Month: November 2019

President Donald Trump wanted Ukraine’s president to stand at a microphone and say three words: investigations, Biden and Clinton, a top State Department official testified.

Democrats looking into whether Trump should be impeached released a transcript of last month’s testimony by deputy assistant secretary of state George Kent.

Kent said the words Trump wanted to hear from Volodomyr Zelenskiy were relayed to Kent by others in the administration who dealt directly with Trump.

“That was the message — Zelenskiy needed to go to a microphone and basically there needed to be three words in the message, and that was the shorthand,” Kent was quoted as saying.

Why was military aid withheld

Democrats want to know if Trump withheld $400 million in military aid to Ukraine unless Zelenskiy publicly committed himself to investigating 2020 Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden for corruption. Trump also insists Ukraine meddled in the 2016 presidential election on behalf of Democrats and their candidate, Hillary Clinton.

Kent said he was concerned about “an effort to initiate politically motivated prosecutions that were injurious to the rule of law, both in Ukraine and the U.S.”

Giuliani attacks

Kent also testified that Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, carried out a “campaign of lies” against U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch before Trump fired her.

“His assertions and allegations against former Ambassador Yovanovitch were without basis, untrue. Period,” Kent testified. “Mr. Giuliani … had been carrying on a campaign for several months full of lies and incorrect information.”

Kent said he was also a target of Giuliani’s attacks and was told to “keep his head down” when it came to Ukraine.

“Giuliani was not consulting with the State Department about what he was doing in the first half of 2019. And to the best of my knowledge, he’s never suggested that he was promoting U.S. policy.”

Democrats and others in the administration have accused Giuliani of a “shadow foreign policy” behind the backs of the State Department by pressuring the Ukrainian government to investigate Biden, his son, Hunter, and Democrats.

No evidence of corruption against the Bidens has surfaced. Accusations that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election are based on unfounded conspiracy theories.

Kent, Yovanovitch and current U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor are scheduled to testify in public next week.

Pence adviser testifies

On Thursday, the impeachment inquiry heard testimony from Jennifer Williams, a special adviser to Vice President Mike Pence.

Williams reportedly testified that the July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelenskiy, in which Trump urged him to investigate the Bidens, was unusual because she said the gist was political, not diplomatic.

She reportedly said she never heard Pence mention anything about investigating the Bidens or Democrats.

Trump has described his telephone call with Zelenskiy as “perfect” and is accusing Democrats of conducting a witch hunt, calling the entire impeachment inquiry a hoax.

He fiercely denies any quid pro quo with Ukraine.

While some of Trump’s Republican supporters are finding it hard to defend his actions, they say they do not believe his request for an investigation into the Bidens is an impeachable offense that could lead to his removal from office.
 

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North Korea on Thursday called Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe an “idiot and villain” who should not even dream of setting foot in Pyongyang, in a media commentary laden with insults in response to his criticism of a North Korean weapons test.

North Korea tested what it called “super-large multiple rocket launchers” on Oct. 31, but Japan said they were likely ballistic missiles that violated U.N. sanctions.

Abe condemned the test at an Asian summit this week, while saying he was eager to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “without conditions” to resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the isolated state, Kyodo news agency reported citing the Japanese government.

“Abe is an idiot and villain as he is making a fuss as if a nuclear bomb was dropped on the land of Japan, taking issue with the DPRK’s test-fire of super-large multiple rocket launchers,” the North’s KCNA state news agency said, citing a statement by Song Il Ho, its ambassador for ties with Japan.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

“Abe would be well-advised not to dream forever of crossing the threshold of Pyongyang as he hurled a torrent of abuse at the just measures of the DPRK for self-defense.”

The commentary signals a setback for Abe’s hope of resolving the issue of the abducted Japanese citizens. He has vowed to bring back all of them and has said he was willing to meet Kim without conditions.

In 2002, North Korea admitted that its agents had kidnapped 13 Japanese from the 1960s to the 1980s. Japan says 17 of its citizens were abducted, five of whom were repatriated.

North Korea has said eight of them were dead and another four never entered the country.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Pyongyang in 2002 and met the father of the current North Korean leader, but Abe has never met Kim.

U.S., North Korea

Late on Wednesday, a senior North Korean diplomat blamed a U.S. joint aerial drill with South Korea planned next month for “throwing cold water” over talks with Washington, the state-run KCNA news agency said. Pyongyang opposes U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises, viewing them as a rehearsal for invasion.

In Washington on Thursday, the Pentagon said the joint military exercise was reduced in scope from previous drills.

“It meets all the requirements of the ROK Air Force (and) the U.S. Air Force to ensure readiness,” Rear Admiral William Byrne, vice director of the Joint Staff, told reporters during a briefing.
 

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The U.S. House of Representatives has begun an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump over his efforts to push Ukraine to investigate a political rival. Many of the words and phrases used in the impeachment process are particular to U.S. law and clauses in the U.S. Constitution that govern the impeachment process. 
 
Here are some of the common terms used in an impeachment inquiry and what they mean: 
 
Articles of impeachment: A formal document listing the charges against an official and the reasons why that person should be removed from office. In the United States, the House of Representatives drafts the articles of impeachment, which are then voted on by all members of the House. If a majority of House members vote in favor, the official is impeached — essentially, the equivalent of an indictment — and the articles of impeachment move to the Senate, which then holds a trial. 
 
Bribery: The second offense listed in the Constitution as worthy of impeachment, following treason. Bribery takes place when one person gives something of value to someone in a position of authority in order to influence his or her actions. It often involves cash gifts, although the inducements need not be money and could include, gifts, services or favors.   

Censure: A formal statement of condemnation of a president, Cabinet member, judge or lawmaker passed by a chamber of Congress. Unlike impeachment, censure is not mentioned in the Constitution and would not trigger a trial and possible expulsion. Only one president has ever been censured: Andrew Jackson, by the Senate in 1834.   
  
Civil officers of the United States: The Constitution says that any civil officer of the United States is eligible for impeachment. Civil officers are officials in the U.S. government who are appointed to their positions and serve in any of the branches of government — executive, legislative or judicial. 
  
High crimes and misdemeanors: One of the categories of offenses listed in the Constitution worthy of impeachment. The framers of the Constitution did not define high crimes and misdemeanors, but the phrase has been interpreted to include both violations of criminal statues as well as noncriminal actions that are deemed an abuse of power. 
 
Impeachment: This refers to the U.S. House bringing charges against a government official for alleged wrongdoing. A common misconception is that impeachment means removal from office, but it is more akin to an indictment. If a majority of lawmakers in the House vote in favor of impeachment, the process then moves to the Senate, which holds a trial to determine whether to remove the official from office. 
 
Pardon: Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution grants the president the “power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.” The question of whether a president can pardon himself was raised during the Watergate scandal in the 1970s. At the time, a Justice Department memo sent to President Richard Nixon said: “Under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case,” the president cannot pardon himself. However, the Constitution does not expressly prevent a president from pardoning himself.   

Quid pro quo: The most literal translation of the Latin phrase is “something for something,” and in everyday terms it refers to an exchange of services or things of value. It has meaning in the legal system, finance and politics. It can describe perfectly legal transactions, but it can also apply to shady deals, where something improper or illegal is exchanged for something of value.    
 
Removal vs. disqualification: Once the impeachment proceedings move from the House to the Senate, a trial is held to determine whether to convict the defendant. If the Senate votes to convict, the defendant is removed from office. The Senate may then choose to vote to further punish the defendant by barring him or her from holding future federal office, known as disqualification. The Constitution states that removal and disqualification are the only punishments the Senate can issue. However, a defendant may also be subjected to punishment in regular state or federal courts. 
 
Standard vs. burden of proof: The Constitution says any officer of the executive or judicial branch can be removed from office for “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”  However, it does not define “high crimes and misdemeanors.”  The determination is left to the members of the House and Senate. The Constitution also leaves it to lawmakers to determine whether there is enough evidence for impeachment. Unlike in criminal cases, there is no need for proof of misconduct “beyond a reasonable doubt.”   

Supermajority: The Constitution requires two-thirds of the Senate to vote to convict an official facing impeachment and removal from office.

Treason: The first offense listed in the Constitution as worthy of impeachment. It is also the only crime specifically defined in the Constitution, which states a person is guilty of treason if he or she goes to war against the United States or gives “aid or comfort” to an enemy. The Constitution says that no one can be convicted of treason “unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act or on confession in open court.” 

U.S. Constitution: The document that defines the fundamentals of the government, laws and basic rights granted Americans. It was written in 1787 and ratified the next year by the 13 original states. 

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An 89-year-old Holocaust survivor in Italy has been placed under police protection after receiving hundreds of threats on social media.

Liliana Segre, who was sent to the Auschwitz death camp at age 13, has been receiving as many as 200 threats daily, many against her life. 

In response to the attacks, Segre, who is senator for life, called for the creation of a parliamentary committee to combat hate, racism and anti-Semitism. 

The motion was approved by Italy’s Parliament, even without the support of Italy’s right-wing parties, including former Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s Euroskeptic League Party and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia.

Since then, the attacks against Segre have amplified. 

The Milan-based Center of Contemporary Jewish Documents’ Observatory on Anti-Jewish Prejudice says anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise in Italy, particularly online. 

In the first nine months of this year, 190 anti-Semitic incidents were reported to the observatory, compared with 153 incidents for all of 2018, and 91 for all of 2017.

“An 89-year-old Holocaust survivor under guard symbolizes the danger that Jewish communities still face in Europe today,” Israel’s ambassador to Italy, Dror Eydar, tweeted Thursday.
 

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A Chinese court Thursday jailed nine people, one with a suspended death sentence, for smuggling fentanyl into the United States, saying this was the first such case the two countries had worked together on.

China has faced U.S. criticism for not doing enough to prevent the flow of fentanyl into the United States, and the issue has become another irritant in ties already strained by a bruising trade war the two are now working to end.

The announcement of the successful action against the smugglers comes as the two countries are expected to sign an interim trade deal.

Fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid, 50 times more potent than heroin. It is often used to make counterfeit narcotics because of its relatively cheap price, and it has played an increasingly central role in an opioid crisis in the United States.

US-China teamwork

Yu Haibin, a senior official with China’s National Narcotics Control Commission, told reporters in the northern city of Xingtai where the court case was heard, that Chinese and U.S. law enforcement had worked together to break up the ring, which smuggled fentanyl and other opioids to the United States via courier.

One of the people sentenced by the court was given a suspended death sentence, which in practice is normally commuted to life in jail, and two got life sentences, Yu said.

More than 28,000 synthetic opioid-related overdose deaths, mostly from fentanyl-related substances, were recorded in the United States in 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

U.S. drug enforcement has pointed to China as the source of fentanyl and its related supplies. China denies that most of the illicit fentanyl entering the United States originates in China, and says the United States must do more to reduce demand.

Issue of demand

Yu said that the issue of fentanyl was not something any one country could resolve.

“If illegal demand cannot be effectively reduced, it is very difficult to fundamentally tackle the fentanyl issue,” Yu said.

In August, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Chinese President Xi Jinping of not fulfilling a promise to crack down on fentanyl and its analogs.

Yu said China was willing to work with U.S. law enforcement authorities and all other international colleagues to fight narcotics and “continue to contribute China’s wisdom and power for the global management of narcotics.”

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A Bolivian protest leader who has become a symbol of opposition to President Evo Morales arrived on Wednesday in the nation’s capital, La Paz, where he plans to formally demand the leftist leader step down after a contentious election last month.

Luis Fernando Camacho, a civic leader from the eastern city of Santa Cruz, was whisked away in a convoy from the city’s main airport in nearby El Alto in the midst of a huge security presence and with rival protest groups massing outside.

The gambit, after he was blocked from leaving the airport on Tuesday, has sparked a fierce backlash from government supporters, while seemingly helping rally a split opposition. Camacho plans to march to the presidential palace to deliver a pre-written letter of resignation for Morales to sign.

The new attempt is likely to fan tensions following weeks of protests and strikes since the Oct. 20 vote. Hostilities have ramped up since Tuesday night in La Paz and Cochabamba, with clashes between Morales supporters and the opposition.

Government supporters and anti-Morales protesters clashed outside the El Alto airport late into Wednesday night. Carlos Mesa, the runner-up in the October election, had been at the airport waiting for Camacho to arrive, along with ex-President Jorge Quiroga.

“I think this is a fundamental moment for the opposition that believes in a democratic response and a peaceful way out,” said Mesa, who has repeatedly raised allegations of fraud against Morales and called for new elections.

Morales, a socialist leader who has been in power since 2006, has defended his election win and said that the opposition is trying to lead a “coup” against him and that his rivals were inciting violence.

Bolivians vs Bolivians

With little sign of a political solution, the standoff has worsened. On Wednesday, newspaper headlines decried the violence and pointed to an economic cost of $167 million. “Bolivians against Bolivians” read the front page of one local daily.

Local media reported the death of one young man in his twenties in the city of Cochabamba on Wednesday. In a tweet, Camacho blamed the death on Morales, and in a separate video message called for unity and calm.

Morales confirmed the death, saying the youngster was an “innocent victim of violence provoked by political groups encouraging racial hatred amongst our Bolivian brothers”.

“I hope Camacho and the people who follow him understand that the route they are taking simply leads to disaster,” state media reported defense minister Javier Zavaleta as saying.

Morales won last month’s vote with a lead of just over 10 points over Mesa, handing the former coca grower an outright win and avoiding a second-round runoff. The victory, however, was marred by a near 24-hour halt in the count, which, when resumed, showed a sharp and unexplained shift in Morales’ favor.

International governments have called for calm and are backing an audit of the election by the Organization of American States (OAS), which has recommended that a second round vote go ahead. Morales has agreed the audit will be “binding.”

The OAS on Wednesday called for calm while it completed its audit.

Since the vote, cities have gone into lockdown, with daily marches and road blocks. Camacho earlier this week called for people to blockade public institutions and the country’s borders in order to hit government incomes.

Benjamín Blanco, a senior trade official, said on Wednesday that borders with Peru, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil had been affected, with hundreds of trucks being stopped.

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Britain’s Parliament dissolved Wednesday for a five-week election campaign. Rising inequality is expected to be one of the central issues in Britain’s pre-holiday general election, as conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces off with leftist leader Jeremy Corbyn. Johnson has called for the snap election to gain more parliamentary support for his Brexit plan. But for some British voters, employment, health care, the environment and other issues are more important than how soon and under what conditions Britain can leave the European Union. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports.

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Several senior U.S. diplomats, including former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, are key witnesses in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. The president is accused of withholding U.S. military aid to Ukraine until that country’s new president agreed to investigate one of Trump’s political opponents, former Vice President and current presidential candidate Joe Biden. As transcripts from diplomats’ closed-door Capitol Hill hearings are released, many are questioning why Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not shield or support Yovanovitch from an administration campaign that led to her eventual ouster. VOA’s diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.
 

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The capital of Asia America is one description used for an area spanning 36 kilometers just east of downtown Los Angeles, called the San Gabriel Valley. Close to half a million Asians live in this region. It’s an Asian enclave where nine cities in the area are majority-Asian. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has more on why so many Asians live there and the countries they represent.

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The country’s largest online political organization aimed at electing black women is endorsing Kamala Harris, the lone black woman in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.

Higher Heights co-founder Glynda Carr says the group chose to back the California senator because of her qualifications, record in elected office and commitment to issues affecting black women, including gun safety, health care and the economy.

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AP Interview: Kamala Harris on Her Bus Tour Through Iowa

Democratic presidential candidate says five-day sprint across Midwestern state — 17 stops across 11 counties — has made her a better candidate

Wednesday’s endorsement comes as observers are questioning the viability of Harris’ campaign. Harris is languishing in many polls and has lagged with black voters.

Higher Heights provided significant support during the 2018 midterms to candidates who helped usher in the most diverse Congress in history. It claims an online membership of 90,000 activists, donors, supporters and volunteers.

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Democrats Claim Victory Over Trump-Backed Kentucky Governor, Seize Virginia Legislature

Beshear’s upset win could also bolster Democrats’ slim hopes of ousting Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

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The Berlin Wall’s demise 30 years ago brought an end to a divided  Berlin — and symbolized the eventual liberation of East Germany, and later the rest of Eastern Europe, from Soviet communist rule. Yet the wall’s anniversary comes as the politics of east and west continue to reverberate through German society.  In former communist East Germany, a democratic slogan from the revolution of 1989 rebounds – and resonates – among the present day nationalist far right. Charles Maynes reports from Thuringia in eastern Germany.

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A lone attacker on Wednesday stabbed three foreign tourists and their tour guide at a popular archaeological site in northern Jordan, the official Petra news agency reported.

The agency said the attacker also wounded a policeman before he was subdued and arrested. The wounded were taken to a hospital.
 
Amateur video showed a bloody scene next to the Jerash archaeological site, an ancient city whose ruins, including a Roman amphitheater and a columned road, are one of the country’s top tourist destinations.
 
In one video, a woman can be heard screaming in Spanish. “It’s a dagger, it’s a dagger, there is a knife. Please, help him now!”
 
One woman is seen lying on the ground, with much blood around her, as someone presses a towel to her back. Another man sits nearby with an apparent leg wound.
 
There were no further details, but the al-Ghad newspaper said the tourists were Mexican and suffered serious wounds.

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Suspected separatist insurgents stormed a security checkpoint in Thailand’s Muslim-majority south and killed at least 15 people, including a police officer and many village defense volunteers, security officials said on Wednesday.

It was the worst single attack in years in a region where a Muslim separatist insurgency has killed thousands.

The attackers, in the province of Yala, also used explosives and scattered nails on roads to delay pursuers late on Tuesday night.

“This is likely the work of the insurgents,” Colonel Pramote Prom-in, a regional security spokesman, told Reuters. “This is one of the biggest attack in recent times.”

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, however, as is common with such attacks.

A decade-old separatist insurgency in predominantly Buddhist Thailand’s largely ethnic Malay-Muslim provinces of Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat has killed nearly 7,000 people since 2004, says Deep South Watch, a group that monitors the violence.

The population of the provinces, which belonged to an independent Malay Muslim sultanate before Thailand annexed them in 1909, is 80 percent Muslim, while the rest of the country is overwhelmingly Buddhist.

Some rebel groups in the south have said they are fighting to establish an independent state.

Authorities arrested several suspects from the region in August over a series of small bombs detonated in Bangkok, the capital, although they have not directly blamed any insurgent group.

The main insurgency group, the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), denied responsibility for the Bangkok bombings, which wounded four people.

In August, the group told Reuters it had held a secret preliminary meeting with the government, but any step towards a peace process appeared to wither after the deputy prime minister rejected a key demand for the release of prisoners.

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Iranian media reported Wednesday that Iran has put a container containing 2,000 kilograms of uranium hexafluoride in its Fordow nuclear facility in order to begin injecting uranium gas into centrifuges.

The move is Iran’s latest step away from the agreement it signed in 2015 with a group of world powers to limit its nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief.

Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran was allowed to keep 1,044 centrifuges at Fordow in six cascades, four of which were to remain idle while the other two were allowed to spin without uranium.

“Iran’s 4th step in reducing its commitments under the JCPOA by injecting gas to 1044 centrifuges begins today,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wrote on Twitter.  “Thanks to U.S. policy and its allies, Fordow will soon be back to full operation.”

Reuters quoted a spokesman from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency saying its inspectors were on the ground in Iran and would report “any relevant activities” to its headquarters in Vienna.

The United States has criticized Iran’s increased nuclear activity, which followed last year’s U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal and a subsequent push by Iran for the remaining signatories to help Iran deal with U.S. sanctions.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said Tuesday that Iran’s actions are a “transparent attempt at nuclear extortion.”

“We have made clear that Iran’s expansion of uranium enrichment activities in defiance of key nuclear commitments is a big step in the wrong direction, and underscores the continuing challenge Iran poses to international peace and security,” Ortagus said in a statement.  “The JCPOA was a flawed deal because it did not permanently address our concerns with respect to Iran’s nuclear program and destabilizing conduct.”

Iran previously went past limits on the amount of enriched material it is allowed to stockpile and the level to which it is allowed to enrich uranium.

Rouhani said in a televised address Tuesday that all the steps Iran has taken so far are reversible if the other parties to the nuclear deal uphold their commitments to provide Iran with relief from economic sanctions.

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Backers of Bolivia’s president blocked the arrival of an opposition leader to the capital of La Paz on Tuesday and the government flew him back to his home city amid protests over the apparent reelection of President Evo Morales.

Supporters of Morales blocked Luis Fernando Camacho from leaving the La Paz airport, and Interior Minister Carlos Romero says Camacho was flown back to Santa Cruz “to protect his safety.”

The Organization of American States secretary-general, Luis Almagro, issued a statement on Twitter urging the government to safeguard Camacho’s right to movement.

Camacho had traveled to La Paz, saying he hoped to get Morales to sign a letter of resignation — something the president has rejected.

Camacho has been leading protests in Santa Cruz, the country’s most populous city, demanding Morales step aside following a disputed Oct. 20 election. Opponents challenge an official count that showed Morales winning with 47% of the vote and a margin of just over 10 percentage points over his nearest competitor — enough to avoid the need for a runoff against a united opposition.

Other opposition figures are merely demanding a runoff. But both complain that Morales ignored a constitutional ban on another term — he has already served 14 years — and was allowed on the ballot due to a ruling by what they consider to be a biased supreme court.

Both opposition factions also have rejected the terms of an ongoing OAS audit of the results agreed upon with the government.

The eastern city of Santa Cruz has been a hotbed of resistance to Morales, and much of the city has been largely shut down by a general strike for two weeks, with enormous crowds appearing at evening protest rallies. In the northeast city of Beni, clashes between opposing sides Monday night left 10 people injured.

The Armed Forces issued a statement Monday saying that it is keeping watch to maintain democracy and “the unity of the people.” Opposition legislator Wilson Santa María has accused the government of trying to “buy the loyalty” of the military and the police in exchange for what he called “bonuses”.

Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, has accused(AP Style 1) the opposition of trying to stage a coup d’etat.

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European Union leader Donald Tusk says that he won’t run to be the president of his native Poland, saying he carries too much “baggage” from his time as prime minister.

Tusk, who was prime minister of Poland from 2007 to 2014, was seen as a politician who could block the right-wing populist drift of the country, which has raised concerns about rule of law.

Incumbent Andrzej Duda, who supports the ruling Law and Justice party, faces re-election in the spring of 2020.

Tusk, speaking from Brussels, told Polish TV stations on Tuesday that “I will not be a candidate in the next presidential elections,” citing the “baggage that I carry from the time that I was prime minister.”

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A group of South Carolina senators restored exceptions for rape and incest on Tuesday to a measure that would ban nearly all abortions, then sent the bill to the Senate floor for a 2020 election year fight.

The exceptions had been removed by a smaller group of senators two months ago.

The legislative back-and-forth continues as proponents worry the ban can’t get passed without the exceptions. Three Republicans joined six Democrats on the Medical Affairs Committee in refusing to advance the bill, which allowed the exceptions to be restored.

The “Fetal Heartbeat Protection from Abortion Act” would make almost all abortions illegal in South Carolina once fetal cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks after conception. The bill has always allowed an abortion if the mother’s life is in danger.

The committee passed the measure Tuesday on a 9-6 vote — all Republicans voting for it and Democrats against it. Some Republicans have suggested senators never take up the bill, worrying the floor debate could rile voters in the upcoming elections.

Even with the rape and incest exceptions restored, the bill has faced an iffy future next year because some more moderate Republicans senators don’t want to waste days fighting over it with Democrats. They’ve suggested that lawmakers should instead wait and see what happens with similar laws in other states, and move forward only if bans elsewhere withstand legal challenges.

Similar bills have passed in recent years in Louisiana, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and Ohio. Missouri approved a ban on abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy and Alabama lawmakers simply outlawed all abortions. All of them remain tied up in courts.

South Carolina already had a similar abortion showdown in 2018 after Democratic Sen. Brad Hutto of Orangeburg, whose has fought for abortion rights for decades, altered a bill banning a specific type of abortion into a ban on almost all abortions and dared lawmakers to pass it. Moderate Republicans couldn’t support the proposal, which failed. Democrats have added a seat since that election.

The “heartbeat” abortion bill passed the South Carolina House earlier this year after the rape and incest exceptions were added on the House floor following a speech by Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from Charleston who told for the first time how she was raped when she was a teen.

Gov. Henry McMaster enthusiastically supported a ban even before it was changed in the House. He has promised to sign the bill if it passes.

Sen. Richard Cash put the incest and rape ban back in the bill. Cash, a Republican from Powdersville, was elected in 2017 in a campaign promising to do all he could to end abortion.

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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the United States remains concerned about reports of China’s harsh treatment of relatives of Uighur Muslim activists and survivors of Chinese internment camps.

In a statement released by the State Department, Pompeo said the U.S. is still “deeply troubled” by reports that the Chinese government has reportedly “harassed, imprisoned, or arbitrarily detained family members of Uighur Muslim activists and survivors of Xinjiang internment camps who have made their stories public.”

The top U.S. diplomat said some of the “abuses occurred shortly after meetings with senior State Department officials.”

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Jailed Uighur Tohti Wins European Parliament Sakharov Rights Award

Ilham Tohti, the outspoken former professor of economics at a Beijing university was sentenced in 2014 by Chinese courts in a trial that provoked an outcry from foreign governments and human rights organisations

Over the past few years, China has established complexes in Xinjiang that it maintains are “vocational training centers” designed to combat terrorism and extremism and to teach new skills.

Beijing denies any mistreatment of the Uighurs and maintains that the detainees are at the complexes voluntarily.

Many world leaders have criticized China for setting up the complexes, where the U.N. says at least 1 million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained.

The U.S. government and human rights groups estimate 10 percent of the Uighur population is under detention.

The nonpartisan research group the Australian Strategic Policy Institute estimates there are 143 camps where Uighurs are detained.   

The New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused China of committing “rampant abuses,” including torture.

The U.S. last month broadened its trade blacklist to include top Chinese artificial intelligence startup companies. It also announced visa restrictions against Chinese government and Communist Party officials it believes are behind the detention or abuse of Muslim minorities in the region.

Pompeo also Tuesday called on Beijing to “cease all harassment of Uighurs living outside China…and to allow families to communicate freely without repercussions.”  
 

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