Síntesis informativa 25 de febrero del 2019
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Taliban and U.S. Set to Begin Highest-Level Talks Yet on Ending Afghan War
KABUL, Afghanistan — The highest-level negotiations yet between American diplomats and the Taliban are expected to begin in Qatar's capital on Monday, with the presence of the Afghan insurgents' deputy leader raising hope of progress toward ending the long conflict that is taking lives in record numbers.
The talks in Doha, which will be the fourth time Taliban officials have met with American negotiators in recent months, are expected to focus on the details of two issues that both sides said they reached an agreement on in principle last month.
Under that framework, the Taliban would agree to keep Afghan territory from being a haven for terrorists, opening the door to a deal that could include an American troop withdrawal.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/25/world/asia/us-taliban-talks-afghanistan-qatar-baradar.html
Dozens Dead in Nigeria as Election Results Are Delayed
ABUJA, Nigeria — Election Day violence killed at least 39 people across Nigeria, civil society groups reported, and with ballot-counting halted and rumors flying, Nigerians were left waiting on Monday for an announcement of the winner in the presidential contest.
With President Muhammadu Buhari vying for a second term against more than 70 challengers, elections officials briefly halted the count, saying that results from Saturday's voting had yet to be received from all districts.
The 18-hour gap until tabulation was to begin again Monday morning left time for more rumors to spread about whether the delay was helping the leading candidates rig the results. At one point, members of the party of the leading challenger, Atiku Abubakar, declared victory, a notion that was far from certain.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/25/world/africa/nigeria-election-president.html
Trump and Kim May Declare End of War at Summit, South Korea Says
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean officials on Monday indicated that President Trump and North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, could agree on a joint political statement declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War when they meet in Hanoi, Vietnam, later this week.
"The possibility is open," said Kim Eui-kyeom, a spokesman for South Korea's president, Moon Jae-in, referring to the results expected from the Trump-Kim summit meeting scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. "We still don't know exactly what format the end-of-war declaration will take, but there is an ample possibility of North Korea and the United States agreeing to such a declaration."
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/25/world/asia/trump-kim-jong-un-hanoi-summit.html
Amid Afghan Peace Talks, U.N. Reports Record Civilian Deaths in 2018
KABUL, Afghanistan — Even with peace talks underway, the war in Afghanistan killed almost 4,000 civilians last year, including a record number of children, officials said Sunday, making it the single deadliest year for Afghan civilians since the United Nations began documenting casualties a decade ago.
In a report released Sunday, the United Nations attributed almost two-thirds of civilian casualties — 63 percent — to insurgent groups, primarily the Taliban and the Islamic State. Afghan and American forces were responsible for 24 percent — 14 percent by Afghan national security forces, 6 percent by American forces and 4 percent by government-backed armed groups. Responsibility for the rest could not be established.
The single biggest cause of civilian casualties was suicide bombings and related attacks by insurgents, the report found. The numbers of civilian casualties caused by suicide bombings and by American and Afghan government airstrikes were each the highest recorded since the United Nations issued its first report in 2009.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/24/world/asia/afghanistan-civilian-casualties.html
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THE GUARDIAN
Russian state TV shows map of potential US nuclear targets
The targets included the Pentagon and the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland. A hypersonic missile Russia is developing would be able to hit them in less than five minutes, it said.
Last week, Vladimir Putin said Moscow was militarily ready for a “Cuban missile-style” crisis if the US wanted one.
With tensions rising over Russian fears that the US might deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe as a cold war-era arms-control treaty unravels, Putin has said Russia would be forced to respond by placing hypersonic nuclear missiles on submarines near US waters.
In the Sunday evening broadcast, Dmitry Kiselyov, the presenter of Russia’s main weekly TV news programme, Vesti Nedeli, showed a map of the US and identified several targets he said Moscow would want to hit in the event of a nuclear war.
The targets, which Kiselyov described as US presidential or military command centres, also included Fort Ritchie, a military training centre in Maryland closed in 1998, McClellan air force base in California, which closed in 2001, and Jim Creek, a naval communications base in Washington state.
Kiselyov, who is close to the Kremlin, said the Tsirkon hypersonic missile that Russia was developing could reach their targets in less than five minutes if launched from Russian submarines.
Hypersonic flight is generally taken to mean travelling through the atmosphere at more than five times the speed of sound.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/25/russian-state-tv-map-potential-us-nuclear-targets-hypersonic-missile
Pro-Israel US group condemns Netanyahu pact with extremists
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), which has generally given unflinching support to the Israeli leader during his 13 years in power, called the Jewish Power party “racist and reprehensible”.
Aipac, which receives Netanyahu as a celebrity, with adoring crowds at conferences, joined a chorus of condemnation worldwide from Jewish and Zionist groups shocked by the agreement with the far-right party.
Trump sets more realistic tone ahead of second North Korea summit
Trump said in a tweet he expected “a continuation of the progress” made at their first summit last year, adding simply: “Denuclearization?” He later saidNorth Korea could become “one of the great economic powers” if it abandoned nuclear weapons.
Trump later told governors at the White House on Sunday night that he was happy with the situation as long as North Korea continued its pause in weapons testing. He said he also saw “eye to eye” with Kim.
Trump, Kim and senior officials from both countries are scheduled to meet in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Wednesday and Thursday. North Korean state media said on Sunday Kim left for Vietnam on Saturday aboard a special train, a journey that could take more than two days.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/24/trump-second-north-korea-summit-kim-jong-un
Spain would 'roundly condemn' use of force in Venezuela
Guaidó is due to meet the US vice-president, Mike Pence, in Colombia on Monday amid ongoing speculation that the Trump administration could use force to oust Maduro.
Pence will announce “concrete steps” and “clear actions” at a summit of the regional Lima Group in Bogotá on Monday, a senior US official told reporters on Sunday.
However, the Spanish government spoke out pointedly against any use of foreign force.
“Not every option is on the table,” the country’s foreign minister, Josep Borrell, told the Spanish news agency Efe on Sunday. “We have clearly warned that we would not support – and would roundly condemn – any foreign military intervention, which is something we hope won’t happen.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/25/spain-would-roundly-condemn-use-of-force-in-venezuela-nicolas-maduro
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XINHUA
Israel vende a India 50 aviones teledirigidos en 500 millones de dólares
JERUSALEN, 24 feb (Xinhua) -- Industrias Aeroespaciales de Israel (IAI) acordó con el Ministerio de Defensa de la India la venta de 50 vehículos aéreos no tripulados Heron por 500 millones de dólares, informó hoy el diario israelí "Yedioth Ahronoth".
El Heron, un avión teledirigido de larga duración de altitud media capaz de realizar misiones estratégicas y tácticas, puede llevar una carga de hasta 470 kilos, permanecer en el aire más de 45 horas, alcanzar una altura de 35.000 pies y tener un alcance de vuelo de 350 kilómetros.
La longitud total del avión teledirigido es de 8,5 metros, con una envergadura de 16,6 metros.
http://spanish.xinhuanet.com/2019-02/24/c_137847145.htm
Inauguran cumbre Liga Arabe-UE en Egipto con altas expectativas
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egipto, 24 feb (Xinhua) -- La primera Cumbre de la Liga Arabe y la Unión Europea (UE) fue inaugurada hoy en el centro turístico egipcio de Sharm el-Sheikh en el mar Rojo con la participación de más de 50 países europeos y árabes.
La cumbre, que se desarrolla del 24 al 25 de febrero, fue inaugurada por el presidente de Egipto, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, quien preside la reunión en conjunto con el presidente del Consejo Europeo, Donald Tusk.
Los líderes árabes y europeos buscarán fortalecer las relaciones y abordar una amplia gama de asuntos y de desafíos comunes, tales como multilateralismo, comercio, inversión, migración, seguridad y la situación regional.
La cumbre también brindará una oportunidad para que los líderes discutan los acontecimientos recientes en la región, tales como el proceso de paz de Medio Oriente y la situación en Yemen, Libia y Siria.
http://spanish.xinhuanet.com/2019-02/25/c_137847170.htm
Turquía critica informe del Parlamento Europeo que pide suspensión de conversaciones sobre adhesión a la UE
ANKARA, 21 feb (Xinhua) -- Turquía criticó el jueves un informe votado en la Comisión de Asuntos Exteriores del Parlamento Europeo (PE) que pide la suspensión de las negociaciones de adhesión del país con la Unión Europea (UE).
"Es absolutamente inaceptable que el borrador del informe consultivo no vinculante pida una suspensión total de nuestras conversaciones sobre la adhesión a la UE", dijo Hami Aksoy, portavoz del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Turquía, en un comunicado.
El portavoz pidió al PE que revise los informes de una manera "más realista, objetiva y alentadora", esa será la única manera en la que Turquía lo tomará en consideración, afirmó la declaración.
http://spanish.xinhuanet.com/2019-02/21/c_137839934.htm
China y EEUU concluyen ronda de conversaciones comerciales con avances sustanciales
WASHINGTON, 24 feb (Xinhua) -- China y Estados Unidos lograron avances sustanciales en asuntos específicos luego de su más reciente ronda de conversaciones económicas y comerciales de alto nivel en Washington, indicó el domingo la delegación china.
Durante las conversaciones del 21 al 24 de febrero, la séptima ronda desde febrero del año pasado, los negociadores chinos y estadounidenses implementaron el importante consenso alcanzado por los presidentes de los dos países durante su reunión de diciembre en Argentina, y concentraron sus conversaciones en el texto de un acuerdo.
La delegación china dijo que se realizaron avances sustanciales en asuntos específicos como la transferencia de tecnología, la protección de la propiedad intelectual, barreras no arancelarias, industria de servicios, agricultura y tipos de cambio.
http://spanish.xinhuanet.com/2019-02/25/c_137847926.htm
Presidente de Kazajistán destituye a Gobierno
ASTANA, 21 feb (Xinhua) -- El presidente de Kazajistán, Nursultan Nazarbayev, firmó hoy un decreto a través del cual acepta la renuncia del Gobierno por problemas económicos después de que el mandatario criticara públicamente al gabinete.
El primer viceprimer ministro Mamin Askar Uzakpayevich se convertirá en jefe de Gobierno interino, dice el decreto publicado en el sitio web del presidente.
Los integrantes del Gobierno seguirán cumpliendo sus deberes hasta que se forme un nuevo gabinete.
http://spanish.xinhuanet.com/2019-02/21/c_137840550.htm
Trump partirá el 25 de febrero a Hanoi para cumbre con líder de RPDC
WASHINGTON, 24 feb (Xinhua) -- El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, dijo hoy que partirá el 25 de febrero a Hanoi para su segunda reunión con Kim Jong Un, máximo líder de República Popular Democrática de Corea (RPDC).
"Partiré a Hanoi, Vietnam, en las primeras horas de mañana para la cumbre con Kim Jong Un de Corea del Norte (RPDC), en la que ambos esperamos continuar con los avances realizados en la primera cumbre en Singapur", tuiteó Trump.
Trump elogió su "gran relación" con Kim y añadió que RPDC podría "convertirse rápidamente en una de las grandes potencias económicas del mundo" en ausencia de armas nucleares.
http://spanish.xinhuanet.com/2019-02/25/c_137847218.htm
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Russia Today
UN report slams US-led airstrikes & record civilian casualties in Afghanistan
A record number of Afghan civilians, mostly women children, were killed in 2018, a new UN report said, pinning the sharp increase on US airstrike rules of engagement, relaxed after almost two decades of futile war.
Despite promises from the White House to reduce the number of troops currently stationed in Afghanistan, the 18-years-long American campaign is far from finished and is claiming a record number of civilian lives, a new United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report reveals. In fact, the battle against the Taliban and the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIL) forces in the country is witnessing a news resurgence on a scale not seen in the last decade.
https://www.rt.com/news/452332-record-civilian-casualties-us-bombardment/
'Danger & restraint': Neither India nor Pakistan want to start nuclear war, former leaders insist
Despite tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors having reached dangerous levels following the deadly blast in Kashmir, a war between India and Pakistan is highly unlikely, former leaders of the two states have stressed.
India remains committed to a no-first-use policy, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday, calling his country a "reluctant nuclear weapon state" whose quest to acquire the ultimate weapon was never based on a "military rationale," but rather on deterrence considerations, over threats coming from its longtime regional rival, Pakistan.
Pakistan, for its part, would never attack its neighbor if only because such a first strike would see an obliterating response from India, retired four-star army general and the country's former president, Pervez Musharraf noted on Friday, after border tensions between the rivals in Kashmir escalated to a new, "dangerous level."
https://www.rt.com/news/452331-india-pakistan-nuclear-kashmir/
Russian space agency red-faced after omitting Gagarin's flight from historic list of space missions
Roscomos ended up in an embarrassing position on Monday after eagle-eyed journalists noticed that its website failed to mention a single space mission from 1961 – the year of the first manned space launch.
Yuri Gagarin became the first person to enter orbit on April 12, 1961, and the date is now celebrated as the International Day of Human Space Flight, or simply Cosmonautics Day in Russia. So it was quite bizarre that Roscosmos omitted this milestone from its website's comprehensive list of space missions. If the relevant section is to be believed, there wasn't a single space launch in the Soviet Union that year.
https://www.rt.com/russia/452347-roscosmos-misses-gagarin-flight/
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AL JAZEERA
UK to ban Lebanon's Hezbollah, calls it a terror organisation
Britain has said it will add Lebanese group Hezbollah 'in its entirety' to its list of banned terrorist organisations.
"Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilise the fragile situation in the Middle East - and we are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party," Home Secretary Sajid Javid said.
Trump to delay tariff increase on Chinese goods
Citing 'substantial progress' in US-China trade talks, president says he plans to hold summit with Chinese counterpart.
In a Twitter post, he said progress had been made on a series of divisive areas, including intellectual property protection, technology transfers, agriculture, services and currency.
Asian share markets rose sharply after the announcement. Investors see it as a possible sign of an end to the dispute that has disrupted commerce worth hundreds of billions of dollars of goods and prompted stark warnings about the risks to the world economy.
Xi also struck a positive tone in a letter Liu delivered to Trump, saying he hoped the negotiations would be held in a "win-win" spirit that would lead to a mutually beneficial agreement.
Japan's Okinawa votes against controversial US base move
Some 434,000 people reject moving the base, but government in Tokyo says it will not derail relocation plan.
Abe's government says the relocation will address residents' concerns about noise, military operations and crime, but many in Okinawa want the base moved elsewhere in Japan.
They argue that the region bears a disproportionate burden when it comes to hosting US military troops in the country - the island accounts for less than one percent of Japan's total land area, but hosts more than half the approximately 47,000 US military personnel stationed in the country.
Japan's military alliance with the US is seen as a key partnership, and Okinawa's location near Taiwan has long been viewed as having huge strategic importance for Washington in Asia.
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AL MAYADEEN
Fracasa el golpe del 23F, pero sigue amenaza de agresión militar en Venezuela
La frontera de Venezuela con Colombia y Brasil fue escenario de una operación de bandera falsa para justificar una "intervención militar extranjera" en el país.
1. En el Puente Internacional Simón Bolívar, varios militares tomaron dos vehículos blindados de la Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana (FANB) y embistieron contra el cerco de seguridad fronterizo. Tras el atentado corrieron hacia el lado colombiano de la frontera, donde fueron recibidos por políticos opositores venezolanos. El ataque dejó dos heridos.
2. Opositores venezolanos incendiaron camiones con el cargamento de "ayuda humanitaria" en el Puente Internacional Francisco de Paula Santander. Nuevamente se intentó culpar a la GNB, pero imágenes tomadas por testigos desmontaron el falso positivo.
3. Por Paracaima, al norte de Brasil, intentaron acceder camiones hacia Santa Elena de Uairén, en el estado venezolano de Bolívar. Dirigentes opositores venezolanos y los presidentes de Colombia y Chile difundieron la noticia del supuesto ingreso exitoso de la "ayuda humanitaria". Esto fue desmentido por periodistas en la zona.
4. El diputado opositor venezolano Freddy Guevara, anunció que un barco con "ayuda humanitaria" partió desde Puerto Rico y tenía previsto llegar a Puerto Cabello, estado de Carabobo, al centro norte de Venezuela. Más tarde, el gobernador de Puerto Rico informó que dio instrucciones para que el supuesto barco abandonara el área. Nuevamente, el ingreso ilegal fracasó.
Canciller ruso descarta operaciones militares conjuntas con Irán y Turquía en Siria
El canciller ruso precisó que se mantiene la posibilidad de la participación de la policía militar de su país en el formato de una zona de seguridad en la frontera sirio-turca, y señaló que la fórmula de Astana ayudó a lograr un verdadero cese al fuego en la mayor parte de Siria.
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DEUTSCHE WELLE
Kim camino a reunión con Trump en Vietnam con el desafío de concretar avances
El tren del líder norcoreano, Kim Jong-un, superó la mitad de los 4.000 kilómetros rumbo a Hanói para su visita de Estado a Vietnam, y una cumbre con Donald Trump, para continuar diálog sobre desarme nuclear de Singapur.
Aquel encuentro -el primero entre mandatarios de los dos países- dejó muchos interrogantes en lo que se refiere a la desnuclearización, y los analistas consideran que es necesario que la cita en la capital vietnamita aporte respuestas más claras. En Singapur, Kim prometió "trabajar por la desnuclearización completa de la península coreana", pero la ausencia de avances desde entonces ha generado críticas.
El representante especial de Estados Unidos para Corea del Norte, Stephen Biegun, reconoció en enero que Pyongyang y Washington no tenían una "visión compartida sobre lo que implica la desnuclearización". Estados Unidos ha pedido repetidamente que Corea del Norte abandone su arsenal nuclear de forma completa y verificable.
Turquía detiene a 101 militares más y libera a una caricaturista
La policía turca ordenó detención de otros 101 efectivos presuntamente vinculados al intento de golpe del 15 de julio de 2016. Por otra parte, una artista encarcelada por sus dibujos del conflicto kurdo fue liberada.
En una primera operación el fiscal jefe ordenó la detención de 101 militares, entre los cuales hay un mayor, tres capitanes, 43 tenientes y 50 sargentos, informa el diario Hürriyet. Las autoridades sospechan que los detenidos tienen vínculos con la cofradía del clérigo islamista Fethullah Gülen, a quien Ankara responsabiliza de la asonada golpista.
Por otro lado, la Fiscalía ordenó la detención de nueve trabajadores del Ministerio de Salud bajo los mismos cargos. Gülen fue hasta 2013 un estrecho aliado del gubernamental islamista Partido de Justicia y Desarrollo (AKP) del presidente del país, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, en el poder desde 2002.
Desde la intentona golpista, más de 8.500 miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas, entre ellos 150 generales, han sido expulsados por sus presuntas relaciones con Gülen, y la mayoría de ellos han sido o están siendo procesados.
Japón: primer ministro confirma el traslado de base militar de EE. UU. en Okinawa
El domingo en un referendum no vinculante el 72% votó en contra de trasladar la base militar de EE. UU. en Okinawa. Pero el lunes por la mañana el primer ministro japonés Shinzo Abe confirmó que el traslado se realizará.
En un referéndum no vinculante celebrado el domingo el 72% los habitantes de Okinawa rechazaron el plan de traslado de una base militar de Estados Unidos. El resultado puso de manifiesto el rechazo que genera en dicha región la presencia militar de EE. UU. Sin embargo el primer ministro japonés, Shinzo Abe, dijo este lunes que el controvertido traslado se realizará igual.
No obstante, la reubicación se ha ido retrasando debido a la oposición de la población y los políticos locales, quienes argumentan que el proyecto tendría un elevado impacto medioambiental y defienden que tanto esta base como otras de EEUU sean trasladadas fuera de su territorio.
En torno a una quinta parte de la superficie de la isla principal de Okinawa es suelo militar estadounidense.
La región alberga, además, a más de la mitad de los cerca de 47.000 efectivos que el ejército de EE. UU. mantiene en Japón y el 74 % de sus instalaciones militares en el país.
