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Terrorist organizations appear to be tightening their grip on multiple regions of Africa, despite ongoing efforts by the United States and its allies to degrade their capabilities and limit their reach.The findings, part of a new report released Tuesday from the Defense Department inspector general, come as U.S.-led efforts have been forced to adjust, and in some cases, scale back activities because of the coronavirus making its way across the continent.“The United States and its international partners made limited progress,” Acting Inspector General Sean O’Donnell wrote in the quarterly report, citing setbacks against affiliates of both al-Qaida and Islamic State, also known as IS or ISIS.Students of Government Secondary School Wuse, are seen taking the West African Examination Council 2020 exam, after the coronavirus disease lockdown in Abuja, Nigeria Aug. 17, 2020.Rather than slow terrorist groups down, the report warned the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, appears to have given many of them new opportunities to expand.“The pandemic exacerbated many of the underlying conditions that foster VEO (violent extremist organization) growth, including economic and food insecurity,” O’Donnell wrote, pointing to assessments by the United Nations that in some areas, terror groups “capitalized on the virus to undermine state government authority and continue their attacks.”Warnings about the resilience of al-Qaida and IS affiliates in Africa are not new. Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander of U.S. Africa Command, warned U.S. lawmakers months ago that such groups were “on the march” and getting increasingly ambitious.”If ISIS can carve out a new caliphate, or al-Qaida can, they will do it,” he said in March.In a report released in July, the Defense Department Inspector General reported that terrorist activity in Africa, “appears to be outpacing U.S., European and African efforts to counter it.”NEW: Extremist activity in #Africa “appears to be outpacing US, European, and African efforts to counter it” per @DoD_IG Sean O’Donnell in new report on US CT operations #alShabaab on #Somalia remains top concern – “remains adaptive, resilient, & capable” per @USAfricaCommand— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) July 17, 2020Despite some successes, including a French-led operation in June in northern Mali that killed the emir of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), with help from the U.S., several officials worry that terror hot spots in Africa are only getting hotter.One area of concern is eastern Africa, where U.S. military officials say as many as 10,000 fighters with al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab continue to enjoy freedom of movement, enabling them to carry out attacks at what the inspector general report describes as “historically high levels.”Data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project found that al-Shabab carried out 608 attacks during the three months from April through June, up from 568 such incidents during the first quarter.At the same time, poor weather conditions and a lack of resources limited the U.S. to just seven airstrikes against the terror group, compared to 33 during the first three months of the year.U.S. military officials also expressed concerns about western Africa, where al-Qaida and IS affiliates managed to expand their operations into the western Sahel and to northern regions of several coastal countries.In particular, U.S. Africa Command said both IS-West Africa and Boko Haram benefited from the spread of the coronavirus, wreaking “havoc” on communities forced to self-quarantine.The report also warned of growing dangers in northern Africa, specifically from IS in Libya, which had been relatively quiet until May.“ISIS-Libya resumed small-scale attacks in the southern desert region,” O’Donnell said.A recent United Nations report, based on member state intelligence, said IS-Libya likely has just a few hundred fighters.#Libya ripe for #ISIS exploitationMember states estimate branch has just 100s of fighters, but “1 Member State put it as high as 1,400” per @UN report “Persistent lawlessness & preoccupation /interfactional fighting will create opportunities for ISIL-Libya to thrive further”— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) July 27, 2020But at least one intelligence service warns the group may be growing, gathering as many as 1,400 fighters under its banner.And while U.S. officials believe the smaller estimate is more accurate, there are growing concerns that the ongoing civil war in Libya, and the influx of thousands of mercenaries and foreign fighters, could create conditions that might allow IS to thrive.U.S. Africa Command estimates that as of the end of June, more than 7,000 Syrian fighters had flocked to Libya, most with the help of Russia or Turkey.U.S. officials believe a growing number of Syrian fighters may have previous links to terror organizations, though many of them are likely fighting in Libya for financial or personal reasons.Most of the Syrian fighters, about 5,000, appear to be fighting with Turkish mercenaries and troops to back Libya’s Government of National Accord.But Africa Command officials warn that many of them are “inexperienced, uneducated and motivated by promises of considerable salary,” saying reports of theft, sexual assault and other misconduct have increased in areas where Turkish-backed Syrian fighters have been deployed.
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Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Tuesday a second massive round of aid addressing the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic is “still needed,” even as the U.S. economy is showing signs of recovery.  Mnuchin’s testimony comes as talks for a second round of aid have remained stalled on Capitol Hill since $600 a week in expanded federal unemployment benefits to millions of out-of-work Americans expired in late July.  Congressional Democrats have proposed an extension of those benefits, while Republicans have put forward a proposal that would cap benefits at 70% of a worker’s earnings. The overall price tag for a new round of aid has also divided lawmakers.  Democrats proposed as much as $3 trillion in aid, while Republicans have called for a $1 trillion package.  Republicans and Democrats differ on the speed with which Americans should return to work while balancing health concerns, as well as markers for measuring the recovery of the U.S. economy.  FILE – People line up outside a Kentucky Career Center hoping to find assistance with their unemployment claim in Frankfort, Kentucky, June 18, 2020.“We are still very far from where we were in January when we had a record economy,” Mnuchin told the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Tuesday.  Mnuchin said retail sales had increased for the third consecutive month in July, the housing market had returned to near pre-pandemic levels, and the leisure and hospitality industries had added 592,000 new jobs, indicating increased confidence in the economy reopening. He noted that the numbers of unemployed Americans had not reached a threshold of 40 million as many analysts had initially predicted.  Congressman James Clyburn, who is chairman of the Select Committee, differed with Mnuchin on the unemployment numbers, saying that 29 million Americans were receiving or waiting for unemployment benefits as of August 1. He also warned that signs of recovery in the stock market did not benefit all Americans.FILE – Committee Chairman Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., adjusts his face mask as he chairs a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing, in Washington, July 2, 2020. “The administration has claimed this partial rebound means we are guaranteed a V-shaped economic recovery, where the economy returns to full strength quickly,” said Clyburn, a Democrat. “The evidence does not bear that out. We continue to see roughly 1 million Americans file new unemployment claims every week — a classic sign that the economy remains in serious trouble. Economists have warned that we face an uneven K-shaped recovery, where the wealthy quickly bounce back to pre-pandemic prosperity, but lower-income families continue to suffer economic harm.”   Some Republicans said Democratic state governors were to blame for slowly easing restrictions that would allow businesses to fully reopen. “The absolute best way to stimulate and grow our economy is to let people go back to work. And when it was time, the president led the charge to reopen the country, get Americans back to work and get our kids back to school,” Republican Congressman Jim Jordan said.  But Democrats say the health concerns must remain a top priority, with the government providing aid to fill the gap.  “It’s long past time for Republicans and President (Donald) Trump to stop following the returns from Wall Street and wake up to the problems of Americans living on Main Street,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement Tuesday.FILE – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Aug. 13, 2020.They noted Sept. 1 is the day when rent is due for millions of Americans and continued to say, “Republicans must join House and Senate Democrats to respond to the growing need by doing everything in our power to keep families healthy, safe, and secure — in their own homes.”  The White House announced Tuesday the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services would use their quarantine authority to halt evictions on all renters who meet certain criteria.  “Today’s announcement from this administration means that people struggling to pay rent due to the coronavirus will not have to worry about being evicted and risk further spreading, spreading love or exposure to the disease due to economic hardship,” Brian Morgenstern, deputy press secretary, said in a press call with reporters.  Last month Trump extended $400 a week in enhanced unemployment benefits through executive action after the Republican-majority Senate and the Democrat-majority House of Representatives failed to reach a deal on aid.   Lawmakers will return to Capitol Hill following the Labor Day holiday weekend and are expected to tie any deal for coronavirus relief to a bill extending government funding past a Sept. 30 deadline. 
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The Trump administration announced Tuesday that an “overwhelming majority” of the rapid COVID-19 tests it purchased from Abbott Laboratories last month will be sent to state leaders in an effort to support the reopening of what it calls “critical infrastructure” around the United States.In a $750 million dollar deal, the U.S. government acquired 150 million tests from Abbott, which will begin distributing the tests later this month. The company says it is ramping up production and is set to produce more than 50 million tests per month by October to meet high demand. The COVID-19 disease is caused by the coronavirus.Government officials say that assisting the reopening of schools and daycare centers along with providing tests for first responders and populations with special needs are top priorities.The test, which was granted emergency-use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration last week, takes just 15 minutes to produce results and has shown to correctly diagnose positive cases of the coronavirus approximately 97% of the time.Abbott says the rapid test uses the same technology as a pregnancy test, but instead of using hormones to tell whether someone is pregnant, the antigen test looks for the presence of proteins in saliva or mucus to tell if someone is positive for COVID-19.Government officials say they are confident that the easy-to-use test, which costs just $5, will help to cut down on the lengthy wait times many Americans were subjected to this year when their tests had to be sent to labs around the country for processing.Currently, the test has only been approved for usage in doctors’ offices, emergency rooms, and schools. 
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South Sudan’s National Police Service detained a man this week for allegedly trying to sell two of his children at Juba’s Konyo Konyo market. The man denies the charges, saying he was trying to find someone to adopt his children because he cannot afford to feed them. The area is home to members of South Sudan’s Murle community.  Area leaders identified the man as Jackson Maker at a Tuesday news conference in Juba. They say Maker walked to the market and asked if anyone was willing to buy two boys, about four and eight years old.Authorities alerted immediatelyJudy Jonglei Boyoris, a national assembly lawmaker lawmaker, told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus program that authorities were called immediately.“There was somebody from Dinka Bor (tribe) … He was asking for the market to sell out his two children. People told him to sit down and they called national security and he was captured,” Boyoris told VOA.Maker said he intended to return the children to his wife’s family.“The reason I took them from home was that I wanted to return them to their maternal uncles. I have been staying with them for eight years and it has appeared from my in-laws that I had stolen these children. So, I decided to return the children to their uncles. But when I failed to find any one of them here in Juba and there is no money for me to go back to Kapoeta, I decided to look for someone who can take them and give me something to survive,” Maker told South Sudan in Focus.His brother Nhial Thon Nhial said Maker was inebriated Sunday morning when Maker left the house the two share.“He drank alcohol and disturbed me, saying he wants to take his children to Kapoeta because the mother of these children is in Kapoeta. So in that morning he took the children and told me he was going to the bus station to find buses going to Torit and Kapoeta,” Nhial said.’Unacceptable’Nhial said he learned two days later his brother never arrived in Kapoeta and instead wound up in a police cell in Juba. Nhial told South Sudan in Focus his brother has been mentally ill “for some time” and that is why Maker and his children live with him.“The elder wife is being taken care of by the younger brother,” said Nhial.Human rights lawyer Biel Boutros Biel criticized Maker’s alleged effort to sell his children.“Selling a human being is something unacceptable. It is wrong. It is against human dignity; it is against right to life. While we condemn the act, we need to go deeper to look into the realities [of] why a parent has reached that part of selling the children. This is something that can give us thinking on what is going on in the country,” Biel told South Sudan in Focus.Police will care for childrenThe police will care for the children while the incident is under investigation, according to National Police spokesperson Major General Daniel Justin.“These children will now be with us. We have a special protection unit which will take care of these children and when there is a need for counseling, we have social workers from the Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare to take care of them in areas of trauma and counseling,” Justin told South Sudan in Focus.In the past, the Murle and Dinka Bor communities have accused the other of abducting and selling each other’s children. 
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Australian officials say they have spoken with a high-profile Australian television news anchor who has been detained in China.Cheng Lei, an Australian citizen, has worked for the Chinese government’s English news service, CGTN.  Cheng’s detention in Bejing is seen as another blow to already fragile Australia-China relations.   Cheng Lei is being held under what is known in China as “residential surveillance at a designated location.”  The TV presenter has not been charged but she can be detained for up to six months without access to a lawyer.   Cheng has worked as an on-air anchor and reporter for the China Global Television Network, or CGTN, for the past eight years. Videos featuring the high-profile journalist have been removed from the channel’s online platforms and social media pages. Australia was officially notified of her arrest in the middle of August.   A statement from Foreign Minister Marise Payne in Canberra said diplomats were allowed to speak to her last week via video link. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says the government will do what it can to help her. “I feel for her family very much at this point in time, and it is why we will do what we can to assist her as we would and have any Australian in these sorts of circumstances.  There is a long history of different consular cases and points of difficulty that we have seen over the years.  So, we should not see this as a first, or a one-off.  It is concerning for her family and we will provide the assistance that we can,” Birmingham said.It is highly unusual for foreign journalists to be detained in China.  Friends of Cheng Lei have told Australian media that she was a “very skillful operator” who knew “where the limits on public comment” were in China’s highly monitored media.  It is unclear what she might have done to upset Chinese authorities, or break any laws. Cheng was born in China and is an Australian citizen.  In a statement, family members in Melbourne said they were optimistic that “in China, due process will be observed and we look forward to a satisfactory and timely conclusion to the matter.” She is the second Australian to be detained in Beijing. Writer Yang Hengjun is being investigated over alleged espionage and has been held since early 2019. In July, Canberra updated its information for Australians traveling to China, warning they could be at risk of arbitrary detention. Diplomatic tensions between Canberra and Beijing have also been enflamed by disputes over trade, as well as allegations of Chinese interference in Australia’s domestic politics and cyber espionage.    
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U.S. President Donald Trump is traveling Tuesday to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where protests turned violent last week after a white police officer shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, seven times in the back as officers tried to arrest him. Trump told reporters Monday he is not planning to meet with Blake’s family because they wanted a lawyer to participate. The president also declined to criticize the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse, a white teenage vigilante who is accused of fatally shooting two people and wounding a third during a street demonstration in Kenosha two nights after Blake’s shooting.  Rittenhouse, who claimed his goal was to protect businesses, faces five felony charges, including first degree intentional homicide.“They very violently attacked him,” Trump told reporters about Rittenhouse. “He probably would’ve been killed” had he not opened fire on the demonstrators.   The governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers, urged the president to skip Tuesday’s visit to Kenosha, saying Trump’s presence “will only hinder our healing. I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together.”   Evers has ordered National Guard troops into Kenosha and accepted additional federal law enforcement assistance to quell the street violence since Blake was shot and left partially paralyzed.  Trump’s trip to Wisconsin comes as he and former Vice President Joe Biden, his opponent in the November presidential election, trade accusations about security and portray life in America under the other candidate as unsafe.Members of the Wisconsin National Guard stand outside Kenosha County Public Safety Building, over a week since Black man Jacob Blake was shot by police and a day before a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Aug. 31, 2020.Homeland security investigation
Trump announced Monday that the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice are launching an investigation into “left-wing civil unrest” in “Democrat-run cities,” adding that federal operations cracking down on urban violence have resulted in the arrests of 200 people, including 100 in Portland, Oregon.   “In America, we will never surrender to mob rule, because if the mob rules, democracy is indeed dead,” the president told reporters in the White House briefing room.  Trump, emphasizing that “we need order,” spoke just hours after Biden said the president “can’t stop the violence, because for years, he has fomented it.”   Earlier in the day, Biden speaking in Pittsburgh, looked into the cameras during his remarks, which were carried live on the three main U.S. cable news networks, and said: “Ask yourself, do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?” Biden called for rioters and looters to be prosecuted and accused Trump of “rooting for chaos and violence” during the election season because he sees it as “a political lifeline.”   A Biden statement late Monday faulted Trump for not repudiating Rittenhouse and urged the president to join Biden “in saying that while peaceful protest is a right – a necessity – violence is wrong, period.”Portland police make arrests on the scene of the nightly protests at a Portland police precinct on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020 in Portland, Ore. Oregon State Police will return to Portland to help local authorities after the fatal shooting of a man…Portland protests
Asked by a CNN reporter during Monday’s White House briefing about his supporters firing pepper spray and paintballs at protesters in Portland Saturday night, Trump responded that “paint is not bullets,” adding “your supporters … shot a young gentleman and killed him, not with paint but with a bullet and I think it’s disgraceful.”   The president was referring to Aaron “Jay” Danielson, a member of a far-right group, who was shot in the chest after a convoy of hundreds of Trump supporters drove through an anti-racism protest.    Violence has fluctuated in downtown Portland since the May 25 death of a Black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis after a white police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.With the election nine weeks away, Biden leads Trump in national polling, although the contest is tight in some key swing states.
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A petition is underway in Mexico to decide if a referendum will be held on whether former presidents will go on trial for alleged acts of corruption.  During a news conference Monday, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who accused the administrations of his predecessors of being corrupt, said the referendum could be held at the same time as mid-term congressional elections next June. Lopez Obrador said it is not just a small thing to put former presidents on trial, describing it instead as a historical matter.  Critics accuse Lopez Obrador of using allegations of corruption against former presidents Enrique Pena Nieto and Felipe Calderon to divert attention from his administration’s mishandling of efforts to reduce violent crime and the spread of the novel coronavirus. Emilio Lozoya, a former chief executive of state-run Pemex Oil Company, accused ex-presidents Felipe Calderon and Enrique Pena Nieto of having ties to a bribery scandal. Calderon denies the allegations and Pena Nieto has not spoken publicly on the accusations.  Meantime, Lozoya is awaiting trial on bribery and money laundering charges.  
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After years of planning, China now dominates the world’s production of new generation batteries that are key to transitioning away from fossil fuels. These new batteries are essential for electric vehicles and most portable consumer electronics such as cell phones and laptops.  By 2040, energy analysts estimate over half of all passenger vehicles sold worldwide could be electric, according to 2019 report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. They expect a similar percentage of light commercial vehicles in the U.S., Europe and China sales will be electric within that time, BNEF predicts. If current trends continue, most of them will likely use Chinese batteries, a key element for transitioning away from fossil fuels, and most of those batteries will be lithium ion, which are also popular for cellphones and laptops because of their high energy per unit mass relative to other electrical energy storage systems, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.“Looking at the global automotive industry chain, China, for the first time, has taken the lead in the world in the manufacturing of key parts,” state media Xinhua said in August in a report titled “China’s dominant position in batteries needs to be further consolidated.”  Switching from oil As the United States and China face off over advanced communication technologies like 5G, the world’s battery supply is not yet a major issue. But it will likely grow in importance if the U.S. continues to transition away from fossil fuel energy sources for items such as vehicles, power grids, mobile phones and laptop computers. And that could make the global battery supply an issue of national security.  For nearly half a century, American politicians have sought to protect the country from disruptions caused by foreign oil producers.  “All of our national security decisions were set against the backdrop of what they might mean to our energy security, following the 1973 Yom Kippur war when Egypt and Syria invaded Israel and the Arab nations cut off supplies to the US and allies who helped Israel.” Dan Kish, senior vice president for policy at the American Energy Alliance, a not-for-profit energy advocacy organization, told VOA. In 2019, the U.S. achieved its long-held goal of energy independence” producing enough oil and gas for its domestic needs. The achievement points to the challenge of controlling the raw materials that will power the world’s next energy revolution. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), last year the U.S. imported 78% of its cobalt, and all of its graphite. For the foreseeable future, the country will likely need to depend on Chinese supply chains to produce the batteries that help power America’s economy.  Graphite, cobalt, lithium According to data released from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a London-based research firm for the lithium-ion battery industry, in 2019, Chinese chemical companies accounted for 80% of the world’s total output of raw materials for advanced batteries.  “Of the 136 lithium-ion battery plants in the pipeline to 2029, 101 are based in China,” the firm said in May. “China controls the processing of pretty much all the critical minerals, whether it’s rare earth, lithium, cobalt or graphite,” Pini Althaus, the chief executive of USA Rare Earth, said in a telephone interview with VOA.  A little-known Chinese company that was founded in 2011 is now the world’s biggest maker of electric vehicle batteries.  For three consecutive years ending in 2019, South Korea’s market tracker SNE Research has ranked China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) as No. 1 in the electric vehicle battery production, with a 27.9% market share. CATL makes electric-car batteries for Tesla. CATL hairman Zeng Yuqun told Bloomberg last month that they have developed a power pack that lasts more than a million miles. Among their top customers are Daimler AG, BMW and Toyota.  Battery supply chain China has focused on building capacity at every stage of the battery supply chain.  In addition to rare earths, the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries depends on some key materials like graphite, the material used in pencil tips. In 2019, China produced more than 60% of the world’s graphite, according to U.S. government research. That means Beijing can set world prices. “This is a completely untenable situation,” said Althaus, whose company has a pilot project in Colorado with the goal of producing a full range of rare earths as well as lithium.   He said that it could take the U.S. 20 to 30 years to catch up with China. “It does not matter whether it is China or any other country. It is very dangerous if the world only depends on one country to provide key raw materials.  African cobalt, Chinese factories  Cobalt has emerged as one of the hottest commodities in the new energy revolution because it is widely used in electric vehicles as well as computer and consumer electronics. But unlike graphite, which China has significant natural reserves, the country’s cobalt reserves accounts for only about 1% of the world’s total. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) produces more than 60% of the world’s mined cobalt.  But Beijing controls the global supply of this silvery-blue metal.  According to a working paper published last year by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), eight of the 14 largest cobalt mines in the DRC are Chinese-owned and account for almost half of the country’s output.    DRC mining ownership was not always controlled by China. For example, the largest mine in DRC, the Tenke Fungurume Mine where cobalt is a by-product of its copper mining, was owned by an American company until 2016. That year, for $2.65 billion, Freeport-McMoRan Inc., a leading international mining company with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, sold its mine to China Molybdenum. China’s influence dominates cobalt processing with Chinese companies controlling about 80% of the cobalt refining industry, where it is turned into commercial-grade cobalt metal and power, according to Benchmark Minerals. World lithium reserves China is among the five top countries with the most lithium resources, according to the 2020 USGS, but it has been buying stakes in mining operations in Australia and South America where most of the world’s lithium reserves are found.  China’s Tianqi Lithium now owns 51% of the world’s largest lithium reserve, Australia’s Greenbushes lithium mine. In 2018, the same company also paid about $4 billion to become the second-largest shareholder in Sociedad Química y Minera (SQM), the largest lithium producer in Chile.  Another Chinese company, Ganfeng Lithium, now has a long-term agreement to underwrite all lithium raw materials produced by Australia’s Mount Marion mine, the world’s second-biggest, high-grade lithium reserve.  
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The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice are launching an investigation into “left-wing civil unrest” in “Democrat-run cities,” U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday, adding that federal operations cracking down on urban violence have resulted in the arrests of 200 people, including 100 in Portland, Oregon.“In America, we will never surrender to mob rule, because if the mob rules, democracy is indeed dead,” the president told reporters in the White House briefing room.President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Aug. 31, 2020, in Washington.Trump, emphasizing that “we need order,” spoke just hours after Joe Biden, the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, said the president “can’t stop the violence, because for years, he has fomented it.” Trump countered that Biden’s strategy “is to surrender to the left-wing mob.”Earlier in the day, Biden, a former vice president, speaking in Pittsburgh, looked into the cameras during his remarks, which were carried live on the three main U.S. cable news networks, and said: “Ask yourself, do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?”Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event at Mill 19 in Pittsburgh, Pa., Aug. 31, 2020.Biden called for rioters and looters to be prosecuted and accused Trump of “rooting for chaos and violence” during the election season because he sees it as “a political lifeline.”The trading of accusations comes nine weeks before the presidential election with Biden leading Trump in national polling, although the contest is tight in some key swing states.On Tuesday, Trump is to visit Kenosha, Wisconsin, where protests turned violent last week after a white police officer shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, seven times in the back as officers tried to arrest him. And a white teenage vigilante claiming to protect businesses in Kenosha is accused of  fatally shooting two people and wounding a third during a street demonstration. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
FILE – In this Dec. 19, 2019, file photo, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers sits for an interview with The Associated Press at his office in Madison, Wisc.The governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers, urged the president to skip Tuesday’s visit to Kenosha, saying Trump’s presence “will only hinder our healing. I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together.”   Evers has ordered National Guard troops into Kenosha and accepted additional federal law enforcement assistance to quell the street violence since Blake was shot and left partially paralyzed.Asked by a CNN reporter during Monday’s White House briefing about his supporters firing pepper spray and paintballs at protesters in Portland Saturday night, Trump responded that “paint is not bullets,” adding “your supporters … shot a young gentleman and killed him, not with paint but with a bullet and I think it’s disgraceful.”The president was referring to Aaron “Jay” Danielson, a member of a far-right group, who was shot in the chest after a convoy of hundreds of Trump supporters drove through an anti-racism protest.Violence has fluctuated in downtown Portland since the May 25 death of a black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis when a white police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.Ken Bredemeier   contributed to this report.
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In an interview with VOA, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya appears to reject any idea of imminent Western intervention or help, saying, “The Belarusian people have a responsibility for what’s going on. We think that we have to solve this problem by ourselves.” Belarusians have protested nearly nonstop since the election Aug. 9, in which President Alexander Lukashenko won a disputed sixth term. Protesters claim the election was rigged, an accusation that Lukashenko has denied. Tsikhanouskaya fled to Lithuania with her children after the election.  Here is a transcript of her recent interview with VOA. It has been edited for clarity and length. VOA: Do you believe that you have defeated Lukashenko and that most people in Belarus voted for you on Aug. 9? The Belarussian authorities claim that Lukashenko has won. What evidence do you have of your leadership? Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: All the people who are on the streets now, and the evidence that Mr. Lukashenko didn’t win, and all the people who came to their polling station for voting. VOA: How realistic is that, that Lukashenko will sit down at the negotiating table with you? Tsikhanouskaya: It is realistic because the authorities will not have a way out of this situation. The only way out of this political crisis is negotiations. VOA: Some say you don’t have any plan or strategy. If you do, what is it? Tsikhanouskaya: Our plan is absolutely clear. It’s organization of new elections, fair and transparent. VOA: Do you think Lukashenko should be allowed to participate in new presidential elections? Tsikhanouskaya: No. So, as our elections are absolutely free and clear and transparent, so every person is allowed to participate in these elections. And so, Mr. Lukashenko is a citizen of our country, so physically, he can. But if he has a moral right to participate is a big question. VOA: This weekend, we saw more and more women come out to protest. What’s your message to them? Tsikhanouskaya: I’m so proud that women are playing a great role in these demonstrations, in this so-called revolution. Because our women showed that women play a great role in everyday life. And maybe we inspired them for this movement is because we had to stand instead of our men. So, as they stand in front of their men and beside their men, and it’s wonderful. And I don’t think that the world had ever seen such a demonstration of women in white. VOA: Your countrymen are protesting on the streets of Belarus — cities. You’re in Vilnius, Lithuania. Why did you leave the country?  Tsikhanouskaya: I had big reasons to make this step. I can’t talk about this now. Maybe somewhere in the future I will talk about all my story, but now, I can’t comment on it. VOA: Were you pressured or threatened? Tsikhanouskaya: Sorry, I can’t comment.  VOA: If you knew back in May, what you know now, would you have done it again? Tsikhanouskaya: You know, I have been thinking about this a lot, and of course I had great stress during all this election campaign. And a lot of times, I was ready to step away because I wasn’t sure that I had enough strength to continue. But I see now that it’s so important for Belarusian people. This year is extremely important for the history of Belarus, that we are, at last, woken up, and we are ready to fight for our rights. So now, I think that, yes, I would do this again. VOA: Should Russia or any other Western countries be involved in negotiations between you, the coordination council and Lukashenko? Tsikhanouskaya: “You know, I have to admit that this political crisis that takes place in our country is absolutely an internal affair. And we have — the Belarusian people — have a responsibility for what’s going on. And we think that we have to solve this problem by ourselves. But if it happens then we will need one day (the) help of other countries, help in organizing this — maybe in mediation of these negotiations. So of course, any country that would like to help us with this question is invited.”   
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Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here​.Daily Debunk “Misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccine spread by ‘Plandemic’ video,” Agence France-Presse, August 20. Social Media DisinfoScreenshot Circulating on social media: Claim that CDC added flu and pneumonia cases to its COVID-19 death count.Verdict: FalseRead the full story at: USA Today Factual Reads on CoronavirusScientists see downsides to top COVID-19 vaccines from Russia, China
They are based on a common cold virus that many people have been exposed to, potentially limiting their effectiveness, some experts say.
— Reuters, August 31
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Liberty University is opening an independent investigation into Jerry Falwell Jr.’s tenure as president, a wide-ranging inquiry that will include financial, real estate and legal matters, the evangelical school’s board announced Monday.In a statement, the board said it had retained an outside firm to investigate “all facets” of the school’s operations under Falwell, and that it was “committed to learning the consequences that have flowed from a lack of spiritual stewardship by our former president.”Falwell recently resignedCalls for such an investigation had been mounting since Falwell’s departure last week from the post he had held since 2007.He officially resigned on Tuesday, after a confusing day of back-and-forths about whether or not he would be leaving. His departure came after a news outlet published an interview with Giancarlo Granda, a much younger business partner of the Falwell family. Granda said that he had a yearslong sexual relationship with Becki Falwell and that Jerry Falwell participated in some of the liaisons as a voyeur.Although the Falwells have acknowledged that Granda and Becki Falwell had an affair, Jerry Falwell has denied any participation. The couple allege that Granda sought to extort them by threatening to reveal the relationship unless he was paid substantial monies.’Nothing to hide’The couple said in a statement provided to The Associated Press late Sunday that they support Liberty’s board and “welcome any inquiry as we have nothing to hide.”Falwell took over as the president of Liberty after the death of his famous evangelist father, the Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr. He oversaw a period of expansive growth and transformation: Liberty’s online program exploded, as did its endowment, the campus underwent a massive transformation and the athletics programs improved.Falwell also stayed in the news for a series of divisive remarks as well as his vocal support of President Donald Trump, and was the subject of news stories that focused on his business dealings.Liberty’s statement acknowledged that Falwell’s sharpest critics have long been calling for a departure.”Some may say that all the signs were there for a long time before last week,” the statement said. “It’s certainly fair to say that there were questionable comments made, worrying behavior, and inappropriate social media posts, but all the signs were not there until the start of last week.”The statement also said the school is considering a separate move to reorient it toward its “spiritual mission” by establishing a post in the university leadership dedicated to spiritual guidance for other leaders, ensuring they “live out the Christian walk expected of each and every one of us at Liberty.”New ‘Spiritual mission’The school’s consideration of that new spiritually focused leadership post underscores its concern over the degree to which Falwell’s alleged personal conduct would have violated the behavioral codes the school sets for its own students. Falwell told the AP last week that “I never broke a single rule that applies to staff members at Liberty, which I was.”Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said in a Monday podcast that he didn’t see the school’s treatment of Falwell as a sign of “hypocrisy on the part of the evangelical movement” because once the school became aware of the full scope of Falwell’s behavior, he stepped aside.But, Mohler added, “There may well have been hypocrisy and a failure over time to apply moral standards to the president of the institution that were clearly applicable to students and to faculty. All of that remains to be considered by Liberty University.”
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