Síntesis informativa - 24 de julio 2019
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Boris Johnson on Verge of Taking Over in U.K.
LONDON — Boris Johnson, an ardent supporter of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, was poised to take over as prime minister from Theresa May and select a new cabinet on Wednesday, a day after his easy victory in a Conservative Party leadership vote.
Mr. Johnson, a former foreign secretary and two-term mayor of London, is a polarizing figure, known for over-the-top displays and a charismatic bluster that have connected with many voters but alienated others.
Mr. Johnson was among the most high-profile backers of Brexit, as the withdrawal process is commonly known, and on Tuesday he made clear that he would push for Britain to leave by the deadline of Oct. 31 even if there were no deal in place.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/world/europe/britain-johnson-may-prime-minister.html
Trump Threatens Guatemala With Tariffs Over Migrants
Declaring that “Guatemala has not been good,” President Trump threatened on Tuesday to retaliate against the country for not signing an immigration deal. He said his administration was considering imposing tariffs on Guatemalan exports or taxing money sent home by migrants.
The deal, called a “safe third country” agreement, would have required migrants who pass through Guatemala to seek asylum there, instead of continuing to the United States.
“Guatemala, which has been forming Caravans and sending large numbers of people, some with criminal records, to the United States, has decided to break the deal they had with us on signing a necessary Safe Third Agreement,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/world/americas/trump-guatemala-tariffs.html
China Hints It Could Send Troops to Quell Hong Kong Protests, if Requested
BEIJING — China on Wednesday warned that it would not tolerate protesters’ efforts to threaten the central government’s authority in Hong Kong and suggested that it could, if asked, mobilize troops in the People’s Liberation Army garrison there to maintain order.
The warning came as the government released a new defense strategy that accused the United States of undermining global stability and identified separatism as China’s most immediate security threat.
In the case of Hong Kong, the chief spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, Senior Col. Wu Qian, cited the protests on Sunday outside the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, which protesters painted with graffiti, suggesting that instances of destructive behavior were straining Beijing’s patience.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/world/asia/china-military-hong-kong-taiwan-protests.html
Puerto Rico Authorities Seize Cellphones Connected to Online Chat That Triggered Uprising
SAN JUAN, P.R. — Law enforcement authorities in Puerto Rico executed search warrants on Tuesday against several people in Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló’s inner circle whose exchange of sexist and homophobic chat messages triggered a popular uprising on the island.
A judge issued warrants for the cellphone seizures on Monday, said Mariana Cobián Rodríguez, a spokeswoman for the Puerto Rico Department of Justice. She declined to name those who had been ordered to surrender their phones.
Calls mounted throughout the day for Mr. Rosselló to leave office. The island’s largest newspaper, El Nuevo Día, citing unnamed sources, reported late Tuesday that Mr. Rosselló was close to announcing his resignation and had recorded a farewell message. The report could not be confirmed.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/us/puerto-rico-cellphone-warrants.html
Trump Tweets About ‘Witch Hunt’ Before Mueller Testimony
WASHINGTON — President Trump started shouting on Twitter before 7 a.m. on Wednesday, venting about what he called the “Greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history” as Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, was headed to Capitol Hill to testify in the Russia inquiry.
By 8:10, the president had posted seven more times, delivering a kind of Twitter greatest hits — punctuated by capital letters and exclamation points — in which he portrayed himself as the innocent victim of an illegal crusade by Mr. Mueller, Democrats and the country’s intelligence community.
He said that his accusers were part of an “illegal and treasonous attack on our Country.”
The president attacked Mr. Mueller’s credibility, repeating his unsubstantiated claim that the special counsel was “highly conflicted.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/us/politics/trump-mueller.html
THE GUARDIAN
Make environmental damage a war crime, say scientists
The legal instrument should incorporate wildlife safeguards in conflict regions, including protections for nature reserves, controls on the spread of guns used for hunting and measures to hold military forces to account for damage to the environment, say the signatories to the letter, published in the journal Nature.
Work in this field began in the 1990s after the Iraqi military set fire to more than 600 oil wells during a scorched-earth retreat from Kuwait in 1991, but the idea dates back at least to the Vietnam war, when the US military used Agent Orange to clear millions of hectares of forest with dire consequences for human health and wildlife.
More recently, the effects of conflict have been evident in the Sahara-Sahel region, where collapsing populations of cheetahs, gazelles and other species have been linked to the spread of guns following Libya’s civil war. Battles in Mali and Sudan have resulted in a rise in the number of elephant killings.
Joint Russian and Chinese air patrol heightens tension in Korean peninsula
The flight by two Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers and two Chinese H-6 bombers, backed up by a Russian A-50 early warning plane and its Chinese counterpart, a KJ-2000, marks a notable ramping-up of military cooperation between Beijing and Moscow.
While troops and naval ships from Russia and China have taken part in joint war games before, they have not, according to Russia’s ministry of defence, conducted such air patrols in the Asia-Pacific region together until Tuesday.
Should tech companies be worried about DoJ's antitrust review?
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced a wide-ranging antitrust review of “market-leading online platforms”, suggesting that long-awaited action might finally be taken against some of the world’s largest companies. Action may finally be taken over accusations Facebook, Google and Apple have monopolised chosen fields.
AL JAZEERA
Robert Mueller testimony: All the latest updates
All the latest updates as former Special Counsel Robert Mueller appears before Congress about the Russia probe.
Democrats hope that by putting Mueller on television and highlighting the parts of the report that they believe describe Trump's most egregious behaviour, they will be able to ignite new outrage and renew public interest in their investigations into the president.
In answering questions from House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, Mueller said his report did not conclude Trump did not commit obstruction of justice.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/robert-mueller-testimony-latest-updates-190724004507548.html
Iran's Rouhani hints at possible swap for seized tankers
President says if UK steps away from 'wrong actions' in Gibraltar, it will then get 'appropriate response' from Tehran.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani appears to have suggested that if the United Kingdom releases an Iranian tanker it apprehended off the coast of Gibraltar earlier this month, then his country will return a British-flagged vessel it seized last week.
The Grace-1 supertanker was seized off the British overseas territory on Spain's southern coast on July 4 on suspicion it was shipping oil to Syria, in breach of European Union sanctions. Some two weeks later, Iran seized the British-flagged Stena Impero in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, claiming that it had collided with a fishing boat and violated international law.
Also on Wednesday, an Iranian official reported that the UK sent a mediator to Iran to discuss the freeing of the Stena Impero.
Tensions in the Gulf region are high, with fears of a military confrontation between the US and IRan.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/iran-rouhani-hints-swap-seized-tankers-190724095311088.html
China warns US, allies on regional security, Taiwan
Defence white paper outlines China's military plans amid competing claims over territory including the South China Sea.
China has accused the United States and its allies of undermining global strategic stability by deepening their military presence and expanding their alliances, with Beijing also warning that it was ready for war if there was a move towards Taiwan's independence.
The paper "reflects the realities on the ground in China," Victor Gao, director at the China National Association of International Studies, told Al Jazeera.
"It emphasises that Chinese defence is very much self-defence in nature and does not constitute a threat to any neighbouring countries or any other country in the world."
The strategy was released a day after China carried out its first joint air patrol with Russia, triggering protests in both South Korea and Japanthat their airspace in an area where both have territorial claims had been violated, Both countries scrambled jets to intercept the mission.
China's defence spending, second only to the US, is expected to increase by 7.5 percent this year.
War is evolving towards "intelligent warfare", the national security plan said, citing a growing use of AI, big data, cloud computing and "new and hi-tech military technologies based on IT".
Israel's scramble for Africa: Selling water, weapons and lies
Israel is trying to rewrite history to tap into the hearts of ordinary Africans, but it will not succeed.
Ramzy Baroud.- For years, Kenya has served as Israel's gateway to Africa. Israel has been using the strong political, economic and security relations between the two states as a way to expand its influence on the continent and turn other African nations against Palestine. Unfortunately, Israel's strategy seems, at least on the surface, to be succeeding - Africa's historically vocal support for the Palestinian struggle on the international arena is dwindling.
The continent's rapprochement with Israel is unfortunate, because, for decades, Africa has stood as a vanguard against all racist ideologies, including Zionism - the ideology behind Israel's establishment on the ruins of Palestine. If Africa succumbs to Israeli enticement and pressure to fully embrace the Zionist state, the Palestinian people would lose a treasured partner in their struggle for freedom and human rights.
As it tried to establish itself as a partner to African nations, Israel did make some contributions that benefited Africans, such as delivering solar, water and agricultural technologies to regions in need. However, these contributions came at a significant cost.
African countries such as Chad, Niger, Mali, Nigeria, and Cameroon, among others, became clients of Israel's "counterterrorism" technologies, the same deadly tools that are actively used to suppress Palestinians in their ongoing struggle for freedom.
AL MAYADEEN
Puerto Rico: El gobernador no es el único mal
Se trata, dicen ellas, del reclamo masivo por la renuncia de Ricardo Roselló, un tecnócrata sin experiencia en política, que llegó al cargo casi como herencia de su padre, quien sí fue un sagaz personaje del complejo escenario local, y ocupó en dos ocasiones la gubernatura de la llamada Isla del Encanto.
Ese fue el detonante. Y este es el reclamo: que se vaya Roselló.
La deuda pública puertorriqueña, recordémoslo, anda por los 72 mil millones de dólares. Hay muchos países endeudados en el mundo, pero pocos están tan desprotegidos como Puerto Rico. Y es que como un modo de incentivar la afluencia de dinero a la isla, y por su condición de jurisdicción fiscal independiente, el tesoro local puede emitir bonos de deuda, pero para mayor satisfacción de quienes los compran, no puede cobrar intereses.
Pero hay más dificultades. Por su condición colonial, no puede solicitar ayuda de otros países – no es un estado independiente –, no tiene soberanía monetaria y, al no ser un estado ni independiente ni de Estados Unidos, no puede declararse en quiebra.
La situación ya era difícil cuando la naturaleza se encargó de empeorarla.
¿Quién se sorprende entonces de las manifestaciones actuales del pueblo puertorriqueño, unido, más allá de sus filiaciones políticas? ¿Quién puede extrañarse de la masiva participación juvenil, pura por naturaleza, animada por numerosas figuras del rico mundo cultural isleño?
Violentos enfrentamientos al sur de la capital libia
Violentos enfrentamientos entre las fuerzas del Ejército libio, dirigido por el mariscal Khalifa Haftar, y las fuerzas del Gobierno de Acuerdo Nacional, se produjeron este miércoles en el eje de al- Kella, al sur de Trípoli, la capital.
Testigos presenciales observaron el bombardeo aéreo sobre la zona de Wadi al-Rabea, cerca del triángulo del río. También indicaron que sintieron el fuego artillero en dirección de la carretera que conduce al aeropuerto.
Trump: EE.UU. no será un policía para países ricos en el estrecho de Ormuz
El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, dijo que su país no realizará tareas policiales en el estrecho de Ormuz para proteger a los barcos de países ricos como Arabia Saudita, Emiratos Árabes Unidos, China y Japón.
Por su parte, tres altos diplomáticos de la UE dijeron que Francia, Italia, los Países Bajos y Dinamarca apoyan una misión naval liderada por Europa para garantizar la seguridad de la navegación en el estrecho de Ormuz.
