Month: August 2023

Smell of Cannabis Wafts Over US Open Court

Posted by Worldcrew On 30/08/2023

It’s become a stink at the U.S. Open: a pungent marijuana smell that wafted over an outer court, clouded the concentration of one of the world’s top players and left the impression there’s no place to escape the unofficial scent of the city. 

While the exact source of the smell remained a mystery Tuesday, one thing was clear: Court 17, where eighth-seeded Maria Sakkari complained about an overwhelming aroma of pot during her first-round loss, has become notorious among players in recent years for its distinctive, unmistakable odor. 

“Court 17 definitely smells like Snoop Dogg’s living room,” said Alexander Zverev, the tournament’s 12th-seeded man who won his opening match on the court Tuesday. “Oh my God, it’s everywhere. The whole court smells like weed.” 

Stung by stories in the wake of Sakkari’s match Monday that made it appear the U.S. Open’s stands are the sporting equivalent of a Phish concert, the United States Tennis Association conducted its own investigation, of sorts, to weed out the source of the smell. 

Spokesman Chris Widmaier said the USTA questioned officials and reviewed video of the midday match and found “no evidence” anyone was smoking pot in the stands of Court 17, leading to the speculation it may have come just outside the gates of the intimate stadium from adjacent Corona Park. 

And he may not be just blowing smoke. Sakkari herself suggested just that when she complained to the chair umpire while up 4-1 in the first set: “The smell, oh my gosh. I think it’s from the park.” 

After her 6-4, 6-4 loss to Rebeka Masarova, Sakkari told reporters: “Sometimes you smell food, sometimes you smell cigarettes, sometimes you smell weed. I mean, it’s something we cannot control, because we’re in an open space. There’s a park behind. People can do whatever they want.” 

Flushing Meadows security staffer Ricardo Rojas, who was working the gate outside Court 17 on Monday, said he took a break in the park around the time of Sakkari’s match and “there was definitely a pot smell going on.” But he noted that while he enforces a strict no-smoking policy inside the USTA’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the park is “outside my jurisdiction.” 

It’s legal in New York for adults 21 and older to possess up to three ounces of cannabis and up to 24 grams of concentrated cannabis for personal use, and they may smoke or vape cannabis wherever smoking tobacco is allowed. 

Adam Placzek, who attended Monday’s match on Court 17 with two friends from Hartford, Connecticut, said he smelled pot but didn’t see anyone in the stands it could have been coming from. He admits he “partakes from time to time” but never would dream of lighting up at the U.S. Open. 

“My boss heard about the pot story at the U.S. Open and texted me,” Placzek said. “We told him we were there, and he was like, ‘Well that explains the smell!”‘ 

Other players in past years have complained about the smell of cannabis emanating from Court 17, a 2,500-seat arena that opened in 2011 in the extreme southwest corner of the complex with little buffer to the park just outside it. 

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, who easily won her match on Court 17 on Tuesday, told a similar story: “I smelled it actually today also. You smell it a lot. I think it’s just Court 17. That court is so far away, it’s almost in the park. I think it’s coming from the park.” 

Sakkari, a semifinalist at the U.S. Open two years ago, said the smell didn’t affect her while playing. Still, some fans at Flushing Meadows had little patience for the notion that a top player would be thrown off mentally by the smell of pot. 

“It’s New York. It’s everywhere,” fan Diane Patrizio of Southampton, New York, said as she stood in line to enter Court 17. “But what are you going to do? 

“There’s so many distractions at the U.S. Open. To home in on that one thing and let that rattle you? You just can’t do that,” she said. 

Security staffer Rojas said cannabis odors have become an inescapable fact of life. “Turn every corner and you smell it. It’s part of our world now. You’ve got to get used to it.” 

So what would he tell Sakkari or any other player who complains about pot during a world-class competition? 

“Try it. … It might help you relax.” 
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Shut Down Smuggling Network with Terrorist Ties, US Says

Posted by Worldcrew On 30/08/2023

The Biden administration said Tuesday that it detected and stopped a network attempting to smuggle people from Uzbekistan into the United States and that at least one member of the network had links to a foreign terrorist group.

U.S. officials do not believe the Uzbek nationals who used the smuggling network had any terrorist ties or were planning a terrorist attack, said a statement from National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.

The statement did not specify the foreign terrorist group, but a U.S. official told The Associated Press that it was the Islamic State. The official was not authorized to speak about the ongoing investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The U.S. worked with governments overseas to detain key members of the smuggling network, including the person with the foreign terrorism links, the NSC said. The statement did not specify how the person was linked to the terrorist group or what governments the U.S. worked with to apprehend the smugglers.

The FBI, which has been investigating, also stressed that it had not identified any specific terrorism threat associated with the migrants.

“Whenever we have indicators that criminal actors — such as those involved in human smuggling — have connections to terrorism, we work diligently with our partners to investigate and understand how foreign terrorist organizations may attempt to exploit their capabilities so that we can best mitigate any risk to the American public,” the FBI said in a statement.

The U.S. is working with the foreign partners to shut down the travel routes used by the smuggling network and to identify the people who used it to enter the country, the NSC said.

“Since this information became available, those encountered at the border who fit the profile associated with individuals who were facilitated by this network are being placed into expedited removal, being thoroughly vetted against national security and public safety systems, and generally detained pending removal,” the statement read.

CNN, which first reported the detection of the smuggling network, said more than a dozen people from the Central Asian country who used the network were allowed to enter the United States.

Biden administration officials have often noted the role that smuggling networks play in encouraging people from across the world to seek entry into the United States and facilitate their travel to the southern border, often describing the networks as ruthless, sophisticated operations that prey on the desperation of migrants seeking a new life.

Decades ago, most migrants attempting to cross the border illegally were men from Mexico who were trying to find work in America. But in recent years, immigration officials have increasingly encountered migrants from across the Southern Hemisphere and beyond. In addition to people from Uzbekistan, there have been increasing numbers of people from Afghanistan, China and Mauritania, to name just a few.

News of the smuggling effort comes as Republicans have been accusing the administration of not doing enough to secure the border and endangering national security.
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FBI-Led Operation Dismantles Notorious Qakbot Malware

Posted by Worldcrew On 30/08/2023

A global operation led by the FBI has dismantled one of the most notorious cybercrime tools used to launch ransomware attacks and steal sensitive data.

U.S. law enforcement officials announced on Tuesday that the FBI and its international partners had disrupted the Qakbot infrastructure and seized nearly $9 million in cryptocurrency in illicit profits.

Qakbot, also known as Qbot, was a sophisticated botnet and malware that infected hundreds of thousands of computers around the world, allowing cybercriminals to access and control them remotely.

“The Qakbot malicious code is being deleted from victim computers, preventing it from doing any more harm,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a statement.

Martin Estrada, the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, and Don Alway, the FBI assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles field office, announced the operation at a press conference in Los Angeles.

Estrada called the operation “the largest U.S.-led financial and technical disruption of a botnet infrastructure” used by cybercriminals to carry out ransomware, financial fraud, and other cyber-enabled crimes.

“Qakbot was the botnet of choice for some of the most infamous ransomware gangs, but we have now taken it out,” Estrada said.

Law enforcement agencies from France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Romania, and Latvia took part in the operation, code-named Duck Hunt.

“These actions will prevent an untold number of cyberattacks at all levels, from the compromised personal computer to a catastrophic attack on our critical infrastructure,” Alway said.

As part of the operation, the FBI was able to gain access to the Qakbot infrastructure and identify more than 700,000 infected computers around the world, including more than 200,000 in the United States.

To disrupt the botnet, the FBI first seized the Qakbot servers and command and control system. Agents then rerouted the Qakbot traffic to servers controlled by the FBI. That in turn instructed users of infected computers to download a file created by law enforcement that would uninstall Qakbot malware.
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Trump Co-Defendant Powell Pleads Not Guilty in Georgia Election Subversion Case

Posted by Worldcrew On 30/08/2023

Attorney Sidney Powell, one of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s 18 co-defendants in the Georgia 2020 election subversion case, has waived a formal arraignment and pleaded not guilty, a court filing on Tuesday showed.

Other Trump allies, Trevian Kutti and Ray Smith, have also waived formal arraignment and entered not guilty pleas.

The former president is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 6 as Fulton County prosecutors eye an October start to the trial.

The Fulton County has charged Trump with 13 felony counts including racketeering for pressuring state officials to reverse his 2020 election loss and setting up an illegitimate slate of electors to undermine the formal congressional certification of Democratic President Joe Biden’s victory.   

The latest charges marks Trump’s fourth indictment since launching his reelection campaign for president.  

Trump denies any wrongdoing.

 
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American Paramedic Risks Own Life to Help Ukrainians in Donbas

Posted by Worldcrew On 29/08/2023

Ever since American Glenna Manchego joined the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine in April 2022, she has been risking her life to help Ukrainians. Manchego is a trained paramedic who traveled to Ukraine soon after Russia’s invasion. Anna Kosstutschenko met with her just a few kilometers from the front line. Camera – Pavel Suhodolskiy.
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Analysts: Prigozhin Death Will Disrupt Wagner Group Activities in Africa

Posted by Worldcrew On 29/08/2023

While it might be too early to assess the effects the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin and other leaders on the Wagner Group’s operations in Africa, some analysts say there will be short-term disruptions.

Given Prigozhin’s reach on the continent the past few years, it will take time to replace Wagner’s top man, said Steven Gruzd, head of the Africa Russia Project at the South African Institute of International Affairs in Johannesburg.

“There’s going to be a period of uncertainty; of people jockeying for position, of seeing who wants to take over,” Gruzd said. “There’s also the talk of Russia incorporating it into the army, taking it out of private hands.”

But the International Crisis Group’s Charles Bouessel told VOA the private mercenary group’s activities in Africa will be disrupted because of the relationships the Wagner boss and some of his associates, including Valery Chekalov and Dmitry Utkin, who all died with him in a plane crash — were able to cultivate the past few years.

“Prigozhin and Utkin especially had deep knowledge,” Bouessel said, “and they had all the connections with the African regimes where Wagner is working. It will take time for Russia to take it over and to rebuild relations with these countries.”

Wagner’s influence stretches across the continent, Gruzd said.

“The Wagner presence in Africa is large,” he said. “Reportedly over 5,000 soldiers [are] spread across the various countries, embedded in countries like Central African Republic and Mali, less so in Libya and Sudan. Even as late as last week, it looked like Niger and Burkina Faso, the countries that have undergone coups in West Africa across the Sahel, are targets for Wagner.”

The U.S. Treasury Department accused the Wagner Group of mass executions, rape and physical abuse in Mali and the Central African Republic, or CAR, and designated it a “criminal organization.”

In the CAR, in particular, it’s too early to assess the impact Prigozhin’s death will have, but it’s important to remember the role the group had under its leader, said Bouessel.

“The Central African Republic signed a deal with Russia in late 2017,” he said. “This deal included the arrival of Wagner and assistance of Wagner toward the president. Since then, Wagner was able to oust the former colonizer France out of the country and out of the decision-making part of the country. They also managed to secure [Faustin] Touadera’s power and make him re-elected. They managed to deter rebel groups from attacking the capital again. And they managed to weaken the armed groups.”

In the CAR, Bouessel said, the group controlled businesses in the mining of gold and diamonds. They are also present in the timber industry and beverage sector.

Dr. Edgar Githua, a lecturer at the United States International University in Nairobi and Strathmore University who specializes in international relations, peace and conflict, said that Prigozhin’s death will affect the group’s finances, and that its global influence might take a hit.

“Prigozhin is the one who had the financial streams of the Wagner Group,” Githua said. “He’s the one with the international connections. He’s the one who was getting all the international contracts.

“It was a one man show. Prigozhin had a lot of power and a lot of say within that group. With his demise, that group is going to find itself rudderless for some time,” he said.

Prigozhin died a couple of months after he staged an unsuccessful rebellion against top Russian military commanders. After that failed mutiny, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated that operations in the CAR and Mali would not be affected.
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Biden Targets 10 Drugs for Medicare Price Negotiations

Posted by Worldcrew On 29/08/2023

The blood thinner Eliquis and popular diabetes treatments including Jardiance are among the first drugs that will be targeted for price negotiations in an effort to cut Medicare costs.

President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday released a list of 10 drugs for which the federal government will take an unprecedented step: negotiating drug prices directly with the manufacturer.

The move is expected to cut costs for some patients but faces litigation from the drugmakers and heavy criticism from Republican lawmakers. It’s also a centerpiece of the Democratic president’s reelection pitch as he seeks a second term in office by touting his work to lower costs for Americans at a time when the country has struggled with inflation.

The diabetes treatments Jardiance from Eli Lilly and Co. and Merck’s Januvia made the list, along with Amgen’s autoimmune disease treatment Enbrel. Other drugs include Entresto from Novartis, which is used to treat heart failure.

“For many Americans, the cost of one drug is the difference between life and death, dignity and dependence, hope and fear,” Biden said in a statement. “That is why we will continue the fight to lower healthcare costs — and we will not stop until we finish the job.”

Biden plans to deliver a speech on health care costs from the White House later Tuesday. He’ll be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris.

The drugs on the list announced Tuesday accounted for more than $50 billion in Medicare prescription drug costs between June 1, 2022, and May 31, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS.

Medicare spent about $10 billion in 2020 on Eliquis, according to AARP research. The drug treats blood clots in the legs and lungs and reduces the risk of stroke in people with an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation.

The announcement is a significant step under the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed last year. The law requires the federal government for the first time to start negotiating directly with companies about the prices they charge for some of Medicare’s most expensive drugs.

More than 52 million people who either are 65 or older or have certain severe disabilities or illnesses get prescription drug coverage through Medicare’s Part D program, according to CMS.

About 9% of Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older said in 2021 that they did not fill a prescription or skipped a drug dose due to cost, according to research by the Commonwealth Fund, which studies health care issues.

The agency aims to negotiate the lowest maximum fair price for drugs on the list released Tuesday. That could help some patients who have coverage but still face big bills such as high deductible payments when they get a prescription.

Currently, pharmacy benefit managers that run Medicare prescription plans negotiate rebates off a drug’s price. Those rebates sometimes help reduce premiums customers pay for coverage. But they may not change what a patient spends at the pharmacy counter.

The new drug price negotiations aim “to basically make drugs more affordable while also still allowing for profits to be made,” said Gretchen Jacobson, who researches Medicare issues at Commonwealth.

Drug companies that refuse to be a part of the new negotiation process will be heavily taxed.

The pharmaceutical industry has been gearing up for months to fight these rules. Already, the plan faces several lawsuits, including complaints filed by drugmakers Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb and a key lobbying group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA.

PhRMA said in a federal court complaint filed earlier this year that the act forces drugmakers to agree to a “government-dictated price” under the threat of a heavy tax and gives too much price-setting authority to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

PhRMA representatives also have said pharmacy benefit managers can still restrict access to drugs with negotiated prices by moving the drugs to a tier of their formulary — a list of covered drugs — that would require higher out-of-pocket payments. Pharmacy benefit managers also could require patients to try other drugs first or seek approval before a prescription can be covered.

Republican lawmakers also have blasted the Biden administration for its plan, saying companies might pull back on introducing new drugs that could be subjected to future haggling. They’ve also questioned whether the government knows enough to suggest prices for drugs.

CMS will start its negotiations on drugs for which it spends the most money. The drugs also must be ones that don’t have generic competitors and are approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

CMS plans to meet this fall with drugmakers that have a drug on its list, and government officials say they also plan to hold patient-focused listening sessions. By February 2024, the government will make its first offer on a maximum fair price and then give drugmakers time to respond.

Any negotiated prices won’t take hold until 2026. More drugs could be added to the program in the coming years.
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Dutch Prosecutors Demand 12-Year Sentence for Pakistani Cricketer for Call to Kill MP Wilders

Posted by Worldcrew On 29/08/2023

Dutch prosecutors demanded a 12-year prison sentence Tuesday for a former Pakistani cricketer accused of incitement to murder firebrand anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders.

The suspect, identified by Wilders as Khalid Latif, is accused of offering a bounty of some 21,000 euros ($23,000) to anybody who killed Wilders.

Latif did not appear in the high-security courtroom near Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport for the trial. He is believed to be in Pakistan.

Prosecutors did not name Latif, but said in a statement that a video posted online in 2018 showed a famous Pakistan cricketer offering the money for killing Wilders. The lawmaker has lived under round-the-clock protection for years because of repeated threats to his life sparked by his fierce criticism of Islam.

The threat came after Wilders said he would organize a competition of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Many Muslims consider any depictions of Muhammad to be blasphemous. Ultimately, the contest did not go ahead, but the plan sparked outrage in the Muslim world.

“The video message was extra toxic because it was issued during a period in which there was a lot of hatred and anger towards Geert Wilders,” the Public Prosecution Service in The Hague said in its written statement.

The prosecution office said that killing Wilders would not just have “caused unbearable pain to his loved ones. It would also have been an attack on the rule of law itself.”

Wilders said in court that a conviction would send a “powerful signal to all other others who issue threats: we won’t accept it.”

And in comments he addressed directly to Latif, he added: “As long as I’m living and breathing, you won’t stop me. Your call to kill me and pay money for it is abject and will not silence me.”

An international warrant has been issued for Latif’s arrest. Dutch prosecutors said they had been trying to contact him since 2018, first as a witness and then to answer the charges. However, they said they hadn’t received any reply from the Pakistani authorities.

In 2017, Latif, 37, was banned for five years from all forms of cricket for his role in a match-fixing scandal in the Pakistan Super League.

Tuesday’s case comes at a time when parts of the Muslim world have been angered by a series of Quran burnings in Sweden. Swedish police have allowed the demonstrations, citing freedom of speech, but have filed preliminary hate speech charges against a refugee from Iraq who has carried out a series of such desecrations.
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No. 2 US House Republican Scalise Diagnosed With Blood Cancer 

Posted by Worldcrew On 29/08/2023

U.S. House of Representatives Republican leader Steve Scalise said on Tuesday he has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a common form of blood cancer.

“I am incredibly grateful we were able to detect this early and that this cancer is treatable,” Scalise said in a statement, adding that he would continue working throughout the monthslong treatment.

The congressman from Louisiana, the No. 2-ranking Republican in the House, was injured in a shooting in 2017, when a gunman attacked lawmakers practicing for an annual charity baseball game. Scalise underwent several surgeries to repair internal organs and broken bones following the assault.

U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, said in December  that he had been diagnosed with a form of lymphoma. Raskin announced in April that he was in remission.
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Turkey’s Erdogan to Visit Russia ‘Soon’ to Discuss Grain Deal

Posted by Worldcrew On 29/08/2023

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will visit Russia soon to discuss the collapsed United Nations deal that had allowed Black Sea exports of Ukrainian grain, a spokesperson for Turkey’s ruling AK Party said Monday.

The U.N. and Turkey-brokered deal lasted a year but ended last month after Moscow quit. Ankara is seeking to persuade Russia to return to the agreement, under which Odesa’s seaports shipped tens of millions of tons of grain.

Since the grain-export deal collapsed, Russian forces have targeted Ukrainian ports with volleys of missiles and kamikaze drones.

Omer Celik, the AK Party spokesperson, said Erdogan would visit Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi “soon” but did not specify whether he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“After this visit there may be developments and new stages may be reached regarding” the grain deal, he told reporters.

The Kremlin said Friday there was an understanding the two leaders will meet in person soon.

Bloomberg cited two anonymous sources in reporting that Erdogan is expected to meet Putin in Russia next week, possibly on Sept. 8, before he travels to a G20 meeting in India.
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State Department Picks Veteran Diplomat Lambert as Top China Policy Official: Sources

Posted by Worldcrew On 29/08/2023

The U.S. State Department has picked veteran diplomat Mark Lambert as its top China policy official, five sources familiar with the matter said, bringing in new leadership for a part of the department that has faced staffing problems and criticism over its handling of China-focused initiatives.

Lambert will likely be named as the deputy assistant secretary for China and Taiwan, the sources said, filling the post left in June by Rick Waters.

Waters had also served as the head of the Office of China Coordination – informally known as “China House” – a unit the department created late last year to meld China policies across regions and issues. Whether Lambert will assume the China House coordinator title is still being discussed, sources said.

Lambert’s appointment is unlikely to change the tone of Washington’s China policy, which President Joe Biden’s administration says is one of “intense competition” while trying to increase engagement with Beijing to stabilize ties.

But Lambert, a well-regarded diplomat with experience in East Asia, is certain to influence China House, which has been criticized for adding layers of bureaucracy to an already complex decision-making process.

It was unclear when the State Department will formally announce the appointment.

“We have no personnel announcements to make at this time, but the Office of China Coordination remains an integral piece of the U.S. government’s efforts to responsibly manage our competition with the People’s Republic of China and advance our vision for an open, inclusive international system,” a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed response to a request for comment.

The State Department pushed back on criticism about China House, saying it was one if its highest-functioning teams.

“It has improved coordination and facilitated senior leaders’ diplomacy and policymaking, with results including enabling the Department’s response to the PRC surveillance balloon and rapid briefing of allies and partners around the world to expose the PRC’s global program,” a State Department official said.

Senate confirmation

The U.S. and China are at odds over issues from Taiwan to trade, fentanyl and human rights, but Washington has sought to keep communication channels open ahead of a possible meeting later this year between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

An Asia expert who did two stints at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, Lambert most recently served as a deputy assistant secretary focused on Japanese, Korean and Mongolian affairs, and on relations with Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.

In the new role, he will continue to report to Assistant Secretary Daniel Kritenbrink who leads the department’s East Asian and Pacific Affairs bureau.

Reuters reported in May that the State Department delayed sensitive actions toward China to try to limit damage to bilateral relations after an alleged Chinese spy balloon crossed U.S. airspace in February.

Senior officials have acknowledged morale and staffing problems at China House, but denied they were linked to how the State department carries out China policy.

Republicans in Congress have questioned whether the Biden administration’s effort to engage with senior Chinese officials has led to watered-down measures toward Beijing, an idea the department rejects.

Republican concerns about China House have led to questions about whether the Senate, which has the power to confirm senior appointments, might insist on reviewing any nominee to run the unit.

If so, two of the sources said that rather than nominate Lambert to be China House coordinator the State Department might simply appoint an already confirmed official, such as Kritenbrink.

But two people familiar with Senate thinking told Reuters that for now, senators have no plans to force a confirmation process.

China House “is still a new experiment and we must wait to see how effective it is before we take steps to make it more permanent,” said one of the people.

 
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Florida Prepares for Hurricane Idalia

Posted by Worldcrew On 29/08/2023

People in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida are preparing for the arrival of what forecasters expect will be a major hurricane when it makes landfall Wednesday.

Tropical Storm Idalia had maximum sustained winds just below the threshold of hurricane strength late Monday, with the National Hurricane Center saying it expected the storm to rapidly strengthen during the day Tuesday.

Hurricane warnings were in effect along a large stretch of Florida’s Gulf Coast, including the city of Tampa.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned of a “major impact” to the state and declared a state of emergency in 46 counties.  Authorities encouraged people in 21 counties to evacuate ahead of the storm’s arrival.

President Joe Biden, who spoke by telephone with DeSantis Monday, approved an emergency declaration for the state.

Florida mobilized 1,100 National Guard members to prepare for rescue and recovery efforts.

Before approaching Florida, Idalia brought flooding rains to western Cuba.
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Spanish Soccer Federation Urges Rubiales to Resign Over Player Kiss

Posted by Worldcrew On 29/08/2023

Leading officials within the Spanish Football Federation asked suspended president Luis Rubiales to resign Monday because of his behavior at the Women’s World Cup, including kissing a player on the lips after Spain won the championship match.

The heads of the regional bodies that make up the federation (RFEF) made the request in a collective statement.

“After the latest developments and the unacceptable behavior that has caused great damage to the image of Spanish soccer, the presidents’ request that Luis Rubiales resign immediately as president of the RFEF,” the statement said.

Earlier Monday, the federation asked UEFA to suspend it from international competitions because of government interference related to Rubiales. However, in their statement, the heads of the regional bodies urged interim federation president Pedro Rocha to withdraw that request immediately.

The federation’s request for a suspension was widely seen as an attempt to silence some of Rubiales’ critics, including government ministers who have asked for his removal. Such a suspension would ban Spanish teams from competitions like the Champions League and could sway public opinion in favor of letting him keep his job.

Soccer’s governing bodies have longstanding rules barring national governments from interfering with the running of domestic soccer federations. However, UEFA will not comply with the Spanish federation’s request for a sanction, a person familiar with the issue told The Associated Press on Monday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision-making process was confidential.

Rubiales has faced a torrent of criticism from around the globe over his behavior at the Women’s World Cup final, including kissing Spain player Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent during the on-field trophy ceremony. He was suspended from office Saturday by soccer’s governing body FIFA, which is investigating his conduct.

Rubiales’ mother started a hunger strike Monday in a church in southern Spain in defense of her son, demanding an end to “the bloody and inhumane hounding” of him.

Rubiales is also a UEFA vice president.

Spain’s top clubs are due to take part in Thursday’s Champions League group-stage draw being made by UEFA, and the men’s national team has games on Sept. 8 and 12 in qualifying for the 2024 European Championship.

FIFA opened a disciplinary case against Rubiales on Thursday after taking control of the process because it organized the Women’s World Cup. Rubiales’ behavior during and after Spain’s 1-0 win over England in the final on Aug. 20 in Sydney, Australia, has focused intense scrutiny on him and his five-year management of the federation.

FIFA, however, did not invoke its version of the rules against government interference to protect Rubiales.

The Spanish federation then urged UEFA to act, reportedly in a letter sent Friday, the same day its embattled president defiantly refused to resign at an emergency meeting.

The FIFA suspension prevents Rubiales taking part in official business and having contact with other officials, including in Spain’s bid to co-host the 2030 World Cup with Portugal, Morocco and possibly Ukraine.

FIFA disciplinary judge Jorge Palacio also ordered Rubiales and the federation not to contact Hermoso. She has said the federation pressured her to publicly back Rubiales.

Newly crowned as world champions, though drawn into a national scandal they did not seek and has distracted from their triumph, the Spain players have said they will not play any more games for as long as Rubiales is in charge.
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Faculty Member Shot and Killed on Campus, University of North Carolina Says

Posted by Worldcrew On 29/08/2023

A University of North Carolina faculty member was shot and killed in a campus building, an official said Monday.

UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said the shooting was in Caudill Laboratories, and there is no longer a threat to the public. A suspect has been arrested, the school said.

“This loss is devastating, and the shooting damages the trust and safety that we so often take for granted in our campus community,” Guskiewicz said.

UNC Police Chief Brian James said at a news conference they are not releasing the suspect’s name, and formal charges have not yet been filed.

James said Caudill labs will be closed until further notice while evidence is being processed. He said a motive isn’t known, and the weapon has not been found.

James said emergency sirens sounded about two minutes after a 911 call came in reporting shots fired. Students and faculty at the flagship campus barricaded themselves in dorm rooms, offices and classrooms for hours until a lockdown was lifted.

James said they are not releasing the victim’s ID while they work to reach family members. He said there were no other deaths or injuries.

About three hours after warning students to seek shelter indoors and avoid windows, the school posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “All clear. All clear. Resume normal activities.”

The school’s first alert was sent out just after 1 p.m. At 1:50 p.m., officials posted on X that the shelter-in-place order remained in effect and that it was “an ongoing situation.” About 40 minutes later, the school added a post saying: “Remain sheltered in place. This is an ongoing situation. Suspect at large.”

About two hours after the first alert went out, officers were still arriving in droves, with about 50 police vehicles at the scene and multiple helicopters circling over the school.

One officer admonished two people who tried to exit the student center, yelling “Inside, now!” About 10 minutes later, law enforcement escorted a group of students out of one of the science buildings, with everyone walking in an orderly line with their hands up.

Shortly before 4 p.m., students and faculty started emerging from campus buildings, with the lockdown over.

The report of the shooting and subsequent lockdown paralyzed campus and parts of the surrounding town of Chapel Hill a week after classes began at the state’s flagship public university. The university, with about 20,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 graduate students, canceled Tuesday classes.

During the lockdown, a student told TV station WTVD that she had barricaded her dormitory door with her furniture. Another student, speaking softly, described hiding in fear with others in a dark bathroom.

Adrian Lanier, a sophomore computer science major, told The Associated Press that he and others sat against a wall, trying to stay as far away as possible from doors and windows. They waited for hours as rumors spread.

“No one really felt safe enough to leave. I didn’t,” Lanier said.

Oliver Katz, an exchange student from Copenhagen Business School in Denmark, said some students crowded into gym locker rooms to get away from windows while others crouched in corners and sat on the floor. Police evacuated them hours later.

“This never happens where I’m from,” Katz said. “It was intense. But I was a little surprised that other people weren’t panicking that much.”

Katz, who has only been on campus for two weeks, said he’s worried his home university will bring the exchange students home early. “I don’t want to leave. I like it here, and I do still feel safe.”

The nearby Chapel Hill-Carrboro City school district also locked down its schools for several hours as a precaution.
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Hawaii Power Utility Takes Responsibility for Initial Fire, but Faults County Firefighters

Posted by Worldcrew On 29/08/2023

Hawaii’s electric utility acknowledged its power lines started a wildfire on Maui but faulted county firefighters for declaring the blaze contained and leaving the scene, only to have a second wildfire break out nearby and become the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. 

Hawaiian Electric Company released a statement Sunday night in response to Maui County’s lawsuit blaming the utility for failing to shut off power despite exceptionally high winds and dry conditions. Hawaiian Electric called that complaint “factually and legally irresponsible,” and said its power lines in West Maui had been de-energized for more than six hours when the second blaze started. 

In its statement, the utility addressed the cause for the first time. It said the fire on the morning of August 8 “appears to have been caused by power lines that fell in high winds.” The Associated Press reported Saturday that bare electrical wire that could spark on contact and leaning poles on Maui were the possible cause. 

But Hawaiian Electric appeared to blame Maui County for most of the devastation — the fact that the fire appeared to reignite that afternoon and tore through downtown Lahaina, killing at least 115 people and destroying 2,000 structures. 

Richard Fried, a Honolulu attorney working as co-counsel on Maui County’s lawsuit, countered that if their power lines hadn’t caused the initial fire, “this all would be moot.” 

“That’s the biggest problem,” Fried said Monday. “They can dance around this all they want. But there’s no explanation for that.” 

Mike Morgan, an Orlando attorney who’s currently on Maui to work on wildfire litigation for his firm, Morgan & Morgan, said he thinks Hawaiian Electric’s statement was an attempt to shift liability and total responsibility. 

“By taking responsibility for causing the first fire, then pointing the finger on a fire that started 75 yards away and saying, ‘That’s not our fault, we started it, but they should’ve put it out,’ I’m not sure how that will hold up,” Morgan, who manages complex litigation, said Monday. “It’s also so premature because there are ongoing investigations.” 

Officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who are investigating the cause and origin of the fire, and lawyers involved in the litigation, were at a warehouse Monday to inspect electrical equipment taken from the neighborhood where the fire is thought to have originated. The utility took down the burnt poles and removed fallen wires from the site. 

Videos and images analyzed by AP confirmed that the wires that started the morning fire were among miles of line that the utility left naked to the weather and often-thick foliage, despite a recent push by utilities in other wildfire- and hurricane-prone areas to cover up their lines or bury them. 

Compounding the problem is that many of the utility’s 60,000, mostly wooden power poles, which its own documents described as built to “an obsolete 1960s standard,” were leaning and near the end of their projected lifespan. They were nowhere close to meeting a 2002 national standard that key components of Hawaii’s electrical grid be able to withstand 105 mile per hour winds. 

As Hurricane Dora passed roughly 500 miles (800 kilometers) south of Hawaii on August 8, Lahaina resident Shane Treu heard a utility pole snap next to Lahainaluna Road. He saw a downed power line ignite the grass and called 911 at 6:37 a.m. to report the fire. Small brush fires aren’t unusual for Lahaina, and a drought in the region had left plants, including invasive grasses, dangerously dry. The Maui County Fire Department declared that fire 100% contained by 9:55 a.m. Firefighters then left to attend to other calls. 

Hawaiian Electric said its own crews then went to the scene that afternoon to make repairs and did not see fire, smoke or embers. The power to the area was off. Shortly before 3 p.m., those crews saw a small fire in a nearby field and called 911, the utility said. 

Residents said the embers from the morning fire had reignited and the fire raced toward downtown Lahaina. Treu’s neighbor Robert Arconado recorded video of it spreading at 3:06 p.m., as large plumes of smoke rise near Lahainaluna Road and are carried downtown by the wind. 

Hawaiian Electric is a for-profit, investor-owned, publicly traded utility that serves 95% of Hawaii’s electric customers. CEO Shelee Kimura said there are important lessons to be learned from this tragedy and resolved to “figure out what we need to do to keep our communities safe as climate issues rapidly intensify here and around the globe.” 

The utility faces a spate of new lawsuits that seek to hold it responsible. Wailuku attorney Paul Starita, lead counsel on three lawsuits by Singleton Schreiber, called it a “preventable tragedy of epic proportions.” 
…

To Stop Wildfires, Greek Residents Invest in Early Warning Drones

Posted by Worldcrew On 29/08/2023

The nightmare repeats itself every year: A towering wall of flames devours forests, farmland and homes, forcing animals and people to flee for their lives.

With their hot, dry summers, Greece and its southern European neighbors experience hundreds of devastating wildfires each year. Last week alone, wildfires killed 21 people in Greece. The country’s deadliest, in 2018, cost more than 100 lives. And experts warn climate change is likely to exacerbate extreme weather, fueling more wildfires.

This summer, a group of residents in a suburb of the Greek capital united in determination to prevent the nightmare from reaching their homes. 

In less than a week in early August, an initial group of three people with a shared concern grew to an online community of about 320 offering donations to hire a company using long-range drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras as a sophisticated early warning system to catch wildfires before they can spread.

It’s a tried and tested system. Designed and set up with the help of Grigoris Konstantellos, a commercial airline pilot and mayor of the southern Athens seaside suburbs of Vari, Voula and Vouliagmeni, the drones began operating there last year.

“We didn’t discover it, we created it,” Kontantellos said of the program. “We said, ‘Why shouldn’t this capability exist?'”

The system seemed the perfect solution for the concerned residents in the northern suburbs.

“We’re all worried, we’re all anxious,” said Melina Throuvala, a psychologist and one of the initial group of three. “We don’t want to mourn victims, or to see our environment and our forests burning or our homes threatened. That was the main incentive.”

And with wildfires, prevention is the key.

Operated by drone pilots with advanced training to fly beyond the visual line of sight and with permission from civil aviation authorities, the drones provide live images and detect changes in temperature, alerting their handlers in the critical early stages before a fire spreads. The drones run 24/7, with pilots working in six-hour shifts.

“The first few minutes are the most crucial for a fire,” said Giorgos Dertilis, who heads the local volunteer firefighting unit. “At the start it’s easier to put out the fire. The more the minutes go by, the harder our job becomes.”

Volunteer units are integrated into Greece’s Civil Protection system, working closely with professional fire departments. With no fire station in the wider Kifissia area, volunteers often can get to local blazes faster.

The drone company operates from the volunteer firefighters’ headquarters, so they can react immediately to any signs of a fire.

The drone program’s value was quickly apparent. In the first couple of days, it picked up the start of a fire near a shuttered hotel, “so when we were on our way … we knew, we were prepared to see a fire,” Dertilis said. They quickly extinguished the blaze. “It’s very important to know what to expect.”

The system’s innovation, said Emmanouil Angelakis, managing director of the company operating the drones, is that it includes specialized personnel, software, servers and satellite antenna so “drones, day and night, can scan all the forest areas with thermal cameras and sensors and give live images and coordinates of where a fire starts.”

The idea for the system came in June 2022, after a wind-whipped wildfire descended on Konstantellos’ municipality from a mountain ridge. As they coordinated the response, authorities realized they had a problem.

“We were chasing the fire,” the mayor said. With the flames moving rapidly, keeping track of where water trucks were needed was a challenge. “We couldn’t see basic things on the ground. We’d see them with a delay, because we weren’t right in front of them.”

An extensive review of the emergency response followed.

“We saw that what was missing is for us to not chase the fire, but to be able to have a live image of the fire, of where our assets are and where the threat is,” Konstantellos said. They thought of drones.

The fire department already uses drones during an active blaze, covering a small area. What was needed was to see a fire when it starts and stop it in its tracks.

Getting in touch with the drone company, the fire prevention program was born. In the year and a half it’s been operational, it’s given early warnings for fires 12 times, Konstantellos said.

“We’ve caught fires at 3:30 in the morning,” the mayor said. “When we sent the Civil Protection, they couldn’t even find the fire. We could see it on the drone.”

Then on Saturday, 270 lighting strikes sparked six blazes, starting at 5:30 a.m. The drones saw them immediately, Konstantellos said Monday. With live drone images relayed to his cellphone, “we had amazing coordination, and in less than 40 minutes we had put out six fires in hard-to-reach places.”

The drones have a range of 15 kilometers (nearly 10 miles) and are equipped with loudspeakers and searchlights to warn off people doing banned outdoor work on high fire-risk days — or to frighten off potential arsonists. The municipality is even running a pilot program to prevent drownings, whereby drones can drop lifejackets to swimmers in distress.

The municipality pays 13,000-14,000 euros ($14,000-$15,000) per month for 24/7 coverage. “For a municipality, it’s a viable number to have peace of mind from the fires,” Konstantellos said.

The drone company’s Angelakis said the Kifissia residents’ privately funded initiative “was the first time this happened on a volunteer basis and not by a state body.”

Kifissia’s nearby municipality of Dionysos followed, with its privately funded operation working out of the town hall.

Residents of less affluent areas would be less able to afford private funding. But other municipal and regional authorities are interested, said Konstantellos, who noted the system can be used to coordinate responses to other events such as floods, earthquakes or traffic accidents.

“As we say in aviation, ‘A well-trained pilot is the best safety device,'” he said. “We convert this to the civil protection, and we say: ‘A well-prepared city is the best defense of a city against crisis.'”
…

Russian Working at US Consulate Accused of Collecting Info for US Diplomats

Posted by Worldcrew On 29/08/2023

Russia’s top domestic security agency said Monday that a detained former employee of the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok is accused of collecting information about Russia’s action in Ukraine and related issues for U.S. diplomats. 

Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, said Robert Shonov is suspected of “gathering information about the special military operation, mobilization processes in Russian regions, problems and the assessment of their influence on protest activities of the population in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.” 

The FSB, the top KGB successor, said it has served summonses to question two U.S. diplomats who allegedly instructed Shonov to collect the information. 

Shonov’s arrest was first reported in May, but Russian authorities provided no details at the time. The U.S. State Department has condemned his arrest. 

Shonov was charged under a new article of Russian law that criminalizes “cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state, international or foreign organization to assist their activities clearly aimed against Russia’s security.” Kremlin critics have said that the formulation is so broad that it could be used to punish any Russian who had foreign connections. It carries a prison sentence of up to eight years. 

The U.S. State Department has said Shonov worked at the U.S. consulate in Vladivostok for more than 25 years. The consulate closed in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and never reopened. 

The State Department has said that after a Russian government order in April 2021 required the dismissal of all local employees in U.S. diplomatic outposts in Russia, Shonov worked at a company the U.S. contracted with to support its embassy in Moscow. 

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in May that Shonov’s only role at the time of his arrest was “to compile media summaries of press items from publicly available Russian media sources” and argued that his arrest “highlights the Russian Federation’s blatant use of increasingly repressive laws against its own citizens.” 

Russian news reports have said that Shonov was being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison. 

Also held in Lefortovo is Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Gershkovich has been in custody since his March 29 arrest by Russia’s security service on espionage charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government have denied. 

Gershkovich’s arrest rattled journalists in Russia and drew outrage in the West. The United States has declared Gershkovich to be “wrongfully detained” and demanded his immediate release. 
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Sweden Charges Man With Spying for Russia on Sweden, US

Posted by Worldcrew On 29/08/2023

Sweden charged a man on Monday with spying on it and the United States on behalf of Russia and unlawfully transferring advanced technology to Russia’s armed forces over a nine-year period. 

Prosecutors indicted Sergej Skvortsov, a citizen of both Sweden and Russia, on charges of gross unlawful intelligence activity against the two countries between 2013 and 2022, according to the indictment. 

The 60-year-old’s lawyer said he denied any wrongdoing. “He reiterates that he denies all charges,” lawyer Ulrika Borg told Reuters.

Prosecutors said the suspect gathered information on behalf of Russia that could be detrimental to U.S. and Swedish security and provided Russia with technology it could not procure on the open market due to trade regulations and sanctions. 

“Skvortsov and his company have been a platform for the Russian military intelligence service GRU and part of the Russian state for illicit technology procurement from the West,” the indictment read. 

The security service said in a statement the alleged crimes could pose serious security threats to Sweden and other states.  

“The aim of the suspect’s business has been to provide Russia with in-demand and sensitive technology that can be used militarily, where the goal of the procurement has been to increase the Russian state’s military capabilities,” it said. 

Police arrested Skvortsov in November last year on the outskirts of Stockholm, together with a second individual who was released shortly after.
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Few Support Evacuations in Northeast Ukraine Despite Russians Approaching

Posted by Worldcrew On 28/08/2023

The thunder of mortar fire echoes in the distance as 5-year-old David approaches his mother with an innocent request: Can he play with the baseball bat a relative gave him as a gift?

Valeria Pototska rolls her eyes and tells her son no for the umpteenth time. It’s a toy for big kids, she scolds. The boy, who doesn’t so much as flinch when the weapons not far from their town in northeast Ukraine shoot off more rounds, pouts and pedals away on his bicycle.

Other neighborhood children frolic in a playground in Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, seemingly immune to the war unfolding 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away. Ukrainian authorities this month ordered a mandatory evacuation of the village and three dozen other populated areas as war returned to Kharkiv province. So far, most residents have refused to go as the battle inches closer to their backyards.

“It’s normal,” Pototska said of the soundtrack of weapons that punctuates the monotony of their daily lives. Olena Kanivets, a friend sitting beside her, nods and takes a drag on a cigarette. “It’s the strong who took the decision to leave,” Kanivets said.

The August 10 evacuation directive applies to 37 settlements that Russian soldiers occupied early in the 18-month-old war. A Ukrainian counteroffensive liberated them in September, lifting the invaded country’s spirits. Citing a Russian attempt to push back into the area, the Kupiansk district military administration told roughly 12,000 residents to seek safety elsewhere.

Only a few hundred heeded the warning. Many others signed documents stating they were staying at their own risk.

Their reasons range from the existential to the routine: fear of encountering poverty and loneliness in expensive faraway cities. Reluctance to give up homes in which they invested their life savings for a crowded shelter. Needing more time to tidy the garden or to tend to livestock.

The city of Kupiansk, which also was occupied by the Russians for more than six months last year, is under a partial evacuation order now. Katarina Chesta, a school administrator there, said she plans to stay put even if the order is extended citywide because she is tired of running away from war.

When Russia invaded eastern Ukraine in 2014, Chesta fled the port city of Mariupol under fire and ended up in Kupiansk, where her parents lived. The 39-year-old refuses to pack up and move again.

Russian airstrikes frequently target Kupiansk and hit the city’s main school building in October and December, so Chesta is preparing an online curriculum for the new academic year.

“Maybe it’s just the way I am,” she said, sitting in her office wearing an immaculate white dress and her hair styled in an elegant updo. “Some people must stay here to be patriots for the city, to develop it, to survive.”

Kharkiv province, which borders Russia, reemerged as a combat hot spot in mid-July. That’s when the Russian military began assembling assault troops, tank units and other resources in the direction of Kupiansk, hoping to pressure Ukrainian troops fighting further south and to recapture the territory Ukraine won back, according to Ukrainian military officials.

Ukrainian military officials say their forces have kept the Russians from advancing but there is intense fighting on the outskirts of Synkivka, a village which is 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) from Kupiansk.

Illustrating the dangers for the local population, they said Russian units have shelled civilian infrastructure and homes while hunting for Ukrainian soldiers, who fight concealed in the wooded and agricultural landscape. The near-constant shelling kills several residents a week, according to the Kupiansk military administration.

Evacuees are taken to a shelter in Kharkiv, the provincial capital and Ukraine’s second-largest city. Red Cross volunteers say the number requesting to relocate spiked in places that received more intense bombing, but many locals still linger.

“Until the moment shelling hits close, people refuse to leave,” volunteer Volodymyr Fedulenko said.

For Oleksandr Ivanovich, 70, that moment came when a shell hit his house in the village of Hryshivka and left the roof in tatters. He was plucking weeds from the front porch at the time. “What to say, it is very painful to leave my home,” Ivanovich said.

Tatiyana Shapavalova, 59, who lives two doors away, boarded an evacuation van along with her neighbor. She thought their part of Ukraine would stay comparatively peaceful after the Russians withdrew from most of Kharkiv province last year, but the August 13 artillery attack proved her wrong.

“We had hoped the Ukrainian army would push the Russians further away, but every day we hear them coming closer and closer,” Shapavalova said.

In Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi, the long war has created an atmosphere that blends the placid and the deadly. The roar of artillery fire sporadically disturbs the soft rustle of leaves in the late summer breeze. Municipal workers diligently mow the lawn next to bombed-out school buildings.

Residents who lived under occupation for half a year said the experience was terrifying. “Russians acted like kings,” Pototska said. Many said they would evacuate if the return of Moscow’s troops appeared imminent but until then hold on to hope of Ukrainian forces defeating them.

Four months ago, Nataliia Rosolova’s son Dmytro, 14, begged her to leave after a night of heavy shelling. “We need to stay for a while longer,” she told him.

Rosolova, 38, recalled the conversation as an air raid alarm rang out in their neighborhood. She explained that she works as a medic and “there are very few of us left here.” If a time comes when the family must flee, their bags are packed and ready to grab from Dmytro’s bedroom.

“Maybe I’m not strong enough to make such difficult decisions,” the mother said, tears welling. “But I’m not an enemy for my children. If there will be a need to leave, we will leave.” 
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Iran Summons Swiss Diplomat After US Seized Iranian Oil in Houston

Posted by Worldcrew On 28/08/2023

Iran has summoned a Swiss diplomat over the apparent U.S. seizure of Iranian crude oil from a ship that sat for months off Texas, an official said Monday, as the oil now appeared to be moored in Houston.

The remarks by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani mark the latest twist in the saga of the oil once aboard the tanker Suez Rajan, which had become mired in the wider tensions between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic. That’s even as Tehran and Washington work toward a trade of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets in South Korea for the release of five Iranian Americans held in Tehran.

Iran has been trying to evade sanctions and continue selling its oil abroad, while the U.S. and its allies have been seizing cargoes since 2019 after the country’s nuclear deal allowing the trade collapsed.

Speaking to journalists Monday, Kanaani said Tehran had summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Swiss Embassy in Iran to express a “strong objection” over the U.S seizing the oil. Switzerland has looked out for America’s interests in Iran since the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis.

Kanaani’s comments also acknowledged the oil was Iranian.

“The subject of the seizure of an Iranian oil consignment by the U.S. … is a completely unproductive action,” Kanaani said. He said the U.S. government was on the one hand expressing interest in direct talks to pave the way for a renewed nuclear deal and on the other was imposing new sanctions and seizing oil.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The saga over the Suez Rajan began in February 2022, when the group United Against Nuclear Iran said it suspected the tanker carried oil from Iran’s Khargh Island, its main oil distribution terminal in the Persian Gulf.

For months, the ship sat in the South China Sea off the northeast coast of Singapore before suddenly sailing for the Gulf of Mexico without explanation. Analysts believe the vessel’s cargo likely has been seized by American officials, though there still were no public court documents Monday involving the oil.

On August 20, the Suez Rajan began transferring its oil to the tanker MR Euphrates, ship-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed. On Monday, data showed the MR Euphrates moored in Houston at a major oil terminal, likely preparing to discharge the crude it carried from the Suez Rajan.

The Los Angeles-based private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management had owned the Suez Rajan until late May, when it was taken over the Greek-based firm Empire Navigation. The MR Euphrates also is owned by Empire, which did not respond Monday to a request for comment.

Since the Suez Rajan headed for America, Iran has seized two tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, including one with cargo for U.S. oil major Chevron Corp. In July, the top commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s naval arm threatened further action against anyone offloading the Suez Rajan, with state media linking the recent seizures to the cargo’s fate.

Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers saw it regain the ability to sell oil openly on the international market. But in 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord and re-imposed American sanctions. That slammed the door on much of Iran’s lucrative crude oil trade, a major engine for its economy and its government. It also began a cat-and-mouse hunt for Iranian oil cargo — as well as a series of escalating attacks attributed to Iran since 2019.

The delay in offloading the Suez Rajan’s cargo had become a political issue as well for the Biden administration as the ship had sat for months in the Gulf of Mexico, possibly due to companies being worried about the threat from Iran.

The U.S. Navy has increased its presence steadily in recent weeks in the Mideast, sending the troop-and-aircraft-carrying USS Bataan through the Strait of Hormuz and considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the strait to stop Iran from seizing additional ships. 
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Newest NATO Member Finland to Spend 2.3% of GDP on Defense

Posted by Worldcrew On 28/08/2023

NATO’s newest member Finland plans to spend 2.3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense next year, its defense ministry said on Monday. 

In July, NATO’s 31 member-nations agreed to spend a minimum of 2% of their GDP on defense. Previously the 2% target had been a goal to aim for over time and only seven allies met the target in 2022, according to NATO. 

Finland joined the alliance in April, in a historic security policy U-turn in response to neighboring Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 

It said it planned to spend 6 billion euros ($6.48 billion), or 2.3% of its GDP, on defense in 2024, which is some 116 million euros less than the estimate for 2023. 

Finland’s defense spending has increased significantly in recent years, even before it became a NATO member, because it is replacing its aging fleet of F/A-18 combat jets with F-35 fighter jets. 

Finland is also spending on military aid to Ukraine, with the total value of its military equipment donations reaching 1.3 billion euros last week. 

“From the point of view of the future security order of Europe and Finland, it is a core issue that Russia’s aggressive efforts can be dammed in Ukraine,” defense minister Antti Hakkanen said in a statement to announce the latest donation.  
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Mother of Spanish Football Federation Chief Starts Hunger Strike

Posted by Worldcrew On 28/08/2023

The mother of the Spanish soccer federation president has started a hunger strike in a church in southern Spain in defense of her son, who is under fire for kissing a player during the recent Women’s World Cup awards ceremony. 

Ángeles Béjar, mother of suspended federation president Luis Rubiales, told the state news agency EFE she would remain on hunger strike “night and day” until a solution is found to “the bloody and inhumane hounding” of her son. 

Speaking outside the church in the southern town of Motril, Rubiales’ cousin, Vanessa Ruiz, joined his mother in calling on the player, Jenni Hermoso, to “tell the truth.” She said the family was suffering greatly and she described Rubiales as “a beautiful person.” 

Rubiales came in for a storm of criticism following the kiss which was interpreted by many as a form of sexual abuse. The incident happened during the medal ceremony after the final last Sunday in Sydney, Australia. 

Earlier during the celebrations, Rubiales also grabbed his crotch in a victory gesture while in the presidential box and close to the queen of Spain and her teenage princess daughter. 

FIFA, the world soccer body, provisionally suspended him on Saturday for 90 days after he gave a defiant speech and refused to resign. 

Spain is hoping the country’s sports tribunal will remove him definitively. 

On Saturday, Rubiales said that Hermoso had consented to the “mutual” kiss. Hermoso replied in two statements to say that was false and that she considered herself the victim of an abuse of power. She also accused the federation of trying to pressure her into supporting Rubiales. The federation hit back by saying she was lying and that it would take legal action against her. 

The scandal has caused a commotion both in Spain and abroad. 

Spain’s Prosecutor’s Office said Monday they will be in touch with the player to let her know she will have 15 days to contact the office so that they can inform her of rights should she wish to file a complaint as an alleged victim of sexual aggression. 

Acting deputy PM Yolanda Díaz was meeting with football union representatives with a view to removing Rubiales and changing the way equality issues are run in Spanish soccer. 

The Spanish soccer federation was to meet with regional federations about what steps to take following FIFA’s temporary suspension of their leader. Meanwhile, an anti-Rubiales protest was to be held later Monday in Madrid. 
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Climate Activists Target Jets, Yachts, Golf in String of Global Protests Against Luxury

Posted by Worldcrew On 28/08/2023

Climate activists have spray-painted a superyacht, blocked private jets from taking off and plugged holes in golf courses this summer as part of an intensifying campaign against the emissions-spewing lifestyles of the ultrawealthy.  

Climate activism has intensified in the past few years as the planet warms to dangerous levels, igniting more extreme heat, floods, storms and wildfires around the world. Tactics have been getting more radical, with some protesters gluing themselves to roads, disrupting high-profile sporting events like golf and tennis and even splashing famous pieces of artwork with paint or soup.  

They’re now turning their attention to the wealthy, after long targeting some of the world’s most profitable companies – oil and gas conglomerates, banks and insurance firms that continue to invest in fossil fuels.  

“We do not point the finger at the people but at their lifestyle, the injustice it represents,” said Karen Killeen, an Extinction Rebellion activist who was involved in protests in Ibiza, Spain, a favorite summer spot for the wealthy. She said the group is protesting unnecessary emissions such as superrich individuals going to pick up a pizza by boat. “In a climate emergency, it’s an atrocity,” she said.  

Killeen and others from climate activist group Futuro Vegetal — or Vegetable Future — spray-painted a $300 million superyacht belonging to Walmart heir Nancy Walton Laurie. Protesters held up a sign that read, “You consume, others suffer.”  

In Switzerland, some 100 activists disrupted Europe’s biggest private jet sales fair in Geneva when they chained themselves to aircraft gangways and the exhibition entrance. In Germany, climate group Letzte Generation — which translates to Last Generation — spray-painted a private jet in the resort island of Sylt, in the North Sea. In Spain, activists plugged holes in golf courses to protest the sport’s heavy water needs during hot dry spells. 

In the U.S., Abigail Disney, the grand-niece of Walt Disney, was arrested at East Hampton Town Airport, New York, in July along with 13 other protesters for blocking cars from entering or exiting the parking lot. It was the first of up to eight actions carried out in the exclusive Hamptons area. Activists also crashed a golf course, disrupted a museum gala and demonstrated outside some private luxury homes.  

“Luxury practices are disproportionately contributing to the climate crisis at this point,” said American University social scientist Dana Fisher. According to a 2021 report by nonprofit Oxfam, if all planet-warming emissions were attributed to the people producing them, the richest 1% will be responsible for around 16% of emissions by 2030. “It makes a lot of sense for these activists to be calling out this toxic behavior.”  

Richard Wilk, an economic anthropologist at Indiana University, said luxury travel is “the real culprit” in the emissions of the ultrawealthy.  

He published estimates of top billionaires’ annual emissions in 2021 and found that a superyacht — with permanent crew, helicopter pad, submarines and pools — emits about 7,020 tons of carbon dioxide a year, over 1,500 times higher than a typical family car. And private aircraft in Europe alone last year caused more than 3 million tons of carbon pollution, equivalent to the average annual CO2 emissions of over half a million EU residents, according to the nonprofit Greenpeace.  

But University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann warned that attention away from the fossil fuel companies — which are responsible for at least 70% of all emissions — and toward the rich could be “playing right into the hands of the fossil fuel industry and the ‘deflection campaign’ they’ve used to divert attention from regulation by emphasizing individual carbon footprints over the much larger footprint of polluters.”  

“The solution is to get everyone to use less carbon-based energy,” whether wealthy or lower-income people, he said.  

David Gitman, president of Monarch Air Group, a Florida private air charter provider, encouraged activists to think twice about whether they’re taking the right approach.  

“If their activism goes toward some sort of actual assistance to real programs to make real change like sustainable aviation fuel, like carbon offsets, I think that this kind of activism can help achieve those results,” said Gitman. “Now, if they go out and they spray-paint a private jet in an airport in Europe, is that going to get those results? In my opinion, no.”  

Fisher, of the University of Maryland, was also skeptical that the activism was effective in changing behavior by the wealthy.  

In some cases, governments have stepped in with regulations. France is cracking down on the use of private jets for short journeys, and earlier this year, the Netherlands’ Schiphol Airport also announced plans to ban private jets.  

But as protests escalate, Fisher and Wilk say they could still move the needle toward behavior change.  

“Public shaming is one of the most powerful ways of controlling people,” Wilk said. “It acts in a lot of different ways to embarrass people, to make them more conscious of the consequences of their actions.”
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5 Dead, Including 4 Children, in 2 Migrant Boat Sinkings off Greek Islands Near Turkish Coast  

Posted by Worldcrew On 28/08/2023

Five people, including four children, died and dozens were rescued Monday in two separate incidents involving migrant boats heading to Greek islands from nearby Turkish shores, Greek authorities said.

The coast guard said four people died and 18 were rescued after a boat carrying migrants apparently sank northeast of the Greek island of Lesbos, which is near the Turkish coast. Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said all four were children: an 8-year-old boy and three girls aged 14, 8 and 11 months.

Coast guard spokesperson Nikos Alexiou said the incident occurred within Turkish territorial waters but the Turkish coast guard did not conduct a rescue operation, so a Greek patrol boat recovered the passengers. The survivors were taken to Lesbos’ main port of Mytilene, where two people were transferred to a local hospital.

Earlier Monday at about 1 a.m., a coast guard patrol boat spotted a dinghy carrying 37 people off the eastern Aegean Island of Samos, the coast guard said. It said the passengers fell into the water upon seeing the patrol boat, triggering a rescue operation.

A woman and a young boy were pulled from the water unconscious and coast guard officers performed CPR, authorities said. The woman died but the boy survived and was transferred to a hospital on Samos along with nine other survivors, the coast guard said.

“We express our deepest sadness” for the five deaths, Marinakis said at a regular briefing. He praised the coast guard for “superhuman efforts” to rescue lives at sea. “It is imperative that the dismal smuggling networks that exploit vulnerable people are struck at their roots,” he said.

Over the weekend, the coast guard said it picked up dozens of people from boats near eastern Aegean Sea islands, part of an increase in new arrivals over the past two months.

It said it recovered 20 people from a dinghy off the coast of Lesbos on Sunday, and 11 others from another dinghy that was sinking near the same island on Saturday.

Two other boats arrived on Samos on Saturday, the coast guard said, one carrying 35 people and one with 21 people.

For decades, Greece has been a preferred entry point into the European Union for people fleeing conflict or poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and hoping for a better life in Europe.

More than 14,000 people have reached Greece by land and sea so far this year, according to United Nations figures. That’s about a tenth of the total successful Mediterranean crossings, most of which — about 104,000 — were to Italy. Arrivals in Greece for the whole of 2022 totaled 19,000.

In June, a battered fishing trawler heading from Libya to Italy with an estimated 500-750 people on board sank in international waters off southwestern Greece. Only 104 survivors were found, and Greek authorities were heavily criticized for failing to evacuate the vessel in time.

The government has attributed the rise in migrant crossings since then to better summer weather and smugglers taking advantage of an increase in Aegean small boat traffic during the tourist season.

After nearly a million people entered Greece at the height of Europe’s 2015 migration crisis, the vast majority hoping to move north to wealthier European countries, Greece increased patrols along the sea and land border with Turkey to halt arrivals.

Human rights groups and migrants denounced the government for carrying out summary deportations of people arriving in the country without allowing them to apply for asylum, an accusation the government strongly denied.
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Biden, Harris to Meet with King’s Family on 60th Anniversary of March

Posted by Worldcrew On 28/08/2023

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s family to mark Monday’s 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, where King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial.

All of King’s children have been invited, White House officials have said.

The Democratic president was taking a page out of history by opening the Oval Office to King’s family. On Aug. 28, 1963, the day of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, President John F. Kennedy welcomed King and other key march organizers to the Oval for a meeting.

The White House did not include the meeting on Biden’s public schedule for Monday.

Biden also was hosting a reception Monday evening to mark the 60th anniversary of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan, nonprofit legal organization that was established at Kennedy’s request to help advocate for racial justice.

The 1963 march is still considered one of the greatest and most consequential racial justice demonstrations in U.S. history.

The nonviolent protest attracted as many as 250,000 people to the Lincoln Memorial and provided momentum for Congress to pass landmark civil rights and voting rights legislation in the years that followed. King was assassinated in April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

On Saturday, thousands converged on the National Mall to commemorate the march, with speakers and others saying a country still riven by racial inequality has yet to fulfill King’s dream of a colorblind society in which his four children “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

The event was convened by the King family’s Drum Major Institute and the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.
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France to Ban Muslim Abaya Dress in State Schools

Posted by Worldcrew On 28/08/2023

France will ban children from wearing the abaya, the loose-fitting, full-length robes worn by some Muslim women, in state-run schools, its education minister said on Sunday ahead of the back-to-school season.

France, which has enforced a strict ban on religious signs in state schools since 19th century laws removed any traditional Catholic influence from public education, has struggled to update guidelines to deal with a growing Muslim minority.

In 2004, it banned headscarves in schools and passed a ban on full face veils in public in 2010, angering some in its 5 million-strong Muslim community.

Defending secularism is a rallying cry in France that resonates across the political spectrum, from left-wingers upholding the liberal values of the Enlightenment to far-right voters seeking a bulwark against the growing role of Islam in French society.

“I have decided that the abaya could no longer be worn in schools,” Education Minister Gabriel Attal said in an interview with TV channel TF1.

“When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the pupils’ religion just by looking at them,” he said.
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