Síntesis informativa - 29 de octubre 2019
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Army Officer Who Heard Trump’s Ukraine Call Reported Concerns
WASHINGTON — A White House national security official who is a decorated Iraq war veteran plans to tell House impeachment investigators on Tuesday that he heard President Trump appeal to Ukraine’s president to investigate one of his leading political rivals, a request the aide considered so damaging to American interests that he reported it to a superior.
Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman of the Army, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, twice registered internal objections about how Mr. Trump and his inner circle were treating Ukraine, out of what he called a “sense of duty,” he plans to tell the inquiry, according to a draft of his opening statement obtained by The New York Times.
He will be the first White House official to testify who listened in on the July 25 telephone call between Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine that is at the center of the impeachment inquiry, in which Mr. Trump asked Mr. Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/us/politics/Alexander-Vindman-trump-impeachment.html
As Kurds Tracked ISIS Leader, U.S. Withdrawal Threw Raid Into Turmoil
QAMISHLI, Syria — When the international manhunt for Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State, zoomed in on a village in northwestern Syria, the United States turned to its local allies to help track the world’s most-wanted terrorist.
The American allies, a Kurdish-led force that had partnered with the United States to fight ISIS, sent spies to watch his isolated villa. To confirm it was him, they stole a pair of Mr. al-Baghdadi’s underwear — long, white boxers — and obtained a blood sample, both for DNA testing, the force’s commander, Mazlum Abdi, said in a phone interview on Monday.
American officials would not discuss the specific intelligence provided by the Kurds, but said that their role in finding Mr. al-Baghdadi was essential — more so than all other countries combined, as one put it — contradicting President Trump’s assertion over the weekend that the United States “got very little help.”
Impeachment Testimony: Read a Statement from the White House Ukraine Expert
Opening Statement of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander S. Vindman
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/29/us/politics/vindman-statement-impeachment.html?mtrref=www.nytimes.com&gwh=1930146900432F39145728073E318010&gwt=pay&assetType=REGIWALL
__________________________________________________________________________________________
THE GUARDIAN
US air force's mystery space plane back on Earth after secret two-year mission
The X-37B landed at Nasa’s Kennedy space center in Florida early Sunday. The air force is keeping quiet about what the plane did in orbit after launching aboard a SpaceX rocket in 2017. The 780-day mission sets a new endurance record for the reusable test vehicle.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/oct/28/us-air-force-space-plane-nasa-kennedy-space-center
US deploying more troops around Syria oil fields after killing of Isis leader
The US military has started reinforcing its positions around oil fields in eastern Syria, saying the new deployments are part of its continuing counter-terrorist mission after the killing of the Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
General Mark Milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said on Monday that US forces would remain in Tanf along the Iraqi border, and more were being sent to the oil fields operated by the US energy corporation ConocoPhillips around Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/28/syria-us-troops-oil-fields-isis
Chile: protesters light bonfires and clash with police despite cabinet reshuffle
Fresh street battles and fires have broken out in downtown Santiago just hours after Chile’s embattled president, Sebastían Piñera, fired hardline members of his cabinet in an attempt to defuse the country’s biggest political crisis since the return to democracy in 1990.
Bands of protesters lit bonfires along the central Alameda Avenue and clashed with riot police as clouds of teargas and smoke engulfed the centre of the city.
Fresh demonstrations have already been called for Tuesday, but in addition to public fury, Piñera now faces efforts by opposition lawmakers to charge him for violating the constitution and permitting human rights violations during the street protests which have left least 17 dead, and led to the arrest of more than 7,000 people.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
XINHUA
White House aide on Ukraine to testify his concerns about Trump-Zelensky call
WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- A National Security Council (NSC) official reportedly plans to tell House investigators on Tuesday that he was concerned about U.S. President Donald Trump's July phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, and that he reported his concerns to NSC's lead counsel.
A copy of the opening statement by Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, NSC's top Ukraine expert, was widely reported by U.S. media outlets, before a scheduled deposition for him at Capitol Hill before House panels which was leading an impeachment inquiry into Trump.
Trump made the phone call with Zelensky on July 25, during which he claimed former Vice President Joe Biden once forced Kiev to fire a prosecutor in order to protect his son Hunter Biden, who served on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-10/29/c_138512307.htm
Anti-gov't protests continue in Iraq despite security measures
BAGHDAD, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The anti-government demonstrations continued early on Tuesday in Baghdad and others Iraqi provinces, with contradictory reports about casualties among protesters in the city of Karbala.
"The information we received from activists, organizations and non-governmental organizations about Karbala unrest said that 18 people were killed and more than 800 wounded, while Karbala Health Department said that only one killed in criminal incident away from protest site," said a statement by Ali al-Bayati, member of the Iraqi Independent High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR).
For its part, the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) cited a report from Karbala Health Department saying that there are 112 people injured during the protest around midnight and confirmed that there were no deaths among the protesters.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-10/29/c_138512604.htm
Chilean president replaces 8 ministers in response to protests
SANTIAGO, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Monday replaced eight ministers in response to ongoing anti-government protests. So far, at least 19 people have been killed in clashes with security forces and other protests-related violence, 1,132 people injured, and 3,243 people arrested, according to a Monday report by Chile's National Human Rights Institute.
Interior Minister Andres Chadwick, a 63-year-old cousin of the president and one of his closest aides, was replaced by 41-year-old Gonzalo Blumel, who has been with Pinera since he started a second time in 2018.
Finance Minister Felipe Larrain was replaced by Ignacio Briones, Chile's former ambassador to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and dean of the School of Government at Chile's Adolfo Ibanez University.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-10/29/c_138511735.htm
___________________________________________________________________________________________
AL JAZEERA
Lebanon PM Saad Hariri to submit resignation after mass protests
PM heading to presidential palace to tender gov't resignation amid mass protests demanding departure of ruling elite.
The announcement on Tuesday came on the back of 13 days of mass anti-government protests demanding the departure of the country's entire political elite amid growing anger over official corruption, poor public services and years of economic mismanagement.
The two-week crisis has paralysed Lebanon, closing banks, schools and some businesses. Lebanon's banking association said banks would remain shut on Tuesday for a tenth straight working day, but added that the central bank had provided the liquidity necessary to pay out salaries for public sector workers, including members of security forces.
Kuwait's emir: Gulf dispute 'no longer acceptable or tolerable'
In his first address since medical treatment in US, Sheikh Sabah said ongoing regional dispute has weakened GCC unity.
Kuwait's emir has called for an end to the regional diplomatic dispute that has seen Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt impose a blockade on Qatar since June 2017.
In his first public address since being hospitalised in the United States last month, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah said on Tuesday that the ongoing dispute greatly weakened the unity of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.
The four Arab states also issued a 13-point list of demands, insisting that Qatar shut down the Al Jazeera network, close a Turkish military base and scale down ties with Iran.
Saudi Arabia hosts 'Davos in the desert' investment summit
Last year saw top CEOs boycott the event over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by 'rogue agents'.
A strong turnout at the three-day Future Investment Initiative (FII), nicknamed "Davos in the desert", would further rehabilitate de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's global image that was tainted by Khashoggi's killing last year.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, leaders of key emerging markets, are set to speak at the summit along with King Abdullah II of Jordan and four African leaders.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin leads the American delegation that includes Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior adviser to President Donald Trump.
The CEOs of asset management firms Blackstone and SoftBank, as well as chairs of the sovereign wealth funds of Kuwait, UAE, Singapore and Russia, are also expected to attend.
Top executives from blue chips Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, both working on the much-anticipated flotation of state oil behemoth Saudi Aramco, are on a long list of global bank representatives at the forum.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
AL MAYADEEN
Primer ministro ruso recibe a presidente de Cuba
A la reunión acudieron directivos de empresas energéticas como InterRAO, de Sinara (locomotoras), GAZ (automotriz), bancos y Empresa de Ferrocarriles de Rusia (RZHD, en ruso), entre otras.
Los empresarios rusos se refirieron a la posibilidad de montar ensambladoras en Cuba, mientras que el jefe de Estado los llamó a participar con más inversiones en los programas de desarrollo cubano.
http://espanol.almayadeen.net/news/politica/1355445/primer-ministro-ruso-recibe-a-presidente-de-cuba
Irak desconfía de EE.UU. como aliado
Aunque Salih admitió que Estados Unidos es un importante aliado y socio, subrayó que "no está seguro de la confiabilidad" y por eso están dispuestos a reconsiderar sus relaciones con otros países, incluidos Rusia e Irán.
http://espanol.almayadeen.net/news/politica/1355428/irak-desconf%C3%ADa-de-ee-uu--como-aliado
Pese a represión policial siguen en Chile protestas antineoliberales
Asimismo llamaron al gobierno y fuerzas políticas a lograr un pacto social justo, a través de un proceso constituyente, como única forma de superar la actual crisis.
En tanto continúan aumentando las denuncias de violencia desmedida y torturas por parte de las fuerzas de Carabineros contra la población y según fuentes médicas, al menos 127 personas han sido atendidas por afectaciones con balines en el rostro.
