«Мене переповнюють почуття через те, що я виграв BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2019… Це буквально втілення мрії», – сказав переможець.
У фіналі Кимач виконав твори Бізе, Рахманінова та Доніцетті.
Більш ніж 400 співаків з усього світу подали заявки на участь у конкурсі в 2019 році, 20 учасників з 15 країн пройшли етап відбору.
Конкурс проводять кожні два роки, його почали з нагоди відкриття концертної зали St David Hall у 1983 році.
Андрій Кимач народився на Вінниччині, навчався на філософському факультеті Університету імені Тараса Шевченка, а потім на вокально-дерижерському факультеті Музичної академії імені Петра Чайковського у Києві.
У 2016 році він став солістом Херсонської обласної філармонії, а з 2016 до 2018 року був артистом Молодіжної оперної програми московського Большого театру.
На початку червня 2019-го українець значився серед виконавців партії Ескамільо в опері «Кармен» Жоржа Бізе у Театрі Джузеппе Верді в італійському Трієсті.
During the 1969 series of riots that followed a police raid of the Stonewall Inn, the New York Daily News headlined a story that quickly became infamous: “Homo Nest Raided, Queen Bees are Stinging Mad.”
Some of the coverage of rioting outside the gay bar — unimaginable today in mainstream publications for its mocking tone — was itself a source of the fury that led Stonewall to become a synonym for the fight for gay rights.
Fifty years later, media treatment of the LGBTQ community has changed and is still changing.
“The progress has been extraordinary, with the caveat that we still have a lot to do,” said Cathy Renna, a former executive for the media watchdog GLAAD who runs her own media consulting firm.
FILE – A New York Police officer grabs a youth by the hair as another officer clubs a young man during a confrontation in Greenwich Village after a Gay Power march in New York, Aug. 31, 1970.
Coverage nonexistent or negative
Before Stonewall, mainstream media coverage of gays was generally nonexistent or consisted of negative, police blotter items.
When a small group demonstrated against government treatment outside the White House in 1965, a newspaper headline said, “Protesters Call Government Unfair to Deviants,” noted Josh Howard, whose film “The Lavender Scare,” about an Eisenhower-era campaign against gays and lesbians in government, aired on PBS this week.
A 1966 Time magazine article called homosexuality “a pathetic little second-rate substitute for reality, a pitiable flight from life. As such it deserves fairness, compassion, understanding and, when possible, treatment. But it deserves no encouragement, no glamorization, no rationalization, no fake status as minority martyrdom, no sophistry about simple differences in taste and above all, no pretense that it is anything but a pernicious sickness.”
This is the sort of thing that Howard, who was 14 at the time of Stonewall, read about people like himself when he was young.
“It’s a hard way to grow up,” said the longtime CBS News producer. “I sort of realized that it was safe for me to be in the closet.”
Stonewall got some straightforward coverage at the time, although stories in The New York Times and the New York Post ran well inside the newspapers. An Associated Press story from June 30, 1969, said “police cleared the streets in the Sheridan Square area of Greenwich Village early Sunday as crowds of young men complained of police harassment of homosexuals.”
New York television stations ignored it, so the visual record amounts to a handful of still pictures.
A framed newspaper clipping hangs near the entrance of the Stonewall Inn in New York, June 14, 2019, headlining the 1969 riots. Some of the coverage of rioting was a source of fury that led Stonewall to become a synonym for the fight for gay rights.
Wake-up call for the media
The Daily News story was filled with slurs, and it began: “She sat there with her legs crossed, the lashes of her mascara-coated eyes beating like the wings of a hummingbird. She was angry. She was so upset she hadn’t bothered to shave.”
At the time, many demonstrators were more upset with riot coverage by the now-defunct alternative newsweekly The Village Voice, said Edward Alwood, author of “Straight News: Gays, Lesbians and the News Media.”
One Voice writer holed up with police inside Stonewall and said he wished he was armed.
“The sound filtering in doesn’t suggest dancing faggots anymore,” Howard Smith wrote. “It sounds like a powerful rage bent on vendetta.”
Another Voice writer, Lucian Truscott IV, repeatedly referred to “faggot” and “faggotry” and said of the rioters at one point, “limp wrists were forgotten.”
“That event has generally been seen through political lenses,” Alwood said. “It was also a wake-up call for the media.”
FILE – Guests attend the opening of the ‘Stonewall 50’ exhibit, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising and the dawn of the gay liberation movement, at the New Historical Society, in New York City, May 22, 2019.
Discomfort, stereotyping persisted
The immediate impact was growth and a heightened profile for news outlets specifically oriented to gays and lesbians, said Eric Marcus, author of the book “Making Gay History” and host of a podcast of the same name.
Marcus wrote in an essay this week about how Time magazine’s 1966 story “just about burned the skin off my face as I read it.”
Time didn’t cover Stonewall, but in October 1969 published a cover story about the emerging civil rights movement. While more straightforward in its reporting than the essay three years earlier, the story “was still dripping with sarcasm and contempt,” he said.
Time published Marcus’ piece as part of its Stonewall anniversary coverage, although it didn’t apologize for its past work.
While outright hate within the mainstream media subsided through the years, discomfort and stereotyping persisted. The go-to gay image for most publications was a silhouette of two men holding hands.
Coverage of gays in the military, for example, focused on “showers and submarines,” Renna said, or the unease of straight males in the presence of gays. Lesbians were barely mentioned, a sign of little awareness of diversity.
Through her work at GLAAD, Renna saw how Ellen DeGeneres’ revelation that she was a lesbian, both the ABC sitcom character she played at the time and the comedian in real life, was pivotal to promoting understanding.
The memorial outside The Stonewall Inn, considered by many the center of New York’s gay rights movement, after the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., June 12, 2016.
Attention to language
Renna has urged journalists to pay attention to their language. Being gay is not a lifestyle, she notes; “Having a dog is a lifestyle.” She also urges the use of “sexual orientation” as opposed to “sexual preference,” a recognition that being gay isn’t a choice.
“The vast majority of journalists are not homophobic,” she said. “They’re homo-ignorant.”
Renna, who wears her hair short and favors tailored suits, is used to being mistaken for a man. Until about a decade ago, people she would correct generally shrugged. As a sign of changing attitudes, “now people fall over themselves to apologize once they realize I’m a girl,” she said.
A handbook of terminology for news organizations that is put out by LGBTQ journalists has helped increase awareness.
There are still missteps. The AP decreed in 2013 that its journalists would not use the word “husband” or “wife” in reference to a legally married gay or lesbian couple. After a protest, the AP reversed its call a week later.
Two 2017 entries in the AP Stylebook, considered the authoritative reference for journalists on the use of language, illustrate how far things have come since the “queen bees” days 50 years ago. The AP endorses the use of “they, them or theirs” as singular pronouns (replacing he or she) if the story subject requests it, although the AP urges care in writing to avoid confusion.
The stylebook also reminds readers that not all people fit under one of two categories for gender, “so avoid references to both, either or opposite sexes.”
Gender identification remains an object of confusion for many journalists. Activists also urge news organizations to be aware of people who are emboldened to lash out at the LGBTQ community by the divided politics of the past few years.
A newspaper apologizes
With the Stonewall anniversary, Marcus, of “Making Gay History,” has been busy working with news organizations doing stories about the event.
One publication he finds particularly interested and responsible in marking the occasion is the New York Daily News. The News on June 7 wrote an editorial recognizing its unseemly moment in history.
“We here at the Daily News played an unhelpful role in helping create a climate that treated the victims as the punchline of jokes, not as dignified individuals with legitimate complaints about mistreatment,” the newspaper wrote. “For that, we apologize.”
It was the newspaper’s second apology for its 1969 story in four years.
У Києві починається Марш рівності на захист прав ЛГБТ-спільноти. Ходою завершуються акції «Київпрайду», що тривали в столиці України від 16 червня.
На свою акцію також вийшли противники Маршу рівності. Їхня колона розташована на відстані від учасників маршу. Дві колони розділяє кордон правоохоронців.
Організатори очікують на участь щонайменше 10 тисяч людей. На захід запросили президента України Володимира Зеленського.
Наразі про участь у марші в Києві повідомила низка іноземних посадовців. Серед них – німецька євродепутатка від Партії «зелених» Ребекка Гармс, яка завершує свою каденцію, німецька феміністка й правозахисниця, депутатка Бундестагу від «зелених» Улле Шаувс, депутат Палати громад Парламенту Великої Британії від Шотландської національної партії Стюарт МакДональд. Також, за повідомленнями, свою участь напередодні підтвердили посли Великої Британії, Німеччини, Канади, США в Україні.
Колишній учасник АТО, доброволець батальйону «Донбас» Віктор Пилипенко, який не приховує своєї орієнтації, днями анонсував участь у марші окремої колони ЛГБТ-військових і їхніх родичів, не менш ніж у 15 осіб.
Через прикінцеві акції 22 і 23 червня в центрі Києва частково обмежують дорожній рух і рух транспорту, зокрема й метро.
Міністерство внутрішніх справ України закликало організаторів «Маршу рівності» в Києві й їхніх опонентів утриматися від провокацій і дотримуватися закону. А в Київміськдержадміністрації повідомили, що спільно з правоохоронцями проведуть заходи для гарантування безпеки учасників маршу.
У попередні роки захід пильно охороняла поліція.
Раніше голови кількох іноземних представництв в Україні виступили із заявою, в якій зазначили, що останніми роками українські правоохоронні органи «значно покращили свою здатність захищати права ЛГБТІК-українців». Дипломати просили надати всю необхідну підтримку і цього року.
Організатори «Київправйду» 19 червня повідомили про напади на відвідувачів їхнього заходу: за їхнім повідомленням, група невідомих напала на групу людей, які поверталися з прем’єри фільму «Не ховай очей-2. Наші у США», яка проходила в центрі «Ізоляція» в Києві. На думку організаторів, «очевидно, що злочин був cкоєний на ґрунті ненависті».
«Київпрайд» – це українська громадська організація, метою якої, за її словами, є «сприяння досягненню повного дотримання прав людини для ЛГБТ+ в Україні, формування поваги до цих прав у суспільстві шляхом підвищення видимості та участі ЛГБТ+ у суспільних процесах». «Окрім своєї діяльності протягом року, ГО «Київпрайд» організовує щорічну подію, що називається «Київпрайд-тиждень», – мовиться в повідомленні на сайті організації. …
Museums across the United States are striving to be more accessible to everyone. That includes touchable versions of photographs and paintings for people who may not be able to see them. At a recent expo by the American Alliance of Museums in New Orleans, new technology was used to help the visually impaired “see” art and pictures. VOA’s Deborah Block tells us more.
Concrete military walls and police security checkpoints are seen on every corner of Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul. The robust security presence signals a major effort to protect civilians and government officials from terrorist attacks. But the very real threat of violence, like a suicide attack, doesn’t stop Kabul residents from living and enjoying their daily lives. VOA’s Ahmad Samir Rassoly gives us a unique view of a typical night in Kabul.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has received a personal letter from U.S. President Donald Trump and is contemplating its contents, North Korean state media reported Sunday.
The official Korean Central News Agency posted a picture of a pensive Kim holding a letter, apparently with White House letterhead. The report quoted Kim as praising its “excellent content.”
“Appreciating the political judging faculty and extraordinary courage of President Trump, Kim Jong Un said that he would seriously contemplate the interesting content,” KCNA reported.
The report did not say anything else about the content of the letter.
Exchanging letters, photos
Trump said earlier this month he received a “beautiful,” “very personal” and “very warm” letter from the North Korean leader.
Though nuclear talks between U.S. and North Korean officials are stalled, Kim and Trump have been exchanging letters and pictures for the past year, and both men say their relationship remains warm.
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.
Working-level talks broke down after a February summit between Trump and Kim in Hanoi, Vietnam, ended in no deal. Kim was unhappy with the pace of U.S. sanctions relief, while Trump was upset Kim would not commit to completely giving up his nuclear program.
Since then, North Korea has tested several short-range ballistic missiles and other weapons. Kim has said he will give Washington until the end of the year to become more flexible in the talks.
U.S. officials have shrugged off North Korea’s weapons tests and end-of-the-year ultimatum. Trump has said he is willing to hold a third summit with Kim if the conditions are right.
G-20 and beyond
Next week, Trump will visit South Korea following his meetings in Japan at the Group of 20 summit.
There has been speculation, though no evidence, that Trump could try to hold another high-profile summit at that time.
South Korean officials have also said they are working to hold a summit between the leaders of North and South Korea before Trump’s visit.
The letter comes a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up a state visit to North Korea, where he promised to play an active role in the nuclear talks.
“After months of an impasse in the negotiations and little contact between the U. S. and North Korea, it appears there is some diplomatic maneuvering underway,” said Bonnie Glaser, an Asia specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“[It is] unclear yet whether Xi’s visit to Pyongyang played a role, or whether other factors are at play,” she added.
President Donald Trump has a silent partner behind several of the accomplishments he likes to boast about: Barack Obama.
Despite assailing his Democratic predecessor for waging a “cruel and heartless war on American energy,” for example, Trump can brag about U.S. energy supremacy thanks to the sector’s growth in the Obama years.
And the Obama-Trump decade is soon to yield an economic record if things stay on track a little longer — the most sustained expansion in U.S. history. Though Trump claims all the credit, the expansion started in Obama’s first year, continued through his presidency and has been maintained under Trump.
There are no fist bumps in the offing, however.
The past week saw the kickoff of Trump’s 2020 campaign with a rally in Florida. That and other events provided Trump a platform that he used to exaggerate what he’s done, take some factually challenged swipes at Obama and Democrats at large, and make promises that will be hard to keep. Here are samples:
FILE – U.S. Border Patrol agents keep watch on a large group of migrants who they said were attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, in El Paso, Texas, May 29, 2019.
Migrants
TRUMP, in interview with Telemundo broadcast Thursday, talking about separating children from adults at the Mexican border: “When I became president, President Obama had a separation policy. I didn’t have it. He had it. I brought the families together. I’m the one that brought `em together. Now, I said something when I did that. I’m the one that put people together. … They separated. I put `em together.”
JOSE DIAZ-BALART, interviewer: “You did not.”
THE FACTS: Trump is not telling the truth. The separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents resulted from his “zero tolerance” policy. Obama had no such policy. After a public uproar and under a court order, Trump ceased the separations.
Zero tolerance meant that U.S. authorities would criminally prosecute all adults caught crossing into the U.S. illegally. Doing so meant detention for adults and the removal of their children while their parents were in custody. During the Obama administration, such family separations were the exception. They became the practice under Trump’s policy, which he suspended a year ago.
Before Trump’s zero-tolerance policy, migrant families caught illegally entering the U.S. were usually referred for civil deportation proceedings, not requiring separation, unless they were known to have a criminal record. Then and now, immigration officials may take a child from a parent in certain cases, such as serious criminal charges against a parent, concerns about the health and welfare of a child or medical concerns.
TRUMP, in Telemundo interview, talking about detention centers at the border: “President Obama is the one that built those prison cells.”
THE FACTS: He has a point. Whether they are called prison cells or something else, Obama held children in temporary, ill-equipped facilities and built a large center in McAllen, Texas, that is used now.
Democrats routinely and inaccurately blame Trump for creating “cages” for children. They are referring to chain-link fencing inside the McAllen center — Obama’s creation.
Conditions for detained migrants deteriorated sharply during a surge of Central American arrivals under Trump, particularly in El Paso, Texas.
FILE – Trucks are seen after crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S. at the World Trade Bridge, in Laredo, Texas, June 20, 2019.
Trade
TRUMP, in remarks Thursday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: “This will be the largest trade deal ever made, and it won’t even be close. If you take a look at the numbers, second is so far away, you don’t even call it second. So it’s very exciting. And very exciting for Mexico; very exciting for Canada.”
THE FACTS: That’s wrong, simply by virtue of the number of trade partners involved.
The proposed new agreement, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement, covers the same three countries. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, negotiated by the Obama administration, included the three NAFTA partners — United States, Canada and Mexico — plus Japan and eight other Pacific Rim countries. Trump withdrew the United States from the pact on his third day in office.
Even the Pacific deal pales in comparison with one that did go into effect with the U.S. on board, the Uruguay Round. Concluded in 1994, the round of negotiations created the World Trade Organization and was signed by 123 countries. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston said the WTO’s initial membership accounted for more than 90 percent of global economic output.
TRUMP, on his tariffs, in a rally Tuesday in Orlando, Fla.: “We are taking in billions and billions of dollars into our Treasury. … We have never taken 10 cents from China.”
THE FACTS: It’s false to say the U.S. never collected a dime in tariffs on Chinese goods before he took action. They are simply higher in some cases than they were before. It’s also wrong to suggest that the tariffs are being paid by China. Tariff money coming into the Treasury is mainly from U.S. businesses and consumers, not from China. Tariffs are primarily if not entirely a tax paid domestically.
Iran
TRUMP, in a Friday tweet: “President Obama made a desperate and terrible deal with Iran – Gave them 150 Billion Dollars plus 1.8 Billion Dollars in CASH! Iran was in big trouble and he bailed them out. Gave them a free path to Nuclear Weapons, and SOON. Instead of saying thank you, Iran yelled … Death to America. I terminated deal.”
TRUMP, on his accomplishments, in Fox News interview Wednesday: “And then terminating one of the worst deals ever made, the Iran deal that was made by President Obama — paid $150 billion. Paid $1.8 billion in cash. I terminated that and Iran is a much different country.”
THE FACTS: There was no $150 billion payout from the U.S. Treasury. The money he refers to represents Iranian assets held abroad that were frozen until the international deal was reached and Tehran was allowed to access its funds.
The payout of about $1.8 billion is a separate matter. That dates to the 1970s, when Iran paid the U.S. $400 million for military equipment that was never delivered because the government was overthrown and diplomatic relations ruptured.
That left people, businesses and governments in each country indebted to partners in the other, and these complex claims took decades to sort out in tribunals and arbitration. For its part, Iran paid settlements of more than $2.5 billion to U.S. citizens and businesses.
The day after the nuclear deal was implemented, the U.S. and Iran announced they had settled the claim over the 1970s military equipment order, with the U.S. agreeing to pay the $400 million principal along with about $1.3 billion in interest. The $400 million was paid in cash and flown to Tehran on a cargo plane, which gave rise to Trump’s dramatic accounts of money stuffed in barrels or boxes and delivered in the dead of night. The arrangement provided for the interest to be paid later, not crammed into containers.
FILE – A worker helps monitor water pumping pressure and temperature at an oil and natural gas extraction site in Colorado, March 29, 2013.
Energy
TRUMP, at Orlando rally: “We’ve ended the last administration’s cruel and heartless war on American energy. What they were doing to our energy should never be forgotten. The United States is now the No. 1 producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world.”
TRUMP, in Fox News interview Wednesday: “We’re now No. 1 in the world in energy.”
THE FACTS: As he’s done many times before, Trump is crediting himself with things that happened under Obama.
Here’s what the government’s U.S. Energy Information Administration says: “The United States has been the world’s top producer of natural gas since 2009, when U.S. natural gas production surpassed that of Russia, and the world’s top producer of petroleum hydrocarbons since 2013, when U.S. production exceeded Saudi Arabia’s.”
Jobs
TRUMP, at Orlando rally: “Almost 160 million people are working. That’s more than ever before.”
THE FACTS: True but that’s a tribute to Americans making babies and immigrants coming to the country. Population growth, in other words.
Other than during recessions, employment growth has been trending upward since 1939, when the Labor Department started counting. The phenomenon is not a marker of leadership; it has spanned successful and failed presidents.
More on point, the annual rate of job growth has been within the same range since roughly 2011. It was 1.6% through May.
Another measure is the proportion of Americans with jobs, and that is still below record highs. The Labor Department says 60.6 percent of people in the U.S. 16 years and older were working in May. That’s below the all-time high of 64.7 percent in April 2000 during Bill Clinton’s administration, though higher than the 59.9 percent when Trump was inaugurated in January 2017.
TRUMP, at Orlando rally: “Women’s unemployment is now the lowest it’s been in 74 years.”
THE FACTS: No, the jobless rate for women of 3.1% in April was the lowest in 66 years, not 74, and it ticked up in May to 3.2%.
Economy
TRUMP, at Orlando rally: “It’s soaring to incredible new heights. Perhaps the greatest economy we’ve had in the history of our country.”
THE FACTS: The economy is not one of the best in the country’s history. It expanded at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the first quarter of this year. That growth was the highest in just four years for the first quarter.
In the late 1990s, growth topped 4 percent for four straight years, a level it has not yet reached on an annual basis under Trump. Growth even reached 7.2 percent in 1984.
The economy grew 2.9% in 2018 — the same pace it reached in 2015 under Obama — and simply hasn’t hit historically high growth rates.
Trump has legitimate claim to a good economy but when it comes to records, there’s one he will have to share with Obama. The economy is on track to achieve its longest expansion ever, in July. Much of that decade-long growth came during Obama’s presidency, an achievement that Trump so far has largely sustained. Other than in its durability, the economy is far from the finest in history.
The wall
TRUMP, in Fox News interview Wednesday: “We’ll have over 400 miles built by the end of next year.”
TRUMP, at Orlando rally: “We’re going to have over 400 miles of wall built by the end of next year. It’s moving very rapidly.”
THE FACTS: That’s highly unlikely, and even if so, the great majority of the wall he’s talking about would be replacement barrier, not new miles of construction. Trump has added strikingly little length to barriers along the Mexico border despite his pre-eminent 2016 campaign promise to get a wall done.
Even to reach 400 miles or 640 kilometers, he would have to prevail in legal challenges to his declaration of a national emergency or get Congress to find more money to get anywhere close.
So far, the administration has awarded contracts for 247 miles (395 km) of wall construction, but that initiative has been constrained by court cases that are still playing out.
In any event, all but 17 miles (27 km) of his awarded contracts so far would replace existing barriers.
Taxes
TRUMP, at Orlando rally: “We’ve done so much … with the biggest tax cut in history.”
THE FACTS: His tax cuts are nowhere close to the biggest in U.S. history.
It’s a $1.5 trillion tax cut over 10 years. As a share of the total economy, a tax cut of that size ranks 12th, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. President Ronald Reagan’s 1981 cut is the biggest, followed by the 1945 rollback of taxes that financed World War II.
Post-Reagan tax cuts also stand among the historically significant: President George W. Bush’s cuts in the early 2000s and Obama’s renewal of them a decade later.
Environment
TRUMP, in Fox News interview Wednesday: “Our water and our air today is cleaner than it ever was. … Our air — it’s the best it ever was.”
TRUMP, at Orlando rally: “Our air and water are the cleanest they’ve ever been by far.”
THE FACTS: Not true about air quality, which hasn’t gotten better under the Trump administration. U.S. drinking water is among the best by one leading measure.
After decades of improvement, progress in air quality has stalled. Over the last two years the U.S. had more polluted air days than just a few years earlier, federal data show.
There were 15% more days with unhealthy air in America both last year and the year before than there were on average from 2013 through 2016, the four years when America had its fewest number of those days since at least 1980.
The Obama administration, in fact, set records for the fewest air-polluted days, in 2016.
On water, Yale University’s global Environmental Performance Index finds 10 countries tied for the cleanest drinking water, the U.S. among them. On environmental quality overall, the U.S. was 27th, behind a variety of European countries, Canada, Japan, Australia and more. Switzerland was No. 1.
Judges
TRUMP, on the confirmation of federal judges, at Orlando rally: “President Obama was very nice to us. He didn’t fill the positions.”
THE FACTS: Trump’s sarcasm aside, he does have a better success rate than Obama in filling judicial vacancies. The Republican-controlled Senate in Obama’s last two years avoided taking action on many of his nominees. Republicans still control the Senate and have been able to confirm about 120 of Trump’s picks despite their slim majority. That’s about 35 more than Obama had confirmed at this point in his presidency.
Health care
TRUMP, at Orlando rally: “We will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions. Always.”
THE FACTS: His administration’s actions say otherwise. It is pressing in court for full repeal of Obama’s health law, which requires insurers to take all applicants, regardless of medical history, and charge the same standard premiums to healthy people and those who had medical problems before or when they signed up.
Trump and other Republicans say they’ll have a plan to preserve protections for people with pre-existing conditions, but the White House has provided no details.
FILE – Abortion rights activists protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court, during the March for Life in Washington, Jan. 18, 2019.
Abortion
TRUMP, at Orlando rally: “Leading Democrats have even opposed measures to prevent the execution of children after birth.”
THE FACTS: Executing children is already a crime.
Trump is offering here a somewhat toned down version of a distorted story he’s been telling for months that falsely suggests Democrats are OK with murder.
His account arises from extremely rare instances when babies are born alive as a result of an attempted abortion. When these cases occur, “execution” is not an option.
When a baby is born with anomalies so severe that he or she would die soon after birth, a family may choose what’s known as palliative care or comfort care. This might involve allowing the baby to die naturally without medical intervention. Providing comfort without life-extending treatment is not specific to newborns. It may happen with fatally ill patients of any age.
Veterans
TRUMP, at Orlando rally: “We passed VA Choice. …They’ve been trying to get that passed also for about 44 years.”
THE FACTS: No, Congress approved the private-sector Veterans Choice health program in 2014 and Obama signed it into law. Trump signed an expansion of it.
Russia investigation
TRUMP, on Fox News interview Wednesday: “I’m the most transparent president in history. I let Mueller have everything they wanted.”
THE FACTS: It’s highly questionable to say Trump was fully cooperative in the Russia investigation.
Trump declined to sit for an interview with Robert Mueller’s team, gave written answers that investigators described as “inadequate” and “incomplete,” said more than 30 times that he could not remember something he was asked about in writing, and — according to the report — tried to get aides to fire the special counsel or otherwise shut or limit the inquiry.
In the end, the Mueller report found insufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia but left open the question of whether Trump obstructed justice.
According to the report, Mueller’s team declined to make a prosecutorial judgment on whether to charge partly because of a Justice Department legal opinion that said sitting presidents cannot be indicted. The report instead factually laid out instances in which Trump might have obstructed justice, specifically leaving it open for Congress to take up the matter.
In a surprise move, President Donald Trump said he would push back by a couple of weeks the raids planned for Sunday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border,” Trump wrote in a tweet Saturday afternoon from the presidential retreat in Camp David in Maryland.
At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start!
The reports that ICE planned to conduct large-scale enforcement actions sparked an outcry from Democratic leaders in many major cities, who condemned the plan and initiated efforts to help affected residents.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had spoken with Trump Friday night, urging the delay, the Associated Press reported, citing a person familiar with the situation and not authorized to discuss it.
Pelosi asked him to call off the raids during the call. She also released a statement Saturday, before Trump’s tweet announcing the delay, and asked the president to show the same compassion he had on Friday, when he called off a strike on Iran.
“The president spoke about the importance of avoiding the collateral damage of 150 lives in Iran. I would hope he would apply that same value to avoiding the collateral damage to tens of thousands of children who are frightened by his actions,” she said in the statement, in which she called the raids “heartless.”
Pelosi responded later Saturday to Trump’s announcement to delay the raids, tweeting, “Mr. President, delay is welcome. Time is needed for comprehensive immigration reform. Families belong together.”
Mr. President, delay is welcome. Time is needed for comprehensive immigration reform. Families belong together. https://t.co/R9PDrfaKWj
Just hours before his tweet that announced the postponement of the raids, as he departed the White House Saturday for Camp David, Trump said migrants who were to be targeted in a nationwide roundup should return to their native countries.
ICE Acting Director Mark Morgan told reporters days earlier the agency would round up and deport families who have received a removal order from a U.S. immigration court.
The operation, first reported by The Washington Post, had been expected to begin on Sunday, targeting up to 2,000 families in large cities that are major immigration destinations, including Houston, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles.
Trump tweeted Saturday morning that ICE agents will pursue those who “have run from the law and run from the courts.”
He added, “These are people that are supposed to go back to their home country. They broke the law by coming into the country, & now by staying.”
The Miami Herald reports the other cities to be targeted are Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, New Orleans, New York and San Francisco.
Announced earlier this week
On Monday, Trump had tweeted the U.S. would start deporting “millions of illegal aliens” from the country next week, but the announcement appeared to catch the country’s immigration officials by surprise.
Administration officials said the deportation plans have been under consideration for months, but immigration officials said earlier this week that raids on migrant families were not imminent.
The Post said discussions about the scope of the operation continued Friday at the White House, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE.
Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan has warned that an operation to arrest migrants in their homes and at work sites risks separating children from their parents.
Acting ICE Director Morgan told reporters this week the operation is necessary for the integrity of the immigration system.
He said families cannot be exempted from immigration law and said the law “must be applied fairly and equally.” He urged families with deportation orders to turn themselves in to immigration officials.
The Post said ICE is planning to “use hotel rooms as temporary staging areas to detain parents and children until all the members of a family are together and ready for deportation.”
Some officials refuse to help
The mayors of Los Angeles and Chicago said city police would not participate in the raids.
In a statement Friday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she had directed the Chicago Police Department to prevent ICE access to its databases related to federal immigration enforcement.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement that L.A. law enforcement officers “will never participate” in such raids.
Trump administration officials said the 1 million migrants who had been issued final deportation orders but were still living in the U.S. would be targeted first in the operation. However, the most the U.S. has ever deported in a single year was in 2013, when about 435,000 were sent home.
It is unusual for public officials to disclose law enforcement raids in advance, for fear of alerting the targets of the raids, and possibly endangering police and other law enforcement personnel.
Immigration activists say the president is using the operation for political purposes and warn it is causing fear in the immigrant community, leading migrants to miss work and school.
Sarah Pierce, an immigration policy analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, said in an interview with USA Today the threat to deport “millions” of undocumented immigrants was “wildly unrealistic” and logistically not possible.
У «Київпрайді» висловили жаль через відсутність реакції влади України і Києва на напади на відвідувачів одного з їхніх заходів, що сталися попередніми днями.
«Нам дуже шкода, що ні пан президент Володимир Зеленський, ні пан мер Віталій Кличко не відреагували на напади, скоєні 19 червня на відвідувачів та відвідувачок «Прайд-хаусу», де проходить культурно-просвітня програма «Прайд-тижню», – заявила на брифінгу під будівлею адміністрації президента України в Києві виконавча директорка «Київпрайду» Руслана Панухник.
«Ми твердо переконані, що публічна нереакція на насилля, яке у нашому випадку є злочинами на ґрунті ненависті, є його легітимізацією – що є неприйнятним у сучасній країні, яка декларує свої цінності як європейські», – сказала голова піар-департаменту цієї громадської організації Софія Лапіна.
«Також нам дуже прикро, що пан президент досі жодним чином не відреагував на наше відеозапрошення на «Марш рівності», який відбудеться завтра, 23 червня, адже воно було щирим», – додала вона.
Панухник і Лапіна висловили переконання, що «абсолютна більшість суспільства засуджує насильство та вважає його неприйнятним». Тому вони закликали охочих 23 червня долучитися до «Маршу рівності» в Києві і «підтримати ідею безпеки та рівних прав, гарантованих нам, громадянам України, її конституцією».
У Києві цими днями тривають акції «Київпрайду», що почалися 16 червня і завершаться вранці 23 червня «Маршем рівності». Організатори очікують на участь щонайменше 10 тисяч осіб. На захід запросили президента України Володимира Зеленського.
Наразі про участь у марші в Києві повідомила низка іноземних посадовців. Серед них – німецька євродепутатка від Партії «зелених» Ребекка Гармс, яка завершує свою каденцію, німецька феміністка й правозахисниця, депутатка Бундестагу від «зелених» Улле Шаувс, депутат Палати громад Парламенту Великої Британії від Шотландської національної партії Стюарт МакДональд. Також, за повідомленнями, свою участь напередодні підтвердили посли Великої Британії, Німеччини, Канади, США в Україні.
Колишній учасник АТО, доброволець батальйону «Донбас» Віктор Пилипенко, який не приховує своєї орієнтації, днями анонсував участь у марші окремої колони ЛГБТ-військових і їхніх родичів, не менш ніж у 15 осіб.
Через прикінцеві акції 22 і 23 червня в центрі Києва частково обмежують дорожній рух і рух транспорту, зокрема й метро.
Міністерство внутрішніх справ України закликало організаторів «Маршу рівності» в Києві й їхніх опонентів утриматися від провокацій і дотримуватися закону. А в Київміськдержадміністрації повідомили, що спільно з правоохоронцями проведуть заходи для гарантування безпеки учасників маршу.
У попередні роки захід пильно охороняла поліція.
Раніше голови кількох іноземних представництв в Україні виступили із заявою, в якій зазначили, що останніми роками українські правоохоронні органи «значно покращили свою здатність захищати права ЛГБТІК-українців». Дипломати просили надати всю необхідну підтримку і цього року.
Організатори «Київправйду» 19 червня повідомили про напади на відвідувачів їхнього заходу: за їхнім повідомленням, група невідомих напала на групу людей, які поверталися з прем’єри фільму «Не ховай очей-2. Наші у США», яка проходила в центрі «Ізоляція» в Києві. На думку організаторів, «очевидно, що злочин був cкоєний на ґрунті ненависті».
«Київпрайд» – це українська громадська організація, метою якої, за її словами, є «сприяння досягненню повного дотримання прав людини для ЛГБТ+ в Україні, формування поваги до цих прав у суспільстві шляхом підвищення видимості та участі ЛГБТ+ у суспільних процесах». «Окрім своєї діяльності протягом року, ГО «Київпрайд» організовує щорічну подію, що називається «Київпрайд-тиждень», – мовиться в повідомленні на сайті організації. …
A seven-story building under construction collapsed in Cambodia’s coastal city of Sihanoukville early Saturday, killing seven workers and injuring 21, authorities said.
Provincial authorities said in a statement that four Chinese nationals involved in the construction have been detained while an investigation into the collapse is carried out.
Rescue work at the site was underway to find out if any more workers were trapped in the rubble, said the city police chief, Maj. Thul Phorsda. Workers could be seen using saws to cut steel beams and excavators to move piles of rubble from the site.
The Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training said that 30 workers were at the site when the building tumbled around 4 a.m. Police and provincial authorities said they were unsure how many people were working on the building.
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the collapse.
Yun Min, the governor of Preah Sihanouk province, said the building was owned by a Chinese investor who leased land for a condominium – one of many Chinese projects in the thriving beach resort.
Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said on his official Facebook page that the Cambodian workers were using the unfinished structure as their sleeping quarters. The building was about 70% to 80% completed.
U.N. Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet is urging the Venezuelan government to free hundreds of jailed dissidents who were arrested for participating in peaceful protests.
Her request came at the end of a three-day visit Friday to Venezuela during which she met with President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido.
At a Caracas news conference before leaving the country, Bachelet called on the government “to release all those who are detained or deprived of their liberty for exercising their rights in a peaceful manner.”
Rights groups have been pressuring Bachelet to advocate on behalf of more than 700 people they say have been jailed for political reasons, a claim Maduro denies.
‘Serious’ humanitarian crisis
Bachelet, who said Venezuela faced a “serious” humanitarian crisis, also met with activists and victims of human rights violations, many of whom have been accused of conspiracy to overthrow the government.
“It was deeply painful to hear the desire of the victims, of their families, to obtain justice in the face of serious human rights violations,” she sald.
Maduro said that he will take the recommendations of Bachelet seriously. After meeting Bachelet, Maduro said, “There are always going to be different criteria in every country, but I told her that she can count on me, as president, to take her suggestions, her recommendations and her proposals seriously.”
Earlier, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said that Bachelet will leave two delegates in Venezuela to monitor the country’s human rights situation, a development Bachelet confirmed.
Guaido said Bachelet’s team would investigate issues related to the country’s lack of food and medicine. They will also look into allegations President Maduro’s government has violated human rights while cracking down on the opposition.
Some activists released
The trip to Venezuela was Bachelet’s first as chief of the U.N. watchdog. Her predecessor, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, was repeatedly denied access to the country for what he considered the government’s refusal to recognize the humanitarian crisis.
Maduro appears to have taken a more diplomatic approach this time, as he released on the eve of her arrival 28 opposition activists many considered political prisoners.
Bachelet arrived in Venezuela at the invitation of the government. Her visit preceded a three-week U.N. Human Rights Council session that begins on June 24.
The U.S. and other Western states are expected to denounce Maduro’s government for its alleged use of excessive force and mismanagement, which has led to chronic shortages of essentials, such as food and medicine.
The U.N. says the political and economic crisis in the oil-rich country has forced some 4 million people to flee the country since 2015.
Bachelet also has criticized sanctions imposed against Maduro’s government by U.S. President Donald Trump, contending trade restrictions on trade could adversely affect the general population.
VOA congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson and VOA Persian’s Katherine Ahn contributed to this report from Washington.
WASHINGTON — Iran warned Saturday that it would react sharply to any perceived aggression against it.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told the semi-official Tasnim news agency that Iran would not allow any of its borders to be violated. He said “Iran will firmly confront any aggression or threat by America.”
Britain’s Middle East minister travels to Tehran Sunday for talks with Iranian officials. Britain’s Foreign Office said Andrew Murrison will call for “urgent de-escalation in the region.” Murrison will also discuss Iran’s threat to cease complying with the nuclear deal that the United States pulled out of last year.
Friday U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that the United States was “cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it,” Trump tweeted, saying the action would have been disproportionate.
“I am in no hurry,” Trump added.
President Obama made a desperate and terrible deal with Iran – Gave them 150 Billion Dollars plus I.8 Billion Dollars in CASH! Iran was in big trouble and he bailed them out. Gave them a free path to Nuclear Weapons, and SOON. Instead of saying thank you, Iran yelled…..
The president also said that he authorized additional “biting” sanctions against Iran late Thursday night as part of his administration’s maximum pressure campaign to force Iran to restart negotiations over its nuclear program.
“Iran can NEVER have Nuclear Weapons, not against the USA, and not against the WORLD!” Trump tweeted.
The move appears to pull Washington and Tehran back from the brink of armed conflict that could engulf the Middle East. President Trump spoke Friday with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“The two leaders discussed Saudi Arabia’s critical role in ensuring stability in the Middle East and in the global oil market,” said White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley. “They also discussed the threat posed by the Iranian regime’s escalatory behavior.”
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday, “We are in an extremely dangerous and sensitive situation with Iran. We must calibrate a response that de-escalates and advances American interests, and we must be clear as to what those interests are.” She added that any hostilities against Iran must first be approved by Congress.
Concern about a potential armed confrontation between the U.S. and Iran has been growing since U.S. officials recently blamed Tehran for mine attacks on two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, allegations Tehran denies, and Iran’s downing of an unmanned U.S. drone this week.
James Phillips, a senior researcher at the conservative Washington-based Heritage Foundation, said he believes the immediate risk of a U.S.-Iran conflict has passed. “It’s probably over as far as the incident goes with the shoot down of the drone. But, I think if there are further provocations, the president will respond in a strong and effective manner,” he said.
Phillips also said he does not expect Tehran to accept U.S. calls for negotiations while Trump continues a “maximum pressure campaign” of sanctions on Iran. “I doubt that Tehran will be serious until it sees who wins the next presidential election,” he said.
The U.S. announced this week it was authorizing another 1,000 troops — including a Patriot missile battery and additional manned and unmanned reconnaissance aircraft to bolster defenses at U.S. positions in Iraq and Syria.
Trump earlier said the unmanned surveillance drone that was shot down was flying over international waters in the Strait of Hormuz when it was hit by an Iranian missile, and said the incident was a “very bad mistake.”
Iran says the drone flew into its air space, a “blatant violation of International law.”
Iran’s letter to @antonioguterres & #UNSC: While Iran does not seek war, it reserves its inherent right, under the UN Charter,to take all appropriate necessary measures against any hostile act violating its territory & is determined to vigorously defend its land, sea & air. pic.twitter.com/LDQBOZPCi5
Friday, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, showed off pieces of wreckage he said Iran had recovered after shooting down the U.S. drone.
He also said Iran itself had shown restraint, opting not take shoot down another U.S. plane, sparing American lives.
“Another spy aircraft called P8 was flying close to this drone,” Hajizadeh said. “That aircraft is manned, and has around 35 crew members, well we could have targeted that plane.”
“It was our right to do so, and yes it was American, but we didn’t do it,” he said.
At 00:14 US drone took off from UAE in stealth mode & violated Iranian airspace. It was targeted at 04:05 at the coordinates (25°59’43″N 57°02’25″E) near Kouh-e Mobarak.
We’ve retrieved sections of the US military drone in OUR territorial waters where it was shot down. pic.twitter.com/pJ34Tysmsg
U.S. Air Forces Central Command, which oversees U.S. military activity in the region, has called many of the Iranian claims “categorically false.”
Central Command spokesman Lt. Col. Earl Brown rejected Iran’s claims that a surveillance plane was flying alongside the drone, saying, “At no point in time did any U.S. aircraft enter Iranian airspace on June 19.”
The U.S. Defense Department has also released images to bolster its assertion the drone did not enter Iranian airspace. But a news report said the department erroneously labeled the drone’s fight path the location where it was shot down. An image apparently showing the airborne drone exploding provided little context.
“It’s a really dangerous game and if I was flying in that region – which I have before – I’d be a little more nervous,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a U.S. Air Force Veteran who flew missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, told reporters Friday.
Kinzinger said Iran has moved the situation “this time – and multiple times prior – into the kinetic military realm. This is not the president doing it. I think a military response, even a small one is appropriate but if there’s a strong economic cost then I think that could work, too.”
But in recent days, Democrats have expressed concern Trump has not adequately consulted with the U.S. Congress on a military response they say could have grave consequences.
“I think every president would probably say initial, retaliatory strikes are ok but let’s de-escalate this, let’s look for a diplomatic solution,” Rep. Ami Bera, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told VOA. “He (Trump) may be walking right into the hands of what the Revolutionary Guards want.”
У Києві з 18:00 22 червня до 18:00 23 червня обмежать рух транспорту.
Як повідомляє Патрульна поліція, рух буде обмежено по вулиці Хрещатик, вулиці Богдана Хмельницького, вулиці Володимирська, вулиці Льва Толстого, вулиці Тарасівська, вулиці Антоновича, вулиці Велика Васильківська та по бульвару Тараса Шевченка.
Через закриття вулиць зміниться рух наземного громадського транспорту, повідомили у КМДА.
Київський метрополітен повідомив про зміни в роботі станції у центрі міста.
В українській столиці нині також тривають акції в рамках «КиївПрайду», вони розпочалися 16 червня і закінчаться 23 червня Маршем рівності. …
The World Health Organization says nearly half of the world’s population is at risk of contracting malaria. Efforts to fight the disease take two paths, fighting the disease itself and fighting the mosquitos that carry the disease. University of Maryland researchers are testing a novel new way to kill mosquitos in Burkina Faso. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports.
Muslims started settling in America in the 1600s. From the Northeast to Midwest, they have left their mark on U.S. history. Even in some Midwestern states where few Muslims live, there are historic milestones of their presence. Muslim homesteaders in Ross, North Dakota, built a mosque in the 1920s, making it one of the first mosques built in America. Saqib Ul Islam gives us a look in this report.
Istanbul votes again in a mayoral election Sunday, after authorities voided an opposition victory in March that ended 15 years of control by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP Party.
The CHP’s Ekrem Imamoglu, a once-obscure opposition figure, pulled off the political upset, but it was eventually undone by Turkey’s president, who cited mistakes in the appointment of polling station officials. Imamoglu was booted out of his office and Turkish officials ordered a re-run.
Erdogan, in what is being seen as a last-minute bid to win Sunday, is looking to an imprisoned Kurdish rebel leader in an effort to deny the opposition key Kurdish votes.
Jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, in a handwritten letter, called on Kurds to remain “neutral” in Sunday’s vote.
Istanbul Goes Back to Polls in Critical Vote video player.
Now, Imamoglu is back on the campaign trail, targeting electoral strongholds of his opponent.
Thousands turned out Wednesday to hear his message in Istanbul’s Sancaktepe district, a faraway suburb dominated by AKP supporters.
“What do we love?” Imamoglu asked, speaking on top of a campaign bus. “We love democracy. We love freedom, we love fraternity (brotherhood), we love peace. We love being united with our nation.”
This Imamoglu supporter says the re-run of the Istanbul vote is undemocratic. (VOA/D. Jones)
Defending democracy slogan
Imamoglu’s message of reaching across Turkey’s deep political divide is widely seen as having been key to his victory in the March poll. Coupled with his slogan of defending democracy in Turkey, some see him picking up steam on the campaign trail.
“We are definitely putting up a struggle for rights, law and justice. We are putting up a fight against those who stole our democratic rights on March 31st,” he said to the cheering crowd.
The message of democracy resonated with some voters listening to Imamoglu.
“For me, Imamoglu had already won,” said a retiree, who declined to be named. “As this is a case of stealing, we will go and vote for Imamoglu again just to spite them.”
With 1 in 3 Istanbul youths unemployed CHP opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu pledge to create jobs is seen as a vote winner. (VOA/D. Jones)
With 1 in 3 youth unemployed in Istanbul, a city hit hard by the country’s economic slowdown, it is the economy that matters most for some.
“He promises jobs. We are unemployed. We are university graduates but have no jobs. We don’t get posts,” said Neslihan, who only gave her first name. “People are hungry. They cannot take bread to their homes. All the beautiful things will come with Imamoglu.”
“Republican People’s Party (CHP) received a very positive reaction that it had not seen for a long time and could increase its share of votes compared to past,” says Nazli Okten, who teaches sociology at Istanbul’s Galatasaray University.
AKP candidate Binali Yildirm seeks to rally the base saying the opposition stole his victory in March poll for Istanbul mayor. (VOA/D. Jones)
AKP candidate fights back
Across the city in the Kucukcekmece district, AKP candidate Binali Yildirim avoids talking about the economy and focuses on his claim the March election was stolen from him by fraud, a charge not upheld by the electoral authorities.
“Do not forget that we have unfinished business left from March 31st,” said Yildirim in a speech to supporters in Istanbul.
The crowd shouts back, “We will not forget.”
Kucukcekmece is an AKP stronghold. Yildirim is also seeking to rally the base with a message of defending democracy.
“Justice will be served, that is how we should call it,” said Hanife, a shop owner. “Justice will be served. Our votes were not counted, in the last election. Where did they disappear? Where has my vote gone?”
Hanife, an AKP supporter, backs the Istanbul revote saying the March vote was unfair. (VOA/D. Jones)
Hanife is one of many who credit their success to AKP party rule in Istanbul.
“I am a shop owner for 12 years and have been living here for 22 years. I own a clothing store, a boutique, and I opened it with my state’s support. I got a credit from our state and opened it. That is why I support them,” Hanife said.
With Istanbul accounting for a third of the Turkish economy and its $8 billion budget, the stakes are high in Sunday’s poll.
“Politically, this is a vital importance in terms of the use and distribution of Istanbul resources,” sociologist Okten said. “The side that uses these resources wisely will get a significant share of votes in the general elections in the long run.”
In a last-minute move, Erdogan has stepped into the campaign as the latest opinion polls point to a resounding defeat for his candidate, a signal the Istanbul election could prove to be as much about his future as the city’s.
Адвокат українського військового Віталія Марківа Раффаеле Делла Валле виступив на суді в італійському місті Павія із підсумковою промовою, яка тривала 6 годин.
За його словами, прокуратура міста Павії та родина загиблого на Донбасі італійського фотографа намагаються призначити винного, а не знайти справжнього винуватця у загибелі Андреа Роккеллі 5 років тому.
Спростовуючи тези обвинувачення, захисник зосередився на детальному аналізі інформації від трьох ключових свідків, за даними яких прокурор Андреа Дзанончеллі реконструював факти та створив обвинувальну базу. Йдеться про потерпілого тоді французького фоторепортера Вільяма Руґелона, журналістку Corriere della sera Іларію Морані і фотографа Марчелло Фаучі.
Адвокат українця до дрібниць проаналізував виступи і поведінку згаданих свідків, особливо французького потерпілого. Делла Валле зауважив, що свідчення Руґелона надані французьким слідчим у жовтні 2014 року відрізняються від його показань італійцям у листопаді 2018 року.
Згадуючи свідчення того ж француза, адвокат також заперечує фізичну присутність українських військових біля місця загибелі Андреа Роккеллі та Андрія Миронова і наголошує на тому, що стріляли «знизу від сепаратистів», а не з гори Карачун з відстані майже 2 км, хоча прокуратура відкидає версію загибелі Роккеллі внаслідок мінометного вогню з боку бойовиків.
Захисник українця Раффаеле Делла Валле під час виступу не скористався жодним фото чи відео, лише підготовленою промовою, написаною від руки на 200 сторінок з використанням латинських сентенцій, цитат політиків, письменників та досліджень з психології.
Як повідомило Радіо Свобода конфіденційне джерело у прокуратурі Павії, вони були готові до критичного виступу захисту, але вважають недоречною критику з боку Делла Валле щодо надмірного використання аудіовізуальних засобів для демонстрації аргументів обвинувачення.
На засіданні також виступив адвокат захисту держави Україна Нікколо Бертоліні Клерічі. Промови захисників слухала, серед інших, делегація міністерства юстиції України.
5 липня відбудеться передостаннє, сімнадцяте, засідання, коли третій адвокат захисту Донателла Рапетті зосередиться на ролі українського війська у травні 2014 року біля Слов’янська Донецької області.
Планується, що суд оголосить рішення 12 липня.
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Майже два роки 29-річний нацгвардієць Віталій Марків із подвійним громадянством України й Італії перебуває під вартою у в’язниці в Мілані. 30 червня 2017 року італійські правоохоронці арештували його в аеропорту Болоньї, коли він із дружиною приїхав у відпустку до своєї матері – вона живе в області Марке.
Україна заперечує причетність бійця Національної гвардії до смерті італійського репортера Андреа Роккеллі та його російського перекладача Андрія Миронова, які загинули 24 травня 2014 року поблизу Слов’янська, окупованого тоді проросійськими силами. …
Засуджений в анексованому Криму український активіст Володимир Балух, який відбуває покарання в колонії Тверської області Росії, перебуватиме в штрафному ізоляторі «мінімум до 2 липня». Про це проекту Радіо Свобода Крим.Реалії розповіла адвокатка українця Ольга Дінзе, яка відвідала Балуха 21 червня.
«Його перевели з лікувально-профілактичного закладу назад до колонії. Після приїзду в колонію він 4 дні перебував у п’ятому загоні. Після чого співробітники колонії спеціально створили ситуацію, тобто провокацію, після якої вони зафіксували чергове незначне порушення і помістили його в ШІЗО», – розповіла Дінзе.
За її словами, причиною стало нібито порушення внутрішнього розпорядку колонії.
«Балуху перед вечерею стало зле, і він попросив відвести його до лікаря. Співробітник колонії сказав: «Ти приляж поки». Балух приліг, хоча це не можна в такий час доби. Його тут же сфотографували, відвели в медичну частину і помістили в ШІЗО за те, що він порушив внутрішній розпорядок», – говорить вона.
Публічних коментарів співробітників російської колонії з цього приводу немає.
20 червня єпископ Апостольської православної церкви (АПЦ) Росії, член Правозахисного ради Санкт-Петербурга Григорій Міхнов-Вайтенко повідомив, що Володимира Балуха знову помістили в штрафний ізолятор російської колонії в Тверській області.
Наприкінці травня Володимира Балуха перевели в тюремну лікарню, після його перебування в ШІЗО.
Підконтрольний Кремлю суд засудив українського активіста Володимира Балуха до 4 років і 11 місяців колонії та штрафу в розмірі 10 тисяч рублів (близько 4 тисяч гривень) за сукупністю двох кримінальних справ. ФСБ Росії затримала його 8 грудня 2016 року. Співробітники ФСБ стверджували, що знайшли на горищі будинку, де живе Володимир Балух, 90 патронів і кілька тротилових шашок. Захист Балуха і правозахисники стверджують, що він став жертвою репресій за свою проукраїнську позицію – через прапор України на подвір’ї його будинку.
Друга кримінальна справа пов’язана з нібито нападом на керівника ізолятора тимчасового тримання.
9 січня підконтрольний Росії Керченський міський суд відмовив Балуху в умовно-достроковому звільненні. Активіст упродовж кількох місяців у 2018 році голодував на знак протесту проти несправедливого ув’язнення.
Delays in obtaining passports are making some Zimbabweans think of “jumping the border” to look for jobs and a better life. People are still applying for the documents so they can travel legally, but the wait is long and hopes are growing dim.
A line formed Thursday evening near midnight outside Harare’s only passport office. The people covered themselves in blankets or plastic. It was chilly, being winter in this part of the world. Some started a fire to keep the cold at bay.
Applicants outside a Harare passport office use fire to keep cold at bay, June 21, 2019. (C. Mavhunga/VOA)
By 4 a.m. Friday there were about 20 people in line, and they were already worried. Passport office authorities are accepting between five and 15 applicants a day.
The people in line were reluctant to talk at first, but after agreeing on nicknames they opened up, starting with “Joe,” 34.
Joe said he wanted a passport because the economy has really collapsed. He said he wanted to leave the country because he couldn’t survive in Zimbabwe. He said he would try to leave even without a passport — that’s called “jumping the border” — because there was nothing else he could do in Zimbabwe.
Highly skilled and semiskilled Zimbabweans have been leaving the country for decades, moving to nearby South Africa or Botswana or far away to Britain and U.S. in search of greener pastures.
Now, even more Zimbabweans want to leave, unable to find jobs in the moribund economy.
Last month, officials told parliament that Zimbabwe’s chronic shortage of foreign currency was causing delays in processing passports, because there was not enough paper for the travel documents.
Mangena, 43, said he feared his 5-year-old daughter would miss the wedding of her grandmother, who has resettled in the U.S. He said he first applied for his daughter’s passport last August. For three weeks, he said, he has been coming to apply for an emergency passport and even offered to pay more for such processing, to no avail. Now the time for his trip is fast approaching, and he said he was getting anxious, afraid. He has no one to leave his daughter with.
Everything else is ready for the trip, but officials are telling him there’s no paper on which to print passports.
Cain Mathema, Zimbabwe’s minister of home affairs, is pictured in early June 2019 in Harare. (C. Mavhunga/VOA)
Early this month, Cain Mathema, Zimbabwe’s minister of home affairs, said the production of passports would increase because the government had made available more machinery and printing paper. He said printing a few passports a day was going to be thing of the past.
But more than two weeks later, the situation is the same, if not worse.
That cannot come as good news to Joe, Mangena and the other 280,000 Zimbabwe on the passport waiting list. For them, jumping the border is looking like a better option every day.
Усіх підозрюваних у нападі на одеського активіста Олега Михайлика звільнили з-під варти – двох із них відпустили під цілодобовий домашній арешт, а ще в одного взагалі немає запобіжного заходу, повідомляє кореспондент Радіо Свобода.
Рішення не продовжувати перебування в СІЗО для Лаші Герасіна та Манучара Варшанідзе ухвалила 21 червня суддя Київського районного суду міста Одеси Юлія Федулеєва.
Обидва підозрювані перебували під вартою з вересня 2018 року. Третього підозрюваного Торніке Герасіна (Нагладзе), який має інвалідність 1-ї групи,відпустили з-під варти під домашній арешт ще у листопаді 2018 року. Суддя ухвалила таке рішення після багатьох клопотань, зокрема, з боку грузинського консульства, у зв’язку із важким станом здоров’я Нагладзе.
Зараз у Торніке Герасіна взагалі немає запобіжного заходу, уточнив його адвокат Володимир Поярков, подовжувати домашній арешт відмовилися в Печерському суді Києва кілька тижнів тому.
Справу про замах на активіста Олега Михайлика передали до Києва наприкінці 2018 року через скарги потерпілого та підозрюваних (тоді її почало розслідувати Головне слідче управління Нацполіції), але зараз знову повернули до Одеси.
«Справу передали до Одеси, щоб зняти з себе всю відповідальність за повний провал і просто «злити» цю справу. Відповідати за цей провал буде якийсь прокурорчик або слідчий в Одесі, якого зроблять цапом-відбувайлом», – заявив постраждалий у відеозверненні.
В Олега Михайлика стріляли наприкінці вересня 2018 року. Трьох підозрюваних заарештували буквально за кілька днів після замаху, але пізніше сам Михайлик та його адвокат Вадим Оксюта почали заявляти, що не вірять в причетність до замаху трьох заарештованих громадян Грузії.
У січні 2019 року Олега Михайлик прооперували в Німеччині – вилучили з легені кулю. Захист заявляє, що вона не збігається зі зброєю, яку знайшли під час обшуку в одного із підозрюваних.
Також пізніше справу про напад на Олега Михайлика об’єднали зі справою про хуліганські дії та стрілянину влітку 2018 року, в якій, за версією обвинувачення, брали участь Манучар Варшанідзе, Лаша Герасін та Торніке Герасін (Нагладзе). Самі вони це заперечують. Покази в поліцію стосовно їхньої участі дали члени одеської організації «Лівий берег» Дениса Карташова – вони кажуть, що грузини на них напали.
Сам Карташов буде балотуватися в парламент – 12 червня 2019 року ЦВК зареєструвала його висунувся кандидатом по 142-му виборчмоу округу (Одеська область).
Senior political figures from Afghanistan, including several presidential candidates, will attend a rare, unofficial meeting in neighboring Pakistan Saturday where they will hold discussions on how to promote “peace and reconciliation” efforts in their war-ravaged country.
The conference will be held in the tourist resort of Bhurban, about 70 kilometers from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Around 30 Afghans, mostly opposition leaders, have been invited, organizers said. They say that the meeting is being held in support of ongoing U.S.-led efforts to bring an end to the 17-year-old war with the Taliban.
No representatives of the Taliban insurgency will attend the conference. It comes ahead of the June 27 official visit to Pakistan by President Ashraf Ghani, who is also seeking re-election in the September presidential vote in Afghanistan.
Ghani’s election rivals, Gulbadin Hekmatyar, Haneef Atmar and Abdul Latif Pedram are among the expected participants. Atmar’s spokesperson said, however, that Atmar has sent two representatives in his place because of prior commitments.
Mohammad Karim Khalili, the head of government-appointed High Peace Council, two former governors, Atta Mohammad Noor and Mohammad Ismail, and the second deputy to the Afghan chief executive, Mohammad Mohaqiq, will also take part in Saturday’s meeting.
“This is a high policy peace conference designed to give peace a chance. We stand for peace in Afghanistan and the time has come to hear solutions for peace, not war,” said Maria Sultan of the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (SASSI), which is an organizer of Saturday’s conference.
She emphasized the conference is in line with Pakistan’s official policy that it does not support a single faction in the conflict-torn country and “all Afghan stakeholders must be the final decision makers and each are equally important.”
Afghan officials have long accused Pakistan of sheltering leaders of the Taliban and supporting them in orchestrating insurgent attacks, charges Islamabad rejects.
Pakistani envoy to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi, told a Security Council meeting on Afghanistan earlier this week that Islamabad will continue to play “whatever role it can to help promote a political settlement that can end the suffering of the Afghan people.
The United States has held six rounds of direct peace negotiations with the Taliban and both sides are preparing to meet again later this month in Qatar to further the discussions.
But the Afghan government is not part of the dialogue because the insurgent group is opposed to holding any talks with it until American and NATO troops withdraw from Afghanistan.
Russia also has hosted two intra-Afghan meetings in recent months where opposition politicians directly interacted with Taliban envoys but those discussions also excluded the Ghani government.
Dozens of European citizens of Somali origin who joined the Islamic State terror group in Syria and Iraq want to go to Somalia due to European countries’ reluctance to take them back.
Through their parents, the so-called Islamic State brides and their children have urged the Somali government to take them in.
VOA Somali service’s Investigative Dossier program has obtained the list of 23 women and 34 children who are now being held at al-Hol camp in northern Syria.
The relatives say the IS brides have expressed “regret” and accept they made a “mistake” in leaving Europe to travel to Syria.
Some of the women have lost their European citizenship. Nasra Abdullahi Abukar is one of them. She left London’s Lewisham Borough on June 3, 2014 and travelled to Syria. In October 2017 the British government revoked her citizenship.
Her mother, Kaha Gure Hassan, says her daughter was born in Somalia and wants to go there to live with her father.
“I appeal to the (Somali) president, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, and Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire and the Somali people to get those children returned,” Hassan says. “If they rescue, we will take responsibility for her.”
‘She was groomed’
Hassan says her daughter was not a religious person.
“She used to wear trousers and was not particularly connected to a mosque,” she told Investigative Dossier. “She was groomed [recruited] through the internet.”
Seven days after leaving London, Abukar called her mother and told her she went to Syria to “help the women and children” of Syria.
Hassan says within a year her daughter “regretted” the move and wanted to return to Britain.
“My daughter was not a free person, she was afraid when speaking on the phone,” Hassan said.
The mother of five is now appealing to the Somali government to take her to Somalia where Abukar’s father lives.
Somali German family
On September 9, 2014, a family of four caught a flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Turkey. Two sisters, their brother and his pregnant wife flew to Istanbul and then proceeded to Syria.
Their father, who lives near the town of Mainz, was in Denmark attending a wedding when they traveled.
His son called him three days later from Turkey and assured him they would return, but the father was not sure he was telling the truth.
“I plead with him to at least return the children,” says the father, who did not want to be named. By “children” he means the two daughters who were 14 and 18 at the time. Their brother was 23.
Within six months, the two sisters married jihadists, and their brother was killed.
The younger daughter, who is now 22, has married three jihadists in all – two Somalis and an Eritrean. All three were killed in Syria’s war. She had a child with the Eritrean jihadist and twins with her last husband. The twins died shortly after birth.
The two in-law families from Germany and Denmark now want the widows and orphans rescued from the refugee camps.
“These were just housewives, they are destitute, sick due to lack of health support,” says the Somali-German father. He says his younger daughter recently had anemia and was ill for a week.
“They were not participating in fighting,” he said. “They are desperate to be rescued; nothing else is in their mind. They were brainwashed.”
Traveler from Sweden
Ayni is another IS bride who lost two husbands in the war in Syria. She has arrived in the al-Hol refugee camp after fleeing from the town of Baghuz in March this year following heavy bombing.
Ayni traveled with a group of girls from Sweden in May 2014. She was preparing to get married when a man changed her mind and told her she is marrying someone who is not very religious, according to her mother Saido.
He not only changed her mind about marriage but convinced her to “migrate” to Syria. The two married in Syria and had two children before he was killed in a bombing in October 2017.
Months later she married again and had a third child but her new husband was wounded and captured by allied forces.
“Their survival depended on marrying men as a safety guarantor,” says Saido.
Saido says her daughter tried to escape the group but found no safe way out. She alleges Kurdish forces raid and confiscate mobile phones and money from the women. She says her grandchildren are malnourished.
“Who are these women?”
Somali government officials say they have received the list of Islamic State brides and their children in al-Hol camp, but have not yet made a decision on whether to make an offer to them.
Somalia’s ambassador to the European Union, Ali Said Faqi, who has been in touch with the families says the Somali government is investigating the situation.
“We are investigating, we need a full information,” he said. “Who are these women? There are Somali men [in Syria] who had children with foreign women, they want their children to come here too. This is complex, it needs careful consideration.”
Former intelligence officer Colonel Abdullahi Ali Maow says the Somali government should exercise “caution” and make sure they do not get released to the community until they are thoroughly rehabilitated.
But Ambassador Faqi sees a way out for them if they are sincere about renouncing their jihadist ideology.
“If someone with a terrorist organization renounces the government welcomes them, at this time; they will fall under this category,” he says.
21 червня – День літнього сонцестояння, його точний астрономічний час – 18:55 за Києвом. Це найдовший день у році, а за ним слідує найкоротша ніч.
У році є два сонцестояння: зимове та літнє. У північній півкулі зимове сонцестояння припадає на 21 або 22 грудня, і тоді люди переживають найкоротший день і найдовшу ніч.
Літнє сонцестояння настає тоді, коли нахил осі обертання Землі в напрямку Сонця досягає найменшого значення, а Сонце навпаки – досягає максимально високої для спостерігача позиції.
У цей день настає астрономічне літо. Однак, насправді планета уже розвертається до зими, бо світлові дні поступово будуть коротшати, а ночі ставатимуть довшими.
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He holds a post-graduate degree in mass communication from the School of Journalism of the University of Nairobi and a Bachelor of Arts Degree, majoring in English Literature from Moi University, Kenya. He has attended numerous training programs in journalism, in Kenya, Germany and the U.S.
Linord Moudou is the producer & host of the Africa Health Network on Africa 54. She also produces and hosts Health Chat on the Voice of America radio, a live call-in program that addresses health issues of interest to Africa.
She started her career with Voice of America television as the producer & host of Healthy Living, a weekly health news magazine covering African health issues including malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS. She also shared new discoveries and medical breakthroughs, and provided tips and advice on how to prevent diseases and live a healthier life.
Before joining VOA, Linord worked as a broadcast and print journalist, traveling between Africa, Europe and the United States. In 2000, she created, produced, and hosted “Spotlight on Africa,” a bilingual (French-English) television and radio program on Public Access Television and New World Radio in Washington, D.C. With “Spotlight on Africa,” Linord dedicated herself to promote a more positive image of Africa internationally, through information and entertainment.
Her print experience includes “Africa Journal,” a Corporate Council on Africa publication, and AMINA Magazine, a Paris-based magazine about women of Africa and the Diaspora.
Linord Moudou was born and raised in Côte d’Ivoire. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and media productions from George Mason University, and a certificate in television and radio productions from the Columbia School of Broadcasting. The veteran broadcaster is fluent in French, English and conversational in Spanish and Creole.
Internship Opportunities
In the competitive and changing television industry, nothing is more valuable for job-seekers than “real world” experience. The Straight Talk Africa internship program offers motivated and outstanding students exciting opportunities to experience practical journalism. In addition to helping to get our weekly studio programs on-the-air, interns also produce a final project for their portfolios. Projects include writing and producing promos, stories, and even full-length documentary or magazine shows.
Join us every Wednesday as Shaka and his guests discuss topics of special interest to Africans, including politics, economic development, press freedom, health, social issues and conflict resolution.
Broadcast Schedule
Straight Talk Africa is broadcast live every Wednesday from 1830-1930 UTC/GMT simultaneously on radio, television and the Internet.
Postal Mail
Voice of America
TV to Africa – Suite 1613
330 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20237
USA
Internship Opportunities
In the competitive and changing television industry, nothing is more valuable for job-seekers than “real world” experience. The Straight Talk Africa internship program offers motivated and outstanding students exciting opportunities to experience practical journalism. In addition to helping to get our weekly studio programs on-the-air, interns also produce a final project for their portfolios. Projects include writing and producing promos, stories, and even full-length documentary or magazine shows.
