Month: February 2018

North Korea sent items used in ballistic missile and chemical weapons programs to Syria along with missile technicians in violation of U.N. sanctions — and sent banned ballistic missiles systems to Myanmar, U.N. experts said.

The panel of experts monitoring sanctions against North Korea said its investigations into Pyongyang’s transfer of prohibited ballistic missile, conventional arms and dual use goods found more than 40 previously unreported shipments to Syria between 2012 and 2017.

It said an unnamed U.N. member state also reported evidence of Myanmar’s receipt of a range of conventional weapons from North Korea including multiple rocket launchers and surface-to-air missiles in addition to ballistic missile systems.

The Associated Press reported Feb. 2 that according to the experts’ report, North Korea was flouting U.N. sanctions on oil and gas, engaging in prohibited ballistic missile cooperation with Syria and Myanmar, and illegally exporting commodities that brought in nearly $200 million in just nine months last year.

AP obtained details from the more than 200-page report late Tuesday, including the panel’s findings related to chemical weapons in Syria. The U.S. and other Western nations have accused Syria of using chemical weapons against rebel-controlled areas including recently in the Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta, which President Bashar Assad’s government denies.

​Ballistic missiles, chemical weapons

The report to the U.N. Security Council, which diplomats expect to be made public in mid-March, details “substantial new evidence” about North Korea’s dealings with Syria dating back to 2008.

According to an unidentified member state, the North’s Ryonhap-2 Corporation was involved that year in a Syrian ballistic missile program, the “maneuverable re-entry vehicle (MARV) Scud D (MD) project,” the report said.

More recently, it said the August 2016 visit by a technical delegation from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the country’s official name, “involved the transfer to Syria of special resistance valves and thermometers known for use in chemical weapons programs.”

That information came from another member state, which also reported that North Korean technicians “continue to operate at chemical weapons and missile facilities at Barzeh, Adra and Hama,” the report said.

It quoted Syria’s reply to the panel about the reports: “There are no DPRK technical companies in Syria and the only presence of some DPRK individuals are confined in the field of sports under private individual contracts for training athletics and gymnastics.”

The experts added that they have not yet received a reply for documents supporting this claim and a list of all North Koreans who have traveled to Syria.

Chinese shipper

The panel said it also examined shipments interdicted by member states that were sent by the Chinese company Cheng Tong Trading Co. Ltd. to Damascus-based companies in 2016 and 2017.

The experts said 13 shipping containers were filled with “acid resistant tiles,” which would cover 5,000 square meters, enough for a large-scale industrial project.

One country’s analysis concluded that the tiles “were to be used for activities conducted at high temperatures,” the panel said, while another country said the material “can be used to build bricks for the interior walls of (a) chemical factory.”

North Korean arms dealer

The panel also said it continued its investigations into activities of Ryu Jin, a senior official in Syria for the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation known as KOMID, who is on the U.N. sanctions blacklist. He listed his rank as a major general in a letter with an official proposal to Syrian Major General Ali Salim of the Army Supply Bureau for “an air defense command and control system,” it said.

KOMID is the DPRK’s primary arms dealer and main exporter of goods and equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons.

The report said among other activities, Ryu Jin shipped ball bearings and fiber-optic cables to Syria and earned 56,000 euros and 48,000 euros respectively, which was transferred through Tanchon Commercial Bank.

The panel said its investigations into several cases of previously unreported arms shipments and cooperation with front companies for those under U.N. sanctions between 2010 and 2017 “showed further evidence of arms embargo and other violations, including through the transfer of items with utility in ballistic missile and chemical weapons programs.”

For many years, the panel said the DPRK Corst Company acted on behalf of the Second Economic Committee, which is under sanctions, to ship goods to Syria for use in prohibited programs.

The panel said it received documents in July 2017 showing Corst shipped banned goods to a researcher at Syria’s Scientific Studies Research Council, which the U.S. says is the government agency responsible for developing and producing non-conventional weapons and the means to deliver them.

Myanmar 

As for Myanmar, the panel said an unnamed member state reported that its Directorate of Defense Industries “maintains a sophisticated global procurement network” and “is seeking equipment from overseas suppliers for its DPRK-linked missile program.”

The panel said it previously concluded that Myanmar’s So Min Htike Co. Ltd, “was the consignee in the attempted transfer of prohibited nuclear-related items in 2012.”

While Myanmar told the panel in 2015 that it only had “normal diplomatic ties” with the DPRK, it reported on July 26, 2017, that it expelled Kim Chol Nam, a DPRK diplomat “for acting on behalf or at the direction of KOMID.” And on Jan. 24, 2018, the panel said “Myanmar added that it was investigating the panel’s latest request for information.”
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The White House on Tuesday urged U.S. lawmakers to move ahead with legislation to help prisoners prepare for life after release, but he stopped short of calling for broader reforms such as changing mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes.

Arguing that a wider overhaul lacks congressional support, the Trump administration recommended more prison work programs, more partnerships with businesses to help ex-prisoners find jobs and more funding for programs to reduce state prison recidivism.

No proposal was offered on sentencing reform, an issue that divides the Republican Party between law-and-order hardliners and moderates. That leaves Republican President Donald Trump stranded in the middle. 

“The sentencing reform part still does not have a pathway forward to getting done,” a White House official told reporters on a conference call. “By doing this in smaller bits and pushing prison reform now, this has a better chance of getting done.”

The final outlines of the legislation will ultimately be decided by the Republican-controlled Congress, which may have difficulty passing a politically sensitive bill in an election year.

​Second chances

In his State of Union address last month, Trump pledged to help give former prisoners a second chance, but he also consistently talks tough about handling drug dealers.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has balked at any moves to reduce sentences. He angered Senator Charles Grassley, the Iowa Republican who chairs the Judiciary Committee, when he wrote a letter this month slamming a bill supported by Grassley that would reform sentencing.

“Chairman Grassley is focused on passing sound policy, not the path of least resistance,” committee spokesman Taylor Foy said in response to the White House comments on Tuesday.

Foy said Grassley’s office continues to have “productive” conversations with the White House on this issue.

Conservative interests, such as Koch Industries, and many of Trump’s evangelical Christian advisers support more expansive reforms, but have said they would back a narrower bill to help prisoners if that has a better chance of passing Congress.

The White House arrived at its compromise proposal after almost a year of talks with religious leaders, lawmakers and advocacy groups on criminal justice, according to Reuters interviews with nearly a dozen outside advisers and advocates.

​Kushner’s role

Trump son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner led the effort.

“He’s really been the quarterback,” said Paula White, pastor of a Florida megachurch and longtime spiritual adviser to Trump.

At a White House dinner in May for religious leaders, Kushner talked with guests about criminal justice reform.

Johnnie Moore, a member of a White House evangelical advisory board, was seated at a table with Kushner and wife Ivanka Trump at the dinner.

“We all started talking about all these other issues we’re concerned about. And I think to Jared’s and Ivanka’s surprise and to our surprise, we found we all cared a ton about this issue,” Moore told Reuters.

Evangelicals, who view helping prisoners as a biblical mandate, have pressed the White House for action.

Sources familiar with the discussions said the White House is considering administrative proposals to help prisons partner with churches and other nonprofits on job, housing and mentorship programs to benefit inmates long before they are released.

The American Conservative Union Foundation, which supports criminal justice reform, said it was cautiously optimistic that Congress would move ahead with legislation to help prisoners.

“A lot of hard work has gone into this effort, and the White House principles on prison reform are a meaningful step,” said David Safavian, deputy director for the foundation’s Center for Criminal Justice Reform.
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Puerto Rico’s governor said Tuesday that the U.S. Treasury Department has cut a $4.7 billion disaster relief loan available to the U.S. territory by more than half, and he demanded help from Congress.

Governor Ricardo Rossello said federal officials reduced the amount to $2 billion without providing an explanation nearly five months after Congress approved the loan. He warned the move puts Puerto Rico in a “dangerous financial dilemma” and that his administration could be forced to cut some essential services as the island continues to struggle after Hurricane Maria.

“Any material interruption to Puerto Rico’s public services will only exacerbate outmigration of its population to the mainland and further deepen and prolong Puerto Rico’s decade-old fiscal and economic crisis,” he said.

Tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans fled to the U.S. mainland after the Category 4 storm, which hit as the island was struggling to restructure a portion of its $73 billion public debt load amid an 11-year recession.

Rossello said it seems the Treasury imposed certain loan restrictions to make it “extremely difficult for Puerto Rico to access these funds when it needs federal assistance the most.” He also said Treasury officials told his administration last week that they do not intend to forgive the loan.

Congress had approved the loan in October to help Puerto Rico recover from the storm, which killed dozens of people and caused up to an estimated $94 billion in damage. Some 15 percent of power customers remain in the dark, and more than 700 families are still living in hotels across the island. Last week, Puerto Rico’s power company obtained a $300 million emergency loan that will help keep it operating through late March, according to a federal control board overseeing the island’s finances. The board said it plans to request more loans in upcoming weeks.

Reason unclear

It is unclear why the $4.7 billion federal loan was reduced.

The Treasury said late Tuesday that it discussed with federal officials and board members on Monday the terms and conditions under which the loans will be offered “to protect federal taxpayer investments while ensuring funding is available quickly when needed.”

It said Puerto Rico will be able to access funding quickly if its cash balance drops below $800 million, and that FEMA expects to soon loan $5 million per municipality.

In January, officials with the Treasury Department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent Puerto Rico officials a letter stating they were temporarily withholding the loan because they did not believe the government was facing a cash shortage as it had previously warned. Federal officials said the money would be released via the Community Disaster Loan Program once the island’s central cash balance decreased to a certain level.

Rossello said talks with Treasury officials are ongoing even as he has asked Congress to intervene.
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A top U.S. general is accusing Russia of sowing the seeds of instability in Syria and across the greater Middle East, part of an ongoing attempt to expand its influence at the expense of the United States and the international community.

“Diplomatically and militarily, Moscow plays both arsonist and firefighter, fueling tensions among all parties in Syria,” the commander of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Joseph Votel, told lawmakers Tuesday.

Votel further accused Russia of then offering to serve as a mediator in an effort to “undermine and weaken each party’s bargaining position.”

The criticism, though worded more sharply than in the past, is in line with previous warnings from U.S. and Western intelligence officials, who have said Russia views Syria as an opportunity to reassert Moscow’s central place on the world stage.

It also echoes concerns laid out in the most recent U.S. National Security Strategy, which called Russia a “revisionist power” intent on tearing down the current international order.

“It is clear that Russia’s interests in Syria are Russia’s interests and not those of the wider international community,” Votel said. “Their role is incredibly destabilizing at this point.”

But the general’s words may also reflect a growing disconnect with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which has often sought to emphasize areas of cooperation.

While administration officials say there are areas in which Russian activity is impinging on U.S. interests, and in which the U.S. is pushing back, they say the Middle East is not one of them.

“Is there a threat to us, a direct threat to us from Russia emanating from the Middle East? Obviously, the threat there is the terrorist threat and Iran,” a senior administration official said recently on the condition of anonymity.

Blaming Russia

In Syria, the U.S. and Russia have found themselves on different sides of the ongoing Syrian conflict, with Moscow backing the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the U.S. backing the Syrian Democratic Forces, a group of moderate rebels, who have until recently largely been focused on efforts to defeat the Islamic State terror group.

Both Washington and Moscow have made concerted efforts to avoid conflict, setting up a deconfliction line in order to make sure their forces on the ground in Syria did not engage each other by mistake.

Still, Central Command’s Votel said Russia’s actions in Syria are actively undermining efforts to roll back IS and, ultimately, find a political solution to the larger conflict. 

“Russia has placed this progress at risk with their activities which are not focused on defeating ISIS but rather on preserving its own influence and control over the outcome,” Votel said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

Votel also criticized Russia for its failure to follow through on its self-declared “humanitarian pause” in Syria’s eastern region of Ghouta on Tuesday.

Residents said at least six civilians were killed after just a brief pause in fighting, when Syrian government warplanes resumed their bombing of the region.

Russian officials blamed the resumption of fighting on rebel groups, but the U.S. State Department put the blame on Moscow.

“They’re not adhering to the cease-fire because they continue to sponsor and back Bashar al-Assad’s government. That is tragic,” the State Department’s Heather Nauert told reporters.

In his testimony Tuesday before the House Armed Services Committee, U.S. Central Command’s Votel was equally blunt.

“Either Russia has to admit it is not capable or that it doesn’t want to play a role in ending the Syrian conflict,” Votel said.

‘Clever game’

There are also concerns Russia is increasingly willing to use proxies and allies in Syria and across the Middle East to confront the U.S. as part of a larger, great power competition with the U.S.

Earlier this month, pro-Assad forces attacked U.S. and U.S.-backed forces in Syria. 

U.S. defense officials have refused to comment on who directed the attack. But audio recordings obtained from a source close to Kremlin by Polygraph.info, a fact-checking project by Voice of America, indicate some of the forces were part of CHVK Wagner, a Kremlin-linked private military company.

Analysts also see Russia’s hand in Turkey’s decision to launch an incursion into the Afrin region of northern Syria last month.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the time that Ankara had a deal with Moscow, and Russian media reported Russian troops in the area had withdrawn prior to the incursion.

“Russia’s played a very clever game here by being the newfound friend of Erdogan,” said Luke Coffey, a former British defense adviser now with the Washington-based Heritage Foundation. “Then, of course, you throw Iran into this and [Syria’s] Assad and you see this sort of deadly cocktail that is present that makes it more difficult for the U.S. to act and act in a coherent and strategic manner.”

Top U.S. defense officials, like Votel, worry that with Moscow’s help, the stage is being set for more and bigger problems.

“Russia is a party to this and they have responsibilities to ensure that the tractable partners that may be in this area are under control,” he said Tuesday. 

Still, there are those who worry that as long as Trump administration officials are more focused on terrorist groups like IS and al-Qaida, and on Iran, Russia has the upper hand.

“We never saw what’s happening in Syria as a [great power] competition, but [Russian President Vladimir] Putin always did,” said Anna Borshchevskaya, a fellow specializing in Russian Middle East policy at The Washington Institute.

“We basically ceded Syria to him without even realizing it,” she said. “With dictators, you always have to show strength. Putin will push until someone pushes back.”
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The first of two storms predicted this week brought some snow to the mountains and mostly modest amounts of rain as it moved through California on Monday, but some authorities were cautious about the potential for mudslides and debris flows.

 

The storm descended through the San Francisco Bay Area in the morning and dropped snow in the Sierra Nevada, where travel was hobbled on Interstate 80 and U.S. 50.

 

The relatively narrow storm band continued southward along the coast and also brought rain to the state’s Central Valley agricultural heartland.

 

In Sacramento, a brief hail storm blanketed the Capitol grounds in white, with lawmakers heading outside to take selfies. Fire officials shared photos of cars stuck in a coating of slush, warning drivers to be careful.

 

On the south coast of Santa Barbara County, where the community of Montecito is still trying to recover from devastating debris flows that hit during a storm last month, officials issued a “pre-evacuation advisory” ahead of the storm’s anticipated arrival late Monday or overnight.

 

The advisory is the first stage in a new three-level alerting system created to eliminate the word “voluntary.”

 

In the aftermath of the disaster, officials concluded that some residents focused more on the idea that they had discretion than on the suggestion or order to evacuate.

 

The advisory means there is a possible risk to life or property and people should prepare to leave, monitor the situation and leave any time they feel threatened even if there isn’t yet an additional notification.

 

The next two levels are a “recommended evacuation warning” and a “mandatory evacuation order.”‘ The latter does not allow officials to forcibly remove people from their homes, but residents shouldn’t expect rescue or other assistance when an event begins.

 

Santa Barbara County issued the pre-evacuation advisory based on instability in the weather system that could trigger thunderstorms.

 

By early afternoon, however, the National Weather Service said it expected the system to weaken significantly by the time it reached that area.

 

Forecasting models indicated the unstable air would be pushed farther off the coast and away from land, “further reducing the already very small chances for any heavier rain rates near the burn areas,” the weather service said.

 

The chance of rain rates reaching levels that could cause significant mud and debris flows was put at less than 5 percent.

 

Snow levels were expected to fall to fairly low levels after midnight in Southern California, bringing potential difficulty for motorists traveling Interstate 5 over Tejon Pass and Interstate 15 over Cajon Pass.

 

Forecasters said the next weather system will arrive in Northern California on Wednesday and reach the south by Thursday, bringing much more precipitation.

 

 
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With Olympic prodigies having just dazzled audiences worldwide, parents in the U.S. are reconciling the thrill of the gold with their fears from recent sexual abuse scandals in elite youth sports.

Shannon Stabbert said her 6-year-old daughter wants to be a gymnast, but the Seattle mother has decided to put her in a martial-arts program instead.

 

“I have no doubt she will be quite amazing at gymnastics,” Stabbert said. “I just don’t feel like it’s a mentally, physically, emotionally healthy sport for girls.”

 

High-profile cases of sexual abuse and other predatory behavior in gymnastics, swimming and other sports have jolted many parents who believe athletics can be an important part of their child’s development. Some now feel compelled to be more cautious in monitoring their child’s contact with coaches and other adults.

 

Experts say the spotty rules and certifications for coaches and glorification of sports culture can make children who feel pressure to achieve even more vulnerable. No longer a casual pastime, sports teams can leave kids as young as 5 in the care of undertrained, undersupervised coaches.

 

Emmett Gill, a professor at the University of Texas and expert on the personal development of student-athletes, said success often means children leave their communities to compete, which can leave them at more risk.

 

“It’s clear that the coach’s responsibility, and their permanent goal, is to win, and that can sacrifice protecting vulnerable children,” Gill said. “We really have forgotten about that good, old neighborhood team. Now youth sports is a bunch of strangers on teams with the best athletes, with the purpose of winning.”

 

One national organization trying to prevent abuse of young athletes is the U.S. Center for SafeSport, a Denver-based nonprofit that formed last year.

 

It launched following the initial allegations of sexual abuse against Larry Nassar, the disgraced sports doctor for USA Gymnastics who will spend his life in prison after admitting he molested some of the nation’s top gymnasts under the guise of medical treatment.

 

The U.S. Olympic Committee developed SafeSport, but it’s now an independent organization that works with law enforcement to investigate abuse allegations for the 49 Olympic and Paralympic sports.

 

In addition to offering an online link for anonymous abuse reports, SafeSport also provides educational and training material for youth leagues nationwide. The goal is to prevent abuse altogether.

 

“We have got to get upstream and do more to educate athletes, to educate parents, to educate coaches and to educate sport administrators,” SafeSport CEO Shellie Pfohl said. “I want every parent to know what questions they should be asking when they sign their child up.”

 

Since its inception, SafeSport has received 470 reports of either emotional or physical abuse, including 165 reports this year and 222 active investigations overall. In some cases, the organization didn’t have jurisdiction over a youth league to investigate an allegation.

 

Youth leagues outside Olympic and Paralympic sports don’t have a national organization to investigate reports of physical abuse, harassment, hazing and other issues. Many of those leagues have spent years trying to mute overreaching parents through codes of conduct but now have to walk the line between input and child safety.

 

“There’s a balance between appropriate parental involvement and engagement, meaning are there overzealous parents who may upset the team dynamic or be inappropriate in terms of their treatment of the coach or athletes, and balancing that with parental due diligence,” Pfohl said. “We want parents to be empowered to not only ask these questions but to hold people accountable.”

 

Gill, the expert on student-athlete development, urges all sports programs to create safety guidelines that clearly indicate the protocol for adults who suspect abuse. Though teachers and doctors must report it, coaches and volunteers do not.

 

“If we’re really about youth development and character development, this is going to be in front – and the most important part – of our bylaws,” Gill said.

 

Even the regulators are not immune. The chief safety officer of USA Swimming, Susan Woessner, announced last week that she was resigning after revealing she had kissed a coach accused of sexual abuse and later assisted in the governing body’s investigation of him.

 

Sean Hutchison is under criminal investigation after Olympic swimmer Ariana Kukors said he abused her as a minor. Woessner said she wasn’t in a relationship with Hutchison.

 

USA Swimming also issued a letter to parents saying it had failed members and its system was “not flawless” and vowing to “ensure that there is never a lapse of a support system again.”

 

For many parents, they say they will look to set more boundaries and ask more questions.

 

“Sometimes you kind of wonder: Am I missing something as parent? Am I not looking? Am I not asking the right questions? Am I trusting too much?” said Lara Mae Chollette, a Seattle mother of three.

 

Chollette, who works in human resources, said she’s also wondered lately whether parents should stay for lengthy practices. If someone else is watching her kids, she finds out the ages of the other siblings who may come along. Her husband also has made a rule against taking responsibility for another child for overnight trips.

 

As a coach herself of youth soccer and basketball, Chollette said she knows the schedules, other parents and how people come and go from the sports facilities, which is helpful.

 

“It’s truly a commitment for us,” Chollette said of attending every practice, game and trip. “We see it as an educational element for our kids. There are things in sports that a teacher can’t teach. There are things in sports that life can’t teach.”

 
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Thousands of striking schoolteachers who have shut down West Virginia classrooms for days are demanding a face-to-face meeting with the governor and legislative leaders on their pay grievances, a union official said Monday.

 

Teachers rallied Monday outside the state Capitol amid pledges to continue the walkout that began Thursday, unless their complaints are heard. The state’s average teacher pay ranks among the lowest in the nation and teachers are balking at approved increases they say are too stingy.

 

The teachers, represented by the American Federation of Teachers, the West Virginia Education Association and the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association, want Gov. Jim Justice and leaders from the state Senate and House to meet with them on their complaints.

 

Until that happens, the strike by teachers in all 55 counties will continue Tuesday, said Christine Campbell, president of the AFT’s West Virginia chapter.

 

“You’ve got to come to the table. We can’t have five different conversations,” Campbell said. Until everyone get together at once, she said, “we’re not going back” to the classroom.

 

She said there have been separate talks with various leaders but not with the governor, who spoke at town-hall style meetings Monday in the cities of Wheeling, Martinsburg and Morgantown. She said union officials have spoken at times with the governor’s staff.

 

West Virginia’s governor has signed across-the-board teacher pay raises of $808 next year and $404 the following two years. But teachers say the increases aren’t enough, especially as health care costs rise.

 

On Monday, Justice talked with teachers and others at three stops in the northern area of West Virginia, where he promised to launch a task force to address education issues within a week to 10 days. He also urged the teachers to return to work Tuesday.

The governor was occasionally heckled from a crowd of more than 150 in Morgantown. There he said he doubted they could get more from their walkout than the 2 percent raise he and the Legislature had already approved for next year.

 

Justice also said bigger raises would follow if numbers next year confirm the state’s economic turnaround. Teachers should push for an increased severance tax on natural gas to permanently fix funding for the insurance program for them and other public employees, he added.

 

In other developments, State schools Superintendent Steve Paine has said a decision would be made Monday whether to add an item to the state Board of Education meeting Tuesday that would discuss possible legal action against teachers. Paine has said the work stoppage is illegal and disruptive to student learning.

 

No such agenda item had been added as of Monday afternoon.

 

The walkout was in its third day Monday. Missed class time is automatically added to the end of the school year.

 

The Public Employees Insurance Agency, a state entity that administers health care programs for public workers, including teachers, has agreed to freeze health insurance premiums and rates for the next fiscal year for state workers.

 

The House of Delegates has passed separate legislation to transfer $29 million from the state’s rainy day fund to freeze those rates and to apply 20 percent of future general fund surpluses toward a separate fund aimed at stabilizing the employees’ insurance agency. Both bills are now pending in the state Senate.

 

Teachers are worried the proposed solution is only temporary or worse, especially if the state surplus turns out to be minimal.

 
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