Tag: InternationalNews

{San Francisco’s Police Chief Greg Suhr has stepped down hours after a police officer shot and killed a young black woman driving a suspected stolen car.}

The resignation was announced by Mayor Ed Lee, who had asked him to quit.

Mr Suhr and city police had in recent months come under fierce criticism over fatal police shootings of several black suspects.

Reports also recently emerged that a number of officers had exchanged racist text messages.

At a news conference on Thursday, Mayor Lee said he hoped the resignation would help “to heal the city”.

The mayor, who until now had supported Mr Suhr, added: “The progress we have made has been meaningful but it hasn’t been fast enough, not for me and not for Greg, and that’s why I have asked Chief Suhr for his resignation.”

He named Toney Chaplin as acting police chief.

The black woman, 27, was shot and killed earlier on Thursday in the city’s Bayview area.

Police said one of their patrols approached her as she sat in a car that had been reported stolen.

The woman allegedly tried to drive off and then crashed into a nearby vehicle.

There was no immediate indication that she had a weapon or had tried to run down a police officer before the shooting, the city authorities said.

A 34-year veteran of the San Francisco PD, Greg Suhr was once a popular and professional policeman.

“Greg was always respectful, always a servant of the community,” recalled London Breed, who first encountered Suhr when the latter was a young narcotics officer working the beat. Both men would go on to greater things: Suhr to police chief, Breed to president of the local Board of Supervisors.

But for Suhr there were missteps along the way – among them a demotion from deputy chief after a female friend told him she had been assaulted by her boyfriend and he failed to file a police report.

Reflecting on Suhr’s resignation, London Breed said he hoped the city would now come together so that everyone would feel safe in their communities.

The job of reforming the police department now rests with Greg Suhr’s former deputy Toney Chaplin – another insider, with 26 years of service under his belt.

In April, five people went on a hunger strike, demanding Mr Suhr be sacked. They ended their strike last week.

Mr Suhr, a veteran officer, was appointed city police chief in 2011.

There are more than 1,000 fatal shootings by police in the US each year, and those killed are disproportionately African-American.

{Talks to take place without Israeli and Palestinian participation which France believes will ease negotiations later.}

An international conference aimed at reviving peace efforts between Palestinians and Israelis is set to take place on June 3 in Paris, according to Jean-Marc Ayrault, France’s foreign minister.

The initiative to relaunch peace efforts was launched by France late last month. Egypt offered to serve as a mediator in the saying it would “make every efforts” towards a solution.

The ministerial-level talks will host the Middle East Quartet, which includes the US, Russia, the EU and the UN, as well as the Arab League, the UN Security Council and about 20 countries, without Israeli or Palestinian participation.

The French hope that beginning with non-direct talks could help ease the way for an agreement later.

John Kerry, US secretary of state, welcomed the French and Egyptian efforts on Thursday, saying he would attend the international conference in Paris.

“I told [the French] that I would be there,” Kerry said after discussing the June 3 date with Ayrault.

“What we are seeking to do is to help encourage the parties to be able to see a way forward, so that they can understand that peace is indeed a possibility.”

While the Palestinians have welcomed the efforts, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, says his country is opposed to an international conference, insisting on direct negotiations.

Kerry said any peace effort would require compromise from both sides.

“In the end, … the parties themselves have to make the decision to actually negotiate, and in that clearly there will have to be some compromise,” he said.

For his part, Ayrault gave warning that the situation on the ground between Israel and the Palestinians is “deteriorating every day”.

“We do not want to resign ourselves to this spiral of violence that affects both the Israelis and the Palestinians,” he said.

US efforts to broker a two-state deal collapsed in April 2014.

In the latest wave of violence since October, the Israeli army has killed at least 206 Palestinians, including protesters, bystanders and alleged attackers, while 33 Israelis have been killed in stabbing and shooting incidents.

Palestinian leaders say a younger generation sees no hope for the future living under Israeli security restrictions and with a stifled economy.

{Mohammed al-Qeeq spent 94 days on hunger strike before reaching deal with Israeli officials in February for his release.}

Israel has released a Palestinian activist and journalist who spent three months on hunger strike after being held without trial or charge since November.

Mohammed al-Qeeq, 33, went on hunger strike for 94 days in protest against his treatment by Israeli authorities, before reaching a deal with Israel in February securing his release.

Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from Ramallah, said Qeeq now had a stronger physical appearance and was walking unaided after his release.

“At one point his wife was saying he was close to death […] Since then, his health has been recovering,” he said.

“He spoke of having secured a victory through his hunder strike, and talked of the fragility that his release showed in the Israeli occupation.”

Four days after he was arrested on November 21, 2015, Qeeq decided to begin his strike.

He demanded the Israeli military either charge or release him from the military detention centre where he was being held.

Israel had accused Qeeq of inciting violence and having links to Hamas, the Palestinian faction which rules the GazaStrip.

However, any intelligence supporting the accusations are classified, and the allegations were never put forward in the form of criminal charges.

Palestinians argue he was persecuted for expressing his opinion.
Qeeq worked as a news reporter for the Saudi-owned TV network Al Majd.

Until his release on Thursday, he was one of 750 Palestinians – including five journalists – being held in Israeli prisons under administrative detention.

The controversial policy permits Palestinians to be held for renewable six-month periods without charge or trial for an indefinite period.

Qeeq had previously been jailed on three occasions for alleged activities linking him to Hamas.

In 2003, he spent a month in prison and the following year he was jailed for 13 months.

In 2008, Qeeq was jailed for 16 months on charges relating to his activities on the student council at Birzeit University.

At least 70 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons are on hunger strike.

{Death toll rises to 57 with scores missing as rain hampers rescue efforts in the central region of Aranayaka.}

Heavy rains are hampering rescue efforts and hopes are fading for the possibility of finding survivors among the 130 missing in the Sri Lankan region which was hit by landslides that have left 58 people dead.

About 220 families are reported missing, the Sri Lankan Red Cross said in a statement on Wednesday.

Tuesday’s landslides wiped out at least three villages in the central hills of Aranayaka following torrential rains that have affected up to 350,000 people, according to the country’s Disaster Management Centre.

“I don’t think there will be any survivors,” Major-General Sudantha Ranasinghe, the officer in charge of the rescue operation, told Reuters news agency.

“There are places where the mud level is up to 30 feet. We will do our best. We will keep going until we can recover the maximum.”

Jayanath Jayaweera, military spokesperson, told Al Jazeera on Thursday that 220,000 people had been displaced and 6,300 remained cut off as heavy rains continued to drench Aranayaka.

He said the army had so far rescued 156 people trapped by landslides and more than 1,550 people were being sheltered at seven different sites.

Mudslides are common in Sri Lanka during the monsoon season, with heavy deforestation to clear land for agriculture leaving the countryside exposed.

Torrents of muddy water

Villagers recalled hearing and seeing the torrents of muddy water, tree branches, and debris crashing down around their homes late on Tuesday.

“I heard a huge sound like a plane crashing into the earth,” AG Kamala, 52, who had just returned to her house in Siripura when the landslides hit the area, told the Associated Press news agency.

“I opened my door: I could not believe my eyes as I saw something like a huge fireball rolling down the mountain – and again a huge sound.”

The Sri Lankan army said in a statement that it was working to relocate the displaced to temporary shelters, including temples and schools, and also providing meals and water for them.

Officials could not provide exact figures on the village populations, but each typically includes about 1,000-1,500 residents.

A government official who is part of the rescue efforts told Al Jazeera on Wednesday from Kegalle district, about 72km from Colombo, that one village, Siripura, was buried 12 metres under the mud.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Rikaz Hussain, the government official, said: “It’s absolutely mind-boggling what sort of disaster this has turned out to be.

“It seems like someone cut off a mountain and planted it on top of the village. There are absolutely no signs of a village ever existing here. There’s no sign of Siripura. The rescue efforts here are futile.

“Some of the roads are also inundated, so we can’t even get through to those affected. Some places are not even accessible by helicopter.”

Officials gave warning that more landslides and lightning strikes could occur in the countryside, as more rain was forecast in addition to rough seas along the coasts.

{Tear gas fired and four arrests made in Caracas during rallies demanding passage of referendum to remove the president.}

Riot police firing tear gas have blocked a 1,000-strong anti-government protest in the centre of Caracas, one of 20 opposition rallies occurring across Venezuela.

Wednesday’s demonstrations in the capital were the first major test of a state of emergency that President Nicolas Maduro imposed this week that gives broad powers to security forces in order to ensure public order.

The protesters were demanding authorities to stop stalling over a recall referendum called for by a petition with 1.8 million signatures. Maduro has called the referendum “not viable”.

In Caracas, hundreds of officers with shields, helmets and pepper spray formed a barrier to prevent the protest, headed by opposition leader Henrique Capriles, from reaching the headquarters of the National Electoral Council (CNE), which has been parsing the petition for two weeks.

‘Explosion of frustration’

A total of 14 metro stations in the heart of Caracas were closed on Wednesday for “operational reasons”.

“The referendum can be held this year, and you know this. Let’s avoid an explosion of public frustration,” Capriles said at the demonstration.

Some police fired tear gas at the demonstrators, a few of whom threw stones and bottles. AFP news agency reporters saw at least four people arrested.

Al Jazeera’s John Holman, reporting from Caracas, said the latest events will put more pressure on Maduro.

“The protesters and opposition leaders are of course calling for a referendum to remove Maduro from power. They have started the process already and are trying to push that through before the end of this year,” he said.

“However, we have seen bigger numbers of people on the streets in the past. There is still not a widespread of mobilisation of Venezuelans.”

Threats to security

Maduro’s 60-day state of emergency was imposed on Monday to tackle what he said were threats to domestic and external security, as well as critical food and energy shortages.

He claims the adversity he is facing is manipulated by US interference working with Venezuela’s “fascist” right.

Vice President Aristobulo Isturiz said the referendum was a “trap” and called on the opposition to focus on scheduled elections in December 2019.

“If you win, Maduro will give up power. Easy. What’s the problem?” Isturiz said.

{In an exclusive interview, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi discusses a wide-range of global issues.}

China’s role in international affairs continues to grow. From the world’s second-largest economy to its military muscle flexing in the Pacific, Beijing’s influence on the world stage cannot be understated.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently sat down for a 40-minute one-on-one interview with Al Jazeera in Beijing to discuss its relationship with the world.

Al Jazeera: After attending the US-Philippines joint military drill in mid-April, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter accused China of militarising the South China Sea and said countries in the Asia Pacific were concerned about China’s land reclamation. Is this a military provocation by the US and Southeast Asian countries against China?

Wang Yi: Your question makes sense. The South China Sea is originally peaceful and stable. As for the disputes left over from history over some specific islands and reefs, China is committed to seeking proper, peaceful settlement through dialogue and consultation even though its own rights and interests had been infringed upon. This process is still under way.

Construction on the islands and reefs is something normal; many littoral states of the South China Sea started it many years ago, including their so-called construction on the Chinese islands and reefs they illegally occupied. China began some necessary construction only very recently. For one thing, China’s construction is meant to improve the living and working conditions of the personnel on the islands and reefs. Harsh natural conditions – the wind and rains – have made such improvements absolutely necessary. At the same time, China, as the largest littoral state of the South China Sea, is willing to provide more public goods by building necessary facilities, which can benefit everyone. For example, we have built light houses which, once in operation, will benefit all vessels that pass by. People think this is a good thing. The ports we built for emergency relief, including medical facilities and meteorological stations, will also serve the public good. What we did does not breach any international law or affect the freedom of navigation.

As for the so-called militarisation you just mentioned, it is common sense that all countries enjoy the right to self-preservation and self-defence under international law. It is therefore perfectly normal that China has some self-defence facilities on its stationed islands and reefs. Other countries have long maintained a large number of military facilities on the islands and reefs around us. We need necessary means and capabilities to defend ourselves, but this has nothing to do with militarisation. If one talks about militarisation, we have seen aircraft carriers coming to the South China Sea, strategic bombers flying over the South China Sea waters, and guided-missile destroyers coming close to China’s islands and reefs, all to exert military pressure on China. I am afraid this is what militarisation really looks like, including large-scale military drills and the construction of military bases of all sorts in the Philippines.

Be it island construction or militarisation, there should be no double standard. It is not fair for one to criticise others on the one hand while doing whatever he likes on the other. I think more and more countries have realised this, and people without prejudice will see clearly the current situation and the root of the problem.

Al Jazeera: I mentioned the United States and Carter’s criticism of China. Yet you didn’t name the US in your answer. Did you do it deliberately to avoid provoking the United States?

Wang Yi: We will articulate our position very clearly when it’s necessary to do so. You asked about the United States several times and I gave a clear answer already. Who is engaging in massive military exercises in this region? Who is sending a lot of advanced weaponry to the South China Sea and building new military bases? The answer is all too clear: the United States.

Al Jazeera: North Korea has unsettled the world with its military policy. As its neighbour and probably the country with the closest relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, how does China view the situation?

Wang Yi: You raised a very important question about the Korean nuclear issue. This issue has attracted growing international attention, and has been in the spotlight after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was reached on the Iranian nuclear issue… It goes without saying that war or chaos serves no one’s interests. So we need to work together to avoid such scenario and jointly uphold peace and stability on the peninsula. As such, it is imperative to resume the six-party talks and bring the nuclear issue on the peninsula back to the track of negotiation… For the DPRK, security is its top concern, so it wants to replace the armistice agreement with a peace treaty to ensure its national security. This is understandable, while the United States and other countries, including China, hope that the DPRK will give up its nuclear programme and the denuclearisation of the peninsula can be achieved.

Al Jazeera: The 20th century was the American century. Can we expect the 21st century to be the Chinese century?

Wang Yi: It’s not China’s preference to describe any century as one belonging to a certain country. We believe that affairs of a country should be handled by its own people, and likewise the affairs of the world should be handled through discussion by all countries, instead of being dominated or monopolised by any single country. In this sense, China has all along supported the current international system with the United Nations at its core. The UN is the most authoritative inter-governmental organisation with the broadest representation, whose charter is endorsed by people across the world. In fact, many problems in our world, turbulence, chaos and wars, all result from the failure to fully implement the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the very essence of which is respect for sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, peaceful settlement of disputes and international cooperation. If all countries, big and small, strong and weak, abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the world will be more peaceful and stable, and countries will prosper together. That is the goal and philosophy of China’s diplomacy.

Al Jazeera: The United States is on a path of decline, and such decline will become quite pronounced in the next 10 to 20 years. Is China prepared to lead the world?

Wang Yi: Different countries may not have exactly the same assessment of the status and influence of the US. From what we know about the country, the United States will probably remain the world’s No 1 for a fairly long time to come. But this does not mean that the world can only be led by one country, which, in fact, is simply impossible. We need greater international cooperation to ensure a better future for our planet.

At the summits marking the 70th anniversary of the UN last year, President Xi Jinping laid out a very important vision, calling on countries to work together for a community of shared future for mankind. Given the level of interdependence and integration among the world’s nations, our planet has in fact become a village where no one can prosper in isolation. This requires us to build a community of shared interests, shared responsibilities and shared security.

Al Jazeera: Under President Putin, Russia is again in rivalry with the West. How does China see Russia? Is it a competitor or a partner?

Wang Yi: We hope that all countries are our partners. This is certainly the case with Russia, because it is China’s largest neighbour and we share a long border. As you may know, historically, relationship between the two countries went through ups and downs. There were tensions, confrontations and even conflicts. Later, the two sides learned lessons and built a more normal, friendly relationship… In recent years, China and Russia have worked closely together in various fields, and we do need each other as neighbours.

Al Jazeera:The US has sent several thousand American troops to the Philippines for the joint military exercise. Do you see this as a direct threat to China?

Wang Yi: Such a move, to say the least, has added destabilizing factors to the South China Sea situation, if not further heightening the tensions, and we don’t think it is constructive. China and the Association of South East Asian Nations agreed that specific disputes should be settled through negotiations by parties directly concerned. It is for this reason that China does not approve of, accept or participate in the so-called international arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines… The Philippines also violated a number of bilateral agreements it reached with China, the centerpiece of which is to resolve problems through negotiations. What’s more, the Philippines claimed that it initiated the arbitration because it had exhausted the means of negotiation. That’s not true; or to put it more bluntly, that is a lie. The Philippines had not engaged in any serious bilateral negotiations with China on any of the so-called requests it submitted to the arbitral tribunal. Even till this day, China is still saying to the Philippines that we may sit down and talk, and China’s door for dialogue is open. It is the Philippines who still refuses to negotiate or consult with us. As we see it, what the Philippines did lacks legality and legitimacy from the very beginning.

Al Jazeera: You served as the Chinese ambassador to Japan. The Japanese foreign minister visited China a couple of days ago amid strained relations between China and Japan. How do you see the future of China-Japan relations?

Wang Yi: China and Japan are close neighbours. We certainly want stable, healthy, friendly and good-neighborly relations with Japan. This is our consistent policy. But just as you cannot clap with one hand alone, the two sides need to meet each other half way. We need to see not only what Japan says, but also how it acts. It is important for Japan to view China as a cooperation partner rather than a rival, a friendly neighbour rather than a “threat”.

{New 27-nation index by Amnesty International ranks how welcoming people are to those fleeing war and persecution.}

People in China, Germany and Britain were ranked as the world’s most welcoming to refugees in findings published by human rights organisation Amnesty International.

On Wednesday, the rights group said that residents of Russia, Indonesia and Thailand were considered the least welcoming out of 27 countries in the Refugees Welcome Index, which measured public levels of acceptance of refugees.

The index ranked nations on a sliding scale of how willing citizens said they were to welcome refugees into their homes, neighbourhoods, cities, towns or villages and countries.

Around the world, it found that one person in 10 would be prepared to take refugees into their homes.

“These figures speak for themselves,” said Shalil Shetty, Amnesty’s secretary general.

“People are ready to welcome refugees,” he said, but governments’ inhumane response to the refugee crisis is “badly out of touch with the views of their own citizens”.

The five-year long conflict in Syria, which has claimed around 270,000 lives, has sparked a major refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe as people flee the fighting.

Millions more people are displaced around the world each year by conflict and disaster.

In China, which was ranked as the most welcoming country, 46 percent of people said they would take refugees into their own home.

Those in Britain were the second most willing to do so at 29 percent.

While one in 10 Germans said they would accept refugees into their homes, 56 percent said they were welcome in their neighbourhood and 96 percent in their country.

In Russia, where people were ranked as the least welcoming, 61 percent said they would refuse refugees access to their country.

Shetty said there was a “general feeling that the West has not delivered” in helping refugees.

“I would expect that the Chinese population is sending a message, you know, we would welcome them,” he told the AFP news agency.

“Now of course, this doesn’t mean that China has taken many refugees so it’s time for the government to do something about it.”

The survey of more than 27,000 people was conducted for Amnesty by strategy consultancy GlobeScan.

{CEO Mark Zuckerberg assures conservatives after accusations that Facebook is deliberately suppressing conservative news.}

Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg has met with a group of conservative pundits and media personalities to defend the site against allegations of bias.

The editorial practices at the world’s largest social network came under scrutiny after a former Facebook contractor anonymously accused editors there of deliberately suppressing conservative news.

The allegations were reported by technology news website Gizmodo, which did not identify the ex-contractor.

“People who look at facebook’s trending news think that was an accurate representation of what was trending among facebook users,” Tim Groeling of University of California told Al Jazeera. “That appears not to have been the case.”

“In fact there was a great deal of editorial judgement by humans in that process that led different stories being injected and different stories being rejected from that process.”

Facebook already denied the allegations of bias and said they started an investigation on the issue. But, the explanations given by Zuckerberg and other high-ranking Facebook employees were not satisfactory for many conservative Americans.

“Facebook says it is investigating,” said Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds, reporting from Los Angeles. “The fear is it could see conservative minded users drop off the platform and face loss of advertising revenue if the controversy grows”.

After the closed-door meeting at the social media giant’s Menlo Park California headquarters, Zuckerberg defended his company’s practices but acknowledged that many conservatives believe Facebook is politically liberal.

The meeting included talk show host Glenn Beck and former White House press secretary turned Fox News commentator Dana Perino.

“It doesn’t make sense for our mission or our business to suppress political content,” Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook after the meeting. “I know many conservatives don’t trust that our platform surfaces content without a political bias,” he added.

“I wanted to hear their concerns personally and have an open conversation about how we can build trust. ”

A Facebook spokeswoman said the meeting produced “a constructive discussion” and some attendees also called it productive.

“I think Facebook is very sincere in wanting to resolve outstanding issues with conservatives,” Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, said after the meeting.

On her Facebook page, conservative CNN commentator S.E. Cupp said the meeting had produced “strong commitments to address issues, as well as to work together on common goals”.

Zuckerberg said that while Silicon Valley has a reputation for being liberal, Facebook’s 1.6 billion users span every background and ideology.

“The reality is, conservatives and Republicans have always been an important part of Facebook,” Zuckerberg wrote.

Fox News “drives more interactions on its Facebook page than any other news outlet in the world,” Zuckerberg added. “It’s not even close.”

{Camp workers flee as resurgent wildfire heads towards major oil sand facilities in Fort McMurray in Alberta province.}

Oil workers in Canada’s western province of Alberta have been ordered to evacuate camps as a resurgent wildfire heads towards them.

The emergency on Monday north of the oil town of Fort McMurray has forced firefighters to shift their focus to protect major oil facilities.

The blaze, which continued to burn uncontrolled, now covers 285,000 hectares (704,000 acres), officials said.

By Monday evening, it was moving at 30 to 40 metres per minute north of Fort McMurray and had jumped a critical firebreak to push into the oil sand camp areas.

“The urgency we’re looking at is with regards to the oil gas infrastructure,” Scott Long, executive director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, told reporters in Edmonton, adding Fort McMurray itself appeared to be safe for now.

Hundreds of workers in the camps close to the flames were ordered to evacuate while thousands more were put on standby. There are 12 oil sands camps in the area.

Chad Morrison, Alberta’s manager of wildfire prevention, said the blaze was expected to slow into the evening and that it was unclear if it would reach the major oil sand facilities, though responders were preparing for that eventuality.

“When you have this type of extreme fire behaviour, it doesn’t matter what tankers you put in front of it, or how many helicopters, mother nature is going to continue to move that fire forward,” Morrison said.

Roughly a million barrels per day of oil sands crude production was shut in as a precaution and because of disruptions to regional pipelines, and much of that production remains offline.

Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau told CBC News that the Fort McMurray fire would be a challenge to the economy as well as a human challenge, but he had no price tag yet on how much the disaster would cost the federal government.

About 80,000 people fled the area nearly two weeks ago .The fire destroyed more than 2,400 structures in Fort McMurray and the thousands of residents who were evacuated continue to live in temporary shelters.

Officials said there was still no timeline on when residents could return.

The wildfire still covers more than 2,000 square kilometres and is expected to burn for months.