Síntesis informativa - 11 de diciembre 2019
THE NEW YORK TIMES
After Pensacola Shooting, Pentagon Restricts Training for Saudi Military Students
MIAMI — The Pentagon has suspended operational training for all Saudi military students in the United States, indefinitely halting flight instruction, firing range training and all other operations outside the classroom in the wake of a shooting last week at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida by a member of the Saudi Royal Air Force.
The suspension will affect nearly 900 Saudi students across the country, the Defense Department said on Tuesday. Classroom teaching, including language courses, will continue while Pentagon leaders review vetting procedures for all foreign military trainees. An estimated 5,200 international students in the United States will be covered by the security review.
The “safety stand-down” was issued pending the results of an F.B.I. investigation into the shooting on Friday that left three young sailors dead and eight other people wounded. Several lawmakers, including Senator Rick Scott of Florida and Representative Matt Gaetz, whose congressional district includes Pensacola, had called for a review of foreign military programs and their screening process.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/us/pensacola-florida-shooting-saudi-students.html
Person Is Detained at Corpus Christi Naval Base After Lockdown
The Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Tex., was briefly locked down early Wednesday and a person was taken into custody. The incident came a week after deadly shootings at a similar base in Pensacola, Fla., and at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii. There were no immediate reports of any casualties in Texas on Wednesday.
The naval air station said on Facebook just before 8 a.m. local time that employees had been ordered to shelter in place and that a person had been detained. It did not identify the person or say why he or she had been taken into custody.
About an hour later, it said the order to shelter had been lifted and the gates of the base would be open to normal traffic. But it said employees should stay clear of Building 8 CCAD, a reference to a complex of buildings leased by the Army and used for maintenance of aircraft and aeronautical equipment. KRIS 6 News quoted Fifi Kieschnick, a spokeswoman for the base, as saying that an “armed suspect” had been found near Building 8. Ms. Kieschnick did not immediately respond to emails or return phone calls.
On Friday, a member of the Saudi Royal Air Force used a handgun to kill three people during a bloody rampage at the prestigious Naval Air Station in Pensacola, where he was training to become a pilot. Eight others were injured in the attack, which ended after the Saudi airman was killed by a sheriff’s deputy.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/us/naval-air-station-corpus-christi.html
E.U. Climate Plan Would Sweeten Deal for Coal Countries
BRUSSELS — The European Commission introduced on Wednesday its centerpiece climate strategy that, if approved, would pivot the world’s third-biggest polluter to climate-friendly economic policies and nudge coal-reliant nations with payouts worth billions of euros.
Known as the Green Deal, the plan would require many European Union member states to radically change how they operate their economies and find new livelihoods for millions of citizens, risking a continentwide backlash akin to the “Yellow Vest” protest movement that has riled France. The strategy paper, feverishly prepared over the past few weeks by the European Commission, the bloc’s administrative branch, has been described as a top priority for the next five years and beyond.
“Our goal is to reconcile our economy with our planet, and make it work for our people,” said the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. “The European Green Deal is as much about cutting emissions as it is about creating jobs.” It would legally commit all European Union nations to cut emissions from 1990s levels by at least 50 percent by 2030, up from the current goal of 40 percent.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/world/europe/eu-climate-plan-coal.html
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XINHUA
U.S. returns to S.Korea 4 of military bases on Korean Peninsula
SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Wednesday returned to South Korea four of its military bases here, agreeing to launch consultation for the return of a garrison in central Seoul, South Korea's foreign ministry said. The two sides held the 200th joint committee meeting of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which stipulates a legal status of about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed here, at Camp Humphreys, a U.S. military complex in Pyeongtaek, some 70 km south of capital Seoul.
After the meeting, the United States agreed to immediately return four of its military bases on the Korean Peninsula, which were already closed between 2009 and 2011, to South Korea.The four bases were Camps Eagle and Long in Wonju, some 130 km east of Seoul, Camp Market in Bupyeong, just west of Seoul, and the Shea Range at Camp Hovey in Dongducheon, just north of Seoul.
It was part of the broader relocation scheme of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) to consolidate U.S. military bases here into two garrisons in Pyeongtaek and Daegu, about 300 km southeast of Seoul. Among a total of 80 U.S. military installations here, 54 had already been handed over to South Korea. Twenty-two military bases had yet to be returned as the return process of four bases was completed earlier in the day.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/11/c_138623057.htm
Military projectiles target hospital in Saudi border
RIYADH, Dec. 11, (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that the Houthi militia has targeted a hospital in the border city of Jazan. Spokesman of the General Directorate of Civil Defense in Jazan Region Lt-Col. Yahya Abdullah Al-Qahtani said in a statement on the Saudi Press Agency that no injuries were reported in the attack that took place on Tuesday evening.
He said that the outside wall of the hospital was damaged in the attack. The Houthis had targeted Saudi border cities with missiles, projectiles and drones, most of which were intercepted and destroyed before reaching their targets. Saudi Arabia has been targeted by the Houthis for leading a coalition in Yemen in support of the Yemeni elected government against the militia.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/11/c_138623862.htm
U.S. city of Seattle blocks introduction of facial recognition cameras at airport
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Seattle city in the U.S. state of Washington decided Tuesday to reject the installation of facial recognition cameras at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA-TAC), making it the first U.S. airport to block biometric identification technology, a local newspaper reported.
A five-member commission of the Port of Seattle, which oversees SEA-TAC, struck down a plan by the U.S. airlines Delta to install facial recognition monitoring cameras at its SEA-TAC boarding gates by the end of this year, the Seattle Times daily said. The Port of Seattle Commission unanimously approved a moratorium on the introduction of the technology at SEA-TAC after hours of "impassioned public comment Tuesday," it added, saying many people complained facial recognition technology is "intrusive and dangerous."
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/11/c_138623675.htm
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AL JAZEERA
UK braces for critical election called to break Brexit deadlock
Thursday's poll, the third vote in four years, will see 'unpopularity contest' between Johnson and Corbyn draw to close.
David Child
The ballot marks the end of a breakneck six-week campaign during which Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, his main challenger, have battled for support despite both being widely criticised over their leadership credentials.
Johnson, 55, has promised a right-wing Conservative government would "get Brexit done" and take the UK out of the EU by the end of January 2020 with his withdrawal agreement, and warned of more "dither and delay" in the event of a Labour victory.
Leader of the left-wing Labour Party, Corbyn, 70, has said he would broker a softer divorce deal than Johnson's and put a revised withdrawal agreement to a referendum, alongside the option to remain, within six months.
Algeria election: Four questions answered
Everything you need to know about Thursday's presidential runoff.
Rym Bendimerad
Mass protests, which forced ageing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign in April after his nearly 20 years of rule, have taken place weekly across the country for months demanding sweeping reforms ahead of any vote.
All five approved candidates either supported Bouteflika or participated in his government.
Anti-government protesters view all candidates as part of the previous regime. They say elections will not be free or fair, and accuse candidates of having either supported or served in Bouteflika's ruling elite before he was forced to resign in April when confronted by the mass demonstrations.
The army says Thursday's election is the only way to end the standoff with the opposition. Meanwhile, three former political leaders were sentenced to lengthy prison terms just two days before the polls were scheduled to open.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/algeria-election-questions-answered-191211074620520.html
'A future we want': Global mayors on frontlines of climate fight
As economic hubs, cities have a disproportionate role in causing, suffering from, and reversing global warming.
Ben Piven
The role of cities in accelerating climate action is seen as pivotal both at the national and international levels - creating an opportunity to help meet country targets and safeguard the prosperity of residents. Across 138 countries and representing 864 million people, the compact of mayors seeks to slash the amount of carbon dioxide their smokestacks churn out and help each other adapt to a future in which resilience is key.
With 10,239 cities committed, the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCOM) on Monday released their annual report showing that collectively they could reduce emissions by 2.3 billion tonnes by 2030 and by 4.2 billion tonnes by 2030. In an increasingly blunt recognition of that reality, urban political leaders from around the planet are banding together like never before.
The coalition is made up of several interlocking networks, including the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and other umbrella organisations that promote sustainability in local government.
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AL MAYADEEN
EE.UU.: Pentágono enfocado en la próxima guerra
Cientos de miles de millones de dólares son invertidos por el Pentágono en novedosas técnicas y armamentos como hipersónicos, cazas y bombarderos de quinta generación, cibernética, ciencia cuántica, inteligencia artificial y automatización, señala el artículo.
La realineación de los objetivos del Pentágono fue confirmada recientemente por el Comando Indo-Pacífico.
El secretario de Defensa Mark Esper dijo durante el fin de semana que las fuerzas de EE.UU. necesitan ser desplegadas en mayor número en la región de Asia y el Pacífico, para enfrentar a una China en ascenso, informó Bloomberg.
Presidente de Cuba con intensa visita en Argentina (+Fotos)
El mandatario cubano llegó el domingo último a Buenos Aires en su primera visita al país sudamericano, y sin descanso ha cumplido desde entonces un cronograma que inició el lunes con un enriquecedor encuentro con cerca de 50 empresarios argentinos.
Posteriormente lo hizo con destacados intelectuales y personalidades, entre ellos amigos muy entrañables para la isla.
Con un mensaje claro, en el que se ha referido a la difícil situación del continente y también al recrudecimiento del bloqueo económico, financiero y comercial que impone Estados Unidos a su país en su intento de asfixiar cada vez más a la isla, el mandatario también llevó consigo el saludo de los cubanos al pueblo argentino y al flamante gobierno de Alberto y Cristina Fernández.
Que lo sepan los imperialistas y los oligarcas: no hay fuerza en este mundo que pueda separarnos a argentinos y cubanos, dijo en un emotivo encuentro en el aula magna de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, ante más de 800 personas.
ONU: 86 defensores de DD.HH. asesinados en Colombia durante 2019
Al menos 86 defensores de derechos humanos (DD.HH.) fueron asesinados en Colombia durante este 2019, de acuerdo con un reporte difundido por Alberto Brunori, representante de la Alta Comisionada de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) para los DD.HH. en ese país.
Brunori recalcó que la defensa de los DD.HH. en Colombia es "una actividad de alto riesgo", mientras que muchos de los asesinados eran personas a las que conocía y sabía de su “labor valiente”.
Según el funcionario, estas cifras revelan la falta de atención del Estado a estas situaciones. "Se está fallando en el fortalecimiento de las democracias de igualdad y dignidad porque no se está protegiendo el derecho a la vida y los derechos humanos", puntualizó.
