Brazil Withdraws Offer to Host UN Climate Change Conference

BRASILIA, LELEMUKU.COM - Brazil has withdrawn its offer to host a large U.N. conference on climate change next year, the foreign ministry said Wednesday, in a move that environmental groups said put into question Brazil's commitment to reducing carbon emissions.

Brazil pulled its offer to host the 2019 climate change conference because of "the current fiscal and budget constraints, which are expected to remain in the near future,'' according to a foreign ministry statement sent to the Associated Press on Wednesday.

Environmental groups interpreted the decision as a nod to President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, who promised during his campaign to pull Brazil out of the Paris Accord on climate change.

Since being elected, Bolsonaro has publicly wavered on those promises. However, climate scientists have said that Bolsonaro's stated intention to open the Amazon for greater development could make it impossible for Latin America's largest nation to meet its reduced emissions targets in the coming years.

The World Wildlife Fund in Brazil noted that the decision not to host next year's conference diverged from the position shared by Brazilian officials before the elections, "demonstrating the strong influence of the transition team."

"Brazil's participation is vital to meeting global targets, as our country is currently the 7th largest emitter of greenhouse gases and the Amazon has a key role in regulating global climate," said the group in a statement.

Brazil's candidacy to host next year's meeting was to be reviewed during this year's conference, which begins this weekend in Krakow, Poland.

Brazil's foreign ministry didn't immediately respond to questions about whether anybody from the current administration of President Michel Temer or Bolsonaro's transition team would attend the meeting in Poland.

Bolsonaro, who takes office Jan. 1, vowed during the campaign to help mining and agribusiness companies expand their activities in protected areas, including Amazonian forests.

Bolsonaro's pick for foreign minister, Ernesto Araujo, has also expressed skepticism about climate change.

"This dogma has served to justify an increase in the [...] power of international institutions over national states and their populations," the incoming minister wrote in an October blog post. (VOA)

Donald Trump 'Willing' to Shut US Government Over Border Wall Funding

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - U.S. President Donald Trump says he would "totally be willing" to partially shut down the government next week if he does not get more funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border to thwart Central American migrants from entering the country.

The U.S. leader, who almost daily unleashes verbal attacks on migrants trying to cross into the United States, told the Politico news site he is insisting that $5 billion for wall construction be included in measures Congress needs to approve to keep several federal agencies open after their current spending authority expires December 7.

Opposition Democrats have said they will approve $1.6 billion for the wall, leaving the two sides far apart. Some Republicans are also opposed to Trump's wall, which he vowed in his 2016 presidential campaign would be paid for by Mexico, although he now wants U.S. taxpayers to foot the bill.

"I am firm," Trump said of his $5 billion demand.

"I don't do anything ... just for political gain," Trump said. "But I will tell you, politically speaking, that issue is a total winner. People look at the border, they look at the rush to the police, they look at the rock throwers and really hurting three people, three very brave border patrol folks. I think that it's a tremendous issue, but much more importantly, is really needed. So, we have to have border security."

Trump was referencing a Sunday confrontation at the border in which migrants hurled rocks at U.S. Border Patrol officers, with agents repelling the crowd with blasts of tear gas. Rodney Scott, the chief Border Patrol agent in San Diego, California, just north of the Mexican border, said agents were not seriously injured.

"Their shields and their bulletproof vests actually protected them from the rocks," he said. "We did have a few vehicles that were damaged, some windows and quite a few dents, but none of the agents were seriously injured."

Even as Trump voiced his determination to win congressional approval for the $5 billion in initial funding for a wall estimated to cost more than $20 billion, he told The Washington Post in a separate interview that he could find other ways to build the wall or add more security along the border.

"I think that's been shown better than ever in the last short period of two weeks that we need a wall," Trump told the newspaper. "I see the Democrats are going to want to do something, because they understand, too. Those pictures are very bad for the Democrats. We're not having a wall because of the Democrats. We need Democrat votes to have a wall."

"Now, if we don't get it, will I get it done another way? I might get it done another way," he declared. "There are other potential ways that I can do it. You saw what we did with the military, just coming in with the barbed wire and the fencing, and various other things."

House Speaker Paul Ryan, leader of the current majority Republican bloc in the House of Representatives, told reporters Wednesday that after the nationwide congressional elections in early November, "hopefully ... Democrats realize that a secure border should not be a Republican thing, it shouldn't be a Democrat thing, it's just good for the country. To actually secure our border. The House is there. We hope the Senate comes with us."

He added, "Turn on the TV, you can see we have a problem at the border. So, we want to secure our border. The House Republicans have always wanted to secure the border, the House Republicans have been passing bills to secure our border, and I'd like to think that Democrats would also want to join us in securing the border, especially after the election." (VOA)

With An Eye on Past Problems, Facebook Expands Local Feature

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - Facebook is cautiously expanding a feature that shows people local news and information, including missing-person alerts, road closures, crime reports and school announcements.

Called “Today In,” the service shows people information from their towns and cities from such sources as news outlets, government entities and community groups. Facebook launched the service in January with six cities and expanded that to 25, then more. On Wednesday, “Today In” is expanding to 400 cities in the U.S. — and a few others in Australia.

The move comes as Facebook tries to shake off its reputation as a hotbed for misinformation and elections-meddling and rather a place for communities and people to come together and stay informed.

Here are some things to know about this effort, and why it matters:

The big picture

It's something users have asked for, the company says. Think of it as an evolution of a “trending” feature the company dropped earlier this year. That feature, which showed news articles that were popular among users, but was rife with such problems as fake news and accusations of bias.

Anthea Watson Strong, product manager for local news and community information, said her team learned from the problems with that feature.

“We feel deeply the mistakes of our foremothers and forefathers,” she said.

This time around, Facebook employees went to some of the cities they were launching in and met with users. They tried to predict problems by doing “pre-mortem” assessments, she said. That is, instead of a “post-mortem” where engineers dissect what went wrong after the fact, they tried to anticipate how people might misuse a feature — for financial gain, for example.

Facebook isn't saying how long it has been taking this “pre-mortem” approach, though the practice isn't unique to the company. Nonetheless, it's a significant step given that many of Facebook's current problems stem from its failure to foresee how bad actors might co-opt the service.

Facebook also hopes the feature's slow rollout will prevent problems.

How it works

To find out if “Today In” is available in your city or town, tap the “menu” icon with the three horizontal lines. Then scroll down until you see it. If you want, you can choose to see the local updates directly in your news feed.

For now, the company is offering this only in small and mid-sized cities such as Conroe, Texas, Morgantown, West Virginia, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Large cities such as New York or Los Angeles have added challenges, such as an abundance of news and information, and may need to be broken up into smaller neighborhoods.

The posts in “Today In” are curated by artificial intelligence; there is no human involvement. The service aggregates posts from the Facebook pages for news organizations, government agencies and community groups like dog shelters. For this reason, a kid couldn't declare a snow day, because “Today In” relies on the school's official page. Discussion posts from local Facebook groups may also be included.

For now, the information is tailored only by geography, but this might change. A person with no kids, for example, might not want to see updates from schools.

Safeguards?

Facebook uses software filters to weed out objectionable content, just as it does on people's regular news feed. But the filters are turned up for “Today In.” If a good friend posts something a bit objectionable, you are still likely to see it because Facebook takes your friendship into account. But “Today In” posts aren't coming from your friends, so Facebook is more likely to keep it out. (VOA)

Taiwan's 'Notebook Boy' Commits His Memories in Writing

TAIPEI, LELEMUKU.COM - Chen Hong-zhi's notebooks are his life. Nine years ago, Chen seriously damaged his hippocampus, a part of the brain associated with forming memories, in a traffic accident.

The 26-year-old has lost the ability to make and retain short-term memories. Instead, he painstakingly records his days in lined notebooks, crammed with entries in blue ink.

"I use the notebook to remember who I helped today, how much farm work I did, whether there was rain ... the notebook is my memory," said Chen, who lives with his stepmother, Wang Miao-cyong, 65, in a remote village in Hsinchu County, northwestern Taiwan.

"I once lost one of my notebooks. I was so sad that I was crying and asked my dad to help me find it."

Since his father died four years ago, Chen and his stepmother have lived on a government disability allowance and a small income they get from farming fruit and vegetables, which they barter with neighbors, some of whom call Chen "notebook boy."

Dr Lin Ming-teng, head of the psychiatry department at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, said Chen has made remarkable progress despite his extensive brain damage.

"From the X-ray, we can see a large part of his brain in black - these are the sections that were operated on after the traffic accident," Lin said.

"After losing such a substantial portion of his brain, it is quite amazing for him to achieve what he is doing now," Lin said, adding that Chen could only remember things he had done in the last five to 10 minutes.

Lin said the damage had also affected Chen's ability to receive and process information.

"This has an effect on his relationship with his mother, too, as sometimes his mother cannot get over the fact that he forgets things," Lin said.

Wang longs to go back to her hometown in Indonesia, but she feels she cannot leave Chen alone.

"If I leave, who will take care of my son? I can't imagine his future after I die."

For now, Chen's notebooks allow him to preserve some semblance of order in his life.

"October 26 go to Beipu alone, Chen clan organization, go find phone, go Catholic church, Citian Temple, 10:38 ZZZ," reads one poignant note about a day he spent searching for, and praying to find, his lost mobile phone.

Ten days later, he found his phone, documenting the find in his notebook, of course. (VOA)

Scientists Warn New Brazil President May Smother Rainforest

BRASILIA, LELEMUKU.COM - Scientists warn that Brazil's president-elect could push the Amazon rainforest past its tipping point — with severe consequences for global climate and rainfall.

Jair Bolsonaro, who takes office Jan. 1, claims a mandate to convert land for cattle pastures and soybean farms, calling Brazil's rainforest protections an economic obstacle.

Brazilians on Oct. 28 elected Bolsonaro, a far-right candidate who channeled outrage at the corruption scandals of the former government and support from agribusiness groups.

Next week global leaders will meet in Poland for an international climate conference to discuss how to curb climate change, and questions about Brazil's role in shaping the future of the Amazon rainforest after Bolsonaro's election loom large. New Brazilian government data show the rate of deforestation — a major factor in global warming — has already increased over the past year.

Brazil contains about 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest, and scientists are worried.

It's nearly impossible to overstate the importance of the Amazon rainforest to the planet's living systems, said Carlos Nobre, a climate scientist at the University of Sao Paulo.

Each tree stores carbon absorbed from the atmosphere. The Amazon takes in as much as 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year and releases 20 percent of the planet's oxygen, earning it the nickname "the lungs of the planet."

It's also a global weather-maker.

Stretching 10 times the size of Texas, the Amazon is the world's largest rainforest. Billions of trees suck up water through deep roots and bring it up to their leaves, which release water vapor that forms a thick mist over the rainforest canopy.

This mist ascends into clouds and eventually becomes rainfall — a cycle that shapes seasons in South America and far beyond.

By one estimate, the Amazon creates 30 to 50 percent of its own rainfall.

Now the integrity of all of three functions — as a carbon sink, the Earth's lungs, and a rainmaker — hangs in the balance.

On the campaign trail, Bolsonaro promised to loosen protections for areas of the Brazilian Amazon designated as indigenous lands and nature reserves, calling them impediments to economic growth. "All these reserves cause problems to development," he told supporters.

He has also repeatedly talked about gutting the power of the environmental ministry to enforce existing green laws.

"If Bolsonaro keeps his campaign promises, deforestation of the Amazon will probably increase quickly — and the effects will be felt everywhere on the planet," said Paulo Artaxo, a professor of environmental physics at the University of Sao Paulo.

Bolsonaro's transition team did not respond to an interview request from the Associated Press.

Brazil was once seen as a global environmental success story. Between 2004 and 2014, stricter enforcement of laws to safeguard the rainforest — aided by regular satellite monitoring and protections for lands designated reserves for indigenous peoples — sharply curbed the rate of deforestation, which peaked in the early 2000s at about 9,650 square miles a year (25,000 square kilometers).

After a political crisis engulfed Brazil, leading to the 2016 impeachment of president Dilma Rousseff, enforcement faltered. Ranchers and farmers began to convert more rainforest to pastureland and cropland. Between 2014 and 2017, annual deforestation doubled to about 3,090 square miles (8,000 square kilometers). Most often, the trees and underbrush cut down are simply burned, directly releasing carbon dioxide, said Artaxo.

"In the Brazilian Amazon, far and away the largest source of deforestation is industrial agriculture and cattle ranching," said Emilio Bruna, an ecologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Now observers are parsing Bolsonaro's campaign statements and positions as a congressman to anticipate what's next for the Amazon.

Bolsonaro — who some call "tropical Trump" because of some similarities to U.S. President Donald Trump — is a former army captain with a knack for channeling outrage and generating headlines. As a federal congressman for 27 years, he led legislative campaigns to unravel land protections for indigenous people and to promote agribusiness. He also made derogatory comments about minorities, women, and LGBT people.

Much of his support comes from business and farming interests.

"These farmers are not invaders, they are producers," said congressman and senator-elect Luiz Carlos Heinze, a farmer and close ally of Bolsonaro. He blamed past "leftist administrations" for promoting indigenous rights at the expense of farmers and ranchers.

"Brazil will be the biggest farming nation on Earth during Bolsonaro's years," said Heinze.

Indigenous-rights advocates are worried about the new direction signaled. "Bolsonaro has repeatedly said that indigenous territories in the Amazon should be opened up for mining and agribusiness, which goes completely in the opposite direction of our Constitution," said Adriana Ramos, public policy coordinator at Social Environmental Institute in Brasilia, a non-governmental group.

In a Nov. 1 postelection interview with Catholic TV, Bolsonaro said, "We intend to protect the environment, but without creating difficulties for our progress."

Bolsonaro has repeatedly said that Brazil should withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, a treaty his predecessor signed in 2016 committing to reduce carbon emissions 37 percent over 2005 levels by 2030. After the election, he has publicly wavered.

Meanwhile he has named a climate-change denier, Ernesto Araujo, to become the next foreign minister.

Nelson Ananias Filho, sustainability coordinator at Brazil's National Agriculture and Cattle Raising Confederation, which backed Bolsonaro's campaign, said, "Brazil's agribusiness will adapt to whatever circumstances come."

Whether or not Brazil formally remains in the Paris Climate Accord, the only way for the country to make its emission targets is to completely stop deforestation by 2030 and to reduce agricultural emissions, said Nobre, the climate scientist. "If Bolsonaro keeps moving in the current direction, that's basically impossible."

There's another danger lurking in deforestation.

Aside from the oceans, tropical forests are the most important regions on the planet for putting water vapor in the air, which eventually becomes rainfall. "It's why we have rain in the American Midwest and other inland areas — it's not just the Amazon, but it's the largest tropical rainforest," said Bill Laurance, a tropical ecologist at James Cook University in Cairns, Australia.

Carlos Nobre and Thomas Lovejoy, an environmental scientist at George Mason University, have estimated that the "tipping point for the Amazon system" is 20 to 25 percent deforestation.

Without enough trees to sustain the rainfall, the longer and more pronounced dry season could turn more than half the rainforest into a tropical savannah, they wrote in February in the journal Science Advances.

If the rainfall cycle collapses, winter droughts in parts of Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina could devastate agriculture, they wrote. The impacts may even be felt as far away as the American Midwest, said Laurance.

Bolsonaro's rhetoric about potentially dismantling the environmental ministry and rolling back indigenous rights worries Nobre who says, "I am a scientist, but I am also a Brazilian citizen, and a citizen of the planet." (VOA)

Apple to Tutor Women in Tech in Bid to Diversify Industry

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - Apple is launching a new program designed to address the technology industry's scarcity of women in executive and computer programming jobs.

Under the initiative announced Monday, female entrepreneurs and programmers will attend two-week tutorial sessions at the company's Cupertino, California, headquarters.

The camps will be held every three months beginning in January. For each round, Apple will accept up to 20 app makers founded or led by a woman. The app maker must have at least one female programmer in its ranks to qualify. Apple will cover travel expenses for up to three workers from each accepted company.

Like other major tech companies, Apple has been trying to lessen its dependence on men in high-paying programming jobs. Women filled just 23 percent of Apple's technology jobs in 2017, according to the company's latest breakdown. That's only a slight improvement from 20 percent in 2014, despite the company's pledge to diversify its workforce.

The idea behind the new camp is to keep women interested and immersed in the field, said Esther Hare, Apple's senior director of world developer marketing.

It's not clear how much of a dent Apple's new program will have. Google also offers training for girls and women pursuing careers in technology, but its program hasn't done much to diversify the workforce so far. Women were hired for nearly 25 percent of Google's technology jobs in 2017, up from nearly 21 percent in 2014, according to the company.

Apple and other technology companies maintain that one of the main reasons so many men are on their payrolls is because women traditionally haven't specialized in the mathematical and science curriculum needed to program.

But industry critics have accused the technology companies of discriminating again women through a male-dominated hierarchy that has ruled the industry for decades.

Apple isn't saying how much it is spending on the initiative, though beyond travel expenses, the company will be relying on its current employees to lead the sessions. (VOA)

Hundreds of Scholars Condemn China for Xinjiang Camps

BEIJING, LELEMUKU.COM - Countries must hit China with sanctions over the mass detention of ethnic Uighurs in its western Xinjiang region, hundreds of scholars said on Monday, warning that a failure to act would signal acceptance of "psychological torture of innocent civilians."

Beijing has in recent months faced an outcry from activists, academics and foreign governments over mass detentions and strict surveillance of the Muslim Uighur minority and other ethnic groups that live in Xinjiang.

In August, a United Nations human rights panel said it had received many credible reports that a million or more Uighurs and other minorities are being held in what resembles a "massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy" in the region.

Representatives from a group of 278 scholars in various disciplines from dozens of countries called on China at a news briefing in Washington to end its detention policies, and for sanctions directed at key Chinese leaders and security companies linked to the abuses.

"This situation must be addressed to prevent setting negative future precedents regarding the acceptability of any state's complete repression of a segment of its population, especially on the basis of ethnicity or religion," the group said in a statement.

Countries should expedite asylum requests from Xinjiang's Muslim minorities, as well as "spearhead a movement for U.N. action aimed at investigating this mass internment system and closing the camps," it said.

China rejects criticism of its actions in Xinjiang, saying that it protects the religion and culture of minorities, and that its security measures are needed to combat the influence of "extremist" groups that incite violence there.

The country's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said the world should ignore "gossip" about Xinjiang and trust the government.

But after initial denials about the detention camps, Chinese officials have said some people guilty of minor offenses were being sent to "vocational" training centers, where they are taught work skills and legal knowledge aimed at curbing militancy.

Michael Clarke, a Xinjiang expert at Australian National University who signed the statement, told reporters that China sought international respect for its weight in global affairs.

"The international community needs to demonstrate to Beijing that it will not actually get that while it's doing this to a significant portion of its own citizenry," Clarke said. (VOA)

African Fishing Communities Face 'Extinction' as Blue Economy Grows

NAIROBI, LELEMUKU.COM - Fishing communities along Africa's coastline are at a greater risk of extinction as countries eye oceans for tourism, industrial fishing and exploration revenue to jumpstart their "blue economies," U.N. experts and activists said on Monday.

The continent's 38 coastal and island states have in recent years moved to tap ocean resources through commercial fishing, marine tourism and sea-bed mining, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

"There is a great risk and a great danger that those communities will be marginalized," said Joseph Zelasney, a fishery officer at U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

"The resources that they depend on will be decimated," he added at a side event at the Blue Economy Conference organized by Kenya, Canada and Japan in Nairobi.

The world's poorest continent hosts a blue economy estimated at $1 trillion but loses $42 billion a year to illegal fishing and logging of mangroves along the coast, according to UNECA estimates.

Seismic waves generated by prospectors to search for minerals, oil and gases along the ocean floor have scared away fish stocks, said Dawda Saine of the Confederation of African Artisanal Fishing in Gambia.

"Noise and vibration drives fishes away, which means they (fishermen) have to go further to fish," Saine said.

Pollution from a vibrant tourism sector and foreign trawlers have reduced stocks along the Indian Ocean, Salim Mohamed, a fisherman from Malindi in Kenya, said.

"We suffer as artisanal fishers but all local regulation just look at us as the polluter and doesn't go beyond that," he said.

The continent's fish stocks are also being depleted by industrial trawlers which comb the oceans to feed European and Asian markets, experts say, posing a threat to livelihoods and food security for communities living along the coast.

Growth of blue economies in Africa could also take away common rights to land and water along the coastline and transfer them to corporations and a few individuals, said Andre Standing, advisor with the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements.

Most of the land and beaches along Africa's thousands of miles of coastline is untitled, making it a good target for illegal acquisition, activists said.

"There is a great worry that we could see privatization of areas that were previously open to these communities," Standing told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "We need to have a radical vision that values communities and livelihoods or they will become extinct." (VOA)

App Shows US, Canadian Commuters the Cleanest, Greenest Route Home

VANCOUVER, LELEMUKU.COM -  mobile application launched in dozens of U.S. and Canadian cities on Monday measures the planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions of inner-city travel, its creators said, letting concerned commuters map their so-called carbon footprints.

Mapping app Cowlines can suggest the most efficient route as well which uses the least fuel, combining modes of transport such as bicycling and walking, within cities, its Vancouver, Canada-based creators said.

Some two-thirds of the world's population is expected to settle in urban areas by 2050, according to the United Nations.

The trend presents an environmental challenge, given that the world's cities account for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions.

Not only will the app measure a trip's emissions and suggest alternatives, it will provide the data to cities and urban planners working on systems from subway lines to bike-sharing programs, said Jonathan Whitworth, chief strategy officer at Greenlines Technology, which created the app.

"As you would imagine here in Canada, especially Western Canada, most people are driven by the environmental side of it," Whitworth told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The app aims to encourage users in 62 U.S. and Canadian cities to use cleaner modes of transportation, from mass transit to walking or biking, he said.

In the United States, mass transit accounts for less than 2 percent of passenger miles traveled, according to Daniel Sperling, founding director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis.

"People are starved for good information and data for good travel choices," said Sperling.

The app's suggested route is a cowline - city planner parlance for the fastest route, said Whitworth. In pastoral settings, a cowline is the most direct path cattle use to reach grazing grounds.

The app shows users after a trip how many kilograms of carbon-dioxide equivalent emissions they are responsible for, Whitworth said.

While other apps such as Changers CO2 Fit track users' carbon footprints, Cowlines claims its methodology, certified by the International Organization for Standardization, is most accurate, he said.

Whitworth said the company also plans to sell the data it collects. (VOA)

Momoa and Heard Take to Seas in Superhero Film 'Aquaman'

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - "Game of Thrones" actor Jason Momoa brings the latest superhero spin-off to the big screen, this time "Aquaman," to tell the story of the DC Comics half-human, half-Atlantean character.

The 39-year-old first made an appearance in the role in 2016's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" but now has his own movie exploring the superhero's origins.

Momoa portrays the character, known as Arthur Curry, as he embarks on a journey of self-discovery, and with plenty of action and special effects, viewers are taken to the underwater world of the seven seas.

Walking a blue carpet - in line with the film's aquatic theme - at the film's world premiere in London on Monday, Momoa said the role was the toughest he had undertaken so far.

"Physically it's just really challenging and demanding to do the stunts and then stay in shape," the actor told Reuters, adding he identified with the character for various reasons including "being an outcast."

"I had two stunt doubles. I've never had stunt doubles really ever...This had so many stunts."

The film also stars "The Rum Diary" and "Magic Mike XXL" actress Amber Heard as warrior Mera. Dressed in a floor-length green dress with matching head cap, Heard said she was not keen at first on doing a superhero film.

"I was pretty allergic to the idea...In my very limited experience with that world, I didn't see intuitively what that would have to appeal to me," she said. "I'm interested in complex nuanced roles that depict women in more accurate and more organic ways. And then the creators called me (saying) she's a warrior queen.I was like.. 'OK, I'm interested.'" (VOA)

US Navy Hospital Ship Brings Care to Venezuela Migrants in Colombia

CARACAS, LELEMUKU.COM - Even though five-year-old Kamila is used to getting blood drawn, she cried out when the needle pricked her arm, clinging to her mother for comfort in a classroom-turned-clinic in the northern Colombian city of Riohacha.

Venezuelan Kamila was born premature at 30 weeks, weighing just 900 grams (2 lbs). Her early entry into the world came with kidney problems and cerebral atrophy that have delayed some parts of her development and kept her limbs spindly.

She is one of thousands set to receive treatment this week from doctors and dentists from United States Navy hospital ship the USNS Comfort.

Many are Venezuelan migrants who have fled economic crisis across the border. Others are Colombians, including indigenous Wayuu, seeking care amid constant delays in Colombia's overcrowded health system.

The United Nations on Monday pledged $9.2 million in aid for Venezuela, where hunger and preventable disease are soaring due to food and medicine shortages. President Nicolas Maduro blames the country's problems on U.S. sanctions and an "economic war" led by political adversaries.

Most patients, pre-screened by local authorities, will receive care on land in two clinics set up in schools, while those needing surgery will be flown by helicopter to the ship itself, anchored far offshore.

"The tests we needed for her would have cost so much in Venezuela, but here they did it in a few seconds," said Kamila's mother Yennymar Vilchez, 24, who arrived four months ago.

The ship's staff last week treated more than 5,400 patients over five days in Turbo, a city near the jungle border with Panama, including 131 who had surgery.

An estimated 2,500 will be seen in Riohacha, 91 kilometers (56 miles) from the border with Venezuela, through Friday.

The arrival of Venezuelans has burdened the beleaguered Colombian healthcare system, especially in border cities, where patients can wait months for basic care.

"The migration crisis has certainly played a factor," Captain William Shafley told journalists after an opening ceremony. "We're here to help the Colombian government and their obviously strained healthcare system."

Colombia, which has received about one million Venezuelan migrants, could be hosting four million by 2021, the government has said.

Many cross the countries' porous land border without documentation, heading onward to other Latin American countries like Ecuador and Peru.

Outside the dentistry room, Yessica Epiayu, 29 and a member of the Wayuu indigenous community, corralled her six children, aged 3 to 11, as they took turns getting cleanings.

Her eldest son Orlando grinned broadly, proudly showing off a gifted dental mirror.

Some surgeries require too much follow-up to be performed on the ship and are referred back to local authorities.

Venezuelan Belkis Chirino, 29, a former restaurant manager, had hoped her 11-month-old daughter Jade could get pelvic surgery to guarantee she will walk despite a congenital deformity.

But the doctors need further X-rays and the intense procedure, which risks damaging some nerves, will require significant time in the hospital.

"I'm grateful even though she doesn't get the surgery," said Chirino. "At least they can help my Venezuelan brothers and sisters."

But others like Vilchez, Kamila's mom, got good news. Her daughter's kidneys are getting healthier and a new medication will help her other symptoms.

"It's wonderful!" she said, as she clutched the brown pharmacy bag, Kamila in her arms. (VOA)

Suspected State Security Agents 'Abduct' Retired Army Officer Set to Appear Before Motlanthe Commission

HARARE, LELEMUKU.COM - The wife of a retired member of the Zimbabwe National Army has petitioned the High Court seeking an order compelling President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to investigate and account for the whereabouts of her husband, who was abducted by some unknown assailants on Sunday.

According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Piki’s wife Sibongile Sarukato filed the urgent court application Monday on behalf of Retired Lieutenant Colonel Piki seeking an order compelling the State “to do all things necessary to determine his whereabouts including advertising on all State-run print and broadcast media.”

Sarukato, who is represented by Jeremiah Bamu of Mbidzo Muchadehama and Makoni Legal Practitioners, affiliated to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, cited Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister, Defence and War Veterans Minister, State Security Minister, Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Commissioner-General and the Director-General of the Central Intelligence Organisation as respondents to the application.

Sarukato wants the High Court to order the setting up of a team of investigators, to work closely and in conjunction with lawyers appointed by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights to search for Retired Lieutenant Colonel Piki at all places within Zimbabwe as may be reasonably practical, and report on such search to the Registrar of the High Court, on every alternate Friday.

The ZLHR said, “She also wants the respondents to be ordered to inquire from, and where necessary obtain any such information as may be necessary for the investigations from mobile service operators to try and locate Retired Lieutenant Colonel Piki through tracing the mobile numbers that were on his person at the time of his abduction as may be provided by his family.”

In the court application, Sarukato said Retired Lieutenant Colonel Piki was kidnapped by some unknown assailants on Sunday around 16:30 hours from his Waterfalls suburb residence in Harare.

Sarukato said the manner in which her husband “was taken (abducted) betrays sinister motives as he was taken in similar style and fashion to pro-democracy campaigner Itai Dzamara, who still remains missing since 9 March 2015.”

She said her husband was abducted by some unidentified people wearing face masks, who bundled him into an unregistered Toyota double-cab vehicle.

During the tussling with the unidentified men as they abducted him, Sarukato stated that one of the abductors tersely said to him in vernacular,”…takakuudza kuti regai kuita document rauri kuda kuita, uri kuda ku protector Chamisa, chii chako?”, which she loosely translated to mean, “…We warned you not to work on the document you are working on, you want to protect Chamisa, who is he to you?”

VOA Studio 7 could not ascertain the contents of the so-called document mentioned by the alleged abductors.

Sarukato said as the unidentified men continued to wrestle and tussle with her husband, “one of the assailants produced a pistol and fired two shots which lodged into the ground and the firearm was then pressed against her husband’s ribs and he was forced into the vehicle before they sped away.”

She said her husband’s whereabouts are presently unknown and “his right to life is therefore at serious risk and in real jeopardy.”

According to Sarukato, a report has been filed with ZRP under RRB 3784040.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Piki was scheduled to appear on Monday before the Commission of Inquiry into the 2018 post-election violence, which is currently conducting public hearings in Harare on the killing of innocent civilians in August this year in Harare soon after the July 30 elections.

The ZLHR said, “Sarukato charged that she is convinced that the motive behind her husband’s abduction was to prevent him from giving his testimony before the Commission of Inquiry.

On Monday 26 November 2018, Bamu wrote to the Commission of Inquiry notifying the probe team of the abduction of Retired Lieutenant Colonel Piki and indicated that he could no longer appear before it to testify as he is now a victim of enforced disappearance.”

Police and the spokesperson of the Commission of Inquiry led by Kgalema Motlanthe were not reachable for comment. (VOA)

Border Clash Leaves Caravan Migrants Dejected, Worried

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - A chaotic border clash with choking tear gas fired by U.S. agents left Central American migrants sullen and dejected, with some opting Monday to leave and others worrying the incident may have spoiled their chances at asylum.

Mexican security forces stepped up their presence at a Tijuana sports complex where thousands from the migrant caravan have been sheltered, apparently seeking to avoid a repeat of Sunday's ugly scene. Police blocked the migrants from walking toward the border in the morning, though later on they allowed them to move about freely.

Isauro Mejia, 46, from Cortes, Honduras, went looking for a cup of coffee to shake the morning chill following another night sleeping outside after being caught up in the clashes. Before, he had hoped to be able to press an asylum claim, but now he wasn't so sure.

"The way things went yesterday ... I think there is no chance,'' Mejia said. "With the difficulty that has presented itself because of yesterday's incidents ... that's further away.''

Migrants hoping to apply for asylum in the United States must put their names on a waiting list that already had some 3,000 people on it before the caravan arrived in Tijuana. With U.S. officials processing fewer than 100 claims a day, the wait time for the recent arrivals stands to take months.

That has instilled a sense of desperation among many after their grueling trek from Central America. Sunday's incident began after hundreds marched to the border to try to call attention to their plight. Some attempted to get through fencing and wire separating the countries, prompting volleys of stinging gas.

Cindy Martinez of San Vicente, El Salvador, said she had been about to cross the concertina wire to the U.S. side when the tear gas was launched. She estimated about 20 people had already passed in front of her, and parents begged agents not to unleash the gas because there were young children present.

"I see it as impossible for them to want to give us asylum,'' she said. "Because of the words that President Donald Trump has said, I think this is impossible.''

Martinez, 28, said she was now considering getting work in Tijuana.

Mexico's National Migration Institute reported that 98 migrants were being deported after trying to breach the U.S. border. The country's Interior Department said about 500 people attempted to rush the border, while U.S. authorities put the number at 1,000.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said 69 migrants who tried to cross illegally were arrested on the California side. He said the Border Patrol's use-of-force policy allows agents to use tear gas and other non-lethal methods, but the incident would be reviewed.

"As the events unfolded, quick, decisive and effective action prevented an extremely dangerous situation,'' McAleenan said.

Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said it had presented a diplomatic note to the U.S. Embassy asking for an "exhaustive investigation'' of the use of nonlethal force.

Migrant Yanira Elizabeth Rodriguez Martinez said she, her daughter and her sister had stayed away from Sunday's demonstration because they feared it could turn dangerous. Sitting in their makeshift camp at a sports complex Monday, the 38-year-old asked what the process would be if she decided to return to El Salvador.

"Because of (the actions of a few), we all pay,'' said Romario Aldair Veron Arevalo, a 20-year-old friend sitting with her. He said he still hoped to cross to the United States and work, but conceded it could be more difficult now.

In a rare criticism, Mexico's National Human Rights Commission admonished migrants that they "should respect Mexican laws and not engage in actions that affect the communities they pass through.''

"It is important to note that the fact the Mexican government protects their rights does not imply a free pass to break the law,'' it said.

Commission official Edgar Corzo Sosa said after visiting the shelter Monday that the space intended for 3,500 is now crowded with more than 5,000 people.

He said officials were receiving more requests from migrants wanting to return to their countries, but did not have a number. He said a beefed-up police presence was for the migrants' safety.

"There is nothing to prevent them from leaving'' the shelter Corzo said. "They are free to come and go.''

The clash also led U.S. authorities to shut down the nation's busiest border crossing at San Ysidro, California, for several hours Sunday.

"Mexico should move the flag waving Migrants, many of whom are stone cold criminals, back to their countries,'' Trump tweeted Monday. "Do it by plane, do it by bus, do it anyway you want, but they are NOT coming into the U.S.A. We will close the Border permanently if need be. Congress, fund the WALL!''

Trump has repeatedly suggested without evidence that the migrant caravans are full of hardened criminals, but they appear to be mostly poor people with few belongings fleeing poverty and gang violence.

U.S. and Mexican officials have been wrangling over migration and how to deal with asylum-seekers at the border as Tijuana, a border city of 1.6 million residents, struggles to accommodate the crush of migrants.

Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who takes office Saturday, declined Monday to comment on the border incident.

Asked about Trump's warning that the U.S. could close the border "permanently'' - which would disrupt billions of dollars in trade - Marcelo Ebrard, who is to be Lopez Obrador's foreign relations secretary, said, "Let's hope we can keep that from happening.''

On Monday, Trump said Vice President Mike Pence and daughter Ivanka Trump plan to attend Mexico's presidential inauguration.

The White House has said Trump has developed a "strong relationship'' with Lopez Obrador and looks forward to working with him.

Tijuana public safety secretary Marco Antonio Sotomayor Amezcua said in a news conference that Mexican police would be prudent in their use of force, but "we have to guard at all cost that the border posts are not closed again.''

Sotomayor said he hopes migrants who had thought of entering the U.S. illegally learned from Sunday's events that that won't be possible. He added that the mayor is working to secure another space for the migrants with the sports complex overflowing.

Baja California state Gov. Francisco Vega said almost 9,000 migrants were in his state - mostly in Tijuana, with a smaller number in Mexicali - and called it "an issue of national security.'' Vega issued a public appeal to Mexico's federal government to take over responsibility for sheltering the migrants and deport any who break the law.

Alex Castillo carried a red bedroll slung over his shoulder as he walked away from the Tijuana shelter Monday, saying he would head to the industrial city of Monterrey to look for work and try to cross into the United States next year.

The 35-year-old electrician from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, said he wasn't at the border clash. He heard about it from others and decided to leave "to avoiding getting beaten.''

"If they're launching tear gas,'' Castillo said, "it's better to head somewhere else.'' (VOA)

White House Heaps Scorn on Champion Football Team

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - The White House Tuesday accused most of the Philadelphia Eagles of abandoning their fans and not acting in good faith one day after President Donald Trump withdrew an invitation for the Super Bowl champions to visit the White House.

"The vast majority of the Eagles team decided to abandon their fans," the White House said in a statement Tuesday.

Trump called off the June 5 visit late Monday.

Tuesday's statement said Trump withdrew the invitation "after extensive discussions" with the team. On May 31, the Eagles said 81 members of the organization, including players, coaches, management and support personnel, had committed to attend, the White House statement said.

The statement went on to say that last Friday "many players" would not attend, prompting the White House to try to reschedule the event. The statement said Trump previously announced he would be traveling abroad on the dates the Eagles proposed and tried to work with the team over the weekend "despite sensing a lack of good faith."

Trump said Monday, "They disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country.''

All Eagles players stood for the anthem last season.

Trump said the team wanted to send a smaller delegation, but "the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better.''

Instead, Trump said the fans were still welcome and that he would host "a different type of ceremony.'' In a Twitter post on Tuesday, he said the anthem "will proudly be playing."

Trump also noted "many" championship teams have visited the White House.

Trump has been at odds with NFL athletes who knelt during the playing of the national anthem before their games to protest police brutality and racial inequality. Trump has repeatedly denounced the players as unpatriotic, and demanded an end to such protests.

In response to Trump's announcement, the Eagles issued a statement saying, "It has been incredibly thrilling to celebrate our first Super Bowl Championship," adding, "Watching the entire Eagles community come together has been an inspiration." The statement also said the team was grateful for the support it has received and is looking forward to continuing preparations for this year's season.


Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney criticized the move by Trump and said the Eagles "represent the diversity of our nation — a nation in which we are free to express our opinion."

Kenney, a Democrat, said, "Disinviting them from the White House only proves that our president is not a true patriot, but a fragile egomaniac obsessed with crowd size and afraid of the embarrassment of throwing a party which no one wants to attend."

In a CNN interview Tuesday, Kenney said, "Athletes are American citizens who have the First Amendment right to express their views." He accused the president of trying to "control the thoughts of this country."

Wide receiver Torrey Smith, who played for the Eagles last season, responded via Twitter to Trump's decision.

"So many lies,'' he wrote, adding, "Not many people were going to go."

He also said, "No one refused to go simply because Trump "insists" folks stand for the anthem. ...The President continues to spread the false narrative that players are anti military.''

Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania invited the Eagles to the U.S. Capitol and described the president's decision as a "political stunt."

This is not the first time Trump has clashed with professional athletes.

Last year, National Basketball Association champions Golden State Warriors did not visit the White House after the president took issue when team star Stephen Curry said he would not attend. (VOA)

Curling Heads to Olympics as World's Fastest-growing Sport

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - Curling, once a minority pastime played mostly by Scots and Canadians, will sweep onto the ice at next month's Pyeongchang Olympics with the proud boast of being the world's fastest-growing winter sport.

The "roaring game," with its origins in the frozen ponds and mists of medieval Scotland, is now popping up in the sort of sunny places where ice usually comes in cubes to cool the drinks.

Qatar's men's curling team celebrated their first international victory last November, beating Kazakhstan on Australia's sun-soaked Central Coast north of Sydney.

A few months earlier, Middle Eastern neighbors Saudi Arabia secured conditional membership of the World Curling Federation along with fellow-newcomers Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Portugal.

Las Vegas, in Nevada's Mojave desert, will host the men's world championship next April.

"You'd obviously think curling is for winter sport countries, it's not really," said Kate Caithness, the Scottish head of World Curling and one of only two female presidents of any Olympic sports. "You can have curling anywhere in the world.

"Give us a hall and we'll make ice. We've got these new facilities where we can almost roll out a mat, plug it in, add water and freeze it," she told Reuters from her headquarters in Perth, Scotland.

In order to be included on the full program at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, curling needed to have 30 member nations. Twenty years on and there are 60, with more to come and a growth explosion predicted.

"We've never been in better shape, actually," said Caithness. "Mexico and Guyana are new members, and there's other members in South America waiting to come on board."

At the 2010 Games in Vancouver, curling was the most watched Winter Olympic sport on television in Brazil — a country that recently challenged Canada for a place at the men's world championships.

There are no member nations from Africa as yet, but there has been interest with South Africa most likely to be the first on board.

Looking to Beijing

Curling is big in Korea and Japan, and the main growth areas over the next four years for a sport also known as "chess on ice" are likely to be China, host of the 2022 Olympics, and the United States.

"China is a huge, huge market for us," Caithness said. "We've just signed a $13.4 million contract with a sponsor [Kingdomway Sports] in China for the next four years in the runup between now and 2022."

Curling at those Beijing Winter Games will be held in the "Water Cube" facility that hosted swimming at the 2008 summer Olympics.

Transformed into the "Ice Cube," the plan is to have a three sheet rink in the basement so that fans can watch the competition upstairs and try their hand at the sport downstairs.

"I'm on the 2022 IOC co-ordination commission, so I do have the inside information. I've been there already with the IOC," Caithness said.

"They are going to put 300 million people through winter sport [in China] between now and 2022. ... I understand they are building 500 new ice rinks. I think the sport's going to explode."

Sleeping giant

Starting this year, a new made-for-television World Cup will start up with four city events on three continents forming the "Road to Beijing."

In the United States, USA Curling last year signed a sponsorship deal with Pepsico's Frito-Lay brand Cheetos that features tight end Vernon Davis of the National Football League's Washington Redskins.

As part of the promotion, the cheese curl snack has come up with a rap video "Teach me how to Curl" featuring curling moves and dance.

Even if Cheetos said in a statement that the deal aimed to "help raise awareness for one of America's least participated in sports," Caithness felt things were moving in the right direction.

"I think we're going to see things go crazy in the United States. They've woken up at last," she said.

Curling, whose tournament starts a day before the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang and runs right through to the last Sunday, can also expect more television coverage than any other sport.

To win a gold medal in men's or women's curling takes up to 33 hours on the field of play, with nine round robin games of three hours each followed by a semi-final and final. Pyeongchang sees the debut also of mixed doubles.

"We'll have non-stop curling every day from dawn until dusk. We have huge TV coverage and this is really going to help our sport as well," Caithness said. (VOA)

US Gymnasts Tell AP Sport Rife With Verbal, Emotional Abuse

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - They were little girls with dreams of Olympic gold when they started in gymnastics. Now they're women with lifelong injuries, suffocating anxiety and debilitating eating disorders. They are the other victims of USA Gymnastics.

Thirteen former U.S. gymnasts and three coaches interviewed by The Associated Press described a win-at-all-cost culture rife with verbal and emotional abuse in which girls were forced to train on broken bones and other injuries. That culture was tacitly endorsed by the sport’s governing body and institutionalized by Bela and Martha Karolyi, the husband-and-wife duo who coached America’s top female gymnasts for three decades.

The gymnasts agreed to speak to AP, some for the first time, after the recent courtroom revelations about USA Gymnastics’ former team doctor, Larry Nassar, who recently was sentenced to decades in prison for sexually assaulting young athletes for years under the guise of medical treatment.

The Karolyis’ oppressive style created a toxic environment in which a predator like Nassar was able to thrive, according to witness statements in Nassar’s criminal case and a lawsuit against USA Gymnastics, the Karolyis and others. Girls were afraid to challenge authority, Nassar was able to prey on vulnerable girls and, at the same time, he didn’t challenge the couple’s harsh training methods.

“He was their little puppet,” Jeanette Antolin, a former member of the U.S. national team who trained with the Karolyis, said. “He let us train on injuries. They got what they wanted. He got what he wanted.”

Young girls were virtually starved, constantly body shamed and forced to train with broken bones or other injuries, according to interviews and the lawsuit. Their meager diets and extreme training often delayed puberty, which some coaches believed was such a detriment that they ridiculed girls who started their menstrual cycles.

USA Gymnastics declined to answer questions for this story, and the Karolyis didn’t reply to requests for comment. The Karolyis’ Houston attorney, Gary Jewell, said the Karolyis didn’t abuse anyone.

Some female gymnasts in the U.S. were subjected to abusive training methods before the Karolyis defected from their native Romania in 1981. But other coaches and former gymnasts say the Karolyis’ early successes — starting with Romania’s Nadia Comaneci becoming the first woman gymnast awarded a perfect score in competition — validated the cutthroat attitudes that fostered widespread mistreatment of American athletes at the highest levels of women’s gymnastics.

The Karolyis, who helped USA Gymnastics win 41 Olympic medals, including 13 gold over three decades, trained hundreds of gymnasts at their complex in rural Huntsville, Texas, known as “the ranch.” They selected gymnasts for the national team and earned millions from USA Gymnastics.

A congressional committee investigating the gymnastics scandal said in Feb. 8 letters to the Karolyis, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee that they were all “at the center of many of these failures” that allowed Nassar’s sexual abuse to persist for more than two decades.

It’s unclear what the Karolyis knew about Nassar’s sexual abuse and whether they took any action to stop it.

Martha Karolyi, in a deposition given last year as part of the lawsuit against the Karolyis and numerous others, acknowledged that “in or around June 2015” she received a phone call from the then-head of the national gymnastics organization, Steve Penny, informing her that the organization had received a complaint that Nassar had “molested a national team gymnast at the ranch.”

The deposition was included in a Feb. 14 letter to two U.S. senators from John Manly, an attorney representing Nassar victims in a lawsuit that seeks monetary damages and court oversight of USA Gymnastics.

Manly cited the deposition in accusing the sport’s governing body of lying to Congress.

In a timeline submitted to a congressional committee investigating the scandal, the organization said it was told in mid-June of an athlete “uncomfortable” with Nassar’s treatment, but that it was not until late July 2015 that it decided to notify law enforcement “with concerns of potential sexual misconduct.”

Penny, the former USA Gymnastics chief, said in a statement that Martha Karolyi was mistaken about the timing of his call.

Texas has one of the strongest child abuse reporting laws in the nation, requiring anyone who has reason to believe abuse has occurred to immediately alert authorities. Failure to do so is a misdemeanor punishable by jail time and a fine.

In the deposition, Martha Karolyi said she did not discuss what she learned about Nassar with anyone but her husband, her lawyers and the USA Gymnastics official who called her.

Jewell, the Karolyis’ attorney, said the couple didn’t know about any sexual assault complaints involving Nassar until Martha Karolyi was contacted by a USA Gymnastics official in the summer of 2015. (VOA)

Australian Project to Probe Links Between Head Injuries in Sport, Disease

SYDNEY, LELEMUKU.COM - Researchers in Australia have begun an ambitious task to learn more about the long-term impacts of head injuries suffered by athletes. This week, the Australian Sports Brain Bank was launched in Sydney, and experts are encouraging players who have participated in all levels of sport - whether or not they've had a head injury - to donate their brains to the cause after they die.

The Brain Bank has been set up to investigate links between concussion, head injuries and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. It is a neurodegenerative disease found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma.

The Australian study is being supported by American researchers, who set up a similar brain bank a decade ago.

Dr. Chris Nowinski, head of the Boston-based Concussion Legacy Foundation which has examined the brains of deceased National Football League players, says the presence of CTE among them is pervasive.

“Any contact sport where you receive repetitive brain trauma puts you at risk for this disease. We do not know at what risk but we have seen CTE in 110 of the first 111 players that we have studied, which has really surprised us.”

Nowinski believes energy from blows to the head during competition causes brain tissue to move. Symptoms of CTE include depression, aggression and memory loss, and can take years or decades to appear.

The cause of CTE has yet to be established, but the disease has prompted a class action lawsuit in the U.S.

Australia’s Brain Bank is a joint venture between Sydney University and the city’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. It hopes to obtain 500 brains over the next 10 years. (VOA)

Mevlut Cavusoglu Says Saudi Government Has More Information About Khashoggi Killing

ISTANBUL, LELEMUKU.COM - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday his government has more information about the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and that it will likely make the evidence public after investigations of his death have been completed.

Speaking during a trip to Japan, Cavusoglu told reporters that Turkey said Saudi Arabia and other countries interested in the information have been given the opportunity to see it.

Khashoggi died after visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Initially, Saudi Arabia said Khashoggi walked out of the consulate and that his whereabouts were unknown, then that he died in a fist fight and still later that he had died in a chokehold. The kingdom's public prosecutor has since called the killing premeditated, but has not said who planned or approved it.

Cavusoglu said Tuesday that after multiple conversations with Saudi King Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is convinced the king was not involved.

But Cavusoglu said it is clear that a 15-man team alleged to have traveled to Turkey to act as a hit squad would not have taken such action on their own, and that investigators need to find who would have given that order.

Turkey said last week that Khashoggi, a U.S.-based journalist who had written columns for The Washington Post that were critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was strangled as soon as he entered the consulate, his body dismembered and then destroyed, possibly dissolved in acid.

No trace of Khashoggi's remains has turned up, even as the 59-year-old journalist's sons appealed on the U.S. television news network CNN on Sunday for the Saudis to return his body so he can be buried in the major Islamic pilgrimage city of Medina with the rest of his family.

A Turkish official, speaking anonymously, confirmed a Monday report in Sabah, a newspaper close to Turkey's government, that chemicals expert Ahmad Abdulaziz al-Janobi and toxicology expert Khaled Yahya al-Zahrani were part of a team sent from Saudi Arabia, supposedly to investigate Khashoggi's October 2 killing.

The Sabah report said the two experts visited the consulate every day from their arrival on October 11 until October 17, with Saudi authorities allowing Turkish investigators to search the consulate on October 15.

"We believe that the two individuals came to Turkey for the sole purpose of covering up evidence of Jamal Khashoggi's murder before the Turkish police were allowed to search the premises," the Turkish official said.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia told a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva that it would prosecute those responsible for Khashoggi's death, but continued to deflect reporters' questions about Riyadh's ongoing investigation.

Bandar Al Aiban, the head of Riyadh's delegation, told the U.N. hearing that King Salman had instructed the Saudi public prosecutor to "proceed with the investigation into this case according to the applicable laws," and "bringing all the perpetrators to justice." Saudi Arabia has detained 18 Saudi nationals in connection with Khashoggi's death, but Aiban gave no details on their status or whereabouts.

"The case is still under investigation, as you know ... I think my statement was very clear," Aiban said.

More than 40 nations, including the United States, called for a thorough investigation of Khashoggi's death and human rights reforms in Saudi Arabia. Numerous Western nations called for the abolition of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, an end to the system of male guardianship over women and a loosening of the definition of "terrorism" in the kingdom so that peaceful critics are not prosecuted. The Saudis have until Friday to report back on whether they will accept any of the recommendations.

The United States pulled out of the 47-member Human Rights Council in June, accusing it of anti-Israel bias.

But U.S. Charge d'Affaires Mark Cassayre appeared at the meeting in an observer status, saying that a "thorough, conclusive and transparent investigation (of Khashoggi's death) carried out in accordance with due process with results made public is essential." (VOA)

Border Town View of US Troops and Caravan

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - Dr. Anna Perez is a tribal member of the Tigua Nation--one of three federally recognized Native American tribes in Texas and a resident of the federally-recognized tribal nation, Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, located in El Paso, Texas.

The view from the backyard of the adobe house she designed herself? Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

“The beauty” of being so close to the border is to experience each other’s culture, said Perez, a registered Democrat, who volunteers with the party on a regular basis.

The interior of her house has been designed with no sharp edges and the wood beams overhead are carved with Native American symbols.

“The reality of living in a border town is that you have multicultural opportunities,” Perez said. “So I see it as being positive.”

El Paso is a possible destination for members of a migrant caravan coming up through Mexico from Central America. Though they remain hundreds of kilometers away from the U.S.-Mexico border, President Trump has stationed more than 7,000 active-duty troops along the U.S. Mexico border in preparation for their arrival.

On the eve of midterm elections,Texas residents have been drawn into a debate on what defines a crisis, and what values define them. Trump has claimed that the caravan is rife with criminals, gang members and disease carriers, and vowed to keep them out with the help of thousands of troops.

Walking the rusty metal border fence 10 minutes from her home, Perez says she doesn't know how the extra troops will affect the town. Residents are used to a military presence since Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army post has its headquarters in El Paso.

“But the presence of [extra] troops just puts a negative connotation on our nation, on our city, on our county,” she said, adding, “We’re not being invaded.”

From the Mexican side, one can hear a cacophony of sirens, shouting people, barking dogs and music.

Border town voices

“I just want a secure border. … Just make sure that they're doing everything they can to keep us safe,” Ian Valdez, a 22-year-old El Paso resident and registered Republican, told VOA.

El Paso in fact holds claim to the safest city in Texas and seventh overall in the U.S.

Though in a reliably Democratic county, local supporters of President Trump’s efforts to fortify the border and deter the caravan from touching U.S. soil make a case similar to immigration hardliners elsewhere in the country.

“If it’s 7,000 (in the migrant caravan), what prevents them from bringing on another 7,000, and another 7,000. We have to draw a line as to where and how we want to let people in the country,” Valdez said.

In fact, the caravan has been dwindling in size in recent days and is now estimated at less than half that number.

“I don’t feel unsafe because I live on the border,”said El Paso resident Aldo Coley who was playing soccer with friends on a Sunday morning. “But I think part of it is also because there’s a heightened sense of security that we’ve had specifically with border patrol and customs and immigration.” They work a “ton of hours,” he added.

Originally from Spain and now a citizen, Coley has lived in towns up and down the border, working for different manufacturing companies. He currently works for a company in Mexico, crossing the border everyday.

“They’re making it seem like people are coming with guns and stuff, and there’s no way they would come with guns, but we don’t know what we’re getting, right? So they should have respect for the country they’re coming into,” he said. “Just as everyday, when I go to work in Mexico, I have respect for their country.”

Regarding troops, he says “We’ve had the military on the border in the past…I don’t think it’s a big deal if it helps secure our borders.”

To others, the migrants are an opportunity to demonstrate El Paso hospitality.

“I feel like we're welcoming to others, and that’s what I like about El Paso,” 26-year-old El Paso resident Melania Garcia told VOA.

“They're preparing shelters; people are supporting with food, clothing, with coats, because the cold season is coming,” Luis Torres, a photojournalist documenting the migrant situation on the Mexican side, told VOA

Getting ready

“How you guys doin?” 83-year-old Othon Medina calls out to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents on the other side of the wall.

“Fine. Yourself?” One of the agents responds.

“We came to visit the wall!” Medina declares. To him, the president’s border actions are a smoke screen ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.

“Unless two countries get together; two neighbors try to get together and solve the problem… by insulting them and by putting another fence next to theirs and doing all this stuff, that’s not going to help it, not going to help anybody,” Medina says.

“The people in other parts of the United States don’t understand how we work together already with other countries,” says Perez still gazing through the fence at Ciudad Juárez.

She is working on a rooftop space for the house she designed so she can see the border - and beyond - from there. (VOA)