Arrested Philippine Mayor Killed in Prison Shootout

On Saturday, a mayor imprisoned for drug-related charges at a jail in the central Philippines was killed along with another inmate in a shootout, police said.

Mayor Rolando Espinosa of Albuera town in Leyte surrendered to the national police chief in August. This was after President Rodrigo Duterte’s request for him and his son, Kerwin, to stop their participation in the drug trade.

The mayor was detained again on October 5 after he was allowed to go home ealier. He is the second local government official on Duterte’s supposed “narco-list” slain during police operations.

The shootout happened after Espinosa and inmate Raul Yap shot at a team from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). Police said the team was on an assignment to serve a search warrant against the convicts.

“As a matter of procedure, this incident will undergo investigation to establish the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident,” said Superintendent Elmer Beltejar, Eastern Visayas Regional Police Chief.

Police said they retrieved a .38 Super pistol and a .45 caliber pistol from the cells of Espinosa and Yap. A small sachet holding suspected methamphetamine and assorted drug accouterments were also unearthed inside Espinosa’s cell, police said.

The presidential palace called Espinosa’s death as “unfortunate”. Further, it said that an investigation was underway.

Espinosa had publicly denied any role in the drug trade. However, he said his son was selling “shabu” (methamphetamine), which he secures from a jailed Chinese drug trader.

Last month, Abu Dhabi police arrested Kerwin. Purportedly he was among the largest illegal drug operators in the Eastern Visayas region, according to Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa.

Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom, in October, was killed alongside nine of his guards in a shootout, according to police. Dimaukom was a powerful mayor in the Duterte’s problematic home province of Mindanao,.

War on Drugs taking Effect

Police operations as well as suspected vigilantes have killed more than 2,300 people. This is in connection with the anti-illegal drugs campaign since Duterte took office on June 30.

On Friday, Duterte said his campaign against drugs had curtailed the supply to “very low” levels. He also thanked China for supporting his crackdown, but cursed constantly at ally the United States for condemning it.

 

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‘Phenomenal Super Moon’ to Appear After 70 Years

UNESCO Says One Journalist Dead Every 4.5 days

On Wednesday, UNESCO announced a disturbing report about journalist killings statistics. According to the institution, one journalist is killed every four and a half days. 39 members of the Intergovernmental Council of UNESCO requested the report. In which Syria tops the list as the worst country for a journalist killed in the line of duty.

According to the report from the Director-General, 827 journalists died while on the job within the past 10 years. The report said, “The extent of the risks faced by journalists is demonstrated by the 827 killings recorded by UNESCO over the course of ten years,”

Worst Countries

In the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity report, the worst countries belong to the Arab Nations. Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya, the four countries with the highest journalist fatalities top the list. Latin America followed next as the worst affected nation.

The report indicates that in the last two years of 2006 to 2015, 59% of the deaths occurred in conflicted zones. Throughout those years, 78 out of the 213 correspondents killed in the Arab Nation. It’s a staggering 36.5% ratio of the journalist casualties.

The most shocking surge of journalist slayings occurred in Western Europe and North America. In 2014, no journalist died in the line of duty, the number drastically increased to 11 journalists killed in 2015.

Local Journalist more vulnerable

The report also revealed that local journalists are more vulnerable to danger than foreign correspondent, amounting to 90% of the fatalities. However, a huge spike of deaths recorded for foreign correspondents in 2014. On the same year, 17 journalists killed compare to an average of 4 correspondents in the past years.

Online Journalist

Similarly, online journalist falls victims to the killings. A huge increase in fatalities with a total count of 21 from 2 in 2014, Syrian bloggers reckoned half of them.

Men vs Women

The UNESCO report also uncovered that men were 10 times more susceptible to killings than women. A total of 195 to 18 deaths recorded from 2014 up to 2015. TV journalists serve main targets than the print journalists.

Findings of the report indicated that death is not the only danger journalist have to face.

The report stated for the world to understand, “To this, one needs to add the countless other violations endured by journalists, which include kidnappings, arbitrary detention, torture, intimidation, and harassment, both offline and online, and seizure or destruction of material.”

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Mosul; ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi “Confident in Victory”

As Iraqi Counter Terrorist forces entered Mosul, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi delivered a message to boost the morale of the ISIS fighters. He also expressed his confidence in victory.

Furthermore, the jihadist leader urged his fighters to attack the neighboring country, Turkey.

“This raging battle and total war, and the great jihad that the state of Islam is fighting today only increases our firm belief, God willing, and our conviction that all this is a prelude to victory,” Baghdadi said in an audio recording.

Baghdadi also called on the people of Mosul to fight the “enemies of God”. He added that they should not “weaken in the jihad.”

He addressed the ISIS suicide fighters to “turn the nights of the unbelievers into days, to wreak havoc in their land and make their blood flow as rivers.”

The city of Mosul, home to 1.5 million people was captured by the Islamic State two years ago. They then declared it as an ISIS ‘caliphate.’

Baghdadi also instructed his fighters to “unleash the fire of their anger” on Turkish forces fighting them in Syria.

Turkey today entered your range of action and the aim of your jihad … invade it and turn its safety into fear,” he added.

Iraqi counter-terrorism forces together with Kurdish troops and some Shi’ite militias have been attacking ISIS forces for months.

Baghdadi instructed his forces to launch “attack after attack” in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, he urged them to target security forces, government officials, media news offices, and members of the Al Saud family.

Baghdadi said Saudi Arabia has sided with “infidel nations in the war on Islam and the Sunna (Sunni Muslims) in Iraq and Syria.”

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi said the caliphate was not affected by the death of its 2 senior commanders named Abu Muhammad al-Adnani and Abu Muhammad al-Furqan. Both commanders were killed this year in a U.S. airstrike.

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Amnesty International Thrown Out of Moscow Office

Last Wednesday, Amnesty International, a human rights campaign group has been evicted from its Moscow Office.

According to the Amnesty Staff’s, they found that the office door’s lock has been changed. Moreover, power has been shut down and a notice from the city government has been placed on the front door.

A statement released by Moscow City Government, from whom Amnesty rented the office said that the group violated the rental agreement and failed to pay on the agreed time. However, Amnesty said they were up to date with payments and have documents to support it.

“The eviction may be part of an official crackdown on civil society groups that criticize the Kremlin, but he said there were other possible explanations.” John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Europe director said.

The Moscow City Government answered, that they sent numerous warning notices about the said payment delays and because of this terms violation, the Amnesty Contract Lease has been voided.

“This complaint was ignored by the unscrupulous tenant,” Moscow City Government said.

“In this connection, the premises were closed and sealed off,” the statement said.
Amnesty group responded back saying that they have not received any notices from the government. They  also said they have documents to prove that they are paid up to October.

Amnesty’s Dalhuisen said: “This bizarre claim is simply not true.”

Amnesty Civil Society Issues

In a phone Interview, Dalhuisen said, “As an organization, along with others, that has criticized the Russian authorities, it is possible this fits into the context of the squeeze on civil society,”

“It is equally possible, however, that this is a genuine administrative mix-up, or that other interests are at play within the municipality. At this stage, I do not want to speculate until we have had the opportunity to try to resolve this with the municipal authorities.”

Meanwhile, Dmitry Peskov Kremlin spokesperson said that he is not aware of the issues going on with Amnesty’s Office.

John Kirby, U.S State Department Spokesman said, “He had seen reports about the eviction, and “obviously we’re concerned about it.”

Washington is now investigating the issue and we’ll see how it goes, He added.

Amnesty International was founded in London. The group castigated Russian authorities and its allies for violating humanitarian laws. This was due to Russia’s airstrikes in the Syrian City of Aleppo that killed hundreds of people. Moscow rebuffed the accusations.

President Putin’s administration accused some civil rights groups as being funded by some western countries to criticize the Kremlin. These civil rights groups are also responsible for provoking revolution to unseat pro-Russian leaders in several ex-Soviet states.

Part of the Kremlin’s move was to suppress these western funded groups. They have specified some non-government organizations as ‘foreign agents,’ which makes them subject to intense investigation from the authorities.

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Friday Evening Deadline Set by Russia for Rebels to Leave Aleppo

On Wednesday, Russia and the Syrian army indicated an extended moratorium on air strikes in Aleppo. The two allied forces told anti-government rebels in the city to leave by Friday evening,

Russia is helping forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad to retake full control of Aleppo. However, rebels would be permitted to depart the city unharmed and with their weapons between 0900 and 1900 local time on Nov. 4 thru two distinct corridors, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Civilians and the wounded and ailing would be allowed to leave thru six other corridors, it said.

The Syrian army issued a similar statement later in the day urging rebel fighters to cease firing and to “use this opportunity” to leave the city with their weapons.

An official in an Aleppo-based insurgent group said rebels spurned the calls.

Fastaqim rebel group’s Zakaria Malahifji told Reuters that leaving Aleppo is completely out of the question. They will not give up the city of Aleppo to the Russians and will not surrender.

He denied there were corridors assuring safe transit and said civilians did not believe the government side.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said President Vladimir Putin had instructed the pause in fighting to prevent senseless killings. Further, Syrian authorities would guarantee its troops withdraw from the two corridors assigned for rebels.

Humanitarian cease-fires intended to allow both civilians and rebels to depart the city have been arranged by Moscow and Damascus previously. However, they have mostly failed amid unceasing violence as both sides accuse each other of preventing people from leaving.

No way out for rebels

On Tuesday, a Kremlin spokesman said the cessation of air strikes was still in effect, but could not be extended if rebels in the city did not cease their attacks.

Rebels inside the city had taken heavy casualties during the fighting and were essentially trapped, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

“All attempts by the rebels to break through in Aleppo have failed,” the ministry said. “The terrorists have suffered heavy losses in lives, weapons, and equipment. They have no chance to break out of the city.”

 

 

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Remaining Migrant Children Leaves Calais ‘Jungle’

A week after the demolition, French Authorities started transporting a total of 1,500 minor migrants out from the Calais ‘Jungle’ Camp.

Based on reports, French authorities first bussed the minor migrants out of the camp around 08:30 local time. The unaccompanied minors will be brought to the relocation centers. Before the demolition, the children were housed in converted shipping containers, hoping to move to the UK.

Citing asylum application, French authorities released a document stating that no UK application transfer will be processed in Calais.

French President Francois Hollande released a statement last Tuesday in La Voix du Nord newspaper. He said, “Their cases could now be investigated individually by UK officials once they have been transferred to reception centers in France”.

Meanwhile, the two countries, France and the UK argued over who should take the responsibility for the children in Calais.

Records show that the UK adopted around 270 minors with families residing in the UK or are considered as vulnerable.

“The others will be looked after in France”, Mr. Hollande said.

The first out of 30 some buses were scheduled to travel going to Carcassonne in south-western France. The next will go to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer near Montpellier in southern France.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said, “more than half of the children had left Calais during the morning and expected the operation to be over by the end of the day.”

According to Mr. Holland, “No-one will be allowed back into the dismantled camp, a staging post for irregular migrants fleeing war and poverty and trying to cross the Channel to the UK.”

After transporting 7,000 people to relocation centers somewhere in France, authorities totally demolished the remaining houses in Calais.

Major scuffle

On Tuesday night riot police were called to the camp when fighting broke out between Eritrean Christian and Afghan Muslim teenagers.

Police said about 100 youths were involved. Dozens of Eritreans reportedly took sanctuary in a makeshift church due to the fighting.

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Philippines’ Duterte Condemns U.S. for Stopping Gun Sale

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte suggested on Wednesday that he might turn to China or Russia after the United States stopped the planned sale of 26,000 rifles to his country. He even called those behind the decision “fools” and “monkeys”.

Duterte’s outbursts against the former colonial power are customary during his speeches. He said on Wednesday he once had faith in Washington, but had since lost respect for the Philippines’ biggest ally.

Senate aides said on Monday that the U.S. State Department discontinued the sale of the assault rifles to the Philippine police following U.S. Senator Ben Cardin’s announcement that he would oppose it.

Cardin, the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was hesitant for the United States to offer the weapons due to concerns about human rights violations in the Philippines throughout Duterte’s bloody, four-month-old war on drugs, aides said.

“Look at these monkeys, the 26,000 firearms we wanted to buy, they don’t want to sell,” Duterte said during a televised speech.

“Son of a bitch, we have many home-made guns here. These American fools.”

Anti-narcotics drive was the lynchpin of Duterte’s election campaign. Police and suspected vigilantes have killed more than 2,300 people in anti-drug operations as part this campaign.

Duterte has expressed his anger at the United States for bringing up concerns about the extra-judicial killings.

He said the reason why he was rude at them is because they were rude to him.

Based on procedures in Washington, the State Department notifies Congress when international weapons sales are in the works. Aides said the State Department had been advised Cardin would oppose the transaction during the pre-notification process, thus stopping the sale.

U.S. State Department officials declined to comment.

On Tuesday, Philippine police chief Ronald dela Rosa expressed displeasure that police would not get the M4 rifles, which he said were dependable.

Duterte reiterated that China and Russia had indicated willingness to sell arms to the Philippines. However, he would wait to see if his military sought to continue using U.S. weapons.

 

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British Airways Pilot Suspended After Allegedly Pleasuring Himself While Flying

A British Airways pilot has been suspended after allegedly pleasuring himself in a cockpit of a plane at 38,000 feet.

BA Captain Colin Glover, 51 years old got suspended after a series of explicit images emerged of a man performing sexual acts while wearing black woman’s stockings. A pornographic magazine on top of the plane’s controls could also be seen in a picture.

The pictures are believed to have been taken on two separate long-haul flights and must have been taken at night.

Twice married Captain Glover, father of one, and lives in Dublin, denies he was the same man in the lewd photos.

He graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University in 1987 and employed with British Airways since 1990. He would face a permanent ban from flying any aircraft if found guilty performing sexual acts while flying.

In Captain Glover’s LinkedIn account shows he has flown B737s, B747s, B757s, B767s, and B777 aircraft.

British Airline spokesperson told MailOnline, “We are taking this matter very seriously and are investigating.”

Airline expert Chris Yates told The Sun on Sunday, “This is very dangerous if the plane is in mid-flight,” he added, “If you are flying, you can fly into serious turbulence.”

He said the pictures were likely taken in a simulator because of the plane’s lighting.

Cockpit simulators do not have any toilets. However, one picture shows a man naked in a plane lavatory.

BA officials confirmed that they are conducting an investigation and to identify whether the photos were taken during mid-flight.

Scandal-prone airline

The lewd photos are the latest serious scandals involving British Airline employees in recent years.

Pilots Sean Murphy and Paul Lytollis were recently placed under investigation after getting into a fight in Houston, Texas.

Last year, BA Special Services agent Matthew Underwood got suspended due to allegations of taking backhanders from celebrities and businessmen.

And in 2013, off-duty BA cabin crews were seen drinking bottles of champagne and red wine in front of First and Club Premium cabin passengers.

Passengers said the stewards and stewardesses started screaming and shouting like “spoiled brats”. Moreover, some were even kissing and petting each other.

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Report Says MH370 Plane In ‘increasing Rate of Descent’ When It Disappeared

A report by the Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) on the missing Malaysia Airlines was released on Wednesday. The agency said the Australian safety investigator heading the search backs its assessment that the aircraft descended rapidly with no human intervention after it ran out of fuel.

Flight MH370 vanished in March 2014 on the way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 passengers and crew aboard. It is currently one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.

The evaluation of wing flap debris indicated the aircraft was not aligned for a landing, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said.

Further, it revealed that satellite communications from the aircraft were constant with it being in a “high and increasing rate of decent” when it disappeared, colloquially acknowledged as a death dive.

The 28-page report includes new end-of-flight and drift simulations that indicate experts believe the existing search area is the most likely to cover the crash site. It overlaps with the start of a three-day meeting of international experts to work out potential plans to resume the search.

That analysis of a wing flap had “enhanced certainty” at what had occurred, ATSB search director Peter Foley told media on Wednesday

“It was probably in a non-extended position which means the aircraft wasn’t configured for a landing or a ditching,” said Foley. He was referring to the practice of extending wing flaps to allow an aircraft to travel safely at slower speeds in preparation for a landing.

“You can draw your own conclusions as to whether that means someone was in control or not.”

The issue of whether there was human intervention as the aircraft was descending is critical. If the aircraft glided, the wreckage could be beyond the 120,000 square km (46,330 square miles) search area. However, most of this expanse has already been thoroughly searched.

Authorities believe the plane was on auto-pilot and spiraled when it ran out of fuel. They assume it had no “inputs” during its final descent. This means there was no pilot or no conscious pilot.

But Fugro, the engineering group heading the search, has earlier raised the possibility that someone could have glided the aircraft. This is to rationalize why it hasn’t been located.

University of New South Wales head of aviation Jason Middleton said the wing flap analysis was of inadequate value.

Middleton said the analysis only meant the pilot was not awake, alert or planning a safe landing.

The new drift simulations only indicated that the aircraft was in that general area of the ocean that is being investigated. It did not aid in defining a new search area in the Indian Ocean, he said.

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North Korea To Launch Missile Within Few Days

North Korea has been preparing to launch another ballistic missile in the next three days. This was according to an unconfirmed report by Fox Business News.

Officials from South Korea said they are closely monitoring the activity of its neighbour, especially its military manoeuvres.

The Unification and Defense Ministry spokesperson told reporters on Wednesday, “I could say the government is fully prepared for possible various kinds of North Korean provocations and has been paying sharp attention to relevant movements.”

On October 20, North Korea tried to launch an intermediate-range Musudan missile, reports show the test failed after launch.

According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, the intermediate-range Musudan missile has a lethal range of 1,500 to 2,500 miles. This is enough to threaten neighboring allied bases in South Korea, Japan, and Guam.

North Korea has been making “provocative” moves recently, firing ballistic missiles and developing nuclear warheads. Moreover, they have ignored U.N. sanctions to stop them from developing weapons of mass destruction.

On Tuesday, Ambassador Joseph Yun, a U.S. State Department Special Representative for North Korea Policy had a bilateral meeting with South Korean Foreign Ministry representative Kim Hong-Kyun. They discussed North Korea’s recent provocative moves.

The two officials also talked about a new U.N. Security Council resolution aimed to sanction North Korea and to improve the two countries mutual ties.

“We affirmed that hastily insisting on the need for dialogue is not helpful in solving the North Korean nuclear issue and that the most important thing was to proceed with further strengthening sanctions and pressure against North Korea,” the South Korea Minister said.

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Battle for Mosul Gains Ground as Iraqi Forces Enter the City

On Monday, Iraqi troops broke through ISIS lines of defense in the eastern suburb of Mosul. For the first time, the advancing Iraqi forces entered the city, taking the battle to the terrorists’ doorstep.

The breakthrough is considered the largest military operation since Saddam Hussein’s capture in 2003. The Iraqi forces supported by Washington entered the city of Mosul. Iraqi commanders said the battle to retake the city could take months.

Iraqi’s Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) troops advanced on Gogjali, an industrial zone on the eastern part of Mosul.

CTS commander Lieutenant-General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi said in an interview conducted by a state television that his forces had reached the Karama district inside the insurgent’s occupied city.

Kurdish Peshmerga Intelligence said they have received reports saying 7 ISIS militants were killed in the district of Aden, 2 of their vehicles were also destroyed.

An Iraqi state television also reported that residents of the city were rising up against the Islamic state fighters. Some of these mutineers allegedly opened fired on an Islamic State Police unit in Intisaar district, in Karama.

No one has confirmed the “uprising reports” but the Iraqi forces and its U.S. allies are hoping this insurrection could help them retake the city. ISIS seized Mosul in 2014 declaring it as a “Caliphate” to rule over all Muslims.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the Iraqi forces are now closing off all routes going out Mosul, to avoid thousands of ISIS fighters escaping from the city.
“God willing, we will chop off the snake’s head,” he added.

“They have no escape, they either die or surrender.”

Last October 17, the Iraqi Forces joined by Kurdish Peshmerga Fighters started their offensive against the Islamic State fighters. They were provided with ground and air support from a U.S. led anti-ISIS coalition.

U.S. anti-ISIS coalition deputy commander, British Major General Rupert Jones told Reuters, “They are making deliberate progress, they’re on their timeline.”

Anti-Islamic state fighters ranging about 50,000 troops are now storming the city’s outskirts as they strategically enter Mosul.

The Islamic State forces have been avoiding a direct fight with any militants advancing into the city. Instead, they are sending suicide cars, deploying snipers and mortars.

On Monday, the Islamic State said they have carried out “suicide operations” against the advancing forces. However, they failed to mention any casualty.

U.N. officials and some villagers said the terrorist group brought thousands of displaced civilians toward Mosul. The militants were using them as “human shields” to cover their retreat.

They also have set some properties on fire to create a ‘smokescreen,’ setting the whole region on smoke.

U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, “the scorched earth tactics employed by retreating ISIL members are having an immediate health impact on civilians, and risk long-term environmental and health consequences.”

No one from both forces has given any number of casualty, but both claim they have killed thousands of their opponents.

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China Shows Off J-20 Stealth Fighter At Country’s Biggest Expo

For the first time, China showed its Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter in public on Tuesday as it opened the biggest meeting of aircraft buyers and makers with a show of its military power.

In the southern city of Zhuhai, Airshow China provides Beijing an occasion to display its ambitions in civil aerospace. Moreover, the country gets to highlight its developing capability in defense. China is primed to surpass the U.S. as the world’s foremost aviation market in the next decade.

Two J-20 jets zoomed over luminaries, industry executives and hundreds of spectators assembled at the show’s opening ceremony. The flypast barely exceeded a minute. The jets produced a deafening roar that the crowd greeted with applause and gasps. It also triggered car alarms in a parking lot.

Planespotters first saw the J-20 in 2010. Experts say China has been polishing designs in the hope of reducing a military technology gap with the United States. As China takes a more assertive stance in Asia, President Xi Jinping has pressed to reinforce the armed forces, specifically in the South China and East China seas.

“It is clearly a huge step forward in Chinese combat capability,” said Aviation Week’s Bradley Perrett, a veteran China watcher.

Further, state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) was confident on China’s appetite for new civilian planes. The company projected that the market would necessitate 6,865 new aircraft worth $930 billion over the next 20 years.

The COMAC forecast – comparable to long-term viewpoints from well-established rivals Airbus Group and Boeing Co – said China would contribute almost a fifth of worldwide demand for almost 40,000 planes over the next two decades.

After screaming onto the Zhuhai stage as a pair at low-level, one of the J-20s quickly vanished over the distance. It left the other to perform a series of turns, baring its delta wing shape against bright sub-tropical haze.

It was China’s second consecutive demonstration of stealth at the biennial show, after the 2014 debut of the J-31.

J-20 capabilities remain vague

However, experts said the fleeting and relatively cautious J-20 routine, wherein the pilots did not perform low-speed passes or open weapon bay doors, answered few questions.

“I think we learned very little. We learned it is very loud. But we can’t tell what type of engine it has, or very much about the mobility,” said Asia Managing Editor of FlightGlobal Greg Waldron. “Most importantly, we didn’t learn much about its radar cross-section.”

A crucial question is whether the new Chinese fighter can equal the radar-evading properties of Lockheed’s F-35, the latest strike jet in the U.S. arsenal, or the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor air-to-air combat jet. The F-22 is the J-20’s closest lookalike.

But the mere exhibition of such a newly created aircraft was a telling signal, others said.

Sam Roggeveen, a senior fellow at the Sydney-based Lowy Institute said that it’s a shift in tactics for the Chinese to openly show off weapons that aren’t in full squadron service yet. It shows a lot of confidence in their ability, and also a lot of pride.

 

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Australia, Indonesia to Hold Joint South China Sea Patrols

On Tuesday, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said that Australia is contemplating on joint naval patrols with Indonesia in the disputed South China Sea.

Indonesia’s invitation for joint patrols at a bilateral meeting in Bali last week was in line with Australia’s policies of exerting its right of freedom of navigation, Bishop said.

Bishop told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio that patrolling the contested waters is in accordance with international law. It also shows the country’s support for peace and stability in the region.

Australia is a steadfast ally of the United States. It has earlier elicited criticism from China for conducting surveillance flights over disputed islands in the South China Sea. The country also supports U.S. freedom of navigation exercises there.

The South China Sea, where close to $5 trillion of sea-borne trade transits annually, is almost wholly claimed by China. Last month, China advised Australia to act and speak cautiously on the South China Sea.

The Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims on parts of the sea. The area is considered to have heavy deposits of oil and gas.

Indonesia and Australia already carry out joint sea patrols in the Timor Sea as part of the countries’ collaboration on battling illegal fishing and people smuggling.

Bishop said that Australia and Indonesia would advise other nations in the region of any scheduled exercise.

A part of Australia’s commitment

She said that the sea patrols are a regular part of what the Australian navy does. This is part of their commitment in the region. Such operations are in line with Australia’s right of freedom of navigation including in the South China Sea.

In July, following a case brought by the Philippines, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague said China’s assertions to the waterway were invalid. Beijing, which has erected several artificial islands with landing strips in the sea, has rejected the ruling.

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UNICEF: Air Pollution Deadly Hazard to 2 Billion Children

New Delhi, India, – Over the weekend, Indian skies were filled with extravagant fireworks. The celebration, however, adds another significant misery to their daily lives. The smoke coming from the fireworks aggravated the city’s air pollution problems and is a severe health risk to residents, particularly children.

New Delhi turns out to be one of the most polluted cities in the world.

Deadly health hazard

According to The United Nations Children’s Fund report, air pollution worldwide affects 2 billion children. A third of the statistical data lives in Northern India and nearby countries. The outcome could not have been more serious, if not deadly. Serious health problems can be developed in prolonged exposure to air pollution which includes lung and brain damage to top the list.

Out of the 2 billion children worldwide, 300 million, including 200 million in Southeast Asia suffer unhealthy exposure. These children are subjected to the pollution level six times more that the average of the World Health Organization standard.

Sure enough, the cause of the pollution is the customary garbage burning of residents to stay warm in winter. Hence, air pollution in the Indian capital is at its highest during winter which is further exacerbated by the season’s weak airstreams.

The Diwali Effect

Prior to the much anticipated Hindu holiday, the Diwali festival, experts noted the high levels of concentration of microscopic lung- obstructing particles called PM 2.5. On Friday, the presence of PM 2.5 recorded was beyond 300 micrograms per cubic meter.

After the festive celebration, PM 2.5 levels rose above 900 mcg per cubic meter. The World Health Organization recommends no more than 10 mcg per cubic meter exposure to PM 2.5. Diwali’s aftermath pollution on Monday was more than 90 times greater than normal.

Correspondingly, local officials released health warnings mostly for children, elderly and to people suffering respiratory or heart problems. The notice instructs residents to just stay indoors because of the pollution. The nearby states of Punjab and Haryana worsened the condition because of an on-going burning of spent agricultural crops.

An 18-year-old student in Delhi, Dharmendra said, “My eyes are irritated, I’m coughing and I find it difficult to breathe”. He added that because of the pollution, he does not “go out so much nowadays.” The teenager is using only one name, an ordinary custom in India.

Health disaster

The executive director of the Centre for Science and Environment, Anumita Roy Chowdhury said, “Pollution levels every winter gallop, and we are already beginning to see the signs of it”.

Several local studies show that a third of the city’s children have acquired lung and respiratory illnesses which “signals health disaster”, according to Chowdhury.

Children are more vulnerable to develop air pollution related diseases since they breathe twice as fast compared to adults. Their brain and body are taking in more air while their immune systems are still developing.

According to UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake, “The impact is commensurately shocking”. A study published on Monday showed that 600,000 children not more than 5 years old are dying worldwide because of air pollution related problems. He added that “Millions more suffer from respiratory diseases that diminish their resilience and affect their physical and cognitive development.”

The Real Deal

Out of the total 2.26 billion children worldwide, 2 billion children suffered from air pollution; 620 million in South Asia, mostly in northern India, 520 million children in Africa and 450 million, chiefly in China.

The report was taken in ‘combined satellite images’ of air pollution with ground data to pinpoint demographic patterns of the highest risk areas. For the WHO, it is a very alarming state where a huge total of the population were exposed to unhealthy air.

“Change the Air”

New Delhi, well aware of their air pollution situation started to pass legislation to control the worsening condition.

They started to ban cargo trucks from main highways and require drivers to purchase new vehicles which can meet the higher emission standards. They created a strategic limitation of the number of vehicles on the road and planned experimental traffic control.

However, other major pollution sources like construction dust, burning wood or kerosene remains unmonitored.

Authorities also turn to mobile phones for their advocacy. Last week they launched “Change the Air” app. They hope it will spark a chain reaction for residents to send in photos and report illegal sources of pollution.

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Status Quo at Contested Scarborough Shoal has not changed — China

The situation at the contested Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea “has not changed and will not change”, China said on Monday. This after the Philippines said Chinese ships that barred the area for four years had stopped bullying its fishermen.

On Sunday, Philippine security officials said China had reduced its naval presence at the shoal. The change occurred after President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Beijing. Duterte’s state visit was intended at mending ties and wooing investment.

The conditions behind China’s seeming softening of its position are unclear, though the disputed territory is important for the expansive balance of power in the South China Sea.

Hua Chunying, China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, was questioned about Philippine fishermen entering the area unhindered. She said China at all times had “normal administration” over the Scarborough Shoal.

“The relevant situation has not changed and will not change,” she told a regular briefing.

Hua said Duterte’s trip to Beijing demonstrated a general improvement in relations.

Since appropriating the Scarborough Shoal in 2012, China had prevented fishermen from fishing in the area.

Philippine fishermen said that Chinese boats had left them alone as they returned from the area during the weekend with loads of fish.

It infuriated the Chinese when the previous Philippine government filed a case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2013. This was after China started blocking its fishermen from the prime fishing spot.

The tribunal ruled in July in favor of the Philippines, which China declines to accept. The court declared that no one country had sovereign rights over the shoal. Further, as a customary fishing ground, Philippine, Chinese and Vietnamese were entitled to access it.

Duterte thaws the ice

After Duterte took office four months ago, a frigid Philippine-China relationship improved considerably. The Philippine president began praising China as he denounced long-standing ally the United States in a reversal of his predecessor’s foreign policy.

Hermogenes Esperon, Duterte’s national security adviser, confirmed there had been no arrangement between the two countries about the Scarborough Shoal.

The dispute had not been settled and the Philippines would reaffirm its rights when bilateral talks resume, he said. Though he acknowledged that “the climate has changed”.

“They have coastguard ships there, there are no more navy ships and our fishermen are no longer accosted, they are not driven away,” Esperon said.

“In short, they are more friendly now.”

 

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Buildings Collapse as Another Powerful Earthquake Hits Italy

A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit central Italy on Sunday, collapsing more buildings in small cities and towns previously shuddered by tremors in the past two months. There were no immediate reports of casualties, though.

It was a stronger quake than one that struck central Italy on Aug. 24, killing close to 300 people. Thousands of aftershocks have been recorded in the weeks since then, including two exceptionally powerful tremors last Wednesday.

Italy’s emergency services said there was severe damage in numerous locations in the central regions of Umbria and Marche on Sunday. Three people were rescued from debris in the town of Ussita. However, there were no reports of casualties, State broadcaster RAI said.

The monks said the ancient Basilica of St. Benedict in the walled town of Norcia was ravaged by the quake. Images on television showed a collapsed church in the town center and also another church with one side reduced to rubble.

Several towns and villages previously thrashed by the 6.2 quake in August had seen further substantial damage, local authorities said.

“This morning’s quake has hit the few things that were left standing. We will have to start from scratch,” Arquata del Tronto deputy mayor Michele Franchi told Rai television.

Most of these places were largely deserted when the quake hit on Sunday morning at around 7.40 a.m. (2:40 a.m. ET) as residents were already evacuated following the August tragedy.

The earthquake was felt as far as Bolzano in the north, close to the boundary with Austria and as far as the Puglia region in the south at the bottom end of the Italian peninsula.

In Rome, transport authorities had to close down the metro system for checks as the quake was also felt strongly in the capital.

Italy one of the most earthquake prone in Europe

Italy rests on two fault lines, making it one of the most seismically active nations in Europe.

The last major earthquake to hit the country before this year hit the central city of L’Aquila in 2009. Casualties reached more than 300 people.

In 1908, an earthquake followed by a tsunami eradicated an estimated 80,000 people in the southern sections of Reggio Calabria and Sicily. This was the most deadly since the start of the 20th century.

 

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Is Afghan hound Tea the world’s most photogenic dog?

Duterte Says God Got Him To Stop Swearing

God spoke to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on a flight from Japan on Thursday. The president said he has promised to stop swearing after God warned him that the plane would crash if he kept using foul language.

The former mayor is known for profanity that has included flare-ups targeted at U.S. President Barack Obama and Pope Francis. He said he heard a voice and recognized it was God, telling him to clean up his act.

Duterte appeared at a news conference on Thursday upon arrival in his home city of Davao. He said he was looking at the skies while he was on the flight home. Everybody was asleep but a voice said that, “you know, if you don’t stop epithets, I will bring this plane down now”.

“And I said, ‘who is this?’ So, of course, it’s God. OK.

“So, I promise God … not to express slang, cuss words and everything.”

Duterte appeared as an aggressive, insensitive, alternative candidate in a May election which he won by a big margin. He owed much of his success to his unsophisticated style and promises to attack problems vital to ordinary people, like crime and drugs.

Once he took office, he was advised to act more presidential. However, it was an advice not heeded for long. Duterte continued his eruptions of profanity with passion when he began hearing foreign criticism of his deadly war on drugs.

 

He has called U.S. President Barack Obama a “son of a bitch”. He also used the same words in disparaging the pope.

He called U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a “devil”, he told Obama to “go to hell”, and said “fuck you” twice to the European Union, while raising his middle finger.

Duterte also used the same language in Tokyo on Tuesday when talking about his annoyance with foreign criticism of his drug war.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that Duterte is certainly entitled to his opinions about his own relationship with a supreme being.” However, he declined to say whether Duterte’s promise might make it easier to deal with him.

Duterte’s foreign affairs adviser Alan Peter Cayetano said that the president was tired and seemed preoccupied during the flight back from Japan.

Cayetano told reporters on Friday that Duterte felt it was a message from God.

He said that he always felt that Duterte is a deeply spiritual person. He’s not religious, but he believes in God, he added.

The Philippines is largely Roman Catholic.

 

 

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Venezuela Government Threats Cause Erratic Protest Participaton

Despite strong opposition to Venezuela’s incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, the strike on Friday was subtle than usual. The Venezuelan government gave an ultimatum to close down businesses who will participate in the protest.

12-hour ‘shutdown’

The Democratic Unity Coalition, Venezuela’s government opposition called for a 12-hour shutdown. A political tactic to pressure the administration to pursue the recall referendum to veto their most hated socialist leader.

To ensure businesses will stay open, the government assigned intelligence agents to inspect businesses. They also dispatched the agents outside Polar, the country’s major food and beer private company to make sure it will operate normally.

However, business owners, facing threats if they backed up the strike, allowed their employees to freely decide whether to come in for work or not.

The second-in-command of the presiding Socialist Party, Diosdado Cabello said, that they are after big companies, who will echo “a coup d’etat like in 2002”. Cabello released his statement pertaining to the short-lived coup of the former President Hugo Chavez in 2002.

People support the strike but…

In San Cristobal, the western city of Venezuela serves as one of the focal points where hostility against President Maduro is the strongest. An insurance agent, Adolfo Diaz, aged 38, who works in the city, summarized Venezuelan’s sentiment in saying; “The strike is a good pressure tactic, but if I don’t work, I don’t eat”. He said while trying to get to work despite the scarcity of buses available for commuters.

Furthermore, the transport system in San Cristobal was deeply affected by the previous demonstration. According to witnesses, protesters and police collided in a violent encounter. Also, the government fined two businesses that decided to remain closed during the protest on Friday.

Meanwhile, in Caracas, Venezuela’s main capital, traffic was lighter compared to the Wednesday’s protest. Tens of thousands anti-Maduro protesters attended the previous protests where they rallied in the main highway of Caracas. But Friday’s protest was ‘patchy’, streets were almost empty for a weekday since most students choose to stay at home.

Correspondingly, stores of commodities like bakeries and pharmacies were open. Consumers lined up to buy basic goods such as bread and flour, of which the country lacks sufficient supplies since the start of the economic crisis.

One unemployed resident, who was standing in a bakery line in Eastern Caracas, Eduardo Martinez aged 51, stated that he supports the opposition but does not want to participate in the shutdown.

Practical reasons

Most of the businesses that stayed open opt to choose the practical decision.

This is true in the situation of Alfonso Brito, aged 54 and a Café Owner. For the businessman, he could not afford to lose another day’s profits from his café. According to the shop owner, only a handful of people were able to buy from his shop. He also added that he already lost so much during the Wednesday’s protest, to close his shop again.

Businesses are democratic

In Venezuela’s second largest city, Maracaibo, streets were practically empty. Leydy Nava, an associate in a real estate company said, “We have to support the Democratic Unity … in my company we obeyed the strike”.

Carlos Larrazabal, the Vice-President of Venezuela’s largest umbrella company group, Fedecamaras, said in a Reuter’s interview that their companies remained open. They allowed their employees to decide whether they will come to work, displaying the democratic essence of their company. However, tension can be seen outside the company where government stationed troops to inspect and observe.

Opposition leaders are planning another protest next week in the Miraflores presidential palace. They pledged to carry out a political trial for Maduro in the National Assembly.

If Maduro lost to the recall referendum, it will prompt another presidential election, threatening to end the 17 years of socialist rule.

Starvation in an oil-rich country

Venezuela’s boasts of the largest oil reserves worldwide. Nonetheless, it is suffering three years of recession. Residents endure skipping meals as inflation rates are at its highest.

President Maduro, aged 53, defends himself by blaming the US-led “economic war” and the decreasing value of oil prices globally.

Opposition leaders accused the OPEC nation’s president of staging a “coup”, controlling the government institutions and arresting people who are planning to push the referendum.

On the other hand, Maduro said that his opponents are trying to illegally remove him from power.

The Wednesday demonstration showed Venezuela’s unified effort to oust the incumbent president. Local authorities confirmed a total of 97 protesters arrested, 82 people injured including 26 policemen. Also, seven policemen are facing human rights violation.

Miguel Acevedo, a tax official, said that “The only thing the opposition wants is to ruin the country”. He interpreted the erratic display of support on Friday’s demonstration as “the country said no to the opposition.”

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