World/Nation Briefs 5.2.2012
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
WASHINGTON (AP) — In President Barack Obama’s twin narratives, the United States is both leaving Afghanistan and staying there.
The different messages are meant for different audiences, one at home and one away. As Obama’s brief, symbolic visit to Afghanistan on Wednesday made clear, the more important audience is American voters fed up with a war that will be in its 12th year on Election Day this fall.
The president flew in secret to sign a long-awaited security compact with Afghanistan. It was after midnight in Kabul when the signing took place, and 4 a.m. there when Obama addressed Americans in a specially arranged 7:30 p.m. EDT speech on network television. By the time most Afghans woke up, Obama was gone.
‘‘My fellow Americans,’’ Obama said from Bagram Air Field, ‘‘we have traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war. Yet here, in the predawn darkness of Afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon.’’
The backdrop of armored troop carriers matched Obama’s message of praise for U.S. forces who fought and died in Afghanistan, but it was an odd fit for what followed — a direct appeal to American optimism and self-interest in an election year.
———
Hours after Obama visit, Taliban attack on compound for foreigners in Afghan capital kills 7
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban insurgents attacked a compound housing foreigners in the Afghan capital Wednesday, killing seven people, hours after President Barack Obama made a surprise visit and signed a pact governing the U.S. presence after combat troops withdraw.
The Taliban said the attack was a response to Obama’s visit, which coincided with Wednesday’s anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan.
It was the second major assault in Kabul in less than three weeks and highlighted the Taliban’s continued ability to strike in the heavily guarded capital even when security had been tightened security for the high profile events.
Obama arrived at Bagram Air Base late Tuesday, then traveled in to Kabul by helicopter for a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in which they signed the agreement. Later, back at the base, he was surrounded by U.S. troops, shaking every hand. He ended his lightning visit with a speech broadcast to Americans back home.
The violence began around 6 a.m. in eastern Kabul with a series of explosions and gunfire ringing out from the privately guarded compound known as Green Village that houses hundreds of international contractors.
———
US official: blind activist to stay in China and did not request asylum in the US
BEIJING (AP) — A U.S. official says the blind Chinese activist who sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy did not ask for asylum and is staying in China after receiving assurances that he will be treated as a normal citizen.
The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that Chinese authorities promised that Chen Guangcheng will be relocated to a safe environment where he can study at a university.
The U.S. official says that Chen was brought into the U.S. Embassy because after his escape from house arrest in his rural village he was in need of medical care, and that the activist did not request asylum in America.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
———
Fizzled protests, mixed messages, indicative of state of stalled immigration reform movement
ATLANTA (AP) — While a black preacher told 100 immigration protesters that incarcerated blacks and detained immigrants faced similar challenges, Jesse Morgan stood to one side of the May Day demonstrators, holding a large sign that read ‘‘Radical Queers Resist.’’
Although the rally was geared toward illegal immigrants, the 24-year-old Georgia State sociology major said gays can relate, too, because they often face discrimination.
‘‘And besides,’’ he said. ‘‘There are queers who are undocumented.’’
Over the last several years, May Day rallies in the United States have been dominated by activists pushing for a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million people in the country illegally. But since 2006, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets in cities across America, the rallies have gotten smaller, less focused and increasingly splintered by any number of groups with a cause.
In New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., May Day protests were dominated by Occupy Wall Street activists, a sign of how far the immigration has fallen off the radar, unable to compete with the economy.
———
Myanmar begins new era as Suu Kyi is sworn in to parliament, takes office for first time
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) — Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sworn in to Myanmar’s military-backed parliament Wednesday, taking public office for the first time since launching her struggle against authoritarian rule nearly a quarter century ago.
The opposition leader’s entry into the legislature heralds a new political era in Myanmar, cementing a risky detente between her party and the reformist government of President Thein Sein, which inherited power from the army last year.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party will occupy too few seats to have any real power in the ruling-party dominated assembly, however, and there are fears the presence of the opposition lawmakers could simply legitimize the regime without any change.
But the new lawmakers are also likely to bring a level of public debate to the legislative body that has never been seen as they prepare for the next general election in 2015.
The solemn swearing-in ceremony took place in the capital, Naypyitaw, which was built by the former army junta. With white roses in her hair, Suu Kyi stood along with several dozen of her party’s lawmakers as the speaker the lower house asked them to read the oath.
———
Feds: 5 anarchists unknowingly plotted to blow up Ohio bridge with help of informant
CLEVELAND (AP) — After unknowingly working with an FBI informant for months, five men have been charged with plotting to bomb an Ohio bridge linking two wealthy Cleveland suburbs.
Federal authorities Tuesday described the men as anarchists who are angry with corporate America and the government. They say the alleged plotters researched explosives and obtained what they thought was C-4 explosives. The material, in fact, was harmless and the public was never at risk because the men got it from the informant, officials said.
Their arrests Monday night marked the latest case in which FBI agents planned fake terrorism plots alongside targeted suspects, an indication it continues to be a top strategy for the government in preventing terrorism.
‘‘They talked about making a statement against corporate America and the government as some of the motivations for their actions,’’ U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach said in announcing the arrests with the head of the FBI in Cleveland, Stephen Anthony.
Court documents detail several conversations the FBI secretly recorded in which its informant discussed the bomb plans with some of the suspects.
———
SPIN METER: Romney hiked fees as Massachusetts governor to help close $3 million budget gap
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney’s boast that he closed a $3 billion budget gap as Massachusetts governor without raising taxes is a cornerstone of his White House campaign, a way to highlight his pitch for lower taxes and leaner government in a race where federal budget deficits and the slumping economy are hot issues.
What he rarely mentions is how he did it. The presumptive Republican nominee and Democratic state lawmakers raised hundreds of millions of dollars for cash-strapped state coffers by approving new and higher fees on everything from marriage licenses to real estate transactions to gun licenses.
The dozens of fee increases were a way for Romney, a former venture capitalist, to boost state revenues and ease the budget squeeze while technically sticking to his pledge not to raise taxes.
‘‘It was a grab bag of fee increases across the board to close the budget deficit,’’ said Michael Widmer, president of the nonpartisan Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a business-backed fiscal watchdog group.
Romney’s handling of the fiscal crisis when he took over as governor in 2003 is a guide to how he might act on his promises for lower taxes and reduce the federal deficit if he’s elected president. He has sketched a broad, fiscally conservative vision during the primaries but has yet to specify how he would pay for it.
———
DC adds 6 new titles, including contemporary take on ’G.I. Combat,’ to relaunched titles
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — More than eight months after upending its universe of classic heroes and ongoing titles, DC Entertainment is bringing six more titles to readers, including a contemporary take on its vintage war comic, ‘‘G.I. Combat.’’
The book, one of six new titles in comic shops on Wednesday, features a pair of stories that focus on modern-day U.S. soldiers in situations both fantastic, chaotic and, in some cases, out of time, too.
Writer J.T. Krul’s offering focuses on a pair of special forces operatives stationed aboard a U.S. Navy ship in the Sea of Japan. As it monitors North Korea, a dead zone immune to any and all radar, sonar, satellite imagery and more pops up, causing concern about what may be hiding there.
What they find there is something out of an H.G. Wells novel or a science fiction film, he said, noting the title of the first chapter is ‘‘The War That Time Forgot.’’
‘‘It’s a lot like ‘Predator,’’’ Krul said in an interview this week about the dynamic between the two soldiers — Stevens and Elliott — as they’re forced to react, and fight, a force unlike any they’ve trained for.[[In-content Ad]]
WASHINGTON (AP) — In President Barack Obama’s twin narratives, the United States is both leaving Afghanistan and staying there.
The different messages are meant for different audiences, one at home and one away. As Obama’s brief, symbolic visit to Afghanistan on Wednesday made clear, the more important audience is American voters fed up with a war that will be in its 12th year on Election Day this fall.
The president flew in secret to sign a long-awaited security compact with Afghanistan. It was after midnight in Kabul when the signing took place, and 4 a.m. there when Obama addressed Americans in a specially arranged 7:30 p.m. EDT speech on network television. By the time most Afghans woke up, Obama was gone.
‘‘My fellow Americans,’’ Obama said from Bagram Air Field, ‘‘we have traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war. Yet here, in the predawn darkness of Afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon.’’
The backdrop of armored troop carriers matched Obama’s message of praise for U.S. forces who fought and died in Afghanistan, but it was an odd fit for what followed — a direct appeal to American optimism and self-interest in an election year.
———
Hours after Obama visit, Taliban attack on compound for foreigners in Afghan capital kills 7
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban insurgents attacked a compound housing foreigners in the Afghan capital Wednesday, killing seven people, hours after President Barack Obama made a surprise visit and signed a pact governing the U.S. presence after combat troops withdraw.
The Taliban said the attack was a response to Obama’s visit, which coincided with Wednesday’s anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan.
It was the second major assault in Kabul in less than three weeks and highlighted the Taliban’s continued ability to strike in the heavily guarded capital even when security had been tightened security for the high profile events.
Obama arrived at Bagram Air Base late Tuesday, then traveled in to Kabul by helicopter for a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in which they signed the agreement. Later, back at the base, he was surrounded by U.S. troops, shaking every hand. He ended his lightning visit with a speech broadcast to Americans back home.
The violence began around 6 a.m. in eastern Kabul with a series of explosions and gunfire ringing out from the privately guarded compound known as Green Village that houses hundreds of international contractors.
———
US official: blind activist to stay in China and did not request asylum in the US
BEIJING (AP) — A U.S. official says the blind Chinese activist who sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy did not ask for asylum and is staying in China after receiving assurances that he will be treated as a normal citizen.
The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that Chinese authorities promised that Chen Guangcheng will be relocated to a safe environment where he can study at a university.
The U.S. official says that Chen was brought into the U.S. Embassy because after his escape from house arrest in his rural village he was in need of medical care, and that the activist did not request asylum in America.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
———
Fizzled protests, mixed messages, indicative of state of stalled immigration reform movement
ATLANTA (AP) — While a black preacher told 100 immigration protesters that incarcerated blacks and detained immigrants faced similar challenges, Jesse Morgan stood to one side of the May Day demonstrators, holding a large sign that read ‘‘Radical Queers Resist.’’
Although the rally was geared toward illegal immigrants, the 24-year-old Georgia State sociology major said gays can relate, too, because they often face discrimination.
‘‘And besides,’’ he said. ‘‘There are queers who are undocumented.’’
Over the last several years, May Day rallies in the United States have been dominated by activists pushing for a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million people in the country illegally. But since 2006, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets in cities across America, the rallies have gotten smaller, less focused and increasingly splintered by any number of groups with a cause.
In New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., May Day protests were dominated by Occupy Wall Street activists, a sign of how far the immigration has fallen off the radar, unable to compete with the economy.
———
Myanmar begins new era as Suu Kyi is sworn in to parliament, takes office for first time
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) — Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sworn in to Myanmar’s military-backed parliament Wednesday, taking public office for the first time since launching her struggle against authoritarian rule nearly a quarter century ago.
The opposition leader’s entry into the legislature heralds a new political era in Myanmar, cementing a risky detente between her party and the reformist government of President Thein Sein, which inherited power from the army last year.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party will occupy too few seats to have any real power in the ruling-party dominated assembly, however, and there are fears the presence of the opposition lawmakers could simply legitimize the regime without any change.
But the new lawmakers are also likely to bring a level of public debate to the legislative body that has never been seen as they prepare for the next general election in 2015.
The solemn swearing-in ceremony took place in the capital, Naypyitaw, which was built by the former army junta. With white roses in her hair, Suu Kyi stood along with several dozen of her party’s lawmakers as the speaker the lower house asked them to read the oath.
———
Feds: 5 anarchists unknowingly plotted to blow up Ohio bridge with help of informant
CLEVELAND (AP) — After unknowingly working with an FBI informant for months, five men have been charged with plotting to bomb an Ohio bridge linking two wealthy Cleveland suburbs.
Federal authorities Tuesday described the men as anarchists who are angry with corporate America and the government. They say the alleged plotters researched explosives and obtained what they thought was C-4 explosives. The material, in fact, was harmless and the public was never at risk because the men got it from the informant, officials said.
Their arrests Monday night marked the latest case in which FBI agents planned fake terrorism plots alongside targeted suspects, an indication it continues to be a top strategy for the government in preventing terrorism.
‘‘They talked about making a statement against corporate America and the government as some of the motivations for their actions,’’ U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach said in announcing the arrests with the head of the FBI in Cleveland, Stephen Anthony.
Court documents detail several conversations the FBI secretly recorded in which its informant discussed the bomb plans with some of the suspects.
———
SPIN METER: Romney hiked fees as Massachusetts governor to help close $3 million budget gap
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney’s boast that he closed a $3 billion budget gap as Massachusetts governor without raising taxes is a cornerstone of his White House campaign, a way to highlight his pitch for lower taxes and leaner government in a race where federal budget deficits and the slumping economy are hot issues.
What he rarely mentions is how he did it. The presumptive Republican nominee and Democratic state lawmakers raised hundreds of millions of dollars for cash-strapped state coffers by approving new and higher fees on everything from marriage licenses to real estate transactions to gun licenses.
The dozens of fee increases were a way for Romney, a former venture capitalist, to boost state revenues and ease the budget squeeze while technically sticking to his pledge not to raise taxes.
‘‘It was a grab bag of fee increases across the board to close the budget deficit,’’ said Michael Widmer, president of the nonpartisan Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a business-backed fiscal watchdog group.
Romney’s handling of the fiscal crisis when he took over as governor in 2003 is a guide to how he might act on his promises for lower taxes and reduce the federal deficit if he’s elected president. He has sketched a broad, fiscally conservative vision during the primaries but has yet to specify how he would pay for it.
———
DC adds 6 new titles, including contemporary take on ’G.I. Combat,’ to relaunched titles
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — More than eight months after upending its universe of classic heroes and ongoing titles, DC Entertainment is bringing six more titles to readers, including a contemporary take on its vintage war comic, ‘‘G.I. Combat.’’
The book, one of six new titles in comic shops on Wednesday, features a pair of stories that focus on modern-day U.S. soldiers in situations both fantastic, chaotic and, in some cases, out of time, too.
Writer J.T. Krul’s offering focuses on a pair of special forces operatives stationed aboard a U.S. Navy ship in the Sea of Japan. As it monitors North Korea, a dead zone immune to any and all radar, sonar, satellite imagery and more pops up, causing concern about what may be hiding there.
What they find there is something out of an H.G. Wells novel or a science fiction film, he said, noting the title of the first chapter is ‘‘The War That Time Forgot.’’
‘‘It’s a lot like ‘Predator,’’’ Krul said in an interview this week about the dynamic between the two soldiers — Stevens and Elliott — as they’re forced to react, and fight, a force unlike any they’ve trained for.[[In-content Ad]]
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