U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper urged world security leaders Saturday to “wake up” to China’s efforts to influence world affairs, maintaining the world’s most populous country plans to achieve its goals by any means necessary.

“It is essential that we as an international community wake up to the challenges presented by Chinese manipulation of the long-standing international rules-based order,” Esper declared at an international security conference in Munich.

Esper emphasized the U.S. does not seek conflict with China but voiced concern over what he said were China’s goals to modernize its military by 2035 and dominate Asia militarily by 2049.

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‘The West is Winning,’ Pompeo Tells China, Russia

The US secretary of state responded to criticism of US policies 

He accused China of increasingly involving itself in affairs in Europe and elsewhere outside its borders with the intent of “seeking advantage by any means and at any cost.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said later that Esper and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who accused China of using a “nefarious strategy” to win support for its next-generation wireless network equipment maker Huawei Technologies, of telling “lies.”

Pompeo said, “We can’t let information go across networks that we don’t have confidence won’t be hijacked by the Chinese Communist Party. It’s just unacceptable.”
Wang said “The U.S. does not want to see the rapid development and rejuvenation of China” and would especially dislike “the success of a socialist country.” He also said it is “most important” for the two superpowers to begin talks to “find a way for two major countries with different social systems to live in harmony and interact in peace.”

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the Munich Security Conference that China presents both challenges and opportunities for the West. He said the U.S. and Europe must agree on a unified approach to address China’s increasing global influence.

Esper sought to garner European support for competitors to Huawei after Britain decided weeks ago to use Huawai’s 5G equipment. Britain’s decision dealt a blow to U.S. efforts to persuade allies to ban Huawei from their networks, claiming China could use the equipment for spying, an accusation Huawei and Chinese officials have denied.“

We are encouraging allied and U.S. tech companies to develop alternative 5G solutions and we are working alongside them to test these technologies at our military bases as we speak.”

Esper also discussed the war in Afghanistan, saying a U.S. deal with the Taliban that could result in the withdrawal of U.S. troops is not without risk but “looks very promising.”

Esper’s remarks came one day after a senior U.S. official said a seven-day “reduction in violence” agreement had been reached with the Taliban and that it would be formally announced soon.

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From: MeNeedIt

US House Democrats’ attempt to remove President Donald Trump from office for alleged abuse of power and obstruction of Congress failed in the U.S. Senate this month, and some polls show the president is now more popular than ever before. But that hasn’t stopped House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from criticizing Trump for what she says is a “manifesto of untruths.” VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports on what happens next in the relationship between the White House and Capitol Hill.

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From: MeNeedIt

Americans want bigger, beefier vehicles if the Chicago Auto Show is any indication. Billed as the nation’s largest, the Chicago Auto Show became America’s first-of-the-year showcase for the automotive industry when the Detroit Auto Show moved to June.  As VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, this year’s Chicago event brought new offerings geared to the changing tastes of American motorists.

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From: MeNeedIt

U.S. Attorney General William Barr says U.S. President Donald Trump’s tweets about the Justice Department, its people, and its cases “make it impossible for me to do my job.”  VOA’s  Michael Brown reports, the comments come as the Justice Department is embroiled in controversy over a sentencing recommendation for a convicted Trump ally.

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From: MeNeedIt

A powerful earthquake hit off Japan’s northern coast on Thursday, but there were no reports of serious damage or injuries and no danger of a tsunami, officials said.

Japan’s meteorological agency said the quake measured a preliminary magnitude of 7 and was located far off the northeastern coast of Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido. It was centered 60 kilometers (100 miles) below the ocean’s surface and east of Etorofu island, a Russian-held island that is also claimed by Japan.

NHK public television showed video monitors and shelves shaking at its office in Kushiro on the southeastern coast of Hokkaido.

Hokkaido prefectural police said they had received no reports of damage or injuries. Officials said the quake was unlikely to cause any because of its depth and distance from the coast.

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From: MeNeedIt

Pro-Trump groups raised more than $60 million in January and have more than $200 million on hand for this year’s general election, shattering fundraising records on the path toward a goal of raising $1 billion this cycle.

The Republican National Committee and President Donald Trump’s campaign have raised more than $525 million since the start of 2019 together with two joint-fundraising committees. The RNC and the Trump campaign provided the figures to The Associated Press. The January haul coincided with most of the Senate’s impeachment trial, which resulted in the Republican president’s acquittal earlier this month.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said, “We already have 500,000 volunteers trained and activated, and this record-breaking support is helping us grow our grassroots army even more.”

Trump’s 2020 campaign manager, Brad Parscale, said Democrats’ “shameful impeachment hoax and dumpster fire primary process” have contributed to the “record-breaking financial support” for Trump’s reelection.

“With President Trump’s accomplishments, our massive data and ground operations and our strong fundraising numbers,” Parscale said, “this campaign is going to be unstoppable in 2020.”

The pro-Trump effort said it has gained more than 1 million new digital and direct mail donors since Democrats launched their push to impeach Trump in September 2019. The investigations proved to be a fundraising boon for Trump’s campaign, even as the president was personally frustrated by the scar it will leave on his legacy.

The Trump team’s haul and cash on hand were twice that of former President Barack Obama’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee at the same point ahead of his 2012 reelection.
 

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From: MeNeedIt

 Japan’s health ministry says a woman infected with the new virus has died, becoming the country’s first confirmed fatality.

Health minister Katsunobu Kato announced Thursday that the victim is a woman in her 80s who had been treated at a hospital near Tokyo since early February after developing symptoms. Her infection was confirmed after her death.

Japan has confirmed 247 cases of the virus, including 218 from a cruise ship quarantined at the port of Yokohama, near Tokyo, amid growing fears of the spreading virus.

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From: MeNeedIt

Closing arguments at the Harvey Weinsten rape trial are set to begin Thursday, with the jury hearing first from a Chicago attorney who’s taken #MeToo movement heat for representing the disgraced Hollywood mogul and making provocative mid-trial comments about his case outside of court.
    
Donna Rotunno faces the tricky task of convincing a Manhattan jury that there are too many inconsistencies and contradictions in the testimony of six Weinstein accusers who took the witness stand to convict her client – all without her breaking a promise made in defense opening statements that jurors wouldn’t hear any “victim shaming.”
    
In a podcast interview that aired last week, Rotunno said Weinstein is “well aware of the fact that his life is on the line here” and that he “deserves to have a voice out there.”
    
Weinstein, 67, is charged with raping a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on a different woman in 2006. Other accusers testified as part of a prosecution effort to show he has used the same tactics to victimize many women over the years.
    
Weinstein, whose lawyers informed the court on Tuesday that he wouldn’t testify, has maintained any sexual encounters were consensual.
    
The jury of seven men and five woman is scheduled to hear the prosecution closings on Friday before getting instructions on the law from Judge James Burke next week and starting deliberations.
    
In often emotional testimony stretching over three weeks, Weinstein’s accusers described in lurid detail how he lured them to hotels in New York and Los Angeles on the pretense of promoting their acting careers before sexually assaulting them. The defense countered on cross-examination by confronting some with warm emails and other communications with Weinstein that continued for months or even years after the alleged attacks.
    
The jury has already heard about emails, certain to be a focus of Rotunno’s closing, in which the victim of the alleged rape wrote to Weinstein afterward to accept party invitations from him, give him new phone numbers and even express gratitude. One read: “I feel so fabulous and beautiful, thank you for everything.”
    
The lawyer is also likely to highlight the testimony of a friend and former roommate of the same accuser who said she never heard the woman say anything bad about the defendant. Instead, the woman once called Weinstein her “spiritual soulmate,” the witness said.
    
Rotunno’s closing argument will come less than a week after she came under fire on social media for a podcast interview in which she blamed victims for getting sexually assaulted. Rotunno told The New York Times’ “The Daily”’ she’d never been attacked “because I would never put myself in that position.”
    
In court, prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon questioned the timing of the interview and rebuked Rotunno for calling the prosecution’s witnesses “liars.”
    
“That was taped a long time ago” Rotunno interrupted, claiming that she hadn’t talked to anyone in the media since the case began.
    
She was later contradicted by a Times spokeswoman, who told reporters the interview was recorded on Jan. 28, five days after opening statements and the start of testimony.

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From: MeNeedIt

75 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, we still see remnants of neo-Naziism in today’s society. Plugged In with Greta Van Susteren marks the beginning of the end of the Holocaust with VOA reporter Auschwitz survivor Stanislav Zalewski; Gretchen Skidmore from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; Oren Segal from the Anti Defamation League (ADL); and Christian Picciolini, a reformed neo-Nazi who was recruited at age 14. Air date: February 12, 2020.

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From: MeNeedIt

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From: MeNeedIt

Lebanon’s international backers said Wednesday they supported its new Cabinet, while urging it to swiftly tackle the country’s snowballing crises amid ongoing anti-government protests.

The group urged Prime Minister’s government to commit to major reforms that would “stop and reverse the deepening crises” afflicting the country economically and politically. Those issuing the statement included international partners like France, the United States, Russia and the United Nations.

Lebanon’s economic crash has sparked months of mass protests against its government and ruling elite.

The international group’s support for the new premier was not a given. Diab, a former professor at the American University of Beirut, was picked by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and its allies after Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned on Oct. 29, two weeks after the nationwide protests erupted.

Lebanon is at the center of a foreign power play between supporters and detractors of Iran. Hezbollah, a major ally of Tehran, has come under intensifying U.S. sanctions as Washington seeks to put pressure on Iran and its regional allies.

Thousands of protesters clashed with security forces outside the Parliament on Tuesday while lawmakers voted on the new government. Nearly 400 people were injured in the melee.

The new Cabinet secured 63 votes out of the 84 lawmakers who attended Tuesday’s session. Over forty lawmakers skipped the vote while the protests hurled stones at security forces outside the fortified barriers surrounding the legislative chamber.

Speaking ahead of the vote, Diab said he fully realized the massive task ahead but was confident it was possible to rescue Lebanon’s economy from complete collapse — and that his government would get to work immediately.

Diab vowed to fight corruption, while ushering in judicial, financial and administrative reforms, but offered few specifics in his 16-page plan.

Amid a spiraling financial crisis, Lebanese banks have imposed informal capital controls on withdrawals of U.S. dollars and halted transfers of foreign currency abroad.

Lebanon has one of the highest debt ratios in the world, standing at more than 150% of GDP with no economic growth, a liquidity crunch and high unemployment.

International donors had pledged some $11 billion in grants and loans for Lebanon in 2018, calling for major reforms to unleash the money. In recent weeks, friendly nations have said they will not bail Lebanon out without those major policy and regulatory changes.

On Wednesday, the international group, which also includes the European Union, Britain, China, Germany and Italy, said it supports Lebanon’s efforts to restore economic stability, credibility of the financial sector and key sector reforms. It also announced its support for peaceful protests.

Diab urged the international community, and local opponents, to give his government a chance.

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From: MeNeedIt

Journalists in disputed territorially Kashmir urged the Indian government on Monday to allow them to report freely and expressed concern about alleged police harassment since the region’s semi-autonomy was rescinded in August amid an unprecedented lockdown.

The Kashmir Press Club, an elected body of journalists in the region, said security agencies were using physical attacks, threats and summons to intimidate journalists. The group said the government should “ensure freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed in the constitution instead of muzzling the press.”

On Saturday, police summoned two journalists for questioning in Srinagar for reporting about a strike call issued by the pro-independence Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front. The Kashmir Press Club denounced the police action.

“The harassment and questioning of journalists in Kashmir on flimsy grounds” by the police is “a damning verdict on the appalling condition in which media is operating,” the group said in a statement.

It also criticized restrictions on the internet and surveillance by police, calling them “tools designed and aimed to ensure only the government-promoted version is heard.”

India’s decision to strip the region of its special status in August brought journalism to a near halt in Kashmir. A communications shutdown affected media operations, and most newspapers published in Srinagar, the region’s main city, have been unable to issue online editions.

Foreign journalists have been denied permission to visit the Himalayan region.

India is ranked 140th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, a global media watchdog.

The conflict over Kashmir began in the late 1940s, when India and Pakistan won independence from the British Empire and began fighting over their rival claims to the region.

Since 1989, a full-blown armed rebellion has raged in the Indian-controlled portion seeking a united Kashmir — either under Pakistani rule or independent of both countries. India accuses Pakistan of training and arming the rebels, a charge Islamabad denies.

About 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and an Indian military crackdown.

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From: MeNeedIt