WASHINGTON, December 27 -- America’s border security head warned Wednesday officials were overwhelmed by the “enormous flow” of families crossing from Mexico. He is appealing for federal health care funding after the second child in a month died in custody. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said the agency was unable to cope with the thousands of arrivals, as most facilities were built decades ago for men arriving alone. Eight-year-old Felipe Gomez, who collapsed after running a fever, was among almost 25,000 migrant children in U.S. custody, according to McAleenan – the greatest number ever recorded. “That’s an enormous flow, that’s very different from what we’ve seen before,” he said, adding that the onset of the flu season was putting further pressure on health care services. The Department of Homeland Security said 60 percent of the population crossing the border are children or family units, a relatively recent surge that the system has not been designed to cope with.
“Many of our facilities, especially in the very remote areas, were designed and built for apprehension, detention and transportation of this specific group of population, single adult male,” it said in a statement. DHS officials said all children in border control custody would be given a thorough medical screening, reaffirming McAleenan’s commitment to “secondary medical checks” with a focus on those under 10. Felipe was detained with his 47-year-old father at a crossing in El Paso, Texas on December 18 and had been transferred to a New Mexico medical center showing signs of sickness on Monday, the CBP said. Staff diagnosed him with a cold but later discovered a fever. He was discharged midday, with prescriptions for ibuprofen and the antibiotic amoxicillin. The boy was later sent back to the hospital suffering from nausea and vomiting. He died shortly before midnight on December 24. The CBP said it had not established the cause of death but would “ensure an independent and thorough review of the circumstances.”
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BANGKOK, December 27 -- Investigators have found Thailand's deputy prime minister innocent of failing to declare assets a year after he was discovered to have several luxury watches that would have been out of reach of his government salary. The saga began last December when photographs were taken at the unveiling of a new Cabinet. The minister of defense, Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun and reporters noticed his gleaming watch. A check of records of his disclosed assets showed he had never declared the expensive Richard Mille timepiece. His explanation that he had borrowed that watch and more than 20 others from a dead friend was met with public ridicule. The head of Thailand's anti-corruption body said it determined Prawit's explanation to be true. "A committee of the National Anti-Corruption Commission has voted 5 to 3 to rule that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan had intentionally filed a false declaration of assets or was hiding required information," Worawit Sookboon, secretary general of the commission, said at a news conference. Prawit is a top member of the military junta that has ruled Thailand since staging a coup in 2014. It vowed to rid Thai politics of corruption but has seen its members tied to a number of corruption allegations. The junta has promised to hold elections early next year, though critics are concerned the vote could be rigged to put current junta members into elected office. Worawit said the committee ruled that Prawit had borrowed 22 watches from a late high school friend, former businessman Pattawat Suksriwong. He said photos alleged to show Prawit wearing 25 watches include three photos of the same watch. Twenty watches were found at Pattawat's home and a warranty receipt for another showed Pattawat owned 21 of the watches that Prawit was photographed wearing, he said. One watch could not be accounted for, but since Prawit had borrowed 21 from Pattawat, it could be assumed he had borrowed another, Worawit said. BAGHDAD, December 26 -- President Donald Trump has made a surprise Christmas visit to US troops in Iraq, his first trip to a conflict zone nearly two years into his presidency and days after announcing a pullout of American troops from Syria. Air Force One touched down at the Al Asad Air Base west of Baghdad on Wednesday after an overnight flight from Washington with first lady Melania Trump, a small group of aides and Secret Service agents, and a pool of reporters. He was expected to stay for around three hours. Trump has drawn fire from some in the US military for not having visited US troops in conflict zones since taking office in January 2017, particularly after he cancelled a trip to a World War One cemetery in France last month due to rain. On his way home from Iraq, Trump will also stop to visit troops at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Trump was looking for some positive headlines after days of turmoil over his decisions to withdraw all US troops from Syria, pull out half of the 14,000-strong contingent in Afghanistan, and push out Defense Secretary James Mattis two months earlier than planned for criticising his policies. Many Republican and Democratic lawmakers have heaped scorn on Trump for his sudden order last week to withdraw from Syria. On his stop in Iraq, he defended his decision to pull out the 2000 troops from Syria, which he has said was made possible by the defeat of Islamic State militants. MUMBAI, December 26 -- India’s anti-terrorist agency Wednesday said it had busted a local militant cell inspired by ISIS that was planning to carry out bombings and target prominent politicians. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said 10 members of an obscure militant group called Harkat ul Harb-e-Islam were arrested in multi-city raids and a further six suspects were being questioned over their alleged links with the group. NIA spokesman Alok Mittal said arms and ammunition were recovered from the raids over 17 locations, including in the capital New Delhi, as the group prepared to strike several targets ahead of the high-profile Republic Day national event on January 26. “They were at an advanced stage of carrying a series of blasts,” Mittal told reporters at a press conference in New Delhi. “They wanted to explode remote-controlled bombs and even conduct fidayeen [suicide] attacks.” Mittal said the group had attempted to make suicide vests and developed a homemade rocket launcher, adding that the unidentified mastermind of the weapon was based overseas. One of the accused is an engineer, he said. Authorities have previously claimed to have foiled similar ISIS-inspired cells but there is no evidence of the militant group’s presence in the country. All week I was nervous, making sure I ran all my new-migrant errands (get cheap winter clothes, take advantage of free tourism) before the streets went loopy. That Saturday, I locked myself in the house, watching the news on YouTube, waiting to hear screams and explosions. This wasn't the Paris I had been expecting. Protests can be deeply traumatic. Memories of chaos, violence, arrests and blood. I was ready to be PTSD’d out of my mind, but the French have a different approach. For one thing, we had almost a week’s advanced notice: on a Monday, the gilets jaunes were announcing demonstrations for that Saturday. That gave everyone, including the authorities, the chance to prepare.
I only heard the wind between the trees in front of my window. Maybe I was overreacting a bit. How could I not be, after all we went through? I arrived in France four weeks ago, without a clue about the riots that were just around the corner. After going through the traveling stress, the Parisian air was extremely refreshing; the beauty of its architecture, the colorful cafés, the underground tunnels, it all invites you to an adventure where you can actually explore your environment in less hostile fashion. Or so it was, before Paris caught on fire. Third wave exiles face a real challenge in seeing other nation’s problems as something we need to be concerned about. You’d imagine that, with riots in the capital, walking the streets would be out of the question, with everything closed as the state of emergency passes. Well, Paris is the first tourist destination in the world and, regardless of chaos, hundreds of shops, museums and restaurants are always ready to meet the demand. In my case, demonstrations determined whether you’d even leave your house that day; here, the protest is reduced to specific sectors, and life flows around it. In the second week of unrest, for example, some friends and I decided to go on a cruise party on the Seine. You know, buffet, bachata classes (for some reason the French think Latinos love it) and two areas for dancing until four in the morning, for just ten euro's, quite sweet when you come from a place where night clubs have no running water. We’d have to cross Paris from east to west, so you bet I was bracing for winter, but we didn't see any warning sign during the whole trip. What you see on TV? Not even a distant scream for us. There were only three closed metro stations, and the train just passed through them. The only real problem we faced was my Finnish friend who couldn't stop throwing up. The streets were calm and we walked like you would on any other day. Even the attitude of the police is super odd for the amateur spectator; at the beginning of the clashes, they tried to be as restrained as possible--demonstrators could flood the streets around the Arch of Triumph and shout without facing a single cop. It’s like, only the presidential palace was really protected. It took the Gilet jeunes’ violence for them to actually launch tear gas; many criminals use protests as a pretext to go on gang-stuff, from generating fires, to destroying luxury stores where losses reach millions of euro's. When that began, the police got really touchy, but one thing is for sure: No weapons were used, with live or rubber ammo. It’s just tear gas and water for crowd control. All of this is happening because the French government levied a new carbon tax, provoking a rise in a fuel price that was already expensive. Filling the tank of a small car goes for 80 euro's, and if you consider that minimum wage is around 1,400 euro's, you can see how some people are rather annoyed, having to fill their tanks several times a month. So, they protest, but only on Saturdays, and that is super puzzling to your classic demonstrator. See, the dynamic is based on weekly negotiations and waiting for government statements at the end of Fridays. If a satisfactory term isn't reached, the cycle begins again. People literally protest on their free days, the French system doesn't allow them to leave their posts for whatever the reason. ATALANTA, December 26 -- Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench to score a late equaliser as 10-man Juventus salvaged a 2-2 draw at Atalanta. With this result Juventus moved nine points clear of Napoli at the top of Serie A. Carlo Ancelotti's Napoli visit third-placed Inter Milan later in the day, though, with the chance to cut the gap to the reigning champions. Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri decided to rest Ronaldo as the former Real Madrid man did not start a league game for the first time since moving to Italy, but the 33-year-old was needed to level in the 78th minute after Duvan Zapata's double had put the hosts in front following Berat Djimsiti's own goal. Ronaldo's efforts keep Juventus unbeaten in Serie A, ahead of the final game before the winter break against Sampdoria on Saturday. Everything appeared to be going to plan for Juve when they grabbed the lead in only the second minute when Atalanta centre-back Djimsiti completely miskicked Alex Sandro's deflected cross into his own net. But Zapata put a spanner in the Juve works with a fantastic individual goal midway through the first half, spinning centre-back Leonardo Bonucci with ease before drilling a left-footed strike into the far corner.
Douglas Costa fired wide just after the half-hour mark as the visitors looked to restore their advantage, but the Turin giants were reduced to 10 men eight minutes after half-time when Rodrigo Bentancur was shown a second yellow card for a poor tackle on Timothy Castagne. Colombian striker Zapata wasted little time in making Bentancur pay, bundling in from almost on the goalline to put Atalanta ahead and score his ninth league goal of the season. Allegri sent on Ronaldo with 25 minutes remaining, and less than 60 seconds after Robin Gosens wasted a golden opportunity to seal victory for Atalanta, the Portuguese star pounced to nod home from close range. MOSCOW, December 26 -- Vladimir Putin has invited Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who arrived recently in Moscow, to a meal without any delegations from the two countries. “I propose this arrangement: we will listen to how our colleagues have been working, and then we will give the delegations another opportunity to talk, and then I want to invite you separately to a New Year’s work lunch,” Putin said. When speaking about how Russia-Belarus relations have been developing in recent times, the Russian president said that Moscow and Minsk “have every reason to be satisfied”, since trade between the countries has been growing, and relations are developing “extremely successfully” in a variety of areas. “Both industry and agriculture – it is all on the rise,” Putin remarked. The Russian leader also said that he is not surprised that “issues are emerging”, given the large degree of interaction between Russia and Belarus. “As a rule, they are in the energy sphere,” he noted. “Today I propose, even if we don’t make any final decisions, that we and you agree to listen to the sides together. Well, if we do reach an agreement, it will be great,” he resumed. Lukashenko agreed that Moscow and Minsk “truly could come to terms” on all the problematic issues. Some of these disagreements are the result of certain global processes, he noted. “We are involved in the global process, and so the problems which are emerging in world trade, economics, politics and military matters affect us in one way or another,” the Belarusian president said. “Naturally, we would like to deal with these issues and not drag old problems into the new year,” he added. At the start of December, during the Eurasian Economic Union summit in St. Petersburg, the two presidents argued over the price of gas for Belarusian consumers. Lukashenko complained that his country could not compete with Russia due to the fact that gas costs $130 per thousand cubic meters for Belarusian consumers, but only $70 for Russians in the neighboring Smolensk province. In response, Putin said that if Russia were to supply Belarus with gas at market prices, Minsk would be buying gas at more than $200 per thousand cubic meters, and not at $127. The Russian president also suggested that they continue the discussion in private. The Kremlin later announced that the two leaders had agreed to meet before New Year to discuss certain matters of contention in bilateral relations. After the summit, Lukashenko said that he intends to meet with Putin in December to set things strait. The Belarusian leader also said that he had apologized to Putin for the “heated” argument on gas prices during the summit. ZAGREB, December 26 -- Luka Modric added to his collection of awards after a successful 2018 when he was named Croatian sportsman of the year 2018. Sandra Perkovic, five times European champion in discus, won the women's award. The football squad, runners-up in the World Cup, were named Croatian team of the year after a vote by 322 journalists.Modric led his country to the final in Russia in July and played a key role as Real Madrid won a third straight Champions League title in May. The midfielder was rewarded with the Golden Ball for best player at the World Cup, the Best Men's Player award by FIFA in September, and the Ballon d'Or as the world's best player at the start of December. He ended a decade of domination by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the world player of the year awards. MOSCOW, December 26 -- The Russian Defense Ministry has carried out tests of the hypersonic system Avangard to successfully verify all of its technical parameters. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with government members on Wednesday. "On my instructions the industrial enterprises and the Defense Ministry have prepared for and carried out the final test of this system," Putin said. "The test was completely successful: all technical parameters were verified." Russia’s hypersonic missile system will enter service in the Armed Forces next year, Vladimir Putin told the government on Wednesday, stressing that this is a new type of strategic weapons.
"Starting from next year, in 2019, a new intercontinental strategic system Avangard will enter service in the Russian army and the first regiment in the Strategic Missile Troops will be deployed," Putin said. BANGKOK, December 26 -- Festive spending is expected to increase this year from 2017. A decline in oil prices is helping raise the purchasing power of Thais during the New Year season, according to a university survey. Thanavath Phonvichai, vice-president for research at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC), said Thais' spending is forecast to grow 2.5% this year to 135.27 billion baht. Of the total, Bangkok residents are expected to spend 62.2 billion baht, with people in the provinces spending 73.1 billion. Some 97.1 billion baht is projected to be spent on tourism, with 38.2 billion set aside for goods purchases, parties and merit-making.
"Spending during the New Year period can help drive the country's economic growth in the first quarter of next year," Mr Thanavath said. He said the university expects the long-awaited general election to boost economic growth next year, with an estimated 30-50 billion baht to be circulated during the election. The UTCC is maintaining an economic growth forecast of 4.2% this year, which could be the first time in six years that economic growth exceeds 4%. Mr Thanavath said the university predicted that the economy will stay on course, with strong growth next year of 4.3-4.5%. The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) reported in November that the country's GDP showed no growth in the third quarter from the second on a seasonally adjusted basis, after growing 0.9% in the second quarter and 2% in the first quarter. On an annual basis, growth was 3.3% from July to September, easing from the second quarter's 4.6% and revised 4.9% growth in the first quarter, the highest in five years. For the first nine months, the economy grew by 4.3% over the same period last year. Weak economic performance in the third quarter prompted the state planning agency to downgrade the 2018 GDP growth forecast to 4.2% from the previous 4.2-4.7% range. Exports are expected to rise 7.2% this year, rather than 10%. For 2019, the NESDB expects GDP growth of 3.5-4.5%. Mr Thanavath said risk factors that need a close watch include the deepening trade war between the US and China, the US Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes and the Brexit deal. He also expressed concern about the possibility of farm prices dropping in line with global oil prices. BEIJING, December 26 -- Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the international community not to forget Wu Gan, a Chinese blogger. Wu Gan was sentenced to eight years in prison exactly a year ago for criticizing corruption within the Communist Party’s ranks. Wu received the eight-year jail sentence on a charge of “subverting state power” from a court in the northern city of Tianjin on 26 December 2017, after 952 days in preventive detention. Banned from receiving family visits until next February, he has reportedly developed hypertension and a heart ailment since his arrest in 2015. Wu is famous in China for taking up the case of a hotel employee who fatally stabbed a Communist Party official who tried to rape her. He adopted the blog name of “Super Vulgar Butcher” after some of his online critics began calling him that. His Twitter account, which had more than 30,000 political comments, was finally deleted last month along with those of several other Chinese activists.
“As China’s professional journalists are told to serve as the Party’s mouthpieces, the irreverent comments of bloggers such as Wu Gan are needed more than ever to put the official news coverage into perspective,” said Cédric Alviani, the head of RSF’s East Asia desk. “The determination with which the government tries to rid the Internet of such comments is the best evidence of their importance.” Wu was arrested on 19 May 2015 in a round-up of more than 200 human rights lawyers and activists. Several members of this group, dubbed “709,” received prison sentences but Wu was given a heavier sentence than anyone else, almost certainly because he refused to plead guilty. One of the world’s biggest jailers of professional and non-professional journalists, with more than 60 currently detained, China is ranked 176th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2018 World Press Freedom Index, a position it has held for several years. BANGKOK, December 26 -- Police have arrested 10 Indian men and 24 Thai women on suspicion of involvement in fake marriages. In the ongoing crackdown on foreigners living unlawfully in the Kingdom. False documents were used to extend the men’s stay in Thailand, the Immigration Police Bureau announced on Tuesday. The suspects were among 30 Indian men and 30 Thai women wanted in court-issued arrest warrants for forging state documents, using forged documents and filing faulty information to state officials which may result in others’ damages, police told the press. Immigration Police Bureau 1 in Bangkok had detected the fake marriages between the 30 men and 30 women, which were falsely documented in order to extend spousal visas for the men, most of whom made a living in Thailand as illegal moneylenders or salesmen for pay-by-installment goods such as clothing and electrical appliances, police explained.
The 30 women allegedly colluded in the wrongdoing by being hired, reportedly for Bt500-Bt5,000 each, to register fake marriages and submit false documents to the authorities, police said. Immigration Police Bureau 1 revoked the men’s visas and secured 60 arrest warrants for the male and female suspects. They subsequently arrested 10 of the wanted Indians and 24 of their Thai accomplices, and are continuing to look for the 26 fugitives. Police investigators have already presented evidence to revoke the suspects’ faulty marriage licenses with the respective district offices. MEXICO CITY, December 26 -- Russian Ambassador to Caracas Vladimir Zaemsky told Sputnik Wednesday that more Russian jets may be sent to Venezuela as part of bilateral defense cooperation. "Within Russian-Venezuelan cooperation in this area, such missions are not ruled out in the future, and, as before, in full compliance with international norms," Vladimir Zaemsky dismissed Wednesday reports on Moscow's alleged plans to create a Russian military base in Venezuela. "Information on the alleged negotiations on creating a military base in Venezuela, disseminated by some media, is pure speculation. To understand the situation, I would only note that the ban on any foreign military bases is enshrined in the current Venezuelan constitution," the diplomat said.
Earlier in the month, two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers, an An-124 military transport aircraft and an Il-62 plane flew to Venezuela for interoperability drills with the Venezuelan Air Force. Following a flight of several Russian strategic jets to Venezuela for joint drills earlier in December, several Latin American media alleged that Russia had plans to set up its base on the Venezuelan island of La Orchila in the Caribbean Sea. BAGHDAD, December 26 -- The ISIS terrorist group has kicked off a series of attacks in western and northwestern regions of Iraq, revealed security and political sources. Examples of these attacks, were the car bombing in Tal Afar on Tuesday that left two people dead and the kidnapping of 14 civilians in Kirkuk also on Tuesday. The developments have taken place a year since former Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s announcement that ISIS has been defeated in Iraq. An informed political source told Asharq Al-Awsat that prior to the arrival of ISIS, corruption among the military was rife in these regions. This would eventually pave the way for ISIS’ onslaught. After the liberation, however, the regions became embroiled in a struggle for power among forces that emerged victorious in the May parliamentary elections, the source said on condition of anonymity. Each of the victors alone wants to assume power, he went on to say. This dispute is being played out in parliament and government whereby the Sunni camp has been split into two: the Islah and Binaa blocs. The rivalry between them is demonstrated in the differences over ministerial portfolios. The dispute could later seep into the provinces and state agencies, he added. This rivalry could ultimately be exploited by ISIS, he warned.
Meanwhile, security expert Saeed al-Jayashi told Asharq Al-Awsat that since June, ISIS has been working on developing its media and since August, it has been upping its terror operations. He added that the Iraqi armed forces have developed high expertise in combating ISIS. The current developments, however, he warned, cannot be tackled with security measures, but through political and social means. On the Tal Afar bombing, MP Hassan Touran told Asharq Al-Awsat that the region is an important Turkmen area. It also lies inside the Nineveh province and on the volatile Syrian border. ISIS is trying to regroup and recover its power in this region through all possible means, he warned. The security plan in place must therefore be reviewed in order to counter the organization. |
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