Foreign Service Updates

While this is getting a bit stale now, this is some news that recently caught my attention: Zimbabwe  Lawyers for Human Rights petition Police Comm-General Augustine Chihuri re:  anti-riot  police /assaulted HR activist Sydney Chisi video 20 police indiscriminately bashing Chisi w. batons excessive force on peaceful protest https://www.newsday.co.zw/2015/04/24/civic-society-petitions-chihuri-over-activists-assault/ Turkey NYT Declines to Run Turkish Ad on 1915  b/c no recognition Armenian Genocide Ad run by WaPo instead On April  24 Turkish-American community to march WA DC  White House to Turkish  Embassy 100th anniversary of 1915 atrocities NYT contended Ad depicts 1915 events as civilian tragedy costing lives Ottoman citizens incl. Armenians, Turks, Kurds & Arabs. NYT do not accept ads denying history generally accepted as fact, incl Armenian Genocide, Holocaust + WTC bombing Ad says: >no academic consensus on incidents. >number of international scholars declined to label atrocities as genocide *The 'no consensus' argument reminds me of the global warming / climate change method of rebuttal.  LOOK-UPS  The Washington Post =  Nash Holdings LLC Jeff Bezos = founder & CEO Amazon bought WaPo 2013 for  $250 million in cash  [wp] WaPo Jeff Bezos member of Bilderberg Group 17th wealthiest person in world with est. net worth of $32.3 billion [2012] [wp] http://massispost.com/2015/04/the-new-york-times-declines-to-run-turkish-ad-on-1915/ Zimbabwe 16th Harare International Festival of the Arts (Hifa) donors & corporates sponsor Norwegian Embassy active Norway Ambassador to Zimbabwe Bård Hopland  ... Norway gives biggest bilateral contribution to festival. Other sponsors: British Council Osisa, Prohelvetia Australian govt Finland Emb. Lusaka & Zimbabwe German Society + others LOOK-UPS Zimbabwe = rich in natural resources produces over 40 types of metals & minerals. est 40% of foreign exchange = such export where there is mining, there is also need for infrastructure. more in resources:  http://www.zimbabwe.8m.com/zimmin.html https://www.newsday.co.zw/2015/04/24/donors-corporates-hail-hifa/ Philippines 40 members of specialist British military unit 77 Brigade in PHL to conduct training exercises on urban earthquake response part of an annual training exercise in different parts of the world http://www.rappler.com/nation/90982-british-troops-manila-drills Argentina Antonio Stiusso suspect in death of Alberto Nisman fled Argentina & is in USA not attending court Stiusso travelled from Argentina to USA with Italy passport interl arrest warrant issue = an Argentina justice issue (vs govt issue) Stiusso, also charges of: >money laundering >false info to authorities >contraband >dereliction of duty >hiding evidence + >illicit enrichment (among others) Likely to seek USA political asylum strong relationship US embassy in Buenos Aires http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Argentine-Ex-Intelligence-Chief-Will-Not-Attend-Bomb-Inquiry-20150423-0029.html Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif visited Saudi Arabia to mend relations after Pakistani lawmakers rejected a Saudi request for military in Yemen Meeting took place April 23: PM Sharif, accompanied by army chief + Defence Min. http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php/sid/232239773 Nigeria Super Rich Nigerians, Others Spend $900m On Luxury Property In UK Africa big spenders having impact on London property market = >Nigeria >Ghana >Congo >Gabon >Cameroon >Senegal http://leadership.ng/news/428137/super-rich-nigerians-others-spend-900m-on-property-in-uk Czech Hynek Kmonícek, head Pres Office foreign affairs section praised by US Ambassador to Prague Andrew Schapiro http://www.praguepost.com/czech-news/47231-u-s-ambassador-praises-zeman-s-man-as-skilful-diplomat Obama broke 2008 campaign promise to recognize Armenia genocide by refusing to use term “genocide” on 100th anniv. http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2015/04/23/mainstream-media-refuses-to-condemn-obama-for-broken-promise-on-armenian-genocide/ Poland US ambassador to Poland apologized for FBI director’s comments about Poles being accomplices in the Holocaust http://www.ijn.com/ijn-news/international/5367-ambassador-to-poland-apologizes-for-fbi-comments Turkey Seven world capitals now without Turkish ambassadors >Syria >Egypt >Israel >Libya >Yemen >Vatican >Austria List could be added to, following expected parliamentary declarations on 1915 killings of Anatolian Armenians as “genocide” http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/seven-world-capitals-now-without-turkish-ambassadors.aspx?PageID=238&NID=81488&NewsCatID=510  Row in Bulgaria over proposal for Parliament to recognise Armenia Genocide EU member states who lawmakers have adopted recognitions, in some cases with prison or fines for denying the event: Austria Belgium Cyprus Czech Republic France Greece Italy Lithuania Netherlands Poland Slovakia Sweden. April 25 - European Parliament commended the statement pronounced by the Pope and encouraged Turkey to recognise the genocide and so pave the way for a “genuine reconciliation between the Turkish and Armenian peoples”. Ankara vehemently denies the charge of genocide, saying the deaths occurred in a civil war, in which many Turks died, too. http://sofiaglobe.com/2015/04/23/row-in-bulgaria-over-proposal-for-parliament-to-recognise-armenian-genocide/ US sends New Charge d' Affaires to Gambia to run US Embassy in Banjul Joseph D. Stafford replaces George Staples Experience incl. "In Washington, his assignments included teaching at the faculty of the National War College and serving as the State Department's Deputy Director of Maghreb Affairs." http://allafrica.com/stories/201504231126.html North Korea   Russia is still expecting North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to visit Moscow in May AFP / thepeninsulaqatar  - http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/latest-news/334018/russia-still-expecting-n-korea-s-kim-in-may-diplomat Ukraine US embassy in Kiev surrounded in protest over interference / At least 500 ppl attend rally chanting slogans Protest decisions: eg appointment of foreigners incl. former US State Dept official to senior position in new govt. Ukraine Protest US embassy Kiev US interference = more violence Condemned:  US troops training national guard units Ukraine So far, Washington has provided US$75 million worth of military aid to fascist Ukraine puppet regime http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_70124.shtml Bahrain Received:  US Military Attaché and Chief Liaison Officer of US Embassy to Bahrain, Colonel Scott W Rizer  http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/665318 Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) aim: eliminating chemical weapons EU support for OPCW Countries that have not agreed to OPCW terms: Egypt South Sudan North Korea Angola Not ratified convention: >Myanmar >Israel http://bioprepwatch.com/news/latvian-official-pledges-support-to-chemical-weapons-ban/341646/ Norway Ambassador Leif H Larsen announces embassy opening: Norway consulate begins operations in Lahore Pakistan http://tribune.com.pk/story/874645/norwegian-consulate-begins-operations-in-lahore/ Sweden Internet Tech Social Good Nigeria PopUp Incubator Project Nigeria developing techie skills http://techcabal.com/2015/04/24/social-good-for-nigeria-unveils-an-incubator-project-for-techies/ British Embassy Tokyo hosts same-sex staff marriage http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/04/24/national/social-issues/british-embassy-hosts-sex-marriage-staff/ Poland Presidential Election:   May 10 Parliamentary & PM Election:  by October 30 [RussianInsider] Poland Radoslaw Sikorski under investigation "for fiddling state budget funds for personal expenses" http://russia-insider.com/en/so-long-siklebaum-poland-under-us-pressure-over-failure-war-against-eastern-ukraine-russia/5962