North Korea fires two unidentified projectiles, South Korea says - CNN

The objects were fired at 12:37 p.m. Korea time and estimated to have a flight distance of 240 kilometers (149 miles) and altitude of 35 kilometers (22 miles), South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles are likely part of North Korea's combined military drills, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The drills began on Friday, the one-year anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un's summit in Hanoi with US President Donald Trump that ended without a deal.

North Korean state media reported that Kim presided over the exercise, which was intended to "judge the mobility and the fire power strike ability of the defense units."

Japan's Defense Ministry said it could not yet confirm if the projectiles landed inside its territory or exclusive economic zone, and said no damage had been reported to aircraft or vessels in the area.

"The recent repeated launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea is a serious problem for the international community, including Japan," it said in a statement.

South Korea Director of National Security Chung Eui-yong and other ministers are holding an urgent meeting to discuss the launch this afternoon, according to South Korea's Presidential Blue House.

The South Korean military is "monitoring related movements for possible additional launches and maintaining its readiness" said the statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

If this was a missile test, it would be Pyongyang's first of 2020. Last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would continue to "steadily develop" nuclear weapons and the ballistic missiles to deliver them unless Washington changes course and abandons what Pyongyang calls its "hostile policy."

Weapons experts say test-firing missiles is an important part of improving their accuracy and reliability. North Korea conducted several launches in 2019 as diplomatic efforts between Pyongyang and Washington began to falter, but the country steered clear of testing intercontinental range missiles or detonating nuclear weapons underground.

However, a yet-to-be-released report from a United Nations panel found North Korea's weapons development continued last year in violation of long-standing UN Security Council sanctions.

Though weapons tests are important for development purposes, North Korea's military moves are often timed for maximum political impact both at home and abroad.

Neighboring South Korea is dealing with a massive outbreak of the novel coronavirus, killing at least 26 and infecting more than 4,200. North Korea has not publicly reported any cases within its borders, but experts say it's plausible that the virus has made its way inside the country. Every other country in East Asia has confirmed numerous cases.

The US and South Korea chose to postpone military exercises due to the outbreak. These drills usually draw the ire of North Korea.

"The US and South Korea postponing their defense drills and offering humanitarian assistance has thus earned no goodwill from a Kim regime that sees little benefit in restarting diplomacy," Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said in email.

Seoul is also preparing to hold elections for the National Assembly, and President Moon Jae-in's ruling Democratic Party could suffer as a result of his rapidly declining popularity. Many voters feel Moon has yet to follow through on his promises to fix the economy, now in a state of flux due to the coronavirus, and reach some sort of lasting deal with North Korea.

US voters also head to the polls on Tuesday for the Super Tuesday primaries.

"Pyongyang instead appears intent on raising the stakes before South Korea's April elections and before the 'Super Tuesday' primaries of the US presidential campaign," Easley said.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiT2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNubi5jb20vMjAyMC8wMy8wMi9hc2lhL25vcnRoLWtvcmVhLXByb2plY3RpbGVzLWludGwtaG5rL2luZGV4Lmh0bWzSAVNodHRwczovL2FtcC5jbm4uY29tL2Nubi8yMDIwLzAzLzAyL2FzaWEvbm9ydGgta29yZWEtcHJvamVjdGlsZXMtaW50bC1obmsvaW5kZXguaHRtbA?oc=5

2020-03-02 07:56:00Z
52780637488314

Israel is voting on Monday. Here's what you need to know - CNN

Like the two polls held in 2019, Monday's vote pits Israel's longest-serving leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, against former military chief, Benny Gantz.

Opinion polls have barely shifted in this third round of campaigning -- with neither Gantz's Blue and White party nor Netanyahu's Likud party appearing set to win the support they need to build a successful coalition.

Likud looks to be finishing the campaign the stronger, but probably not by enough to break the stalemate. Already, doomsayers predict the country is headed for a fourth poll sometime in the summer.

Here's what you need to know about the Israeli election:

How does it work and who are the key players?

Thirty parties are taking part, but Netanyahu's Likud and Gantz's Blue and White are sure to be comfortably ahead of anybody else in the battle for the 120-seat parliament, known as the Knesset.

Likud is a party on the right of Israeli politics, while Blue and White has positioned itself as centrist.

Three major pre-election polls showed Likud narrowly in front of Blue and White, but neither party is anywhere close to the 61 seats needed for a majority. By itself, that is not surprising -- Israel is well used to governing coalitions made up for several parties.

Usually, two or three smaller parties find a way to come together with a bigger party to form a government. But that logic has broken down, and since April neither Netanyahu, who tried twice to form a government, nor Gantz, who tried once, have been able to pull enough support behind them.

The key man, arguably, has been former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, who leads the Yisrael Beiteinu party.

He stunned Netanyahu after April's poll when he failed to agree on terms with the Prime Minister, despite a relationship that goes back decades. In September, he stuck by that position, and also decided he could not join a center-left coalition led by Gantz.

What has changed in this election?

Despite being under investigation for years, it was only at the end of January that Netanyahu was formally indicted, on charges of bribery and fraud and breach of trust, in three separate corruption cases. His trial is set to begin 15 days after the election.

Prosecutors say that in the most serious case, known as Case 4000, Netanyahu advanced regulatory benefits worth more than 1 billion shekels (approximately $280 million) to his friend, millionaire Shaul Elovitch, in exchange for improved coverage on the Walla! News website, which Elovitch owned.

Netanyahu has repeatedly professed his innocence, decrying the investigations as an "attempted coup" driven by the left and the media -- a view shared by his supporters. Elovitch also denies the accusations.

Under Israeli law, Netanyahu does not have to resign the prime ministership until any possible conviction is upheld through the appeals process, and that could be months, if not years away.

Has Trump given Netanyahu a leg-up?

The US President unveiled his Middle East plan on the same day Netanyahu was indicted.

The plan, roundly rejected by Palestinian leaders, envisions Jerusalem as Israel's undivided capital, and gives Israel a green light to annex all settlements in the West Bank, as well as the Jordan Valley.

It was viewed as a political and personal lifeline to Netanyahu at the time, as it marked a huge shift by the United States towards the position favored by Israel's right-wing. But the potentially game-changing move appears to have done little to shift the electoral needle.

For his part, Gantz has offered the Trump plan his backing but said he will only move forward with annexation in coordination with the international community.

In an effort to throw more red meat to his supporters in the last ten days of the campaign, Netanyahu announced plans to advance thousands of new housing units in settlement locations near Jerusalem.

Will the coronavirus have an effect on the vote?

Confirmed cases of the illness in Israel remain in the single digits. Even so, authorities have announced the first case of local transmission, and a poll last week suggested more than 1 in 20 voters were mulling whether to stay at home Monday over fears of catching the virus.

Authorities are constructing special polling stations in about 10 locations around the country to give those voters under self-quarantine the chance to cast their ballot.

How does voting take place?

Israelis still vote using pieces of paper. They choose parties, not individuals. In the polling station, each voter selects one piece of paper, corresponding to the party list they want to support. They put that piece of paper in an envelope and drop it into the ballot box.

Even though there are thirty parties contesting the election, only eight (possibly nine) are expected to cross the 3.25% threshold required to enter parliament.

Two parties representing the ultra-Orthodox communities can expect to win seats. There is also a party that positions itself to the right of Likud, and another to the left of Blue and White, that can expect to secure representation.

And there is also an alliance of parties representing Israel's Arab communities. Called the Joint List, it is confident it will finish third.

Potentially, the Joint List could play a role supporting a government led by Benny Gantz. That has happened only once before, when Arab parties offered parliamentary support to a Labor government led by Yitzhak Rabin in 1992, without actually joining it in coalition.

However, the presentation of the Trump Mideast plan has possibly put a wedge between the Joint List and Blue and White, making co-operation more difficult.

When will we know the results?

By law, the first exit polls released on election day come out at 10 p.m. local time. This will give us the first indication of where the parties stand. But these exit polls come with a health warning: sometimes, they are remarkably prescient; other times, they are woefully wide of the mark.

Final results can take a few days, as ballot boxes are checked, and votes come in from Israelis overseas.

But the results should be obvious long before that, and it is usually fairly clear by sunrise the following day what shape possible coalition negotiations could take.

Officially, it's up to Israel's president to decide who is tasked with forming the next government. He announces his decision after consulting with the heads of the political parties that have secured enough votes to enter the Knesset. These consultations take a few days, and the President is likely to announce his decision about a week after the elections.

From that point, the party leader appointed to the task has six weeks to form a government. If he or she fails, the task is then assigned to another party leader.

If neither Netanyahu nor Gantz succeed in forming a governing coalition, the country could well end up in a fourth election later this year.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiVGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNubi5jb20vMjAyMC8wMy8wMi9taWRkbGVlYXN0L2lzcmFlbC1lbGVjdGlvbnMtcXVlc3Rpb25zLWludGwvaW5kZXguaHRtbNIBWGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmNubi5jb20vY25uLzIwMjAvMDMvMDIvbWlkZGxlZWFzdC9pc3JhZWwtZWxlY3Rpb25zLXF1ZXN0aW9ucy1pbnRsL2luZGV4Lmh0bWw?oc=5

2020-03-02 07:47:00Z
52780639430758

‘This Will Be a Long Battle’: More Countries Report First Coronavirus Deaths - The Wall Street Journal

Medical staff wearing protective suits outside a hospital in Daegu, South Korea.

Photo: Kim Hyun-tae/Associated Press

By

Wenxin Fan

Wenxin Fan
The Wall Street Journal
• Biography
• @xinwenfan
• wenxin.fan@wsj.com

Updated March 1, 2020 2:21 pm ET

More countries reported their first coronavirus fatalities and the toll grew in places such as China, as the number of deaths from the epidemic globally nears 3,000.

Hours after the U.S. reported its first fatality, Australia on Sunday announced its first death from the disease known as Covid-19. So did Thailand, more than a month after it became the first country outside of China to report an infection. Italy added five more deaths, with 528 new confirmed cases since Saturday.

In China, health authorities said 35 patients died on Saturday, bringing the total number of deaths from the disease in the hardest-hit country to 2,870. A doctor in the city of Wuhan died early Sunday morning after he was infected while fighting the virus, his hospital said.

As Iran fights to contain the coronavirus epidemic, governments including Saudi Arabia and Iraq are closing some of the world's largest religious sites and canceling prayers. Here's why countries in the Middle East are particularly concerned. Photo: Ganoo Essa/Reuters

The fast-rising number of cases and the spreading death toll from a disease long concentrated in China has sparked fears of a global pandemic. That has set off a new round of travel restrictions, sending markets spiraling down and forcing closures of popular public events and tourist sites—including Paris’s Louvre museum, which shut down Sunday morning after workers expressed concern about the illness.

The epidemic threatens to stress hospital systems in less-prepared countries and has crimped economic activity, depriving many people of their livelihoods.

“This will be a long battle,” said Ben Cowling, head of the epidemiology and biostatistics division at the University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health.

China’s count of confirmed cases grew by 573 Saturday to nearly 80,000. Only eight new cases were recorded outside the city of Wuhan, where the global epidemic started.

Armenia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Ecuador and Qatar each reported their first infections over the weekend.

The Latest on the Coronavirus

• U.S., Australia and Thailand report their first coronavirus deaths
• Global death toll is now about 3,000—China’s death toll as of Saturday was 2,870
• Armenia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Ecuador and Qatar each reported their first infections over the weekend
• Japan ran a slimmed-down marathon in Tokyo to protect the Olympics from the threat of the epidemic

TRACKING THE CORONAVIRUS

VIEW In Depth

The Australian who died was a passenger on the Diamond Princess, the cruise ship that had more than 700 coronavirus infections confirmed among the 3,700 passengers and crew. Six of those who were infected died in Japan.

Government officials in Australia said the man had begun to feel sick during an evacuation flight from Japan, and had been taken to a hospital in Western Australia, where he died overnight.

In South Korea, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced 586 new confirmed cases Sunday, including one death.

Countries have tightened restrictions on travel. The U.S. will bar foreign nationals who have traveled to Iran in the past 14 days, Vice President Mike Pence said, and the U.S. government is also strongly advising against travel to areas in Italy and South Korea that have been affected by the virus.

In Italy, 1,577 people are infected with the virus and 34 have died, Italy’s Civil Protection agency said late Sunday. Eighty-three people have fully recovered.

Italian authorities said the rapid increase in new cases—50% since Saturday—reflects the disease’s long incubation period and the fact that containment measures were put in place around a week ago, after many people were infected. They said they expect the emergence of new cases to start to slow down in about a week.

As the coronavirus continued to spread in Italy, Pope Francis announced that he had a cold and would be sitting out a week-long spiritual retreat for Vatican officials starting Sunday evening.

The pope made his first public appearance since Wednesday, when he had spoken with a hoarse voice and wiped his nose during Ash Wednesday Mass. He worked on a restricted schedule for the following three days, canceling speeches to large groups but holding private meetings, on account of what the Vatican described as a “slight indisposition.”

Pope Francis coughs during the Angelus noon prayer from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, on Sunday.

Photo: Andrew Medichini/Associated Press

It was the pope’s longest stretch of time off for health reasons since his election almost seven years ago, and it raised speculation that he might have been infected with the virus. But on Sunday, the pope described his ailment as a cold.

“Unfortunately, a cold requires me to not participate [in the retreat] this year,” he said. “I’ll follow the meditations from here.”

The pope coughed twice during his 10 minutes at a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square and seemed slightly tired but alert, improvising remarks about his concern for war refugees. When he was a young man he had part of a lung removed after a battle with respiratory illness.

Iran’s foreign ministry had advised its citizens to stay away from South Korea, while the country’s state-controlled news agency IRNA reported Azerbaijan had closed its border with Iran for two weeks starting Saturday afternoon.

City officials in Beijing said both of its two new cases confirmed on Saturday in the Chinese capital were Chinese citizens who flew back from Iran. Ningxia, a Muslim region in northwestern China, also reported two such cases earlier this week.

In Moscow, the Chinese embassy issued a statement confirming that 80 Chinese citizens who had violated self-quarantine rules imposed in Russia have been moved to a quarantine facility.

In a news conference later, China said it understands most countries’ restrictions on travel by Chinese citizens, but saw some as overreaction.

“Some countries had taken unnecessary steps,” said Cui Aimin, director-general of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, without elaborating.

Ballet dancers demonstrate movements during an open course on live stream, in Shanghai.

Photo: Ren Long/Zuma Press

In the same press conference, Chinese officials said air travel with South Korea and Japan had been cut back and would be further reduced next week.

Mr. Cui also acknowledged that Chinese cities have been monitoring foreigners arriving from affected countries and have subjected them to the same home quarantines and other disease-control measures applied to Chinese citizens.

Such steps “effectively prevented cross-border transmission and benefited both China and foreign countries,” he said.

—Stuart Condie, Giovanni Legorano and Francis X. Rocca contributed to this article.

More

• The Lonely Marathon Japan Ran to Protect Olympics From Coronavirus
• China Touts Slowing Coronavirus Toll
• What We Know About the Coronavirus
• Coronavirus Live Coverage

Write to Wenxin Fan at Wenxin.Fan@wsj.com

Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMicmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndzai5jb20vYXJ0aWNsZXMvdGhpcy13aWxsLWJlLWEtbG9uZy1iYXR0bGUtbW9yZS1jb3VudHJpZXMtcmVwb3J0LWZpcnN0LWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWRlYXRocy0xMTU4MzA1NjMyM9IBAA?oc=5

2020-03-01 19:21:00Z
52780641387543

Coronavirus Spreads in U.S., as Rhode Island Confirms State’s First Case - The Wall Street Journal

At a hastily arranged White House news conference on Saturday, President Trump and other officials sought to project confidence in how the U.S. is handling the coronavirus situation.

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

By

Brianna Abbott,

Brianna Abbott
The Wall Street Journal
• Biography
• @Brabbott42
• brianna.abbott@wsj.com

Alex Leary and

Alex Leary
The Wall Street Journal
• Biography
• @learyreports
• alex.leary@wsj.com

Joe Barrett

Joe Barrett
The Wall Street Journal
• Biography
• @jbarrchicago
• Joseph.Barrett@wsj.com

March 1, 2020 11:34 am ET

Rhode Island health officials confirmed the state’s first case of coronavirus on Sunday, signaling a widening spread of the virus a day after the first death in the U.S. was reported in Washington state and the White House imposed additional international travel restrictions.

The Rhode Island patient, the 25th confirmed local case in the U.S., is a person in their 40s who had traveled to Italy in mid-February, the state health department said in a press release. Officials said they are working closely with the hospital where this person is being treated.

The family of the Rhode Island patient has been in self-quarantine since the person’s symptoms and travel history made the person a candidate for monitoring for Covid-19, the state agency said. The person hadn’t returned to work and extensive efforts are underway to reach anyone who the person did have contact with since returning to the U.S., it said. Any of those contacts will be monitored and directed to self-quarantine for 14 days as well.

The Latest on the Coronavirus

• The global death toll is now about 3,000—China’s death toll as of Saturday was 2,870
• U.S., Australia and Thailand report their first coronavirus deaths
• Armenia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Ecuador and Qatar each reported their first infections over the weekend
• Japan ran a slimmed-down marathon in Tokyo to protect the Olympics from the threat of the epidemic

TRACKING THE CORONAVIRUS

VIEW In Depth

Vice President Mike Pence, head of the government’s task force on the virus, said at a briefing Saturday that the U.S. will bar foreign nationals who have traveled to Iran in the past 14 days. The government is also strongly advising people against travel to areas in Italy and South Korea that are affected by the virus and has asked those countries to ensure adequate screening of travelers to the U.S.

At the hastily arranged White House news conference, President Trump and other officials sought to project confidence in how the U.S. is handling the situation, which has sent markets tumbling. “This too will end,” the president said.

Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “The risk is low. We need to get on with our normal lives.”

In response to a reporter’s question, Mr. Trump said the U.S. is also considering restrictions at the Mexican border. On Sunday, Mr. Trump said on Twitter that travelers from high-risk countries or areas wouldn’t only be screened for the virus prior to boarding but also when they arrive in the U.S.

The patient in Washington, a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions, died Friday night after test results confirmed he had novel coronavirus, according to a letter from the EvergreenHealth health-care system. He didn’t have any travel history to areas where the virus was circulating.

The CDC on Saturday also announced the first case of novel coronavirus in a U.S. health-care provider. The woman, who is in her 40s and is currently in good condition, is connected to yet another case in Washington state—a woman in her 70s in serious condition.

President Trump, Vice President Pence and health officials held a press conference on Saturday after Washington state health officials reported the country’s first coronavirus death. Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

Both are associated with a long-term care facility called Life Care Center of Kirkland in Kirkland, Wash. Health officials warned of a potential outbreak in the facility and said that an additional 27 residents and 25 staff are experiencing symptoms.

So far, roughly 80% of the cases are mild, with the most common symptoms being a fever and a dry cough. Many patients recover within a few weeks. But the rapidly spreading virus can also be deadly, especially among older adults and those with underlying health conditions, such as chronic cardiac disease, lung disease and diabetes.

Federal health officials said that the overall risk to the general public in the U.S. is still low, though the risk is rising in some areas and is higher for certain groups. People can protect themselves and their communities by taking steps such as frequent handwashing, avoiding contact with people who are sick and staying home if they develop symptoms, health authorities say.

Coronavirus

What We Know

How to Prepare

Travel Q&A

“We are facing a historic public health challenge,” Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said on a press call. “While we still hope for the best, we continue to prepare for this virus to become more widespread in the United States.”

A total of 25 people have been diagnosed with the novel infection within the U.S., not including repatriated Americans.

Late Saturday, health officials in Illinois said a third person there had tested positive for coronavirus. They didn’t say how the person had contracted it. The patient, who wasn’t identified, remains in the hospital and is in isolation. Two people in the state previously confirmed to have the virus have made full recoveries, officials said in a statement.

New cases in patients who currently have no clear path of exposure signal a wider spread of the novel coronavirus in some American communities. On Saturday, officials in Santa Clara County, Calif., announced a fourth confirmed case, a woman they said had been a “household contact“ of another woman who contracted the disease through apparent community transmission.

They released few details about the case other than to say the unidentified woman isn’t hospitalized or ill. The other woman, who also hasn’t been identified, remains under hospital treatment.

Read More

• U.S. Reports First Coronavirus Death, Imposes New International Travel Restrictions
• FDA to Allow Labs to Begin Use of High-Complexity Tests for Coronavirus
• Three New Coronavirus Cases With No Known Exposure Reported on West Coast
• Whistleblower Says Federal Employees Flown From Coronavirus Sites Didn’t Follow Safety Protocols
• How to Prepare for the Coronavirus
• What We Know About the Coronavirus

That woman was one of three new cases reported by health officials in California, Washington and Oregon on Friday in which the patients had no relevant travel history or known exposure to carriers.

The patients were tested following a change in the CDC guideline, which the agency expanded on Thursday to include people with recent travel history to Japan, Italy, Iran and South Korea as well as people with severe respiratory illnesses and a fever without a clear cause of infection.

The agency expanded the guideline after a patient in California wasn’t tested right away because the woman didn’t meet the stricter guidelines but ended up testing positive.

On Saturday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it would allow some 300 to 400 academic-hospital labs to begin testing for the virus, allowing for checks of thousands of people rather than the few hundred already tested.

Until Saturday’s announcement, there were relatively few diagnostic tests conducted in the U.S., with most state and local health departments sending patient samples to the CDC and waiting days for results. Even those initially had some accuracy problems, though the CDC has said those problems have been remedied.

Washington state started testing patient samples locally on Friday, officials said, which contributed to the quick uptick of reported cases in the region.

Mr. Trump is scheduled to meet Monday with pharmaceutical companies as work continues on a vaccination.

Write to Brianna Abbott at brianna.abbott@wsj.com, Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com and Joe Barrett at joseph.barrett@wsj.com

Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndzai5jb20vYXJ0aWNsZXMvY29yb25hdmlydXMtc3ByZWFkcy1pbi11LXMtYXMtcmhvZGUtaXNsYW5kLWNvbmZpcm1zLXN0YXRlcy1maXJzdC1jYXNlLTExNTgzMDgwNDU20gEA?oc=5

2020-03-01 16:34:00Z
52780641387543

Greece Sends Army to Border as Turkey Open Gates for Migrants - The New York Times

ORESTIADA, Greece — Greece deployed additional military forces to the country’s northern border with Turkey on Sunday to fortify the area and to repel a stream of migrants after Turkey opened the floodgates to the European Union over the weekend.

Military officials would not say how many additional troops were being deployed, but they confirmed that they were stepping up joint military and police operations along the border. Dozens of military vehicles were seen moving toward various outposts along the 120-mile-long border with Turkey.

Groups of army officers in uniform appeared on Sunday morning in the small Greek town of Orestiada, which is close to the frontier, before heading toward the border. Two army officers said they had been brought in overnight from other parts of the country.

The fortification of the border came after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey confirmed on Saturday that he was opening Turkey’s border for migrants to enter Europe, saying that his country could no longer handle the huge numbers of people fleeing the war in Syria.

Mr. Erdogan accused European leaders of failing to keep their promise to help Turkey bear the load of hosting 3.6 million Syrian refugees. And he demanded European support for his military operation against a Russian and Syrian offensive in northern Syria that has displaced at least a million more Syrians who are heading toward the Turkish border. The Turkish Army also suffered significant casualties in an airstrike in northwest Syria last week.

European Union leaders have issued vague messages of support to Turkey for its loss of soldiers in Syria after airstrikes and to Greece for its migrant troubles. But the leaders had been unable to commit to a joint statement on the evolving crisis on Sunday.

Thousands of migrants languishing in Turkey made their way to the border this weekend after Mr. Erdogan said he wouldn’t stand in their way. Many dropped everything the moment they heard the border was opening and rushed by bus or taxi, fearful that they might miss the chance to get across.

The Greek government, alarmed at the unfolding migrant wave, said that it was sending a warning through mass text messages to all international phone numbers in the border area. “From the Hellenic Republic: Greece is increasing border security to level maximum,” the message said in English. “Do not attempt illegally to cross the border.”

Many migrants went ahead, nevertheless, and some succeeded. Many ended up clashing with the authorities in Greece this weekend, as riot police with batons, shields and masks tried to block their path, sometimes firing tear gas.

Turkey’s interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, said in a tweet on Sunday that more than 76,000 people had left Turkey for Greece — a drastically inflated number, according to ground reports from both sides of the border.

The United Nations estimated that some 15,000 people from several countries, including families with children, were on their way in Turkey to the northern land border with Greece.

Hundreds of people went over the Turkish border in the north, either through farmland or by crossing the Evros River. Nearly 500 others arrived by boat on the islands bordering Turkey in the northeastern Aegean, creating small-scale scenes that were still reminiscent of the 2015 crisis that paralyzed Europe.

The Greek government said it had thwarted nearly 10,000 crossing attempts in 24 hours and arrested 150 people over the weekend.

But dozens of migrants in small groups could be seen scattered in the region’s villages. The Greek government claimed that those attempting to cross into Greece were all single men and none were Syrians, but families and Syrians did manage to reach Greece.

One man with his wife and small children took shelter in a church, trying to warm up and regroup after the arduous crossing.

Another migrant, Kaniwar Ibrahim, a 26-year-old tailor from Kobane, Syria, said he had heard from friends that Mr. Erdogan was opening the borders to Europe, so he rushed north.

Mr. Ibrahim, his face ashen and his lips blue from the cold, was planning his next move at the train station in Orestiada with three West Africans and a few Palestinian migrants who had crossed the border with him overnight.

He had spent two terrible years in Turkey, he said, so he grabbed the chance to join his relatives, who were legally settled in Germany.

On the Turkish side of the border, where thousands were gathering and smugglers were flocking to offer rides, boats and other services, others were less fortunate, and the hazards of crossing the border were becoming clear.

One migrant died from the cold overnight, according to other migrants, and others said they were badly beaten by Greek border guards or vigilantes — a claim that the Greek government denied.

Abdul Kareem al Mir, 23, a refugee from the city of Al Salamiyah in Central Syria, reached Edirne, near the northern border with Greece, but he was already having second thoughts.

“I’ve been stuck here for three days in the rain and cold,” he said in a series of messages. “I guess the promises and statements were just a lie,” he said.

Carlotta Gall contributed reporting from Istanbul, and Hwaida Saad from Beirut.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiUmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm55dGltZXMuY29tLzIwMjAvMDMvMDEvd29ybGQvZXVyb3BlL2dyZWVjZS1taWdyYW50cy1ib3JkZXItdHVya2V5Lmh0bWzSAVZodHRwczovL3d3dy5ueXRpbWVzLmNvbS8yMDIwLzAzLzAxL3dvcmxkL2V1cm9wZS9ncmVlY2UtbWlncmFudHMtYm9yZGVyLXR1cmtleS5hbXAuaHRtbA?oc=5

2020-03-01 15:36:00Z
52780641010694

Rebecca Grant: After peace deal with Taliban, many uncertainties remain about what comes next in Afghanistan - Fox News

The signing of the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement Saturday in Qatar is a hopeful and historic moment, but the Trump administration knows full well that the security situation across Afghanistan is shaky at best.

That’s why Secretary of State Mike Pompeo informed Taliban leaders that he would "closely watch the Taliban’s compliance with their commitments and calibrate the pace of our withdrawal to their actions.”

The peace agreement is designed to end the longest war in American history, which began after Al Qaeda terrorists using Afghanistan as their base to stage the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States that killed almost 3,000 people.

LINDSEY GRAHAM ON US-TALIBAN PEACE AGREEMENT: 'LET'S GIVE IT A TRY'

The agreement calls for U.S. forces in Afghanistan to be reduced from the current 13,000 to 8,600 in three or four months, after which there could be further U.S. troop withdrawals if the Taliban keep their commitments to stop backing Al Qaeda and make peace a reality in Afghanistan.

As it turns out, the seven-day “reduction in violence” in Afghanistan preceding the signing of the peace agreement almost unraveled. Two motorcycle vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attacks took place in Kabul last week. The attacks were immediately disavowed by the Taliban and claimed by ISIS.

U.S. Army Gen. Scott Miller, who commands the NATO support mission and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, ultimately ruled in favor of continuing with the peace process. Pompeo reiterated Saturday that the Taliban must “keep up the fight to defeat ISIS” in Afghanistan.

It’s naïve to think Afghanistan will settle down and become what the military calls a “permissive environment” anytime soon.

More from Opinion

President Ashraf Ghani’s government does not control the rural areas. ISIS is still out there, along with a dozen other non-Taliban terrorist groups. And Iran has been meddling in Afghanistan across their common border for years. However, the truce put the Taliban to the test and they passed.

Intra-Afghan talks between Ghani’s government and the Taliban are tentatively scheduled to start March 10 in either Norway or Qatar. The fact is, the Taliban leadership was ready for the deal last fall.

A big dilemma was getting the Afghan government in a position to enter talks with the Taliban. This has been made possible by the Trump administration’s investment in Afghanistan’s military and security sector.

Recently Afghan special forces – with a little coalition command and control assistance – rescued several Afghan military hostages from Taliban control. And the Afghan Air Force is now carrying out up to 50 percent of the airstrike missions, up from zero a few years ago.

From a military standpoint, the Afghans are in a much better place today. Over the last three years, Afghanistan’s forces have shown they can carry out better-coordinated, intensified military operations against the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

Afghan forces are not perfect by any means, but their improved military record has shown that the Taliban can’t conquer Kabul and take over as they did from 1996 to 2001.

As a result, the Afghan government has the stature and confidence to enter into negotiations with the Taliban. However, Afghanistan’s position of strength requires continued U.S. and NATO backing.

Don’t expect an immediate Afghanistan “peace dividend” for the U.S.  In fact, the U.S. Defense Department budget request for Afghanistan operations has actually increased slightly.

This is a critical time, and Afghan military forces still need contractor logistic support even when U.S. military forces leave. Two prime examples are maintenance and training support for the Afghan Air Force A-29 attack aircraft and the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. Both systems depend almost exclusively on American contractors.

Central Command reported a total of 24,202 contractors in Afghanistan as of December. Some 4,951 provide base security, while others drive, translate, cook, clean and maintain equipment.

If the Taliban behave and peace proves durable, it might be possible to close down smaller bases in due course.

The biggest security risk is that the Taliban could regroup for a spring offensive. Right now it’s unclear whether they are making plans to fight or stand-down this spring. Last year the Taliban announced the start of their spring offensive on April 12 and launched attacks in Nangarhar province hours later.

So far, the Taliban have made no announcement about an offensive this year. Much will depend on what they say and do in the coming weeks.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR OPINION NEWSLETTER

However, the Trump administration has at last crafted the right moment to make this deal and empower Afghanistan’s government to negotiate from a position of strength.

Of course, U.S. Special Representative for Afghan Peace Talks Zalmay Khalilzad will be on hand to coach, referee and drive momentum forward. But he’s not alone.

Norway started hosting informal talks between Afghan officials and Taliban representatives over five years ago, and German diplomats have also been very helpful in keeping the Taliban talks on track.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Afghanistan’s Vice President-elect Amrullah Saleh was once a Northern Alliance fighter with Ahmed Shah Massoud, who was killed by Al Qaeda on Sept. 9, 2001. Saleh himself was later hunted by the Taliban.

Yet on Friday Saleh said in an essay for Time Magazine: “I am ready to make peace with the Taliban on the battlefield, and fight them in a very different arena: at the ballot box.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE BY REBECCA GRANT

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiigFodHRwczovL3d3dy5mb3huZXdzLmNvbS9vcGluaW9uL3JlYmVjY2EtZ3JhbnQtYWZ0ZXItcGVhY2UtZGVhbC13aXRoLXRhbGliYW4tbWFueS11bmNlcnRhaW50aWVzLXJlbWFpbi1hYm91dC13aGF0LWNvbWVzLW5leHQtaW4tYWZnaGFuaXN0YW7SAY4BaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZm94bmV3cy5jb20vb3Bpbmlvbi9yZWJlY2NhLWdyYW50LWFmdGVyLXBlYWNlLWRlYWwtd2l0aC10YWxpYmFuLW1hbnktdW5jZXJ0YWludGllcy1yZW1haW4tYWJvdXQtd2hhdC1jb21lcy1uZXh0LWluLWFmZ2hhbmlzdGFuLmFtcA?oc=5

2020-03-01 16:02:10Z
52780629907270

Coronavirus live updates: Australia, Thailand and US report first deaths over weekend - CNBC

People wearing face masks walk on the promenade of the Bund along the Huangpu River in Shanghai on February 28, 2020.

Hector Retamal | AFP | Getty Images

9:00 am: England reports 12 new coronavirus cases 

There were 12 new coronavirus cases reported in England on Sunday morning, bringing the total number of cases in the U.K. to 35.

Three of the patients were close contacts of a known case, while one patient — a resident in Essex — had no known travel history. The other cases were patients who had recently traveled from Italy and Iran, according to U.K. health officials. -- Newburger 

8:31am: Trump says US will screen travelers from high risk countries upon arrival to US 

President Donald Trump on Sunday morning tweeted that passengers traveling from high risk countries will be screened prior to boarding as well as when they arrive to the U.S. The administration on Saturday expanded travel restrictions against Iran and raised an advisory that Americans refrain from visiting regions of Italy and South Korea impacted by the coronavirus.

"In addition to screening travelers 'prior to boarding' from certain designated high risk countries, or areas within those countries, they will also be screened when they arrive in America," Trump wrote on Twitter. -- Newburger 

8:30 am: Australia, Thailand and U.S. report first virus-related deaths over weekend 

Australia, Thailand and the U.S. all reported their first deaths from the coronavirus over the weekend as the outbreak continues to stretch across the globe. 

In the U.S., a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions died in Washington state. There was no evidence that he got the infection through travel or contact with another infected person, raising fears over a local community spread within the U.S. 

In Thailand, a 35-year-old man who was also sick from dengue fever died of the coronavirus. Thailand has reported a total of 42 cases. 

A 78-year-old man also died of the virus in Australia on Sunday. He was one of the evacuated passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined off Japan. Australia has confirmed a total of 26 cases. 

"We still need to make the point very clear that there isn't community spread within Australia," said Andrew Robertson, chief health officer at the Western Australia Department of Health. "This very tragic case is still related to the Diamond Princess. The public shouldn't be panicking at this stage." -- Newburger 

6:55 am: Iran's death toll now at 54, confirmed cases jump to 978 amid suspicions about government reporting

Iran's death toll from the coronavirus hit 54 on Sunday, its health ministry said, just days after the Iranian government denied 50 deaths from the virus reported by a lawmaker in the city of Qom, the center of the country's outbreak.

Based on the number of fatalities, health experts believe the number of infected people must be higher than what the government is reporting. -- Turak, Kemp

3:06 am: WHO chief says global markets 'should calm down and try to see the reality'

Market panic over the fast-spreading new coronavirus is uncalled for, the World Health Organization's director-general said Sunday as governments around the world rush to contain its spread.

"Global markets … should calm down and try to see the reality," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told CNBC's Hadley Gamble during a panel discussion at the King Salman Humanitarian Aid Center's International Humanitarian Forum in Riyadh. "We need to continue to be rational. Irrationality doesn't help. We need to deal with the facts."

The comments come after global stocks were slammed in their worst week since the 2008 financial crisis. The Dow Jones plunged a whopping 3,500 points across the week, more than 12%, its largest weekly point loss ever and biggest percentage drop in 12 years. -- Turak 

-- CNBC's Natasha Turak and Ted Kemp contributed reporting 

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMieGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNuYmMuY29tLzIwMjAvMDMvMDEvY29yb25hdmlydXMtbGl2ZS11cGRhdGVzLWF1c3RyYWxpYS10aGFpbGFuZC1hbmQtdXMtcmVwb3J0LWZpcnN0LWRlYXRocy1vdmVyLXdlZWtlbmQuaHRtbNIBfGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNuYmMuY29tL2FtcC8yMDIwLzAzLzAxL2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWxpdmUtdXBkYXRlcy1hdXN0cmFsaWEtdGhhaWxhbmQtYW5kLXVzLXJlcG9ydC1maXJzdC1kZWF0aHMtb3Zlci13ZWVrZW5kLmh0bWw?oc=5

2020-03-01 13:46:00Z
52780641387543