10 years after crisis, bank CEO pay swells again

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10 years after crisis, bank CEO pay swells again



AFP/File / Jim WATSON JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon garnered his biggest pay package in 2018 since the financial crisis

Ten years after Wall Street recklessness helped lead to the Great Recession, compensation for top bank CEOs is soaring even as pay flattens at junior levels.

Compensation figures released so far by large banks this year suggest a rich season for CEOs, despite myriad worries for markets, including slowing global growth, trade wars and Brexit uncertainty.

Compensation for Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, the biggest US bank by assets, hit $31 million in 2018, up 5.1 percent, and his highest pay since the 2008 financial crisis.

At Morgan Stanley, Chief Executive James Gorman will take home $29 million, up seven percent.

Final pay numbers are expected in the coming days from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Wells Fargo.

The biggest six US banks last year reported a record $117.6 billion in profits, with JPMorgan notching its highest-ever annual income of $32.5 billion and Morgan Stanley also a new peak at $8.2 billion.

- A wide gap -

Compensation varies for everyday employees of the financial heavyweights but even the more generous boosts do not reach the CEO pay bumps thus far.

Pay among JPMorgan's 256,000 employees rose an average of 4.4 percent, while compensation for Morgan Stanley's 60,300 workers dipped two percent, according to an analysis published over the weekend by the Financial Times.

At Goldman Sachs, which faces government probes over its connections to the scandal-plagued Malaysian fund 1MDB, worker salaries fell three percent.

Worker pay rose 2.2 percent at Bank of America and Citigroup and Wells Fargo worker pay climbed 4.1 percent, according to the Financial Times.

The gap between CEOs and rank-and-file employees remains astronomical.


AFP/File / EMMANUEL DUNAND Analysts say the better US economy is one reason swelling CEO pay at banks has not aroused itense criticism. This 2012 phot captures a more hostile view of Wall Street in the wake of the financial crisis.


At JPMorgan, Dimon's salary is more than 364 times the median employee salary, while at Morgan Stanley Gorman's compensation is some 192 times greater than that of a median employee, according to the AFL-CIO.

The bounty is even greater at other financial groups like private equity behemoth Blackstone, which paid Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman $786 million in 2017, the third biggest payout ever on Wall Street behind Daniel Och of Och-Ziff Capital, who took home $1.2 billion in 2008 and $918.9 million in 2007.

Tharindra Ranasinghe, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland's school of business, said the public's view of the higher pay has been muted somewhat by improvement in the broader economy that has strengthened employment markets.

"It seems that this is not that much of an outrage for Main Street," he told AFP. "It seems like Main Street kind of gets excited on this when the economy is doing badly."

Some of the criticism has also likely been tempered by the practices of large banks adding rules that allow them to recover -- or claw back -- compensation in case of bad executive performance.

Another factor is that bank profits have risen, at least in part, due to traditional activities such as consumer loans or financing for mergers or public offerings.

"These are not speculative ventures that may run against the interests of Americans," said Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services.

source: https://www.afp.com/en/news/3954/10-years-after-crisis-bank-ceo-pay-swells-again-doc-1ci6m24

Two drowned Saudi sisters committed suicide: US medical examiner

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Two drowned Saudi sisters committed suicide: US medical examiner



NYPD/AFP/File / HO Tala Farea (L) and her sister Rotana ran away several times from their family's home in Virginia

Two Saudi sisters whose bodies were found taped together on the banks of a New York river committed suicide, the city's medical examiner said on Tuesday.

Rotana Farea, 22, and her sister Tala, 16, were found beside the Hudson River in late October with no visible signs of trauma, dressed all in black with fur-trimmed coat collars.

They were tied together at the ankles and waist by duct tape.

"My office determined that the death of the Farea sisters was the result of suicide, in which the young women bound themselves together before descending into the Hudson River," Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson said.

After their deaths, a police official appeared to confirm that the sisters had applied for asylum, but did not provide further detail.

Fatimah Baeshen, spokeswoman for Saudi Arabia's US embassy in Washington, tweeted that "Reports that we ordered anyone related to the Saudi sisters, Tala and Rotana Farea, God rest their souls, (who recently died tragically in NY), to leave the US for seeking asylum; are absolutely false."

They had run away several times from their family's home in Virginia, where they had not lived since the end of 2017.

The sisters had been placed in a shelter but left Virginia in August and set out for New York. There, they stayed in several different upscale hotels and maxed out a credit card, according to an NYPD spokesman quoted by US media.

A witness reportedly saw the two young women early on October 24 on a playground near the Hudson, where they appeared to be praying.

US media quoted police as saying the sisters had indicated that they would rather harm themselves than return to Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom is one of the world's most restrictive countries for women, a situation highlighted this month by the case of Rahaf Mohammed.

The teenager fled what she said was physical and psychological abuse from her family in the kingdom, and received asylum in Canada.

source: https://www.afp.com/en/news/3954/two-drowned-saudi-sisters-committed-suicide-us-medical-examiner-doc-1ci8hm2

After a month of shutdown, US federal workers turn to food banks

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After a month of shutdown, US federal workers turn to food banks



AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARY A furloughed Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employee in line at a food distribution effort for federal workers impacted by the government shutdown

Most never needed help from a food pantry. But a month since the US government shutdown began, dozens of federal employees have been lining up in Brooklyn for basics.

Customs, tax and emergency management officials are all among the crowd, having gone unemployed since December 22.

Others deemed "essential" like transportation workers or prison guards are forced to continue working without pay, taking advantage of their lunch breaks to stock up.

Volunteers are manning distribution tables in the lobby of the New York borough's Barclays Center, which usually hosts concerts or sporting events rather than charity drives.

Those in need first register and then fill plastic bags with canned goods, potatoes, chicken, grapes and basic toiletries.

"I came here to grab some goods, to be honest," said Antoinette Peek-Williams, an employee of the Homeland Security Department, who came an hour by subway from Harlem.


AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARY Furloughed employee Antoinette Peek-Williams traveled an hour by subway to stock up on basic goods


"Any way I can save money and put towards something else -- that's what I am trying to do."

Since the budget impasse began, the 62-year-old lives "day to day -- watching what I eat, watching what I spend, not spending."

"Praying that they make a decision sooner than later."

She hopes to return to work on February 1 -- an optimism of which she's no longer so certain.

"I am a person where the glass is always half-full," said the mother of a college student.

"I have to stay hopeful," she said. "If you don't have hope, you don't have anything."

It's a sentiment echoed by Chante Johnson, a tax administrator.

But "it's getting rough," the 48-year-old said. "It's coming, like, to the end of everything."

- 'Unprecedented' -


AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARY Furloughed federal workers receive milk as the Food Bank for New York City holds a distribution for federal workers impacted by the government shutdown in Brooklyn

She provides for a daughter along with her mother, and says she hasn't been able to sleep or eat healthy since being out of work.

"I just want them to open it up," she said. "Start talking and open up the government."

For those federal workers forced to work without pay, the situation is even more tense.

They can only testify anonymously, sworn to confidentiality.

"It is very stressful," said one 39-year-old single mother, who works as a prison guard at Brooklyn's federal detention facility.

She came to the food pantry on her lunch break seeking enough to prepare a few meals.

Her daughter is nearing the end of high school, and as students apply for universities, she laments being unable to pay her child's application fees.

She managed to postpone the monthly bill for her cell phone -- which she needs for work -- albeit with a late penalty.

But she won't be able to make it after mid-February.

"After that I won't be able to go to work," she said, saying she won't have money to fill her car's gas tank.

The shutdown has exacerbated an already precarious situation in a city where soaring rents are pushing more and more families into poverty, said Francisco Tezen, head of development at the Food Bank for New York City.

The non-profit, the city's largest food assistance organization, hosted the distribution along with corporate sponsors.


AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARY Volunteers take turns manning distribution tables in the lobby of the Barclays Center


"Something like this is unprecedented, it's almost equivalent to times when we have had to activate response and services in response to a disaster," said Tezen.

"Just the length of period of time, and the volatility and the unknowns."

Organizations like his "can be of assistance and help," he said -- "but we are not an antidote to gridlock or just bad policy."

He refrained from pointing specific blame for the political stalemate, but many in New York, a Democratic stronghold, pin culpability on Donald Trump.

In Johnson's view, the border situation is not dire enough to require the $5.7 billion the president has demanded to build a wall.

"What happened? Did a Mexican beat him up as a little boy so he is so gung-ho on this wall?" she asked. "Talk about it and get us back to work.

"Get us back the work that we love doing."
source: https://www.afp.com/en/news/3954/after-month-shutdown-us-federal-workers-turn-food-banks-doc-1ci87t2

Chinese Dolce & Gabbana model apologises for part in race row

Chinese Dolce & Gabbana model apologises for part in race row



AFP/File / Nicolas ASFOURI Dolce & Gabbana was forced to cancel a Shanghai fashion show as a result of the incident

A Chinese model who featured in a Dolce & Gabbana promotional video attacked for being culturally insensitive has apologised for her role in the production, more than two months after the firestorm erupted.

The controversy arose in November after the Italian fashion firm posted short clips on Instagram showing a woman eating pizza and spaghetti with chopsticks, which critics said was offensive to Chinese culture.

It escalated after screenshots emerged of an Instagram user's chat with the famously mercurial co-founder Stefano Gabbana, who used smiling poop emojis to describe China and launched insults at the country and its people.

"For not properly interpreting the proper way of holding chopsticks, I express my deepest regret," model Zuo Ye wrote in a lengthy post put up on Monday on the Weibo social media platform.

"I appreciate the fact that this isn't just my personal action, but that I am representing the image of our country, and of Chinese culture so I am racked with guilt, deeply apologetic, and will definitely improve my decorum in future."

Identifying herself as a full-time model, Zuo said she was attacked after the video surfaced, and received online threats, which also extended to her agent, family and friends.

Providing a chronological account of the Milan shoot in November, Zuo said she had no idea the video would be edited the way it was, and was just trying her best to be cooperative.

"I will learn well from this incident, and in future present Chinese culture in a better manner," she wrote.

Dolce & Gabbana was forced to cancel a Shanghai fashion show as a result of the incident, with brand issuing an apology statement and claiming Gabbana's account had been hacked.

It did little to calm the situation and the Italian fashion house's products disappeared from multiple Chinese e-commerce platforms.

The brand's founders eventually apologised to customers in a specially shot video.

But Dolce & Gabbana products are still unsearchable on e-commerce site Taobao while searches on JD.com turn up no results.
source: https://www.afp.com/en/news/3954/chinese-dolce-gabbana-model-apologises-part-race-row-doc-1cj1af1

South Korean prosecutor jailed in #MeToo case

South Korean prosecutor jailed in #MeToo case



AFP / Jung Yeon-je Former senior South Korean prosecutor Ahn Tae-geun was found guilty of abuse of power over the transfer of a female colleague who had accused him of harassment

A former senior South Korean prosecutor was convicted of abuse of power and jailed for two years on Wednesday in connection with a high-profile case that triggered the country's #MeToo movement.

Ahn Tae-geun was accused of repeatedly groping a female junior colleague at the funeral of another co-worker's father. After Seo Ji-hyun filed a formal complaint, he had her transferred to a provincial position and her career went nowhere.

She suffered in silence for years until she went public with a tearful live television appearance last January, detailing her experiences.

The interview was a rarity in a still conservative society where female victims of sexual assault are often reluctant to come forward due to fears of shaming.

But it triggered a flood of similar accusations against powerful men in fields ranging from art and literature to politics and religion that grew into a South Korean #MeToo movement.

Ahn -- who was separately fired for corruption in 2017 -- could not be charged with sexual abuse because the one-year statute of limitations had expired, but prosecutors indicted him for abuse of power for having Seo transferred.


 AFP/File / Jung Yeon-je Seo's decision to go public prompted other South Korean women to come forward with their own experiences of abuse


Announcing the verdict at the Seoul Central District Court, judge Lee Sang-ju said there was sufficient evidence that Ahn transferred Seo away from Seoul "because he was afraid of the consequences of her internal complaint".

The move "caused significant psychological distress to Seo", the judge added.

Ahn has always maintained that he had no recollection of the initial incident as he was drunk at the memorial ceremony, but the judge said he was necessarily aware of an internal investigation at the time his accuser was moved.

Wearing a dark suit, Ahn -- who had denied the charges -- mostly looked down with his eyes shut and fists clenched as the judge delivered his verdict, sighing and looking up to the ceiling as his defence arguments were dismissed one by one.

"This was such an unexpected result," he said, adding that he would appeal.

In the public gallery, a handful of young women quietly pumped clenched fists into the air as he was sentenced.

The verdict was welcomed by many activists, who described it as "therapeutic" and "pleasantly surprising" after doubts had been raised over the prosecution's efforts.

It also came months after Ahn Hee-jung, a former South Korean presidential contender, was acquitted of raping a female aide, a verdict that infuriated women's rights activists in the country.

"I think the verdict is a sign of change," said Lee Mi-kyoung, director of Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, who was present in court Wednesday.

"There are still many victims who suffer in silence. I hope today's ruling can give them a reason to be hopeful."

Bae Bok-ju, another campaigner, regretted that Ahn could not be charged with sexual abuse.

"But today's ruling at least acknowledged that it's the power abuse at workplaces that often leads the victims of sexual abuse to stay silent for many years."

source: https://www.afp.com/en/news/3954/south-korean-prosecutor-jailed-metoo-case-doc-1cj0nl3

Trump vows not to 'cave' on 32nd day of government shutdown

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Trump vows not to 'cave' on 32nd day of government shutdown



AFP/File / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS US President Donald Trump insisted he will not lift the federal government shutdown unless Democrats approve his $5.7 billion plan for walls on the US-Mexican border

President Donald Trump had a message Tuesday for Democrats hoping he'll relent in the political arm wrestling that has seen funds blocked to parts of the government for a record 32 days: "No Cave!"

Trump's defiant tweet again blamed congressional Democrats for the chaos, insisting he will not lift his shutdown on federal government funding unless they approve his $5.7 billion plan for more walls along the US-Mexican border.

"Without a Wall our Country can never have Border or National Security. With a powerful Wall or Steel Barrier, Crime Rates (and Drugs) will go substantially down all over the U.S.," Trump tweeted.

"The Dems know this but want to play political games."

Trump triggered a partial government shutdown on December 22 -- refusing to sign off on funding everything from FBI salaries to the National Park Service -- as a way of pressuring the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives to back the wall project.


AFP / Jim WATSON FBI Agents Association member Thomas O'Connor holds an FBI report "Voices From the Field" giving examples of how the shutdown is undermining their work on drug, gang enforcement, security, and counter-terrorism


But with Democrats refusing to give in and Trump sticking to his hardball tactics, political paralysis in Washington has morphed into growing day-to-day pain across the country as some 800,000 federal employees adjust to life without salaries.

Trump's main opponent, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was adamant that the president is to blame. "#EndTheShutdown now," she tweeted.

Pelosi, speaker of the Democrat-led House, argues that border security funding cannot even be discussed before the shutdown ends, accusing Trump of "holding Americans hostage."

- Senate to vote -


AFP / US government shutdowns since 1976

The Senate is set to vote on two bills this week that would in theory break the deadlock, even if both have little chance of passing.

The first is on Trump's compromise offer made Saturday, when he told Democrats he would extend temporary protection to about a million immigrants currently risking deportation if he gets his wall funding.

Pelosi sent out a rejection before Trump had even officially laid out his proposal. The president also caught backlash from the right wing of his own party, which accused him of wanting to give amnesty to large numbers of people living in the country illegally.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that a vote on Trump's plan would take place this week, saying the chance to end the shutdown is "staring us in the face."

However, the bill looks doomed, with the senior Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, describing the Trump offer as "going nowhere fast."

"President Trump and leader McConnell need to come to their senses," he said.

The Senate was also expected to reject a second, Democrat-backed bill to restart funding for the government. Even if it did get through Congress, "the president won't sign it," a senior Senate Republican aide said.

Both votes are expected Thursday.

- Political fight, real consequences -


AFP/File / SAUL LOEB A sign at the entrance to the National Zoo in Washington tells of its closure because of the government shutdown


Extending the existing border fences has been at the top of Trump's domestic agenda since his 2016 campaign.

Democrats accuse his campaign against illegal immigration of ignoring more complex humanitarian issues on the border and stoking xenophobia.

But the disagreement over walls has expanded into a much broader test of political strength in divided Washington, with each side desperate to prevent the other from declaring victory.

Meanwhile, the hundreds of thousands of unpaid federal employees and many more contract workers are collateral victims, facing the start of a second month of going unpaid.


AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARY Hundreds of thousands of unpaid federal employees and many more contract workers are facing a second month of going unpaid with many visiting foodbanks to get by

Full-time employees will get their back pay eventually, but in the meantime they still have to meet mortgage payments and other monthly costs. Contractors, however, won't receive the lost payments.

"If you're not going to pay our bills, then send us back to work. That's all we're asking," said Yvette Hicks, 40, a contractor at the Smithsonian museum complex. "People are losing their houses, people are losing their cars and everything."

"Right now, this shutdown is really destroying me and my family," added the single mother of two. "I'm the mother and the father in my household, and my children depend on me."

source: https://www.afp.com/en/news/3954/trump-vows-not-cave-32nd-day-government-shutdown-doc-1ci1oy4

Panama youth meeting offers pope respite from scandals

Panama youth meeting offers pope respite from scandals



AFP / Vincenzo PINTO Pope Francis waved as he boarded the plane to Panama for World Youth Day

Pope Francis jets into Panama on Wednesday for a gathering of young Catholics that will likely see him speak out in defence of Central American migrants and human rights.

The festive five-day meeting with an expected 200,000 young people from around the world offers the 82-year-old pontiff a brief respite from a torrent of sex scandals that have jolted his papacy.

Groups of young pilgrims have been flocking into the small Central American country for days.

Wrapped in the flags of their nations, many resemble soccer fans on the eve of a major tournament, except this is one event in which they will be shouting for the same side.

At a Mass to open the festivities on Tuesday evening, tens of thousands of young pilgrims stood to chant, "this is the youth of the pope."


AFP / RAUL ARBOLEDA Pilgrims crowded the historic center of Panama City on the eve of Pope Francis's arrival


Panama's archbishop, Cardinal Jose Domingo Ulloa, told them the future of the church lay "in your vision of a better world".

Ulloa said he prayed the gathering "will be a balm for the difficult situation in which many... live without hope, especially the indigenous youth and youth of African descent, the youth who migrates after receiving almost no response from their countries of origin."

Tens of thousands of young pilgrims attended the colorful open air mass, near the capital's historic ramparts overlooking the Pacific end of the Panama Canal.

The pope's plane took off from Rome Tuesday evening and was scheduled to arrive in Panama City at 4:30 pm local time (2130 GMT), after a 13-hour flight.

- Defending migrants -

Caravans of Central American migrants have travelled north through Mexico to the US border since October, stirring a debate over illegal immigrants and President Donald Trump's plans to build a border wall. Francis previously criticised plans for the wall during a trip to Mexico.

He used the 2016 World Youth Day event in Poland to call on conservative governments in Central and Eastern Europe to soften their resistance to migrants seeking refuge from conflict in the Middle East.

"Many of the young people who are participating in the WYD are immigrants themselves," Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said, adding that Francis could be expected to speak out on the issue.


AFP / Luis ACOSTA Pilgrims went to confession at the Youth Park in Panama City on the eve of Pope Francis's arrival

The Vatican bills World Youth Day as a chance for the pope to reach out to young Catholics who he says "can change the world."

It is the sort of colorful event the people-friendly Argentine pope revels in -- a world away from the strains of sex scandals that have rocked his six-year papacy.

The most recent scandals struck in the United States, where priests and bishops in several dioceses are under investigation for decades of sex abuse of minors.

The pope met with victims of clerical sex abuse during his last visit to South America, to Chile and Peru, a year ago. The Vatican says there are no formal plans to do so on this trip.

However, two abuse survivors from neighboring Costa Rica have asked to meet with Francis on the sidelines of the WYD.


AFP / MARVIN RECINOS Pilgrims from around the world gathered in Panama City ahead of Pope Francis's visit


Michael Rodriguez, 38, and Anthony Venegas, 33, told AFP they sent a letter to Francis requesting a meeting but received no reply.

"We managed to deliver a letter to the pope with the help of another person. We told him that we would love to have an audience with him, tell him face to face what we have experienced, give him conclusive proof," said Rodriguez.

Francis will hold two open-air masses in Panama City. Among the other highlights of his five-day visit will be a trip to the Good Samaritan home for young HIV and AIDS patients on Saturday, after the closing mass.

He will also take a short helicopter trip outside the city to Pacora to visit a youth detention center and hear the confessions of inmates, including one serving time for murder.

burs-db/dw/rlp

Pliskova slays Serena as Djokovic cruises into semis

Pliskova slays Serena as Djokovic cruises into semis



AFP / Jewel SAMAD Karolina Pliskova's reward for beating Serena Williams is a clash against Japan's Naomi Osaka for a place in the final

Serena Williams's bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title was brought to a halt in sensational style at the Australian Open Wednesday by Karolina Pliskova, but fellow former champion Novak Djokovic cruised into the semi-finals.

The American great had beaten world number one Simona Halep in the fourth round but folded against the tall Czech seventh seed, who saved four match points before winning 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 under the hot Melbourne sun.

Her reward is a clash against Japan's Naomi Osaka for a place in the final, after the Japanese fourth seed brutally swatted aside the injured Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-1.

World number one Djokovic enjoyed an early night when courageous Kei Nishikori retired with a thigh strain when losing 6-1, 4-1 after going through three five-set epics during the tournament.


AFP / Peter PARKS Serena Williams cut a frustrated figure on court


It kept the Serb's bid for a record seventh Australian title on track and he will now meet French 28th seed Lucas Pouille, who beat power-serving Canadian Milos Raonic 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-4 to make his first Slam semi.

It was a gut-wrenching defeat for Williams, who battled back from a set down and was leading 5-1 in the third and serving for the match, only to throw it away with some wild shots as frustrations bubbled to the surface.

"There's nothing I did wrong on those match points. I stayed aggressive. She just literally hit the lines on some of them," said the dumbfounded 37-year-old, who rolled an ankle but refused to blame it for the defeat.

Since returning last year from giving birth, Williams has made four unsuccessful attempts to match Margaret Court's long-time standing 24 Grand Slam titles, and the wait continues with the French Open in May her next chance.

"The big picture for me is always winning," she added. "I'm not going to sit here and lie about that. It hasn't happened yet, but I feel like it's going to happen."


AFP / Jewel SAMAD Japan's Naomi Osaka saw off the Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in their quarter-final match on day ten of the Australian Open

For Pliskova, it is only her third semi-final at a major.

She made the last four at Roland Garros in 2017 and the US Open a year earlier, where she beat Williams before losing the final to Angelique Kerber.

"I was almost in the locker-room but now I am standing here as a winner. It is a very good feeling," she said after depriving Williams of a US Open final rematch with Osaka.

- Calm Osaka -

Asked about facing Osaka next, Pliskova replied: "She's dangerous but nobody is more dangerous than Serena."

A focused Osaka rolled past Ukraine's Svitolina, who was troubled by neck and shoulder problems.


 AFP / Greg Wood Novak Djokovic is targeting a 15th Grand Slam title


Despite the Ukrainian suffering, it was nevertheless a serious statement from the steely-eyed Osaka, who was playing the sort of tennis which drove her to the US Open title.

"I tried to be consistent, it's unfortunate that she got injured but playing against her even when she was injured was still really tough," said the 21-year-old.

"I just had one goal, to try as hard I can and not get angry. I didn't do that really well in the last two rounds and I did that today so I'm really happy with the way I played."

The win ensured she became the first Japanese woman in the final four since Kimiko Date in 1994.

Djokovic, who is targeting a 15th Grand Slam title, endured his own tough fourth round showdown with Daniil Medvedev and said he was glad to get off court early.

"As they say, this is exactly what the doctor ordered for me after the match two nights ago," he said. "Not to spend too much time on the court.

"I've had plenty of matches so far this year and I am in another semi-final and I will do everything to get ready for that one."


AFP / William WEST Lucas Pouille had never won a match in Melbourne before this year

Pouille had never won a match in Melbourne before this year but has recruited 2006 Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo to his team and said it was paying off.

"I started a new adventure with my team, with Amelie. I enjoy being on the court again and that is the most important," he said.

source: https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/pliskova-slays-serena-djokovic-cruises-semis-doc-1cj1by6

Russia says range of disputed missile is allowed under INF treaty

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Russia says range of disputed missile is allowed under INF treaty



 AFP/File / Andrej ISAKOVIC Putin has threatened to develop nuclear missiles banned under the INF treaty if it is scrapped

Moscow on Wednesday insisted the range of a missile system that has prompted Washington to say it will withdraw from a key Cold War arms treaty is allowed under the agreement.

Russian artillery chief Mikhail Matveevsky told a briefing that the 9M729 missile's maximum range is 480 kilometres (300 miles).

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty bans missiles with a range above 500 kilometres.

Russia has long denied it violates the treaty but Wednesday's briefing was the first time it has offered details of the missiles in question.

"The distance was confirmed during strategic command and staff exercises" in 2017, Matveevsky told an audience of journalists and military attaches.

Matveevsky said Moscow was presenting details of the cruise missile system in the interests of "voluntary transparency".

"The treaty must be preserved. It is for the American side to make the choice," said deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, who was also at the briefing.

The United States and Russia agreed to the INF treaty in 1987.

Last month Washington gave Russia a 60-day deadline -- which ends on February 2 -- to dismantle the missiles it claims breach the agreement or the US would begin the six-month process of formally withdrawing from the deal.

Russia and the US have accused each other of being in breach of the agreement and Washington has said honouring it no longer made sense.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Moscow is ready to work with Washington to save the agreement, after bilateral talks in Geneva on the INF this month failed to resolve the impasse.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to develop nuclear missiles banned under the INF treaty if it is scrapped.

He said in December he was open to the idea of other countries joining the deal or to starting talks on a new agreement.

Putin has also said that if Washington moved to place more missiles in Europe after ditching the deal, Russia would respond "in kind" and that any European countries agreeing to host US missiles would be at risk of a Russian attack.

The European Union has urged Russia and the US to save the deal.

Signed towards the end of the Cold War by then US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the treaty bans ground-launched missiles with a range of between 500 and 5,500 kilometres.

The deal resolved a crisis over Soviet nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles targeting Western capitals, but put no restrictions on other major military actors such as China.

SOURCE: https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/russia-says-range-disputed-missile-allowed-under-inf-treaty-doc-1cj1zp1