Síntesis informativa - 29 de agosto 2019
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Former Top FARC Guerrilla Calls for Return to War in Colombia
MEDELLÍN, Colombia — A former top commander of Colombia’s largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces, vowed a return to war and issued a new call to arms on Thursday, three years after the rebels signed a peace deal to disarm.
The commander, whose real name is Luciano Marín but is known by the alias Iván Márquez said in a newly released video that his group, known as FARC, would return to fighting because the government had not honored the agreement.
He called for “a new phase of the struggle” for the group under “the universal right that all people have to raise arms against oppression.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/29/world/americas/colombia-farc-rebel-war.html
Chinese Military Sends New Troops Into Hong Kong
HONG KONG — The Chinese military began sending a new group of troops into Hong Kong on Thursday, a move it described as a normal annual rotation of its garrison in the city, but one that was being closely watched because of the local political turmoil.
The move came hours before two organizers of the protests that have roiled the city said they were attacked, in separate incidents, by men with makeshift weapons, one in a restaurant and the other while giving an interview on a sidewalk. Also Thursday, the police denied a protest group permission to hold another large march through the city this weekend.
Chinese state-run media published photos and video of the troop movement, showing trucks, armored personnel carriers and a ship entering Hong Kong under cover of early-morning darkness.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/world/asia/hong-kong-chinese-troops.html
U.N. Vote Could Clear Path to Cutting Peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon
WASHINGTON — The authority of peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon is a matter of annual debate at the United Nations, pitting security concerns against sovereignty rights. But for the first time in recent memory, the Security Council this year will formally review the size of the forces and allow cuts to be considered when it renews the mission, three officials said on Wednesday.
The issue will be put to the Security Council in a vote on Thursday to extend the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, for another year. A draft of the final agreement, which includes the force reduction review, was described to The New York Times on the condition of anonymity.
It is a small but significant concession to American and Israeli diplomats who have for years said the peacekeepers should more aggressively investigate and report Hezbollah activity in southern Lebanon, near the Israeli border. Because the United States and Israel do not believe the peacekeepers have carried out their duties as fully as possible, the countries have pushed for fewer forces, in part as a cost-cutting measure.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/world/middleeast/un-peacekeepers-lebanon-israel.html
Afghan Forces Still Unable to Counter Violence Alone, Joint Chiefs Chairman Says
WASHINGTON — Afghanistan’s security forces are not yet able to deal with violence in the country on their own, the top American military officer said Wednesday, laying bare one of the biggest challenges facing administration officials as they try to hammer out a peace agreement with the Taliban that could lead to the withdrawal of American troops.
During a rare news conference at the Pentagon, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was not ready to use terms like “withdrawal” when discussing the American troop presence in Afghanistan at this point in the peace negotiations.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/world/middleeast/dunford-afghanistan-peace-talks.html
U.S. Offers Amnesty to Venezuelan Leader, if He Leaves Power
WASHINGTON — A top American diplomat said the United States would not prosecute or otherwise seek to punish President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela if he voluntarily left power, despite bringing his country to the verge of economic collapse and humanitarian disaster.
Elliott Abrams, the State Department’s special envoy for Venezuela, said he had seen no indication that Mr. Maduro was willing to step down. But his offer of amnesty was a message to Mr. Maduro after both countries’ leaders described high-level talks that Mr. Abrams unequivocally said did not happen.
“This is not a persecution,” Mr. Abrams said of Mr. Maduro on Tuesday evening in an interview. “We’re not after him. We want him to have a dignified exit and go.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/world/americas/us-amnesty-venezuela-maduro.html
__________________________________________________________________________________________
THE GUARDIAN
Trump offers to pardon aides for laws broken in rush to build border wall – report
The president has ordered officials to ignore environmental rules, fast-track construction contracts valued at billions of dollars and “take the land” needed by eminent domain, according to the Washington Post.
Trump also suggested he will pardon them for any laws broken in the process, allegedly telling aides: “Don’t worry, I’ll pardon you.”
Trump administration expected to roll back methane regulations – report
The Trump administration is expected to further ease oversight of the oil and gas industry’s emissions of climate changing greenhouse gases by relaxing regulations around methane – a key gas that impacts global heating.
Oil industry and environmental groups say they expect the Environmental Protection Agency to release a proposal as soon as Thursday that would roll back requirements on detecting and plugging methane leaks at oil and gas facilities.
US won't release peace plan before Israel's elections, says envoy
“We have decided that we will not be releasing the peace vision (or parts of it) prior to the Israeli election,” Greenblatt said on Twitter.
Trump’s Middle East team, including senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, had wanted to roll out the political plan during the summer but Netanyahu’s failure to put together a governing coalition after April elections prompted a delay.
Unveiling a peace plan before 17 September could have complicated a tight race in which Netanyahu’s rightwing Likud party and its strongest rival – Blue and White, led by former armed forces chief Benny Gantz – are running neck and neck in the polls.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/28/us-israeli-palestinian-peace-plan-elections
‘Worst of wildfires still to come’ despite Brazil claiming crisis is under control
About 80,000 blazes have been detected in Brazil this year – more than half in the Amazon region – although on Saturday the far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, claimed the situation was “returning to normal”.
In an article for Brazil’s O Globo newspaper on Wednesday, one prominent forestry expert warned that the country’s annual burning season had yet to fully play out and called for urgent steps to reduce the potential damage.
“The worst of the fire is still to come,” wrote Tasso Azevedo, a forest engineer and environmentalist who coordinates the deforestation monitoring group MapBiomas.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/28/brazil-amazon-wildfires-worst-to-come
Drone attacks in Middle East raise fears of escalating conflict
A spate of drone attacks in Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and now Lebanon has raised the spectre of a new era of conflict in the region, due to the ability of stealth-like weapons to penetrate distant battlefields and hit closely guarded targets.
Drone warfare has become an instrumental factor in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, now being fought over both sides of the Israeli border and in skies across the region.
Group of ex-Farc rebels announces offensive despite 2016 peace deal
Two former commanders, known by their aliases Iván Márquez and Jesús Santrich, appear in a 32-minute YouTube video that Márquez said was filmed in Colombia’s Amazon.
“This is the continuation of the rebel fight in answer to the betrayal of the state of the Havana peace accords,” he said, dressed in fatigues and surrounded by armed fighters. “We were never beaten or defeated ideologically, so the struggle continues.”
The video comes as the complex accord faces severe challenges, including the murder of hundreds of former rebels and human rights activists, delays in funding for economic efforts by former combatants and deep political polarisation.
The group will seek to coordinate with the leftwing rebels the National Liberation Army (ELN), Márquez said, but that kidnapping would not be used as a source of financing.
Security sources said the group commanded by Márquez could number as many as 2,200 fighters.
Severe hunger threatens millions in Somalia as climate emergency deepens
A further 3 million people are uncertain of their next meal, latest assessments suggest.
The new emergency comes two years after the threat of a major disaster in the unstable east African state was averted by timely aid from the international community.
Experts describe the crisis as a “climate emergency” and say communities are still struggling to recover from the lengthy drought that ended in 2017.
The crisis has been aggravated by continuing conflict between al-Shabaab, the Islamic extremist movement that has been fighting for more than a decade to impose strict religious rule on Somalia, and government troops, which are backed by regional forces and US air assets.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
XINHUA
China to hold grand celebration, military parade on National Day
BEIJING, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday announced that it would put on a grand celebration, followed by a military parade and mass pageantry at Tian'anmen Square on Oct. 1, the National Day, to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC).
The military parade is an important part of the National Day celebration and is not aimed at any other countries or specific situations, Cai Zhijun, deputy head of the office of the leading group for the military parade, said at a press conference held in Beijing.
Some advanced weapons will make their debut in the military parade, the scale of which is scheduled to be greater than the ones commemorating the 50th and 60th founding anniversary of the PRC, as well as the V-Day military parade in 2015.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/29/c_138348112.htm
Iran rules out U.S. talks unless Washington back to nuclear deal: official
TEHRAN, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi ruled out the possibility of any negotiations between Tehran and Washington unless the latter is back to the Iranian 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Press TV reported on Thursday.
"No country would accept to enter negotiations while being under maximum pressure," because doing so would mean "surrender," Araqchi said on Wednesday.
Araqchi added that talks with the United States would take place within the framework of the JCPOA only when Washington lifts all of its sanctions against Iran.
The Iranian deputy foreign minister, who also represents Iran in nuclear talks with powers, warned that if the Europeans fail to fully comply with their commitments under the nuclear agreement to secure Iran's interests, Iran will take step to further reduce its JCPOA obligations.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/29/c_138348181.htm
U.S. opens Venezuela Affairs office in Colombian capital
WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of State announced on Wednesday the opening of the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU) in the Colombian capital of Bogota.
As an interim diplomatic office of the U.S. government to Venezuela, the unit, headed by the U.S. Charge d'Affaires to Venezuela James Story, is located at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, said the department in a statement.
The VAU interacts with Juan Guaido, the opposition leader who in January proclaimed himself "interim president" of Venezuela and was immediately recognized by the United States, said the statement.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/29/c_138347465.htm
Turkey's Erdogan says not to tolerate U.S. delay in safe zone plan in northeastern Syria
ANKARA, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey will not allow the United States to delay the plan to set up a safe zone in northeastern Syria, CNN Turk reported on Thursday.
The agreement reached between Turkey and the United States is "a correct step" towards establishing a safe zone and clearing the east of Euphrates from the People's Protection Units (YPG), Erdogan told reporters on his way back from an official visit to Russia.
He also recalled an earlier deal with the United States to remove YPG fighters from Syria's northern city of Manbij, stressing that Ankara will not accept delays again like Washington had caused in the Mabij deal.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/northamerica/2019-08/29/c_138348289.htm
500,000 Cameroonians flee Anglophone regions in face of lockdown: UN
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- More than 500,000 people have fled conflict in the southwest and northwest Anglophone regions of Cameroon in anticipation of a lockdown called by rebels, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.
"The humanitarian situation in the two regions continues to deteriorate with 1.3 million people, a third of the local population, now in need of humanitarian assistance," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "The conflict there has displaced over 500,000 people."
Dujarric said armed fighting and insecurity continue to be the main impediments to the provision of assistance and a barrier to those in need to reach areas where they could receive aid. Eight out of Cameroon's 10 regions are being impacted by various humanitarian crises with around 4.3 million people in need of emergency assistance.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/29/c_138346052.htm
_________________________________________________________________________________________
AL JAZEERA
Yemen: Southern separatists regain control of port city of Aden
Rift widens in Saudi-Emirati coalition as separatists storm key port city and force government troops to flee.
Separatists in Yemen regained full control of the country's interim capital, Aden, on Thursday after they pushed back troops from the UN-recognised government, officials from both sides said.
It also reflects a rift within a pro-government coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE - which has trained and supported the separatists - fighting Houthi rebels who control the capital, Sanaa, in the north.
China rotates new troops into Hong Kong amid crackdown fears
Beijing describes as 'routine' the movement of Chinese forces, estimated at between 8,000 and 10,000 soldiers.
China's military will make even greater contributions to maintaining Hong Kong's "prosperity and stability", state news agency Xinhua cited the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the territory as saying.
It also described the troop movement in the early hours as "routine", while Asian and Western diplomats watching the movements of the PLA in the former British colony had been expecting it.
China has denounced the demonstrations and accused the United States and the United Kingdom of interfering in its affairs in Hong Kong, warning that forceful intervention was possible.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/china-rotates-batch-troops-hong-kong-190829033045444.html
Middle East drone attacks: Is Israel banking on Iranian response?
A series of weekend air assaults across three different countries raised fears of a regional escalation.
Lina Alsaafin
In an apparent escalation that increased fears of a full-fledged conflagration, Israel's aircraft launched an air attack in Syria, while suspected Israeli drones hit targets in Lebanon and Iraq - all within 48 hours.
The long-running Syrian conflict has drawn in a number of international forces, including various Iranian-backed militias fighting on the ground alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops. Israel has not intervened directly in the war but its fighter jets have regularly bombed Tehran-allied forces such as Hezbollah, a Lebanese group backing Assad's forces.
Yet the attacks on Iraq and Lebanon were seen as a break in the norm for Israel.
"Any country that allows its territory to be used for attacks against Israel will face the consequences, and I repeat, the country will face the consequences," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahusaid on Sunday.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
AL MAYADEEN
EE.UU. anunciará el “Acuerdo del Siglo” después de las elecciones israelíes
Estados Unidos no publicará su muy esperado y controvertido plan de paz para Medio Oriente, conocido como “Acuedo del Siglo”, antes de las elecciones en (Israel), dijo un alto funcionario de la administración Trump.
Ejército israelí continúa en máxima alerta en la frontera con El Líbano
Según el diario Maariv, "el ejército israelí se está preparando para esto, ya que esta vez las tensiones pueden durar mucho tiempo, porque Hizbullah buscará la oportunidad operativa de atacar al ejército o llevar a cabo otra operación con diferentes características".
En este punto, aclara el diario que "el mensaje que seguirá viniendo del liderazgo de Hizbullah es que se espera que responda a la acción israelí, pero será una "respuesta controlada" que no conducirá a la guerra.
Irak firma acuerdo con el PNUD para estabilizar áreas liberadas del grupo terrorista Daesh
Un comunicado del PNUD en Irak señaló que la contribución será utilizada para rehabilitar infraestructura esencial y servicios como agua, electricidad, atención a la salud, vivienda y educación en áreas clave de las provincias de Nínive, Anbar, Salahudin, Diyala, y Kirkuk.
Oficina Externa para Venezuela creada por EE.UU
El Departamento de Estado anunció el miércoles la creación de la Oficina Externa de Estados Unidos para Venezuela (VAU, por sus siglas en inglés), que será liderada por el encargado de negocios, James Story.
La VAU es la oficina diplomática interina del gobierno estadounidense para Venezuela, y está localizada en la Embajada de EE.UU. en Bogotá, Colombia, indicó el comunicado.
http://espanol.almayadeen.net/news/politica/1335313/oficina-externa-para-venezuela-creada-por-ee-uu
