Author: PolitCens

U.S. presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump differ sharply on immigration. Both sparred over immigration at their first presidential debate. VOA’s immigration correspondent Aline Barros has the story.
…

Tulum, Mexico — Beryl weakened to a tropical storm Friday after hitting Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane, with fierce winds causing material damage but no injuries along the touristic Yucatan Peninsula.

Now headed for the Gulf of Mexico, Beryl is expected to intensify as it moves toward northeastern Mexico and the U.S. state of Texas by the end of the weekend, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC).

After tearing through the Caribbean and coastal Venezuela leaving seven people dead, the storm hit southeast Mexico early Friday with winds of up to 175 kph.

It flattened trees and lampposts and ripped off roof tiles, according to Mexico’s civil protection authority.

Electricity was lost in at least three municipalities in the southeastern Quintana Roo state as Beryl moved deeper inland and weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm.

“On the initial reports, there appears to be no loss of life, and that is what matters most to us,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in his daily press briefing.

Mexico’s emergency authorities later told reporters there were no injuries or deaths, nor damage to critical infrastructure such as roads and the water system.

Electricity had been 70% restored and would be fully recovered by Sunday, civil protection chief Laura Velazquez said.

About 2,200 people had sought cover at temporary shelters and more than 25,600 security force members and employees of the CFE electricity agency were deployed to help residents and repair damage.

As a precaution, 348 flights were canceled at Cancun airport, the largest terminal in the Mexican Caribbean.

By Friday afternoon, state governor Mara Lezama said the airport had resumed service.

Re-intensification

The NHC said Beryl weakened from a Category 2 hurricane to Category 1 by the time it hit Yucatan — milder than earlier in the week when it left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean and parts of Venezuela.

It added on Friday that a hurricane watch — signaling a forecast re-intensification from tropical storm status — had been issued for much of the Texas coast ahead of Beryl’s anticipated arrival there late on Sunday.

By late Friday, the NHC tracked Beryl 995 kilometers southeast of Corpus Christi in Texas, while the storm’s maximum sustained winds had slowed to 95 kph.

In Mexico, hundreds of tourists were evacuated from hotels along the coast before the storm’s arrival.

The army, which deployed some 8,000 troops to Tulum, said it had food supplies and 34,000 liters of purified water to distribute to the population.

The army also set up a soup kitchen in Tulum for people who could return home due to flooding or blocked roads.

Alvaro Rueda, a 51-year-old bricklayer, told AFP his neighborhood had already started clearing up after the storm’s passage.

“Most of the stores are already open… we have purchased food, even if it is canned, there is food,” he said.

Beryl is the first hurricane since NHC records began to reach the Category 4 level in June, and the earliest to hit the highest Category 5 in July.

It is extremely rare for such a powerful storm to form this early in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from early June to late November.

Scientists say climate change likely plays a role in the rapid intensification of storms like Beryl, since there is more energy in a warmer ocean for them to feed on.

North Atlantic waters are currently between one- and three-degrees Celsius warmer than normal, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
…

…

…

CANCUN/TULUM, Mexico — Tropical Storm Beryl was blowing out to the Gulf of Mexico on Friday afternoon and appeared likely to reach Texas by late Sunday, after its strong winds and heavy rain largely spared Mexico’s top beach destinations.

The core of the storm, downgraded from a hurricane, crossed the Yucatan Peninsula by Friday afternoon, with its maximum wind speeds slowing to around 105 kph after striking near the coastal beach resort of Tulum in the morning.

The storm, which at one point intensified to a massive Category 5 hurricane, left a deadly trail of destruction across the Caribbean earlier this week. However, there were no casualties in Mexico, the head of the country’s civil protection agency, Laura Velazquez, said in a press conference on Friday afternoon.

While Beryl’s passage over Mexico’s Quintana Roo and Yucatan states resulted in slower winds, the U.S. National Hurricane Center still forecast dangerous storm surges in the surrounding area.

For those who hunkered down as Beryl churned overhead, a sense of relief prevailed.

“Holy cow! It was an experience!” said Mexican tourist Juan Ochoa, who was staying in Tulum.

“Really only some plants flew up in the air,” he said. “Thank God we’re all OK.”

Tourist infrastructure was without major damage in Quintana Roo, the state government said in a statement.

Still, many in the area lost electricity, including 40% of Tulum, said Guillermo Nevarez, an official with Mexico’s national electricity company CFE, speaking to local broadcaster Milenio.

Civil protection chief Velazquez said she expected service to be restored in full by Sunday.

Among Mexico’s top tourist getaways, the Yucatan Peninsula is known for its white sand beaches, lush landscapes and Mayan ruins.

Stranded tourists camped out in Cancun’s international airport on Friday, unsure of when they would make it home.

Nora Vento said her flight home to Chile was postponed multiple times, and that her airline’s counter was unstaffed.

“So, I don’t know when I will get to Chile,” she said.

Beryl, currently located over the port of Progreso in Mexico’s Yucatan state, was expected to pick up intensity as it enters the Gulf of Mexico and forecast to regain hurricane status and approach the western Gulf coast on Sunday.

A hurricane watch was in effect for the Texas coast from the mouth of the Rio Grande northward to Sargent, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Mexico’s meteorological service issued a hurricane watch for the northeastern coast of Mexico from Barra el Mezquital to the mouth of the Rio Grande.

“There is an increasing risk of damaging hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge in portions of northeastern Mexico and the lower and middle Texas Coast late Sunday and Monday where hurricane and storm surge watches have been issued,” the NHC said.

It warned that flash and urban flooding were possible across portions of the Texas Gulf Coast and eastern Texas from Sunday through the middle of next week.

Rainfall of 13 to 25 centimeters, with localized amounts of 38 centimeters, is projected across portions of the Texas Gulf Coast and eastern Texas beginning late on Sunday through the middle of next week.

Mexico’s national water commission, CONAGUA, flagged a risk of flooding around the tourist hubs, as well as in neighboring Campeche state.

Quintana Roo schools were closed, as were local beaches, and officials lifted a temporary ban on alcohol sales.

Beryl was the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, and this week became the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, with scientists pointing to its rapid strengthening as almost certainly fueled by human-caused climate change.

Before reaching Mexico, Beryl wreaked havoc across several Caribbean islands. It swept through Jamaica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, in addition to unleashing heavy rainfall on northern Venezuela. It has claimed at least 11 lives, tearing apart buildings while felling power lines and trees.

Destruction in the islands of Grenada was especially pronounced.

Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell pointed to major damage to homes in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique during a video briefing Thursday night. Parts of the latter two islands suffered “almost complete devastation,” he said.

“Many of our citizens have lost everything.”

Mexico’s major oil platforms, primarily located in the southern rim of the Gulf of Mexico, are not expected to be affected or shut down.

Beryl is also expected to have little impact on U.S. offshore oil and gas production, energy companies said on Friday while evacuating personnel from some facilities out of caution.

Research by the ClimaMeter consortium determined that climate change significantly intensified Beryl. According to the study, the storm’s severity, along with its associated rainfall and wind speed, saw an increase of 10%-30% as a direct result of climate change.
…

washington — The United States has flatly rejected Russia’s claim that it has not violated international sanctions imposed on North Korea, calling on Moscow to stop illegal arms transfers from Pyongyang.

“The U.S. and like-minded countries have successfully highlighted Russia’s U.N. Security Council Resolutions violations,” a State Department spokesperson said in an email to VOA’s Korean Service on Wednesday, responding to an inquiry made about Russia’s denial of violating North Korea sanctions.

“Unfortunately, we now have a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council willing to openly flout sanctions to support the Kim [Jong Un] regime’s priorities.”

The spokesperson continued: “We call on the DPRK and Russia to cease unlawful arms transfers and urge the DPRK to take concrete steps toward abandoning all nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and related programs.” DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

In a Monday press conference, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia insisted that his country had complied with international sanctions against North Korea.

“We’re not violating the North Korea sanctions regime and all those allegations that come out. They are not proved by material evidence,” he said.

The Russian ambassador went even further, questioning the integrity of a now-defunct U.N. panel of experts charged with monitoring North Korea sanctions. The panel’s annual mandate was not extended this year, following Russia’s veto at the U.N. Security Council in March.

Nebenzia alleged that the panel of experts got involved in the politics after being encouraged by certain countries, adding that “that was the major mistake that they made.”

“The sanctions regime against DPRK is an unprecedented thing in the United Nations. It’s not time bound. It doesn’t have any provisions for reviewing, and this cannot be tolerated.”

The Kremlin’s refusal to renew the expert panel’s annual mandate marked a drastic change from its earlier support for U.N. Resolution 1718, which put in place an arms embargo on North Korea by banning all imports and exports of most weapons and related material.

The U.N. Security Council passed the resolution unanimously in October 2006, just several days after North Korea’s first nuclear test.

This week’s exchange between Washington and Moscow comes as Russia has been deepening military ties with North Korea.

Russian President Vladmir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty during their summit in Pyongyang last month.

In recent months. the U.S. government has repeatedly blown the whistle on Russia’s alleged violations of international sanctions, accusing Moscow of financially and materially facilitating Pyongyang’s efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction.

In a May briefing, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby released specific figures of the refined oil Russia has provided to North Korea so far this year, stressing it has already exceeded the limit set by the U.N. Security Council.

“Russia has been shipping refined petroleum to the DPRK. Russian shipments have already pushed DPRK inputs above [those] mandated by the U.N. Security Council. In March alone, Russia shipped more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to the DPRK,” Kirby said.

In October last year, the White House released three satellite images showing containers moved by ships and trains, saying North Korea had provided Russia with more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and ammunition.

Experts in Washington say this standoff between the U.S. and Russia over North Korea will likely persist for some time.

Scott Snyder, president of the Korea Economic Institute of America, told VOA’s Korean Service via email on Thursday that the recent defense pact between Moscow and Pyongyang is not something the U.S. can afford to ignore.

“North Korea will remain a source of conflict in U.S.-Russia relations as long as North Korea sustains their strategic relationship, which will continue at least until the end of military hostilities in Ukraine,” Snyder said.

Evans Revere, who formerly served as deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said in an email to VOA’s Korean Service on Friday that Russia is setting itself up as North Korea’s backer.

“Russia has made it clear that it intends to oppose U.N. Security Council sanctions, work with North Korea and others to find ways to get around current U.N. Security Council restrictions and strengthen its tactical and strategic coordination with North Korea,” Revere said.

“Russia, which was once part of the important coalition supporting the use of pressure and sanctions to deal with Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs, has now gone over to the other side and become Pyongyang’s de facto protector.”

Jiha Ham contributed to this report.
…

madison, wisconsin — President Joe Biden, fighting to save his reelection effort, on Friday defiantly declared “I’m staying in the race” during a campaign rally in a critical battleground state, hours before a network television interview where his every answer is sure to be scrutinized for evidence of his competency and fitness to run for office.

In front of roughly 300 supporters at a Wisconsin middle school, Biden again acknowledged his subpar debate last week, saying he “can’t say it was my best performance” but that amid speculation over what he would do, he had an answer: “I am running, and I’m going to win again.”

“I beat Donald Trump,” a forceful Biden said, as the crowd cheered and waved campaign signs. “I will beat him again.”

Biden, using a teleprompter to deliver his remarks, attacked his presumptive Republican challenger almost immediately, laying into Trump by pointing out that the former president once said that “George Washington’s army won the revolution by taking control of the airports from the British.”

As the crowd laughed, Biden continued, “Talk about me misspeaking.”

The rally preceded an interview that could be a watershed moment for Biden, who is under pressure to bow out of the campaign after his disastrous debate performance against Republican Donald Trump ignited concern that the 81-year-old Democrat is not up for the job for another four years.

The interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, being taped after a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, is expected to be intensive and probing, and two people familiar with the president’s efforts said he had been preparing aggressively. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.

There was broad agreement that Biden cannot afford to have another bad day, which is how he wrote off his debate flop. It was not clear that even a so-so performance would be enough to satisfy concerns about his fitness to serve.

The White House itself was raising the stakes for Biden’s interview, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying that “millions of Americans” are expected to watch.

While private angst among Democratic lawmakers, donors and strategists is running deep after Biden’s damaging debate performance, most in the party have held public fire as they wait to see if the president can restore some confidence with his weekend travel schedule and his handling of the Stephanopoulos interview. It will air in full on ABC on Friday night.

But at least three House Democrats have called for Biden to step down as the nominee, with Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts expressing his concerns in a Thursday radio interview and joining representatives Lloyd Doggett of Texas and Raúl Grijalva of Arizona in seeking an alternative.

“President Biden has done enormous service to our country, but now is the time for him to follow in one of our founding father, George Washington’s footsteps and step aside to let new leaders rise up and run against Donald Trump,” Moulton told the radio station WBUR on Thursday.

While not going that far, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said in a carefully worded statement Friday that Biden now has a decision to make on “the best way forward.”

“Over the coming days, I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump,” Healey said. “Whatever President Biden decides, I am committed to doing everything in my power to defeat Donald Trump.”

There were also a few signs of discontent at Biden’s campaign rally on Friday, with one supporter on stage waving a sign that read “Pass the torch Joe” as the president walked onto the stage. His motorcade was also greeted at the middle school by a few people urging him to move on.

Many Democratic lawmakers, who are hearing from constituents at home during the holiday week, are split on whether Biden should stay or go. Lawmakers have been deeply frustrated by his campaign’s response to the crisis. Privately, discussions among the House Democrats flared this week as word spread that some of them were drafting public letters suggesting the president should quit the race.

Yet pushback from other House Democrats was fierce, and none of the letters reportedly being discussed were ever made public.

Biden’s reelection campaign is pushing ahead with aggressive plans despite the uncertainty. It plans to pair his in-person events with a fresh $50 million ad campaign this month meant to capitalize on high viewership moments like the Summer Olympics that begin in Paris on July 26.

Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff are scheduled to travel to every battleground state this month, while organizers are planning to knock on more than 3 million doors in July and August to do personal outreach to voters in a new $17 million effort.

Biden is scheduled to campaign in Pennsylvania on Sunday. He will also travel to southwestern states, including Nevada, after hosting the NATO summit in Washington next week, the campaign said Friday.

He’ll also continue to focus his travel on the so-called “blue wall” states — Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan — that have been critical for him in the past.
…

With four months remaining until the U.S. presidential election, political divisions among the electorate are stark. Some voters blame the media for deepening the sense of separation. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has more.
…

SYDNEY — Australia said Thursday a $1.35 billion deal with U.S. technology giant Amazon to build three secure data centers for top-secret information will increase its military’s “war-fighting capacity.”

The data centers are to be built in secret locations in Australia and be run by an Australian subsidiary of the U.S. technology company Amazon Web Service, the government said.

The deal is part of Australia’s National Defense Strategy, outlining its commitment to Indo-Pacific security and maintaining “the global rules-based order.” The country has a long-standing military alliance with the United States and is a member, with the United Kingdom, U.S., Canada and New Zealand, of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.

Australian officials said the project would create a “state-of-the-art collaborative space” for intelligence and defense agencies to store and gain access to sensitive information in a centralized network.

Andrew Shearer, director-general of Australia’s Office of National Intelligence, said in a statement that the project would allow “greater interoperability with our most important international intelligence partners.”

Similar data clouds have been set up in the United States and Britain, allowing the sharing of information among agencies and departments.

Richard Marles, Australia’s deputy prime minister and defense minister, told reporters that highly sensitive national security data will be safely secured in the new system.

“If you consider that any sensor which is on a defense platform, which in turn feeds that data to a high tech capability, such as the Joint Strike Fighter, which will use that to engage in targeting or perhaps to defend itself from an in-coming threat, or … to defend another asset, such as a ship — all of that is top secret data,” Marles said.

The government said the Amazon Web Services storage system will use artificial intelligence to detect suspected intrusions and to retrieve data.

Richard Buckland, a professor in CyberCrime, Cyberwar and Cyberterror at the University of New South Wales, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the storage plan has risks.

“Putting more data together in a central spot and sharing it widely as people intend to do obviously increases the risk of a data breach,” he said.

In a statement, Amazon Web Services’ managing director in Australia, Iain Rouse, said the system would “enable the seamless sharing of classified data between Australia’s National Intelligence Community and the Australian Defense Force.”

The so-called top-secret cloud is scheduled to be in operation by 2027.
…

…

U.S. President Joe Biden says he “screwed up” in last week’s debate with Donald Trump but is staying in the race for reelection. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns looks at the presidential campaign as Americans celebrate Independence Day. Contributor: Evgeny Maslov. Camera: Vladimir Badikov.
…

The Fourth of July Independence Day holiday in the United States includes lots of fireworks. One town in Oregon is forgoing the noisy celebration that disturbs marine birds nesting on its rocky shore. VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya takes us to The Great Puffin Watch Party.
…

Washington — Leading U.S. technology companies reportedly have increased security screening of employees and job applicants, which experts say is necessary to counter the cyber espionage threat from China.

While the enhanced screening is being applied to employees and applicants of all races, those with family or other ties to China are thought to be particularly vulnerable to pressure from the Beijing government.

But at least one Chinese computer science graduate student at a U.S. university is hoping to make his ties to China an asset. Zheng, who does not want to reveal his first name for fear of retaliation from the Chinese government, says he recently changed his focus to cybersecurity in hopes of improving his job prospects in the United States.

“The goal is a bit high, but I think I know more about China as a person born and raised in China. I hope to become a force with my own characteristics in cybersecurity and a role in fighting against Chinese cyber-attacks,” said Zheng, who is seeking political asylum in the United States.

While Zheng said he is not very worried that increased security checks will affect his job prospects, he said many international students in his class worry that they will be shut out from cybersecurity jobs.

Google, OpenAI and Sequoia Capital are among a number of technology and venture capital firms that have stepped up security checks on employees and potential recruits, according to a recent report by The Financial Times.

The newspaper cited sources at those companies saying they were responding to warnings from the U.S. government about a growing threat from Chinese espionage over the past two years.

Chinese cyber espionage concerns

FBI Director Christopher Wray delivered one such message in a speech in April, saying the Chinese government has tried to steal “intellectual property, technology and research” from American industries.

In response, the U.S. government has stepped up security measures over the last two years, including updating its export control regulations to restrict China’s ability to obtain advanced computing chips and artificial intelligence. The strengthened warnings to U.S. companies are part of that response.

Ivan Kanapathy, senior vice president with Beacon Global Strategies, told VOA that Silicon Valley executives share the U.S. government’s concern. “In recent years, emerging technology companies have become more wary; they don’t want to fall victim to China’s technology absorption strategy,” he said.

“Companies can’t afford to help a competitor that will put them out of business. We’ve seen that happen across many industries already. It’s only natural for American and other allied cutting-edge companies to be concerned and take steps to mitigate the risks of PRC state-sponsored espionage,” he said.

Ray Wang, CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc., said that the theft of American intellectual property has become more rampant since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and that people with ties to China were often targeted.

“During COVID, many folks with relatives in China were put in compromising positions where they were asked to do things for the Chinese government, or one’s relatives would be put at risk,” Wang said. “China has infiltrated almost every aspect of the U.S., and the U.S. is facing systemic problems.”

Kanapathy said China might also obtain American technology through talent poaching, meaning they recruit someone with experience in a particular technology and ask the person to take the technology to start a new company in China. Although it is ethically questionable, it is sometimes legal.

“China likely also tries to place its own people, including engineers, into certain companies that have desirable technologies. It’s a multipronged strategy,” he said.

In a statement to VOA, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu acknowledged the accusations but said the U.S. government “is short on delivering solid evidence.”

“We firmly oppose to the groundless accusations and smears towards China and hope the relevant parties can view China’s development objectively and fairly,” he wrote.

Liu also pointed out that the World Intellectual Property Organization last year named China as the world’s highest ranking middle-income economy and 12th overall in terms of independently creating intellectual property rights.

“China’s scientific and technological achievements are never made through ‘stealing.’ The Chinese people, including our intellectuals, made such achievements with our talent and hard work,” he wrote.

Security screening concerns

While the enhanced security reviews usually apply to all employees, Wang said. Google and OpenAI have imposed stricter reviews for Chinese employees, and Microsoft is transferring some of its most important Chinese engineers from China to other regions of the world; NVIDIA has also been highly vigilant in screening.

Microsoft employees in China, mostly involved with cloud computing, were recently offered the opportunity to work in the United States, Australia or Ireland, among other countries, state-run outlet said in a report. The Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft asked as many as 800 employees, mostly engineers with Chinese nationality working on cloud computing and AI, to consider relocating.

He said companies should exercise caution to avoid triggering xenophobia.

“So almost every new worker, not just Chinese nationals, should undergo the same vetting process. I think it’s really important. As Asian Americans, we have to be very careful about those implications,” he said.

So far, that has not been a problem for Joey Wu, a Chinese software engineer in California. Wu told VOA he has not seen stringent measures exercised against Chinese people, nor has he been treated differently due to his Chinese citizenship.

“I think the U.S. is relatively tolerant and open,” Wu said. “It is not easy for a large technology company to have so many foreign employees. Chinese companies, such as Huawei, are full of Chinese faces, with very few foreigners, and it is unlikely that Americans will be hired to play a more important role.”

Kanapathy pointed out that the founders of many technology companies are from China or India themselves, and these are the people who request security checks on Chinese citizens.

VOA contacted Google, OpenAI and Sequoia Capital for comments but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

VOA’s Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
…

…

…

…