POPGAZETA

The Trump administration is calling on Cuba to drop criminal charges against a journalist facing a year in prison for “resistance” and “disobedience.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said Washington “strongly condemns” the prosecution of Roberto Quinones. Pompeo said the detention and trial of Quinones showed “flagrant disregard for legal norms.” According to media watchdog The Committee to Protect Journalists, Quinones was detained and beaten in April by Cuban police while covering a trial in Guantanamo for the website CubaNet. He was released after five days in detention, but Cuban authorities initiated new proceedings against him, alleging that his conduct during detention constituted “resistance” and “disobedience,” for which they imposed a fine. When Quinones refused to pay the fine, he was ordered to serve a year in jail, the organization said. CPJ Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney called the sentence “outrageous.”  “If authorities in Cuba want to convey an image of progress and openness to the international community, mistreating, jailing and fining a journalist sends the wrong message,” he said. Quinones is awaiting the results of an appeal.   …

Zimbabwe rights activists are calling for Western sanctions against the country to remain in place, despite calls this week by the Southern African Development Community for them to be lifted.  Government supporters say the sanctions are hurting ordinary people.  But critics say it is the government’s policies, not sanctions, that are to blame for the poor economy, and that lifting sanctions would send the wrong message about the country’s human rights record.  Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare. …

Italy’s president begins consultations on Wednesday on seeing if there is any way another working coalition government can be formed following Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s resignation. The head of state wants to see if he can avoid dissolving parliament three-and-a-half years ahead of schedule. If not, the country will hold a snap general election in the fall. President Sergio Mattarella is scheduled to meet all of the country’s political parties to see if a new coalition can be formed that will allow the present parliament, elected in March 2018, to continue to sit. The consultations follow the resignation of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, which he announced in the upper house of parliament Tuesday afternoon. Conte said the decision of the League party which requested a no-confidence vote on the government had forced him to interrupt this government experience. Conte accused the League party leader and the country’s interior minister, Matteo Salvini, of bringing down the ruling coalition for personal and political gain. Some two weeks ago, Salvini declared the coalition unworkable and called for a snap general election. Addressing the senators, Conte attacked what he called Salvini’s irresponsible and reckless behavior, saying it was “liable to tip the country into …

China has confirmed it has detained an employee of Hong Kong’s British consulate. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the employee has been placed “in administrative detention for 15 days as punishment” for violating a law on public order. He didn’t provide further details but said the man was a Hong Kong resident and not a British citizen. Hong Kong’s local news website HK01 said the employee, identified as Simon Cheng, failed to return to the former British colony from the neighboring southern city of Shenzhen on Aug. 9, where he had gone to attend a business meeting. Britain’s Foreign Office said it was “extremely concerned” by reports that he had been detained.  The Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a statement Tuesday saying it is providing support to Cheng’s family and is “seeking further information from authorities in Guangdong province and Hong Kong.” Hong Kong has been gripped by nearly two months of heated and often violent anti-government protests. Beijing was angered when British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had a telephone conversation Friday with Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam about the demonstrations earlier this month.  China’s foreign ministry issued a statement saying it “solemnly demands” that the British “immediately stop …

Out with the new and in with the old. As department stores watch their customers flock to second-hand stores, some are trying to bring them back by partnering with online resale sites. Last week, J.C. Penney and Macy’s announced a pilot program to set aside sections inside a few dozen of their stores for used merchandise sold by ThredUP. James Reinhart, co-founder and CEO of ThredUP, says his company has a similar deal with retailer Stage Stores, which opened 12 resale shops last year for a total of 45. Neiman Marcus was the first big department store chain to get into the resale business. In April, it bought a minority stake in Fashionphile, an online seller of pre-owned designer accessories. And this fall, it will launch shops inside some of its own stores where customers can sell — but not buy — pre-worn designer items to Fashionphile. Presumably these customers will take the money from their sales and spend it at Neiman Marcus — or at least that’s what the department store is hoping for. The moves mark the most dramatic evidence of how resale is becoming so mainstream that traditional sellers can no longer ignore it. They come as …

Tropical Storm Chantal is spinning slowly over far North Atlantic, moving away from North America and posing no threat to land. The National Hurricane Center tracked the storm about 445 miles (715 kilometers) south of Cape Race, Newfoundland on Wednesday morning.     The weather service says Chantal has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and moving toward the east at near 22 mph (35 kph). Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 kilometers), mainly south of the center.   Chantal is expected to dissipate into a tropical depression in a couple of days. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.   …

China on Wednesday blasted a huge planned U.S. arms shipment to self-ruled Taiwan and threatened to sanction firms involved in the sale of F-16 fighter jets. The U.S. State Department on Tuesday approved the transfer of 66 Lockheed Martin-built F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan in a U.S.$8 billion deal, following another huge military hardware sale agreed just last month. The deals come as ties between Washington and Beijing are already strained by a punitive multi-billion dollar trade war. “China will take all necessary measures to safeguard our interests including imposing sanctions on the U.S. companies participating in this arms sale to Taiwan,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a news briefing. The sale “is a serious U.S. interference in our internal affairs and undermines our sovereignty and security interests”, he said. China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary. It bristles at any countries that might lend Taiwan diplomatic support or legitimacy. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Tuesday that President Donald Trump had approved the proposed sale after Congress was notified last week. The F-16s “are deeply consistent with the arrangements, the historical relationship …

Protesters in Hong Kong brought their message to commuters Wednesday on the one-month anniversary of a subway station attack by suspected gang members.  Mike O’Sullivan reports that protesters want an independent investigation into the violent incident.   …

Thirty-some years ago, polio used to cripple hundreds of thousands of children a year. So far this year, about 60 children have gotten polio. The focus now is largely on only two countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan. Yet, there are reports that the eradication effort is stumbling. VOA’s Carol Pearson has more. …

India has slightly eased its communications blockade in Kashmir but conditions in the contested region are still not normal some two weeks after the Indian government announced it was revoking Kashmir’s autonomy.  While some landlines have been reconnected, mobile and Internet access are reportedly still cut-off, a situation that has hurt local businesses, including the tourism industry.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more. …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has named Iran as the biggest threat to the security and stability of the Middle East. In a speech to the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday addressing complex challenges facing the Middle East, Pompeo called for “fresh thinking” to solve “old problems.” Some participants blamed regional and international powers, including the United States, for adding to the tensions in the region with their selfish unilateral moves. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports. …

To get medical supplies or food, people in some places around the world are showing not a government ID but the iris in their eyes or their thumbprint. Deana Mitchell talked to one Silicon Valley company that is providing the new tech tools of identity. …

The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $8 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on Tuesday in an official notification to Congress. The potential deal is for 66 aircraft, 75 General Electric Co engines, as well as other systems, the agency said in a statement, adding it served the interests of the United States and would help Taiwan maintain a credible defense. China has already denounced the widely discussed sale, one of the biggest yet by the United States to Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province. It has warned of unspecified “countermeasures.” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, a Republican, has welcomed the proposed sale of the Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 jets. “These fighters are critical to improving Taiwan’s ability to defend its sovereign airspace, which is under increasing pressure from the People’s Republic of China,” he said in a recent statement.  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News on Monday that President Donald Trump notified Congress of the sale last week. Pompeo told Fox News the sale was “consistent with past U.S. policy” and that the United States was “simply following through on the commitments we’ve made …

U.S. envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun says the Trump administration is ready to resume stalled negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear program. Speaking Wednesday in Seoul where he was meeting with South Korean officials, Biegun said the United States is “prepared to engage as soon as we hear from our counterparts in North Korea.” President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter earlier this month that he had received a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressing a desire “to meet and start negotiations” after the conclusion of U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises, which ended Tuesday. North Korea considers the exercises a threat to its existence, and since late last month it carried out six short-range ballistic missile tests that Kim said were in response to the drills. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday he was concerned about the latest missile tests, disagreeing with Trump, who has shrugged off their importance. “I wish that they would not” launch the missiles, the top U.S. diplomat told CBS News. The two latest projectiles, fired last Friday, flew 230 kilometers into the waters off North Korea, but, aimed differently, could reach South Korea as well as American troops and civilians living …

China hopes to welcome the United States “back to the negotiating table” to discuss global efforts to limit climate change at a United Nations summit to be hosted by Chile in December, its top climate change envoy said on Tuesday. Xie Zhenhua, China’s Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs, told journalists during a visit to a solar energy plant outside the Chilean capital Santiago that China would provide “full support to the Chilean presidency of this meeting.” The summit was “strong proof that a multilateral negotiation process is successful, that multilateralism is working,” he said. Asked if the U.S. approach to the threat of climate change under President Donald Trump and the U.S.-China trade dispute might affect the outcome in Santiago, Xie replied: “China and the U.S. has many differences but we do have some common grounds on climate change issues as well and we welcome them back to the negotiating table on climate change, we are very open to that.” Trump has signaled his intention to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris climate accord and been dismissive of regulations aimed at slashing greenhouse gas emissions. He has also expressed his preference for bilateral trade pacts over multilateral …

Gen. David Berger, the new U.S. Marines commandant, acknowledged Wednesday that he is concerned about deteriorating relations between Japan and South Korea, both key regional allies, but expressed hopes politicians would work out a resolution. Berger stressed that Japan and Korea have common interests despite their differences, such as the threat posed by China and pursuing stability in Asia.   “I’m optimistic it will get worked out,” said Berger, during his first trip to Japan after being appointed to his post. Besides meetings with Japanese government and military officials, his visit also includes going to the southern islands of Okinawa, where most of the U.S. forces here are based. He heads to South Korea later this week.   Bilateral relations worsened after Tokyo removed South Korea’s preferential trade status in early July. South Korea has decided to do the same to Japan, with the new rules taking effect in September.   Seoul sees Japan’s move as retaliation for South Korean court rulings that Japanese companies compensate South Koreans forced into labor during World War II. Japan says it is a security issue. Berger declined to comment on what might happen if South Korea makes good on the threat to end …

Argentine presidential candidate Alberto Fernandez said on Tuesday that if he wins the October election he would join Mexico and Uruguay in promoting dialogue with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The potential foreign policy shift in Latin America’s third largest economy would end nearly four years of strident criticism of Maduro under Argentine President Mauricio Macri, who like most regional leaders have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader. Fernandez trounced Macri in a primary vote earlier this month that serves as a preview to the October election, setting the stage for a potential political shift in South America if Argentina returns to leftist rule under Fernandez, joining Venezuela, Uruguay and Bolivia. In an interview with local channel 13, Fernandez criticized regional demands for Maduro to step down and praised Mexico and Uruguay for promoting talks between Maduro and the opposition. “I’d join them to try to help to find a solution for Venezuela, one that Venezuelans themselves find,” Fernandez said. “I don’t agree with all those proposals that part of Latin American rallied behind Trump on.” FILE – Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro (L) and President of Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly Diosdado Cabello are seen during a meeting of …

President Donald Trump has told the head of the National Rifle Association that strengthening background checks for gun buyers is “off the table,” the Atlantic magazine reports. “He was cementing his stance that we already have background checks and that he’s not waffling on this anymore,” Atlantic quotes a top White House official who witnessed a telephone call between Trump and NRA chief Wayne LaPierre. Trump came out in favor of stricter background checks for gun buyers immediately after mass shootings this month in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. But he now appears to be lukewarm on the idea, telling reporters Tuesday the country already has “very, very strong background checks.” He said he is worried about a “slippery slope” when “all of a sudden everything is taken away.” But the president also said his administration is having “meaningful” talks with Democrats on gun control. “We’re looking at different things. And I have to tell you that it’s a mental problem as I’ve said it a hundred times — it’s not the gun that pulls the trigger, it’s the person that pulls the trigger. These are sick people,” Trump said. According to The Atlantic, Trump was excited about the …

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he is postponing a planned meeting with Denmark’s prime minister due to her lack of interest in selling Greenland to the United States. “Based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time,” Trump tweeted. “The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct. I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!” the U.S. president wrote. The Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump had expressed interest in the self-governing part of Denmark — which is mostly covered in ice — asking advisers if it would be possible for the U.S. to acquire the territory. Trump confirmed Sunday that he was indeed interested in buying Greenland, but said it was not a priority for his administration. “It’s something we talked about,” he told reporters. “The concept came up and I said certainly, strategically it’s interesting and we’d be interested, but we’ll talk to (Denmark) a little bit,” he said, stressing …

A Honduran court convicted the wife of former President Porfirio Lobo on graft charges, including siphoning funds from programs designed to help poor children, a judicial official said on Tuesday. Rosa Elena Bonilla was found guilty of diverting some 18.3 million Honduran lempiras ($779,000) in public funds plus international donations that were originally earmarked for social programs. The funds were then used to pay for personal medical bills, building projects, her children’s private school tuition and jewelry. The conviction carries a sentence of between 58 years and 87 years, which will be set next week, according to court spokesman Carlos Silva. The case was pushed by local prosecutors as well as the Organization of American States’ Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras, known locally as MACCIH. Bonilla’s husband, Porfirio Lobo, was elected president of the Central American nation in late 2009 after a military coup ousted then-President Manuel Zelaya, and he served until 2014. Honduras’ former president Porfirio Lobo Sosa (front), waits outside a court before attending the hearing of his wife Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo in Tegucigalpa, Aug. 20, 2019. Arrested on the graft charges early last year, Bonilla was charged with operating …

Water pollution threatens nearly all the globally agreed development goals to end environmental destruction, poverty and suffering by 2030, economists warned in a report Tuesday, citing the largest-ever database on the world’s water quality. The World Bank report warned of the ripple effects of water pollution on the health, economies, education and agriculture of rich and poor countries alike. “This study was a huge wake-up call to us about the quality of water worldwide,” said Richard Damania, World Bank economist and one of the study’s authors. “The world tends to focus on water quantity such as floods and droughts, but this report focuses on the more invisible threats — the effects of pollutants impacting global water quality,” Damania said. The 193 United Nations member states agreed on Sept. 25, 2015, to a lofty 15-year agenda of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with 169 targets aimed at helping everyone live healthier, more prosperous lives on a cleaner planet. FILE – A man on a boat collects plastic materials from dirty water in Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 17, 2019. SDG 6 refers to clean water and sanitation for all, but the U.N. World Water Development Report found about three out of 10 people …

updated 10:45p EDT President Donald Trump said Tuesday his government is talking to “various representatives” of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who also confirmed that “secret” discussions had been taking place. In a nationally broadcast appearance hours after Trump spoke, Maduro said that talks had long been underway between high officials in his government and the U.S. administration. “We’ve had secret meetings in secret places with secret people that nobody knows,” Maduro said, adding that all talks had been carried out under his “direct” authorization. “Sure there’s been contact and we’ll continue having contact.” The Associated Press reported over the weekend that the U.S. has made secret contact with socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello as close allies of Maduro’s inner circle seek guarantees they won’t face prosecution for alleged abuses and crimes if they cede to growing demands to remove him. Maduro did not name any officials in his government participating in U.S. meetings. The socialist leader said that he’s ready to meet with Trump himself to normalize relations, an offer he’s made before. Venezuela was one of many topics addressed by Trump when he took questions from reporters earlier Tuesday during his meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. Trump, however, …

A warmer climate, travel and trade are helping to spread mosquito-borne diseases as a deadly beast smaller than a paper clip poses a threat to more than half the world’s population. World Mosquito Day on Tuesday commemorated the discovery in 1897 by British doctor Ronald Ross that female mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans, but the World Health Organization (WHO) warns progress against malaria is stalling. Below are 10 ways that the mosquito — Spanish for “little fly” — has affected humans and methods to mitigate the risks: 1. Many species of mosquito feed on the blood of various hosts and ingest pathogens, meaning their bites can transfer diseases directly into the blood of hosts. This has made mosquitoes one of the deadliest animals in the world. 2. Mosquito bites result in the deaths of more than one million people every year with the majority due to malaria, and the WHO warns nearly half of the world population is at risk. In 2017, malaria caused over 435,000 deaths. 3. About 90% of all malaria deaths occur in Africa. Currently in Burundi, more than half the population is infected with malaria. 4. Malaria cases continue to spread in countries including Uganda, where …

More than 80 migrants on board a Spanish charity rescue ship exploded with joy at the news that Italy is seizing the boat, allowing them to get off on the island of Lampedusa. The Open Arms rescue ship has been at sea for 19 days, spending much of that time anchored in the Mediterranean within sight of the Italian island. Italy’s hard-line interior minister Matteo Salvini had refused to let the ship dock. Some of the migrants — desperate and said to be suicidal amid the crowded and deteriorating conditions  — began jumping into the sea to try to get to shore.  Migrants swim after jumping off the Spanish rescue ship Open Arms, close to the Italian shore in Lampedusa, Italy, Aug. 20, 2019. The Open Arms charity that sponsors the rescue ship said people were sleeping side by side on deck and forced to share just two toilets. An Italian prosecutor Tuesday ordered the government to take over the ship as part of what the Italian news agency ANSA said were possible kidnapping charges against Salvini because of his refusal to let the ship dock. “Finally, the nightmare ends, and 83 people on board will receive immediate assistance on …