Síntesis informativa - 21 de noviembre 2018
THE NEW YORK TIMES
In Extraordinary Statement, Trump Stands With Saudis Despite Khashoggi Killing
WASHINGTON — President Trump defied the nation’s intelligence agencies and a growing body of evidence on Tuesday to declare his unswerving loyalty to Saudi Arabia, asserting that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s culpability for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi might never be known.
In a remarkable statement that appeared calculated to end the debate over the American response to the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, the president said, “It could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event — maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!”
“We may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi,” Mr. Trump added. “In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
His statement, which aides said Mr. Trump dictated himself and reflected his deeply held views, came only days after the C.I.A. concluded that the crown prince, a close ally of the White House, had authorized the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post.
Interpol Rejects Russian as President, Electing South Korean Instead
BRUSSELS — Interpol elected a South Korean police veteran as its next president on Wednesday, in the face of pressure from Western diplomats who said choosing the Russian candidate who had been considered the front-runner could jeopardize the independence of the world’s largest international policing organization.
The South Korean, Kim Jong-yang, was elected at Interpol’s annual conference in Dubai, the group announced on Twitter. Elections are held in secret and require a two-thirds majority. No country has a veto.
American and European officials were lobbying behind the scenes early this week to prevent a senior Russian security official, Aleksandr V. Prokopchuk, from winning the organization’s presidency. The Russian government has tried for years to use Interpol and its global police network to track down and arrest political enemies and dissidents living abroad.
U.S. and Brazil Chose Similar Leaders. It May Lead to Smoother Relations.
RIO DE JANEIRO — The United States and Brazil have been uneasy allies during the best of times.
But Brazilian voters may have put an end to that dynamic by electing as their next president Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right lawmaker who is unabashedly pro-American and strikingly similar to President Trump in temperament, tactics and style.
“We might be on the verge of a golden era of relations,” said Fernando Cutz, a former senior White House official who worked on Latin America policy in the Obama and Trump administrations. “Trump and Bolsonaro will really hit it off. Their personalities are almost identical and their policy views are very similar.”
Mr. Bolsonaro’s enthusiasm for closer ties with the United States is among the starkest signs that Brazil’s foreign policy is about to undergo profound changes.
Homeland Security Dept. Finds ‘Minimal’ Risk to Border Guards, Undercutting Trump Plan
WASHINGTON — The probability that American border guards will face violence at the southwestern border is “minimal,” an internal Homeland Security Department document has concluded, undercutting a Trump administration proposal to protect the security officials from migrant attacks by pairing them with military troops.
The border intelligence analysis contrasts with statements by the department and the White House citing concerns about migrants overrunning official ports of entry and attacking border guards to enter the United States.
Dated Nov. 17, it was obtained by The New York Times as the Trump administration is considering teaming up military troops with customs officials and Border Patrol agents as they confront migrants.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/20/us/politics/military-border-patrol-migrants.html
THE GUARDIAN
Steve Bannon's far-right Europe operation undermined by election laws
The former chief strategist to Donald Trump has spent months trying to recruit European parties to his Brussels-based group, the Movement, which he promised would operate as kind of a political consultancy for like-minded parties campaigning in the bloc-wide vote in May 2019.
Colombia's victims of sexual violence finally get their day in court
Sexual violence was widespread during the Colombian conflict, but amid massacres and mass-kidnappings it tended to be ignored or met with impunity. Between 1985 and 2016 alone, 15,076 people were victims of sexual violence during the armed conflict, according to a report by the National Centre of Historical Memory, and 91% of them were women.
Mexican president-elect's new plan to fight crime looks like the old plan
In opposition, Mexico’s president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obradorpromised to pacify the country by taking troops off the street and sending them back to their barracks.
This week, lawmakers from his party proposed to keep soldiers on the frontlines for the foreseeable future with the creation of a national guard.
The new force would combine military and civilian police under a single military command to “prevent and combat crime across Mexico and [would be] endowed with the discipline, hierarchy and ranking of military institutions”, according to proposed bill published in the legislative gazette on Tuesday.
Amazon indigenous groups propose Mexico-sized 'corridor of life
The plan, presented to the UN Conference on Biodiversity on Wednesday, puts the alliance of Amazon communities in the middle of one of the world’s most important environmental and political disputes.
“We have come from the forest and we worry about what is happening ,” said Tuntiak Katan, the vice-president of Coica (Coordinator of the Indigenous Organisation of the Amazon River Basin). “This space is the world’s last great sanctuary for biodiversity. It is there because we are there. Other places have been destroyed.”
DEUTSCHE WELLE
Has Duterte 'surrendered' to Beijing on the South China Sea?
President Xi Jinping has signed 29 bilateral deals with the Philippines on his landmark visit to Manila. But experts say his main agenda was to forge cooperation on the disputed South China Sea. Ana P. Santos reports.
Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a two-day visit to the Philippines on Wednesday after signing 29 bilateral agreements, including a memorandum of understanding with Manila on oil and gas development in the South China Sea (SCS).
https://www.dw.com/en/has-duterte-surrendered-to-beijing-on-the-south-china-sea/a-46390503
Japan to expand Djibouti base despite decline in piracy
In 2009, Japan set up a military facility in Djibouti to combat rising incidents of piracy off Northeast Africa. A decade later, the pirates have been largely defeated, but Tokyo intends to expand its Djibouti base.
When Japan set up a facility in Djibouti in 2009 with docks for warships, an airfield and the other infrastructure that an overseas military base requires to support troops on the ground, it had the very clearly defined task of supporting the international campaign against pirates operating out of Somalia.
In 2011, there were no fewer than 237 incidents involving suspected pirates. Thanks in large part to the international response, that figure fell to zero incidents in 2015 and a mere nine cases were reported in the whole of 2017.
https://www.dw.com/en/japan-to-expand-djibouti-base-despite-decline-in-piracy/a-46356825
EU calls on Hungary to explain asylum for former Macedonian prime minister
A former Macedonian prime minister wanted for corruption in his home country says he was granted asylum in Hungary. The European Union commissioner in charge of membership policy says he wants answers.
Hungary should explain why it granted asylum to a fugitive former Macedonian prime ministerif reports about the incident were true, a senior European Union official said on Wednesday.
XINHUA
Trump reafirma lazos de EEUU con Arabia Saudí en medio de investigación sobre Khashoggi
WASHINGTON, 20 nov (Xinhua) -- El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, reafirmó hoy el compromiso de Washington con su asociación con Riad por motivos de interés nacional y mantuvo su ambigua postura hacia el asesinato del periodista saudí Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump describió a Arabia Saudí como un "gran aliado" en el combate de Estados Unidos a Irán y enfatizó la inversión de cerca de 450.000 millones de dólares de Riad en Estados Unidos luego de su viaje del año pasado, incluyendo compras de armas a compañías estadounidenses por 110.000 millones de dólares.
http://spanish.xinhuanet.com/2018-11/21/c_137620535.htm
Pompeo se reúne con su homólogo turco sobre ciudadanos estadounidenses detenidos y lazos bilaterales
WASHINGTON, 20 nov (Xinhua) -- El secretario de Estado de EEUU, Mike Pompeo, se reunió el martes con el ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de Turquía, Mevlut Cavusoglu, para discutir la detención en Turquía de ciudadanos estadounidenses y las relaciones bilaterales, dijo el Departamento de Estado de EEUU.
Pompeo reafirmó su preocupación por la "detención en Turquía de ciudadanos estadounidenses y personal local", según un comunicado emitido por el departamento.
http://spanish.xinhuanet.com/2018-11/21/c_137621666.htm
Corea del Sur protesta contra manifestación de políticos japoneses sobre soberanía de islotes
SEUL, 21 nov (Xinhua) -- Corea del Sur expresó hoy una fuerte protesta contra el mitin de políticos japoneses en Tokio que reclaman la soberanía sobre los islotes Dokdo, llamados Takeshima en Japón, que se encuentra a medio camino entre las dos naciones.
El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Corea del Sur indicó en un comunicado que algunos políticos japoneses realizaron una manifestación en Tokio para exigir una resolución rápida al problema de los islotes Dokdo, a pesar de sus repetidas advertencias sobre el reclamo de soberanía de Japón sobre los islotes.
http://spanish.xinhuanet.com/2018-11/21/c_137622182.htm
Rusia califica de "torpes" sanciones sobre suministros petróleo a Siria
MOSCU, 21 nov (Xinhua) -- Las nuevas sanciones estadounidenses contra una red iraní-rusa de suministros de petróleo a Siria son "torpes", afirmó este miércoles el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores ruso.
El Departamento del Tesoro de EEUU impuso el martes sanciones sobre la red con el argumento de que estaba enviando "millones de barriles de petróleo iraní a Siria" y financiando con los ingresos a Hamás y Hezbolá.
http://spanish.xinhuanet.com/2018-11/21/c_137622550.htm
RT
South Korea’s Kim Jong Yang chosen as Interpol chief after US outcry against Russian candidate
After a massive campaign against a Russian candidate by US senators, and MSM hysteria over his possible win, Kim Jong Yang from South Korea has been elected as director of Interpol.
Kim was assigned the role of Interpol’s acting president during a meeting in Dubai, UAE, after the resignation of Meng Hongwei. The latter is currently detained in his native China, pending a corruption investigation.
https://www.rt.com/news/444515-interpol-south-korea-lead/
More British troops will head to Ukraine to ‘defend democracy’ – Williamson set to announce
The UK will increase its military support to Ukraine, training their special forces and sending a Royal Navy ship to the country, the British Defence Secretary is set to announce, reports the Daily Telegraph. The build up of forces in the eastern European country is to defend “freedom and democracy,” according to Williamson.
“As long as Ukraine faces Russian hostilities, it will find a steadfast partner in the United Kingdom,” the Defence Secretary will say according to the Tory-supporting Telegraph, who have apparently been provided with access to Williamson's speech.
https://www.rt.com/uk/444547-ukraine-williamson-troops-army/
Russian military introduces obligatory courses to protect state secrets
The Russian Defense Ministry is set to educate officers and soldiers on how to behave online in order to protect state-level secrets. The military also intends to tighten legislation punishing leakers of sensitive data.
The military will launch obligatory courses on the protection of state secrets starting next year, Izvestia newspaper reported, citing the ministry’s press service. The servicemen are set to get insights into what they are allowed to post on the internet, how to use social media safely, what should – and should not – be told to strangers, and other guidance.
The courses will be obligatory for all the servicemen, despite the majority of soldiers not even having clearance for state secrets. Personnel lacking clearance will actually get longer lectures on the matter, since others have already undertaken obligatory secrecy training.
https://www.rt.com/russia/444457-russian-military-secrecy-training/
‘Gap too wide’? Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan ‘a waste of time,’ says justice minister
Donald Trump’s long-awaited peace plan for Palestine is yet to see the light of day – but is already “a waste of time,” since differences between Israelis and Palestinians are too huge, the Israeli justice minister has claimed.
The minister, who spoke at the Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference, called her controversial views “more realistic”compared to optimistic expectations, adding that “in the coming future it is impossible” to reach an effective peace settlement.
https://www.rt.com/news/444553-ayelet-shaked-trump-comments/
Duty to warn: US spies pressed to tell if they knew of Saudi plot against journalist Khashoggi
A US group promoting press freedom has sued US intelligence agencies to find out whether they failed to warn Jamal Khashoggi about an impending Saudi plot against him.
Khashoggi, a self-exiled Saudi journalist, was killed by a hit squad deployed by a senior Saudi official and possibly on an order from the kingdom’s crown prince and de facto ruler Muhammad bin Salman. Earlier reports in the Washington Post said US intelligence intercepted Saudi communications, in which a plot was discussed to lure Khashoggi into returning to Saudi Arabia and detaining him.
There is a rule that demands that if the US intelligence community learns about a plan to kill, maim or kidnap a person, they must act to warn them. And so a group called the Knight First Amendment Institute wants to learn what exactly the US spies knew about the Saudi plot and whether they failed to warn Khashoggi.
https://www.rt.com/usa/444552-khashoggi-warning-cia-lawsuit/
Russian legislators seek to tighten youth gun laws following Kerch massacre
Russian legislators are floating the idea of restricting access to smooth-barrel guns for citizens under 21. The initiative follows the October massacre in the Kerch college, when an 18-year-old student killed 20 people. The new bill has been sponsored by the deputy speaker of the Russian Lower House, MP Irina Yarovaya.
According to the proposed legislation, people aged between 18 and 21 will be required to produce more documents while seeking a smooth-barrel gun permit. The additional documents include a recommendation letter from their school or workplace, and detailed information on income and taxes. The license-seekers will be also obliged to have an additional interview with police officials.
The initiative won’t affect people older than 21, those who served in the army, or those whose “traditional lifestyle” involves hunting. Anyone already holding a valid gun license won’t be affected either.
https://www.rt.com/russia/444556-russia-youth-gun-laws/
AL JAZEERA
US politicians accuse Trump of putting 'Saudi Arabia first'
Democrats and Republicans vow to put 'serious sanctions' on Saudi Arabia and crown prince over Jamal Khashoggi's murder.
Last week, a bipartisan group of US senators introduced legislation seeking to punish Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi's killing, and for its role in the devastating war in Yemen.
The move came not long after the US imposed economic sanctions on 17 Saudis allegedly involved in the journalist's murder. Many senators expressed disappointment that those sanctions did not include MBS himself, and called on the US to take tougher action.
The proposed legislation seeks to suspend weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and prohibit the refuelling of Saudi coalition aircraft conducting air raids in Yemen by the US. It would also impose sanctions on anyone blocking humanitarian access in Yemen and anyone supporting the Houthi rebels.
US bombs continue to kill in Laos 50 years after Vietnam War
US dropped two million tonnes of bombs on Laos at height of Vietnam War. Why are cluster munitions still killing?
Padraic Convery
Unexploded cluster bombs are found in particularly large numbers in the northern province of Xiengkhouang, where Thor works, and where MAG focuses its survey and clearance efforts.
They look attractive to children
Two decades ago in Xiengkhouang Province, unexploded cluster bombs lay scattered on the ground in rice fields, and farmers were careful to sow only the land around them. Many have since been destroyed by clearance teams, but others lurk beneath the surface.
China surveillance firms face backlash amid Xinjiang crackdown
Facial recognition and AI are growing businesses for Chinese tech companies with 'nowhere to hide' for civilian targets.
Michael Standaert. Shenzhen-based Kuang-Chi, which stresses the benefits of "civil-military integration" of its technologies, claims its "super-intelligent tracking system" leaves "nowhere to hide" for those it targets.
"It can find a person in a crowd of up to 8,000 people," a Kuang-Chi representative explains at the firm's prominent display at the entrance to the fair. "It is being used already by police in Chongqing and Shanghai and is 95 to 98 percent accurate."
Facial recognition, artificial intelligence (AI), and other technology that can be utilised for surveillance is a huge and growing business in China.
SenseTime, which describes itself as the world's "most valuable artificial intelligence unicorn" and is worth more than $4.5bn, is a major player in facial recognition systems.
US targets Iran-Russia network over oil sent to Syria
Vessels carrying Iranian oil have switched off transponders to conceal deliveries to Syria, Treasury Department says.
Those targeted include Syrian Mohammad Amer Alchwiki and his Russia-based company, Global Vision Group, which were central to the delivery of Iranian oil to Syria and the transfer of funds to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force's "lethal proxies", the Treasury Department said.
Others sanctioned include state-owned Russian company Promsyrioimport, a subsidiary of the Russian Ministry of Energy, which the US Treasury said had facilitated shipments of Iranian oil to Syria, as well as Mir Business Bank and Iran-based Tadbir Kish Medical and Pharmaceutical Company.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/targets-iran-russia-network-oil-syria-181121063739394.html
AL MAYADEEN
Politólogo palestino revela siete logros principales de la guerra de Gaza
20 de noviembre. El politólogo palestino, Mustafa Barguti, explicó los siete logros principales de la guerra de Gaza, una guerra que –a su juicio- debilitó la moral del régimen israelí y fortaleció la autoconfianza de los palestinos.
AMÉRICA LATINA
Peña Nieto cierra el sexenio más violento de la historia con más de 122 mil homicidios
Con 2 mil 460 homicidios dolosos ocurridos en octubre pasado, el sexenio del presidente Enrique Peña Nieto cierra como el más violento desde 1997, año en que se comenzaron a elaboran estadísticas de incidencia delictiva. También se alcanzaron niveles sin precedente en el uso de armas de fuego para cometer esos crímenes, así como en narcomenudeo.
Si bien falta tomar en cuenta las cifras correspondiente a noviembre (último mes de la administración actual), el acumulado sexenal es de 122 mil 300 carpetas abiertas por homicidio doloso, de diciembre de 2012 a octubre de 2018.
López Obrador reformará la Constitución para crear la Guardia Nacional
Aunque la creación de la Guardia Nacional era una posibilidad comentada hacía semanas, el anuncio de López Obrador dejó boquiabierto a más de uno. Sobre todo por los detalles. Lejos de integrarse a la nueva Secretaría de Seguridad Pública, la Guardia Nacional formará parte de las Fuerzas Armadas, junto al Ejército, la Marina y la Fuerza Aérea. Su máximo responsable será el propio López Obrador, seguido de cerca por su secretario de Seguridad, Alfonso Durazo. Pero el mando operativo, el día a día, correrá a cargo del secretario de la Defensa, un militar.
https://elpais.com/internacional/2018/11/20/mexico/1542754783_394313.html
Revés para la política antiinmigrante de Trump
La política migratoria del presidente Donald Trump sufrió un revés en tribunales luego de que un juez bloqueara un decreto emitido por Trump que restringía el derecho de asilo, mientras miles de migrantes centroamericanos avanzan hacia la frontera sur del país.
A última hora del lunes el juez John Tigar de San Francisco anuló el decreto firmado el nueve de noviembre por el presidente Trump que rechazaba automáticamente toda solicitud de asilo de personas que hubieran cruzado la frontera ilegalmente. La orden temporal emitida tiene alcance nacional y regirá hasta que la corte se pronuncie sobre el tema en una primera audiencia el 19 de diciembre
https://www.pagina12.com.ar/156819-reves-para-la-politica-antiinmigrante-de-trump
Haddad, excandidatato del PT, será procesado por corrupción en Brasil
La Justicia del estado brasileño de Sao Paulo aceptó abrirle un juicio por corrupción al exalcalde Fernando Haddad, el candidato que sustituyó al encarcelado expresidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva en las pasadas elecciones presidenciales, en las que fue derrotado por Jair Bolsonaro.
El juez quinto criminal de Barra Funda, uno de los foros de Justicia de Sao Paulo, consideró procedente la denuncia por corrupción pasiva y lavado de dinero que la Fiscalía presentó contra Haddad y decidió llevar a Juicio penal al exalcalde de Sao Paulo en la condición de procesado.
Colombia pide a Interpol capturar a ‘Gabino’, máximo líder del ELN
Colombia anunció este martes que solicitó a Cuba capturar y extraditar al máximo líder de la guerrilla del Ejército de Liberación Nacional, Nicolás Rodríguez Bautista, alias "Gabino", en una señal de que es poco probable la reanudación de la negociación de paz con el grupo rebelde.
El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, en nombre del gobierno de Colombia, transmitió, el pasado 6 de noviembre, a través de nota verbal, un requerimiento de la Oficina del Alto Comisionado para la Paz, solicitando al gobierno cubano colaboración con información sobre presencia y permanencia en su territorio de algunos miembros del ELN, señala un comunicado de la cancillería colombiana.
