Backlash grows to Johnson's suspension of UK Parliament

August 29, 2019

LONDON (AP) — Opposition to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's move to suspend Parliament intensified Thursday, with the head of the Labor Party vowing "to politically stop him" from pushing through a chaotic no-deal Brexit.

Johnson's tactic gave lawmakers little time to prevent Britain from crashing out of the European Union without an agreement on Oct. 31. But a backlash to the maneuver has unified the disparate political opposition, bringing protests, legal action and a petition with more than 1 million signatures.

The confrontation is almost certain to increase next week when lawmakers return from their summer recess for a brief session. They are pledging to challenge what Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has called Johnson's "smash-and-grab raid against our democracy."

"What we're going to do is try to politically stop him on Tuesday with a parliamentary process in order to legislate to prevent a no-deal Brexit and also to try and prevent him shutting down Parliament in this utterly crucial period," Corbyn told Sky News. "We believe we can do it."

Outside the House of Commons, lawmakers giving interviews had to speak over chants of "Stop the coup! Stop the coup!" Smaller rallies took place in other towns and cities on Wednesday after Johnson announced his move.

A petition on a government website demanding that Parliament not be suspended has gotten more than 1 million signatures — guaranteeing that it will be considered for debate. Lawmakers asked a Scottish court to rule that suspending Parliament is illegal. Businesswoman Gina Miller, who won a ruling in the Supreme Court in 2017 that stopped the government from triggering the countdown to Brexit without a vote in Parliament, has another legal challenge in the works. A human rights campaigner has sued in Northern Ireland, arguing that the historic Good Friday accord that brought peace is in jeopardy because of Johnson's actions.

Bishops from the Church of England expressed their concern about the "economic shocks" of a no-deal Brexit on the poor and other vulnerable people. House of Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg dismissed the fury and described Johnson's move as constitutional and proper.

"I think the outrage is phony and it is created by people who don't want us to leave the European Union and are trying very hard to overturn the referendum result and don't want the benefits of leaving the European Union," he told the BBC.

The action by Johnson, who became prime minister last month, prompted ruptures across the political spectrum, including among members of his Conservative Party. Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who has differed with Johnson in the past, resigned her leadership post Thursday. Though the popular leader cited family reasons, the timing of such a decision following Johnson's seismic move suggested that she disagreed with his tactics.

Others in the party are more obviously concerned. Senior Conservative lawmaker Ken Clarke was among those describing the suspension of Parliament as "absurd." "He has just given in to the fanatic element of his followers and decided to go hell for leather," Clarke said. "I hope it will bring together the sensible majority of Parliament who will find some alternative."

The outpouring of anger followed three years of tensions after the 2016 referendum on EU membership, in which 52% of voters favored withdrawing. The EU is adamant it will not renegotiate the agreement struck with former Prime Minister Theresa May on the terms of Britain's departure and the framework of future relations. Without such a deal, Britain faces a chaotic Brexit that economists warn would disrupt trade by imposing tariffs and customs checks between Britain and the bloc, lower the value of the pound and plunge the U.K. into recession. May resigned in defeat after failing three times to secure Parliament's backing for her divorce deal with the bloc.

Johnson has told European officials that it won't be possible to agree a deal on Britain's departure from the bloc without the removal of controversial language on a "backstop" aimed at avoiding the return of a border between EU member Ireland and Britain's Northern Ireland. He said at the close of the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France, on Monday, that he was "marginally more optimistic," of progress.

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, warned Johnson that he won't back down. "In all circumstances, the EU will continue to protect the interests of its citizens and companies, as well as the conditions for peace and stability on the island of Ireland," Barnier said.

Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Helsinki, Finland, and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed.

UK opposition reacts with fury to Parliament suspension

August 28, 2019

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday to suspend Parliament, throwing down the gauntlet to his critics and causing outrage among opposition leaders who will have even less time to thwart a no-deal Brexit.

Johnson told lawmakers he has decided to ask the monarch to give her speech that outlines the government's legislative agenda on Oct. 14. Since Parliament is normally suspended before the speech, the decision means opposition lawmakers would be unlikely to have enough time to pass laws blocking the U.K.'s exit from the European Union without a negotiated deal on Oct. 31.

Though Johnson had previously refused to rule out suspending Parliament, the timing of the decision took lawmakers — many of whom are on vacation — by surprise. They reacted with fury, including John Bercow, Speaker of the lower House of Commons, who was not told in advance of Johnson's plan.

"Shutting down Parliament would be an offense against the democratic process and the rights of Parliamentarians as the people's elected representatives," he said. "Surely at this early stage in his premiership, the prime minister should be seeking to establish rather than undermine his democratic credentials and indeed his commitment to Parliamentary democracy.

The pound plunged on the news, down to $1.2196 from almost $1.2300 the previous day. A day earlier, opposition lawmakers declared that they would work together to try to stop a departure from the European Union without an agreement, setting up a legislative challenge to Johnson and his promise to complete the divorce by Oct. 31, come what may.

Some 160 lawmakers have signed a declaration pledging "to do whatever is necessary" to prevent Johnson from bypassing Parliament in his plans. Johnson's do-or-die promise has raised worries about a disorderly divorce that would see new tariffs on trade and border checks between Britain and the EU, seriously disrupting business.

Johnson has told European Union officials it won't be possible to agree a deal on Britain's departure from the trading bloc without the removal of controversial language on a "backstop," aimed at preventing the return of a border between EU member Ireland and Britain's Northern Ireland. He said at the close of the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France, Monday that he was "marginally more optimistic," of progress.

SpaceX, Amazon, OneWeb seek communications dominance in space

by Paul Brinkmann
Washington DC (UPI)
Jun 11, 2020

The developers of new communications satellite constellations - connecting virtually every part of the Earth - are engaged in a multibillion-dollar battle to develop dominance in space and the immense revenue that could bring, industry experts say.

Elon Musk's Starlink is part of a new wave of ventures by several companies to cover the globe with faster, better internet by using constellations of satellites that number in the thousands. At stake is the future of communications on Earth and in space. Competitors include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' Project Kuiper and startup company OneWeb, which not long ago filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of U.S. bankruptcy laws.

But the road to profitability is not navigated simply by launching scores of satellites at a single shot. Other factors come into play.

For example, Musk acknowledged recently that the cost of the user terminal is the biggest challenge for his project. He previously said he hoped to develop a terminal that would sell for under $300, but analysts say that will be difficult.

"Getting the signal to the customer [affordably] has always been the issue with new communications satellite service," said Hamed Khorsand, founder of California-based BWS Financial, which provides research on technology and communications companies.

"You can't just put up satellites and think that will solve everything. You have to have revenue," Khorsand said.

Both Starlink and OneWeb began in 2015. As OneWeb continued to develop, Starlink launched repeatedly. As of June 3, Musk's SpaceX has launched 480 Starlink spacecraft.

The company has said it anticipates to invest about $10 billion in Starlink, with a potential for $30 billion to $50 billion in annual revenue if the system becomes fully operational.

Musk said on Twitter recently that limited service could be tested by around August - when SpaceX aims to have 800 satellites in orbit - in what is called a beta validation. In technology development, beta validations attempt to demonstrate a new software or service to a limited number of potential users.

Enter Bezos, whose plans for space communications services under the Project Kuiper mantle, are shrouded in secrecy.

In the battle for funding, Bezos' deep pockets only grew deeper as the coronavirus pandemic sent more people online to shop. Analysts following the high-tech satellite slugfest say they have no idea how much Bezos - who consistently ranks among the wealthiest people in the world - is investing in Project Kuiper.

Amazon, though, aims to launch more than 3,200 satellites, according to filings with the Federal Communications Commission. But details of the constellation remain mostly under wraps as the company builds a new headquarters and prototype manufacturing laboratories near Seattle.

Like Starlink, OneWeb said it aimed to provide reliable internet service to remote regions. But OneWeb had only three launches and ran into funding trouble just as the pandemic took hold.

The company was testing and developing technology with 74 satellites in orbit and permits for up to 720.

In bankruptcy court, OneWeb reported assets of $3.3 billion, the most significant of which are radio-frequency licenses and licenses to receive signals in nations around the globe, while its debts and liabilities were $2.1 billion.

Pandemic hurt

Despite the positive balance sheet, the company said financial market fallout from the pandemic interrupted efforts to raise more money for expansion of the satellite network. As a startup, the company had no significant revenue.

OneWeb, based in Virginia and London, continues to operate with a reduced staff since it filed for bankruptcy in March and laid off about 450 workers - more than three-fourths of its payroll.

The satellite startup filed a new application with the FCC in late May to boost the number of planned satellites to 48,000.

OneWeb's move to seek more satellite permits is aimed at making it more attractive to a new owner, or for a sale of the existing satellites, analyst Khorsand said.

"It's really more about whether anyone can use the satellites that are up there already. I just don't know if they are compatible with any other company's technology, because most of the technology is pretty proprietary," he said.

Despite backing from major players like Airbus and Richard Branson's Virgin Group, OneWeb made its bankruptcy filing after a big investor, Japan-based Softbank Group, withheld additional funding in March as the pandemic spread and a recession took hold.

One veteran player had planned to join the fray, as well.

Intelsat reborn

Intelsat, founded in 1964, has been reborn with new investments several times. It planned a communications satellite constellation, but filed for bankruptcy protection in May as financial fallout from the pandemic hit many industries. The company cited only "substantial legacy debt" in its bankruptcy announcement.

Observers of the satellite communications industry are well-acquainted with struggling startups and bankruptcy - due to the high cost of getting underway and the time needed to become fully operational.

Costs increase more because federal and international regulations require thruster systems on the communications satellites to avoid potential collisions.

Khorsand noted that another firm in the competition, Iridium Communications, went bankrupt in 1999 after launching a communications satellite constellation. The company later emerged from bankruptcy and now provides service to major customers, including the U.S. military. It has 75 satellites in orbit.

With lucrative military contracts providing an enticement, SpaceX also is gunning for that market. The company said it already has worked with the Air Force to test the signal from Starlink.

SpaceX eventually wants to have an armada of satellites that would beam data around the globe, using laser optics in the vacuum of space that could move data close to the speed of light.

Iridium is the only commercial provider that presently uses such laser optics, said Chris Quilty, founder of Florida-based Quilty Analytics, an aerospace analyst firm.

New generation

Before such space laser connections can happen, Starlink will need a new generation of Starlink satellites, Quilty said. The current Starlink satellites in orbit aren't designed for that technology, he said.

"Starlink will have ground stations, but over the ocean, there are no ground stations, so it has to have a crosslink based in space to beam super-fast service around the world," Quilty said.

For Musk and Bezos, dominating the future of space communication also could benefit their long-term goals to explore the moon and Mars, Quilty said.

"You can't fund Mars exploration only on the launch business, especially if SpaceX is successful at shrinking the cost of launch dramatically, which is the company's goal," Quilty said.

"If Musk is successful at establishing a colony on Mars, a good communications link to Earth will be vital, and Starlink would help that."

Astronauts return to space from U.S. soil.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/SpaceX_Amazon_OneWeb_seek_communications_dominance_in_space_999.html.

First Arab mission to Mars designed to inspire youth

By Dana Moukhallati
Dubai (AFP)
June 9, 2020

The first Arab space mission to Mars, armed with probes to study the Red Planet's atmosphere, is designed to inspire the region's youth and pave the way for scientific breakthroughs, officials said Tuesday.

The unmanned probe Al-Amal -- Hope in Arabic -- is to blast off from a Japanese space centre on July 15, with preparations now in their final stages.

The project is the next giant step for the United Arab Emirates, whose colossal skyscrapers and mega-projects have put it on the world map.

The UAE sent its first astronaut into space last year and is also planning to build a "Science City" to replicate conditions on Mars, where it hopes to build a human settlement by 2117.

Omran Sharaf, the mission's project manager, said that apart from the ambitious scientific goals, the mission was designed to hark back to the region's golden age of cultural and scientific achievements.

"The UAE wanted to send a strong message to the Arab youth and to remind them of the past, that we used to be generators of knowledge," he told AFP.

"People of different backgrounds and religion coexisted and shared a similar identity," he said of the Arab world, where many countries are today wracked by sectarian conflicts and economic crises.

"Put your differences aside, focus on building the region, you have a rich history and you can do much more."

- Narrow window -

Sarah al-Amiri, the mission's deputy project manager, said it was imperative that the project have a long-term scientific impact.

"It is not a short-lived mission, but rather one that continues throughout the years and produces valuable scientific findings -- be it by researchers in the UAE or globally," she told AFP.

She said that the probe will provide a comprehensive image of the weather dynamics in Mars' atmosphere with the use of three scientific instruments.

The first is an infrared spectrometer to measure the planet's lower atmosphere and analyse the temperature structure.

The second, a high-resolution imager that will provide information about the ozone; and a third, an ultraviolet spectrometer to measure oxygen and hydrogen levels from a distance of up to 43,000 kilometers from the surface.

The three tools will allow researchers to observe the Red Planet "at all times of the day and observe all of Mars during those different times", Amiri said.

"Something we want to better understand, and that's important for planetary dynamics overall, is the reasons for the loss of the atmosphere and if the weather system on Mars actually has an impact on loss of hydrogen and oxygen," she said, referring to the two components that make up water.

Sharaf said that fueling of the probe is to begin next week.

It is scheduled to launch on July 15 from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center and return to Earth in February 2021, depending on many variables including the weather.

"If we miss the launch opportunity, which is between mid-July and early August, then we'd have to wait for two years for another window," Sharaf said.

But hopes are high that the mission will take place as scheduled, and not be derailed by the coronavirus pandemic.

In a new sign of warming ties between Israel and Gulf Arab nations, the Jewish state Tuesday wished the UAE success with the mission.

We "hope this step will contribute towards deeper cooperation between all countries in the region," its foreign ministry's "Israel in the Gulf" Twitter account wrote in Arabic.

Source: Mars Daily.
Link: https://www.marsdaily.com/reports/First_Arab_mission_to_Mars_designed_to_inspire_youth_999.html.

Kids are building rockets from their bedrooms

Wellington NZ (SPX)
Jun 11, 2020

Peoply, the brainchild of 21-year-old Wellingtonian, Matt Strawbridge, has partnered with Rocket Lab to offer a rocket and space themed online program for kids ages 7-12. Each week, kids delve into a different topic that fosters curiosity and interest in the natural world through exploration and play.

Kids get to explore topics such as building and launching real-life rockets, Rocket Lab missions, the future of space, jobs in space, and even space entrepreneurship. Students join classes by jumping into a live "classroom" with up to six other students around the country. Each class has a "coach" who facilitates, inspires, and supports students.

"We are really excited to launch the Rocket Lab program for kids in New Zealand and the US. Outer space is something that fascinates and entices so many kids all over the world, and this program is designed to help foster this curiosity and discovery of something so much bigger than ourselves", Strawbridge said.

Strawbridge has been obsessed with space and rockets since he was young, which is where the idea for this program came from. 'It's been such a privilege to work with Rocket Lab in developing this content for kids. This program is something that I would have loved to participate in growing up."

Entrepreneurship and thinking differently are themes that run through the program. "Rocket Lab is such an innovative company, and Peter Beck (the CEO) is a leader that I'm really inspired by. He's passionate about entrepreneurship, and so the final lesson of the program is teaching kids all about entrepreneurship and making sure that they know that they can become entrepreneurs, too."

As well as developing important skills such as creativity, communication, and problem-solving, Peoply is designed to connect kids with others. "Enhancing connection and promoting mental wellness couldn't be more important than it is right now."

Kids can attend as many Peoply classes each week as they wish. Other programs include Discovering Your Superpowers, Role Models, and Mindfulness. "We hope that classes can bring a sense of routine and regularity for these kids - just as they would go to dance class or a swimming lesson after school, they can come to Peoply."

Peoply was launched after Strawbridge spent years creating programs for dyslexic kids at his first company, Dyslexia Potential. Strawbridge founded Dyslexia Potential after his experience struggling to navigate the school system while having dyslexia. The Ministry of Education recently announced that Dyslexia Potential programs and resources are going to be available for free, to all families and schools within New Zealand.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Kids_are_building_rockets_from_their_bedrooms_999.html.

Trump fumes as protesters stake out festive zone in Seattle

June 12, 2020

SEATTLE (AP) — Following days of violent confrontations with protesters, police in Seattle have largely withdrawn from part of a neighborhood where protesters have created a festival-like scene that has President Donald Trump fuming.

Trump taunted Gov. Jay Inslee and Mayor Jenny Durkan about the situation on Twitter and said the city had been taken over by “anarchists." “Take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will,” Trump tweeted.

The president continued his complaints in a Thursday interview with the Fox News Channel. “If we have to go in, we’re going to go in," Trump said. "These people are not going to occupy a major portion of a great city.”

The “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” stretches over a couple city blocks and sprung up after police on Monday removed barricades near the East Precinct and basically abandoned the structure after officers used tear gas, pepper spray and flash bangs over the weekend to disperse demonstrators they said were assaulting them with projectiles.

The president has sparred before with Inslee and Durkan — both liberal Democrats. Inslee previously sought his party's presidential nomination. Inslee tweeted Thursday that state officials will not allow threats of military violence from the White House. “The U.S. military serves to protect Americans, not the fragility of an insecure president,” he tweeted.

The zone set up by protesters stretches a portion of Capitol Hill, where dozens of people show up to listen to speakers calling for police reform, racial justice and compensation for Native groups on whose land the city of Seattle was founded.

Signs proclaim “You are entering free Capitol Hill” and “No cop co-op” along sidewalks where people sell water and other wares. On Thursday, speakers used a microphone to discuss their demands and how to address the police presence after they visited the precinct during the day. Down the street, artists continued painting a block-long “Black Lives Matter” mural on the street.

“The people that you see here have all come together because we see injustice in our system and we want to be part of the solution," said Mark Henry Jr. of Black Lives Matter. Henry said Trump's rant about the gathering was unfounded. “Donald Trump can call us a terrorist if he likes to, but what you see out here is people coming together and loving each other,” he said.

Over the weekend, police were sharply criticized by City Council members and other elected leaders. Since officers dialed back their tactics, the demonstrations have largely been peaceful. Police officials say they are looking to reopen the precinct. At a news conference Wednesday, Assistant Chief Deanna Nollette said the barriers were removed from the front of the building after it became a flashpoint between officers and protesters.

Nollette said the precinct has been boarded up because of credible threats that it would be vandalized or burned. She offered no details about the threats and no fires have been reported at the site. She said protesters have set up their own barricades, which are intimidating some residents.

Police Chief Carmen Best posted a video message to officers Thursday in which she said the decision to leave the Capitol Hill precinct wasn’t hers and she was angry about it. She also reiterated that police had been harassed and assaulted during protests.

“Ultimately, the city had other plans for the building and relented to severe public pressure,” Best said. At a Thursday news conference neither Best nor Durkan made it clear who decided that police should leave the precinct.

Durkan said regarding Trump's statements about Seattle that one of the things the president will never understand is that listening to community is not a weakness, but a strength. “A real leader would see nationwide protest, the grief in so many communities of color, particularly our black communities, and the call to be an anti-racist society, as an opportunity for America. An opportunity to build a better nation,” she said.

Protesters have said they want to see the precinct turned into a community center or used for purposes other than law enforcement. City Councilwoman Kshama Sawant disputed accounts of violence or intimidation by protesters within the area on Capitol Hill and said it was more like a street fair with political discussions and a drum circle.

"The right wing has been spreading rumors that there is some sort of lawlessness and crime taking place at the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, but it is exactly the opposite of that,” said Sawant, a socialist and a critic of Durkan and the police.

Sawant said she wants the precinct to be "converted into a public resource that will actually be helpful to society.”

Associated Press writer Lisa Baumann contributed from Seattle.

Jefferson Davis statue torn down in Richmond, Virginia

June 11, 2020

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Protesters tore down a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis along Richmond, Virginia's famed Monument Avenue on Wednesday night. The statue in the former capital of the Confederacy was toppled shortly before 11 p.m., news outlets reported.

Richmond police were on the scene and videos on social media showed the monument being towed away as a crowd cheered. About 80 miles (130 kilometers) away, protesters in Portsmouth beheaded and then pulled down four statues that were part of a Confederate monument on Wednesday, according to media outlets.

Efforts to tear one of the statues down began around 8:20 p.m., but the rope they were using snapped, The Virginian-Pilot reported. The crowd was frustrated by the Portsmouth City Council's decision to put off moving the monument. They switched to throwing bricks from the post that held the plaque they had pulled down as they initially worked to bring down the statue.

The Pilot reports that they then started to dismantle the monument one piece at a time as a marching band played in the streets and other protesters danced. A protester in his 30s was hit in the head as the monument fell, causing him to lose consciousness, Portsmouth NAACP Vice President Louie Gibbs told the newspaper. The crowd quieted as the man was taken to a hospital. His condition was not immediately clear.

A flag tied to the monument was lit on fire, and the flames burned briefly at the base of one of the statues. The actions come amid national protests over the death of George Floyd who died after a police officer kneeled on his neck.

A statue of Christopher Columbus in Richmond was torn down by protesters, set on fire and then submerged into a lake on Tuesday. News outlets reported the Columbus statue was toppled less than two hours after protesters gathered in the city’s Byrd Park chanting for the statue to be taken down.

The death of Floyd, who was black, has prompted similar Confederate monument removals around the nation. Some people say the tributes inappropriately glorify people who led a rebellion that sought to uphold slavery. Others say their removal amounts to erasing history.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam last week ordered the removal of an iconic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, which is four blocks away from where the Davis statue stood. A judge on Monday issued an injunction preventing officials from removing the monuments for the next 10 days.

US opens consulate in Greenland capital

Copenhagen (AFP)
June 10, 2020

The United States has opened a consulate in Greenland's capital Nuuk, the US embassy in Copenhagen said Wednesday, nearly a year after Denmark rejected President Donald Trump's interest in buying its vast Arctic territory.

"The consulate is another positive sign of the strong collaboration between the U.S. government and the Greenlandic and Danish governments," said US ambassador Carla Sands.

Washington received the green light from Copenhagen to set up the consulate last December.

At the end of April, Greenland said it had accepted an offer of $12.1 million in US funds for mining, tourism and education in the massive and coveted territory.

Greenland has its own parliament, but foreign relations are run by Copenhagen and the economy relies heavily on Danish subsidies.

Rich in natural resources, including oil, gas, gold, diamonds, uranium and zinc, and with the prospect of new maritime routes as a result of global warming, Greenland has attracted attention from the United States, China and Russia.

In August 2019, Trump floated the idea of buying Greenland, an autonomous territory under Denmark. Both Greenland and Denmark rejected his interest.

The last US consulate in Nuuk closed down in 1953.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/US_opens_consulate_in_Greenland_capital_999.html.

Trump directs US to develop new Icebreaking fleet to counter Russia, China

Washington DC (Sputnik)
Jun 10, 2020

NATO member states have doubled their military activity in the northern polar region over the past five years, the Russian Foreign Ministry's Ambassador at Large for Arctic Cooperation Nikolay Korchunov said on 22 May.

The US government has been tasked with an inter-agency program to develop a new fleet of icebreakers to project American national interests in the Arctic and Antarctic regions as soon as possible, President Donald Trump has announced in a memorandum.

"The United States will develop and execute a polar security icebreaking fleet acquisition program that supports our national interests in the Arctic and Antarctic regions", the memorandum to the secretaries of state, defense, homeland security, commerce, energy, as well as the Office of Management and Budget and national security adviser said.

According to the memo, the fleet will include "use cases in the Arctic that span the full range of national and economic security missions (including the facilitation of resource exploration and exploitation and undersea cable laying and maintenance) that may be executed by a class of medium PSCs, as well as analysis of how these use cases differ with respect to the anticipated use of heavy PSCs for these same activities".

The new fleet must be equipped with "assets and resources, capable of ensuring a persistent United States presence in the Arctic and Antarctic regions in support of national interests and in furtherance of the National Security Strategy and the National Defense Strategy", the memorandum said.

The assets will include unmanned aviation; surface and undersea systems; space systems; sensors and other systems to achieve and maintain maritime domain awareness; command and control systems; secure communications and data transfer systems; and intelligence-collection systems, the memorandum said.

The assets will potentially have a defensive armament adequate to defend against threats by near-peer competitors and the potential for nuclear-powered propulsion, the memorandum added.

The memorandum comes after Russian Envoy at Large for Arctic Cooperation Nikolay Korchunov stated that NATO member states, as well as non-NATO countries, have become increasingly involved in military activity in the northern polar region in recent years.

On 1 May, the US Sixth Fleet conducted a joint naval anti-submarine warfare exercise with the United Kingdom in the Norwegian Sea. Four ships, a US submarine, and a Boeing P8-A reconnaissance aircraft participated in the drills.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Trump_directs_US_to_develop_new_Icebreaking_fleet_to_counter_Russia_China_999.html.

Democrats propose sweeping police overhaul; Trump criticizes

June 09, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats in Congress proposed a far-reaching overhaul of police procedures and accountability Monday, a sweeping legislative response to the mass protests denouncing the deaths of black Americans in the hands of law enforcement.

The political outlook is deeply uncertain for the legislation in a polarized election year. President Donald Trump is staking out a tough "law and order” approach in the face of the outpouring of demonstrations and demands to re-imagine policing in America.

“We cannot settle for anything less than transformative structural change,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, drawing on the nation’s history of slavery. Before unveiling the package, House and Senate Democrats held a moment of silence at the Capitol's Emancipation Hall, reading the names of George Floyd and many others killed during police interactions. They knelt for 8 minutes and 46 seconds — now a symbol of police brutality and violence — the length of time prosecutors say Floyd was pinned under a white police officer’s knee before he died.

Trump, who met with law enforcement officials at the White House, characterized Democrats as having “gone CRAZY!” As activists beyond Capitol Hill call to restructure police departments and even to “ defund the police,” the president tweeted, “LAW & ORDER, NOT DEFUND AND ABOLISH THE POLICE.” He declared later, “We won't be dismantling our police.”

Democratic leaders pushed back, saying their proposal would not eliminate police departments — a decision for cities and states — but establish new standards and oversight. Joe Biden, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, “does not believe that police should be defunded,” said spokesman Andrew Bates.

The Justice in Policing Act, the most ambitious law enforcement reform from Congress in years, confronts several aspects of policing that have come under strong criticism, especially as more and more police violence is captured on cellphone video and shared widely across the nation and the world.

The package would limit legal protections for police, create a national database of excessive-force incidents and ban police choke holds, among other changes. It would revise the federal criminal police misconduct statute to make it easier to prosecute officers who are involved in “reckless” misconduct and it would change “qualified immunity” protections to more broadly enable damage claims against police in lawsuits.

The legislation would ban racial profiling, boost requirements for police body cameras and limit the transfer of military equipment to local jurisdictions. Overall, the bill seeks to provide greater transparency of police behavior in several ways. For one, it would grant subpoena power to the Justice Department to conduct “pattern and practice” investigations of potential misconduct and help states conduct independent investigations.

And it would create a “National Police Misconduct Registry,” a database to try to prevent officers from transferring from one department to another with past misconduct undetected, the draft says. A long-sought federal anti-lynching bill that has stalled in Congress is included in the package.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., a co-author with Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., and Democratic senators will convene a hearing on the legislation Wednesday. “The world is witnessing the birth of a new movement in this country,” said Bass, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, which is leading the effort.

While Democrats are expected to swiftly approve the legislation this month, it does not go as far as some activists want. The outlook for passage in the Republican-held Senate is slim. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose Louisville hometown faces unrest after the police shooting of Breonna Taylor in her home, said he would take a look at potential Senate legislation.

It is unclear if law enforcement and the powerful police unions will back any of the proposed changes or if congressional Republicans will peel off some of their own proposals. Republicans are likely to stick with Trump, and GOP campaign officials bashed efforts underway in some cities to reallocate police funds to other community services.

Yet McConnell was central to passage of a 2018 criminal justice sentencing overhaul the president signed into law, and some key GOP senators have expressed interest in more streamlined changes to policing practices and accountability.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who marched with protesters Sunday, told reporters late Monday at the Capitol that he is working with other Republican senators "to see if we can’t fashion a piece of legislation which could receive bipartisan support to make some changes to the way we do our policing.”

The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has said his panel intends to hold a hearing to review use of force and other issues, and other GOP lawmakers have suggested Floyd's death could spark more modest changes.

Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, who marched in support of Floyd in Houston, penned an op-ed Monday about how his own black father instructed him to respond if he was pulled over by the police, and suggested proposals for changes in police practices.

What started with the Black Lives Matter movement after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., has transformed with the killings of other black Americans into a diverse and mainstream effort calling for changing the way America polices its population, advocates say.

“I can’t breathe” has become a rallying cry for protesters. Floyd pleaded with police that he couldn’t breathe, echoing the phrase Eric Garner said while in police custody in 2014 before his death in New York.

“All we’ve ever wanted is to be treated equally — not better, not worse,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. Biden's own platform reflects much of the approach from congressional Democrats, and his former presidential primary rivals, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.Y., and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., are co-authors of the package in the Senate.

Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Massive, peaceful protests across US demand police reform

June 07, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — Massive demonstrations against racism and police brutality filled some of the nation’s most famous cityscapes Saturday, with tens of thousands of people marching peacefully in scenes that were more often festive than tense.

Wearing masks and urging fundamental change, protesters gathered in dozens of places from coast to coast while mourners in North Carolina waited for hours to glimpse the golden coffin carrying the body of native son George Floyd, the black man whose death at the hands of Minneapolis police has galvanized the expanding movement.

Collectively, it was perhaps the largest one-day mobilization since Floyd died 12 days ago and came as many cities began lifting curfews that authorities imposed following initial spasms of arson, assaults and smash-and-grab raids on businesses. Authorities have softened restrictions as the number of arrests plummeted.

Demonstrations also reached four other continents, ending in clashes in two European cities. In the U.S., Seattle police used flash bang devices and pepper spray to disperse protesters hurling rocks, bottles and explosives, just a day after city leaders temporarily banned one kind of tear gas.

The largest U.S. demonstration appeared to be in Washington, where protesters flooded streets closed to traffic. On a hot, humid day, they gathered at the Capitol, on the National Mall and in neighborhoods. Some turned intersections into dance floors. Tents offered snacks and water.

Pamela Reynolds said she came seeking greater police accountability. “The laws are protecting them,” said the 37-year-old African American teacher. The changes she wants include a federal ban on police chokeholds and a requirement that officers wear body cameras.

At the White House, which was fortified with new fencing and extra security measures, chants and cheers could be heard in waves. President Donald Trump, who has urged authorities to crack down on unrest, downplayed the demonstration, tweeting: “Much smaller crowd in D.C. than anticipated."

Elsewhere, the backdrops included some of the nation’s most famous landmarks. Peaceful marchers filed across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, where officers pulled back on enforcing a curfew that has led to confrontations. They walked the boulevards of Hollywood and a Nashville, Tennessee, street famous for country music-themed bars and restaurants.

They also gathered in places as far flung as a St. Louis suburb and cities in the Deep South. Many wore masks — a reminder of the danger that the protests could exacerbate the spread of the coronavirus.

Roderick Sweeney, who is black, said he was overwhelmed to see the large turnout of white protesters waving signs that said “Black Lives Matter” in San Francisco. “We’ve had discussions in our family and among friends that nothing is going to change until our white brothers and sisters voice their opinion,” said Sweeney, 49. The large turnout of white protesters “is sending a powerful message.”

In Philadelphia and Chicago, marchers chanted, carried signs and occasionally knelt in silence. At a massive showing near the Philadelphia Museum of Art and its famous “Rocky” steps, protesters chanted “No justice, no peace!” before heading for City Hall.

Seattle police said on Twitter that several officers were injured by “improvised explosives” thrown by a crowd. Officers responded with pepper spray. Earlier, a large crowd of medical workers, many in lab coats and scrubs, marched to City Hall, holding signs reading, “Police violence and racism are a public health emergency” and “Nurses kneel with you, not on you” — a reference to how a white officer pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for several minutes.

Atop a parking garage in downtown Atlanta, a group of black college band alumni serenaded protesters with a tuba-heavy mix of tunes. Standing within earshot, business owner Leah Aforkor Quaye said it was her first time hitting the streets.

“This makes people so uncomfortable, but the only way things are happening is if we make people uncomfortable,” said Quaye, who is black. In Raeford, North Carolina, a town near Floyd’s birthplace, people lined up outside a Free Will Baptist church, waiting to enter in small groups. At a private memorial service, mourners sang along with a choir. At the front of the chapel was a large photo of Floyd and a portrait of him adorned with an angel’s wings and halo.

“It could have been me. It could have been my brother, my father, any of my friends who are black,” said Erik Carlos of nearby Fayetteville. “It made me feel very vulnerable at first.” Floyd's body will go to Houston, where he lived before Minneapolis, for another memorial in the coming days.

Protesters and their supporters in public office say they're determined to turn the outpouring into change, notably overhauling policing policies. Many marchers urged officials to “defund the police," which some painted in enormous yellow letters on the street leading to the White House near a “Black Lives Matter” mural that the mayor had added a day earlier.

Theresa Bland, 68, a retired teacher and real estate agent protesting at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, envisioned a broader agenda. “I’m looking at affordable housing, political justice, prison reform,” she said.

Some change already has come. Minneapolis officials have agreed to ban chokeholds and neck restraints and require that officers stop colleagues who are using improper force. California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the state’s police-training program to stop teaching officers a neck hold that blocks blood flowing to the brain.

The police chief in Bellevue, a wealthy city near Seattle, largely banned officers from using neck restraints, while police in Reno, Nevada, updated their use-of-force policy. Congressional Democrats are preparing a sweeping package of police reforms, which is expected to include changes to immunity provisions and creating a database of use-of-force incidents. Revamped training requirements are planned, too, among them a ban on chokeholds.

The prospects of reforms clearing a divided Congress are unclear. While police in some places have knelt in solidarity with protesters, their treatment of some marchers also has generated more tension.

Two officers in Buffalo, New York, were charged Saturday with second-degree assault after a video earlier this week showed them shoving a 75-year-old protester, who smashed his head on the pavement. Both pleaded not guilty.

Most protests in Europe were peaceful. In London, however, clashes with police erupted after thousands gathered amid a cold rain. In the French city of Marseille, authorities fired tear gas and pepper spray as protesters hurled bottles and rocks.

Back in North Carolina, the Rev. Christopher Stackhouse recounted the circumstances of Floyd's death for the congregation. “It took 8 minutes and 46 seconds for him to die," Stackhouse said at the memorial service. "But it took 401 years to put the system in place so nothing would happen.”

Pritchard reported from Los Angeles and Foreman from Raeford, North Carolina. Associated Press staff from around the world contributed to this report, including Jeff Chiu in San Francisco; Jill Colvin in Washington; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio; John Leicester in Paris; and David Crary and Brian Mahoney in New York.

Washington protesters express optimism after week on edge

June 07, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — On Monday, they were forcibly removed from the street by law enforcement. On Saturday, they danced. The tens of thousands of racially diverse demonstrators who flooded Washington to protest injustice and police brutality reshaped the mood of a city that has been on edge this week. Bursts of looting and violence early in the week prompted a dramatic clampdown by law enforcement that gave the nation's capital the feeling of an occupied city, complete with military vehicles, helicopters buzzing low to the skyline and National Guard troops on patrol.

But on Saturday, go-go music — a distinctive D.C. offshoot of funk — blared from a truck that looked more like a parade float. Impromptu dance parties popped up. A black man shared a fist bump with a black police officer. People used chalk to write messages of support on the street.

The purpose of the protest was somber: to demand changes to police practices and pay homage to George Floyd, the black man killed by Minneapolis police. But the displays of levity, unfolding against the backdrop of damaged buildings marked with graffiti, amounted to a moment of catharsis for a city and nation in crisis.

Some said they saw the beginning of a new movement. “This is us walking across the Pettus Bridge,” said Kendyll Myles, a 33-year-old project manager, referring to site of the iconic 1965 civil rights march in Selma, Alabama. “This is that type of awakening that our country needed.”

The scene on Saturday was starkly different from earlier this week when law enforcement moved aggressively to push back protesters from a park in front of the White House. Within minutes, President Donald Trump walked across the park to appear before cameras at a church where he held up a Bible, but didn't offer any prayers. The episode has been widely criticized.

As demonstrations are expected to spill into another week, there are questions about whether the scope of the protests can become something more durable. Unlike the major Washington protests of the past, Saturday's events weren't strongly organized. In some cases, they were mini-marches that began in residential neighborhoods before converging on 16th Street, one of the major roads leading to the White House, where Trump spent the day without any public appearances.

Many protesters carried signs urging participants to vote with the passion they brought to the streets. The Rev. Al Sharpton has said he's organizing a March on Washington for late August that would energize voters heading into the fall presidential campaign.

There were signs of cultural change. Those who led demonstrators in chants were almost exclusively people of color. Several white people who were approached for an interview demurred, saying that white people do enough talking and that this was a moment for their black and brown counterparts to have the spotlight and set the agenda.

That's one reason some black protesters said they thought this moment was different from previous demonstrations against police brutality. The fact that large numbers of white people would march alongside them fueled some hope that change might happen.

“You can finally see it, the different races out here,” said Carl Sirls, a 26-year-old airline worker. “It's not just black people. It's not just white people. It's everyone.” Pamela Reyolds said she hoped the massive size of the crowd and the diversity of the participants would help build momentum behind reforms including a ban on police chokeholds and a requirement for law enforcement to wear body cameras.

“It took protest, it took rioting to happen,” the 37-year-old teacher said. “But I think they're finally listening and they're seeing that this is everybody's fight.” There were still plenty of signs of anger on Saturday.

Outside the FBI headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue, a protestor moved close to a line of law enforcement and shouted they had no right to patrol the city. A few blocks away at the Trump International Hotel, protestors regularly shouted epithets at the building. One man used a bullhorn to ask police how they could justify guarding a building associated with a president who has backed aggression toward protesters.

More broadly, the expressions of hope don't mask the deeper challenges facing Washington or the nation. The city is home to one of the largest income inequality gaps in the country, according to the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute. The racial divide is stark and has grown as longtime black neighborhoods have gentrified, sending home prices soaring. The coronavirus has taken a disproportionate toll on the black community.

Mayor Muriel Bowser is under pressure to reduce funding for the city's police and reinvest that money elsewhere. The local chapter of Black Lives Matter derided Bowser's widely publicized move to paint Black Lives Matter across one of the streets near the White House.

“This is performative and a distraction from her active counter organizing to our demands to decrease the police budget and invest in the community,” it said on Twitter. But as Bowser strolled that section of the street, the crowd in this overwhelmingly Democratic city burst into applause for a woman who is increasingly the subject of Trump's ire. Art Lindy, a fifth-generation Washingtonian, shouted “Vice President Bowser” as she walked by.

Bowser “has done an incredible job standing up to the face of federal power,” the 56-year-old construction manager said. A few blocks north, Jake Mathai was passing out free bottles of water to any demonstrator who needed relief from the heat and humidity. He said it was the least he could do for protestors and expressed particular admiration of younger people who showed up.

“When I was 18, I was never doing this kind of thing,” the 36-year-old said. “These kids are going to be me in 18 years. But much better because I wasn't doing this.”

Demonstrators vow to sustain momentum until change happens

June 06, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — Protesters stirred by the death of George Floyd vowed Friday to turn an extraordinary outpouring of grief into a sustained movement as demonstrations shifted to a calmer, but no less determined focus on addressing racial injustice.

In Minneapolis, where Floyd died in police custody, the city agreed to ban police chokeholds and require officers to intervene any time they see unauthorized force by another officer. The changes are part of a stipulation between the city and state officials who launched a civil rights investigation into Floyd’s death. The City Council was expected to approve the agreement, which will be enforceable in court.

The country’s most significant demonstrations in a half-century — rivaling those during the civil rights and Vietnam War eras — resumed for an 11th day nationwide with continued momentum as the mood largely shifted from explosive anger to more peaceful calls for change. Formal and impromptu memorials to Floyd stretched from Minneapolis to North Carolina, where family members will gather Saturday to mourn him, and beyond.

Josiah Roebuck, a university student who used social media to help gather 100 people to demonstrate Friday in an Atlanta suburb, is confident the momentum will last. “Once you start, you’re going to see this every day,” said Roebuck, who has attended multiple protests. “I just want minorities to be represented properly.”

Protests across the country had initially been marred by the setting of fires and smashing of windows, but Friday marked the third day of more subdued demonstrations. The Rev. Al Sharpton, who eulogized Floyd at a heartfelt tribute in Minneapolis on Thursday, said Friday that plans are in the works for a commemorative march on Washington on Aug. 28, the anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech. Sharpton said the event would be a way to maintain momentum as the legal cases of the four officers charged in Floyd's death move forward.

Floyd’s body was being taken to North Carolina, the state where he was born 46 years ago, for a public viewing and private service for family Saturday. Then in Texas, where Floyd lived most of his life, services culminating in a private burial will take place Monday and Tuesday.

In Washington, city workers and volunteers painted “Black Lives Matter” in enormous yellow letters on the street leading to the White House on Friday in a sign of local leaders’ embrace of the protest movement. The mural stretched across 16th Street for two blocks, ending just before the church where President Donald Trump staged a photo-op earlier this week after federal officers forcibly cleared a peaceful demonstration to make way for the president and his entourage.

“The section of 16th Street in front of the White House is now officially ‘Black Lives Matter Plaza,’” Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a tweet shortly after the mural was completed. The project follows Bowser’s verbal clashes with the Trump administration over the response to protests over Floyd’s killing. Still, the local chapter of Black Lives Matter took a swipe at Bowser on Twitter by saying the project distracts from their efforts to shift funds from local police to community investment.

There were zero arrests during demonstrations in the city Thursday and Friday and Bowser canceled the curfew that had been in place since Monday. She said she will decide Saturday morning if it will be reinstated.

Meanwhile, in a sign protesters’ voices were being heard, more symbols of slavery and the Confederacy came down. Mobile, Alabama, removed a statue of a Confederate naval officer after days of protests there, while Fredericksburg, Virginia, removed a 176-year-old slave auction block after several years of efforts by the NAACP.

Community activists were working to convert anger and grief into long-term action. Black Lives Matter Alliance Broward circulated a sign-up sheet at a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, protest that drew 1,500 names of people who want to stay involved. The group followed up with each person this week suggesting simple actions such as emailing or calling to demand local change.

“We are taking more of the strategy of: ‘How do we actually invest people’s energy beyond protesting?’” said Tifanny Burks, a community organizer. “We are thinking long term.” This weekend, they were building a church altar with the names of victims killed by local police and having their family members speak. On Monday, they plan a workshop to help people engage at the local level, including mobilizing in upcoming elections.

“Every single day it’s growing from people who want to get more involved, who want to take more actions, so we’re going to be mobilizing those folks,” Burks said. In Minneapolis, organizer Sam Martinez said regular meetings and a mailing list of about 5,000 has sustained the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, formed after the 2015 shooting death of Jamar Clark during a struggle with two white officers.

“We meet every week, because we know that’s what it takes,” Martinez said. Nakia Wallace, an organizer of protests in Detroit, said people were beginning to understand the movement's power. “The world is watching,” she said, adding: “The main strategy is to get people to collectively come out and make demands until those demands are met.”

For the past week in Richmond, Virginia, Austin Carroll, a 28-year-old musician, has spent six hours a day marching or protesting near a soaring statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, which the governor agreed this week to remove.

Carroll, a member of Black Lives Matter, has strained his voice from yelling and his 6-year-old son, Levi, has blisters on his feet. But Carroll said they plan to continue to march every day until more changes come, including deescalation training for police.

“I am tired. My voice and legs are gone,” Carroll said. “We’re resting right now, but we’ll be back out here marching tonight.”

Amy reported from Atlanta and Williams from Detroit. AP journalists Kelli Kennedy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Jeff Baenen and Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; Jonathan Drew in Durham, North Carolina, and reporters around the U.S. contributed.

George Floyd's death an American tragedy with global echoes

June 05, 2020

LONDON (AP) — When black men died at the hands of U.S. police in recent years, the news made international headlines. The name of George Floyd has reached the world’s streets. Since his death while being detained by Minneapolis police last week, Floyd’s face has been painted on walls from Nairobi, Kenya to Idlib, Syria. His name has been inked on the shirts of professional soccer players and chanted by crowds from London to Cape Town to Tel Aviv to Sydney.

The outpouring of outrage and support reflects the power and reach of the United States, a country whose best and worst facets fascinate the world. It also reflects that deep-seated racial inequalities are not just an American phenomenon.

“This happened in the United States, but it happens in France, it happens everywhere,” said Xavier Dintimille, who attended a thousands-strong Paris protest to show solidarity with U.S. demonstrators and anger over a death closer to home.

The Paris demonstrators declared “We are all George Floyd,” but also invoked the name of Adama Traore, a 24-year-old Frenchman of Malian origin who died in police custody in 2016. The circumstances are still under investigation by justice authorities.

The world is used to watching American stories on TV and movie screens, and intrigued by a country founded on principles of equality and liberty but scarred by a tortured racial history of slavery and segregation. Viewed from abroad, images of U.S. violence and racial divisions can sometimes seem like part of a uniquely American malaise.

Not this time. When people around the world watched Floyd struggling for breath as a white police officer knelt on his neck, many saw reflections of violence and injustice in their own cities and towns. They heard echoes of their own experiences or those of family members, neighbors or friends.

“The same thing is happening here. It’s no different,” said Isaak Kabenge, who joined more than 1,000 other people at a protest in Sweden’s capital, Stockholm. “I got stopped (by police) two weeks ago. It happens all the time.”

In London, thousands of people chanted “Say his name - George Floyd!” as they marched through the city. But they also invoked names from nearby, including Stephen Lawrence, an 18-year-old black Londoner stabbed to death in 1993 as he waited for a bus. A bungled police investigation triggered a public inquiry, which concluded that the London police force was “institutionally racist.”

London-born “Star Wars” actor John Boyega, who was 1-year-old when Stephen Lawrence died, linked Lawrence, Floyd and other black victims of violence in a passionate speech to the crowd. “Black lives have always mattered,” Boyega said. “We have always been important. We have always meant something.”

More than 160 people in Britain have died while in police custody in the past decade, and figures show that black people are twice as likely as white people to die under such circumstances. In the London suburb of Croydon, hundreds of protesters gathered this week —standing the required coronavirus social distance of 2 meters (6½ feet) apart —and took a knee in memory both of Floyd and of Olaseni Lewis. The local man died in 2010 while being restrained by police at a psychiatric hospital.

Lewis' mother, Ajibola Lewis, has campaigned to tighten the rules on the use of restraint by police. She said she couldn’t bear to watch the widely circulated footage of Floyd’s death. “Many other families, we have heard our loved ones say ‘I can’t breathe,'” she told the BBC. “People think it’s only happening in America. It’s not. It’s happening here.”

Floyd’s death is another shocking turn for a technology-fueled world unsettled by disease, coronavirus lockdowns and massive unemployment. The speed of social media helped Floyd’s final moments in Minneapolis spread around the world, and amplified the shock, anguish and anger they evoked.

Floyd’s death also dropped a spark into cities already smoldering from the coronavirus pandemic. In many countries, lockdowns imposed to slow the spread of the virus confined young people indoors for weeks. Their pent-up energy has been released into the streets as diverse, youthful crowds protest Floyd's treatment, often in defiance of bans on mass gatherings.

In many places, protesters have tried to practice social distancing, but the attempts often fell apart in the heat of the moment. Some demonstrators wore face masks to guard against the virus — a practical health measure made poignant by the addition of Floyd’s dying words, “I can’t breathe,” written across the front.

The new virus has sent economies around the world into nosedives, throwing millions out of work. It has also exposed social inequalities, both in the United States — where cities with large black populations have been among the hardest hit — and elsewhere.

In Britain, black and ethnic minority people are at greater risk of dying with COVID-19, and have also been levied a disproportionate number of the fines and arrests for breaking lockdown rules, according to official statistics.

In London, some demonstrators called out the name of Belly Mujinga, a railway ticket-seller who died of coronavirus in April, weeks after she was spat at by a man claiming to have COVID-19. Police said they found no evidence to support charges in her death.

Thousands more plan to take to the streets of cities around the world this weekend, mourning a man whose death they hope will bring permanent change, and looking to the United States as both an inspiration and a warning.

“Here I think it’s systematic, and we need to start doing something starting from small to make change,” said musician Jayda Makwana, who joined thousands of others at a protest in London’s Hyde Park. “I think the U.K. could learn so much from the U.S., because we don’t want it to get to the point that it is at in the U.S.”

Angela Charlton in Paris, David Keyton in Stockholm and Associated Press reporters around the world contributed to this story.

Prosecutors charge 3 more officers in George Floyd's death

June 04, 2020

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors charged three more police officers Wednesday in the death of George Floyd and filed a new, tougher charge against the officer at the center of the case, delivering a victory to protesters who have filled the streets from coast to coast to fight police brutality and racial injustice.

The most serious charge was filed against Derek Chauvin, who was caught on video pressing his knee to Floyd’s neck and now must defend himself against an accusation of second-degree murder. The three other officers at the scene were charged for the first time with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

All four were fired last week. If convicted, they could be sentenced to up to four decades in prison. Chauvin was initially charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Those charges still stand.

The new second-degree murder charge alleges that Chauvin caused Floyd’s death without intent while committing another felony, namely third-degree assault. It carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, compared with a maximum of 25 years for third-degree murder.

The other officers — Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao — face the same maximum penalties for aiding and abetting. All three men were in custody by Wednesday evening. Chauvin was arrested last week and is still being held.

The multiple charges against each officer would offer a jury more options to find them guilty. The charges were sought by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who called the protests unleashed by the death “dramatic and necessary” and said Floyd “should be here and he is not.”

“His life had value, and we will seek justice,” said Ellison, who cautioned that winning convictions would be hard and said that public pressure had no bearing on his decisions. Hundreds of protesters were in New York City's Washington Square Park when the charges were announced.

“It’s not enough,” protester Jonathan Roldan said, insisting all four officers should have been charged from the start. “Right now, we’re still marching because it’s not enough that they got arrested. There needs to be systematic change.”

Ben Crump, an attorney for Floyd’s family, called it “a bittersweet moment” and “a significant step forward on the road to justice.” Crump said Elison had told the family he would continue his investigation into Floyd’s death and upgrade the charge to first-degree murder if warranted.

The move by prosecutors punctuated an unprecedented week in modern American history, in which largely peaceful protests took place in communities of all sizes but were rocked by bouts of violence, including deadly attacks on officers, rampant thefts and arson in some places.

Nationwide, more than 9,000 have been arrested in connection with unrest. At least 12 deaths have been reported, though the circumstances in many cases are still being sorted out. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaking after the new charges were announced, said the state and nation need to “seize the moment” and use the wrenching events of the past week to confront the effects of racism, including unequal educational and economic opportunities.

“I think this is probably our last shot, as a state and as a nation, to fix this systemic issue,” he said at a news conference. Also Wednesday, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office released the full autopsy report on Floyd, which noted he had previously tested positive for COVID-19, but was apparently asymptomatic. The report was released with the family’s permission after summary findings Monday that said he had a heart attack while being restrained by officers.

President Donald Trump has pushed the nation’s governors to take a hard line against the violence. He again tweeted Wednesday: “LAW & ORDER!” An overpowering security force — including officers from the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, the Secret Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Prisons and, according to a senior defense official, at least 2,200 National Guard soldiers — was out in force Wednesday as thousands of peaceful protesters demonstrated in the nation’s capital. Some remained near the White House while others marched toward the Capitol building.

Military vehicles were parked on streets near the White House, and an array of agencies kept watch from the air. An FBI plane, an Army surveillance plane and a Park Police helicopter circled overhead.

At one point near the White House, protesters began singing “Amazing Grace" as they knelt in view of law enforcement officers in riot gear. “We are not going anywhere!” they chanted. There were no signs of confrontations.

Protester Jade Jones, 30, said the demonstrations would continue despite the new charges. "That’s the least they could do,” said Jones, who had been attending Washington protests for days. “It’s not going to wipe away 400 years of pain.”

“We are glad there are additional charges, but that doesn’t mean justice has been served," she said. More than 20,000 National Guard members have been called up in 29 states to deal with the violence.

In New York City, where high-end stores were looted in earlier days, some retailers fortified their property. At the luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue, windows were boarded up, then covered in chain-link fencing and razor wire. The front of the store was guarded by a line of tattooed men with dogs. There was scuffling in some parts of the city Wednesday night, but no signs of major clashes between protesters and police.

The protests have also taken root overseas. In Greece, police fired tear gas after young people attacked them Wednesday outside the U.S. Embassy in Athens. Some 4,000 protesters had been peaceful until near the end of the demonstration, when some threw gasoline bombs and stones at police. No injuries or arrests were reported. Other protests were held Wednesday in London, Helsinki, Rotterdam and Bogota, among other cities.

The anger over Floyd's death has spilled into an array of racial issues across the U.S. In Philadelphia, for example, a statue of former Mayor Frank Rizzo was removed by the city Wednesday after repeatedly being targeted by vandals. Rizzo presided over a police force widely accused of racism and brutality in the 1970s.

In Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam was expected to announce plans Thursday for the removal of an iconic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Richmond’s prominent Monument Avenue, a senior administration official told The Associated Press. The statue in the former Confederate capital has been the target of vandalism during the protests.

Associated Press journalists across the U.S. contributed to this report.

Turkey to buy additional S-400 missile defense system from Russia

by Ed Adamczyk
Washington DC (UPI)
Jun 10, 2020

Turkey will purchase an additional Russian-made S-400 air defense system, the head of Turkey's Defense Industries Administration said.

"We have a basic agreement on the supply of the second batch of the Russian S-400 system, and there are some technical issues regarding transport operations," Ismail Demir said in a television interview earlier this week. "Ankara is also interested in proposals to purchase Patriot and Eurosam air defense systems."

A Turkish official said the sale would go on despite production and delivery issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Turkey received a loan from Russia to partially finance the $2.5 billion purchase of the S-400 system of ground-to-air armaments. An agreement was signed in December 2017 and the first "Triumf" missiles and missile launchers arrived in Turkey in July 2019.

The deal caused a crisis in U.S.-Turkish relations, with Washington demanding an end to the sale in exchange for the opportunity to purchase American Patriot systems.

The United States also threatened to delay or cancel the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey and impose sanctions, but Ankara did not yield to U.S. pressure.

The S-400 missile includes a command and control center capable of coordinating several battalions of troops, a radar detection system and ultra-long-range missiles.

Russia has said that the missiles are designed to destroy aircraft, and cruise and ballistic missiles. It can also be used against ground installations, and can engage targets up to 250 miles away or at an altitude of up to 18 miles.

Source: Space War.
Link: https://www.spacewar.com/reports/Turkey_to_buy_additional_S-400_missile_defense_system_from_Russia_999.html.

New Zealand city removes statue of its 'murderous' namesake

June 12, 2020

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The New Zealand city of Hamilton on Friday removed a bronze statue of the British naval officer for whom it is named — a man who is accused of killing indigenous Maori people in the 1860s.

The removal by city authorities came a day after a Maori tribe asked for the statue be taken down and one Maori elder threatened to tear it down himself. Cities around the world are taking steps to remove statues that represent cultural or racial oppression as support grows for the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police last month in Minneapolis.

Mayor Paula Southgate said a growing number of people found the statue personally and culturally offensive. “We can’t ignore what is happening all over the world and nor should we,” Southgate said. “At a time when we are trying to build tolerance and understanding between cultures and in the community, I don’t think the statue helps us to bridge those gaps.”

The city was originally called Kirikiriroa by Maori. In the 1860s, it was renamed after Captain John Hamilton, a British officer who was killed in the infamous Gate Pa battle in the city of Tauranga. The statue was gifted to the city in 2013. The Waikato-Tainui tribe, or iwi, formally requested on Thursday for it to be removed.

City authorities said it was clear the statue was going to be vandalized, after Maori elder Taitimu Maipi this week told news organization Stuff that he planned to tear it down himself. He said Hamilton was being represented as a hero when he was “murderous” and a “monster.”

City authorities said they have no plans to change the city's name at this point. Southgate told The Associated Press that any potential name change would need to be discussed by the whole council and with Maori leaders, adding that she personally thought the name Kirikiriroa was “particularly beautiful” and often used it in speeches.

She said that before removing the statue, the city had first discussed the idea with the Gallagher family who had donated it, and they were supportive. She said the statue had been placed in storage while discussions about its future continued.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who has Maori heritage, said he was outraged at the "wave of idiocy" over the role of historic statues. “Why do some woke New Zealanders feel the need to mimic mindless actions imported from overseas,” Peters said in a statement. “A self-confident country would never succumb to obliterating symbols of their history, whether it be good or bad or simply gone out of fashion.”

Hamilton is the nation's fourth-largest city with 160,000 people, about one-quarter of whom are Maori. Council Chief Executive Richard Briggs said they were concerned that if the statue was torn out by force, it could damage the underground parking structure below.

“We have been working collaboratively with Waikato-Tainui for more than 12 months on a project to review culturally sensitive place names and sites," Briggs said in a statement. “We understand this work is vitally important in raising awareness to cultural harm which has taken place.”

Other New Zealand statues of historic figures are also coming under scrutiny, including those of British explorer Capt. James Cook.

French chef Ducasse unveils anti-virus air system

June 11, 2020

PARIS (AP) — French celebrity chef Alain Ducasse on Thursday unveiled a novel air ventilation system in one of his smallest Parisian restaurants to try to overcome the distancing restrictions related to the coronavirus.

The system, which has cost 50,000 euros to install at the Allard, on Paris' chic left bank, aims to dramatically reduce the risk of airborne virus transmission using technology from hospitals — with a touch of Parisian style.

Ducasse unveiled the system ahead of a French government announcement later this week on the opening of restaurant interiors to diners, “It’s one of the smallest restaurants in Paris and that’s why we decided to create this system here, as social distancing would make capacity here almost impossible,” Ducasse told The Associated Press.

Using high-tech air filtration devices used in hospitals, a group of inventors conceived of a system of metal pipes, filters and diffusers to slow down the speed of air particles 20 times. That gives time for them to sucked away before they can spread to the next table.

“With this new system, the air in each table is as contained as in an operating theater," Ducasse said. The system means that the restaurant can keep a capacity of 80%, with the aim of making it economically viable to reopen.

“If you’re a virus carrier, the people just beside you will be safe,” said one of the air filtration designers, Arnaud Delloye. The system was tested in a 12-hour experiment to show that air molecules did not pass between tables, as particles were slowed down and whisked away by a suction device from “ventilation mouths” above each diner.

Social distancing measures were seen as a death knell for many smaller restaurants over fears that capacity would be reduced by 50 or 60%. Ducasse’s Allard in the chic Left Bank has been closed since March, and like many eateries in Paris’ narrow cobbled streets there is no outside seating area. Outside areas have been permitted to open since last week in Paris.

The technology is infused with art. Images of air divinities, as well as pigeons and clouds — emblematic of Paris — decorate the filters to prevent a sanitized feel. France’s state health agency INRS has validated the system, saying it “allows a significant reduction in the risk of virus transmission in a restaurant,” and France’s Ecology Minister Brune Poirson attended the launch.

However, Julian W. Tang, of Leicester University Respiratory Sciences department, expressed some skepticism about such systems, saying they still wouldn't prevent transmission between people sitting at the same table.

“Generally, ceiling height indoor ventilation systems will not really affect the air flows between two people sitting at a table talking,” he said. Ducasse said he will wait to see the popularity of the system before he applies it to any other of his 40 restaurants worldwide.

Maria Cheng in London contributed.

Overworked, underpaid Brazil nurses risk lives to care for patients

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (SPX)
Jun 10, 2020

Hans Bossan is 40 hours into his 72-hour work week, but despite his marathon nursing shifts and the pandemic claiming an alarming number of his colleagues' lives in Brazil, he barely looks tired.

Bossan works three jobs to provide for his wife and two-year-old daughter -- at two different hospitals and a mobile emergency unit.

Double and triple shifts like his are not unusual in Brazil, where the average salary for nurses, nursing assistants and health care technicians is just 3,000 reals ($600) a month for a 30- to 44-hour work week.

The coronavirus pandemic, which has thrust health care workers into the spotlight around the world, has in Brazil also highlighted the plight of nurses, who often face bad working conditions and are now getting sick and dying from COVID-19 at a startling rate.

"Nursing was always an overworked profession, and this pandemic has just made things worse," said Bossan, 41.

"We're highly undervalued. Nurses deal directly with patients, with the virus, we're on the front lines of the war. But not everyone realizes that," he told AFP at his home in a poor neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.

Nurses have been hit particularly hard as Brazil has become the latest epicenter in the pandemic, with 39,680 deaths, behind only the United States and Britain.

Around 18,000 nurses in Brazil have been infected with COVID-19, and at least 181 have died -- among the highest numbers in the world, according to the International Council of Nurses.

Last month, nurses protested in the capital, Brasilia, against the poor working conditions they blame for contributing to their colleagues' deaths.

Brazil accounts for nearly one-third of the 600 deaths among nurses and other health professionals registered worldwide by the International Council of Nurses, though the organization says many countries are not doing enough to track the real number.

- 'Anxiety and depression' -

More than 80 percent of Brazil's 2.3 million nurses are women.

Often they work double and triple shifts caring for patients and then go home to care for their own families -- now with the added worry of infecting them.

"It's a time of great anxiety and depression" for the profession, said Nadia Mattos, vice president of Brazil's Federal Nursing Council (Cofen).

When the initial flood of cases hit Brazil's hospitals, health care workers faced shortages of protective equipment and inadequate training on dealing with the new virus, she said.

Although the situation has improved with time, "we're still getting lots of complaints about lack of protective gear or low-quality equipment," she said.

The council has set up virtual psychological counseling for nurses, available 24 hours a day.

The group has also pushed for years for nurses' minimum salary to be increased to $1,200 a month, double the current average.

- Heroes without capes -

One of Bossan's jobs is in the intensive care unit at Che Guevara Hospital in Marica, about 60 kilometers (35 miles) outside Rio.

Working behind a face shield with a mask underneath, he monitored the constantly beeping machines helping to keep his patients alive.

One of them, 56-year-old Eliane Lima, thanked her health care team from behind her oxygen mask.

"The doctors and nurses are excellent here. They take care of us with a lot of love. It's badly needed in a place like this," she said.

Outside, in the semi-intensive care ward, nurse technician Flavia Menezes summed up her profession thus: "It's the art of caring for people."

Source: Terra Daily.
Link: https://www.terradaily.com/reports/Overworked_underpaid_Brazil_nurses_risk_lives_to_care_for_patients_999.html.

Not set in stone: Statues fall as Europe reexamines its past

June 11, 2020

LONDON (AP) — From Confederate monuments in the United States to statues of British slave traders, memorials erected in honor of historical figures have become a focus of protests around the world. The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers has sparked a reexamination of rigid injustices and inequalities underpinning many countries' histories that often were exalted in stone or bronze.

A look at some contested monuments across Europe:

BRITAIN

EDWARD COLSTON — The toppling of a statue of the 17th-century slave trader in the port city of Bristol on Sunday reignited debate in Britain about who deserves a permanent public memorial. Colston built a fortune transporting more than 80,000 enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean before leaving his money to charity. His name adorns streets and buildings in Bristol, which was once the U.K.’s biggest port for slave ships. The statue has been pulled out of the harbor where protesters dumped it and will be placed in a museum.

CECIL RHODES -- The Victorian imperialist served as prime minister of the Cape Colony in southern Africa and made a fortune from gold and diamond mines where miners labored in brutal conditions. He was an education benefactor whose legacy includes Oxford University’s Rhodes scholarships for international students. His statue was removed from the University of Cape Town in South Africa in 2015 after students led a “Rhodes Must Fall” campaign. A similar campaign is seeking to remove a statue of Rhodes from Oxford’s Oriel College.

HENRY DUNDAS -- The late 18th-century Scottish politician was responsible for delaying Britain’s abolition of the slave trade by 15 years until 1807. During that time, more than half a million enslaved Africans were trafficked across the Atlantic. Campaigners want his statue removed from atop its column in Edinburgh’s St. Andrew Square. There are also calls to rename Dundas Street, a major thoroughfare in the Canadian city of Toronto.

ROBERT MILLIGAN -- Authorities in London this week removed a statue of Milligan, an 18th-century merchant, who owned two sugar plantations in Jamaica with more than 500 slaves, from its perch in the city’s docklands.

ROBERT BADEN-POWELL — Officials plan to remove a statue of the founder of the Scouts movement from the quayside in Poole, southern England, out of concern it may be a target for protesters. Like many Englishmen of his time, Baden-Powell held racist views. He also expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler.

Authorities in London and many other U.K. cities have announced plans to review all statues, street names and other monuments to see whether they reflect modern values and the country's current diversity. This is sure to lead to fiery debate. Some have called for the removal of statues of WILLIAM GLADSTONE, the reforming 19th-century prime minister whose father was one of the biggest slave-owners in the British West Indies. Gladstone defended slave owners and sought compensation for them when slavery was abolished.

Even national hero WINSTON CHURCHILL is a contentious figure. Britain’s wartime prime minister is revered by many in the U.K. as the man who led the country to victory against Nazi Germany. But he was also a staunch defender of the British Empire and expressed racist views.

FRANCE

Several statues have been placed under police protection in France amid protests against monuments to historical figures with links to the country’s colonial past and slavery. JEAN-BAPTISTE COLBERT — Last week, police blocked protesters in Paris from reaching a statue of Colbert in front of the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament. The 17th-century politician, a prominent minister under King Louis XIV, drafted the “Code Noir” (“Black Code”), which regulated the conditions of slavery in French overseas colonies.

JOSEPH GALLIENI — Police in Paris also guarded a statue of French military commander Gallieni. He used brutal methods to quell rebellion of local populations in French colonies. As a late 19th-century governor of Madagascar, he abolished the 350-year-old monarchy on the island.

VICTOR SCHOELCHER — Even before George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, protesters on the French island of Martinique toppled two statues of 19th-century politician Schoelcher on May 22, the anniversary of the abolition of slavery on the Caribbean island. Schoelcher prepared and wrote the 1848 decree abolishing slavery in France’s colonies. But protesters denounced his colonialist views and argued local abolitionists more worthy of honoring. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the statues’ removal, tweeting last month that Schoelcher “has made France great” by abolishing slavery.

SPAIN

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS — Statues of the 15th-century explorer and the Spanish conquistadors who followed him and colonized much of the Americas have become targets for demonstrators in U.S. cities but not in Spain, the country that sponsored Columbus' voyages. Although there has been increasing debate in recent years about Columbus’ legacy, his likeness occupies center-stage in many Spanish cities. A famous statue showing Columbus with his right arm extended and his finger pointing toward the sea stands tall on a column at the bottom of Barcelona’s Las Ramblas boulevard,. In Madrid, a central square named for him features a prominent Columbus statue surrounded by traffic.

In contrast, statues of Columbus in the United States are often vandalized on Columbus Day, which Native American groups have campaigned to rename Indigenous Peoples Day. Columbus memorials have been targeted in the U.S. this week.

GEN. FRANCISCO FRANCO — The legacy of the dictator who ruled Spain for 35 years is still a raw issue that divides the country. Last year, the government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez succeeded in removing Franco’s body from a glorifying mausoleum on the outskirts of Madrid where his remains had laid for more than four decades. The remains were moved to a family chapel in a small public cemetery and have not become a focus of right-wing pilgrimages, as some had feared.

ITALY

INDRO MONTANELLI — Monuments to Italy's colonial past in North Africa — including obelisks carted off during the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini that adorn piazzas in Rome — have been largely ignored during protests, but a statue honoring a revered 20th century Italian journalist has attracted calls for its removal. Montanelli, who inspired a generation of Italian reporters, admitted in the late 1960s that he had a 12-year-old Ethiopian bride when he was a soldier during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia. He justified his action by saying it was the local custom. The statue, in a Milan park that bears Montanelli's name was mentioned during a weekend Black Lives Matter protest, and an antifascist group called the Sentinels of Milan has called for its removal.

BELGIUM

KING LEOPOLD II — The Belgian monarch who ruled Belgium from 1865 to 1909 held Congo as his personal fiefdom, forcing many of its people into slavery to extract resources for his personal profit. His early rule, starting in 1885, was famous for its brutality, which some experts say left as many as 10 million of Congo's people dead. Statues of Leopold dot towns and cities across Belgium, but a growing movement wants him removed from public view. Statues of Leopold have been defaced in half a dozen cities in the past week. In Antwerp, authorities removed a statue that had been burned and splattered with red paint. It is unclear whether it will be re-erected.

THE NETHERLANDS

JAN PIETERSZOON COEN -- A statue of the Dutch Golden Age trader and brutal colonialist in his hometown of Hoorn, north of Amsterdam, has been the subject of debate for years. Coen was a leading figure in the Dutch East India Company, a 17th-century trading powerhouse, and is credited with founding Batavia, the city now known as Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. But he also has gone down in history as the “butcher of Banda,” the man who ordered a bloody massacre on the Banda Islands in what is now Indonesia as a way of cornering the lucrative market for nutmeg and mace.

A plaque on the statue highlights both sides of his story. The text says Coen was “praised as a vigorous and visionary administrator,” but was also “criticized for the violent means by which he built up trade monopolies in the East Indies.” In 2012, the Westfries Museum that overlooks the statue held an exhibition dedicated to Coen, asking visitors to decide whether the statue should stay or go. Two-thirds of the 3,500 visitor votes were in favor of the statue staying.

Museum director Ad Geerdink said if Hoon political leaders decide to take down the statue, the Westfries would be happy to place it in its garden “not to honor Coen, but to put it into context.”

Associated Press Writers Danica Kirka in London, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Nicole Winfield in Rome, Aritz Parra in Madrid, Mike Corder in The Hague and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed.

Turkey grants increased powers to neighborhood watchmen

June 11, 2020

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s parliament on Thursday approved a contentious government-proposed bill that will grant neighborhood watchmen powers that are almost on par with the country’s police force.

The bill passed overnight with backing from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party and its nationalist ally, despite opposition parties’ concerns that the legislation empowers an under-qualified force and will lead to human rights violations and a further erosion of freedoms.

It was approved after days of tense debate that culminated in violence Tuesday, with an opposition legislator saying he was punched by a lawmaker from the nationalist party. The watchmen, known as “bekci,” traditionally guarded neighborhoods and parks and were armed only with batons and whistles. The force was abolished and folded into the police in 2008, but Erdogan’s government revived it following a failed coup attempt in 2016.

The bill allows the more than 21,000 neighborhood guards — which now also include women — to use firearms, to stop vehicles, carry out ID checks and conduct body searches. The guards cannot arrest or interrogate suspects.

The government and its nationalist ally insist the neighborhood guards meet a need for an auxiliary force to assist police and that the new powers will facilitate police operations. They argue that neighborhoods have become safer since the force was revived.

The main opposition pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and two other opposition parties, voted against the proposal,calling it an attempt by the government to form a loyal militia force. They have also voiced concerns that the force, which operates at night, would act as “morality police” in line with the government’s conservative and religious values.

The opposition argued that recruitment to the neighborhood guards is opaque, and has lead to suspicions that those enrolled are chosen among ruling party supporters. The opposition parties have also criticized the government for prioritizing the security force instead of focusing on unemployment or other negative impacts from the coronavirus outbreak.

“People have lost their jobs and their salaries ... What good is the watchmen to them?” asked pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party legislator Filiz Kerestecioglu. “An under-educated mass that will perhaps act as a morality police is being unleashed on society.”