Month: April 2019

Зе сьогодні став – ЗеЗа, бо Зеленський Засцяв!!!

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Кандидат у президенти України Володимир Зеленський 14 квітня не прийшов на дебати зі своїм опонентом, чинним главою держави Петром Порошенком.

Порошенко близько години спілкувався з представниками ЗМІ, попередньо давши Зеленському 40-45 хвилин, на те, щоб прибути на зустріч.

Президент ще раз закликав свого опонента прийти на офіційні дебати, які мають, відповідно до закону, відбутися на «Суспільному» 19 квітня, зазначивши, що він планує там бути. Він також додав, що завтра його та Зеленського запрошено на «Свободу слова» на українському телеканалі, тому вони можуть зустрітися і там.

8 квітня Порошенко запросив свого опонента на виборах президента Володимира Зеленського, а також глядачів і журналістів на дебати на НСК «Олімпійський» – 14 квітня. У відповідь Зеленський заявив, що зустріч на стадіоні має відбутися 19 квітня.

Голова НСТУ Зураб Аласанія заявляв, що офіційні, передбачені відповідною статтею закону про вибори президента дебати не можуть пройти на національному спортивному комплексі «Олімпійський» увечері 19 квітня.

За офіційними результатами першого туру виборів президента України, за Володимира Зеленського проголосували 30,24% виборців, за чинного главу держави Петра Порошенка – 15,95% виборців. Другий тур відбудеться 21 квітня.
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Правда України

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Ukrainian President Arrives for Debate In Kyiv, Challenger Doesn’t

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With reporting by Christopher Miller in Kyiv, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, AP, AFP, and Reuters.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko arrived at Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv for a presidential election debate even though his challenger, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said he will only agree to spar with Poroshenko at the stadium five days later.

Poroshenko is to face Zelenskiy in Ukraine’s presidential runoff on April 21. Zelenskiy won the first round earlier this month by a large margin, and most, if not all, opinion polls put him well out in front of the incumbent ahead of the final vote. 

Both candidates have agreed to hold a debate, but disagreed on the date.

Zelenskiy insists the debate take place on April 19 while Poroshenko wants it held on April 14.

Poroshenko, accompanied by his wife and children, walked inside a glass-encased room sandwiched between the stadium and the adjacent hotel where dozens of journalists were waiting. He took to the stage, with the moderator off to the side. They welcomed Zelenskiy as well but noted his absence.

“It was not me who proposed the site of the event, it was a certain man,” Poroshenko told the audience, standing next to an empty lectern bearing Zelenskiy’s name.

He then addressed Zelenskiy, saying, “I know you’re watching,” and added, ironically, that Zelenskiy must be having a rest after his trip to Paris where he met French President Emmanuel Macron.

Poroshenko also called on Zelenskiy to show up at the stadium, saying that otherwise he would invite him to a televised debate every day.

Asked by a reporter if he would cooperate with Zelenskiy if the latter won the presidency, Poroshenko replied, “If, God forbid, he were to be elected, that would still be the choice of the Ukrainian people and I would respect that choice.”

The stadium has confirmed it also received a request to hold a debate on April 19, leaving open the possibility that Zelenskiy will show up on his preferred date and speak to supporters alone.

There also weren’t any spectators in the stadium, though a large crowd of about 1,000 people stood outside to listen to a broadcast of Poroshenko’s statements and his answers to journalists’ questions. 

The campaign has been marked by theatrics on both sides, including public moves by both candidates to be tested for drugs and alcohol.

According to a statement on April 13 on the Ukrainian presidential website, press will be admitted to Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv on April 14 starting at 1 p.m. local time (1000 GMT/UTC), 15 minutes before what it says is the start of the scheduled debate. Most likely, if Zelenskiy doesn’t show up, the event will turn into a Poroshenko rally.

On April 12, Poroshenko traveled to Berlin and Paris to seek international support ahead of the April 21 runoff.

Zelenskiy traveled only to Paris, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron, who separately met with Poroshenko as well.

In Berlin, Poroshenko met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who praised the “very close relations” her country has built with Ukraine in recent years.

At a joint news conference, Merkel deflected a question about the impression that she favors Poroshenko in the election. She said that she was in “permanent contact” with the incumbent.

Her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said a meeting with Zelenskiy “is not planned at present.”

Germany, France, and Ukraine are part of the so-called Normandy Format of countries seeking a resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists are fighting against government forces.

Russia is the fourth country in the format, which has not held talks in two years.

Poroshenko said he would be prepared to hold a summit “immediately after the election.”

He later met Macron in Paris.

Macron first hosted Zelenskiy, who told journalists that his meeting with the French president was held in a “very nice, warm atmosphere.”

Zelenskiy won the first round by a wide margin over Poroshenko, but he did not receive enough support to avoid the runoff.

An independent poll released on April 11 suggests that Zelenskiy enjoys a commanding lead ahead of next week’s runoff.

The Sociological Group “Rating” said its polling early this month points to 51 percent popular support for sitcom star Zelenskiy, who appeared on the political scene late last year, versus 21 percent for Poroshenko.

The race was even more lopsided in Zelenskiy’s favor among respondents who intend to vote in the second round of the election — 61 percent to 24 percent.
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Finland Goes to Polls as Leftists Tipped for Next Government

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Finns voted on Sunday in a general election in which widespread public dissatisfaction with recent spending cuts looked likely to propel the opposition Social Democratic Party back to government for the first time in 16 years.

The left-wing party leads Finland’s two main opinion polls with about 19 percent of the vote, having campaigned against the austerity policies of Center Party Prime Minister Juha Sipila and his Finance Minister Petteri Orpo — leader of the conservative National Coalition Party.

But the far-right Finns Party, led by hardline MEP Jussi Halla-aho, has seen a surge in support in recent months during an anti-immigration dominated campaign, urging people to “Vote for some borders.”

Polls show the Finns Party ending up in second or third place, meaning it could hold significant influence in the talks to form the next government, which in Finland is typically a coalition of three or four parties.

The current center-right government, elected in 2015, promised to rebalance the nation’s economy after a prolonged slump with a program of deep spending reductions.

However, cuts to Finland’s prized education system, and a tightening of unemployment benefit criteria, provoked loud and widespread public opposition.

Casting her vote shortly after polling stations opened at 9:00 am (0600 GMT), a Helsinki resident who gave her name as Jenny said that she had only settled on who to vote for at the last minute.

“There have been a lot of cuts and some, like education, in areas they promised they wouldn’t cut. Of course, the parties from the last government are going to suffer because of that now,” she told AFP.

Another voter, Katja Katajamaki, told AFP she felt the government’s austerity had gone “too far in some ways”.

“I don’t think that you just fix the situation with spending cuts,” she said.

Petteri Orpo, leader of the conservative National Coalition Party and co-architect of the government’s savings program, has denounced the Social Democratic Party’s anti-austerity plans as “irresponsible”.

However, in a tacit acknowledgement that the public mood has turned against further belt-tightening, Orpo has insisted the economy is now strong enough to allow for some more generous public spending.

A record 1.5 million Finns, over a third of the electorate, had already cast their ballots during a week of advance voting earlier this month.

Populist surge

Opinion polls suggest the Social Democrats’ lead has narrowed in recent weeks to as little as two points, ahead of the National Coalition and Finns Party which are battling it out for second place.

Some have blamed the shrinking lead on the inability of party leader Antti Rinne, a 56-year-old former trade union boss, to attract large numbers of new, younger voters.

The growing Finns Party ratings, on the other hand, appear to be driven by new supporters who have not voted in the past.

The Finns Party has run a vocal campaign calling for asylum-based immigration to be reduced to almost zero, and decrying the “climate hysteria” of other parties seeking action against global warming.

At a Finns Party rally on the eve of the vote in Myyrmaki, a disadvantaged suburb of the capital, a crowd of people, young and old, clamored around party leader Jussi Halla-aho, asking for autographs and congratulating him on the campaign.

“You will be the next prime minister,” one woman assured him.

Forecasts suggest no party is likely to draw more than 20 percent of the vote, meaning the result could be historically close.

This could make the negotiations to build a government coalition particularly tricky.

The major parties have all expressed strong reservations about joining a government with the Finns Party, whose policies lurched to the right after Halla-aho became leader in 2017.

Ageing population pressure

Finland has a rapidly ageing population and declining birth rate, and the question of how to keep funding the country’s generous welfare state has been a key election battleground.

Yet the Social Democratic Party may face tough economic conditions in which to implement its anti-austerity promises: many economic forecasts suggest Finland’s GDP growth will slow in the coming years.

Immigration became a hot election topic despite Finland being western Europe’s most homogeneous country with a foreign-born population of just 6.6 percent.

In January, outrage over highly publicized reports of an alleged string of sexual assaults by immigrant men boosted support for the Finns Party’s anti-immigration agenda.

Polls close at 8:00 p.m. (1700 GMT), with all votes provisionally counted by 9:45 p.m. (1845 GMT).

 

 
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Transcript of Secretary of State Pompeo Interview by Spanish Service Senior Reporter Gesell Tobias

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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to VOA Spanish Service Senior Reporter Gesell Tobias in Asuncion, Paraguay, about issues related to Venezuela, Iran and Nicaragua.  Below is a full transcript of the interview.

QUESTION: Thank you, Secretary Pompeo, for another time, another opportunity to talk to you.

SECRETARY POMPEO: “It’s great to be with you again.”

QUESTION: Thank you. Let’s begin with one of the hottest topics, Venezuela. This is one of the topics you have been talking about for quite a long time already, and I would like to know how you can explain to the Venezuelan people who is the real president. We take into consideration that some Venezuelans still pay taxes to the government of Nicolas Maduro. If a government, a foreign government, needs to help their own citizens living in Venezuela, they need to get in contact with Maduro’s officers. How can we explain that to the Venezuelan people?

SECRETARY POMPEO: “That’s a great and important question. The Venezuelan people have spoken. The sham election that gave Maduro the pretend authority that he has — the world has recognized. There are now 54 countries in addition to the people of Venezuela who recognize that Maduro is not a legitimate leader. He still has control of elements of power, to be sure, but the people have spoken; we know what they want. Maduro and his henchmen have destroyed this nation. The Venezuelan people can see that very plainly. It’s why they didn’t want him back. They gave power to the National Assembly, now Juan Guaido, in a way that will ultimately deliver true democracy and prosperity back to Venezuela. You know the history.

This is a rich nation, a wealthy nation, a nation of people who are industrious and are prepared to work very, very hard. What they need is a leader who is prepared to help them, not be corrupt, not turn over power to the Cubans, and demand interventions to save them by the Russians. The new leadership will do that, and the United States stands ready to support not only the Venezuelan people but all of the countries in this region — we’re sitting here today in Paraguay — the countries of this region who recognize the same.”

QUESTION: What about if Maduro continues to hold the military power and to hold the city? Does the U.S. have a new strategy to go — does Maduro have a deadline, for example, for the U.S. Government?

SECRETARY POMPEO: “So the strategy is not just an American strategy. It’s the Venezuelan people’s strategy. The opposition groups banded together, made clear that it was unacceptable what Maduro’s regime did. They gave Juan Guaido the authority through the National Assembly to lead their nation forward. This won’t be an American solution to this problem. It’ll be the solution that the Venezuelan people choose. I remark sometimes people think Maduro is winning, and yet he’s handed over all of his power to the Cubans, to the Russians. This is weakness from Maduro. And so this weakness will ultimately lead to his departure, and democracy and prosperity will be restored in Venezuela. I am very confident of that.”

QUESTION: And I know you already answered this question many times, but I have to ask. Are all options on the table still?

SECRETARY POMPEO: “Of course. They remain on the table. We keep all options on the table because it’s very important, in that we don’t know how things will proceed. The Venezuelan people are entitled to the democracy that they have demanded, and we want to make sure that the resources of the United States of America aren’t foreclosed from being used if that turns out to be the right thing to do.”

QUESTION: Now, as you mentioned, Maduro has the support of Russia and China. Does that turn a decision against the government of Maduro more complex to take? Could this rise tensions between Washington and the Kremlin?

SECRETARY POMPEO: “I always remark I’ll hear some of the Maduro people talk about intervention in Venezuela. The Russians will say the Americans shouldn’t intervene in Venezuela. I mean, it’s almost funny to say, right? They have intervened in the most fundamental ways. The Cubans own the security apparatus. I would think if you were a Venezuelan military leader, you’d be embarrassed by that, right? The people, the people of Venezuela, want their own security. They want their own democracy. They want Venezuelans to lead their nation, not people from a small island, not people from Russia. They want their country to be led by their own people, and that’s what — that’s what Brazil and Colombia, the Lima Group, the OAS, here in Paraguay, that’s what all the leaders of the region are demanding, and it’s what the United States stands ready to support.”

QUESTION: Is there any line of communication between U.S. officials and Venezuelan militaries?

SECRETARY POMPEO: “I don’t think there’s any mistake about what America’s position is with respect to the Venezuelan military. We’ve made clear publicly that they ought not to continue to support Maduro, that this regime is over, it’s done, its day is finished, and that a new page needs to be turned, and that those who continue to support Maduro will face their own consequences, and those who make a different decision, those military leaders that make the decision to defend the Venezuelan people, will find happier days.”

QUESTION: And does the U.S. support or has given any advice to the Guaido government about giving amnesty to any Venezuelan military who turns their back on Venezuelan government?

SECRETARY POMPEO: “Sure, we’re talked with Juan Guaido about what a first day would look like, right? Maduro will leave, and we want to make sure that that next day that the world stands ready to support Venezuela. That will involve making decisions about how to address the transgressions of senior military leaders, those that inflicted violence, those who did harm to Venezuelans — well, they’ll be held accountable. Those who made a different decision, a better decision, a decision on behalf of the democratic institutions of Venezuela, will be treated very differently.”

QUESTION: With many countries in Latin America turning to the right and with the economical crisis in Venezuela at its worst, do you think the Iranian Government still have some presence in Latin America? And if it does, is it still a threat for the U.S. national security?

SECRETARY POMPEO: “So the question is does the — do the Iranians? Yes. There’s no doubt Iranian money remains in South America being used for malign purposes, supporting Hezbollah, supporting transnational criminal organizations, supporting efforts at terrorism throughout the region. The United States is working with our partners in this area to take down those networks, to take down that risk. IRGC — you saw the other day there was an air flight straight, straight from Tehran to Caracas. This is Iran intervening in South America. That’s not in the best interest of the South American people, and the United States stands ready. We see Iran for what it is, the world’s largest state sponsor of terror. That’s a global threat, and we’re prepared to push back against it not only in the Middle East but in South America and wherever we find that threat present.”

QUESTION: Moving forward, Secretary Pompeo, yesterday you mentioned in a speech from Santiago, in Santiago, and you used Chile as an example, as a model for economical growth. But Chile also have many trades with China — $43 billion, if I’m not mistaken — and the U.S. comes as a second partner. Can any country from Latin America have economical and diplomatic relationship with China while at the same time they do with the United States?

SECRETARY POMPEO: “Well, of course. What we have said about China is very clear. The United States has big economic relationships with China. We want China to thrive and prosper. Here’s what we don’t want, especially in South America. We don’t want China to show up with bags full of money and bribe officials. We don’t want China to show up and put Huawei or Chinese technology into the infrastructure of these countries so that the citizens, the citizens of Chile or the citizens of Paraguay, have their information, their private information, stolen by the Chinese Government. We don’t want corrupt activity.

China should compete. We have democracies here in South America now. This is a glorious thing where there’s free markets and capitalism and opportunity. That value set of transparency, of the rule of law, that’s the one the South American people are demanding. It is not what China brings. If China shows up to compete on a commercial basis, that seems perfectly reasonable. When they show up with malign intent, to give money with strings attached, which will destroy the sovereignty of a South American nation, that’s not good for the people in that country, and the United States is prepared to help those countries recognize that threat and to offer alternatives to it.”

QUESTION: Changing the topic a little bit, the U.S. cut the funds for three countries in Central America — Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Is this a final decision, or can they make things better and gain the confidence of the U.S. Government and also the money?

SECRETARY POMPEO: “Yeah, of course, they can. The United States is the most generous nation when it comes to both humanitarian and foreign assistance of any country in the world. The Trump administration has maintained that. What we want to make sure is where we provide those resources, those dollars from the American taxpayer, that they are effective, that we get outcomes not only what we want but that those countries want as well. So President Trump’s decision, we saw that those countries weren’t doing what needed to be done to prevent this enormous migration challenge, this crisis that the United States has at its southern border. As those countries work to develop systems to prevent their citizens from taking this incredibly dangerous journey from Guatemala, from Honduras, or from El Salvador through Mexico into the United States, when those countries begin to take actions that stop that, we’ll reconsider that decision.”

QUESTION: And my last question, Secretary. This week Nicaragua will remember a year since the political and social crisis began. More than 350 people died in this crisis. The negotiations are very slow right now, and their oppression continues with people who has demonstrated publicly. Is the United States taking new steps against the government of the president in Nicaragua?

SECRETARY POMPEO: “That’s a great question. Here I am in Paraguay. I was in Chile. I’ll be in Peru, I’ll be in Colombia, before I head back to the United States. You watch most of the countries in South and Central America turning in the direction of freedom, in the direction of liberty, in the direction of democracy; and yet, you have Venezuela and Nicaragua stuck in history, stuck with dictatorships, stuck with bad leadership, kleptocrats, stealing from their own people.

Our efforts in Nicaragua are very similar to those in Venezuela. We want the Nicaraguan people to have all the great things that they are entitled to have and that they so desperately want. And Mr. Ortega and his wife both need to change their ways in order to give Nicaragua that very opportunity.”

QUESTION: Secretary Pompeo, thank you very much for your time with Voice of America’s Spanish Service.

SECRETARY POMPEO: “Thank you very much. Thank you, sir. It’s great to see you again. ”

QUESTION: Thank you

 

 

 
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UN Urges Release of Refugees, Migrants in Libyan Detention Centers

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U.N. aid agencies are urgently appealing for the release of thousands of refugees and migrants held in Libyan detention centers near combat zones, where their lives are in peril. 

Security in the Libyan capital Tripoli is worsening as fighting increasingly moves from the suburbs into the city center.  The World Health Organization reports the number of war dead now has risen to 121, with nearly 600 wounded.  

WHO condemns repeated attacks on health care workers. It notes eight ambulances have been struck since a renegade general began his march on Tripoli 11 days ago.  

The U.N. refugee agency reports more than 1,500 refugees are being held in official government detention centers in Tripoli.  Spokesman Babar Baloch tells VOA there is great concern for the safety of the refugees and the many migrants who are being detained in areas where active conflict is ongoing.

“We have spoken to refugees in detention centers who tell us that they can hear the clashes, and many are really scared.  So…we are asking, advocating for release of all refugees and migrants from detention,” he said.

The U.N. human rights office is calling for guarantees of protection of extremely vulnerable civilians, including refugees and migrants, many of whom are being held in horrific conditions.  Human Rights spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani told VOA the inmates are under significant peril as many may be caught in the cross fire.

“Especially when armed groups involved in the conflict exercise influence or control over the detention facilities, these ad hoc detention facilities for migrants.  Based on previous experience in Libya, we are also concerned that migrants may be used as human shields or forcefully recruited to fight as well,” she said. 

The U.N. agencies are urging the Libyan authorities not to abandon the refugees and migrants in the prisons and detention centers.  They are calling on all parties in this conflict to guarantee that detainees are treated humanely, in line with international law.
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Ivanka Trump In Africa For Women’s Economic Summit

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Ivanka Trump arrived in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, Sunday for a summit on African women’s economic inclusion and empowerment.

In addition to attending the summit, the daughter of the U.S. president, who is also an advisor to her father, will meet with female workers in the coffee industry, and tour a female-run textile facility.

President Donald Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum in February, establishing the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative. W-GDP says it hopes to “reach 50 million women by 2025, through the work of the the United States Government and its partners.”

It was not immediately clear if the controversy that surrounds the U.S. president will follow his daughter to Africa. The president has not been kind in his remarks about Africa and its migrants.

“I don’t think people will have a good feeling” said Ethiopian journalist Sisay Woubshet, about the president’s daughter visit to the Continent.

Marakle Tesfaye, an activist, said, however, “I think she’s coming genuinely to empower women and it’s good that she’s coming because she will push forward our agenda.”

Trump is also scheduled to an make an appearance at a World Bank policy summit.
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Case Against Julian Assange Raises Press Freedom Questions

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When U.S. prosecutors unsealed a March 2018 indictment accusing Julian Assange of conspiring to illegally access a Department of Defense computer system, they sparked more than just an examination of the case and the accused.

The WikiLeaks co-founder is charged with participating in a “password hacking agreement” with Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst who served seven years in prison for leaking one of the largest troves of classified documents in U.S. history. Newspaper editorial pages, political pundits and cable news analysts are debating whether the case against Assange imperils freedom of the press, whether he’s a member of the press, and whether it threatens First Amendment protections.

Assange is not a journalist

Mary McCord, former principal deputy assistant attorney general for national security, says there should be no debate about whether Assange is a journalist or whether this case is about journalism and free speech.

“One only needs to examine what WikiLeaks has distributed to come to the conclusion that Assange is not a journalist,” she told Voice of America.

“WikiLeaks is a conduit to distribute stolen information, both classified and unclassified,” she said, “without context, without any analysis or explanation. Journalists add value, analyze the facts and connect the information they disseminate. WikiLeaks is just a conduit, just a platform for illegally obtained materials,” she said.

“Even if he was a journalist, there’s no free pass for those who violate the law. This is no different from physically breaking into a building and breaking into a safe — it’s the cyber equivalent,” said McCord, who is currently a visiting professor at Georgetown Law School.

Yes, he’s a journalist

Louis Clark couldn’t disagree more. 

“He’s a journalist and WikiLeaks is a journalism organization,” he said.

Clark is CEO and executive director of the Government Accountability Project, and has negotiated transparency and accountability issues with American and international government and corporate officials for nearly four decades.

He steadfastly categorizes Assange as a member of the media.

“We’re talking about the press, press freedoms and essentially First Amendment issues. It is particularly troublesome when our government decides to prosecute essentially a member of the media,” he said.

Clark is also concerned about a rush to judgment.

“I definitely think there needs to be a presumption of innocence at this point given the track record of the Department of Justice in the areas of espionage and security,” he said.

​Chilling effect

Harvard Law Professor Yochai Benkler has written about the legal implications of prosecuting WikiLeaks. He told The Guardian he believes the indictment contained “dangerous elements that pose a significant risk to national security reporting. Sections of the indictment are vastly overbroad and could have a significant chilling effect.”

Gabe Rottman is the technology and press freedom project director for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the organization that went to court to have the Assange indictment unsealed. He and his colleagues are focused on the impact the case has on transparency and accountability in light of the Supreme Court’s recognition of broad First Amendment protection for the publication of information of public concern and how that standard must be applied to the case against Assange.

Rottman believes the emphasis has to remain on the fact that publishing of even damaging government information is legally protected even if the material is acquired unlawfully as long as the publishing party didn’t break the law to get it.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of Virginia declined to comment on the case.
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Australian Sports Star Faces Dismissal Over Homophobic Slurs

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One of Australia’s most high-profile athletes, the rugby union star Israel Folau, is facing dismissal following online comments that homosexuals and other “sinners” would go to hell.

Rugby authorities say in the “absence of compelling mitigating factors” they intend to terminate the contract of 30-year-old Folau, who has played 73 international matches for his country.

Israel Folau is one of Australian rugby’s most highly paid and talented players, but he is also its most controversial. The star fullback is facing dismissal following an Instagram post in which he said “hell awaits” gay people, as well as drunks, fornicators and atheists.

He also sent a tweet criticizing the Tasmanian parliament after it became the first Australian state to make it legally optional to list gender on birth certificates.

“The devil has blinded so many people in this world,” Folau, a devout Christian, wrote online.

Time’s up?

Former Australian rugby international and author, Peter Fitzsimmons, says Folau’s time is up.

“When you put that kind of stuff in the public domain, when you’ve got teen suicide rates of troubled teens troubled about their sexuality, there is a case to answer to say you can do that, but not be a part of rugby, we’re not going to put you in a jersey, we’re not going to put you on the posters, we’re not going to pay you a million or two dollars when you are trashing everything we stand for. From the moment he put that up, it was the end,” Fitzsimmons said.

Folau escaped sanction following homophobic comments he made a year ago. But it seems that Australian rugby bosses have had enough and are expected to rip up his contract.

Slippery slope for free speech?

Born in Sydney to Tongan parents, Folau has previously said his faith was “far more important” than his career.

Influential Australian broadcaster Alan Jones, a former coach of the Australian international rugby union team, said if Folau’s contract was terminated it would be a “slippery slope” for free speech.

But rugby bosses said in a statement that while the outspoken player was entitled to his religious beliefs, the way in which he has expressed them “was inconsistent with the values of rugby.”
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One Dead, One Critical in Australia Nightclub Shooting

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A drive-by shooting outside a popular Melbourne nightclub in Australia early Sunday left one man dead, another critically wounded and two others injured, police said.

Police said shots were fired from a car into a crowd standing outside the two-story Love Machine club, hitting three security guards at the nightclub and one patron. 

Police appealed for anyone with video footage or information to come forward. They have made no arrests so far. 

 

Four people were taken to a hospital, two of whom in critical condition. Police later confirmed that one man, 37 years old, had died. 

They are investigating whether a black Porsche SUV seen leaving the area is related to the shooting. The car was later found burned out.

“These things are still incredibly rare and there’s nothing to indicate at the moment that this is part of a broader agenda,” said Andrew Stamper of Victoria state police.  

Love Machine host Steve Yousif posted on Facebook: “Overwhelmed with all your calls and texts, nothing but love for you all.”

 

“What happened last night was uncalled for and devastating. For some of you it was a night out, the rest of the Love Machine family lost a beautiful soul today,” he wrote.

 

Gun violence is rare in Australia, which strengthened its gun laws following the murders of 35 people by a lone gunman in 1996 in Tasmania. In New Zealand, an Australian white supremacist has been charged with murder over the March 15 mosque attacks that left 50 dead, leading that nation to ban a range of semi-automatic weapons. 
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Finnish Voters May Pave Way for First Leftist Premier in 20 years

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Finland may usher in its first leftist prime minister in two decades in parliamentary elections Sunday, as voters worry over the future of the country’s generous welfare system as the costs of caring for a rapidly aging population rise.

But if opinions polls are correct, the left-leaning Social Democrats’ ability to govern may be hampered by a surge in support for the Finns Party, a nationalist group riding a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment sweeping the Nordics.

A survey commissioned by public broadcaster Yle showed the Social Democrats could win the top spot with 19 percent of the vote, giving their leader, Antti Rinne, the first shot at forming a government.

The Finns are running close second with 16.3 percent support, after scoring rapid gains since the start of this year when a series of cases of sexual abuse of minors by foreign men emerged.

European Parliament elections

With the European Parliament election less than two months away, the Finnish ballot is being watched in Brussels. A strong result for the Finns Party could bolster a nationalist bloc threatening to shake up EU policy-making.

Underscoring the growing confidence among far-right politicians in Europe, anti-immigration parties have announced plans to join forces following the May 26 EU election, in a move that could give them major say in how the continent is run.

Just as the Social Democrats are benefiting from a growing sense of insecurity among Finland’s older and poorer voters, the Finns argue that the nation has gone too far in addressing issues such as climate change and migration at its own expense.

“We are going through a cultural shock in Finland. Part of the population is in a kind of state of shock amid all the change going on, and as a result they take the Finns Party’s hand,” said Karina Jutila, chief researcher at think tank e2.

Polling stations open at 9 a.m. (0600 GMT) Sunday and close at 8 p.m. Public broadcaster Yle will give its first estimate of the results, based on advance votes which account for 36.1 percent of the electorate this year, shortly after voting ends.

The success of Finland’s Social Democrats would mark a departure not only for Finland but also elsewhere in the region, where leftist parties have struggled in recent years, yielding some of their hold on the working class vote as anti-immigration nationalists of various stripes emerge.

How neighbors are faring

In neighboring Sweden, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has precariously clung to power after his Social Democrats suffered their worst parliamentary election result in more than a century last autumn. To do so, he had to enlist the support of two liberal parties with a pledge to enact a string of far-reaching right-wing policies.

In Denmark, which holds an election in June, the Social Democrats are gaining ground, in part after espousing the populists’ anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Rinne calls his party’s immigration stance “the middle way,” favoring work-related immigration to compensate for Finland’s aging population, but he also favors allowing some refugees in on humanitarian grounds, as the country has done thus far.

The 56-year-old former union leader is also promising to raise taxes to fund welfare and combat economic inequality, which he says has risen under the ruling center-right coalition of prime minister Juha Sipila.

His talk of raising taxes is unlikely to drive off his supporters, many of whom value highly Finland’s huge welfare state.

But he will likely struggle to form a functioning coalition, if the Finns score high and with Finance Minister Petteri Orpo’s National Coalition, likely to win third place Sunday, calling Rinne’s economic policies “irresponsible.”
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Куплю земельный участок в Киевской области

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Куплю земельный участок в Киевской области. Рассмотрю разные варианты.

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Indonesia’s Jokowi Favored for Re-election

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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, facing Gen. Prabowo Subianto in a rematch, is widely expected to win a second term when Indonesians go to the polls Wednesday.

Prabowo has pinned his hopes on emphasizing nationalism, appealing to Muslim hard-liners, and promising to double economic growth. 

 

But analysts said Jokowi’s strong economic performance, particularly delivering on infrastructure projects and a national health plan, coupled with a predictable opposition campaign, had given his Independent Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) a substantial edge. 

 

And that’s reflected in opinion polls. 

Quieter campaign

 

Campaigning has gone peacefully amid tight security. Firebrand rallies by ultra-orthodox Muslim clerics have paled when compared with those of past elections, amid a realization in Prabowo’s camp that such political tactics were unlikely to earn him a victory. 

 

Dirk Tomsa, a senior political lecturer and Indonesian specialist from La Trobe University in Australia, said Jokowi had established his Islamic credentials by choosing Ma’ruf Amin, a conservative favorite among fundamentalist Muslims, as his running mate.  

That blunted Prabowo’s attacks, and in a nationally televised debate, he even appeared to back down, saying those who accused him of wanting a caliphate, or Islamic state, were wrong, while noting that his own mother was a Christian. 

 

To counter Jokowi on the economic front, Prabowo and his running mate, Sandiaga Uno, promised to double economic growth to 10 percent a year by cutting corporate taxes and opening the Indonesian economy to non-traditional markets. 

 

But analysts said that failed to impress an electorate acutely aware of allegations that Prabowo, the son-in-law of former President Suharto, was allegedly involved in the disappearance of pro-democracy activists in 1997 and 1998, charges Prabowo denies.  

Tomsa said Jokowi was now the overwhelming favorite to win the election, aided by a late and unexpected swing back to the president in opinion polls. 

 

“Well, up until now, it looks as if there hasn’t been much change in the polls for the last few months, with the exception of the Kompas poll. It looks as if Jokowi still seems to be quite steady in his lead,” he said. 

 

A March survey by the Indonesian newspaper Kompas found Prabowo’s electability had increased by 4.7 percentage points over the previous six months, to 37.4 percent. Jokowi suffered a decline of 3.4 percentage points, to 49.2 percent. 

 

Jokowi’s camp had expected his almost unassailable lead to drop during the later stages of the campaign, a repeat of the election in 2013, when Jokowi’s numbers in the opinion polls fell but he defeated Prabowo easily at the ballot box. 

Bounced back

 

But three further surveys conducted in April by the Indopolling Network showed Jokowi had recaptured the lost ground and is expected to win between 54 percent and 57 percent of the vote, while Prabowo may only muster between 32 percent and 37 percent. 

 

“Prabowo has apparently not found the right edge to really weaken him [Jokowi],” Tomsa said. “It looks as if Prabowo has been ramping up the pressure in the last couple of weeks or so with various allegations, but it’s only a couple of more days to go and I can’t really see how Prabowo can still turn this around.” 

 

Prabowo’s allegations against Jokowi include a lack of impartiality by poll organizers and that voter fraud might undermine the final result.  Jakarta-based risk security firm Concord Consulting has said there is no evidence to support such claims.  

Prabowo made similar claims following his defeat in 2013 and launched legal action with the General Election Commission and the Constitutional Court, which failed. 

 

Of Indonesia’s population of 264 million, about 190 million are eligible to vote. It remains the world’s most populous Muslim country, ahead of Pakistan and India. But in this election it is living standards and pocketbook issues that have grabbed voter attention. 

 

David Welsh, country director for the Solidarity Center in Indonesia, said most trade unions were focusing on what type of commitment Jokowi and Prabowo had to offer in an economy dominated by multinational companies but found wanting in the application of domestic labor laws. 

 

“Trade unions in Indonesia remain either virtually, or in fact, the largest segment of civil society in the country, with crucial issues at play,” he said. 

 

“In terms of predicting a winner, certainly the majority of trade unions are supporting the current incumbent, but it’s been a contentious election. We’d like to see more focus on bona fide trade union issues, human rights issues, [and] labor rights issues,” Welsh said. 
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London Police Open Fire as Vehicle Rams Ukraine Embassy Car

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Police in London opened fire outside the Ukrainian embassy on Saturday after a man rammed his vehicle into the ambassador’s empty parked car at least twice before being arrested, officials said.

No one was hurt in the incident, which happened early on Saturday outside the embassy building in the affluent Holland Park area of west London, and it was not being treated as terrorism, police said in a statement.

The embassy said in a statement that the ambassador’s empty official vehicle had been deliberately rammed as it sat parked in front of the building.

“The police were called immediately, and the suspect’s vehicle was blocked up,” it added.

“Nevertheless, despite the police actions, the attacker hit the ambassador’s car again. In response, the police were forced to open fire on the perpetrator’s vehicle.”

TV footage later showed a silver car slewed across the cordoned-off road with its driver’s door open and window shattered.

Police said they had been called at around 9.50 am on Saturday to reports of a car having hit several vehicles in the road.

“On arrival at the scene, a vehicle was driven at police officers,” they added in a statement. “Police firearms and Taser were discharged, the vehicle was stopped and a man, aged in his 40s, was arrested.”

The man was taken to hospital as a precaution but was not injured, they added.

 
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US House Panel Chairman Gives IRS April 23 Deadline on Trump Taxes

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The Democratic chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee on Saturday set a new April 23 deadline for the Internal Revenue Service to comply with his request for six years of President Donald Trump’s personal and business tax returns.

In a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal said the tax agency’s failure to comply with the new deadline would be interpreted as a denial of his request. The Trump administration has already failed to comply with an earlier April 10 deadline set by Neal.

Democrats want to review Trump’s taxes as part of their investigations into possible conflicts of interest posted by his continued ownership of extensive business interests, even as he serves the public as president.

Trump broke with a decades-old precedent by refusing to release his returns as a presidential candidate in 2016 and continues to do so as president, saying his tax returns are under IRS audit.

Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, is the only House lawmaker authorized to request taxpayer data from the Treasury, which oversees the IRS. The law says simply that the Treasury “shall furnish” such data when requested. But the White House has said the documents will never be handed over to Democrats.

 
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160 African Migrants Repatriated From Conflict-Ridden Libya

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The International Organization for Migration has repatriated 160 African migrants who have been living under dire conditions in Libya amid the chaos reigning in the country.

The U.N. migration agency says it returned the stranded migrants to their home countries despite what it calls the extraordinarily difficult conditions on the ground.  The situation in and around Tripoli has become increasingly violent and unstable since a renegade general began an offensive April 4 to capture the Libyan capital.

Even with thie turbulent backdrop, IOM organized a charter flight this week to Mali carrying 160 migrants. Most will remain in Mali, but 61 migrants from Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso will continue onward to their homes of origin.

IOM spokesman, Joel Millman, said his agency has had to work around the difficulties posed by increased airport security this week.  Security has been tightened since the airport was hit by an airstrike.  Millman said IOM’s chartered plane has had to adjust to the new limited hours of operation.

“Amid the ongoing clashes, IOM staff in Libya coordinated very closely with Libyan authorities to ensure the safe arrival of all migrants coming from different detention centers and different urban areas in Tripoli to Mitiga airport.  The airport was briefly affected by the armed conflict this week, but later resumed activity – as I said, only between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. every day,” Millman said.

So far this year, the IOM has repatriated 3,175 migrants from detention centers and urban centers.  Millman told VOA he does not know how the conflict will affect future returns.

“Of course, any insecurity that arises from violence or weather or anything else will upset that well-oiled machine.  But I guess, to reiterate what I said at the beginning, the fact that we did it now in this climate indicates we intend to do it whenever we can,” he said.  

Millman said the IOM helps the migrants reintegrate in their communities upon their return.  Upon arrival, he said they receive immediate assistance and medical screenings.  He noted that IOM tailors its reintegration support to the specific needs of returnees.  He added that the aim is to help them earn a living and become economically self-sufficient within their communities of origin.  

 

 
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Politics Aside, Algeria Faces Huge Economic Challenge

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The tens of thousands of protesters who have taken to the streets for an eighth straight week aren’t the only crisis roiling Algeria. Helping to drive the unrest in Africa’s largest nation—and posing a serious challenge to any future government— is the economy.

Two months of mass demonstrations continued Friday, as Algerians pushed for a broader overhaul of the country’s system, despite elections set for July 4 by newly appointed interim leader, Abdelkader Bensalah. The protests have been largely peaceful, although there were some clashes reported this time along with scores of arrests, and police used water cannons and teargas in the capital Algiers.

“Bensalah, clear off, FLN clear off,” protesters chanted, referring to Algeria’s ruling party.

But many are also calling for a fundamental reboot of the country’s ailing, energy dependent economy that has failed to diversify and deliver jobs to its majority-young population. The unrest, in turn, is adding to Algeria’s economic headaches, analysts say.

“The economy is not in good shape,” said Paris-based Algerian analyst Alexandre Kateb. “The protests are the last straw, but the economic problems go deeper than that.”

Critics have long accused a power elite surrounding former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika of mismanagement and corruption, arguing a large chunk of the wealth is pocketed by a privileged minority. But for years, Algeria’s oil- and gas-rich economy served as a salve for a restless nation, helping to bankroll housing and other social subsidies.

It may be one explanation, some say—along with the country’s devastating 1990s civil war—why the broader Arab Spring uprising of 2011 failed to take off in Algeria.

Falling oil prices

But plummeting oil prices several years later helped to thin wallets and sharpen grassroots anger. Today, more than one-quarter of people under 25 are unemployed, and many Algerians work in the country’s vast informal sector. Successive governments have failed to privatize and capitalize on promising sectors for development such as tourism and agro-industry.

Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund downgraded the country’s 2019 forecasted growth to 2.3 percent, from a previous 2.7 percent last October.

“The main motivation is still political,” analyst Kateb said of the protests. “But if the economic situation was better, probably the momentum would be less important. We would not have seen the magnitude of the protests that we see now.”

In the immediate future, Algeria’s economic woes may take a back seat. Besides the popular uprising at home, the current rulers must also keep an eye on regional hotspots, including neighboring Libya.

“From an interim government perspective, it’s just about maintaining stability and avoiding any real crisis beyond where we are at the moment,” said Adel Hamaizia, a North Africa expert for London-based think-tank Chatham House.

“But whoever comes in really has to finally lead an ambitious economic program,” he added, “which helps Algeria realize its potential, develop an independent private sector, diversify, and attract investment on the correct terms.”

Those challenges are daunting. The ruling National Liberation Front or FLN party, in power since independence, has had little incentive to change a status quo that benefited them, many analysts say. Algeria’s business climate has been a turn-off for foreign investors. A case in point: a rule stipulating 51 percent of company shares must be owned by in-country nationals or businesses.

Although energy production continued to chug on during Algeria’s so called “black decade” of violence in the 1990s, further growth stalled. When he came to power in 1999, Bouteflika was credited for ushering in peace. At the beginning, analyst Kateb said, the former president also tried to reform the economy.

“I think he really wanted to give more freedom to entrepreneurs, he really tried to privatize the system,” Kateb said, adding subsequent financial scandals and the global financial crisis ended hope for change.

Inertia and bureaucracy

Kateb, who later served as an economic advisor to ex-prime minister Abelmalek Sellal, said subsequent reform efforts also stalled.

“If you don’t change the whole functioning of the system,” he said, “whatever you do at the margins will be completely absorbed by this inertia and black hole of government bureaucracy.”

If July elections go through as planned, Algerians will be strongly pushing for economic deliverables.

“I’m sure the many of the slogans are going to be centered around anti-corruption, inclusive growth, economic justice, diversification, and job creation,” said Hamaizia of Chatham House.

For the moment, there appear few clear candidates to champion such causes. Both the country’s ruling FLN and traditional opposition parties are largely discredited in the eyes of many Algerians.

Earlier this week, however, the interior ministry announced licenses for 10 new political parties, Reuters news agency reported, citing Algeria’s Ennahar TV channel.

Analyst Kateb believes the country needs a technocratic government to steer through needed changes, at least over the next few years.

He believes there is no lack of talent to staff it, both in Algeria and abroad, where thousands of young professionals have flocked in recent decades for lack of opportunities at home.

“Now they’re not really considered,” Kateb said, “and this has to change.”

 
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