THE NEWS: Trump says he misspoke on Russia election meddling

Trump says he misspoke on Russia election meddling
source: AFP

AFP / NICHOLAS KAMM US President Donald Trump has said he accepts the conclusion that Russia sought to influence the 2016 US election -- after failing to challenge Vladimir Putin on the issue a day earlier

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he accepts that Russia sought to influence the 2016 US election, and that he misspoke by appearing to accept Vladimir Putin's denials over those of his own intelligence chiefs.

"I have felt very strongly that while Russia's actions had no impact at all on the outcome of the election, let me be totally clear in saying that -- and I've said this many times -- I accept our intelligence community's conclusion that Russia's meddling in the 2016 election took place," Trump said, before a meeting with Republican lawmakers at the White House.

In an extraordinary postscript to Monday's joint news conference in Helsinki, Trump went on to claim that he misspoke when he appeared to take the Russian leader's denial of interference at face value.

Insisting he had won the race fair and square, Trump said Monday: "I have President Putin, he just said it is not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be."

On Tuesday, he offered a laborious explanation for his remarks, which triggered a firestorm, both among opposition Democrats and members of his own Republican Party.

"I actually went out and reviewed a clip of an answer that I gave, and I realize that there is need for some clarification," Trump said.

"I thought it would be obvious but I would like to clarify just in case it wasn't. In a key sentence in my remarks I said the word 'would' instead of 'wouldn't'."

"The sentence should have been, 'I don't see any reason why I wouldn't, or why it wouldn't be Russia.'"

"So just to repeat it, I said the word 'would' instead of 'wouldn't' and the sentence should have been -- and I thought it would be maybe a little bit unclear on the transcript or unclear on the actual video -- the sentence should have been, 'I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia.'"

Trump has found himself isolated and under pressure to reverse course after publicly challenging the US intelligence conclusion that Russia meddled in the 2016 election

THE NEWS: Trump's overtures to Putin stir opposition at home

Trump's overtures to Putin stir opposition at home


 AFP / Yuri KADOBNOV US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin shake hands at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki

US President Donald Trump stunned allies, gave ammunition to foes and ignited a domestic political firestorm following his meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Here is a look at some of the fallout from the controversial summit.

- What now for US-Russia relations? -

Going into Monday's meeting in Helsinki, Trump said he wanted to improve relations with Russia, which he characterized as the worst they've ever been.

He had the opportunity to press Putin on any number of issues, including Russia's annexation of Crimea, the shooting down of a Malaysia Airlines jet over Ukraine and alleged meddling in the US election in 2016 to help Trump beat Hillary Clinton.

After meeting privately for two hours, the two leaders agreed to revive bilateral corporation and touted an improved relationship -- but they provided few specifics.

For some observers, that in itself was a source of relief.

They had feared Trump would agree to some sort of grand bargain on Crimea or a back-of-the-envelope deal on Syria.

Trump had vowed to seek closer ties with Russia during his election campaign, but his Helsinki appearance did little to quell suspicions of collusion between some on his election team and the Kremlin.

Those alleged ties, which Trump has repeatedly denied, are the subject of a sprawling investigation that has overshadowed Trump's time in the White House.

Standing alongside Putin, Trump seemed to give more weight to the Russian president's denials than conclusions from his own intelligence services that Russia did in fact interfere in the election -- and Putin admitted he wanted Trump to win.

The performance in Helsinki served only to deepen suspicions, Erwan Lagadec, a professor at George Washington University, told AFP, and as a result, Trump's attempt to warm US-Russia ties might ultimately backfire.

On Tuesday, Trump tried to quell the uproar at home by saying he had misspoken and does indeed accept US intelligence assessments that Russia meddled.

- Friends or foes? -

The summit capped a European trip that saw Trump lambast NATO partners, denigrate British Prime Minister Theresa May's approach to Brexit and furiously lash Germany, all amid a trade war with longtime allies.

His apparent eagerness to forge a bond with Putin, a supposed foe, stood in sharp contrast.

Trump's Europe trip "revealed that the president is now unbound, acting in accordance with his visceral beliefs about America's role in the world," said Thomas Wright, director of the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution.

An effort by senior advisors, dubbed the "axis of adults," to contain Trump has failed and "Trump is unbound," he added.

Lagadec said Trump is determined to keep his promises, whatever their limits.

"He wants to be the anti-Obama," and erase all decisions taken by his predecessor, even if that involves upending decades of diplomatic tradition, Lagadec said.

- Republican resistance? -

Trump's approach to Putin is testing support even among some Republicans, with several speaking out to remind the president that Russia is a long-time US adversary.

"The dam is finally breaking," Republican Senator Bob Corker said on Twitter.

"As the president taxes Americans with tariffs, he pushes away our allies and further strengthens Putin," added Corker, who is retiring later this year.

Aaron David Miller, a former US diplomat now at the Woodrow Wilson Center, said Trump's news conference in Helsinki was the "foreign policy equivalent" of widely decried comments he made last year -- seeming to equate white supremacist protesters and people who turned out to counter-demonstrate -- following deadly racial violence in Charlottesville.

"Two days of infamy where an American president used moral equivalency; failed to condemn a US adversary and hate groups; and betrayed US values/interests," Miller said.

Lagadec even suggested the episode could change "the internal balance of American politics, forcing Congress to regain control over some of America's foreign policy.

But with the fate of many Republican politicians' tied to Trump's popularity with his base, any attempt to check the president in the Republican-controlled Congress would likely flounder.

THE NEWS: Deal reached to evacuate pro-regime Syria towns

Deal reached to evacuate pro-regime Syria towns
source: AFP

AFP/File / OMAR HAJ KADOUR A file picture shows a convoy transporting civilians from the besieged Shiite areas of Fuaa and Kafraya in rebel-held northwestern Syria arriving at the Al-Eis crossing on May 1, 2018

A deal was reached on Tuesday for the evacuation of two pro-regime towns in Syria, allowing thousands to leave after three years of encirclement by hardline rebels.

Fuaa and Kafraya are the last remaining towns under siege in Syria, where the medieval tactic was mostly made notorious by government forces in the seven-year war.

Surrounded and bombed by hostile factions, the Shiite-majority towns became both a rallying cry for the government and a playing card in callous rebel hands.

Their residents are all expected to leave under a major agreement reached Tuesday between government ally Moscow and rebel backer Ankara, a war monitor said.

"The deal provides for the total evacuation of residents in the two towns, which are besieged by rebels and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, to regime territory in nearby Aleppo province," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, is a jihadist alliance led by Al-Qaeda's former affiliate in Syria.

Hundreds of people would be released from the regime's notorious detention centres in exchange, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

A source from HTS also confirmed the deal, telling AFP that more than 100 buses would evacuate 6,900 people including fighters and civilians from Fuaa and Kafraya.

The source said 1,500 people would be freed from government-run jails.

The agreement has not been confirmed by any government involved, but Syrian state media reported Tuesday that it had preliminary information on a deal to free "thousands" of people from Fuaa and Kafraya.

- 'Haven't forgotten' -

The towns came under siege in 2015, as rebels and jihadists overran the surrounding province of Idlib.

That cut off access to food and medicine for their residents outside of United Nations aid deliveries.


 AFP / Ahmad al-Msalam Syrian rebels fire rockets during clashes with regime forces advancing in the southern Syrian Daraa province on July 16, 2018


The evacuation deal reached Tuesday is not the first for the two tiny towns.

In April 2017, thousands were bussed out Fuaa and Kafraya in exchange for parallel evacuations from two towns near Damascus that were being besieged by the government.

But a blast targeting a convoy of evacuees from Fuaa and Kafraya left 150 people dead, most of them civilians and including 72 children.

Traumatised residents left behind are now afraid that scenario might happen again.

"What are we going to do with our land and property? Oh my hometown," said a 42-year-old resident of Kafraya who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"I pray this will go well -- we still haven't forgotten those that died in the blast," he told AFP on Tuesday.

Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with protests gainst President Bashar al-Assad that later spun out into full-fledged war.

Early on in the uprising, Turkey began providing support to rebel groups as Russia and Iran steadfastly backed their man in Damascus.

Those three countries have become the main powerbrokers in Syria, agreeing last year to create four "de-escalation" zones to pave the way for a nationwide ceasefire.

Idlib is part of one such zone. It borders Turkey to the northwest but is otherwise almost totally surrounded by regime territory, prompting fears the government would eventually attack it.

- No Idlib attack? -

But the Observatory said the terms of the new Russia-Turkey deal included keeping the regime from waging a military operation there.

The Britain-based monitor said Turkish and Russian forces would also jointly patrol a part of the key M5 highway which cuts through Idlib.


 AFP / Mohamad ABAZEED A Russian soldier on his armoured vehicle watches Syrian rebels during an evacuation from Daraa city, on July 15, 2018

The M5 connects Damascus to second city Aleppo in the north.

Analyst Nawar Oliver at the Turkey-based Omran Centre said the evacuation could pave the way for a grand bargain on Idlib.

"Change is inevitably coming to Idlib, but There are numerous predicaments that need to be resolved, including Fuaa and Kafraya, before reaching a final deal," Oliver told AFP.

Assad's forces have already recaptured two of the "de-escalation" zones this year: Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus and an area in central Homs.

They sealed their control over those areas with a blend of military pressure and negotiated surrenders of rebel groups there.

Using the same tactics, they are now close to seizing the third zone in southern Syria, which includes the key provinces of Daraa and Quneitra.

Heavy air strikes on Tuesday battered an area straddling the two governorates, killing 15 civilians across two towns, according to the Observatory.

Tens of thousands of civilians remain displaced in a part of Quneitra just a handful of kilometres (miles) from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

But Israel, like Jordan to Syria's south, has kept the border closed to desperate displaced families fleeing the assault in recent weeks.

THE NEWS: A bit of the Greek islands in the heart of historic Athens

A bit of the Greek islands in the heart of historic Athens
source: AFP

AFP / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI Historic Anafiotika is a unique but little-known hillside neighbourhood in the heart of Athens

"The Acropolis? It's that way." Residents of historic Anafiotika are used to giving directions to tourists, lost in the narrow, winding alleyways of this unique but little-known hillside neighbourhood in the heart of Athens.

Looking as if it's lifted straight out of the Greek islands, Anafiotika's tiny white-washed houses with brightly-painted shutters and doors were designed to resemble their builders' own Aegean Sea homes.


AFP / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI The houses were built to lodge the families of famed stonemasons from Anafi, one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea, brought in to rebuild Athens' glory by the Greek king in the 19th century


The tranquil neighbourhood was constructed on the northeastern side of the hill leading up to the ancient Acropolis, and its 100-odd, tile-roofed houses -- known as the Anafiotika -- are as old as the modern Greek capital itself.

"The Anafiotika have real historical value," says architect Panagiotis Paraskevopoulos, a resident of the nearby historic Plaka district.

"Working-class architecture with Cycladic elements -- it's like a journey back in time," he said.


AFP / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI The Anafiotika neighbourhood is on the northeastern side of the hill leading up to the ancient Acropolis

When the Bavarian prince, Otto, became Greece's king in 1832, Athens was in ruins after a decade-long war of independence against the Ottoman Empire.

To restore the city to a semblance of its classical glory fit for a state capital, he invited famed stonemasons from Anafi, one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea, to work on a grand rebuilding initiative.


 AFP / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI The 100-odd, tile-roofed houses in the Anafiotika neighbourhood are as old as the modern Greek capital itself


That included his new palace, which is now the country's parliament.

Looking for a place to lodge their families, the workmen decided to take matters into their own hands.

With housing in short order, they built a new neighbourhood, making it reminiscent of their Cycladic houses back home, and used some of the best land available in the capital, just under the Acropolis that boasts the Parthenon and other ancient buildings.


AFP / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI Despite being in the heart of Athens, the architecture of the Anafiotika buildings resembles that of Greece's Cyclades islands

The move was technically illegal, but in the political upheaval that followed Otto's ouster in 1862 and the frenetic urbanisation of the capital, especially after World War II, Anafiotika was left undisturbed.

And in a touch of irony, what was once illegal is now part of the Athens architectural heritage zealously safeguarded by the Greek ministry of culture.

There are no street signs here.


AFP / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI Local resident Alexandra Katsourani says residents must stay "vigilant against efforts to turn the area into Airbnb rentals"


The houses are tiny, mostly 50 square metres (538 square feet) in size, girded by gardens, and are protected by strict restoration guidelines.

"It's not easy living here," said Alexandra Katsourani, a 30-year resident and member of a local heritage committee.

"Not only must we abide by strict regulations, but we must also stay vigilant against efforts to turn the area into Airbnb rentals," she said.

THE NEWS: Obama warns of 'strange and uncertain times' in Mandela tribute

Obama warns of 'strange and uncertain times' in Mandela tribute
source: AFP

 AFP / GIANLUIGI GUERCIA Changing times: Obama warned of the "politics of fear and resentment" in the annual Nelson Mandela lecture in Johannesburg

Former US president Barack Obama on Tuesday used a tribute to Nelson Mandela to warn that the world had plunged into "strange and uncertain times", in what is likely to be seen as a veiled attack on Donald Trump.

Obama made no direct reference to his successor but warned that "politics of fear and resentment" were spreading, driven by leaders who scorned facts and told lies with an "utter loss of shame".

He also blasted climate-change denial, race-based migration policies, unbridled capitalism and "strongman politics" -- stances often cited as the hallmarks of Trump's controversial presidency.

"Given the strange and uncertain times we are in, each day's news cycles brings more head-spinning and disturbing headlines, I thought maybe it would be useful to step back for a moment and get some perspective," Obama said at the start of his speech.

Obama spoke to a crowd of more than 10,000 people at a cricket stadium in Johannesburg in the centrepiece event of celebrations 100 years since Nelson Mandela's birth.

"It is in part because of the failures of governments and powerful elites… that we now see much of the world threatening to return to an older, more dangerous, more brutal way of doing business," Obama said.

On migration, he appeared to take a sharp jab at Trump saying "it is not wrong to insist that national borders matter... but that can't be an excuse for immigration policies based on race or ethnicity or religion."

On climate change, he attacked the entrenched scepticism shown by Trump and others American conservatives in the face of scientific evidence.


 AFP / MARCO LONGARI Banners depicting former US president Barack Obama, right, and other speakers who have given the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture


"You have to believe in facts, without facts there is no basis for cooperation," he said.

"I can't find common ground if someone says climate change is just not happening when almost all the world's scientists tell us it is.

"If you start (by) saying it is an elaborate hoax... where do we start?

And he drew laughter from the crowd with the line: "Politics today seems to reject the very concept of objective truth -- people just make stuff up.

"We see the utter loss of shame among political leaders who are caught in a lie and they just double down and lie some more," he added.

- Mandela's birthday -

Tuesday's speech came on the eve of "Mandela Day" -- his birthday, which is marked around the world every year on July 18.

Obama has made relatively few public appearances since leaving the White House in 2017, but he has often credited Mandela for being one of the great inspirations in his life.


AFP / Gal ROMA Nelson Mandela

Mandela, who died in 2013, remains a global icon for his long struggle against white-minority apartheid rule and for his message of peace and reconciliation after being freed following 27 years in prison.

Obama met Mandela only briefly in 2005 but gave a eulogy at his funeral saying Mandela "makes me want to be a better man" and hailing him as "the last great liberator of the 20th century".

Both men were the first black presidents of their countries.

African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mandela's widow Graca Machel were among the guests from Obama's speech -- his highest-profile address since leaving office.

"I really appreciate it that Obama spoke out against Trump," 25-year-old management consultant Karabo Tima told AFP after attending the speech.

"We see our brothers and sisters trying to seek a better life in the states, and we know that America was built on the backs of black people and they don't get the recognition."

Before arriving in South Africa, Obama paid a brief visit to Kenya, his father's home country.

Obama will also host a town hall event in Johannesburg on Wednesday for 200 young leaders selected from across Africa to attend a five-day training programme.

Mandela was imprisoned under apartheid rule in 1962 and only freed in 1990, when he went on to lead the African National Congress party to victory in the first multi-race elections in 1994.

THE NEWS: Astros heroes power American League to Baseball All-Star win

Astros heroes power American League to Baseball All-Star win
source: AFP

 GETTY/AFP / Rob Carr Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros and the American League celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the tenth inning against the National League, during the 89th MLB All-Star Game in Washington, DC, on July 17, 2018

Back-to-back home runs by Houston Astros stars Alex Bregman and George Springer, part of a record 10-homer slugfest, powered the American League over the National League 8-6 in Tuesday's Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Each side blasted a record five homers to shatter the old combined All-Star Game mark of six last managed in 1971, but the decisive blasts came in the 10th inning from two members of the World Series champion Astros.

Two outs from defeat in the ninth inning, the National League equalized at 5-5 on pinch-hitter Scooter Gennett's two-run homer off American League relief pitcher Edwin Diaz.

But AL third baseman Bregman, named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player at age 24, homered to open the 10th and outfielder Springer followed with another blast off Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling for a 7-5 American League lead.

"To be able to hit the go-ahead homer is, I don't know, I'm on cloud nine," Bregman said. "I kind of went into battle mode. Tried to hit a liner down the middle and it went yard. That was kind of cool."


 GETTY/AFP / Patrick Smith George Springer of the Houston Astros and the American League celebrates while rounding the bases after hitting a solo home run in the tenth inning against the National League, during the 89th MLB All-Star Game in Washington, DC, on July 17, 2018


They were only the sixth back-to-back homers in All-Star Game history and the first to occur in extra innings.

Bregman helped the United States win the World Baseball Classic last year before his first full major league season, then played a key role in Houston's run to its first World Series title.

"He just never ceases to amaze me with how well he shows control in pressure situations," said AL and Astros manager A.J. Hinch. "His heart beats big for us in the big moments."

Jean Segura, who belted a three-run homer in the eighth to give the AL a 5-2 edge, singled after Springer and later scored the only run not produced by a homer on a Michael Brantley sacrifice fly.

Joey Votto led off the National League 10th with a homer to create the final margin, but Toronto Blue Jays left-handed pitcher J.A. Happ, who wasn't expected to take the mound, retired the next three batters to end the three-hour, 34-minute spectacle.

"It didn't make me happy we were going to extra innings but I was happy for J.A. Happ," Hinch said. "To get the last out for him was pretty meaningful."

The American League took a 44-43 lead with two drawn in the all-time rivalry before a crowd of 43,843 in the first meeting of select squads in the US capital since 1969.


GETTY/AFP / Patrick McDermott A general view of Nationals Park stadium in Washington, DC, during the 89th MLB All-Star Game, on July 17, 2018

It was the American League's sixth consecutive victory and 18th in the past 21 contests.

Diaz was the winning pitcher with Stripling the loser and Happ getting the save in the highest-scoring All-Star Game since 2002, which had 25 strikeouts as well as 10 homers.

"Standard operation these days," Hinch said. "At the start we wondered if anyone was going to get a hit that wasn't a home run. At the end it was, 'Are we going to have enough pitching to get out of this mess?' We had just enough left in the tank."

Chicago Cubs catcher Wilson Contreras, Colorado shortstop Trevor Story and Milwaukee outfielder Christian Yelich also hit solo homers for the National League.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Mike Trout also hit solo homers for the American League.

- Family ties to legend -

Bregman said last year's intense situations playing for titles helped him come through in the All-Star Game.

"I like going head-to-head and best man win. I feel like I've been in those situations a lot in two years," said Bregman. "Each time you fail gets you better the next time you're in that situation. To come through in that situation was cool."

Bregman's grandfather was an attorney for the Washington Senators, who moved to Texas in 1971, and helped the club land baseball legend Ted Williams, for whom the All-Star MVP trophy is named, as the club's general manager.

"My dad grew up on Ted Williams' lap," Bregman said. "So to see Ted Williams MVP on this trophy is pretty special."

THE NEWS: Record three in five HIV-carriers now have access to drugs: UN

Record three in five HIV-carriers now have access to drugs: UN
source: AFP

AFP/File / ALEXANDER JOE People at an anti-retroviral clinic in Emmaus hospital in Winterton, in South Africa's Kwazulu-Natal region on March 11, 2008

Almost three in five people infected with HIV, or 21.7 million globally, took antiretroviral therapy in 2017 -- a new record for anti-AIDS drug access, the UN's HIV/AIDS agency said Wednesday.

There were 36.9 million people living with the immune system-attacking virus in 2017, of whom 15.2 million were not getting the drugs they need -- the lowest number since the epidemic exploded, UNAIDS reported.

Hailing progress in curbing new infections and deaths, the agency nevertheless lamented the mounting human toll: almost 80 million infections and 35.4 million lives lost since the first cases became known in the early 1980s.

Progress made to date risks being halted, even reversed, if funding and world attention is allowed to dwindle, the agency warned.

"We are short $7 billion (six billion euros) per year to maintain our results and to achieve our objectives for 2020," UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe told AFP.

"Without these resources, there is a big risk of the epidemic rebounding, of an increase in mortality due to AIDS," he said.

In 2017, about $20.6 billion was available for AIDS programmes in low- and middle-income countries which funded about 56 percent from their own budgets, said the report.

Under Donald Trump, the US administration -- a major funder of AIDS programmes historically, has threatened to cut spending.

The UN goal is for 90 percent of all HIV-positive people to know their status by 2020. Of these, at least 90 percent must receive ART, and the HIV virus be suppressed in 90 percent of those.

- Infections decline -

Assessing progress towards the target, UNAIDS said 1.8 million people became newly infected with HIV in 2017.

This was down from about 1.9 million the year before, and 3.4 million at the peak of the epidemic in 1996.

Deaths declined from 990,000 to 940,000 year-on-year, compared to 1.9 million in 2005 and 1.4 million in 2010.

The number of people on antiretroviral therapy (ART) grew from 19.4 million in 2016 to 21.7 million last year -- up from a mere 611,000 in the year 2000 and 2.1 million in 2005, said the report released in the run-up to the International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam next week.

This helped boost the number of people living with the virus from 36.3 million in 2016 to 36.9 million last year.

Despite more than three decades of research, there is no cure or vaccine and HIV-positive people have to take lifelong treatment that can be expensive and have nasty side-effects.

ART inhibits the virus and can limit its spread between people -- mainly through sex -- but does not kill it.

- 'We haven't won yet' -

UNAIDS reported large variation between world regions in the battle against the killer virus.


AFP / Cecilia SANCHEZ AIDS: unequal access to treatment


In the Middle East and north Africa, for example, less than a third of people with HIV have access to ARV, only 36 percent of those in eastern Europe and central Asia, and 40 percent in west and central Africa.

For west and central Europe and North America, the number is 78 percent, with about 1.7 million out of 2.2 million infected people on ARV, said UNAIDS.

In east and southern Africa -- home to 53 percent of people living with HIV in the world -- deaths declined by 42 percent from 2010 to 2017, thanks largely to the widespread rollout of treatment.

However, "there has been no reduction in AIDS-related mortality in eastern Europe and central Asia since 2010, and deaths from AIDS-related illness increased by 11 percent in the Middle East and North Africa," cautioned the report.

"Some countries continue to concern us, such as Nigeria which accounts for about half of all new infections in west Africa," said Sidibe.

In Russia, he added, the epidemic "is becoming widespread. While it was concentrated among people who inject drugs, it is affecting the general population more and more."

Sidibe blamed punitive laws, which instead of offering drug users access to clean, uninfected needles, force them underground "hiding and infecting their partners."

He also highlighted the particular vulnerability of children and teenagers.

About 180,000 minors were newly infected with HIV in 2017, and about 110,000 died of AIDS, yet more than 50 percent of under-15s had no access to treatment.

"This is unacceptable," said Sidibe, who warned of creeping apathy and "complacency" in the fight against AIDS.

"We can win, but we haven't won yet," he said of the global battle.

THE NEWS: Thai cave boys speak of 'miracle' rescue after hospital discharge

Thai cave boys speak of 'miracle' rescue after hospital discharge
source: AFP

AFP / LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA The boys and their coach are said to be in good health despite their ordeal

Twelve Thai boys and their football coach who were rescued by divers after being trapped in a flooded cave for over two weeks spoke publicly Wednesday of their incredible ordeal.

Appearing at a press conference beamed worldwide, the "Wild Boars" team members appeared healthy and happy despite the nine days they spent in the dark before being found by an international rescue team and extracted days later.

A packed crowd greeted the youngsters after they were discharged from hospital in Chiang Rai, and watched as they played with footballs on a small makeshift pitch before taking their seats.

"It is a miracle," Adul Sam-on, 14, said of the rescue, as the boys were gently quizzed about their terrifying experience by a moderator before dozens of cameras.

The team had no food at all until they were found deep in the complex, surviving only on water that dripped down the side of the cave.

"We drank water that fell from the rocks," said Pornchai Khamluan, 16.

Coach Ekkapol Chantawong told reporters that they prayed before the first night they went to sleep in the cave, and later tried to find a way out by themselves.

"We tried to dig out as we thought we cannot only wait for authorities to get us," he said.

Doctors said all 13 were in good physical and mental health after recuperating in hospital.

The briefing was tightly controlled, with experts warning of possible long-term distress from their ordeal inside the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand.


ROYAL THAI NAVY/AFP/File / Handout After nine days without a steady supply of food or water they were found emaciated and huddled in a group on a muddy ledge by British divers several kilometres inside Tham Luang


The public relations department in Chiang Rai solicited questions from news outlets in advance, which were forwarded to psychiatrists for screening.

Thailand's junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha urged the media to be "cautious in asking unimportant questions" that could cause unspecified damage.

Interest in the saga has been intense, with film production houses already eyeing a Hollywood treatment of the drama.

Doctors have advised families of the players, aged 11 to 16, that they should avoid letting them contact journalists for at least one month.

- 'Happiest day of my life' -

The boys, who will return to their families Wednesday night, announced their plan to temporarily ordain as monks to honour the death of Saman Kunan, a Thai Navy SEAL who died during the rescue.

Khameuy Promthep, the grandmother of 13-year-old Dom, one of the boys rescued from the cave, told AFP at their family shop in Mae Sai near the Myanmar border on Wednesday that she was very excited.

"This is the happiest day of my life," she said.


 ROYAL THAI NAVY/AFP/File / Handout The boys were brought out in a risky operation that involved diving them through waterlogged passages while they were sedated

The daring Thai-led international effort to rescue the team captivated the world after the football team walked into the cave on June 23 and were trapped by rising floodwaters.

After nine days without food, they were found emaciated and huddled in a group on a muddy ledge by British divers several kilometres inside the cave complex.

One of the boys said that after they were found they played games, including checkers, and that a Thai Navy SEAL staying with them won most of the time.

"We called him king of the cave," said 14-year-old Ekkarat Wongsukchan, known by his nickname Bew.

Rescuers debated the best plan to bring them out but ultimately decided on a risky operation that involved diving them through waterlogged passages while they were sedated to keep them calm, and carrying them out in military-grade stretchers.

Not even the foreign cave diving specialists who took part were sure the mission would work. Many expressed huge relief after the final five were rescued on July 10.

- 'Pedo' row -

Further attention was drawn to the rescue by a highly public row between entrepreneur Elon Musk and a British caver who took part in the rescue.


AFP/File / Brendan Smialowski Elon Musk has apologised for calling a British caver who helped the rescue a "pedo", a slur for which he had provided no justification or explanation


Tesla CEO Musk called Vernon Unsworth a "pedo" in an extraordinary social media attack, after the caving expert had ridiculed Musk's plan to recover the trapped group using a miniature submarine.

Musk on Wednesday apologised to Unsworth over the slur, for which he had provided no justification or explanation.

"(H)is actions against me do not justify my actions against him, and for that I apologize to Mr. Unsworth and to the companies I represent as leader," Musk wrote on Twitter. "The fault is mine and mine alone."

Musk's attack on Unsworth had drawn widespread outrage and briefly sent shares in Tesla tumbling.

Towards the end of their introduction to the world the "Wild Boars" were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. Many said they want to be either professional footballers or Thai Navy SEALs.

"This is my big experience that makes me stronger," said 11-year-old Chanin Wiboonrungrueang.

burs-joe/sm

THE NEWS: Google hit with record-breaking EU fine

Google hit with record-breaking EU fine
source: AFP

 AFP/File / JOSH EDELSON The EU said Google has abused the dominant position of its free Android operating system for smartphones to cement the position of its revenue-generating search engine

The EU hit Google with its biggest ever fine Wednesday, imposing a 4.34 billion euro ($5 billion) penalty on the US tech giant for illegally abusing the dominance of its operating system for mobile devices.

Brussels accused Google of using the Android system's near-stranglehold on smartphones and tablets to promote the use of its own Google search engine and shut out rivals.

The decision, which follows a three-year EU investigation, comes as fears of a transatlantic trade war mount because of President Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs on European steel and aluminium exports.

"Google has engaged in illegal practices to cement its dominant market position in internet search," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said as she announced the huge fine.

The new sanction nearly doubles the previous record EU antitrust fine of 2.4 billion euros, which also targeted Google, in that case for the Silicon Valley titan's shopping comparison service in 2017.

Denmark's Vestager ordered Google to "put an effective end to this conduct within 90 days or face penalty payments" of up to five percent of its average daily turnover.

The Google decision comes just one week before European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker is due to travel to the United States for crucial talks with US President Donald Trump on the tariffs dispute and other issues.

- 'We intend to appeal' -

But Vestager -- who was reportedly dubbed by Trump the "tax lady" who "hates the US" after she took on a string of Silicon Valley giants -- insisted that she was not anti-American.

"I very much like the US... but the fact is that this (case) has nothing to do with how I feel," she said.

Google chief Sundar Pichai immediately said the firm would appeal.

"Today’s decision rejects the business model that supports Android, which has created more choice for everyone, not less. We intend to appeal," Pichai said in a blog post.

Google provides Android free to smartphone manufacturers and generates most of its revenue from selling advertisements that appear along with search results.

The EU says Android is used on around 80 percent of mobile devices, both in Europe and worldwide.


AFP / JOHN THYS US President Donald Trump has reportedly dubbed Vestager the "tax lady" who "hates the US" after she took on a string of Silicon Valley giants


But Vestager said Google had shut out rivals by forcing major phone makers including South Korea's Samsung and China's Huawei to pre-install its search engine and Google Chrome browser.

They were also made to set Google Search as the default, as a condition of licensing some Google apps. As a result, Google Search and Chrome are pre-installed on the "significant majority" of devices sold in the EU, the European Commission says.

Google also prevented manufacturers from selling smartphones that run on rival operating systems based on the Android open source code, it said.

In addition, Google gave "financial incentives" to manufacturers and mobile network operators if they pre-installed Google Search on their devices, the commission said.

Under EU rules Google could have been fined up to 10 percent of parent company Alphabet's annual revenue, which hit $110.9 billion in 2017.

Reaction from the industry was mixed. The Washington-based Computer and Communications Industry Association said the EU decision was "problematic", adding: "In this case it is clear that Android has brought more competition."

Shareholders hardly flinched, with shares in Alphabet dipping 0.7 percent before nearly erasing all their losses.

- Silicon scalps -

Vestager's campaign against Silicon Valley giants in her four years as the 28-nation European Union's competition commissioner has won praise in Europe but angered Washington.

Brussels has repeatedly targeted Google over the past decade amid concerns about the Silicon Valley giant's dominance of internet searching across Europe, where it commands about 90 percent of the market.

As well as the Android and Google Shopping files, a third investigation is under way, into Google's AdSense advert-placing business.

Vestager's other major scalps include Amazon and Apple.

The EU ordered Apple in 2016 to pay Ireland 13 billion euros in back taxes that the maker of iPhones and iPads had avoided through a tax deal with Dublin.

It has also taken on Facebook over privacy issues after it admitted that millions of users may have had their data hijacked by British consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica, which was working for Trump's 2016 election campaign.

But Brussels has had US tech giants in its sights for a decade and a half, having imposed a huge 497 million euro fine on Microsoft in 2004 for anti-competitive behaviour and ruled it must make changes to its Windows system.

Vestager played down the likelihood that the Google announcement would have any impact on Juncker's talks with Trump, saying that "it will never be the right timing."

THE NEWS: Elon Musk apologizes to British caver for 'pedo' slur

Elon Musk apologizes to British caver for 'pedo' slur
source: AFP

AFP/File / Brendan Smialowski Elon Musk issued the apology on Wednesday to a member of the cave rescue team, who had ridiculed the Tesla chief's plan to recover the trapped group using a miniature submarine

Elon Musk has apologized for calling a British caver who helped rescue 12 Thai boys from a cave a "pedo", retracting a comment that had drawn widespread outrage and briefly sent shares in Tesla tumbling.

Tesla CEO Musk issued the apology on Wednesday to Vernon Unsworth, who worked on the rescue of the "Wild Boars" football team and had ridiculed Musk's plan to recover the trapped group using a miniature submarine.

"(H)is actions against me do not justify my actions against him, and for that I apologize to Mr. Unsworth and to the companies I represent as leader," Musk wrote on Twitter. "The fault is mine and mine alone."

"Pedo" is short for paedophile.

Musk's extraordinary tirade against Unsworth was widely condemned, raising concerns over the entrepreneur's leadership following a series of previous social media attacks on Wall Street analysts, journalists and employees.

His row with Unsworth began after the British caving expert dismissed Musk's plan to rescue the Thai football team from the Tham Luang cave as a "PR stunt".

Unsworth had said the plan to use the device to extract the boys through a narrow series of twisting, flooded tunnels would have had "absolutely no chance of working".

He added that Musk could "stick his submarine where it hurts".

Writing on Twitter on Wednesday, Musk said his words against Unsworth had been "spoken in anger after Mr. Unsworth said several untruths & suggested I engage in a sexual act with the mini-sub".

The submarine "had been built as an act of kindness & according to specifications from the dive team leader", Musk said, before apologising to Unsworth.

Unsworth, who lives part of the year in Thailand, took part in the gargantuan 18-day effort to retrieve the 12 boys and their coach, a mission that ended on July 10 when the last five members were extracted.

The boys are all in good health and were released from hospital Wednesday, telling a packed press conference their rescue was a "miracle".

Musk's "pedo" tweet caused Tesla's shares to fall Monday, although they have since recovered the losses.

Unsworth earlier told AFP he may take legal action against Musk over the offensive tweet, which was sent to more than 20 million followers of the entrepreneur's official account.

He declined to comment when contacted by AFP on Wednesday.

THE NEWS: Champagne as historic commercial flight links Ethiopia and Eritrea

Champagne as historic commercial flight links Ethiopia and Eritrea
source: AFP

AFP / Maheder HAILESELASSIE TADESE Passengers pose for a selfie aboard the Ethiopian Airlines plane -- the first flight from Addis Ababa to Eritrea in a generation

Ethiopia and Eritrea on Wednesday resumed commercial airline flights for the first time in two decades, with emotions spilling over into the aisles and onto the tarmac as families were reunited.

Two flights left Addis Ababa within minutes of each other and an hour and a half later touched down in the Eritrean capital Asmara, in the latest phase of a whirlwind peace process between the former foes that began just six weeks ago.

An AFP journalist on one of the flights reported passengers singing and dancing in the aisles, overwhelming flight attendants, before falling into the arms of long-lost family members upon their arrival.

"I'm super excited. You have no idea," said Izana Abraham, an Eritrean who was born in Addis Ababa -- a fact that saw him deported from his home country during a bloody war between 1998 and 2000. "This is history in the making."

Izana, 33, was going to visit his father. The two had been separated ever since his deportation until finally meeting in Dubai last year.

The airline wrote on Twitter shortly after take-off that "the bird of peace has just flown to Asmara."

"This day marks a unique event in the history of Ethiopia and Eritrea," the airline's chief executive Tewolde GebreMariam said at a ceremony inaugurating the historic flight.

"The fact that we are taking two flights at a time shows the eagerness of the people," said Tewolde.

Champagne was served to passengers in all classes, who toasted each other and posed for selfies during the flight.

Smiling flight attendants also handed out roses to passengers.


 AFP / Kun TIAN Map of Ethiopia and Eritrea


Ethiopian Airlines, one of Africa's fastest-growing carriers, has said it would initially operate a daily return flight between Addis Ababa and Asmara.

"With the demand we are witnessing, I think we're going to increase the frequency to twice a day, thrice a day and even more," said Tewolde.

He added the opening of Eritrean airspace to Ethiopian Airlines would also mean more efficient routes to the Middle East.

When the planes landed, passengers poured onto the tarmac where they danced together with a cheering crowd who welcomed them, waving the flags of the two nations.

Family members torn apart by the war sobbed as they were reunited.

"I am very excited. I can't explain my feelings," said Fasika Moges, who lived in Addis and met her sister Lula at the airport.

The pair had been separated since the war but, unlike many, Lula was able to afford a slow, indirect flight to Addis Ababa last year to visit.

Among the passengers on the first flight was former prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn, whose shock resignation in February was the first step in a series of seismic shifts in the politics of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.

"I knew one day it would happen," Hailemariam said of the peace with Eritrea.

- 'A man in a hurry' -

Hailemariam was succeeded in April by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a 42-year-old former army officer and cabinet minister described by analysts as a "man in an extreme hurry".

After announcing the liberalisation of parts of the Ethiopian economy and releasing jailed dissidents, Abiy last month declared his intention to make peace with Eritrea after two decades of frozen relations.

Eritrea was once part of Ethiopia and comprised its entire coastline on the Red Sea until it voted for independence in 1993 after decades of bloody conflict.

A row over the demarcation of the shared border triggered a brutal conflict that lasted between 1998 and 2000, leaving 80,000 people dead before evolving into a bitter cold war.


AFP/File / MICHAEL TEWELDE Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (L) and President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea celebrated the reopening of Asmara's embassy in Addis Ababa on Monday

Abiy stunned observers with his announcement that he would finally accept a 2002 United Nations-backed border demarcation. However he has yet to announce a pull-out of troops.

He then paid a historic visit to Eritrea, during which he and President Isaias Afwerki declared an official end to the war. Afwerki reciprocated with a state visit to Ethiopia just days later.

The emotional reunion has been welcomed by Ethiopians who share strong cultural ties with Eritreans and have been cut-off from friends and family on the other side during the long years of enmity.

On Monday Afwerki reopened Eritrea's embassy in Addis Ababa.

The rapprochement is expected to provide an economic boost to both nations, offering booming Ethiopia -- which currently channels its trade through Djiboutian ports -- access to Eritrea's coast.

Amnesty International has said the new peace should be a catalyst for change in Eritrea, one of the world's most isolated nations.

Since the end of the war, Isaias has used the threat of Ethiopian aggression to justify repressive policies, including an indefinite national service programme the UN has likened to slavery.

THE NEWS: Trump again praises Putin summit as 'success' despite uproar

Trump again praises Putin summit as 'success' despite uproar
source: AFP

AFP / NICHOLAS KAMM US President Donald Trump has pivoted numerous times since his controversial summit with Vladimir Putin, amid outrage at home about what was seen as him deferring to the Russian leader

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday insisted his summit with Vladimir Putin had been a success, despite the uproar over his apparent acceptance of the Russian leader's denial of election meddling -- and criticism of his convoluted efforts to explain away his comments.

And in a move that could trigger further international worry, he also cast doubt on US commitment to NATO's central principle of mutual defense, calling out new member Montenegro and warning that its "very aggressive" people could draw the alliance into war with Russia.

Trump was due to face the media once again Wednesday at the start of a White House meeting with his cabinet.

With a firestorm raging over the summit -- and particularly the press conference that followed in which Trump failed to confront Putin or hold him to account -- the US president backpedaled Tuesday.

But by Wednesday, he was citing the "many positive things" he expects to come from the summit, where Trump and Putin met privately for some two hours, apparently with no one else present but their translators.

"While the NATO meeting in Brussels was an acknowledged triumph, with billions of dollars more being put up by member countries at a faster pace, the meeting with Russia may prove to be, in the long run, an even greater success," Trump tweeted ahead of the cabinet meeting.

"So many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my press conference performance in Helsinki," Trump added.

"Some people HATE the fact that I got along well with President Putin of Russia. They would rather go to war than see this," he said. "It's called Trump Derangement Syndrome!"

- 'Double negative' -

At their meeting in Helsinki on Monday, Trump failed to challenge Putin over the 2016 presidential election, seeming to accept at face value the strongman's denial that Moscow interfered in a bid to undermine Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

But faced with outrage at home, with even some of his political allies demanding that he reverse course, Trump -- in an extraordinary postscript to the high-stakes summit -- sought to walk back his remarks Tuesday.


 AFP/File / Yuri KADOBNOV Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) handed Donald Trump a World Cup ball at their post-summit press conference in Helsinki on Monday


Trump said he accepted the intelligence community's assessment that Russia had meddled in the election, and offered a rambling explanation of his assertion that he could not see "any reason" why Russia would interfere.

"In a key sentence in my remarks, I said the word 'would' instead of 'wouldn't'," Trump said, speaking at the White House ahead of a meeting with Republican lawmakers.

"The sentence should have been, 'I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia.' Sort of a double negative," he added.

Even as he dialed down the rhetoric, he raised fresh NATO questions by offering a gibe about Montenegro, suggesting he would be displeased about having to defend the "tiny" nation if need be.

When Fox host Tucker Carlson asked Trump in an interview why his son should have to go to Montenegro to defend it from attack, Trump shared the sentiment.

"I understand what you're saying. I've asked the same question," Trump said.

"Montenegro is a tiny country with very strong people... They're very aggressive people. They may get aggressive, and congratulations, you're in World War III."

Moscow has been accused of meddling in Montenegro's elections, and a failed 2016 coup was allegedly planned by pro-Russian militants.

- 'Damaging' remarks -

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling and possible collusion with the Trump campaign has increasingly put pressure on the White House.

The president -- who regards the probe as an attack on his legitimacy -- has dubbed it a "witch hunt," and again said Tuesday there was "no collusion at all."

But the investigation is progressing, as evidenced by the indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence agents on Friday -- timing that was embarrassing ahead of the summit.

Trump found precious little support from either side of the political aisle for his decision not to confront the Russian leader.

Republican lawmakers have called for information on exactly what was discussed or negotiated in Helsinki.

"We don't know what was said by our own president in a two-hour meeting," House Republican Ryan Costello told CNN, adding he was concerned about Trump's "damaging" remarks.

"These comments that come out of the president's mouth are not helpful to NATO, they're not helpful to international stability."

Some Democrats including Senator Richard Blumenthal have urged Senate leaders to subpoena Trump's translator and the notes from the summit, so that Congress can learn what was discussed.

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