Thursday, 31 October 2019
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Trump to move permanent residence to FloridaUS President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will change his permanent residence from New York to Palm Beach, Florida, claiming he had been "treated very badly" in his native city."My family and I will be making Palm Beach, Florida, our Permanent Residence," the president tweeted."I cherish New York, and the people of New York, and always will, but unfortunately, despite the fact that I pay millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year, I have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state," he wrote, adding that "few have been treated worse."According to a report from The New York Times, Trump — who is a native New Yorker — and his wife Melania filed individual declarations of domicile in September changing their primary residence from Manhattan to Palm Beach.The New York Times also wrote that White House officials declined to say why Trump changed his primary residence but cited a source close to the president as saying it was primarily for tax purposes.Other than the White House, the Trumps' main residence will now be their Mar-a-Lago resort, where Trump has spent 99 days since becoming president — compared to just 20 at his previous primary residence in Trump Tower, according to the Times."I hated having to make this decision, but in the end it will be best for all concerned," Trump tweeted.New York "will always have a special place in my heart!"But New York has not always loved Trump back: Demonstrations outside Trump Tower are common, and Trump has butted heads with the city and state multiple times.The most recent instance was in the beginning of the month, when a federal judge for the Southern District of New York dismissed the president's bid to block access to years of his personal and corporate tax returns.New York leadership appeared to agree that Trump had made the right call, with Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeting, "Good riddance.""It's not like @realDonaldTrump paid taxes here anyway," he wrote."He's all yours, Florida."
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SEOUL: North Korea has carried out a "successful" new test of its "super-large multiple rocket launcher" system, state media said Friday -- the latest in a series of provocations by Pyongyang.South Korea´s military said Thursday that the North had launched two short-range projectiles from South Pyongan province. They each flew approximately 370 kilometres (230 miles).It was the latest in a series of launches by the North but the first since October 2, when it fired a sea-launched missile.If confirmed, a submarine-based missile capability would change the military balance on the Korean peninsula.Thursday´s test was conducted to "verify the security of launchers´ continuous fire system," the state Korean Central News Agency reported from Pyongyang.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who had personally supervised previous tests of the "super-large" system, "expressed satisfaction... and sent congratulations" to the team involved, KCNA said.Nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington are currently at a standstill.Pyongyang is under multiple sets of international sanctions over its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programmes, which it says it needs to defend against a possible US invasion.It is demanding the easing of the measures and has repeatedly urged Washington to come forward with a new offer by the end of this year.Kim and US President Donald Trump adopted a vaguely-worded statement on the "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula" at their first summit in Singapore in June last year, but little progress has since been made.The pair met in Hanoi in February, but no deal was reached.Trump and Kim then agreed to restart working-level talks during a brief meeting at the Demilitarised Zone dividing the peninsula in June.The two sides met in Sweden earlier this month but Pyongyang walked away, saying it had "no desire" to negotiate unless the United States moves to end its "hostile policies."
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Wednesday, 30 October 2019
The News,World
WASHINGTON: General Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command, on Wednesday released declassified images and video from the raid that resulted in the death of Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria’s Idlib province over the weekend. The Pentagon has showed brief black-and-white aerial footage of the raid and the subsequent bombing of Baghdadi’s compound in northern Syria.One video showed small black silhouettes of US soldiers approaching the walls of the compound. In another bombs could be seen falling on the site followed by a flash and the screen turning grey.US Central Command (CENTCOM) shared video on Twitter that showed fighters near the compound beginning to fire on US aircraft participating in the raid.McKenzie said the bombing took place after all the attackers and survivors had been evacuated, and was carried out so that the compound near the Turkish border did not become a shrine.The CENTCOM commander told reporters that four men and two women were killed in the assault, and that two children probably "under 12" years of age were killed when al-Baghdadi detonated his bomb-laden vest. He added Baghdadi’s remains – collected after he blew himself up in a tunnel - had been buried at sea.
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WASHINGTON: Will mint and menthol be included in the forthcoming US ban on flavored vaping products?The industry has been involved in intense lobbying against the move for several weeks, causing disquiet among health professionals.After a decade of laissez-faire regulation, President Donald Trump announced last month his administration would soon put an end to the sale of flavored liquids such as fruit or candy, to stem a rising tide of youth users.Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar promised the same day that mint and menthol would also be banned, but US media later reported the government could initially exempt the two because of their use as tobacco cessation aids.Azar said at the time that his agency would issue the rules in the coming weeks, but the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates tobacco and vaping, has not published anything yet.The negotiations appear to have moved to the White House.The presidents of two of the biggest medical associations went there Wednesday afternoon, they told journalists in Washington."The idea that mint and menthol are adult flavors is simply ridiculous," said Sara Goza, president-elect of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "Children use mint toothpaste as toddlers.""I´m old enough to remember when we had the bubble gum cigarettes," added Jacqueline Fincher, president-elect of the American College of Physicians, recalling the strategy employed by the tobacco industry to recruit younger smokers.The data backs them up: 64 percent of high schoolers who reported vaping in 2019 say they used mint or menthol flavors, just behind fruity flavors, and far ahead of candy, alcohol and chocolate flavors, according to the government´s annual National Youth Tobacco Survey.- Regulatory approval -Menthol has been used for decades to soften the harshness of cigarettes, attracting criticism because it conceals their true toxicity. The FDA said last year it wanted to ban the product, which is particularly popular among African Americans.That debate is now being reproduced in e-cigarettes. Failing to prohibit the sale of mint and menthol products would signal a "capitulation" to vaping market leader Juul and the rest of the industry, several public health and anti-tobacco organizations warned recently.According to multiple reports, 80 percent of Juul´s sales come from the two flavors.Earlier this month, Juul announced it was ending the sale of multiple flavors in the US ahead of the ban. Today, its vape juices come in four variants: Virginia tobacco, classic tobacco, mint, and menthol.In other countries, it´s still possible to buy other flavors such as vanilla, apple, or berries.Juul, which since late 2018 has been associated with tobacco giant Altria (which also owns Marlboro), and just changed its CEO, is like other major plays in the sector carrying out studies that will serve as the basis for an application to regulatory authorities.The FDA has said companies need to apply for approval for all of their vaping products by May 2020.Manufacturers are seeking to prove two things.First, that e-cigarettes are a less harmful alternative to traditional combustibles, despite the presence of numerous substances that scientists say need more study and potential contamination by metals from the heating coil.And second, the makers want to market their devices as smoking cessation aids, which they are currently not allowed to do by law.Gregory Conley of the American Vaping Association, which is financed by the industry, told AFP: "We believe that moving forward with better, more enhanced regulation is better than prohibition because prohibition does not work."Prohibition could also lead to a rise in black market products. Cannabis e-juices are authorized by certain states but banned at the federal level.A mysterious vaping-linked epidemic has claimed 34 lives and sickened more than 1,600 people in recent months, with most users reporting having used cannabis products.Investigators say that no single substance is behind the outbreak, but preliminary work has linked a cutting agent used in cannabis flavorings to lung injury.
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SYDNEY: Australian flag carrier Qantas said Thursday it had grounded one Boeing 737NG due to a structural crack, and was urgently inspecting 32 others for the flaw.The grounding is the latest safety concern for Washington-based Boeing, as it reels from two 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people and highlighted problems with the planes´ flight handling software.The US aviation authority this month ordered checks of Boeing 737NG planes that had flown more than 30,000 times.That came after the company reported the "pickle fork", which helps connect the wing to the fuselage, could be prone to cracking.Qantas said Thursday it had found the fault in a more lightly used aircraft, one that had recorded fewer than 27,000 flights."This aircraft has been removed from service for repair," Qantas said in a statement, adding it had hastened its inspections of 32 other 737NG plans to be completed by Friday.The announcement by Qantas raised fears the cracking issue could affect newer planes than previously thought, leading to calls for the Australian airline to ground its entire 737 fleet."These aircraft should be kept safe on the ground until urgent inspections are completed," an engineers´ union representative, Steve Purvinas, said in a statement.However Qantas described the call to ground its 737 fleet as "completely irresponsible"."We would never operate an aircraft unless it was completely safe to do so," Qantas head of engineering Chris Snook said."Even when a crack is present, it does not immediately compromise the safety of the aircraft."The FAA initially said Boeing notified the agency of the problem after encountering the issue on a plane in China and that subsequent inspections showed other planes also had cracks.The NG is a precursor plane to the Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded since mid-March following the two deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg faced another round of tough questions on Wednesday from US lawmakers who accused the company of a "lack of candour" over the crashes.
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NEW YORK: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday vowed to ramp up pressure on China on multiple fronts, calling Beijing "truly hostile" to the United States.In the latest hawkish take on China by President Donald Trump´s administration, Pompeo said he would deliver a series of speeches in coming months laying out cases against Beijing on areas from ideology to trade to its efforts for influence within the United States."Today we´re finally realizing the degree to which the Chinese Communist Party is truly hostile to the United States and our values," Pompeo told the conservative Hudson Institute in New York.Pompeo highlighted China´s clampdown on Hong Kong protests and incarceration of Uighur Muslims and said Beijing was seeking international domination -- implicitly rejecting US experts who argue that the communist leaders are fundamentally pragmatic."The Chinese Communist Party is offering its people and the world an entirely different model of governance -- it´s one in which a Leninist party rules and everyone must think and act according to the will of the Communist elites," he said."That´s not a future that I want... and it´s not a future that the freedom-loving people of China" want, he said.At a dinner attended by Henry Kissinger, the apostle of realpolitik who negotiated US normalization of ties with Beijing, Pompeo said Washington had long been too easy on China in hopes that it would transform."We hesitated and did far less than we should have when China threatened its neighbors like Vietnam and the Philippines and when they claimed the entire South China Sea," he said.Pompeo nonetheless said that the United States did not seek confrontation but rather still wanted to encourage a more "liberalized" China.His remarks follow a speech last week by Vice President Mike Pence that sounded similar themes and amid a simmering trade war which Trump has voiced hope of resolving.
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MANILA: A 6.5-magnitude quake struck Thursday in the southern Philippines, geologists said, the second powerful tremor to hit the area this week.The quake hit the island of Mindanao, the US Geological Survey said, in the same area where a strong tremor killed at least six people on Tuesday.USGS originally said the quake had a magnitude of 6.8.There was no threat of a tsunami, USGS added.
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TOKYO: Japan´s justice minister on Thursday became the second cabinet member to quit in a week, after allegations his wife broke election law while running for a parliament seat.Katsuyuki Kawai told reporters he had submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe early on Thursday.The move came after the Shukan Bunshun tabloid magazine reported allegations that the minister´s wife Anri Kawai paid staff members a daily allowance that exceeded the amount permitted by law.The resignation comes a week after Abe´s trade minister Isshu Sugawara quit his post after a magazine report alleged he gave voters pricey gifts including melons and crabs.Kawai denied any wrongdoing but said stepping down was the best decision under the circumstances."Neither my wife nor I were aware of the issue, and I believe I´ve been carrying out political activities in line with laws," he said."I will investigate the issue and explain, but in the meantime public trust in the justice administration will be lost," he said.Abe separately offered an apology in remarks to reporters for having appointed Kawai during a recent reshuffle that also brought Sugawara into the government.Masako Mori, former minister in charge of addressing the issue of low birth rate will replace Kawai as the new justice minister, Abe said.Abe´s cabinet has maintained public approval ratings of around 40-50 percent in recent years, despite several political scandals, with experts pointing to the continued weakness of the opposition as a key factor.
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Tuesday, 29 October 2019
Monday, 28 October 2019
Sunday, 27 October 2019
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Photo: AFP/FileLONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make a fresh push on Monday for an early election as EU leaders prepare to back yet another Brexit delay, just days before the departure deadline.Johnson was forced to abandon his promise to leave the European Union on October 31, after MPs demanded he ask for more time while they debate the divorce terms he struck with Brussels.EU ambassadors will meet early on Monday to discuss his request to delay Brexit until January 31, under a plan that would allow Britain to leave earlier if parliament ratifies the exit deal, Brussels sources said.Member states have already accepted a delay in principle to avoid the risk of a disorderly divorce, but some, mainly France, question how long it should be.Later on Monday, Johnson will ask the House of Commons to vote on a snap election, which he wants to hold on December 12 — after MPs have had time to ratify his Brexit deal.However, he faces defeat, as with his two previous election calls. He needs the support of two-thirds of the 650 MPs, but does not have even a simple majority.The Labour party dislikes Johnson's Brexit deal and says it will not back an election until his threat of leaving the EU with no deal at all is removed.Senior Labour MP Diane Abbott told the BBC Sunday the party "is up for an election", but added: "We are waiting to see what the EU says."Time for electionsMore than three years after Britons voted 52-48 per cent for Brexit in a 2016 referendum, the country and parliament remains deeply divided.Johnson, a leader of the "Leave" campaign, took office in July vowing to take Britain out of the European Union on October 31 whatever happens.But MPs rebelled against his threat to sever 46 years of ties without a deal and passed a law requiring him to seek a delay if they refused to accept his divorce terms.Johnson reluctantly sent the letter to the EU asking for the required three-month delay last weekend.Paris says there has to be a strong justification to grant what would be a third postponement of Brexit."We must not give more time based on a political fiction but on (the basis that there will be) elections or a second referendum," France's European Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin said on Sunday.If a delay is granted, Brussels is likely to demand Britain put forward a nominee to join the incoming cabinet of EU commissioners — a move likely to cause controversy in London.Johnson this weekend accused MPs of holding Britain "hostage" by refusing to back his deal or an election.If his bid fails there could be yet be another election vote, after two smaller opposition parties backed the idea of a December poll — but with conditions attached.Johnson wants MPs to ratify his Brexit deal before holding an election, a tough but not impossible task.But the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats, who oppose Brexit, want to abandon the deal and instead hold an election on December 9.They proposed legislating for the poll — a process that would only require a simple majority of MPs and could begin as early as Tuesday — if the government agrees.
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US President Donald Trump accompanied by Senator David Perdue and a member of the military stand as members of the military are recognized during Game 5 of the World Series in Washington, DC on October 27, 2019. Photo: AFP WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump was booed by baseball fans as he attended a World Series game with his wife Melania in Washington on Sunday.Trump attended the tie-breaking game five of the series on the day his administration announced the death, long-sought by the Pentagon, of Daesh group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.After the game's third inning, the stadium's video display showed military members in attendance — but then quickly cut to Trump.The cheering crowd immediately switched to loud and sustained boos.When the display cut back to the soldiers, the booing died down, but fans soon took up a chorus of "Lock him up!" — a play on the chant frequently heard at pro-Trump rallies against Hilary Clinton, but now often used against the president.Trump has been on the back foot for weeks as the Democrats push ahead with their impeachment inquiries, and as he faces widespread and bi-partisan condemnation of his Syria policy.It was an unusual excursion for the president and first lady — who arrived earlier at the Nationals Stadium, and sat in a suite behind home plate — in liberal-majority Washington.Prior to the Nationals-Astros showdown, Washington's manager Dave Martinez said he hoped Trump "enjoys the game."When asked if the team was excited for his arrival, Martinez replied, "We haven't really talked about it. We're focused on playing baseball."The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Spanish-American celebrity chef Jose Andres, a vocal critic of Trump´s controversial immigration policies and Puerto Rico hurricane relief efforts.
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SYDNEY: Police in part of Australia were given shoot-to-kill powers on Monday, to stop drivers who deliberately plough into pedestrians.Eight people have been killed and more than 45 injured in three such attacks in Melbourne, Victoria´s state capital and Australia´s second-biggest city, since 2017.Victoria Police said officers will be required to take "decisive action" in response to vehicle attacks -- including ramming cars involved or shooting the driver.Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said officers had wide powers to stop an attack -- or even the threat of one."Any tactical option that currently exists, they can use, but additionally the policy says they can use lethal force," he told reporters in Melbourne.Though Patton said these were "extreme things to include in a policy", he said giving police clarity on exactly what actions they could take was "very important"."We don´t want to wait until a car ploughs into a group of people, we want them to stop it before it occurs," he said.The announcement comes ahead of an inquiry into the deaths of six people killed when a driver mowed down shoppers in the heart of Melbourne in January 2017.It will examine whether police should have prevented the man from getting into the city centre for the attack, which left 27 others injured.James Gargasoulas was jailed for life for the murders, which police determined were not terror-related.The new hostile vehicle policy, which comes into force immediately, is the first of its kind in Australia.
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Buenos Aires: Peronist candidate Alberto Fernandez won Argentina´s presidential election in the first round on Sunday, official results showed, with 75 percent of the votes counted.Fernandez, 60, had 47.36 percent of the votes -- crossing the threshold for outright victory -- with center-right incumbent Mauricio Macri trailing at 41.22 percent.To win outright, Fernandez required 45 percent, or 40 percent with a 10 point margin over his nearest rival.
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FLORIDA: California´s governor declared a state-wide emergency on Sunday as a huge wind-fueled blaze forced evacuations and massive power blackouts, threatening towns in the famed Sonoma wine region.The so-called Kincade Fire, north of San Francisco, has spread to 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) and was only 10 percent contained by Sunday evening, state fire authorities said.The blaze, the largest of more than a dozen wildfires burning throughout the state, has destroyed dozens of homes and wineries, including the iconic Soda Rock Winery built in 1869."We´ve seen the news. We are devastated," the owners said in a Facebook message, adding that all staff at the winery -- located in the town of Healdsburg, 70 miles north of San Francisco -- are safe.At least two hospitals in Santa Rosa -- Kaiser Permanente Hospital and Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital -- evacuated patients over the weekend to other hospitals.The Kincade Fire -- the most devastating in California this year -- ignited Wednesday and spread quickly thanks to powerful wind gusts up to 90 miles per hour (145 kilometers per hour).Governor Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency on Sunday due to the "unprecedented" high winds that significantly raise the risk of fires."We are deploying every resource available, and are coordinating with numerous agencies as we continue to respond to these fires," Newsom said in a statement. "It is critical that people in evacuation zones heed the warnings from officials and first responders, and have the local and state resources they need as we fight these fires."An estimated 180,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders, including in parts of Santa Rosa and a large swath of Sonoma County all the way to the Pacific Ocean.- ´Largest evacuation in memory´ -"This is the largest evacuation that any of us at the Sheriff´s Office can remember. Take care of each other," the Sonoma County sheriff´s office tweeted.Authorities said the area would remain under dangerous red flag conditions until Monday morning."Things will improve as we head into Monday and Tuesday but we need to be resilient as it looks like we have another north wind event, another dry event that is going to impact the region Tuesday night into Wednesday," a spokesman for the National Weather Service told a news conference.A fire official warned that should the flames continue spreading west and jump over a major freeway -- the 101 -- that could prove even more catastrophic, as that region hasn´t had any fires since the 1940s."The fuels in that area are extremely dense, they are extremely old and decadent and they are extremely dry," he said, referring to combustible material, including shrubs and trees that feed a fire.More than 3,000 firefighters backed by air tankers and helicopters were battling to control the blaze, which was not expected to be contained before November 7, fire officials said.- Police to prevent looting -Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick told a news conference that hundreds of police officers backed by the National Guard had been deployed in regions under evacuation orders to check property and prevent looting.Several other fires have erupted throughout the state in the last week, fueled by high winds, bone-dry conditions and temperatures in the 80s and 90s Fahrenheit.One major fire -- the Tick Fire -- in the southern part of the state, north of Los Angeles, also prompted evacuations and destroyed a number of homes near Santa Clarita.But on Sunday, most evacuation orders were lifted as some 1,000 firefighters worked to contain the fire that burned more than 4,500 acres.In a bid to reduce the risk of fire, California´s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., said it expected to turn off power to nearly one million customers across northern and central California."Winds of this magnitude pose a higher risk of damage and sparks on the electric system and rapid wildfire spread," the company said in a statement. "The fire risk is even higher because vegetation on the ground has been dried out by recent wind events."PG&E has come under intense scrutiny after it emerged that one of its transmissions lines may have played a role in the Kincade Fire.The same type of line was responsible for California´s deadliest wildfire ever -- last year´s Camp Fire, which killed 86 people.PG&E, which filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, has been blamed for several other fires in the state in recent years.Newsom hit out at the utility earlier this week, saying he was infuriated that a state such as California -- which boasts the fifth-largest economy in the world -- had to endure blackouts.
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Saturday, 26 October 2019
Friday, 25 October 2019
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