Síntesis informativa - 7 de octubre 2019
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Trump Endorses Turkish Military Operation in Syria, Shifting U.S. Policy
WASHINGTON — In a major shift in United States military policy in Syria, the White House said on Sunday that President Trump had given his endorsement for a Turkish military operation that would sweep away American-backed Kurdish forces near the border in Syria.
Now, Mr. Trump’s decision goes against the recommendations of top officials in the Pentagon and the State Department who have sought to keep a small troop presence in northeast Syria to continue operations against the Islamic State, or ISIS, and to act as a critical counterweight to Iran and Russia.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/us/politics/trump-turkey-syria.html
North Koreans Thrown Overboard as Fishing Ship Hits Japanese Patrol Boat
TOKYO — A large North Korean fishing trawler collided with a Japanese patrol ship within Japan’s exclusive economic zone on Monday, throwing dozens of North Korean crew members overboard and drawing renewed warnings from Tokyo about illegal fishing in its waters.
According to Japan’s Coast Guard, the North Korean fishing boat struck a patrol ship for the Japanese fisheries agency on Monday morning in the sea between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, about 220 miles northwest of the Noto Peninsula in central Japan.
Legal Team Says It Represents a Second Whistle-Blower Over Trump and Ukraine
WASHINGTON — An intelligence official with “firsthand knowledge” has provided information related to President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and is now protected from retaliation as a whistle-blower, lawyers representing the official said on Sunday, confirming that a second individual has come forward in the matter.
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THE GUARDIAN
Erratic Trump struggles to control message as impeachment threat grows
At least one additional whistleblower has stepped forward to describe an alleged scheme by Trump to extort Ukraine for dirt on Democratic 2020 presidential rival Joe Biden, the individual’s lawyer announced.
Congress is preparing to take testimony on Tuesday from a major figure in the Ukraine scandal, Gordon Sondland, a wealthy hotelier and major Trump donor who was made US ambassador to the European Union.
Trump’s course of self-defense, meanwhile, appeared to be increasingly erratic. The president told House Republicans that his reportedly outgoing energy secretary, Rick Perry, was the secret Machiavelli behind a phone call Trump held with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, central to the scandal, Axios reported.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/06/trump-impeachment-inquiry-threat-grows
US to let Turkish forces move into Syria, dumping Kurdish allies
Kurdish forces have spearheaded the campaign against Islamic State in the region, but the policy swerve, after a phone conversation between Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday, means Turkey would take custody of captured Isis fighters, the White House said.
It has also raised fears of fresh fighting between Turkey and Kurdish forces in Syria’s complex war now the US no longer acts as a buffer between the two sides.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Monday morning that their US partners had already begun withdrawing troops from areas along Turkey’s border. Footage aired on Kurdish news agency Hawar purportedly showed US armoured vehicles evacuating key positions near the towns of Ras al-Ayn and Tal Abyad in the border region.
The SDF spokesman, Mustafa Bali, accused the US of leaving the area to “turn into a war zone”, adding that the SDF would “defend north-east Syria at all costs”.
The decision represents the latest in a series of erratic moves by Trump, who is fighting impeachment at home, apparently taken without consultation with, or knowledge of, US diplomats dealing with Syria, or the UK and France, the US’s main international partners in the country.
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XINHUA
China's sci-tech hub Zhongguancun invests more in R&D
BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Beijing's Zhongguancun, known as China's "Silicon Valley," has seen increases in both spending on and persons employed for research and development (R&D) during the January-August period this year.
Statistics indicate that the fields of electronics and information, new materials and applied technology, and advanced manufacturing showed good growth momentum, with year-on-year growth of 14.5 percent, 10.2 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively. R&D expenses totaled 146.45 billion yuan (20.5 billion U.S. dollars), up 16.1 percent year on year, according to the latest report by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-10/07/c_138453854.htm
U.S. starts withdrawing from Syria-Turkey borderline amid anticipated Turkish campaign
DAMASCUS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Monday pulled out forces from observation points in northeastern Syria along the borderline with Turkey amid threats by Ankara to launch a military campaign against the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, a war monitor reported.
The Kurdish militia forces have been controlling areas in northern Syria since the early years of the crisis in Syria, in order to force Damascus to recognize a federal rule or autonomy for the Kurds in northern Syria. However, Syrian government officials repeatedly said that Kurdish federalization in Syria or self-rule is out of the question.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-10/07/c_138453769.htm
Iraq, Russia call for de-escalating tensions in Gulf region
BAGHDAD, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hakim and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Monday called here for increasing efforts to reduce tensions in the Gulf region and the return of Syria to the Arab League (AL).
At a joint press conference following a meeting between the two ministers, al-Hakim said that "regional issues were discussed in the meeting, as we talked about security challenges facing the region, and we emphasized the necessity to decrease the tensions in the Gulf region and securing maritime navigation in the Gulf."
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-10/07/c_138453853.htm
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AL JAZEERA
US troops start pullout in Syria as Turkey prepares operation
American troops 'will no longer be in the immediate area' casting uncertainty on the fate of their Kurdish allies.
US troops began withdrawing from northeast Syria ahead of a Turkish invasion that Kurdish fighters say will overturn the victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) armed group.
The withdrawal marks a major shift in US policy and effectively abandons a US ally in the battle against ISIL, which took over swathes of Syria before being defeated a year ago.
Syria's Kurds warned on Monday a Turkish military invasion would spark a major ISIL resurgence and vowed to battle Turkey's military.
Such an operation would reverse years of successful Kurdish-led operations to defeat the armed group and allow some of its surviving leaders to come out of hiding, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a statement.
Iran says Chinese state oil firm has withdrawn from $5bn deal
Chinese company pulls out of the agreement in what appears to be the latest economic setback because of US sanctions.
China's state oil company pulled out of a $5bn deal to develop a portion of Iran's massive offshore natural gas field, the Islamic Republic's oil minister said.
The South Pars field deal, struck in the wake of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, appears to be just the latest business casualty of the United States' pressure campaign on Tehran following President Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal of the US from the deal.
Iran holds the world's second-largest known reserves of natural gas and the world's fourth-largest oil reserves.
Much of its natural gas comes from its massive South Pars field, which it shares with Qatar. The initial plan for the development of South Pars involved building 20 wells and two wellhead platforms, a project that would have a capacity of 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day.
UK rights group reveals secret government Prevent database
Liberty says database is means of monitoring and controlling communities under guise of counter-extremism measures.
A British human rights group has revealed a covert government database being used to monitor and control communities.
Information is gathered by public servants such as teachers who are compelled by Prevent to monitor and report signs of what they believe could indicate "extremism".
Police can add people to the database, which Gracie Bradley, Liberty's policy and campaigns manager, said is counterintuitive to the public's safety.
Established by the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act of 2015, Prevent has been decried by academics, civil society groups, and rights organisations as a government-monitoring discriminatory strategy that is disproportionately directed at the country's Muslim population.
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AL MAYADEEN
Túnez: Ennahda encabeza resultados no oficiales de las elecciones legislativas
Los resultados preliminares no oficiales expedidas por centros de encuestas en Túnez muestran que el movimiento de Ennahda ganó las elecciones legislativas con 40 escaños en el parlamento, mientras que el partido Corazón de Túnez ocupó el segundo lugar con 33 asientos y la coalición Al Karama con 18.
FDS acusa a Washington de no cumplir sus compromisos
Las Fuerzas Democráticas Sirias (FDS) anunciaron que las fuerzas estadounidenses se retiraron de las áreas fronterizas con Turquía tras no haber cumplido sus promesas, y confirmaron que no dudarán en absoluto en defenderse de las operaciones militares turcas.
La fuente agregó que las fuerzas estadounidenses evacuaron dos puestos de observación en Tall Abyad y Ras al-Ain, en el noreste de Siria, en la frontera con Turquía, y subrayó que el resto de los efectivos en la región todavía están en sus posiciones.
Por su parte, la Casa Blanca anunció que las fuerzas estadounidenses no participarán en la operación militar turca en el norte de Siria, y agregó –en un comunicado– que Ankara pronto comenzará sus operaciones planificadas desde hace mucho tiempo en el norte de Siria.
Canciller ruso inicia una visita a Irak
Durante su visita, Lavrov se reunirá con los líderes iraquíes en Bagdad, también visitará Erbil, la capital de la región autónoma kurda, y se reunirá con los dirigentes regionales.
http://espanol.almayadeen.net/news/politica/1348861/canciller-ruso-inicia-una-visita-a-irak
