Síntesis informativa - 29 de julio 2019
THE NEW YORK TIMES
China Backs Hong Kong Officials, but Leaves Protests for Them to Solve
BEIJING — The Chinese government on Monday laid down its firm support of Hong Kong’s embattled leader and police force but failed to offer any clear solutions after two months of rolling protests that have flared into violence and stoked opposition to Chinese rule.
Chinese officials made a strongly worded defense of the local Hong Kong authorities during a rare news conference in Beijing by the government office that oversees policy toward the city. But they failed to address the demonstrators’ demands for more accountability in the police force and a greater say in the city’s future, which could pave the way for more unrest.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/29/world/asia/china-hong-kong.html
After 5 Months in the Street, Algeria’s Protesters See Success in a Standoff
ALGIERS — The side with the guns — the army command — dares not spill blood, five months into a popular uprising that chased out Algeria’s autocratic president. The side without — the protesters — remains mobilized, still coursing through the capital’s sun-blasted streets twice a week.
The street has stared down the army, and the army has blinked. So the epic standoff in Algeria — Africa’s largest country, the oil-rich neighbor of Libya, strategically situated on the rim of the Mediterranean Sea, gateway to the deep Sahara — continues.
That it does, even if Algeria is still far from the democracy the street wants, already signals an unusual victory, one making this unfolding and so far bloodless revolution perhaps unique in the Arab world, say the protesters and Algeria analysts.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/29/world/africa/algeria-revolution-standoff.html
Iran Links British Seizure of Oil Tanker to Ailing Nuclear Deal
BRUSSELS — Iran for the first time tied the British seizure of an Iranian oil tanker to the ailing nuclear deal on Sunday, calling it illegal and a violation of the agreement.
By making that link, Iran appeared to be trying to press the Europeans to make good on the promised financial benefits of the 2015 agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or J.C.P.O.A.
“Since Iran is entitled to export its oil according to the J.C.P.O.A., any impediment in the way of Iran’s export of oil is actually against the J.C.P.O.A.,” Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said after emergency talks in Vienna with other parties to the nuclear deal.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/28/world/europe/iran-tanker-britain-nuclear.html
Under Brazil’s Far Right Leader, Amazon Protections Slashed and Forests Fall
BRASÍLIA — The destruction of the Amazon rain forest in Brazil has increased rapidly since the nation’s new far-right president took over and his government scaled back efforts to fight illegal logging, ranching and mining.
Protecting the Amazon was at the heart of Brazil’s environmental policy for much of the past two decades. At one point, Brazil’s success in slowing the deforestation rate made it an international example of conservation and the effort to fight climate change.
But with the election of President Jair Bolsonaro, a populist who has been fined personally for violating environmental regulations, Brazil has changed course substantially, retreating from the efforts it once made to slow global warming by preserving the world’s largest rain forest.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/28/world/americas/brazil-deforestation-amazon-bolsonaro.html
The U.S. and Guatemala Reached an Asylum Deal: Here’s What It Means
MEXICO CITY — President Trump has made migration the defining issue in the relationship between his administration and the governments of Central America and Mexico.
He has pressed the region’s leaders to reduce the number of migrants heading north and crossing the southwest border of the United States, even going so far as to freeze hundreds of millions of dollars in development aid to Central America.
One of his goals has been to get those countries to absorb more asylum seekers. On Friday, Mr. Trump made a surprise announcement that the United States had signed an agreement with Guatemala that would require asylum seekers who travel through that country to first seek refuge there.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/28/world/americas/guatemala-safe-third-asylum.html
AL JAZEERA
Ethics report accuses UNRWA leadership of abuse of power
UNRWA chief Pierre Krahenbuhl rejects characterisation of senior team as UN investigates.
Ian Williams.- A confidential internal report from the UN's Palestinian refugee agency's ethics office has detailed alleged abuses of authority among the organisation's senior management team.
The report alleges that the "inner circle" is made up of Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl, Deputy Commissioner-General Sandra Mitchell - who resigned from her post in late July - Chief of Staff Hakam Shahwan - who left the agency in early July - and Senior Adviser to the Commissioner-General Maria Mohammedi.
The alleged escalation coincided with the fallout from the decision by the United States, historically the agency's largest individual donor, to cut its contributions from $360m to $60m for 2018 and then cut its donations to zero in 2019, causing a funding crisis in UNRWA.
After the US announced in January 2018 it would reduce its funding to UNRWA, Krahenbuhl launched the "Dignity is Priceless" global fundraising campaign, which aimed to raise $500m.
China backs Lam, condemns 'radical elements' for HK violence
In rare public comments, Chinese spokesman says Hong Kong's top priority is to 'punish violent and unlawful acts'.
China has said the anti-government protests in Hong Kong have become a "serious challenge to the rule of law", reiterating its support for the financial hub's leader and police in the wake of another day of street clashes.
The semi-autonomous territory has been rocked by demonstrations over the past two months that began over changes to extradition laws but have since grown into a wider movement against the Beijing-backed government and alleged police brutality.
The protests, some of which drew millions of people, began when the Hong Kong government introduced a controversial bill that would have allowed people to be extradited for trial to mainland China. The territory's leader Carrie Lam has since called the bill "dead" but has refused to official retract it.
The demonstrators are demanding, among others, direct elections for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory's leader, Lam's resignation, and an investigation into police use of force to quell the protest movement.
Iran calls European fleet in the Gulf 'hostile' and 'provocative'
UK said it is planning a European-led naval force to escort tankers through the world's busiest oil shipping lane.
The condemnation on Sunday came as a Royal Navy warship arrived in the Gulf to accompany British-flagged vessels passing through the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Britain said on Monday it was planning a European-led force to escort tankers through the world's busiest oil shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz, in response to Iran's seizure of a United Kingdom-flagged vessel on July 19.
The capture of the Stena Impero came two weeks after British authorities detained an Iranian tanker - the Grace 1 - off its overseas territory Gibraltar over allegations it was breaching EU sanctions on Syria.
France said on Thursday it was not willing to send extra military assets to the Gulf, but would share information and coordinate its currently deployed assets.
The US military has said it is already monitoring the area and developing a "multinational maritime effort" dubbed Operation Sentinel to increase surveillance and security in key Middle East waterways.
AL MAYADEEN
Presidentes de Cuba y Venezuela clausuran Foro de Sao Paulo en Caracas
Coincidiendo con las celebraciones por el natalicio del líder revolucionario Hugo Chávez (1954-2013), la secretaria ejecutiva del Foro de Sao Paulo, Mónica Valente, enfatizó que la mejor manera de homenajear al desaparecido mandatario venezolano es "continuar su lucha por la soberanía y participación protagónica de los pueblos, para combatir la pobreza y fuerzas imperiales".
A su turno, el presidente de Cuba destacó el consenso alcanzado durante el desarrollo del Foro, que dio cuenta "de las preocupaciones de la ofensiva neoliberal y arremetidas imperiales, pero también evidencia la resistencia de los pueblos del mundo".
"Venezuela es víctima de la campaña más brutal de manipulación, mentiras y fake news que se hayan hecho en muchas décadas o siglos contra un proceso político. Venezuela es el centro de una guerra de carácter no convencional", denunció Maduro.
Corea del Sur anuncia envío de una unidad naval al estrecho de Ormuz
Corea del Sur planea unirse a una fuerza marítima liderada por Estados Unidos en Medio Oriente con el envío de una unidad naval, que incluye un destructor, para ayudar a los petroleros que navegan por el Estrecho de Ormuz, informó un periódico surcoreano, según Reuters.
El periódico de negocios Maekyung, al citar a un alto funcionario del gobierno no identificado, dijo que Corea del Sur había decidido enviar a la unidad de Cheonghae contra la piratería que opera en aguas cercanas a Somalia, posiblemente junto con helicópteros.
El secretario de Estado norteamericano, Mike Pompeo, expresó la semana pasada que Washington había pedido a Corea del Sur, Japón, Francia, Alemania, Australia y otros que participaran.
La unidad de Cheonghae ha estado estacionada en el Golfo de Adén desde 2009, trabajando para hacer frente a la piratería en asociación con los países africanos, los Estados Unidos y la Unión Europea.
