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Sudan‘s Transitional Military Council (TMC) has decided to cancel all agreements with the main opposition coalition and will move ahead with elections to be held within nine months, its head has said.

The announcement by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in the early hours of Tuesday came after security forces fired live ammunition to clear the main protest site outside the military headquarters in Khartoum, the focal point in the demonstrators’ months-long struggle for civilian rule.

Protest groups said at least 35 people were killed and hundreds wounded in the raid by the security forces, calling it a “bloody massacre“.

“The military council decided to stop negotiating with the Alliance for Freedom and Change [group representing protesters in negotiations] and cancel what had been agreed on and to hold general elections within nine months,” al-Burhan said in a televised statement.

Al-Burhan said the TMC would now move to set up an interim government to prepare for elections, which he added would be internationally supervised.


‘Either them or us’

Monday was the worst day of violence since the military overthrow of long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir on April 11 after months of mass protests against his three-decade rule.


But protesters insisted that al-Bashir’s removal from power was not enough. Tens of thousands remained in place in Khartoum and other camps around the country, pushing the generals who replaced al-Bashir to swiftly hand over power to a civilian-led administration.

The bloody assault and dispersal of the Khartoum sit-in now risk escalating violence even further, making a more intense face-off between the military and protesters more likely.

Pro-democracy protesters vowed to keep up their campaign, suspending talks and calling for “total civil disobedience” to “paralyse public life” across the country.

“This is a critical point in our revolution. The military council has chosen escalation and confrontation,” said Mohamed Yousef al-Mustafa, a spokesman for the Sudanese Professionals’ Association (SPA), which has spearheaded the months-long protests.

“Those are criminals who should have been treated like al-Bashir,” he said. “Now the situation is either them or us, there is no other way.”

For his part, al-Burhan said military leaders would investigate Monday’s violence, but claimed that the coalition representing the demonstrators shared responsibility for the bloodshed.


In his televised statement, the TMC head accused the alliance representing the protesters of “extending the negotiations and seeking to exclude other political and security forces” from being in a transitional government.

The TMC and protest leaders had made progress during talks in May over an interim cabinet and legislative body, but they split over the make-up and leadership of a sovereign council that was being discussed to govern Sudan during a three-year transition.

On Friday, the TMC had called the sit-in “a danger” to the country’s national security and warned that action would be taken against what it said were “unruly elements”.

On the same day, the military had also ordered the office of the Al Jazeera Media Network in Khartoum to be shut down, without giving a reason for the decision, while also withdrawing the work permits for the correspondents and staff of the Qatar-based news organisation.


‘Shooting at everyone randomly’

Activists said the assault in the early hours of Monday appeared to be a coordinated move, with other forces attacking similar sit-ins in Khartoum’s sister city of Omdurman and the eastern city of Gadarif.

Protesters accuse General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of Sudan’s notorious Rapid Support Forces and deputy head of the TMC, of ordering the violent crackdown. Twenty-four hours before the security forces’ raid, Dagalo, who goes by the nickname Hemeti, was filmed making a veiled threat to protesters.

“We must firmly stand up to the ongoing chaos and build a true state,” he said. “As for the civil state the protesters are demanding, to be truly a civil rule with no individuals above it, it must be built on a rule of law. It must be ruled by law and there is no one above the law.”

The attack came on the day before the Eid holiday that ends Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims fast during daylight hours. Large numbers of troops from the military, police and Rapid Support Forces moved in on the gathering after overnight rains, activists said.


Mohammed Elmunir, a protester in Khartoum, said security forces blocked the exits of the sit-in site before opening fire on protesters.

“They were shooting at everyone randomly and people were running for their lives. They blocked all roads and most tents at the sit-in have been set on fire,” Elmunir told Al Jazeera.

In online videos, protesters were seen running and ducking as barrages of gunfire echoed. Activists said hundreds were arrested, with photos posted online showing dozens of men and women lined up on the pavement, sitting or lying face down, under guard by troops.

Demonstrators stood behind low barricades of bricks and dug-up pavement, and some threw stones before being driven back by walls of blue-clad security forces carrying sticks. One video showed police swarming around a protester sprawled on the ground, beating him with sticks. In another video, residents opened their doors to shelter those who ran.

A doctors’ committee linked to the protesters said the death toll had risen to at least 35 by early Tuesday with the killing of five people in the city’s Bahri district. The committee said it was difficult to count deaths in areas outside the military headquarters in Khartoum, adding that hundreds of people were wounded, many by gunfire.

Medical staff and the injured were trapped in clinics as troops overran the area.

“Wounded people are lying on the ground in the reception area as there are not enough beds,” said Azza al-Kamel, a doctor at Royal Care hospital.

International condemnation

The attack against the protesters came days after al-Burhan met with his top foreign allies, including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who have both been strong supporters of the TMC and deeply oppose movements such as those that swept the region in the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

Many analysts said they believed the military rulers were being influenced by powers outside Sudan.

“The latest escalation, and what is already a precarious situation, came after the head of the military council and the deputy head … visited Saudi Arabia,” Awol Allo, a senior lecturer in law at Keele University, told Al Jazeera. “Since then, there is a significant escalation … against the protesters.”


Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the crackdown and called on authorities to allow an independent investigation, according to his spokesman.

“There was use of excessive force by the security forces on civilians,” Stephane Dujarric said.

The UN Security Council is set to discuss Sudan after the United Kingdom and Germany requested a closed-door session, set for Tuesday afternoon.

UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, expressed alarm at reports that live ammunition was used, including “next to, and even inside, medical facilities”.

The embassies of the United States and the UK also expressed concern.

Amnesty International, a London-based rights group, called on the UN Security Council to consider imposing sanctions on TMC members.

The military “has completely destroyed the trust of the Sudanese people and crushed the people’s hope for a new era of respect for human rights and respect for the right to protest without fear,” said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty deputy regional director for East Africa.

Source Article from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/bloody-attack-sudan-army-scraps-agreements-protesters-190604005733226.html

The ministry of education in China warned students and academics Monday about studying in the United States, because of the trade war’s increasing tension.

The ministry urged students to “step up risk assessment and make corresponding preparations,” adding that, “For some time, some of the visas for Chinese students studying in the United States have been restricted, with the review period extended, the period of validity shortened and the refusal rate increased.”

The warning stems from the recent threat from President Trump of another round of tariffs on Chinese imports. The yearlong battle flared up again in May, the Hill reported. If no resolution is reached between the two countries, this could heavily affect the U.S. economy and Trump’s reelection chances.

Hu Xijin, the editor of the Global Times, tweeted the warning is a “response to recent series of discriminatory measures.”

About 360,000 Chinese nationals study in the U.S. and generate about $14 billion from tuition and other expenses, according to Reuters.

Trump fired off a tweet this morning attacking China for subsidizing its products. Xijin responded shortly after, urging Trump to “talk less about China.”

The statement added that the trade war has affected Chinese students in the U.S. and prevents some from “smoothly completing their studies.”

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/ministry-of-education-in-china-warns-students-studying-in-us-as-trade-war-tensions-rise

Chinese propaganda officials once used the image of Tank Man to defend the government’s handling of the protests, arguing that the military had shown restraint by not killing him.

But more recently, the government has worked to eliminate the memory of Tank Man, censoring images of him online and punishing those who have evoked him.

A court convicted four men in southwestern China this year for selling bottles of liquor that referenced him, alongside the words, “Never forget, never give up.”

As a result of the government’s campaign, many people in China, especially younger Chinese, do not recognize his image.

A recent survey of 239 internet users in China by Rutger van der Hoeven, a lecturer at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, found that 37 percent of respondents said they recognized a photo of Tank Man, compared with 49 percent on average across the globe. In a separate question, about one in six Chinese respondents correctly identified the protests at Tiananmen Square as the backdrop for the photo.

Outside China, Tank Man has endured in popular culture, the subject of books, documentaries, television shows and art exhibits.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/world/asia/tiananmen-tank-man.html

The House of Representatives approved a $19.1 disaster relief bill Monday, sending the measure to President Trump after conservative Republican lawmakers had blocked three separate attempts to pass the bill by a voice vote last week.

The bill was passed by a vote of 354-58, with 132 Republicans — many from districts hit by hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and fires in recent months — joining 222 Democrats to support the measure. All 58 ‘no’ votes came from GOP lawmakers.

Trump tweeted Monday night: “House just passed the 19.1 Billion Dollar Disaster Aid Bill. Great, now we will get it done in the Senate! Farmers, Puerto Rico and all will be very happy.”

“I am pleased that we have finally rejected the political stunts and grandstanding that have made it difficult to deliver much-needed relief to Americans struck by recent natural disasters,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., said in a statement. “While it has taken far too long, this $19.1 billion bill includes a broad array of measures to help meet the urgent needs of disaster-stricken communities, from health care and nutritional assistance to social services and infrastructure repairs. The bill represents bipartisan compromise that will strengthen communities and make lives better.”

The House vote was the first significant action since lawmakers returned to Washington from a 10-day recess to mark the Memorial Day holiday. The Senate had passed the bill by a sweeping 85-8 vote on its way out of Washington on May 23, a margin that reflected a consensus that the bill was long overdue.

The measure had languished for months over a dispute between the White House and Democrats over aid to hurricane-hit Puerto Rico, as well as Trump’s requests to allocate more than $4 billion to deal with the ongoing migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. Members of both parties agreed that another bill will be needed almost immediately to refill nearly empty agency accounts to care for Central American migrants.

Democrats also held firm for what ended up as roughly $1.4 billion for Puerto Rico, letting Trump feud with the U.S. territory’s officials for weeks and deflecting political blame for stalling the bill.

SAN JUAN MAYOR SUGGESTS TRUMP ‘VINDICTIVE’ TOWARD PUERTO RICO BECAUSE HIS GOLF COUSE THERE ‘WENT BANKRUPT’

The measure is largely the same as a version that passed the House last month that Republicans opposed for leaving out the border funding.

“We must work together quickly to pass a bill that addresses the surge of unaccompanied children crossing the border and provides law enforcement agencies with the funding they need,” said House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Kay Granger, R-Texas, earlier Monday. “The stakes are high. There are serious — life or death — repercussions if the Congress does not act.”

In a statement following the vote, Granger said the bill was a “positive step forward for our communities,” but added: “[N]ow that disaster relief is on its way, I hope Congress will turn to addressing the humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border.”

Among the reasons for the failure to reach an agreement on money for the border was a demand by House liberals to block the Department of Homeland Security from getting information from federal social welfare officials to help track immigrants living in the U.S. illegally who took migrant refugee children into their homes.

The bill started out as a modest $7.8 billion measure passed late in 2018, during the final days of Republican control of the House. A $14 billion version advanced in the Pelosi-led chamber in January and ballooned to $19.1 billion by the time it emerged from the floor last month, fed by new funding for community rehabilitation projects, Army Corps of Engineers water and flood protection projects, and rebuilding funds for several military bases, including Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.

GOP LAWMAKER’S DELAY OF $19B DISASTER BILL DEMONSTRATES THE POWER OF ONE

The legislation initially was spearheaded by lawmakers from Florida and Georgia whose districts were battered by hurricanes this past fall. Flooding in Iowa and Nebraska this spring added to the coalition behind the measure. Recent floods in Arkansas, Iowa and Missouri and tornadoes across Oklahoma, Texas and Ohio added urgency to House leadership’s push to pass the bill.

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Following Senate approval, House leadership attempted to pass the measure by unanimous consent during the Memorial Day recess. But, objections were lodged by Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas; Thomas Massie, R-Ky.; and John Rose, R-Tenn. All three members insisted that the legislation be put to a recorded vote.

Roy and Massie voted against the measure Monday, while Rose voted for it.

Fox News’ Mike Arroyo, Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-approves-19-1b-disaster-aid-bill-blocked-three-times-by-republicans


President Donald Trump has threatened to impose broad tariffs on Mexico if it doesn’t curb the number of undocumented crossings into the United States. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

Congress

The president may have to declare another national emergency — putting Republicans in a tough spot if Congress votes to block it.

President Donald Trump could face yet another disapproval vote in Congress if he moves forward with new tariffs on Mexico, potentially setting up a major clash with Senate Republicans.

Trump has threatened to impose broad, increasing tariffs starting at 5 percent on imports from Mexico to force the U.S.’s southern neighbor to help stem the tide of migrants at the border.

Story Continued Below

Officials in both parties as well as trade experts told POLITICO Monday that the president may have to declare a second national emergency in order to invoke trade powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

And just as Congress voted to block Trump’s first national emergency to fund his border wall, lawmakers may be able to vote to overturn any new tariffs that Trump imposes.

The law at issue allows the president to regulate trade to deal with “any unusual or extraordinary threat” to national security that warrants a national emergency. Trump first announced a national emergency in February but did not declare it under that specific statute — which could require him to issue a new national emergency that invokes the IEEPA.

“He does need to declare an emergency in order to act under IEEPA because the earlier emergency declaration involving the US-Mexico border did not reference IEEPA actions. This new declaration of an emergency will allow Congress the opportunity to pass a joint resolution against the declaration of this new emergency,” said Vanessa P. Sciarra, the vice president for legal affairs and trade & investment policy at the National Foreign Trade Council.

A senior administration official argued otherwise. The official said that IEEPA is one of the statutory powers that can be invoked under the existing national emergency, and that administration lawyers have reviewed the matter.

Several Republican aides said that because the White House hasn’t sent official language to the Hill, they were unsure whether a congressional vote to block the tariff increase will be possible.

Such a move would likely originate with House Democrats, who took the first steps to thwart Trump’s first emergency declaration.

And if Congress does take a vote, the result could be a spectacle similar to this winter’s showdown, when 12 Senate Republicans opposed Trump’s national emergency declaration on the southern border to build his wall after he was rebuffed by Congress. That vote was a struggle for many in the Senate GOP, after party leaders failed to head off the conflict with the president by trying to convince him to restrict his executive authority for future emergencies. Ultimately, Republicans fractured, and Congress could not override Trump’s veto.

Given the strong resistance to new tariffs on Mexico, Republican aides said there would likely be a significant number of votes in opposition to a new national emergency declaration, though the party’s preference is clearly to talk Trump out of it.

Senate Republicans spent much of Monday complaining about the president’s new threats to trade with Mexico and said there would likely be more pushback in the coming days to get Trump to change course.

“There are going to be concerns expressed about whether this is the right way to get Mexico’s attention on the border security issue,” said Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) in an interview. “It’s going to not be viewed favorably in my state, for sure.”

Andrew Restuccia, Sabrina Rodriguez, John Bresnahan and Heather Caygle contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/03/vote-tariff-1352662

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President Donald Trump is set to begin a state visit to the United Kingdom on Monday. He said he plans to meet with politicians who support Britain’s exit from the European Union, and that there is an opportunity for a U.S.-British trade deal. (June 3)
AP, AP

WASHINGTON — Minutes after the House of Representatives passed a $19.1 billion bipartisan disaster assistance bill, President Donald Trump praised it and called on the Senate to pass the legislation.

The only problem? The Senate already approved it and the bill is now going to Trump to sign.

“House just passed the 19.1 Billion Dollar Disaster Aid Bill. Great, now we will get it done in the Senate!” Trump tweeted Monday evening. “Farmers, Puerto Rico and all will be very happy,” Trump wrote in a now-deleted tweet.

The president is currently in London for a state visit to the U.K. 

More: Disaster aid passes Congress after months of delays over costs, border wall and Trump’s feud with Puerto Rico

Democratic lawmakers were quick to note that the president was wrong, and that the Senate already voted on and passed the legislation.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-Calif., tweeted that the president was “clearly confused.”

“President @realDonaldTrump, you’re clearly confused,” he wrote. “The Senate passed the bill two weeks ago. Hopefully after blocking it for so long, you’re not too confused to sign it!”

The Senate last month passed the disaster aid package by an 85-8 margin. It was then sent to the House. However, it was held up because the House left on recess just before it got the bill.

House leaders tried to push the bill through three times using a procedure known as “unanimous consent,” which allows passage if no one objects. But, a Republican lawmaker objected each time.

The House finally passed the legislation by 354-58 margin on Monday.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., tweeted: “Umm, Mr. President, this already passed the Senate. I’m just spit ballin’ here, but there might be someone there that can tell you about that.

He added: “So at this point you just need to go ahead and, um, get out that big magic marker of yours….”

More: Queen Elizabeth’s glittery state banquet for Trumps begins with toasts and national anthems

In addition, Rep Bill Foster, D-Ill., also chided the president and GOP lawmakers for his tweet.

“The President may have forgotten that the Senate already passed this bill because his Republican allies in the House have spent the last two weeks blocking it,” Foster tweeted.

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Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/06/03/dems-trump-confused-after-calling-senate-vote-already-approved-bill/1335578001/

Media captionHere’s what happened on day one of Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK (tweets not included).

Donald Trump is to meet Prime Minister Theresa May for “substantial” talks on the second day of the US president’s three-day state visit to the UK.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will be among the senior ministers present at the talks, where issues such as climate change will be discussed.

It comes as large-scale protests are planned in several UK cities, including a demonstration in Trafalgar Square.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is due to address protesters at the London rally.

Mr Trump praised the “eternal friendship” between the UK and US during a state banquet at Buckingham Palace at the end of the first day of his trip.

The Queen said the countries were celebrating an alliance which had ensured the “safety and prosperity of both our peoples for decades”.

Earlier on Monday, the US president reignited his political feud with the mayor of London, calling Sadiq Khan a “stone cold loser” just before landing on UK soil.

Image copyright
Press Association

Image caption

Day one of Mr Trump’s visit culminated in a glittering state banquet at Buckingham Palace

Mr Trump and Mrs May will start Tuesday by co-hosting a breakfast meeting of British and American business leaders at St James’s Palace in a bid to boost trade links.

The Duke of York, Chancellor Phillip Hammond, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump are also expected to attend.

Mrs May, who will stand down as Tory leader on Friday, will then hold talks with the US president in Downing Street, when they are expected to discuss a range of issues on which they hold differing views.

Image copyright
PA

Image caption

Theresa May was among the guests at the banquet

The prime minister will raise the issue of climate change, with a government spokesman again saying on Monday the UK was “disappointed by the US decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement in 2017”.

The two leaders are also expected to discuss Huawei. The US has blacklisted the Chinese firm for security reasons, while the UK may allow it to supply “non-core” components for its 5G network.

Downing Street said there was nothing unusual in the pair not having a formal one-to-one meeting.

The PM’s official spokesman said it was “always going to be the case” that the meeting in the Cabinet Room at No 10 would involve the delegations from the two sides rather than just the leaders and there would be “substantial bilateral discussions”.

Analysis: A barometer of political power

By Laura Kuenssberg, BBC political editor

Theresa May, the careful politician who gradually inched her way upwards through the machine of the political party she loves and hoped to protect.

Donald Trump, who relishes baiting those who disagree with him, and taunting the media. Mrs May, who gives the impression she would rather be left alone with her red boxes.

This time that difference is all the greater because the prime minister is on her way out of the door, while the president seeks another term in office.

They will have some discussions on Tuesday certainly. No 10 is expected to urge the White House to take climate change more seriously, and to think carefully about its approach to Iran.

In the other direction, expect the US to raise concerns over involving the Chinese telecoms firm Huawei in developing British infrastructure and, of course, the tentative conversations there have already been about trading after Brexit are likely to continue.

But don’t expect dramatic joint announcements on Tuesday.

If the political outcomes are a barometer of power, the truth is that Theresa May’s is fading – with the US and Donald Trump having at least half an eye on who is coming next.

Read Laura’s full blog here

Thousands of people are expected to join protests against Mr Trump’s visit on Tuesday.

A “national demonstration” in London’s Trafalgar Square will start at 11:00 BST, while protests are also planned in Birmingham, Stoke, Sheffield, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Chester, Leicester, Oxford and Exeter.

Organisers have called for a carnival atmosphere, but a huge police operation is taking place in central London to prevent any disruption to Mr Trump’s trip.

Labour leader Mr Corbyn – who boycotted the state dinner – is due to address the London rally, where he will be joined by members of other political parties including the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party.

Mr Corbyn tweeted that the protest was “an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those [Mr Trump has] attacked in America, around the world and in our own country” including Sadiq Khan.

Mr Trump’s tweet on Monday about Mr Khan accused him of doing a “terrible job” as mayor, adding that he reminded him of “our very dumb and incompetent” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Mr De Blasio responded by saying that the attack on Mr Khan was “extreme” even for Mr Trump.

He told the BBC’s Newsnight programme: “To attack a major leader of an allied country – there is no question in my mind this was beyond the pale in so many ways.”

Mr De Blasio also warned Conservative Party leadership candidates to “stay away” from Mr Trump, saying that seeking his approval was a mistake.

Before the visit, the president told the Sun newspaper he was backing Boris Johnson to be the next UK prime minister.

Image copyright
AFP

Image caption

The Duchess of Cambridge was escorted into the banquet by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin

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Reuters

Image caption

The banquet was held in the ballroom at Buckingham Palace

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Getty Images

Image caption

Earlier in the day the American national anthem was played and Mr Trump was invited to inspect the guard of honour

The opening day of Mr Trump’s state visit culminated in the splendour of a state banquet at Buckingham Palace.

The president used his speech to praise the courage of the British people during World War Two and called the Queen a “great, great woman”.

Earlier in the day he had been welcomed by the Queen and had lunch at Buckingham Palace with senior royals.

The president and first lady then visited Westminster Abbey, where they were met by the Duke of York, before having tea at Clarence House with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

The president’s visit coincides with the commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, which the Queen, Mr Trump and other heads of state will attend at Portsmouth on Wednesday.

Source Article from https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48507244

Before making his trip to the United Kingdom, President Donald Trump made an unusual unannounced stop at the McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia, on Sunday, a day Christian leaders had declared a “Day of Prayer” for the president.

A short while before, a White House spokesman told pool reporters traveling with the president: “President Donald J. Trump is visiting McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia, to visit with the Pastor and pray for the victims and community of Virginia Beach.”

Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Pastor David Platt, left, prays for President Donald Trump, at McLean Bible Church, in Vienna, Va., June 2, 2019.

Trump came straight from his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, and when he entered the church, he was dressed in khaki pants and a jacket over a polo shirt. He took off his golf hat, and walked across the stage to join Pastor David Platt.

But neither the president nor Platt mentioned the victims of the Virginia Beach shooting during the president’s time on stage.

Christian leaders, including Franklin Graham, had previously asked for Sunday to be a special “Day of Prayer” for the president.

“President Trump’s enemies continue to try everything to destroy him, his family, and the presidency. In the history of our country, no president has been attacked as he has. I believe the only hope for him, and this nation, is God,” Graham said in a post on Facebook.

“This is a critical time for America. We’re on the edge of a precipice. Time is short. We need to pray for God to intervene. We need to ask God to protect, strengthen, encourage, and guide the President, Graham said.

Joshua Roberts/Reuters
President Donald Trump gestures after Pastor David Platt prayed for him at the McLean Bible Church, in Vienna, Virginia, June 2, 2019.

“Many of you may have seen that there was calls to, particularly on this Sunday, pray for our president,” Platt said at the McLean church. “We don’t want to do that just on this Sunday. We want to do that continually, day in and day out. So, I want to ask us to bow our heads together now and pray for our president.”

According to pool reports, the president stood in silence alongside Platt, applauded with the audience, and left the stage without making any remarks.

Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-makes-unannounced-church-visit-day-prayer-president/story?id=63452430

A young Texas couple died of a mysterious illness while enjoying an “amazing vacation” in Fiji, according to their family.

Loved ones of David and Michelle Paul said they were in a state of disbelief on Monday after authorities on Fiji’s main island called to notify them of the couple’s sudden death.

It’s unclear how or exactly when the couple died, but Tracey Calanog, sister-in-law to the couple through her husband, who is Michelle Paul’s brother, said family members got the devastating phone call the day before the couple were scheduled to return home.

A State Department official confirmed their deaths in a statement to ABC News on Monday, but it did could not offer details on the situation. The department said it is monitoring the on-going local investigation.

ABC News
David and Michelle Paul died of a mysterious illness while vacationing in Fiji, their family said.

“We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss. We are closely monitoring local authorities’ investigation into the cause of death,” the spokesperson said. “We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance.”

Calanog told ABC affiliate WFAA that early indications suggests that the couple may have contracted an unknown virus — one strong enough to debilitate two healthy, young people.

“They knew something was going on in their body and were able to get to the hospital,” Calanog said Monday.

It appears as though Michelle Paul died first. Hospital workers told the family that they had planned to transport David Paul, an Air Force veteran, to Australia for further treatment, but he died before that could happen, according to the family.

ABC News
David and Michelle Paul died of a mysterious illness while vacationing in Fiji, their family said.

Calanog described David Paul as a “very physically fit” and athletic person. The couple shared a 2-year-old son together and had spent a long time planning their long-awaited trip to the remote island.

“They were planning an amazing vacation,” Calanog said..

She said the couple’s remains cannot be returned to the United States until a cause of death is determined.

When reached by phone, the U.S. Embassy in Fiji told WFAA that it not comment on the Pauls’ death specifically, but it noted that the government there had been warning of a dangerous flu season that is just hitting the region.

ABC News’ Conor Finnegan contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-couple-dies-mysterious-illness-amazing-vacation-fiji/story?id=63459505

Thirty years ago, Chinese troops opened fire on protesters who had gathered in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, killing hundreds if not thousands of people in a massacre that crushed a student-led movement for democracy.

The actions of China’s citizens and the government’s authoritarian reaction in the spring of 1989 have rippled across history, shaping the path party leaders would take the country for the following three decades.

Here’s a guide to our recent coverage of the massacre, and the ways it has influenced China’s government and divided its people.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/world/asia/tiananmen-square-news.html

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what’s happening in the world as it unfolds.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/03/politics/house-border-wall-lawsuit/index.html

The second article of impeachment might be that Trump encouraged and benefited from foreign interference in the 2016 election. This, too, is unforgivable. But, again, the broad outlines were known before the election – he invited Russia’s help, he crowed about WikiLeaks’ publication of stolen Democratic emails – and, again, he was elected anyway.

Source Article from https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2019/06/03/fred-hiatt-we-knew-who/

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard attends a news conference with the Mexican delegation negotiating tariffs with U.S. officials on Monday in Washington, D.C.

Eric Baradat/AFP/Getty Images


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Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard attends a news conference with the Mexican delegation negotiating tariffs with U.S. officials on Monday in Washington, D.C.

Eric Baradat/AFP/Getty Images

The Mexican government has employed a tone of friendship that’s averse to conflict, but Mexican officials behind the scenes are warning the Trump administration that they’re prepared to announce targeted countertariffs if the United States carries out threats of new tariffs on Mexican imports.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard met with State Department officials in Washington over the past 48 hours in an effort to find a solution to a tariff fight, which he later described as “counterproductive” and that would not decrease immigration.

Publicly, officials are saying they do not want to disrupt crucial supply chains, but those familiar with the talks say they are privately looking at imports that have political significance and are sent directly to Mexico for consumption.

The behind-the-scenes talks are part of a more public push led by Ebrard and other top Mexican officials who are warning their counterparts of disastrous consequences if President Trump carries out threats to impose 5% tariffs on June 10 as punishment for not curbing migration flows, according to two sources familiar with the talks.

“They’re going to have to delicately balance inflaming tensions even further, as this could be horrific for both countries, but particularly the Mexican economy,” said a former White House official familiar with the conversations. “But you can’t just roll over and play dead if you’re verbally attacked like this by a foreign government’s president. That doesn’t play well, domestically.”

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador sent Ebrard as well as Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Márquez and Agriculture Minister Victor Villalobos to Washington in search of a solution to avert the tariff battle.

On Monday, Mexican officials said Márquez was expected to meet with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and Villalobos met with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. There were also meetings planned with acting head of the Department of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Ebrard is expected to meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday.

Some Republicans in key states that rely on a trade relationship with Mexico are warning Trump that he risks hurting U.S. interests.

“It’s important to remember that any actions that we take to secure our Southern border must also keep in mind the important role that Mexico plays in the economy of the United States,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. “My state enjoys a strong relationship economically with Mexico because of that 1,200-mile common border.”

The Mexican team argues the best way to combat immigration is to invest in Central America, but the Trump administration wants Mexico to take stronger steps along its southern border, dismantle human smuggling chains and improve coordination on asylum.

The relationship between the United States and Mexico goes well beyond immigration.

Mexico is the U.S.’s third-largest trading partner. The two countries collaborate on everything from drug trafficking to human trafficking. The United States has invested more than $2 billion through the Mérida security initiative, and the Mexican government, after decades of hostility, is now allowing U.S. investment in its oil industry.

During a news conference Monday, Márquez expressed confidence in finding a diplomatic solution but said officials are evaluating the proper response if Trump carries out the tariffs.

“I cannot say that we’re are going to do the same [tariffs], because we have to make a strategic plan to take into account aspects of the commercial relationship,” Márquez said in Spanish. “We do not want to use tariffs to damage supply chains, job creation or investment.”

But Jorge Guajardo, a former Mexican ambassador to China, said what Mexico can do that China did not is implement more strategic countermeasures as opposed to blanket tariffs.

As an example, he said Mexico could consider targeting Kentucky bourbon because of its political importance and ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. It is also shipped to Mexico for consumption but is not part of a supply chain like production of various auto parts that make several trips back and forth over the border as a car is built.

“Very simply,” Guajardo said, “Sen. Lindsey Graham [R-S.C.] said he supported President Trump’s tariffs. You can be first certain that Mexico is thinking [about what] South Carolina [is] exporting to Mexico. And that will be targeted as long as it’s not in a supply chain.”

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2019/06/03/729402832/mexican-government-privately-warns-trump-administration-of-counter-tariffs


white house

In addition to his wife and four adult children, the president brought along friends like Chris Ruddy, CEO of the conservative media organization Newsmax.

06/03/2019 06:06 PM EDT

Updated 06/03/2019 06:35 PM EDT


LONDON — President Donald Trump brought his own royal entourage to Britain.

On his first state visit to the United Kingdom, Trump brought his wife and four adult children, but it wasn’t just family that tagged along for the ride. Close friends such as Chris Ruddy, CEO of the conservative media organization Newsmax, made the trip and attended the state banquet Monday night.

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The coterie surrounding Trump appeared to provide a buffer throughout the day for the highly anticipated interactions between the unruly American leader and Britain’s well-mannered royal family. The seamless interactions with Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and a host of other British royals stood in contrast with Trump’s pre-arrival Twitter bombast and norm-busting interviews with the British media.

The set up wasn’t an accident. While officials know they can’t stop the Trump tweetstorms — including a heated outburst calling London Mayor Sadiq Khan a “stone cold loser” — they hoped the circle of close friends, family and advisers would at least protect the president’s time with the royals, a former White House official said. First lady Melania Trump reportedly prepared for the trip by studying certain protocols, including walking and speaking directives, to which guests of the queen are meant to adhere in her presence.

“I was glad he defended himself against the London mayor’s attacks, but that’s the kind of stuff you should absolutely leave at the palace door,” the official said.

In addition to Trump’s family and friends, there was also a swollen group of administration officials that accompanied the president. White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, social media director Dan Scavino, policy adviser Stephen Miller and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife are in Britain.

But even with the safeguard of advisers and family, Trump has bulldozed his way into England. In a series of interviews ahead of his arrival, Trump called Meghan Markle “nasty,” criticized British Prime Minister Theresa May’s handling of Brexit negotiations and stumped for Boris Johnson, a longtime Brexit champion, to replace the outgoing May.

After touching down, though, a more diplomatic Trump took over.

Trump stood stoically beside Elizabeth on the west terrace of Buckingham Palace to watch the Grenadier Guards, in their iconic red tunics and bearskin hats, give a royal salute. He placed his hand over his heart during a performance of the national anthem, inspected the guard of honor with Charles and dutifully followed her majesty back inside once the ceremony concluded.

By late Monday afternoon, Trump was mostly off Twitter and enjoying a customary cup of tea with Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

“London part of the trip is going really well. The queen and the entire Royal family have been fantastic. The relationship with the United Kingdom is very strong,” Trump wrote on Twitter in between his meetings and the state dinner at Buckingham Palace.

Though White House officials declined to say whether Trump was briefed on royal protocols ahead of the trip, Judi James, a prominent body language expert in the U.K., told the The Daily Telegraph that the president appeared to have studied up since his earlier U.K. trip in July.

“He looked as though he knew what he was doing much more. Last time, there was a degree of awkwardness. This time, he looked much more dignified,” James said.

There are scores of arcane rules for interacting with British royals, said Angela Levin, a royal biographer.

“You never talk to the queen, you wait for her to talk to you first. You don’t go in front of her … and if she stops eating, you have to stop eating too,” she said.

“It’s actually quite daunting for any president, when you’re sitting at the banquet table near the queen and have six glasses in front of you and masses of cutlery,” Levin added, noting that protocol will play an important role when the Trumps accompany the queen on Wednesday to a D-Day anniversary ceremony in Portsmouth.

A senior White House official suggested that Trump’s adult children, who are along for the visit and attended the state banquet with their spouses, didn’t need etiquette lessons before interacting with the queen: “These are kids with impeccable etiquette to start with, so I wondered if that was even necessary.”

Ivanka Trump, a White House adviser, was the only other member of the first family visibly present during the welcome ceremony at Buckingham Palace. She and her husband, White House adviser Jared Kushner, stood on one of several balconies overlooking the queen’s private garden as the president greeted the queen. They were joined by U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. Woody Johnson, as national security adviser John Bolton peeked out of a large window to their right. Johnson is set to host a reception for the president, U.K. officials and members of the royal family at his residence Tuesday night.

Aides are more anxious about Tuesday’s joint news conference by Trump and May, according to an administration official. It’s these bilateral events, rather than the ceremonial gatherings, at which Trump tends to make news. Indeed, Trump has repeatedly sparked controversy during overseas news conferences.

The president sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin when he claimed during a joint appearance last summer that Kremlin operatives did not meddle in the 2016 presidential election. And at a news conference last month with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump said he agreed with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s criticism of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Trump will also have a three-hour gap on Tuesday between his final bilateral event and his dinner at the ambassador’s home — a rest period that is likely to put White House aides and U.K. officials on edge.

On Monday, once his activities with members of the royal household had concluded, Trump fired off four tweets on a wide range of topics in a two-hour span of downtime.

“Haven’t seen any protests yet, but I’m sure the Fake News will be working hard to find them… Also, big Trade Deal is possible once U.K. gets rid of the shackles. Already starting to talk!” he wrote.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misspelled London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s name.

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/03/trump-uk-royal-entourage-1352441

The city engineer who gunned down 12 people at a municipal building in Virginia Beach told a supervisor that he planned on quitting his job for “personal reasons,” according to his resignation letter released Monday.

The gunman, DeWayne Craddock, 40, submitted the letter Friday — the same day he opened fire at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center.

In an email, Craddock — who had worked at the city’s public utilities department for 15 years — said he would leave his job in two weeks.

“It has been a pleasure to serve the City, but due to personal reasons I must relieve my position,” he wrote.

In a reply, the supervisor, whose name was redacted, confirmed Craddock’s resignation date and wished him well in resolving his issues.

After Craddock thanked the supervisor, the email thread ended, offering scant insight into the gunman’s possible motives.

Virginia Beach City Manager Dave Hansen told reporters Sunday that Craddock had not been forced to resign, nor did he quit because he’d unsuccessfully pursued another job within the department.

At the same news conference, the city’s police chief, James Cervera, said that investigators had not yet determined what may have motivated the rampage.

Four people who were wounded in the shooting remained in critical condition Monday, according to Sentara Healthcare.

Eleven of the victims were city employees. Another was a contractor who’d gone to the municipal center seeking a permit.

Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/virginia-beach-shooting-resignation-letter-offers-few-clues-gunman-s-n1013446

Victims’ names cover part of a flower vase at a makeshift memorial for victims of a mass shooting at a municipal building in Virginia Beach, Va., on Sunday.

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Victims’ names cover part of a flower vase at a makeshift memorial for victims of a mass shooting at a municipal building in Virginia Beach, Va., on Sunday.

Patrick Semansky/AP

Hours before he walked into his workplace and unleashed a barrage of gunfire that killed 12 people, the Virginia Beach gunman wrote his bosses a two-sentence email that said he was quitting for “personal reasons,” according to a copy of the letter city officials released on Monday.

“I want to officially put in my (2) weeks’ notice,” DeWayne Craddock wrote. “It has been a pleasure to serve the city, but due to personal reasons, I must relieve my position.”

The new document does not shed light on his possible motive nor provide insight into his frame of mind just before the rampage, but city officials view the letter as evidence that the suspect did not offer clues about his violent plans before carrying them out.

Julie Hill, a spokeswoman for the city of Virginia Beach, characterized the letter as “unremarkable,” highlighting how the suspect’s written words “contained no foreshadowing of the actions he would take later in the day.”

Investigators are still searching for a motive in the shooting that ended with 11 government workers and one contractor dead and four others injured. The 40-year-old gunman, who had worked for the city as a civil engineer for 9 years, was killed in a shootout with police. Among the dead were two supervisors in the gunman’s city department, yet officials have stressed that nothing so far in the investigation suggests Craddock specifically targeted anyone. Instead, authorities say he unloaded dozens of rounds of bullets “indiscriminately.”

Authorities say in addition to carrying two .45-caliber handguns with him, the shooter had extended ammunition magazines and a device known as a suppressor that is supposed to muffle the sound of gunfire.

With law enforcement officials still puzzling over what set off the violence, the mood across sunny Virginia Beach has been grim at times.

Droves of mourners laid flowers outside an entrance of the municipal building in remembrance of the victims. Teddy bears, white crosses and other expressions of sorrow have accumulated into a manifestation of the community’s grief.

Some have wondered if additional guards and metal detectors in government buildings would have made a difference, but standing near a memorial, Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer said the city’s residents say this is not about increasing security.

“We can’t let this horrible incident define us because you look at where people are vulnerable, movies theaters, malls, and everything, this is hopefully just an unfortunate anomaly,” Dyer said. “We’re going to go back to being Virginia Beach.”

At another ceremony close by, dozens of Virginia Public School employees wore blue, the color of the city’s flag and a nod to how central the ocean is to this beachside community, as way to pay tribute to those who were killed.

School Superintendent Aaron Spence, said he was struggling with the senselessness of the tragedy.

“We did not and could not imagine what happened on Friday,” he said. “Fathers and mothers, daughters and sons, brothers and sisters, neighbors. Twelve people came to a building right next to ours on Friday and they did not return home. And they will never go home.”

At a press briefing over the weekend, City Manager Dave Hansen told reporters the gunman was not forced to resign. Coworkers, Hansen said, did not express any concerns about Craddock prior to the shooting.

“He was in good standing within his department, and there were no issues of discipline ongoing,” Hansen said.

Business will resume on Tuesday at the government complex where the violent attack took place. Officials say there will be a heavy police presence. At building No. 2, though, the yellow crime scene tape will stay, as federal investigators search it for additional evidence.

“There is an emotional challenge and a logistical challenge to all of this,” said the mayor. “This is the start of a very long journey.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2019/06/03/729399121/virginia-beach-gunman-cited-personal-reasons-for-quitting-just-before-mass-shoot

Queen Elizabeth II’s lavish state banquet for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump got underway Monday evening at Buckingham Palace with the usual reciprocal toasts as a clutch of Trump and royal relations looked on from a magnificent table in the palace ballroom. 

In addition to the queen, dressed in white and adorned with ruby and diamonds, the Trumps were joined at the white-tie-and-tiaras dinner by Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and by Charles’ son, Prince William and his wife, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge.

Melania Trump wore an ivory silk crepe gown with silk tulle details by Dior Haute Couture, plus over-the-elbow white gloves. Her hair was pulled up and back in an elegant chignon. 

Duchess Kate wore a gown by Alexander McQueen, plus the Lover’s Knot tiara, and earrings loaned by the queen. 

Also at the dinner: Trump’s four adult children, Donald Trump Jr.; Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner; Eric Trump and his wife, Lara; and Tiffany Trump.  

Trump and the queen offered toasts to enduring friendship and values between the two nations, followed by their respective national anthems.

Earlier, the presidential couple toured historic Westminster Abbey, where British royals are crowned, wed and buried, as the first day of the Trumps’ state visit to Britain continued Monday.

The Trumps’ visit to the Abbey also included a solemn laying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, first interred in 1920 in the central aisle of the Abbey.

The presidential couple were accompanied by Prince Andrew, Duke of York, second son of Queen Elizabeth II; he will be their main escort during three days of hobnobbing with the royals during the state visit, only the third offered to an American president by the queen during her 67 years on the throne.

Next, the Trumps arrived to take tea with Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, at Clarence House, the Prince of Wales’ London home.

The Trumps arrived at Buckingham Palace Monday just after noon, local time, to meet Queen Elizabeth and be treated to the kind of royal pomp-and-ceremony the president loves receiving and the British love staging. 

Kicking off Monday’s visit, the Trumps arrived by helicopter, which touched down in the gardens of the palace.

The queen greeted President Trump after he ascended the palace stairs with Prince Charles at the West Terrace of Buckingham Palace. Melania walked behind with Duchess Camilla. The queen wore a big smile as she greeted the president with a handshake, wearing a mint suit and matching hat. She then acknowledged Melania, and the three royals walked inside with the president and first lady.

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Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family welcomed President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump with “The Star Spangled Banner.”
USA TODAY

For the occasion, Trump wore a navy suit with a bright periwinkle blue tie. His wife twinned with the duchess – both wore white. Melania Trump wore a Dolce & Gabbana knee-length skirt suit with a contrasting navy collar, belt and shoes that coordinated with her wide-brimmed boater-style hat by one of her favorite designers, Herve Pierre, according to her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham. 

More: What to expect during Queen Elizabeth’s visit with the Trumps

When the fivesome returned outside, they took in a performance of “The Star Spangled Banner,” the Trumps with hands over their hearts. 

Trump, accompanied by Prince Charles, then inspected the guard of honor, as he did with the queen in 2018. 

Following a private lunch with the monarch and other royals, including Prince Harry, the queen, in a floral frock, led the Trumps in a review of the Royal Collection of American-themed items. Harry was present, as were Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, both who serve as advisers to the president.

Earlier, the two were spotted by photographers gazing out the window of the palace.

The three-day state visit is timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. It is the second meeting between Queen Elizabeth and President Trump.

As she has done for hundreds of foreign visitors, including former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama in 2011, the 93-year-old monarch is set to put on an impressive show, deviating slightly from a pattern set down during her years on the throne.  

More: Trump’s U.K. visit: What you need to know, from royal ceremony to protests in London

According to Buckingham Palace, Trump will not meet Prince Harry’s American wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who expressed some disdain for Trump prior to her 2018 marriage.

As per usual, he’ll meet with the prime minister, Theresa May, who resigned last Friday and is scheduled to leave No.10 on June 7, after she failed to persuade Parliament and her own Tory party to approve a Brexit deal to take the U.K. out of the European Union.

Trump’s visit is expected to spur protests.

Over half of Londoners are opposed to Trump’s visit to Britain’s capital, according to a recent poll by research firm YouGov and Queen Mary, University of London. Although nationwide: 46% to 40% think the visit should go ahead.

When Trump visited London last year as part of an ordinary working visit an estimated 250,000 people protested on the streets of central London. Anti-Trump activists who oppose his divisive policies from immigration to abortion rights are planning for similar numbers this time. There will be smaller protests around the country.

And remember the Trump baby balloon? The phone-wielding, diaper-wearing inflatable that flew above London when Trump visited in July? The team behind it told USA TODAY that the giant orange blimp will again take to the skies, on Tuesday, in Parliament Square. 

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who Trump has clashed with before, was the subject of two disparaging tweets by the U.S. president on Monday. It came after Khan, London’s first Muslim mayor, wrote in an op-ed in British newspaper the Observer that it is “un-British to roll out the red carpet for Donald Trump.”

Trump tweeted that Khan was “a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me.”

“Kahn reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job − only half his height,” Trump added.

Contributing: Erin Jensen and Kim Hjelmgaard

More: President Trump denies calling Duchess Meghan ‘nasty,’ despite interview recording

Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2019/06/03/queen-elizabeth-greets-donald-trump-and-melania-trump-state-visit/1302600001/

(Reuters) – The 12 victims of Friday’s mass shooting at a Virginia Beach municipal building included an engineer who had recently taken up the bagpipes, an account clerk with a beautiful singing voice and a Belarusian immigrant, according to friends and relatives.

It remained unclear on Monday why the alleged gunman, DeWayne Craddock, opened fire at the resort city’s Department of Public Works, where he had worked for almost 15 years before handing in his resignation hours before the attack. He was fatally shot by a police officer.

The shooting was the deadliest instance of U.S. gun violence since November, when a dozen people were slain at a Los Angeles-area bar and grill by a gunman who then killed himself.

Among the victims who had most recently joined Public Works was Christopher Rapp, who was about to mark his first anniversary at the job. After moving to the Virginia Beach area, Rapp had nursed his love of Scottish music by joining the Tidewater Pipes & Drums.

“He was quiet but had a passion for the pipes and Scottish culture,” the band said in a tribute posted on social media, which was accompanied by a photograph of Rapp smiling at Celtic festival in 2018 dressed in a tartan kilt.

Tara Welch Gallagher, who had been an engineer at Public Works for six years when she was killed, was remembered as someone who “always had kind words to say” to friends or strangers in a tribute posted on GoFundMe, where supporters are raising funds for her 21-month-old son.

Alex Gusev, a right-of-way agent, emigrated from Belarus in 2003 to get a degree in civil engineering before joining Public Works nine years ago, according to a profile by the Virginian-Pilot. He enjoyed playing basketball and soccer with neighbors who had also emigrated from Eastern Europe, a friend told the newspaper.

Katherine Nixon, who had worked at the department as an engineer for a decade, was a mother of three young girls.

Ryan Keith Cox, an account clerk with the city’s Public Utilities Department for more than 12 years, came from a devout Christian family. “I won’t hear his beautiful singing voice at church or home anymore,” his brother, Ervin, wrote on Facebook.

Four other people hurt in the shooting remained in critical condition at local hospitals after surgery as of Sunday afternoon, according to a spokesman for the hospitals.

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Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera described Craddock as “disgruntled,” but declined to say more about what may have precipitated the attack. He was an employee in good standing before handing in his resignation, officials said.

An impromptu memorial set up at the municipal center was visited by well-wishers on Sunday, and media images show family and friends holding hands and lighted candles at multiple churches.

Reporting by Peter Szekely and Jonathan Allen in New York and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot

Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-virginia-shooting/bagpiper-singer-mother-mourned-among-the-dead-of-virginia-beach-massacre-idUSKCN1T4132


Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebard on Monday highlighted the actions Mexico is taking to deal with the stream of migrants crossing into his country from Guatemala. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo

Immigration

06/03/2019 10:01 AM EDT

Updated 06/03/2019 12:53 PM EDT


President Donald Trump’s plan to slap tariffs on Mexican goods will hurt both countries and weaken Mexico’s ability to help stop the flow of Central American immigrants seeking entry into the United States, top Mexican officials said Monday.

“The tariffs could be very costly for the U.S. economy, the consumers in the United States and the Mexican economy,” Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told reporters during an early morning press conference at the Mexican Embassy.

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Trump’s plan could also “cause financial and economic instability, which means that Mexico could reduce its capacity to address migration flows and to offer alternatives to the new migrants who have recently arrived in the country,” Ebrard added.

Frustrated by his failure to make more progress on a key 2016 campaign issue heading into his 2020 reelection race, Trump plans to impose a 5 percent duty on all Mexican goods beginning next week to pressure Mexico into doing more to stop the flow of Central American immigrants reaching the southern U.S. border.

To increase the pressure on Mexico City to satisfy his demands, Trump also intends to ratchet the duty gradually up to 25 percent by Oct. 1.

Ebrard stressed Mexico’s willingness to reach a mutually acceptable agreement with the United States.

He also highlighted the actions Mexico is already taking to deal with the stream of migrants crossing into its territory from the Northern Triangle region of Central America. Since December, Mexico has returned more than 80,000 migrants to their countries of origin, mainly in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, Ebrard said.

It also is on track this year to grant asylum to another 60,000 migrants, which would be a substantial increase over 2018, and is currently housing more than 27,600 migrants who are waiting for an asylum hearing in the United States, Ebrard said.

Ebrard argued for a cooperative solution with the United States and other international partners to address the root causes of migration out of Central America, referring to high rates of gang violence and a lack of jobs in the region.

“We believe our countries can reach a deal on how to face a matter on which our approaches are different,” Ebrard said, speaking through a translator. But “there is a clear limit to what we can negotiate and that is our Mexican dignity.”

He rejected the possibility that Mexico would assent to a “safe third country” asylum pact with the U.S. Under such an agreement, migrants would be required to seek asylum in Mexico if they passed through that country en route to the United States. The U.S. and Canada struck a similar agreement in 2002.

An asylum deal along those lines “would not be acceptable” to Mexico, Ebrard said, echoing previous statements from the administration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Ebrard and other Mexican officials rushed to Washington on Friday and over the weekend after Trump announced his plan. Meetings with U.S. officials are expected to continue over the next several days, leading to a summit at the White House on Wednesday with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Mexico’s Economy Secretary Graciela Márquez Colín said the nation may turn to multilateral organizations to help stop the tariffs. She added that the López Obrador administration would take a “strategic approach” and didn’t want to employ retaliatory tariffs that would hurt job creation and investment.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters after talks Monday morning with Mexican Agriculture Secretary Víctor Manuel Villalobos that he was “hopeful” the two sides could reach a deal to prevent Trump’s tariffs from going into effect.

A letter that López Obrador sent last week in response to Trump’s tariff announcement “was very measured, very reasonable,” Perdue said. “The focus of our conversation was what can Mexico do to forestall the implementation of the tariffs.”

The United States imported nearly $350 billion worth of goods from Mexico last year. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates a 5 percent tariff would impose a $17 billion tax on American businesses and consumers, while a 25 percent tariff would increase that to $86 billion.

In addition, the integrated nature of North American supply chains could “compound” the price impact of any tariff since some parts cross the U.S.-Mexico border several times before a final good is produced, Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America Jesús Seade said.

“If you do this, you weaken both economies,” Seade said. “It will certainly weaken the Mexican economy and where is the interest of the United States economy in having a weakened neighbor?”

Seade also called Trump’s tariff plan an “enormous distraction” from efforts in all three countries to pass the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to replace the 25-year-old NAFTA.

Instead of fighting over immigration, the two countries should be working together with Canada to implement the USMCA, he said.

Ted Hesson and Catherine Boudreau contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/03/mexico-trump-tariffs-immigration-1496518

Mim Akter Tania, 22, thought she was getting a job as a hospital custodian in Saudi Arabia. Instead, she says, she ended up as a domestic servant with an abusive boss.

Jason Beaubien/NPR


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Jason Beaubien/NPR

Mim Akter Tania, 22, thought she was getting a job as a hospital custodian in Saudi Arabia. Instead, she says, she ended up as a domestic servant with an abusive boss.

Jason Beaubien/NPR

How do you get ahead in Bangladesh?

Often it’s by leaving Bangladesh.

An estimated 10 million Bangladeshis are currently working abroad, primarily as low-skilled laborers in the Arabian Gulf. Only India, Mexico, Russia and China send out more migrant workers each year according to the World Bank.

The Bangladeshi migrant workers are gardeners, construction workers, janitors and maids. On average they earn $400 a month, far more than they’d make doing the same jobs at home. And the totals add up. The $15 billion sent home by migrant workers last year — called “remittances” in economic jargon — is Bangladesh’s second-largest source of foreign earnings after its gigantic textile industry.

But their months or years abroad can turn into misery, with stories of scams, exploitation and abuse, according to labor activists and human rights groups.

Getting in line

An entire industry has developed in Bangladesh to recruit, screen and process workers who yearn to go abroad.

Outside a two-story office building on the eastern side of the capital, Dhaka, young men hoping to get jobs in the Arabian Gulf are waiting on the street. Before they can finalize a labor contract they have to get poked, prodded and fingerprinted at a branch office of the Gulf Approved Medical Centres Association.

Mohammad Kiron Mia, 36, has worked abroad twice in Oman, as a tailor and then a gardener. He says he can earn twice as much there as in Bangladesh and that these jobs are a chance “to make a better life for my family and my children.”

Jason Beaubien/NPR


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Mohammad Kiron Mia, 36, has worked abroad twice in Oman, as a tailor and then a gardener. He says he can earn twice as much there as in Bangladesh and that these jobs are a chance “to make a better life for my family and my children.”

Jason Beaubien/NPR

The job seekers are given physical exams at the Saudi-run agency to make sure they are fit to work. They are screened for HIV, TB and other infectious diseases. If they test positive, they’re barred from working in the Gulf (an official in the GAMCA office says they can still find work somewhere else in the world). Women have to take a pregnancy exam and are excluded if they’re pregnant.

The agency uploads their fingerprints and travel documents into a centralized database that will be available to immigration authorities in the countries the workers are sent to.

One of the applicants on a recent April day is Mohammad Kiron Mia, who is trying to get a job as a gardener in Oman.

For Mia, 36, this will be his third trip overseas. During the first he worked as a tailor in Oman for seven months. Then he returned on a two-year contract as a gardener.

“We are poor people,” he says of himself and several neighbors from his village who are with him outside the agency. He is hoping to return to Oman: “The jobs in Oman are better opportunities for us because the work permit costs far less than a permit for Saudi Arabia or Dubai.”

Permit fees are based on the destination and job and can cost thousands of dollars.

“I want to make a better life for my family and my children,” he says. “I can make twice as much money working in Oman compared to working here in Bangladesh.”

The GAMCA office where Mia has come to submit his paperwork is one of 46 across Bangladesh that process workers exclusively for Gulf countries. Other labor brokers with other agencies set up jobs for Bangladeshis seeking to work in India, Malaysia, Singapore and other parts of Asia.

“Bangladesh is one of the top 10 countries in the world for migration and remittance according to World Bank,” says Shariful Islam Hasan, head of migration for BRAC, Bangladesh’s largest nonprofit development and social service agency. Hasan says remittances are hugely important to Bangladesh. A single migrant’s wages help provide education, health care and food for that worker’s family. Bangladeshis will work abroad sometimes for five, 10, even 20 years, he says, to try to attain a better life.

“You will not find a single person in Bangladesh who doesn’t have someone — a relative, someone — abroad,” he says. “So everyone is very much involved with this migration and remittances process.”

One of the great benefits of remittances, Hasan says, is that unlike the money brought into the country by exports from the garment industry, this money is dispersed all across Bangladesh.

Yet Bangladesh is still one of the poorest countries in the world. Despite recent progress, per capita income remains below $2,000 a year.

Low wages and a lack of formal jobs at home push millions of Bangladeshis to seek work abroad. Rickshaw drivers hustle to earn a $5 or $6 a day. The minimum wage in Bangladesh’s largest industry, textiles, is just $95 per month.

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Low wages and a lack of formal jobs at home push millions of Bangladeshis to seek work abroad. Rickshaw drivers hustle to earn a $5 or $6 a day. The minimum wage in Bangladesh’s largest industry, textiles, is just $95 per month.

Allison Joyce/Getty Images

Broken promises

Hasan says there are many hazards for foreign workers. Some are scammed by job brokers who overcharge them for visas, flights and work permits. Others sign up to do one type of work — for instance driving a delivery van in Abu Dhabi — and end up toiling long hours instead outside in scorching heat on a construction site in Dubai. Women primarily find jobs as maids and housecleaners. Hasan says women are often overworked and subjected to physical, emotional and even sexual abuse.

“If you don’t get a holiday, if you don’t have food or what you need — according to the definition of modern-day slavery, this is one kind of slavery,” he says.

Mim Akter Tania, 22, knows this all too well. Tania shares an apartment with her husband, daughter and another young married couple in a crowded part of the Bangladesh capital known as Old Dhaka. When Tania got a contract last year to work as a custodian at a hospital in Saudi Arabia, she was incredibly excited.

“At that time we didn’t have much money so I thought that going to Saudi Arabia might give us a better chance to live a good life,” she says.

She hoped she could move up from mopping floors at the hospital to working as a nurse’s assistant or a medical technician. She sent her daughter, just a year old at the time, to live with her mother and signed a two-year contract to work in Saudi Arabia.

But when Tania got to Riyadh there was no job in a hospital.

Instead she was sent to work as domestic servant.

She says that after she worked all day at her boss’s house, he would send her in the evening to clean his brother’s house.

“I knew I had to do the work but my employer was not a good human being,” Tania says. “He often beat me and behaved very rudely toward me.”

When the boss and his brother tried to rape her, she says, she ran away and went to the Saudi police.

But the police just brought her back to her employer’s house.

Two months after she arrived, she says, her boss pushed her off a balcony. The fall broke her leg. From the hospital Tania got in touch with the Bangladeshi Embassy, which moved her to a safe house full of other Bangladeshi women who had also fled their employers and were waiting to go home.

Her salary was supposed to be $160 a month plus room and board, but she says, “I never got any payment for the work I did there. None.”

Hasan from BRAC’s migration program and other worker advocates say that Tania’s experience is far too common. Bangladesh has come to rely so heavily on the money that workers send home every month, Hasan says, that mistreatment and abuse are often overlooked.

Masud Ali Yakub says going to work abroad was a “big mistake.” In 2014 he paid $7,500 for a three-year work permit in Qatar. He borrowed much of the money. Yakub hoped to get a job as a driver but only found low-paying work installing drywall. Yakub, at home now with his daughter in Dhaka, says he is still paying off his loans.

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Jason Beaubien/NPR

Underage workers

At times even children get pulled into the foreign worker system.

At the Kurmitola General Hospital near the international airport in Dhaka, the Begum family is gathered on a row of blue plastic benches in the ground floor waiting room. Their daughter, who they say is 16, is huddled next to her mother. She is wearing a black burqa with no head covering over a filthy hooded sweatshirt. She has bruises on her left cheek and a cut at the base of her neck. A small duffel bag with a checked-luggage tag still wrapped around the handle sits at the girl’s feet. She refuses to speak. Her mother, Minara, says she and her husband hadn’t heard from their daughter in months when she suddenly called from Saudi Arabia saying she was coming home.

Minara says this whole saga started months ago with a woman named Beauty, who came to the Begum family’s village and offered to get Minara’s daughter a job cleaning houses in Dhaka. While the family no longer heard from their daughter regularly, every month Beauty sent them 16,000 taka, almost $200.

Minara says her daughter was 15 when she left their village with Beauty. Now, just a matter of months later the girl is holding a passport that lists her age as 26.

Her parents believe that Beauty must have arranged for the fake passport. Minara and her husband brought the teenager straight to this hospital from the airport, but she won’t let the doctors or nurses touch her. She refused to go into a small examination room and is scared to enter the stalls in the hospital’s public restrooms.

All her daughter will tell them, Minara says, is that she wants to go home.

Minara is still trying to understand what happened to her daughter, what horrors she experienced. One of the things that made Minara think her daughter was OK was that every month her wages arrived like clockwork. Minara had no idea that that money was coming from Saudi Arabia — and that it was part of the hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign remittances flowing every month into Bangladesh.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/06/03/722085193/they-pump-15-billion-a-year-into-bangladeshs-economy-but-at-what-cost